A fabulous get-together

As you've probably figured out by now, Wendy Reed (constantquilter),  Barb Vedder (funwithbarb)  and I rented a lovely, cozy cabin just steps from the beach outside of Newburyport, off the coast of Massachussets, on Plum Island,  last week for our first post-Covid post-vaccination retreat.  

We originally planned our get-together to coincide with Wendy's exhibition at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell.  What an amazing treat to go there with Wendy and Barb to view Wendy's quilts in an impressive display, along with Pilgrim Roy's cheddar quilts.  Pam Weeks is the curator at the museum and truly did an amazing job with the displays and the descriptions.

Here's Wendy standing proudly in front of one of her amazing quilts.  Not sure if you can see the teeny tiny berries/grapes closely or the amazing quilting that she did.  Her quilts are truly masterpieces.  

We had time to share quilts and I’ll post some pictures once I can get blogger to cooperate. Or maybe it’s operator error!

We had a great time, us three.  It was the perfect combination of everything. Here we were being silly at the beach our first day.

We exchanged four little basket blocks to assemble as we chose.  Wendy did a great job creating two memory quilts already. Check out her blog (constantquilter) Mine will have to wait a couple of weeks as I'm still on the East Coast helping my son and his family move into their new home in Virginia.

Here is a jetty we walked along.  Such a beautiful beach!

I'm having trouble downloading pictures for some reason today so I'lm going to hold off on sharing some other pictures from our get-together.

Hope you're staying well, safe and happy.

Color me RED

 The worst part about going on a plane trip these days is having to wear a mask for hours on end.  Of course it's necessary and I am not unhappy that everyone is wearing a mask.  Makes me feel pretty darn safe, even if I've had my vaccines.

Hawaii was amazing;  weather was beautiful and warm and I did get to enjoy the beach and ocean many times.  We had a wonderful time.  It had been a long time since we were on vacation and away from our home.

I had lots of plane time and had found a Netflix show I really enjoyed so I put on my earbuds and sewed away while watching Wentworth, which is about a women's prison and the "residents".  I find it very interesting but it's probably because that's who I represented for 25 years.

Anyway, I got two more blocks done!

I haven't washed out the markers yet, which is why they are still there.  I also had limited threads with me so the stitching may show a bit.

I haven't yet decided what I'm going to put at the ends of each vine.  I'm not sure I like them without something to finish them.

We had three of our grandkids for the weekend and I have to share a couple of darling pictures.  I know not everyone enjoys family photos and I apologize for gushing but some pictures are definitely worth sharing!

The little one in the middle is 4 and we are going to miss him because my son and his family bought a house in Virginia, where they are moving this week.

I figured I'll be taking lots of plane trips to the East Coast, starting this week when I will stay with them for two weeks to help them get moved in;  my son's wife is due to have a baby in a month so she'll be able to hopefully take it a little easy while I'm there.

Hope you are all well.  I have a few smaller projects to share, which I'll post this next week.  Stay safe! 

Color me colorful and on VACATION

 My dh and I traveled this week to Kauai for a little vacation time at long last and during the lengthy flight I watched a downloaded Netflix show and got another one of my sprigs blocks finished!  Going on vacation on a plane was pretty weird after so long of NOT traveling.  Wearing a mask for 6 hrs wasn't fun but was worth it!

Can you see that little hibiscus flower at the bottom?  Hawaii has such beautiful colors!  We went out to dinner and had a visitor at our table, also very colorful.

And, of course the views are incredible.

Hope you're having a great week. 

Latest mini and baskets galore

 I did actually finish my monthly mini ON TIME (miracles do happen) but haven't had a chance to post the picture.

I think the back is almost more interesting.  I love pieced backs--it uses up extra fabric and I can throw in some orphan blocks!  

Great progress is being made on my wool applique (NOT).  I labored to trace the pattern onto a vinyl overlay and fused most of the pieces in place.  I had to roll of the sides in order to work on the center while driving back to California the other day.  In hindsight I think I would've rather cut the center smaller and added the borders.  So what if there's an extra seam??  This is huge because it includes the border, waiting to be attached.

I figure a couple more long road trips and I'll have the center done.

I showed you some baskets I started.  I've been working on them and sad to say, they aren't turning out exactly the right 4" fin size.  I have a pile of "rejects" and a separate pile of "useable"!!

These are useable.  My friend requested "brights" so she's getting very bright!  There are three of us doing this mini-swap and I'm enjoying it.  I can't wait to give them out IN PERSON!  (more on this in another post)

Here are the ones with the corners cut off! ;-). I think if I keep the handles skinnier and not as wide, it works better.  Also, the instructions say 1-7/8" for the bottom of the basket.  My habit is to round up to 2".  That doesn't work with these.

They definitely have that 'home-made' look, don't you think?? VBG

I also sewed down the border on my medallion quilt that was a group project early on during Covid.  It's one of my favorite quilts, I think

Central Oregon takes a while to warm up and spring is slow to arrive.  We woke up to this view the other day!

That odd "tree" in the left corner is my clothes line!  They aren't permitted so I have a "cheater" that I put up when needed.  The cover comes off and the line opens up much as an umbrella does.  It's a great device and I love it.  It was a little disconcerting a few weeks ago when I wanted to set it up (love drying my sheets outside!) and the hole for the pole was FILLED WITH ICE!!  Gotta love winter!

Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful spring, getting vaccinated and still staying safe!