Finished and Moving On (Las Vegas, NV)

Finished! Done!  WooHoo!.....of course, we will not peek into my closet to see how many more UFOs lurk in the dark corners....

I hung these up in a hurry today to get some photos.  I have a long list of things I want to finish before we leave tomorrow.

I had planned to take these to Albuquerque this summer.  Due to our returning to the Preserve for this winter, we will not be going to New Mexico.  

So, if I find a charity group during our travels, I will give them this quilt along with the Redwork Teddy Bear quilt.  Hopefully, I will find a Project Linus contact.  If not, I know the Escapee's Parks have people collecting charity blankets and I don't mind giving them these two quilts.

I need to iron the border on this one.  I also need to take better photos before I post this quilt on Etsy.  I'm sticking with calling this one "Delightfully Dizzy" spring lap quilt.  What do you think of the name?

Good-bye to Las Vegas

Travel day tomorrow ~ Saturday.  Yep, it is time to start making our way north towards Washington State.  I had fun in Las Vegas and maybe someday, we will come back.

Happy Trails!

Feeling So Good! (Las Vegas, NV)

This has been a wonderful week for me.  Las Vegas is great, I'm seeing the light at the of the tunnel for three quilts, and I am featured in two Treasuries from around the world!  People on Cloud 9 ~ Make room for me!

Vintage Vegas

We spent one evening in the vintage Las Vegas downtown.  We ate dinner at Hash House a Go-Go.  It is a good thing we decided to split a salad because "Huge" salad described in the menu is an understatement!  I barely finished my half and left most of my bread behind.  They don't believe in small portions at this restaurant and it was delicious!

I can see Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack walking down the street....

Vintage Vegas

This is the Fremont Street Experience.  The canopy has thousands of LED lights and speakers setup for the light show.

There is a zipline ride that goes down the length of the canopy.  I got one good photo of four people going by over our heads.

Zipline riders

We watched the first show with Don Mclean's "American Pie".  Talk about Retro!

Go-Go Dancers

Finishing up with a rocket launch.  If you can zoom in on the astronaut on the right, you can see JFK and MLK in the face shield.

Rocket Man

On the Cutting Board

For the last couple of days, the weather has been cold and wet.  Yep, we are getting some rain.  Perfect time to work on my quilts.  I finished quilting two quilts already.

I'm almost done with the third one.  I haven't made the binding yet, so that'll be my next project - making binding for three quilts.  Sigh, it feels good to finish these three.

Featured in Two Treasuries

Two of my quilts are featured in this lovely treasury!  Thank you Lesya!  Check out some of the shops in her treasury:

Lesya lives in Russia.  Amazing how the internet has shrunk our world!  Stop by Rainbow Gerbera to see her lovely shop filled with beautiful crocheted items.

Rainbow Gerbera

Here's the second treasury by Charo.  Thank you so much Charo! Check out some of the shops in this one:

Charo lives in Madrid, Spain and her shop is filled with beautiful detailed miniatures.    

Artisluna Minaturas

Happy Quilting!

12 Projects of 2012 (Patagonia, AZ)

A Facebook group called Crafty Mavens invited me to join their 12 Projects for 2012.  Each person makes out a list of projects to finish.

Here's my PhD (Projects half Done) list:

1. Small Stockings
2. Mug Rugs – Seasonal
3. Crochet Blanket
4. Teddy Bear Quilt
5. Dresden Quilt
6.  Traveler Mug Rug
7. Frog – Witches Brew
8. Cat Quilt
9. Valentine Angel
10. Cake Mix Quilt
11. X-stitch Cat Sign
12. Granddaughter’s quilt

I'm looking at this list and thinking it doesn't look all that bad, does it?  I could finish a few of these in one month, right?  This list is a Breeze!  Yep, famous last words...

Since I'm more visual, I decided to add photos from the list.

1. Stockings

2. Mug Rugs

3. Crochet blanket

4. Teddy Bear Quilt

and or

4. Teddy Bear Quilt

5. Dresden Plate Quilt

6. Traveler Mug Rug & Rabbit for another quilt

7. Frog and Mummy Mug Rugs

8. Cat Quilt  (I stashed so well that I can't find it right now)

9. Valentine Angel (No Photo)  The patterns and material are packed in the basement right now.

10. Cake Layer Quilt

11. X-stitch kit

12. Garden Quilt

Then I piled them all together.  Oh yea, the list feels a lot bigger now....

My order of yarn finally showed up.  It only took two weeks to get here.  I think it took the scenic route.  :0)

I will leave you with a couple of photos of birds.  Both of these birds are hard to photograph.  They like hiding in thickets and bushes.  The Albert's Towhee was playing peek-a-boo with me.  I finally got one good photo when he ducked down to see if I was still there.  Gotcha!

Albert's Towhee

Townsend Solitaire

Well, I better get back to my projects, because I've already got another list going of new projects that are floating around in my head.

