Temecula Quilt Co. sew along

I finished the quilt top of my Temecula Quilt Co. sew along today meeting my end of the month deadline.  Whew!  We had a hard freeze in the Valley of the Sun in January so our bougainvillea are just brown sticks which have now been trimmed back in hopes of new life.

I decided that this color palate would look great hanging on those sticks.

So I went outside and hung it on the thorns and I was right, matching color palate.

I used most of my scrap bag of fabric tor these five rows of blocks.  I barely had enough of the two fabrics shown to do the horizontal sashing strips.  My outside border is smaller and different that the sew along as I was determined to stick with what I had on my shelf so I used another fat quarter with leftover scrap fabric for the corner sashing.  It's just short of a yard square in size and I have a yard of a light small print fabric I can use for the backing and another fat quarter shirting for the binding so I really didn't need to go to the store for this one.  There is even a leftover piece of batting for the middle of the sandwich.

Although this is not a color palate I would have chosen on my own, I'm glad I ordered the scrap bag.  I really like the look.

Mrs. Kennedy and Me

I really enjoyed reading "Mrs. Kennedy and Me" by Clint Hill who was the secret service agent assigned to Mrs. Kennedy while her husband was president and for the months following his death in Dallas.  Mr. Hill traveled the world with her as well as followed her and the children to Palm Beach, Hyannis Port, the White House, and the Virginia horse country.  It was fascinating to learn how the Kennedys lived and what their priorities were.

This is a straight forward memoir with a gentle touch.  It is easy to see that there was mutual admiration and respect between the agent and the first lady, both who were put in an unusual situation with the election of John F. Kennedy as President of the United States.

It was Clint Hill who jumped over the back of the car in Dallas when the gun shots rang out.  I literally sobbed as I remembered and read about that day and how not only I felt but the nation felt as a young president's life was snuffed out.  I was just a fifth grader in a country school in Idaho.  Clint Hill never quite forgave himself for not being able to save the president.  Writing this memoir was part of his healing process and it had to wait until the time was right and Jacqueline was also gone.

My disappearing nine patch

The Cotton Shop in Provo gives 20% of precuts on a certain day of the week (I can't remember if it is W or F.)  I picked up a charm pack of Tapestry by Fig Tree because I just liked it.  Then another week I picked up another charm pack of Tapestry because I still liked it.  And then they sat on a shelf.

 Then blogger land introduced me to the disappearing nine patch quilt pattern and I knew why I had those charm packs.

I had some leftover creamy white in my stash but decided that I wanted some continuity in the quilt top so went back to The Cotton Shop (closest to the Provo townhouse) and found the small dot fabric for the center square.  For each nine patch I used four 5 inch charm squares, four 5 inch white squares, and one pin dot square.  After they were sewn together, I cut them through the middle and then the rearranging began.

I may not have a design wall, but when in Utah I can lay things out on the table and view from the upstairs landing.  I decided that I wanted matching Fig Tree squares to be next to one another in one direction for some continuity.

I wanted the snuggle quilt to be a 4 X 5 blocks so my charm square packs didn't quite make it.  I used a 20% coupon to buy the backing with enough extra to add two more matching 5 inch squares.  That still left me two short, so I also picked up 1/6 of a yard of an older Fig Tree collection.  Can you pick it out?

I love it when a designer's collections flow together.  Hint:  It's orange.  I added a white border with the pin dot squares continuing the pattern. The back will be the extra that I bought plus another Fig Tree piece of fabric, Butterscotch and Rose,  leftover from Julianna's quilt, "It Takes a Village." You can see it on the end of the ironing board.  Now on to the hard part, quilting and finishing!

A birthday gift they won't forget

My middle son and his wife share birthdays a bit less than two weeks apart.  This year my husband decided to give them a gift of action and a new experience.  He scheduled them for a flying high experience. Today was the day we journeyed south to Eloy and near their little airport to watch them enjoy indoor skydiving.

While they watched a video and got some on the ground instructions, we watched some experts at work dancing inside the wind chamber. Fascinating!

Then the participants came out to put on their gear.

This included flight suits, goggles, helmets, and ear plugs.

Ruby found it hard to believe that this girl was going to give it a try, but Ruby was smart.  The little girl didn't like it much.

