Redwork Quilt

I'm playing around with some pictures this morning.  I have some in e-mails that won't let me copy and paste so I'm trying to figure out how to put them in something else so that I can put them in my post.  I should be doing my homework for my board meeting on Friday but I'm goofing off.  What can I say?

Well I didn't get very far with that as here it is Friday and I have already been to my board meeting this morning.  I think I am over the worst of my headcold as I have only sneezed once this morning and that was when I had a mouth full of vitamins and they went all over the kitchen!

It is bitterly cold today with the wind whipping around the house making drifts out back.  Noodles and Munchie went out for a short time and then headed right back in and are curled up in their favorite spots in the sun on their blankets.

I watched two operations today after my board meeting.  A little girl cat got spayed and a little boy cat got neutered.  It only takes about 6 or 7 minutes to take care of the boy cats but longer for the girls.  It was very interesting and I can see why most vets prefer to do small animals rather then horses or cows.  Thank goodness we do have our large animal vets though!  Nick is coming along good with the hand walking.  Next week he will be able to go out in the inside arena by himself and move around as he wants.  I hope he takes it easy for a while but time will tell.  He does have to have a couple of shots in that hock on the 10th of February.  I just got the call from my vet. 

What I really wanted to write about today is one of my possessions that I consider a treasure.  My Aunt Joyce and I were very close for many years until she passed away a number of years ago.  We both loved horses and she ended up with one of mine in her later years and found much enjoyment in having him there at her home.

She also loved to do redwork quilting and drew many of her squares by hand or copied them from a greeting card or a picture she found in an old book or magazine.  She wanted this quilt to show things about her life and some of the things that she enjoyed the most.   

I was the lucky recipient of this quilt one day when I was over at her house visiting and I was thrilled!  She wanted to give things to people that she knew would enjoy them and take care of them.  Here are just a few of the squares that I particularly like.

She always tapped the maple trees in the spring to make maple syrup.

She always skated on the lake in the wintertime.

Growing up there were always pigs and piglets on the farm.

She loved Arabian horses and always went to watch the shows.

She loved wildlife especially the eagles that flew over.

This is Smokey Jack the appy that I had for many years until he retired to her home.  She loved to take him out in the sleigh for a ride.

This is my grandfather, her father, ice fishing on the lake.

Going down the hill on the toboggan with my mother and her other sister.

She and her family lived in California for many years and they loved going into the dessert and camping on the weekends.

She loved the rodeo and went as often as they could.

This is my grandparents house, it had a horseshoe shaped drive way and my grandmother had beautiful flowers all around it.  The tall things on the left are the gorgeous hollyhocks that she grew.  I have never been able to grow them anywhere near like hers.

This is the old barn that was on the other side of the drive way.  It had vines going up one side of it.

There was always a swing in the tree to play on.

My grandfather made stilts for the kids.  My father always made stilts for us too.

This was the block she did for me on the quilt, a picture of Smoky Jack and my initials. Probably 1993 was the year she got Smoky from me.

They really did ride the pigs on occasion!  Probably when my grandfather wasn't home!

Another square dedicated to horses.

This was in each corner.

This was her block with her initials and a spider web.  She loved spider webs and her antique shop was named Joyce's Web Antiques.  I have the big sign that hung on the front of the building out in my barn hanging on the wall.  If it wasn't so cold I would go out and take a picture.

This quilt has many more blocks, with a meaning to each one.  It took her years to make as it was all done by hand except the sashing around each block and that was done with her old treddle sp? machine.  I have all of the patterns that she drew for it and consider them a treasure too.

Thanks for going down memory lane with me via this quilt.