Almost finished and a trip

We have spent the last week in California. Just before we left last Saturday, I finished quilting Having a Ball. I love the way it looks!

Here is all of the hand quilting from the back.

I need to make the binding for this. It will be a scrappy binding using all of the colorful fabrics in the ball.

Let me tell you the odyssey of our flight from JFK to San Diego. Our daughter drove from Boston to Long Island with our granddaughter on the last Friday of February. We were scheduled to take a late morning flight to CA on Saturday. A car service took us to JFK airport. We had all of our luggage as well as our granddaughter's car seat and umbrella stroller. Kudos to my daughter for carrying the 23 pound carseat in a backpack throughout the airport. I know that I couldn't do so. 

So we board our flight and take off on time around 11 am. There was some commotion caused by a passenger emergency at the front of the plane a few minutes after take off, but we kept flying. About 1.5 hours into the 6 hour flight it was announced that we would be returning to New York. The plane turned around and back we went. We had experienced a 3 hour flight to nowhere. Emergency crews came and removed the ill passenger. We were allowed to get off the plane, but only if we took all of our items with us. Hubby and I stayed on the plane, while our daughter and 3 year old granddaughter exited the plane to stretch their legs and buy us sandwiches for dinner as we would not be arriving in CA in time to eat dinner as originally planned. After an hour or so, a new flight crew was installed and the emergency equipment and other supplies that had been used were replaced on board. The passengers who deboarded were allowed back on the plane and we were once again on our way. We arrived in CA, tired from the long day, much later than planned and started our week long vacation.

Our son-in-law had found a wonderful vacation home in Carlsbad, CA near our son and walking distance to the beach and a local park. 

Our son in law with his nephew and daughter.

Our grandson enjoying the park.

There was a piano at the house that our oldest granddaughter enjoyed.

Our youngest granddaugter enjoyed looking out at the patio.

The house was perfect for us. This was a sunset view over the ocean from the second floor.

On our first day, we celebrated our youngest granddaughter's first birthday. The celebration was a week early as that was when we were there. The next day our daughter and SIL took their daughter and our grandson strawberry picking while hubby and I watched our youngest granddaughter. 

On Tuesday, all 9 of us went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The grandchildren enjoyed seeing all of the animals. 

There was an adorable baby giraffe...

some kangaroos,

and more.

 

Wednesday was another beach and park day. We also all had dinner together every night at the house we had rented. Thankfully, the flight home on Thursday was uneventful. Our daughter left our home on today. It is quiet here now. Time to get back to working on some crafts.

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Take some time to relax with a cup of tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

Thanks for stopping by! 

First March Stitch Along Update

Three weeks have passed since our last update. A lot has happened in those 21 days. The Olympics were wonderful to watch each day and are, sadly, over now. Here on Long Island we had a blizzard that dumped 29 inches of snow last Sunday into Monday. This is my back yard. That is a 6 foot fence with bushes covered in drifts. 

That snow was followed by another inch or 2 on Wednesday. Ugh! We only saw the green grass for one day after the early February snow storm before this blizzard arrived. You would think that I did a whole lot of stitching on Three Boats, but I don't work on it in front of the television. I like to listen to music when I stitch this as I need to carefully count where the stitches need to be placed. I don't really have to pay attention to the music.

This is where Three Boats was for the February update.

This is where I am now. 

I filled in a lot of different blue flosses. There are more to work on still. I had hoped to finish the page I am working on by the end of February, but now I am aiming for the end of March.

This Stitch Along is hosted every three weeks by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea who kindly sends us the needed posting reminders.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post.  

Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret,

 Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Thanks for stopping by! 

Snow Again?

 It rained all day on Friday. It didn’t quite wash away all the snow from four weeks ago. Yes, there has been snow on the ground on Long Island for all that time. I have lived here all of my 65 years and don’t remember snow on the ground for that long ever. The weather prediction is for more snow on Sunday and Monday. Really?! Ugh. 

Of course, having Olympics on the TV from early morning to late night all day every day has helped me to deal with the decidedly depressing weather. It has also contributed to great progress on my crafts. 

The background of Having a Ball is almost 3/4 quilted. I have a nice rhythm going with it now. 

The second sock is well on its way to completion. The heel is done and I’m heading toward the toe. 

I looked in my stash and found this pretty bamboo sock yarn.

I can’t wait to start another pair. I want a different pattern. If anyone has a favorite, please share it with me. 

The I-Spy quilt sandwich is pinned and ready for me to begin machine quilting. 

I finished reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

I liked this book and would recommend it. I wouldn't say it was an exceptional book to read, but it was certainly enjoyable and the characters were interesting. I just started reading The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel. I don't have an opinion of it as yet. 

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea, coffee or hot chocolate and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Olympic crafting

I love watching as many Olympic sports as possible. Skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, speed skating, curling! They are so much fun! Since I am still dealing with a head cold, I haven’t been feeling like leaving the house and venturing out into the cold weather. The Olympics are a great distraction. We are no longer in the deep freeze, but it is still Winter and the snow that fell three weeks ago is still on the ground. 

