Vacation

 I love these women!  Love doing life with them.  We counted and this was our 17th vacation together.  So much fun.

   It was our first time vacationing on Whidbey Island. The house we rented was right smack dab on the beach.  Gorgeous views.

The weather was amazing. A lot of time was spent on the deck soaking in the sunshine.

I didn't really get much sewing done this year.  I was thinking I'd do tons without the puppy around but....girlfriend fun is just as distracting!   :)

I had hoped to finish up the Norway quilt but I only managed to get a few blocks done. I still have two left to do.  

We often do a group project.  This year we all made a Simple Little Pouch from Bloomin' Workshop. Its a decent sized pouch - 12 inches long.  

Thanking God every day for the love of good friends!  Couldn't imagine life without them.

Hand Quilting

I decided to hand quilt the middle portion of my Circular Reasoning quilt. Once done I'll machine quilt a spiral around all the letters.  Its going fast for me!!!  :)   Helps that I let go of how my stitches look.  I'm simply enjoying the rhythm of stitching.

I brought the quilt on my vacation with my Yaya's. I wasn't the only with a quilt in a hoop!  Melis took a picture of the three of us at work.  First time we've all been doing hand quilting at the same time.  Just had to share.

Linking up with Let's Bee Social over at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Beach Projects

I've written many times about my best friends. My Yaya's.  Every year we head to the Washington coast for a winter get-away of fun.   Our vacation always starts with a stop at Starbucks:

This year 3 of us turned 50 (M turned 50 two years ago) and were presented with our Tiara's.  We wore them all day on our way to the coast.  :)

This New Wave quilt was my main project.  We had such beautiful weather this year that I was able to get a picture outside.   I used Valori Wells fabric...most from her Nest collection.  I LOVE these fabrics. 

I also made my first journal cover. There are tons of free tutorials online and I read a bunch to see how they were made.   I chose to make a pretty plain one so I could see how it went.  I'm always a bit nervous about non-quilt sewing.   I love these Echino prints.   

I added a pocket for my pen.  I think I made it too skinny cuz it pulls.  Next time I'll allow more.

Remember this Mini Stacked Strips wall hanging I made.  Well I took the itty bitty scraps and made a Mini Mini one!   The strips are 1/2 inch and the whole thing is only 9 inches by 18 inches.  Some colors are missing because I didn't have enough.  But its still so cute.  That makes 3 of these Stacked Strips quilts from one Kona solids jelly roll.   :)

We had some amazing sunrises and sunsets.  

Nighty night!   :)

My Yaya's

This was the only group picture I got of all of us Yaya's on my 50th birthday bash.  We were in the bathroom taking the shot via the mirror.....such a Yaya thing to do!    

Once I borrow a few more shots from the girls, I can show you the fun things they had me (us) do that day.

Beach Projects

I just had 3 fabulous days of fun at the beach with my Yaya's.  This was our tenth time to go to the Washington coast for a girls get-away.   We spend our time creating, eating, laughing, walking on the beach (though, this year the weather didn't cooperate much), hot tubbing, dancing,  talking....and talking....and talking.  :)

I was more productive than usual.  Here are pictures of two of my favorite finishes.

LOVE this bag!  This is a pattern by Kathy Mack of Pink Chalk called "Mail Sack".  Isn't that fabric gorgeous?

We all made fabric wrapped clothesline bowls this year.  Mine is the bright long skinny one in the foreground.   I added a fun circular embellishment on the side....and may add some beads, not sure yet.  I made one of these bowls before....super easy.

Every time I finish projects I'm always motivated to finish more.   It's time to start digging in my unfinished project bins.   :)

Fabric Friday

Last Monday was Yaya day and we girls went to Vashon Island to see their quilt shop.  They are famous for carrying a HUGE amount of Kaffe Fasset fabrics.  Take a look at the wall of Kaffe:

That's a wall 4 bolts high!   I think we counted about 600 bolts on this wall alone.

These are the ones I choose:

Tink selected some for a quilt for her sister who is getting married this summer:

                                      

Melissa didn't buy Kaffe but found some other lovelies for a quilt for her guest room:

Yvonne had fun watching us spend our money:

                       
                           Oh I also found two more fabrics to add to my junk food collection:

Fun day.   Will definitely have to go there again.   

Beach Projects

Projects are always a part of my beach vacation.  I don't usually get much done for being gone 3 whole days but hey...productivity isn't the point of vacation!   :)

This is the little bag I made one day.  I'm not so patient with little things.....I get frustrated quickly and spend a lot of time sighing and sitting there wanting to quit but determined not to.  The girls would tell you I whine a bunch.   Not sure what I'll do with it.   It's called "Puffy Pouch".

I did a little sewing on some quilt blocks but didn't take any pics. 

But here is Tink sewing away on a lovely bag she made:

 Melis brought her watercolors this year and did some beautiful flowers:

Melis and Yvonne were my mentors on jewelry making.  Doing beadwork is another "little things" project....which means Cindy was whining.  I think I was complaining about my fingers feeling like they were the size of bratwurst and the girls were teasing me. 

Playing with Henna was a new thing this year.  It was fun!

