One of the nicest things about being away is returning home.  My namesake is right – there is no place like home!  We had a wonderful time away with lots of projects accomplished and a safe and productive trip to California.

We arrived in Leavenworth on Saturday.  This is the beautiful view from our condo:

And the next morning with the clouds over the mountain:

We were able to tear ourselves away from the view and get down to business, though. Here we are ready to rock and roll:

Believe me, this was the neatest that table was for the entire week!  Within a short time we had piles of fabric and projects everywhere and the most frequent comment was, "Have you seen (insert scissors, pattern, fabric, thread, etc. here)?"  But what fun to just sew and sew with no deadlines, no ringing telephones, no toilets to clean or laundry to do (other than prewashing fabric that we bought!).  Did I mention that there were three quilt shops within easy driving distance?   We had brought some definite plans for projects with us, but we also let the spirit lead us and threw in some spur of the moment projects too.  We even had time to go to a Quilt Soiree at the closest shop and met (can you believe it???) some quilters from right here in Oak Harbor!  They were staying at the same condo as we were and had won their trip at our local Christian School auction – yes, the same one that my friend and I had made the quilt for.  What small world!

The last night we displayed all of our projects:

The final tally?  Between the two of us we completed 3 dresses for granddaughters, one tablecloth, 6 sets of napkins, one jacket for Izzy, one quilt top, 3 blocks for Quilts of Valor (for wounded soldiers), 2 blocks for the Quilt Soiree, one potholder, 4 embroidered Hummel pillow tops, 2 embroidered blocks for a Snoopy quilt, one Christmas ornament and 2 embroideries for purses.  In addition, we were able to complete the preliminary digitizing for the logos for my work and for my husband’s car club.  Whew! 

My favorite project was a jacket for Izzy:

Here’s a detail of the back showing the border detail:

And I also love my four Hummel pillow tops.  I had only meant to make one or two, but I couldn’t stop myself.  Do you notice a little girl theme here?

As much fun as we had, by the end of the week we were both ready to come home, but my adventure was just beginning.  Tomorrow – the trip to California and pictures of the new addition to the family.