Where is Spring? - Update Pictures - Trip to Wizarding World of Harry Potter

I am so excited to have some progress pictures on my projects today.  This week has been very
productive for me, so I’ll probably have some more pictures by the end of the week for another blog post.  Hubby and I are headed to JoAnn’s tonight to pick up some batting and just a smidgen more fabric that I’ll need for the Captain America quilt.  JoAnn’s Daffodil Days has both of these at 40% off this week, so I am a pretty happy camper.

I am happy to report that the center for the Tinkerbell quilt is complete.  It seems a little busy, but I can tell you that after laying out the borders, it really seems to tone things down a bit.  You can see a picture of the quilt center below.

It’s weird that it’s almost April 1^st here but most of the trees around here are still pretty bare because of the weather we’ve had.  This quilt really helps to brighten up the house during the day after day of gray and rain.  I am really looking forward to this coming spring and summer when the trees fill out and the flowers bloom. 

I also have an update on the Tinkerbell cross stitch.  She also brightens my day when I get to work on her.  I can’t believe how close I am getting to the end with each and every update.  It won’t be long now.

Like I mentioned above, it has been an extremely productive week.  One of the things I was able to get done last weekend was put together a video for my niece of our time at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  I think I mentioned before that she joined us for part of our time in Orlando a few weeks ago.  I apologize for my amateur video skills.  That is something I hope on working on this year.  You can see the video below:

My top five favorite experiences at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter are:

• Butterbeer – I prefer it in its carbonated, cold form.  It tastes something like a cream soda with a touch of butterscotch.  They also offer it in an ice cream form, a warm beverage during the winter, and in an iced form. 
• Tour through Hogwart’s Castle – Technically, the castle is the queue area for the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride.  The ride itself makes me extremely nauseous, so it’s nice that they offer you the opportunity to walk through and take pictures and “chicken out” before you actually get on the ride.  The inside of the castle is very detailed and feels like you’re walking right through the movie. 
• Hogwart’s Express – Yes, you can ride the Hogwart’s Express either from London to Hogsmeade or Hogsmeade to London.  The experience of leaving from London affords you the opportunity to walk through (or run through if you’re a muggle) Platform 9-3/4.  I won’t give any spoilers, but it’s pretty amazing what they have done to recreate the experience. 
• Gringott’s Bank – Like Hogwart’s Castle, the walkthrough of Gringott’s mirrors the details and experience of Gringott’s Bank from the final Harry Potter movie.  Remember that scene where they’re in the cart speeding down to the vault?  Yep, that is what they try to recreate in the ride. 
• The Knight Bus – This is a personal experience with the driver of the Knight Bus as well as the shrunken head.  The shrunken head talks to and interacts with you.  

We had such a fun time on this trip.  I am grateful that even though our nieces and

nephews are all pretty much grown now, they don’t mind hanging out with their aunt
and uncle.  

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It's National Goof Off Day...

This morning an article come across my Facebook feed stating that it was National Goof Off Day.  Now, how can a blog that’s name starts with “Goofin’ Off…” not do a blog post on National Goof Off Day?  I followed the article to the daysoftheyear.com website.  It gave the following explanation for Goof Off Day: 

“A chance to step back from the rigors and pressures of everyday life, Goof Off Day encourages you to take some time to be silly, waste an hour or two, and to do something a bit different!” 

Hubby and I work hard, so we like to use our goof off time to release some pressure so that we don’t get stressed out.  I’m not sure what we’ll be doing tonight to celebrate, but you can rest assured that we WILL be celebrating. 

In honor of National Goof Off Day, below is a picture of hubby and Goofy doing the “secret” Goofy handshake on our trip a couple of weeks ago. 

There is a little story to accompany this picture.  We were standing in line to get our picture taken with both Goofy and Pluto.  When Goofy saw hubby’s shirt with his picture on it, he gently shoved Pluto to the side and made it clear that this picture was to be taken only with the two Goofs.  This is when the two did their secret Goofy handshake.  I stepped aside to comfort Pluto whose feelings had been hurt.  Thank goodness Pluto forgives easily, because he was hopping around and posed for a picture with us after all the goofiness was over. 

I don’t have progress pictures to show on my projects just yet (although they will be coming soon).  The center of the Tinkerbell quilt is almost finished.  I am so excited.  I played with the original layout to find the one that I liked better for my quilt. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been working on a few quilt designs for my next quilt in EQ7.  The quilt will be for a queen-sized bed.  Below you can find the focus fabric that features Captain America that will be the fabric used in the center of each block.  The center of the blocks will NOT be a solid white like in the design pictures. 

I’d love some input as to which design you like the best.  I have my own preference, but I’d love to hear what you think.  Feel free to leave a comment below with your favorite design. 

Quilt Design #1: 

Quilt Design #2: 

Quilt Design #3: 

I am pretty sure I won’t be using so much black in the outer borders, so I am mostly trying to decide on the design of the blocks in the center of the quilt for now.  I have tried to simplify the sewing of the blocks by making it strip-sewing friendly. When I am finished with the quilt, I will be posting the pattern for free on my blog.  

