A Little This A Little That

Here is a little something that I've been working on.  Thanks to the Sew Expo at the County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, I came home with a Sashiko project, needles and thread. 

Then there is this UFO that's been hanging around since January.  I've finally gotten around to meandering around the background.  I still have the borders to think about and then binding, etc.  Maybe (just maybe) I could get this finished for the AVQ Guild Show in April. 

And the finale for this post ..........today was a trip to the Alden Lane Quilt Show.  Unfortunately, there are no pictures of quilts but there are a couple of pictures of friends having tea at the English Rose Tea Room before the show. 

I take that back.  Here is Carol with quilts in the background.

A girls day out and the perfect parking spot in downtown Pleasanton.

It's good to be the queen on your birthday.  Happy B-Day Michelle!

The Queen's Tea

Michelle, Leslie, Sue, Susan.......enjoying the outing.

And why not end with a picture of my favorite girls who came over for dinner yesterday evening.  Love you M and V!

Decisions

One thing about a digital camera, it gives you opportunities to view and analyze projects quickly.  Just yesterday, I played around with these UFO strips in hopes that I might be inspired to make them into something.  It came down to two ideas. 
This: 

A little boring

Or this:

A bit more interesting though it needs some tweaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is also going to be smaller when everything is sewn together so more decisions will have to be made about borders.  For now, it is living on my design wall and marinating. 

Today - a Birthday Remembered

Today would have been Stephen's 36th birthday here on earth.  But he doesn't reside here among us anymore.  He resides in heaven with God.  We, his family, who are left here take this day to celebrate our son, our brother, our uncle.  We love you Stephen.  You are in our hearts forever. 

A footprint to remind us of how you have left footprints on our hearts.

Jon's family celebrating you.

Flowers tossed out to the sea in remembrance of you

Mom meditates and sends out her flowers with love.

Remember this quilt.  Mom made it for you in 1996.  You were in college at Sonoma State

Laughing and loving our family, knowing you are looking down from above.

Window Out, Window In

Today is the day!  We've had the faux stained glass window (with the crack) removed and they've put in our new window.  It wasn't a cheap replacement considering that the window has a slant at the top.  It's double glazed which will help with noise and heat/cold.  Now we need to measure and get a blind for it.  The ultimate plan is to get a real stained glass piece to hang in the triangle area.  As I write, they are also installing the bathroom window.  Now ALL the windows in this house have been done.  Yeah! 

Old faux stained glass....cute but had a crack and the faux stuff was looking a bit "faux".

Can't believe how fast they got that window out of there.

New window in place......lovely!

Borders On

I went to Quiltinators today and got the borders on my scrappy quilt.  I've given it a name......Just Scraps.  I literally was able to make this quilt from scraps and stash fabrics.  There is not one new fabric in it.  Now I need to raid the stash and see what kind of a just scrap/stash backing I can put together. 

I would love to get it sandwiched and quilted this week so I can take it to Quilt Guild on Saturday but that is not going to happen.  I have DGD duty tomorrow and then on Wednesday I am heading out for a girlfriend get-together with my "other mother" friends, Mary and Sandy.  It's been a reunion weekend.  Yesterday I spent the day with my BFF from High School, Andrea.  We just picked up where we left off. 

There is nothing quite like the blessings that friends from all aspects of your life bring to you. 

Last Chance Fun Before School

It is now an official tradition.....the DGDs get to go on a mini-vacation with Nahn Nahn and PopPop the week before school starts.  Anything we do twice in our family becomes tradition and this was our second before school starts trip.  This time we included two overnights.

The trip began with a day at our house with crafts, snacks, and a movie before bedtime.  I finally got everyone to watch Pete's Dragon, which was one of Stephen and Jon's all time favorites (by my recollection).  The girls enjoyed it and weren't even aware of how dated the animation techniques were from 1979.  Jim and I enjoyed the songs.  Remember "Candle on the Water" sung by Helen Reddy? 

The next day we were off to Santa Cruz and the Boardwalk.  We were a little slow getting going but it turned out to be a good thing because the Boardwalk attractions didn't open until 1:00 p.m.  We had time for lunch and then it was off to the rides. 

This train ride had a little bit of Disney influence but not quite as polished.  The girls loved it.

Look!  It's Pete's Dragon!

Makayla's all-time favorite ride.  She rode it 8 times.

What's not to be happy about?  We just finished ice cream cones.

PopPop got talked into riding in the front of this one so Makayla wouldn't get so wet. (Her idea.)

The DGDs made a friend along the way and shared a ride together.

Miniature Golf for the first time.  They LOVED it.

Heading back to the car via the Sky Ride.  A perfect day. 

 Our hotel was a very nice Fairfield Inn in Capitoal just down the road from Santa Cruz.  Along the way, we discovered a great Pizza restaurant for dinner.  The hotel included breakfast the next morning and the girls loved having all the great choices.  Then we were off to Felton to ride the Roaring Camp Steam Railroad. 

Embarking on more family fun.

Sunlight through the redwoods......stunning!

The Little Engine That Could......

Never saw a log I couldn't climb.

Happiness on a sunny day.

Returning back to the station.

It was a great mini-vacation!