Feline Friday - 7/26/19

Did you figure out that Momma went on vacation last week without me? Horrible, huh?

At least GrandMomma and GrandPoppa kept my kibbie bowl full and provided lots of scritches.

Before Momma left I snoopervised the packing of the new car. It didn't pack quite the same as the last car so Momma will need to perfect her technique. I know she'll get it eventually.

I found the best viewing spot! If I were a car-riding kind of cat this would be MY spot - front and center!!

The numbers

Maybe you figured out that I was on vacation last week?! I did have the security system set.
No pictures today. I'll just give you the numbers :)

I spent 10 days in the Adirondack Mountains.
I drove 867 miles.
It rained 1 day, instead of the 8 or 9 that were predicted.
1 bear visited my campsite at 1:30 in the morning.

I went on 10 hikes, including 3 mountains (Pillsbury, Castle Rock, Snowy).
Snowy is the highest mountain in the southern ADK and taller than 2 of the "46 High Peaks"
I completed the Indian lake 4-3-2-1 Hiking Challenge.
I am only the 36th person to finish this challenge since it started 1 year ago!!!

Fitbit says I took 230,744 steps, climbed 500 floors and was active for 31 hours.
I hiked a total of 90 miles!!
On 2 days I hit my personal best of 40,000 steps and 15 miles!

I attended 1 bluegrass concert on the library lawn.

I visited 1 quilt store - we won't mention the dollar amount spent!
I bought 2 pair of silly socks.
I bought 2 Christmas gifts.

I had ice cream for lunch 3 times. (As someone I met said - "It's fun being an adult")

I stitched 15 hexie rosettes - 13 for my pieced hexie project and 2 for the temperature quilt.

I finished 13 books, while 3 more (iPhone, car and paper) are still in progress.

And I did all this on 1 very badly twisted ankle...

It was divine!!!!!

Vacation shopping

Part of the fun of a vacation is shopping. Now I'm not much of a shopper but put me in a grocery, antique or quilt store and I'm a dedicated shopper! Having not been to any quilt stores in Baltimore, or Maryland for that matter, I asked Dad if we could go to one while visiting my uncle. Even better - he came back with 2 or 3 stores in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Amish/Mennonite country!! Woohoo.

When counting hexie fabrics for yesterday's post I forgot to
count the 2 on the right side of this picture. 

Our first stop was by accident - we were driving through Bird-in-Hand towards Intercourse when we drove by Log Cabin Quilts so we did a quick u-turn and found a cute little store. It carried fabric, finished quilts and other things like candles and a few home goods. You know I tuned right in to the new hexie fabrics!

Sampler box of jams and jellies picked from probably 20 options.
I thought this would be fun for a tea party.
The chapsticks are ok - I probably wouldn't buy them again, esp at that price.
The peach amaretto pecan honey butter is delish on crackers. Just 2 is a sweet treat.

Once we got to Intercourse we started at Kitchen Kettle Village - OMG, all the samples! We barely needed lunch. There were jams & jellies, salsa, pickles, relish, dips and desserts. And you have to try EVERYthing (sometimes you need to try it more than once) to make up your mind what to buy!

Also in the "Village" of tiny stores was a little garden shop. I REALLY wanted the yellow rhododendron but couldn't cough up the funds (I have a someday vision of a completely yellow and purple garden) so I settled for this sweet little lavender plant.

Moda is celebrating their 40th anniversary with this cool "selvage" fabric.
Oh! Gee! More hexie fabric! I'm surprised!

These three batiks (2 were on sale!!) are for my pieced hexie sampler.
These are 2 of the 5 constant fabrics. The other 2 are purples.
The carved wooden bird is for my Christmas bird tree.
In another 30 years I'll have enough bird ornaments to cover the whole tree.

Next up was The old Country Store which carried books, clothes, some food, quilts, jewelry and lotsa fabric. It was a nice mix.

