May 2022

 I have some sewing! Well, after a fashion. I had these pieces of fleece; so I did a rolled hem using my serger and Voila! six blankets for Project Linus. The smallest is about 42x54 and the largest is about 54x68.

I have another Project Linus finish -- a premie blanket. This measures quite small at 24"x28". I used one cake of Lion Brand's Cupcake yarn in Robin Egg colorway.

The husband and I don't like to travel on holiday weekends so we did a Memorial Day camp at Carter Lake (in Colorado) for the last several days. It's wonderful to get away and just listen to the hummingbirds. The first day rain forced us indoors. The second day was glorious if a bit windy. 

Fall Color

Click the photo to zoom.

 Even with my fingers and thumbs bandaged I was able to go on one last camping trip last weekend. In fact, the way they were bandaged facilitated taking photos with the big camera, at least when it came to holding it.

The color of the aspen trees in the campground and surrounding forest were great! As the weekend progressed, I could see the color deepening and the greener trees were showing a bit more gold. Around the campground the gray squirrels were scurrying to their storage holes with unopened pine cones. The ground around the hole opening was littered with the remains of the pine cones after the squirrels removed the 'nut'.

Overheard two teenaged boys as they walked by our camping spot: "Siri? Siri? Are you there?" LOL! There was absolutely NO cell service where we camped at 8,100 feet elevation.

Despite the hands, it was a wonderful relaxing weekend. Just what I needed.

All I Wanna Do

The universe is fairly perverse when all you want to do is sew but it doesn't give you the time. If you have ever wondered why I knit so many pairs of socks, this is one answer. Socks are so portable, unlike sewing, and I can knit in public.

This weekend will be spent in Denver-town with familial obligations. The following weekend (Labor Day weekend here in the states: where did the summer go?) will be the last camping trip of the year, so the trailer can get winterized. I won't be able to sew for eleven days! Withdrawal symptoms have already begun.

Camping

Camping is very hazardous to bedding. I spent some time at the laundromat yesterday using one of the large commercial machines to wash the two old sleeping bags. You know the kind: thick and heavy with the flannel on the inside. These two bags are getting quite thin on the outside and I have patched and patched and patched them. The fabric has been caught in the zippers so it was time once again to patch them. I dug around in the 2.5" strip bin and found a strip of orange that matches the outside. The holes are now covered with an appliqued patch, the bags are folded and back in the camper.

Also on the agenda today was the duvet cover for the old duvet that is kept in the camper. Now how did it get a triangular tear? shrug.

There, all fixed. And, yes, it is pink.

Carter Lake, Colorado

I have unintentionally taken a blog break. Between a family member's life issues, spring, and camping not a whole lot of quilting has been happening. The first photo was taken on Friday, May 13 while camping at Carter Lake, Colorado. Blue skies, blue mountains and blue water.

The next photo was shot yesterday, Sunday, May 15 on the same camping trip to Carter Lake and is approximately the same view. If you look closely at both shots you will see the same buoy.

It pays to be prepared in Colorado.

Camping

I was going to post this tomorrow for wordless Wednesday but changed my mind. *shrug* It's from this past weekend. We went camping in the mountains for our 'shakedown' trip. If we go when it is cold then we can test to see if things are working, what needs to be fixed, etc. We figured out that we really, really need a new mattress in the trailer. Other than that, some hot chocolate would have been nice. Who forgets hot chocolate? Me, apparently. The elk are only part of a very large herd. We were by a lake and the wildlife was quite abundant.

On the quilting front, I am still working slowly on Hugs and Kisses. Hopefully, after this coming weekend, the top will be pieced and the border applique started. I will have a rush of renewed enthusiasm since a friend and I are going to the Denver National Quilt Festival on Saturday. There always seems to be that burst of quilt mojo after a show.

I do not have a lot of spare time to work on quilts as Auntie is doing poorly and I'm running back and forth to Denver a lot. At a minimum, at least once a week. Handwork has been my lifeline. Even the Priority Quilt I recently finished was done totally by hand. I'll post more on that later.