Traveling Shoes Were On Again in January

I wanted to share with you a little of my birding trip to the West Indies (don't those two words ...West Indies...evoke mental images of old sailing scooners like in the movie Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World, sailing for days and then coming across an island in the ocean...exotic vegetation and scenery, beautiful people, all rather romantic and far, far away?) 

I'm here to tell you that Trinidad and Tobago are rather far away as they are about 7 miles north of Venezuela, but sailing through the sky is much faster than the way Russell Crowe went about it in the movie.  We flew to Miami and then on to Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad.  Here's a view from the airplane:

The West Indies were first a Spanish colony, then the French took over and lastly the British. They drive on the "wrong" side of the road like the Brits and have a lilting, almost Jamacian style of speaking.  Everything moves much more slowly in Trinidad and Tobago.

Luckily for me, my friend Sarah's husband does not like to bird, so she and I get to traipse around the world looking at birds and animals in strange, far away places. So far we have been to Ecuador, Eastern Africa and now Trinidad/Tobago together. We're planning another trip to South Africa for the fall.  But I digress..

Our guide picked us up and took us to Asa Wright Lodge high up in the northern range of Trinidad.  After we left the little city of Arima, we quickly changed over onto unpaved roads that became narrower and narrower - with hair pin turns that made it impossible to know whether someone was coming from the other direction - which they usually were!  I did alot of flinching on the way up, but I suppose got use to it through the course of the time we were there because that was the only road back down and we were often going back down to go to various birding locations. 

The lodge was formerly a coffee and chocolate plantation in the 1800s and early 1900s (how good does that sound?)  and they still grow and roast their own coffee for the guests.  The main building is gorgeous in a very understated old world way with a beautiful veranda that looks over the valley and island.

Here's the hallway leading back to the Anteroom, the Anteroom and then the veranda:

All meals are taken at the property in the main dining room (although a lunch was packed if you were going out for the day).  Tea was served every day at 4:00 p.m. on the veranda and then came Rum Punch at 6:00 p.m. with dinner in the main dining room (family style) at 7:00 p.m.

Here's a peek of the dining room at breakfast:

And this is one of the cottages although not the one that I stayed in:

Our cottage was 21 more steps up that walkway, right under a massive tree full of screeching Yellow Rumped Oropendulas (large vocal birds that make beautiful hanging orb like nests - the guys make the nests and then the gals come and check out the work.  Sloppy work does not get you a partner!  The gals want high quality construction before they will give a guy the time of day.)

Trinidad was lovely except for the chiggers - nasty little biting things they are!  We met some very nice Brits while on the trip and we were all staying in the same place in Tobago, so it was nice to have the continuity of people to talk to and have dinner with.  Next blog I'll show you a little of Tobago and the Blue Waters Inn. 

This trip, of course, is why I have done so little sewing.

Aaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household.

A QuiltCon Hello!

Are you going to QuiltCon?  The Modern Quilt Guild has asked bloggers who will be attending to introduce themselves with a photo (my grandson Mason and me at Thanksgiving) and reveal 5 things you might not know about ourselves.  The Modern Quilt Guild.

Well, I'm going to QuiltCon and I'm a blogger, although lower case blogger as compared to the well known Bloggers, so I thought I would join in the introductions and here goes with the 5 things you may not know about me:

1.  I have a Labradoodle named Boo (o.k. you probably know that...) but before Boo I was the companion to 3 Dalmations (not all at once - sequentially).  That's about 30+ years of Dalmations.  It wasn't until I got Boo that I knew what it was like to have a nice, friendly dog who didn't beat up on the other dogs.  What a breath of fresh air!

2.  I was born in the midwest (St. Louis to be exact) and went to grad school at University of Missouri at Columbia.  Before I went to law school, I was a scientist working for USDA.

3.  I collected antique quilts for years and still have a small collection.  I came to quilt making from quilt collecting.  I made my first quilt in 1972 (I am pretty sure that is before many of you were born!)

4.  I am a birder (a person who looks at birds through binoculars and gets all excited about identifying them) and I travel all over the planet looking at wonderful birds and animals.  I have been on every continent except Antartica in search of unusual birds.

5.   My grandsons call me "Maw-Maw".  I pretty much dote on them and love seeing the world through their eyes.  I feel that I learn so much more from them than they do from me!

