Fall is Coming (Key West, FL)

I can definitely feel the change in the air.  And, of course, the cold front from the north bringing cooler winds adds to the feeling as well.  Campsites seem to be changing daily with many people moving to dry camp on Trombo while new rigs are showing up to replace the empty sites.   We have had three different neighbors in one week.  We are also seeing a different variety of birds recently.  We were happy to see a few pelicans hanging around the base marina this past week.  Hopefully, more will show up soon.  They were a lot of fun to watch the last time we were here.  

 

There is also the feeling of anticipation for the upcoming fall festivals in the downtown area.  We look forward to the pet and owner masquerade and for our son's visit.  We plan to show him all the sights we have enjoyed in the past.

Here are a few more photos from what we have done in the last couple of weeks:

We visited the Key West Wildlife Center.  We were greeted at the front entrance by these two unlikely companions.

Welcome committee

 Parking is hard to find free in the downtown area so we have been parking near the Eco Discovery Center.  Also, a great place to visit and learn about our oceans and how they are rebuilding living reefs.

South Florida encourages people to fish for this guy.  Apparently, this alien Lion fish has become invasive and a danger to the living reefs.  It's too bad that owners felt a need to toss their beautiful pets into the local waters instead of finding them a new home.

When we leave our car, we get to walk through the Truman Annex neighborhood.  I love looking at the homes and their front yards as we pass by.  It is such a peaceful area that it is hard to believe they are only a few minutes walk from the downtown area.

Truman Annex

This is a photo from the porch of the Customs House. The museum was quite interesting with a mixture of art and history. Hemingway's "The Old Man and The Sea" display took most of our time. We read the story accompanied with 59 pen and ink drawings by Guy Harvey that started on the first floor wound its way up the stairs to the third floor.

Since I have so many photos of different buildings I decided to put a couple of collages together. There are so many styles of architecture that I would have a hard time deciding which design I like better. I'm glad I don't have to choose just one.

I love the colors!

The Curry Mansion also caught my eye.  I love the laced woodwork details and I would really love a tour of both houses - The Southernmost House and the Curry Mansion.

Curry Mansion

On The Cutting Board

My needle has been smokin' from all the sewing I have been doing lately.  I finished quite a few mug rugs for the holiday season.

I actually got them listed early enough for customers to order and enjoy for the season.  A shock! I know!

I plan to list Santa and reindeer sometime this week

I can't believe I have finished four applique blocks in such a short time.

Not only were they fun to make, they were quite relaxing to applique.  Sometimes the pattern, the thread, or the fabric fight with me making it hard to enjoy.  That's when it turns into a UFO.  That'll teach 'em!

But, not these four blocks.  I looked forward to working on them.  The hardest part was getting the tiny circle to be ROUND, but the hand or even the eight-point star was not a problem.  Batik is the best fabric for applique work.

Now, I need to decide on borders.  I plan to make four different sized pillow covers, so each block will have a different border or at least that is my plan for now.  This will be quite a challenge for me to make the right size pillow cover.  Time to do some research!

Happy Quilting!