Grand Opening

A couple of weeks ago, my sweet hubby and I were invited to a grand opening of a Bar-B-Que restaurant  that is owned by a friend of ours.  He already had two other locations, but this restaurant is right in the heart of downtown.  Directly across from City Hall!

It was a really big deal!  All kinds of city officials from the Mayor, to the Chief of Police to the Fire Chief were on hand.

Not to mention tons of TV reporters!

From left to right.  The owner, Daniel Hernandez, the Mayor, Fire Chief and Chief of Police.

The Mayor giving the Hog the first wack.  Would you consider that a ribbon cutting?

Two sweet girls sang the Star Spangled Banner, as the crowd gathered outside.

I guess this was the sacrificial hog.

I rarely get downtown anymore, but I was totally amazed at this wall depicting historical downtown Tampa.  As you look at it you might think it's a poster of some kind.  But the beauty of this is that it's all a mosaic.  When you get up close you cannot make out the details, but from afar it was beautiful.  A patchwork quilt of sorts :-)

I know this isn't a quilt related post, but I thought I would share this day with you.  It was something I've never done before. I hope our friend does well in this prime location.

Happy Quilting!

Bread for the Journey

Your thoughts

Well, here it is!  The Sand and Sea with borders.  I picked this fabric for borders because it is the beautiful Island Batik with fish echoing throughout.

The pattern calls for a 3" border, but I wonder if this fabric is a little too overwhelming to frame the picture?  I could trim a 1/2" off.  What do my readers think??

Sand and Sea

I had a spurt of creative enthusiasm hit me one evening. Lately taking on a big quilting project has not been on my docket.  So as I was thinking of the upcoming Christmas holiday (only 92 days left) I remembered that I wanted to make something special for a friend of mine who is home bound.  As the days until Christmas are ticking away at a very rapid pace, here is what I did.

I dug out this pattern, and rifled through my fabric stash.

And this is the basic Sand and Sea landscape.  I'll be adding the borders to make this into a portrait type mini quilt.  

After working on this, I thought I had better bring out my fall landscape to hang in our entry way.

I would love to have one for each season.

Happy Quilting!

Linky Tuesday

Bread for the Journey

Quilting? What's that?

Do you remember when your kids always had an excuse as to why they did not do what they were supposed to be doing?

While I have not been able to do much (any) quilting of late, I've had my excuses.  Aside from another pressing project that I've been working on (for several weeks, or is it months), we've had a house full of company.  Well maybe not a house full, but our guest room has had a no vacancy sign on it for several weeks.  In and out......... friends of my daughters, two guys who hold seminars in the prisons, and it looks like a covey of girls will be descending upon us later next month.

But in the mean time, this delicious box arrived at my doorstep!.

As an Ambassador for Island Batik, I have been privy to fabric that will be making it's way to your quilt shop in the next month.

Here is a sample of some of the colorful fabrics.

And if you hop on over to their BLOG you will get a peek at the Stained Glass Mystery Quiltalong that BeaQuilter is hosting.

Happy Quilting!

The Ivy House

You know how it is.  Someone you know tells you about this great place here or there.  A restaurant, a hotel, an ice cream shop.  But when you find the place, take the taste, its often times less than you expected.

On our weekend trip, we asked where would be a good place to eat.  We were directed to the Ivy House.

When we first pulled up, I asked my sweet hubby, "Are you sure we want to eat here?"  The early 20th century house didn't exactly look very inviting.  Hubby said he would go in and look over the menu while I put my shoes on (do you travel with your shoes on?)

He waves me in.  The porch is old, and hosts a couple of antique rocking chairs.  

A little more adventure

Over the Labor Day weekend, hubby decided that we would take the trailer on a short getaway.  We didn't venture far, but what a delightful weekend it turned out to be.

We made a reservation at the Williston RV Resort, in Williston Florida.  We drove the slow road instead of the interstate.

We were greeted with this fine patrol car!

Kind of makes you feel like you have arrived at Mayberry.

Our sweet little lady all set up.

200th Anniversary

Did you know that September 13, 2014 marks the 200th years since The Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key? 

On this day in 1814, Francis Scott Key pens a poem which is later set to music and in 1931 becomes America's national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." The poem, originally titled "The Defence of Fort McHenry," was written after Key witnessed theMaryland fort being bombarded by the British during the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the sight of a lone U.S. flag still flying over Fort McHenry at daybreak, as reflected in the now-famous words of the "Star-Spangled Banner": "And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there."

