Quilt 'Til You Wilt Days and A Few Other Favorite Things

I just love those days when I wake up with nothing on my schedule. After a leisurely breakfast followed by a steaming cup of my favorite tea, I decide what I want to do for the day. 

Most often, on these "free" days, I choose to quilt. Because I have the whole day in front of me, I can "quilt 'til I wilt." (I borrowed that phrase from a quilt shop, Tiny Stitches, in Marietta, Georgia. An eight hour group sewing day called "Quilt 'Til You Wilt" is offered once a week at this shop.) I have had a few of these quilt 'til you wilt days at my own sewing machine in recent weeks, and the product of those days is a quilt top that is about 3/4 complete. The quilt consists of just three fabrics and some whopping 18 inch blocks. Here you will see a partial view of my mostly completed quilt top featuring some of my favorite colors.

Pattern: Dream On designed by Jocelyn Ueng from Quiltmaker March/April 2013

I paused in my quilting to travel for a long weekend. My husband and I drove a little more than two hours to a neighboring state. Our main reason for choosing this particular weekend was to hear our favorite singer/songwriter, Peter Mayer. Peter is from Minnesota, but just once in a while he travels to perform in the southeast. We try to catch his concerts when they are within a few hours of where we live. The lyrics to his songs range from inspiring to nostalgic to funny. He is a master on the guitar, and his voice is engaging and quite pleasant, like no other songwriter I've heard. Below is a sampling of Peter's work, a song he wrote called "Dorothy's Pie" from his CD Novelties. The song references a true story about his mom and dad, and it is one of my favorites. My husband spoke to Peter during the intermission and unbeknownst to me requested this song, knowing it was a favorite of mine. During the second half of the concert, Peter honored the request, and so I was able to hear him sing it in person, much to my delight!

Among the activities during our long weekend was a visit to Congaree National Forest. As you may know from previous posts, visiting national parks is one of my favorite parts of traveling. We didn't know quite what to expect since this newer national park is smaller and not very well-known. We were pleasantly surprised as we walked a 2.5 mile boardwalk through beautiful vistas of trees and water. 

Several rivers drain into this area causing flooding at least once a year. It was interesting to see trees that flourish in this environment and to learn about the benefits of the flooding that bring necessary nutrients to this wilderness area. 

We chose a good time of year to visit this particular national park. Because of the abundance of water and the heat during the summer months, mosquitoes can be a major problem in the park. We were glad that the posted mosquito meter was only at a "1" during our visit in early March.

Back home now from my long weekend away, it's time to think about spring, one of my favorite seasons (the other favorite being fall). Even though it is not officially spring, the daffodils in our yard are in full bloom. 

Just like this time last year, the snap peas, lettuce, spinach, and broccoli are planted in our garden, and a few stalks of asparagus are pushing through the earth. I'm eager for the time coming soon when I can walk into the backyard and harvest these favorite spring vegetables to use in a healthy and delicious meal.

Over the years, I have enjoyed collecting pottery. My husband was recently gifted a new piece of pottery made by Peg Morar of Asheville, NC. It is a unique piece in shades of blue and sage green with dots of red. This may have become my favorite piece of pottery that we own. I immediately placed it on our dining room table along with a quilted table runner in coordinating colors.

So, when will I have another of those favorite quilt 'til you wilt days? Well, I'm not sure since very soon I will be at another of my favorite places--a quilt and sewing expo. Stay tuned as I might just share that experience in a future blog post. In the meantime, please leave a comment and share a few of your favorite things!

I have received no compensation for the mention of items or companies in this blog post. All opinions are my own.

What Do You Do on a Snowy Day?

You sew, of course, on a snowy day! I used my indoor day to complete a tote bag and make new throw pillows for my sofa. If you will recall, I spent quite a bit of time at the end of this past year making multiple items for a fall craft show. That left me with an unfinished project from early in the fall when my husband and I traveled to Sequoia National Park. While visiting the park, I bought some souvenir inserts for a tote bag, but I didn't get a chance to start the tote bag until just recently. I chose green fabric for the main part of the bag. 

