Summer Days (Blog #100)

This has to be one of the nicest weekends of the whole summer. Sunny skies, record low temps in the morning, low humidity -- almost doesn't seem like Huntsville. We started the weekend watching Clint Eastwoods's Gran Torino Friday night, and we both enjoyed that. Well, Louie did too. Nothing he likes better than to snooze on the couch while his people watch television. Saturday morning, we went out to breakfast and then loaded up on produce at the Farmer's market. I splurged with a bouquet of zinnias.
We bought corn, jalapena peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and little purple onions, but not any of these gorgeous squash. In the afternoon, we popped in at Shannon's with Louie and let him run in the backyard. What a hoot. He was so excited and had such fun, but did that stop him from mischief when we got home? Ha. He and Allen both devoured a paperback yesterday. Allen read it cover to...well, I'd say cover, but Louie ate one of them.
Yesterday, I also finished my July Block of the Month. I seem to have a system and they went together pretty well. More than halfway finished!! I have learned so much from this project. I also finished reading Quilty as Charged: Undercover ina Material World. It is a collection of stories about quilters and their experiences. I really enjoyed it. On to a new book and new project. I'm sure Louie will help.

Jelly Roll Diamonds, FINISHED

Finished! I told Shannon the other night (when she came over when her car battery died) that hand sewing the binding is one of the most peaceful, satisfying sewing tasks I can think of. It is pretty mindless, but when it is finished, it is really finished. I was pretty ready to be at the end of this project.
I started with a jelly roll of Moda Urban Couture fabric that I got at Hancocks of Paducah this spring. That made the top go pretty quickly, even though there was a bit of a learning curve to get the seams to match up on the diagonal.
However, when I got to the setting triangles top, bottom, and sides, I was really challenged. I was perplexed about the quilting in the big triangles too, so I drew the grid on Stitch and Ditch Stablizer and pinned it on. That is a paper you can sew through and pull off later. I think that the edges ripple just a bit, something I've not really had a problem with in the past. Oh well. I try to do something new and different or challenging with each project. This time, the diamond work and the setting trianges were new, and the colors, well, not my first inclination. I learned that when you open a jelly roll, you can be surprised by the colors rolled inside. I guess this isn't my favorite that I've made, and it took longer than I expected, but it's Finished!!

Out for a Sunday Drive

The weather could have been better this weekend. Sultry, soggy, gray skies didn't prevent a great weekend though. My brother John and sister-in-law Mary ended their week-long vacation with a stop here on Saturday and Sunday. We dragged them to our local seafood spot, Cajun Cafe, on Saturday. On Sunday, we drove up to Belvidere, Tennessee to Falls Mill. We hadn't been there in a long time, at least not to actually go in to the museum and walk the grounds.
Upstairs they have added quite a bit to their museum. Wouldn't it be fun to have a player piano? This one was outfitted with drums below, and for a quarter, we got to enjoy a tune.
There are a variety of spool cases, but not all of them show the spools and the colors. Don't have a clue where one could live in my house, but I sure do like them. Anyway, although we drove through a downpour on the way home, I had a wonderful Sunday. I'm glad that John and Mary drove the extra distance to see us and share a bit of Sweet Home Alabama with us.

Time to catch up

Wow, a whole month since I wrote a blog. We have been busy, happy, and have had a wonderful time this summer. We spent two weeks in Denver. While Allen worked, I spent my days hunting down the quilting stores in the area. I went to Golden to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and and the Golden Quilt Company (the quilt store there), to Parker to the High Prairie Quilts, to Wheatridge to Harriet's Treadle Arts, to Holly's Quilt Cabin, The Creative Needle, The Great American Quilt Factory, Fabric Expressions, and probably three different JoAnn's Fabric stores. I bought plenty, plenty, plenty. Embarrassing. Allen and I enjoyed eating out and trying new places and new foods, but our favorite was probably the time we spent with Joan and Frank. They are such an inspiration to us.Allen and Frank share a moment before dinner.
Frank took this picture of Joan and two of her "kids" and me. It was nice to see Joni!
Of course, a Denver trip would not seem right if we didn't get up to the mountains. The first weekend we went to Rocky Mountain National Park and drove Trail Ridge Road. We saw walls of eight foot snow along the road up top. The second weekend, we went to Buena Vista and stayed in Joan and Frank's home which is for sale. This is a picture along the way, close to Como. We stopped in Fairplay, and we took a drive to Central City and Blackhawk where the casinos have taken the towns. Kind of sad, but we did enjoy a Father's Day meal at a casino in Central City. We also drove up to Leadville -- bright and sunny with little air to breath!.

We had a great time in Salida at their Art Walk. We didn't really buy much, but it was fun to see the shops. Check out this whimsical three dimensional piece. Allen communes with the wildlife.My favorite store in Salida was probably this fabric and fiber shop, The Fringe.When we weren't visiting or sightseeing or shopping, I worked on hand-piecing these batik pinwheel blocks. I have twenty or so to go, but I already have the backing and border fabric from my excursion to the Great American Quilt Factory where I got lots of helpful advice.
When we got home, we had a couple of days to do laundry before Meghan and Justin and the boys came for the Fourth of July week. Justin and Meghan and I took the boys to the Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies and to play in the children's garden. Taplin found a bench just his size. The boys are so different, not only in appearance, but they are best buddies. It is so sweet to see Bridger taking care of his little brother. We ended their week with us by helping Shannon with her make-over of Nathan's "man room" which she talks talks about in her blog.

That brings us to this past weekend...which will be the topic for the next blog. I have posted many, many more pictures on my Flickr, and I'm still working on getting them organized, but take a look anyway.