Again, Where Have I Been?

Now, where have I been?!

Hubs and I left last Tuesday for a get-away to celebrate our 54th anniversary on August 26. We headed to the west coast and then followed Florida's Big Bend to the Panhandle, from Cedar Key to Fort Walton Beach. 

Yellow stars indicated where we spent our nights in Apalachicola, and Okaloosa Island

Our first stop was Cedar Key, a place we'd visited in June 2024. We were there just a few months before Hurricane Helene hit in September. (This YouTube video gives you an idea of how damaging Helene was.) We wanted to check out the condition of the little town that's at the end of a 21 mile peninsula. 

We ate lunch at Steamers. The food was as excellent as I remembered, though the restaurant has temporarily relocated due to damage from a September 2024 fire - yep, first a hurricane; then a fire. A new, elevated restaurant is being built.

Overall, the community appears to be in a slow recovery mode, with many waterfront buildings being renovated and put on stilts. The only grocery store remains closed, so residents have to drive 30 miles to Chiefland for supplies.

Located on the waterfront, the "Pink Pearl" is where we stayed during our last visit, and though it's on a waterfront street seemed to be the same... likely due to it already being on stilts.

We continued driving north, bearing slightly left to travel along SR(state route)98 with the unseen Gulf of America to our left. I took pictures as we passed along this "Big Bend" so you can see that Florida isn't all beaches and congested entertainment areas. 

Chiefland area

It looks quite bucolic in places, with occasional deer crossing and bear crossing signs. 

Eastpoint area

I always liked it when SR 98 took us along the empty oceanfront. 

We spent one night at the Gibson Inn in Apalachicola, an historic town along the Apalachicola River that spills into the bay/gulf. 

photo courtesy of Gibson Inn

We arrived without reservations (something we do when traveling mid-week around Florida). The Gibson Inn was established in 1907, and much of the old character has been retained.

We had a lovely third floor room.

Our window view of downtown looked toward the river and bay. One block away, Water Street was once the site of more than 40 three-story cotton warehouses. In the 1840s to 1850s, Apalachicola was the third largest cotton shipping port in the US behind New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama.

Nowadays Apalachicola is known for it's production of Tupelo Honey. Apparently it's highly prized, and unique among honeys.

White tupelo trees along the Apalachicola River produce white blossoms for two to three weeks each April. During that time, bee hives are loaded onto boats and taken through swampy areas to pollenate the trees. The honey produced is a light golden color and never crystalizes. It's supposedly beneficial to diabetics and people with allergies - even people who do not live locally. 

https://www.tupelohoneyflorida.net/

I took a picture of a picture hanging the wall of our Gibson Inn room. I wish I knew the year it was taken and who the women were. Charming, isn't it? They're on the beach. See how they're holding the tails of their dresses between their legs, to keep their skirts dry? 

Continuing our SR98 journey the next day, this is still the Apalachicola area. 

This is the Port Saint Joe area.

These are Port Saint Joe residences to our right along SR98, overlooking the Gulf. 

Homes built along here have to expect hurricanes. 

This part of Port Saint Joe along the ocean remains mostly pristine. 

I appreciated seeing natural sea grasses and sand dunes. 

This is a typical home on Port Saint Joe Beach. Lots of properties are for sale, but none are at a bargain price. We agreed that renting is the best way to spend time in a hurricane-prone ocean front home.

This is a cabbage palm at Port Saint Joe Beach. 

Our SR98 view of Mexico Beach. This area is referred to as "The Forgotten Coast."

Going toward Fort Walton Beach is a stretch of SR98 - Henderson Beach State Park - where you can see dunes and grasses protected and left to their natural beauty.

Our second and third nights were spent on Okaloosa Island at Beal House, a six-story hotel on Okaloosa Island at Fort Walton Beach. You can see why this is stretch of beaches is called "The Emerald Coast." 

From our fourth story balcony we had unobstructed ocean views... 

...though the sunset was just out of sight, to the west. 

The full moon. 

We walked on the beach, enjoyed meals out - something we don't often do at home - and played gin rummy while appreciating beach views... seeing occasional leaping dolphins. 

Hotel staff suggested a couple of webcams to watch.

One is from the Boardwalk toward the ocean, and sand volleyball nets where tournaments are held.

The other is the Okaloosa Island Pier marine webcam. That pier can be seen in my full moon picture.

Interestingly, Eglin Air Force Base isn't far from Fort Walton Beach, so we saw and heard fly-overs of F-25 Lightning II fighter jets. (I got this info after uploading my picture to Google Gemini to determine what we were seeing and from whence they came.) Pairs of jets were on fighter pilot training missions.

This was our last view of the beach before heading home. 

Almost unbelieveably, our entire return trip home along the same route was through steady rain. I'm glad I took "going" pictures as keepsakes of our lovely trip.

It's always good to visit new places in one's home state. Linda

Where have I been?

Where have I been? Nowhere. I'm still here, keeping busying with my usual activities - bible study, exercise, and sewing room activities, in that order. 

About three weeks ago I started a Beth Moore bible study called "Beloved Disciple." That disciple is John. Though the study was published in 2002, it's relevant. Alongside the the study, and because Beth Moore will be at Lutheran Church of Hope (West Des Moines, Iowa) September 25-26, I just finished listening to Beth's autobiography, All My Knotted-up Life. I have friends who don't care to listen to her because of her thick Arkansas accent, but I understand her and find her extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic on her favorite topic: Jesus. If you "know" Beth, have ever participated in one of her bible studies (I have many times) or have heard her speak, I highly recommend her book. The audiobook was particularly meaningful because she narrates it herself (you can hear her shedding tears) sharing thoughtful personal and experiential information.

