Texas Horned Lizard by Carol Jones Morrissey 
62" x 44"

Click any image for detailed view.

A few years ago while walking through the International Quilt Festival in Houston, I came across this quilt that captured my heart immediately. Growing up in north Texas, I saw (and played with) many “horny toads”. They were a childhood favorite and they were abundant and easily found in my neighborhood. Over the years their numbers have significantly declined and this Texas state reptile is now listed in Texas as “threatened”. Their decline is not due to little boys capturing them for an hour or so before letting them back into the wild, but there have been concerns about their food source (insects) being taken away due to pesticides. Conservation efforts are underway. These amazing critters are generally docile and are an iconic part of the Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and New Mexico. Carol worked from a photograph to create this amazing quilt which features raw edge appliqué and free-motion machine quilting. I love having this quilt in my collection. It hangs in my breakfast nook and makes me happy each time I see it.
 
Carol says, "The quilt was based on a photo taken by Dr. Shawn Billerman, an ornithologist and herpetologist. I found the photo online and was able to track down the source through his friend's blog post about their birding/herping trip in southeast Colorado. They were driving along very slowly and spotted something dart past, and realized it was a Horned Lizard. They stopped the car and ran after it to take photos. Dr. Billerman seemed surprised when I asked him if I could use his photo as a reference for a quilt! He seemed even more surprised when I sent him a photo of the finished quilt." 
 
 
 

TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

JOIN ME IN 2022 for the all new 52-Week Photo Challenge

DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE 

 Critique Group Challenge from week 50

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 50, Introspective

Photo by Linda Bennett

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Linda says:

Introspective….thought provoking. The water has always meant so much to me, very introspective for my soul to gaze on a beautiful sunrise over the water. Thought provoking….will life be sunny or full of rain? Is a single man insignificant in the vastness?


This is sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean at Ormond Beach, Fl. I spent a couple of days here for my birthday trip. I was not expecting to wake up to rain storms over the Atlantic but it added so much to the morning.

 

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 50 - Silence

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 50, Silence

Photo by Lyndsay Brandon

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Lyndsay says:

It is a cloudy day and we got a fresh dump of snow last night so everything is pristine. The black and white is exactly as I shot the photo .

 

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 50 - Little Star

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 50, Little Star

Photo by Georgia Brown 

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Georgia says:

I took a photo of one of the star lights in my window and used the ArtLeap app to place it in the glass dome. A nice holiday affect. I love all the editing apps suggested by all the participants this year.

Ricky's Challenge Photos

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 50, Little Star

Photo by Ricky Tims

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Ricky says:

Tis the season where little stars abound. This one hangs on the Christmas tree here at home. I edited in two apps - BeCasso and then into Prisma. Wishing you the best season possible.

 

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 50, Introspective

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2021 Critique Group

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Ricky says:

I got married this week - to a man! (I should add...I've never been married before.) As a sixty-five year old, making that statement is somewhat surreal. I could write a book (and maybe I will someday) on the evolution of my acceptance of myself and the very long journey that led me to be the "me" I am today. 


After the wedding, Hugo and I took a very short trip to Santa Fe. We stopped in Taos for lunch and went to the plaza for a walk about. Tucked into a nook at the entrance to the plaza I stumbled upon this scene. The colors drip from the roof and pour down the side of the building. They mingle, mix, and come together at the bottom. I took the photo because it captivated me. It was clever. But as I thought about it afterwards, it became a symbol for many metaphorical thoughts. While I don't necessarily think this image is "introspective" on its own - it inspired many introspective thoughts for me - and perhaps it might also create some introspective thoughts for you too. I have no words to fully express how thankful and blessed I feel now - compared to the insecurities, fears, and self-loathing I experienced when I was young and well into my middle years. I can honestly say I'm well past caring what anyone else thinks. One lady on Facebook wrote..."disgusting". To each his own, but negative comments and hateful opinions no longer stick. They are now deflected against a strong armor self assurance and dignity.

Life is precious - love is precious - freedom and peace are invaluable. The "gay rainbow flag" colors are not about gay identity. The rainbow of colors are for all who embrace the idea that we can live together with joy and peace in this world and we are not required to become homogenized into a melting pot of the same thoughts, ideas, and creeds. Anyone who embraces and celebrates diversity will appreciate this image and the various introspective thoughts it might bring.

 

 

 

 

 Summer Storm in Clay County

Click on quilt for full view.

