A Day Spent With Expatchers

Tuesday was a delightful day. Not only was it a beautiful day weatherwise, but it was also a day spent with friends. Friends who have shared ups and downs. Friends who conquered living in a foreign country. Friends who will give you their honest opinion, even if you don't ask! It was a sharing time, a working time as well as celebration--of my birthday!
From the hands of Sandy, this lovely grouping of dainty flowery prints that will evolve into "Summer at Mom's"--a free insert to one of the major quilting publications.
Our hostes was Linda, who had displayed on her guest bed this wonderful yo-yo quilt. Who can resist yo-yo's. I neglected to ask her the maker, but it is quite involved and has a nice layout.
Annette, who was excited to be making her first Binky quilt. She cut the squares at home and now was progressing to the sewing machine.
Brenda, was busy making burp cloths and receiving blankets for an upcoming baby shower. What a wonderful gift to receive!
Karen was sewing away on her Binky quilt top. Sorry, there is no photo of the finished top.
Debby received her pumpkin quilt from the quilting hands of Judy and was sewing on the binding. Give a look at the pumpkin quilting--
This is a great panto and perfect.
Another returned quilted baby blanket (from Judy) is this popcorn design. We all agreed this is a super delightful design. The backing was Minky fabric--soft and textured for little hands. But, it was also a good match for the top---
Monkeys!! Monkeys!! Monkeys!!
Brenda was trying to decide which Minky fabric to use as backing--go for the green, Brenda!! And since it was October birthday celebration day, Moi' receives fat quarters of choice, which was anything goes! The gals made great selections; each varied and unique as the giver. Now, to let those fabrics age properly!
Thanks Expatchers!! It was a good day--friends, food, and fabric--what could be better?

Still...........Settling

Well, we are trying to settle down but for some reason it isn't easy! It takes some time to get back into groove for this location--why is that? The bags are unpacked, sort of........but that doesn't mean everything is back in its special place. So, what do YOU do with everything that is unpacked? In this house, it seems unpacking just means taking it OUT of the bags and placing it around the room. And any location will do nicely; like this chair in the studio. Who wants to sit in it anyway?
Or, how about the sewing room table? That does great for storing things unpacked.
Oh, yes the sewing machine table works well too. Might we get some sewing done as we move things from one location to another? Not likely!
Just more STUFF! Why do we collect stuff? Have you ever heard George Carlin's little rambling about stuff? It's so true. We buy stuff to put stuff into and then buy more stuff to place around the room.
Just another view of 'stuff'--mostly UFO's in waiting. Wonder how long they have to age before they can be finished?
More UFO's in the 'aging process; from one bag to another place.
And this one almost finished piece just....................................hanging around. Oh, yes, orders went out over the weekend for more STUFF!

Unpacking........

Which is more time consuming--packing or unpacking? When packing, days can be taken to add this thing to the pile that needs to go on the trip but unpacking, well, that's another story! Those boxes and luggage pieces could sit for days before absolutely getting to them. Okay, we've been back in our 'winter' home for several days now and those boxes finally got somewhat unpacked yesterday. It's like packing--little bit at a time. Here is what was found unpacking--projects that were in progress or just another one of those UFOs. Two more of Jinny's flowers--still have several more to complete before this can come together.
Another barn but only one more to finish before this can be assembled.
And Little Raggedy Annie is slowly but surely being stitched. These blocks will go into 2011. We are still unpacking so maybe we'll find another couple of UFO's in the bottom of the box. Oh, yes, we are decorating for the fall and there is a quilt missing. It can be seen in the mind's eye but darn it, it's hiding good!

We're BACK!

We are back in our southern home and the weather is absolutely fabulous!! We brought some of that fall weather with us, thank goodness! It feels good to walk wearing a light jacket. For some reason, fall temperatures put that lightness in your steps and an eagerness in your soul. Oh, well, the only problem in changing homes is the baggage. You wouldn't think there would be so much to transport between houses, especially when each house is fully equipped with the essentials. But, the car is always loaded to the brim and full bags sit around in the studio waiting to be emptied. And dang it! There is the 'itch' to begin a new project--and of course, it's a mystery pattern. One cuff completed and still two days before the next clue appears. The Pumpkin socks have been finished--well, the pattern sort of looks like pumpkins, if you squint just right. And, we are trying our hand at fantasy football--only, the team we have really isn't doing too well--guess someone has to always lose and but does it have to be our team??

Adventures! Or Can We Say Congested!

