Old and New

Alrighty - let's start this New Year with a resolution to blog a bit more frequently.  It's not that I don't think of it, but making (not finding) time to sit down and write - that sometimes proves to be a challenge.  So - after Christmas [you already saw that] and a Grandson's birthday, we headed to a delightful little town, not far away, for a New Year's happening.  A group of our RV friends have gathered there for the past several years and now it has become a tradition for New Year's holiday.  We usually spend 3-4 days there.  Minimal organized events, but lots and lots of eating and playing games and laughing and talking (and more eating and more cards).  This year the group completed (almost) 3 jigsaw puzzles and we watched on TV the Seattle Seahawks (American football) defeat St. Louis (I think - I'm not a huge fan.  Sorry.)

It is a very cute hotel and we had the top floor (penthouse - with huge dining table and kitchen) and the 4 rooms below it.  We even had a couple of folks who brought their RV and stayed at the nearby park.

It's a sweet little town, with a ferry landing, lots of boats and some fun architecture.

Our hotel stay did permit us to visit an "athletic club" across the street - to respond to the caramel popcorn during the card games and puzzles

We arrived home and unpacked and then it was time to prepare for our annual Stashbusters after Christmas party. [held in January].  Patty's church is nearby and lets us use their space for our little gathering [same place where Stone Soup Quilts operates].  And so,

After our potluck supper, we did a "show and tell" of items made from last year's ugly fabrics.  Some quite amazing things happened,

(some quite good and at least one pretty bad - see just above)

We were able to present Alayne with her wedding quilt - it's been a work-in-progress for quite some time and she was truly overwhelmed,

Stashbusters will start thinking about this year's raffle quilt - what to do.  Also Elaine brought a lovely quilt she made using a strip exchange.  We are thinking perhaps we want to do one - provide each participant with at least 40 - 2 1/2" strips.   And see what you can come up with,

Hers were all blacks and tans.  She was suggesting we think about violet (see her sweater above) and maybe a tan or cream or something light.  Hmmmmm.  Violet is supposed to be a new "in" color, so we should be able to find fabrics to cut and swap.

Lastly, the ugly fabric I got.  And I think it really and truly lives up to its name,

Interesting fabric for someone to design and make and someone to buy.  [the orange actually looks like it glows in the dark, although I don't think it does.]  Now what in the world do I make with this for next year?

Happy, creative 2014 to you and yours!