Cabin time, quilting style

I haven't done much (any?) blogging on the harvesting/preserving of the goodies from our garden this year.  Since we've been home from vacation, beans, peas, peppers and cucumbers have been most of our harvests.  This morning was the last of our bean harvesting;  we have reached our lot :)

The corn JUST became ripe, and we enjoyed our first meal of 'corn only' for lunch today.

Then, I started losing steam.  1:00 hit, and I was glad the beans and cucumbers were done;  picked and preserved.  I mentioned tackling the carrots to Cassie and Paul this AM, but.......... nope.  Not today.  They can wait a few more days.

Instead, I hopped on FB to see what everyone was up to.

Have you seen those "Which ________ are you?" quizzes?  Be it, superhero, color, Sci-Fi, ......

Today, it was Which quilt block are you?

Log cabin!  That was truly the little bit of kick I needed to get motivated to head downstairs for a few hours of some simple, relaxing piecing.

I've had this tote of fabrics cut since.... 2008 (?) for log cabin blocks.  

I had about 9 blocks of each style pieced that are shown in this picture.  Observe... do you see the slight difference between the block piles?

These (with a 1" finished center) were actually the second version of my quilt block that I pieced way back in 2010.

I think THESE 2" centers go back to..... 2008?  Goodness, I really don't know.

BUT, notice what had me hung up?  Due to the 2" (finished) square in the center, I wasn't able to leave this as a 9" (finished) block, {the size I wanted} because the darks weren't balanced with the neutrals.  I mean, I COULD have left them like this;  they did look okay on the design wall with the slight off--center-balanceness.  But I didn't.

I made up 10 new blocks, burning through some of the scraps from those that had already been cut in the tote, and then started to cut some new scrap fabrics in order to increase the blocks by 2 more edges, having them finish at 10".  

5:00 rolled around, and I was feeling the afternoon "I need to eat" slowsies.  Therefore, the remaining partially completed stack will wait for my next sewing & cutting-scraps session.

My GBP (Green Bay Packer) leader-ender piles are growing...

Upstairs, the girls were have a moment of "getting along," playing a game of checkers.

It's crazy that I spent so much time away from the blog this summer, but.... I think that time away really was just needed.   Denise and Pamela wrote me such simple, but MUCH NEEDED, 'missed you' comments on my post yesterday.  I wanted to reply, ladies, but both of you have your settings set to "no-reply."  I am super super appreciative of your kind words.   Lori, I've wanted to respond to your comments lately, too...but you also have a "no-reply" setting.  THANKS for the cheers and the scrubbie tutorial :)

And to all my readers...

There are those of you who have become true friends, even those we've never met face-to-face.  I truly am thankful for many advances in technology in order for this amazingness to occur. :)

Happy Friday

If you'd like to be FB friends---leave me a comment; don't be afraid to ask.  I promise I won't think you're stalker material! :)  I post to FB far more than here (especially lately!) 

40% off -- can't say no to that

The trip with Linda to the quilt shop closing its doors was definitely a big success.  I really can't remember the last time I've purchased fabric, so..... the way I see it, I can justify this loot! ;)  

Eight yards of orange that'll be destined for backing on my Celtic Solstice

9 3/4 yards reserved for the backing of Hawaii Sunset

and all the rest.... stash.

Once home, I was feeling a bit drained, but I turned on Break Dawn, Part 2 as background noise and got busy piecing backing and batting for Berquist Beauty.  By the time the credits were rolling, the backing was pieced, batting pieced, backing/batting/top loaded on the frame, and the first path of quilting completed.  A bit over 2 hours just to prep the final stages for quilting.  Such a process.

