The Great Escape - We Arrive in Sun Valley!

We chose a scenic route to Sun Valley... of course, SV is basically off of the beaten path, so any way of getting there is scenic.

The terrain became more rolling hills - not mountains as we had expected.

Another thing unexpected... There's a very large Nuclear test lab/area!

It was interesting to learn at an area rest stop about all of the testing that occurred there during WWII.

A bit farther down the road the terrain again began to change as we approached the Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve...It is a lava flow that began 15,000 years ago with the most recent activity occurring a mere 2,000 years ago.  It covers a 750,000 acres.
 We enjoyed another roadside lunch...

Not one of our best pics, but none the less...

Our last stretch of road took us to SV and the condo...

The elevation was not a high as we had thought... and the "mountains" seemed naked!

 

After hiking some trails in the neighborhood we ventured to the store for a few groceries... Let me tell you the cost of food was outrageous!  However, we got settled and enjoyed the next few days exploring the Valley.

Don't you love the furniture?  Quite 70's, but it was comfortable, clean and FREE!

More of our adventures to come!

Melva

The Great Escape - Day 2...

The Great Escape - Day 2...

We enjoyed the day touring Salt Lake City... We visited the Mormon Temple Square.

Joseph Smith had an experience with the Holy Spirit...  "Members" say that it is their belief in Jesus Christ, their Savior & Redeemer, that changed their lives.  He change mine as well.  However, it seems a bit extreme that now the "Members" follow a "Living Prophet" over and before following Jesus Christ.  This is where I struggled...

Above is a replica of the  "plates" that 
Joseph Smith "found" and then returned to 
the "Moroni" or angels...

(There seems to be a deeper secret about this belief... something that deeply disturbed Dave and I.  The longer we stayed on the Temple Square, the stronger it got... and even this morning, as I google information about "Mormonism" there is an obvious "missing piece" that seems to leave a gaping hole in "their truth".)

 The grounds and gardens were beautiful, well kept and very clean.

  This is a cut-away replica of the "Holy Temple" - they only perform marriages and baptisms for members in there.  It is not cathedral like at all, which was somewhat surprising.

We did go listen to the organ concert, which was quite impressive. The acoustics are incredible... you can hear a pin drop with out the need for amplification. 

Funny story!!!  There was a school group on a field trip... probably about 2nd or 3rd grade, with several boys sitting in the row just in front of us.  The concert was 30 minutes long and they were getting restless (and the chaperons were not paying attention the the children because they were on their cell phones!).  Dave quietly leaned forward and whispered "Stop it."  They were very taken by surprise, but they stopped.  (Again, the chaperons were completely unaware that this had happened.)  We had to suppress our giggles at their reaction.  Dave worried that he had caused them to have nightmares or that they would have some fear of organ music... lol!  I'm sure they're fine... wink, wink.

After a street-side picnic, in the back of the jeep, downtown we traveled to Antelope Island, located in/on the Great Salt Lake.  

The lake level was way down, so we didn't explore any beaches... it just looked mucky and smelled bad.

  There was a huge herd of buffalo on the island - about 700, we were told.  We had to stop a couple times as they crossed the road in front of us... hoping that they didn't spook and suddenly head-butt or kick our car.

There is a 8-mile causeway to the island. 

Day three we traveled on to Idaho... more to come!

Melva

The Great Escape!

Wow!  It has been a while since I last shared here on my blog.  First of all, thanks for stopping by!  FYI - I will be sharing pictures and details of our Great Escape to Sun Valley, Idaho over the next few day... so that I don't bore or overwhelm you. :)

Dave and I were able to escape from our normal routine for a few days.  Woohoo!  It has been 3-1/2 years since we last had a real vacation.  A very generous friend had extended an offer of allowing us to use his condo in Sun Valley, Idaho for several years and we finally said yes.  

Oh, it was so nice.  Just to get away and to slow down.  We had been working, it seemed, constantly.  But really, it was probably just that we were consistently, persistently, ticking off things on our "to do" lists in preparation for "The Great Escape" - getting projects to a point that we felt we could walk away for a week or so...

And then, finally, the day arrived when we were to be leaving.  Only a few people knew of our plans... Or at least knew we would be out of town.  After all, we needed to make arrangements for our dog, Shelby, and for someone to pick up our mail and feed the cat.

The most unusual thing about the trip was that we had no plans, except that we would eventually arrive in Sun Valley!  We traveled two-lane highways... the roads less traveled.  We stopped and stretched and walked when we felt like it.  We stopped to eat when we got hungry.  

Our first stop... at the top of Monarch Pass!

  

... Across Blue Mesa to Grand Junction and then into Utah!

We enjoyed traveling to some new areas... So much so, that I didn't take along any kind of hand-work to do while driving.  

As we made our way into Provo, Utah, we were amazed at the different colors of the hills/mountains.  There was grey, yellow, teal and red.  

It was Monday evening that we let our girls know that we were off on some great adventure, but we still did not let them know where were headed... They let us know that they were quite confused and didn't really like surprises.  Haha!

To be continued...

Getting Back on Track

I was de-railed on a project over the weekend... but now I am back on track and I have moved on to a special quilt that I get the honor of making for a current Air Force Academy Cadet and will be including a shirt with all of the names of the "Class of 2017".  This is, by far, the coolest shirt I have ever had the privilege of including in a quilt!  

