Is It Spring or Summer? (Glenrock, WY)

   Apart at the Seams by Marie Bostwick
I just finished listening to another great story by Marie Bostwick.  We are back to Cobble Court in New Bern, CT visiting with Ivy and a new arrival - Gayla.  While both Ivy and Gayla learn to trust again, the quilt group decides to follow Gayla's example by doing something outside their own comfort zone.  Each one takes on a task they always dreamed of doing but for whatever reason, never checked it off their dream list.
Both Ivy and Gayla get plenty of support and quilt therapy from the Cobble Court Quilters while their lives have been turned upside down by unexpected family news.  I like the way everyone decides to take a sabbatical away from their daily life to try something new and to share it with the others.  For Gayla, it is gardening and quilting...of course.  For Ivy.....well, you'll just have to read the book.  Virginia's challenge is my favorite adventure, but not one I am willing to try!

Spring is here!  Actually, it feels like summer has dropped in with a big hot thump!  It got up to 95 degrees this week.

We went from wearing layers of clothes to t-shirts/shorts and "turn on the air conditioner, the cats are wilting!" weather in one week.  I spent yesterday packing up my winter clothes.  (yes, I'm being very optimistic.)  I had to wash my summer clothes to get rid of the permanent wrinkles and the plastic space-bag smell that they were packed away in since last July.  Yep, I have been wearing sweatshirts for 10 months.  I am so ready for summer!

We have been getting out for some walks on our days off.  I took some photos of a few wild flowers that have sprung up this week.  They certainly add some color to the area.  We are still getting thunderstorm threats in the afternoon, but very little rain as you can see how dry the ground looks.  The Platte river looks a little low, but not too bad.  At least, we are not worrying about it flooding like other parts of Wyoming.

On The Cutting Board
I'm working on three new Happy Campers.  I did another horse design.  I'll probably add tea cups to the window.

I'm doing another puppy in the window on a maroon and tan camper.

And one new design with two birds writing out Happy Camper in teal thread.  I found the bird design on a website for royalty-free tattoos.  I might have overdone the different colors on the birds.  I wanted them to be very colorful.

I love the scalloped edging on the lace.  I'm going to scallop the pink top to match the lace.  I'm not sure what I'll add to this window.  I'll have to give it some thought.
Happy Quilting!

Sea Lions By The Sea Shore (Newport, OR)

The sea lions were not here the last time we were in Newport.  The old docks had been torn down and new ones were built just for the sea lions.  We were told they would start showing up in September.  So, on our second day in Newport, we had to go down to the docks.  We heard them long before we got to the docks.

The new sea lion docks were packed full!  A few were swimming, but most were sleeping.  I have no idea how they could sleep through all that noise.

The fun part was watching one sea lion start a chain reaction.  Not happy with his fellow sleepers, one would get up and try to move into another's spot.  Which would cause that one to start barking and moving.  And that would get the next neighbor to complain and move...all the way down the line.

Sunshine on my face

A few of them just ignored everything going on around them.  This one was happy to have the sun warming its face.  Talk about a look of contentment.

The jetty was busy as well and a lot more active with the sea lions jumping into the water or climbing around on the rocks.

Oh man, I forgot my sunglasses

So good to have the sun out again!
Books!
   Between Heaven and Texas by Marie Bostwick  I just finished listening to Marie's latest book.  If you have been reading the Cobbled Court Quilts series, you already know Mary Dale.  With this story, we find out that Mary Dell has always listened to a different drummer with a very different taste in colors and clothes.  This is her story of growing up on a ranch in a small Texas town where everyone knows everybody's business.  I really enjoyed hearing about Mary Dell and her twin sister Lydia Dale growing up and following different paths.  Her relationship with her family as well as with her husband are well written.  I can't wait for Marie's next book to come out!

  Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley  This is the first book that I have read by Susanna Kearsley.  My SIL suggested I would like her books, so  I bought this book at a low price instead of ordering it through Audible and I could not put the darn thing down!  I blame Susanna's book for slowing down my progress on quilt projects.  

