April OMG - Traffic on Safari Top Almost Finished

In April my OMG was to take all the blocks I stitched in March (which felt like a HUGE accomplishment!) and stitch the top together. I started the month here:

I know I'm coming in just under the wire, but I'm happy to report that the top is almost done -- I've stitched most of the columns and sashing together, but still need to even out the top and bottom and then sew the final sashing pieces on. 

It's a queen-sized quilt, so I had to ask my husband to hold it for a picture: 

I'm really really pleased with how it's coming together! 

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts and Stories from the Sewing Room with the idea that we can just focus on one task and make progress. You can see how everyone did in their April projects on the Finish Party page! Or choose an OMG project of your own and join us in May. 

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - April Finish Link-up

Christmas Holly Stitch-a-Long, part 1

Hi everyone! Last time I had just gathered all the pieces to start on a project that I tore out of a stitching magazine in December 2000. I had already acquired the fabric and organized the floss, so I was raring to go.

And now, after three productive weeks, I'm here: 

Weirdly, I'm not so keen on the colors so far... I will say that the fabric in real life is more midnight and less royal, but this set of leaves feels... washed out? Flat? The pattern doesn't call for backstitching so I'm a little worried. But there is a LOT of stitching left to go, so maybe I'm jumping to conclusions.

I realized that I said last time that I wanted to make up the pillow from the cornflowers project; however I wasn't able to get a better look at her new couch to make sure I got a backing fabric that looked right. So that's a project for this next stretch.

And speaking of projects, don't forget to check out the amazing projects my fellow stitchers are working on -- I love seeing what they're working on! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, and Mary Margaret.

13x13 April edition

In March I made another black-and-orange beaded ornament, Enchanted Moon by Mill Hill Beads: 

This photo doesn't do it justice; it's much more sparkly! 

For April I decided to change tack a little bit. There are more Mill Hill kits to come, but I have been looking forward to working on one or two of the ornaments in this (faux) Vintage Halloween kit from Bucilla. Longtime readers will remember how much I love a sequin-and-felt project, so it's fun to find something Halloween-y to work on. 

I doubt I'll be able to make all 6, so I'm setting my goal to make these cuties: 

As usual, I'll check back in on May 13 to share my finished ornaments, as well as my next project. Depending on how much I like this Bucilla kit, I may do one or two more ornaments, or I may shift gears again. 

April OMG - Traffic on Safari Top

In 2017 I spent a month in Africa, where I climbed Kilimanjaro, went on safari in Kenya, and had a 'vacation from my vacation' in Zanzibar. Having been lucky enough to see lions and zebras and giraffes and elephants and antelopes in the wild, I really fell in love with this fabric collection. Combining it with a pattern called Traffic made me giggle, because we did have some traffic in Kenya. 

Okay, that's a line of our vans waiting to negotiate a steep little gully. 

Sometimes we even had to stop at a zebra crossing... (this is less amusing to my American friends)

We were lucky, we never had one of those horrible "scrums" with dozens of vans penning the animals in so their passengers could take a look. Our drivers kept us spaced apart and let the animals come to us. 

But back to the quilting! 

In March my OMG was really just to get organized, but I ended up cutting the strips and stitching up the blocks. 

April is a busier month for me, so my OMG is to lay out all the blocks, plan the top, and stitch it together. I think I'll struggle with finding the "perfect" or "right" layout, balancing the various colors to create a harmonious look. I often find "improv" challenging -- I like a pattern and symmetry and repetition are my default. So I'm going to really try to stretch myself. We shall see!

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts and Stories from the Sewing Room; you can see all the monthly projects on the April Link-up Page.

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal April Link-up

March OMG: Traffic on Safari Progress!

In March my OMG was to just get organized ... to pick up a project that I couldn't call a UFO because, well, I had never started it! I really just wanted to look at the pattern, look at all the fabric I had bought, and figure out what all the pieces were for. 

Here's where I started the month:

Having my kitchen table back as a workspace meant I was able to spread out, get organized, cut strips, and even start stitching strips. In fact, I am thrilled to report that all my blocks are actually cut!

It will come as no surprise that my OMG for next month will be to lay out the blocks... but I'll save that for another day. I'm really happy to have some some quilting during National Quilt Month! (Which, I know for a lot of OMGers, is every month...)

