Batting clean up!

Ok, does anyone else feel like they've been watching too much baseball???  I'm going batty!!

First story to finish -

Last day of the cruise.  We were at sea and already our minds were on getting everything packed and out in the hall before bedtime!  It's amazing how what we brought and what we collected, and/or bought exploded in the room!!

Friday:  On the way to Victoria

At 10 in the morning, we met with all the quilters we'd met on board for a giant show and tell! There were 6 (one not pictured, darn!) of us and it was fun to see the different "favorite parts of quilting." We loved seeing all the photos on our phones and the handwork we had with us.  A couple of them even went to the quilt shops after hearing about them from us.  And we made plans with N to meet at Road to California.

I went to the Captain's Mariner's lunch with U. A great dining room lunch with yummy soup; a cheese strata; and berry cobbler. We got our picture taken with the Captain too!

Then it was "Out on deck for a Cause" for me.  Walking for Cure for Cancer, in honor of mom - I walked 2 of the 3 miles and then went for ice cream on the Lido Deck!!  OK, you know I always am ready for ice cream anytime, any place, so this was no surprise! The walking tour tonight is making me cautious about how far to walk this afternoon.

Stroll thru Victoria                            6:30                        2 hours                 

Start out from ship terminal and walk with your guide on a journey of discovery through one of the oldest residential neighborhoods in Western Canada. Streets are lined with period houses and you will hear captivating stories of the people and events that shaped this charming town.  The crown jewel is beautiful Beacon Hill Park, complete with manicured flower beds, towering trees (keep an eye out for nesting eagles and herons), and perhaps the occasional ghost or restless spirit.  

Reaching Downtown Victoria you will encounter a vibrant city with an English old town atmosphere. Your guide will introduce to you two very famous buildings - the Legislature bldg and the our famous Empress Hotel. A great deal of history surrounds both these famous landmarks and some of the stories are right out of the "truth is stranger than fiction" department. 

Your tour ends on the lawns of the Empress Hotel.  Guests who wish to stay in town to shop or explore independently are welcome to do so, but must make their own way back to the ship.

Wear sturdy walking shoes, bring bottled water. Restroom facilities en route are very limited. Bring your sense of humor to best enjoy this lively and entertaining outing.

We were an hour late docking.  Not sure how we got that far off schedule.  So the Walking tour of Victoria started later and by the time we got to the Beacon Hill Park, it was after sunset.  We did see a group of trees that Heron were nesting in.  (Don't cross into the white part of the pavement, just saying!!) But we saw a tree with peacocks nesting in it.  They are BIG!  And how did they get up that high???  It was full dark when we got downtown, the Legislature Bldg was lit up.  I walked thru the Empress Hotel after the tour.  Did a little shopping and then caught the free bus back to the dock.  It's a lively downtown area, very pretty setting.  But the tour was tougher walking than I thought! We were always cutting across rough lawn, in the dark or semi-dark.  I had to keep my eyes out for anything I might trip over!!  (Save the knees!) U was not feeling 100% so she backed out.  It was for the best, it would have been way too much for her. I didn't know anyone on the tour, but glad I did it.

When I got back to the room, U had used our "communications white board" (Best Dollar Store buy for the cruise!) Told me to meet her for a drink in piano bar, she'd saved me a place.  We're all packed and suitcases in the hall, night-night!!

I'll report on our Seattle Mini-shop hop later!  I promise!!

Our quilt guild had a bus trip to the Expo in Portland. 23 intrepid quilters.  One was 90 years old and the rest of us could hardly keep up with her!!!  The last bus trip for this guild was 10 years ago to Santa Rosa.  She was just a 'youngster then, only 80!!!)  We kept track of yardage bought at our stops and it was a very impressive number by the time we got home! It was lots of fun!  And we were all still friends when we got back! Bonus!

For the last two weeks, I've been making Halloween quilts for my grandkids.  I've been collecting those cute Halloween fabrics for a few years, added a few more on the bustrip to Portland, so it was time to get off the my ...  and get sewing.

Now a smarter person wouldn't wait until October to do so .... but let's not go there.  DH and I babysit at both homes before Halloween and I'm happy to say, 3 quilts are done, and the fourth one is planned, pieces cut out and ready to sew together.  With no further fanfare ... here they are!

The skeleton panel was the hit of the bus trip to Portland.  We found it at Fabric Depot and carried off the majority of the panels on display!!  Bordered with disappearing 9patch blocks.  This is the first of this design.  I'm going to make checkerboard with the same 4.5" blocks that are cut.

 

Halloween strippie!  I tore apart 2  half-price kits I bought for the fabric.  I wasn't going to make those patterns anyway!  I love this back.  I bought that panel a year or so ago from Forget Me Knots in Bandon Oregon.  I guess I was saving it for this back!! 

Funny story - my design wall is black and there are black 8 1/2 strips for the strippie quilts.  Well, I thought I'd messed up and only cut one because I didn't 'see' it on the design wall.  So quickly found another orange fabric; put the black in the middle and orange strips top and bottom!  Then of course, noticed the darn hidden-in-plain-sight strip!  Oh well!

 

This is obviously the same pattern - made for one of the two younger grandsons -who would live in Superhero capes if they could!  The blue backing fabric is Japanese and has "Super Hero" banners on it.  Since there wasn't enough, I added a Halloween town print too.

Hey!  Why are there not Halloween gift bags???  I could have used 4 of them!  Designers take note!!!  Nanas everywhere are ready to buy them!

I made the lap quilts the size of my favorite lap quilt! 57 x 70  It's big enough to cover you with room to spare.  And it looks nice on a twin bed, just not quite enough drop.  A bunk bed size, if you will.

I had to rely on my old border figuring secret!  Did you know you can 'Google' math???  I asked it "what numbers divide into 43" (the width of the center section), the other dimension was 59.  Both are PRIME NUMBERS!!  nothing divides into them!!  P Poor Planning on my part, I'm sure.

So I found my old adding machine tape.  (Every sewing room needs some of this, along with Freezer paper!!) Laid out a length equal to the size I needed; folded it again and again until I got a section around 3 - 3 1/2." Then marked my quilting segments using that!  Works like a charm!

Another secret I'm passing on to you today is marking:  Mark your quilt with Crayola Washable Fine Line Markers!!  A quilting friend in Nebraska (she's been featured on the cover of Quilter's Newletter Magazine a few times!!!) told me that's all she uses!  AND they go on sale every August!!  But DON'T tell anyone we're using them for quilting or the price will go up!!!!

That's all for now.  I'll be back!