Quilting Muse? (Patagonia, AZ)

Confession time:  I have to admit that I had lost my passion for quilting.  Even the thought of creating something new made me...okay, I'll say it "cringe".  Every time I tried to work on one of my projects for the last couple of months, I felt like I was making myself do it.  The love of quilting just wasn't there and I did not know why.  

During my 3-day break, I found my creative passion for quilting and I understand why I lost it.  I contribute this enlightenment to yoga. I know I'm getting a little deep here, but bare with me. I promise to keep this short.  

I started back into yoga about 7 years ago to help lose weight.  I keep to simple poses for strength, stretching, and relaxing/meditation.  I did not realize how much I and my body were missing these sessions until last weekend.  

Halfway through the first session, I could feel my spine stretching, the blood flowing to the brain, and oxygen filling my lungs.  My relaxed mind kicked into high gear and all sorts of quilting ideas start flowing....images of quilts, color schemes, new ideas for finishing UFOs.  

It was a wonderful feeling!  Welcome Back!  Okay, so I sound a little weird, but nothing else motivates me like yoga.   Yoga is my Muse and I cannot ignore it.

On to Q U I L T I N G !

I pulled out the four Dresden Plate blocks and added sashings to them.  It seemed a little small and unfinished.

After some thought, I decided to add borders to make it a little larger.  All right! One top is ready for quilting this summer.  WooHoo!

I also finished the last Redwork block of Teddy Bears.  I bought the red polka-dot fabric just for this project.  I came pretty close to using it for other quilts.  I'm so glad I did not use it.  I hope to start on the sashings soon.  We get another 3-day weekend for New Years.  Guess what I'll be working on.

Did I tell you that I like to crochet too..just for something different that is fast and easy.  I usually crochet while Dan is driving, but I decided I needed to get this one out of the closet and get it done.  I'm about halfway through this one and I hope to have it done before we leave here.

I love this yarn.  It is so soft and fluffy.  I think any child will love having it.  The yarn color is called Tutti-Fruiti, but I think it looks like Cotton Candy, don't you?

Oh, and all three above projects are going to Project Linus unless I can find a local charity that takes blankets and quilts for children in need.

Remember my Delighted! squares that I won?  I thought I would save some time doing some fast stack-n-whack cutting.  BIG mistake!  I cut one of the stripes the wrong direction!  Nooooo!  I should have known better.  I guess I will replace it with some of the green fabric that I bought for the border.  I'm hoping this is a good mistake because I did not plan to add the green into the quilt blocks.  Maybe it will look more uniformed with a little of the border in the blocks.  Fingers crossed - well, not while I'm sewing, of course.

I am curious.  Do you have a Muse?  Not one that inspires you, but actually gets you motivated and gets your creative juices flowing. 

My Memories Freebie Friday

** After today, I will be adding the Free designs on a separate "Freebie" page along with coupon information and tips.  Each one will be available for one week.**


Please note that all of these are .png files only, not MyMemories Suite Templates. They are usable in any software so these freebies are for everyone!! These freebies include 2 Quick Pages, and all of the papers and elements used in creating them. The elements and QuickPages are .png and the papers are .jpg format.

This Digital Kit Includes:

• 5 Page Elements
• 2 Quick Pages

This Digital Kit Includes:

• 2 Digital Papers
• 5 Page Elements
• 2 Quick Pages

It is easy to make your own digital scrapbook. I created the below scrapbook page using one of the free Designer Packs.

Here are the simple instructions from My Memories - LIZ:

Just open MyMemories Suite to a blank layout, click: Photos ==> Add (find your .png Quick Page on your computer)

Add the Quick Page to your project, and then do the same for your photo. Add a little Text for your journaling and voila - you're done in an instant!! 

If you are interested in getting the software, please go to My Memories website and don't forget.....

Use this discount code: STMMMS75192

during your checkout and receive:

$10 off  the software purchase

and a $10 gift  certificate to the online store

National Quilting Day! Happy Quilting!

March 19 is National Quilting Day.  I won't be able to quilt today.  I am volunteering to be a Docent for a Key West House Tour.  I did the tour yesterday (no photos allowed - darn!).  My favorites were their gardens.  So inviting.  So relaxing.  Many of the houses had a lot of character with a wide range of colors giving me a feeling of being in the tropics.  And of course, it gave me lots of ideas for more quilts.   hmmmm, just what I need - more ideas.

I did prep-work on 4 Dresden Plates yesterday.  The unfinished Dresdens were donated to Project Linus.   I don't have any matching material for borders.  I might have to go shopping if there is nothing in my stash.  In the meantime, I will start hand sewing the Dresdens to the background.  A good project to do while we are traveling to our next location.

2 years ago on 19 March, I retired from my job to full-time with my husband in our motorhome.  I can't believe it has been 2 years!  On 22 March, we left Albuquerque and started our adventures on the road.  Wow!  Our second anniversary of freedom and full-timing.  And yes, I would do it all over again.