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!

Under the Rainbow (Glenrock, WY)

We have been getting a thunderstorm every afternoon.  Most of them pass by us along the mountain ridge, but not on this day.  The storm came through with high winds, hail, rain, and two rainbows.  For some reason, my camera did not pick up the second rainbow.  It was an interesting sight to see with the black sky, the sunshine, and the rainbows.  Maybe we will see more rainbows.

On The Cutting Board

I'm starting on some new projects.  The Welcome wall hanging has been waiting for me to work on it.

Actually, I have three ready to work on, but I have been too busy with the mug rugs.  I love this yellow checkered background.  It has a very sunny feeling to it.

I have also started working on two new mug rugs.  For some reason, I am in a maroon and tan color mood.  I'm still deciding what kind of flowers and stitches I want to use so I started working on the second one while I give it some thought.

I have five of the seven Happy Campers left in my Etsy shop.  The names are linked to my shop if you are interested in one of them.
Happy Camper 21
Happy Camper 22
I can't say which one I like best.  I like the petite french knot flowers and the crooked windows in both of the ones above.
 Happy Camper 23
I was going for more of a zen feel on the pink one above by adding bamboo, wisteria, and a wind chime.
Happy Camper 24
Happy Camper 25
The last two are just fun with their whimsical flowers and colors.
Happy Quilting!

Five Years On The Road (Seaside, OR)

Can you believe it?  We have been full-timing for 5 years!  Wow!  I tried to go through our photo archives.  Boy, do I take a lot of photos.  At least, I was smart enough to put them into an annual folder at the end of the year.  That reminds me...I still need to do that for 2013.

I spent most of this morning looking for photos to put into a couple of collages.  Lots of memories in those folders for five short years.  I finally decided to keep the collages simple and as diverse as possible.  I should do photo collages more often.  They are a lot of fun to make.

We have done so much.....and yet there is so much more to see and do.  

South Dakota, Texas, Arizona,
Montana, Florida

 There are many that I wouldn't mind seeing again too such as Glacier NP or Shenandoah NP or the Florida Keys.  A list of places I have not seen yet?  That can turn into a long list.  I better not start that one.

Oregon, Kentucky, Nevada, Florida, Utah, Montana

On The Cutting Board

I'm almost done with four of the Happy Campers.  I'm not quite sure why I'm using so much pink.  I need to go through my stash and see about coming up with some un-pink combos for the next couple of mug rugs.  Like I don't have a pile of them already...only 20+ campers ready for embroidering.  What can I say.......

 I decided to do another horse camper.  I love the way the mane and flowers came out this time.

Since we will be working a lot this year, I thought I would put together a few more projects for hand sewing for those days when I am too tired to bother with setup and breakdowns of my sewing space.  I'm transferring more of the snowman collectors for embroidering.  I also have some quilt blocks that I plan to sew by hand.  By the time I am done, I will have plenty of projects to pick from my No Brainer collection or "I'm too tired, but I want to do some kind of sewing" pile.  

I have been playing around with this design for a couple of months.  This is my 'Gardener's Welcome' wall hanging.  You'll notice my little gardener doesn't have feet.  Well, that is because I plan to cover the bottom with embroidered flowers.  I'm hoping that when I am finished, the Welcome will look like a big plant.  I'm still working on how I'll do that.

I'm making a second Gardener's Welcome wall hanging in a larger size.  I'm also making another 'The Witch Is In' wall hanging.  I'm hoping to get them ready for fusing later today.

Here's one more photo to remind me that spring is on its way.  Hard to tell today with all the cold wind and rain hitting the side of our motorhome.

Oh well, at least it gives me a good excuse to get back to my projects....
Happy Quilting!