Shenandoah National Park

Wild Flowers along Skyline Drive

I’m back!  WooHoo!  I missed my internet!  It is amazing how much I need my internet connection.   With a few strokes of the keyboard, I have information, news from family and friends along with entertainment.  Instant gratification!  Oh yea!

Well, the good news is that I did get a little more quilting done in the evenings.

2nd Pumpkin and 2 more snowmen

Started Garden Nouveau

Since the last time I blogged, we have been busy exploring the Shenandoah National Park and some of the surrounding area.  We stayed in Loft Mountain Campground inside the Park.  I felt like we were on top of the world.  All the scenic views were spectacular. We had to drive 25 miles on Skyline Drive to get to the campground.  I wasn't so sure about this drive in the motorhome since I had read a description saying the drive wound around on top of the ridge of the mountains.  But it wasn't that bad.  Most of the time it was a tree covered road with wide and very spacious overlook areas.  We could fit our motorhome towing the car with plenty of space for many more cars.

Great views from Skyline Drive

We had just settled in to our new home when the park received a good downpour.  I don’t think it lasted more than an hour, but it certainly made a difference in the temperature.  The weather stayed cool most of our stay.  Which was a big plus since we were dry camping (no hookups) during our stay.  It was so nice to be able to sleep with the windows open.

For our first full day in the park, we did a 3.5 mile hike on Doyles Fall Trail that was described as being “moderate”.  I felt so out of shape!  It felt more like “difficult” to me.  It took me two days to recuperate from that hike.  The next hike was a little over 4 miles on Rose River Falls.  Two friendly Rangers advised us that the trail was an easier walk than Doyles and better because it followed the cascading river.   I did not feel as wimpy on this trail, but I still need to get back into shape.

I’ll try to get my photos uploaded to Webshots in a couple of days.

Next blog:  Virginia Quilt Museum

We move to Gladys, VA.  Not too far from Lynchburg.   I’m not sure how long we will stay here before moving west to Tennessee.

Last Block – Done!!

We have rotated back to dry camping. During our two weeks with full hook-ups, I managed to layer (not easy to do on breezy days) and quilted 4 small lap quilts for Project Linus. I am really going to miss having my outdoor sewing center/screen house with an oceanview. It was so nice to smell the salty air, watch boats float by and a variety of sea birds fly by during my breaks. It doesn’t get any better than that. Oh, a couple of times we saw dolphins swim by in the early mornings.   I can hear Enya in the background...

Now I get to watch the Iguanas.  They come out during the day to eat the vegetation and soak up the sun.  A couple of them actually cross the dirt road to the camping sites for the taller grass around the site's markers.   The cats spend time watching them and Hitch has tried to chase a few startled Iguanas on our walks.

I guess I was in a dog theme mood this time.  Shhh!  Don't tell the kitties!

I just finish the binding on #4. Ahhh! That feels so good!

Here’s a photo of the last block on Vi’s quilt, but I still have all the outer sashings and two borders to quilt. Yea, I think it’ll take a little bit longer to finish.

I bought a new mesh that is supposed to make it easier to transfer a pattern to my quilt. I trace the pattern onto the mesh with a pencil or a pen. Easier said than done.  Then with the fabric pen, I retrace the pattern onto the quilt. The fabric pen is supposed to go through the tiny holes. I’m not sure how well this is going to work, but I will give it a try. I have been making my own stencils which is not easy to cut out. I’m hoping this will make transferring a little easier for me.

I could spend hours browsing through quilt shops online, reading blogs and message boards. All these wonderful links take my time away from quilting, so I thought I just had to share them with my friends.

This website just started in January of this year.  It is perfect for me. I get a read-along murder mystery, clues, quilts, fabrics, browsing/shopping online and a chance to win a prize. Every Saturday, I receive another chapter to the murder mystery with links to several shops to look for the clues. They also have a great blog with interesting stories about historical quilts and unusually colorful, but real characters.

A new series starts on 1 May 2011.  http://www.quiltingismurder.com/default.aspx

I joined this message board for quilters. I think it has just about everything a quilter could want and if it isn’t there, well just ask! Someone is bound to know or can link you up to a great website. They have tutorials as well.  http://www.quiltingboard.com/

I became a FB friend with Emilie Richards. I am finishing the last of her Shenandoah Album series "Sister's Choice".  She has a wonderful website and blog.  http://www.emilierichards.com/ Quite a few of Emilie’s Fans including me have been asking when she is going to publish another Shenandoah book. Emilie explained that she has another book written, but her publisher says not now.

Recently Emilie posted this in FB:  Oohh. . . Just discovered there's an email address you can write to let my publisher know you'd like more Shenandoah Album books. It pays to ask. This is SO much easier. Just email: customer_ecare@harlequin.ca

So, if you want another Shenandoah Album book to read, please do as I did and just send a short request to her publisher. Who knows maybe if there are enough requests, they will publish #6!

I don’t know about you, but Copyright laws have become rather confusing for me as a quilter. This website goes into great detail clarifying our rights as a quilter. They are good about answering their emails as well.

http://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/HallOfShame/PatternCompanies/articles/KnowYourRightsAndWrongs_Issues.shtml

Happy Quilting!