Allee, you dark horse, you! That quilt is beautiful and it's hand quilted! I can't believe all the work that went into it! I, myself, personally only stitch in the ditch and do as little quilting as I can get away with: yours is a true work of art! Congratulations! What will you make next, hmmm??? I strongly suggest you check out Jenny Doan's videos on YouTube: she has lots of tips for making quick easy quilts that look just stunning. Lemme know if you'd like to do a quilt-along, eh?
I'm a bit slow on the uptake and only just realise folk had commented on the 4th July fireworks. We get that on Australia Day (26yh January) over here. This past Aus. day, my sister, my brother-in-law and both my nieces spent the whole night hanging onto a mob of horses as fireworks lit the sky.
Those who aren't horsey folk can have no conception of the effect that exploding and sparkling fireworks have on the poor beasts! Oh, and the horses don't like them much either. Poor Francie (my sister) scored two broken toes out of the exercise as her big fat quarter horse danced on his hindlegs and came down heavily on her foot. The foal, who is only half-grown, did his own damage by kicking out in terror and nearly slicing off his foot on corrugated iron. My nieces had hold of a horse and a pony each and had a 'delightful' time being spun around in circles by the screaming, plunging animals. It was AWFUL from all accounts!
When you add this sort of thing to the massive cost in domestic pets that go missing after large public fireworks displays, you really have to wonder what on earth it's all for? Half an hour of smoke and sparks and noise and fallout and then... Pffft! Lots and lots of money gone up in smoke. AND - there are people starving on this earth. SMH.
PS. I won't go into the details of what it's like for autistic people, who suffer from day to day from sensory overload. (ie. Purgatory!) Nor will I go into the details of what it's like for 'ordinary' people who suffer from misophonia (ie. sound-phobia). I've got one of each in my family and so fireworks nights are not our favourites.
PPS. You can plug everyone's ears with cottonwool, but it only helps a bit and the horses really hate it. :22_yikes:
PPPS. Thanks, Stephen. The knee is as stiff as a board and I have bruises all down my right side. Note to self: do not have gravitational contact with the earth ever again. At all. It's not worth it!