This wasn't a project but it was a first in our 10 years of winter beach vacationing.   Tink and I put on our suits and went in the ocean.  It was all Tink's idea.......I went along for the dare.....we weren't even drinking at this point!  LOL!!  So this is the proof  that we actually went in.  I was a wimp and didn't get very far out in the water.....my poor feet were numb within a minute! 

One quick pic before we jumped in the fabulous hot tub to warm up!

Thanks girls for a fun filled 3 days.  Till next year!

Beach Memories

My three days at the beach were loads of fun.  Us girls continued many traditions from the past....good food, laughter, movie watching, projects to work on, beach walks, lots of talk....as well as adding some new ones.

One new thing was the house we stayed in.  Last year we had to find a new house that was cheaper than the one we'd been renting but we didn't like it enough to go back.  So this year the search was on and we succeeded!  This new place rocked!  I sure hope they don't raise the rent and we can continue to stay here.

Isn't it lovely?  

This is the view outside from the master suite upstairs:

We stayed on the Washington coast in the town of Moclips.  What I love about Moclips is how close the beach is to the houses.  No cliffs.....the dunes are small....its so dang close!  Even though we go in winter, we always have nice days for beach walking:

That's it for now.  Later I'll share some of the projects we worked on.  :)

Beach fun...here we come!

Kindred Yaya's of the past.....at the beach....with their trophies for dancing.

It's that time of year again.  Time to pack up too much food and liquor....time to pack way more projects than a girl could possible do in 3 days (when there is dancing to be done)....time to pack the Ambien so some sleep will happen....time to kiss hubby good-bye........time to head to the beach........YAYA VACATION time!   Woo hoo.  Let the fun begin!

River Search

Remember I told you about the Yaya's weekly themed photo challenge for this year?   Well, this weeks theme was "Book I'm Reading".
The book I'm reading is called "Yukon Lady: A Tale of Loyalty and Courage".   True story about a gal named Emma who moved to the Yukon in the early 1900's as a new bride.   There were lots of things I could have chosen as my picture(s) for the week:  cribbage, Husky dogs, sourdough, glaciers, etc.    They lived on the Stewart River and the river was central to life for them.  That's why I chose "river" as my pic for the week.

Getting a river picture meant a field trip for hubby and I.  So this morning we took off across the Hood Canal bridge in search of the Quilcene River.   We parked at Rainbow campground and hiked a short distance down to the river.

Dennis and Bonnie on the way down the trail.

Some mushrooms we saw.  Love how plentiful fungi are here in the NW.  For some reason they have always interested me.

And here she is, the mighty Quilcene River.

Dennis dinking at the rivers edge.

Me on the way back UP the trail...lots of stops to catch my breath.

We finished our little adventure with lunch at the Timber House in Quilcene.  Yummy, yummy food.  I highly recommend this place if you're in the area.

Project 365 is over!

I did it!  I finished!    Last year I decided to join a fellow Yaya in doing this "Project 365".   I'm not a photography hobbyist but thought it'd be an interesting way to look at my year when I was done......which it is!    Plus I LOVE doing stuff with my Ya's!    You can read about the start of the project for me here.

This year all four of us Yaya's are gonna do a photo project but not a picture a day.  I couldn't handle that again!  :)     Instead we have picked theme's for each week of the year and will take pics according to the theme.   Our first week's theme is "Doors/Doorways".   I haven't "found" my pic of the week yet but have some idea's.  

Here's to another year of camera carrying and clicking!

A Yaya Turns 50

"I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find - at the age of fifty, say - that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about...It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you."

Agatha Christie

Happy Birthday, Miss MamaMama! We love you.

Charm Bracelets

A while ago us Yaya's started talking about making/gathering charms that would represent parts of our friendship...both the serious and the funny. M & Y came up with the idea of making bracelets to showcase our charms. Coolio! We've collected a few charms and a few were made (thanks to M & Y). And last Friday we set to work on the bracelets. Here we are with our supplies ready to go:

Lots of laughter, of course!

This is my bracelet in progress. All of us chose the same design of three strands of beads. The differences are in which beads we chose and where we put our charms.

M & I have finished! Woo hoo.

Here's my finished product! I love it! There are still charms to be added that we haven't made yet. But they are easy to incorporate later.

Such a fun project loaded with memories!

Another Petite Yaya Quilt

When my daughter Jennifer turned 18 many years ago, I wanted to give her a quilt made by the adult women in her life who were close to me & her. You've read about the Yaya's before and how special they are in my life...well, they also hold a special place in Jenn's heart. You can read her blog about her Yaya quilt here. I know she feels loved when she looks at her quilt and I also hope it reminds her about the value of friendship....we women need each other!

Well, another of the Yaya daughters had some significant milestones in the past year (marriage and moving away) that I thought would be great to celebrate with another sampler quilt made by us Ya's. This young lady loves that bright spring/lime green color and wanted something psychedelic. This is the fabric I found for our focus:

It's a Kaffe Fassett fabric called "Millefiore" and I thought it fit what she wanted nicely. Isn't it fun?

Here is top that I just finished yesterday:

Each Yaya made a block, Jennifer made one also and I made two. Tink helped me with finishing. It's a bright and happy quilt, don't you think? I can't wait to get it quilted and then on it's way to its new home to warm the heart of another daughter. We love you, S!