Growth of a Stitchery

Yesterday I moved the hoop on the Hocuspocusville block, and then took a picture of it.

We were heading off to the RV show in a while, but I still had time for some more stitching. With that in mind, I stitched the next little bit there on the right. And then, it was time to move my hoop again, so I took a picture of it and continued on my way.

In between that image and the next one, we went to the RV show. I'll tell you about that in a second, but this morning, I stitched a little more before readying to move my hoop again.

So, you can see that this is moving right along. I stopped this morning when it was time to unwrap and wind another skein of floss onto my card...always a joy with cats around.

And, this being Sunday, I'm linking up to Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy's Quilts.

As for the RV show, we've been salivating over the slightly more luxurious truck campers on the market right now. If you can believe it, one even has a king-sized bed! Of course, these larger heavier models require one of the duel-axle trucks, which are ugly as sin (sorry...no offense intended, if one of you owns such a truck). Nevertheless, we are old people, and there are certain features about ours that make our bones creak, and our moods cranky. Without going into all of that, we're dreaming of a larger more luxurious model, and this was the first one we went into yesterday.

For one thing, the entry door is on the side rather than on the back as traditional truck campers have always been. That means that the awning is also on the side, and that works better when you're stopped camping somewhere. The tables are always to the side in most campgrounds, not to the rear. So here, I was standing toward the back side of the camper looking toward the front. That's a nice kitchen on the right side of the image, but I'm not fond of those peninsulas. The space between the peninsula and the back wall is too narrow, and it makes getting in and out of the cupboards there less than ideal. Still...a nice kitchen. I'd cook there for sure.

The mirrored door on the left in that image above leads into the bathroom. Another thing we don't like about our rig is our "wet bath". That simply means that the entire bathroom becomes your shower. Now, having a shower and a bathroom in a truck camper is nothing to sneeze at. But again, we're old and there's something about that tiny "wet bath" that makes our old bones creak, and our moods turn cranky. 

So with that in mind, take a look at this bathroom. It's almost as nice as the bathroom in our larger fifth wheel, with a real  and separate shower!

These models are built so that they sit on the rails of the truck bed rather than being nestled into the bed itself. That means that one no longer has to climb up into the bed. The whole floor is raised up so that it's just a big step up. I'd probably put a little folding step stool there to make it even easier to get into and out of the bed. This is the same size bed that we have in our current camper, and we've been very comfortable there. Mike did a great job choosing a memory foam topper for the mattress and the large queen sized sleep sack that makes it easier to make the bed.

Also, I like that U-shaped dinette

and the larger refrigerator.

It was hard to take pictures of these rigs because there were a lot of people in and out. In a generous moment, I was trying not to be the obnoxious woman taking pictures of everything and everyone...a sacrifice to be sure. We did see the rig we'd like to buy. They've been in production long enough that there are used ones on the market. I don't have a picture of the actual rig, but you can see the floor plan from the manufacturer's site below. 

Where the "sofa shelf" is, there is an option for "theater seating" meaning two recliners connected by a middle console. They're quite comfy. As it is, we're limited to sitting at the table when we're just hanging out inside, which is less than comfortable. If you're curious to see more about this rig, you can see it on the manufacturer's site right here. 

We had Erik along with us yesterday. As I said, both boys have expressed an interest in RVing recently. Neither of them are really in a position to be purchasing one right now, but it's fun that they're interested in looking. Erik was looking at the "B" class van style campers and at the A-frame folding trailers. Just listening to him talk about what features he liked and hearing him dream about how he'd use such a rig was great fun.

It's been raining off and on, but not the deluge we were promised...and that's just fine with me. The kitties don't seem to mind. Gracie especially likes to go outside and lick the water from the puddles that form on the patio. Smitty just likes it when Gracie goes outside, and he follows her out. When they come in, Smitty shakes off like a dog, flinging water everywhere. Both kitties like it when we dry their fur off with towels. It's surprising how little soaks in. Just wiping them off with an old t-towel gets their fur remarkably dry. 

So today I'm going to continue on with the quilting for the Doors of Ireland. The green "X" squares in the image show the progress I've made since the last time. It's moving along, slowly, but surely.

It'll be good when all of the Irish chain blocks are finished so that I can move on to some of the more detailed work in the door blocks. For now, I'm avoiding switching out my thread color. It's a pain to rethread the mid-arm machine, and so I stick with one color for as long as I can.

Also today, I'm going to make up some spiced chai concentrate. It's a little like grown-up hot chocolate, and it's nice to have around on a chilly day. You can make up a big batch of it, and then when you want to drink it, you mix one part chai concentrate with one part milk, heat it in the microwave, and enjoy. Here's a link to the recipe I've been using.

Also, I'm trying a new baking project. I saw this recipe for Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread the other day, and it sounded pretty darned good to me. Here's the picture that was published in the NY Times:

(image source)

I'll have to let you know how it turns out tomorrow. Since I still have frozen cranberries from last year, it seems like a good way to put them to use and make way for this year's crop.

It's on track to be a relaxed and good-smelling Sunday. How are you spending your day?