Back in Texas!

FYI: This post is random, even for me. It is a mix of sewing projects and travel photos from Ireland.

I dug up all of the scraps from my Super Swoon octopus quilt and decided to start using them. First, I finished a 16" block for a throw pillow. I still have plenty of scraps leftover, so who knows what will happen!

The day before I left for Ireland, I realized two things:

1. I had no hand sewing project to work on during the trip.
2. I had no pouch big enough to hold a hand sewing project that didn't exist. 

I had been itching to make a cheesy EPP something out of 30s reproduction prints, and this seemed like the perfect time. The final decision was to make pinwheels out of half hexagons! I have no idea how many pinwheels I will make or how big the quilt will get, but at least I have a handiwork project to last a few trips. 

Here are the half hexies I finished basting on the plane to and from Ireland. They are 3" half hexagons which means the three short sides are 3" long. 

And here is the zippered pouch I whipped up to keep my supplies in. I used hexie fabric for the top stripe. In this picture, the pouch and I are at Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. At this place, there are a ton of hexagonal rock formations and it happens to be one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been.

Here are some pictures of Giant's Causeway I took.

And because none of the pictures I took really do the place justice, here is a photo borrowed from Google.

Speaking of Ireland, I found some awesome quiltspiration while I was there. This first one is the sidewalk in Cork, Ireland.

Then we have some ridiculously expensive socks I found in a shop window in Dublin. The picture is horrible but the socks are incredible! Each of them would make a great quilt!

These next two are the floor in an incredible little pub in Cork called the Hi B Bar. The place was tiny but so charming. They had a no phone rule and opera playing on the radio. The third generation owner was there and he spent a good amount of time talking to us. So awesome!

I decided to work on the front for another throw pillow. Here is the evolution of planning for me. I start with fabrics cut to various sizes and arrange them in  pleasing way. These are all going to be flying geese. 

Once I like the way they are arranged, I make paper representations of these and work on getting the layout to be workable (as in no y-seams!). FYI: I took this photo after the fact, so the next step is already done. But I swear, I did spend a lot of time moving these suckers around 1/4" by 1/4" to make sure there were no y-seams!

Then I figure out how this is going to play out into blocks that I can sew together.

Then I make it! Taaadaaaa! (The tada really helps!)

I also finished up my project for Mug Rug Revival. I did the FMQ! It isn't great, but I am getting better. :)

Oo! And I fit in some cooking! The Brussels sprouts are from MY garden! The other thing is sundried tomato and pesto risotto with chunks of goat cheese brie melting into it. Omnomnom.

I also got a quilt back from the quilters and finished off the binding. Didn't expect to like Simply Style fabric as much as I did! Well, I did have to add the green which is from Zen Chic. 

Here is a closeup of the quilting, done by Kenneth Butler.

Aaaaand here is the obligatory backing/binding shot.

Wooo! It looks as though a lot has been accomplished, which is wonderful because the semester starts next week and I have a full-time teaching load this semester. Also, I'm moving. But I might be in denial about having to actually pack up all of my sewing stuff. *sigh*

I am leaving you with another picture from Ireland. A very important picture from Ireland. My boyfriend and I with our first pints of Guinness in Ireland, about 1 hour after our plane landed! Sláinte, y'all! 

Vive Caribe!

I have been taking an unscheduled hiatus from blogging, and I'm not sure why. Thanks to summer, I am no longer working 50-60 hours a week, so I can't blame work. I have been doing a lot of sewing (I started making samples for a LQS), so that could be it. Unfortunately I have completely forgotten to take pictures of what I have been making. Oh well.

This evening, my boyfriend and I (along with 20ish other people from job number two) are hopping on a plane and heading to Bonaire, in the Dutch Antilles, off the coast of Venezuela. Here is a handy, dandy map for reference:

Bonaire is my favorite place in the world for scuba diving! They have been super proactive with their reef conservation, and it shows. So much coral! So many fish! So much beauty! I have my GoPro packed, so hopefully I will be bringing back some spectacular photos and/or videos for y'all to see. :)

I have to be at the airport in 5 hours and I have no idea what sewing project to take with me! I didn't plan ahead! Ahhhh!!

As a preview, here are a few of my favorite pictures I took in Bonaire last year.

I saw this octopus on my first dive in Bonaire. It was incredible! This is my favorite picture I have EVER taken.

Here is a picture of a parrotfish. I love them because they always look like they are laughing, and I spent the whole week trying to capture a picture of it. This one was taken on the last day of diving, last summer.

Bonaire had a big feral donkey problem, and they are now in the process of rounding up as many as they can and keeping them at the Donkey Sanctuary. This is a little baby that was born at the sanctuary.

Hopefully I will come back with even better pictures this year! For now, I'm off to stare at my suitcase.