Bounce in Progress

 I am having so much fun making "Bounce" by Miss Rosie.  I've been working on it every chance I have and just have the two outer borders left to add.

I am using a layer cake that I have been hoarding saving just for this pattern.  It's "Cuzco" by Kate Spain The background is a Moda Bella Solid called Tranquil Aqua.

We've had lots and lots of rain in Santa Fe this past week and Northern New Mexico is out of drought status, which is wonderful.   

Flowers are blooming 

The sunsets are incredible

And rainy days are perfect for napping in boxes. 

Hope your weekend is great!

Tourist Season Begins

May is the start of tourism season in Santa Fe. From now through the Fall, artists markets, the Santa Fe Opera season, numerous festivals, and cultural events bring tens of thousands of tourists to town.  The biggest event is the third week in August when 150,000 people come to the Santa Fe Indian Art Market, the largest Native arts market in the world.  Wow! That's a lot of people for a town of approx. 68,000 residents.  I am looking at that with some trepidation let me tell you.  Being new residents to Santa Fe, we are having fun exploring all there is to see and do in town.

Our own little tourist season at Casa Stella Bella Quilts has started this month too.  This past week, E. (Mr. SBQ's son) arrived from Georgia and spent a week site-seeing around town and sampling a lot of wonderful New Mexican food.  I joked that I was going to have E. eat his weight in green chile before he left LOL!  We had breakfast burritos at the Santa Fe Farmer's Market, huevos rancheros at the Burrito Company, fajitas on the Plaza, and green chile cheeseburgers just to name a few examples.  (Good thing we did a lot of walking to and from downtown to wear off all that food LOL!)

My favorite dish is Salvadoran-- steak pupusa and chicken tamale in a banana leaf

We also went to Tune Up Cafe, one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants a short walk from our house. YUM!

Tres leches cake which we started devouring before I remembered to take a photo

Santa Fe is home to about 10 wonderful museums right in town.   We are slowing making our way through them.  On a gorgeous Friday afternoon, we took E. to visit the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. A short distance from downtown is Museum Hill, where several museums and the botanical garden are grouped together.  This makes a great way to see lots in a day or a few exhibits here and there. The Indian arts museum has an amazing permanent collection of Pueblo Indian pottery and we saw two special exhibits--Native American Portraits (historic photographs including some by Edward Curtis) and Turquoise, Water, Sky (an amazing exhibit of turquoise jewelry). No photographs allowed inside but here's some photos of the sculptures and gardens outside.

Museum of Indian Arts & Culture

I just love these yellow flowering shrubs. They smell wonderful.  It's called Spanish broom and is grown a lot around town.

View from Museum Hill.
















We were sad to see E. go back to Georgia after a fun-filled week.  Hope he can visit again soon.

Time to prepare for our next guests.  This Friday, my parents are coming from Michigan for a two week visit with their travel trailer and their dog Shiloh.  I can't wait!  During their visit, we'll be celebrating my mom's retirement and her birthday weekend too.  I'll post photos of our adventures and hopefully some quilt shop visits (wink!)

A Trio of Small Projects

Now that most of the unpacking is done (the sewing space still needs a lot of help), I am getting back into the swing of things quilting-wise.

This week I decided to work on some small projects.  The first one was a Divided Basket by noodlehead. This is a great PDF pattern that I saw on different blog posts.  I needed some extra storage for our bath in this house.  The main full bath is small with a pedestal sink and no room for storage except for a tiny medicine cabinet and one shelf above the door (too high for me to reach without a step stool).  There is not even room for a small cabinet or shelf or a under-the-pedestal-sink organizer (it's a rental house so we go with what's here).  Also, pedestal sink are nice and all but completely impractical.

I found a gray and blue print from the Seaside Cottage line by Heather Mulder Peterson that  would match the shower curtain, rugs, and towels we had.  I added Kona cotton in blue and an unknown dark gray solid as accent.

The pattern was easy to follow and not as difficult as the finish product looks.  I whipped this up in a couple of hours.

 
Here's another view.

I'll spare you a view of the basket in its place on the back of the commode lol!

