Oct. OPAM

Another month comes to a close, and what a month it's been!  You might be surprised to know that I actually did some stitching.

The first thing I did when I returned from my Cape Cod Retreat, was finish the top we started.  I had made the borders, but they needed to be attached, which went quickly.  This is a Deb Tucker pattern, appropriately named Atlantic Flyway.  It is currently in the to-be-quilted pile!

With another retreat coming up in a couple of days,  I've been trying to clean off my sewing table.  I needed to use up some leftover fabric, so I decided to whip out some churn dash blocks.  They take a lot longer than I expected!     I hope to get a baby quilt and a doll quilt from this pile.  After retreat.

There were also some orphan blocks and strips that I couldn't just throw away, so they became place mats.  I also used up some fabric that was in my pink pile, and I can never find a use for.

The place mats will count for OPAM along with a lavender baby afghan that I finished in the car on the way out west, and 11 tiny little name badges that I finished earlier this evening to take to retreat.  The afghan was left in South Dakota, along with the baby quilts from last month's OPAM.

Tomorrow I'll be packing for retreat.  I have cut out 4 projects, so I'm ready to roll.  I always take one project for each day, and usually an extra for 'just in case".  Like, just in case I forgot part of something, or any number of other minor tragedies.  I take fairly simple things that don't require a lot of concentration, because there's a lot of gabbing going on!  I can't wait!!

We've had rain all day today, which is why the above pictures are so dark and dreary.  We made sure to get out yesterday for a hike to enjoy the beautiful fall day.

Many of those pretty leaves are probably gone today, with the rain and the wind.

Keep on stitching......Sunny

I have returned!

I've been on two absolutely wonderful trips,  and I'm having a little trouble getting back to realilty!

The first trip was a lovely quilt retreat, with 23 other quilters on Cape Cod!  In addition to making a quilt as a class, we visited a couple of quilt shops, a cranberry bog, and a National Seashore.  My room overlooked the ocean, and I took a nice long walk on the beach each morning.

The top is now finished, and it's in the 'waiting-to-be-quilted' pile

access to the beach here is several stories above the water

two seals playing in the surf

After returning from the Cape, I had two days to do laundry and repack for a trip out west.  I took hundreds of pictures, so I'll just share a couple of the highlights.

Falls Park in Sioux Falls, SD

Little church on the prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead

50 foot sculpture-Dignity.  I'm going to make this quilt!!

South Dakota Badlands

Peak Fall color in Spearfish Canyon

Roughlock Falls

A little snow the night before made it chilly

Gorgeous fall colors

Crazy Horse Memorial

along Needles Highway

Buffalo/Bison in Custer State Park, SD

Anyone still out there?  At some point, I'll probably add more pictures to one of my pages, but I think this is plenty for now.

I've been on a sewing binge the past few days, trying to catch up on a few small projects.  My Pfaff has decided that it doesn't want to sew (again) so Flossie the Featherweight is doing the job.

Keep on stitching!     Sunny

Geographic center of the US

Devil's Tower