Unexpectedly early

I anticipated my next post would be Saturday, August 31, because we planned a 5-day camping trip to Mt. Rainier.  We expected to see something like this, as we have had a beautiful summer this year.

Well, we've not been very lucky with weather on our camping trips, and this was no exception.  We did not see the mountain.  We didn't even drive up to Paradise, which is where this picture was taken.  We didn't eat a single meal outside.  We didn't go for a hike.  We had only one fire, and that one was enjoyed for only a short while.

I'm sure you can guess by now - we saw rain, rain and more rain.  We checked the weather forecast before we left, which called for partial clouds and some showers.  They certainly failed on that forecast!

We left two days early and got home about 5:30 that night.  We were both exhausted, as the rain was so loud on our camper roof that we didn't get much sleep.  I didn't even unpack the cooler until this morning, as their was plenty of ice left to keep everything cold.  I slept 10 hours last night! 

We have one more trip planned - a stay on the ocean in September.  I'm really hoping we will finally have sunshine.

I'm going to do the drawing for patterns later today.  So if you know anyone who hasn't entered yet please let them know.

We had a lot of fun . . .

but really missed our DIL Chelsea and our oldest and youngest granddaughters.  Lily had gotten over the virus that caused her to miss our daughter's birthday celebration the Saturday before.  Both of the other girls had gotten it, however, and of course Mom stayed home with them.  All were disappointed - those staying home and those camping.

Our weather was good - cooling off at night and mid-80's during the day.  I'm sure it felt great to wade in the creek water!  (My balance isn't good enough to do it anymore I'm sorry to say.)

We played lots of games, ate good food, and enjoyed visiting with family who came.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

We are back from camping.

More or less unpacked and showered.  It was a great weekend but I'm really tired.  I need to eat something then take it easy for the rest of the evening.  Once again it is hotter than I like - 87 today.  Our weekend campsite location gets every bit as hot as it does here at home, and packing up the trailer and getting it hooked to the car is hot work that saps my energy.  I'll write a much better post tomorrow.

Calling it "Good Enough"

Doing this was giving me all kinds of trouble until I decided to bite the bullet and release the elastic for 20" or so at the top and bottom.  When I wasn't fighting with elastic it went fairly quickly.  I took a good 10" out of the width of the sheets.  The pockets are still too deep, but I'm just going to tuck the extra under the mattresses when I make the beds.  I won't get to the top sheets before we leave, but I can work with the extra when it doesn't have elastic stretched around the edges!  And once I cut out all the extra material, sewing the elastic back in place on each end was a snap.

The length could be adjusted a bit also, but that doesn't have to happen before this camping trip.  The weather is going to be in the mid to high 80's, so two quilts apiece will probably be plenty.  We may find that we sleep on top of most of the bedding, as it isn't supposed to get very cold at night.  We won't be much above sea level this time, and that makes a big difference. 

I'm really looking forward to this time with the kids and grandkids!

We are home again

 On Wednesday morning we hitched the tent trailer to the Highlander and took off for a 5-day camping trip.  This time we  went to La Pine State Park - 27 miles south of Bend, Oregon, in the high desert.  This was our "anniversary trip" to celebrate 44 years of marriage.  When I made the reservations the extended weather forecast called for temperatures in the 70's, with the weather getting warmer each day.  Instead the temps were in the 60's with a cold wind blowing, and rain at night.  Finally on Saturday the skies cleared and the warm weather arrived, followed Saturday night and Sunday by rain.  We aren't having the best of luck weather-wise this year!

Nevertheless we had a great time.  We went into Bend on Friday for an anniversary dinner at Balthazar's Mexican Seafood Restaurant (no website).  We had one of the most fabulous eating out experiences we've had in a long time!  We went into town early enough that I was able to visit all three Bend quilt shops - fun!

I focused on big stitch quilting while there, and was able to finish another quilt top and start quilting a fourth.  It feels so good to be getting so much accomplished!  Once I finish quilting the fourth quilt - the one I'm doing now - I'll get them all bound.  I should be able to do that by the end of the month even if I don't accomplish anything else.

Angel Dance, designed by Jan Patek

 I'm feeling the desire to applique again, so I've tucked the featherweight into the bottom of its cabinet and put the table top into place on the top.  I hope to prep a bunch of applique this week  in addition to quilting and binding.

We are home . . . and glad to be here.

We had a great trip, but we are glad to be home.  We got here about 1:15 this afternoon.  (And my email problems are solved now that I'm not trying to send them out over hotel wi-fi connections.)  We covered 2510 miles in 10 days.  The last two days I got to visit a few quilt shops, but before that we were too busy doing other things.  I like to stop at quilt shops when travelling because I believe in supporting the owners in their labor of love.  Where would be be without them?

