Coyotes in the neighborhood

Ok, so we had a little scare last night. We had the doors and windows open, enjoying the cooler evenings when my husband, John, said he heard coyotes outside. He went out front to investigate and there was a coyote barking and howling right in front of our house! Now mind you, I am an animal lover all the way, but we live on a mountain on the southwest end of the city and our neighbors have been telling us about friends losing their pets to the coyotes here. My little Roxy goes into the courtyard out front, and through the doggy door to the back yard, where all the fencing is wrought iron and it's only 3 ft high! We don't want to loose our sweet puppy to the coyotes! Until we actually saw him, we really weren't too concerned. But now, we watch our puppy like crazy at night and don't let her go into the yard alone. The housing here has invaded the coyote's territory, so I can't blame them, but sure don't want to offer up my puppy as a meal either!! I have a pic to share with you of a family heirloom quilt that I was unaware of being in the family. My aunt told me that my Grandmother passed this quilt on to her and it was made by my Great, Great Great Grandmother at the age of 15. My Aunt Judy let me borrow it so I could figure out a pattern for it, and so far no luck in the EQ6. I am so busy with market quilts right now that I will have to wait until Nov to really work on this pattern. I want to make a reproduction quilt that copies the design perfectly. I have to give my Grandmother credit, this is a difficult pattern for a 15 year old! It is a feathered star with a twist! Has anybody seen this before? I think I will have to hand draw the block in EQ. It is very worn, but I love the colors.

We had some major thunderstorms last week, and here is a shot from my back patio of the incoming rain. You can tell by the pic that we are high up on the mountain above Las Vegas. I don't have a view of the city, but these are the mountains to the southwest of us. It just poured that day and I was able to turn off the air conditioning and enjoy the relief from the heat. The nights are starting to cool down so I know fall is coming soon, yippee!

Here is a panel and border to a new line I'm working on for Benartex. It is called Gotham. I will have a quilt made from it soon. When it gets closer to Market I can start sharing my designs with you all. I must be crazy, but I am doing 10 quilts for market this fall. I have .....let's see.....hmmm.... 7 weeks to get 7 more quilts done. Yikes! I love it though!!!

Here's the panel, neat isn't it?

My girlfriend is sharing some books with me I hadn't heard about before. They are best sellers so I'm sure some of you know about them. The first in a series is called Twilight, by Stephanie Meyers. I hear a movie is coming soon. Can hardly put this book down, but I only allow myself to read it before bed. Too many quilts to make right now!! If anyone is reading these let me know!!!

Until next time, keep quilting!

Diane