Shop Hopping

Last week we shop hopped; an annual event we always look forward to. I volunteered at my home shop early on the first day then went to the three close shops in the time left that day. The next morning we put some munchies and drinks in the car and headed north. We kept getting lost, even though we've done this several times. We only drove about a hundred miles out of our way….. Fortunately the scenery and weather was beautiful and we had plenty of time so we kept in good humor about it, telling ourselves it was one of those senior things. We made it to five shops and then to the same motel we stay in every year and found a new restaurant for dinner.

This clematis was blooming at the motel; the blossoms were as big as a dinner plate. The picture on the right is the restaurant we ate at. The fireplace is made of huge granite boulders. I have no idea how they were moved there. Paul Bunyan maybe.
The next morning we went to my favorite shop (unfortunately the farthest from home), a tiny place with a wonderful assortment of reproduction fabrics and then to another one that has the best collection of batiks. We headed south toward home, stopping at the remaining four shops. On our way we stopped at a scenic view turnout:

A quite beautiful 1000 foot canyon, but what caught my eye were the locks all along the fence. The picture only shows one section but they are all along it. I believe they are called "love locks" and originated in France. It will be interesting to see how many more there will be next year. We made it home safely without getting lost again. I probably bought more fabric than I should have, but isn't that what shop hops are for?

Nice Surprises

I can't believe it -- I've gone two days without sewing a single stitch! Saturday I caught up with Splendid Sampler and 365 Challenge.

I'm really disappointed to see we're back to making little dark blocks again in 365 challenge. I thought we were done with those and was looking forward to making the 6" blocks in lighter colors. Getting weary of those dark colors. Besides I was using scraps and I've about exhausted the dark reds and blues .

Sunday we met my Daughter at the orchid show. I had some jade plants and other succulents for her so I was happy it was a cloudy day and the plants would be fine in the car while we were at the show. We enjoyed the show immensely and spent more than we should have. I bought 6 small plants; two that will hang on the bathroom wall, and several for the shelves alongside the kitchen window. After the show we went out to the parking lot so I could give her the jade plants and she takes a huge crate out of her car and says "Happy Birthday!" I about fell over; eight big, beautiful orchids plants in that basket. I'm blessed to have her as one of my own.

They are in the sewing room until I can find a safe place for them. I have a spot in the backyard in mind for an orchid bench that will work good until the fall and cooler weather when I will have to find a cat-proof place in the house.

Speaking of cats, here is Kipling laying in his favorite sunny spot in the morning:

Gotta warm up that tummy!

Summer too Soon

90 degrees today! What happened to Spring?? I'm not ready for hot weather yet. To be honest, I'm never ready for it. It can stay Spring and Fall forever and make me really happy.

This week I've been making the corner blocks for the center medallion of the 365 Challenge.

To be perfectly honest, I cheated on this Corner 3 below and didn't do the mitered corner. Half square triangles give the same result, are faster, and use less fabric.

When I opened the bedroom window yesterday I was greeted with the most marvelous fragrance. so
with the help of a walking stick (my back is still not back to normal and I'm hobbling like the old lady that I am) I ventured out t the backyard. I want to bottle the combined fragrance.

Orange Blossom

Pink Jasmine

Lilac

Apothecary Rose

Pittosporum Tobira

I

Ups and Downs

The camping weekend was fun. I finished the top I started last year. Now to get it quilted. We couldn't have asked for better weather. We filled up the hummingbird feeder and within a couple hours one bossy little male Allen's hummingbird claimed it as his own and was chasing away any other males that came close. Came home Easter evening in time to put together a stripped-down holiday meal of ham and scalloped potatoes. Gotta keep some of the traditions….

Monday -- back to reality and worse. I woke up and went to get out of bed and my back went out. Fortunately the walker was parked in the bedroom as I couldn't even get to the bathroom without it. I have a hitch hiker;  if it has wheels Simba will ride:

Tuesday -- Happy birthday :-(  DH brought me flowers and a gluten free pizza for dinner as I couldn't go out. Oh well -- I've had many birthdays so I really don't need any more. Pain pills and muscle relaxants helping with the pain. I even got caught up on the Circa 2016 and 365 Challenge.

Splendid Sampler #13

Now it's Friday and I can finally get around on my own again. I'm so glad to be working on something different for the 365 challenge. I'm doing flying geese all around the enter medallion rather than half sawtooth as shown. It just looked too uneven to me.

Hoping for an even better tomorrow.