Cruise Itinerary!

For those of you interested in following our cruise, I am posting our itinerary on our blog.   During our cruise, I will post updates of our cruise experience.  Check out our blog for the latest!

Mike & Sidney

ITINERARY DAY DATE PORT ARRIVE   DEPART Tue Feb 17 Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA 8:00pm Wed Feb 18 At Sea Thu Feb 19 San Francisco, CA 7:00am 10:00pm Fri Feb 20 At Sea Sat Feb 21 At Sea Sun Feb 22 At Sea Mon Feb 23 At Sea Tue Feb 24 Honolulu, Oahu, HI 7:00am 5:00pm Wed Feb 25 At Sea Thu Feb 26 At Sea Fri Feb 27 Cross International Dateline (Cruising) Sun Mar 1 At Sea Mon Mar 2 Apia, Samoa 8:00am 5:00pm Tue Mar 3 At Sea Wed Mar 4 Suva, Fiji 9:00am 5:00pm Thu Mar 5 At Sea Fri Mar 6 Port-Vila, Vanuatu 8:00am 5:00pm Sat Mar 7 At Sea Sun Mar 8 At Sea Mon Mar 9 Brisbane, Australia 9:00am 7:00pm Tue Mar 10 At Sea Wed Mar 11 Sydney, Australia 8:00am Thu Mar 12 Sydney, Australia 11:00pm Fri Mar 13 At Sea Sat Mar 14 At Sea Sun Mar 15 At Sea Mon Mar 16 Akaroa, New Zealand 8:00am 6:00pm Tue Mar 17 Wellington, New Zealand 8:00am 6:00pm Wed Mar 18 At Sea Thu Mar 19 Auckland, New Zealand 7:00am 8:00pm Fri Mar 20 Cross International Dateline (Cruising) Sat Mar 21 At Sea Sun Mar 22 Rarotonga, Cook Islands 8:00am 5:00pm Mon Mar 23 At Sea Tue Mar 24 Papeete, Tahiti, Society Islands 9:00am 5:00pm Wed Mar 25 Bora Bora, Society Islands 5:00am 5:00pm Thu Mar 26 At Sea Fri Mar 27 At Sea Sat Mar 28 At Sea Sun Mar 29 At Sea Mon Mar 30 Hilo, Hawaii, HI 7:00am 5:00pm Tue Mar 31 Kahului, Maui, HI 7:00am 5:00pm Wed Apr 1 At Sea Thu Apr 2 At Sea Fri Apr 3 At Sea Sat Apr 4 At Sea Sun Apr 5 At Sea Mon Apr 6 Los Angeles (San Pedro), CA 7:00am

Another Quilt Top

I recently completed another quilt top.  I am selling it to a friend in town.  

I'm actually glad as I didn't need another quilt!  

Blanding Home - 2014

I wish I would have started taking pictures of our Blanding home the year we moved here because we have done SO MUCH to this home since.  I decided to take a couple of pictures for 2014, especially because we made enough changes that cosmetically changed the look of the home...

New windows and a new front door...

This picture probably shows the best view of our  new living room window and front door.  We also had the old white fence in the front yard removed.

I was trying for a full lot view, but we have a big tree in the picture.  I happen to love that tree!

Some day, you will be able to tell that we have lilac bushes growing on the right side fence line of our home.  For now, it still looks like weeks!

This blog is basically becoming a record of my quilts.  It's okay with me.  At least I have a photo of them!

This first quilt I bought fabric for quite a while ago.  Afterwards, I realized that I didn't like red/white/blue quilts.  So, I never made it.  I had someone in town, whom I've sold quilt tops to in the past, ask if I had any for sale.  I didn't have one made, as I haven't sewn a lot this past year, but I knew immediately that this would be the quilt for her.  It was!  She loved it.  

This quilt is a Tumbler Quilt.  It was very easy to make, easier than I had expected!  I was inspired by Sebrina Brown, the 11 year old whom I have taught at quilt camp the past two years.  She made a tumbler quilt last May.  It turned out so cute that I decided that I would make one as well.  I had lots of fabrics around and thus created this quilt.  

Stained Glass Quilt Top

I recently completed this Stained Glass Quilt Top and posted it on Etsy.  My shop receives a lot of hits when I have a Stained Glass Quilt listed.  It was only out there about three weeks and it sold.  I am so happy!

Don't you like how the sunshine is creating that stained glass affect?!?

I have decided to close my Etsy shop for a season.  I don't know how long that will be.  Maybe a season will equal 'forever'.  I don't know.  I still have items that I want to sell.  Maybe I'll take these quilt tops over to Kathleen's shop and see if I could sell them over there.  I am ready to have the tops sold and out of my home.  I like sewing, but I don't need all of these quilts!

4-H Quilt Camp

Grayson Country Quilters co-sponsors a quilt camp with 4-H each summer.  It was held on May 30 and 31, 2014 at the Blanding Arts and Events Center.  I assisted Sebrina Brown this year.  We were partners last year too. 

Her tumbler quilt was challenging.  I honestly didn't think we'd finish it.  Before we left the first day, I had her stack each row, so we could just sew the next day.  When I came home and sat down, I realized that I had her stack double the amount of rows we needed.  With this knowledge, I realized that we would easily finish by the end of the next day.  We did, we were done by noon!  I was so tired!  But, her quilt turned out darling!

Sold!

While up in Salt Lake, I've been cleaning and packing up our home on Laurelhurst.  We are going to put it on the market in the spring.  I found this doll bed with a mattress and pillow that I was given as a child.  Instead of moving it to Blanding and storing it for another 50 years, I decided to sell it. 

