A Day By The Ocean

Summer Sailboat Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Summer Sailboat Pattern

 

I took a break last week to catch my breath a little, and it was quite nice to be able to do that.  During that time I worked on a few hand sewing finishes.  The Summer Sailboat was amongst them.  I wanted to add to the paper pieced block with hand quilting.  Large fluffy clouds are always a favourite of mine and my husband.  I started there and added on as I went along with the quilting.

 

A couple of months ago, we went to the Point Reyes National Seashore.  We don’t live by the ocean, but it is a very nice day trip for us.  Sadly, we only go once every few years.  We had never been to Point Reyes before, and I needed to learn my new camera that I got earlier this year.  So we decided to drive out and make a day of it.  After having a delicious seafood lunch at one of the many small seaside towns en route, we arrived at Point Reyes.

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

It was a cool, windy day.  Although a bit hazy, you could still see the bay in the distance.

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The colour of the water makes me think of glass.  I could have stood there forever, watching the water crashing into those rocks creating frothy white foam.   Different every time!

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The call of the ocean.  I always feel a strong pull whenever I see the vast expanse of the sea, wondering what’s on the other side.

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The ever-present stiff gale has bent all the trees, creating a canopy.

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

There are wonderful sitting grooves on the thick branches of this lovely tree.  Sitting in one of those was like being hugged by a tree.

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The marine mist rolled in at the end of the day.  The contrasting white of the breaking waves against the blue-grey is beautiful.

 

 

Point Reyes, California | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I love the pale and soft pastel purple, peach and cream colours of sunsets even more than the bright ones, they feel very serene and peaceful to me.  It was time to head home.

 

This was the first outside trip for my new camera and it was a wonderful one at that.  I hope to create many more memories with it.

 

 

 

 

I set out to quilt the little wall hanging with that ocean blue colour in mind.

 

 

Summer Sailboat Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

Purchase Summer Sailboat Pattern

 

The finished Summer Sailboat quilted wall hanging.  There was another quilted square on the border, but it looked crowded, so I removed it in the end.  This one is my very first all hand-quilted finish.  I could have been done with it a bit sooner if I didn’t always get hung up on the stitch sizes being almost same all the time, but I am glad I took the time to work on it. 

 

The Summer Sailboat quilt pattern is in my shop should you wish to make one.  I hope you enjoyed the photos and my little finish.  I will tell you a bit more about this one and a couple of companion quilted wall hangings another day.

-Soma

 

I am also linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.   They are fun to visit and great source for new inspirations.

 

 

 

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Yorkshire Skies

Yorkshire Skies | Whims And Fancies

 

There really is no doubting that the Yorkshire countryside is a beautiful place.   The hills, valleys, limestone cliffs, heather and waterfalls make for a very tranquil setting.  For me, being in the north and the remoteness of the places adds another sense of enigma to Yorkshire.  Last year, during our roadtrip through England, we spent a few days in Yorkshire, visiting the countryside that I dreamt of so often.

Many months ago I got a beautiful skein of yarn very aptly named Yorkshire Skies.  I just had to make a pair of mitts with it before we visited Yorkshire.

 

Hermione hat and mittens with Yorkshire Skies Yarn | Whims And Fancies

 

I was looking for a pattern that would show off the yarn, and came across Hermione’s Fingerless Gloves on Ravelry.   I managed to finish knitting the mittens the night before our flight.  I was so determined to wear them in Yorkshire that I finished weaving in the stray yarn during the one-hour travel time to the airport. 

Once we were back, I noticed I had enough yarn left to make a matching hat.  The hat pattern was written for worsted weight yarn.  Since I was using smaller size knitting needles for my fingering weight yarn, I added two extra cables to my hat.  That resulted in just 1 extra stitch at the end after the decreasing was done.  It was a tad big for my head, but one run through the dryer in low heat setting made it just the perfect size for me.

 

Malham Cove Yorkshire | Whims And Fancies

 

View from Malham Cove in late summer

 

Malham Cove Yorkshire | Whims And Fancies

 

Malham Cove in late winter

 

As we peregrinated the streets and countryside of Yorkshire, I was smiling happily while wearing my mittens.  My husband and I fell in love with Yorkshire so much that I planned our next England roadtrip earlier this year fully around Yorkshire with a few added days in Derbyshire.  I took both of these photos from Malham Cove, one of my favourite hikes.

 

Whitby Sea with Winsor Newton Waterbased Oil | Whims And Fancies

 

Sunset At Whitby

Of course, very soon after our return I had to paint a picture of the beautiful skies we saw in Yorkshire.  This was my first time playing with oil, and I could not have picked a better subject to paint.

 

Sailboat Quilt Pattern | Whims And Fancies

 

The painting, in turn, had me look back at a pattern I had designed a long time ago.  Sewing this block is going to be my One Monthly Goal for this month.  I know I will be thinking of the beautiful skies.

 

Yorkshire Moors Heather with acrylic | Whims And Fancies

 

I am also very sure that Yorkshire will continue to surface now and then in my paintings.  Currently I am working on this acrylic painting of heather in the Yorkshire Moors while listening to stories.

 

My Orange Maine Coon Kitty | Whims And Fancies

 

My kitty sleeps and purrs beside me, hopefully dreaming of a happy place.  I love a peaceful life.  Whenever I can get it, I enjoy it to the fullest!

 

See you next time,
-Soma

 

I am also linking up on Through My Lens, Our World TuesdayWednesday Around The World, Seasons, and Friday Photo Journal along with other linky parties on my Events And Links page.

 

 

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