Next up we swung over to Hinkletown Bernina to buy a ruler foot. This was kind of a birthday gift since I haven't been able to buy what Mom gave me money for -she then told me to buy whatever I wanted. I guess that makes the rest of it a gift to myself! 

Just today I booked one of my summer camping vacations which means I have to drive thru Syracuse which means I can make a pit stop at AQS Syracuse. What a co-inky-dink! I'm SURE  they will have quilting rulers to buy!

Last stop of the day was an antique mall. Lots of pretty things with pretty high price tags. This little watercolor beauty was just $3! Now I need to find a wall to hang it on where it's not overwhelmed by too much wall space.

Not a bad haul for a non-shopper, huh?!

Home from the ADK

Did y'all miss me last week??!! Ha ha! Prob not...
I ran off for my annual 10 days in the Adirondack Mts.!!

I went on 7/10, Mom & Dad came up on 7/12 and my brother's family came up on 7/16. Not my usual solitude in the woods but I might have gotten even more miles in than if I was there by myself. I think I only completely skipped hiking or climbing on my second to last day. Funny thing was, it was cool and damp when I woke up early so I took my camp chair in the tent to listen to audio books and do hexies but opened the window a bit. When my nephews first got up, not knowing that I was also up, went out on their bikes and circled back thru our site to theirs. For probably an hour they would stop at my window every time they circled around. Drive-by entertainment!!


I'll post pictures later this week or next, after getting caught up at home and work, but I thought I would start you with my welcome home...

"Momma - you will NOT be leaving again any time soon unless you pack me too!"

Design Wall Monday - 8/25/14

After a second and final camping trip for the year, I am resigned to stay-cations for the rest of the year. Boo hoo! I will definitely miss my usual third camping trip but it just didn't work out for the year.

This was just a quickie 4 day trip to meet the rest of the family who was camping for 10 days. The weather was ok, except for the lightening strike the first night I was there. I had "pushed" the rain all the way to the mountains and it finally poured just before I got there.

A couple hours later, it was raining again while we were fixing dinner. We saw a tremendously bright flash of light and within just a second the loudest boom of thunder I have ever heard. We assumed lightening had struck a tree - we just didn't realize how close! I'll start by telling you no people were hurt altho the guy tossed across his campsite (who started laughing wildly cuz he was happy to be alive) was taken to the hospital for observation.

Just 3 or 4 sites away, lightening had struck 2 trees at the same time. The short tree was obliterated, leaving a crater in front of their car which had blown a rear tire. The car starts but the engine smokes so they had it towed. The taller tree was split in half with half just blown to bits and the other half still standing but cracked.

There was also a pickup on the same site. One of the hubcaps was blown off but even tho there was no other sign of damage it won't start so they had the truck towed too. Unfortunately, the strike also blew the electric to the 2 closest bathrooms. It was a little dark if we forgot to bring our flashlights...

So...everything else after that was just ordinary and exactly what we wanted!

I was able to finish this rose star block - if you recall I had the brown and blue pentagon shapes basted after my July vacation but needed more of the kite papers. This was a quick finish.

I also was able to finish this Value Proposition block - I think I had just started round 2 before vacation. It's amazing how much better this looks than I even imagined!

 

I was also able to start this Value block - I think it's #7 while the one I finished was #8. Oh well. My nephews always want to see what I'm working on - they gave this block a partial thumb up because it's pink and not purple. I have trained them well to know my fav color :)

I suppose I should have taken pictures of my new fabric...

I finally decided I'll use red and white/cream fabrics for my Bonnie Hunter class in 26 days 6 hours 47 minutes and 21 seconds. I stopped at a new-to-me store in Rome which also got me out of the detour on the highway. Double Bonus. I also shopped at the store that is just about 6 miles from our camp ground. It's amazing what different items you notice when you have a different shopping list. I don't think I saw either of the reds I bought when I was looking for batiks in July.

Twisted Hexie Tutorial

Today's post is my final vacation post. As you may know, I love to hike in the Adirondack Mts. and when I was asked for this tutorial shortly before I left for the ADK I asked if she was in a hurry because I thought it would be fun to tie it in to my hiking trips. Let me know if you would also like me to post a tutorial without all the "extra" info.

