Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Yes, I Still Quilt Occasionally

I'm not sure I even know how to do this anymore! Taking pictures, blogging--it all feels kind of odd after taking so much time off this summer. We left on our trip August 13th thinking we'd be back home again on August 27. haha Life had other plans for us tho as we only got back last night. So good that I had my applique bag all prepped and ready to go or I'd have probably went (more) bonkers.
Getting the project bag ready to go.
No time for details, so I prepped the bias vine,
chose some coordinating fabrics and just went
with a freehand applique look.
We left Washington state, headed east thru Idaho and then Montana. Jumped down into Wyoming and then took a fast road through Nebraska to end up at some cousins in Witchita, Kansas by Saturday night. We left there and headed to Oklahoma where we spent the next seven days, visiting with family and friends and getting to see our son graduate from OSUIT. Woohoo! Big smiley face moment right there, let me tell you! Somewhere in the middle of all that, we also made a flying trip to Missouri to visit some of my mothers family. Whew! The things we do for family and do we ever have a lot of that between my husbands and my own family. We were hopping busy all week long but got in a bazillion good visits and ate way too much good food.
16 blocks down, 4 to go!
I'm making these up as I go along, can you tell?
The plan is to put these with my Baskets Galore blocks
Got our son all packed up, had a nice celebration at a Texas Roadhouse and then back down the road we went once again. We headed out to the panhandle of Oklahoma where we loaded up a 1925 Model-T to bring back to Washington state for some good friends of ours. (My husband is very nice that way.) Anyway......., things went well through New Mexico and then even part way through Colorado when we finally realized that the transmission in our Suburban was dying. Yes, dying. Those good ol' Rocky Mountains totally did us in. Thankfully we weren't terribly far from some cousins in Olathe, Colorado who were very good to come rescue us. Can you imagine being stranded in a resort town for a week without a driveable car, three kids to feed and entertain plus a valuable old car to keep track of and make sure it didn't get stolen?
A little closer look at what I'm doing, all without a pattern.
The only thing pre-planned was the background block size
and the fact that I'm working with a red/green flower theme.
Finally we were able to hit the road again on Friday morning, drive across the state of Utah and then on into the edge of Oregon where we stopped again for the night (only one driver after we started hauling a trailer). My husband and I badly wanted to go straight home, but Saturday evening found us in Creswell, Oregon being the good parents, getting our sons stuff unloaded and temporarily settled into my sisters house. He already has a job lined up in Eugene and lots and lots of family around to help keep him honest. lol  It took a little extra time to line him up with a runabout car before we left town though. His back up car in Oregon wound up with serious problems at the last minute and he needed a way to get to and from work. Gotta be able to make some money to pay back the parents and those lousy school loans!
The 1925 Model-T
Traveling long distance with an antique/vintage car was very interesting at times. Fun, but interesting. We certainly aren't used to all the attention it garners and plus, the road time increased by a serious margin just hauling a trailer up and down all those mountains between Oklahoma and Washington state. We had to make several unscheduled stops just to check straps and make sure parts weren't about to fly off into the ether. So nervy being responsible for somebody else's toy! Also, in our past life experiences, whenever someone passes our vehicle and starts making hand gestures or smiles real big it probably means we have a flat tire/something billowing black smoke or other imminent disaster. This time it meant things like 'cool car' so eventually we were able to stop panicking and just do the smile and wave thing.

I'm not sure how we're going to recover (financially) from this trip, but it sure took our mind off of things back home. I'm raring to get back to my quilting, maybe even catch up on some quilt blog reading if I can find the time between doing endless loads of dirty laundry.  Next time I post, I'm hoping to tell you about all the wonderful quilt stores I got to buzz in and out of on our very long trip!

19 comments:

  1. What charming blocks! Especially so since they aren't from a pattern. Well done!
    Sounds like quite a trip!

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  2. Boy, that sounds like an exciting trip. Doesn't it feel good to be home. Love what your working on , thank goodness for handwork.

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  3. The red & green applique blocks....very good! I look forward to seeing all put together.

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  4. Whew!! You went to a bunch of states I've never been to. Glad you're home. The blocks look great, hope to see you back soon.

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  5. Quite a story! Such fun blocks! And a celebration at the Texas Road House... I looovvvee the Texas Road House! One of the top 3 places to eat on our list whenever we are in the US.

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  6. You've been having adventures!!! You did well to get lots of wonderful blocks appliquéd. That car is really fun!!

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  7. That is quite a road thrip you are sure to remember for a very long time. Glad you are home safe and sound. Home Sweet Home.

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  8. This will definitely be a summer you'll always remember. Glad you got home safely. Your appliqué blocks are sweet and cheerful. You did a lot along the road. That was a cool vehicle you were hauling. No wonder you were always being stared at. Hope you can all settle down now and get back to the normal normal.

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  9. Holy crow, that Model T is the cutest thing ever! I love the proportions. It'd make a cute quilt!

    What an epic journey! I guess all that family came in handy once or twice. I'm glad you're safely home, and that home is safe. I worried about you with the recent mudslides. And your improv applique is going to look great with those baskets!

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  10. Wow, that's quite a big adventure you had! Glad you made it home safely with everyone and everything in tact. Can't wait to hear about the quilt shop stops...good for you!

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  11. Love the colours and designs in those blocks Audrey.

    Sounds like your vacation was certainly an interesting adventure ! Nice to read about what you've been getting up to.

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  12. You never know where life is going to send you! I LOVE your red and green flowers, gorgeous!

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  13. Hmmm, now who are you again?? Just kidding! Missed you!! Glad you've had a good, if eventful, time away. Fab car and great blocks. Hope you don't get overwhelmed by the laundry.......

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  14. So nice to read your post blog again! I thought you were kidding about the car - not! Nice project you've got going on - great colors . . . take care, Pam

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  15. I'm loving your sweet little red and green blocks. Glad you had plenty to stitch on. My hubbie, looking over my shoulder, got big eyes looking at the Model-T. I had to explain its connection to a quilt blog, and he commented that you must be VERY good friends to be responsible for traveling with it.
    You'll never forget this summer, I'm sure. Glad you're back.

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  16. My goodness! You've had enough adventures for all of us this summer! The red and green flower project looks like the perfect therapy!

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  17. I have been off traveling for some time now and have had poor internet service although I have managed to keep my blog up to date and checking mail periodically from my phone. So glad to see you are recovered from the fire in your area and were able to take a trip of your own even though you had car trouble! that is always rough when traveling - glad you had cousins in the area to help you out!! how is all going in your area now from the fire a couple months ago - are your parents settling into a new home?

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  18. Esto es toda una aventura !!!!!
    estoy agotada de leer todas las emociones que as vivido
    los bloques son preciosos.....
    deseo ver pronto este trabajo terminado,
    descansa si puedes este fin de semana
    saludos

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