take a trip!

I'm happy to report that the sun is shining and we have spring-like temps for the 3rd day in a row!  Wowza!  I've had some time at home in bits and pieces to do some sewing, but kind of aimlessly.  I have things that need to be finished, so I'm getting back to that list now with fervor.  Well, low grade fervor!  Completely under control!

When I can get a bit of time to hand sew, I'm working on English paper piecing.  I have 2 works in progress that are ongoing.  

#1  The Glorious Hexagons quilt, I showed you a few blocks already, but I have assembled what I have done so far:

My Glorious Hexagons so far.

This is what the whole quilt should look like at some point in time!  

It's set up as a monthly subscription through Bear Patch and Paper Pieces.  I'm still on the first packet of pieces and blocks.  I calculate that at this rate, it will be put together about Christmas 2018!  Obviously, I'm not concerned with any self-imposed deadlines on this one!  The best part of this is that there are 6 more employees at Bear Patch that are working on it, too, so we compare notes and have started some work sessions together.

#2  My Lone Star quilt, which had hit a snag due to lack of foresight on my part, which left me begging for fabric once again!  Well, my wish has been granted, and thanks to the fact that I have co-workers who collect fabric just like me, I was gifted enough to cut my diamonds to finish the lone star!  

Actually, 2 people unearthed some of this.  It's from a fabric group called Hints of Prints by Robert Kaufman Fabrics, designed by Darlene Zimmerman.  Darlene is from the great state of Minnesota, and familiar to me through quilty dealings and events.  I went out on a limb and emailed her for verification that I had the right name, which would make tracking it down easier.  She replied that she had pieces of this fabric left in the other colors that were produced, but no red!  Darlene, if you need some of this, contact Sharon or Kristina!

 Aside from paper piecing, I puttered around one night with these pieces that were leftovers from a quilt called Urban Beads by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I had made extra blocks to use when I demo'd the ruler needed for the curves.  Now I have a little tablerunner to brighten the place!

I've also had some fun scanning some old slides.  Well, the process isn't so fun, but the results are!  Last time I was at my mom's, we went into the archives of slides that chronicle many years of travels.  Every summer, for as long as I can remember while I still lived at home, we had a family camping trip for about 2 weeks in August.  This was one of my most favorite experiences.  We usually went somewhere in the Rockies, but there was one trip to Montreal in 1967.  Dad would get the necessary field work done, find someone to take care of the livestock, and we headed for the hills!  I think he was truly a mountain man who masqueraded as an Iowa farmer!

These 2 pictures are from a trip to Glacier National Park in 1961. I'm 8 years old, the one with the really straight short bangs and curls on the sides.  Jarry, the oldest, was 10.  Jan, the baby of the family (wearing wonderful red pants!) was 5.

There's another trip from 1958 that I have yet to work on, Jan wasn't along on that trip, apparently staying with grandparents while the big kids went on vacation.  The whole plan to dig into these old pictures was a result of my son's, Dan, interest in comparing Glacier then to now.   I love these happy family pictures!  I am so thankful that my parents had enough wanderlust to make these trips happen.  The places we visited really helped shape who I am now.  So if you are reading this and have some kids or grandkids or nieces or nephews, take them on a trip!  It's priceless!