Done and Done (Clermont, FL)

Since returning to the RV park in Clermont, we have been watching hot air balloons fly by every morning.  Sometimes they were close enough for us to hear people talking and the roar of the burners.  Most of the time, they were off in the distance.

Yesterday was quite a bit different.  The balloons were east of us and rapidly descending into our park.

It made for an exciting walk for us.  Usually the campground is quiet in the early mornings.  Only a few people are out enjoying the cooler weather and except for a few sightings of cranes and balloons, there just isn't a whole lot going on.  This time was definitely different.  People appeared out of nowhere to watch the balloons land, and the cranes were running, not flying, away from the balloons.

The pilots did a wonderful job of landing by navigating around tall trees, buildings, and rigs.  One landed between sites near a trailer.  Imagine looking out your window to see a hot air balloon sitting next to your rig!

The other three were able to land in open space near the center and once their chasers showed up they were soon deflated, packed, and gone like the wind.  Sigh!  What a great morning!

On The Cutting Board

All right!  Three quilts done!  Quilting - Done!  Binding - Done!  Okay, I do have another three more to finish and I am working on them right now.  So, I should have more photos soon.

I got a little more creative with the flower by quilting in the center and petals.  I also did more loops than squiggly lines to imitate bees flying around.  On the bear quilt, I did clouds, heart shaped balloons, stars, and swirls of wind.  It was a nice change from the usual meandering.

I finished the Macaw's Welcome wall hanging.   I might try this one again on a smaller scale so I won't have to do as much hand quilting in the open space.  The words can certainly be made smaller and still be able to read them.

Does the "Welcome" look like his toy?

I was going to use beads but the glass bead collection I was gathering together were starting to feel rather heavy.  I was afraid they would cause some problems with the lightweight wall hanging laying flat.

The buttons worked a lot better.  Lightweight and bright, they look like part of a birds toy.  Oh, and I added a few bells.  Got to be able to make some noise while he is playing, right?

I also finished my Hawaiian Turtle block!  It is now a HUGE pillow.  22 inches to be exact, but still it is so big compared to all my other pillows.

See, it is even bigger than the back of our couch.  Dusty can hide behind it.  He likes to hide under my quilts while I am working on them.  Although, he wasn't quite sure why I was putting this big pillow on top of him.

One good thing is that Dan says he plans to use the big pillow.  It is nice to know it will not be wasted just taking up room on the end of the couch.  Well, I have more things on my list that I would like to check off soon so I better get to them....

Happy Quilting!

Snowman Invasion (Conroe, TX)

We have been busy running errands, walking, and making this year's travel plans, but not a whole lot going on to post about lately.  We moved to the Conroe/Willis campground on Conroe Lake about two weeks ago.  It is only a short walk to the lake from our site.  We opted for a site with a field behind us for the cats.  Being springtime, the cats are not getting out as much as they would like due to rain and mud.  

Lake Conroe from the campground's beach area

Here are a few more photos of birds I took while we were staying in Columbus.  The pecan trees were too tall for me to get as many shots that I would like of the different birds.  We saw a few woodpeckers and some birds we could not identify. The Meadowlarks ran around the motorhome searching for food which caused our cats to go spastic. 

 I saw a few bluebirds and large flocks of Cardinals - sorry no photos of them....

 And of course, plenty of sparrows.

On The Cutting Board

A repeat customer said she was interested in buying 10 snowmen towards the end of summer.  I got excited at the challenge to come up with 10 original looking snowmen.  I pulled out all kinds of scraps, dug through my tubs for different textures...and somehow most of them ended up with blue scarfs.  Now, how did I do that? Hmmm?

Looks like a friendly invasion of snowmen!
"We want your hot cups of coffee, tea, and chocolate!"

Oh, and you are not miscounting.  I made 12 instead of 10 so I could add the extras to my shop.  I might add a couple of more so I can have a better variety of scarf colors.  At least, one with a red scarf and another green scarf.

I have also been working on some more Happy Campers.  In the past, customers have asked for a class-c shape, so I thought I might add one or two to the shop along with a motorhome shape.  It'll depend on how well they sell if I will make more for the shop. 

When I am not in the mood to work on the mug rugs, I have been hand-quilting this wall hanging.  I'm trying to keep my multi-tasking/short-attention span under control by allowing myself to only work on only a few projects per week until they are done and not start new ones.

It hasn't been easy since I have so many ideas bouncing around.  I started writing them down since I am afraid I will forget before I have a chance to start the new project.  Now, if I can just remember where I put the list...I know it is here somewhere....

Happy Quilting!

