Becky’s Adventures in Quilting and Travel

This week got more and more relaxed as it went...we bought a truck Monday and then decided we should camp somewhere closer to home to make sure we were comfortable towing with it.  (Maybe we’ve just reached the point this year where excuses aren’t needed!) but the rest of the week was pretty low key, so what did I accomplish?  1. Post my stitching sunshine  blog hop post-which means I need to photograph the project-done and I was overwhelmed by the responses  2. finish tying at least one more quilt-I tried, but my hand is not getting better and it just isn’t working to tie.  Instead I started hand quilting a project I’d thought I’d machine quilt; who’d think hand quilting would be the easiest method... 3.  cut bindings so they're ready when my machine is returned-done three bindings are cut, but only one of the quilts is ready to be bound 4. finish trimming my charity quilt blocks-done  5.  keep reading the Benni Harper mysteries-these are fun quilt cozies-I finished the 4th read a

As soon as Carla announced this blog hop I knew what project I needed to make for the Stitching Sunshine theme.  Dresden Plate blocks always remind me of suns and the yellow and blue I selected guests ago add to the sunshiny feel.    When I was a substitute teacher in the mid 2000s I often took a project with me because you never knew what the day would hold. Some days I was covering for meetings and had a lot of free time and needed something to keep myself busy.  I started this quilt before 2007 because I recall working on it in the faculty room of one school and someone asking if I had a quilt in the school colors of every school I worked at.  In 2007 I had a long term sub position and then was hired permanently for my current position, so I didn’t have as much time to quilt for a couple years until I was comfortable with my curriculum.  Every once in a while I’d see the blocks when I was organizing and think I should finish that...This hop was just the push I needed to finish them

This past week was somewhat eventful (at least in comparison to recent weeks); I dropped my sewing machine off to be serviced, my school finally held graduation, we found a truck, our county went green so Humble Stitch finally reopened and I  could shop in person, and I might have broken a toe while camping with my parents for Father's Day...So how did. I do on this second attempt at last week's list? 1. tie the stitching sunshine project--done 2. baste or tie a few other projects-I got one other project started-I didn't think tying would be so hard with this unresolved pinched nerve... 3. finish the top of a charity quilt-still not done trimming 4. Continue organizing the craft room-the big thing I did was hang a few decorations and bought a shadow box for some of my grandma's sewing supplies.   Given the difficulties I'm having with tying and the estimate that my sewing machine won't be finished this week it's a pretty simple list. 1. Post my stitching sun

I had high hopes last Sunday for a nice productive week, and in some ways it was, but I woke up Monday with some issues that sent me to the doctor and they believe I have a pinched nerve.  It’s causing some activities with my left hand to be more challenging so quilting was slower than usual.  I spent more time reading and organizing.  1. write about this weekends camping trip-done 2. tie the stitching sunshine project-not done, but must happen this week 3. baste or tie a few other projects-not done 4. finish the top of a charity quilt-the Block’s are made  but I need to trim and get them together 5. Continue organizing the craft room- it’s coming together, but like any organization project it’s slower than I’d hoped.  I got it cleaned enough to bring in an old chair to do some hand work in there.  It didn’t match but I have a quilt we got at my great aunt’s sale that I could cover the chair with to match better. I still have some work to do but I’m pleased with how nice having the cha

     Knoebel's is a favorite summer and fall destination for us.  While we both enjoyed roller coasters when we were younger, we've been finding that they don't like us as much anymore so it is hard to justify the expense of a lot of parks. We try to go at least one time during the regular season and again for the Halloween event every year.  They also have a doggie dive in the pool the weekend after Labor Day that we enjoyed last year and are hoping to make a yearly event.  In the past when we've camped at Knoebel's we've always camped at the campground on site so we could walk to and from the park on our own schedule and enjoyed it.  This time we decided to visit the off site campground called Lake Glory since the park won't be open until at least July so distance to the park wasn't an issue.       Lake Glory was quieter, at least while we were there, and had more scenery to enjoy.      When we were still tent camping we liked the platform sites avai

This past week signaled the official end of our school year. It also marked the retirement of the teacher who had been my mentor my first year; so I gifted him this quilt our classes had done together as a Holocaust rememberance a couple years ago. I  usually give myself the first few days just for relaxing and doing what I want to do, but this year being home isn't such a novelty, so I got to work on organizing my craft room-after a trip to a second hand craft store on the last day of school that is. My celebratory purchases   We also decided to book another camping trip for this weekend, but closer to home this time.  The view from our campsite this weekend  So how did my list go? 1. work on my Stitching Sunshine blog hop project-I've got the top done 2. write about camping trips-done 3. clean the table for tying some quilts and basting the block of the month-I was so busy with the craft room that I didn't get to the table, maybe this week 4. more cl

Once we were finally able to camp we seem to have been making up for lost time.  We typically camp about every other weekend, but with nearly everything cancelled we didn't see a reason not to camp again the last weekend of May.  Prince Gallitzen is a huge campground (over 400 sites) but still has nicely spaced campsites.  One of the main attractions to this park is the lake which is over 1,600 acres. When we visited before they had a sunset photography class so we knew just how pretty the park is.  When I  booked the site there was only one site left that was both electric and pet friendly so having a view of the lake from our campsite was a pleasant surprise.  The bathhouse was relatively updated and very large.  My only complaint was that it was the type of shower where you hit the button for water and it lasts for a short time; I really prefer knobs so I don't have to restart it with shampoo in my hair.  Of course there weren't any park activities during this visit due

I certainly did not expect Memorial Day to be our first camping trip this year.  We had made reservations to camp at a state park in March and to be in Williamsburg for Memorial Day, but of course our reservations were cancelled.  When the state parks were finally able to begin reopening we chose Laurel Hill because it was located in a county we expected to be open and we'd visited before so we knew we enjoyed the area.  We had visited Fort Necessity and Johnstown from the camp on previous visits and every time we're in the area we've gone to Flight 93. Laurel Hill is a relatively secluded park but still close enough to town to conveniently go for items you've forgotten.  We found a little mennonite store between camp and town that has a dairy and bakery called Moo Echo. Through the closures one of my big concerns has been to support local business and we thoroughly enjoyed their breads-so much so that we had to stop on the way home and get another loaf.  There was als