My Lovely View

I gave Jac her own pad of post-it notes…

and this was my view 

by the end of the afternoon. 

She got Donovan involved too, 

Lily is the cat 

spelling words for him while he wrote. 

Makes me so happy. 💕 (also I should clean my monitor … again … constantly … little fingers are messy …)

Embroidery Quilt

 You ever look at an ad and say, ‘wow! I gotta have that!’?

It doesn’t happen to me often, especially since an awful lot of FB and (to a lesser degree) Instagram ads seem to be straight up scams these days, but I took one look at this and was in love. (Link to Missouri Star)

I learned to do embroidery and needlework from my mom when I was a kid, even before I learned to crochet. (I only started to quilt about 11 years ago, in comparison.)

A crib sheet I stitched when Rachel was born (here)

I’ve done it on and off over the decades years. 

Elvis Liberace!

The last big bouts were in 2006 when African embroidery was big with the spinning/weaving guild and I did several pieces, (here and here)

and around 2014 

with some French General prints I never completed. (Hmmm, maybe I can finish these at the same time …)

At first glance - the kit arrived today - I’m impressed with the quality. 

A strong, solid cardboard outer box protects the pretty hexagon tin

filled with thread, wood hoop, notions (including small scissors and a magnetic needle minder),

and my favorite part - peel and stick patterns that wash away when you’re done stitching. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal, but I’ve never liked having to trace designs before I can start playing with pretty colors and new stitches. Why yes, I am impatient and a smidge lazy…

I also bought the fabric kit because… impatient! I was going to try to talk somebody into doing this project with me (anybody want to ???) but MSQ is already sold out of the kits and they may not be back in stock until July! So glad I didn’t put off buying this like I started to do. This’ll be my TV stitching for the next few months. 

Bluey Blue Starburst

I told Jaclyn I was going to call this quilt “Bluey Blue” and she said “Grandmaaaaa” in that ‘I’m rolling my eyes at you’ tone she’s perfected. (She’s only 7!) 😂

60 x 72”

But Bluey is done and was gifted to my SIL at lunch today. I really like how the dark border makes this just glow. 

The backing is a gorgeous blue and purple mosaic 108” print. So glad I bought extra so I can use it on something else. (Can you tell my SIL’s favorite color is blue?)

The quilting is Texas bluebonnets in remembrance of her best friend, a true Texas girl at heart (and a truly lovely person), who passed away in December. 

It was a bit easier to see the flowers before I laundered it, but it’s sooooo much softer now. More info on this project is here. 

Sunset Over Cambria

Witnessed a lovely sunset on our last night in Cambria. And yes, I might have gotten a smidge carried away with the photos…

Cayucos and Harmony

Our plan for the day 

Queen of all she surveys

got a fast adjustment 

when we got to Cayucos and discovered the pier was closed 

due to damage from winter storms.

I think the grands liked Plan B better anyway - 

rock and shell hunting 

on the very storm-littered sand. 

Donovan found so many treasures that we had to institute a new Grandma Rule -

“You can keep it if it fits in your pocket.”

Pretty sure that added to his fun since he happily swapped rocks in and out, depending on what he found next.  

Lunch was at Duckie’s, one of our favorite restaurants, right next to the pier. 

Pretty sure they are going to remember us for awhile since Donovan accidentally knocked Jackie’s soda over THREE SEPARATE TIMES. Poor kid’s elbows had a mind of their own today. 

The staff was really chill about it but I bet they were glad when we left. 

Then over to Harmony where the much anticipated ice cream truck was closed. Really a bummer since it’s some of the best ever. 

The kids made do with hand-made marbles from the glass shop and a treasure or two from the pottery store. 

But we couldn’t have them disappointed on vacation, right??

When we couldn’t find an ice cream store in Cambria (we spotted 3 later, of course…), we headed for the grocery store and their own cartons of ice cream. 

It was worth it for the look on their faces when they found I was serious. 😂 (And it was probably cheaper than scoops at a specialty shop.) 

Tomorrow we head for home, with the forecast calling for sunshine all the way. We really lucked out weather-wise on this trip! It’s been beautiful.