Road Warrior!!

My post has been really delayed today - it's been crazy busy and I missed a good share of my lunch, when I normally blog. Of course I don't get the comments emailed to me anyway (even with the trick that is working for some bloggers) so it's all very frustrating. Has anyone heard of a real fix by Blogger?

Last Friday I left work a whole 5 minutes early (after zero customers all day) to head to the city. REI was having a sale and I had coupons and gift cards. It's silly but I needed more hiking socks and ended up getting one of those chargers that will charge a phone lickety split. When I go hiking I've got the GPS on, fitbit is recording, I'm taking pictures and I'm playing an audiobook. A hike of any length chews up a fully charged battery pretty fast. Of course, what *just* dawned on me was that that was the case with my old phone - maybe the new phone with the better battery won't be such a problem. Oh well, never hurts to be prepared.

Next I went to JoAnns - more coupons for Memorial Day where I stocked up on 505 spray. I had plans to baste quilts over the weekend but that didn't happen.

On the way home I also picked up a new backpack and hydration pack. I've had a Camelback for years; purchased it when I was doing lighthouse tours in the Miami heat and sun. Unfortunately it doesn't have any storage for more than the water and a snack - I would like to carry extra items with me and I now have plenty of room for all kinds of things. In fact I worry it has too many pockets and I'll never find what I packed. LOL.

I didn't get home and to bed until 11:30 but I was crazy enough to get up at 5am to try to see the 6am launch for the balloon rally at Letchworth State Park. The last rally I attended was ran a bit different than this. In Miami when they said it was a 6am launch that meant the balloons were inflated and ready to launch at 6. Not so here. They decide at 6am if they will be launching and then inflate. Dang. I could have had another 30 minutes of sleep! Well, really I could have had hours more sleep because they cancelled the launch due to the weather. I was already up so I hiked in the park for an hour. Gotta break in those new hiking boots that I didn't get to use while Mr Cranky Ankle healed.

This is the new arched train bridge across the Genesee River. The old bridge was built in the 1800s and was quite the marvel for it's time but it was much too slow a crossing for modern trains so they have spent the last 2 years building this bridge and removing the old one. You can just barely see the last cement foundation in the water to the right. The park road and parking lot near the bridge are supposed to be completed in the fall so that the Genesee Falls park entrance can finally be reopened.

Next I drove to Arcade to buy the Grunge fabrics for my next temp quilt. While driving randomly, waiting on the store to open, I realized how close I was to Hawk Creek Wildlife Refuge. Close is relative as I was still 30 minutes away but it's an hour from home so why not. The Refuge is only open to the public for special events and they were having a plant sale to benefit the refuge along with a $5 entry fee.

Hawk Creek is home to owls, eagles, medium sized wild cats, porcupines and a few other mammals. Be sure to check out the link above for much better pictures of all the animals.

In the lobby I was greeted by Onxy, a 4 week old Verreaux Eagle. When he's full grown he will be black.

I had never been to the refuge but I've enjoyed watching the pictures on their facebook page. The cats are in cages that are in wedges around a central building.

The Geoffrey's Cat was my favorite. It's a horrible picture but she wouldn't get closer to pose, instead pacing around. They are a small cat, smaller even than my own cat, and she often jumped into her wheel. One of the volunteers told me she is probably trying to work off her baby belly. I didn't get to see the little ones as they are given to other refuges and zoos to expand the species.

It was a little creepy that every time a small child walked by most of the cats would perk up to say "hey look - dinner has arrived". Eek!!

This is an African Serval and has to be the strangest shape for a cat I've seen. It's head and body just seemed too small for it's large body.

My favorite owl is the Barred owl - and that's probably only because I can "talk" to them while camping. This owl wasn't chatty (it was daylight and HOT) but I did learn the difference between the male/female calls for future chats.

This is the Egyptian Vulture - again a bad photo through the fencing but the head and beak on this bird was quite interesting.

And with that it was time to head home and check on my own wild animal!

After 200+ miles in less than 24 hours, I was more than happy to be a homebody the rest of the weekend! Nap time!!

Niagara Falls Road Trip

So...as I said earlier this week...Last Saturday I had an all day EMT training on cardiac issues in Niagara Falls. It just so happened to be at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino!

Valet entrance.
The top is black due to the curved roof.

We had to walk through the center of the casino for lunch time.

Ka-ching!

