Holy Crap! Snow! (Piedmont, SD)

We spent most of this month traveling and visiting family.  We managed to dodge several severe thunderstorms along the way, but not the cold fronts.  This was our first morning greeting to South Dakota.  From the posts I saw on Facebook, we are not alone with the surprise snow covered ground.  I am hoping it will be the last for this Winter....hmm, I mean Spring.

Dan spent a lot of time searching for the perfect campgrounds for us to stay along the way.  This is the first time we have driven this route.  We stopped to visit my brother in Huntsville, AL while staying in Redstone Arsenal FamCamp.  A very nice RV park with plenty of walking paths and close to shopping.  

US Space & Rocket Center

From there, we drove through Tennessee and stayed at Cherokee Landing Thousand Trails in Saulsbury.  

Cherokee Landing Thousand Trails

This park needs a lot of work.  The employees do a great job of keeping the areas clean, but the building and sites need to be renovated.  If you are looking for a more back to nature experience then this is perfect for you.

The cats loved this park with all the trees and wildlife to explore.  Since the park was not busy, they were able to explore quite a few sites away.

Dusty did not want to leave, but he was very happy with our new location at the USACE Maumelle Camp near Little Rock, AK on the Arkansas River.

All three cats even took a walk down to the river with us.  The park was busier than the last one, but the sites were large with plenty of space for the cats to explore without going into another site..

Maumelle Camp Near Little Rock AR

And Dusty did not want to leave.  Then he saw our new location at Chicken Creek Camp Tenkiller Ferry Lake near Gore, OK and he was happy cat once again.  This time I wasn't too happy to hear that the campground had emptied out earlier that day due to warnings of severe thunderstorms with hail and tornado warnings.  There were only four campsites in use besides us and the camp-hosts.  We decided to stay because there really was no place to get away from this storm front.  Lucky for us, the storm went around this area.  We got a little bit of rain and some gusts of winds, but otherwise it was a quiet night.

Chicken Creek Camp Tenkiller Ferry Lake Near Gore OK

Dusty was once again 'not a happy cat' about leaving.  Are you wondering how we know he is not happy with us moving?  Well, he starts crying as soon as the motorhome starts moving.  He'll even go to the door and cry.  If he doesn't like the site, he just goes to sleep.  "No worries.  I didn't like it here anyway." 

Dusty was not happy with our new site in Ft Sill either because he did not beg to out every other hour.  Sites are tight and boring according to cat's standards until we had visitors.  Dusty says Celeste gives very good belly rubs and makes rolling in the grass more fun.

We spent Easter weekend visiting with our daughter, granddaughters, and getting to know our soon-to-be son-in-law.  We spent Saturday afternoon at Ft Sill so the girls could enjoy the FamCamp's lakeside playground and had a delicious Easter dinner on Sunday.  It was wonderful to see our grandchildren again and to visit with Misty and Jeff.

photos by Misty

Back on the road again and heading north to South Dakota, we stopped in another US Army Corp of Engineer's park near Alma, NE.  Here's a unique sight.  While driving on the road to Hunter Cove, we passed a guy leading two packhorses down the street.  We saw him again the next day about 8 miles down the road in Republican City.

After we were settled into our site, we let all three cats out knowing they were going to love this park.  The first thing Hitch did when he was allowed outside was to climb this tree.  He climbed it a couple of more times and must have decided it was too easy because he took off at a full run towards the other trees.  He never got as high, but he was happy.

Hunter Cove Army Corps Of Engineers, Alma NE

Max was quite happy to find a nice soft spot among the big tree's roots for sleeping.  The campground wasn't busy when we were there, but it sounds like it will stay busy once school lets out.  In the meantime, we had a pleasant stay and the cats did a lot of exploring.

And of course, once again, Dusty was not happy about leaving.  I told him there would be other great sites, but I don't think he believed me.

Yeah, right...😒

We made an unscheduled stop at Wall Drug since it was along the way.  A nice change of pace from all our traveling lately.  We did a little shopping and had lunch.

This guy looked like he had a snack and was looking for his lunch....grrr

So, we are done traveling for the next month while we take care of our driver's licenses and do a little sightseeing in the Black Hills area.

