What's Worse than Un-Sewing?

That would be UN-Quilting!

So what had happened was....this.

Yeah - that's not going to quilt out!  ARRRRRGH!!!

It entirely my fault - I rushed the initial layering and pinning. And I know better.  And I ended up having to un-quilt. 
Then re-pin.

Hopefully, the re-quilting goes better.  Breathing deep, going slow.

Sewing on the Solstice Project

There has been some stitching happening!   

I have a few projects that need to be layered before they can be quilted - the Bonnie Hunter mystery mini, the Construction Truck twin size, and a few that need to be designed - the Winter Woods. And one in the middle of the design process - the Cherrywood Van Gogh piece. But none of those have been under a needle. 

So what have I been stitching on?  Wild Cherry, the FW, has been pulled out as it's her turn, to stitch on some little parts.  Back on December 29, 2016, I posted about the  

182 Day Solstice Project.  

Since then, 5 blocks have been posted - 1 each week with another due to be up today.  While I haven't joined in the Linky on Pat Sloan's project blog, I have caught up on making the blocks, though they need a good pressing.

While Pat's blocks are designed as 12 inch blocks, mine will finish at 3 inches.  

Because I can - that's why. And see the top blocks?  Those plain center squares are supposed to have baskets appliqued there.  Not sure if that's going to happen - have to wait & see how they play with the other 20 blocks we have yet to make.  

Or 46 more for me, as I'm doing two of each plus 6 extra to get a 7 x 8 layout.  Interestingly, the camera is not picking up the shades of aged muslin I'm using. I'll have to work on the next batch of pictures to see if I can get them to show up better. It felt good to be at a machine again!

Other Swiss Treasures

Someone asked about the food I may have indulged in while on my recent trip. You know, some Swiss specialties. 

Like maybe the:

Kalbsgeschnetzeltes nach Zurcher Art with Rösti at the Zeughauskeller Restaurant in Zurich

Panfried sliced veal and mushrooms in a creamy white wine sauce, served with hashbrown potatoes.  These are not your Grandma's hashbrowns!  These are browned in like a stick of butter per serving. 

They even bring you the rest of the serving in a heavy stainless steel pan, kept warm over a flame so the sauce doesn't break. It was AMAZING!  Just the thing to warm me up after trekking around Zurich on Sunday in the cold and damp.

But I have a guilty confession - I ate at McDonald's one night.  It was late, I was cold, tired & hungry by the time I got back to my hotel.  The area was more industrial (near the airport) than touristy, so dining options were limited.  Rather than eat in Zurich or at the train station, I got on the first train  heading back and then slogged over to McDonald's for sustenance.   This is were the sticker shock was felt - 11.70 CHF (about equal to $11.70 USD) for a Big Mac Meal.  Not the healthiest choice but it fit the bill. No pictures of that.

One evening in Zug, we had a team dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant - AnaCapri.  I had the grilled octopus, drizzled with a wonderful balsamic reduction. And wine, white wine, red wine and a bright Moscato to finish the meal. YUM!

On another evening, I worked later with the Project team, while my boss and his colleague headed back tot he hotel & then dinner.  They had reservations at a Thai restaurant (not my favorite) and I didn't know when we would be done so I sent them on their way.  I later headed to the Rathauskeller for a lovely solo dinner.  

I finished my meal with a caramel custard, with whipped cream, dusted with crushed pistachios, dotted with pomegranate seeds, accompanied by a waffle cookie and decorated with a sugar thread piece.

I have yet to try Swiss cheese fondue (better with a group) 

and Raclette (melted/grilled cheese).  

Next time...

And finally, on the last night of our visit, after a long day at work and some gift shopping, three of us ended up at the Zug train station and an Asian takeaway restaurant, that also had sit down service.  We indulged in a few adult beverages, laughing hysterically, as we were trying to order Asian food from a menu printed in German. Need to continue my German language lessons!   

More Goodies from My Trip

Quilting, and in particular patchwork, is not very common in Switzerland, so the hope of finding quilting fabric was pretty much non-existent. Further, I was hampered in my efforts to visit fabric shops by the fact that most all shops are closed on Sunday. But....I was not to be deterred.  In Zug, there is a Bernina sewing shop that I hit on day on lunch.  