Here are my purchases from the trip - except the fabric I can't show because it is for gifts rather than quilts.  Most is French General by Moda.  This is a designer that came on the scene while I was knitting and spinning, so I'm just discovering her wonderful fabrics.  They are definitely my colors and style!  I have a small amount of yardage - two large prints and three background prints.  I have two jelly rolls and four charm packs.  That is plenty for a souvenir quilt.

I would dearly love some suggestions as to the pattern I should use for this quilt.  I have so many books, magazines and patterns there are too many to choose from.  I like complex piecing, and I also like simple piecing.  I'd like this to be pieced so I can sew it quickly, but a little applique would be OK.

Please tell me what pattern you would use if you brought these fabrics home.

And yes, a few other things just happened to sneak in.  A beautiful large print by Jo Morton that I've never seen, and needed to add to my Jo Morton stash.  A book I found intriguing.  Some dish towels and iron-on designs, as I also love to embroider.  A jelly roll - Indigo Crossing by Minick and Simpson - that I really don't need.  It jumped into my bag all on its own - it must have!  Surely I wouldn't cheat on my no-buy pledge!  (Crossing my fingers behind my back.)

I also found quite a few things waiting for me when I got home.  Did I mention how much I love books?  And that quilt history books are NOT part of my no buy pledge?  What did you say? 

You think you see a couple books that don't qualify?  I didn't hide them well enough, did I.  What can I say - I love books.  And since I gave almost 300 quilting books to the local library last year - most of which were in like-new condition, I figured I could toss in 3 or 4 that technically are cheating.  I promise - I won't do this very often at all.

I'm closing with a picture of today's lunch - my last hurrah.  Tomorrow I go back on Weight Watchers, starting with a weigh-in first thing tomorrow morning.  I'm afraid it isn't going to be pretty.

Our last stop on the Pacific coast was Tillamook, Oregon - home of the famous Tillamook Cheese factory.  We wanted ice cream - and boy, did I have ice cream!  We've been there several times before, including taking the fascinating tour to watch cheese being made.  Today we just had ice cream - we were too tired to do anything else.

It feels so good to be back in my sewing room.  Tomorrow I might even get to sew something!

To wash or not to wash . . . .?

I have always washed my fabric as soon as it comes into the house.  It has never gone into the sewing room without being washed first.  I followed the good advice given by a very well known professional quilter - I'd link to the article but I can't find it now!

That was before charm packs, jelly rolls, layer cakes and scrap grab bags entered my quilting life.  I would spend a great deal of time and possibly have an outright disaster if I tried to wash these.  I know some wash them in mesh bags, but I know I don't have enough of any particular color to make a load.

So I'm curious.  Do you or don't you prewash your quilting fabrics?  Why or why not?  If you don't, have you had any problems because you haven't?  If you do, what do you do with all the ready-cuts available to us now?

I really, really would like your opinions, etc.  I have a big decision to make here.  Please leave me a comment with your thoughts and/or procedures.

Update:  Not only can I not send email from the computer - now the emails I've tried to send from my phone aren't being sent either.  And worst of all - I can't seem to comment on any of the blogs I'm reading!  I'm asked for my ID, I choose my Google account, but my ID doesn't appear and my comment disappears!  I'm sorry about that, as I've tried to post at least a couple dozen comments in the last couple days.  Rats!

Leaving you with a few more  pictures from our vacation:

Badwater - the lowest point below sea level in the United States

The Charles Schultz Museum in Santa Rosa was a LOT of fun

I don't call this cheating . . . .

After all, a girl needs to bring home at least a few souvenirs from vacation -  wouldn't you agree?  And what better thing than quilt shop souvenirs?

The fabric is from the Moda "Chateau Rouge" collection by French General, as is the jelly roll and one of the charm packs.  The other charm pack is La Belle Fleur by French General.

 
Besides the Quilt Sampler, I also bought the 2012-2014 Quilter's Travel Companion.  I know I missed many quilt shop opportunities on our way to Death Valley, then coming back to Santa Rosa and on up the coast.  I didn't worry too much about it as there wasn't time to stop.  We were driving 500-600 miles a day after leaving home and between our two destinations.  We meandered up the California Coast on Highway 1 yesterday and today, so I had time to stop at Scottie Dog Quilts in Eureka CA.  We are heading home tomorrow by way of Highway 101 on the Oregon coast, and there are several shops I want to see before we get home.  I also figured I'd need this info when we take our planned trip to Utah in the fall.

I'm going to make a quilt with just this fabric - it will be my souvenir from this trip.  Obviously it will be small.  I'm already thinking about ideas.  I will allow myself to start this when I get home, as I've been so good at finishing UFO's.

More pictures from our trip:

Tonight's motel won't let me send email either.  The motel WI-FI doesn't seem to recognize the way my email server is set up on the laptop.  And I don't have a clue how to fix it -- our kids are our computer gurus.

I'm currently at 9959 published comments (I got rid of the spam comments).  That means the 41st comment from now is the winner of one of my HSY's.  Comment away, my faithful readers!