So, as you may have seen yesterday I spent a long weekend relaxing, soaking up some sun, and enjoying the last days of summer before school starts up! Just to remind you..
something about looking at the water is calming..
Anyway, wondering where I am?
Chincoteague Island, VA - Anyone ever heard of it? It's an island on the eastern coast and its counterpart is Assateague Island where the wild ponies are.
Every year in July the wild ponies are rounded up, they swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island to be auctioned off by the fire department. It's one of the few places in the countries where wild ponies still exist.
These were taken from the water, the ponies are on Assateague Island.
These are from the "round-up" last year when the Saltwater Cowboys (men on horses) round up the northern herd (from Maryland) with the southern herd (on Assateague) and corral them to be checked out by the vets before the sale.
Ponies in the corral
Every year in July the wild ponies are rounded up, they swim from Assateague Island to Chincoteague Island to be auctioned off by the fire department. It's one of the few places in the countries where wild ponies still exist.
These were taken from the water, the ponies are on Assateague Island.
These are from the "round-up" last year when the Saltwater Cowboys (men on horses) round up the northern herd (from Maryland) with the southern herd (on Assateague) and corral them to be checked out by the vets before the sale.
Ponies in the corral
Anyway, this was the second quilt I have ever made by myself (the first being a Christmas present for my boyfriend last year.. pictures to follow).
Since clearly this is a favorite vacation spot of mine, I needed to commemorate that.
I made this quilt totally on a whim, and since I am a new quilter, my format is remedial and quite simple. I used this pattern to make the appliqué animals.
They're attached using fusible fleece and a zig-zag stitch around the edges (the octopi fought me every step of the way, but I won!) They each were given button eyes because the blocks measure approx. 10"x12"
Here's a close up of each of the blocks:
The turtle seems to be the favorite amongst my family. So much so that I had a request for a larger version from my sister for her college apartment.. more on that later.
The pattern also came with a shark template, but we wanted to keep it more friendly and cheerful.
So there you have it, one of my first quilts devoted to one of my favorite places :)
By the way, anyone reading this, I'd love it if you'd follow me! I'm new to all of this and I'd like to start building a following and once I have start hosting some giveaways and guest posts!
:)
Beautiful quilt! It is hard to believe it is only your 2nd one. I enjoyed reading about the wild ponies and didn't know about the island.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt! Can't believe it's only your second, you are very talented!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your SUPER kind words ladies!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the applique, very brave (especially the octopus) for only your 2nd quilt. Looks like a beautiful place to have a vacation too.
ReplyDeleteThis is so darling!!! I love the place too, so gorgeous! Very cute blog, we're following :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks amazing!! So very jealous - I really need to work on my quilting skills! Thanks for linking up to Vanilla Bean this week! Hope to see ya again!
ReplyDeleteEllie
Thanks for linking up! Your quilt looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI do know of Chincoteague, VA. My mum was born there - she was a Navy brat. When she went to school one of her teachers asked her where she was born and she said Chincoteague. (Obviously they had moved out of the area by then.) The teacher was furious that my mum had 'made that up'. When they had a parent/teacher conference later, the teacher slyly asked where my mum was born. Of course the answer from my Nana was Chincoteague. Then the teacher was super embarrassed and apologised to my mum! LOL
That is very cute! My sister lived in Salisbury for years. I need to take the trek from VA over to see the ponies one of these days.
ReplyDeleteThat is amazing! I am so impressed that this is only your second quilt! I have made a few baby quilts, but haven't been brave enough to tackle anything bigger - great work!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Misty of Chincoteague was my favorite book as a child, visiting someday is on my Bucket List :-)
Looks beautiful and I am so jealous that you get to vacation there! I used to read books when I was a little girl about those horses. Thanks for auditioning for American Crafter!
ReplyDeleteI love it and I am astonished that you area new quilter!!
ReplyDeletevery nice! way better then my first quilt!!! I have been to pony penning days it was the coolest thing ever for a horse crazy kid to be able to see!
ReplyDeleteOh you must have written this before we connected, cuz I don't remember reading it before. The Misty of Chincoteague series was one of my favorites when I was a child. Great to hear about this for reals!
ReplyDeleteJennifer this is a beautiful quilt. I'm jealous, I have always wanted to vist your favorite place!! I guess I need to add it to my bucket list!!
ReplyDeleteI love the octopi so much! All of the applique blocks are so cute though. Looks like a great spot to vacation!
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