Inspiration

If nothing else, the foggy June Gloom in Cambria inspired a new little quilt.

In October, I'm scheduled to teach a class at guild, on making my little seascapes.  It's all about the fabric.  Make IT do the work.  This little gem has 7 pieces, cut from 5 fabrics.  I am thrilled with the way it turned out. You can't see them, but there are some ripples of beading on the fabric with the white stripe-y lines.

And that's all she wrote...  :)

Little o This, Bit o That

Hold the phone, I have been sewing!  Not much, but some, which is more than none, which is terrific.

I've finished the quilt that I began for our Valley Oak Quilt Guild 2017 Challenge, the theme of which was "Trees."  Okay, so I finished the quilting, blocked it, and trimmed it.  I still need to finish off the edges.  But here is photographic evidence of my claim to have sewn something:

The background was pieced and quilted before I added the palm trees.  I raw-edge added the fronds, and needle-turn appliqued the trunks.  I really like the way the fronds are shredding, just like real palm trees (that are dumping tree trash all over my backyard!)

I've been doing some handwork, which I haven't taken a picture of,  I'm also trying to make space in my string box, by sewing more string blocks.  I have 4 blocks to go before putting the top together.  I've tried a few settings, starting with my usual:

 I tried Fields & Furrows, but it didn't work for me.

 And then I tried this one, which I REALLY like.  (The houses up top are just up there, hanging out, not a part of anything.)

And in between all this sewing, we've been hitting the road.  Mid-June, it was a trip to the Bay Area, with a stop at Casa de Fruta.

 They have a field of hollyhocks, which are gorgeous.  I planted some in my yard, but they never came up.  I suspect the gardener spotted them and hit them with Roundup.

 Most people notice the rusty tractors at Casa de Fruta.  I am no exception.

 And the peacocks were noisy as ever.  There was even a peahen, nesting in the hollyhocks.

Last weekend, we went to Cambria.  Our days included visits to Morro Bay, Cayucos, and the Seven Sisters Quilt Show in San Luis Obispo.  My favorite, at least for photography, had to be kayaking in Morro Bay.

The otters were out in full force.  I must have taken 3 dozen pictures of the group, but it was the second image, of this lone individual, that came out the best of the bunch.

And I guess that's going to do it for now.  I'm continuing to try to get some sewing in as we endure the triple digits of summer.  Today is my husband's and my 37th wedding anniversary, so, wow, yeah, we're old!  ;)  Hope you're all getting some stitching done this summer, too!!  Happy Quilting!

A Quick Update

I pulled the baby quilt from the stack and took a picture.  I will now count it as DONE.

 I also bought a pillow form for the 25 cent needlepoint panel I turned into a pillow.

woohoo!  Love crossing things off of the ToDo List!!

Carry on!

A Bit o This, A Bit o That

I'm scratching my head, trying to figure out where the time has gone.  Since I last posted, I finished another baby quilt, but did I take a picture?  If I did, I don't know what I did with it.  But I'm here now, so I'll just go with what I've got.

Block of the Month is going well.  Here are the Summer Houses blocks that were turned in on Thursday:

 For July, I've asked the participants to make at least two blocks:  one for the drawing, a second for a Quilt of Valor or whatever it is they are calling the quilts they honor veterans with at the county fair in September.  I'm hopeful that we will have a good response.

We spent the first weekend of June in Missouri, visiting my son and his wife.  We had a great couple of days, visiting the Missouri Botanical Gardens, hitting a couple of estate sales, and ending up at an Art Faire.  I should have taken pictures of the Art Faire, but I was busy enjoying it, rather than taking pictures of myself enjoying it.  We also enjoyed spending time on the porch, just hanging out, chatting, and watching the weather.

 I caught sight of these metal giraffes, and thought "What fun!!"  Then again, the neighbors might disagree if I brought one (or two) home with me.

 I saw more Mexican pottery in Missouri than I've ever seen in one place in California.  That had me scratching my head.

 The displays were quite entertaining.

 There were several Chihuly installations at the Botanical Gardens.  There was no mention of them, so I'm guessing they are permanent.

I haven't done a lot of sewing, but I've done some.  I finished a pillow, that took very little effort.

And I finished another little 6" square that was siting in the FinishMe! pile.

I also finished another pillow, but need to get the pillow form before I can mark it off the list.  Hopefully, between now and the next time I post, I will get something worthy of showing you.  But for now?  I'm just trying to keep up.  Getting things done?  Another story altogether. 

Happy Quilting!