NYC Day Two

 Hello Everyone,

This post is picture heavy to illustrate one very full day of touristy activities in NYC.  We started our day by walking to Saint Paul's church to meet our tour guide of the 911 memorial and grounds.  Saint Paul's church survived the destruction even though it was extremely close to the Twin Towers.

The old and the new.

The two reflecting ponds are the exact footprint of the towers.  The ponds reflect the absence of the souls lost in the attack and are so powerful and moving.

A white rose is placed each morning on the names of those who should be celebrating their birthday.

This is inside the Three World Financial Center.

I see a quilt pattern here.

This display is called Eleven Tears and was commissioned by American Express.  Their company lost 11 employees. A huge crystal is suspended above the pool of water and 11 drops of water.....tears...travel down metal cables creating a ripple in the pond.

The names of the 11 employees surround the pond and there's a brief description of each person.

Our tour included a trip to the top of the One World Trade Center building.  We were so fortunate the smoke from the fires in Canada had cleared before our arrival.

We could see the Statue of Liberty from the building.  

We could also see the Brooklyn Bridge. It probably took us a half hour to get out of the World One Center.  We kept getting lost even though we asked for directions.

The 911 memorial was so somber and reverent.

This is the Survival Staircase as many evacuees used this staircase to flee the devastation.

We saw many examples of twisted metal throughout the displays such as this firetruck.

I loved this display and the quote.  This display depicts the color of the sky on the morning of the 911 attack.  There are 2,983 watercolors each with a unique shade of blue.

After our 4-hour tour we were mentally and physically exhausted.  We headed to O'hara's bar and restaurant which is located next to the closest fire station to 911.

Many firefighters have left their patches to be placed on the interior walls.

This is a copper plaque on the side of the firehouse.

Our next stop was an Uber ride to the Empire State Building.

It was overcast, but it didn't hamper our views.

And here we are at the top of the Empire State Building.  It was a sunset tour of the building, but I didn't take any pictures as the city lights started to turn on...my bad.

What a long, inspirational, and memorable day we had!  We took an Uber back to our hotel reflecting on our day filled with sights, sounds, imagery and a huge dose of patriotism. My sister, Gail, set up all of the tours in advance which is something you need to do to really learn about the area.  

It's been fun for me to relive our time in NYC while everything is still very fresh in my mind.  Tomorrow you'll see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Soon,

Lynn

NYC Day One

 Hello Everyone,

My sister Gail and I are back from our whirlwind trip to New York City where our main purpose was meeting everyone at Marcus Fabrics.  The purpose of the meeting was to discuss future fabric collections and brainstorm ideas.  Over the next few days, I'll be posting about our trip.

We left San Francisco on June 11th.  Everything you've heard on the news about airline travel during the summer months is absolutely true.  The airport was packed with people shoulder to shoulder.

After an uneventful flight, we landed in Newark and took a cab to Manhattan.  There were more cars and people heading to and through the Holland Tunnel than all of the people in my small mountain community.

We arrived at our hotel, the Sohotel which is on the national register of historic places as George Washington slept there.  This guy really got around!  The hotel was centrally located, and we were able to walk to most of our destinations.  One day I logged 20,000 on my Fitbit.  I wore tennis shoes that I've been wearing for months, and my feet still hurt!

We dropped our bags off at the hotel and walked just a couple doors down to an Italian restaurant for dinner and a glass of wine.  My daughter said she couldn't believe I would give my phone to a perfect stranger to snap a picture of us.  Well, a family of tourists walked by and offered, so I felt completely confident they weren't going to run off with my phone.

Now fast forward to last Saturday.  I arrived back home just in time to watch my grandson participate in a junior rodeo in Livermore, CA. The rodeo life is not the career Jess is going to pursue in life.  He's on the FFA welding team too, which is a much better and safer profession to pursue!

This is the entire Chute Doggin' team.  They are such a nice group of young men. Jess is the one in the black hat.   

With the luck of the draw, Jess drew an absolute beast of a steer and didn't place in the top ten for this rodeo. He was bummed, but he held on for dear life and brought the steer down and finished the job.

Our son and daughter-in-law threw a big swimming party and barbeque at the house after the rodeo for the boys and their families.  I loved all of the boots by the front door!

I also loved all of the hats on the table out back.  The saying on the flowerpot applied to their day.....they all survived!

Stay tuned for a lot more photos of our NYC trip.  I came home so inspired with ideas for two future fabric collections.  I also came home filled to the brim with patriotism and a huge history lesson from our tours. 

The Marcus staff is dedicated to excellence and the delivery of a top-quality product. I'm so proud and honored to be associated with them.

Soon,

Lynn

 

Calico Cottages on Steroids

 Hello Everyone,

In between making pumpkins, I've been working on a large Calico Cottage quilt which has been on my design wall for a few weeks now.

Originally used a dark teal for the posts.

I went back and forth between plaid posts and teal posts.  Then I decided to audition a strip of plaid in the border between the red setting triangle and another border.  The plaid posts won.  When I looked at the overall look with the teal posts, all I saw was teal popping out at me.  The plaid is muted, and it tied the quilt together when I added a touch of it in the border.

All of the sudden the quilt transformed from a brighter quilt to an old-fashioned look and feel.....which I love.  My houses are all made, and most of the sashings, so it's time to stitch the rows together.  I will have to wait for my large fabric order of Hearthstone to arrive from Marcus Fabrics before I can put on the border.  Hopefully, my bolts and bolts will arrive by the end of July.  As soon as get the borders in place, I'm going to fill them with plate feathers. 

This is an example of the plate feathers that I quilted on Country Sunshine.  I LOVE these feathers; however, it requires my brain to really THINK while I'm quilting.  My long arm has a stitch regulator, but it is not computerized, so I have to drive it around the quilt to create this pattern. Sometimes when I drive, I end up in the gutter!

I can't wait to finish this quilt and put it on our log bed at the cabin.  That touch of plaid just tugs at my heartstrings.

Here is a picture of the house blocks that I was working on at the retreat in Lake Tahoe.  

By slowing pecking away at this quilt every day, it is now all coming together.  I prepare everything in the late afternoon that I want to work on the following day.  When I get up, I can go straight to my machine and get a few hours of quilting done before Mr. Joe starts to stir.  I get more done in those hours than I do for the rest of the day.

Breakdown those big projects into daily, doable amounts and before you know it, you have a quilt.

Soon,

Lynn