Let Freedom Ring!

One of those Freedoms is the Freedom to wander.... The long holiday weekend found me wandering up to Las Vegas to visit my nieces and nephew....one of them my quilting niece, Desiree.

Part of the wandering plan was to visit a few quilt shops along the way. 
There are very few, as it is all hot, dry desert between So. Calif and Vegas with mostly Joshua Trees and a few small towns. 

But, there are a few shops listed on the internet which made me rather excited! 
Haven't visited an actual quilt shop in nearly two years.

The Mariposa Quiltworks in Yermo, the Quilt 'n Home in Ridgefield and Gram's Treasures in Barstow....I had the presence of mind to call first.  ALL CLOSED!  Maybe there were not enough desert dwellers who quilt or maybe it was the pandemic....whatever the reason, it was disappointing and a bit sad: Another brick-and-mortar shop bites the dust.

 

 

But, No Worries....This is the perfect way to spend the Quilting Auntie Nyla's birthday weekend-- quilting with the Quilting Niece.  Auntie was there with us in Spirit.

After all our hugs and hellos, we spent the first evening gathering up and unpacking all her quilting stuff which was scattered all over; cleaning and oiling machines; getting ready to put the pedal to the medal for a few days of catching up and creating beauty.

The Quilting Niece, Dez: Nyla and Miss Ellie all set up and ready to roll.

 

BTW, Judy Brown of Just Get it Done Quilts has a great video on how to resurrect long-neglected projects. HERE

 

Next Day: After a Starbucks stop for a fancy coffee drink we made a trip to Sew Yeah Quilting for a few supplies.  A couple hundred dollars later (and not much in the pile we actually went for...) we headed home.

This shop has really grown up since my last visit about 4 years ago.  Very, very nice.  If you are in Vegas, go visit and tell them "Charlotte said 'Hi'."

While I actually did take a bin full of scraps to sort, press and cut into 2 inch squares in preparation for my next Leaders and Enders quilt, I purchased not-one-but-TWO Layer Cakes at Sew Yeah.  I just could NOT help myself.

Violet Hill

Feeline Good

 

And just like that TWO new projects are born!

  

 

 

 

What can you do with a Layer Cake? 

I found Salt Air Lattice on the Internet.
 

This is not really a free pattern, but HERE is a blog tutorial.
Apparently I missed the quilt a-long by only 9 years.

None-the-less, I've made a good start.

 

 

We sewed, we ate, we solved all the world's problems...throw in a lot of visiting with nieces, nephew, sisters, fireworks and even a water fight! So, sew, much fun!

The progress for the weekend:

Charlotte's new layer cake project.
Of course, now I must buy some
yardage to finish this lap quilt.

Desiree's resurrected UFO

 

 

 

The Quilting Niece made good progress on her UFO; only three more blocks. 
It's hard to see the sashing and corner stones, but they are there if you look close.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye and head back across the desert to home (where thankfully it is about 30 degrees cooler!). 

It was good medicine to see my family, laugh, celebrate and quilt.  Auntie Nyla would be so happy that the next generation is embracing her favorite sport.

 

Meet "Nyla"

 

        

     A little side note, Dez's Janome once belonged to the Quilting Auntie* . 
    Now she has a name.

* The "Quilting Auntie" mantle has been passed down from Auntie Nyla to me by the Vegas peeps.