Wednesday, June 3, 2015

2 Blocks and...Canada?

Oh, hi, again. Same old, same old. (Is this blog getting boring?) I don't have any projects to show right now except this one. But I did get two blocks done this week. So only two to go.




And here they are in the whole quilt setting:


I just need to fill in those two bottom corners and stitch the nine super blocks together, and then the fun of figuring out how to quilt this beast begins. 

In the meantime, we decided to take a little international trip. Emphasis on little. As the crow flies, we live only about 120 miles from Canada, but it's a bit of a rigmarole to get there. As the crow flies it's shorter but takes a long time (country roads and some stop-and-go traffic in cities), and by major highways, it's a longer distance (same amount of time, though). I think I can count the number of times I've been to Canada on my fingers--maybe the ones of one hand. But yesterday was a gorgeous day, so we decided a trip out of the country was in order. We took the shorter way.) 

We went to a little town called Marine City on the US side of the border. It's adorable, with water (the St Clair River, which runs from Lake Huron toward Detroit), a rescued lighthouse (that had at one time been falling into the river), antique shops, a quaint quilt shop, Victorian buildings, a cute penny candy shop, and an awesome fish restaurant. 

There is also a ferry to Canada. It holds a few vehicles and as many pedestrians that can fit, and on foot you can take the 5-minute ride for $2 a round trip. (A big part of the traffic back and forth is people carting beer from the duty-free store. It's cheap beer--not even the expensive kind of craft beer, so I don't really get it, but it must be a deal because there were some guys on their 3rd or 4th trip of the day.) On the Canadian side is the tiny town of Sombra, Ontario. It also has a few restaurants, shops and a cute little park along the river. So we took the ferry, went for a walk in Canada, and then went back to Marine City to browse the shops and eat a yummy dinner. What a wonderful day! I saw lots of things in the antique shops--two spool cabinets, a fiddle base Singer treadle machine, a gorgeous table, and a chest that would have been great for storing fabric. But I didn't spend any money, and just came away with a smile for what I had seen. I didn't even buy anything at the quilt store. I feel guilty about that. I should have supported that business, but it was such a surprise to come across it, and I didn't have any idea what I wanted. If I ever go back again, I'll make up for that. 

So, if you're interested, here are some pictures from our international adventure, plus one of my painted daisies. Oh, and one more piece of news. On the way home, we visited my son and daughter-in-law (who just happen to live between us and Canada) and they showed us the latest ultrasound of our next Grandbaby (Yippee), who is due in October. Guess who will be making another baby quilt? (Now, isn't that incentive to get the Big Quilt done and out of the way?)

Rescued lighthouse now in a city park (Important: Quilt store in the background.)

Entering Canada
Cute little park in Sombra. If you look closely, you can see the ferry returning to the US.
Freighter gliding by
Oddest site in Canada: This crocheted afghan was hanging in a huge old tree. It had been there so long, a small tree was growing through it. We looked it up on the internet. Apparently it was from a yarn bombing 4 years ago!! 
Ferry coming back to pick us up. Those guys standing there are the beer haulers with their hand carts.
Get your beer here.
Adorable quilt store. It had a gorgeous mitered wood floor and miles of fabric.
Old city hall in Marine City. It's being restored to use as a community center.
Painted daisies are in full bloom.
So that's my Week in Progress. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm linking up with Freemotion by the River for Linky Tuesday, Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday, and Sew Fresh Quilts for Let's Bee Social. Buttons are on the right. 

I hope you are having a beautiful week.

14 comments:

Ann said...

Same old, same old??? Are you kidding? That quilt is AMAZING! The pic on Freshly Pieced stopped me in my tracks! Gorgeous! Did you invent this block? I can't wait to see more of it... and congrats on your future grandbaby!

Sandra Walker said...

Well, how about this! I live a couple hours south of you, just outside of Windsor, Ontario! Our daughter was educated, and now works, in Detroit, but lives in Windsor. Most people do not "get" that, nor that this is the one place in Canada where you have to go north to the US! Your humongous quilt is really unique!

Camilla said...

Not boring at all! So exciting to see it coming together-it looks wonderful, but no doubt you'll be glad to make a baby quilt, for several reasons! Day tripping to another country is hard to imagine when one lives in an island nation. We do have ferries just like that though, my parents Live in the Bay of Islands NZ and save them selves a 50 min trip on an unsealed road by taking a 10 min trip on a ferry

Jayne said...

Gorgeous quilt! Once the final 2 pieces are finished it will be amazing! The pictures of your trip are beautiful...especially the daisies!!

Mari said...

Just another "wow" on that quilt! Congratulations on the new grandbaby!

Kaja said...

This is growing fast and still looking fantastic. Congratulations on the new baby

Margaret said...

Your quilt is totally eye-catching. I'm sure it'll look fabulous on a bed! I only live 15 minutes from the Vermont border and nipping across to the US is a weekly occurrence for your cheap gas. Here's to cross border friendliness.

Bernie Kringel said...

Yay, a new grandbaby!!! How exciting. Congrats - so how many will you have? 3?
Love your pictures of your daytrip to Canada. They are great and gave a good feel for what the trip was. I love that. The afghan in the tree was quite something! I am sure whomever knitted that didn't know where it would end up!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

looks like a very beautiful place!

the zen quilter said...

Fun piece - those blocks are HUGE@!

Lara B. said...

Seeing this gorgeous quilt will never get same old same old Janine!
How exciting to see the ultrasound of your new grandchild!
We live one block away from the Niagara River and so can see Canada every day. But it still takes a bit of doing to get there. So fun that you took a ferry and had a little international adventure!

ES said...

Your big quilt is a stunner! I'm amazed at your method! :)

Lorna McMahon said...

Those blocks are BIG and beautiful! You know I love me some solids quilty action. Loved seeing your pics taken on your trip. I don't get off the farm much so it's nice to be taken for a virtual tour. Thanks so much for sharing!

Judyk2310 said...

That quilt is wonderful!! Loved your little international trip!!