Berquist Beauty - top done; crocheted dishcloths

Berquist Beauty - 105" x 105"

My sister and BIL's quilt had been resting on the sidelines downstairs, awaiting the final four seam lines to put the top center together.  Between Bonnie's QuiltCam Monday night, and another half hour tonight, the final 3.5" brown borders were attached.   It has joined the pile of LARGE quilts resting on the carpeted basement area, awaiting fabric selections for backings.  I truly feel I'm going to search out some wide backing (108" and/or 116/120") for the two king-sized quilt tops that have been finished recently.  {{Celtic Soltice, in addition to Berquist Beauty}}

Tomorrow, Linda and I are road tripping to a town 30-or-so miles to the west.  Sadly, a quilt shop is closing its doors, and we're going to head there to check out what's included in the 40-75% sales.   We're going to enjoy the day regardless if we come away with any great deals or not.  School is right around the corner (she teaches in the 3-6 wing of our district's school building), and we've never road tripped together before.  I'm sure the day away will be enjoyed by both of us, and we'll do our best to leave the school-related chatter to a minimum ;)

Last Friday, my parents made a detour for a short visit with us before traveling on to their weekend getaway at a neighbor's cabin 'up north.'  As grandparents often do, they had purchased some school supplies/shoes/clothes for the girls that needed to be delivered.  (And yes!  My sister was involved with that shopping spree as well.  The family truly helps out with our girls so much!!!)

I'm not exactly sure how one of my crocheted dishcloths ended up as the topic of conversation, but Mom hinted about wanting some for Christmas.  I sent her on her way with a couple that I had in my linen drawer;  I'm not a bit fan of the cotton yarn dishcloths; at least the YARNS that I've tried so far -- maybe she'll end up liking them more than me.  There really IS a difference in yarns, and I haven't found a yarn I like yet for dishcloths.  

With another ball of Sugar 'n Cream left in my stash, I made up another cloth with a new pattern (Granny Dishcloth).  I LIKE this pattern!!!  Now to just find the right yarn.

Hawaii Sunset top done; new project (really?!?!!?)

Hawaii Sunset (c. 1845).  90" x 90"

Almost 2 years from the day I began the Hawaii Sunset (1845) adventure, the top is finished.

This started as a twisting of the arm idea between a couple of online quilting friends:  Andee and Andra.  I budged my big ol' butt into inviting myself to join them, and we worked out the math with all the units needed and turned it into a small block-unit swap between the three of us.

Andra has long finished her version;  Andee is still plugging along with hers.  In fact, part of Andee's Around the World blog hop post today talks about her progress in Hawaii Sunset.  She's nominated me to participate in next Monday's postings, so watch for that.  

In fact, it's Andee's nomination that kick-started my quilting progress again.  THANKS ANDEE!

Another neat fact...

The Sundae Quilter (Nancy) and I quilt-skyped for the very first time back on the day I began working on Hawaii Sunset.  In a crazy twist of fate, she and I skyped yet again yesterday as I was working on the final seams.  Kinda cool.

Nancy and I have both shared conversations about aspects of blogging.  I truly can't believe I only posted THREE TIMES in July this year!  Wha???  But, I just didn't feel like it.  Taking pictures, editing pictures, writing posts.... it all takes time.  I had/have been posting loads to my FaceBook account.  Finding time to duplicate it all to the blog just didn't interest me.  But... I think I'll be back.  

One PRO about keeping the blog:  It's an EXCELLENT journal!  Truly!  I love being able to trek back into years past just to see the timeline of my quilting projects, the progress of the garden, the changes in the family, etc...

Let's go back to Andee for a moment, shall we?!?!?........

A-hem.... yes.  Our dear Andee simply MUST accept at LEAST 90% of the blame for this.  

A NEW PROJECT?!?!?!  REALLY!?!?!?!?   AS IF I don't have a bazillion-n-a-half other projects/UFOs/WIPs!

However, my plan is to treat this as a Leader-Ender.

The colors definitely have meaning:  being a Wisconsinite, I simply have to make at least ONE Green Bay Packer quilt in my lifetime :)

After a quick google search, I was lead rather quickly to the following blogpost: Shirley Anne's Heart.  The jewel pattern shown on her post is my inspirational picture for this project.  I LOVE jewel patterns!  

