Quilt pictures

As promised - here are the pictures of the latest completed quilt.  It was a big challenge, but I'm glad I worked through it.  There are several different techniques in this one including machine piecing, machine applique, fabric painting, hand quilting, machine quilting, and even embroidery for the tag (which I forgot to take a picture of).  

AMW

Projects

I've been working on a few things here and there.  Nothing out of the ordinary, just some projects.  Most of them quilt related.  Did I mention that before?  That I quilted?  Don't think so, but I think most of you who read this already knew that...

I took some pictures (but forgot to put them somewhere I could access them at work) of a recently completed quilt.  This one took WAAAAYYY too long to finish.  I would get stumped by how to do something, and until I worked through it, I walked away from it.  I really need to work on working through it better.

I've got a few more planned, and hopefully, I can get working on them soon.  What's on tap?  A baby's "I SPY" quilt.  A "polka-dot" quilt.  Maybe a "jar" quilt.  I've got designs for them all.  

The baby quilt is the most pressing, as the the little bundle of joy will be home in just a few weeks.  I only found out about his arrival a few weeks ago, so there's a bit of a rush for that one.  Not too bad, as they live a few hours away, so we don't see them very often.

The polka-dot quilt will take a while.  It's going to be queen sized, with ALL polka-dotted fabric.  Lights, darks, mediums, big dots, little dots, solid dots, loud dots.  Should be a really fun looking quilt when it's finished.  Will probably take me a year or more to finish.  I have a feeling there will be quite a bit of handwork on this one and not as much machine work until the squares are finished.

So a "jar" quilt in the mean time might be just the thing to bridge the gaps, and to make a nice table runner.  This one will probably be able to be done almost completely by machine, so it will be nice to have a project that will go quicker.

Pictures - I promise I'll take lots of pictures.  

I'm certainly not the best quilter - but I enjoy it.  I just found out that the lady who I learned from, Edith Hughes, is still teaching.  I took a class with her 11 years ago, and I'm sure she was in her 80's then.  She is surely in her 90's now, and STILL TEACHING!  Wow!  And apparently still driving, and in good health...   I always loved the spunk in that little woman.  I need to visit her soon, I suppose.

Guess I've rambled on enough.  What projects are you working on?

AMW

What's new?

Not much!  

Really, there isn't anything going on.  It's pretty quiet, what with bowling being over for the summer, and no plans in the immediate future.  

I'd really like to get out camping, but the camper needs some work done, and the guy hasn't called me back yet.  But a nice relaxing camping weekend away would be great!

And surprisingly, we don't have any big trips planned for the summer.  It's kind of odd...  I think as of this moment, we don't have a single trip planned for the summer.  Really odd, come to think of it.  Perhaps that's why I'm itching for a camping weekend so bad..

Anyhoo - if anything fun comes up, I'll keep you posted.  For now, I'll just try to keep up with the Thousand Word Thursday pictures.

AMW

Thousand Word Thursday

I've loved this picture since I took it.  It was taken from an upper window in an old lighthouse that was only accessible by boat, the island comprised of the many rocks and boulders that you see.  When we got up to the window, the contrast of the colored kayaks against the wet and dry rocks delighted me, and I took this picture.

The lighthouse (and island) are now completely closed to the public.  I consider myself very fortunate to have visited it several times before the restriction set in.

AMW

Thousand Word Thursday

Sometimes - The Thousand Word Thursday takes several pictures:

While traveling around the state a couple of years ago, we came across this berry farm that had goats.  Since goats like to climb - the owners created a single lane ramp with elevated stopping points for the goats that actually went over a working road.  They don't fall, and head-butt each other to move to get out of the way.  Fun, fun, fun to watch!  Wanna check it out?  VisitWestmoreland Berry Farm in Oak Grove,VA. 

AMW

Hurricane Aqua Sports

It's been two weeks since I was blindsided with news that the manufacturer of the kayak that I've had problems with, wasn't going to honor their word.  The full (and I do mean FULL) backstory can be found starting HERE, then HERE, onto HERE, and then finally HERE.  Don't want to take the time?  Here's the short of it:

• Boat Defect
  
• Boat Sinks
  
• Manufacturer sends temporary fix
  
• Boat Sinks again
  
• Vice President offers new boat for free
  
• Vice President reneges offer 11 days later
  
• Vice President offers to sell me a new boat PLUS shipping
  

I had held off during the last post mentioning the manufacturers name, because I was hoping that they would step up and do the right thing.  They haven't.  It's been several weeks.  And what recourse do I have?  It's my word against theirs.  

So now, I must say, that I would not suggest anyone do business with Hurricane Aqua Sports.   They don't sell directly, but you'll likely find their kayaks at your local kayak dealer and at demo days.   Their trademark is producing kayaks out of a material called Trylon, a durable but lightweight plastic.  Apparently not so durable.  

Their site claims them to be "a small group of kayaking industry veterans".  Then these veterans should understand how it would feel to be without a boat.  Not because they damaged theirs, or not because they couldn't afford one.  But because their boat failed.  Miserably.