I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can at QuiltCon, while taking classes every day, going to lectures, looking at the quilt show and visiting the vendors to see what I must have.  Whew!  I'm tired already!

Sneak Peek - Work In Progress Wednesday

I wrote this blog on January 17.  As I was working on it, my modem at my house went out.  Gone.  Never to work again!  I was leaving on my trip to Trinidad and Tobago the next day, so wasn't able to finish and upload the blog until today.  Luckily, the guy who works on my IT "stuff" at my office was able to come over and fix the problem while I was gone.

So, most of the blog is a little dated, but I still wanted to share it with you - hope you don't mind a little old news mixed in with the sneak peak.  As I have been gone since Jan. 18, I don't have any new sewing projects to share, so another reason to revive this blog!  Here we go:

Brrrrrr!  It's cold here (by Bay Area standards).  We're suffering through a cold spell with nights dropping to freezing or slightly below.  Our days have been in the 50s - again, much colder than usual.  It's really easy to become accustomed to moderate temperatures and when there's a slight fluctuation, react in shock!

On to quilty things.  On Saturday I went to Julie (Intrepid Threads) Grand Opening at her new shop.  Everything looked wonderful and the place was packed with happy shoppers.  Of course, I had to jump into the fun and pulled together some fabrics in my newest color combination of citron, navy and aqua. 

The purplish navy prints are Lux in Bloom by Art Gallery.  The solids are Kona and the dot fabric is Circle Elements.  Lux in Bloom has the most beautiful hand - feels so soft and rich!  I have started a new round with the 4x5 Bee (in the paper piecing hive) and wanted a new color palette, so here we go!

My sneak peek is the round robbin quilt top I have been working on for Mallory.  I have the last round on her quilt.  I added the outermost black and white borders, made the New York Beauty blocks and am now working away on the "connection" blocks to join the beauties to the quilt. 

Here's a quick peek:

 



My plan for the connection between the beauties is to work primarily with black and white with a touch of the teal to visually balance the rounds.  Obviously there is more to come!

Aaaaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household.

2013 - Can It Be?

Looks like the world didn't end, so I better get sewing again!  I spent my entire holiday away from my sewing machine, so I'm in the mood to get back at it.  Did you have time to sew over the holidays?  Or were you spending your free time with loved ones, going to movies, eating, eating, eating...?

Time to turn the page from holiday gorging and lazing around to healthier and more productive pursuits (o.k. you got me - I'm trying to psych myself into eating less and working out by repeating healthy mantras!)  I'll let you know if it works!

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite projects that I finished in 2012:  

 

 



It's kind of nice to look back and see that I actually finished a number of projects!  I do, of course, have quite a few works in progress that need to be wrapped up.  My 2013 hit list includes:

     1.  Quilt Improv Top
     2.  Quilt Scrappy Mod Mosaic Top
     3.  Finish ABC Top and have it quilted (way to big for me!)
     4.  Finish Tokyo Subway Map Top and decide about quilting
     5.  Finish 4x5 Teal and Orange Sampler Top and decide about quilting
     6.  Finish Scrappy String Block Top and decide about quilting

I have promised myself, once again, that I will not join so many bees and swaps.  I have a bee and a round robbin in progress that I enjoy and I did just sign up for the next round of the 4x5 Bee, but that's it!  Time to complete some of those aforementioned WIPs and also to begin some new projects that I have my eye on.  I'm not good at New Year's resolutions and clearly I have issues with self-restraint when it comes to bees and swaps - however, I'm gonna try to put my money where my mouth is or something like that!  I also should think about self-restraint when it comes to fabric purchases.  I believe I have entered the questionable area between collecting and hoarding...

What about you?  Do you have WIPs to finish?  Are you going to dive into more bees and swaps or work on your own projects?  What are you thinking about creating in 2013?  I'd love to hear your ideas.

Aaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household.

Merry HoHo 2012

Christmas 2012 in Reno, Nevada was a success!  Wasn't sure I was going to make it in time with all the snow in the Sierras.  I had planned to leave the Bay Area on Saturday, December 22 - but the Snow Gods were intent on providing alot of snow, so no go.  Then Sunday passed with me sitting in the Bay Area while the snow snowed and snowed in the Sierras.  Finally, on Monday, the weather improved and I was able to leave for Reno.  It only took 30 minutes longer than usual.  Got to hand it to the snow removal workers on I80 - they clear those roads (over and over again...) in a very efficient manner. 

