August is running out...

Not a whole lotta-stitching going on, but
lots and lots of fun times with the family this month -
we revived an old vacation plan and it was a blast.
(I think I've shared before that I love my family and friends?)
 
It started 20 years ago and every Summer for a decade,
a group of family and friends,
about 50 total, traveled about 5 hours south and
'roughed it'...rustic cabins, campers, tents, or boat living
on a lake for the week...

This time, this year, with all of us being 20 years older,
I didn't know what to expect...
There were 22 total that went.
Three cabins, two campers, and one couple that slept on their boat.
Also four ski boats and a few jet skis.
The cabins were a little more updated, 
but basically it was the same vacation experience that we had 20 years ago...
still good food, still good times, so many laughs and amazing relaxation.
Totally no cell phone service 
(which I thought might be a problem for a certain age group),
was not a problem, at all.
And, the week? It Was Fantastic, and Unplugged.
 

missing a couple, but for the record, Fun Times!

I did learn that this older body of mine
does not water-ski well any more.  At all.
But I tried and laughed and tried again and again.
And I'll try it again next year.
'Cause that's the plan - to go again next year.
Every single person that went WANTS to do it again,
from the two- and four-year olds up to us pushing-60 folks.
Even the ones that were leery of going in the first place.
Multi-generational vacations are just,
well, a wonderful and fun learning experience. 
For every age group.
Making memories. Making laugh lines. Bonding.
Learning skills or trying to relearn. lol 
Sweet times with family and friends.

Happy end of August!

goodbye July, goodbye beach

July has flown by already!
I had 10 days (with most of the immediate family) at the beach,
and that also flew by.
I took along a whole tote bag of quilts that needed the
binding hand-stitched, but with the sunny beach calling my name,
just a little stitching happened. :)

My tote of quilts awaiting the hand-stitching binding

This is nearly the same 14-hour driving trip 
I've made three times in the last year and a half,
and this is the FIRST time 
I've been in a quilt shop on the way back or forth!
Some might say I have great restraint, :)
but in reality, it's just been a timing thing.
Anyway, this time I passed a Tennessee quilt shop during open hours, and found these:

Civil War reproduction lights for an upcoming project,
and a piece of cute campfire/marshmallow/s'mores 
to add to the eye-spy stash.

Now to motivate myself to get back to the
house cleaning and reunion prep!
Oh, and a little more stitching, too.

Happy Friday!

"the yellow ones don't stop"

Do you know where that quote is from?

Weekend before last, starting
Thursday 7 a.m., all Friday, and through Saturday 5 p.m.,
 another couple of friends, Sweetie and I...

embarked on a whirlwind tour...

Garment District and
Mood Fabrics

Top of the Rock

NBC studio tour,

Rockettes studio tour,

Central Park,

Metropolitan Museum of Art,

Modern Museum of Art,

Churches,

Cemeteries,

 

911 Memorial,

China Town &

Little Italy,
food, food, food,
AND
cabs and the Subway system...

Grand Central Station more than a few times!

(even at rush hour more than once).

Walked my legs off
in New York City
but loved it all the same.

Still, this country gal
is glad to be back home,
sweet home...

Ended up bringing back "Flu York"
Thank you very much NYC.
And no, Flu York is not the 'yellow ones' reference :)!

Hope your week is great -
even with the "yellow ones"!

Leave me a message
if you know the answer to where the quote:
"the yellow ones don't stop"
comes from.

I'll give a quilt-y something
to one person who knows the right answer.
[random draw on Friday evening (9 p.m. my time) Jan. 18th]

Hope your week is flu-free and
Happy Stitching!

vacation, part four

Driving back home/West from vacation...

we turned the car around and drove back East.

Here's the rest of the story:

While leafing through the Country Register paper

(OK - truth be told - Sweetie was leafing through the paper

while I was quilt fabric shopping

near the hotel where we had spent the night :)

there was a listing for

Quilted Crow Fabric and Quilt Shop

 in Harpursville, NY.

Mind you,

we were already a good half hour WEST

of the exit for this shop...

But Sweetie, being such a sweetie

(and because Quilted Crow

was giving away grilled hot dogs

and having a lawn sale),

turned our vehicle around and

 back EAST we headed!!

Boy am I glad!!!

Such a great find!!



lawn sale day at Quilted Crow, Harpursville, NY

Quilted Crow was just in the newest

Primitive Quilts and Projects publication (Fall 2012)!!!

Here's the project:

(also pictured: a little stack of fabric I HAD to purchase...

I had to make the extra hour of travel worth it!!:)

See?  How cute is this?: 

Packed full of quilty scrumptious-ness!

And that pic only shows the front corner of the shop!! 

That's Peg (owner/pattern designer) behind the counter,

working on my stack of fabric acquisitions.

  

If you ever get to this area of New York,

take the time to drive off the highway and visit.

Definitely worth it, as it's a great shop and so friendly!

vaca-part three- on hand and knee

While traveling,
I always "scope out" the area
surrounding the hotel where we'll be spending the night.

I'm sure other people do that too.
You want to feel secure about where you're staying.

But, I'm not just checking the safety of the area,
I'm specifically looking for the local quilt shops!

There's nothing wrong with that, right?

So, Friday night we spent the night
right around the corner from a quilt shop.

So, Saturday a.m.,
after a late breakfast,
we headed here:

Quilter's Haven in Owego, N.Y.
I know, I know, that's not the greatest picture of the front of a shop, but that's the only one I had that the lighting was good - sorry;
(there are much better photos of the shop if you click the shop name/link).



Anyway, the shop is kind of new, as she's recently un-retired.  Yep, she decided that retirement wasn't a good thing for her at this time, so moved from Florida and found this great, historic town and building and opened her shop!
I do have a couple more pics:

from inside looking out the front of the shop

And the following pic is probably one of my all-time favorites - which I know some will find weird.
But this was a furnace register vent cover in the center of the floor in this old building.
(in the first pic if you look closely, you can see this vent cover half way back the store)

cast iron register

I didn't get down on hands and knees

(but close- just hand and knee:)

to measure, but it was about 36 inches across!

It may have to become a design for quilting, don't you think?

Anyway, it was a really cute shop
and I was glad I had "scoped out" the area the night before.

it is a state of mind

time off......
what exactly does that mean?
You know, time off from the regularly scheduled stuff....
stuff like laundry, shopping, cooking, making the HandiQuilter hum, work at the LQS.

I like all of the regularly scheduled stuff......
even the laundry!  (You just have to twist my arm to make me say I like laundry!)

Really, I do like all of that stuff!
I feel that I am blessed to have clothes to wash, and money to buy food. 
Even though I earn part of my living by quilting other's quilt tops? I still find that enjoyable - not work at all.  And ditto for the hours at the LQS.  I get to see other quilters' works in progress, help them choose fabrics, and visit and hear about their families and share with them.

So, my recent plan for four days off?????

Well, I have a new book to read :

(Sherry Hartzler's new              "Island Passage"; more on that later),

and my block of the week for this past week,

I have a stack of blue and white fabrics and a quilt pattern,

some floss and a hoop

(yes, from the looks of this picture and the quantity of floss that I have,

it looks like I need professional help),

All this  is the "stuff" that I would do at home, anyway,

sitting in my usual lazy-girl chair...

But the plan is this:
I am just doing all of this "regularly scheduled stuff" in another place.
A place with a lake... :)
with some like-minded girl friends... :)

That is my time off -
doing all of the regular stuff in a different location...
a.k.a.: vacation

It is a state of mind!
:)