Hawaii--day 5-6

Ready for our snorkel tour

On day five, we rose early and were out the door by 6am so that we could catch the 8am snorkel tour to Molakini to see fish and to the Turtle Arches to see turtles. Unfortunately, there was too much wind to snorkel at Molakini so we spent all our time at the spot to see turtles. Josette and Bob saw a huge turtle. Amanda and Nicole saw a turtle while they were on a reef tour. I saw a turtle surface while I was in the boat!

Visiting the aquarium

I probably saw about the same species of fish as well as about the same numbers as we saw when we snorkeled at Airport Beach. We were served breakfast and lunch on the boat. For a five hour tour, had Mother
Nature cooperated, we would have snorkeled in two locations. On our return trip, we saw three bottle nosed dolphins which was cool.

One grand succumbed to the ocean waves and was sea sick; but, fully recovered by the time to tour the Aquarium. It was a nice tour and the consensus regarding the aquarium visit was it was well organized, really kid friendly and interesting. Bob and I enjoyed a cool drink and we walked around the Marina.

Bob flying upside down

James bought poke (raw tuna), sashimi, rice rolls, macaroni salad and tahini shrimp for dinner. It was a good and different sort of dinner. Even though I used sunscreen and reapplied it, I still picked up a sunburn. Ouch!

On day six, Bob, Nicole and I left at 6am for a zip line tour. We had a Starbucks coffee and a little something to tide us over until lunch. Doing a zip line tour has been on my bucket list for some time. I thought it would be cool to be above the tree tops and see the view. I had no idea of all the tricks that can be done or that people would want to do them!

Nicole during the spinner jump

The zip line is located at Camp Maui where the famous fighting fourth division of Marines were stationed during WWII. So not only did we have a fun experience, we also picked up some of the history about the site. The NorthShore ZipLine company rocked.

Me during the leap of faith jump

Bob, my husband, is absolutely fearless. He immediately went upside down, backwards, and spun during his first zip line trek. Each time, he just got better.  Nicole did some awesome moves as well. She spun so fast during one of the jumps that I wondered how she could stand up at the end!

Me? It was exhilarating to step out into air and feel the gear connect to the line and start you on your journey. I surprised our guide to just fall backwards off one of the platforms. They call it the leap of faith. I liked spinning. Although, it
sure made me dizzy.  In fact, I got a little motion sickness out of the deal.

The views from the tree top launches were spectacular. I am so glad the three of us got to have this experience it was special!

Miss K and Miss J with new found friends at the park

On our return trip, we stopped at Costco to refuel our larders and we had lunch. We each had a hot dog which came with a drink. Total amount for
our three lunches was less than $10!

Miss K working on a piece of blackwork

There was a Fabric-Mart nearby Costco and I should have stopped. Both Miss K and Miss J are enjoying learning the backstitch for embroidery. There could have been a little kit suitable for a kid there.

The girls, Amanda and James, spent the day at Baby Beach and playing at the playground. They had lunch at a nearby deli and in the afternoon, they all went swimming in the pool.

Salmon dinner ready to eat

For dinner, Bob barbecued a couple salmon fillets, we ate green beans from the market, rice, green salad with cucumber dressed with

a Maui onion sauce. We even had a baguette. Dessert was Mochi. It was a tasty dinner. Miss K got into Auntie's suitcase and modeled all of Auntie's clothes. It was a great fashion show and most of the outfits looked great on her. What a great end to a terrific day.

Oh and since I'm posting the last day of the month, I taught 29 participants in 29 Basic Life Support CPR (189 YTD)-- This is a total of 29 for July (total 324 YTD)!! I'm glad I'm tracking how many people I'm teaching this year as I had no idea how many people I reach!

Modeling Auntie's clothes

Hawaii Day 3-4

Hawaiian pineapple is the best

After a breakfast of English muffins and fruit, we headed out to pick up our rentals from the snorkel store.

