No Sewing Excuse #1

Pin It I realized that I never posted about my new toy and my #1 reason why I don't sew when it finally gets nice outside in the Pacific Northwest. Ta Dah!

This is my Electra Gypsy Cruiser bicycle. The trail I am on is the Centennial Trail. Very popular trail made from an old discontinued railroad. It runs between the City of Snohomish and the City of Arlington. The mountain in the background is Mount Pilchuck.

We can also see this mountain from our living room.

I got this bicycle last year for my birthday. I have since put a different basket on the front and added a front disk brake. It originally only came with coaster brakes which work fine until I go down steep hills. Then the brakes heat up and have an ear piercing squeal.

Also along the Centennial Trail. The tree in the background is covered with shoes. I have no idea why.

The Centennial Trail runs through a very pretty valley with many small hobby farms on either side of the trail. See the big ass mule? If you look closely, there are two more horses under the bridge. This is a farm that has property on either side of the Trail. There is a pass through under the bridge for their animals to access either field.

This is the trailhead in Machias where we parked. It is designed to look like a railroad depot. Closer to Snohomish there is a former railroad depot that has been converted into a private house. I didn't get a photo of it because it is a private house and it had a large privacy fence running around it. Clearly they wanted privacy, so I respected that and didn't take a photo of it.

Another bicycle trip we like to take is from our house down to the Everett waterfront. There is a trail behind the Port of Everett, Pigeon Creek Trail. It parallels some current and well used railroad tracks. It ends at a little beach.

In the background you can see the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier that is based in Everett.



Last picture. This is a funky wall that is on the way down to Pigeon Creek trail. We have nicknamed the wall the Fish Cracker Wall. I find this wall ridiculously amusing.

Quilt Retreat 2013

Pin It Last year I attended my first quilt retreat and was disappointed because I spent my whole time cutting out and putting the blocks together. I wasn't able to finish my quilt top during the weekend. So, this year I was determined to complete something during the weekend. To do this, I assembled all the blocks for three different quilt tops over the past 4 months. I was able to finish all three quilt tops by lunchtime Saturday.

First top is Wooden Spools. A kit from Connecting Threads. I loved this kit and it went together really quickly.

Next, a top I made for my 11 year old son. Wrenches. Another quilt kit from Connecting Threads. I don't have as much love for this pattern although I really like it now it is done. What I didn't like about it is the pattern had me make umpteen half square triangles. When it could have had me make flying geese and saved a lot of time. If I ever do a block like this again I will redraft it using Electronic Quilter program and make flying geese instead of the half square triangles.

Last up, and my favorite, my first attempt at using a jelly roll. The jelly roll fabric is called Mod Century by Moda. And the pattern is from a book called Jelly Roll Quilts.

Now I need to pick out backing fabrics, which will probably be minkys. I love minkys for quilt backs. Although I don't like the bumpy minkys. I did one quilt with the bumpy minky and I can feel the bumps through the top sheet and it annoys me. I swear I'm not a princess though.

Elf on the Shelf

Pin It Is anyone else caught up in the Elf on the Shelf trend? I think they are adorable especially when they are doing something naughty. For example:

Here is our Elf getting into the Voyager Gin and Pacifique Absinthe, again. Naughty Elf.

Vogue New Book

Pin It My son's school puts on a Octoberfest type carnival every year at this time. It is called The Everett Sausage Fest. As part of the vendors, they have a rummage sale that has all the typical stuff including books. On Friday as I was walking my Mother-In-Law around the Fest, we stopped in the rummage sale and I noticed a lot of sewing books in some boxes under one of the tables. I went through them and accumulated quite a pile. Including............... drum roll ................... The 1952 Vogue New Book for Better Sewing! And here is the best part, for $2! I looked it up and there are no current copies for sale on Ebay. The only copies I found were on Amazon for $298. Oh, and I already have a copy, so I can easily and guilt free sell this new copy.

Less Than 10

Pin It I officially have less than 10 lbs left to lose to get to my goal weight. Yay! Okay, full disclosure. It is 9.8 lbs, which is only .2 lbs less than 10 lbs. But it is still LESS than 10 lbs. So it totally counts! LOL

One Year Absence

Pin It So, it has been a whole year since I posted. I have been sewing. I just haven't been blogging. I lost my blogging mojo last year when I lost my really cool job at my company and had to go back to my old job. I'll be honest. I was very angry for a very long time about it. I'm mostly over it now. But I still struggle because my current job is very physically demanding and I'm not getting any younger. Enough whining, on to the sewing.

I made what was supposed to be a twin size quilt for my Hubby. In the picture below, I am standing on a 18" tall stool with my arms outstretched as far as I can.

I have two more quilts that are at the quilters right now. I will post pictures when I get them back and get the binding on.

I bought a new sewing machine too. A Bernina 830. I got a great deal on it because it was a used machine with about 100 hours on it. Someone traded it in because they wanted to upgrade to the 830 LE (limited edition). It has been quite the learning experience to go from a 1962 Singer 401A to a machine that is 50 years newer with all the bells and whistles. I still use my 401A when I go to my quilt group. It is a much lighter machine to lug around than my 830. But I am getting spoiled by my 830. How did I ever live without the needle down function?

B-17, B-25 and Spitfires

Pin It Ruben and I went to a free fly day today at the Everett Heritage Flight Museum. We went because a WWII era Spitfire was scheduled to fly and it was a gorgeous summer day today. We got lucky because there wasn't just one Spitfire, there were two. Plus a Messerschmitt, a B-17, and a B-25 were all flying today.

B-17 nose art.

The Messerschmitt taxis out first, followed by the two Spitfires, and finally the B-17. The B-25 is in the background. It took off later.

This video is the Messerschmitt and the two Spitfires as they do a flyby.The Messerschmitt landed soon after this because it was running a little too hot.

We paid $8, a bargain, for both of us to crawl through the B-17. I was surprised that it was so cheap to tour it. Plus, all the money goes towards keeping the airplane fly worthy. So all around it was a win win.

Bombs in the bomb bay.

Can you imagine how scary it would have been to have to traverse the bomb bay walkway to the rear gunners if the bomb bay doors were open? The walkway is barely wider than my feet. And I don't have big man clodhopper feet or combat boots on.

Here is an authentic WWII gunner. LOL. Doesn't he look vicious?

The B-17 starting up. You can't really see, but there is a 87 year old man in the glass in the nose. His kids bought him the ride. He was in WWII, but wasn't on B-17's. His kids were so excited for him to be able to ride up front on a B-17 it almost choked me up. The cost of the flights were crazy expensive. In the $300-500 range. Too rich for me.

If you are ever in the greater Seattle area, or are planning a trip, check out the schedule for the Heritage Flight Museum. The free flight days are just that, free. You can pay to get into the museum, but you don't have to. Very fun way to spend a couple of hours.