My days have been spent drinking lots of fluids, watching TV as well as quilting or knitting. The background of Having a Ball is about halfway quilted. 

I am really enjoying the process. I’m pleased with the quilting. 

The first of two socks is completed. It is not perfect, but it fits. 

The second sock is well on its way and is definitely looking better than the first. I can see myself knitting more socks in the future with a better yarn. This yarn is somewhat scratchy, but it is a good yarn for a first try.

 One of my few outings this week was to a local quilt shop to get fabric to back the I-Spy quilt. It is the same fabric that I used for the other two I-Spy quilts that I made. 

Hubby’s birthday was on Thursday. It was a small celebration. 

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea, coffee or hot chocolate and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanks for stopping by! 

February Stitch Along Update

I can tell you that I would love to be on the beach below right now. I woke up to single digit Fahrenheit temps this morning with a windchill below zero. This bitterly cold weather that we have been experiencing for well over a week here on Long Island has at least been beneficial to my progress on Three Boats. I have no interest in braving the frigid, windy weather outside. This is where Three Boats was in January.

 I have finished all of the black stitching for a while and have started on the blue sky. 

It is so much more fun to stitch with pretty colors. I am thinking that I may be able to get close to finishing the page I am on by the end of this month. That would be a score!

This Stitch Along is hosted every three weeks by Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea who kindly sends us the needed posting reminders.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. There is a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world, so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post.  

Avis, Claire, Kathy, Margaret,

 Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Thanks for stopping by!

Indecision and Olympics!

For some unknown reason, at the beginning of this week I had trouble deciding which craft to work on first each day. I know, that isn't a problem really, but I was wondering about my indecision. I like all the crafts I currently have and they are all progressing quite well. As the week went on I came down with a cold so I think that contributed to what I felt like working on. Also the bitterly cold weather that we are still experiencing didn't make me want to work on my sewing machine in the basement. There are two heating vents down there, but it really can't be called warm. 

I did make it down to the basement though for a brief time on two days to work on the borders for the I-Spy quilt. Here is the finished flimsy! It is 45 inches square.

I was hoping to make a trip to a fabric store on Friday to find fabric to back it, but I felt really run down with quite the froggy voice. I would like to machine quilt this and bind it for my granddaughter's first birthday in March. 

The cross hatching on Having a Ball is quilting up quickly. I have about 1/4 of the stitching done.

Hubby and I have been watching the Olympics! I always enjoy watching the variety of sports for several days. Of course, the quilting and sock knitting are perfect for TV watching. 

Speaking of sock knitting, I am still working on the first sock. Getting closer to the toe. 

I am hoping I have enough yarn, but I can always make the toe a different color.

We visited my daughter and her family last weekend. My daughter's birthday was on that Friday. It was very cold so working on a puzzle is a good indoor activity.

 There was quite a lot of snow up in Boston. More than here on Long Island which is still hanging around as we are stuck in the deep freeze. 

I stopped reading Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab. I found it very, very dark and kept dreading picking the book up to read. I am not going to waste my time on something I am not enjoying. Instead, I picked up a book I got for Christmas: The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts. It is the 3rd book of the Lost Brides Trilogy that I have been anticipating for quite some time. It is not disappointing. I am just breezing through it. 

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea, coffee or hot chocolate and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Snow days crafting

It has been bitterly cold here since last weekend’s snowstorm. We had about 12 inches of snow. 

Thankfully we didn’t get the massive amount of ice the other places experienced. 

We are expected to stay below freezing for the next 10 days or so and have been so since last weekend. I’m staying warm and cozy in my house except for grocery shopping. Of course that means I have tons of time to craft and I have been busy. 

The ball shape on Having a Ball has been quilted! 

On Tuesday I marked the cross-hatching for the background. 

I started the quilting on Wednesday. I think this will go fairly quickly. 

During the snowstorm on Sunday, I hunkered down in my basement and finished sewing the I-Spy quilt together. I love it! 

Now I am cutting colorful squares to make a border around the edges.

There will be 4 more 9 patches in the corners and a white square next to each of the other 9 patches. The quilt should end up about 45” square. 

The heel and gusset have been completed on my sock and I am now knitting the foot.

 I’m enjoying this. I hope the resulting sock fits nicely. 

I’m currently reading Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab. I haven’t decided whether or not I’m enjoying it. So far it is quite dark. 

I will be joining Frederique at the Quilting Patch on Saturday and Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. I hope you take some time to relax with some tea, coffee or hot chocolate and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

PS: the commenting problem is mine as I have a new computer. My ability to comment on my own posts is blocked. I need to confer with hubby as to whether the permissioning solution is safe. I will try to use my old computer to comment, but it can be slow and balky lately. Hence the new computer.