Five Shadows

We are back from our quick trip to TN to visit with friends and then spend a few days in the Smokie Mountains with some of our family.

I’ll share a few photos, just know Hubs didn’t take along his camera equipment so photos are a bit lacking.

To-Do Tuesday, June 6, 2023

1. Hubs and I are taking a short break from house reno to visit friends and family for a few days.
2. But first, Wednesday sewing with church group
3. I’m taking the Owl EPP along on our short trip.

1. Tennessee Trip!

Mama bear and her 4 cubs walking across the street. FOUR cubs! Isn’t that cub standing on its hind legs just the cutest! We saw 9 bears in just three days. That’s more than the total I’ve seen in our many trips to the mountains. Sadly, I think it is because humans are building in and destroying their natural habitat. I hope they survive.

We had a beautiful clear day to walk up to Clingmans Dome. I didn’t get any photos. And family has not yet shared theirs with me. Then rain came in over night. The next day clouds were blowing in over the mountains. This photo is from Newfound Gap. I loved watching the wispy clouds  moving through the mountains.

Just a fern growing along a rock. Didn’t ID which fern this is – there are so many plant varieties in the Smokies!

One of my favorite things to do in the Smokie Mts is find waterfalls! This is Mingo Falls in Cherokee, NC. Hubs and I visited Mingo in December 2017, it was a chilly walk with ice on the path. We wanted to see Mingo again in the Spring. Well worth the drive over the Smokies to the NC side. Plus Elk, you see elk along the way. Again, no photo.

2. At my church group sewing day before our TN trip, I tried sewing on one of the group’s sewing machines. It had the wrong bobbin in the case. After changing out the bobbin and rethreading, I still could not get it to work. So off to sewing machine spa it goes. Other than an hour or so of chatting, I didn’t accomplish anything!

3. I didn’t touch the Owl EPP on our trip. We filled our days with hiking and enjoying family. Plus the lighting in the cabin was not good for hand work.

No change, same photo as last week.

We are back home, and kind of back to normal. We visited daughter #2 at her farmer’s market booth today.

I bought this lovely bouquet plus spring salad mix, bok choy, radishes, & cilanto. Yummy meals coming!

How was your week?

To-Do Tuesday, June 13, 2023

1. Sandwich and quilt anniversary quilt!
2. Daughter’s house – finish sanding drywall mud.
3. Other quilting?

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Carol of Quilt Schmidt.

Family vacation time! Last Friday, June 3 – Tuesday, 7th my family took vacation time to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in Michigan. What a lovely time we had hiking, kayaking, touring, campfire s’mores and walking along Lake Michigan.

One of our many hikes. Four of my five adult offspring and their fams, my Hub is middle back row, I’m right front row.

Our Grands enjoyed every minute of their camping trip!

10 of us kayaking down Crystal River! Hubs and I have canoed many times, but this was our first time in kayaks. Fun! Loved the clear river!

One the way home, stopping at a gas station in Cadillac, I thought to search for a quilt shop. There was one 2 1/2 miles from our location! So off Hubs and I went to find Northern Hearth Quilting & Sewing Center!

Hubs took this photo to send to our family while I shopped. We all headed home at different times and days. The joke is Mom always has to find a quilt shop! And Ha ha! I did!

A few of the goodies I purchased. (on top of my hexie travel box)

What a wonderful vacation. Hubs says we should go back in the Fall to see all the maple leaves turning. I’m game for that!

Here’s my to-do list from last week -

To-Do Tuesday, May 31, 2022

1. Prep and piece week 15 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden  ✔️
2. Test out fusible I bought on a few t-shirts. ✔️
3. Photo Lesson 2 of The Next Steps Template Quilting, blocks & templates. ✔️

Here’s what I did accomplish this past week.

1. EPP

Week 15 stitched and ready to add to Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden. I took several weeks of EPP to prep, but really did not work on hand stitching as much as I hoped. I ended up at the kids campfire each night. Then went back to my cabin to read before going to bed. Yes, the kids all camped – at walk-in tent only campsites. Hubs and I were about 2 miles away in an AirBnB cabin hosted by Twin Birch Resorts. We both loved the cabin and just might get up there again some Fall.

2. Test fusible.  I did this and it will work. BUT it is taking forever with my iron. It just does not get hot enough to melt the glue. I’m researching to buy an iron that gets hotter than the Panasonic Cordless that I own. It needs to be a steam iron that gets hot enough to melt the glue on fusible webbing and adheres to clothing and t-shirts.

