Busy Monday

I got up early and walked for 1.5 miles; then spent the rest of the day doing chores. I've made a list of things I want to do this week and have it posted on the fridge. Since I'm the kind of person who will do a job just to have the satisfaction of checking it off the list, I thought this method might help me to get more accomplished. Today I managed to check off all but three items, and those jobs will be moved to tomorrow's list. I need to load up the early part of the week because I tend to run out of steam along about Thursday.

Last night I managed to finish Clue 3 on the Mystery Stole 4. And I'm already 5 rows into Clue 4! Unfortunately, when I put in the lifeline at the end of Clue 3, I managed to include my stitch markers, where they will have to stay until I put in the next lifeline and remove this one; so I had to scrounge up 8 more markers to use until then.

Taste of Morgan Hill

The South Valley Quilt Association puts on a quilt show every year on the last weekend in September. It is held in conjunction with Taste of Morgan Hill in the MH Community Center, a great venue. There is one really large room where they hang most of the quilts and several smaller rooms for the vendors (always an important part of any quilt show); they also hang many more quilts in the hallway that runs the length of the building.

Once again, the quilts were outstanding. I always come away from this show inspired to create more and better quilts. A couple of years ago there were several quilts based on Louisa L. Smith's Strips and Curves book. The four of us in the Courthouse Quilters group decided that we would each sew one of these and enter them in the Pinnacle Quilt Guild April 2007 show, which we did.


This year there were two quilts from Bella Bella Quilts ; both were absolute knockouts! I've had this book on my Amazon wish list for several months and now I think I need to order it soon.
The quilt on the far right has Celtic applique in the center and the corners. We chatted with the quiltmaker and she said that this is the first time she has ever entered anything in a show. She doesn't even belong to a guild, although she says she is planning to join the SVQA. I did get a program but not the leaflet which gave the quilt names and makers. So I don't know this lady's name but I'm trying to find someone who does know.

The featured artist was Carla Gulati who does these amazing pieces.

I think this lady must have wandered in from the vintage car show
which stretched for two blocks on Main Street.

Moving Along on the BQM

I'm working on the backing for the Burger Queen Mystery Quilt. These are extra blocks - the blue stars were my original block but I decided that the blue should be the background not the stars; the 3" star blocks were extras - somehow I miscounted; the circle in a square block is made from leftover pieces. Those triangles were not easy to cut and I don't want to waste any. So I am going to incorporate these five blocks into my pieced backing.





This cool print was planned to be the border on the front but I decided that it didn't look so good. I left it pinned up on the design wall for a good two weeks hoping it would begin to look better. But that didn't work this time so I've decided to use it on the back. Right now my plans are to set the above blocks at various angles with this print filling in around them. There probably won't be quite enough so I will use the blue from the front border and a gold print all around. I have plenty of both.


I still don't know how I'm going to quilt this baby. One of the group members suggested quilting with the back on top but I'm not that experienced a machine quilter and am a little afraid of going that route without a good all-over print to guide me. I have the book Quilting Back to Front but I just don't think I'm ready yet.

Meet the Goats

I went to the LDS Family History Center this afternoon to order a microfilm for my Stout family research and when I left I heard a rustling coming from the edge of their parking lot. Of course I had to investigate, and this is what I found. Four goats foraging, two were eating grass and two were nibbling on the bark of some small trees.



We have some dried up corn still on our cornstalks, so we are going to ask the goat owner if he would like to have them. I don't think they would be much good in the compost bin anyway.







This is the third time I've planted microgreens and I haven't managed to actually put any on the table yet.
I'm not even sure how to use them or if we will like them. Supposedly they are being used in the finest restaurants and, being as they are the plant stage just past sprouts, they've got to be healthy.

The first two time I planted them I didn't get to use them when they were ready and then it was too late. To tell the truth, I'm so used to having a couple of months between sowing and harvesting, that I forgot about them. I planted these in the greenhouse on 9/18 and this is the amount of growth just five days later. Most seeds haven't even sprouted in five days! This time we are going to eat them. This week. Guaranteed...


The Burger Queen Mystery quilt has its borders. The rust border is 1", the 2" middle border matches the stars and the 3"outer border is a different fabric from the background but the color is close. I ran out of the blue basketweave, unfortunately because I really love it. Now to plan the backing.

Road Trip Yarn Purchases

The dark skein is Schaefer Andrea, Jane Addams colorway. It is 100% silk, laceweight, about 1093 yards. I couldn't resist it - the colors are so glorious: garnet, olive, teal, and I keep seeing hints of lavender but cannot actually find any lavender. I will probably use it for a shawl from Victorian Lace Today.

The pastel skein is Prism Lace Wool, color Spice. It is 100% wool, also laceweight and about 1460 yards. The colors range from lavenders to pinks to yellows and beiges. Another shawl, maybe from the same book. There are so many I would like to knit from that book.

