Friday, January 31, 2020

January Mini

January, 2020
 has used up all the cloudy days 
that Colorado usually has for the entire year.

So when the sun 
finally came out today,
it was the perfect day
to take my quilt outside 
and share my January Mini.


Winter Blues
33" x 33"

The pattern is adapted 
from Betsy Chutchian's design
found in the 2020
That Patchwork Place Quilt Calendar.



I had only a yard of that wonderful large print,
also from Betsy's Eliza's Indigo collection,
so it is smaller than the original and with less hst's.
Isn't it all about making do?

I love the rich indigo blues that I pulled from my stash to 
use in the blocks.

The blocks were done before I left on my trip,
but once I was home, it gave me an
opportunity to reconnect with my
sewing room.

Sometimes, I hate to admit, that I get
weird things that pop up in my head.

I decided to machine quilt my free hand, organic feathers
in the center square, triangles and border.


They're not perfect, but I love stitching them.

The phrase "full figured" kept spinning in my head
as I tried to make each plume plump and rounded.


That lead me to remember the
ads that Jane Russell use to do
for Playtex, way back when.


Anyone else remember this?

I guess it takes whatever it takes
to get the results you want


to make it look perfect
under that blue Colorado sky.

Connect with Wendy at her blog
to see what other perfect minis were
finished in January. 

Until Next Time-
Kyle

Friday, January 24, 2020

An Incredible Adventure

As you might remember
Running Man and I have been off traveling

south of the equator

It was a wonderful journey to: 

 Chile
16th Century National Cathedral, Santiago

Argentina

 The Andes in Bariloche, Argentina


Brazil

 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

We traveled from the west coast of Chile

the Chilean wine region

 to the east coast Brazil
Copacabana Beach, Rio

through the Andes by boat, 


 the rolling countryside of the lake region of Patagonia,


 and saw beautiful natural scenery.
Iguazu Falls

Recently, Chile has been experiencing

many civil protests and social unrest.  It was interesting
to hear the viewpoint of our local guides


and the effects on them and their families.


Buenos Aires, the "Paris of South America"
is a multicultural city with
colorful barrios, like La Boca,

colonial European architecture, and

a long and interesting history.

Casa Rosada where Evita stood on the balcony addressing
throngs of supporters during her husband's term as president.

Of course, you must add in Tango lessons


and passionate dancing?

Too funny

There's a well-known saying in Argentina, " An Argentine is an Italian
who speaks Spanish, thinks he's French, would secretly like
to be British."

From there we flew to the Iguazu Falls
which are simply astounding.
 The 275 waterfalls border both Argentina and Brazil.

Running Man's view from a zodiac boat ride
and
then right into the spray.

The largest waterfall in the world. 
Devil's Throat
Wish you could hear the roar of the water.

Next stop, Rio 

We had a dizzying ride up the cable cars to
Sugar Loaf mountain,

visited landmark sites like
Christ the Redeemer statue,

and had an amazing room with a view


all the while singing " Copacabana" and 
"The Girl from Ipanema".

The passion in this city really comes alive during 
it's annual Carnival celebration.  We visited one of the 
Carnival clubs that build the floats, 


 that make the thousands of costumes

and delivers the rhythm of the pulsating music.

We even got to play dress up.

We just have to learn the Samba moves 
to be ready for the parade.

 Our exploration of these 3 beautiful countries 
have left us with wonderful memories.
Thanks for letting me share some of the highlights.

Gosh, I didn't even talk about the delicious food!
Empanadas with lots of wine!

It was an awesome journey.

Until Next Time-
Kyle