My first hike, on Tuesday, was around Moss Lake.
 I had hexies with me but the weather wasn't promising so I didn't stop to enjoy much of the view.
When I finally found a signal and called my brother, he insisted on telling me how bad the radar looked so I really had to get moving on my 5.5  mile hike.
Luckily I finished about 30 minutes before the torrential rain finally arrived.

I just love how the trees make due with where ever they landed as seedlings.

On Wednesday, I took the chair lift to the top of Mt McCauley in Old Forge, a local ski mountain. Obviously the weather was greatly improved. Still a little chilly but sun can make a world of difference.

To start a twisted hexie I baste one of the half hexies. I use 3 clips to hold the fabric in place
and start basting in the bottom right corner, working counter-clockwise to the bottom left corner. 
I do not baste through the papers but because I use 2" half/hexies, I do catch the fabric with the thread once on each of the sides. It helps to keep the fabric taught and I'm less likely to snag the thread later on.
Tie off/cut the thread after basting this half hexie.

Baste a second half hexie but do NOT tie off the thread.

We are going to start attaching pieces now.
Layer the 2 basted half-hexies as shown above, being careful to line up the ends and hold them in place with a couple clips.
Whip stitch the pieces together along the short side of the first half-hexie
(which is half of the long side of the second half hexie). Do NOT tie off the thread.

When you are finished basting the short side and open them up, it looks like this.
 

Don't get lost in the view as we have more work to do!

Next we will be starting to add the central hexie the half-hexies are twisting around.
One side of the (black) hexie should fit along the remaining half of the (red) half hexie we just whip stitched in place.
You can cut your thread after attaching the central hexie.
Leave the first half-hexie hanging in the wind - it will make finishing the rest of the block easier.

After a few hours of stitching and hiking the trails at the top of the Mt. I decided it was time to hike down the mountain. I could have taken the chair lift back down but I never would have spotted all the butterflies or little streams had I done that.

You might find (on any project) that for some reason your pieces don't seem to be the same length.
Can you see in the photo that the clips are holding this in an "S" shape?
I clipped the ends together to match and then I clipped the center seams to match.
I then gently bent the project between the clips so that the longer piece was on the outside.
When the pieces were matched, with no gaps between the layers, I added clips to hold them in place.
Once you finish whip stitching, no one will ever know that one side was too long!!



On Thursday I climbed Sawyer Mountain. An easy hike but the cold front that came through overnight made for a chilly start and a chilly rest at the top. Translation: I didn't stay long.

After basting the next half-hexie, clip it to the central hexie/short side of the red half-hexie and whipstitch in place.
Tie off the thread.

Repeat basting, clipping to the central unit and whip stitching until all 6 of the half hexies are attached.

On Sunday, after packing up my campsite I always hike up to Bug Lake to scope out the Loon family before heading home.
This is the inlet from 7th to 8th Lake.

This year I finally took the spur over to Eagle's Nest Pond. It was a nice quiet area but not much in the line of seating opportunities. I did manage to finish adding the final 2 half hexies here. I would have been happier had I  which would have been much easier had I remembered to bring more clips with me. I am used to using three but only had 1 with me. I had to fudge some pieces that didn't fit perfectly.

After adding the 6th half-hexie you can see that the first is still hanging in the wind.

Next I finished the hike to Bug Lake, named for all the water bugs which were causing ripples in the water.
I did find the Loon family with 2 little ones but this was one of the two situations where I miss my real camera over my iPhone - the zoom is not as great so I decided not to strain your eyes trying to find the loons in my pictures.

To finish the twisted hexie, fold half-hexie #1 down to meet the center hexie and short side of half-hexie #6.
Whip stitch in place. The center hexie paper can be popped out now or after you have pressed the piece. You will notice that all my paper pieces have a hole punched in them so I can use my little scissors to easily pop out the papers.

