Saddle Up!

Yesterday we toured the horses of Deborah Butterfield

so today, we look at saddle blankets and pouches.

 

 

 

Persian Saddle Blanket, mid 20th C from Iran

close-up of this woven wool/silk

Afghan 20th C--decorated horse blanket

cotton, button, velvet, feathers

Dine Horse Blanket, early 20th C

wool--natural color; red, possibly cochineal

Tibetan saddle blanket, early 20th C wool

I love how this blanket has been used!  you can see the warp threads and

in some areas you could see the patch work

Southwestern Blanket--notice the grey patch on the right corner

and in this corner more warp threads exposed from wear

Wool/horse hair

Turkish Saddle Bag--quite elaborate early 20th C

natural dyes on wool

Afghan Region, C 1970

I would hope this is what they call "Turkey Red" but there is no fact to that

Indian Horse cover, India ca 1980

cotton, silk, tassels and mirrors--very typical of Indian work

It was a treat to see these horse blankets, covers and bags.

Thank goodness, some of these textiles have survived their daily uses.

 

Butterfield's Horses

Early one morning, during member's only time, we walked through the

Denver Botanic Gardens to view an extra-ordinary exhibit

 

 

We have come to see the horses from the hands of Deborah Butterfield

My first thought--these are made from driftwood pieces--

definitely!  But, she goes a further step and bronzes the driftwood!

What beauty and grace these horses are!

The gardens is the perfect setting for the magnificent horse

Each horse is named for either a location or a horse in her stable

Laying down as resting horses do

Standing up to show his full height

This horse was made from found metal pieces

Perfection

Duo of grace

I love horses anyway, but these horses are just breath taking!

Up close you still think you can't believe your eyes!  If you have a chance to view this exhibit, don't miss out--it is awesome!

Cheyenne Frontier Days

We have always wanted to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days!  And every year we procrastinate too long and don't get tickets--but, last year, yes 2014, we made our hotel reservations and bought tickets for the rodeo!  We had no idea what we were getting into!!

There is more to Cheyenne Frontier Days than the rodeo--Oh My Gosh!  There is Frontier Night--name entertainment--of course, the day we selected had no entertainment (that's an extra ticket);

Then there is Old Frontier Town-

Buckin' A Saloon

Carnival Rides--which we skipped!

Indian Village

Old West Museum

CFD Amphitheater--free entertainment--Hurrah!

Grand Parade--which we missed :-(

Pancake Breakfast--Oh Yeah--got to get up early though

USAF Thunderbirds--what a great show!!  Perfect for us the morning after our rodeo day!

Art Show and Sale

Behind the Chutes Tour

There is much to see and do during Cheyenne Frontier Days--what a treat to attend!! 

Let's Head to the Loom!

 My loom is empty!  Ready and waiting for that special warp..............

I must explore..........

Find a way to get myself motivated.

  

Dianne's Loom Talk blog is so inspiring!  Just when I think I can't use up any of my odd cones of yarn, this pops up! 

Colors, colors and pattern--I found this lovely piece on Meg Weaves.  It has been years

since I have woven undulating twill--I just might have to give it another go!

I went to Handweaving to find some drafts I could use on my 8H loom

 

 

 

Or we could just play!!

Three Came Home....

WOW!  So happy to have that message from Alycia!  She had three of my quilt tops to quilt

and she was finished!  Time to pick up!

 

 

This was one large quilt!  A scrappy Rick-Rack Nine that I completed last summer

I dyed the backing with this tangerine orange--love the solid color so I can see all the fine quilting

An Orphan block quilt that was also finished last fall--no rhyme or reason to this quilt but fun to work with and Alycia did it justice

I had this black and white fabric in my stash and it worked perfect for the back

Such whimsical quilting too!

Too much to take in all at once

You can see the meandering lines on the backing

Oh Yes--Downtown Abbey quilt from LoveBug Studios, designer Ebony Love

The only one I finished this year!  I didn't use DA fabrics but

chose to work from my stash

and the quilting!  Alycia did a different quilt pattern in each section

Feathers, swirls, cross hatch--great work!

Now, to spend some time with the binding!

I'll be stitching for another few months!

If you need a quilter, check out Alycia's work!

A Mother's Birth.

Today is my mother's 95th birth-day.  She was born on this day July 24, 1920 in a small town in south Missouri.  I'm sure she was born at home.

We are celebrating with a family party in the town where she resides.

Mother does her best to get around--she has a purple walker--the gals at

the assisted living facility tell her she has the prettiest walker of all!

I don't think she hears them!  Even though she has hearing aids, she

doesn't hear--except WHAT she wants to hear!

I hope I can make it to 95!

Happy Birthday Mother!

If These Buildings Could Talk..............................................

"come on in!  Make yourself at home--pull up a chair,

if you can find one"

If we listen closely, you might be able to hear what this building is trying to tell us.

I've always been fascinated by old buildings--weathered buildings,

those which have withstood the test of time;

maybe, they could tell me about the family that resided here

about their transportation--wheels turning to bring families from place to place

The walls are empty and contain nothing but memories

The lumber shows the route of many a bug

If only, these buildings could talk...........