Two Extremes

The last few weeks have been traveling weeks for us.  The first trip took us to Key Largo in the Florida Keys for some wonderful tropical temperatures, palm trees and beautiful aqua waters. 








We were able to enjoy a little reef fishing.  Although the fish were bountiful, the sizes were too small for keeping.  My only “keeper” was the last cast.  Just as it was almost to the boat a shark came along and took a nice bite out of it.  I ended up reeling in the head only.  The boat captain told me to put it back in the water and when I lowered it a 4 foot barracuda took the rest of it – hook, line and sinker.  It was very interesting to watch.

Son and DIL

 We had a great trip and we got to enjoy an evening of being entertained by Frankie Valli.  He was incredible and still has an amazing voice.




It was home for a day to pack up and head off to our annual snow trip with all of our children and their families.  Fortunately, the Sierras had received a nice snow a few days before we arrived.  It was perfect for the children – soft for snowballs and sledding. 

A major snowball fight….




The adults firmly planted in the safety zone or DMZ as we were calling it.






By the fourth day the temperatures had warmed up and we were treated to a nice rainstorm which melted much of the snow.  I was just glad that we had the snow when we arrived.  

I have decided that when I win the lottery I would like to buy the log cabin that is adjacent to the condominiums that we rent.  It was featured on Extreme Log Cabins and it is incredible!  It is actually for sale for $15,000,000 so I'd better start buying some lottery tickets.



Just look at the amazing view that could be enjoyed each day.





Needless to say, again, the sewing was absent.  I did manage to add a few more stitches to my giant cross stitch project.  The straw is now done.

A Sewing Weekend

I had a fun day of getting reacquainted with my sewing machine yesterday.  It was a perfect day!  I had the doors and windows opened in my sewing retreat and listened to the chattering birds outside. 
Sew….what did I accomplish?

I added more blocks to my Goodnight Irene scrappy sewalong.  I’m still trying to decide how big I will make it, but I am thinking maybe 9x7 blocks. 




It appears that this block is a popular choice for the RSC14.  This month the color is blue.  I had seen this block on Wanda’s blog.  She has an eye for color and design that cannot be topped and her blocks in this design are incredible.  Thus….the inspiration!  The block is very large (24x28) so I seriously doubt that I will be doing all 12 months of this challenge.



Those who follow my blog know that with spring also comes the grandchildren’s school auction.  Each year I make a school uniform that is auctioned off.
 



I received my pincushion swap from my swap partner, Leona.  I just LOVE what I received.  This is a pincushion that I have wanted to make F.O.R.E.V.E.R. and have never done it.  I absolutely love everything about it – the fabrics, the color, the weight and the design.  As well, Leona included all sorts of fun goodies with it.  What a great swap it was!



For some reason I am continually getting an error message when I try to open blogger so I am back to using Live Writer if this post seems very strange.  It just seems to be a problem on my desktop computer so who knows what goofy setting I have changed. 

Slow Stitching

Did somebody steal January?  Sheesh, the months are going quickly.

There has not been much sewing going on around here - again - this past week.  I am beginning to sound like a broken record. 

One of my fairly regular Christmas gifts seems to be a jury summons.  I always love how it comes in with the wonderful Christmas cards.  Anyway, this past week saw me on jury duty and actually serving on a jury.  It was a short one this time, unlike the 5 month one I was on in 1997.   It still took up my treasured time, but I am free for another year now.  Yeah.

My sewing moments were short, but I finally managed to finish up my Sally quilt that I started about 6 months ago.   It has a soft flannel backing and an all over quilt design so it is nothing fancy, but I am pleased with the finish.  It's one more completed UFO in my books too. 

When I do the quilts for the grandchildren I always like to include a label with their newborn photo on it. 

I'll be linking this one up with a Lovely Year of Finishes.

 

Goal setting for February is going to be tight as we have a busy one, but I think I will finish up a Schnibbles from several years ago.  It is done in my favorite fabric line, Boutique by Chez Moi.

One other small project that I finished was a pincushion.  Beth had made one for herself and shared the material with me to make one.  It is a nice heavy one with the crushed walnut shells.  I loved using the selvage edge on the fabric too.

Lastly, I sewed up a couple of X&+ blocks for our February queen who requested bright + and gray, black and white Xs.

I am hoping to get a little more sewing in this coming week.  We will see.  You never know what will pop up around here. 

Carmel by the Sea

DH and I managed to slip away for a few days following the busyness of the holidays to Carmel by the Sea.  It is a beautiful, artsy town and it was so relaxing for both of us.  The days had scattered fog, but we enjoyed the 17 mile Drive along the coastline which passes many gorgeous homes and golf course, including Pebble Beach.  Along the way we stopped to visit the famous Lone Cypress tree.

I love the structure of the Cypress trees.

It was fairly early in the morning so these fellows were trying to soak up what few rays they could.

We drove up via Hwy 1 which is a stunning mountainous road with spectacular views - most of the time.  However, on this trip the ocean was shrouded in fog.  The highway is not a road for the faint of heart with its shear drops into the sea.

Just past Cambria and the Hearst Castle we stopped to visit the elephant seals.  Their story is so interesting and can be read here.  They also have a webcam which is fun to view.  In January and February the seals return to the same beach at Piedras Blancas to give birth to their young.  It was fascinating.  Some of these seals weigh over two tons so they are HUGE!

Hearst Castle

The dominant male bellowing his call.

Baby just an hour old.

They appear to be boulders on the beach

 For Christmas our children gifted us with a Chef's dinner for sixteen and it was last weekend.  It is prepared and served at our home which is a treat in itself....a party with no cooking and no cleanup.  How much better does it get?

Sewing kind of took a back seat, but I did manage to work some on my cross stitch nativity.  I also finished my monthly blocks.

You can see the beginnings of my donkey and ox when compared to the last photo of the project.

These are my "Goodnight Irene" blocks for January......

....and this is for my Classic Meets Modern.  It's not really modern, but I am counting solids as modern.

Our January/February swap of our Sewing With Friends was for a pincushion.  I did this pincushion for my partner, Leona.

    

Decicions, Decisions

A little champagne and a whole pile of 4" red squares that I won several years ago brought a new year of sewing to a great start.

A lot of trimming left some nice scraps for the birds.

The neat pile left me with a lot of decisions.

I've always loved the look of a simple HST quilt, but then again......

how about a great zig zag....or

a star (oops...a misplaced one, but you get the picture).

Then again, there is this option....

and Flying Geese too.

Maybe a bigger zig zag would be nice.

There is always the classic pinwheels.  I have close to 400 of these HSTs so I hope to make a decision soon as I would like to complete it this month and participate in A Lovely Year of Finishes.  Which is your favorite?

Another insane project that has been a few years in the works is my cross stitch nativity scene.  Between the eye strain and the intense concentration required on this project, I am sure it will take me a few more years to complete.

This is what I hope it will eventually look like.

I welcome January with the new-ness that it brings.  There is so much to look forward to and dream about.

To all of you in the path of this latest artic blast, stay safe.  I vote that you just stay inside and sew instead of venturing out.