Happy Jubilee Birthday

The passage of time is inevitable. I will be celebrating the 21st anniversary of my 29th birthday. Yes, I admit I will be turning 50.  Kicking and screaming inside. It's just another day, says a friend of mine. Hopefully I don't look [or act] my age.

I like to mark my milestone birthdays with friends, so I decided to have a party on Saturday. I decided to cater the food myself, except for the cake, Friday night I was a busy beaver. Both ovens were in use. Got it all cooked and made the salad the next morning. Ready to go.

And it was a FUN party and a good turnout. There were a several friends who were unable to come for one reason or another. There were a few who came that I had forgotten to invite. LOL  I even gave a speech. Here is what I said, more or less.

"  Thank you all for coming here to help me celebrate my fifth decade on this planet. Thank you to the EAA board for allowing me to use this facility. And thank you to my husband for making my dreams come true.

    As my birthday approached I realized it would come whether I wanted it to or not, I decided what I wanted most was to celebrate it with all of my friends. Funny, when I made of list of friends to invite, nearly all of these were "airport people". Six years ago when I went to my first EAA chapter meeting, I came home with a big grin, saying "these are my people".  Now, six years later, I can claim "these are my Friends".

   Jean-Paul Sarte wrote a play "No Exit" in which a character famously exclaims "Hell is Other People". Let me explain why. The play is a metaphor for a mirror. You can see your character, your essence, reflected by the people who surround you.  The character in this play is a mean, egotistical jerk so he didn't like what he saw. As I look around me, I see people who are interesting, intelligent, a little quirky, and fun-loving. That makes me feel good about myself. I like who I am. So I say "Other People are Heaven, not Hell".

    Inside the kitchen area is a table with a list of what I have accomplished in my First 50 years. There is also a page for you to write suggestions for my Next 50 years. Help me figure out what to do next!

    Before we eat, let's take a moment to thank our Creator.  Dear God, thank you for bringing us together to celebrate my birthday. Thank you for the beautiful weather. Thank you for the food that we are about to eat. Please keep us safe and bring us fair skies and tailwinds. In Jesus' name, Amen. "

For my quilting friends:  I decided my jubilee quilt was the "Broncos Crossroads" quilt I finished last December (see post here). It has 50 blocks so it seemed appropriate. I love how it turned out. The quilt is based on the "Carolina Crossroads" design by Bonnie Hunter. I made it a bit bigger, changed the border, and used one fabric for the background and one orange for the accents. 

Strawberry Fields Forever

After making all those potholders mentioned in my last post, I ran out of Insul-bright.  My go-to place to buy quilting supplies online is Connecting Threads.  To take advantage of the free shipping, I had to buy more fabric. <big fake sigh>  I bought yardage for finishing up a couple quilts ….and yardage for a new quilt.  I just HAD to--the fabric wasn’t whispering, it was yelling at me!  Which means I have fallen off the bandwagon again. But hopefully I will finish this one quickly and return with perseverance in finishing up more UFOs. See how I worked in my theme word for this year?

Check out the Sep/Oct 2015 issue of McCalls Quilting magazine for the quilt “Strawberries & Cream” designed by Kathy Flowers. I collect strawberries. Even though there is not a strawberry shape anywhere on this quilt, the title and strawberry red color caught my eye.

But I don’t want a white background. I am drawn to the teal/red combo, so that’s what I intend to use for this quilt.  I am also planning to alter the border slightly to give a bit more separation and attention to the little bitty nine-patch corners. This quilt has three sizes of nine-patches so it will serve as my participation in the nine-patch theme of 2015. And I will add strawberries to the back to make the name a reality.  I have some strawberry print yardage I have been saving for a special project such as this.  Kathy, the designer, sent a nice note to me when I told her that I was inspired by her quilt. Here is a quick view of Step 1 and a preview of the color combo I chose.

On a higher note, September is a lovely month for flying. During the Labor Day weekend while my daughter was visiting, we flew to a nearby airport for lunch. That's a favorite activity of pilots, flying out for that $100 hamburger.

Later that day, my husband took her up again as his first passenger now that he is a full-fledged private pilot. It was a gorgeous evening as you can see.

Piece and Plenty

After finishing a project, sometimes  you feel the urge to begin a new project even though you have thousands hundreds several unfinished projects waiting. So what's a quilter to do?  Make a few potholders!

I came across an adorable potholder set on Craftsy. Check this out:
 
My version:

This was SO much fun to make!  I had a package of InsulBright just waiting for the right use. Leftover batting scraps from previous quilts were recycled.  My stash was perfect for this and I only had to add a bit of terry cloth for the buns.

Speaking of terry cloth, my fabric store only had bright white terry cloth, so I bought it anyway and used a tea bag to stain a portion for the insides of the hamburger buns.

I found the instructions to be decent, but no help AT ALL on how to deal with the binding ends. I finally figured out the best way after finishing the last one.

The most fun item was the tomato. You'll see.