After the conference was over I drove 5 miles to a small quilt store and then 5 miles back to the Falls where I almost took a wrong turn onto the Rainbow Bridge to Canada but eventually found parking so I could take a "little" walk through NF State Park. I didn't find the map until I was ready to leave or I would have planned my hike a bit better.

I started on the left and walked down to the gorge (red) and the American Falls.

Then I continued up river which really showed how quickly the water was moving down stream.

Then I walked over the pedestrian bridge towards Goat Island.

Then I walked down to Luna Island which was basically at water level!

Then I walked back up towards the Canadian falls (green line)

looking one more time towards the American falls -
the group of people is down on Luna Island

stairs down to the Canadian Falls.
This is when my phone was going wild  -
I must have wandered into a Canadian cell service zone

Check out that mist!
Lets just say I wasn't making any impressions with my sopping wet hair

Next I wandered back (blue line) over the pedestrian bridge and around the center of the park, heading towards the Hard Rock to pick up a cordial glass for my collection and then to get Indian food for dinner at the food court.

I took my dinner back over to the park but I never found a picnic table. What kind of park doesn't have picnic tables???

The lights coming on across the river on the Canadian side were fun to watch

It didn't photo well but there are blue and red lights on the falls at dusk

That leaves me at the purple line to try to get back to my car before it was too dark in the park. Luckily if you left after 6, parking was free. Whoo hoo for me.

Now that I have the park map I hope I can go back and hike the rest of it some day as this was a pretty quickly paced hike before it got dark. I'm still going to hedge that it was a good 3 or 4 miles. Smart people would have logged it on their Fitbit...

AQS-Syracuse shopping

My original shopping goal at AQS-Syracuse was to buy rulers for ruler work/quilting. I had some specific beginner rulers in mind based on lotsa research but I was open to almost anything. There were several booths with rulers but not quite what I was hoping for. A couple booths had bundles containing one ruler I really wanted but I was not willing to pay the big bundle price so I'll keep looking for those.

I did come across a longarmer who sells his own rulers and his partner who had rulers for domestic machines. I couldn't pick just one ruler to start with so I took their business card which had a link to their 140+ youtube videos. Maybe once I get through those I can pick one or 2 of their rulers. Of course, I forgot the card at home today so if anyone wants the link let me know in the comments and I'll get it to you tomorrow.

And now, lets get on with the actual shopping!!!!

-- 5 random FQs
-- Superior Threads: 3 replacement colors and 2 new blues
-- 1 mini charm pack from Primitive Gathering - couldn't resist the pretty
purple/gold/yellow combo and it's a the perfect size for 3/4" hexies
-- 2 quilting rulers
-- a cat stitchery kit: I know, sooooo not me but it's really cute and 100% true.
Home IS where the cat hair sticks to everything but the cat!

I couldn't resist the cranky cats panel.
I was going to take a close up of my fav  cat but just couldn't pick one.
Now to figure out what to do with this...
It's not very big so maybe some tabby orange sashing and borders for a lap quilt?

You knew if there were hexies I would find them!
There were 2 kits (acrylic templates & papers) avail - 1 for the smaller center and the other for
the center and outer rounds. I splurged for the bigger kit cuz I can now make both sizes.
This is one of 2 projects I own with curves. I think it's time to bite the bullet and just try curves. Wish me luck!
The big issue is do I start it ASAP or wait until "later"????
Janet can tell you I have many UFOs but a new project is always funfunfun!
And I can't remember the last time I started a new project...
oops - that would be the pieced hexie project Mickey Depre is spearheading.

A topic for another day is coming up with my own pattern to sell as this person did.
Her pattern, paperpieces.com produced the templates and papers.

And  last but not least...HALF-NEKKED WOODSMEN!!!!!
Can they come camping with ME next year??!!
Some of you may recall my fireman quilt...
I'm going to do something similar, surrounding a yard of the woodsmen with blocks or borders.
If anyone has a "simple" block suggestion I would love to see a link.
In the meantime I am combing my Pinterest boards for ideas I've saved.

What do you want next?
Quilts at the AQS show? Hiking? Or general camping photos?

Happy Hump Day!!

Design Wall Monday - 5/16/16

Sew....I got to go on a little adventure this weekend and I got to meet a blog friend as well!!

Sit tight - there are lotsa pictures!

Last spring Sharon Vrooman of Vrooman's Quilts asked me to come to her guild, the Schoharie Valley Piecemakers, to teach a class on English Paper Piecing and give a trunk show! My first travel teaching experience and I had a grand time!

