Now that I've finished my Pat Sloan's Scrap Happy Sew Along Shoofly Quilt, it's time to start quilting my Pat Sloan's Never Enough Chocolate sew along quilt. I call it Jellybeans since I made it on Easter weekend and it is as colorful as a bowl of jellybeans.
I first quilted what the pattern called "Red and Yellow blocks."
I quilted swirls in the colored squares and swirly hearts in the colored triangles. I mirrored those swirls in the black triangles opposite the colored triangles, but they can't be seen in this photo.
Yesterday I took at 14 mile bike ride. I passed my friendly neighborhood alligator again:
We saw a few run-down shacks on the beach:
These shacks cost about $3M each. Which should I buy?
I discovered that pedaling on the bike path is far easier than pedaling on sand. Unfortunately I took a 5-mile beach shortcut and every gate back to a road was private and key-coded. Big rookie mistake!
I woke up early this morning to see the sun rise:
Why can't the sun rise at 9am?
Oh. I finally remembered to take photos of my hotel room:
And a view from the balcony:
All this to say, I had a wonderful birthday beach vacation and I'm really sad to go home!
Yesterday I took at 14 mile bike ride. I passed my friendly neighborhood alligator again:
We saw a few run-down shacks on the beach:
These shacks cost about $3M each. Which should I buy?
I discovered that pedaling on the bike path is far easier than pedaling on sand. Unfortunately I took a 5-mile beach shortcut and every gate back to a road was private and key-coded. Big rookie mistake!
I woke up early this morning to see the sun rise:
Why can't the sun rise at 9am?
Oh. I finally remembered to take photos of my hotel room:
And a view from the balcony:
All this to say, I had a wonderful birthday beach vacation and I'm really sad to go home!
Confession: I had this quilt bound, rolled, and wrapped to give away before I remembered to take photos. The wrinkles are from where the quilt was folded.
This afternoon, I was tickled that I was able to attend the Hudson Valley Modern Quilt Guild
meeting. I am a member of the guild, but rarely get to attend since I travel a great deal of the year to teach at quilt shows and quilt shops.
Today, one of our members showed us how to make zippered pouches.
Members helped other members:
A gorgeous pouch and a happy quilter!
Quilters brought their projects and made progress on them. I counted at least three bindings at our meeting.
We had show and tell, as well. Isn't this a lovely quilt?
I looked at my calendar after today's meeting. I will not be able to attend another meeting for several months to come, but I'm so glad I spent this afternoon with quilts and quilters. Does it get any better than this?
Earlier this week, someone called me a name. Now, I know that sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me, but she called me a name I've never heard before:
Peripatetic.
I'm quite a word nerd and tried to figure out what that word meant.
Peri -- like perimeter. Maybe something to do with "around"?
Patetic -- I have no clue. Sounds a bit like "pathetic" but I know this woman and she wouldn't call me that. To my face.
My one-week unit on Latin in high school failed me. I had to go to Plan B and Google it.
per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperipəˈtetik/
adjective
1.
traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
So, I am a person who travels from place to place. That's quite accurate!
_____
Since I am a peripatetic quilter, I want to give you a packing tip on an important subject: Toothbrushes.
How many toothbrushes do you own? I own at least three at all times. Why three?
1. I keep one toothbrush in my bathroom at home. It stays there and I never pack it. I can brush my teeth on the way to the airport without having to remember to pack it. I can brush my teeth as I fall into bed, exhausted, after a long trip without having to unpack my suitcase. It also keeps my husband's toothbrush from getting lonely in the toothbrush holder.
2. I keep one toothbrush in my suitcase. It is always packed. I never have to buy a toothbrush on the road. I never have to call the front desk of the hotel to ask for a free (awful, cheap, bendy, painful) toothbrush. This toothbrush stays in my toiletry kit and I never have to wonder, "Did I pack my toothbrush?"
3. I keep one toothbrush in my carry-on bag. Sadly, I have spent more than one night in an aiport and flown directly to work in the morning. Instead of waking up and getting ready for work in a hotel, I was at least able to brush my teeth in the airport and not offend students with my breath. I have shown up in another city while my luggage has not. I may not have my clothes, but I have my toothbrush. At least that's something...
One note about packed toothbrushes -- they can get gross. I air them out in the hotel before re-packing them. I also clean them (and the toothbrush holders) when I get home. I keep a supply of extra toothbrushes at home and replace them between trips as necessary.
If you read this and said, "What a dumb idea!", you have obviously never crawled out of your car after a 34 hour trip home from Australia and lacked the energy to drag your suitcase up the stairs so you could brush your teeth before falling into blessed oblivion.
If you read this and said, "What a great idea!", run out and buy an extra toothbrush or two. Traveling will be easier.
I had so much fun piecing Pat Sloan's Scrap Happy Sew Along Shoofly Quilt!
I have plenty of scraps, but I didn't use them in this quilt. Instead, I pulled fabrics from my stash.
I started with this blue daisy fabric:
I bought it at Sturbridge Quilting and Sewing Center over a year ago. I love that shop! I bought the fabric just because it made me happy. The owner makes me happy, too. Hi, Gina!
Next I pulled this tiny green background print:
I bought it at Pinwheels about 15 years ago. I've bought a lot of fabric there over the years. A Lot. A LOT!!! I thought it was pretty so I bought the rest of the bolt. Come on, admit it. You've done this, too.
The next fabric was this green dot:
I bought it at Woodstock Quilt Supply. That quilt shop is closed now, but it was always one of my favorites and I still miss Bob and Jim. Thankfully, they are still my FaceBook buddies.
I pulled the sashing fabric next:
I bought this at The Quilt Basket. It is my local quilt shop and my whole quilting life is basically their fault. Blame Cathy. I bought this fabric just becuase I liked it.
The last fabric I pulled was the large yellow dot:
I bought it at Bits N Pieces in Crown Point, IN. That shop is near the busiest intersection in the entire state of Indiana. Ask me how I know that. I fell in love with the fabric while I was teaching there and a few yards followed me home.
I put all of these fabrics together in my quilt. If I were in a quilt shop with unlimited choices, I probably wouldn't have put all of these fabrics together. Since I was shopping my stash, though, I am really pleased that my old "happy fabric" purchases worked together so well in a quilt.
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