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.

Quilts and Camping

We will be camping for Easter. Not what I usually do for holidays but DH said he will hide Easter eggs for me if it will make me feel better. Since we got rid of our big old trailer and the site isn't ready for a new one yet we will be using the old tent trailer. DH is range master for the archery club so he will be busy all day and I will be sewing all day. I take one of my old hand crank machines with me and keep busy as long as there is daylight, and sometimes by Coleman lamp after dark. I usually get at least one full size quilt top done a year while camping.

This is the machine I take most often. It's a Jones CB, made in England probably in the early 30s. It is a dream to sew with; smooth running, perfect stitch, and always dependable. It will still be working when all of our computerized plastic marvels will be long gone. Don't tell my lovely Bernina I said that…







Some camping quilts from previous years:

 Double Irish Chain made for my oldest Daughter.  She doesn't get the cat. I cut out all the little pieces and sewed them all together before I realized it could be strip pieced. Oh well -- maybe next time.

Log Cabin. The only hard part about camp quilting is not having electricity for an iron. I have, in the past, used a flat iron heated on the propane stove but anymore I just finger press and wait until I get home to use the iron.

Postage Stamp was made with 2 shoe boxes full of 1/12 inch squares cut from scraps. It went together faster than I thought it would.

When the top is all together I bring it home and quilt it on my Bernina. I've quilted several full size quilts on a treadle before but I don't think I want to try it with a hand crank!

All Caught Up

I'm slipping on my writing here, but it has been a busy week. I'm all caught up on my various sew-a-longs, done some cleanup in the backyard, and repotted our Jade plants on the front porch.  The poor plants had gotten so big they were tipping over. Parsley and dill have been planted in the herb tubs in the driveway. I have to grow them in the front yard as the back is too shady for the veggies and herbs. Perfect for ferns and violets, though. St. Patricks day I got up early and put the corned beef in the crockpot and we took a trip up to the hills to do some maintenance on our campsite.I hadn't been up there for quite a while and the first thing I saw was our wisteria blooming. It smells so good!

We pulled some weeds, filled the bird feeders, and moved a big pile of bricks, starting to get ready to level the ground so we can get a new(er) trailer. Our last one was old and very leaky and falling apart so we got rid of it and are looking for another one. We came home and cooked the potatoes and cabbage for colcannon, made a caramelized banana clafouti and feasted.

I really like the Splendid Sampler so far, but I'm not so thrilled with the 365 Challenge right now. I'm getting tired of my colors and I'm not going to do any more 3" mitered corners. I don't like them. It's my quilt so I can substitute if I want to. Blah blah rant over. Circa 2016 is only once a week and doesn't take any time at all so no problem there.

Closed

Open

I found a nifty pattern to hold sewing items for traveling so I decided to give it a try yesterday. It went together easily. I used some fabric my sister gifted me. It only uses 3 fat quarters and some batting scraps. It holds the little Olfa cutting mat, my 2 ½ x 6 ½ ruler (I can't live without that!) rotary cutter, scissors, pens, seam ripper, and any other little thing I can think to put in there. Pins and needles can be put in the inner side of the flap. Now I can't wait to travel to give it a try.
The website where the pattern can be found is: down at the very bottom of the picture below.
http://www.p3designs.com/shop/Crafty-Things/p/P3116-Travel-Case-x11427038.htm

Retreat Report

Retreat was wonderful. It was at Mercy Center, a convent (or maybe an ex-convent, not sure) and had nice immaculate private rooms (bathroom down the hall) and the food was good; excellent salmon  Friday night and yesterdays stew and biscuits looked and smelled delicious even thought I couldn't eat it due to my gluten allergy.  No worries -- I aways bring alternative food for situations like this. Friday I put together charity quilt top, my "guilt quilt" -- once I had that done I could feel free to work on whatever I wanted.

My 18th charity quilt; I hope some little girl enjoys it.














I sat with three of my sewing buddies. Kind of bittersweet since it will probably be the last time we will all be together as two of them are moving. We had a great time and even sneaked off for a couple hours to the nearest quilt shop.

Our big well-lit room with view of rain and wild turkeys. Two of my friends busy at work; I think the other one was taking a nap. Two of us are night owls and probably wore her out. I think it was about 2 am when I got to bed.


After completing the charity quilt I played with my Frivols and finally got up nerve to start putting together the Gypsy Wife quilt. It sure requires a lot of space to lay out everything and total concentration to get all the strips in the right places but I think I can do it.