You want more.

So, you want more pictures from Pittsburgh? You have such good taste.

Pittsburgh is a great place for families, with lots of fun activities. Poppy and I loved visiting the Carnegie Science Center, where we watched ice cream being made in the food lab, and found Pee Wee Herman's bicycle, and played with robots.

Big Adventure Time!

No danger here!

At Phipps Conservatory, Poppy and her BFF Henry identified gorgeous and weird plants for their scavenger hunt, while we admired glassworks displayed in the gardens.

Like Alice in Wonderland

Some quilty inspiration, here.

Looking for the Old Man Cactus.

The library is not to be discounted! Poppy's a big customer there, choosing books and movies frequently, and making friends with the staff.

Getting books and movies

Excavating a model dinosaur

Summer reading program prize winner,
with beloved children's librarian.

Henry and his family also joined us for mini golf, but this mini golf was indoors, black-lit, Monster Mini Golf! 

Air hockey, while waiting for friends

Sticking close to each other!

The Children's Museum is amazing. A-maze-ing! Three floors of interactive fun! Our friends, Dom and Matteo, joined us that day.

Climbing in the human ant farm.

Building, then racing, Yes, that's Mr. Rogers' trolley
in the background. Pittsburgh was his Neighborhood!

Building and playing pinball out of scraps.

Dams and floods.

Call in the cavalry! Aunt Laura joined us for the last few days of my visit, and we chose the classic outing, a visit to the Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History.

Dippy the diplodocus, and U of Pitt's Cathedral of Learning

Poppy as lion statue in front of museum library

Fine art scavenger hunt

Outdoor sculpture for kids

"Hmm, may I see that picture?"

Yes, I attended my cousin's wedding in San Francisco. I think this country mouse did pretty well in the big city, wearing a vintage dress I found in a consignment store in Santa Barbara. Yes, I wore black to a wedding, but it's not a somber black.

Okay, so how long did I walk around with my purse popped open?
So much for trying to look sophisticated!

And I'm still working on that Labyrinth quilt.

Marking the quilting lines in the border.
Yes, I use a kids' washable marker.

I finally went back to work this week! I'm at a new school, and I received a very warm welcome from the principal, whom I've worked with before, and the kindergarten teacher, who was very affirming. It's good to be back on a schedule, isn't it?

I've been home for a week...

I spent five weeks in Pittsburgh, PA with my daughter, son-in-law, and 7-year-old granddaughter. First of all, let me say that it's wonderful to be loved by this little family, and to be welcomed into their home for such an extended stay. (Don't you hear a lot of stories about families that don't get along so well between generations?)

The little family.

 Second, let me express gratitude to my husband and youngest son, who support me spending time with our extended family, despite leaving them on their own. (They miss me, but they get along fine without me!)

Sitting on the front porch, enjoying the summer rain,
complete with lightning and thunder, and a double rainbow!

Third, since we leave so far apart, I'm glad to have the opportunity to really have relationship with my granddaughter, more than just a visit.

Admiring the community garden,
which Bethany and Max helped to found.

Now I'm home, with a little time before school starts and I go back to work. I've been enjoying time to myself, and getting reacquainted with my sewing space. I started by making some asterisk blocks for Sue, in our Stars in Their Eyes sewing bee. As usual, I got carried away and made more than the two expected, because it was fun to play with prints for the background fabrics.

Red and aqua on gray.

I wanted to make a gift for my cousin, who is getting married this week. (I know, the invitation said no gifts, but I just can't show up empty-handed.) I'd purchased this tea towel to make into a medallion quilt, and thought it would make an attractive cushion. When I started working with it, Ralph really liked it, and I started thinking maybe it's a little too kitschy for my sophisticated cousin. When I added the zippered back, I accidentally turned it so the zipper cover faces up (a dust catcher-ugh!), and that decided it. This pillow is staying at home.

Tea towel becomes a quilted cushion.
I even made the piping.

See that zipper cover facing right?
It's parallel to the top edge of the pillow front.
Too bad I didn't check before stitching around the pillow three times!

So I decided to make a set of cloth napkins as a gift. I used Penny's tutorial at sewtakeahike and tweeked it a little to get the best cuts from my fabric and still come up with a 16" napkin. The center is linen, and the punctuation fabric is a nod to my cousin's love of writing. To me it's also symbolic of the reminder to pause, to listen, to appreciate when sharing a meal. I love the mitered corners, thanks to Penny's easy-to-follow directions.

Aren't they sophisticated?

I'd sure like something to share for Show & Tell at this month's quilt guild! Just before I left for Pittsburgh I took Debbie Maddy's class to make her Labyrinth Quilt. Simple construction, it would be easy to make just using her pattern, but taking the class was so worthwhile! Debbie was entertaining, and full of really effective tips for cutting, sewing, and arranging fabrics. Here's my quilt in progress, now I'm working on quilting it.

Oh yes, I'll be back with more photos from Pittsburgh! I just want to live in the moment, you know!

So, what do you think, are the napkins a good gift? Is it okay to bring a gift when the invitation says gifts aren't expected? Can I wear a black dress to the afternoon wedding in the city? 

And what about that pillow, made from a retro-style tea towel?