Place Mats

For February I spent some time making up some Christmas place mats.  I've had the fabric since last Dec. but never got to them.  Imagine that!  I was not as faithful this time showing you the progress in pictures, sorry about that.  The design I adapted from a table runner shown in Easy Quilts Magazine Spring 2013 on page 91.

I learned that the contrast in my small squares did not show up well enough.  With the pattern as busy as it was, I feel it would have been more effective (and easier) to just cut the 3.5" squares and put them together.  I'm letting you know this so you too can learn from my mistakes.

On the back side I used a border fabric that is a spring/summer design.  That way we can use the place mats for longer than one month. 

Pieces are sewn together.

Layered up with batting and backing.

This is the backing fabric.

Quilted

All four done, two with Christmas facing up two with spring facing up.

Close up of spring(back).

Close up of Christmas (front)  two have snowmen and two have Santa's.

Sew see you later.

Bette

Cruise the Caribbean in January

In January My husband & I went on a cruise.  We decided to drive to Ft. Lauderdale the port we sailed from.  We cruised on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas, which is their largest ship.  YES it is huge!

We had a wonderful cruise, no bad incidents!

On the ship I did the zip line, climbed the rock wall, and generally enjoyed the whole experience.

In Port Allure of the Seas

Our room

On the main shopping floor

If you look in the upper left corner you can see a
person just leaving the diving platform, to the small pool below.

The main shopping area

The running/walking track around the outside of the ship on
the 5th floor

The pool, water shows were done here

The shopping area outside the Aqua Theater, includes a
Carosel.

One of the Shows in the Aqua Theater

Labadee, Royal Caribbean's provate port in Hati

view of the ship in Labadee

Flow Rider on the ship

Flow Rider on the ship

Looking at the Aqua Theater from the 16th floor,
also the inside balcony rooms.

Falmouth, Jamaica

Famous courthouse in Falmouth, Jamaica

One of the ice shows on the ice rink

Falmouth, Jamaica approved shopping compound

Me doing the zip line

shopping area outside the Aqua Theater

Me on the climbing wall

On the way back we ran into freezing rain in N. Carolina

We stopped to clear off the windshield, this is all frozen and was getting worse.

Sew see you later,

Bette