London Through the Eyes on an 11 Year Old--post 5

View of one wall of the coffee shop

One place J wanted to visit was a particular coffee shop. At 11, she doesn't like the taste of coffee; but, this shop makes great dairy free smoothies. That was not the reason that she wanted to go there. She wanted to go because she wanted to see for herself what the hype was all about.

More eclectic trinkets

The shop is Fuckoffe. It is pronounced Fu coffee. The link will tell you about the origins of the shop. My family has laughed because there was a time that my drink of choice there was a smoothie with banana, non dairy milk and coffee. It had a name that I could not say. I rarely swear and if I do, I don't use the F word. I've noticed Londonners seem to use that word or some derivative of it it  often in a conversation. 

Example of the souvenir shirt

My daughter, who has no issues with that word, would order for me. If I went to the shop on my own, I would point to the item and say that I'd like that option with oat milk. The barista would say. . ."Oh, one MotherF* with oat milk coming up!" Even that would make me blush. This blushing action delighted the members of my party.

J with her berry smoothie

Now, my drink of choice is an iced Americano with oat milk. There is no need to utter a profanity! J ordered a berry smoothie which she enjoyed. She did purchase a shirt. 

The other activity that J enjoyed was seeing a performance of Wicked put on through the London Theater. She and her auntie attended the event. She convinced her auntie to purchase a souvenir sweatshirt for her from the event. All in all, London was a great place to vacation!

Next week, I'll share a couple of highlights of our trip to Paris. That will be my last travel post!

London Through the Eyes of An 11 Year Old--post 4

Arrival at restaurant 

J's Auntie, N, made lunch reservations at Héléne Darroze at the Connaught. It is a three star Michelin restaurant. J was extra excited about the opportunity to eat a fancy lunch. J is open to trying new foods; but, she has an intolerance to dairy which the staff accommodated.

Special purse for a special lunch

To ensure that J had great accessories, N lent J a special bag for the lunch. N made the reservation in J's name so J would have the opportunity to interact more with the staff. We shared the occasion was for her birthday and that J is an aspiring cook, she would like to see the kitchen if that could be possible.

Special appetizers

N supports women owned businesses and women in the workplace. She has experienced more than her share of male dominance in the workplace. She positions herself to encourage women to excel in their areas of expertise and to keep reaching for their goals. She shares this passion with her nieces too!

J's Wagyu beef

When we arrived, J walked up to the reservation desk and let them know that she and her party were here for lunch! 

Dessert

She enjoyed the lunch. She did get a special birthday dessert in addition to the lunch dessert. I didn't snap a photo of it though!

Chocolate thank you bites 

We all received a round of chocolate at the end of the meal. We also received a small sesame like cookie.

Us at the end of lunch

Our waiter took a photo of us at the table.

J with her mounted photo

Then, J was given the photo mounted on card stock and in an envelope. It was a perfect memento.

J with her chef hat in the chef's kitchen

She also was treated to a trip to the kitchen. We were allowed a few minutes to watch the staff prepare the dishes as well as watch how the chef interacted with everyone while ensuring each dish left the kitchen perfectly. Our guide took a photo of us. The hostess gifted J with her own chef's hat.

The last bite of lunch

As we were leaving, we were gifted with a sweet "bite" to enjoy at home. It was a great way to spend the afternoon,

London Through the Eyes of an 11 Year Old--post 3

 

Our tour guide

On J's list of must see was touring the Tower of London. We started with a tour from a Beefeater. These men and woman share interesting stories about the buildings and people who lived and died there. Our guide had served 26 years in the Navy and was the number 420th Beefeater. There isn't a lot of turnover in that position!

J listening to the guide

The tale the tour guide wove kept J's attention. We walked to various spots on the grounds to listen to the guide. It was 45 minutes well spent and included in the ticket price.

Reading about the White Tower

She saw the White Tower. She was impressed with the armaments for people and for the horses. 

J in front of the Bell Tower

I took a photo of her in front of the Bell Tower. 

Taking photos

She took photos of places that interested her. Often, she scouted way ahead of me!

In the queue for the Crown Jewels

She most wanted to see the Crown Jewels so of course we checked those out. She was surprised that there were so many crowns.

J with Amanda Clark

As we walked the grounds, we happened to see a woman Beefeater. There have been three in the history. This is Amanda J Clark. When I asked if I could snap a photo of her with J, she said yes!

London through the eyes of an 11 year old--post 2

J requested a boat tour on the Thames. She reasoned that listening to stories would be more entertaining that racing down the river in speed boat or taking a dignified city cruise or riding in the water public transport. She was right!

