Tulip Time

It was a rainy and windy day yesterday. It was a good day for sewing. My goal was to sew together the quilt top I'd kitted up before we left home back in December...this one.

All the pieces were cut. It was just a matter of sewing everything together. Smitty was my helper cat for this. When he wasn't overseeing my sewing efforts...

He was keeping an eye out for invading forces.

We were keeping a special eye on this thug hummingbird viciously guarding the feeder. (This was the first day we've had visitors to our hummingbird feeder.)

So, like I said, the pieces were all cut. The first step was to make 16 half square triangles and then trim them to two inches.

Next, I created the bottoms of the tulips.

And then, I laid them out with their points.

The points were sewn together...

And then they were sewn to the bottom of the flowers.

Next, I created the leaves. It was a little tricky trying to understand the directions. I wanted eight total divided half and half into mirror images.

Then, I sewed the top to create the leaf shape...one for each side of the flower.

A small strip was then sewn to the top.

And then they were sewn together with a "stem" down the center.

Then, I sewed the flowers to the stems and leaves.

And then they were sewn into a row.

The next step was to make 16 more half square triangles, and then trim them to 3-1/2 inches.

Then, they were sewn into pinwheels.

And then the pinwheels were sewn into a row.

The next step was to sew the tops and bottoms together.

From there, I just needed to add borders. It ends up at 26 x 28-1/2 inches. The pattern calls it a "wall-hanging," but I like it as a table topper.

When I had it all sewn together, I was sorry the pinwheels didn't match the flowers above. I was confused by the instructions, and I laid the flowers out in the order they were pictured in the pattern.

But when you look at the finished picture, they've been rearranged. 

So...oh well. I'm not changing it. I'm happy with how it looks. This was a free pattern from Inspired by Fabric. 

I have just one more kit along with me, this one:

And then I have two huge zip-lock bags full of bonus triangles, orphan blocks and cut-off ends of things. We have one more week here in Pahrump. If I'm going to do any more sewing on this trip, it will have to happen before we leave Pahrump. We won't have electricity when we move on to Death Valley next week, and so I won't be able to use my sewing machine. And all of that to say that I never intended to finish all the sewing I brought with me, but that doesn't mean I won't try.

Having stayed inside all day because of the rain, we decided to go out for Mexican food last night. It was good to get out of the RV, and the food was tasty. A crew is coming to wash and wax our RV today. Probably, I'll get out for a walk in the neighborhood to the east of us. Mainly, I just want to get out for a walk. With the bad weather, there's been way too much sitting around, and I can feel it in my hip joints. (Does that happen to you?)

If you've enjoyed this post today, you can thank my cat editor-in-chief for her careful proofreading. There's so much I could never accomplish without the help of my cat crew.

Okay then. With sunshine streaming in, how can it be anything other than a good day? I hope you have a good day too.

Sunny and Cold

Good morning, my friends. The wind blew hard the night before, but it was a calm day for most of the day. The sun was shining, but it was too cold to be out without bundling up first. We had a couple of errands to run, but I had some time to spend on my slow-stitching in the morning.

My hoop was filled, and so I moved my hoop to the right and down a little. I could capture all but a little bit at the top. I'll start at the bottom this morning, and then I'll be able to capture the last of it.

Also, you might remember that I started this project with one full ball of Perle cotton, and one partially used one. 

I'm happy to say that I'll be able to finish off this fifth of 12 blocks and still have some floss leftover from the partially-used ball. And that tells me that I'll have plenty to finish off this project without needing to buy more. (I like it when I can use something that was leftover from another project.)

While I was stitching, Sadie found some sunshine. We usually hope their kitty hammocks will end up in the sun for at least part of the day. She's had to rely on the back window this trip. Be careful if you want to pet her. You could burn your hand on her warm furs.

From there, we drove into town to pick up a few things. While we were out, I noticed the dusting of snow on the range of mountains to the west. On the other side of those mountains is Death Valley National Park, routinely one of the hottest spots in the nation. I believe the tallest peak just to the right of center is Telescope Peak.

One of the things we wanted to do while we were out was to get a new wheatgrass pot for the kitties. When we returned and came through the door holding the wheatgrass, their ears perked up and they were all about getting in a nibble. These will last about two weeks before they wilt and dry up. This is the third one this trip. It seems a small thing, but they really appreciate it.

Later in the afternoon, I got out for a walk. To the east, there is snow in the mountains.

Looking farther to the north, it looks like this:

To the south, it looks like this:

I could hear them singing. You can hear the sound at this video, right here. These are white-crowned sparrows. The photo was taken from a distance away.

Continuing on, I noticed about a dozen birds sitting on some power lines. It was hard to see any color since I was shooting into the sun.

Around on the other side, I could see their colors better. These are Rock Doves.