The balls of yarn are Jojoland Melody Superwash, 100% wool, fingering weight, about 220 yards per skein. They don't have named colors but we have a heathery pink and a heathery teal. I will probably be able to get 2 pairs of socks from each color.

These yarns were purchased at Knitwicks in Rogers, Arkansas. We were visiting the Husband's cousin BA in Bella Vista and his wife G found this shop for me. She doesn't knit but was very supportive of both my knitting and quilting habits. A true friend, indeed!

Knitting and Quilting

That's what I've been doing lately.

The Mystery Stole 4 is moving along nicely - I completed Clue 2 Friday, the day Clue 3 was released; I started Clue 3 on Saturday evening and knitted about 10 rows before bed. I thought it was going really quickly and that I'd finally progressed to the point where I would be able to keep up with a knitalong. Then I realized that all these clues will need to be done a second time for the other half of the stole. Some of the knitters are doing both halves at the same time but I thought that might be too confusing for me, especially with having to learn to knit with beads. Oh, well. At least I've learned some chart tricks, such as writing in the number of stitches when there is a long run of knit, and highlighting the symbol for a stitch and also all those stitches. That really helps when there are both left-leaning and right-leaning decreases. I'm highlighting the ssk in orange and leaving the k2tog alone. I've also rescued a metal bulletin board from the grandchildren's toy box and am using it for my chart. I cut a magnetic strip the length of the chart, attached a piece of ribbon to the sticky side and use that to mark my row. All of this really speeds the process. There aren't any beads in Clue 3 so it should go even more quickly.

Friday evening the granddaughters arranged my Burger Queen Mystery Quilt blocks for me and I sewed them together on Saturday. Today I added a 1" rust-colored inner border; still need to add two more borders before the top is finished. I'm still planning to piece the backing - need to keep using that stash!

Back to Normal

We've been back home for almost a week but I'm just now feeling that the trip is really over. I think it takes a while to come down from that feeling of being free, with no responsibilities. When I was still working, the job brought me down immediately, but now I can sort of coast in.


The garden was well taken care of while we were gone, even though the temps were close to 100 for several days in a row. Our neighbor watered regularly and our daughter and her family came over every weekend to do what needed to be done. The green beans appear to be pretty well finished. I think this is way too early for them to give up, so today I picked every bean I could find and tomorrow I will give them a good watering and some fish emulsion. Maybe I can bring them back for another month. The tomatoes are flopping all over the place which makes it hard to pick them. But they are producing like crazy and we should have enough to supply the family as well as the freezer. The figs are ripening slowly. We get a few every day and they are really yummy. The zucchini are still poking along but nothing like they did a couple of months ago. We pulled up the cucumbers and most of the lettuce before we left, so we are reduced to buying lettuce until my new crop is ready.


On the knitting front, I've finished Clue 1 in Mysterystole 4 knitalong. I know I already have two unfinished lace projects but this one has beads and I just couldn't resist it. I found the beads at Sun Country Gems in old town Albuquerque on our way home. I've never knitted with beads before but it's actually quite easy. These 29 rows only took me 3 evenings. What a difference from the Anniversary shawl - one row takes about an hour, assuming I don't have to correct a mistake. I'm hoping to get caught up with Clue 2 before Clue 3 is released Friday, and then stay caught up, using any extra time to work on the Anniversary shawl. The Spring Surprice shawl will just have to wait until these two are finished. It is by far the most difficult and I should be a much better lace knitter by the time I go back to it.

Today was the first time I turned the sewing machine on since we got home. I finished the extra blocks for the Burger Queen quilt and now they are waiting for the grandchildren's next visit. I don't do random very well so I'm going to have them arrange the blocks in a 4x5 rectangle, then I will sew them together, add the border, and they'll be ready to baste and quilt. Actually, I will probably do a pieced backing to use up even more of my stash. That's the same stash that was somewhat enhanced by visits to four quilt shops in Missouri and Arkansas. But that's another story...

Final Leg of the 13-State Tour

After we left St. Louis we drove west through southern Missouri encountering some really heavy rainstorms, the result of Hurricane Gustave which had hit New Orleans Labor Day weekend. We never see rains like this in California! We were probably lucky that there wasn't thunder and lightning, or tornado warnings.
We stayed the night in Rolla, MO and drove on to Carthage the next morning. We probably could have spent more time in Rolla and Carthage, but were anxious to get to Bella Vista, Arkansas where we planned to spend a few days with the Husband's cousin and his wife. They have a very nice house in a wooded area. When you look out the windows, it feels like you are in the middle of a forest, with no other houses around.


Bentonville, AR, home of Walmart. Bella Vista is in Benton County, so we had to make the trip to see where it all started. The building behind the Husband is actually a museum.

Later this day we managed to visit a yarn shop and two quilt shops. I enhanced both my yarn and fabric stashes considerably. Pictures will be displayed someday soon.