Sharon and I were so excited to meet up at her house on Friday that we both forgot to take pictures. Oopsies! When I first got to Sharon's house, her black cat Moe was outside. I called him and he immediately came running for some scritches. He probably wondered how this complete stranger knew his name but he and his sister Bella were later rewarded with catnip toys sent by Zorro and Squeaky so all was well. Sharon gave me the full tour of her quilting space, stash and their quilt store and class area. I kept thinking I've seen that in pictures and that and that and that.

Sharon gifted me this clothesline and thread caddy, both made by her dad. She also gifted me the darling basket quilt with the flower buttons. I think this might be the time to finally make something with 1/4" hexies so I won't have to worry about taking out the papers and just hang it "on the line."

Our class and trunk show were held in this lovely church on Main Street in Middleburgh. You can see one of the town's murals on the building to the right. You can also get an idea of the overcast skies... I drove east to Schoharie in the rain and I drove back west in the rain.

Across the street was the library where Sharon has done several programs and then blogged about them. The Library boasted just one of the many barn quilt squares from the area.

Sharon introduced me to the group - you can see their guild banners in the background - we had a good laugh about pronouncing last names. It's hard to see but I mended my poor blue jeans with a chrysanthemum rosette. It was fun to wait and see if anyone spotted the rosette - which they did!

Our class had 13 students (including one guy!!) where only 3 students had done hexies before. One student said she struggled just a bit at the beginning but once she got the technique down, she really enjoyed it.

Some of the ladies had their rosettes done before the trunk show started!!

I think everyone was pleased with the class and there just might be some new converts!

Does this look familiar to anyone? Look at my "giraffe" project, which was based on an antique quilt.
Everything old is new again!
This quilt was made by basting each hexie through the papers.
She said she was glad to learn the "right" way to make hexies - no more removing basting stitches

These hexies were all stitched with a sewing machine. Y seams!!
Next decision? Sashing between the rosettes or not?

We even had a quick show-n-tell for the students that had made hexies before.

Mom let me borrow several of her smaller trunks and,
of course, the doll cat bed came along as well

Some of the ladies were not familiar with a trunk show nor a bed turning.

I think they really enjoyed looking at my quilts and UFOs - seeing how different shapes and sizes play together, and then adding in fussy cutting or pieced hexies. I've encouraged them to send me pictures of their projects - maybe they will join in for HeLP tomorrow. Hint! Hint!

Before I hit the road again we finally posed for a selfie. Yes, the 2 gals who don't like to be in front of the camera...

The farm tracts run from the side of one mountain across the valley to the side of the next
mountain with the main road running through the middle of the valley.
The valley that had something like 6 FEET of water during a recent hurricane!

My trip home ended up being just a bit different than planned. I crossed the creek to catch a glimpse of Vrooman's Nose Mountain and then the GPS was going to send me the long way to the thruway.

If I zoom in, Martha's house is on the left.

At some point I realized I was up over the Schoharie Valley and could see Martha's farm house were I spent Friday night. We won't discuss the middle of the night footsteps on the stairs in an otherwise empty house!

B&W fabrics for my Salt & Pepper project
Blue and yellow fabrics for my pieced hexie projects

As I continued towards the expressway, I realized that I was near Cobleskill, home of The Yardstick. Hmm...might better stop in while I can...

Then the GPS took me on a lot of fun, twisting back roads until I eventually got to the thruway. It was nice to see more of the valley and mountains, the Victorian houses in the small towns. I will not tell you how much I laughed at the set up for "runaway trucks" on a 2 mile downgrade near Cherry Valley.

The color was much more vibrant in person

I was eventually rewarded with a fantastic sunset as I reached home.

Yesterday was a do nothing day while it snowed.
YES #1 - it was snowing on May 15th
YES #2 -  I spent the day on the couch doing HEXIES and I'll share those for Hexie Linky Party tomorrow...

I best get this posted as I know that Sharon is chomping at the bit to publish her post.
Hugs and Kisses Sharon - I had a fantastic time and maybe we can get together again some time!!!

A successful F.A.R.T!!

Yip - I was recently able to go on a successful Fabric Acquisition Road Trip that had some other fun activities thrown in for good measure.

I started the day by day by driving to Naples where I hiked through part of Glen Cove to get to this gorgeous water fall. This was apparently the lower falls but with the recent rains and the only way to the upper falls being to walk in the creek, I'll have to go back another day to see Upper Falls.

