Stitch Along Update

I was really hoping to have finished this page of Three Boats on a Tropical Beach by the end of July, but it was not to be. This is where I was for the last update, three weeks ago.

Here is where I am now. I have filled in some sand below the third boat. There is a lot more sand to stitch.

Our granddaughter will be visiting all this week and we will be traveling to CA sometime this month so I don't expect to finish this page any time soon. I am now hoping it is done by the end of the year since I am also trying to finish a full cover Christmas stocking for this year's holiday. You can see an update on that project here.

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, Christina, Kathy, Margaret,

 Sunny, Megan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, 

Cathie, Linda, MaryMargaret, Cindy, Helen

Thanks for stopping by!

Some crafting and a trip to Saratoga

Hubby and I are just back from a short 3 day, 2 night trip to Saratoga, NY. Hubby is a big horse racing fan and we go upstate for a couple of days most years during the summer season. On the day we drove up our hotel room wasn't ready when we arrived, so we drove to a nearby quilt shop that I hadn't visited previously. It is called KC Framing & Fabrics.

This shop was filled with colorful fabrics.

 I surprised myself by not buying any fabric. There just weren't any fabrics that spoke to me. I don't currently have any plans to make a quilt with bright fabrics which is basically all they have. I looked for some neutrals, but there weren't many.  I bought a bobbin holder and some 1" EPP hexagon papers and that was all.

We went to the Saratoga Racecourse on the second day of our trip. Sadly, it was cold and rainy. 

It was fine though. We had brought jeans and jackets to wear and it wasn't very crowded at all so we could always find a place to sit inside in between races. Below we are sitting in a covered area that is open to the grounds behind it. 

It wasn't a good betting day for me, but Hubby broke even. 

That evening we went to a restaurant that was new to us. It is very high end. Hubby and I shared the Tomahawk Ribeye for two special. The restaurant brands the bone with its name.

The second day was sunny and in the 70s. 

A perfect day to be at the track. This day, I won $40 and Hubby only lost about the same amount. All in all we had a fun time.

I finished quilting the black block on Having a Ball. I am not thrilled with the way the quilting came out, but I am not doing it over. Next up is the light green block.

I added more stitches to my granddaughter's Christmas stocking. I am still working on the nightgown.

 

The white "frosting" for my grandson's ornament has almost all its embroidery and beading completed. 

Now I have to applique it to the "cookie" background. Hopefully that will get done next week. Our daughter is coming with our granddaughter for a weeklong visit, so I am not sure if any crafting will get done at all.

I will be joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching and Frederique at the Quilting Patch today. Make yourself some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

A Christmas finish

The iced gingerbread snowflake felt ornament for my older granddaughter is finished! I embroidered the personalization.

 Then I put the front and back together and stuffed it. 

Next will be the iced gingerbread star ornament for my grandson. 

These work up fast. I hope to have this done fairly soon.

I thought I would have the little girl's nightgown on the stocking finished by the end of this week, but there is a lot more stitching to do than I thought.This is where the stocking is as of Saturday.

I took some time to bake this week. I had two bananas that were going bad so I made three little Blueberry banana breads. I have the original Taste of Home June/July 2003 magazine recipe, but the link is the same recipe. 

Two of the breads will go to my MIL who always appreciates my baking.

Hubby and I enjoyed two small outings this week. One afternoon we drove 15 minutes to Wantagh Park. That is pronounced won-TAW for your information. We walked along the path and sat on a bench overlooking Wantagh Bay. There were some boats on the bay and we enjoyed watching the seagulls, terns, ducks and geese. 

It was a beautiful day with low humidity. Finally! It has felt like you are breathing in water lately when you go outside. 

On Thursday we decided to drive 1 hour east on Long Island to Terra Vite Vineyard for lunch.

 We have been there before and enjoy their paninis with a glass of wine. The paninis were as delicious as always, but the wine was disappointing. I had the  White Merlot on the left and Hubby had the Chardonnay.

 A couple near us recommended the White Merlot. Everyone has different tastes.

