Waiting in Texas (Gordonville, TX)

Since my last post, we have traveled a lot of miles.  2117 miles since 8 October. We rarely travel that many miles in a short time.  Surprisingly, our cats did not complain about the long hours on the road.  They did want to explore each new stop though.  Sometimes that just wasn't an option with the overnight location.  Ever try to explain to a cat that it isn't a good idea to go outside...yea, doesn't work.

We spent a couple of nights in Williams, AZ.  A great little town within walking distance of the Grand Canyon RV Park.  We were a little worried about being so close to the train tracks.  It would not be the first time a train has woke us in the middle of the night, but to be this close really had us thinking we were in for a couple of sleepless nights.  Turned out we worried for nothing.  The trains were unusually quiet...quiet engine...only one short horn blast at the crossings...even the wheels on the tracks seemed quieter if that is possible.  Anyway, we had no problems sleeping.

We hope to return sometime in the future so we can explore more of the area and ride the train to the Grand Canyon.

 During our two day stay, we walked the streets a couple of times.  I enjoyed the old signs the most and took more photos of them than of the buildings.

 Next time, I plan to check out this gift shop.  Looks very interesting...

I did go into this shop....Of Course!  I could not pass it by with the door sitting open just begging me to come on in.  The Quilts On Route 66 was small, but fun to wander around and talk to other quilters.  

 

We stayed one night in Homolovi State Park near Winslow, AZ.  We stayed here a couple of times when we first started traveling in our old motorhome.  Great views of fantastic sunsets!

Desert Moon

I really miss the southwest landscape, so I was quite happy when we went straight into Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) from Homolovi SP.

I'm sorry to say that I did not take a single photo during our week stay in ABQ.  I spent a lot of time shopping, getting a green chile fix from Golden Pride (more than once), visiting with friends, and seeing our old haunts.  We even drove by our old house which was a big mistake since it is up for sale and falling apart.  Such a shame.

 We are settled in Gordonville, TX while waiting for our new motorhome to become available.  We have a couple of more weeks to go.

We could not ask for a better spot to relax and wait.  This is our view from the side yard.  Nice, eh?

On The Cutting Board

All summer long, my shop was very quiet.  I think I had two sales.  So quiet that I did not think to close my shop during our trip.  I just thought it would stay quiet.  It did not.....

Lots of Happy Campers!

On the very first travel day, I received an order.  I messaged back that it may take me a few days to mail since I wasn't sure how our schedule would go or where to drop off packages.  I am very thankful that she was very understanding.

New Apple and Owl Mug Rugs (coasters)

That order was the first of many during our travels south!  It was like the first customer broke open the dam and the flood of orders started!  I was excited and stressed trying to fill the orders on time.  I really did not want to close my shop since this was the most active it had been since leaving Florida.

New Southwest Vintage Trailer

With the long hours on the road, I did a lot of sewing.  All of the photos above and below are new listings.  Some have already sold.

Tea Towel, Ornament and Quilt

My fingers are crossed that my shop will see more activity through the holiday season.  During my quiet time, I had started working on some UFOs - 3 quilts and more mug rugs.  I need to get them done and listed.  Well, I better get back to the cutting board!

Happy Quilting!

Time To Go (Key West, FL)

Well, it's that time again.

But, I don't want to leave!

Time to get back on the road and to move north.  Or to be a little more specific move towards the northwest to visit family and to see the Pacific coast again.  

We are packing up and leaving tomorrow for central Florida.  I'm going to miss Key West.  This winter wasn't as nice as the last time we were here.  We had more cold fronts come through bringing with it heavy winds, rain, and cooler weather. 

BUT, it was definitely a lot better than the weather up north.  The bad weather just made us appreciate the gorgeous sunny days all the more.

Plus the views were always fabulous.  I spent way too much time staring out at the sea and taking long walks.  I loved being able to spend this winter seating outside, breathing in salty fresh air, and watching the pelicans or the jet skis fly by.  I really have no room to complain.  I had a great time here.

On The Cutting Board
In between walks, watching cats, birds, sea....um...yea..anyway, I did start working on some UFOs.  I finished one wall hanging for Halloween.

This time I decided not to add a hanger and left the wall hanging a little more on the simple side instead by not quilting the whole background.  I wanted to add a few pets for the Witch.

I quilted a scared cat by her feet...

and a hanging bat from 'Witch'.  Just to fill it in a little.  Of course, I spent a lot of time second guessing myself.  Should I add more or leave it as is.  I do like the way it came out with just the two pets.  I might add more in the next one.  Yes, there is a second Witch sitting in my pile of UFOs.  I hope to get to it soon.

I also finished a tea towel with a design by Nancy Halovorsen.

I hope to get the Witch and Santa listed soon into Etsy since I just sold almost all of my Happy Campers this week.  I need to start a whole new batch of mug rugs soon.  Summer tends to be a busy time for the vintage campers.

In the meantime, I need to finish this Welcome wall hanging.  The checkered fabric is not as easy to sew through.  A little on the stiff side.  I found it harder to get the needle through this fabric than through fusible webbing.  My fingers are a little sore from fighting with the fabric and needle.

The hat's ribbon is loose right now.  I will attach it after I have finished the quilting.  I had a lot of fun embroidering the flowers around her feet...

and on her bonnet.  I added the birds as an after thought.  The area above her head looked a little bare.  I think the birds were the right choice.   I plan to quilt clouds into the background and I'll finish it with a blue binding.