This story reminds me of the old Gothic romance novels I read as a teenager, but without all the dark brooding atmosphere.  She reminds me a lot of Mary Stewart or Phyllis A. Whitney with a heroine moving into an old mansion with mystery surrounding its history.  The characters are well defined.  I loved hearing about Scotland and the ways of the Scots.  The description of the area made me feel like I was there.

I did have a problem with the speech at times since Susanna likes to keep it very authentic.  She helped out the English-speaking readers with the main character being from London.  Verity Grey came to help on an archaeological dig with an old friend/co-worker.  She too has a problem with the language and actually buys a dictionary so she can look up words.  Quite often, someone would explain what they were saying which worked just as well.

There is a little bit of everything from a Gothic novel in this story.  There's the mystery, a psychic, a smuggler, an old mansion, a love interest or two, and a ghost.  Well written!  I have already started another one of Susanna's books.  Yep, looks like I won't be getting much done until I finish this book too.

Both books have no sex or swearing - just some light romance.  Okay, I better get moving.  I have a witch to finish and an order to mail...whoo-hoo!
Happy Quilting!

Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show (Sisters, OR)

Welcome to Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show!  I have waited a whole year to see this one show and the wait was worth it.  So many gorgeous quilts, inspiring quilts, and ones that had me wondering 'how did this quilter do this?'...

This is Sister's raffle quilt inspired by the poster designed by Dan Rickards - see below this quilt.

"Streams of Color" was designed by Jean Wells

Poster by Dan Rickards

This is a street view at 10 a.m.  It was probably more packed by noon, but I was too busy viewing quilts and having a great time. 

There were quilts everywhere....on the side of buildings, down alleys

hanging from balconies and over people...

covering a car..

made into a balloon...

as well as painted murals of quilts...

What a gorgeous day!  Not a cloud in the sky.  Not too hot with just a slight breeze.  We could not have asked for a better day.

I did not try to collect information on each quilt, so if you recognize a quilt or the quilter, please let me know.  I would love to add their information.  It was so busy with people wanting to look at the quilts or wanting photos..yes, like me...or they were hung so high up that I could not have read the information without a ladder.  Imagine me explaining to the officer why I'm doing that!

This is just a small portion of the photos I took of the quilt show.  I will try to upload them to Flickr soon.

How about this furbaby?  There is a second dog below this one.  They were both being fed ice cream while their owner took a break from pushing them around in the stroller.

I saw this dog portrait quilt across the street from the two dogs in a stroller.

So many quilts.  So little time.
    Lovely Hawaiian Iris quilt.  I like the color scheme..

Eye-catching samplers...

Cloud 9+

I have talked about Marie Bostwick's Cobbled Court Quilt series in the past.  I love all five of her books.  Her latest book:  Between Heaven and Texas is about Mary Dell's life.  I haven't read this one yet because I want to listen to the audio book.  I can't wait!

Marie announced on her FB page that she would be signing her books at Paulina Springs Bookstore on Saturday during the quilt show.  I told Kristy that I wanted to go to the bookstore first.  The quilts can wait because I'm going to meet one of my favorite authors.  We had a wonderful time visiting with Marie.   Thanks Robin for taking this picture!

Kristy, Marie, and Sandy

Kristy and I became friends with one of the Quilt Expo Vendors: Robin Halliday.  Robin works with felt more than with quilts, so she spent most of the day with us viewing quilts, taking photos, and learning more about quilt patterns.  I learned quite a bit about being a vendor and owning your own company.  We had a great time with Robin at Sisters.  

Dee and Robin

Robin and her partner, Dee Brown are the owners and designers of The Quilted Trillium.  

You can see more of their designs on their website.

I'm sorry to say that I did not buy any of their patterns.  My plan was to stick to a list this time so I would not come back to our motorhome with piles of fabrics and patterns with no place to store them.