Let's wrap up this post with a lovely comment towards two amazing online friends!

Recall one of the few July posts I wrote, where Caitlyn was determined to knit by using sharpened pencils!  The picture was posted to my Facebook page, and two wonderful ladies jumped into action!  I've often read stories about people doing kind acts, but I've never been on the recipient end of such acts.

Judy and Nancy both sent packages of hooks and yarn for Caitlyn to enjoy and start her down a REAL path of knitting...

  

THANKS ladies!  You are simply amazing!

It TRULY is wonderful what our technological world has allowed to happen!  There are many of you I've come to know over the past 7 years of my online experience, and I enjoy our online friendship just as much (if not more) as some of my face-to-face friendships.

Happy Monday.

Red Heart Prairie Star progress [Crochet]

I've been continuing to put more time into crocheting lately than quilting.  After spending some time perusing Ravelry Tuesday AM, I was compelled to jump into a new project despite having a few WIPs going.  I swear, my crochet world is slowly starting to look like my quilting world!   But when a project screams and pleads to you to be made, what'cha gonna do?!??!?  

Red Heart's Prairie Star [Red Heart link | Ravelry link | YouTube series] caught my eye.  It reminds me so much of a Lonestar quilt.  One feature I love about Ravelry is the ability to look through projects others had made.  Color combination after color combination, but the original color grouping still pleased me most.  I love greens.

So, I dug through the small stash that I've accumulated so far since my crocheting addiction began last summer...

And I jumped in, full steam ahead.

This is a join-as-you-go project; definitely have grown to like this method if it involved motifs/units that need to be attached.  The joining method took me a bit of stitching and frogging (crocheters slang for removing stitches);  the directions were a bit wordy.  Eventually, the lightbulb went on--duh!  Easy peasy.  I had found the YouTube video series and tuned into the clip that explained the joining method. The footage is a bit dark, but it did verify I had figured out the join correctly.

The motifs have become second nature now, 54 diamonds into the project.  Each diamond takes about 9 minutes to stitch, join, and sew in the ends.  So....54 motifs x 9 minutes = ~8-9 hours of time already invested.

I know there are ladies who set timers for 10 minutes in order to get some quilting/sewing time in.  I figure if I can get at least a couple motifs in everyday, this'll eventually see a finish. :)

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 2014 - August greens [RSC14]

Trying to get back into the swing of things in my sewing room! ... and the blog ;)

It's a Saturday!  And I've sewed!

Family vacation Out West

For years, we've been talking about a family vacation out West;  we made it happen this summer!  with LOTS of driving!  It was a whirlwind, certainly.

The first day was 16 hours of driving (of which I drove only 3).  Wisconsin -- Minnesota -- Iowa (where I drove) -- Nebraska -- Colorado (pitstopping in Denver, night 1). 

The second day was another 12 hours of driving (I drove none).  

The landscapes were ..... well, they were worth taking pictures of, initially.  Sooooo different from the landscapes of Wisconsin.   

Day 3 was a full day at the Grand Canyon.  There simply is NO describing what you see, other than.... fathomless!

The initial reaction was.... "ummm.  Wow."... with mouth gaping open.  It's just..... big!  Massive!  

Our weather was PERFECT!  Upper 80s, slight breeze, and enough cloud cover to cool off under from time-to-time.  We elected to skip the tourist 'tours', and walked much of the south rim, stopping for pictures along the way.  The littlest legs set the pace and duration;  we probably put 3 miles on our shoes that day, and the rest was done via car (and one shuttle bus).

The day was extended in order to watch the sunset, and again... how do capture such amazingness in one tiny lil' stillshot moment?  The sunset was on my bucket list, and I'm thankful the family indulged me.

Day 4 was spent galavanting around to other tourist hotstpots.  Bearizona is a zoo, of sorts.  There is a wilderness of animals to see via an outdoor (vehicle) route, and then a smaller walkable area.  

