The Beach, Fair Weather And Foul!

One would think that a relaxing week at the beach would allow for ample "free" time but I have not made the effort to post. Today however the weather is not conducive to the usual seaside pursuits so I am snuggled up indoors with my electronics, catching up with my blog! If only I had brought some quilting with me.............

Monday was perfect, sunny and very warm, so we decided to have a seafood feast.

Fifteen pounds of steamers were shared among us, I had never eaten them this way before and found them very tasty.

We managed to demolish twelve of the fourteen lobsters, the last two found their way into lobster salad last night.

Button is enjoying lots of walks on the beach and the kids are besotted with her. This is a hidden gem of an area and even on very hot days not heavily populated. Evenings when the swimmers and sun worshippers have left, the space is totally open and even more inviting for long walks

Last night as the moon came up it was trapped between two cloud layers and this unusual picture emerged. Having a new camera and no directions [I left them at home] I am struggling with low light photography, with more proficiency I know this could have been really dramatic.

Two of the last five days have given us inclement weather, and when a storm blew up overnight gale force winds almost blew the tent over! The kids have wanted to sleep in the tent and last night turned out to be more of an adventure than planned, a couple of five gallon buckets of cement had to be employed during the night to keep the tent anchored to the ground. It was a brave adult who had volunteered to keep the kids company in the tent.

This is the ocean today a few brave, make that slightly crazy people, are in the water.........

and a lone fisherman who assures me that he catches huge "stripers" in this spot.

Mostly the beach is deserted, I find the ocean much more beautiful with more action, but then I am most accustomed to the Pacific which seems to have bigger surf and more intense colors.

The surf is "up" much wilder than usual for this area of the coast, normally quite mild and safe for even the novice. For someone who is normally land- locked any day at the beach is a treat, although it's really too chilly for strolling the water's edge especially when we are not dressed for such chilliness!

The lifeguards are on duty, huddled in their sweatshirts, hoods pulled up against the cold wind.

Button appears unperturbed by it all, content to be where ever we choose whenever we choose, a most versatile little dog.
Today would be a fine day for quilting or other handwork which I failed to bring along thinking I would have no opportunity to indulge.
The kids are playing games and doing some crafty things to pass the time, and galloping around like young foals too long restrained in the corral!
I have my iPod and bluetooth to keep me entertained and hopefully this storm will wear itself out quickly and we will be back to enjoying the ocean tomorrow.

Button The Wonder Dog!

Saturday morning our niece, great niece and I went out to run errands preparatory to heading off to the beach cottage tomorrow for the week. When we left the house my DH, nephew and great nephew were still at home.
As we reached the house upon our return the storms were beginning, lightning, thunder and rain, and as we pulled into the driveway we saw the front door wide open and Button sitting on the porch waiting.

We entered the house to find it.......otherwise empty, the guys had left and Button was home alone.
Now, the house is on a busy main road and there are all sorts of pawnable items available so we were vexed to say the least, not to mention that our little dog could have run off, or God forbid, been injured or otherwise lost to us. Of course it wasn't the guys responsibility, they left by the back door, LOL      Argh!
I tell this tale mostly to brag on our little Aussie Terrier-how many dogs do you know who were left alone in a strange place with the door open, would calmly sit on the front porch awaiting someone's return? No other that I know of, for sure, so I am very proud of our little dog and thankful for all the time I invested in obedience training from the day we brought her into our lives.

I will probably have nightmares about this but thank God she is none the worse for the experience and sleeping peacefully beside me now. It might have been a very different ending.
PS.
The home above was built in 1729 and our nephew has been restoring/and expanding/modernizing the original house to accommodate their family. It is a labor of love in progress but so far he has done beautiful work, whenever possible wood has been repurposed from old homes and finishes and woodwork faithfully copied.

Friday Finishes Craftsy BOM Circa 2012

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts 

In truth, this quilt was off the longarm on Wednesday before we took the red-eye to Boston, but yesterday was very busy and anyway I was in serious sleep deprivation.
Today was well occupied so now here we are Friday, late- late and I am trying to get this posted before I go catch up on my ZZZZZZ's, tomorrow is already planned!

The four corner blocks are Dresden Plates, I had so much fun making those I got carried way, and there are a few left over that could make place mats or table runner. 

 My version of the Craftsy BOM from last year is all batiks and apart from the four corner blocks, are all quilted differently according to the individual block design.

 The thread is a trilobal, "Art Studio Colors' from Superior in a gold, love the way that thread sews on the LA, I can sew as fast as I like, pedal to the metal if I want & it holds up to the "abuse"!

 Some blocks took a bit of thought before I came up with a design,

while others seemed to speak to me right away!

There is a little simple ruler work in the Dresden Plates, I haven't found a better way to quilt those yet. If you click on the pics you can get a closer look at the quilting detail.

The Broken Chain

Matthew Carl Atwood

July 11th. 1968 - July 17th.2006

We little knew that morning

the Lord would call your name,

In life we loved you dearly

in death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you

you did not go alone,

For part of us went with you

the day God called you home.

You left us beautiful memories

your love is still our guide,

And though we cannot see you

you are always by our side.

Our family chain is broken

and nothing seems the same,

But as God calls us one by one

the chain will link again.

Aussie Fabric And Orphan Blocks!

My friend Meredith had a selection of Aussie fabrics from a dear quilter friend who sadly did not live long enough to use up her stash, something I think most quilters angst about.

I was delighted to receive them to add to my collection of iconic Aussie fabrics that have been aging for "a while", and really need to be sewn into a quilt that will showcase their unique designs.

Some have larger images that I will endeavor to incorporate to the best advantage with the smaller patterns, including those I already have in my stash.

 There was also one piece from New Zealand which may not fit into the same quilt.

And about those orphan blocks, I received an envelope in the mail with quite an eclectic assortment of blocks all from a dear lady named Sandy in California, who happens to be a friend of Meredith who told her about my plan to make a quilt for my SUV. There is a blog post about my plan here.

I purchased the car cover and need to "try it on" my vehicle and chalk mark around the windows before I can begin to applique blocks onto the cover. I will sew clear vinyl over the window areas.

Another blogging friend Cheryl, already put out an "Orphan block rescue appeal" on my behalf on her blog here, so I may be getting some more interesting blocks to add to the mix. My auto is not a compact but neither is it huge, however I think it may take longer than I estimate to cover it, but we shall see.
We are off to Boston tomorrow on the red-eye with our little Aussie dog, for two weeks visiting family including about a week in a beach cottage so the next posts will be from Massachusetts, that has to be cooler than Arizona. Our annual monsoon is here, humidity but no precipitation! Today when we were driving around town it was 111degrees. Yuck, so now we have moved from sauna to steam room, LOL.

Quilting is almost done on the Craftsy BOM, only one block and two and a half borders left and with any luck I might get that finished tomorrow so my longarm will be unoccupied and ready for a new project when we return.

Fourth of July, 2013, Happy Birthday USA!

Many Happy returns to our great nation, a beacon of freedom and hope for 237 years.

With thanksgiving for all those who have sacrificed so much through the years for those who come after them.

Here follows a snapshot of the annual Fourth of July Parade in Ouray, Colorado. 

Our son brought the drag racer up from Phoenix to drive in the parade.

He wanted to honor the 19 hero Firemen, the Granite Mountain Team whose lives were lost last week in the Yarnell fire in Arizona. We send love and prayers to all those who knew them.

The entries in the parade were many and varied from dogs.......

To drummers...... 

 and fire trucks, old........

and new.

EMT's....

always Mr. Potter's tractor...........

and many patriotic vehicles honoring our nation's birthday.