Translation:  I Sew with Bernina, and you?

The selection of fabrics ran more to knits, jerseys and clothing materials, but I did grab a nice piece of cream cotton bottom-weight that I liked.  

Not for quilting but it will be used for something here. They also had these patches for the Cantons of Switzerland that I visited, with the hopes of adding more next time I get to go over. 

I indulged myself in a pair of stork embroidery scissors made by Victornix (better known as the company that makes Swiss Army knives of every conceivable kind).

This shop had a great green ribbon that will go with the embroidered roses piece. 

And see those peach embroidered knots?  Those were at the outlet shop in St. Gallen and are destined to become spool pin doilies for the vintage Singers. 

It was an amazing, whirlwind, busy, work trip but it's good to be home and able to play in the studio again.  The little rose piece is just for fun but there are a few more pressing projects needing some attention.  

Like a Cow.

Jet Lag? What Jet Lag....ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

No, it's not horrible.  It's real but not horrible & I'm thankful that I had the weekend & MLK Day to get back on track.  

Suitcase unpacked - ✓

Laundry done - ✓
First Tack Sale of the Year - ✓
Gifts for DH & the kitties handed out - ✓
Trip to Wal-Mart for groceries - ✓
Pictures downloaded - not quite all of them yet 😐
Bills paid - ICK - No! 
New textiles unwrapped and fondled - ✓✓✓

Just a few pictures of what came home with me for the stash.  St. Gallen, Switzerland is known for its embroidery.  Gigantically, huge computerized commercial embroidery machines created yards & yards & yards of high end textiles that feed the fashion world designers.

I hit one of those manufacturer's outlet shop.  It was small in comparison to most average US quilt shops but the textiles were gorgeous!   I hit the remnant area and found this piece. 

It measures about 27 inches x 54 inches. It's heavy, luxurious and the color is a deep, coral-terracotta.  

I picked it to do something with it in my bedroom. What? That may be remains to be seen.  At the same place, I found these little rose gems in baskets on a counter, begging to be dug through. 

The colors are a little off but it was the best I could get them adjusted to for this post. The larger background leaves were purchased in Lucerne at another shop, and I had to guess if the green shades would work with the roses, I think they do.  I've been playing around with the layout for just a fun little wall hanging.

I didn't get any pictures inside the shop as my time there was extremely limited before they closed for the night.  I have more textile treasures in the next post!

*** Side note - I LOVE the AmazonBasics packing cubes!

First Trip of 2017

I need to pack. Well, maybe shop a bit more first, then pack. 

Where am I going you ask? Since I always seem to be headed out on a road trip somewhere, I should be a pro at packing everything from sweatshirts to sewing machines. Not this time.  This is not a 'Chuck everything in the truck and put the pedal to the metal' kind of trip. In preparation for this trip, I  purchased some AmazonBasics packing cubes to see how they help keep things better organized in my suitcase.  

Kind of glad I listened to the DH & got the 29 inch suitcase back in fall! 

My newly acquired passport is about to get it's first stamp.

It's a business trip - with a few extra personal days tacked on for sightseeing. Rather excited, of course, but there are a million things to do first.  I can't just go winging off without research on where to visit, what to see and can't miss things. I'll have 2 and 1/2 days to fit things into & also not rush to do it all!

It's amazing the amount of research that can be done from the comfort of a couch.  I've discovered the Swiss transportation system goes everywhere - often & definitely on time!

You know there will be fabric involved at some point, right?! And chocolate!

Mystery Quilt Link Up

Hope this finds all doing well on this second day of 2017!  The new year is off to a quilty start with the Link Up party for the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt.

Having the last week of the year off work found me spending a good deal of time in the studio, so Clue #6 was cranked out in short order.  My lime looks more like pea soup green here but it is brighter, clearer in real life.

The Mystery Quilts bits are piling up nicely in their bin. 

There still should be some bits yet to make so not sure when the final clue & big reveal will take place. 

Happy New Year!