Summer Projects

I've been upstairs working on this quilt, trying to finish before the grandsons visit and before the Fourth of July. I'm wondering if it is too big for the kitchen table, but in any case, I want to forge ahead and finish it.



Ozzie is helping me quilt my Red, White, and Blue.  He looks sweet, but how am I supposed to move the quilt around with 25 pounds 'o pug planted permanently?



I have the machine quilting finished and the binding ready for hand sewing. An evening (or two) of hand sewing and watching TV, and it will be on the table.

Wish it was so simple to get the refrigerator fixed. It's a Kenmore, less than three years old, and the freezer isn't nearly as cold as it should be. We tried Sears repair, and they gave us a date ten days out. We tried a local repair guy, and he came right away, but he said it is a leak in the coolant, which is indeed covered under warranty. Therefore, only a Sears repairman can fix it. I called again, and this time, he is supposed to come tomorrow. Fingers are crossed.



This is my Colorado travel project. I appliqued all of the pieces and the borders are on. I even have the backing prepared and the batting cut to size.  Having a handwork project when I'm in a hotel for a couple of weeks makes all the difference. This project comes from The Quilt Show but I also saw the book in one of the Denver area shops and bought it.

Next project? Grandsons for ten days.

Two Weeks in Colorado

Ozzie's home from his two week vacation at summer camp, otherwise known as the kennel. He makes friends with everyone, so I doubt that he missed us much. However, he seemed pretty happy when I picked him up yesterday, and he immediately found his spot at the top of the steps to work on a chew.



Shannon and I flew together June 10 and headed straight to Joan and Frank's for the afternoon while we waited for Allen's flight to arrive. Frank has such a great little garden in the back.

The big excitement was when Nathan arrived a few days later and he finally got to meet Shannon's Grandma and "Grandpa" Frank. (Poor Frank had a skin cancer blue light treatment the day before, so that explains the redness.) We loved visiting with them and seeing Allen's sister Joni as well.



We took a drive up to Echo Lake below Mount Evans and had lunch in Idaho Springs for our first mountain trip on Friday. I've never taken a mountain drive on such a foggy day. The views were not spectacular, but it was still beautiful (creepy too).



The weekend was soggy, and the rain kept us down in town, but rainy weather is perfect for quilt shop hopping. We hit The Great American Quilt Factory, Harriet's Treadle Arts, Creative Needle, Fabric Expressions, and Holly's Quilt Cabin, and yes, yes, yes, I bought more than necessary at each one. Sunday we went on a hunt for a store Shannon suggested,  Fancy Tiger. What a neat little place close to downtown Denver. And yes, I spent money there as well.  When Allen had to work Monday, Shannon and I drove to Parker to High Prairie Quilts, and yes, I still added more to my stash. I might have made a second trip to a couple of these. Might have. I brought home very little in my suitcase, so when the UPS man delivers today, it will be like Christmas for me.



At Fancy Tiger



At High Prairie Quilts

Tuesday's big adventure after driving to the Denver International Airport and picking up Nathan (which I have never driven without Allen - and it is at least 40 miles from our hotel) was a quick trip to Golden to tour the Coors Brewery. With a quick stop at the Golden Quilt Company.  Allen and I went back up to Golden this past weekend to visit the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum, and I loved seeing the nineteenth century Mennonite quilts on display. The most amazing one was one hand pieced by an eight-year-old that had 16,000 pieces.



Shannon's happy to see Nathan! Now we have to get him up into the mountains. First stop, Lookout Mountain and...



Clear Creek Canyon with icy cold water.



Poor Allen had to work while we drove up to Fort Collins to the New Belgium Brewery. We didn't have reservations, but we somehow were treated to a private tour. What a great place to work  - they get off for Valentine's Day and Earth Day (a green company), and their benefits are above and beyond.



I guess the highlight of the trip was an overnight stay in Leadville, which is the country's highest incorporated city at 10,430 feet. Nathan didn't sleep well. He said he gasped for air all night. Maybe it was digesting that 20 oz. prime rib from Quincy's.



The next day, we drove down to Buena Vista. Joan and Frank no longer own their home there, but they still get up to visit family and old friends, and we couldn't skip a walk along the Arkansas River



and a quick trip to Bongo Billy's for coffee before we headed over Boreas Pass and down to Breckenridge.



