Sping in my Step

 We have had gorgeous weather for a few days. (The shoe will be dropping next week, with more evenings below freezing.) The spring-like weather has filled me with enthusiasm. I've woken up early, and I've enjoyed time in my sewing space over the past few days. 

I pieced together some raw edge scraps on my long arm a while back, intending to make some sort of wall hanging to show the guild ladies an example of something you might make for the State challenge if you were making something representative of Florida. Then I put it up on my quilt wall and stared at it, trying to decide what to do next. 

Of course, since it is Florida it needed palm trees. But, how would I make them? Thursday I pulled out some brown fabric and a product called "Texture Magic". After stitching the texture magic to the back of fabric you use a steam iron to shrink the product, which produces interesting textures in your fabric. Much has to do with how you sew the product on, how close your stitches are and whether you put batting on it too. This was the end result for me.

I love it! (If I do say so myself!)

When I first pulled my backing off of the machine I didn't realize how

out of place the blue orb on the right looked (see above)

I had intended it to be the crest of a wave....I didn't exactly nail that! 

One thought I had is that it could be an island in the distance. 

I can add some green to it, perhaps.

I next thought the maybe I can cover the orb and make a sunrise.

I made a large fabric "yo-yo"

(If you sew, you probably know!)

It kinda looks like the sun, but I'm not sold on it.

I may try half of a Dresden Circle:

This is a Dresden Circle sunflower, 

you can imagine how a small piece in various yellows or oranges

might work as a sun. It's something to think about!

Below I have pinned the trunks of three palms made from the textured fabric I created on the piece.

One still has clips where I glued the raw edge under. 

I have yet to stitch these on the backing as I am still not certain of placement. 

I have a wild idea for the palm fronds. 

Some day I may get those done and post it here!

(If my idea works!)

A few days ago I mentioned the start of a bag,

and that I had to rethink how to use what I had.

I had some bamboo rings. I pulled the sides through the rings and tacked them down.

I made a handle of folded fabric, splitting the bottom 

so I could but it through the rings and tie it around the handle.

Eh...it's done. 

I did make the missing piece for the Bonnie Hunter "Lupine & Laughter"

mystery quilt yesterday, and I have assembled two rows out of seven.

It's a start. 

And, I assembled the pieces of San Francisco fabric

AND quilted them! I will be putting a zipper in,

then I can put the pieces together for a pillow.

I will also show this to the Guild ladies as an example of 

a quilt you could make for the State challenge.

I have also found a source for state-related fabric,

which I will share with them

Now, I'm heading out on my bike to enjoy our sunshine. 

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker

I arrived in Oakland on Saturday, grabbed my bike and made the trek (.7 mile) up to College Avenue (in Berkeley) to pick up a few things to sustain my soul - well, at least my body - over the next few days.

Our first home-away-from-home was on a steep hill. We wanted to have bikes, but knew we couldn't get up the hill with any regular bike. We bought electric pedal-assist bikes. I love the ease of negotiating hills, even though we no longer have such a steep hill to climb. This is my go-to transportation when I am in California. There are many bike avenues and bike-friendly streets around me and I can get to just about any store/venue. 

The shopping area on College offers one-stop shopping at a Safeway....

but just across the street there is an amazing butcher shop:

A French bakery: 

(There's also an amazing bagel shop just a block away-

but they were closed by the time I got there.)

A grocer from out of the past:

A Vintner:

And a flower shop...

again, out of the past!

Just walking by makes me smile.

You can pick and choose and they will put together a custom bouquet for you. 

Such pretty and unusual cut flowers:

My panniers were loaded and it was time to head back to the condo,

stopping to see the kids and have dinner along the way. 

Belgrade

October 6, 2018

Visiting Belgrade was an eye-opening experience for this WASPy, sheltered, privileged (by comparison) optimist. It made me realize just how fortunate I am and how sheltered my life has been. Our first activity was a bike ride around Belgrade.

We rode across the Danube and stopped at the site of a Nazi extermination camp just across the river from Belgrade. Originally the site was used as a fairground, similar to a World's Fair. During the war it became an extermination camp. Over 20,000 people were annihilated. It was sobering to hear the details. A few of the buildings are used for industry today, others house squatters.

The central point of the fairgrounds was a tower, which Phillips used to broadcast the first television signals from in 1925. It was later used to patrol the concentration camp's borders.

