Friday, August 1, 2014

Goodbye July....

Hello August!  (Warning!!!  Photo Heavy)

July was a busy month for me.  Lot's of sewing and lots of traveling.  We went on a 2 week camping trip to the Upper Peninsula.  

We started with a family get together to visit with my 2 nephews, Nathan and Jake.  Nathan is stationed in Montana and it was the first time we had seen his 3 boys.  Jake is stationed in Ohio and he and his wife will soon be stationed in Guam.  They will be there for 3 years.  That was on the 12th of July.

We left for the UP on the 13th.  Hooked up our trailer and headed north.  This was one long trip.  It took us 10 hours...without the trailer it takes 6 hours.  We went to my son's house just outside of Marquette and picked up our granddaughter Ashley for a week of camping.

We landed at Van Riper State Park on Lake Michigamme.  It was cool and rainy the first couple of days.  But I had lots of crafty stuff for Ashley.  I also took along a featherweight and a box of charm squares to teach her how to sew on a sewing machine.  She took to it like a duck to water.



Here once and off she went.  She said it beat sewing by hand....lol



I signed up for a 9 Patch swap with Barb at "Fun with Barb".  So I showed Ashley how to make 9 patches.  This is the first batch.  Then we went to a quilt shop and she found some fabric she loved and made more 9 patches to match.



This is the backing fabric she found.  She made a pillow (That needs to be stuffed)



And this is the front of the pillow.  Just to let you know....I did all the rotary cutting and ironing.  She did all the sewing of the 9 patches.  She did a great job.

My son and his dog came to camp with us on the weekend.  We took a ride and found a nice little lake to go fishing called Perch Lake.  Even the dogs got in on the action.


Ashley caught the biggest.


My son's dog Roxy tried in vain to catch one.


And Sammie didn't even want to get her paws wet.


We had fun sitting around the camp fire.  Ashley made us a Peanut Butter Smore....and it was delish.  She spread peanut butter on the graham crackers and then added the chocolate and marshmallow.

We left Pat's on Monday and headed home.  We camped for a few days at the State Park in St. Ignace.  It is right next to the bridge.  A little noisy with the sounds of bridge traffic  but at night I turned the fan on and didn't hear a thing.  I was a beautiful park.

We took a ride and went to the Bridge View park.


As you can see it was a little overcast and very breezy.


I found a large of crop of seagulls growing in the park....lol


Sammie loved the wind and strained at the leash trying to get to the seagulls.

All in all it was a wonderful trip.  Glad to be able to sleep in my own bed.  And I'm still emptying the trailer.

Since being home I've been getting some sewing done.  


I signed up for both Modern 9 Patch swap and Reproduction 9 Patch Swap.  I have to make 10 more pairs of the modern 9 patches and start the modern.


This is the July block for Hip Chicks BOM.  I still need to  prep the applique block.


Here are all the blocks together (minus the latest applique block).


And finally the latest Quilt Doodles BOM.  I really love this row.

So I finished all my BOM's for July on my "To Do" list.   Since being on vacation I didn't get anything else done.

Now for my August "To Do" List.

BOM'S
1.  Sugar Shack
2.  Globetrotting
3.  Hip Chicks
4.  Country Threads
5.  Quilt Doodles
6.  Aurifil

I've been commissioned to make 2 small photo quilts that are due in Sept.  So that is another priority.

And I need to finish my Modern 9 Patches and make my Reproduction 9 Patches.

That's it for August.  If I get anything else done it will be a bonus.

I hope you are having a wonderful summer.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope I didn't bore you.

Hugs, Cathy 

10 comments:

Ray said...

Love seeing your work and vacation. Glad you had a good time!!

Janet O. said...

Sounds like you are getting Ashley going in the right direction!
I don't love peanut butter, but that s'more sounds good. : )
That is a lot of 9-patch blocks, if you signed up for both groups.

Kathy ... aka Nana said...

What a nice trip. My eyes perked up when I read you were near Marquette. Friends of ours pastured a church there but last month they got called to a new church out in Washington state ... we always wanted to get up to visit them while they were in the UP, but too late now. ;-)

Impera Magna said...

Camping... what fun! Never thought about adding peanut butter to a s'more and will definitely give it a try!

Even on vacation, you (and your granddaughter) got a bunch of sewing done! I'm hoping someday one of the grandkids will want to learn how...

Kyle said...

Whew! No wonder July went by so fast. Perfect family fun and memories.

Patti said...

Instead of peanut butter, just use a Reece's cup and marshmallow. Delish!

Cheryl said...

Busy month! Perfect project for a beginning piecer!

Rebecca in AK said...

Really looks like you had a great time! How fun to sew with your granddaughter! I like her idea of adding peanut butter to the s'mores . I like the hip chick blocks!

antique quilter said...

wow you have been busy! I loved the little pillow she made, how cute. great blocks to swap aren't nine patches fun to make!
Kathie

Karen said...

I would have loved to take one of my Featherweight machines on our vacation but we didn't sit still long enough to use one. And the lighting was not good.