I've gotten all of the shirts trimmed down and backed with fusible interfacing but I am waiting for two more to arrive... hmmmm... what to do to next?

I dug out my collection of shirts that have been stored in a variety of places... some in the sewing room closet, some in the basement dresser... and I started trimming.  I started with approximately two drawers FULL of shirts (folded and packed in tightly)...  Here are the leftover scraps...

And here are the various collections...

I have Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avs, CU, Colorado Rockies, Denver Broncos, Trinidad State and...

an assortment of Chicago professional athletic teams.

I can think of several family members that might appreciate this quilt on a cold winter night while watching one of the games!

I also came across this in our personal collection of shirts from vacations and other various favorite shirts we just can't let go of...

A blast from the past!

But until I am ready to actually start each of these different quilts, you be can be sure that I will be shopping the second-hand and thrift shops for more shirts to be included.

Be sure to watch for them!

See what other quilters are talking about at:  Quilter Blogs

It's All In The Math...

I am designing a wall hanging that is to be an anniversary gift from a customer. In my previous post... Rested and Refreshed I shared my plan to include a smaller version of my Pieces of My Heart block that was included in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Vol. 8 in 2013.

I wanted the finished block to be a 9" block rather than a 12" block.  No problem... Simply reduce the cutting dimensions by 25%.  

Well, not quite.  My first attempt ended up not even square!

It is 8-1/4 x 9-1/4... What!?!?

Ok, so it is all in the math.  You have to take the finished size of the piece (not the cutting size) multiply it by 75% and then add 1/2" for seam allowances. **Sigh**

Attempt #2...

Much better!  So the solution is all in the math!

And as a bonus... Here is a sneak peek at my wedding ring block! 

It still needs to have some stitching on it to finish it, but I am pleased!

I'll be in my sewing room this weekend continuing work on this project... Happy weekend!

Melva

See what other quilters are doing on Quilter Blogs

Rested and Refreshed!

It has been a good change... The deadline was met, the quilts delivered and then I took a few days off!

I have worked on a few small projects.  Bibs for stuffed animals with all the vital statistics for a baby - name, date of birth, weight and length...

They turned out super cute!  What do you think?

Oh, and I shortened some jeans for my Sweetie.  Yes, I do actually do something other than quilt!

I am preparing to begin a wall hanging that will be an anniversary gift.  It is really quite funny how this project came to be...

My husband is a gunsmith and working on a gun for a customer.  The customer had been looking on our web-site (Nolan Quality Customs).  On our home page there is a small button marked "Melva's Corner".  He inquired about getting a custom quilt... "I am giving your husband some business, so I figured I would get you busy too."

I received a rough sketch of what he was looking for... (aren't his artistic skills stellar?)

I will be piecing a few blocks, but I have a feeling there will be lots of applique. At least is only a wall hanging...  I'll be pulling out my Cricut and using some fancy die-cut letters for the writing.  

I am planning on using my Pieces of My Heart block to anchor the four corners (but in a 9" block rather than the original 12" block). And I think I will be creating some sort of intertwined rings block...

Stay tuned!  

Happy quilting!

Quilter Blogs

Defining Moments in Life

So many times it takes a tragic event to put life into perspective... For the past several weeks I have been busy working on four very special quilts. Quilts that are in memory of a wonderful woman that was taken from this world at far too young of an age.  Tracy, who battled MS for years, lost her battle four years ago at just 38 years old.  She left behind a family that misses her terribly.  Her smile could light up a room.  And she was a fighter.

"Knock me down and I will get back up...

You do not have the power to dictate my life...

You will not be allowed to take my spirit because I will not give it to you...

My smile is more powerful than anything you have...

You will never tear me down...

just let me be..." 

Tracy Kay Weimer Valdez

These quilts are for her four daughters from their Mimi. 

Each quilt includes a photo block of their beautiful Mom

I was in the midst of finishing one of these quilts when we got a phone call telling us that the house owned by some special friends was on fire. We made a few phone calls urgently requesting prayer for them and headed over to support them.  

One simply feels helpless in such a situation... there really was nothing we could do to stop the fire or to assist the firefighters... All we could do was pray.  We prayed for the safety of the firefighters, we prayed that there would be minimal damage to the main level of the house, we prayed, and we prayed and then we prayed some more.

The attitude of the home owners was amazing.  They were grateful that they were out safely (with their little dog)...  grateful that they had the presence of mind to grab their fire safe that held all of their valuable papers and photo cds... grateful that the tenants that lived in the upper apartments were not home at the time and were safe.

As I watched the fire and as I watched them, I was impressed and astounded by their common sense and practical frame of mind.  I was impressed, too, by their faith.  They took care of business... and in the days following they continue to "take care of business".  They view the fire as a small "road block" and continue on walking with the Lord and trusting in Him to see what unfolds.

I'm not sure that I was quite so excited about the road block that we faced a few years ago when we chose to start Nolan Quality Customs, but I do recall that we were able to "just do the next right thing" while walking in faith.

Defining moments in life... the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or the loss of personal property... there are many ways to respond. 

For the four young women that miss their Momma, I am sure there has not been a day that has gone by that they have not thought of her smile and her love... Now they will have a special keepsake that will wrap they in love and prayers and keep her close to them and to help them face any future road blocks they may face in faith.