BLOG 214

Home again, home again jiggerty jig! and feeling really refreshed after a wonderful break in America. We went to the Yellowstone and the Teton National Parks and they were truly amazing. It really is impossible to get your head around the vast scale of these fascinating geographical features. We saw many geysers and fumaroles and, of course, ‘Old Faithful’ (after having to make a 74 mile detour because a bridge was being replaced!) And we saw many animals in the distance …. but not one rotten bear. This was somewhat of a disappointment because I was brought up on ‘Yogi, Booboo and Mr Ranger sir’; we were just heartily glad we hadn’t invested the $45 in a can of bear spray!! Anyway, this isn’t a travel or cooking or gardening blog, just a quilting blog so let’s get back to what really matters in life.

 I found the one quilting shop in Jackson Hole where we were based and made some modest purchases. My main observation was that the prices have risen somewhat since I last bought material in the US. That said, they as still cheaper than I could buy them in the UK. Here are some of the fabrics ($12 p y) I bought because I liked them.

 

                                                  Batiks

 Here are a couple of blues that I bought because I needed them for my Lady of the Lake quilt.

                                 Quilt blues

Here is a picture of a quilt on the wall of the shop which I want to make when I have worked out how to do it.

                                           Wyoming quilt

And these are the bargain fabrics I have just purchased from Quilters Needs (Dot Sherlock) at £4 p y; on the left is the fabric for the triangular in-fills around the edges of the quilt and the fabric for the back of the quilt is on the right. I have batting in stock so there is nothing now to stop me completing this quilt when I have made all the squares. Apart from applying myself, that is.

                          Infill and backing

I don’t take any sewing on holiday these days, I am more likely to be drawing or reading but I have immersed myself in art on this trip as there was a 10 day art festival going on in Jackson Hole. My two favourite artists from this trip are Ringholz (because she works like me with black and colour) and Dean Crouser (because of his freedom with watercolour which is how I would like to paint). Bring their names up on Google images. I’d be interested to know what you think of them.

 

                                 Rinholz bear

                                            Crouser fish

I have been hand sewing on my fabric book since returning home and here are a couple of the pages I am currently working on. It started in Mareka Philips’s inspirational workshop.

 

                                                   Flowers

                                           Tree and stitches