On June 18, 1812, America declared war on Great Britain after a series of trade disagreements. In August 1814, British troops invaded Washington, D.C., and burned the White House, Capitol Building and Library of Congress. Their next target was Baltimore.

After one of Key's friends, Dr. William Beanes, was taken prisoner by the British, Key went to Baltimore, located the ship where Beanes was being held and negotiated his release. However, Key and Beanes weren't allowed to leave until after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry. Key watched the bombing campaign unfold from aboard a ship located about eight miles away. After a day, the British were unable to destroy the fort and gave up. Key was relieved to see the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry and quickly penned a few lines in tribute to what he had witnessed.

The poem was printed in newspapers and eventually set to the music of a popular English drinking tune called "To Anacreon in Heaven" by composer John Stafford Smith. People began referring to the song as "The Star-Spangled Banner" and in 1916 PresidentWoodrow Wilson announced that it should be played at all official events. It was adopted as the national anthem on March 3, 1931.

Way down upon the Suwannee

One of the fun things about traveling is finding quilt shops.  My hubby and I stopped in this quilt shop on a recent trip.

Fun colorful fabrics.

One last thing

Two last things, actually.  I came across this ad for the little child's Singer sewing machine.

It was really cool, but pricey.  Just for the little sheet of paper.  Amazing that the sewing machines sold for $3.

As I walked around in the different rooms in the school house, I was struck by the many wedding portraits.  What a shame that a family member did not want any of these treasures.

This one in particular caught my attention.  It held the Bride's veil and her flowers.  The portrait looked to be very old, so it held my interest to think that this keepsake has been preserved for close to 100 years.  

Well we made it back home safe and sound.  But we will be off again very soon!  

I hope you are enjoying your last days of summer.  Tell me what you did this summer.

Happy Quilting!

Some fun things

Some of the fun things I spotted as I toured around this huge Antique mall.

Can you believe that this was a calculator??

I've never seen a tea pot this big before.

And I found this Florida tea set in the lower regions of Wisconsin!

I heard someone say that they were telling their kids about dialing a phone number, and the youngsters asked, "what is dialing??"

How about this telephone?  With the ringer placed right next to the operator!

I had a similar portable typewriter when I graduated from high school.  I wonder what ever happen to it?

This metal doll house took me back.  I can't really remember if I had one, or if it belonged to a friend, but I do remember playing with a similar one when I was a child.

Do you remember any of these things??

Happy Quilting!

Out and about

I did not do much traveling around as the roads were jam packed with people.  It looked like school had already opened, so there were cars and buses on every road.

BUT, I did make one little side trip.  About 6 or 7 years ago, when my daughter worked in the Windy City, our family drove up to Racine Wisconsin.  As our camp site was less than an hour away, I decided that I would try to find the place we had visited during our first visit.

And this is where I ended up -

I remembered this being a huge Antique Mall.  

It brought back a lot of nostalgia from school days gone by.

I don't know how many of you would remember the stairways in the old school buildings, but this reminded me so much of my own school experiences.

Those were the days my friends!  More tomorrow.

Happy Quilting!

On the Road again

We traveled through eight states during our travels.  All in the comfort of our own little mobile cottage.

In the mornings, before we would open the blinds and curtains, we let the sun shine in through our port holes.  What a lovely wake up call.

We enjoyed breakfast in our little kitchen.  The dining table is the perfect size for two.

When we arrived at our destination, we set up for the duration.

We were fortunate to have a seasoned camper that was set up next door.  He helped us so much with his expertise and knowledge.  We must have looked like two inexperienced greenhorns, but everything set up so nicely.

My hubby was participating in a sporting competition, so every morning I would sit in this little spot, letting the sun warm me as I read a book by one of my favorite authors.  

Tomorrow, I will share with you what I did on a little excursion.

Happy Quilting!

What have you been doing this summer?

This summer has opened up a new experience for me and my hubby.  We bought a travel trailer and made our first big trip.

This has certainly been an adventure.  We've never camped before, so there was a little bit of a learning curve.

It was fun watching our mobile cottage follow us for our 2,000 mile trip.

The first night on the road we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

And our very first campsite turned out to be a wonderful place in Albany Georgia.

And then we hit the road, heading north.

Our second night stay was not as nice of a place, but it was good enough for one night.

I've got more pictures to share, so I'll be back tomorrow with more.

Happy Quilting!