The most difficult was that #$%@# lettuce. Those ruffles were so frustrating! What worked for me was using my serger on the cut edge of the ruffle to keep the fabric from raveling. I marked the ruffle at each quarter point to ensure the gathers were evenly distributed. Next I basted around the edge with a doubled thread (single threads snap too easily). Then I pinned to the green circle at each quarter point and began pulling in the gathers. A few more pins and some careful sewing and it was ready to stuff and complete.

These potholders were so much fun, I couldn't stop. Next I made this one based on a free pattern from Jacquelyn Stevens (it's free on Craftsy).

Then I made another one.

And then there were three:

Here is a view of the back side:

All of the fabrics are from Connecting Threads from previous projects. This combo was so cheery! And it was a great way to use up part of my stash of scraps. I hand stitched the binding down because my skills at machine stitching binding are still under developed.

On a higher note.... a milestone birthday is approaching so my daughter painted this as a gift and gave it to me early. She did this freehand from a photo of my beloved "Bravo" Cessna 170B. Great job on this, sweetie!

College Quilt

My little girl is growing up!  We made the big college move yesterday. However, after making her bed and putting up a few decorations, she was ready for me to leave. What? Already?  My baby doesn’t need me anymore (except to pay the bills, I guess). This move is a big transition for both of us, not just for her. It was a totally stressful time this past week as she procrastinated then packed in a huge flurry of activity. At least I already had her sheets and towels washed and packed up, plus cleaning supplies and various odds and ends.  I also finished up her ‘College Quilt’ and she snuggled in it the night before her move. She loved it!

Dorm rooms have changed significantly in the new millennium. Each room or suite has its own bathroom. She has a unit with one roommate and they have their own bathroom with a shower. The two-sink area is just outside the bathroom door and each girl has their own closet. Storage is about the same, just four drawers plus a desk with its own drawers. So most kids find ways to maximize the empty area under their beds. Clear plastic tubs were a great choice for us. She is able to see what is inside, plus use them for under bed storage. One kid lifted his bed to almost top bunk level so he could fit plastic three-drawer units underneath. That will work only until the first time he gets drunk and tries to crawl in bed. Ha!

One of the best things I did was to compare prices and order some of her books from Amazon, then ordered the rest online with her college bookstore. It’s amazing how the used book market was so well established.  Then again, I deprived her of the “fun” of waiting in those long lines at the bookstore. Ah, those rites of passage. Maybe she will get that chance when she sells back the used books.

The night before her move, my daughter was a big sobbing mess. She was so nervous and worried about school and about leaving home behind.  I sat down and asked her to list her concerns then we could address them one by one. One of her concerns was if Home would still be the same. I told her that we were gutting her room and turning it into a quilting studio. At her shocked look, I laughed and told her that I would simply close the door and leave everything the same. (Ugh, I didn’t want to walk in to that mess anyway!). Concern addressed.

She was also worried  about her class schedule. She wondered if she would have to walk all the way across campus within 10 minutes between two of her classes. Every student worries about that!  I pulled out the campus map and we checked where each building was in relation to her dorm and dining hall. Her classes were in adjacent buildings, so no worries there.  I also suggested she walk through her schedule a couple times to make sure she knew where everything was.  Just like she did in high school. Concern addressed.

We talked through her worry list one by one. This was a valuable life lesson for her. If worries pile up, make a list and plan how to address each one. You may need to prioritize them. But it’s easier to deal with the worries one-by-one than to let them fester. Worries grow into big thunderstorms of stress if you don’t find a way to deal with them.

Anyway, back to the big move-in. Her college housing association had it all nicely organized. You pull your car into a close parking spot, unload then move your car to a farther lot. Post-it notes with your room number are placed on every box. Older students carry your things up to your room while you check in to get your key. It was so fast and smooth!

We arrived about 30 minutes before my daughter’s roommate, so we had time to organize and unpack a bit before the room filled up with boxes again. That’s about when my daughter wanted me to go, way before I was ready go. Oh well. On the drive home, I turned on an oldies station and sang along to make the trip enjoyable. 

Then I came home to an empty house. An empty, very peaceful house.  I poured a glass of wine and began texting my daughter. So, what did you do after I left? Did you remember to get your mailbox key?  Mom, where are my hangars? Mom, where are my headphones?  Ah, she is gone but definitely not forgotten.

New Pilot

Congratulations to my hubby who became a licensed private pilot today!  I am very proud of him! Now we just have to work out how we will share control of my airplane.....

Redneck Riviera

Last week my husband and I embarked on a long journey over 900 nautical miles, from northeast US to the southernmost edge of Alabama in our airplane “Bravo”. 

We awoke before sunrise to get an early start, but endured a few hours delay until a storm system passed through Virginia.  At last we loaded up and took off. Loaded to near max weight and the summer temperatures rising, Bravo climbed much slower than usual.  At least the natural air conditioning kicked in soon (temperature drops 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit every 1000 feet).