I will be joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching and Frederique at the Quilting Patch today. Make yourself some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

More time for crafting

My fitness journey with classes at a local gym has been sidelined. I think I mentioned a while ago that I have been dealing with what I thought was bursitis in my right hip since last October. It would act up, then calm down and then act up again. I was feeling mostly good for the first few months of this year and then right before our trip the pain really started in again. I was worried about being able to enjoy the trip and all the tours. Needless to say, my orthopedist prescribed a Prednisone dosepack to start just prior to the cruise. It worked wonderfully. I had a followup appointment when we returned and an MRI of my hip was prescribed to determine why this is a recurring problem. Two torn tendons were found so another appointment was made with an orthopedic surgeon. I was nervous, but this specialist says that most 65 year old women have tendon tears. No surgery is needed. He thinks the problem is my back acting up again. I have arthritis in my spine that has caused scoliosis. Another MRI is to be scheduled for my spine and then possibly an epidural shot. I had two of these shots several years ago for a similar situation. I am allowed to continue with my walks, but I must put my fitness classes on pause. I'm disappointed, but I'm looking forward to being pain free. One bright spot is that I have gained 90 minutes of crafting time 3 days a week. You have to look at the bright side. 

So what have I been doing with the extra time. Well, I have made great progress on my younger granddaughter's Christmas stocking. The green nightgown should be finished by the end of next week.

I have also started the Christmas ornament for my older granddaughter. I have to add white beads around the outside and then applique it to a beige background.

It will look like an iced gingerbread cookie.

Having a Ball now has 14 of 36 blocks quilted. I have marked the black block for quilting. I am not happy with how the edge of the block looks, but there isn't enough fabric seam allowance along the edge to fix it and it wants to fray.

I haven't shown you my crocheting in a while. These small granny square blocks will become a baby blanket to have on hand as a gift. I am using up scraps of yarn. I am trying to use colors of similar value.

 I have 77 out of 221 granny squares made at this point. This is my TV watching craft.

My flower pots on our back deck have finally filled in and are so pretty.

My daughter gave me the pot on the right below for Mother's Day. She left it for me when her family stayed at the house while we were on our cruise.

My butterfly bush is all in bloom. The lavendar next to it is done blooming.

My hydrangeas are pretty too. 

If you haven't seen it yet, the final post of our vacation is here.

I will be joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching and Frederique at the Quilting Patch today. Make yourself some tea or coffee and pop on over to their sites to see what other bloggers are stitching. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Vacation (Part 3), The End

This is the final installment of our Viking Rhine Getaway River Cruise. I hope you have been enjoying the photos. The Wednesday of our cruise found us in Strausbourg, France. We casually walked around the city. Along the canal were beautiful, colorful old buildings. 

We were able to tour the Cathedrale Notre-Dame of Strausbourg. 

The carvings on the facade were magnificent.

As were the stained glass windows. 

This rosette window supposedly rivals that in Notre Dame, Paris.

There was a fascinating automated clock that "performed" every quarter hour. 

The organ pipes were wonderful also.

After our tour of the cathedral, Hubby and I had time to stroll around the city on our own. There were lots of little shops to peek into. 

In the afternoon we took a tour of the Alsace wine country to a little town called Barr. We had a wine tasting at the Hering vineyard. The wine was good, though nothing special. 

This vineyard only produces about 60,000 bottle of wine each year so it is quite the small operation. 

There was a pretty little town square to walk to before boarding the bus back to the ship.

That evening the ship traveled through several locks. It was interesting pulling beside another ship and experiencing the boat being raised to the level of the river on the other side.

On our final full cruise day, we took a tour of the medieval village of Colmar, Germany. Many of the homes were fancifully decorated. 

We saw a sculpture that was designed by Auguste Bartholdi who was the designer of the Statue of Liberty in New York.

Of course there was another cathedral. This one we did not enter.

Colmar is know for its storks. You can see a nest with a chick and its parents on top of this roof.

There were many pretty streets. 

There were canals also.

In the afternoon we were on our way to the Black Forest. There were pretty homes along the way.

There is a lot of farmland and forest to be seen along the very twisty turny steep road.

We enjoyed a cuckoo clock demonstration in a local Hofgut Sternen Black Forest Village. It was fascinating to learn that different families from the area made the various parts of the clocks. Individual clocks were not made by one person or family.

There were a lot of cuckoo clocks. This one had a little train. 

There was also a glass blower. This "flower garden" was full of glass flowers.

There was also a Black Forest Cake demonstration.

I bought a Christmas nutcracker in the gift shop. My one and only souvenir. This was such a pretty place.

There was a sign that informed us that we were 6272 km from home. 

The next day found us in Basel, Switzerland for the return flight home. That was a long day as we had a short flight to Frankfurt, Germany followed by a 4 hour layover. There were another 2 hours in the plane on the tarmac as there was a flat tire. Then an 8 hour flight home. Thankfully, once we were through all the checkpoints and retrieved our checked baggage it is only a 20 minute limo drive home. All in all we had 20 hours of travel home. 

I hope you enjoyed all the photos from our European trip.

Thanks for visiting.