Ta Da!!!!!

I hope I have included enough photos for you to understand how I assemble the Twisted Hexies but please feel free to ask questions!!

Design Wall Monday - 7/28/14

Given the weather when I was camping this year, I think I was pretty lazy. It was either raining or could be raining and who wants to go hiking or mountain climbing when it might start raining? That afforded me lots of time around the camp site, hiding from the rain under the new canopy Santa brought me early or sitting close to the fire after the cold front came through. I may not hex as fast as some people but I think I accomplished a lot for just 10 days :-)

 

The outer row/sashing of this Value Proposition block was partly completed when I left for vacation - I think I only had to finish 2 or 3 sides.

I may have mentioned that our local Hexie Group has a birthday club. At the beginning of the summer we pick a new size/shape and colors. For the next year, in the month of each participants birth, she will receive 6 basted 1.5" diamonds from each of the other girls. I think I have all but one set done now!

I think it was Chantal who encouraged me to work on my Rose Star/Owl project even tho I was going to try to catch up on some other projects. Typically, this project is only worked on while camping - some day I'll come up with an appropriate name for the project. I think this was the first project I used fussy cutting.

Unfortunately, I ran out of the kite papers to finish the block above or the second block below but I did as much as I could. Hopefully there are more papers at the LQS when I go for Hexie Group this Friday.

Next I worked on the flower block for The Hexie Blog's BOM - I think that was the June block. I had rearranged the layout a few times before I went on vacation and then just went with it. I really like the similar blues surrounded by purple. No idea what kind of flower this is but I'm sure it would be popular at the local nursery. LOL.

Next, I finished a POTC block. Two done...who knows how many more to do...

Over the course of the week, while I was hiking, I also worked on a twisted hexie. I had been asked for a tutorial on making these and I asked if she could wait until after vacation because I thought I could make a cool tute beside lakes and on mountain tops. Lets just hope the tute I hope to post on  Wednesday is a cool as I thought it would be.

And what am I working on now that I'm back home?

This is the BOM ice cream cone that should be done today. Most of it was done at the craft bazaar on Saturday. Can you guess my flavors? Mint ting-a-ling dripping over blackberry in a sugar cone. Yummo!!

And for some reason, I have just one more hex to finish on the sashing for this block. As soon as I hit publish I'll finish it :)

Don't forget a week from tomorrow is the next Bibliophile Files - I'll have a huge stack of books to share that I finished while camping!

Random Wenesday - Vacation Shopping

Some how I came home from vacation with leftover money. Strange but a good start for next year's fund, right?! And since I paid for everything with cash, there is also lots of change to add to next year's fabric fund.  I can't remember who's blog was starting a piggy bank with all their change so they could go fabric shopping next July. If it's yours speak up and I'll add it here...

As you can probably expect, I spent most of my money on fabric. Nothing new there. On the one hand I have table at a craft bazaar this coming Saturday (I can't seem to get my focus yet this week on "production") and on the other hand, I have lots of new fabric to play with. Might as well put it to good use right away!

This is from the Crazy Moose in Inlet, a store I have been to many times since it's about 5 miles from the campground. My car almost turns into the lot by itself. Mostly batiks with loon and purple dragonfly FQs thrown in for good measure. One can NEVER have enough batiks! I think I'll need to cut some more batiks for my twisted hexie project so these will be quite useful. BTW - this year the new owner is willing to cut FQs. Woohoo!

This is from the Affordable Quilter (I think that was the name) In Tupper Lake. This shop was at the back of the couples house and this was the first time I had been here. The husband told me the cost of fabric has gone up another 16% but they still haven't raised their rates. At $8/yard I really should have bought more. They didn't have a huge selection or I just might have. The rose and red fabrics in the front row look enough like hexies to be added to my collection. Sadly the teal doesn't quite match the teal shade I have been using for my Value Proposition hexie project but it's a cute fabric anyway. No idea what I'll be doing with the turkey feathers but it's a nice brown fabric.