I have made a few tote bags through the years, but the souvenir inserts came with directions for a bag. 

I used the directions to make the front of the bag, accenting the green with a couple of brown strips. Patterns are not created equal, however, so I ended up using my tried and true directions for the remainder of the tote bag. And here is the result! (To see another tote bag that I recently made, visit my friend Debbie's blog here. By visiting her blog post, you can also read a great book review.)

The majority of my sewing time today was used to make new throw pillows. I pulled out some of that fabric-in-limbo that has been waiting in a drawer for a while. I will use this fabric not only for throw pillows but also for a new valance for my family room. 

It has been a long time since I've used home decor fabric. Since I mostly quilt now, I almost always use 100% cotton. I will say, this drapery weight fabric was nice to use for a change as it doesn't wrinkle as easily as quilting cotton. Most pillows I've made recently have had a pieced front where I have combined several fabrics such as in this pillow below.

The pillows I made today went quickly since I only used one fabric for the fronts and the backs of the pillows.

Stitching the back of the pillow

Finished pillow back

It's nice to freshen the decor in my home a bit on such a snowy day. 

My next project will be making that matching valance, and maybe even a coordinating quilt for the back of the sofa will be in the works sometime this year so that I can use more of my fabric-in-limbo.

Sandpiper Bali Crackers by Hoffman Fabrics

Linked with: Wonderful Wednesday, Linky Tuesday Freemotion by the River, Needle and Thread Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things

A Visit to National Parks

Kaweah River, Sequoia National Park

My husband and I recently traveled to Nevada where my brother-in-law and sister-in-law live. The four of us then traveled together to Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park near Fresno, California. These parks are located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and at 6,000-7,000 feet in elevation are home to huge sequoia trees. Sequoia trees are some of the largest and oldest organisms on earth. The largest of the sequoias are as tall as a 26 story building, and many of these trees have a diameter of at least 20 feet. Sequoia bark can be 3 feet thick and is resistant to fire, insects, and disease. These trees can live up to 3,500 years, and they continue to grow throughout their life span. 

After traveling on narrow, winding roads for several miles within Sequoia National Park, we finally reached an elevation where sequoia trees grow. There was a collective gasp in the car as we first viewed these dramatic trees mixed with smaller trees rich with autumn color. We decided to travel on through the park to the famous General Sherman tree. We parked and walked for a while to reach the tree that is noted as the largest living tree on the planet.  At 2,100 years old, it weighs 2.7 million pounds, is 275 feet tall and has a 102-foot circumference at the ground. It has branches that are almost 7 feet in diameter. 

General Sherman Tree, Sequoia National Par

A couple of days later we traveled about two hours north to Kings Canyon National Park. Here we viewed more of these majestic trees in their mountainous setting. The General Grant tree is a tourist draw in this park and is the second largest tree by volume on earth. Notice the vivid blue sky on our lovely autumn day in this park.

General Grant Tree, Kings Canyon National Park

Even though these parks are connected, Kings Canyon National Park is my favorite of the two. We took a 1 1/2 mile hike in this national park that was incredibly tranquil and beautiful.  The natural setting around the trees is magnificent, and there are other amazing sites such as this fallen sequoia which visitors can walk through. 

Fallen Monarch Tree, Kings Canyon National Park

I don't always return from our trips with souvenirs, but at the visitor center in Sequoia National Park, I couldn't resist when I found a special quilting treasure. These small fabric panels will be perfect when stitched into a quilted tote bag or two and will be special reminders of a special trip.

Design by American Quilt Blocks

Our travels often take us into different national parks, but I'll have to say that these particular parks do not disappoint with their majestic trees and lovely vistas. At the same time, I find myself wondering where our next national park trip will take us.

Do you have a favorite national park or natural setting that you enjoy visiting? Where do your travels take you? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Linked with: Marilyn's Treats