I bought the Hurricane Phoenix 120.  A small, light, sit-on-top.  I really enjoyed the boat.  But due to a manufacturing defect, it took on water and sank.  With me in it.  In any other situation than what I was in, it could have had a much worse outcome.

It's so terribly disappointing, this change in customer service.  I never asked for a new boat, they offered it.  And then took it back.  They used the "warranty period" as their excuse, but didn't take into account that I first contacted them while it was still under warranty, and they sent a tube of epoxy that didn't fix it.  How sad is that?  The VP even admitted to me on the phone that they knew there was a problem with this!

I have no idea what changed his mind in the 10 days between our pleasant phone conversation, and the follow up email.

Is this the kind of company you would do business with?  One that offers to make it right, then takes it back, then nothing.  One that doesn't stand behind their product.  One that doesn't stand behind their word???  

I'd love to hear from you.  Please leave a comment here for me, (and for the little guy everywhere that gets the shaft!).

AMW

PS - I'll be shopping for a new kayak soon.  Anyone have suggestion on good manufacturers to deal with?

Reality Show Wrap-up

Wrapping up the shows that started in February, last week and this week have been very busy with finale shows.

Amazing Race - Wasn't disappointed that Tammy and Victor won.  I would have loved to have seen Margie and Luke win it though.  They did great!

The Bachelor - This one was finishing up in February.  Most of us were thrilled to see Jason pick Melissa, then heart-broken when he dumped her on National Television.  I have no doubt that she's getting the last laugh on....

Dancing with the Stars - Hadn't planned on watching this one, but when Melissa (of jilted Bachelor fame) was named as a last minute replacement, I was hooked.  She's done fabulously!  

Biggest Loser - I was glad that Mike and Ron didn't win the whole thing.  I wouldn't have minded if Mike had won, but Helen beat him out.  I only wish Tara could have pulled it all off in the end.  That girl was a MACHINE!

American Idol - This one ends this week with Adam and Kris in the final two.  Love Adam, but kind of rooting for the underdog on this one.

Survivor - YEAH JT!  JT played an almost flawless game.  One of the best game-players I've seen.  But Coach????  Ugh - give me a break!

Hell's Kitchen - Again - thrilled to see the underdog (Danny) win this one.  This kid has an amazing amount of potential.  Although Paula was pretty impressive too!

Celebrity Apprentice - Over the top!  Joan Rivers won.  But these celebrities are just over the top....  Except Jesse.  How in the heck did he marry Sandra Bullock??!??!

Deadliest Catch is just starting, and tonight is a new Bachelorette that I may just have to tune in and see wassup.

Not sure what will coming up for the summer, but I've got the DVR ready to go!

AMW

WICKED!

Wow!  That's about all I can say!  Is WOW!

Thursday night, we went to the the Broadway Across America traveling production of Wicked.   Don't know what Wicked is?  Here is a description from Wikipedia: 

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. (In the album notes, Gregory Maguire explained that he derived the name "Elphaba" from the initials of L. Frank Baum.) Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly before Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz as a backstory.

This show was amazing!  I can't even begin to describe to you how great this show was.  It was certainly a comedy.  It was also dramatic.  It did an amazing job of giving you insight to the Wizard of Oz.  

The theatrical details were stunning, from Glynda coming and going in a "bubble", to the over-sized "wizard" of oz, to the flying monkeys!  

The lead actresses voices were unmatched in their clarity, strength and control.

The supporting cast couldn't have done a better job.

I can only image what the production crew must have gone through to pull this show off as well.  The scene changes and the special effects were superb.

Although our local run is here for 3 weeks, it's nearly sold out.  I can certainly see why.  But I highly recommend if you ever get the chance to go, DO!  It will be worth everything you pay for the tickets!

AMW

Final bowling update...

No more bowling, until next fall!  Here is the final update for this league:

Our team tied for 36/37th place!  I predicted 37th.  Ok, that's just really sad....  I predicted we'd be 37th out of 39th.  Well, at least we weren't last???

Ok - here are a bunch of random figures........

57 - the number of games I blogged about

19 - the number of weeks I blogged about (yeah, this is pretty low of the 32 weeks we bowled.  But don't forget I was out with an ankle injury, and a couple weeks were just too bad to blog.)

103 - my entering average

111 - my exiting average

109 - my average most of the year

25 - number of games above my average (the 109 average)

30 - number of games below my average

3 - the number of games exactly my average

82 - the lowest score I blogged

155 - the highest score I blogged

For our efforts, and for coming in at 36th/37th - each member of our team got $90.  More than I thought we'd get, so no disappointment there!

I'm really, really going to get a couple games in this summer!  Really.

Until next year....

AMW

Thousand Word Thursday

I thought the concept of the "Thousand Word Thursday" was cool.  So, I'm gonna try to do it here.  You can click on the box for more info.

Here's my first:

This is my Casey doing what she loves the best!  Laying on the front porch, watching the world go by.

AMW

(PS - If I timed this right, this is my 100th post!)