 

Detail of the quilt:

Detail of Summer Storm in Clay County
Summer Storm in Clay County, TX by Ricky Tims  

I grew up in Wichita Falls, TX. My dad's parents were in the next county over, Clay County. They lived in flat lands on the edge of live oak forest. The house was white with a red roof. We had windmills to draw water up for cattle. The ponds, murky red from the red clay of the Texas soil, were commonly known as 'tanks'. I used a bit of artistic license here and made the water blue - after all, if the sky reflected at the proper angle, it would be blue. The area had plowed fields and from some vantage points you could see for miles. Look closely on the horizon. A boiling summer storm is definitely approaching.
 
My first year quilting, 1991, my grandmother, (Myrble Virginia Chesher Tims) passed away. It was in September of 1991. I was only a few months into quilting - but I was addicted to it. My dad had also started quilting. After her death, dad went to sort through her belongings. In the attic of the old house he found a box with bits and pieces of fabric scraps in odd shapes and sizes. They all fit into a shoebox. Dad gave the box of scraps to me and I decided to use her fabrics to make a wall quilt as a tribute to my grandmother and the family ranch. Hopefully you'll notice it is hand quilted.
 
I fell in love with the vintage fabrics in that box. Especially the western themed fabrics. The windmill bases and the same fabric used in the border was from one of her dresses. It is cotton sateen. 
 Summer Storm in Clay County Fabrics
 
As each year comes and goes, I think about the connection I have to those who blazed a way for me. The end of a year is time to reflect and connect dots that help us to understand where we came from - and perhaps provide a bit of guidance as to what direction we should take moving into the future. This quilt helps me to remember my grandparents and the times we shared in the little house in Clay County, TX. May the flames of love never be extinguished. May they never be fully past and gone. We'll take a cup of kindness yet! I hope you will agree.
 
Happy New Year!
 
Auld Lang Syne - (Days Long Gone)
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On auld lang syne.
 
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

  

 TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

   

JOIN ME IN 2022 for the all new 52-Week Photo Challenge

DETAILS AND REGISTRATION HERE 

 Critique Group Challenge from week 49

Critique Group Challenge: 

Week 49, Self Portrait

Photo by Julian Weatherley

Click to view larger image 

Julian says:

This week I was planning a self portrait action shot, chopping wood in the garden or similar. But the rain beat me. So here I am sat at my desk instead.

 

52-Week Photo Challenge Class
Week 49 - Self Portrait

Week 52 Photo Challenge:

Week 49, Self Portrait

Photo by Schon Beechler

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Schon says:

Looking to the future, still holding onto the past. A little unsure about the new direction, but determined to make my way on a new path...."The mountains are calling and I must go"

 

Smart Phone Photo Challenges
Week 49 - Self Portrait

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 49, Self Portrait

Photo by Maureen O’Neill  

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Maureen says:

Edited in Prisma app with Leya

Ricky's Challenge Photos

Smart Phone Challenge:

Week 49, Self Portrait

Photo by Ricky Tims

Click to view larger image.

Ricky says:

Why so serious? Not so serious. Sometimes it just feels good to make a face. Edited in Prisma app with Curly Hair

 

Critique Group Challenge:

Week 49, Self Portrait

Photo by Ricky Tims
from the 2021 Critique Group

Click to view larger image.

Ricky says:

We all know that best laid plans seems to shift, and this one really took a turn to the left. I wanted to do monochromatic slices of various images, alighing my eyes if nothing else. It wasn't quite working until I added another photo (smaller) and the combination seemed to really work because the focus went there and the rest was just 'extra'.

 

 

 

Baby It's Cold Outside by Ricky Tims

Click any image for detailed view.

The year was 1991. I had just started my first quilt that summer. I became obsessed with quilting and was almost instantly creating my own designs. As Christmas approached that year, I had learned a bit about crazy patchwork and had the idea to put together a crazy patched Santa scene. It was all done "on the fly" with no real pattern. I sketched a few ideas, but most of this was created without templates or patterns. It was complex and for years I felt it would be near impossible to turn into a pattern. On a humorous note, if I could figure all this out and make it happen, why didn't I find a way to give Rudolph hind legs?
 
Finally, a couple years ago, I did turn this into a pattern. There are minor changes to make it feasible in a pattern, but those differences are practically unnoticeable. The pattern is full size and the method is primarily foundation piecing. Quilt is 40" x 46".
 
 
 
 
 

TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE

Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!

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