Happy Quilting!

A Patchwork of Kindred Spirits (Hill A.F.B., UT)

This posting is  filled with a variety of kindred spirits.  There was a lot going on this week, so I will bring them all together to make a scrappy patchwork blog.

A Quilted Kindred Spirit
First, I want to share this wonderful block made by Julie Fukuda.  This block represents me and my lifestyle.  How cool is that?   Okay, I sound like a kid, but no one has ever made a block with me in mind.  Take a good look at the fabric - birds and cats...yep, sounds like my world and welcome to it!

This block will join other “followers” blocks to be made into a memory quilt.  A major undertaking! Follow the link to read Julie’s description of how she decided on pattern and fabrics:  My Quilting Diary 

Center block - Wandering Foot ...yep, that's me!

We have never met in person, but I feel a very close connection to Julie. I have talked to friends and family about Julie from Japan and her quilting.  Usually, I confuse them because I always talk like we were just together yesterday.

Julie and I met through a group blog for quilters who love to sew and quilt by hand.  Julie shares the beauty of Japan through her blog and photos, so checkout some of her other posts while you are visiting.  I have learned quite a bit about Japan's culture, traditions as well as meeting the people.  Often we exchange emails along with our blog comments finding out that we have more and more in common. Despite the fact that we have half-a-world between us, we are kindred spirits.  May our paths cross someday.   Thank you Julie!

A Furry Kindred Spirit

Jay and Beverly made it back home, but not before they picked up a hitchhiker.  

I go with you!

They came across this little guy running down the middle of the road in Colorado's back-country.   Worried he would get run over, they tried to find the owner even though they were pretty sure he was homeless from his condition.

Colorado looks very attached to Jay

Dirty and half-starved, this little guy needed help as soon as possible.  After talking to one local rancher about people dumping unwanted animals in the area and a trip to the Vet, they decided to adopt him.

Meet Beverly's new cuddlier - Colorado

Colorado (isn't that the perfect name for him?) knew he had found the perfect couple to adopt him. Isn't he a sweetie?  Not only does he look quite happy, he also looks like he is going to be quite comfortable with his new family.  Of course, we have yet to hear the opinions from Jay's cat Charmin and Beverly's dog Mojito about the new family member...

Hello You Handsome Devil!

Hugs to all!  (photos by Jay and Beverly)

Fictional Kindred Spirits

Another kindred spirit is Marie Bostwick and her characters.  To celebrate Marie Bostwick's latest published book "Between Heaven and Texas", Michelle is hosting a blog hop with 12 free star pattern tutorials for you to download.  The blog hop started on April 29 so stop by Quilting Gallery  to view the stars and enter the blogs' give-aways.

I have all of the Cobble Court Quilt books.  I love the way Marie sews her characters' life into a colorful patchwork quilt with warmth, understanding, and friendship.  I'm waiting for Marie's book to be sold in September on Audible.com, so I can spend my quilting time listening to Mary Dell tell her story.  Can't wait!!

On The Road

In the meantime, we are getting back to our old schedule, dusting off projects, and catching up on all the things we were ignoring while in Zion.  I'm already missing Zion and our walks, but this area does have some nice views.  Here are a few photos from Hill A.F.B. near Ogden, UT.  Below are two photos of Salt Lake from the air base.

 My favorite view is from our front window.   Nothing like a panoramic view of snow-topped mountains.  Yes, I do prefer the snow there and not here.  Just in case you were wondering.....

Feathered Kindred Spirits:  The Ravens and the Magpies tend to gang-up with an aggressive, not to mention, possessive attitude when we are outside.  They actually follow us around as we walk the cats.  All heck breaks out when Hitch climbs a tree.  They definitely do not like a cat in one of "their" trees.  The funny part is seeing a variety of birds landing in one tree to squawk at Hitch.  Hitch usually runs back to the motorhome with his tail all fluffed out.  Hmm, I wonder if he speaks "bird".

Happy Trails!