In the sewing room, something new is underway as I've turned my focus to starting another quilt, this one for our Central Florida MQG's "2nd Chance Fabric Challenge." At least 25% of the quilt is to be from upcycled materials - fabrics that were previously "something else." In my case, these are Dad's plaid sport shirts, and a beige, pin-striped flat sheet recently found at a thrift store - "Wow! How perfect?!" - for a whole $2.75! 

The design is simple, geometric, and modern. As I've been able, I've included a little bit of transparency in the design. 

With this approximately 68" X 80" quilt top about half-way pieced, I feel confident I'll meet the October 10 due date.

You'd never guess which print was formerly boxers. :-) I backed many pieces with Pellon EK130 Easy Knit, to give them more stability.

Last Thursday I went on a day trip "outside the bubble." Having been at home/staying local all summer, I was happy to enjoy a get away with these two quilt-y friends: Barb who is the 4-H Club leader; and Karen who is also originally from Iowa. 

We went to Brooksville, Florida, about an hour away, to see what's what at Panbanged Knits and Fiber Shoppe. The owner, Christen, was a wealth of knowledge and imparted so much yarn-y information it was difficult to take it all in!

Christen has a line of hand-dyed yarns called Brooksville Fiber Company, and while I would loved to have invested in a several hanks, the price had me thinking to hold off until I'm a better knitter.

 

Christen had a garment rack of completed crocheted and knitted garments, so I tried on several shawls/shawlettes in different shapes - triangle, asymmetrical, and rectangle. For a November wedding, I'd like to knit one to wear with a solid-color dress. I bought one ball of yarn and this pattern, to knit a garter stitch shawl.

Along with green needle point covers, those were my only purchases as I'm making myself finish my Summer Soul Top before starting the shawl. I can't tell you how many times I've frogged this top! But now the back is done, including ribbing. I'm making good progress on the front. Maybe I'm getting the hang of it? 

Left: Summer Soul Top in progress
Right: new DK yarn - Schoppel Zauberball, Color 2092 "Crazy"

By the way, I'm all-in on Ravelry now. My profile is there along with pics of my projects, finished and unfinished. Let me know if I can find you there. 

After lunch at The Bistro in Brooksville, we stopped at Hobby Lobby (a larger store than locally), and then drove to Inverness, Florida.

I had intended that we shop at Fiber Arts Gallery in Inverness - another yarn store. We didn't know until we parked, walked to the Masonic Business Center, and reached the door of the third floor shop, that it was closed for summer vacation. Well that was disappointing. Wouldn't you think a business would (should) post such information to their website? In spite of that disappointment, it was a fun day. Thanks for joining me, friends! 

So I keep myself busy with all the crafty, sewy, knitty things, and even a Modge Podge project that I'll share soon. 

In the meantime, another big diamond art project (38" X 26") arrived. It's "Beachside Gathering," a Thomas Kinkade design that I won't let myself start until I finish another diamond art painting. Diamond Art Club kits come highly recommended for their excellent quality (canvas, and precise square drills) by many diamond-painting friends. Working with such a kit will be a happy change for me!

I sure have many fun things to anticipate! Linda

Hopping to Finishes - "Ignite"

In spite of my inclination to hop from project to project, I managed two finishes this week.

The big one is Ignite, the yellow quilt I made for the 2027 QuiltCon "Pick-A-Color Scrappy Challenge" sponsored by American Patchwork and Quilting magazine. That's NOT to say my quilt is a shoo-in, because it certainly is not! QuiltCon is a juried show and those jurors will have a tough job in this category. For example, what will they do if they like - say - five red quilts because they're great designs? Will they intentionally choose other quilts of different colors, so they have a whole color range to display? 

I'll put Ignite through the entry/submission process that opens September 1; closes October 31. 

This week I squared-up the quilt (not an easy task), sewed on facing with Painter's Palette Honeycomb, and then hand-stitched it into place.  

For my entry photos, I'll have to take pictures with my Canon camera, because these photos, taken with my Iphone 14, do not capture the true colors. 

Ignite is 62" X 64." 

The back of Ignite. The facing matches the sides of the quilt back. 

I can't begin to express how glad I am that this quilt is finished! It was a tough one to put together. I learned several lessons through the making, primarily that a quilt designed by AI may not be easy to create. 

Moving right along, I am happy to share finish pictures of a knitted prayer shawl. I used this free pattern. No doubt it knitted-up relatively quickly (as compared to the summer top I'm still working on!) because it used chunky yarn and large, size 13 circular needles. 

This shawl is triangle-shaped, starting at the bottom point, and increasing in length to the long long side that is 50" across. I have in mind to gift this to someone special. 

I appreciate those of you who weighed-in on my question about what to do about kinky cotton yarn. I had a large ball of it, unknitted (tinked) because I wasn't happy with the inconsistencies of my stitches, and my increases were clunky. 

After receiving several different suggestions and viewpoints, I decided to contact the pattern designer, Julia Piro (she lives in Prague, Czechia). Since I used the same brand of yarn she did, I figured she would know. It took only a day for her to respond! How nice is that? She said yes, I should wash the yarn, and sent a link to a tutorial. 

So, I wound the kinky ball of yarn around legs. She suggested chair legs, but my TV tray ironing table has those legs. 

Then, I tied each hank in several places.

This is what it looked like before wetting.

After soaking the two hanks in water for about 15 minutes, I squeezed out the excess water and draped them across a hanger. I hung the hanger from my golf cart, in the hot garage, for two days! 

The yarn looks much better now. 

Because I'm making good progress on my Summer Soul top, I'll be using this yarn as soon as I wind it into cakes.

My Bible study friend (Lutheran Church of Hope) from West Des Moines, Iowa who visited me in June, surprised me with a package this week. This tea towel made me tear-up with a smile. Me too, Rondelle!

Linda