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts and Stories from the Sewing Room with the idea that we can just focus on one task and make progress. You can see how everyone did in their March projects on the Finish Party page! Or choose an OMG project of your own and join us in April. 

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - March Finish Link-up

Delphian Cornflower Stitch-a-Long, part 3

Hi everyone! I can't believe it's been three weeks since our last check in... but I'm happy to say that I have a lot done. In fact, it's happy dance time!

Here's where I was last time, working on a traditional cross stitch pattern in a gorgeous kit from Avlea Folk Embroidery. 

And here's where I am now -- I just finished all the stitching!

I love this pattern, and the fabric, too:

I'm not sure how I'll finish it, but I think I will turn it into a pillow for a good friend. I think it will match her new couch! 

Now, what's next, I hear you asking. Well, first I want to make sure this stitching gets made into something, rather than go into the "stitched but not finished" box in the basement. 

Then I want to work on a project that I tore out of a stitching magazine in December 2000. No, that's not a typo. I tore out this pattern and had it in a folder for more than two decades. Last year I bought the fabric (which is, in real life, a midnight rather than a royal blue) and made sure I had all the floss.  

My plan is to stitch this and then put it into a cushion cover that I can put over my existing cushions come Christmas time. I like the idea that I'm finally going to work on a project that I have thought about since 2000. 

And speaking of projects, don't forget to check out the amazing projects my fellow stitchers are working on -- I love seeing what they're working on! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, and Mary Margaret.

13x13 March edition

My friend Suzanne chose the February project, Glowing Pumpkin from the Mill Hill "Painted Pumpkins" ornament series. A nice contrast with the colorful Persian Pumpkin kit I made in January, Glowing Pumpkin is classic black and orange:

I liked that so much that I've chosen another black and orange ornament, Enchanted Moon: 

It's fun to have a different shape, having done a lot of pumpkins so far. 

As usual, I'll check back in on April 13 to share my finished piece, as well as my next project. Maybe I'll even go nutty next month and do a different sort of project! Of course, I really do love these little Mill Hill kits. 

Delphian Cornflower Stitch-a-Long, part 2

Hi everyone! This is the odd case where it feels like I can't believe it has ONLY been three weeks since our last check-in. In the interim I started a new job that -- even though it makes my brain tired every night because I'm learning so many new things -- I really like. It's my first time starting a new gig fully remote so I'm trying to spend extra time with my new teammates; in my first week I had 11 hours of 1:1 meetings, plus a couple of group meetings. For an introvert like me, that has also been exhausting, but I know that relationships matter, possibly more so in a remote working environment! 

Last time I had chosen my next project: a traditional cross stitch pattern in a gorgeous kit from Avlea Folk Embroidery. 

As I said then, the materials are a joy to stitch. I have struggled with evenweave in the past, but this is an absolute dream. 

I thought with the new job I would have less time to stitch, but I forgot that I was taking three days off in my second week (!!!) on a quiet getaway with my husband for his birthday. We spent three nights in a deluxe cabin at Cama Beach Resort on beautiful Saratoga Passage in Puget Sound. "Deluxe" means "you get your own bathroom and shower", but the little cabins are pretty rustic, if very cozy. In the summer they are booked months in advance, but mid-week in the late winter, it's super quiet. Apart from the windstorm, of course. 

It was so cold that we spent most of the time with the heater turned up high, watching the shore and listening to audiobooks while I stitched. As such, well, I got quite a bit done: 

There's more red and coral highlights in the blue flowers, plus gold and light green accents on the greenery left to stitch. It's such a delight to get into a rhythm with the repeating patterns -- you know, like when you are knitting or crocheting and you "get" the pattern and don't need to follow along so closely? 

I already want to make something else of hers, though I don't know what. And, of course, I'm trying not to acquire MORE things to stitch... But perhaps I'll reward myself with another one of her kits (or a pattern and some ground cloth) if I keep moving forward on all the other projects I want to complete this year!

And speaking of all the other projects, don't forget to check out the amazing projects my fellow stitchers are working on -- I love seeing what they're working on! Avis, Claire, Gun, Christina, Kathy, Margaret, Heidi, Jackie, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen, Connie, Cindy, and Mary Margaret.

March OMG: Traffic on Safari

In January 2020, while traveling for a 5K, I stopped in at a local quilt shop. I don't let myself do that all that often as I could spend the rest of my life quilting and probably not get through the fabric in my stash. But I thought I would go in, pick up a fat quarter or two, and head out. 

