2/13/20

A Day for Slow

We've seen the most beautiful sunrises here in Pahrump, and yesterday's was especially pretty.


Smitty looked the way I was feeling yesterday morning. I'd been three nights in a row with not enough sleep, and I could feel that weariness in my eyes. I vowed a nap right after breakfast.


We were waiting for Erik and Mae to join us for free waffles here in the park. In the meantime, I stitched up the day's inchy...a needle pulling thread. We'll be stitching the thread in the needle after we've made our way across the next few squares.


Erik and Mae arrived about that time, and we had our breakfast. They took off for a day in Las Vegas, and I made good on my threat to take a nap. It felt good, and I felt a lot better afterward. With so much energy, it seemed like a good time to do some slow-stitching. I stitched and stitched and stitched the day away. We took a break for some grocery shopping and to fill our propane tanks, but by day's end, the embroidery on the fifth snowflake was finished.


It still needed its beads.


After those were sewn on, I washed out the Sticky Fabri-Solvy and then pressed it for its picture. Ta-Da!


These are the five I have so far. The others have been folded in a zip-lock bag, and so they have a fold line down the middle.


Now they're all tucked away again, and I have the sixth one made up and ready for stitching. I'll do this one in the aqua blues too. All along as I've been stitching these, I've been bothered that the instructions suggest "straight stitches" for some of these short straight lines. Some of them (the one below, as an example) seem too long to leave just one uncouched stitch.


Then I realized I'm doing the largest of the snowflakes, and it really doesn't work for them. The pattern gives four different sizes, starting with 3 inches. Straight stitching might be fine there, but I'm doing them at 6 inches, and so twice as big. For most of them, I've done a back stitch or a stem stitch rather than the suggested straight stitch. I'll probably do this sixth snowflake all in stem stitch.

It was a lazy day for me, aside from slow-stitching. We had breakfast at the RV park, and then we got fast food for lunch while we were out grocery shopping. Then, for dinner, Mike cooked us up a mean leftover macaroni and cheese. He's a keeper, for sure. There was no cooking at all for me yesterday.


Erik and Mae are taking off for home this evening. I'm not sure what they have planned for their last day here, but we are meeting them at a cafe for breakfast this morning. Aside from that, we have no plans for our day. I'll probably get back to my hand quilting today.

Since I haven't shown Sadie on the blog for a few days, I'm offering up this proof of life photo. She's alive and well, running around, trying to eat the hummingbirds, and generally acting like the cat that she is. Here, she's practicing for her newest centerfold gig.


The day's inchy should be posted in about an hour, and that's where I'll start the day...after finishing up here, of course. Checking in with you guys is always my first priority. I believe we have our next stop planned. We're here in Pahrump until the 17th, and then we'll probably be driving north to Caliente, Nevada, where there are two state parks within a half-hour's drive of one another. I'll say more about that as the time draws nearer.

13 comments:

Crew at Cabin Central said...

Hi! Your snowflakes are so pretty! Nice job. Also, that is a great picture of Sadie. She looks pawtrait ready! Thanks for sharing your trip. I'm jealous because it is -10f here in WI today. Safe travels.

Denise :) said...

Sadie has her 'come hither' look. Smitty is always handsome, but he's particularly cute when he's sleeping! Hope you get some decent sleep soon. All of your stitcheries look so wonderful!!! :)

NancyA said...

Sadie and Smitty seem to be taking full advantage of your abundant sunshine! Those snowflakes are beautiful, can’t wait to see them in their final quilt setting. I am looking forward to your pix and info about Caliente. We have driven through there, but never explored. Be prepared for cooler weather since it is at 4400’ elevation. Hope you got your nap.

Julierose said...

You are doing a beautiful job on the snowflakes--so pretty...
I haven't begun inchies...but they are traced and colored in...
I figure when the time is right, I'll feel like doing them..;)))
Lovely sunrise--we are deep in the soggiest run of weather so far--heavy rains today and so gray it may as well be night...ugh...
nap time for me...hugs, Julierose

Sandra W said...

That is a lovely photo of Sadie. Most of the time her colouring hides her features. The body pose is also elegant.

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

Well--The kitties are looking like they are really enjoying RV life!! And your snowflakes are coming along beautifully-- as is the Crabapple stitching--and fun times with the kido's--have a great day--
luv, di

Cathy said...

We just got home from a week in Arizona and spent last night in Las Vegas. We saw a lovely sunrise (and lots of early morning commuting traffic) this morning. Our first stop upon arriving in Salt Lake was to pick up the kitties from prison, er - I mean their “boarding vacation”. They are still speaking to us, but Darla is hiding some papers that I think is a manifesto of some sort....

Linda said...

You've made such good choices for threads on those snowflakes. It's nice to see them all together like that; they are gorgeous. I'm thinking of making mine as ornaments for our Christmas tree this year, so I'll probably do a smaller size.
Sadie is beautiful. She reminds me of the two small, shy and sweet torties my daughter used to have.

piecefulwendy said...

Those snowflakes are so pretty. We have another frigid day here - we are at -15 (feels like -26) so we are tucked in and not leaving the house. We didn't even bother to get the mail yesterday. Glad you had a day to catch up on rest. Mac & cheese sounds like the perfect meal to end the day!

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

That sky pic is my very favorite color combo. Your flakes look great. I love how they look with the solvy washed out. I gotta get going on my next project. I have to stop taking a nap too. It interferes with my night sleeping.
xx, Carol

Happy Valentine Day

Kate said...

Love those snowflake blocks! Hope Erik and Mae had a great time during their visit. I'm behind on the blog reading, so am playing catch up this morning. You got some great shots of Death Valley. Enjoy the weekend.

Becky said...

Thanks so much for sharing your travels with us. I love all the pictures and commentary you add. I even show my hubby so he can travel along, too! Love too the shenanigans of the kitties.

quiltzyx said...

What a lovely sunrise! Makes it worth waking up, doesn't it?

Smitty & Sadie look to be enjoying their RV-ing time. But they make me ready for a nap too.