Spring Break flight

Last week was Spring Break for my daughter, so we flew to Indiana to visit my brother, his wife and THE CUTEST BABY IN THE WORLD!  It was fun to play with my nephew and do my best to spoil him rotten.

The flight itself was a nice milestone. This is the first time I flew a long cross-country flight without another pilot next to me. The air was a bit bumpy but I managed it and arranged "VFR flight following" (voice contact with air traffic controllers who watch out for me) nearly the entire 5 hour journey coming and going. Wow, I flew 10.5 hours this week!

Tip to other pilots:  Do NOT fly with a hungry teenager. He/she will hound you to land at the closest airport with a restaurant or fill your cockpit with snack wrappers from the last airport's vending machines.

 Views from the air:

We actually had to delay our return flight one day after waking up to a freak snow shower when a cool front went through.

As for sewing, I returned to working on Celtic Solstice King and found myself needing to take a quick break to finish something---anything!  So I put together a Connecting Threads tote bag kit. I substituted the orangey floral middle section with a soft blue which is my favorite color. The bag is bigger than it looks and has pockets sewn to the lining. See the 2014 Quilts tab for that view.

April Activities

Sometimes you have to take a break and sew some small projects. I made another lunch bag as a gift for my sweet sister-in-law.  I expanded the size a bit and had to wing-it (hah!) with the Soft & Stable and cover. It turned out quite nice, if I do say so myself!

Then I started sewing a small kit from Connecting Threads -- but I can't show it yet because it's gift.

Finally I returned to quilting. The Red Cross quilt is sandwiched and ready for quilting. I also added two and a half rows to Jamestown Landing / Blueberry Hill. Seven and a half more rows to go, then it will be time to work on the blue string border. [Will this ever get finished???]

The weather is improving! Spring has finally arrived! A few hours were dedicated to preparing the raised beds in my garden then planting peas and lettuce. Next week the broccoli and cabbage plants can be added. Another week later it will time to put in more seeds and tomato plants. The rhubarb is already starting to show. We should see some asparagus spears in the next couple weeks, too.

And more importantly...I got in some fun flying time, just a few takeoffs and landing for practice and 'currency'.  I need three takeoffs and landings every 90 days to be deemed proficient enough to carry passengers, but I like to keep the interval to 30 days or less to keep my skills fresh. Plus my airplane engine needs the exercise (or at least a splash of oil across the cylinders). And it puts a big smile on my face and a spring in my step after being up in the air.

This week I had a couple incidents which caused me to reflect a bit on the Vietnam War. At the EAA meeting this week, our guest speaker was a guy who talked about flying helicopters in the war. He had lots of funny stories but also shared the sobering fact that half of his flight class died in the war. He also compared his opinion about why that war was 'lost' and how history seems to be repeating itself in Afghanistan and Iraq. [So true!]  Tonight I read an article in Sport Aviation about a pilot who spent 8 years as a POW. Recalling his vivid description about his captivity, final release and the trepidation he felt in rebuilding his life is still bringing tears to my eyes as I type. He eventually continued his career flying for a major airline and organizing a group of guys to honor fallen or returned soldiers with formation flights. What an amazing man! I wish I could have met him before he passed away recently.

Oh to be 17

Happy Birthday to my dear daughter! 

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

"Slow and steady wins the race".  It's like a mantra I have to keep repeating, reminding me that a quilt is a collection of blocks of time, not just a collection of fabric blocks.  In the past two weeks I have added to the Blueberry Hill / Jamestown Landing quilt and around 14 blocks for king-size Celtic Solstice.  I have also made four blocks for Block Lotto's March drawing. My fingers are crossed in hopes that I win some blocks this month.

Next I will be making a lunch bag as a gift for my sister-in-law, tweaking the design to make it a bit bigger and improve on the version I made for myself.  I also bought a tote bag kit from Connecting Threads to make another gift which I will not describe yet because the intended recipient follows this blog. 

