Checking In

Wow!  Hard to believe it's been a month since I last posted.  The days are flying by quickly.  2020 will soon be a memory if it keeps advancing at this rate!

We spent the second week of February in Oceanside, CA.  Hubby was there for the first part of the week.  I spent the second part hunkered down with my quilting.

 I had a view of the water from my upstairs suite.  Very nice!!  At one point I worked on this wonky fish quilt, but it wasn't coming out the way I'd hoped.

 Eventually I switched back to "Two Beauties," and was able to finish it in time to enter in the Best of the Valley Quilt Show.  The entry deadline was February 14.  Acceptance letters went out this past weekend.

I was busy finishing the facing on Valentine's Day, so hubby had to wait a few days for his valentine.  I decided that our little beach getaway was the perfect inspiration.

 Earlier in the week, I'd put together this valentine for our oldest granddaughter.  She will soon be 9.  I used a hand towel that I'd found at an estate sale sometime during the past year.

 I had lots of quilted scraps that I put together for granddaughter #2's valentine.

 Her valentine was 2-sided, and stuffed like a tiny pillow.

Granddaughter #3's valentine was stuffed, with a rattle inside.

 It was also 2-sided.

 Granddaughter #4's heart was also stuffed, with a rattle.  If I remember correctly, both sides were similar.

 Last, but not least, our grandson's stuffed heart also contained a rattle.

 His had this cute bird fabric on the back.  Very baby boy manly, in my opinion.

And there you go.  Some stitching has been happening, but not a lot.  From now until the end of April, the quilt show will be my priority.  Goals are good!

Successful Retreat

 This past weekend was our Valley Oak Quilt Guild retreat at Wonder Valley.  wonderful!!  Four days of sewing...no laundry, no cooking.  Absolute bliss!  Fewer people than usual attended, so that meant that those of us who were there had plenty of space.  Here is my workspace:  an 8' table, plus my Sew-Ezi table to hold my machine.

 I always have trouble deciding what to bring.  I brought 4 boxes of thread, along with BINS full of fabric and projects.  Deciding what to work on is always a challenge.

The first thing I did was finish three postcards that have been half-done on my sewing table for  months.

 The above card was made using a linen purchased at an estate sale.  I think it came out very cute.

 These next two were leftovers from various projects.  I love using the scraps, rather than tossing them.

I also finished Day's End, my umbrellas quilt.  I redid the facing, and it looks square now.  It's still too small for any AQS show, but it makes me happy, and that's the main reason for quilting, right?  right!

 The quilt was based on my photo, taken in Oceanside, CA, a few years ago.  I was very careful with my machine quilting, but in the close-up?  I suddenly notice a tension error.  grrr.  It's just going to have to be fine, because I'm not going to take it apart again to fix it.  That's just too much work.  It is what it is.

Here is the close-up.  I am particularly happy with the chairs.

And that's it for now, though several other things were worked on and finished over the weekend.  Stay tuned.

Making Art

After the week in Laguna Beach, my creative juices were overflowing.  But when I got back over the mountain?  It was 107.  Not a lot of incentive there to get excited about anything.  I plowed through the things that had been set aside for a week, and by Tuesday, I was ready to finish quilting my quilt.  Here it is, finished and faced.  It still needs a label and a sleeve:

 "Shalom," by Suzanne Kistler  August 2019

Here is a close-up, where you can see the hand quilting.  It is also hand appliqued.  I'm very happy with the results, and plan to enter it in PIQF.  It remains to be seen whether or not it will be accepted.

 One of the things that I was really drawn to in Laguna Beach was the collage art.  I came home and bought 2 small stretched canvases and acrylic medium.  I prepped the canvas, and set them aside.  A few days later, inspiration struck.  I had planned to use paper, but I have all of these fabric shred scraps.  I wonder if...?

 Well, look at that!  They do work well.  This was after two layers.  Today, I added a third.  I don't think it needs much more than that.  I just need to decide what to add to the foreground.  I imagine a starfish draped over the edge.  If nothing else, it is different from the sailboat that I'm sure everyone expects me to add.  :)

Several states away, my son and daughter-in-law gave birth to our 3rd granddaughter/4th grandchild on Monday, August 19.  Here she is, quite a beautiful little thing.  She weighed in at 6lb 6oz.  Tiny compared to my kids, but right on target for the grands.

I believe she is less than 24 hours old in this picture.  Such a beauty!!

And that's all I've got for you today.  I'm thinking of jumping into a MAJOR hand quilting project, so I doubt I'll have many more finishes before the end of the year.  Then again, you never know when I'll feel the need to make another baby quilt.  We have another grandchild due in November.  Stay tuned for that.  :)

Happy, happy, joy, joy!!

Back At It, Sort of

Sorry to keep you hanging for weeks on end, but this seems to be the summer of travel.  We recently returned from a weeklong road trip.  We hit Highway 1, and drove up the coast from Cambria to Ferndale.  I would have liked to go all the way to the Oregon border, but we didn't have enough time.  We stayed the nights in Cambria, Pacific Grove (Asilomar), Olema, Mendocino, Ferndale, and Petaluma.  zoom, zoom!!

