Day One of our Adventure

 Is that adventure...or misadventure?! We had a bit of both today.

We were off and away by 9:15. Hooray! 

View from my window for the next few hours....or so I thought:

Three hours later:

It's love bug season! Poor guys... talk about coitus interruptus!

I bet you can tell what we did for the next few hours!  

No cool, blue swimming pool for us 

Nap

It All Adds Up

 How can that possibly be right?

Just the other morning my BFF and I were chatting on the phone. We were talking about fabric "collections".  My mind turned to getting rid of fabric, as in, making some more quilts with what I have on hand. 

Hmmm, I thought, how much do I have on hand?

I began estimating what's in the stash behind me in the picture.

Each 12" cubby (not all are visible in the picture) is split into two sections for each color; red, yellow orange, green, blue, violet, neutral, brown, and black. The left side of the cubby has pieces that are just under 1/2 yard to just over 1/8 yard. The right hand side of each cubby has pieces that are 1/2 yard to 1 1/2 yard lengths of fabric. I have 2 cubbies with pieces that are 2 yards or larger. In addition, I have "Charm Packs" (5 1/2" squares), some jelly rolls, some "Layer Cakes" (10" squares) and various and sundry other scraps. Oh, and yeah, there are some bins containing even more fabric already designated for future projects.

Sitting back in my chair I began estimating, visually grouping 4 or 5 quarter yard chunks together, 2 half yard pieces together, etc. (Oh...and some of my cubbies with quarter yard pieces have a whole 'nother pile behind the first!) 1, 2, 3.....7, 8, 9 yards....25, 26.....42.... 65........ 

Who woulda thunk that those cubbies house well over 250 yards of fabric in total! Yikes! 

And that doesn't even account for the bits and pieces in these bins...which is where I pulled most of the fabric for the quilt I mentioned in the previous post! 

OK folks...time to get serious! When I return from my trip I better get to work sorting and snipping, and clipping and stitching! I have a long way to sew....

Suffering the DT's

 As in a Dire Tickle to play with fabric! 

Other than doing one paper piecing block for a Guild project, I haven't had the opportunity to sew for almost a week....maybe longer! I am preparing for our big trip, so I have been busy collecting things and finding a niche for everything in the RV. I've packed a Singer Featherweight and threw in a bit of fabric for a wall hanging...but wanted to have something more on hand...just in case I end up with time on my hands. I wanted to play with fabric now! 

The owner of Bold Notions Quilt shop sells APQS long arms and has a delicious stash of wide backings and quilting threads. She also has some collections of quilting cotton. She also posts frequent videos of quilts she is making or quilting as inspiration!

A few weeks ago Lauren posted a reel on Facebook making this happy scrappy quilt. I saved it as I have a lot of scraps! I decided that I'd try making a few of the blocks today, and if I liked them, I could cut the fabric to take with me on our trip. 

The blocks are easy to make and don't require any special rulers. That will be nice on the road when my cutting space will be limited to a 12" square mat.

After a few hours of cutting...tada! I'm ready for the road!

Does my stash look much smaller?

You'll have to take my word...it doesn't! I used a some 2 1/2" squares I had previously cut, and some 2 1/2" strips from earlier projects, as well as wider strips I have cut and stashed away elsewhere. I did pull out some of the pieces you see behind me, and I cut a strip or two off of them...but most all went back on the shelves! 

I feel better now. I am prepared! And, if I don't get to it on the trip, I have an easy project to tackle when I return! 

Paw-di-cures

 

Our momma tricked us the other day.

She asked if we wanted to go for a ride.

You bet! 

Then she took us to PetSmart.

The last time we went there we got a treat.

This time.....

some lady played with our toes. 

Bleech! 

Don't let the cute decorations fool you. This is not a happy place!

...even if I look kinda happy in this picture! 

I wonder... if I choke myself on this strap, will she let me go?

I am not having fun! She musta been a wrestler,

she has me in a cross body block! 

Oy, now she's touching my back toes - no, please no!

Hah! It's your turn!

She's gonna hang you from that noose!

Excuse me. I'm kinda private about my toes. 

Wheee, I can do an arabesque! 

I see you mom. I'm giving you the evil Corgi look of death and dismemberment!

I'm never, ever gonna forgive you! 

You are so on my doggy poop list! 

Don't let them fool you. No Corgi was harmed in this session, except perhaps their dignity! 

Sure, they weren't thrilled with their paw-di-cures

...but they sure loved the bones we picked out

...and the love and attention from just about everyone in the store! 

A Magical Meal

We had lunch at the Ocala airport a while back. The Elevation 89 restaurant's food is fantastic. The service...not so much! (This was my second visit) Our waitress was MIA. I needed a glass of water. This waiter had just finished clearing a table near us, and, as he walked by our table asked if we needed anything. I inquired about a glass of water, and off he went. 

In a bit he was back with my requested water. I still have no idea how we began talking about magic with the young man, but he smiled his delightful smile and declared he was a magician! 

Meet Ezra Delucca. Magician! 

We talked about our favorite magicians; David Copperfield, Piff the Magic Dragon, Murray Sawchuck, Penn & Teller,  all of whom Ezra has met, studied and/or socialized with. Ezra apologized for not having his cards with him. He left the table, grabbed a handful of the restaurant business cards from a display at the register, and returned to perform a trick for us. We enjoyed the trick. He was very good...even with business cards! 

We know we will see Ezra on stage some day. Can't wait! 

I Absolutely, Positively Will NOT Buy Any More Fabric

 

So she said when she went to the sewing guild meeting.

The meeting where they had the "Fabric Frenzy".

...with lots of fabric for sale that had been donated over the year,

at great prices. 

Both of the larger pieces are 8 yards long.

They'll be used for quilt backings.

The small piece is a yard in length.

17 yards of fabric for $17.

What's a girl gonna do?!

Give me some credit for practicing restraint! 

The tables ran the width of the room and around the corner...

and there were 5 more boxes that hadn't been unpacked.

The remaining fabric was offered to different charitable sewing groups.

One makes pillow cases.

Another sews shorts and jackets for kids.

A group that sews items for nursing homes also collected fabric.

Patriotic themed and colored fabric went to a Veterans' quilt group.

The rest will be boxed up and passed on to other sewing groups that make sewn items for charity.

This is for the birds!

 

Little Bird Little Bird

When I was in high school our English teachers took the class to NYC to experience some theater. It was a wonderful introduction to Broadway and off Broadway shows, city life, Radio City Music Hall, Carnegie Theater and the dark sides of city life. One of the shows we saw was "Man of La Mancha". It became one of my favorite musicals. I will still sometimes break out in one of the songs from the show....and know most of the words of each one! 

A few weeks ago our tiny little community theater put on Mary Poppins. I thought it was quite an ambitious show, and the cast and crew did a marvelous job. 

Feed the Birds

But, this post isn't about theater...it's about birds! This morning as I contemplated getting out of bed I heard an owl hooting in the woods nearby. At least I was pretty darn sure it was an owl...but if so, what kind? I downloaded the Merlin app (it's by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and identifies birds that it hears). My owl was a Great Horned Owl....and, according to the app, rare in this area at this time of year. 

Here are the birds that Merlin detected in 10 minutes, as the sun approached the horizon: 

We do feed the birds...and the squirrels...and the corgis who graze under the feeders 😟