James was our driver; Nicole was our navigator. Bob and Amanda were squished in the back seat next to a grand while a grand and I took the middle seats. The great news was we all fit in one vehicle! We picked up our mask, fins and snorkel from the rental store and we went to Airport beach to see the fish.

I did have photos of our feet trying on the fins; but, unfortunately, I took my phone snorkeling so went the rest of the trip without it. i-Phones don't work after a one and a half hour snorkel session in the ocean! It was a stupid mistake; but, not the end of the world! To those of you who I timed out with Words with Friends. . .now you know why!

Photos for blog posts came from others' cell phones. . .mainly from Nicole! Thank you Nicole!

I am so impressed with how much masks and snorkels have improved since we last used them in Hawaii when our girls were about 8 and 11! Josette loved snorkeling.

Most of the crew

Keira didn't like the taste of the saltwater on her snorkel and somehow, she kept getting water in her mouth. She, her mama and her auntie practiced in the pool and auntie switched snorkels with her so next time, Miss K will have an even better experience. I saw a lion fish and I look forward to the next ocean session.

Auntie the navigator

Auntie is a great navigator. Although, Miss J and Miss K are also good with passing the verbal directions to the driver!

After our morning swim in the ocean, we returned to the condo to shower the majority of sand off our bodies. Then we headed into town to have a burger. The snorkel rental place recommended the burger spot. The burgers were huge, delicious and came with a root beer float. Then we walked around and window shopped.

Orchids grow easily here. This plant was outside our condo. It was so beautiful! There were other orchids too; but, this one had the most blooms!

Orchid 

The views from the patio at the condo were picturesque. We could also see the pool from the patio. It was in the upper 80s and humid; but, the breeze helped it feel not as warm!

Day four was a massage day. James, Amanda and Nicole scheduled a massage with a local and each one said she was great. While they were getting their massages, Bob and I took the girls to the park where they had a blast playing on the play structure and they had fun climbing the trees. They even met a couple new friends who were from Silverton, Oregon. Gosh, it is a small world!

After the park, we went to a farmer's market and picked up a couple pineapple, other fruits and vegetables. Then we went to the fish market and finally, we made yet another stop at the grocery store.

We had hot dogs, cantaloupe slices and chips for lunch. Then we spent a few hours splashing about in the pool.

Dusk from the balcony

Dinner was grilled corn on the cob and zucchini, grilled mahi mahi and Ono fish, steamed rice and a green salad. It was a great day.

Sunset from the balcony

Amanda and Keira enjoying the sunrise

Hawaii--day 1-2

Escapees captured after a night out

For the last 15 years, youngest daughter, Nicole, has been the impetus behind a family trip that happens every five years. The destination has to be somewhere we haven't experienced. . .or experienced in a really, really, really long time. The first time, we went to New Orleans over spring vacation and the second time, we went to Australia. (On the Australia trip, one grand was two and half and the other was four months old!) This year our destination was Maui, Hawaii!

Hawaii here we come

The day before we left, three of our neighbor's turkeys escaped. Bailey caught one; but, let it go on command. The turkeys left our property and the neighbor's couldn't find them.

A little Auntie loving

We took Bailey to the "spa" also know as the kennel later in the afternoon. She has been there several times and likes it enough to not even say good-bye to us!

Early the next morning, my husband caught site of the turkeys in the pasture. We "herded" them into Bailey's kennel and waited for their owners to retrieve their birds. These three seemed happy to get back behind wire. They sure looked like their night out had been a rough one! They and their owners were just leaving the driveway when our ride to the airport arrived!

In my lifetime, I've "wrangled" a number of animals; but, this was a first for turkeys!

It has been a sort of tradition to photograph one's feet on the carpet when leaving the Portland airport. We followed tradition.

Gran--Photo by Miss J

The grands sure love their auntie. While we were in line to board the plane, I heard one grand say, "Auntie, come down here." I heard the other grand say, "Auntie, we need you!" Then there was a whole lot of squeezes, kisses and "I love you so much!" What a fine bunch of loving!!!