Then back to the heat here in Alabama. Still, it's good to be home with a pug on my feet. The mail from the last two weeks will probably be delivered today, Allen's due back on this afternoon's flight, and the UPS man should be here with my box from all that shopping any time now!

Little pouches, big pug

The other day, Shannon posted on her blog about making some pouches for her electronics.  What a good idea! I carry my camera and ipod in my purse pretty often, and while I don't want to lug around bulky store-bought leather cases, I also don't want to scratch up what I paid good money for either. My first try for the camera was so-so, the problem being that it was a bit too small for the camera. Solution? Use it to house my Garmin.

We don't leave it in the car baking in the sun, so what a perfect solution.



Try number two fit the ipod and earphones. Did you know how many quilt related podcasts are out there? I especially get a kick out of Pat Sloan's radio program. The third try fits the camera.



Third time's a charm.  The camera fits perfectly. Mission accomplished. All three of then are made out of batik with two layers of batting inside. I popped on the walking foot and quilted them, mostly with 1/4"  spacing between straight lines.



Ozzie is just worn out from the excitement. Not the excitement of simple little sewing projects. I had to take him to the vet to get his bordetella vaccination, or nose spray. He had to suffer the indignity of having his temperature taken AND the humiliation of having his nails clipped. Plus, he had to listen to us discuss his weight. He is 25.1 pounds  and eight months old. He's still on puppy chow, but that's about to change. I wouldn't say he is fat, but he could get that way pretty easily. I sure do like the Banfield "insurance" that we use. Today's visit? $11.00.

One project (or more) at a time

I read one book at a time. I know people who have half a dozen books read half-way, but when I read a book, I read it straight through. When I finish, I feel a bit of a panic until I have another one started. I also do not have a ton of UFOs (unfinished projects) stacked up and forgotten. I have two right now, one that I'm really happy with but I am waiting for the finishing backing fabric from an order I placed online months ago, and the other, a little quilt I started last summer that won't take long to finish, but I ran out of thread -- and it has a Christmas kind of look to it. Not inspiring  except when Christmas looms.

All of  that said, I started two new projects this week even though I have a different project underway. This one is applique. I sewed the first piece on, a long-ish process, and discovered it was upside down. Oh well. Start again.



Then there is this black and yellow project. I saw an idea online - make one nine-patch a day each day this summer, and end up with a good size quilt. I won't be home every day this summer, and I'm already behind, but I thought I'd use up some old fabric and start a nine patch yellow and black quilt. I made six blocks. Hmmm. We'll see. Might be fun. Might not look like what I thought it would. These blocks finish 6 inches square. I auditioned some mostly white (and black) fabric for sashing, and I liked that.



Ozzie does not contemplate things in the same way, but he will always take a new chew bone over an old one. He has toys and chews everywhere, but new always wins. And they taste ever so much better when someone holds them for him. Guess what? Nail trim tomorrow. Sorry, Oz.

Saturday Smiles

Summer blues! Such a great breakfast treat.



June bloom from our street. Sweet magnolia!

A

Hourglass block.  All twenty-six are stitched.



Star block. Seven made, eighteen to go.



Ozzie underfoot, helping me sew. At least his little paw isn't actually ON the foot pedal.

That gets scary.

Welcome to my new blog!

My new blog with a new blog name! Shannon has helped me set up a new blog on WordPress. She moved all of my previous posts, and gave me a whole new look.

What a fun weekend we had with Meghan and the boys. Ozzie got right into the swing of having little boys to play with. Taplin took nothing from that pug, and he happily chased Oz through the house. Ozzie is not a thief the same way that Louie was, and that is really nice when there are little boy cars all over.



It was a Hot Wheels and "race car" couple of days.



Last weekend we went to Franklin to my favorite place to spend money, Stitcher's Garden. I stocked up on red, whites, and blues to make a table quilt. The fabrics are all from her reproduction fabrics, mostly from Civil War, but a few from later 1800s and a couple from the Chicago Worlds Fair collection. Last week, my afterschool therapy was to cut the fabric. Then this weekend with the boys here, I didn't touch my sewing. However, yesterday, to celebrate my first real day of vacation, I sewed for hours.