This will be one quilt we keep at home.  Captain America is hubby’s favorite Marvel superhero…along with Ant Man...so I jumped at buying the fabric when I saw it at JoAnn’s.  Once I’ve decided on the quilt design, I should be able to go ahead and finish picking up any fabric I may be missing to complete it.  I am hoping I’ve got what I need in my stash, but I won’t know until the design is complete. 

Oh, and HAPPY GOOF OFF DAY!!!

2017 St. Patrick's Day Updates With a Little Green

A St. Patrick’s Day Irish poem for my readers: 

For each petal on the shamrock

This brings a wish your way –

Good health, good luck, and happiness

For today and every day.  –Author Unknown

Today is St. Patrick’s Day 2017.  It really snuck up on me this year…probably because I’m still doing a lot of catching up from our trip to Disney World to visit the mouse last week.  There will be no corned beef and cabbage for dinner this year.  I think we’ve settled on dessert from Applebee’s tonight after our leftovers for dinner.  Not exactly Irish, but it is making me hungry. 

I managed to get the last set of blocks completed for the Tinkerbell quilt today.  As you can see, it really didn’t take but a few minutes as these were just 6-1/2” squares of the Tinkerbell fabric.  As a reminder, this quilt is an easy design and was adapted from the June/July 2014 McCalls Quick Quilts magazine.  For the time being, I am choosing easy patterns to work on since I have so many things on my plate.  Please note the color of these blocks is green.  Quite befitting on this St. Patrick’s Day. 

And now for a St. Patrick’s Day joke.  It’s got a little bit of mischief in it just like my favorite fairy Tinkerbell. 

What do you get when you cross poison ivy with a four-leaf clover?  

A rash of good luck.  –Author Unknown

The next update I have is for my Tinkerbell cross stitch piece.  I got carried away on Wednesday and was able to complete one section.  I am sooo close to finishing this piece.  I love this little pixie more and more with each update.  It will be hard to give her away, but I know exactly who I want it to go to.  I’ve had her in mind from the moment I saw the pattern. 

And now for another St. Patrick’s Day joke.  I can’t seem to get enough of them today.  I thought this one was fitting for a quilting and stitching blog. 

Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don’t want to press your luck.  –Author Unknown

Do you have a favorite St. Patrick’s Day quote or joke?  Feel free to leave it below in the comments. Hubby and I always enjoy a good joke.  

As I mentioned before, we were out of town in Disney World last week.  I got to take a lot of pictures and haven’t quite decided what I am going to do with all of them.  Here is one of my favorites.  Can you guess why? 

This little pixie has a way of showing up everywhere...even on our vacation.  

I’ll give you a few of the highlights of our trip, but I’ll adding more pictures, videos, and stories over the next few weeks.  We ate lots of delicious food…many of the dishes new to us and Disney World.  We were able to enjoy the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival for two full days of our trip.  Our 29-year-old niece joined us several days into the trip, so we decided to jump to the “other” theme parks in Orlando and catch a ride on the Hogwart’s Express.  I could go on and on (and probably will in the near future). 

Thanks for following along!  I am enjoying all the new friends I am making around the world through blogging.  It's so much fun to check to see where people are visiting from and reading your comments.  

Starting March Off With a Few Updates

I am starting off March with a few small updates.  I wish they were more, but there are only so many minutes in a day, and I can't spend them all working at my sewing machine.

The first update is the third set of blocks for the Tinkerbell quilt.  When I started working on this set, I had a sewing mishap.  I sewed two of the strips with wrong side on one of the strips.  I didn't feel in the mood to rip the seam at the time, so luckily I had enough scraps left to sew together another strip set.  Now I just need to cut out the Tinkerbell squares and start the assembly of the quilt.  I am guessing that won't happen until after my annual trek to Orlando to visit the big cheese himself.  You can see the third set of blocks below.

I was able to get another section finished on the Tinkerbell cross stitch piece the past few days.  I was hoping to finish one more section before we head out, but now I am not sure that is going to happen.

It is nice to see this one coming up on the finish line now.  It will have been several years in the making, and I am going to miss it when I am finished.

As we are getting ready to head out to Florida soon, I decided to take my parents some brownies last night.  I know my dad had not been feeling well since last Thursday, but to see him struggling so much last night broke my heart.  Excuse my French, but it really sucks to watch your parents age.  I am grateful that they were able to do so much traveling while they had their good health.

The above picture is a picture of my parents when they took their kids on a cruise through the Panama Canal a couple of years back.  You can see the track for the machinery of the canal in the background.  My parents had the room directly below the room I was sharing with my sister.  Their room was a mini suite, so the balcony stuck out a little further than the balcony of our room.  One day my mom accused us of throwing potato chips onto their balcony.  We got a good laugh when we realized that the outside burger place was directly above us about five floors up.  People had been tossing potato chips off the side to feed the birds.

My parents have instilled in me a deep desire to travel.  People who know me get a little chuckle that I still just have a "dumb" phone on a limited pay as you go plan which only costs about $5 a month, and  I only use the phone in emergencies.  My current sewing machine is a Brother that I bought at WalMart over 10 years ago for less than $150.  We all have limited amounts of money, so I choose to spend mine on hobbies and travel instead of keeping up with all the newest technology.

I will stop rambling now and get going.  There is so much to do before we head out.