A DAY of FUN

Yesterday we spent the day in Door County. Door County, Wisconsin is called the Cape Cod of the Midwest. About every 5- 10 miles there is another little town and each one if full of little shops, restaurants, motels and condos. It is definitely tourism at its finest. We usually go just before or just after the tourist season. Yesterday was a perfect day. Not too many people and the temperature was right around 70.

My husband has a birthday coming up so I told him I had a surprise for him. He went with a friend by boat to Fish Creek where the boat is kept for the summer. I picked him up at the dock and we spent the rest of the morning geocaching.

We stopped for lunch at Wilson's in Ephraim - one of the most picturesque towns. Wilson's has a soda fountain and booths and the little things on the table that you can put a quarter in and select music from the juke box. Do those have a name? I should have taken a picture.

After lunch was the big surprise. SEGWAYS in the park!!! It was such a blast and being in the park was really a bonus. We were in and out of the trees and the views of the bay are so fantastic. We have camped there and driven thru and hiked and biked this park in past years, but Segway is the way to go. There are miles of roadways and we could stop at every lookout and take a little break. They are incredibly easy to learn to operate. The only negative we found is that after awhile your legs and feet tire from being stiff. So the little breaks at the lookouts let us stretch our feet and get the circulation going.

After the park, we stopped at the restaurant owned by my high school classmate. Yesterday he had just taken delivery of an electric cart that he is going to use to pick up customers at the docks and bring them to his restaurant. What a great idea. My husband got to be his first delivery!

Fiber Friends

Last night was the monthly get together for my stitching group. One of my friends just came back from a 10 day trip to Paris organized by SEW Many Places. It was a trip dedicated to quilters, although it didn't sound like there was any sewing involved. There were only 6 on the tour, so they got lots of personal attention from the tour guide and one of the people on the tour was Pam Holland. She created the 1776 quilt and is now creating a quilt of the Bayeux Tapestry, so of course a visit to the tapestry was on the tour. My friend had an absolutely fantastic time and really enjoyed the people she travelled with as well as the sights. I am definitely going to check into this.

I Climbed the Steps!

I finished the Courthouse Steps quilt in time for the next Little Women's Club meeting that is coming up this Thurs. I enjoyed making this little quilt and I am glad to have a Butternut and Blue quilt in my collection. I was lucky to find the exact right color of red for the centers. I had just a small piece and used most of it up. I don't think this is one of my favorite log cabin patterns. I like the versatility of the 1/2 light, 1/2 dark blocks.

We got 6 yards of wood mulch today and spent several hours spreading it around. There is still a pile in the driveway and bare spots to fill so tomorrow is more of the same. It always looks so nice when it's done, but it is sure a lot of work.

Another block

Here is another block for the courthouse steps quilt I am working on. I have 7 blocks done, but it kind of fun to savor each one. I love how the patterns form on the steps as you add one strip after another. Just a few more to go!

Next Jo Morton

I just started the next Jo Morton quilt for the Little Women's Club. I got one block done and as it was developing, I could only think, " I love this little block. I love the colors and how they go together." So I scanned it in and here it is. I am really looking forward to getting these made and put together. There are about 30 different fabrics in it, so I hope all the blocks turn out as nice as this one.

Did you visit the Quiltmaker's 100 Tour this week? One of the questions was how much time did you spend looking at all the blogs? Once I added it up, it was obvious why I didn't get anything done this week.

Nine Patch Oldie

This is a nine patch quilt made by either my grandmother or her sister. The nine patch blocks alternate with solid white squares.

I love some of the fun little fabrics in it, like the horses pulling the little carts.

And this one with dancers.

I remember having a doll dress made of this green check with gold squares.

There are 3 squares along one edge that are actually 16 patch blocks. They look like a square made of light purple print, but are actually 2 different purple prints cut into 16 little squares.

The borders are blue and yellow at the top and bottom of the quilt and light pink and purple on the sides. I love how she used a dark pink in the corner when she ran out of the light pink.

When I unfolded it, I could see that some of the black dye was starting to bleed onto the white squares. This makes me sad as the quilt is in really good condition otherwise.