J in front of the fountain near our pick up point

J enjoyed the Terrible Thames boat tour. Over the years that I've visited, I've heard the music on this tour as the boat travels within site of my daughter's flat. We didn't have far to go to arrive at the meeting point. We only had to walk across Tower bridge and then down to the dock.

J enjoying the tour

The tour was 45 minutes and perfect for kids/families. J enjoyed learning a little about the history of some of the bridges and buildings along the route. 

London Through the Eyes Of An 11 Year Old--post 1

At departure from Portland, Oregon

July 23 through August 6, my 11 year old granddaughter, J, and I visited London, England where my daughter and youngest granddaughter live. The four of us also spent four days in Paris, France. This was J's first time to London and France. We took the usual photos before departing the Portland airport. It is a "thing" here, to photo one's shoes against the airport carpet before one leaves. We made sure to capture that moment!

Iconic shoe photo with the airport carpet

I'll be writing a series of posts describing the top six activities of J's trip. There is no particular order to the posts There may be several activities in a post. 

The cats at the cafe

This post will highlight having high tea at Whiskers and Cream which is a cat cafe. Admittance is by reservation only. The cats are rescues. Patrons can pet, play, photo and admire the cats during their reservation time. The cat no no rules were few. You can't feed the cats people food and you can't pick up the cats. You could order a drink, a drink and a dessert, a high tea or a meal. The time period for high tea was 90 minutes.

The cat, Jack

J LOVED watching, petting and photographing the various cats. She took more than 100 photos/videos of the cats. She snapped the majority of photos in this post.

Basil about to leap

There were cats on tables, on chairs, on scratching posts and in cat beds scattered about the cafe.

Basil in repose

The patrons were all busy with The food was definitely second fiddle to the cats as far as J was concerned! She has an intolerance to dairy. This cafe was able to make a tea that contained no dairy which was great.

Jack making himself available for seating too

We did see one cat try to join a group having a high tea. One of the employees walked over and picked him up before he could help himself to the treats!

The three tier tea tray part way through tea

Our tea consisted of sandwiches, scones and a variety of desserts.

J rated the experience a success

To get to this location, we took a bus,  two trains and walked about ten minutes. I was impressed that I was able to navigate there and even more impressed that I was able to navigate back to my daughter's house!

I'll be using my Sunday posts to document our trip. Goal number six on my August list was to begin documenting my trip. 

Santa Tree Skirt--post 3

Ready for basting 

Over the years that I've made this pattern, the useable width of the fabric has decreased. I found that I adding a 4 inch strip to the backing made it much easier to layer this project. I used long pins to pin the layers together. 

Stiched around the edge and pin basted

Then I hand basted the sticking area. I added this time consuming step because doing it will decrease my chances of stitching in a tuck. A tuck would mean having to rip and restitch an area. 

I trimmed the excess batting and backing. I carefully stitched around the edges leaving an edge open for turning. Hand basting was worth the effort because I had no tucks! 

It was a beast to turn inside out; but, I did it without as much angst as I had anticipated. 

I pressed the turned edges and topstitched them to hold the layers in place. Then I pinned basted the layers to ready the project for machine quilting.

I stitched in the ditch with monofilament thread. In the first stitching session, I completed the ditch stitching and more than half of quilting the six belts.

Belt and Santa suit quilting

In my second stitching session the following day, I finished the belts and stitched half of the Santa suits before my body cried, "ENOUGH!"

Detail of suit and boot quilting

In my third session, I finished the Santa suits and started on the boots and dark fabric on the arms. I finished two before my body needed to stop.

Continuous curves stitched in the green part of the arms

In my fourth session, I finished the boots and the arms. I used a curved ruler to stitch a continuous curve in the green section of the arms. 

Defining the eyes

I stitched the outline of the eyes to provide a little more definition. I added a straight stitch around the mustache.

Paisley motif quilted in the beards

Using a paisley free motion motif, I stitched five of the beards. My body was super tired after that session!

Loop motif quilted in the background

The following day, I stitched the last beard and started quilting the background. I used micro quilter thread by Superior to quilt the background. I used Aurifil 50 weight cotton threads to quilt the Santas. I needed two more sessions to finish the quilting. 

Thread used in the project

I added the label, sashing it with the last of a Christmas fabric I purchased early in my quilting journey. I finished the tree skirt! Finishing this project was goal number three on my June list. I used seven yards of fabric; but, I've purchased some more wide backing so my net stash numbers are not increasing as much as I had hoped! 

Label

Fabric Summary:

Fabric in this month: 12 yards  (I bought two three yard wide back bundles.)  