What do you do when you are on an airplane for several hours? You put together puzzles, color, take photographs, read stories, eat a few snacks and you might even sleep! It takes a long time to get to Hawaii; but, the arrival is sure worth it!

Auntie provided the hip packs which were stuffed with fun items. There was plenty of space remaining to be colored on the trip home. As for the items, they were eaten, played with and zipped in and out of the bag numerous times!

Coloring

The airport at Kahului, Maui had this interesting roof detail at baggage claim. It looked like a quilt design to me. Unfortunately, not all of our luggage arrived with us. We were missing the car seats. We will catch up with how we reunited with them later.

Roof detail at the airport

We arrived at our hotel, checked in and then found a Mexican restaurant a short walk from our hotel. It was called Amigos and their chicken mole and beef fajitas were delicious! I went to bed at 8:30pm Hawaiian time which was 11:30pm Oregon time!

The next morning, we were up early and trekking to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. James decided to try the local coffee. While we sipped our coffee, we viewed a mural. On our return to the hotel, we stopped at a Whole Foods type of market and purchased items for breakfast. We purchased two types of local bananas, a small basket of mountain apples, a jar of jam, a couple types of yogurt and some almond butter. There were also vegan pastry items so we purchased a few of those too!

Mural at Starbucks

After breakfast all the girls had a dip in the pool. The swim felt great and the oldest grand commented that she could now check swimming in Hawaii off her bucket list!

Amanda had researched a spot to have lunch. It was called Tin Roof; business hours were from 10am to 2pm.  Most of us ordered something different from each other so there were a variety of menu items to sample. I had the chicken sandwich and Bob had the pork belly entree. Both were good.

Pork belly entree

We had to amend our departure plans a bit because neither car seat arrived with our luggage. The airlines delivered one car seat to our hotel while most of us were sleeping. The other car seat took a later flight and didn't arrive until after 1pm the following day! Bob, James and Nicole went to retrieve the car seat and pick up the rental car we had reserved.

The rest of us hung out at the hotel until Bob, James and Nicole picked us up. Then it was off to the condo! The girls were excited about swimming in both another pool and the ocean!

Dinner on our first night at the condo

That afternoon, we swam at the condo pool. We had a terrific dinner of green salad with poppyseed mango dressing and barbecued chicken. Some of us enjoyed the beer that those who went to the brewery tour brought back.  Who knew coconut coffee would make a good porter?

Tis the Season for Swimsuits Take 2--Fifth Finish for 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long 2018

Four suits cut--ready for stitching

After finishing the first swimsuit, it was time to tackle the second. I stitched the second suit and lining. Next, I inserted the lining into the suit and basted the edges. I trimmed the lining away from the edges.

I was making great progress! I started to apply the elastic. I didn't have enough! I bought this elastic years ago. There was 100 yards on the spool.  I bought it on sale. I don't remember the price; but, I I'm thinking that I paid about $40 for it.

I wasn't able to buy that amount/product where I purchased it before. I tried a couple other outlets; but, ended up buying a 144 yard spool online for about the same price/yard as was listed on this spool!

Empty elastic spool

Stitching the elastic

Because my daughter was coming for a visit, I so wanted to have the suit finished and waiting on her bed when she arrived. If I waited for the elastic to arrive, I wasn't going to have the second suit finished. I decided to purchase a five yard package of elastic at Joann Crafts and Fabric. The elastic from Joann's wasn't as firm as what was on my spool; but, it worked.

It was a relief to be able to finish the suit before my daughter arrived. I was short about 1 3/4 yard of the elastic. I'm glad that I could purchase the product near me!

Finished back of suit

I wasn't able to cut two complete suits out of this print. I was short one back so I used a piece of black swim fabric that I have on hand for my "uniform" suits. I like the placement of the lines and I hope she won't be bothered with the black fabric. In years past, I would cut the back out of a different fabric all together. Sometimes, I could cut the suit out of different fabrics so it was more of a color blocked suit. I use different approaches to use the greatest amount of the fabric!