From there we rode by The Federal Executive Council of Yugoslavia. This HUGE building was constructed under Tito's administration. Several of our guides commented that the public loved Tito and that life was good under his regime. Everyone got paid. Everyone had housing. The economy flourished. Upon Tito's death, all was dissolved. Yugoslavia, a nation of six republics, began to crumble. Currently most of this grand building is unused. 

We peddled on and went along a promenade on the Sava River. As it was Saturday, and sunny, families were out en masse and the promenade was crowded with kids, strollers, scooters, lovers walking hand-in-hand... many things to dodge on our bikes. We stopped for a glass of beer, then peddled through an old section of town (Lord knows where we were) dodging cars, market-goers and more people, before heading back to the ship. 

We had a bit of time to visit the fortress of Belgrade. Like many European cities, a medieval fortress was built, and improved upon over the centuries, to protect the town. I confess, that I did not take too many photos as I stole 30 minutes or so to make a sketch.

Gates into the fortress

This appears to be a more modern tower in the fortress

From there we walked across the street to the "shopping district"; a pedestrian-friendly promenade crammed with tourists and locals. As I said, it was a beautiful day and EVERYONE was out and about. I was not enjoying strolling along back-to-front, shoulder-to-shoulder with mankind in Belgrade, so we tromped down 128 steps (with blistered feet) to the ship. 

This is the view of a church steeple, with gold accents, from the ship. 

It glowed in the sun.

So, we got a brief snap-shot of Belgrade. We didn't spend a lot of time here. But, our overall impression was that Belgrade today is a lot like Budapest when we visited in 2006. The city seemed dirty and the citizens seemed weary. I can only hope that time will be kind to those living in this Serbian nation.

Passau - perhaps out of the woods

September 28, 2018
Passau, Germany to Melk, Austria

The further we went down the Danube the more optimistic the captain became about the continuation of our journey. He indicated that Passau would be a major milestone in our passage. We arrived during the night and set out on various excursions.

Sitting on the dock at Passau - my onsite sketch. I really enjoy the process
of plain-air sketching. Unfortunately I rarely have the time to stop and pull out my paints.

We Dreamers chose to take a bike ride for 27 km along the Danube, and we are so glad that we persevered. It was an idyllic ride! Except for the first bit that took us up narrow cobble streets in Passau, most of the trip was fairly flat, and most often along the Danube. I wanted to take pictures, but only got off a few before the Zuchtmeister (disciplinarian, for lack of a more apt term) yelled at me, "No! No! No! Do NOT stop!" So most of the trip resides on a shelf in my brain where happy memories are stored! To be fair, I should also explain that we had to meet the ship at a set time, and again, due to falling waters, the captain didn't want to dally. Therefore, our bike ride could not turn into a leisurely ride along the Danube. 

Our ship sets sail from Passau without us. Our tour director joked with
us that one thing we didn't want to see was our ship growing smaller
in the distance. This time, it was OK!

We bikers, all 32 of us, get fitted for helmets on the dock at Passau.

Grabbed two shots of this darling church in Pyrawang, Austria.
(Thank Heavens for photo locations!) 

Had to do this one from a photo. It was here that the guide 
admonished me about picture-taking!

Another stolen shot - Obernzell, Austria

We crossed this hydro-electric plant, dam and lock with our bikes. To get over the lock we had to carry our bikes up 35 steps, and then back down on the other side. It was no easy feat. However, we were rewarded with a stop at a Biergarten on the Czech side of the river for a bit of refreshment.

After our beer, we rode on for a short stint before arriving at the ferry landing. The Danube traverses the Wachau Valley in this region. It is pristine, and there are no bridges across the river for miles. Ferries of all sorts, from dangling cable cars, rafts that are pulled along a cable by the current, to large car/truck ferries, are seen along the route. We loaded our bikes on a ferry to cross the river to Engelhartszell where our ship was waiting. 

I was intrigued by the ferries on our trip in 2006, and took several pictures of the different sort of conveyances I saw. Unbelievably, I found this picture from that trip. It is the same sort of "Fahre", if not the same one, that we took with our bikes!

Danube Trip 2006

Traveling along the river after returning from our bike ride gives us such great views: 

(Of course, it also helps when it is sunny and the temperatures are moderate!)

Our ship motored on to Melk, Austria, while we enjoyed another sumptuous meal.

The ship often provides onboard local entertainment. Tonight's trio was thoroughly entertaining!