Baking Day

Today was thrift day and bread baking day in the afternoon.
At the thrift store I saw a Singer Featherweight with no case for $60. It looked like it needed a new cord from the sewing machine to the foot pedal and the plug cord had been replaced with a brown one. The gold decoration was in perfect condition and it sews well. The people at the MCC recondition machines before they put them out. Did I make a big mistake in leaving it there? I already have a Featherweight so I don't really need another but maybe I could have sold it...I second guessed myself all the way home.

Home at Last

We just got back from BC after a couple of marathon driving days.
What is a trip without a bit of qult shopping? I got the fabric in Grand Forks, BC. The yellow will work on my One Block Wonder quilt. I have been looking for a good backing for it and this piece was on sale. The stripe struck me as perfect for a border for a wild and wonky quilt. We'll see...
The books look very interesting. I have Gloria Loughman's other book about landscape quilting. This one is a bit more abstract. The other one is all about different embellishments. They are both fun reading with inspiring illustrations even if I never make a quilt using their methods.
Meanwhile, before that I have a lot of unpacking and a huge pile of laundry to do. Before I start that I need a really good sleep in my own bed.

Kalispell, Montana

We are in Kalispell, Montana on our way back to Kelowna, BC. We took a gondola ride to the top of Big Mountain near Whitefish,Mt. You can see the walking trail which we decided not to do. There was too much heat and too little time.


Have you ever wondered how often hotel bedspreads are washed? I often do so this time I threw a couple of scrap quilts into the car and when we get to the hotel I toss their bedspread and blanket onto a chair and use my own. We both agree that we get a better sleep knowing the blankets are clean.

Prize

Awhile ago I won a blog drawing from Karen at Seamless Skin.
It arrived in the mail yesterday. Since I recently received my order of a bolt of PFD fabric, the timing couldn't have been better! The book is inspiring and aren't those the coolest rubber gloves ever! Thanks for picking my name, Karen.

Congee Meal

Today I combined Chinese congee with a couple of Korean recipes from Korean Cooking by Young Jin Song.
Above is Cucumber Namul which is spicy and salty and delicious.


It could hardly compete with the deliciousness of deep fried sweet potatoes in almond syrup. I have never tasted better sweet potatoes.


This is the table after we had started eating and someone remembered to take a picture. I have labeled the condiments that go on the rice. We are all still in recovery...

A Few Corrections

After a few corrections and a few more blocks, the top now looks like this. I think the green in the upper right star might have to go.

I wanted to do some stash reduction and to make something fairly simple because it has been so busy around here lately that I haven't had time to do much sewing. I don't want to start something complicated until I have a bit more time. I saw this project on Katherine's blog, Quilter Going Bananas and thought it was just the ticket. It is a bit more complicated than I had anticipated but thanks to the design wall I can step back and take a good look before sewing the pieces together.
Since I saw this picture I have already moved the blue and navy piece at the bottom. There is not enough contrast between the two lighter blues. I took a black and white photo to be sure of my values but they were all too blurry to post. I saw what I needed to change though.
Looking back at Katherine's instructions, I think I have some major mistakes here...no wonder hers looked better. Hmmm...

A Walk in the Rain

We went for a walk in the rain to get photos of these Bottle Gentians that grow wild in one spot in our bush. The walk was wonderful but the mosquitoes seem to have revived with the recent rain.

Book Bag

The bag I use to carry books to and from the library was starting to look a bit ratty so I made a few more blocks and they all became a book bag.

New Project

I started putting the borders on my cat quilt but ran into problems. The top is over two inches narrower than the bottom. One of the perils of free piecing. I have put it away while I think about what to do. Quilt it as it is or add something somewhere or chop some off...


Meanwhile I made a few fun blocks using the ideas from Sandi Cummings' Thinking Outside the Block. It's a fun way to use up scraps and requires no precision sewing. It's just the thing for this kind of day. They are predicting plus 33 (91.4) with a possibility of thunder storms. Not my kind of weather. I prefer -33 with a blizzard. Then I'm cozy in the studio and get a lot done.

Butterfly Hike

We went for a little hike yesterday to photograph wild flowers. Here are a few samples.


A few years ago when we hiked in this area we chanced upon a Monarch butterfly migration. There were a few this time but not nearly as many as the previous time. We will go up there every day for the next week to see if we can find more of them.



It's hard to believe that these fragile creature migrate to Mexico.

Art Show in Kelowna

This is part of the art show that we went to Kelowna to help set up. It looked quite nice once it was all hung and arranged.

It was a nice surprise when my nephew, Ron, walked in the door. We knew he lived in the area but hadn't known he was coming to the show.
Now we are on our way home.