An hour later I walked out with fabric for a queen-size quilt. 

I fell in love with Moda Fabrics "Safari Life" fabric collection -- now difficult to find online. The lions and giraffes make me smile and reminded me of our time in Africa. So I bought two jelly roll packs and some other fabric to make up the 51 strips I needed, plus more dark fabric for contrast, and a bunch of green fabric that I thought would look great instead of the white background. 

And then? Then it went into the basement. 

When I transitioned to full-time work from home I took over the kitchen table as my desk. For several months, I never even put away my desk at weekends -- so I lost the space I would normally use for crafting. 

Weirdly, it took getting laid off in December and starting a new, permanently remote job in February for me to carve out an office space in my basement. As a result, I now can work on crafts at my kitchen table again! 

My OMG for February is to look at all the strips and fabric and figure out just what I wanted to do where. There are a couple of extra pieces that I purchased that I don't remember why. Then I'll cut out the narrow background strips, the background sashing, and even the binding strips, as well as the strips from the larger cuts. If I get really crazy, I'll stitch the background/dark contrast strip sets and maybe even the colorful strip sets. I mean, it is National Quilt Month and all that. 

The One Monthly Goal link-up is organized by Elm Street Quilts and Stories from the Sewing Room; you can see all the monthly projects on the March Link-up Page.

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal March Link-up

Jekyll Island Half Marathon race report

 

When I plan trips to races, I often look at holiday weekends -- even for a long trip, getting an extra day off helps. So I had originally heard about the Jekyll Island Marathon in late 2021 and considered it for 2022 as it's always on MLK weekend. But I didn't get my act together in time... which turned out to be a good thing, because the race had to be cancelled at the last minute because a storm damaged a lot of trees on the course. 

When I started planning this trip, I proposed a long weekend in Georgia and then home. Wil said, "If we're going that far, why wouldn't we spend time at Disney World?" He gets me, you see. 

We flew to Jacksonville, Florida, stayed one night near the airport, and then picked up a rental car and drove up to Jekyll Island. 

We checked in to our hotel, then walked over to pick up our race packets. There were a couple of Maniacs there, and a 50 Stater or two, which is always nice. The next morning we were up with the sun, literally:

We walked the short distance to the race start, and joined the shivering throng. See, it was really cold -- AGAIN. We listened to the course talk -- a LOT of directions and we just hoped the course would be well marked. Happy to say that it was!

We would be running out along the main road to the northern end of the island and a little ways back, then turning on to one of the many bike paths and making our way back to the finish.

The course -- well, the entire island, really -- was flat as a pancake. But it was also very, very pretty. We knew that we wouldn't run much -- I think we ran the first mile before setting in to a brisk walk. It was a really pretty, mellow morning. 

Though the roads weren't fully closed, there was very little traffic that early on a Sunday morning. 

Not knowing the island -- and not really knowing the map, it came as something of a surprise when we turned off the road and onto the bike path.  This is when this race got really, really pretty. 

At the 7 mile mark we turned left toward the Clam Creek Picnic Area, heading to the northern edge of the island. You can just see the fishing pier to the left as we turned to head to the northernmost point. 

Along the way we hit an area where dunes were encroaching on the trail -- so as always we laughed that it was a trail run. 

Eventually we turned south, getting back on the road -- well, this time, the sidewalk -- for a few miles. We were really just walking steadily at this point, and had that weird experience of passing people who were run/walking. We'd catch up with someone walking, they would start running for a few yards, and then we would catch up to them again when they started walking. After 3 or 4 times, they would often just "give up" and fall behind us. 

After a while we reached the bike path along the shore line. I was happy to be almost done because my knee was bothering me a little. 

The finish line was in a grassy area by the shops "downtown" -- with a nice finish chute and arch. As usual, we held hands and took off running. Always nice to finish strong, eh?

The announcer even gave us a shout out for coming from so far away. 

We milled around a bit, snacking on crisps, chugging water, and cheering for other finishers. We thought about getting a drink at the nearby pub, but they didn't open when the sign said they would so we went to the market, picked up a couple of drinks, and headed back to our lovely hotel. 

It wasn't a great performance -- we strolled most of it -- but it was a really nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday morning, and, of course, to pick up state number 43!