October 25, Thursday
There's not much more to tell about our trip. Leaving Yosemite we traveled northwest on 120, a really twisty road that descends to the valley with a series of spectacular views. Turning north on 49 we found another narrow, twisting highway without the safety aspect of a good paved shoulder. I was glad Jim was driving. There was a double, solid yellow centre line for at least 90% of the way. Then we turned east on Hwy 50 to the Tahoe area. I drove most of that stretch.
Driving north on 89 along the west side of Lake Tahoe we were treated to some very beautiful scenery, with deep snowdrifts. The road, fortunately, was clear. When we reached I80 East we drove to Sparks, Nevada where we took a room at the motel 6. On the advice of the girl at the desk, we had supper at Rail City, a casino with a restaurant. I had asked about nearby family restaurants. This was about as far from a family restaurant as could be. It was incredibly noisy, and we were glad to leave.
October 26, Friday
We continued east on I80 for the whole day, stopping in Winnemuca around 1 p.m. for a bite to eat and a visit to a Walmart for some groceries. I hopped over to the yarn department, still looking for some sock yarn, but instead bought some yarn by Lion Brand (new to me) called "Amazing" in Constellation and in Glacier Bay. As soon as I finished the current pair of socks I started on a scarf using these two close colourways.
That yarn was a delight to use, and turned out beautifully. This looks a little washed out compared to the real thing. It was going to be for a daughter or daughter-in-law, but when I saw how good it looked with Jim's navy fleece jacket, it was earmarked for him. I finished it at home, and he's wearing with the jacket these days. The socks went to my dear Sis in Arizona.
October 27, Saturday
Another day on the road. Came to Helena, Montana about 7 p.m. and checked into the Motel 6 near I15, which we are following north to the border.
October 28, Sunday
This was a dark, overcast day. Most fields were snow-covered, and the temperature was brisk, as was the wind. Crossing the border back into Canada we had only a 5 minute wait in line. As soon as we crossed the border the sun came out and the sky turned blue. There was a lot of snow on the fields here.
In Lethbridge we went to visit our elderly friend Hilda. The last we'd seen here was November of '11, when she didn't know us at all. I wrote about that sad visit then. This time she seemed much more responsive, but did say she didn't know us. After a short visit we were saying goodbye when she cracked a joke, "Don't forget to close your eyes when you go to sleep!" I laughed out loud and told her it was a good joke. She smiled broadly. How much nicer to end a visit this way compared to the sad ending of last November's visit.
Stopped in Strathmore for a few groceries and some chili at Tim Horton's. I looked for some more of the Lion Brand yarn at the Walmart, hoping to make Jim a toque to match the scarf, but there was none.
We got home around 6:30, just as the day turned into night. Wow! the house was cold after having the heat turned down all that time. S. had kept everything in good order, and even put some fresh milk in the fridge for us. Dickens was delighted to have us home, and we were glad to be there! So that completed our little holiday for this year.
Some Projects completed since then:
I am just in a "snit" to complete some old projects, both quilting and knitting, so I got out this finished quilt top, single bed size, made my three layer sandwich and meander quilted it. I found this a difficult project because I used a polyester batt that didn't hold as firm as the Warm and Natural. But I got it done and here's the finished
project:
This quilt I will keep for use when all the kids and grandkids visit. We need lots of bedding for the whole gang then.
Here's a nifty, quick way to make a folded binding: Cut the binding to 2 1/2" flat, place long
straight pins on the ironing board, and pull the
binding through the space between the pins and
the board. You can just leave the iron steaming
flat down between two of the pins, and by
pulling the binding through, press it easily. I just couldn't pull and take a picture at the same time, so you don't see the iron on the bindings. This works just slick!
This week Tuesday I was busy at our town club showing how to make the blocks for our "club quilt"--a quilt that we all make blocks for, pay a fee to the kitty, and then draw to see who wins the quilt. The president of the club and I had chosen the background. The blocks are to be made using all batiks against the beige background. The inner two strips are to be the darker fabrics and the outer two strips are to be lighter. In that way the star design in the centre of the block shows up. This is my sample block, and the lower left hand square shows how using too dark a fabric obscures the star in the centre.
To facilitate my teaching I made some another
sample block, using Christmas coloured fabrics.
This is a simple, practical way of turning a sample into a completed project. To illustrate the method I sewed four of the squares at the meeting. The four then are put together to make a complete block. Yesterday at home I finished the third block and put the table runner together. Today I put the binding on, and I will still do some machine quilting in the background areas to add a little sparkle interest with some gold quilting thread. I'm not sure who will get this nice, seasonal runner.
I also finished up two clothing projects this past week. The cute little pink cotton jacket is for our
youngest granddaughter. It went into the mail this week. Of course, she can't wear it as a jacket now that it's winter, but perhaps can wear it to school as a kind of "overblouse."
