Horseplay and DQS6, finished and sent!!!!

Here is my latest offering to the swap gods...  Man, I had such a hard time starting it, but once it got going, it was finished before I knew it.  I decided that I could share some of my vintage rickrack, because it was just the perfect color for that Moda repro fabric.  I love rickrack, my friend Emily recently posted a fancy way to zest up your flops.  I might do the same...love the rickrack!
Here is a tiny peek of another swap... I have to say that I felt like these two quilts were on the "sweeter" side of my quilting talents.  I don't venture over there very often, but I did like visiting for a while.

To be honest, I had picked my fabrics for these swaps and for weeks I got NO WHERE.  I just kept staring at the fat quarters and they were mocking me with their cute matchy-matchy-ness.  Finally, I just made some 9-patches, really a great block.  A wonderful block that has really stood the test of time....oh the 9-patch, I sing to the a song of thy greatness....

OK, lost myself for a moment.  But, if you are every having a quilting block (no pun intended!!) I think, MAKE a 9-patch---you will use it sometime!

Horseplay:

My mother-in-law has befriended the lovely Teddy (pictured here).  This is amazing only for the fact that she has been afraid of horses for the last... well, her whole life.  Well, she has been doing a bit of horse therapy and is loving it.  Teddy is an old dude, but very friendly and understanding of people who have been less than horse-crazy.  She goes out to the barn a few times a week and grooms him and enjoys the outdoors.  Last week we got to go out with her and the boys were just tickled to play with the horses.
They both did such a great job of quietly feeding Sparky. (a friend's horse)  We all liked him because he is a very delicate eater, he has very gentle lips and I was only a bit terrified that my blondie's tiny fingers would get munched off.
See, look at those lips...very delicate!
Here is my most recent horse crush.... Odin.  HE IS SO GORGEOUS!!!!  He is (I believe) half Friesian and half Mustang.  He is very young, but SO pretty.  (Small background... I always wished for a horse when I was a kid, I read every book and magazine I could get my hands on...I would even wake up in the morning and peek outside with the hope that my prayers had been answered and a horse was tired to our tree.  Long story short, when I was 11 (?) we moved to the country and bought a pregnant horse.  It was a dream to have a horse to ride AND a baby horse to train.  When my parents got divorced we had to sell them and it was pretty sad... I still miss them.  I love to go and visit barns and things like that for the great smell and getting to be around these beautiful animals.  Someday...someday again...)

It was fun to share my horsey love with the boys, but it also made me wonder how on earth my parents let my brother and I ride up in woods alone?  It was great, I loved it... but I don't know if I could let my kids do it.  It is probably all about baby steps... maybe after they learn to ride a bike.

JMB