Celebrating 37 Years! (Birch Bay, WA)

We celebrated our 37th anniversary in Bellingham yesterday.  Actually, our anniversary is today, but with two major holidays - Canada Day and 4th of July - being celebrated starting this weekend, we decided we should get out and enjoy some sights on Friday.   

We ate lunch at a Greek restaurant, walked through an amazing park, and did a little shopping.  And, I got to shop at Trader Joe's!  My favorite grocery store.  I did a little stocking up on my favorite items...oh yea!

 

Dan found Whatcom Falls Park online and thought we should visit it while we were in Bellingham.  We were very surprised to find this little emerald jewel of a city park.  Neighborhoods surround the park giving easy access to families, joggers, and walkers to visit by taking one of the many paths leading into the park.

We felt like we were back in the North Cascades with the water, tall trees, the green vegetation, and silence all around us.  It was hard to believe there was a city bustling within walking distance.  Besides walking paths and play areas, we were able to view a fish hatchery, a small dam, natural waterfalls, and my favorite - this beautiful stone bridge.

 

One path took us to the Whatcom Falls and another took us along the Gorge.  If you happen to be in the area, this is a must see!

Along the Gorge Path

Along the Gorge Path

On The Cutting Board

I finished adding hearts to the scrappy squares quilt.  I decided to keep it simple and to not overdo the heart appliqué.  Now I need to find a backing.  I might try piecing a backing together for this one.  I have seen quite a few quilters doing this lately and I like the results.  The question is - can I pull it off and like what I did...hmm, well I guess I'll never know until I try.  Right?

Happy Quilting!

4Squares and 365Project (Spokane, WA)

Okay, I sewed the blocks together.  Then, I did a quick hunt through my stash and found some tiny hearts on white background that I feel will match well enough.  I added the hearts w/white background border to the blocks first.  Just to break it up a little..

I decided to try something different for a border.  I sewed a 1.5 inch strip to the extra squares and alternated the squares.

Pieced them together and Ta Da!  I'm so surprised at how well this came out considering a week ago I had not known these 4 inch squares were still traveling around with me.

I still have a few squares left so I'm going to add some appliqué hearts.  

Yep, I just can't leave a quilt without some kind of appliqué work on it.

Project 365 ~ 1 Year!

Yesterday was my last day for 365Project.  It is a relief.  I no longer have to scramble for a photo each day, but I have to admit that I have learned a lot in one year of daily photos.  

Dusty the great hunter

The first being - never leave home without the camera.  Even when I just plan on a short trip to the grocery store, the camera was with me.  I became more aware of my surroundings especially behind me.

Tiny wildflowers

I learned a lot about my camera and what it is capable of doing.........oh, so that's what that button is for!

Hitch surveying his new found kingdom

Since I carry a large DSLR camera, I would feel very self-conscience about taking photos in unusual areas.  I learned to ignore the strange looks while taking photos in Lowe's parking lot, kneeling in outdoor plaza areas, shopping in stores, or waiting in restaurants. 

Lemon Yellow Starburst

I also learned to response to people's comments.

  "Wow!  That's a big camera!"  ~Great upper body strength builder.

       "That camera looks expensive."  ~And it is worth every penny because I love the results this camera gives me. 

Parting shot #365  Hugs from Max!

I plan to continue with 365Project, but not right away.  I need a break plus we are heading into the Northern Cascades on Sunday and I probably will not have WiFi for almost a week.

Happy Trails!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Spokane, WA)

My  father-in-law sent flowers from his garden with my husband so I wanted to get a nice photo of them.  Hitch had a few ideas of his own...

For me?  sniff...sniff

hmm, I don't know about the smell...maybe they are for eating

blah!  yea, you can keep them!

On The Cutting Board

Cleaning out one of my bins, I came across this pile of 4 inch blocks stuffed in a corner...totally forgotten....poor things.  I don't have a clue as to what I was thinking when I cut them out.  I spent most of yesterday looking through old notes hoping that I wrote something down about these squares.  Nope! No such luck.  Obviously, I did not cut enough of the white squares to make very many blocks...soooo....

 I decided to make four-squares of what little white squares I had on hand.

I made enough blocks for 4 across and 5 down which isn't going to be big enough for even a crib-size quilt.  I'll have to go back through my stash and see if I have some more white background for a big border.

 Hmmm, now I have all these 4 inch squares leftover.  Maybe I will use them as part of the border.  Oh!  Got to go!  I just thought of a great way to use them in a border.

Happy Quilting!