Finished front

I like the front of this suit. Although, I hope that the setting sun placement is in a good position!

This was goal number 24 on my Finish-A-Long list. I used two yards of fabric. (One yard for the suit and one yard for the lining.) I have now used 22 yards from my stash. I have 28 yards to go to achieve my goal of a net loss of 50 yards from my stash this year.

Tis the Season For Swimsuits--Fourth Finish for 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long 2018

Making the pattern

Youngest daughter asked me to stitch her a new swimsuit as our trip to Hawaii was approaching. She said to use my pattern; but, to make it a couple inches longer! First, I needed to see what fabric was available. She stated the, "I would prefer not to have flowers," comment which was followed by, "but, if that is all that is available, that is okay." She sure didn't apply any pressure did she?

I did have a couple pieces of fabric that I'll be able to get a swimsuit out of that doesn't have a floral motif; but, the pieces were about two inches too short to get a suit out for her. I did have two other pieces that would work. One piece did have flowers; but, the flowers were more geometric than floral.

Fabric 

I haven't purchased printed swim fabric in years. People, cleaning out their fabric stashes, have gifted me pieces over the years. These are two such pieces! I did purchase some black swim fabric last year as when I teach lessons the "uniform" for instructors is a black suit.

Next, I drew a pattern that would have the appropriate alterations. The pattern fabric, I think, was originally for piecing miniature blocks. I picked it up from the free table at a guild meeting a couple months ago. It worked perfect as pattern paper though!

Cutting out the fabric was interesting because of the print in the purple. That is a sun setting which I thought would be great for a suit. The challenge was where the sun was going to be on the body. I sure didn't want it hanging over one side of her chest! After much consideration, I ended up putting it on the rear of the suit. I hope the print is above her waist!

There wasn't enough of the print for two whole suits. I did cut out two fronts, one and a half backs and one strap. I used the black fabric to cut one back and one strap. Then I cut out the lining fabric. Commercially made suits generally are lined in the front; but, I can get more mileage out of the fabric if it is totally lined so I line the front and the back.

Finished back

I bought a bolt of black lining fabric and I try to choose fabrics that work with the black lining. I do have a printed fabric on white that will need beige lining. I was on a hunt for beige lining last fall. I haven't found it yet. I may need to go online to purchase it which surprises me. Although, I imagine that there aren't many people who make swimsuits! The bolt of black lining fabric will keep me in suits for many years and I have enough gifted fabric on hand to make half a dozen more suits.

At some point, I'm going to be receiving more gifted fabric so I'm not concerned that my stockpile is a little low! (A friend who is clearing out her sister's stash offered me the swimwear fabric. I said I would take it all as chlorine treats all lycra fabrics equally!)

While I was cutting, I cut out the black swimsuits that are goal number 18 on my Finish-A-Long list. Cutting out the fabrics is always my least favorite part of the process. Then, it was time to sew the suits!

Finished front

I generally serge the edges as this process makes the seams more stable. . .besides, having an extra stitching line is good insurance against unwanted exposure! In one sewing session, I stitched the body of the suit and the lining. The second sewing session, I pinned and basted the two together. In the evening, I trimmed away the lining next to the basting line to reduce the bulk. During the final sewing session, I applied the elastic.

This was goal number 23 on my 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long list. It is my fourth finish this quarter! I used two yards of fabric. (One yard for the suit and one yard for the lining.) I have now used 20 yards from my stash. I have 30 yards to go to achieve my goal of a net loss of 50 yards from my stash this year.

I'd better get going on her second suit!

Miss K Is A Sewing--Third Finish for 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long

Chef K eating the first dinner she cooked

Miss K asked to stitch a skirt. Since we make better progress when we are one on one, I invited K for a sleepover.

