Knife Practice

Jac is an old hand at trimming strawberries 

but this was Donovan’s first try.

I was surprised at how quickly he caught on

and how well he did at slicing them into pieces. And hooray for no sliced fingers! (which would be pretty hard - but not impossible - to do with plastic knives . . .) 

These were so yummy with the angel food cake Jac and I made the night before.  Pretty sure we need another trip to the local farm stand sooooooon.

Pelicans

We’re still in Cambria, until tomorrow. (And we’ve made a reservation to come back for my birthday. Yay!)

Another gorgeous sunset

One thing that’s different about this trip is the number of brown pelicans. 

At first I thought I was just noticing them more because they were one of my mother’s favorite birds. 

But they’re everywhere - sea, sand and sky - by the thousands.

Apparently it’s migration time and they’re on their way from British Columbia to South America. 

Love seeing them. 

Driftwood covered beaches

Cambria

 Day two of our anniversary weekend - 

one of my favorite views (the ocean below Hearst Castle);

room with a fireplace 

and a (partial) ocean view.

Sunset in Cambria.

* Note for next trip: Hotel is Moonstone Landing, try to get a front balcony room. 

Light Show

Took a drive to Paso Robles for Sensorio, an outdoor light show. Fantastic!

We got there before sunset and watched the lights come on as it got dark. 

Sitting by the fire pit, waiting for the dark

So beautiful. 

Surfin’ Pups

Done! It’s loud and lively but it’s going to a 6-year old whose favorite color is “rainbow”. I think (hope!) he’s going to love it. 

43 x 61”

Had to trim off most of the individual framing to make things fit, but I think it works.

Pattern is “Ashford Square” from the book “Quilts In A Jiffy - 3 Yard Quilts.” Panel fabric and the outer border are from “Surfin’ Hounds” by Studio E. The rainbow and light blue batik are from my stash. Whoo! Stash busting for the win! 

Note to self: used the 4-at-a-time method for the oversized HSTs (15” starting square!!) rather than the pattern’s 2-at-a-time method. 

Which?

Trying to decide which way to do these rainbow stripes. Random? (Both stripes would look like this one.)

Or wavy rivers? (Two distinct looks on one quilt?)

Decisions, decisions. Opinions welcome!

Alaska Souvenir Quilt

This one just needed the borders and cornerstones added so I made myself finish it before I started last weekend’s jelly roll quilt. 

Really pleased with how it turned out - and yes, those cornerstones were a giant PITA. 

I used this picture as inspiration but adjusted mine to fit the souvenir fabric panels we found in Ketchikan. Love having such a vivid reminder of our trip. 

Long-arm quilting is on hold until my pal Debbie’s kitchen remodel is complete. It’s taken over her entire house (no surprise, right?) Hopefully it won’t be much longer. She hopes so too!

2 Day Quilt

I was motivated to finish this for National Jelly Roll Day but I still can’t believe I got it done in 2 days. 

 49 x 57”

I worked until 0300 Sunday morning to finish all the blocks (with breaks to rest my shoulder), 

My favorite pins for nesting seams

then started again noon-ish to sew the rows together. Very pleased with how it turned out. 

I have enough strips left over to make another small quilt - a matching baby quilt for the recipient’s new sister?? Or I could give them away and be done with it. Pretty sure these are headed for the Guild’s freebie table …

Pattern: Avignon Picnic by Moda. Fabric: Aunt Ella’s Butterflies by Darlene Zimmerman for Robert Kaufman. 

National Jelly Roll Day

Happy National Jelly Roll Sewing Day to all who celebrate!

I’d planned to spend the entire day sewing along with two buddies

Leia is working on her first scrapbook!

but I got distracted by these cuties. (Ok, two cuties and one annoyed feline who wants more scratching and less stitching.)

The only jelly roll* in my stash is one I bought to make a jelly roll rug but never got around to using. 

Stripology rulers rule!

I loved the colors and didn’t much care what the design was since it wouldn’t really be seen. But looking at it for a quilt, those fabrics are pretty old-fashioned …

And then I spotted this pattern. Love! The modern design really made my colors sing. 

I’m pretty far behind my pals, who had the good sense to pick simpler patterns, but they actually sleep at night so I may catch up with them in the wee hours. 

Wish me luck!

* I’m not a fan of the pinked edges on most pre-cuts, including jelly rolls. Plus, most aren’t cut well so I end up trimming them before I start sewing. But they are a great way to get a wide variety of compatible fabrics, so sometimes it’s worth the hassle. Especially if they are on a really good sale…