Birthday Trip to the Fancy Forest

November 9, 201712 Comments

What do you give a very dear friend for a milestone birthday? A trip to the Fancy Forest, of course!

In my October 23rd post, I mentioned my dear friend (DF) and I attended the Tompkins County Quilters Guild Traditions & Beyond 2017 Quilt Show.

While at the show, DF fell in love with a Fancy Forest quilt, designed by Elizabeth Hartman . At a silent auction, I bid on a smaller Fancy Forest wall hanging (hoping to use it as a birthday gift for my DF) but GASP!!! I didn’t win.

What to do? Sewing pedal to the metal of course! I had just two short weeks to make a wall hanging, pop it in the mail and pray it arrived in time for her birthday. After staying up until 1:30 am to finish, here is the resulting masterpiece:

Who could resist a cute little fox face with a quilted snout?

Hazel the Hedge Hog is my favorite!

DF, I hope your birthday trip to the fancy forest brings many smiles to you!

P.S. I wrote about the backing in my October 31st post “Should Knot Be Seen”. As you can see, I had to change out the thread colors more than once but who will see the back of this wall hanging? Just the wall! Knots 1

Happy Almost Halloween

October 26, 20176 Comments

Scary, but true, I have finished my pix-elated Sugar Skull mini! Woot Woot!

I’m so proud of myself, I can’t stop taking pictures of it!

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After my quilting triumph, my son and I took a break to visit a small local park called Rock City. It was my first trip there and it was amazing. The views were lovely and the stroll through the giant formations provided lots of opportunities for reflection and introspection. We decided that we will have to take Cindy and her DH for a hike next spring when Rock City reopens.

Breathtaking!

I’m liking the lichen!

This look says “way to ruin the moment, mom”, doesn’t it?

We may or may not have rediscovered a delicious seasonal spot for sweet fresh apple cider and donuts on our trip too. When I was in college, my mom and dad would bring cider and donuts from Cummin’s when they stopped by to see me on Mondays in the fall. (You see there was a cow sale nearby that they attended nearly every week. They’d come and pick me up for lunch and drop off cider, donuts and homemade cookies). The goodies were as yummy as I remembered.

On our way home, Wes and I made a pact to explore another hiking trail next weekend as well. There is so much beauty around us, it’s not right to spend so much time indoors!

Pix-elated Skull

September 13, 2017September 13, 20177 Comments

I spent a fun weekend in Erie, Pa watching my roommate’s son-in-law run a marathon. SIL is a fast runner and the Erie race is a good one for qualifying for the Boston Marathon. The site of the race, Presque Isle state park, is lovely — I will definitely return to Erie for the beachfront, the shopping, the wine and the food.

Calm Lake Erie on the morning of the race. The weather was perfect for runners.

SIL qualified — in personal best fashion. As a former (much slower) marathoner, it was a thrill to see him cruise across the finish line in under 3 hours. (More from Boston in April!)

It was also a great family trip because one of the three cutest grandchildren on the planet was also in Erie to watch his dad race. Said grandchild may have been in grandparent overload, as all 5 of his living grands were in attendance. How many grandparents does it take to change a diaper at a marathon? Apparently three. I’ll spare you the photographic evidence. You’ll just have to trust me on this.

Between pre- and post-marathon wine samples , we picked apples so us non-runners could say the weekend wasn’t only about the wine.

We arrived after closing time at the u-pick farm, but the Rahal farm team was gracious and stayed late so these first-time apple pickers could celebrate marathon success in the orchard.

In the past, I’ve only spent limited time in Erie as we were racing out to Columbus to visit Cindy. Now it’s on my list of fun weekend trips. I’m looking forward to going again and finding more hidden gems.

On the sewing front, my pix-elated skull has finally emerged as an antidote to my pix-elated e-heart from Valentine’s day. Machine quilting to commence shortly.

It’s hard to tell from this photo, but Abe Lincoln has left the building. My sweet little boy has re-emerged from his Amish phase and is back there somewhere.

Scary Stuff

September 4, 2017September 13, 20179 Comments

I’m feeling a little guilty because I took 2 days off from work during our busy opening season. Since I work on a college campus and classes are in session on Labor Day, I haven’t enjoyed the holiday for nearly 10 years. And, wouldn’t you know it, disaster struck on Friday, which was my first vacation day: the campus bookstore flooded due to a water line break. So my peaceful sleep-in morning turned into a social media posting fest.

The remainder of the weekend was much less stressful: I helped my mother and her best friend prep for a party and then attended said party; did a little monster TV shopping (it won’t fit in my car, so we’ll have it drop-shipped); and I got a in a lot of reading time.

I was able to spend several hours on my Dia de Los Muertos design. I cannot tell you how many times I have ripped out rows of this tiny wall-hanging. ~~Sometimes~~ Most times, it seems that I spend more time polishing my un-sewing skills instead of making progress.

Eye sockets and forehead complete!

I must have vacation brain because I’ve measured, remeasured and stomped my feet many times and I still only have 8 rows complete.

The best part of the weekend was the last part. My son and I went for a hike today (Sunday) at Letchworth State Park aka, the Grand Canyon of the East. We haven’t been there together in a long time, and he fell in love with it, just like everyone else who visits. It’s been many years since I visited Letchworth in the summer, and it was spectacular. We made a pact to go back again soon and find more trails to explore. The fall colors can be breathtakingly, heartrendingly beautiful.

A distant view of the Letchworth gorge.

Closest he would allow for a selfie. And you don’t want to see it anyway, he’s gone full-on Amish for the duration of soccer season.

As the extra long vacation weekend comes to a close, I have my seam-ripper in hand and I’m ready to buckle down to quilting work. Pays-the-bills job restarts tomorrow. Wish me luck.