Where do the days go?

I can't believe it is mid-July and has been WEEKS since I last posted.  How is that even possible?  In June, I guess we tried to make up for what we'd missed out on in March, April, and May.  Now that it's July?  We're back under wraps.  ugh.

Back in June, we celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary in Cambria.  What a lovely weekend!!  We ate in restaurants and stayed in a hotel and had a fabulous time!

 We walked up and down three different beaches, and had a delightful time in the 66 degrees.  At home, it was 107.

 We drove north of San Simeon to see the elephant seals.  Do these guys know how to snooze or what?  No social distancing here!!

 A nose only a mother could love. 

It took all month, but I finally finished some postcards that were begun in May.

 I mailed them out in June, but to date?  I've only heard from 3 people that they were received.  odd.  One arrived yesterday.  wow.  Almost 2 weeks from CA to CO.  What's with that?

 I also took the time to bake a few blackberry cobblers.  I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  Simple and delicious.  Or simply delicious.

Finally, I continue to work on my hand quilting project.  Quilt, quilt, quilt.  I'm not yet halfway through, though I try to quilt each day.  So far, July has been less than productive.  Oh well.  I've posted today, so that's something, right?

Stay healthy and enjoy life!!
Until next time.

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!

October!

So, let's see.  When last I left you, I was leaving Ohio and headed to Missouri.  I rented a car and drove from Cleveland south, then across Indiana, Illinois, and into St. Louis.  I spent a night in Illinois, as I was exhausted from looking at all that corn.

SO. MUCH. CORN.

I was happy when I finally knew I was near my destination:

 Was I there to see the arch?  Oh, no, not at all.  I was there to see my granddaughter again!

Her face was a bit rashy when I first arrived, but by the time I left?  It had cleared up.  I think she was rubbing her face on a spit up cloth, looking for her next meal.  ;)

My primary task was to babysit, while my son took my DIL out for a birthday dinner.  The little miss was a perfect angel.

I took some family portrait photos for them.  Aren't they a beautiful family?

The next day, we took the wee one to her first estate sale.  She slept through the whole thing!!

 So, hmmm.  That catches us up to mid-September.  Has there been quilting since them?  Yes, some, but not a lot.

I am currently trying to finish a quilt to enter in the AQS Daytona show.  The deadline is in 2 weeks.  I think.  I'm not sure.  I've been busy quilting.  I am hopeful that I will finish the quilt, but I am concerned that it may shrink so much with the quilting that it will be too small to qualify.  oh well.

I do have a personal quilt plus a group quilt entered into PIQF.  Hopefully I'll get to Santa Clara in a few weeks to see them hang.  Goals, and all that.

Right!  And I guess that's going to do it for now.  Happy Quilting!!

Here and There and Back Again

ohmygoodness!  Have I not posted since my first visit to meet my little granddaughter?!  hmmm.  Well, I guess I've been a bit busy.  I was home for one week, before heading back to the mid-West.

During that week, guild met.  I've got a few months left of my Block of the Month commitment.  Par usual, I tossed together this month's block in the days preceding the meeting.  The response to September's Jacob's Ladder was not as enthusiastic as I had hoped.

 Perhaps October's pumpkin will attract more participants.  The applique is easier than it looks, with only 7 pieces, all curves, except for the stem.  I'm not sure I could have made anything easier than that.

 Before we left, quilts were delivered for the Tulare County Fair.  My friend Judie generously took care of both delivery and retrieval of my entries.  "Broken Shell Beach," made by 10 members of Sew Eclectic took top Professional honors with a BOS rosette.

 My quilt, "Shalom" also showed well.  Both of these quilts have been accepted into PIQF, so if you want to see them in person, I suggest you plan a trip to Santa Clara in October.  That's what I'm doing.

My friend Wendy and I traveled to Ohio on Sept 9, to visit our good friend Pat.  She left CA two years ago.  Finally, finally we were able to coordinate a visit to see her in her new environment.

Here we are, at Lake Erie:

 When Pat asked what we wanted to do, I'd asked, "Well, what is there to do?"  This was my first visit to Ohio, so I had no idea.  When she mentioned Lake Erie, well, I've never dipped a toe in a great lake before.  Let's do it!

As a thank you, Wendy and I did a bit of decorating in Pat's house.  It was painted a pale grey and white, that is just not Pat.  When she said, "I wish it was purple, " well, Wendy said, "We can paint it!"

 And so we did.  Isn't this so much better?  If you know Pat, you know that this is now her happy place.

Well, this post is getting a bit long, so I'll pick up with it again  in the morning.

Since I've returned home, I've been trying to get my sewing space under control.  Yesterday, I made enough progress to be able to get some machine quilting done.  I am trying to hit a deadline for entry that comes in October.  I don't have much time, but perhaps I'll hit this one.  Goals are good!

Happy Quilting!!

Escaping the Heat

This past week I've had the chance to escape the heat of the valley.  Funny, that, because the triple digits dropped to the 90's as soon as we left town.  Triple digits are back for our return.  go figure.  I guess that's what happens when you book a summer week in January.  No control over the elements.

Have you ever heard of the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach?  I hadn't.  But the friend I rented from told me to check it out.  Not only is there the Sawdust Festival, but there is the Art-a-Fair, and the Festival of the Arts.  wow!  I made it to Sawdust, and Art-a-Fair.  If you like art, crafts, and creativity, this is definitely the place to be during the summer.  It was a blast!

There aren't many quilters in the mix.  Actually, not too many fiber/textile artists either, but what there was?  Lovely!

