Here we are at the last day of January.  Time is speeding by which only tells you that I'm old.  I had my 68th brithday on the 21st and now speeding toward 69.  I'm just not sure how I got this old as I don't feel that old, at least most days.   I skipped a week of blogging as I didn't have much to report on, but now I do so I'm linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching.

I finally got my Midnight Mystery quilt pin basted by using a new method I saw on Pinterest and it worked really well for me since I don't have much space living full-time in a 5th wheel.  Here is a picture of the beginning of the basting process.  I purchased pipe insulation and I pinned my backing, batting, and flimsy on separate insulation tubes and then rolled them up.  As you can see in the picture the backing was laid down first, then the batting on top of that and finally the flimsy on that.  I was able to pin baste it (72" x 72") sitting down and it only took a half hour from start to finish.  I will definitely be using this process again.

 

 

I also worked on my La Passacaglia quilt which is done with the English Paper Piecing (EPP) process and is a lot of slow stitching.  If you've never tried EPP, you should as it is fun and enjoyable.  This is the second rosette out of 35 that I need to make.  Not all are as big as this one will be.  The round that I just finished will have pentagons that are intertwined with the next round so be sure to check back to see what it will look like when I'm finished with this rosette.

 

 

 



I finished the snow around the animals on the cross-stitched stocking that I've been working on and got the deer and wolf are back stitched.  Goal for this week will be to work on the three trees.  I don't believe I'll get them all done by next week, but I'll give it my best shot.

I started a new project that I've been anxious to do and something that will give me a bread from my EPP and cross-stitch projects.  It is one of Jenny of Elefantz' designs from her stitchery club.  As you can tell, this one is January and there are 11 others.

The day before my birthday, we went with some friends to the China Ranch Date Farm, in Tecopa, California and a wonderful place to visit.  They have a unique gift shop as well as delicious goodies.  We always come home with date nut bread, chocolate chip and date cookies, a date muffin and this time I came home with a cute little tin that I'll but putting a wool applique piece in.  Here is a picture of my other half and me at the farm as well as a picture of that cute little tin.

After a hike at the date farm, we went into Shoshone, CA for lunch and ate at the Crow Bar.  If you are ever in the neighborhood (Death Valley National Park), be sure to stop there and have a bite to eat as it offers excellent food.

I thought I would share with you a picture of our home while it was parked at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge where we volunteered last winter and is only about 35 miles from where we are now.  Our 5th wheel is 38' long and 8' wide not counting the 3 slide outs.  The slide out you see on the left is where our dining table is as well as my quilting table which took over the space where the couch was.  It is very comfortable and a wonderful home for us. 

 

 

Happy stitching,