Got to Reno in time to help my DIL pick up the big present we were jointly giving her husband (my son).  A 60" flat screen (because a 42" is just not big enough!)

The little boys got their plate of cookies and milk ready for Santa and Daddy wrote their note to Santa.  New Christmas pajamas were worn by the little ones and they went to sleep knowing that Santa's reindeer might wake them up when Santa landed his sleigh on the roof.  

Very, very early in the morning, it was time to get up and survey the piles of presents.

Down they come to see what Santa has left for them.

 

 

Headlamps for all the men in the family.

 

 

A scooter and a skateboard

 



And Santa brought a white Christmas and more snow yesterday and today.  No way to practice the balance skills needed for the skateboard or scooter outside.  But Frosty, who had melted a little, was rebuilt into a new and improved version. 

One of the downsides to being a Labradoodle in the snow:

Actually, Boo doesn't think it's a downside - I just get a little tired of trying to clean him off every time he goes out in the yard.  Oh well, it's the Magic of Christmas that provided all the snow and fun, so I will take back any complaints about snow and ice covered dogs. 

Happy Holidays to all!

Aaaaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household.
 

It's as Easy as A-B-C

Well, it seemed easy enough at the beginning.  Let me take you back in time to the begining of the Bay Area Modern Quilt Guild (otherwise known as BAM) quilt along that was started in 2011.  The idea was to make a block each month that began with that month's letter of the alphabet.  We used traditional blocks but made them with modern fabric.  Those of us particpating in the quilt along brought our blocks in each month for Show and Tell.  That was August 2011. 

Angela Obeso from the guild quickly deduced that we might need to speed up our block making process if we planned to have a quilt top with all the letters of the alphabet completed in this century....so we agreed to start making 2 blocks a month in 2012 with October 2012 being the month for "Y and Z".  (Trust me there are not many blocks that begin with the letter "Z").

I think 6 intrepid guild members completed the quilt along.  Some have already put their tops together.  Rhonda (and several other BAM friends) came over for a sew day yesterday and Rhonda finished her sashing for her blocks and will soon be moving on to quilting her top.  I have my blocks pieced together in the top and am now working on borders.  Here is where I am right now:

The top was 60x72" without borders.  I am not yet sure about the inner borders, but right now it's a white inner border before the more elaborate border is added on. More border to follow.     

I have also been busy making cookies and finishing up my Christmas shopping and going to holiday parties and generally sewing less than usual.  I'll be out of the office for a little more than a week and will not likely be doing much sewing.  My grandsons will get most of my attention - we have  our traditional Gingerbread House to make when I get there, some holiday cookies to make and then Santa leaves his presents and the fun begins!

I love this time of year!  So fun to get the presents wrapped and all the yummie food and time to laze about without feeling guilt about it!

Aaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household.

I Was Waiting to Have a Finished Project...

...or a finished top before I blogged again.  Thought I should have something to show and tell, so to speak.  I see the holidays have taken a toll on my progress.

After Thanksgiving, I went to the BA Mod Quilt Guild partay on December 1, which was a combination of early sewing, partay plus meeting and then more sewing until 11:00 p.m.  You gotta love the Los Altos Library to let us stay so long.  Three of us were the partay planners, so we all spent time gathering the food and then setting up the party that day.  It was quite a success with more than 40 quilters at the partay and 32 staying to sew!

I stayed until 8:00 p.m. and finally had to call it quits, having arrived at 10:30 a.m.  I got some work done on my ABC quilt top and that was when I discovered that I had some blocks that just didn't work - mostly because they were too small.  I tried to "fix" the blocks by adding borders, but after going home and getting a fresh view in the morning when I wasn't so tired, I realized that 3 blocks had to be remade.  So, on Sunday, that's what I did and I started to assemble the top.  I decided to go without sashing.  I am putting the blocks together as they are and will then add a beautiful border (or that is my plan!).  I will show you some photos when I have the top completely together.  

Work is really busy and I have been busy with other things that I will tell you about in another blog.  Christmas is almost upon us.  I have gotten all of my gifts for my grandsons and know what I am getting for my son and daughter-in-law.  Just an implementation issue now!

Trust you are well and also busy with the holiday season.

Aaaaanyway, that's it from the Robertson household.