It was time for that journey into the mountains to go 'leaf peeping'! yes, the aspens are in their full glory and who knows for how much longer they will hold out. It was said that this weekend was the best to view those golden shimmering trees. So, pack up the car and off we go! But, wait, first we must get that cup of coffee to start the day so it was a stop at Caribou. And how great is this, a buy one-get one day too! Only, there was a small problem--we couldn't get there from here! Most of the major streets in the town center were blocked due to a 5K race/walk--it was necessary to maneuver very carefully around all the orange cones and security detail before finally reaching our coffee destination! And it never tasted better.
We are on the road now and traveling at the speed limit, up to US 285, past Morrison, going towards Bailey, but wait, what is this------one big major traffic jam!
We are bumper to bumper--did all these people decide it was time to go 'leaf-peeping' too?? We creeped, we crawled around the corner only to find more traffic--you can always think, "it's going to break up soon" and it did. Only, we come to a electronic sign that reads, "highway closed 14 miles ahead". No, that can not be right! We travel on--the sign must be wrong! But, alas it is not! The road was definitely closed at Jefferson and all traffic was being detoured up the dusty road to the north. We follow for awhile but turn off to Jefferson Lake--mostly, looking for that port-a-potty! And campgrounds do have such. The drive up to the lake was lined with golden aspens and once we arrive (and find that pit stop), we have a goregous view of the lake and surrounding mountains.
Here are some of the aspens that lined the roadway.
And one huge beaver dam--they sure have been busy on this stream.
Golden, red, orange, green--all the colors of fall.
Sun was breaking through and lining the ground with fallen aspen leaves.
View of small lake down from the stream of the beaver dam.

More wonders of nature!

and the bright blue sky above...................

Coming back into Denver, we had less traffic into town. Before we reached Bailey again we ran into another road problem--one lane traffic through construction zone, but that wasn't the trouble; again, we creeped, we crawled to find it had been a motorcycle accident in the construction area--not good! The traffic going west was lined up for 5 miles--they are going to have a long wait to get through the construction handicap. Okay, we can make this a much better day and stop at Coney Island for late lunch. OOPS! Many others had the same idea--it was packed and the line was out the door, down the steps, and around the hot dog shaped diner. Plan B--home!

Finishing--Slowly!

If you set goals in your life, do you follow them to the letter? Do you write them down? Keep them in your head? Knitter friend Judy P was discussing this topic with me last week on our girls day out. Yes, she has goals and she writes them down and finishes by quarter. This is a good way to work. My list of goals is in my head, so it is easy to reshuffle and resort and sometimes, blank them out. But, Judy P says she actually marks them off the list and knows she is progressing along the right path. My list is also the pile on the table......and now, we are whittling down the pile..........slowly to finish UFO's before we leave the summer home.
At first, when this pattern appeared on the monthly Halloween strip of Fat Cat, there was a thought--'maybe we'll skip this one'. But once, these little critters were completed, it was a winner. Look how cute they are--but, just on fabric!
And the other two blocks made are house rows--colorful. Now, all we need are spooks and trick or treaters to complete the street!
That yarn purchased last week is very "slowly" turning into socks. Pick it up, put it down and
work on the Cascade 220 gaiters made for a military unit to be deployed in November. These are slowly being turned out--not fun to knit, but anything for the soldiers.
Goals are always good and whether they are written down and set in stone or just roaming around in the brain, it gives us the opportunity to progress and learn. Of course, creating new goals before you finish the old ones can be a hazard!!

Girls Day Out

Early this week, knitter friend Judy P took us to visit Ft. Collins and Windsor, CO for fantastic knit and wool shops. We met at park and ride but you know it isn't easy to find a place to park in the lot during the week--luckily, there was one spot open just as we arrived. So off we go, driving north! Our first visit in Fort Collins was My Sister Knits.

The shop is located on a residential street. And you know it's the right location when you see this tree hugged in the front yard. Walk through the gate of the white picket fence to arrive in the lovely backyard and find the little shop in the back. What a location! So peaceful! A great place to sit and knit on a wonderful day......The shop is decorated with a fall theme
and the yarns, oh, my! and the welcome--warm and friendly. Upstairs in the loft area, several gals were visiting as they continue with their knitting. Purchasing Cascade 220 yarn that will be knitted into gaiters for soldiers being deployed in November, some double pointed #1 needles and a wonderful sock yarn from Pagewood Farms, we proceeded back into the garden.

Look!! off to the side is a chicken coop, which wasn't noticed when we first arrived.
It seems that city chicken coops are 'the thing' now. Denver Botanic Gardens is even sponsoring a chicken coop tour in October. Chicken coop owners will open their backyards to show off their critters and to share with visitors their love for what they do and their experiences. As efforts for sustainable living have risen, chickens and other urban livestock keeping have also become more popular among residents of many cities in the US.

Our next stop is Lambspun Yarn Shop, which also combines a small luncheon spot--perfect timing for us as noon has come and gone. After finishing lunch, we walked swiftly through the shop--nothing here of interest for us. Onward we journey, south to the small town of Windsor, three miles off to the east of I-25, . We had visited here last summer and found The Wool Shoppe--a great place for wool fabric and quilting supplies. Their selection is outstanding and their walls are covered with completed projects. As we sat in the House of Windsor, across Main Street from the Wool Shoppe, with a cool drink, Judy pulled out this pair of socks that she knitted on her sock knitting machine. She said "these are for you!" Oh my goodness! She had one toe to close in and showed me how it was done. What a great gift--thank you Judy P!! It was a good day spent with a friend.