Waylaid

Good morning, my friends! Things are looking up weather wise. For the first time in about a week, I can say there was no new snow yesterday. And...bonus...the temperature was above freezing when we awakened this morning. I think we might escape snowpocalypse 2023 by the skin of our teeth. 

There isn't a lot to report from yesterday because I got waylaid planning our fall ATV trip to Colorado and Utah. That's a long time from now, but I'll be wanting to make reservations at some of the state parks along the way. When it comes to state parks, reservations are best made well in advance. 

The morning was progressing as usual, and I was going along fine with my slow stitching. Yesterday's "assignment" was to stitch in the words, "Time to Stitch." As everyone knows, it's always time to stitch.

With that finished, I had some laundry to fold, and one housekeeping chore. I had the day off from the Chamber of Horrors. (Today will be my day again.) 

When that was all finished, I went back to work quilting the leaves. The newest leaf is fairly symmetrical. I've been using this book for inspiration all along. It's a good book with some beautiful examples of feather quilting. I note this is Volume One. There are so many good ones in here, I'm not sure another volume is necessary.

With this new leaf being so evenly shaped, it seemed like a good time to try out some of the motifs in the book. For this first one, it began with a traditional feather, and then the loops were filled in with two hooks. Also, I outlined the whole thing when I was finished with the feather.

For this next one, I went up either side of the center vein with traditional feathers. It ends up in an upside-down heart shape. I kind of like this.

For the next one, I went in the opposite direction, beginning at the pointy end of the leaf. It was a traditional feather and then filled with two points.

I didn't like starting at the pointy end as much, and so I turned it back around and did another traditional feather filled in with a loop and three spokes. Then I outlined the whole thing again.

Luckily, Smitty was standing guard at the top of the stairs, making sure my quilting time was uninterrupted.

So, here's where I got waylaid. Our trip this fall will be another ATV-riding adventure. We're at an age where this might well be the last time we do this. This trip will take us to the Crested Butte area of Colorado, and then we'll do a little more riding in the "Needles District" near Canyonlands National Park. From there, we'll loop around to the southern part of Utah to see some national monuments and state parks we've wanted to see for a long time. They were on the agenda for our last trip to Colorado, but then the weather caused us to reroute. We'll reach those areas at the beginning of October, and so I'm hopeful the weather will be more cooperative this time.

Here's where the route stands now. I keep thinking of little things I could add, and so it's still something of a work in progress. 

It's still a long time before we're ready to leave, and we have some other camping trips planned in the meantime. It's always fun planning a trip. I think I have almost as much fun planning the trip as I have when we actually go.

With that at least partly nailed down, I spent the rest of my sewing day on the Winter Wonder piece. I've filled the next part of my hoop, and moved to the right.

So aside from being my day on the Bowflex The Rack, we're doing our grocery shopping. Later this afternoon, I'll do a little more quilting, and then I'll get back to the New Mexico Kitchen quilt. That might be a lot to fit into a single day, but I'll give it the old college try. 

The only other thing I've been thinking about is the next block for the Heritage Quilt. The next page in the pamphlet from Homestead National Monument is the good old "Log Cabin" block.

The second line of the explanation, "Fence by the Palmer-Epard Cabin" refers to the place where the block can be seen at the national monument. The story behind it gives some information I didn't know. I'm waiting for the color of the month to be announced at So Scrappy. I'm kind of tempted to make it red, since the center square of the block is traditionally red. If I jump the gun and it turns out to be a different color, I can always trade months on the colors. Now that I've started thinking about this, I'm itching to make the block.

Okay, so that's about it for today's blather. It's time for breakfast, and then, don't you know I'm just electrified by the thought of working out on The Rack. I'd like to get that done before we leave for the grocery store because I know I won't do it if I wait until we get back. Trying to maintain an exercise routine is a slippery slope. It's easy to decide against it.

Just now I looked out the window. Snow is falling again. Sigh.