ANTICIPATION

This is what I will be working on today!  

The usual start-of-the-week chores will get done but playing with quilt blocks will be the fun part of the day!

 

BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS

Look at this cloud we saw on the way home from a church family gathering yesterday!  It was so unusually shaped and we could see rain falling in the center but the sun was shining all around it--quite incredibly beautiful and majestic!  

And when we pulled in the driveway--I was so surprised and pleased to see the first of the amaryllis has bloomed!  

This is the first of many clumps we have in the front yard!  

 

AHHH, STUDIO TIME!

I loaded the quilt top I made on QOV sew day to get that quilted up.  I also volunteered to quilt a top from the group on Thursday, so I need to be disciplined to have them both done by next meeting in a month.

And to prove I can follow directions, I present to you, several new and corrected star blocks! Once I knew I understood what to do and that it worked, I cut out all of the pieces to make these blocks!  I hope to catch up with the gang from Alycia's QAL soon!  And I am aware that she has also only instructed us to make the red blocks so far, I was worried I didn't have enough of the specific colors so I cut to find out now instead of later! lol

 

HUMILITY HAPPENED

So how did Sew Day with QOV group go?!

 Well, all I can say, in my defense, is that I still have island breezes blowing through my brain!  I was supposed to make blue stars with a white background and I made it in reverse.  Then after I had made 4 of these blocks, I realized that they were big--12 1/2" big and NOT the 8 1/2" size the pattern called for.  

What in the world?  How long have I been quilting?!?!?!? 

 I READ the instructions again and realized my error--the center block is correct at 4 1/2" but the other squares around it were NOT 4 1/2" , too.

 Oh.

 I put these blocks away to become another project someday.  

 Then I bought some more fabric and will make the catch-up blocks today!!!!  The 4-patches Mary made were just right! 

And we had a great time with everyone!

I also needed some fabric to make the red stars.  I can see that having the group meet in our local quilt shop can become a budget buster! lol  

And as long as we were there, we bought our ALL FLORIDA SHOP HOP TICKETS  and some new fabric to get in the mood!

And I am a sucker for  patriotic panels; 

this one will be the seed for another QOV!

A very good day!

 

 

A NEW QOV SEW GROUP

Today I am going to our local quilt shop to join in with a group of ladies who sew for Quilts of Valor.  This is the kind of star I will be working on and the red version is all cut out also!  I am bringing Mary to join in and have some blocks cut for her, too. 

 I'm excited to join in for some group-sewing 

which hasn't happened in a long time!

I also finished the wall hanging/lap quilt and will apply the binding soon so that this old UFO is ready for its day in the FO photos!

 

A SEA TURTLE

I'm still in the Caribbean frame of mind! 

 This is my latest paint by number is a sea turtle! 

 I built the frame for this one--a few false starts but I got it 

eventually and I even remembered how to use my nail gun to secure the mitered corners! lol

 

CARIBBEAN DISHCLOTHS!

The colors of the sunrise and sunset--if only I had a few more shades I could do them with exact colors of the mornings and evenings!  I will rectify that lack on my next HobbyLobby visit! 

I remember when this zig zag pattern was all the rage; 

everyone had an afghan on the back of their couch !

 

OUR MOTHER-DAUGHTER CARIBBEAN CRUISE!

our beautiful ship

our cruise route

standing in the Caribbean sea

taking a beach walk

beach treasures

sunset

balcony sunset

daily towel creatures

fun treats

final evening sunset

The joys we shared can never be taken away. 

 I am so grateful for our relationship; 

in the early years of her life,

 I taught her the joys of nature

 and in my later years, 

she has taught me the joys to be had in new adventures 

 

HOME SAFE

We are home safe from our cruise--this is the yarn project progress--top is a granny square rectangle blanket my daughter is crocheting and the bottom is with the gifted yarn from Chris in a top down lacy yoke cardigan for me!

Cruise pics tomorrow!

 

TIME TO BLOOM

The week of warm temperatures has produced some flowers!  The azaleas are just poking their colors out of the bush.

There are several different bushes that form this area of color as we come up the driveway.

Just as we greet the azaleas, we have to say goodbye to the camellias!  The last one....

It is nice to see the azaleas come out because so many of our plants in the front yard look like this!

And yes, we did cover them but more than a week of temperatures in the teens at night exceeds the protection of  blankets!

Announcement:  I will be MIA from blogging for this week because I am going on my first-ever cruise! 

 My daughter and I are going to the Bahamas.  

I am overjoyed  on so many levels. 

 I will give you a full report when I return!  

 

FINAL SETTING

I thought you would like to see the setting 

for the two sycamore vases I made for church.  

This is in the foyer as you leave the building.

 

A GENEROUS GIFT

When I met a blog friend, Chris, at the AQS yesterday, she handed me this large paper bag!  She had emailed me that if I wanted some yarn, she would bring it to our meeting.  Throughout the years, she has mailed me leftover sock yarn balls to add to my  mitered sock yarn blanket.  

Well, she didn't mention how many balls of yarn she was bringing!

 I think I counted 17!  I had my walker for the all of the walking I needed to do at the show, so  I filled up the space under the seat with the yarn haul!

I thought I was going  to use the Elmgrove pattern from Berroco but it was written for worsted weight yarn not DK like I thought!  So, I had to go searching but I found another pattern that was similar --I do like top down construction.

I found this pattern on Ravelry and soon knit my swatch.  I upped the needle size to get gauge and I really liked the drape of the knitting better, too.  

Lena and I couldn't wait to cast on for the new sweater--all of the markers are to help keep the pattern repeats distinct for working the lace on the yoke!  Thanks a ton, Chris!

 

A DAY IN DAYTONA BEACH!

It was time for the quilt show--it has been two years since Mary and I were able to go!  What a wonderful time;  I met up with several friends and even got to meet a blog friend! 

 It was a super day!

This quilt was my favorite and was very indicative of this year's entries!  A lot of threadwork and applique. 

There was a huge selection of patriotic quilts by QOVF and 

I could've taken a picture of everyone of them!  

This one had a very cool border that I admired!

This one reminded me of my daughter who loves birch trees!

This is a very large quilt and it was so realistic, 

I could've stepped right in and could almost smell the old forest!  There was a man and two dogs on the trail toward the bottom that shows the scale of the towering trees!

This was a t-shirt quilt done in a very clever 3-D block format--

all from Harley shirts!!

The details on this quilt were amazing--

not to mention it would be a great fantasy destination!

We went on an adventure for lunch--it was only a few blocks from the quilt's Convention Center and I hadn't been there in 9-10 years so it was where we went even though the construction on A1A made the .3 mile journey and adventure itself!  Joe's Crab Shack has been there since 2012 but the building has been there since 1918! Many of the building/hotels that I remember were right next door are gone from Hurricane Matthew damage 9 years ago!

The beach wasn't crowded but the waves and the sea air was a delight to savor!

 

JUST A FEW MORE STITCHES

 A little fun with amigurumi critters!  It's been a while and I wanted to finish these guys that I started too long ago!  They waited for me.  Soon to be on their way to the other corner of the country where my grands live.

I tried to rest up yesterday, so that today I can go to the AQS in Daytona Beach!

WOOD ON WEDNESDAY--MAKING DUST!

Another sycamore log to become a matching vase

 to the one I did a few weeks ago.

I have the outside shaped like I want and sanded smooth; 

 there is no finish on it yet.

Today, I will be drilling out the center 

and applying the sanding sealer followed by shellac.