Candace truly could have watched the otters for HOURS!  And thinking back, I probably could have watched them for about that long as well.  They were cute.  And funny.  And followed you as you walked along the path.  True show stoppers! ;)

For me, the highlight was the raptor show.  Informative and fun!  There were a couple of birds that had a routine of flying/swooping over the audience.  It's crazy how close their flight path got to our heads!!!!  I swear, Cassie's hair was stirred from one bird's flight. 

And INFORMATIVE!  I now know with 100% certainty, that the owl that's been in our neighborhood is a Great Horned.  I recorded the sounds George here was making while being shown off.  Yup!  Same sound.  And, yes...... GORGEOUS eyes, right?!?!?!?

The rest of the day, we spent touring the Williams part of the ol' Route 66.

Quaint lil' shop here, but dare I say.... nothing touristy about it.  It was a standard quilt shop; nothing hyped up about the uniqueness of being on route 66.  So, in a sad weird way, I walked away empty handed.  Crazy that I actually was searching for something to remind me of the area.  Don't get me wrong---great shop, but nothing that made it stand out any different than any other cute lil' quaint quilt shop.  ('cept for the door sign!!!!) ;)

Onto Day 5 -- back in the van for 6 hours to get us to Arches National Park in Utah.

The day was much warmer; low 90s, but no breeze and very little cloud cover (despite seeing clouds in the pictures).  They weren't above us.  Therefore, the littles legs in the family really took control of the duration of the hiking.  

Thankfully, some of the rock formations offered enough shade to make the hike (somewhat) enjoyable to the little legged ones.  And when the camera is in the hands of the children, it's always a fun adventure all over again at the end of the day to see what images they've captured ;)  

LOL.  I know, right?!?!?  I'll let the picture do all the talking here ;)

Day 6 was (again), back in the van for a 12 hour trip north to Keystone, South Dakota; home of Mount Rushmore.  Leaving at 6 AM, and arriving shortly after 7PM, we were able to get some dinner in and still see Rushmore for the evening lighting ceremony.

I remember visiting Rushmore when I was a child (probably not much older than #3).  However, Paul and I both agree---there are some places that adults can appreciate more.  I was never a history or social studies nut in HS; I didn't "get it" back then.  The history that is available at the Rushmore visitor/learning center is amazing.  Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln---- it doesn't take much to understand why these three presidents were chosen, but, walking up.... I was struck with the question..."Why Roosevelt?"    

The history and lil' video clips available were wonderful at answering that question.  Do YOU know why he was chosen?

{{warning; spoiler alert}}

Mostly due to his work on the Panama Canal; connecting the two oceans.  Also mentioned, though, was his work and push for conservation.

There ya have it.  

Day 7 kept us in the area of Keystone, and slowly working our way East, hitting tourist spots along the way.  The Cosmos, which I would give 2 stars out of 5.  The illusions were interesting, but.... the pricetag really... (how to put this nicely)... well.... yah.  The pricetag.  Really?!?!

Down the road a bit further was a Crystal Cavern.  Now that was a bit impressive, not having been in any sort of cavern since I was a child. 

Day 8 -- driving.  Again!  And don't let me mislead you---I STILL have only driven 3 hours (from that first day).  All of the other driving was Paul!  I love him!

Had the weather for day 9 been forecasted different, we would have been heading directly home at the close of day 8.  However, with only 30% chance of rain, we detoured south slightly to finish the trip in Wisconsin Dells, Noah's Ark Water park.

TRUE legitimate smiles, even after spending 76 hours in the van together and 8 nights in one-room hotels over the past 9 days.

Note: I did add 4 more hours of my driving time on the way home, but still.... 7 hours of the 76 is nothing.

So what'd I do while riding along....?

2014 Trip Out West afghan

{{more to come on this in a future post}}

Admiration

Do you ever sit back and just admire your living space?

While tidying the other day, my mind wandered to times when we have company.

Company at our house can NEVER complain about a lack of warmth.

Afghans and quilts have become the furniture coverings.  You too?