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!

Oldies but goodies

I have become enamored with Vintage sheets. I had a few sheets, but after seeing some quilts made up in blog land, I've been more on the hunt for them.

This quilt sent me over the edge and gave me a goal -

Anyone Can Quilt 

And vintage sheets reign on this blog -

The Vintage Sheet Blog 

So take a look. You may fall in love. As for me, I found these two pillowcases recently.Vintage sheets are getting harder and harder to find in our area. Maybe everyone else is falling in love with these soft lovely oldies.

Have a happy quilting day!

Old Sewing Machines

Don't you just love old sewing machines??

The Sewing Machine Man had a display at a recent Quilt show.

He takes old sewing machines and refurbishes them.

He had quite a nice collection of old sewing machines and toy sewing machines.

This one was my favorite.

It sometimes makes me wish these machines could talk :-)

Happy Quilting!

With Every Breath - a book review

Memorable! That would be my first comment on reviewing Elizabeth Camden's book "With Every Breath". This is my first time reading any of Ms Camden's books and it was well worth reading. I often read a fiction book but in the end have been left with little to ruminate on. Not so with this book. I loved the story, I loved the characters, I loved the way Ms Camden worked her plot from the beginning when Kate and Trevor are classmates in school. Their diligence, competitiveness and academic excellence pave the way to showcase how difficult it was treating chronic and critical illnesses in the 1800's.I found it interesting that Ms Camden was inspired to write this book after reading about a doctor who had contracted tuberculosis while treating his dying brother. A quote by Dr Trudeau in the historical notes - "I have learned that the conquest of Fate is not by struggling against it, but by acquiescence; that it is often through men that we come to know God; that spiritual courage is of a higher type than physical courage; and that it take s a higher type of courage to fight a losing rather than a winning fight" 

Although this story is fiction, I was captivated with the extent of Trevor's dedication to finding a cure for this disease. Trevor and Kate are a perfect match in their determination and fire. He in holding his emotions close, and Kate in holding onto her fears.

This book was provided for review by Bethany House for my honest review. I plan to read Elizabeth Camden's other books. If they are anything like"With Every Breath", I have found an author that has the ability to capture my attention and draw me into the lives of her characters. I don't think you would be disappointed.

Flea Market pattern

 Several years ago, my sister in love finished two Flea Market Fancy quilts. We found this scrappy pattern on crazy mom quilts blog site Crazy Mom Quilts. I love Amanda Jean's quilts. She is so creative and always has an interesting blog. Plue she has lots of great patterns and tutorials posted.  I read her posts every day.

Look at how pretty my SIL's pink quilt turned out!



















I made the blocks and they sat in my ufo pile for a long time.  But I finally got around to putting it together and finished for my niece.

I decided not to add the sashing, and sewed all the blocks together.  

I like how it turned out.  And so did my niece :-)

Happy Quilting!