The last project is this lap quilt.  I was stumped for quite awhile as to what I was going to do with this fabric.  I did not have a lot of it so I added in several soft color batik fat-quarters.  Now, I have enough to make two lap quilts.   I went a little crazy adding ginko leaves to the top.  I find applique work very relaxing. 

I guess I better get back to securing our stuff and packing up things I don't need out while we travel.

Happy Quilting!

Have You Seen? (Key West, FL)

I am beginning to think my time management skills flew out an open window while we were driving down the highway.  If you happen to see it, please let me know because I have had a hard time recently getting my 'act' together and getting things done.  I start out the morning with a plan.  Before I know it, evening is here and I'm trying to figure out where the day went.  Well, if I ever find those skills lurking around somewhere, I do plan to put them back to work.  

In the meantime, I am enjoying our stay on Sigsbee's campground.  Check out the site we had for 18 days.  Nice, eh?  We sat outside every chance we got with our cats.  The picnic tables across the road are for the dry campers.  For the first week, we had this view and then of course, our view slowly got blocked as more people started to show up and take the dry camping sites.  We rotated yesterday back to a second row with a view of the sea between rigs...oh well.  It is still one of the best views...ever!

Our son Shaun was visiting at the time.  He got to experience our rotation into a dry camping site and then into this nice one.  Between moves, we had a great visit with him and spent a lot of time showing him the sites we like to haunt in downtown Key West.

Shaun at the Beginning and End of  Mile 0

There were quite a few festivities going on while Shaun was visiting.  We watched the parade of "Zombie Bike Ride" on Duval Street one evening.

I read somewhere that they had over 7000 participants riding this year.

Lots of creative imagination went into some of the costumes along with bike decorations.

This is one of my favorites.  Yea, I had too many favorites to post them all.

Since I was standing right on the curb with no one near me to obscure my shots, I was attracting just a few of the Zombies.  This one got pretty close before he swerved away.  It helps to give off that 'air head' look so they won't attack me for what little brains I do have.

We also took Shaun to the Pet Masquerade at the Casa Marina Resort.  We were able to mingle around with the owners and their pets before they were called to the stage to stand before the viewing judges.

That was a lot of fun seeing different pets dressed up.  They seem to be enjoying all the special attention.

 Even this cat seemed to be taking it all in, but she wasn't so sure that she wanted all the attention.

Even the hedgehog had an outfit, but he kept slipping out of it.  I'm sure he wore it in time to go on stage.

 Our favorite surprise was seeing a sloth up close and in costume.  I kept thinking of the movie "The Croods".  There was a sloth in it called 'Belt' because he hung around his owner's waist.  This one must be 'Sling' because he never moved his arm the whole time, but he sure could twist his head around to watch the people.

Shaun's one request was to tour Ernest Hemingway's house.  Of course, he was more interested in seeing the six-toed cats than the house.  We did spend a little bit of time wandering around inside the house before heading outside to look for cats.

We were happy to find quite a few kittens and they didn't seem to mind all the visitors following them around.  This one is walking through the Cat's Memorial area.  A lot of the cats are named after movie stars, writers, and singers.  I looked for John Wayne, but I did not see his name.  So, either the cat is still alive or no one has thought to name a cat after him yet.

This little guy was having fun with Dan and a stick.  He showed us his big paws several times.  It is a good thing that I have too many cats now.  I would love to have a cat like this one.  I just love his or her face!  Adorable!

We stopped one day at Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe.  We tried several delicious samples of cookies, candies, and gosh, I don't remember now.  I was so sugared-out by the end of the day that I am surprised I remembered my own name.  But, it was all good. 

 We settled on a Key Lime Pie on-a-stick.  Dan and I picked out the frozen pie slice with a chocolate cover while Shaun had strawberry white chocolate.  The shoppe has a nice covered outdoor area with a waterfall and pond filled with big Koi for customers to sit down while eating.

The big guys kept following me back and forth while I tried to take their picture.  I'm sure I heard one of them say "come on! feed us!".

On The Cutting Board

I had two large orders come in within a week of each other.  Both customers want the orders done in time for Christmas.  The first one is for 3 Santa Garlands designed by Nancy Halvorsen.  I almost went into a panic.  I haven't made this garland before and there was a lot of detail to work on with each one.

Each garland had 6 Santas holding 5 wreaths.  I needed to make 18 Santas with 18 separate mustaches and 15 padded wreaths.

Once I got started and saw how well each Santa was starting to form, I started to enjoy the making of each one.  I tried to make each Santa a little different.  Different trims, beards, and different colored mittens.

The mustaches turned into more of a challenge.  I had to sew the mustache completely closed.  Slice a hole in one side......without! cutting the other side.  Then I had to turn them inside out through the tiny slit.  The fabric did not want to cooperate.  I would get one side almost inside out and it would flip back!  Arrrgh!  Well, I managed to finally flip all 18 and you can bet I had a pretty good system down for turning them inside out by the time I was done.

And....here they are!  All 3 garlands done and ready to ship.

I do love the mustaches now that they are done.

close-up of third garland

For the small bows, I used a DIY system through Pinterest.  This is a link to the website:  DIY Satin Ribbon Bow

Great photos and easy to follow.  Don't my bows look great on the wreaths?

Well, I have another large order to fill before Christmas so I better get back to work!

Happy Quilting and a Happy Thanksgiving!