OOPS

So, only four days after my darling husband replaced my lost camera, bag, and memory chip and bought an insurance policy for the new one, I reached into my big quilted tote bag and pulled out my old camera bag.  It just jumped into my hand.

.

All the parts are interchangeable, so I now have four batteries, four memory cards, and a backup camera.

The old one actually was on its last legs.  It has been in the shop several times because the lens would not retract.

Now I have one I can take on the beach and not worry about.

Here is my seven-year-old grandson playing ladder ball.



And horseshoes.

We have two other little ones with us...granddaughter Lily, and a friend's little boy named Caden.  Here they are learning to play ladder ball with Dave and Charlie.

Sunset Beach is a wonderful family beach...not too crowded, and lots of sandy beach.  We have seen quite a few dolphins swimming just beyond the breakers.

And it is a good place to celebrate your birthday!  Here's Lily celebrating her fifth!

That quilted tote bag is full of journals and some handwork projects, but they have not been touched yet.  I'd rather play with the kids while they are here. 

Hawaii Night

The cottage that we rent every year is named the Mauna Kea.  This year we decided to have a Hawaii Night.  There were McBrayers in two other cottages that came over for the luaua.

Clam chowder from Bill's Seafood, steamed shrimp, corn on the cob, salad, bread, and grilled fresh pineapple.

All in all, a very fun night!

It was a full moon last night, and the water was so high in the marsh that it totally submerged our dock.

Normally it is well out of the water.  I like this little scene, and sketched it this morning for a possible future watercolor painting.

Too bad I am not having any fun...

On Vacation

My new camera works just fine!

Not a bad way to start the day...drinking coffee on the deck and enjoying the breeze!

Back in Business

My new camera is the pretty red one in the middle.

It matches my laptop!

I will try not to lose this one (like my last Canon) or drop it in the toilet (like my first Canon) or put it through the washing machine (like my pretty purple Razor phone.)

I love my hubby who replaced my camera, bag, and memory chip as an early birthday present so I will have it on vacation. <3

Hope to send lots of pretty pics from Sunset Beach!

Heritage Star is Quilted

Here is another project I have checked off my Pre-Vacation To-Do List:  the quilting of The Whacky Ladies Bee blue and white auction quilt for Heritage days.

 

I used the a technique similar to the  "Flurry of Angels" by Jamie Wallen and Nichole Webb (No Boundaries) for the quilting in the patchwork block and striped borders.

I put a curly motif in the white narrow border.

For the center medallion star, I put big swirls in the blue areas.  I wanted to do some close quilting in the white areas so they would recede to the background.  I decided to do pebble stippling, a decision later to be classified in the "What Was I Thinking?" category.

The pebbling looks great, but is more or less a form of longarm torture!

The backing is a light blue fabric.  There is not actually a bulge in the quilt!

This is a group effort by the Whacky Ladies Bee.  I am handing it off to Marilyn and Kathy for the binding and hanging sleeve, and Lori has offered to make an embroidered label.

Today I am off to visit my father at my sister's house near Greensboro before we leave for vacation on Saturday.  I am hoping that Dad will be strong enough for them to join us at the beach for a few days.

Here is a quilt made by one of the Whacky Ladies, Lori Mann.  She used orphan blocks, leftover patchwork, projects from workshops, and other "Bits and Pieces" to make this quilt.  Most of the blocks were cut in half diagonally to make half-square triangles.

Notice that she could not bear to cut the Celtic Knot in half!

This made a very striking quilt.  Good job, Lori!

If you would like to see the "Daffodil O'Keeffe" art quilt that I mentioned recently, visit my friend Janice's blog.  She has a photo of it on her Symposium post. Stunning!

Baby Quilt

Between Symposium classes and yard work, I sneaked in a little longarm quilting last weekend to finish a customer's quilt before I go on vacation.  This is for a baby shower for a brand new grandchild for my friend Karen.

This is a sort of combination rail fence.  Some of the rails are large and some are small.

As usual when working with very linear quilt top patterns, I used a swirly, curvy quilting design.  I did a swirly hook, feathered back inside it, and feathered back up.

The backing fabric is a coordinating stripe, I believe by Laura Ashley.  The curves look good on the back!

Heat wave here this week.  I am thinking of having Kasey's fur coat shaved off for the summer.  What do you think?