A great day to drive

Yesterday was a wonderful day to drive.  And, drive, we did.  After the 9th hour, I was pretty tired of being in the truck, but as soon as we parked at the lodge and the innkeeper came out to greet us and give us each a hug, my mood turned right around. 

Skies were overcast, which is the perfect driving weather.  No rain, but partly cloudy skies.

The sky cleared as we drove into the mountains.

That’s another good omen for a vacation, right?

And, then, we got to our little red cabin in the woods. 

We went to our traditional first night dinner at a restaurant called Myrtie Mae’s, where the specialty is “fried”.  I had baked chicken, but it wasn’t any better for me than the fried chicken would have been.  The unlimited salad bar is always welcome and I made a pig of myself. 

Our drive was quiet.  Syd played games on the tablet and Rob played music and drove and I worked on this.  We were each in our own little world, but packed into a small space. 

I bought this kit last year, when we were here, so it was the perfect vacation project for this year.  It was basted when we left, and I did all the applique in the truck.  Now, I’m quilting.  I’ve been kind of disappointed in the kit I bought.  But, the point of this was to see if I enjoyed Hawaiian Style quilting and I do.  I especially love the whole cloth applique, where you’re not appliqueing a million little different colored pieces.  This was just load the needle with thread and go. 

The kit was designed to result in a small pillow.  I cut a new background fabric, because the solid white felt flat and cut it larger than the back and batting.  Now, I wish I’d cut new back and batting to that same size.  And, the batting was super high loft, so I pulled it apart into two pieces half as thick and am using one.  But, it’s all good.  The die-cut applique piece was kind of wonky too, so I definitely plan to cut my own next time.  Something larger.  And, I want to do a buttery yellow on off-white.  Maybe something with a bigger leaf.  I’ll get back into the store that I bought this from later this week and will try to find a pattern.  He has a huge selection of Hawaiian Style patterns and lots of solids and Asian prints.  Definitely the place I want to buy my supplies for this type quilt from. 

So, that’s our first day.  We plan to go to the grocery this morning and then we need to head to Wal-Mart to pick up some things we didn’t bring.  And, we will be antiquing.  So, dealers, put out your best reduced price signs because we are on our way. 

Just found out we are the only people at the lodge right now, so pack your overnight bag and come join us.  We have the run of the place.  There are two more cabins (not as cute as ours) and two guest houses and the rooms in the lodge are all empty.  It was a big biker weekend around here and there were no empty rooms, and I bet it doesn’t stay empty long.

Everybody have a great Monday.  Lane