Summer Vacation

We kicked off the summer with a long weekend at Cape Ann, Massachusetts.  Our first full day brought brilliant skies, perfect for an excursion along the Atlantic Path which follows the rocky shore from the hotel we stayed in, the Emerson Inn, to Halibut Point State Park, site of an old granite quarry.  With no time constraints, we could stop at our pleasure to take photos and to examine the geology along the way.

The Emerson Inn

Cairn along the Atlantic Path

Our next stop was Rockport, which was settled in 1695 and supported early fishing and granite industries.  It is still a base for lobstering, but now attracts tourists with its shops, galleries, restaurants and colorful New England scenery, including "Motif #1," claimed to be the most often painted building in America.

Motif #1

After lunch and a stroll around Bearskin Neck in Rockport, we made our way down to the docks and the artists colony at Rocky Neck in Gloucester.  With fewer tourists, more artists, and a large working dockyard, I found Gloucester much more engaging. Or maybe it was just that since it was later in the day the light was better...

We ended the day with a walk along the jetty at the Eastern Point Lighthouse.  For another take on these same scenes, take a look at my daughter's blog here.

Eastern Point Lighthouse

All these great colors and interesting shapes offer lots of inspiration for quilts.  But new projects will have to wait until I complete some other works in progress, notably this vintage top which I have chosen as this summer's project.  It is very portable and doesn't require particularly careful planning or piecing so it is great to carry along on our travels.  I found the original partial blocks at a garage sale while in Jackson Hole several summers ago and later bought a tub full of vintage fabrics so I have plenty of material with which to complete the existing blocks and to make enough new ones for a twin size quilt.