Girls' Day Out

I love a good quilt show, and the one in Kerrville last weekend was a lot of fun.  When I was offered the opportunity to join two friends for the outing, I jumped at the chance.

  

This was the Best of Show winner by Carole Pinkham.  I’ve seen photographs of other versions of this pattern, but this was the first one I could see in person. 

Carole’s statement:

 

 I notice that her quilt had sold.  If I ever completed such a masterpiece, I doubt I would be able to part with it.

 Of course, any trip to Kerrville mandates a stop at Creations Quilt Shop.  Even though we got there only half an hour before closing, I managed to find a few things.

Home Again

Last Sunday we returned from a two-week trip to Navarre Beach, Florida.  The only stitching I did was a couple more rows to be added to my thimble/tumbler quilt.  Here is a picture of where it stands now.   I need to add to my inventory of prepped units because I’m having difficulty with fabric repetitions.  I have 20 rows of 13 units each.

 

The trip was very nice, but the drive, even divided into two-day shifts, is more than I think we will want to attempt in the future.  Our condo was perfect.  We were on the 17^th floor overlooking the beach.  My happy place was on the balcony enjoying the sound of the surf with a book.

 

We saw some spectacular sunsets…

 

…and some sea critters.

 

The second week Julia and one of her friends joined us and that certainly added to the energy level.  Ice cream, pizza, chocolate, and fried shrimp may have been involved.  So far, I’ve managed to shed 2 of the pounds I gained and I’m working on the rest…

 One night the fire alarms went off and I began to have serious misgivings about our 17^th floor unit when the ladder truck showed up.  Fortunately, it proved to be a false alarm and we never had to evacuate.  Good thing, especially since I seriously doubt either Bob or I could have made it down that many flights of steps.

 The trip was fun.  I’m happy to be home.

A Splurge for a New Tool

I delayed purchasing this Lap App for a long time, but after trying out a friend’s and getting glowing comments from other friends, I made the leap.  It is pricier than I would normally have spent, but I have found it makes doing handwork much more comfortable. Usually, I have put a pillow in my lap in order to raise my work surface and rest my hands while stitching.  My only complaints with that method are that it cannot be adjusted, can feel uncomfortably warm on my lap, and has no place to rest scissors, needle, thread, and thimble.  Minor complaints all, but I have two long-term handwork projects, so I made the leap and chalked it up to “taking care of myself.”

I toyed with the idea of modifying a pillow so that I could attach spools, scissors, and thread, but decided to go this route instead.  So far, I have really appreciated its flexibility, and it’s much more comfortable. 

We have had .64 inches of rain this week; 4.92 for the month!

 

Proof of Progress

It seems like a very long time since I had a finish to show, but I can offer proof that I have been at work.

Red and white thimble/tumbler rows ready to be added to the mothership plus a nearly full thread-clipping jar and an empty basting-thread spool.

A stack of log cabin blocks ready for webbing.

The weather alert radio and seven emergency storm warning calls to our phones kept us awake much later than usual last night.  We received more than 1.5 inches of rain along with a little hail and gusty winds.  So far, I have not found any damage and we desperately needed the moisture.