THE RIGHT FORK IN THE ROAD

Hi Everyone!

Please join me today as we take the right fork in the road at Grant Village and drive along Yellowstone Lake through wooded areas of pine. 

Come and read more about this day by clicking on the TRAVEL JOURNAL tab above. Thanks for coming along of the journey, next week I'll be wrapping up this Travel Journal and I hope you will join me for the final adventure on a hike above Jenny Lake. 

Happy Travels and Happy Journaling!

Suzy

MUD POTS, GEYSERS AND BOARDWALK ADVENTURE

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back for another Travel Journal Thursday adventure!

 I'm so happy you have stopped by!  .  This week we journey further into YNP encountering much wildlife and fun times along the way. 


Just click on TRAVEL JOURNAL tab above to get the entire journal pages along with personal photos. I'd love it if you would leave a comment. 

Enjoy the adventure!

Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy

TRAVEL TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

Hi Everyone!

Some exciting news to share this week!  We are proud grandparents of a brand new baby boy. Our daughter Amanda and her husband Fabian welcomed Jackson Richard into the world on March 25, a few weeks earlier than expected.  Jackson weighs 6 lbs 7oz. and he has a head full of dark hair and blue eyes.  We are looking forward to visiting and being able to hold our baby grandson in our arms.

Today’s Travel Journal pages will take you on an adventure into Yellowstone National Park to visit the world famous Old Faithful geyser and the surrounding areas.  Just click on the tab TRAVEL JOURNAL above for the full pages, photos and stories.  Enjoy! 

I truly appreciate and enjoy your comments, so please leave me some comment love today! J

Happy Travels and Journaling.

Suzy

Come along on a Travel Adventure

Hi Everyone!

It's time for another weekly travel journal adventure. If you'd like to see more journal pages and read about the story behind them, check out the tab above marked Travel Journal. I look forward to sharing the pages with you each week along with photographs and personal mementos.

This week we are traveling through Jackson Hole, WY and surrounding areas! I hope you will take a few minutes to check out the journal pages and photos and I'd love it if you would leave me a comment!

Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy

NEW TRAVEL JOURNAL PAGES REVEALED!

Hi Everyone!

So this week I'm going to share something with you that I have been promising for awhile: my travel journal pages. The journal pages started as a way to avoid carrying tons of brochures and collected mementos home from vacation. With the cost of flying, baggage weight restrictions and extra cost to check baggage these were definite reasons to pair down extra goodies brought back home. Know what I mean?  This also forced me to cut down on art supplies, narrowing  down to (what I consider) the bare minimum, they fit into a pencil pouch (you can see a list HERE).  I take a journal and glue stuff into it as I go along, tearing images  from the brochures, painting or handwriting the days events onto the pages. I suppose you could relate this to a form of Smash Book if you like, only I was doing this years before that term or product was developed.

I hope you will click on the TRAVEL JOURNAL tab above and check out the first of my journal pages. I'll be sharing some with you weekly on Thursdays (OK, let's give it an official name like TRAVEL THURSDAY). You can check back each week to see what I've posted and I hope you will come often to visit and see where my journal has been. 

Happy Travels and Journaling!
Suzy

Link to: sewmanyways

ROLLING ALONG

Hi Everyone!

February is a really short month with lots of activity around here with family, church,work and on-going art, craft and sewing projects, etc. The month has quickly slipped by.   
     
The fabrics I ordered on line arrived and have been cut and sewn into strips for the Chinese Coin Baby Quilt I am making for my soon to arrive grandson. 

My DD and I collaborated online to select the fabrics. She has a vision in her head about what she wants the nursery to look like and so....we collaborate to get this 'vision' out into quilt form.

Chinese Coins is a wonderfully  versatile (and easy) quilt pattern that  works well with a bold modern print and your not so typical baby colors. We've selected a palette of greens, browns and blue. 

We will be choosing a background fabric to pull the design together so be sure to check back with me next week to see what progress has been made! 

Until then....
Bee Creative!! 
Suzy
Linking to: SEW MANY WAYS ; CLUCK CLUCK SEW

ON A ROLL WITH CHINESE COIN QUILTS

Hello Everyone! 

     In my last post I was headed North to visit with and celebrate my best friend's 65th birthday. We have so many interests in common it is hard to narrow down the craft supplies and show-n-tell (as every quilter knows, there always MUST be a show-n-tell) plus we have birthday and Christmas gifts to exchange and the packing list grows larger and larger.  My DH watches as I bring out the last of the bags/boxes, luggage and finally a sewing machine and he comments something like " I thought you were going for a weekend, not moving out!"  Haha, but seriously, the trunk of my car was FULL!  Well, we DID plan to work on a quilt project, hence the sewing machine (I don't know about you, but I don't feel comfortable sewing on someone else's machine). 

     Last time we were together we each started cutting strips for a black and white Chinese Coins quilt. The Chinese Coin quilt is pretty easy to make and doesn't require much concentration, so we can yak and sew and accomplish our goal for the weekend. If you haven't ever made one of these simple strip style quilts go check out the how to here.  My DH loves the one I made for him (photo), it was so easy! 

Chinese Coins made for hubby

     If you like scrap quilts this is a perfect pattern to use up a variety of patterns and colors and it makes a stunning quilt. I even used Chinese Coins to update a rather plain pillow by sewing on a strip of color! 

Update a pillow with Chinese Coins pattern

    As you imagine the variations on this theme are endless. We once had a quilt gathering where each member was asked to bring 20 strips of cotton fabrics cut into 2.5" x 44" strips (across fabric width=44") to share with others plus 1.5-2.5 yds of fabric (we suggested a multi-colored print,or solid or muslin) to use as a background to their strips.  We tossed the strips into a paper bag and had each participant pull out 20 random strips (no peeking!). They were instructed to sew the 20 strips into sets of two, then sew them into groups of four, etc. to form long strips. The strips can be cut in half and turned to create more variety in the assembly process. After strips are sewn into long rows then the background fabric can be cut into dividing strips and sewn to each pieced section. It is so much fun to see how the quilt tops turn out and sharing with your quilt buddies is the best! Have fun!! 

     I love the mixed up craziness of randomly putting two prints together but with the black and white fabrics it is easy to fall into sewing them into b+w over and over again and then you get a bit of a jailbird look. SO, I broke the rule of B&W and added in some cream and gray. One of my favorite fabrics is an oriental print with a touch of red so I am also adding a red & black print just for a bit of variation and pizzazz.  Well, it is my quilt after all and I am allowed to make it the way I like....lol!  My BFF gave up on the B&W and spent her time cutting fabrics for an Envelope quilt for her newly painted and decorated bedroom! I'll share that pattern information with you next time, it is a favorite pattern that makes a beautiful scrappy quilt. 


    I don't know when the Chinese Coins quilt top will get done, it may take me several more girlfriend trips but eventually I will get the pieces together and a quilt will be born.  Speaking of being born, my grandson is due shortly and I'll be making a quilt for him and taking it to Texas to welcome him into the world! I've ordered fabrics online from www.fabric.com. ( I love being able to play with the fabrics on their design board before making a purchase)! Can you guess what pattern I'll be using to make the baby's quilt? 

    There's never enough time to spend with my BFF! We had such a great time together! I hope you will check back soon to see the progress on the two quilts. Until then, keep sewing and creating! 

Bee Creative,
Suzy 


Linking to: SEW MANY WAYS ; CLUCK CLUCK SEW