Walking on, I got around to the front of the resort. The Charleston Peak winery hasn't always been here. Apparently, it was located elsewhere at one time. It was established in 1992, but we've been coming here for years, and this is the first time we've seen them here. Doing some internet sleuthing, I learned the story behind this change.

Walking around to the other side of the building, I found this one nearly-spent rose.

Also, I was able to get a better picture of the flower from a few days ago. My phone tells me this is an almond blossom. It's surprising because this is growing on a shrub. I guess everything starts somewhere.

The day ended with a pretty sunset that lit up the hills behind us in red.

We ended our day with these Molten Chocolate Mug Cakes for Two. My mugs are deep...

But that leaves room for a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum.

When we got up this morning, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. In the intervening hours, clouds have moved in and the wind has come up. We're expecting nasty weather today. It's okay with me. I'd decided when we arrived that today was going to be a sewing day. The RV wash and wax has been postponed until tomorrow, and so it'll be a stay-inside and do-nothing day...except for sewing, which isn't nothing. If the forecast is correct, today's rain should be the last of the bad weather while we're here.

We have one more week here in Pahrump before we move west a ways and spend a few days in Death Valley. I keep hearing that the wildflowers will be plentiful this year, and I'm looking forward to it.

Quilt Shop: A Piece of Alaska Quilt Co.; Pahrump, Nevada

Good morning, my friends. I made good on my threat to check out the new quilt shop in Pahrump yesterday. I'll tell you about that in a minute. The quilt shop didn't open until noon, and that gave me some time to take the first stitches on Block 5 of the Snowmen & Reindeer project.

By then, it was late enough to get ready and go. Arriving at the address, I thought at first I might have missed its tenure here already. The only indication there was a quilt shop here were the signs in the windows advertising quilting, classes, and fabrics. Looking more closely, I noticed the "open" sign.

Just inside the door was this magazine rack filled with free patterns. They were mostly for using with panels, but there were a few from traditional blocks. I looked at them, but didn't really see anything there I wanted to make. It was a nice gesture, however.

This is a very small shop. Often, I'm visiting quilt shops with hundreds of bolts of fabrics. This one had no more than "dozens" of bolts. Everything they had was very pretty, but it was a small shop with a small inventory. Of that, about a third were holiday fabrics for Christmas, Halloween, and the 4th of July.

I asked her about her ties to Alaska (given the name of the shop). She told me she'd purchased a house here in Pahrump in 2010, but only moved here last year, "for the guaranteed sunshine." Guaranteed as much as it is anywhere.  I took a few pictures of the fabric that was available.

Behind the shelving was a long-arm machine, and it seemed the shop was an extension of her long-arm business. Several years ago while visiting Pahrump, I asked The Google to "find a quilt shop near me." Surprisingly, something came up, and we drove to the address. It turned out to be someone's private residence. Now I'm wondering if it was this same woman.

Here's a little more fabric.

There might have been more fabric, but I didn't see it. There were a few (very few) notions. Nothing for embroidery...no thread...not much of anything. I'm hopeful this shop will grow into something more. As for my visit, I stayed just a few minutes, and didn't purchase anything. The women working there were very friendly, and it was a pleasant visit. I just didn't see anything I wanted or needed.

Back at the RV, we stayed in most of the day. We'd ordered some cat toys from Amazon, and I was awaiting notification our package had been delivered to the office. When it was, I walked over to pick it up. I was able to capture a few more blooming things...the ones that turned out blurry a few days ago. Here is some lantana.

Here's some more lantana. I was trying to get images of the ones against a fence or lying on bricks since they were relatively stable in the blowing wind.

These yellow jobs were seen on a low-growing shrub near the office.

When I got back, I pulled out one of the little pompoms for Sadie. This is her favorite toy, and the ones we had with us were all frayed and falling apart. We don't want her ingesting any of that, and so we bought some new ones. She was snuggled up in her quilt, and she couldn't think of a good reason for coming out right at that moment.

The weather continues to be cold, windy, and uncooperative here in Pahrump. More snow fell in the mountains behind us. This next image is Charleston Peak.

We like this RV park for its peace and quiet and its amenities, but the weather can go either way here. We've been here when it's warm enough to be outside in shorts, and we've also seen snow at our level. We could see some snow today or tomorrow. It makes it unsuitable for grilling outside, and I've planned some meals that require grilling. Hopefully, we'll start to see some improvement by Friday. Also, the guys were supposed to come wash and wax our RV tomorrow. It looks like that's not going to happen. Certainly, they can't do it if its raining or snowing. Mike has texted them to reschedule for next week sometime.

As for our day's activities, we have an errand to run. There is no rain in today's forecast, and so I'll probably put on my winter woolies and get outside for a walk. Maybe I can get Smitty interested in walking too. There's rain in tomorrow's forecast, for sure, and so I'll probably drag out my sewing supplies and turn it into a sewing day.