I took a couple of pictures, but for the most part, there were no photos allowed.  Here is an example of the felted work available.  Loretta Alvarado allowed photos, as long as I credit her and include her website.  I loved her work!!

 Laguna Beach began as an artist's colony back in the '30's.  Everywhere you go, you see art.  This mosaic just blows me away.  Little pieces of glass and ceramic combine together to decorate the side of a building.

 Here is the plaque beneath it.

 Here is a close-up.  You can click on the image to enlarge.

Even the jewelry stores have original art installations.

 After so much inspiration, all I want to do is make art.  I came back to my room and went back to my hand quilting.  After all, I am a quilt artist.  Quilting is my medium.

But don't be surprised if I start dabbling in mosaic work and collage.  I saw things that almost made me hyperventilate, they were so exciting.  Soon, very soon - probably once I move another 12 yards of bark - I will begin making art in earnest.  Goals are good!  Goals are very good!  And I do love setting them!

A Finish, and a Trip to MO

When I last posted, I left you with a picture of my design wall.  Since that time, I have sewn the borders onto the oceanside houses quilt, and hung it in the closet for quilting, eventually.  Once that was out of sight, it was also out of mind.  whew!

I then took down the first basted baby quilt, and finished it up.  I will ship it to the beautiful baby today.  I had hoped to give it to her mama last week, but by the time I finished it, I was on my way to Missouri.  By the time I returned, her mama was back on the East Coast.  oops!

Last week, I traveled to MO, to attend a baby shower for my daughter-in-law.  I arrived late Thursday afternoon, and left on Sunday.  The shower was on Saturday.  I don't often get a chance to visit one-on-one with this son and daughter-in-law, so it was a special treat.  Here we are, on our way to their home, getting ready to leave the airport.  :)

 Early in the morning, I would sit at their dining room table and watch out the window.  It is so peaceful.  The red red robins are constantly bob bob bobbin' their way around the yard, first thing.  It also rained every day that I was there, over 2"!

 Rabbits are also a frequent sight, busily mowing the lawn.  I didn't get any pictures of the squirrels, but they are a special kind of invader.  While I was there, they stripped the apple tree of its four apples.  My son & DIL were pretty miffed about that.

 The shower was held on Saturday afternoon.  My son was invited to arrive about an hour into the festivities, to assist in opening the presents.

Back in the 90's, my quiltie friends advised me to make baby quilts for the grandkids because "when they arrive, you won't have the time!"  I am very glad that I took that advice.  I began my granddaughter's quilt in 1997, and finished it a couple of years ago.

 I was thrilled when I heard that they painted the room a pale shade of purple.  (Look at that Baptist fan quilting - it is quilted by hand!)

We had a lovely visit.  My husband stayed home this trip, but we plan to go again in a few months, to welcome our new little granddaughter.  I highly recommend taking Alaska Airlines through San Diego to St. Louis.  It is SO comfortable compared to some of the flights we've been on over the past several years.

We currently have a vet student staying with us.  On Monday, she asked if she could watch me quilt.  Turns out, she did not know how to work a sewing machine.  I have several baby quilts ready for quilting, so after demonstrating a few lines of in-the-ditch, I turned the quilt and the machine over to her.  She quilted about 1/4 of the quilt.  I finished it up yesterday.  Today, I hope to cut and attach the binding.  Perhaps I will have a picture by the end of the week.  goals are good!

And on that note, duty calls.  Hope you're all staying cool and finding time to put in a few stitches here and there!

Trip Wrap Up

Our last stop was Venice.  By this time, I was tired, and ready for the cruise to be over and done with.  But it wasn't.  I am so glad we chose the excursion that we chose!  We began with a water bus to the island of Murano, home of the famed glass blowers.  There, we watched a demonstration of a Master at work.

 After seeing the skill needed to produce a bowl, we were invited into the Master's Gallery, to shop.  Everything was well out of our price range, with all of these asking 100's or 1000's of euros.

 It wasn't until we were almost ready to catch our waterbus that we realized there was more for sale downstairs, that was more affordable. 

From there, we went to St. Mark's Square, and hiked a bit to catch our gondola ride.  It was quite reminiscent of Disneyland.  I don't know if you can see (click the picture to make it bigger), but the gondolas were stern to bow to stern to bow as far as you could see.

 It didn't really matter.  We were in Venice!  In a gondola!  :)

 On our way back to the waterbus, we stopped for a few pictures of St. Marks Square.

By this time, I was exhausted.  It was time to return to the ship for one last amazing dinner, where we were serenaded by gondoliers.

 Fast forward to last week, when I finished another little seascape.  I think this brings me to the end of the half-done littles that were on my design wall.  yay!

 There are a couple of lines of beading and French knots on the piece.  I do the French knots first, then fill in with beads.  This picture is a bit blurry, but it gives you the idea.

 I've basted the four baby quilts, which are ready and waiting for quilting.

Unfortunately, I suspect it will be a while before I get them done.  We are expecting a house guest for the next two weeks, so I've cleared all sewing accoutrements from the sewing annex.  Where did I put them?  I stuffed them into the "studio," which is once again the Dump.  sigh.  Maybe one of these days I will be able to sew myself out of this mess.

Then again, each time I begin, I get distracted.  Witness what I have up on my design wall.

yep.  That is more that enough to keep me busy for a month of Sundays, let alone all the quilts that are currently basted and waiting to be quilted.  Let us hope that the next time I check in, I've quilted something!

Goals are good!!