Perfect for holding hair brushes, kleenex, face cleanser, etc.

I think I'll make a few more at some point for gifts.

One project-in-a-bag I found while unpacking was the Cash and Carry pattern by Atkinson Designs paired with zippers and fat quarters of Kate Spain's Fandango fabric line.  I think I packaged this up way back when I was in the Groovy Girls club at Sweet Home quilt store (circa 2010).  Took no time to get these finished.  The small one has a pocket on the outside (I think I'll use it to store business cards and quilt shop punch cards) and the larger one will be perfect for sunglasses when I get a pair to replace the ones I lost.








Spring has finally found it's way to Santa Fe and Mr. SBQ and I are enjoying seeing all the budding trees and flowers.  Since we moved here in fall/winter, spring and summer will be a whole new experience.

I took these photos on my walk to the farmer's market this morning.

And of course, no post is complete without a cat photo.  Remy cuddled himself up in a quilt.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Belated Hello from Beautiful Santa Fe

This great sculpture downtown just says "Hooray, I'm here"  IMO

Here I am in Santa Fe.  Finally. Reunited with Mr. SBQ and the cats. Surrounded by boxes. But I'm here.  It's taken me awhile to get back to blogging.  No sewing posts at the moment as I haven't unpacked the wall fortress insurmountable  numerous boxes labeled "quilt room."


I thought I'd give a quick recap of the trip in this post.

My beloved Dodge Dakota "Xena" on her way.

My dad, who I cannot thank enough, flew down from Michigan to Georgia to load up the last of the stuff, load up Xena the truck, close up the house, and drive across the country to NM.

By some sheer luck and karma, I planned this move the week between two crazypants weather events in metro Atlanta (an epic 2-inches of snow snowstorm and a shutdown-the-city-for-2-days ice storm).  With all the crazy, unprecedented winter weather across the country, we decided to take the southern route to NM on I-20 through AL, MS, LA, way too much of TX, and head north to reach I-40 in Amarillo.  We left Thursday, February 6th.

Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MS

Glad we took the "southern" route (and that my dad is an expert winter weather driver) as we encountered snow in Meridian, MS of all places and generally freezing cold weather everywhere else.  Snow flurries and horrendous road construction was the highlight of our drive through Dallas, TX.

View of the most boring road in America

We drove on the most boring road in America for approximately an eternity plus 8 hours.

beautiful sky through a very dirty windshield

After two long days of Dad driving and me commenting on how cold it was every time we stopped, we crossed the state line into New Mexico on Saturday, February 8!!

(Bad through-the-windshield photo courtesy of the city of Amarillo, who had approximately 2 inches of salt brine solution on the roads which covered our truck and Xena to the roof.)

 Starbucks boxes are great moving boxes (perk of working there!)

Mr. SBQ and the cats were very excited to see us; we were very happy to see them and arrive safe and sound; and Dad was happy to be done driving.  After getting everything unloaded, we took Dad sightseeing for the two days he was here before he returned to Michigan on Monday, February 10th.  We went up the mountains, drove along Canyon Road, walked around the Plaza and shopped for souvenirs, went to a fascinating cowboy exhibit at the New Mexico History Museum, and ate lots of great New Mexican food.

The remainder of the week, I ran errands, got driver's license, etc. and started unpacking all the boxes.



The cats are very happy to have both their humans to boss around. They are also happy to have their sofa and comfy chairs.  I am unsure of my position in the rankings versus the furniture.

Square One

I discouragingly report that it is back to square one with the house sale.  The contract fell through on New Year's Eve and I was too disappointed to report about it here until now.  I am leaving all the messy details on this whole house-selling business off of my blog in the interest of keeping kvetching at a minimum level but suffice to say--I think I'd rather go through my horribly painful puffy-face wisdom teeth surgery from 2012 all over again than deal with dealing with this.

Moving on.....

Literally.