We left late Tuesday afternoon, and spent the night in Cambria.  Beautiful!

 As we drove north, we stopped to see the Elephant Seal rookery.  It was full of half-grown seals, either catching rays, or picking fights with one another.  I could have stayed there for hours, but we had a 6pm dinner date in Pacific Grove.

 It was also suggested that we stop at Ragged Point, which was definitely worth the view.  Beautiful!

We were also told to stop at Nepenthe, which I've since learned is where Kaffe Fassett grew up.  No wonder his designs are so Bohemian!  ;)  I thought I had taken pictures, but apparently not.  The lush green jungle must have mesmerized me!

We walked down to Asilomar beach at sunset,

 and walked it again in the morning.  There were sandpipers racing the waves, but I'm not sure how many ocean vistas you want to see here.

 This time we took the 17 mile drive and saw Pebble Beach and its famous cypress tree.  huh.  I guess it's all that.

Our next destination was Olema, which is near the access entrance to Point Reyes.  On the way, we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge.

And I think that's going to do it for now.  I'll give you another installment in the next couple of days.  I've got a lot of stitching to do, and right now?  I am SO far behind!!

Quilt faster!  Quilt faster!!
Happy Stitching!

Still Plugging Away

I'm still working on piece #2 for the Katie PM class, despite the fact that the deadline was 8/8.  I missed the deadline.

I was working to make a piece that felt tranquil, calm, and peaceful.  This is what I came up with:

 Tranquil?  check.  Calm?  check.  Peaceful?  check.  And boring.

I tried adding some seaweed, and wouldn't you know?  It livened it right up!!

 I sent both images to Katie, who said that yes, the green needs to stay.  She also instructed me to keep at it.  I won't get my prompts/direction for piece #3 until I have piece #2 completed to my/her satisfaction.  In the past week, this is what I've added/changed:

Yesterday, I created the palm frond.  Today, I'll begin with the applique.  I'd like to get this together soon, because quilting it should be a lot of fun.

Goals, and all that!!
Ciao!

To Oceanside, and Back

SO much has happened in the past three weeks.!  I'm not even sure where to begin.  I guess the best would be at the beginning.

On July 2, I had a MOHS procedure on my face, to remove a Basal Cell tumor.  I knew the "spot" was bigger than what showed, but the resulting suturing on my face?  Sixteen stitches.  My son asks, "Knife fight?"  Friends say, "It will fade."  It's still swollen and somewhat numb.  I'm assured that when the hidden two layers of dissolvable stitches finally do, "it will be a faint line."  Oh, how I hope so.  The current disfigurement, and it is that, catches my breath every time I glance at a mirror.  oh my.

So, anyway, on the heels of the surgery, we had already reserved a week in Oceanside, right on the beach.  I thought my husband would join me, but he had to go back to work.  He stayed less than 48 hours of the week I was there.

And, since I couldn't go into the sun because of the medications, I was trapped in my room for days.  Good thing I brought my sewing machine and projects along, right?  Actually, when my husband was with me, we did venture out to the beach for an hour, and into a couple of thrift stores.

I found this great stained glass lamp for the kids for $35.  I paid more than 10 times that, for the one hanging in my house!  (I am smiling, in both pictures.  I was so swollen you can't tell.)

 Once hubby headed back to the Valley, I set up shop.  I was upstairs, with little ventilation, other than the sliding glass door.  It was in the upper 80's the entire week, which is pretty toasty, without a/c.

 Here is my sewing/pressing station, with projects scattered about the room.

 Here is the cutting table, finally organized.  By this time, it was almost time to head home!

But I did get a lot put together, inspired by the view.  I took LOTS of pictures.

 Sometimes it was hazy, sometimes smoky (fire at Camp Pendleton),

 And on the last day?  Perfection!!

These were the first two pieces that I worked on.

 The piece on the left didn't flow properly.  I folded it this way and that, to see if I could salvage it.  Once I found a proportion that worked, I cut it apart and sewed it back together again.  Much better!

 Here are two more pieces.  The one on the left is new, the one on the right is the same one from above.  I thought the pieces of Tahitian bark cloth were great, but once I tried to applique them in place?  Not so great.  I had to take them off.  They looked tacky, due to poor workmanship (from poor eyesight).

 Here are three more.  I told you I was busy!!

And then I made cards, as well.  And chose fabrics for more seascapes.  I may be addicted to this!

 These are the only two that I have finished from that week at the ocean.  I've been working on cards, and finished one this morning, but mailed it before I remembered to take a picture.  groan.  You'll have to trust me on that.

In other news, someone dumped another dog out at the walnuts.  He's about 3 months old, was skin and bones, and covered with ticks.  Now that he's cleaned up and fed, he's making himself at home with the other dogs.

 Everyone's guess is that he's a husky.  He's got crazy light blue eyes, and a sweet attitude.  Just what the doctor ordered!!

And speaking of sweet, we wouldn't want to forget about our local cutie pie.

She's eating green beans and blueberries in this pic.  And she pulls herself up to stand all the time, and crawls faster than we can keep up with her.

So.  Sorry this was such a long post, but life has been good.  Busy.  But good.
Happy Quilting!!