I took a field trip and returned with my sewing machine...

I surprised some of the members of my officer development class this morning when I set up my sewing machine in one of the spare rooms on the floor.

Last night we got liberty within 100 miles of the base and my apartment is conveniently only 65 miles away. So after dinner with friends, catching up with mail, and just sitting on my own couch for a couple of hours, I loaded up my sewing machine and a few mini bolts to bring back to Newport. I started on a pineapple quilt today - it's a pattern that lends itself to modern traditionalism quite well.

Tomorrow I will add the next gray stripe and corner pieces to all 30 blocks. We don't have overnight liberty which means I had to be back on base last night by 11:59 otherwise I would have kept working on the 1000 Pyramids, but that would have been a pain to travel with.

99 Things (while I'm gone)

I've seen a bunch of people do this, and thought I'd play along. I'm currently in Newport, RI at Navy Officer Development School, so here's a little something to pique your interest while the blog is quiet. 

Things in RED are what I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightening storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (water color)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping 
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance 
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (I grew up in DC, we used to sit on the Lincoln steps for the 4th of July sometimes)
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (presuming a fish counts)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (As a lifeguard I made several saves each summer)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

So that's 52 out of 99 that I've completed. 

Staking My Claim

With Google Reader shutting down in July (tear), I'm claiming my blog on Bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

That said, I'm using Feedly now to read blogs, I prefer its interface to Bloglovin, in that I can read full posts within the site rather than having to click through. Those seem to be the leading contenders of the places to switch over to with this announcement. 

Surprise!

The Navy pulled a fast one on me. My orders for training stated I was to go to Rhode Island on March 13 by 11am. I got a phone call this morning stating that I was supposed to have arrived already. The detailer recognizes it was on them, not on me, but still I thought I had 8 more days to get everything ready to go, and had a bunch of plans with this being my last real week of living in Boston.  I've now packed everything I think I need - good thing I went to Target last week for the list of "things to bring".

That means the blog is going to go quiet since I will be away from my sewing machine and fabric for the next month. My goal had originally to finish the triangles top this week, and I was certain I could meet that goal, but now it's for another time.

And because all posts need pictures - this was one of my favorite things so far this year, I loved going through my scraps and stash to pick out a full color wheel with 14 hues. 

3.5 Hours and Done

When I predicted that I could make another quilted duffel in an afternoon, I was right. While it didn't get completed in one sitting because I had to get down to Providence for a hockey game, the total time I spent on it was under four hours. I did much simpler quilting, and I got to use one of the many stitches my machine has to offer (over 150 and I've probably used 5).

In this picture, you can see the wavy line quilting - I stretched out the length and narrowed the width some from the preset on this stitch pattern. I ran it through the points of all the chevrons, and I really like how it came out. Also pictured is the rainbow lining fabric and the red checker board which became the handles. 

Here is the finished bag. The straps are a little longer on this one, and I changed the dimensions ever so slightly. It's 2 inches longer in length and an inch shorter and narrower in height and width, respectively. As well, the straps are about 5 inches longer in total, but with the reduced height, the drop is increased so that it very comfortably can be shoulder carried.  

The woman who purchased this bag has already said she'll be taking it on a trip to Aruba next month.