Defender's Day (Coffeyville, KS)

Once a year, Coffeyville reenacts the Dalton Gang's last bank robbery during their Dalton Defenders Day.  The Dalton Gang had been terrorizing the Oklahoma area by robbing trains for over a year and a half when they decided to try robbing two of Coffeyville's banks in broad daylight.  Thanks to quick thinking towns people and a brave bank clerk, the Dalton Gang's terrorizing days ended.  As some of the gang emerged from one bank, they were greeted by the town's people and a hail of bullets.  Three escaped down an alley from the second bank only to be shot down by a barber and a livery stable owner.  

All were killed except for one.  Emmett survived multiple bullet wounds and was released after 14 years in prison to become a Hollywood screen writer.

We did not make it downtown for the reenactments, but we did visit one of the two banks they tried to rob.  Quite a beauty, isn't it?  We took a quick tour of the inside.  The town has done a great job of keeping the bank's original look.

Well, I guess I jinxed our good weather.  A cold front came through and seems to like it here.  We have had heavy rains, very loud thunderstorms, and flash flood watches/warnings.  After spending hours listening to heavy rains drum on the warehouse's roof during our work night, people were beginning to worry about getting home.  There are a few low lying areas between Amazon and our campgrounds.  

We all managed to get home this time, but now I'm worried about the upcoming heavy rains when we are at work.  I always thought it was great to have our house on wheels because if there is a flood....well, we can just move our home, right?  I never thought we would be on the wrong side of the flood with our cats on the other.

Forget Me Knot by Mary Marks

I was quite excited to find a new quilt mystery writer!  The main character is Martha - an overweight middle-aged Jewish divorcee and an expert quilter.  Whew!  Quite a description for one character.  Martha has two good quilting friends that she calls her besties.  I can't see me calling my friends that, but okay a little digressive.

I wasn't too happy that within the first chapter the writer felt a need to add a snide political remark against Republicans plus she insinuated that most of those types were prone to stealing other quilter's tools.  Really??!  I saw no need for such a comment.  I understand that quilters can be competitive and there will always be politics inside quilt guilds and shows, but this was beyond the common quilting ground.   I decided to finish this book since I had it with hopes that was the end of the political comments.

Well, it wasn't the end, but the political comments were not as bad.  I soon learned that one of Martha's besties was not only a Republican, but she and her husband carried licensed hand guns.  Later, Martha is also taught how to handle and shoot a handgun even though she does protest that as a Democrat, she should not have a gun.  Again - Really?

So, did I actually like the book?  Yes, after I got over the remarks and realized that Mary Marks was just giving us a different kind of quilting character.  I found I was enjoying the murder mystery quite a bit.  I learned a few things about Jewish traditions from Martha and her family.  Martha turned out to have a big soft heart for animals.  I think I am more in love with the animals than I am the quilters.  The big twist at the end was not just who did it, but how the victim put messages in her quilts.  Very interesting.

There's a little romance and it was very funny at times.  Yes, I do believe that I will be reading more books by Mary Marks.

On The Cutting Board

My hands are aching so much today from our work week that I need to take a break from hand quilting.  Yet....typing doesn't bother them...go figure.   I'm not sure what I did to them.  Lifted too many little boxes that were too heavy for one hand or maybe I gripped the scanner too tight.  Whatever it was, I plan to be extra careful next week, because I can't grip the needle to pull it through the fabrics and batting.  Yep, a little frustrating.

So, I will stick to doing some light embroidery and resting my hands.  I ironed a couple of more happy campers together.  Hopefully, I will be able to embroider the edges later this week.

Last week, I pulled out the sewing machine to finish the border for my Macaw's welcome wall hanging.  I'm glad I did the basting last week!

Happy Quilting!

4th of July (Hot Springs, SD)

Happy 4th of July!  Our little campground has been busy most of the week.  

Pinterest

Hot Springs does something different for the 4th.  The city allows people to bring their own fireworks to the public parks.  Sounds like double the fun for celebrating - watch your own and your neighbors, but we will probably be needed here to keep an eye on this area.

The lake has been even more busy with lots of people enjoying the perfect weather for swimming, picnics, and fishing.  I got this photo around 7:30 pm just before the sun disappeared behind the hills.

A serene moment on Cold Brook Lake

On The Cutting Board

Okay!  Two more Happy Campers ready to have doors and windows fused onto them.  I have a few more mug rugs that I would like to finish embroidering before I start layering them.

I have also been working on a new Welcome sign - A Macaw's Welcome.  I found a cute photo of a Macaw online and turned it into a pattern.

Now, I need to think about a border....hmm, maybe some wonky squares in bold colors?  Well, back to the cutting board or drawing board...

Happy Quilting!