She was excited; but, she let me know that she would have to wait a day because she was cooking dinner for the family. I asked what she was serving. She said, "macaroni and cheese with tomato soup and vegetables. I'm cooking the pasta and then I think the soup will flavor the pasta just right. I'm taking out some pasta for J and then adding cheese for Mommy, Daddy and me. It's going to be so good!"

Dinner was a hit and her mama sent a photo to prove it!

The following day she arrived after lunch to work on her skirt. She approved of the pattern and we had fun taking turns cutting out 10 panels. She thought that 10 panels was a lot! As they were lined up on the ironing table, she was trying to figure out how to sew them together.

Tall enough to stitch on her own

I showed her how to pin the edges and then we started the sewing process. She has grown since the last time that we stitched together. She is tall enough now that she can provide the power to the machine. So she did and of course she LOVED being in control.  Her smile speaks volumes!

Project at the end of the day

After every step, she would take her project out to show her papa/granddad. She was so pleased with how it was coming together.

We stitched all the panels together. I serged the edges and we took turns pressing. She decided stitching a narrow hem was really hard; but she liked getting to stitch with a different presser foot during that step!

After about three hours of stitching, she decided that she was ready to call it a day in the studio. We almost finished. We needed to stitch the casing in the waist and insert the elastic.

She did this the following morning. She was up and ready to finish about 5:15am! I'm up around 4:30am. The early rising is a throw back from my full time working days, so her awakening wasn't too early for me!

Stitching the casing with the number 10D foot was fun. Manuvering the elastic through the casing was not! We made it work though! When she was almost finished with the elastic, she wanted to know how we were going to join the ends.

Triumphant finish

Good question because as she said, the way it was now, it wouldn't stay up around her waist. Good thinking ahead, Miss K! We stitched the elastic and then she understood how it worked. (She also was concerned that it wouldn't be stitched in circle. She has quite the mind in thinking of pitfalls!) She liked stitching the casing closed and loved putting on the skirt.

She didn't pack a t-shirt so I don't have a photo of her wearing her skirt. I asked her if she wanted to look through some patterns to see if there was a top that we could make. She thought it might take too long and she wouldn't be able to finish before it was time to go home. Valid point, Miss K

Besides, there was a bath to be taken, smoothies to be blended; blueberry muffins to bake and yoga cards and magnets to play.

We used 1 1/2 yards of fabric which means that I have now used 18 yards from my stash and I have 32 yards to go to achieve my goal of a net loss of 50 yards from my stash this year.

This was goal number five on my 3rd quarter Finish-A-Long list. There is plenty of fabric left for another skirt for the other grand!

Halter Dress for Miss J--Second Finish for 3rd Quarter Finish-Along-2018

Miss J's fabric

Before the sun set on the halter dress finish for Miss K, I cut out most of the dress for Miss J.  She chose the fabric which didn't surprise me as she likes animals. If the fabric had been printed with butterflies, it would have been even better. Monkeys, however, are good too!

As you can see, I had little waste! The song, "Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed," ran through my head as I worked on this project!

Dress in process

I used a piece of green for the contrast fabric. Both fabrics were gifted to me from a friend. The green thread that I stitched the contrast fabric was a find from the guild free table many years ago. I've used it once or twice; but, it usually wasn't close enough in value for the project I was stitching. For this project, however, it was perfect!

It wasn't long before it too was ready and waiting to be gifted to the girl! I used about a yard of fabric. I have now used 16 1/2 yards from my stash and I have 33 1/2 yards to go to achieve my goal of a net loss of 50 yards from my stash this year.

This was goal number 14 on my 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long list and my second finish for the quarter!

Ready for play

I was most tickled with Miss J's response. Below is a photo of her. I loved how well the boots accessorized her outfit. The dance move pose for the photo was awesome as well! Oh. . .the dress fits great!