I didn't actually buy this display unit as much as covet it. It was in an adorable artsy store I had never been to in Long Lake. I did buy a pair of earrings and 2 ice dyed FQs I forgot to photograph. I really hope this store will be open again when I go back to the ADK  later this summer...I might need to spend more money here...

Another item I didn't buy but I do love birds and especially cardinals so this was quite apropos for me. I was also lucky enough to see another pileated woodpecker on one of my hikes but I accidently scared him off before I could get in to position for a photo. Phooey.

Didja...

...miss me last week?

 

I was doing a little of this...


Smores Box idea was stolen from the evil website...
Smores dipped in Bailey's Irish Cream wasn't such a hit.
Smores on York Peppermint Patties were OK.
Smores on the ususal choco covered graham crackers were the usual OK.
Smores on coconut and choco covered cookies were The BOMB!!

and a little of this ...


This is Stillwater Reserve, about 30 minutes after I finished a 5.5 mile hike around Moss/Sis/Bubb lakes - Just made it!
Needless to say, I didn't stay at SR very long - just enough for the storm to stop so I could see the hummingbirds and then it was on to the next hike...

and a lot of this!

Santa came early this year and brought me a new canopy! This one is a Eureka and it was sooooo much easier to put up by myself than the Easy-Up that was destroyed last year that they should change names. LOL!

 

 

The car is unpacked (just barely!) and I'm slogging thru the pile on my desk at work. I can barely remember how to type and I'm still struggling with the new laptop. When I get organized there are plenty of pictures to share :)

 

 

 



Gettysburg - Part #3

I know this is a lot of pictures for one post, but I wanted to (finally) finish out the pictures from this trip and then maybe we can get back to some quilting pictures :^)

On Saturday after all the reunion festivities we stopped at the Pennsylvania Monument and it is massive. The brown plaques around the bottom are lists of names. It's hard to see but just under the top dome is a viewing platform - the spiral stairs were inside one of the columns.

The view was fabulous and I especially appreciated these copper discs pointing out the places we had already visited to put it the battlefield in perspective.

There was even a Reb at the base of this monument...funny thing was, I turned around and he was GONE! Like in to thin air and there was no place to hide...

Later that evening we walked around downtown and eventually stopped at the Rupp House. I have this gentleman's card at home but he talked about the house, saying that the 2 sides of the war were tip toe-ing thru town to fight each other when eventually they decided to shoot thru the houses at each other! Mr Rupp had sent his family away to safer grounds but he had stayed and was hiding in the basement during the battle.

 At least the basement door was there to protect him - it didn't fare too well!

I bought a teacup at the Rupp House - I doubt it's antique but it's a nice reminder of my trip.

Sunday morning started early with a 3 hour walking tour of where my g-g-grandfather's regiment fought. The sky was blue and clear and deceptively warm. I was wishing for a couple more layers. GGGrandfather's regiment was part of Col Smith's 2nd Brigade and they fought on Smith's Ridge along with 2 other regiments.

At the time, the ridge was open fields without much to protect the men from gunfire.

Today, it's residential streets. You can see the ever-so-slight ridge - the photo was taken from the top of the ridge, with the National Cemetery behind us.

After the tour we visited with Lincoln on a trip back to the Military Museum gift shop

Check out the rabbit ears in true Ballinger fashion.

And who can resist a former president's lap?

 Our last stop before heading home was to Abraham's Lady. They sell civil war dresses and accessories. You can also buy civil war repro-fabric and patterns to sew your own dress. And you know what happens when people sew??!! There are scraps!!!!!!!!!!!! You can buy bags of scraps for $7 or they had a hamper of scraps that were a dollar each. I managed to limit myself to $20 worth of fabric but there was such variety it was hard - I'm guessing I have somewhere between 4 and 5 yards of scraps with lots of selvages. The lady also told me they would be happy to mail out scrap bags. I don't see them specifically listed on their website but feel free to contact them for details.

I hope y'all enjoyed my trip - I know I did!