A productive winter–Nicolas’ Quilt

One of my favorite things about being at an RV Resort for the winter was “Quilting Fridays” at the clubhouse.  We had a bunch of quilters in this park, so on Fridays a group would gather in the clubhouse to work on our various projects.  I always made sure I was free on Fridays!

I had some ongoing projects that I could have worked on, but Nicolas wanted a quilt for his bunk in the barracks, and my sister had given me a cool Navy quilt pattern, so that was my project for this winter . . . and I was on a mission to get it pieced, quilted, and sent to Nicolas before we left here!

I visited the local quilt shop, and they just happened to have a new group of military-themed fabrics, including the blue camouflage that is the Navy’s work uniform.  I got started on the small blocks right away.

 

The quilt is made up of the small squares, arranged in such a way to spell out the work “NAVY” in blue and tan.

The two pinwheels in the upper right and lower left corners were supposed to be made from the tan fabric, but I found this cool flag fabric, and thought it would add a nice patriotic touch to the design.

The original size of the quilt wasn’t quite big enough for Nicolas to be able to tuck it in properly all around his mattress, so I increased the size of the borders, and add an extra panel at the top.

I added his name for a little added personal touch . . . and to identify its owner!

Next up was the borders . . . I was really glad to have room to spread out.  I was completely monopolizing two tables and 1/2 of the kitchen counter!

By the end of February, it was finished!

We have a lady back in Michigan who does all of our machine quilting, but with the added cost of shipping it to her, and then back to me, I decided it would be more economical to find somebody in Ft. Myers.  I went back to the quilt shop, and in the sewing machine store next door, there was a woman who did machine quilting out of her home . . . or rather, her husband – a retired Navy seal - did.

I dropped off my precious package with her, and three weeks later she called me to tell me it was done.  Her husband loved it, and even gave me a Navy discount!    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It turned out great, and I was really happy with it.  I just needed to add the binding and one more finishing touch, and it was ready to send to Nicolas.

On the day that Nicolas shipped out to boot camp, the man who ran the courtesy kitchen at the MEPS in Troy gave him a star – it was a star from a retired US flag, and it came with a message to keep it with him as a reminder of the freedoms he’s protecting.  He couldn’t take it to boot camp, so he gave it to me for safe-keeping.

I sewed it onto the quilt next to his name.

All finished . . . and ready to ship to South Carolina!

It arrived safely, and it was a perfect fit for Nicolas’ bunk . . . ignore the fact that it’s upside down!!

Nicolas loves it, and I’m glad he has a little bit of “Mom” while he’s away from us!

Where did January go?

Here in the valley, we enjoyed amazing weather during January.  It was so nice, with temperatures in the upper 70s, that the guys took advantage of the great weather to wash and polish the RV!

It was a BIG job, and took them several days to complete, but it looked really good when they were done!

 

The steep drop-off at the back of our site made the back door the most challenging area . . . I think I would have just skipped it, but that’s me . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

While the guys were busy with the RV, I was busy setting up a sewing room for myself in our volunteer laundry room.

The laundry room itself is pretty basic, but we do have 2 washers and 2 dryers, so laundry day goes fairly quickly – even for me!  We do have to be careful to stagger loads, though, since the drain can only handle one washer draining at a time, as is evidenced by the stains on the floor!

 

There’s another room in the laundry building, with several lockable cabinets and lockers that we can use.  I claimed one of the cabinets for storing my sewing machine and tools, along with my laundry supplies.  It’s much more convenient to just leave it there, rather than carrying it back and forth every week!

Each volunteer gets an assigned morning or afternoon for laundry.  Mine is Thursday afternoon, so now that’s my designated sewing time too!

 

There’s a table for my sewing machine and cutting board,

and even an available ironing board!

Last week I dug out a quilt project that I haven’t worked on for over a year and a half!  Two more squares finished!

As we turned the calendar to February, the bottom fell out of our temperatures!  OK, not really, but we are only in the 60s now, and we’ve had clouds!  We’ve even had to turn the heat pump back on at night!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even almost had some rain . . . it evaporated before it reached the ground, but it made for an interesting pink mist in the air over the campground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, Tom and I took Nicolas to meet with a Navy recruiter and set up a time for him to take the ASVAB test.  We’re doing a little investigation in that area before he makes a final decision on college. 

On the way back, we stopped at a vehicle consignment shop that caught Tom’s eye.

They had a little bit of everything – cars, RVs, boats, motorcycles,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

even a couple tractors,

and an adorable truck and camper for our sister-in-law, Denise!

It was a fun place to look around!  We stopped for a quick dinner at Chick-fil-A (one of our favorites!), and got back home in time for another beautiful sunset.  Unfortunately, I only had my phone with us as we walked the dog, and it doesn’t take great sunset photos . . . oh well, I’ll probably have another chance tomorrow!

Exploring Route 66 in Illinois

We left Nappanee early Sunday morning and made our way across Indiana and into Illinois . . . through farm fields,

and wind farms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our destination, in fact, was in the middle of a corn field!

 

We found the Camp A While Campground on the Passport America site;  it’s a cute little campground with friendly owners – a nice spot to spend a few days!

 

It was a tight squeeze to get the RV pulled into site #8, but we made it!

 

 

 

Today, after work and school were done, we headed north on historic Route 66 to the little town of Atlanta.

As we drove into town, we were greeted by this smiling face.

It was quiet in town, with most places closed on Monday, but we managed to see several well-known Route 66 attractions.

Our first stop was the Atlanta Park,

where we learned about the history of this cute little town and spoke to a couple of volunteers who were cleaning up the landscaping in the park.

Just across the street from the park is the historic Atlanta Library,

and the Palms Grill Café, which used to be the Greyhound Bus Station.

 

 

The Trading Post and the Route 66 Museum were closed, but we were still able to get a peek in the window . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and Big Paul Bunyan was still posing for pictures . . . although he seems to have traded his axe for a hot dog!!

What’s up with that??!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did find an Arcade Museum that was open (at least we think it was open . . . they had a sign outside, and the door was open . . . nobody was around, though!)

 

They had quite a collection of old arcade games . . . and some not-so-old ones that I remember!! LOL

 

 

 

Some were even in working condition, and the boys just had to try them out! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the way out of town, we stopped to see the J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator.

 

It was closed, too – only open in the summer, but we could still walk around and check out the interpretive signs.

 

 

 

Nicolas tried to weigh himself on the scale, but it wasn’t working!

Back in Lincoln, the weather had improved enough to justify a visit to Dairy Queen before they close for the season  (yes, we are still up north, and Dairy Queen closes in the winter!)

 

It sure did taste good!!

 

 

 

 

 

After our treat, we drove through downtown Lincoln, although we weren’t as successful at finding Route 66 sites here!

We did manage to find the County Courthouse, though,

and City Hall (complete with telephone booth on the roof for storm sighting!),

 

Lincoln’s face on a wall,

 

and a Quilt Shop!

We finally gave up on looking for historic sites, and just made our way back to the RV for dinner . . . following a hot air balloon part of the way!

Tomorrow our agenda includes Springfield and Abraham Lincoln!