Miss J getting the most out of her dress

Halter Dress for Miss K--First Finish 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long 2018

The pattern and fabric for each grand

We had some warm weather which led me to believe that summer was here. I decided that I would tackle the summer dress for Miss K. I made her one last September. It was cute on her. A friend gave me the pattern and she also gave me the fabric for this project.

As you know, I can't stitch an outfit for one grand and not sew a like outfit for the other grand. When I was a kid, I had a number of experiences where some kids/grands received gifts and other kids/grands didn't. I know how it feels to see over and over someone getting extra attention and gifts. I make an effort to treat each kid/grand equally. Although, if you were to ask, each would probably finger the other or perhaps, finger themselves as the favorite. If they all think they are the favorite, they are all correct! 😀

I tried several times to stitch the striped fabric into the dress since last September. My challenge was always what to choose for the contrasting fabric. I had a piece of dotted fabric on a black background and decided that would work great.

Front and back of the top

One afternoon, I cut it out and started to stitch it. At the end of the sewing session I had the front of the top ready to stitch to the back of the top.

Before I left for work on the second day, I attached the front and back of the top together so it would be ready to attach to the skirt. I stitched the pockets to the skirt and pinned the front and the back of the skirt together.

Detail of the pocket trim

Finished dress

The following afternoon, I stitched the skirt together, hemmed the skirt, attached the skirt to the top and added elastic to the waistline. In other words, I finished it!





I used about a yard of fabric. I have now used 15 1/2 yards from my stash and I have 34 1/2 hards to go to achieve my goal of a net loss of 50 yards from my stash this year.

This was goal number 13 on my 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long list and my first finish for the quarter!

Below is a photo of Miss K wearing her dress. It looks fantastic on her. I love her million dollar smile! I'm so glad that I stitched it!

I guess I had better get busy and stitch one for Miss J next!

Miss K enjoying her new dress

First of the Month

Orange cat

Happy Fourth! Where did June go???

Last month I trained:
3 Water Safety Instructors (3 YTD); 11 students in swim lessons (YTD 34); 17 lifeguards (25 YTD), 7 lay rescuers in CPR--pediatric and adult/AED/First Aid, (7 YTD), 29 Basic Life Support CPR (160 YTD)-- This is a total of 67 for June (total 295 YTD)!! I'm glad I'm tracking how many people I'm teaching this year as I had no idea how many people I reach!

Finished cat block

I also completed a block for our guild's outgoing president. The rules were to make a cat or a chicken; use orange fabric and then coordinate it with a purple or a blue fabric so there would be some cohesiveness between the blocks. The size was to finish at 10 inches or less.

I found a paper pieced block on Pinterest which will finish to six inches. It is a Kim Nobolin pattern called the V-Neck Kitty. Originally, I had planned for my cat to be facing into the quilt; but, then I decided that I would embroider a few details to the face.

I'm glad I added the details as I like the personality the face gives the block! The outgoing president has a dry sense of humor. She received many blocks. She will have fun putting them together in a quilt.

You can see what I did with the blocks guild members gave me when I was president here.

Because I taught so many programs/classes, I wasn't able to stitch the borders on my truck project. My plan is to work on that project soon. I'm feeling fortunate, however, that I had gift projects and clothing projects on my Finish-A-Long list. Sunday, I posted my list for this quarter. You can read it here.

When I only had 10 minutes or so to stitch, being able to sew a seam or two was great. Following a pattern and reading what the next step is does have its benefits! In the coming weeks, I'll be posting about my progress. I'm actually finishing items on my list that I worked on last quarter. What a great feeling completing a project brings to my heart! (I also like seeing my project tote become less full!)

I've been participating in the Finish-A-Along group for a couple years. Anyone can participate. Click here if you want to learn more. Right now, it is the time to link up your finishes. I've been enjoying the "eye candy" of many finishes and marveling at the ingenuity of the projects.

Projects--3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long-2018

I made progress again last quarter. I finished nine projects! There is actually some space in my project tote! For the third quarter, I'm carrying over 14 projects. I added back three projects that were on previous Finish-A-Long lists. I have four new projects on the list.  I plan to keep up the finishing momentum!