The black and gold knit top is one I bought for myself on sale, even though it was about three sizes to big. I cut along the seams, cut the pieces down to size and resewed, using the serger. It's very stretchy and will be a really comfortable, somewhat dressy top for the many times I wear black slacks or a black skirt this winter. The gold thread is actually quite sparkly.
Well, now I'm all caught up on blogging. Next thing I want to accomplish is quitting Facebook. I've never liked that site much, and have found it difficult to navigate. Maybe that's just my age! But I love email, and this blog keeps me in touch with our friends and relatives, and even some folks I don't personally know. I always am looking for some feedback in terms of comments or emails. The person who comments most frequently is a friend right here in town.
There's not much more to tell about our trip. Leaving Yosemite we traveled northwest on 120, a really twisty road that descends to the valley with a series of spectacular views. Turning north on 49 we found another narrow, twisting highway without the safety aspect of a good paved shoulder. I was glad Jim was driving. There was a double, solid yellow centre line for at least 90% of the way. Then we turned east on Hwy 50 to the Tahoe area. I drove most of that stretch.
Driving north on 89 along the west side of Lake Tahoe we were treated to some very beautiful scenery, with deep snowdrifts. The road, fortunately, was clear. When we reached I80 East we drove to Sparks, Nevada where we took a room at the motel 6. On the advice of the girl at the desk, we had supper at Rail City, a casino with a restaurant. I had asked about nearby family restaurants. This was about as far from a family restaurant as could be. It was incredibly noisy, and we were glad to leave.
October 26, Friday
That yarn was a delight to use, and turned out beautifully. This looks a little washed out compared to the real thing. It was going to be for a daughter or daughter-in-law, but when I saw how good it looked with Jim's navy fleece jacket, it was earmarked for him. I finished it at home, and he's wearing with the jacket these days. The socks went to my dear Sis in Arizona.
October 27, Saturday
Another day on the road. Came to Helena, Montana about 7 p.m. and checked into the Motel 6 near I15, which we are following north to the border.
October 28, Sunday
This was a dark, overcast day. Most fields were snow-covered, and the temperature was brisk, as was the wind. Crossing the border back into Canada we had only a 5 minute wait in line. As soon as we crossed the border the sun came out and the sky turned blue. There was a lot of snow on the fields here.
In Lethbridge we went to visit our elderly friend Hilda. The last we'd seen here was November of '11, when she didn't know us at all. I wrote about that sad visit then. This time she seemed much more responsive, but did say she didn't know us. After a short visit we were saying goodbye when she cracked a joke, "Don't forget to close your eyes when you go to sleep!" I laughed out loud and told her it was a good joke. She smiled broadly. How much nicer to end a visit this way compared to the sad ending of last November's visit.
Stopped in Strathmore for a few groceries and some chili at Tim Horton's. I looked for some more of the Lion Brand yarn at the Walmart, hoping to make Jim a toque to match the scarf, but there was none.
We got home around 6:30, just as the day turned into night. Wow! the house was cold after having the heat turned down all that time. S. had kept everything in good order, and even put some fresh milk in the fridge for us. Dickens was delighted to have us home, and we were glad to be there! So that completed our little holiday for this year.Some Projects completed since then:
project:
This quilt I will keep for use when all the kids and grandkids visit. We need lots of bedding for the whole gang then.
Here's a nifty, quick way to make a folded binding: Cut the binding to 2 1/2" flat, place longstraight pins on the ironing board, and pull the
binding through the space between the pins and
the board. You can just leave the iron steaming
flat down between two of the pins, and by
pulling the binding through, press it easily. I just couldn't pull and take a picture at the same time, so you don't see the iron on the bindings. This works just slick!
To facilitate my teaching I made some another
sample block, using Christmas coloured fabrics.
This is a simple, practical way of turning a sample into a completed project. To illustrate the method I sewed four of the squares at the meeting. The four then are put together to make a complete block. Yesterday at home I finished the third block and put the table runner together. Today I put the binding on, and I will still do some machine quilting in the background areas to add a little sparkle interest with some gold quilting thread. I'm not sure who will get this nice, seasonal runner.
youngest granddaughter. It went into the mail this week. Of course, she can't wear it as a jacket now that it's winter, but perhaps can wear it to school as a kind of "overblouse."
The black and gold knit top is one I bought for myself on sale, even though it was about three sizes to big. I cut along the seams, cut the pieces down to size and resewed, using the serger. It's very stretchy and will be a really comfortable, somewhat dressy top for the many times I wear black slacks or a black skirt this winter. The gold thread is actually quite sparkly.
Well, now I'm all caught up on blogging. Next thing I want to accomplish is quitting Facebook. I've never liked that site much, and have found it difficult to navigate. Maybe that's just my age! But I love email, and this blog keeps me in touch with our friends and relatives, and even some folks I don't personally know. I always am looking for some feedback in terms of comments or emails. The person who comments most frequently is a friend right here in town.
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