I am moving on to Santa Fe in about 3 weeks.  The holidays have passed and it is a good time to transfer to a Starbucks in Santa Fe, so it is time to gather up the rest of my belongings and head west to my husband and cats.  I have more potential buyers coming to see the house this week so hopefully my real estate agent can sell the house soon and we can be D.O.N.E. with the house sale.

It is definitely time to be with Mr. SBQ and the cats and get on with this new life of ours. Besides I'm also missing lots of napping in the Santa Fe sunshine time with this little guy

Remy enjoying a sunbeam on the kitchen table, where he is not supposed to be

In between cleaning out the attic and keeping the fancy towels out, I am working on a gift quilt for one of my dearest friends.  I had the top made for a long time and decided to get it quilted and finished for a special coworker. The pattern is "Minnesota Hot Dish" by Atkinson Designs and the fabric is a Sandy Gervais Moda line from a long time ago (I don't remember the name).  Here is an in-progress photo and I hope to get the quilting and binding finished in the next couple of days.

Mr. SBQ, as you can imagine, is over-the-top happy that I have a moving date.  He sends me photos via text to remind me of how beautiful it is in New Mexico.  This is from one of his weekend hikes on a mountain overlooking Los Alamos.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at the wide open blue sky.

Christmas Eve

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!  Happy Christmas Eve to those who celebrate.
I have been busy working, making cookies for my fellow coffee slingers, and sewing.  The house sale is progressing s--l--o--w--l--y and I may have more of an idea of a time frame after the holidays (keeping fingers & paws crossed that it will be done by end of January). It's a complicated and aggravating story so I won't go into all the details. Let's just concentrate on getting done with it all soon.

Oh how I wish I was in Santa Fe with Mr. SBQ and the cats.  I had Mr. SBQ send me a photo of the Plaza with the lights and snow.

I will have to wait until next year to to experience the wonderful tradition of the Farolito Walk on Canyon Road.  Thousands of farolitos (also called luminaries) line Canyon Road on Christmas Eve and there are carolers, cider and hot chocolate, bonfires, and festivities.  It sounds simply wonderful (if a bit crowded).  This article has more about holiday traditions in the area.


This year, I'll be working tonight and all day tomorrow at Starbucks for all those last minute shoppers and coffee fanatics.

I also have been requesting more cat photos from Mr. SBQ.  I explained to him that there are hundreds if not thousands of cat photos NOT being taken because I'm not there to capture every cutemous moment.  

I don't think he quite understood. 

This cutemous photo of Remy and Edgar Poe arrived via text one day.  Awww.  

It Snowed in Santa Fe without Me

I think we're going to need a snow shovel.

Yesterday, Mr. Stella Bella Quilts texted me this photo of the overnight snowfall in Santa Fe!  They received 6-8" of snow. WOW!

I was so envious because that looks like so much fun....
....for about a day.

Mr. SBQ and the cats were snug as Southwestern bugs in the house. I think Remy stayed curled up in bed all day and just ventured out to the kitchen for food.



Not only do I not have clothes for this kind of weather anymore, my friend Pat reminded me that I'm going to need some BOOTS!

On this side of the south, I finished "Second Hand Clothes."  This was a quick, easy, and big quilt to finish up.  I am enjoying all the floor space in my cleaned-out, minimal-furniture living room.  I did lay out all the blocks and rows so the colors and patterns were evenly distributed throughout the quilt.  There are some less-than-lovely fabrics in this kit in my opinion but I think it all plays well together.  I sewed up the solid red binding and will get the backed pieced this week.

On to the next UFO!

Dusting Off the Ol' Blog.....

Hello!!!!  How is everyone in blogland?  I've been incommunicado for 2 months.  Can you believe it?  I missed all of you and I miss reading all the blog posts and everything else that is going on. It has been a whirlwind of busy and too-much-to-do along with work and trips to Santa Fe and 50-11 billion other things.  Let's do a really quick catch up and then I'll try to get back into blogging again.  I also hope to get back to commenting and (fingers crossed) sewing again soon. I also need to respond to 700 emails at least so if you haven't heard from me--I'll be getting to that too.

Warning: there has been no sewing for me these past few months, although I did *enjoy* packing up my sewing room (not) and 50-11 million UFOs (double not).