Ruby was given her mother's phone and told to take some pictures.

Her parents entered the side chamber and waited their turn.

That David was a natural.

It didn't take him but a few seconds to be flying free.

He could pretty much navigate himself where he wanted to go.  Everyone did not have this much control.

He flew next to the pexiglass so I could take this shot.

 Then he was off again.

Sally was also a natural.  They are both in great physical shape and had the muscle strength to keep their arms and legs in position.

Go Sally!

Earlier little Mae had talked about bringing her Tinkerbell wings so mom could fly. Mom didn't need them.

Notice that there is just a wire mesh keeping them from falling to the bottom and the wind making machinery below.

 Perfect form.

Then it was time for round two.  The girls got up close to watch because they knew what was going to happen next.

They turned up the wind volume and the man in black took hold of Dave and spun him around and out of sight up to the top and down again several times.

Sally did the same while David watched.

This is how the tunnel looks from the outside.  When they went up high, they actually were in the tube above the octagonal building in the space before it dissipates via the three smaller tubes.

Fun times with a fun family.  We were missing Sadie who chose to go to a friend's birthday party instead, but they have a video to show her.  To learn more about SkyAdventureArizona, go here.

Rare weather event

I missed it.  Snow in Mesa, Arizona!  I was up north where there has been snow on the ground for months, yes, months.  Utah has been experiencing its coldest winter since 1949 and so have I.  In fact, there is new snow this morning I hear.  Luckily, I also have monthly escapes to Mesa, Arizona.  I come back and check on my plants and flowers and get my hands dirty while the sunshine warms my bones.  I found it kind of funny, now that I am part Utahan, how excited all my FB and blogger friends were about a bit of white stuff.  I just had to share this picture I found from January 21, 1937 of the Mesa Arizona Temple with a good amount of snow on the ground.  Yes, snow happens even in warm places at times.

Worth it a million times over

  

I spent yesterday with some of my favorite people while their mother was undergoing yet another out-patient surgery related to her latest pregnancy.  Last night she posted, "Opal is worth it a million times over" in a post surgery update on FB.  I have to agree, Opal is worth it all, even literally a year of her mom not feeling well.

Big brother Henry was a great helper and companion and game player.  I taught him too many strategies for Mancala and now he beats me most every time.

 Opal is a beautiful 4 1/2 months.  True to family form, she is in the 95th percentile for height and weight.

 

 She if a child of many expressions and her smile is to die for, but she just wasn't up to sharing one while I had the camera out.

She loves to talk and interact with everyone and is happiest when you hold her hand while she falls asleep.  Definitely worth it all millions upon a million times over!

Museum not aquarium

It was boys night with grandpa and grandma on Friday.  Saturday morning we were on our way to the BYU Museum of Art where you find things like Nessie greeting you at the door.

We thought that boys might enjoy the current exhibit "We Would be Heroes."

There were all kinds of heroes.  Baseball heroes and fireman wanna be heroes.

Ordinary heroes wanting to be super heroes.

And some so called heroic things too gruesome to include in the picture.

Some heroes live in space.

And some are just mythic.

Others that one just didn't care to take a peek at.  After all there was some disappointment involved as Henry thought a museum was like an aquarium.

The boys wanted to explore, so we headed downstairs and found a soup can.  If you are thinking, "Must be Andy Warhol," then you are right.  It was titled "Flat Art" and included works by Warhol and another artist.

I just liked this shot.

Marilyns by color.

Finally something that they really enjoyed.

An opportunity to keep rectangular silver mylar gas filled rectangles airborne.

They would have stayed all day if I would have let them.

Final museum stop, the sculpture garden. (Yes, mom, we did have their coats.  Grandpa is holding them.)  They loved throwing snow and ice in the pond.  We performed a quick race walk to the bookstore. . . .

where we found ducks.  There were even some heroic ducks but not a one was for sale.

Henry loved those ducks.

So grandpa found him some real ones and something to feed them.

They were hungry.  Really hungry.

 

But duck hero Henry carried on.

 

He tried hard to make them share and not be grabby.

 

There was some for everyone.

Final stop, "Y" mountain trail parking lot.

Can you pick out the "Y" in the snow?

Saturday was a great day with blue clouds and sunshine and highs in the forties.

A perfect day for boys.