Then we all went to The Hungry Flea to satisfy the Husband's cravings for catfish. I have never been a fan of fresh-water fish, so I chose chicken-fried steak. Pretty darn good!

Saturday morning we were on the road again, this time headed home on Interstate 40. I had planned to stop at Clanton's in Vinita, OK for some more chicken-fried steak. Jane and Michael Stern say it's the best ever. Unfortunately, we arrived there at 10am; fortunately, they serve chicken-fried steak and eggs, so that's what we had. We didn't have the nerve to ask for Coconut pie that early so I guess we'll just have to go back next year. I don't know if if the Chicken-fried steak is really the best but, if not, it's pretty close. I probably should keep testing, just to make sure.



Interstate 40 runs with or near Route 66 for most of its length west of Oklahoma City. We had thought about trying to stay with Route 66 but the call of home was too strong and we just wanted to get back to California as quickly as possible. Maybe another trip.

We ate breakfast at this cafe in Santa Rosa NM, mainly because the guidebook said it dated from the glory days of Route 66. The meal was good but pretty much like any other breakfast.


That afternoon I managed to talk the Husband into stopping at Old Town in Albuquerque. The church of San Felipe de Neri was founded in 1706, although the current church building was not erected until 1793. It is on the Square and has a lovely little walled garden to the side.







We ran into some weather in Western Arizona. We could see this rain miles away and then we drove into it. We were hoping the clouds would last through the California desert, but no such luck. It was 105 to 107 the whole way between Needles and Barstow.













Needles, CA and the highest gas price we paid the entire trip.

St. Louis and Beyond

Wednesday morning we left Jerseyville IL and headed for St. Louis to see the Arch. Skies were gray and it looked as if it would rain any minute. Luckily though, the rain held off until mid-afternoon, by which time we were finished touring the Arch and were on our way west again.


We took the tram up the south leg of the Arch and spent about 20 minutes peering out the very small windows. The tram consists of small 5-seat compartments with no windows. They advise people with claustrophobic issues against using it. We were the only people in our compartment but I imagine they fill all the seats during the busy season. I think that might make me a bit uncomfortable.





They say that on a clear day you can see for up to 30 miles. But with the low overcast, we were grateful to be able to see anything. This is Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play. It was opened two years ago and kind of reminds me of the SF Giants park, but without the bay.
We also had a good view of the historic Courthouse where the Dred Scott trial was held.
Lots of history in St. Louis.




This bear is at the entrance to the Museum of Westward Expansion which is located in the underground area between the legs of the Arch.

The museum deserved more time than we were able give it. I don't know that we will ever get back to St. Louis, but I really hope we do.






These steps lead down from the Arch to the riverbank. There are a lot more of them than this photo shows and I had a difficult time getting down; but going back up was surprisingly easy. They must be just the right height.

The reason we walked down was to get to the "Tom Sawyer", a riverboat that took us for a one-hour cruise up and down the Mississippi River.









We sailed under four bridges and saw several barges being pushed by tugboats. This method of moving freight is still used extensively on the Mississippi.

Illinois Ramblings

Monday we left Centerville and drove east towards our next destination, Greene Co, IL, where we wanted to do some genealogy research. Our route took us through Hannibal, MO, so we just had to stop in Mark Twain's hometown.

The day was hot and humid; quite uncomfortable but we didn't let that slow us down. The Husband found an ice cream shop and I found The Hickory Stick Quilt and Gift Shop. They have several rooms of fabrics, patterns and quilts. I fell off the wagon and bought several cuts of fabric - photos will be posted later.

We had lunch at the Mark Twain Dinette at 400 N. Third St. Sorry that I can't provide a link but their website doesn't seem to be active any longer. We couldn't decide between the hand-breaded tenderloin sandwiches and the Maid-Rites, so we ordered one tenderloin cut in half and two Maid-Rites. Yummy!

We left Hannibal mid-afternoon by way of MO 79, the scenic drive. We had expected to have views of the Mississippi River along the way but they were few and far between. We crossed the Mississippi at Louisiana, MO and then continued south and east to a little town on the Illinois River called Kampsville. Bridges across this river are few and far between and it looked as if we would have to go far out of our way to reach one. However, the map indicated that there was a ferry at Kampsville so we decided to check it out. It was free and there were several cars lined up, so we decided to chance it.








The trip was quick and we were entertained by the music coming from this car.






We did our research in Carrollton, IL, the Greene County seat but stayed in Jerseyville in the next county to the south where there was more of a choice of motels. The clerks at the Greene Co courthouse were quite helpful and we found a Probate record for the Husband's great-great-great grandfather which named his wife and children. Very helpful since it gave the daughters' married names. However, we couldn't find a burial record so didn't get to visit any cemeteries.






We met this little guy on the square in Carrollton. He was taking his owner for a walk but kindly stopped to have a word with us. Every time we meet a new dog we are reminded of how much we miss Leo.