**Thanks go out to cousin S and daughter C who, seeing the post about our fishing trip, contacted us immediately about the use of children's lifevests. Ah, the magic of the internet. We appreciated the offer. Maybe for next summer at the bay . . . .
Hook
Bud and Sis wanted to go fishing. And Pop and Gommie wanted to take them. So, despite bugs and heat, we headed up to Lake Conroe this morning, after a quick stop at the sporting goods store to pick up lifevests and worms. (Thankfully, the kids didn't notice the pup tent Pop purchased as a surprise for our "campout" tomorrow, nor the arrows sold alongside deadly steel tips that Bud would no doubt love for his new bow). The sun was hot, wind blowing, waves chopping, and fish just not biting, despite numerous attempts. But I don't think the kids cared much. They loved just watching Pop handle the worms and bait the hooks, holding the rods by themselves, riding across the choppy water, eating our "Buc-ee nuts" snacks. Bud did like to try to cast a bit too much, pulling his line out of the water and swinging it around trying to put it back in a new spot. Surprisingly, he actually never hooked anyone on the boat! He also loved to reel, so his worm spent little time in the water. Sis liked to make waves in the water with the tip of her rod, much less interested in the action of her cork. So, I don't think they cared much that the fish were not biting. Pop was less sanguine but handled the disappointment of not getting even a nibble. Of course, he's also planning another fishing excursion tomorrow!
Needle
Once fishing was done, I took Gommie up on her offer to take over the kids so Mama and I could head to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, which I thought I would have to miss because of scheduling changes with our different outings. I've made a couple of very simple quilts, mostly before the kiddos, as quilting isn't, for me, a child-friendly hobby. But I love the ones I made (a lap blanket and a quilt for our bed), have a stash big enough to make several more big ones (either in the muted brown-ish palette of reproduction Civil War-era fabrics preferred by Mama or the more rainbow-hued fabrics that I like as well. But not together.), and enjoy talking with Aunt T about her craft and learning from her (she got me started on it when she gave me Great-Grandma M's featherweight Singer sewing machine).
So Mama and I hightailed it downtown, picking up more bean-and-cheeses on the way, and made it in good time. We also managed, luckily, to meet up with another aunt (Aunt T) and a family friend (Miss D), who were reveling in the quilting delights of the marketplace and in the artistry of the juried show. They'd been in town for the festival since Monday, taking classes and such. They walked us around for awhile, looking at hand-dyed fabrics, stencils, machines, etc. So many vendors, so little stash space! Then they insisted that we check out the exhibition while they grabbed a seat and a snack. Such amazingly beautiful quilts. I loved the Founder's Award-winning entry, with the elaborate entwined flowers and gradated background fabrics. But my favorites were actually the antique quilts on view from the International Quilt Festival Collection, particularly the star quilts (variously called "Lone Star," "Amish star," "Native American star," "Prairie star," etc.). I'm not a great quilter, much less a careful piecer, favoring easy quilts with square blocks and yarn-tied "quilting," so I can only aspire to the piecing necessary to make a star. But I was inspired, as was Mama, and we enjoyed the festival so much we might even quilt again soon (she measures and helps cut; I design and choose colors, as well as do the actual sewing and quilting. It's a team thing, one of the only hobbies I have, besides perhaps baking, where we really collaborate). That is, after the two baby blankets, two Christmas stockings, and two prayer shawls next in line for my crafting time.
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