Tripping Along

I took a little trip last week with John. He had a conference in San Antonio, so I went with him to keep him company, to soak up some sunshine, and to explore San Antonio. It was 70 degrees and sunny when we arrived!

We stayed at the historic Menger Hotel, which was established in 1859 and sits right next door to The Alamo. The Menger has had several notable guests through the years; Teddy Roosevelt recruited his Rough Riders at the Menger. The hotel also claims to be haunted — maybe I really did hear knocking on my door at 4 am!

While John was interested in the history of the hotel, I was fascinated with the beauty. I found myself thinking quilt designs quite often as I meandered throughout the building. The furniture, ironwork, and stained glass ceilings gave me some fun ideas.

What designs do you see? I don’t think I’ll tackle the stained glass, but it was really pretty. (My iPhone picture doesn’t do it justice.)

One of the big draws of downtown San Antonio other than The Alamo is the Riverwalk.

Shops and eateries line the river, together with walkways on each side of its banks. Tour boats and water taxis cruise along the river, and it’s a popular gathering place both day and night. We had lunch at one of the cafes after arriving at the hotel, as the pigeons wandered by our legs and comfortably roamed the restaurant both inside and out. At one other cafe, a man was sitting at his table sending a text while two pigeons joined him at the table, nibbling at his taco chips. Gross. 

On the day we arrived, the river had been drained, so it wasn’t nearly as lovely as it looks in this picture. Thankfully, it was filled before we left and we were able to take one of the boat tours, which was much better than the bus tour.

I also found quilting designs as we meandered down the Riverwalk. Not surprisingly, there were stars everywhere . . . Lone Star State & all, y’know. I really like the colorful spiral design, don’t you?

Needless to say,  I was definitely antsy to get home and get back to quilting! And I have been stitching away since I got back. I haven’t drawn out any of the above designs yet, but I have some ideas.

I finished my little Woolie mystery Block of the Month for January before we left on the trip. Here is the finished block. 

I’ve made progress on my batik quilt — all the strips have been sewn and cut into squares. Hoping to be putting the top together soon!

And, of course, my elephants are coming along nicely —

I’m still enjoying stitching them in the evenings. I’m discovering that I have certain things I need as I appliqué. Two new discoveries I have made are little leather finger pad thimbles and my needle threader. I have had the needle threader for quite awhile, but haven’t used it until now — what was I thinking??. The little thimbles are amazing. They can be used again and again (they are really sticky and stay in place well). They are so comfortable I forget I have one on. No more tender fingers!

What fun things are you working on lately while your creative juices flow? I’d love to hear about them — leave a comment below! By the way, I also have an email address piecefulthoughts@gmail.com if you want to contact me that way.

Until next time, keep those stitches running!

Wendy