Fellow Quilters, what brand steam iron do you recommend?

3. Photo Lesson 2 of The Next Steps Template Quilting

Block 1. Nine Patch using Spin-E-Flex template. It clear and hard to see on the block. Can you find it?

Block 2. Circles and straight lines.

Block 3. Whole-cloth with Spin-E-Flex. Here you can see the template.

Block 4. Using the outer edge of a circle template.

Here’s my to-do list for this week -

To-Do Tuesday, June 7, 2022

1. Attach Week 15 of Homage to Grandmother’s Flower Garden
2. Prep Week 16 EPP
3. Buy a steam iron that gets hot hot hot!
4. Host my quilting group Friday the 10th and work on quilts for grieving family with one of my friends in the group.

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Linda of Texas Quilt Gal.

October 15-25 my hubs and I traveled east to visit family. My father lives in a retirement community in PA. Due to all the Covid19 restrictions we held off our trip east until we could see Dad. We scheduled two 30 minute visits, 6′ social distancing wearing masks, the distance ended up to be 11′ apart! Dad could not hear us! An aid sat by Dad’s shoulder and repeated everything we said. It was crazy, but I’m thankful I got to see him. While out east, we caught up with our brothers & sisters and their families who live in the area. Besides Dad not being able to hear us, it was a great trip.

Terrapin Park, Kent Island, Chesapeake Bay. Hub John, me, sister Lauren, BIL Russ. Bay Bridge in back ground.

My Journey 2 Nebula continues.

Project 4 on the journey, Rock Candy layout

Rock Candy pieced & sandwiched

Rock Candy quilted. I’ll use a rust fabric for the binding.

Last To-Do List:

1. Cut pieces for project 4, Rock Candy in #Journey2Nebula. ✔️ Cut, sewn, pieced and quilted. Ready to bind.
2. Sandwich baby quilt. ✔️ But it will be set aside for a while as plan has changed.
3. Short week for sewing, hubs and I are doing some traveling the next two weeks.  Hand embroidery just might happen.

This Week’s To-Do List:

1. Bind Rock Candy, project 4 of #Journey2Nebula
2. Cut pieces for project 5, Candy Dish in #Journey2Nebula
3. Start quilting center of quilt or appliqué background (the quilt for my son & DIL)

Linking to To-Do Tuesday hosted by Home Sewn by Us.

My husband thinks this was the best stop on my recent road trip with my two grands and DIL!

It was our stop in Hamilton, MO at Missouri Star Quilt Co.

Why was this the best stop? Because it was Sunday and all the shops were closed! That saves a lot of stress on a wallet! But we stopped to give the two grands a bit of time to run around and eat a snack. Plus DIL loved window shopping there for a bit of a break from driving. She is definitely putting it on a future road trip stop when heading back to MO but during open hours!

At the mural with 4 quilts, my grand daughter liked this quilt the best, so we posed for a photo.

(photo from Pinterest)

I did shop at a lovely quilt and yarn shop in Rolla, MO. Uniquely Yours at 404 East State Rte 72.

I bought fabric for a new project. Gasp! I broke my no new project rule again! Thing is, I’ve been keeping an eye out for a summery design for a wallhanging for my living room. Once I saw this panel at Uniquely Yours, I bought it and a coordinating print.

I also bought Deborah Easter Rubles’ book.

I had seen her cutting method demoed at a quilt show, but didn’t buy the book at the time. I’ve asked about it at quilt shops, but this is the first time I’ve seen it at a shop. Turns out she’s from Missouri and had demoed at Uniquely Yours. The gals at the shop kindly did a demo for me that refreshed my memory as to why I thought it would be a worth while purchase. Next project, I’ll be cutting strips with this method. Oh, and I have an autographed copy of the book.

Last to-do list:

1. Pooh quilt ✔️ Finished and delivered. Take a look here.

To-Do List:

1. quilting grand daughter’s picnic quilt

Linking to To-Do Tuesday.

Hubs and I took a trip back east, visiting family in PA and MD. While visiting my folks in PA, I stopped at Simply Stashing in Littlestown. Every time we drive to Hanover, PA I do declare that shop is closed when we pass it in the evening, and it has not yet opened when we head back home in the morning hours. Usually I don’t fit in a stop at the quilt shop, but managed to this time. I told my husband I was popping in to ask for their Row by Row pattern, a cute Flying Geese pattern. Of course I had to look around while there.

