Thank You For Sundogs!

1/5/22
You might have noticed that I have a thing about sundogs!  Sundogs are infrequently seen and don't last for long.  To me, it's like finding a 4 leaf clover!  So when my sister-in-law, Mary, snapped this photo, it boosted my mood and I hope it does for you, too!  She lives in a spot that gets cold, snow, ice and lots of wind!  The perfect combination for sundogs!

While sundogs are blazing up north, I've been making some progress on my hand sewing work.  The pictures below show my "studio"!  And the messy kitchen counter, but those are clean dishes, at least!  And my vintage crockpot!  I was working on completing row #8 in my current English Paper Piecing project.  The way this is assembled is row by row horizontally.  There are 40 rows and 25 hexagons in each row.  Then the row is stitched onto the previous row.  There is a whole grid that shows me which colors go where to make the final result look like it does in the bottom picture.  I started working up the individual hexagons quite awhile back.  I use a fabric glue stick to secure the fabric to a paper hexagon.  Yesterday, I started to remove some of those papers on the back side of the quilt, and had a few struggles.  Normally, the glue loosens with time and the paper is easy to pop out.  But whatever glue I was using back then was not acting that way, or maybe I had used too much?  Either way, I ended up moistening the problem spots, and after 15 seconds the paper released.  Then I had to iron the back side because a lot of the edges and corners were a bit out of place.  So I'm going to need to do some trials as I go and make sure the glue I am using is OK.  Because I would really like to complete more rows before I put this one aside and start in on something else in my bag of tricks!  The last photo shows the full quilt, not my own picture!  It's called Hex On The Beach because, well, it's hexagons and the fabrics used are a beachy/nautical theme.  Nothing to do with the fact that we are looking forward to some beachtime!
 
In case you are wishing that you, too, could have Hex On The Beach, I know you can get all of the papers to make this for yourself, I know that Paper Pieces can supply those.  The fabric is a different story, because it likely is not all available anymore.  However, you can create your own color story and have just as much fun or maybe even more!  One thing that I will note is the fact that the called for paper pieces are 1" hexagons.  I switched to ¾" hexagons.  That is because the kit I used contained all the fabrics pre-cut, and the 1" pieces that I tried seemed to be too skimpy on the seam allowance compared to what I usually use.  Paper Pieces has an option to purchase the template to use in cutting the fabric and if you get that, ask for the ⅜" seam allowance.  My finished project will end up smaller than the kit states, which is 43" x 60".

​That's enough Hex On The Beach for today!

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​1/6/22
Our big excitement for today was an alligator sighting!  There is a little spot in the park that has a little observation deck, and the rangers had told us that there is a gator in the park that is sometimes seen there.  Today, Bob spotted it!  He was biking, so came back to the campground to pick me up and we went back to the spot.  The gator hadn't moved at all, but probably wasn't dead!  She/he didn't move at all while we watched, and we couldn't see her entire body, I guess she's camera shy!   There were some little turtles perched up on a log, too.  

To give you a little better perspective, there's a picture of Bob, too.  The gator is on the bank just right of him. He refused to poke her with a stick so I could get a picture!  This morning we went on a long walk through some neighborhoods around the park, it was perfect weather for it.  We ended up down at the waterfront at the East Beach of Ocean Springs.  I enjoy looking at the neighborhoods, and I picked out this house to turn into a retreat house!  Bob is really looking forward to that!  And it's nice to see some flowers in bloom, no matter what the season is.