Stitching Away the Time (Patagonia, AZ)

Gorgeous butterfly!  Wouldn't the colors be perfect for a quilt?  Deep dark chocolate brown with lavender blue framed in black...I can see it now.  Actually, it sounds good enough to eat.  Hmm, I wonder if I have any fabric in those shades...Yea, I better not go shopping until after I finish the others and I better go eat.  Suddenly, I am very hungry for some chocolate.

I did finish my first snowman block in color.  I have decided not to do the "Snowman Collector" in Redwork.  I like using different colors.  Plus I have a lot of plaid sitting in storage.  A perfect combination of colorful snowmen in plaid frames.  Doesn't that sound like a very warm and cuddly quilt.

I think on the next one I am going to use more bright and bold colors so they will stand out more.  I like using the back stitch, but I am still a little uneven with the stitch lengths.  I'll have to work on that.

I hopped over my Valentine's Day Angels to work on my Rabbit Mug Rugs instead.  I like the way this one looks already!  I hope to have two done just before April.  Nancy Halvorsen has such cute patterns!

A couple of new wildlife photos~

Just hanging around

Peek-a-boo!

Shake Shake Shake

Shake Your Booty!
       A Coatimundi Moment

Oh, I hope she doesn't see me.  My fur's a mess with stickers.

Oh no, she does and she is taking pictures!  No! I look awful!

I'll just shake it off...a little harder

...get off! get Off! get OFF!

Ahhh, much better.  Okay, calm and collected..
I look good...now look at the camera.

Okay, I'm ready for my photo shoot.

Hey lady!  Where are you going?

Tuesday Treasuries 

Teddy Bears, Snowmen, and Coatimundi, Oh MY!

Embroidery Projects

I finished another top!  I am so happy with the outcome on this Redwork quilt.  I did not realize how much I missed embroidery until I started this project.  I did get a little tired of using "just red".  At the same time, on evenings when I just wanted to veg-out and keep my hands busy, it was nice to have the color decision already done.  Now I have two tops ready to be quilted.  Gosh, that feels so good!

Okay, call me crazy..I wanted to start on the "Snowman Collector" Redwork pack that I bought in Branson, MO. (posted Aug2011)  Like I don't have enough projects going at this moment.  

There's something like 24 blocks to embroider in this project, so I decided to start small with a pattern that was published in "Quiltmaker" magazine by the same designer.  I'm using different colors for this one block since I have a small tub filled with DMC threads.  Might as well use them, right?  After I finish this first block, I will decide with the pattern pack if I want to use just red or blue or different colors for the whole project .

I used a mechanical pencil to transfer the pattern

New Light Box

I ordered up a light box so I can take better photos of my items for sale.  I was amazed to find this kit on Amazon for under $30 by ACM Global.  Of course, it was almost $44 by the time I paid for shipping, but it is still a great deal when others are selling just the folded light tent for $70.

My kit included a tent with 4 colored inserts (red, blue, black,white), 2 standing lights, and a small tripod.  The tent folds up into a very nice carrying case that holds all the above and it is easy to store in my closet.

With some practice and test runs, I hope to get the lighting right.  Then I can re-post some better photos in my Etsy shop.  I sort of like using the black background.  It doesn't wash out the colors.  The white background seems to give off a glare.  I'll have to work with the white background some more.

A Family of Coatimundi
Yesterday, Dan followed some Coatimundi and deer into the woods.  I stayed on the trail.  I don't like walking through the thickets here.  While waiting for Dan to come back, I heard a lot of crashing in the woods on the other side of the old cottonwood.  

The next thing I knew, I was looking at a family of eight Coatimundi looking at me from the old tree.  Some were making a 'chugging" sound as they sat in the tree staring at me.  Yea, they seemed a little upset with us humans.  

I stayed on the path and tried to get photos through the tree branches.  Most of the photos did not come out too well.  It was interesting to watch them run up and head first down the tree. 

Check out those toe nails.   Good for digging, climbing,
and hmm, I think I'll keep my distance.

Dan got some more photos and video of the Coati while he was in the woods. We will post them on 2toomanycats blog soon.  They are so fascinating to watch.

Oh no, here comes another human!

What is a White-Nose Coatimundi? (Patagonia, AZ)

A month ago, I had never heard of a Coatimundi until our manager said they had seen a group of them recently on the Preserve.  Dan and I had to look them up so we could recognize them.  The Coati is raccoon-like, climbs trees, and digs for insects.  Everyday, we would walk through the area of the last sighting with hopes of seeing just one.  No luck.

The other day, we had some time off from our volunteering and decide to get in our 2-mile walk.  Dan spotted the White-nose Coati first.  He was on the trail in front of us.  He just stood there on the path staring at us.  We think this is a male since males travel alone.  We did not see or hear any others nearby.

I'm so happy I brought my camera..  Yep, can you believe I almost left it behind for this walk!  The rest of my walk would have been banging my head against trees while chanting "Never Ever Leave the Camera Behind!"

Okay, back to my story....After taking some photos, moving closer and taking more, he started moving very slowly down the path.  We are not sure if he was being very careful and trying not to alert us or if he just wasn't that worried about us.  It almost felt like he was as curious about us as we were about him.

So he would walk a little ways down the trail.......

And he would stop..........strike a pose....

Great photo of his paws - good for digging and climbing

Close-up of his paws

He looked back and froze again for several seconds. 

He turned around the other direction to get a different view? of us again...and froze. 

so cute

This encounter must have gone on for 10 minutes!  It was great!  I was so excited about this encounter that I  took over 200 photos of him.  Don't worry, I don't plan to post all of them.

Check out his turned-up nose!

I think this is when he realized we were going to keep following him and he took off running.

Such an adorable face!  I hope we see more before we leave here.