#1. Get this piece to the finish line

#1. Finish this small piece. I'm still thinking about adding some piecing a la Jean wells. I was stuck with . . .you guessed it. . .coordinating fabrics!

#2. Quilt this mystery BOM

#2. Quilt this mystery BOM. Last year, I created a pieced back and basted the layers together.

#3. Stitch this fabric into a skirt for a grand

#3. Stitch this printed cotton duck fabric into a jeans skirt for one of the grands.

#4. Finish this machine appliqué project

#4. Finish this project that I started in a Karen Kay Buckley class last May.

#5. Stitch a skirt with this fabric 

#5. Stitch this gingham fabric into a skirt for one of the grands.

#6. Quilt this truck

#6. Layer and quilt this truck. It may be number six on the list; but, it will be one of the first projects I tackle this quarter! I did get the borders on it last quarter.

#7. Stitch this hot pad

#8. Get this project out of the fabric phase

#7. Get this project from the fabric stage to the finished stage. It's been on the list for a long time!

#8. Make some progress on this project. It's been in the fabric stage for over a year. 

#9. A potential vest for the youngest grand

#10. Potholder fabrics

#9. I made a skirt out of this fabric for one grand. This is the left overs. . .I'm thinking there is enough to make a vest for the youngest grand.

#11. Make two kitchen towels

#10. Make four pot holders. . .years ago, I put together some fabrics in a shoe box. . .it's time to get that box out and start stitching!!! I made one of the four that I had planned for last quarter.

#11.  Stitch the leftover bits from a previous kitchen towel goal into two more towels.

#12. Three pillow cases to be stitched

#12. One pillow case

#12. Stitch four pillow cases. . .The photo with the three pillow cases will be used to house quilts. The photo with the one pillow case will be donated. I think I need to find a little more fabric to be able to get it stitched!

#13.-#14. I'm thinking the grands might want a dress or top for summer and this pattern would be fun to stitch. Maybe they will help sew their garments? I cut these out last quarter; but, didn't get them under the needle.

#13.-#14. Clothing for the grands

#15. Chicken placemat kit

#15. For Christmas, I received this placemat kit. The chicken pattern is cute. It is time to stitch it up!!

#16. Stitch a second selvage tote

#16. In the first quarter, I made a tote with these fabrics and selvages. I had planned to add a pocket to the back of the tote; but, didn't because I would have sewn over my inside pockets. I'd like to make another tote and put that pocket to good use! I'm not sure that I have enough of the rust. . . .but, I guess that is part of the journey to choose a fabric that will mix or another one all together!! Perhaps, I can use the lining fabric from the last tote to make the pockets. I will need to select a coordinating fabric for the lining.

#17. Play with this mosaic design

#17.  Play with a mosaic design that Cheryl Lynch shared on a recent episode of The Quilt Show.

#18. Stitch two black swimsuits.

#18. Stitch two black swimsuits

#19. Add some embroidery to the color block squiggle and get that piece finished!

#19. Add some embroidery to this project

#20. Appliqué, quilt and bead

#20. Finish the appliqué, quilt and bead this piece. It was on this list before.

#21. Make another stash and go bag. I'm determined to develop better skills with the binding! The fabric was leftover from cutting out a halter dress last quarter.  I won't cut it out until I get the dresses stitched. Time to get busy!

#22. Make a skirt for a grand out of these fabrics.  The grand it is for, wants to be part of the stitching process. How fantastic is that???

#21 Stitch another Stash and Go bag

#22. Stitch a skirt for a grand

#23-#24. Make two swimsuits for youngest daughter. . .because she asked! I'm not sure if this fabric will work. . .if not, she'll get black suits!!! Maybe, I'll be able to get two suits out of one piece. Time will tell!

#23-#24 Swimsuits to stitch for a daughter