I found the bicycle fabric which I could not pass up. And those two fun prints were on their discount wall.

While checking out, the gal asked if I would be visiting other quilt shops in the area. I asked where they are located and one she mentioned is in Hanover. It ends up that it is just around the corner from the retirement community where my parents live! (Ok, around the corner in a country mile.) My folks have lived there for 11 years! And I never known about this shop! I do recall passing a shop last year with a Bernina sign, and wrongly assumed it was just machines. Nope, it is a nice quilt shop too! Danners Bernina Shoppe. I bought a book that goes along with the Westalee quilting rulers I own, and another ruler. With practice, I hope to up my ruler work using my Baby Lock Tiara III sit down quilting machine.

Sneak peak of the Facets quilt. Design by Christa Watson.

The top is completed and measures 88″ x 84″ enlarged from the original pattern to fit my son’s bed. I don’t have the back or binding prepared yet, but the top now goes into my ‘to be quilted’ pile. I’m so happy to check the making of this quilt top off my ‘to-do’ list!

While cruising some quilting websites back in July, I came across a Christmas block Quilt Along.

This snow flake was the first block presented August 1st. The quilt along is called I Wish You a Merry Quilt-Along. I’ll be keeping an eye out for the upcoming designs presented, but with a personal reality check, I’m realizing I should just not join another quilt along right now! …  she said backing away from the internet!

I finished a quilt today! Yesterday I completed the straight stitch quilting, and today I attached the binding.

This quilt design is On The Wave from Sew All Around Quilt Along.

I love this fun back used on my little wall hanging. It measures 30″ x 34″.

How did I do on last week’s To-Do List?

1. Safely travel to PA to visit my folks. ✔️ We also visited relatives in MD and IN.
2. Gift Monkey quilt to young nephew.  ✔️ Happily gifted!

To-Do Tuesday List for this week:

1. Start cutting pieces for next quilt top on my list- Tropical Snowball.
2. Sandwich baby quilt and begin quilting – a friend’s quilt.
3. Catch up on Sit Down Free Motion Quilting BOM

Quilt Shops! in Hawaii!

While vacationing for 2 weeks on Oahu and The Big Island, I visited 6 quilt shops. My favorite were Quilt Passions in Kailua-Kona and Kilauea Kreations II in Hilo.  Above are the Row by Row Experience 2015 Kits I bought from my 2 favorite shops.

There are so many lovely flowers in Hawaii! Plumeria was blooming in many different colors! I was happy to find a local quilt designer had created many lovely appliqué and Sashiko stitched patterns inspired by the many plants found on the Hawaiian Islands. I bought the Plumeria Kit. 

And also bought the Tree Fern Sashiko Panel. The Tree Fern was one of my husband’s favorite plants. Once finished, I plan on giving this to him to hang in his office at work.

Another kit I could not resist, was the Tropical Snowball in Batiks from Quilt Passions. I do love circle quilts!

More fun! Another local artist with hand dyed fabric and a traditional Hawaiian Appliqué. This is just pillow size, so I figure I’ll give it a whirl. The fabric in the background was designed by Quilt Passions and depicts common scenes on the Big Island.

Of course I had to pick up a few goodies to share with my quilting friends! Thursday we are having a quilting day at my house, and I’m eager to see if my friends like what I have purchased for them!

These lovelies came from my Daughter-in-law and her mother as they traveled through Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. They stopped at 12 shops to pick up Row by Row Experience Patterns and also bought some Fat Quarters for me! How sweet!

Once home from Hawaii, I had a few days before heading to the hospital for a planned surgery. While recovering, I read lots of library books including Threads of Change and Threads of Home by Jodi Barrows. Plus a week ago, I got to go to a Jodi Barrows lecture and trunk show. And finally back to sewing, I jumped right in and tried my hand at Jodi’s Square in a Square method of block construction making a Liz’s Gift block. Yep, I jumped right in with an advanced block. I need to back up to the basic units to get all those measurements and points right!

I’m linking up to To-Do Tuesday and Linky Tuesday.

My To-Do list for this week is

1. finish the hand stitching on Tree Fern

2. enjoy Thursday with my quilting friends

3. continue healing from surgery

Part of July and August my husband and I traveled to Oahu Hawaii. It was a great trip. We stayed with my sister and brother-in-law. And were also treated to a trip by them to the Big Island.