Wow...March was a busy month with lots of fun times. First, my best friend who lives in Georgia, came to visit with her son's family that lives in Fairbanks. We had excellent weather the entire week she was in Anchorage...cold but sunshine everyday!
In the mornings I spent a few hours sewing and keeping my dogs out of the way while my guests got their days started. Turned out to be a very productive time...I finished getting blocks made into rows and rows stitched together to get this little scrap quilt done, Sky Full of Stars Mini II. The finished size is 36-inches square.
The big event for Alaska in March is the Iditarod race.
This year...after years of talking about it...hubby and I finally got up in our piper cub and flew over the racing dog teams as they started the race. It was a gorgeous day with lots of mountains on display. I hope in the future we can actually get down on the ground to watch the dogs...that would make for some good photo opportunities. We either need to get some skis on the plane so we can land on the frozen river or snow machine onto the river.
After my guests left...and my house was incredibly quiet...I attempted to get some quilting done. About an hour into my quilting session...the timing on my Notling Fun Quilter all of the sudden went wacky. It kept going out of timing within three spins of the hook...off by a quarter of an inch. Extremely odd. Several days spent talking with the Nolting repair expert in Iowa didn't resolve the issue. So my machine was boxed up and sent in for a little Nolting spa treatment.
I've had my Nolting Fun Quilter for 16 years and this was my first major problem. I'm looking forward to getting my machine back with some new parts and ready to zip through lots of quilting.
There are so many non-quilting projects to tackle so...
I focused on finishing the series of cross stitch patterns for my laundry room.
I didn't make any color changes to the pattern.
Stitching lettering goes pretty quick...counting is easier.
Irony is my favorite.
On my birthday, I flew to California to visit with one of my sons and his two daughters. I had a little travel drama...late flight into Seattle so I missed my connection and had to spend eight hours till the next Fresno flight. My luggage also got lost...I heard there was a security breach at the Seattle airport as well...though my suitcase did get to Fresno the next day and was delivered before noon.
Anyway...
I did some shopping in the Seattle airport and found the perfect gift for my 3-year-old granddaughter, Kate, who LOVES the movie Frozen.
Kate was even wearing her "Elsa," princess gown when they came to pick me up.
We did a rainy day trip to the Fresno Zoo. Notice me in my rain jacket and Kate in another princess dress not wearing a jacket. She has thick Alaska blood...she's never cold.
You can feed the giraffes lettuce...they have the biggest tongues!
Between two days of travel on airplanes, I managed to get most of the cross stitches done for a Jim Shore gnome ornament. Just needs backstitching and beads.
I did a little birthday shopping for myself. I indulged in another set of wee ornaments with cute wooden buttons from the Australian designer, Lynette Anderson. There is a U.S. vendor of her products, Little Quilt Store, super quick shipping.
I did my own conversion to DMC colors.
I finished March with a three-day retreat with a private group at our local quilt shop, Twisted Sisters Quilty Pleasures. We take over the class room for three days, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
My primary project were bunny blocks.
Lots of clipped corners to make so it filled most of my time. I did get all the blocks done! This is a Pattern Basket design, Country Bunnies.
Retreat also means a little shopping. I found a fun backing fabric...a parrot print which is a companion fabric for the kit I recently finished.
And with two granddaughters...I just had to buy these little fairy themed fabrics. I'll be looking for a few more colors of fairy frost to add to this project.
I had a reader of my blog say "hi" at my retreat...so fun!
