Westering Women: Reaching the End of the Trail

I have finally completed my Westering Women quilt!

This was a 2016 block of the month project put together by Barbara Brackman, celebrating women who traveled west on the overland trails in the 19th century. You can find Barbara's introduction to it here. I stuck with fabrics that were either 19th century reproductions or in the 19th century style, all of which I pulled from my stash.

I pieced all of the blocks by hand, but assembled the sashing and borders by machine,

and custom quilted it on my longarm machine.

I have given this quilt to a good friend, who, as a female research geologist, I consider a pioneer of her generation. Years ago she traveled westward a very great distance from her native England to live in central Texas, so it seemed an appropriate gift.

Several months ago she and I agreed to make an attempt on the Grand Teton in 2018, so I am including a couple photos of that beautiful peak. This one, taken along Mormon Row early in the morning, shows the Grand immediately to the right of the barn.

The Grand is the peak on the far left hand side of this image, taken from the south fork of Cascade Canyon (on the west side of the big peaks). 

I just love those high, lush meadows! For scale, note the two hikers in the top right.

While I'm at it with photos from Grand Teton National Park, here are a few wildlife shots from last summer that I never managed to include in a post. This moose may look a little crazed, but really he was just tearing at branches for his meal, and seemed completely oblivious to our presence.

This mule deer, on the other hand, was totally aware of us and seemed to be posing for the camera.

Finally, here is my favorite Teton critter, the pica. Not only are they incredibly adorable, they are great fun to watch.  If you take the time to sit quietly on open, rocky slopes, you will likely see picas scampering among the boulders gathering greenery for their nests, and hear their calls, which sound to me like a squeaky toy you might give your pet.

Any day, sunny or grey, is brightened by a pica sighting. Wishing you many days of pica cuteness!

Oman: The Mutrah Souq

If you are in Oman and looking for some local color, visit Mutrah, at the eastern end of Muscat. Tucked between mountains and the bay, you will find old-fashioned homes, shops, and mosques topped with blue domes and minarets.

Stroll along the corniche and stop into a cafe for traditional coffee served with dates, or fresh juice - mango as in this photo - or my favorite, lemon mint.

Be sure to leave plenty of time for wandering around the Mutrah Souq, Oman's largest.

If you visit on a day when no cruise ships are in port you'll see more locals than tourists.

Narrow aisles radiate from large central courtyards.

Shops are crammed with all kinds of wares, 

from rose oil and frankincense (an aromatic tree resin),

to home and commercial cookware,

and elaborate gold jewelry.

You'll find all kinds of enamelware

and lovely silver jewelry.

Naturally, I found the textiles the most intriguing, and came home with quite a pile of cashmere scarves. Most aren't actually made locally, but they are a popular item among Omanis, many of whom  wrap them carefully into a kind of headwear.

I couldn't resist the exquisite embroidery on this one,

and the vibrant colors on this one.

There are also brightly colored Bedoiun embroideries, a local product.

 I picked up these small bags to contain my sewing paraphenalia.

Here is what I usually carry around in my little sewing bags. I have pre-cut squares of scraps, needle, thread, thimble, ruler and pencil for marking sewing lines, and scissors for patchwork on the go. In the security process prior to boarding our outbound flight from Muscat, Oman Airlines confiscated my orange-handled Fiskars embroidery scissors, which I had carried on flights for years. I picked up these tiny ones at Liberty in London as a replacement. I also have a few knitting tools, an extra SD card for my camera, and tweezers, most often used for pulling cactus spines out of my husband's fingers.

It's amazing how much I can get done in spare moments when I have these few essentials with me.

Two Days in Zurich

Traveling to Muscat, Oman, from Austin, Texas, is a long haul! To make the trip a little less tiring and a lot more interesting, we made a stop in Zurich along the way, sandwiching a night of sleeping in a proper bed in between two overnight flights. To counteract all the hours of airplane-induced inactivity, we spent most of our two days in Zurich walking. Fortunately, Zurich is a wonderful city for exploring on foot! We stayed mainly in the old, central part of the city, wandering along narrow, cobbled streets.

We stopped atop Lindenhof Hill to soak in sunshine and city views.

Atop Lindenhoff Hill

In the old town it seems that every door and window is lovely,

solid and yet inviting.

It's worth walking slowly so you can spot interesting details,

old-fashioned signs,

and inviting storefronts.

On our second day, after a goods night's sleep, we took the Polybahn, one of Zurich's two funiculars, 

The Polybahn

up to ETH Zurich, the Swiss institute of technology, for a panoramic view of the city.

Zurich from ETH

We continued onward by bus to the Zurichberg, where we enjoyed fresh air and well-marked hiking trails through the woods.

Hiking the Zurichberg

In the afternoon we stopped in at the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum), adjacent to the main train station. It is interesting as much for the old castle in which it is housed as for the exhibits which trace the history of Switzerland.

View from Landesmuseum window

We also spent a fair amount of time walking along the Limmat River, which runs through Zurich from the outfall of Lake Zurich.

Reflections along the Limmat River

Reflections of old buildings change with the light,

and are especially dramatic at night.

Zurich by night

I don't have a lot of needlework to show, except for a stack of nine-patch scrap blocks that I stitched up during the long flights in and out of Zurich.

I'm hoping to be home for most of the next couple of months so maybe I'll have enough time to stitch them up into a quilt top.

I'm also hoping to have enough time to post a little more frequently, so come back soon for reports on Muscat, Oman, and London.

A Happy Quilt and a Happy New Year in Jackson Hole

We had a terrific family get together for New Year's, with my sister and her family joining my crew in Jackson Hole. We were blessed with brilliant days, perfect for enjoying winter sports, taking in amazing views, and spotting wildlife.

On an absolutely freezing afternoon we drove up to Colter Bay to ski along the Hermitage Point trail.

Note Eva's Nordic style sweater, the one she knit over last year's Christmas break.

Apparently the cold was too much for most skiers -- we had the place and all the spectacular views to ourselves.

Mount Moran

Wildlife spotting was especially easy this year. With relatively sparse snow cover in the valley, part of the elk herd hung around open fields and neighborhoods instead of going into the National Elk Refuge as usual. On several consecutive mornings we awoke to find hundreds of elk surrounding the house. 

It was fun to watch the youngsters scampering and kicking up their heels.

I finished this quilt just in time to present to my sister for the home she recently moved into.

With its bright colors and happy prints it was great fun to work on. I custom quilted it on my long arm machine with a bold flower design that is appropriate for my sister's 1960s-era home.

Wishing everyone all the best in 2018, whether you are snuggling under a quilt at home or kicking up your heels somewhere around the globe!