On The Cutting Board

I haven't been in the mood for starting a new quilt.  I have been spending most of my time embroidering the A to Zzzz Snowman blocks.

Kris and Lights

I'm amazed how fast these are going.

Mittens

At this speed, I should have all the embroidery done before the end of the year.

Noel

Maybe by that time I'll be back in the mood to sew together the blocks into a quilt.

and Ornaments

Until then, I will keep on 'Stitchin'!

Happy Quilting!

Trouble with Backing (Knoxville, TN)

Great Smokey Mountains - Elijah Oliver's Place

Backing

I received my extra wide backing in the mail a couple of weeks ago.  I was a little disappointed in how stiff it felt.   I could not see anyone wanting to cuddle under a quilt with this stiff material as its backing.  So I washed it …..and a second time….then three times.  It still felt stiff.

I turned to my friends on Quilted Paradise Message Board.  Many of the quilters said it was probably the sizing that was causing the stiffness and one suggested I wash the fabric with Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda.  It was amazing the difference in the fabric after one washing.  I could actually feel the difference.  I washed it 2 more times and I am a lot happier with the fabric.

Now I get to iron all that material on my table top ironing board…oh joy….

Backing

Done!   It only took me two hours.

Done!

New fabric

Great Smokey Mountains

Smokey Mountains album
We spent an afternoon at the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  It was beautiful, but not very relaxing.  We made the mistake of going on a Saturday afternoon and it was very…..very…very busy! We decided to do the one loop with the old homesteads.  The best part was the freedom to walk around and explore the nooks and crannies of the homesteads.  It gave me more of a feel of what it was like to live in the 1800’s.  It’s quiet, serene, and simple with a lot of hardship as well.  Yea, I like living in this century better.

I wanted to visit Gatlinburg’s 8 miles of Arts and Crafts.  You guessed right.  There’s a quilt shop there too and another one in Sevierville.  But that wasn't the only reason.  I wanted to see the traditional mountain artwork too.  I use to read the Foxfire series.  Have you heard of them?  If I remember correctly,  students would interview the local mountain people.  There was a variety of art, stories, how to's, etc.  I found them fascinating.  I should look the books 96up.....and I'm off the subject.... 

Anyway, we started getting into heavy traffic in Sevierville.  Crawled through Pigeon Forge, and came to a complete stop on Gatlinburg’s main street.  We stopped for a quick lunch and decided we better visit the national park first.  By the time we finished the Cades Cove loop, it was after 6 pm.  So, I never made it to the quilt shops, but I can leave you the links.  The shops look very nice.

The Cherry Pit  in Sevierville 

Mountain Stitches by Susan in Gatlinburg

http://www.gatlinburgcrafts.com/  This site has a list of the artists along with their own websites if they have one.

Oh, in case you are wondering why I did not go on a different day.  Between running errands and Dan installing a new kitchen faucet, we ran out of time.  I can definitely give up a trip to quilt shops for a very nice stainless steel kitchen faucet. 

First Sale! (Knoxville, TN)

I’m so excited!  I got my first order yesterday!  I sold a Witch Mug Rug!  I mailed it today.  I am officially open!  Yea! 

Of course, this order took place while we were on the road for over 7 hours yesterday.  And…I forgot to put that in my last blog or on Facebook.  We got to see a little of the Allegany Mountains from the highway.  I’m hoping to see the Smokey Mountain National Park before we leave the area.   We are now in Heiskell, TN just north of Knoxville.  We plan to spend the week here.

Near the Tennessee/Virginia border

I have joined Twitter, Pinterest, and I have opened a QuiltinCats Fan Page on Facebook.  My head is spinning with all the information out there. Oh, you can become a Fan of QuiltinCats Facebook Page by clicking on the link in the left column then click “Like”.  I have been brainstorming with my daughter Misty and she has some wonderful ideas. So, you will be seeing some changes in the future.  She has been a great help in getting me started and her support has been very encouraging.

I don’t have any new photos of my projects so I will leave you with some of my 365 Project photos.

On the lake

Stay cool and happy quilting!