Yup, I’m back from vacation, rested and ready to get back to work on my UFOs.  Okay, in actuality, I’m back, I’m unpacked, and I’m tired, but I don’t want to let UFO Thursday sink into oblivion. 

One of my UFOs (I have my first ten or so listed under the “UFO” tab at the top of this web page) is Amanajean’s 9-patch quilt I started with her first group this spring.  I’m making mine a little bit bigger, and I need a total of 80 9-patch blocks.  I finished up ten more, counted up my total, and … I have 75!!!  If I realized I was that close, I would have done 15 instead of ten!  Here they are in all their scrappiness (these are all made out of my garbage scrap basket):

Amandajean has started a second quilt-along of this 9-patch quilt, in case you’re interested.  Her plan is to piece a block a day, but that doesn’t work for me.  I need to do several at a time.  This quilt WILL BE DONE this summer!  Woo-hoo!!!

How are you doing on your UFOs, any progress to report?  Hang in there, every little bit counts, and don’t put it away.  Leave it out where it can haunt — I mean, remind you.  Happy quilting, whether it’s on new projects or old.  It’s so good to be back home where I can sew!

Sue

Pour yourself a cup of coffee, make sure you’re bundled up (okay, maybe not…), as we continue our Alaskan cruise.  We are now into Day #5, Skagway, Alaska.  Skagway’s population is surprisingly low:  862 people, as of the 2000 census (per Wikipedia).  The population doubles during the summer months to handle the 900,000 visitors, who mostly arrive via cruise ships.  There were four  big ships in port the day we were there.  Here is my favorite photo of our ship, the Veendam (the ship only looks small; check out the size of the people on the pier):

You can see the water is still the milky greenish color of glacial melt.  From the ship, it’s a short walk to the shopping area of Skagway:

The town has retained a rustic appearance, even maintaining wooden sidewalks.  The effect is slightly marred by the cruise ship in the distance, though!  I love the looks of this building, plus there were TWO quilt shops:

And check out this antique locomotive designed to clear snow from the tracks:

 Here’s a view of Skagway as we were cruising away Thursday evening, and you can see the setting of the town.  Can you imagine coming here 110 years ago, getting all your provisions together, then making the hard trek to search for gold?  This was a particularly scenic night as we left Skagway.

 One last look at the scenery as the sun sets into what I can only presume was the west. 

Skagway has quite a colorful history beginning in 1896 when gold was discovered in the Klondike, and Skagway became an entry point for those looking for gold.  Wikipedia has some pretty interesting information here about those early lawless years.

C’mon back tomorrow and wear a hat and gloves — we’re going to Glacier Bay!

Sue