Starting on the sun room...

The front of our house faces south, and we wanted to take advantage of all the potential for solar gain.  We are building a sun room addition to the front.  It should be a nice spot to spend sunny winter days.  We are usually blessed with abundant sunshine here.

We decided to go with a colored cement for the floor which we plan to seal with polyurethane.  Should be more durable than painting which is what we did with my sewing room part of the garage.  

I also finished quilting another donation quilt from Yetta. As always I'm so grateful to have friends that help with my chosen cause.  Of course getting little notes and pictures helps keep me motivated...

One more

I got one more quilt done before Monday's delivery to Dr. Kaufman.  This was Judy H.'s mystery quilt which she kindly gave to our cause.  I was able to take an even half dozen, and though there was a bit of a lull of newly diagnosed diabetic kids during the summer, Dr. K. was expecting it to pick up again.

I also made a couple of "taggies" for the boys.  I'd been saving clothing tags for some time, and I hope they'll enjoy the different textures and colors.  I backed them with flannel, and didn't use batting.
I'll be heading up to Colorado a week from Friday, and I can't wait to see what they're up to now.  I couldn't wait for my babies' milestones, but now I know how fleeting that time is, and I want to savor it with grandbabies. 

One for me

So, in between finishing a number of charity quilts, I managed to get one done for us.  After our last trip with the camper it became evident that the quilt that's been on the queen bed for a while, didn't really cover two people simultaneously. Most of the time it's not a problem because I'm frequently too warm for any covers--a definite shift from my youth.


While I was at BCI, I was able to get a new top done from a friend's borrowed BQ3 pattern.  It's a great pattern for prints that you don't want to cut up, and can showcase the fabric.  It's going to be an improvement, and the smaller quilt can be for the couch in the camper which opens up into a double bed.

The next quilt comes with a warning.  Stand back.  It's best viewed from a distance...do you have a horse you can gallop by as you look at it?  I used to be less afraid to do free motion (not a pantograph) quilting when I was newer at this.  Now I seem to prefer pantos all the time.  But I gave myself permission to just go for it on this little quilt, which I put together from orphan blocks from Chris' stash.  I suppose if I don't get more practice, I'm never going to feel confident in my ability to do anything except pantographs.  Just don't look too closely, I sure don't need to anyone to point out the imperfections...I bet I can find more than anyone else, but maybe it'll just cheer up a child's hospital stay...

Getting some quilts done

I was able to get three quilt tops done while at Bear Cabin.  I used orphan blocks from Linda H. to put together a "hockey" quilt.  Also had flannel with hockey motifs for the backing.  It's nice to be able to make some quilts that work for boys.  

I also put together a four patch with fabrics I got in February from Chris' stash.  Chris was a hostess at the AZ retreat I attend, and lost her battle with pancreatic cancer earlier this year.  It made a bright, cheery quilt.

 

I enlarged this liberated pieced center also from Chris' stash for another bright quilt.

  It's so much easier for me to get tops done when I have some orphans or pieces parts to work with.  I also bordered this panel of tropical birds for another quick quilt.

 

Quilt camp

I had a lot to do on my return home.  I had two big queen quilts to quilt for Pat.  I wanted to get them done so that I could take them with to a planned trip to Bear Cabin Inn where I was meeting up with friends from Phoenix.  

I did get them done, but not without a hiccup.  Measure twice, cut once is a lesson I keep having to learn.  I measured out lengths of backing--Pat had bought lots of homespun yardage to use for backing.  I sewed the lengths together, loaded them on the longarm frame...and I thought it looked a little short.  I place the quilt top on the backing, and it is--very short.  I had to take it off the frame and add pieces to each of three lengths.  Arrrggghh!  No pictures of the finished quilts.  I meant to do that at the retreat where we could have tall people hold up the quilts, but forgot.

Got back and quilted a top for Yetta, who had so kindly donated a number of tops for Dr. Kaufman, and also a finished quilt.  

Grandbabies!!

We finished off our vacation staying with the kids.  The boys have grown so much, and we were there to enjoy watching their first forays with solid food.

It was a wonderful visit.  We came home to clearer skies.   Fortunately, the fire near Los Alamos, was north of us and not a factor in our air quality.
 

Lava Hot Springs, ID

As far as our trip goes, we saved the best for last.  We discovered Lava Hot Springs, ID.  We camped in town at the KOA before discovering our favorite spot, Big Spring campground just north of the town of Lava Hot Springs.  It was everything we wanted...Cooler high country, early spring flowers, not too many people.

 


We spent our days just lazing around, and every evening we went to town to enjoy the huge pool and then finish off with a soak in the hotter pools.  The water was amazingly clear with no sulfur odor, and very hot.  It was one of the best hot springs we've ever been to. 

On our way to Colorado to finish our trip we went through Soda Springs, and caught their captive geyser. It was pretty spectacular.  

We also filled up a couple of bottles with their natural soda water from the spring.  Dale enjoyed it...I preferred my store bought bubbly water.  

Also happened to catch the slag pour at the Monsanto plant near there.  Probably the closest I'll get to what looks like an active volcano.  

The drive through Wyoming and Colorado was uneventful, though I have to grit my teeth and just get through Denver.  I don't enjoy going through traffic in a big rig.  

Jordanelle SP, UT

We headed north in search of cooler weather, and made our home at Jordanelle SP for a few days.  We checked out Bridal Veil Falls for a day.  


The surrounding mountains were still covered with snow, and our attempts to go to higher country were met with closed roads.  

We did find a nice picnic spot with a field of wild irises.


Also had dinner in Park City, home of the Sundance Film Festival. 

Moab and Arches NP

We made our way to Arches NP, and of course the NP was full, but we actually found a great place to camp after one night in private park in Moab.  

Upon recommendation from a park ranger, we camped at Sand Flats Recreation Area, just above Moab.  There was no water or electric, but we filled up with water before heading up, and we had solar panels.  Our setup worked great.  

We spent most of our days checking out Arches NP.  The number of arch formations there were unreal.  The number of people made it less desirable to us.  It's a busy national park, and it's easy to see why.  We were happy to return to our less populated campground every evening.   

It started heating up, and we were ready to leave in search of more remote places, but not before being rewarded with a gorgeous sunset.

Capitol Reef NP

Capitol Reef was amazing.  I was surprised that we were able to go towards the end of June and not be roasting.  I really thought we'd have to head north more quickly, and skip Arches National Park.  

We did one impressive hike to Hickman Bridge.  My "new" (TKR) knee held up pretty well, the other knee complained a bit.  The trail is pretty easy follow, and well worth the reward.

Petroglyphs are within easy view of the park road.  I want to try my hand at making my own with the Dremmel tool on sandstone.