 

I had visions of painting it white, making a new covers for the mattress and pillow and cute doll blanket, but that never happened.  (I'm sure it would have had I had any children!)

 

The mother who bought it said it reminded her of a wooden doll bed she had as a child and was absolutely thrilled to purchase it.  I am so glad that I listed it today on ksl.com.  I have to admit, I enjoy selling items that I don't use any more and someone else will enjoy.  As the left, the mother said, "This will be our family heirloom!"

 

 

My Latest Quilts

Well, I looked at this picture and immediately realized I’d made a mistake.  Of course, I didn’t see the mistake until just now, AFTER I had the quilt top completed, had the quilt completed, and bound the quilt.  It cracks me up.  The saying is that the Amish always made a mistake in their quilts.  I guess I’m Amish!

This quilt is for my niece Alexis.  It has a beautiful sea blue minky back.  When Mike and I were visiting in early October, she asked if I would make her a quilt.  I told her I would, and then I asked if he she wanted to see the quilt I had in my car.  If she liked it, this could be her quilt, or, I would make one for her.   

At the end of September, Cathy Spillman asked me to make eight quilts for her grandchildren and her, out of her husband’s shirts.  These are the quilts I came up with…

Cathy’s quilt

Grandchildren’s Quilt

The boys back was this fleece pattern and the girls back was a pink camouflage. Another project completed.  Yea!

SOLD - Folksy Bird Quilt Top

Recently I sold this quilt top and I was so happy as I had the quilt for TWO years.  I was wondering if I would ever sell it, but it sold on Etsy.  Yea!

This particular pattern sells quite well so I am in the process of making yet another quilt from this pattern to list on Etsy.  Hopefully, it will not take another two years to sell. 

The more quilts I make and sell, the more I realize I need to have bolder colors and square prints.  For some reason, those two combinations = sales!

Candy Corn Table Runner

In September, I made the decision to cease my participation in Farmer’s Market.  Thus, I am attempting to sell my inventory.  With the Halloween season approaching, I listed the last two Candy Corn Table Runners out on my Etsy shop and both sold.  I am so glad!  It is one less item I have to keep in my home!

Speaking of selling things…  Mike and I have been spring cleaning our home in Blanding.  Blanding has a 24/7 garage sale facebook page and I placed and sold so many items out there.  I love it!  Mike was a little skeptical at first, but is quite impressed with everything I have sold.  Yea for Facebook!

Recent Quilt Tops that Sold

I sold two quilt tops on Etsy last week.  I have decided that certain patterns sell, like these two.  Some of my quilt tops have been out on Etsy for ever and not sold.  So, I am going to stick with making these quilt tops in the future.

The first quilt, I called Folksy Songbirds

 

The second quilt top I found in a quilt magazine and figured out the pattern, enlarged the quilt, because it was a lap quilt.  I finished it about three weeks ago and it sold almost immediately after placing the quilt on Etsy.  I will probably recreate this pattern again.  I have also found that this color combination works quite well.  Purple, lime green, turquoise blue, and yellow.  I personally really liked this quilt.

 

Stain Glass Quilt – SOLD!

I was completely surprised last Friday morning when I awoke and had sold my Stain Glass Quilt on Etsy.  It was thrilling.  A few days before, I had seen a huge increase in hits on this listing.  I don’t know what was driving the traffic, but I didn’t think much about it. 

I didn’t even feel badly that the quilt sold.  It is a beautiful quilt, but honestly, it does not fit with my home decor.  The individual who purchased the quilt lives in Australia!  I hope she enjoys it!

There are two downsides to this sale.  1) The quilt listing has drawn traffic to my Etsy and 2) the quilt has drawn traffic to my Farmer’s Market booth.

 

Too Many Triangles

aka ‘The Quilt from Hell”

I started this quilt about three years ago.  After months and years of working on it off and on, I finally calculated that I had cut and sewn at least 1500+ small triangles.  I also realized I HATED THIS QUILT.

It all started when I saw this quilt in a magazine.  I loved it!  I loved the color scheme.

 

I carefully selected the fabrics and began cut, and cut and cut.  I wasn’t discouraged, I was making this beautiful quilt.

But, after sewing and sewing and sewing triangles together, and then only finishing one block – there were twenty total blocks – I knew I was in trouble.  I would pull out the quilt from time to time, and sew and sew and sew and still only finish a couple of blocks.  I was discouraged, but I continued to sew away.  I began to hate this quilt.

Finally, I was able to attach the inner border.  The quilt seemed to be coming together.   I still hated this quilt.  I then started to sew the triangles for the outer border and that’s when I realized, “I don’t need to finish this quilt.  If someone else wants this border, they can do it.” 

I decided to sell it.  I put it up for sale at the 2012 Christmas Boutique and it didn’t sell.  I thought, “Oh, maybe I should keep it”.  I hid it away in a quite corner of our home, which believe me, there are very few, and let it sit for a few months.

In March 2013 I brought it out again.  I thought maybe time had changed my feelings towards this quilt.  But no, it did not.  I listed the quilt top on Etsy for a higher price than I normally list items, and shared all my frustrations about the quilt.  The quilt sold within a couple of weeks and I was SO HAPPY to be rid of it.  (I also think the individual who bought it is VERY lucky.  It is a beautiful quilt but while I hate it, she will LOVE it!)

 

I will NEVER make another quilt that takes SO MUCH TIME.  I learned my lesson.