"What I did this Summer"

Trying to catch you up on the past 1 1/2 months, I felt like I was writing the typical report for the elementary school student returning to class each fall.

I've done very little sewing since my last post, but I'll share those few things first.

For the class I am taking from Lynn to make this quilt (those are Lynn's hands holding up his finished quilt)....

...I completed the June assignment.

These are the four blocks that radiate out diagonally from the center tree block. They will be 4" finished in the quilt top.

We were also to make 40 of the blocks used in the border. I think there are 160 of those blocks needed, so in theory, if we do 40 each of the four months we have class, we would have them all completed when we finish the class. 

I'm not sure, but I think we were assigned 12 or 16 blocks to make for this month. Class is in another 1 1/2 weeks, and I haven't made a single one of the assigned blocks, let alone the border blocks.  Looks like I am going to flunk July's homework.

What I have done this month (and very little of it, at that) is piddle around with the parts for the National Parks quilt I promised youngest son I would make for him. It has only been 2 1/2 years since I made that promise, so I thought I'd better get around to it.

What you see on my design wall are the parts I have so far. The map panel at the top is what started it all. Then I added the four poster panels (which are not trimmed yet, and will probably get bordered) of the first four National Parks he visited. They are obviously not placed in the final layout, because I have no clue.  After a FaceTime conversation with Wendy Reed a while ago where I shared my dilemma, she made a couple of suggestions I really liked. I toyed with different color combos for the flying geese she suggested, but didn't act until I received the little pattern card below with an online order.

I really liked the way the flying geese in this little design are all in earthy colors. So I gathered a bunch of fabrics in the earth tones from the National Parks panels. Today I finally used my die cutter to cut out a bunch of large flying geese from those fabrics.

I don't know how many of these I will need, or the size to which I will ultimately trim them--or even if I will like all of those colors once they are made and placed next to the panels, as that short row you can already see in the photo above. But it is a start--and it is about time!

Aside from that, my sewing room has been very quiet since you last heard from me many weeks ago. But I did have an adventure this summer I'd like to share. If you only want quilty content, go no further.

This is where I was the first week of July. My first time ever off the North American continent!

We spent July 4th in Normandy, visiting Point du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and The American Cemetery. It was a very emotional experience for me.

American Cemetery

Omaha Beach

Point du Hoc

We also visited Rouen (where Joan of Arc was executed), and Mont Saint Michel (the inspiration for the royal castle in Disney's "Tangled") while in the Normandy region for 3 days.

We spent four days in Paris, and saw many Olympic venues being prepared, and Olympic banners on buildings, and hanging from light poles. 

 You can see the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower in that earlier photo, and on the Arc de Triomphe they had the emblem for the Paralympic Games.

This is the view from atop the Arc. We never got a chance to go up the Eiffel Tower, but I think I went up anywhere from 300-500 steps almost every day to get to the top of one tall thing or another.

Cathedral of Notre Dame (left), and the Basilica of the Sacred      Heart (yes, I climbed to the windows up in the tallest dome)

We took in so many other sites in the four days we were in Paris, but we were actually there for a choral presentation by members of nine choirs from the United States (one of which includes hubby), commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The concert was held our last night there, in the Cathedral Madeleine.

My apologies for the travelogue, and the overabundance of selfies. It was just such an amazing experience, and I couldn't help gushing about it. And even though I couldn't eat the French pastries, I did eat more than my share of the macarons, and I had gelato with chantilly cream when I didn't trust choosing a menu item for lunch that would be gluten free. It was tough. ;)

But it was good to be back home again, even if the fires in nearby states were leaving our air very hazy. On the bright side, it makes for some colorful sunsets. 

Until next time, be creative, and be kind.

Janet O.