I loved this old tree hanging over the creek. Even better was the house just past the tree. Can you imagine having this fun little park literally in your back yard?! The sound of the rushing water was quite soothing.

Next stop was Carriage Quilts - a cute little 2 story quilt shop I had never been to. I picked up my Row by Row pattern and a few fat quarters.

My next stop was going to be Penn Yan to take my Bernina in for service but I got waylayed!! How could I pass a stop at Hazlitt's Red Cat Winery??!! Yes - I tasted and I bought. I also climbed the mountain path where the vines used to be when the winery was started. I'm sure it's much easier now that they are all on the valley floor.

In Penn Yan I was able to stop at The Windmill (an outdoor farm and craft market) that is generally only open on Saturdays but it was open special for 7/3/15. I also went to the new location of Golden Lane Fabrics, a Mennonite run fabric store. Quilt stores in Mennonite country sell quilts and no fabric. I learned this the hard way my first trip to Penn Yan.

On the way home I finally stopped at Bath National Cemetery. I had no idea what to expect, even tho I had been to Arlington many years ago, but it was a nice pleasant drive through a huge cemetery. I only wish there had been parking spots so I could walk around.

And now for the fabrics...I had 2 goals and I finished them both!

I finally found a border fabric for my Value Proposition quilt!!! There was a lighter blue fabric that matched my sashing perfectly but it just kinda washed out. This fabric actually matches all my teals perfectly in real life and adds some life to the border area. I'm still working on binding fabric...

And last but not least - I needed (ok, wanted) more hexie fabrics for my I-spy quilt. I almost missed the turtles (in the baby section) and the soccer balls (in a sea of black and whites). For some reason I was drawn to the orange but it also comes in 2 or 3 other colors. Maybe the next time I get back to Material Dreams, which was my last stop of the day for one more Row pattern, just 15 minutes before they closed.

Phew. It was a long day of driving, walking and shopping but my fitbit was pleased! As I told Denise, who knew that window shopping was good for you?!

Genesee Country Museum

So...it only took me 10 days to get these posted but I am finally sharing my photos from Mother's Day at Genesee Country Village & Museum, which is a recreated village of 18th century buildings moved from around NY state to this location. BTW - one of the pictures on their homepage today was a woman piecing a baby block quilt and I am guessing it's EPP!!!

As you may recall, I said that Mother's Day weekend was opening weekend for what we affectionately call Mumford (the name has changed in the last 20+ years and it's located in Mumford, NY). It was also Chocolate Day - I didn't get many pictures of the chocolate but there were samples of the authentic 18th century style choco that the museum sells.

You can see the show was held in a huge barn with lights and a runway :)
The girls here are in chronological order.

One of the first activities we enjoyed was a fashion show. It included an antique or reproduction outfit from each decade between 1790 and 1920. It was fascinating to see how trends come and go and then come back again - especially waistlines, puffy sleeves and hemlines. There seemed to almost always be some aspect of the outfit that originated from men's fashions - hats, sleeves, collars, walking sticks.

Some of my favorite outfits - the hat on the left and the striped dress on the right.

Height order, which is just plain silly for documentation of the outfits.

After the fashion show we walked from building to building. I know which building each photo came from but for the life of me I can't remember most of their names. Forgive me!

Isn't this a fab tea party idea? The chicken salad was served in the tulips - which are edible.

Check out the stenciling on the walls! This house had a quilting bee going on for anyone to try. I was reprimanded for doing the rocking stitch - it was all stick and stab back then. The workers were having tea from this great tea tray. Gunmetal tea, if I recall correctly. I have some from Gettysburg that I still need to try...

One of the choco displays showing flavorings and the Metate & Mano in the center that was used to grind the cocoa beans. We were given hot choco samples at this stop.

Mom and I sort of had a tea party for lunch - I packed choco chip scones, cheese, crackers and jerky. Mom brought bottled iced tea. It was fun.

One more tea photo - a pantry full of tea pots, cups and saucers. I wish I had this space for mine...

Last stop at the museum was the dying exhibit. I forget the word but it was a kind of sap being used to dye the yarn various shades of brown - milk and dark chocolate colors if you will. HaHa!

Once home dad grilled dinner and afterwards my brother's family stopped over. The boys were happy to decorate my hair with flowers from the yard but one particular little monkey didn't think I could catch him on film! Gotcha!!