July Travels & New Projects

Spent most of July traveling, then came home and spent a weekend with friends in Phillipsburg. Net result - lots of good times with friends Jo's broken wrist aside (that's anothe story). Saw lots of hexagons and started several new projects. I have also finally almost finished the top for Las Casas.

 

Joan's Hexagons - 5 sets of 6

 

Jo's hexagons - totally scrappy

 

Peggy's hexagons - appliqued to center

 

Chris batik hexagons

 

Las Casas - Still need to finish the corner applique

 

And last but not least a few more pics of Oliver.Here he is all dolled up for our neice's wedding and looking quite serious.

                               

Nothing like a new toy from Uncle Jim and Aunt Jolene to bring joy and a sparkle to the eye.

 

Good times, good friends.

 

 

Odds and Ends

 

Jim's Quilt

 

This is the quilt I made for my brother Jim when he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. He got it the day after he got home from the hospital -- probably one of the fastest quilts I have ever quilted.

 

Blocks are flannel as is the back. There is a 1"black button in the center of each large block and a 1/2" button in each smaller block on each end. Fabric is from a line that came out in 2004 or 5. It kind of looks like corduroy. I made the top to be a TV quilt for me and then decided I liked the smaller quilt I made from the scraps better so this one sat basted and ready to quilt waiting for the right moment.

 

This was it! Back has hunting dogs on it and Jim and Jolene have a similar dog "river" so it seemed fitting. The quilting design is called hibiscus and is actually an applique design. In this quilt it looks more meandering than floral.

 

Jim is home from the hospital now and still has a bit of recovering to do but so far the news has been good. 

 

Chucky the Chuker

 

This little guy has been my companion all week while Toralf is camping in Utah. Actually we think that's where he really belongs. We have seen these birds while camping in Kodachrome State Park and Bryce National Park. I think he must have gotten blown off course. He has been hanging around my deck and likes to look in my deck door window.

 

 

Last but not least our little guy Oliver at 1 1/2 years. He loves his books!

California Sunshine!

I see it has been awhile since I have posted. We've been traveling and I never seem to be able to do it as we go. We went in search of sun and found it in California (sun, son, grandson and daughter-in-law too).

We headed first to Joshua Tree National Park by way of Mojave Desert. Actually Joshua Tree is partially part of the Mojave Desert too. For some reason I always think of deserts as either flat or sand dunes. This was neither. We climbed 3 mountains while in the park.
It is a climbers park with lots of rock formations. Joshua trees are fascinating like something right out of Dr. Seuss. We first saw them near SAltillo in Mexico and had to find more. Weather was perfect for for hiking in the mid 60's with cool mornings and evenings and lots of sun.

 

We were surprised by the proximity of snow capped mountains.



pathEvery thing in the park is preserved. We ran across several old cars, foundations and gold mines, sadly, no gold.

This is what was referred to as a 10 stamp mill where the rock was crushed so the gold could be extracted. It was in a very remote area up what could barely be called much more than a path. All the equipment had to be brought in and the gold out along this path.

 

 Cholla --- were almost as Dr. Seussian as the Joshua trees!

 

We then traveled north along the coast highway and soaked in more sun with a taste of ocean. This I think was Morrow Bay. I just loved the plant -- it is real.

 

Of course no trip to CAlifornia would be complete without visiting the kids and Oliver.

I love his contemplative look

Of course he didn't sit still for long!

Oliver

I'd be remiss in my Grandma duties if I didn't post a picture now and again. Wouldn't I? He's thinking about sleeping though the night or at least Mom and Dad are dreaming of the day. He does sleep in his big crib now and he has started solid foods. Who can account for taste -- he likes baby food peas!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Baby -- 6 months old today! He weighs about 17 pounds and can sit up on his own now.
He has one tooth and is working hard on another.

Surgery is still on track for March 22. As soon as that is definitely in the works we will head down to babysit. Prayers welcome.

The Boys -- growing up is hard work.

The cats-- note who got the quilt:)

Oliver tiene 6 meses hoy. Pesa 17 libras. Tiene 1 diente y otro viene. El ouede sentar solo ahora.

La cirugia todavia está planeado para 22 de marzo. Tan pronto como tiene la cirugia vamos a manejar allá otra vez para cuidar  el. Oraciónes acogida.

Oliver's Quilt

I finally finished Oliver's quilt. Technically speaking it isn't really Oliver's but it is going to be. It is actually my oldest UFO begun in 1978 for Oliver's daddy, Hank. I'm kind of glad I waited to finish it now when I know a few more things about quilting. It was also my very first quilt.
This was a really fun quilt to work on. Aren't the coloring book animals delightful? Wish I still had the coloring books. I didn't own any quilt book back then.

Just have to share a few detail pictures. The fish and the turtle required the most extra work since they were the simpliest backgrounds. The squirrel gives you and idea of the fabrics used. Remember back in 1978 there weren't any quiIt shops around. I had a fuzzy bathrobe out of the squirrel fabric. All of the fabrics come from clothes or curtains making them a bit of a challenge to use. The chicken background and the borders are the only new fabrics. 

Finalmente terminé la colcha para Oliver. En realidad no es de Oliver pero va a ser. Es mi proyecto más viejo que no fue terminada. La empece en 1978 para el padre de Oliver, Hank. Ahora estoy feliz que retrasaba. Yo se mucho más ahora de haciendo colchas. Éste también es mi primer colcha. Me disfruta haciendola mucho. Los desenos de animales desde libros para colorear éstan tan encantadores. Espero que todavía tuviera los libros. No tuve libros de colchas en aquel tiempo.

Tengo que compartir unos detalles. Las peces y tortuga requieren la más'trabajo porque tienen fondos más simples. La ardilla monstra el tipo de tela que usaba. Recuerdo en 1978 no fue tiendas de tela para colchas ni libros de colchas tampoco. Teníá una bata peludo de éste tela. Casi toda la tela en la colcha es de ropa o cortinas. Fue un poquito de una reto.