Another Vacation and Another Quilt

Hi Folks!

You read the blog title right! I took another vacation this summer because I'm all about "me" time. 

Last month I went to visit a friend in the Aloha state of Hawaii and it was amazing! I'd never been before and I'm so glad I went and was very happy that I got to visit my longtime friend, who I hadn't seen for several years. 

Note to self - next time I'll pay extra for a direct flight! Yes, it is a very long flight from Texas and it took several days to recover when I returned. Whew!

There was a small tropical storm when I was in Hawaii, but all was well and it turned out not to be too bad. It gave my friend and I a chance to stay inside and talk and drink wine...of course. 

I shopped and shopped but unfortunately didn't make it to any of the fabric stores that I had planned on visiting. Next time! I did pay a visit to the Pearl Factory where I got to pick out oysters and see what pearls were inside. Of course, several pieces of jewelry later, I had to stop myself! It was a lot of fun and I would definitely do it again.

I went on a dinner cruise on the Star of Honolulu by myself (it was wonderful) and on a tour of Kualoa Ranch where they film a lot of movies (Jurassic World, Jurassic Park, 50 First Dates) and shows (Lost, Magnum PI). Both were affordable excursions and well worth it!  I also treated myself to a massage. If you've never been to the islands, just go!

Below are a few photos of the many that I took.

Waikiki Beach

Me on my dinner cruise

Where they filmed Jurassic World!

Kualoa Ranch

The views were stunning!

I also finished a quilted wall hanging just in time to gift it to my friend in Hawaii and she absolutely loved it! It is based on a quilted wall hanging from Karen Eckmeier's book "Accidental Landscapes", which is one of my favorites. Somehow I wound up with 2 copies of it!

And now, I'm back at work just dreaming about returning back to Hawaii one day. I still need to download the photos from my camera, which hopefully I'll get to this weekend. 

I started a little embroidery project while I was traveling and am hoping to get that done soon to share with you. Meanwhile, I haven't finished the bigger embroidery project that I was working fast and furious on, but I'll get to it.

The current quilt project that I'm working on is a lap quilt with a beach theme that my friend in Hawaii requested. Since she loved the wall hanging so much, she wanted a quilt she could cuddle under while watching TV in the evenings. Photos to come soon!

All my grandkids started school today and it's still 106 degrees here! I'm so looking forward to Fall and cooler weather. I think all of my trees and plants are too! 

I had both granddaughters over last weekend and let me tell you, they are growing like weeds. Leylia is almost 14 now and Mia is 9! Hard to believe.

Well, that's it for today.

Aloha and Happy Quilting, Embroidering, and Sewing!

Foamy Mai Tai at Monkey Pod restaurant. I highly recommend!