Fabric in year to date: 38 yards

Fabric used from stash this month:  7 yards 

Fabric used from stash year to date: 55 yards

Net loss/gain this month: 5 yards

Net loss/gain year to date: -17 yards 

Ring of Santa's finished

This is a gift for my niece whose wedding is in July. Previous posts: cutting it out; piecing the skirt. Linking to Alycia at Finished or Not Friday and Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts.

Santa Tree Skirt--pieced--post 2

Santa's boots and belt buckle

Goal number eight on my April list was to continue piecing the Santa Tree skirt. Last month, I got off to a rough start. This month, I'm making progress! I did celebrate with a happy dance after I correctly pieced the boot sections this time!

Four Santa sections ready to piece into a block 

There are a lot of pieces in this project with a lot of marking squares on the diagonal and sewing the line, trimming the excess. There is also a lot of matching of angles. It is not a fast project! The finished blocks measure 12 and a half inches.

Face details

After the blocks are finished, I add the details to the face: the eyes and the mustache. I use fabric marking pens for the eyes. I add stabilizer (fusible backed interfacing) to the wrong side of the mustache pieces. I use a narrow reverse blind hem stitch to attach the mustache pieces to the face.

Pieced top

I always struggle with putting the blocks together. The layout is a little funky with parts of the block needing to be trimmed.This time, I had no issues with the "Y" seam at the bottom of the top. the seam at the top will be opened. The pattern has you cut it; but, if you do that, you will lose the points on the arms. I'll be adding a ruffle to the edge and ties. The step after that will be to add the batting and backing and sew around the edges leaving an opening to turn it. 

I may continue working on this project until I get it "birthed" and ready to quilt. I'm happy to have this much of it done! My niece is getting married in July and this tree skirt will be her wedding present.

I'm linking to Frédérique and Patchwork and Quilts and Cynthia at Oh Scrap.

A Germ of an Idea--post one

Panel for the project

Goal number eight on my March list was to figure out what to do for our next book club quilt. We are reading "The Dressmaker of Khair Khana" by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. I had read the book a couple years ago. RecentlyI listened to it through my library's Libby app. I tried to become inspired. Some books are easier than others. This story is about a woman who figures out a way to thrive under the Taliban rules for women in Afghanistan.

I was inspired by the color green because it was the green gate that was outside their home. Crossing through it meant they were safe at home. I was also inspired by the tiny flower the dressmaker made on her first project. I thought about all the handwork the women did. Perhaps, I could incorporate some beading and embroidery in this piece.

I'm trying to use from my stash. A couple years ago during a Zoom sew session, a friend shared some panel prints that she hadn't done anything with and was ready to let them go. I said I would like them. She gave them to me. It cost me the trip of driving into Portland to pick them up. 

Backing fabric for panel

At first, I was going to use them all in one piece. . .then, I thought of other options until nothing came to me and I stored them . . .out of sight, out of mind. . .until, I thought about a project for this book! This print with the green background is "it."

I have a backing fabric and will need to quilt it as the beading and embroidery will be embellishment. I was going to use a Warm and Natural type of batting. Instead, I will use wool batting because it will be easier to add the embellishments. I may call it "Fleur." I have other projects in the works---as is usual for me--so I may need to let the idea percolate for awhile. At least I have the germ of an idea! 

While I'm on the subject of books, my two favorite reads/listens this month were "Good Night Irene" by Louis Alberto Urrea and "Women in White Coats" by Olivia Campbell. I am reading/listening to Patrick Taylor's series which begins with "An Irish Country Doctor." 

New York City--Rockefeller Square

On another note, Blogger may have changed something which makes commenting on my blog impossible. I'm sad about missing your comment. I did goggle the issue. What did we do before google? I tried changing my comment settings which had no effect.  You might try emptying your cache to see if that works for you. Please let me know if it does! Thanks in advance!

A stuffed bear

We did enjoy the granddaughters' visit last Thursday. They didn't arrive until 11am as they wanted to sleep in! I was the one who baked the cookies and the sourdough rolls to go with my homemade chicken noodle soup. They did enjoy lunch and there were enough leftovers that I could put together a care package for my friend Wendy who had come down with a nasty cold bug.

The Eiffel Tower

The younger granddaughter and I did go for a swim at Wendy's pool; but the older granddaughter had time with Papa because she was getting over a cold. We did some art. We were prompted to find an inspiration. Miss K chose a photo from her trip to New York. Miss J chose a stuffed bear. I chose a piece of pottery.

We drew a resemblance of the inspiration. Then we played with taking a shape and making something else out of the shape. We added words. It was fun and a great way to journal a trip or an activity. We spent about half an hour on the activity. While we worked independently, we chatted as we worked which was fun too!

Linking to Frédérique at Patchwork and Quilts and Cynthia at Oh Scrap!