What a birthday I had!!

My sister knows how to celebrate a birthday. she took me to the Chinese Lantern Festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in St. Louis.  you can go here to read all about the various exhibits...  http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/   just click on the Lantern Festival and see all the wonderous sights. we spent an hour and a half walking around and seeing all of it.

A group of people came and stayed and built these exhibits over several months. they are built on a steel frame with silk fabric over that. it is just awesome. you have to see it in person. i took over 70 pictures and will be sharing with you as i download them all and fix them up. they brought there own food with them and all the supplies to build.

Here are a few pieces to get you started.

As you enter the grounds, the Welcoming Dragon is there to invite you in. he is 137 feet long. you can see the size of the height by the car that is coming in. it is amazing.

These exhibits are rarely shown outside Asia....so this was a real treat to have them here in Missouri

To think these are made of steel foundations with silk stretched over it. and there is gold braid covering the seams....miles of it.

 
Even the green traffic cones are covered in silk.

This is the front of the Gardens building. This is called the Dragon Pillars Gate. go to the website and read the story behind it.

As you come into the building...this is what you see first. Warrior masks

Awesome

I was really impressed by this. this is the Porcelain Dragon. he is made of Chinese cooking utensils....tens of thousands of bowls, spoons, bottles, wine cups and more. held together by traditional hand tying techniques with string. amazing. even the boxes that he is standing on is covered in silk.

That is one long dragon tail. see those red flowers....those are silk also.

This is a close up of his head...wine cups....plates with spoons....all tied with string.

Check this out. i would have loved to watch them work constructing this.

Check out that claw. you can see the string tying here. wonder how many miles of string it took.

Here is the tail. see those colored lights...this whole display is lit up at night. that would have been a wonderful sight.

Heres the tail close up with the lights.

I have many more pics to show you....just keep checking back over the next week or so. the exhibit was awesome. each exhibit had a sign telling the story behind the exhibit. this was the coolest birthday i have spent in a while. thank you, sis.  plus the day was cloudy and breezy.....couldn't beat it.

So, to see more of the Chinese Lantern Exhibit.....come back...

Later

Abby's 3rd birthday quilt

This might be the cutest thing i've done in a while.....even if i do say so myself. LOL

I figure 3 year olds like to have things with their name on it....and it is time for them to practice tying shoelaces, buttoning clothes, velcro, snaps, zippers. they want to do it themselves. and for the treat of learning to do these things....there is a surprise in the pockets. i sure hope she likes it.

Here is the front....with her name and 8 pockets.

The back is a chocolate brown in dots

For the letters i enlarged them from a font on the computer to paper size and printed them out to use as a pattern and fused them to the top. when i quilted the top i made sure to go around the edges. I quilted it first and then added the pockets.

Here are the pockets...

The side pocket....just like in jeans

The velcro pocket...i think every kid loves velcro.....it's that riiiipppp sound. LOL

The zipper pocket...i was going to put a zipper pull to make it easier but didn't want something she could put in her mouth if it came loose. plus there is a small baby in the house, too.

The magnetic snap pocket.....like you find on purses. i found the number 3 on the fabric and used it to cover the snap. and she will remember she got this quilt when she was 3 years old.

The open pocket...i like this one...all ruffly and easy to stick your hand in.

The shoe string pocket...do kids still wear shoes with shoestrings? i sewed the lace down at the top 2 holes so it couldn't come all the way out. it reminds me of the old girdles that they tied women into in the 'good ole days'.

The kangaroo pocket...like in hoodies....for 2 hands.

And the button pocket...a pretty large button for little fingers

Some of the pockets are larger and can hold more than one animal in them. I made 8 animals...one for each pocket...but they were so darn cute that i couldn't stop until i made them all. 21 in all. LOL

So, all those animals wouldn't fit in just 8 pockets so i had to make a bag for Abby to carry her animals around if she wanted to.

I still had some fabric left to make the bag. it is lined and closes with velcro.

I put batting between the outside and the lining and sewed random lines across and down.

And here is what you have been waiting for.....the animals.   these were too fun.

The horse, giraffe, and whale

The elephant and cow

The cat and pig

The butterfly, bunny and dog

The koala and alligator

The sheep and lion...looks like they had the same hairdresser.

The monkey

The snail and chick

The turtle and tiger

And, finally, the raccoon and the bear.

All the animals are about 4 inches in size. and all are baby friendly. can be thrown in the washer and dryer. they are applique and completely done on the embroidery machine.

I hope Abby enjoys her quilt and shows her little sister all her animals. and if little sister chews on something....she can't hurt it.

Happy Birthday, Abby

Happy Birthday to me ..... tomorrow!

I don't know where the last week has gone. i've been trying to catch up on customer quilts and work my own quilts in there, too. and keeping the grass mowed and digging out the weeds in flower beds. it is freakin' hot out there, too; naps help. LOL

Tomorrow is my birthday.....they seem to come around much too quickly. i'll be leaving tomorrow morning to go to my sister's and then on to the Duck. we will check out a great book sale in Greenville, Illinois on Saturday. then i am spending 2 or 3 days at the duck. A dumpster is being delivered on Saturday.....it is time to get rid of those mountains of trash, plaster and slats. i have 3 guys coming to fill the dumpster on Sunday. i tried to tell them it was too hot to work that hard but they were all excited....so dumpster day is upon us.

It actually will be nice to get that garage all cleaned out. and i have a guy coming monday morning to give me an estimate on blowing on wet foam insulation. i believe it is rather expensive but hope it is within reach. that way will be a lot quicker and easier on me than my usual caulk and strips of insulation that itch. we'll see.

And it is time to tackle the basement and see what treasures might be down there to unearth. hubby has found a camping lantern that seems unscathed that he has already marked as his. LOL  not that i wanted it. but i did see a door down there i might be interested in. i hope the basement is dry so i can get down there and explore the possibilities. most of it is just trash....so i am bring large trash bags with me.

Today is errand day....going to the bank....getting Duck supplies and home supplies...stopping at the grocery store...and going out to eat for the birthday. i think we are doing Chinese food today. and perhaps a stop at Sonic for ice cream. i like their ice cream with the bits of butterfinger candy bars in there. so tasty and so not good for me. LOL

Then come home and pack up another truck load of barn wood to take to the Duck and stack in the garage for future walls. i already have packed my bag full of work/sweat clothes. LOL  why is it that you always need all this 'stuff' to go off anywhere for a few days. So, i'll be off for a few days having fun.....but i shall bring back pictures to share with you next week. probably be home about wednesday. .... unless i wear down before then.

Stay cool