We journeyed west to avoid DC airspace and Camp David, then turned south.  The cloud layer kept us lower than we hoped and created some mild turbulence. At the second fuel stop we were in Tennessee and feeling hungry. It was also approaching evening so we decided to find a hotel and take up our journey the next day.  The airport was deserted, though, and in the middle of a rural area.  A quick call to the friendly airport manager, and we were driving a few miles to the nearest town in search of food. We filled our bellies with pizza and ice cream (hey, we stuck with what we knew) and found a nice hotel.

The next day, clouds again delayed our trip for a couple hours. This town was in the middle of a valley. Valleys tend to collect ground fog which needs the sun to quickly melt away.  Climbing in the air again, we headed south, dodging hills and small rain clouds.  At one point we passed near Talladega, a nice airstrip next to the famous racetrack.

Yes, I sang a few lines of that Eric Church song….

Over Talladega, boys raised up,
Whiskey in your glass, here's to turning up,
Slowing down and cars that go real fast,
We were laughing and living, drinking and wishing,
And thinking as that checkered flag was waving,
Sure would like to stay in Talladega.

Funny thing about flying with another pilot. You can share flying duty (control of the yoke), but only one person can be pilot in command. LOVE that aspect because it was still ME on this trip. He wanted to climb above the clouds, but I exercised my judgment and stayed lower. Those cumulus clouds were building and given the weather front I worried that the cloud layer would close and we wouldn’t be able to find a hole to duck through to land at our destination.  [Gotta work on that instrument rating so clouds won’t be as much of a factor.]

Somewhat later, we watched the coastline emerge in front of us and landed safely at our destination airport near Gulf Shores, AL.  A blast of heat and humidity greeted us as we climbed out to tether Bravo to the ground. Then our friends pulled up in their SUV of air conditioned comfort. A short drive later we arrived at the beach front hotel.

Our week of activities began. Museum tours of USS Alabama Battleship, USS Drum Submarine, Pensacola Naval Air Station. Waterville water park. Shrimp boil at Jack Edwards Airport. Dinner and drinks with friends in the International Cessna 170 organization. Pictures with our traveling gnome Frank.

And my favorite….long walks on the beach. Feel your body relax as you gaze on the gorgeous sunset.

A friend of mine calls the Gulf Shore area “Redneck Riviera”.  Seems rather derogatory for the beautiful, white sand beaches we saw.  One really nice feature was their practice of flying specially-colored flags to let swimmers know how safe the water might be – from sharks or jellyfish.  No shark sightings in the area (must have been visiting the Carolinas), but there were plenty of jellyfish.  I stayed out of the ocean and swam only in the lovely hotel pool. Or hung out at the bar drinking mai tais.

All too soon the week was over. It was time to head home. Once again we hopped in the airplane and started north.  The Military Operations Area by Pensacola was “hot” which meant we needed to keep watch for fast military trainers. We adjusted our flight plan slightly to scoot out of the airspace as quickly as possible. The weather was cooperating with us, although still keeping us below 5000 feet and sending a bit of clear air turbulence to hold our attention.  Headwinds made the first part of our journey slower than we wanted, yet we made up that time with a nice tailwind across Maryland and Pennsy. Three fuel stops and we were almost home. Will we make it before sunset?  It was close but we made it!  What a relief to be back safely and sleep in our own bed.

Vacation is over.  Back to the household routine and unfinished projects.

My niece’s t-shirt quilt was waiting for me. I need more pellon to stabilize the remaining shirts and just the right border fabric. Oh, and some idea of how I want to handle the sashing. And eventually I need to put the binding on my king-size Celtic Solstice.

My garden was filled with TONS of green beans, cucumbers and squash, plus a few tomatoes. I canned 8 quarts of green beans, 8 half-pints of sweet pickle relish.  I baked zucchini bread and cooked homemade spaghetti squash.  And I still have a counter full of produce to cook, preserve or give away. 

Ah, it’s good to be home!

Summer Update

Summer is halfway over but at least there are six more weeks until the big college move. Here is why I have been neglecting my blog:

1.  Ginormous Garden Growth

2. Fantastic Flying Fun

Congrats to local pilot Jason Flood who received FAA permission for an aerobatic training "box". Check out the video here and watch for Jason's smile at 2:38.  Jason flies an exciting aerobatic routine in the annual airshow at my local airport.

3. Wonderful Workout Walking (no pictures of me actually walking - you don't want to see my sweaty bod). YES - I was finally in first place at least once.

4. And finally - Quietly Quaint Quilting.

          Mocha Swirl is quilted and bound - DONE.

          Red Cross is nearly done, just a few more blocks to quilt. It's already bound.

          Colossal Celtic Solstice is now quilted, trimmed and ready to bind. [Loud TA DA]. It's actually a bit too big for my queen-size bed. Then again, it is a king-size quilt. Cindy, my longarm gal (machine, not her arms), said she only had a couple inches to spare on her leader. The quilting is perfect for this pattern - enhances without overwhelming.  Love it, love it, love it!

How is your summer going?