beachy things - and a quilt finished!

One week from tomorrow, I arrived on the island. Once week from tomorrow, I'll be leaving. This middle weekend is normally a time of reflection for me - one for reminiscing over the past days and relishing the fact that I have seven more remaining.   We're beyond blessed to get to spend two full weeks here, and I try hard not to take it for granted. 

I've managed to snap a few photos to share, and a video as well.  Photos can hardly convey the beauty of this place, nor the peaceful, laid-back atmosphere surrounding every aspect of life.  I'm quite serious when I say I want to retire here!

To start, here is a snapshot of the front of the house we rent.



It's our sixth year in this house, and we were the first to rent it way-back-when.  We go with the same set of friends - three families - with a few others rotating through with us. It's so familiar to us now that we hardly have to plan anything.  It's truly become a home away from home.  By the way - those are my two boys in the front.  :)

Here's the view from the top floor in the back:



This is where I typically go out in the mornings with my coffee and a good book. I'll spend a few minutes out here before starting my day, which includes a one-hour run every other day. I normally hate (hate, hate) running first thing in the morning, but the sun beats down unmercifully here, so I'd rather suck it up and run, then take a nap later.

Because the island is so isolated and, well, thin, there are only a handful of things to do here. We spend most of the days on the beach, then in the pool. One of our favorite things to do is take the Jeep to the beach. Hatteras is one of the few places where vehicles are still allowed in the sand.



There are areas where vehicles (and people) are not allowed due to some bird nestings...not the most popular thing with the locals...but this year the restrictions were very minimal. For the first time since I started coming down here, we made it to the end of the island.



The water above is Hatteras Inlet. The island just beyond it is Ocracoke. It is only accessible by ferry.

Here's a short video of one of our rides...



Of course, not everything we do is outside, and I've been able to finish one of the two quilts I brought with me...Molly's Quilt!!



This is the one I did as part of the Above All Fabric Quilt Along, using the Moda charm pack "Happy Daisy".



Of course, I think it's appropriate that I finished it at the beach. Just in time for some happy, sunny pictures.



Enjoy your week, everyone...and have a Happy Fourth of July!

time for a vacay

Well, I'm sad to say I didn't get my Guitar Quilt quilted on Wednesday. When I got to the local quilt store, all jazzed and excited, I found out they were closing at five. Not enough time to get the quilt done. Turns out their normal closing time is five, but they stay open later for classes on days they have classes. When I booked the appointment, there was a class scheduled until seven that night but no one signed up for the class, so it was cancelled. Therefore, the shop closed at five.

The ladies were super nice and tried to help me out, even offering for me to get started and leave it on the machine overnight. But with work being what it is and my evenings being booked solid, that just wasn't an option. So, I'm signed up for July 14th now. There is a class that day, too, but it's the middle of a Beginning Sewing series that already has people in it, so I should be ok. :)

So - instead of finishing that quilt at the beach, which was the plan, I'll now be finishing Molly's quilt (the Above All Fabric quilt along) and Matt's Coffee Quilt.  I was able to piece the back of Molly's Quilt and get it quilted on Saturday.  Here is the back...no pic of the quilting yet.

Both are already packed in the car, ready to go. We'll be gone for two weeks, which should be plenty of time to get the binding done.  I'm also taking my pile of hexies.  I've been working on these since last fall but Kristen at K*D Quilts has inspired me to get to work on them again.  I have about 150...but need about 1,100.

Tonight will be a fun night...girls night out to the Def Leppard concert in Raleigh.  Can't wait.  Then a day with the boys tomorrow, likely including Cars 2, and off to the Outer Banks with everyone Sunday.  This is our ninth trip together and we look forward to it all year long.  And I mean that quite literally - we start talking and yearning for "next year" the day that we leave.


If you've never been to the Outer Banks, you need to add it to your list of things to see.  We are partial to the southern part, Hatteras Island in particular.  You just can't beat it.  Tiny villages full of houses, vast beaches, and gorgeous sunsets.  Wanna see?  Here's a google images search on "Outer Banks NC".   No traffic, no noise, no hoardes of people.  Sheer, wonderful, all-out peace.  Island life is the life for me.

It takes forever to get there...nearly six hours from our friends house...but it's worth it.  Because the islands are so far from the mainland, there are only two places to cross - Manteo/Nags Head has a set of bridges or you can take the Swan Quarter ferry to Ocracoke and another to Hatteras.   We opt for the former as Ash gets seasick and the SQ ferry is about two hours long.  In some areas on Hwy 12, you can see water on both sides, the island is so thin.  Very cool...except in hurricanes.   

So in a little over 48 hours I'll be unpacking and settling into what has now become our home away from home.  I'm still trying to convince Matt that we need to retire there.  Almost there.  :)

Can't promise a lot of activity here, but I'll try.  I'm sure you'll understand, though, if I make myself scarce.  After all, someone has to watch the kids while they play.  :)

busy days

This is our first year with both boys in baseball. While I love, love, love it, it can sure make for some hectic weeks. Last night I got some good shots of my youngest at bat.

He made it to first base, then slowly around to second and third, but then was left stranded and never made it back to home plate. He's got a good swing and can really nail it when his timing is right. But his running.... well, let's just say we have to work on speeding up his little jog. LOL!

Being a little pressed for time in my Mug-Rug Swap, I took my latest one to the field with me to finish off the binding in between innings and during the slow spots. And given we are watching 6 and 7 year-olds, there were plenty of slow spots!

Once home, I took some time to catch up on my Spring Quilt Along. Even though I got started a day or two late, I'm still keeping up pretty well with everything. I was able to finish my last 9-patch and add my sashing last night. Not too bad.  Borders will be next, maybe tonight or tomorrow...we'll see.

All in all it was a fairly productive night. I managed to finish the mug rug and I hope to get it in the mail tomorrow. I had planned on today, but things got a bit crazy...again. Looking forward to a slow, restful weekend.

Happy Easter, everyone!

progress report

Things have been a little nuts here, and I'm heading to Atlanta for the weekend. Not much sewing, but I did get a few things done on my checklist (see it over on the right?) and started on two others. Boy, it feels good to knock off a few things!

I finished basting Matt's coffee quilt earlier this week - Sunday, I think - and it's downstairs ready to quilt.  I had debated about long-arming it, but I think I'm just going to go with a straight-line quilt now.

The accomplishments for the week are my four blocks - two for a local Block of the Month I am in, and two for my church group, the Pinedale Quilters (PDQs).  I used the BOM pattern for this month for all of them, because it's easy that way!  :)

The blocks on the top are the BOM ones, with the fabrics that the quilt store chose.  I'm not partial to the Civil War type colors, but I'm doing them anyway. The other two are the PDQ blocks... a boy block and one with polka-dots.

I was also able to start a couple of projects. The first is a ticker-tape block for my TwitterB group. I had never even heard of this type of block before...much less tried it. It's slow going, for sure, but I am enjoying the process.

Finally...and I've been waiting to start this one...the Spring Quilt Along with Above All Fabric. I got started a day late, but still managed to get my sashing and borders cut and arranged one of the nine-patches.

Now...three days with no machine. Can I make it????

Are You Ready?!

The quilt along starts tomorrow!! It's going to be so much fun. 

Here is my fabric:

It's going to be a nice spring-y quilt, meant for hosting lots of picnics and viewing tons of little-league games.  Can't wait to get started.  :)

There's probably still time to jump in if you want, especially if you have a charm pack laying around.   Join us!!