I highly recommend Soft-and-Stable to give structure to bags. My first package of S-S (18 x 58 inches) went fast; I was able to line two lunch bags and one side of a larger tote bag and have just a 3 x 20 piece left over.  It is a thin foam with just the right blend of flexibility and stiffness.



Spring is coming

Not much has changed with the ongoing sewing projects. Added a couple rows of Jamestown Landing, sewed a few more components for king-size Celtic. Still waiting for dry ground to lay out flimsies and spray on basting adhesive. Then I got a wild hair and made myself a lunch bag. I'm so proud of it!

Saturday was 50 degrees and winds were light. FINALLY it was great flying weather! I made a quick call to the airport manager Friday evening and he got our icy hangar doors open so we can escape. Hubby and I flew west about an hour then found out our favorite airport cafe was closed. Oh well, we flew east and went to our second favorite airport cafe. We met up with a couple friends, did a little hangar talk, then hopped back home.

He really was thrilled to be up in the air, just not happy to have his picture taken. Too bad!

This is the view from the cockpit. The snow has been hanging around but a few more days like today and it will just be muddy. [Those gray lines across the front is actually how my camera shows a spinning propellor. Funny!]

Anyway, it was very satisfying to get back up and enjoy the scenery. Hope you had a nice day, too!

The Long Haul

It is the last week of February and I had hoped to have another quilt done-done. Did not happen. But at least I have two flimsies ready - Red Cross and Royal Flush - and the backings are stitched and sized.  I have all the blocks for 1860s Revival ready to be trimmed and assembled. I made three blocks for Block Lotto.  And.....

I spent almost the entire Presidents Day cutting and sewing pieces for expanding Celtic Solstice to king-size.

  

I decided to resist the urge to start a new project and keep slogging away at this one and Blueberry Hill.  As for the two flimsies ready to go, I found spray basting works best for my rudimentary quilting apparatus (basic Singer sewing machine). Eventually the ground outside will be clear and dry enough to lay out the two flimsies for spraying. Then I can get some quilting done and FINALLY finish two more UFOs [and maybe start a new project!!!].

Life isn't all about sewing, thankfully. I spent yesterday with my daughter and her friend shopping for prom dresses. Yee gads.  Three hours and three stores later, they finally found their dream dresses. They posted their selfies online to 'reserve' the color and design --- no other girls at their school are supposed to buy the same one. Yeah, I hope that works!

On a higher note, the snow and ice are STILL blocking my hangar door.  We have dug out what we can but the snow keeps sliding down the roof, and drips inside the door keep freezing up at night. It was gorgeous flying weather yesterday, but not possible for me to get up yet. I am reading "Hawk and Me" by David Helms to pass the time. David shares his experiences of flying his beloved single-engine Hawk XP on a 10,000 mile journey across the US.  It's pretty good, a bit different than a couple similar journey books I have read. If you want a great one, though, I recommend Stephen Coonts "The Cannibal Queen". Coonts is an awesome writer; I felt like I took the trip with him in the 1942 Stearman.

Two Steps Forward

 You know the saying "Two steps forward, one step back"?  This year's theme is Focus (on Finishing). I have a goal of finishing three quilt projects before starting a new one. Three steps forward, one step back.  Autumn Leaves is done, Red Cross is ready to quilt, and both Royal Beads and 1860s revival are being assembled into a top. That's exciting! 

But my mind is already dreaming of which project will be the next NEW one.

Which project should I begin?  Please add a comment and let me know which one you'd choose.

1.  Bonnie Hunter's Double Delight (I like this border option)

2. Bonnie Hunter's Carolina Crossroads in blue & orange

3. Batik Jewelbox

4. Bonnie Hunter's Smith Mountain Morning

5. Or should I keep working on unfinished projects such as the expansion of Celtic Solstice into king size? I already cut the fabric pieces for the first step (neutral and orange triangles with tri-rec wings).