Another warning:  LOOOOOONG POST follows.

OK. Ready. Set. Go. Two months in a flash-----------

September:  
Week of Sept. 6th 

S. and I drove to Santa Fe to find a rental house in his car packed to the roof with stuff.  I fell in love with Santa Fe.  I will dwell more on Santa Fe in another post.

Palace of the Governors

Downtown buildings

Our historic Route 66 hotel and homebase while searching for a place to live

After an exhausting (and at times discouraging) search for a place that would accept four cats (apparently this is an unacceptable number of cats even though they are the four cutest, most well-behaved, sweetest cats on the face of the Earth), we finally found a little adobe house and it was perfect! Wonderful neighborhood, S. can walk to work, we can walk everywhere, and it is just the cutest little house ever.

After finding a house and getting S. settled, we had some free time so we got married at the magistrate courthouse on Thursday, September 12.  Yes, we did.  We had a wonderful little civil ceremony, S. made dinner, and I bought a cake.  It was exactly what we wanted and we were so happy to get married and start our new life in our new hometown.

I came back to Atlanta on Saturday, Sept. 14, leaving S. to start work in Santa Fe.

Rest of September
Packing, packing, packing, and more packing.  Also repainting all the rooms in my house and getting house ready to sell.

Gomez was in charge of packing quilts.  

October:
More work on house. My parents came down from Michigan (Dad for 2 1/2 weeks and Mom for a week) to help.  I owe them forever for the amount of work they did and can't thank them enough.  Also, the cats loved having more people to spoil them. I know Stella misses my mom already.

We needed to get most of our furniture and stuff (including all the sewing stuff) moved to Santa Fe and leave some items to "stage" the house for sale so S. flew back from NM on October 12th to load up and drive the moving truck.  We also needed to get the cats moved so I rented a car to chauffeur them for the 20 hour drive.

Monday, October 14: Moving day.

I was prepared as one could be faced with driving 1,400 miles over 2 days with 4 cats who don't like car rides and have never lived anywhere else but our house in GA. And an overnight hotel stop.

2013 Dodge Dart fits 4 cat carriers in the backseat

Here are the cats all lined up in the back seat in their cat carriers ( from front: Gomez, Remy, Edgar, and Stella)

Gomez meowed in quiet protest from our house to past Birmingham, Alabama.  This is what he said:

MAOW
(pause)
MAOW
(pause)
MAOW
(pause)

(repeat)

The others meowed periodically just to remind me that they were in the back seat.

Otherwise they were wonderful during the drive through Alabama, Mississippi, corner of Tennessee, and Arkansas.  We stopped for the night near Fort Smith on Arkansas' western border.  5 states done!

After their first elevator ride (!), we set the cats loose in the hotel room and they all hid under the furniture.  After awhile they found their food, water, litter boxes (I bought disposable ones), and began to explore.

Gomez kicked back in the comfy bed

Gomez living it up at the Holiday Inn Express

Remy and Stella exploring the hotel room

After a take-out dinner of fabulous chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes (yes, I treated good kitties to a taste of mashed potatoes--Gomez loved them), we settled in for some sleep.








At 3:30AM, the cats decided to run off all the reserved energy for the day and woke me up by running around like maniacs, knocking things around, and diving into suitcases ( a Twitter friend of mine compared it to British rock bands of the 1970s trashing hotels LOL). It was the funniest thing ever.  S. slept through it all. I just laughed and laughed.






Day two:  720 more miles to go.
The cats were well-behaved again although I could tell they were tired of being in the car.   We drove across the whole length of Oklahoma.  The cats slept through the Texas panhandle and finally after a 10 hour day, we arrived at our house in Santa Fe.

















The cats were happy to be out of the car and happy to have their cat toys and cat tree and food dishes and a new place to explore.  It wasn't long before they were settled in and made themselves at home.
After a very quick week of unpacking (except for the sewing room), I was flying back to Atlanta to get the house in order.

And that's where I am now--getting the house ready to list and working. S. and the cats are in Santa Fe.  I miss them.