CLEANED THE PANTRY

 Since we moved into this house the upper part of the pantry has been a mess.  I had put all of the containers which held various flours I used for making bread up there and have ignored them since.

I don't make bread anymore since we both went gluten-free.  So most everything was expired and just taking up space.

I took it all out of the pantry and tossed the expired stuff, which had been stored in Tupperware.  I don't like the idea of storing things in plastic anymore, so it all has to go.  I washed all of it and will donate it to Goodwill or somewhere.

There was some things stored in glass jars, my preferred method of storage.  I emptied those and washed them out too.

STITCH BOOK PAGES

 I got the 24 100 Day Stitch Book pages sewn together in groups of four. They are ready to stitch together.

FINISHED WITH GRACE

 I got back to work on my block for the BP Sewcial Collab 2026 today and finished it.

First I made the next two letters and sewed them to the others and squared it to 18".

The cut 4-1/2" one way:

Then cut those strips into 4-1/2" blocks.

Then I moved them around, turning and trying different combos until I was happy with the design, and sewed them together.

LAST PAGES READY

 I did the final stitching on the last two pages of my Stitch Book 2026 today.

The pages are now ready to sew together.

LEAVING HANKINSON

 Sorry to see this day arrive, we all gathered for one last group photo as those of us leaving early were about to head out.

I had to return the rental ( a giant white Ford Expedition named Moby Dick) by 11am and it was over a 3 hour drive back to Minneapolis airport.  Mary H and Ethylene rode with me.  

WORKING ON OUR PROJECTS

Ethylene showed up late last night for the BP Monday Sewcial Retreat.

Today she was all set up with her tiny little sewing machine and was steadily working on her project.  The rest of us mainly were doing handwork and visiting with each other.  But Ethylene was dedicated to getting her project made and sewed most of the day into the night.  She made great progress.  I can't say the same about my project.

I did get some work done on my March full moon page.

 

INTO MINNESOTA

 After our lunch in Fargo we drove a mile or so across the North River into Moorhead Minnesota to the Hjemkomst Center.  There we saw a Viking ship and toured a Stave Church replica.

We waited a few minutes for our docent to show up to take us outside to the Stave Church which had been constructed on site as a replica of the churches in Norway.

When we left there we made a quick stop at the famous Dairy Queen in Moorhead.  It is one of the oldest Dairy Queen franchises.  Despite the cold some of us indulged in their treats.  Then we headed back to Hankinson.  It was a wonderful outing.

TRIP TO FARGO

 We all piled into two cars and set out for Fargo, an hour drive north of Hankinson.

Our first stop was at the Plains Art Museum which had a display of 42 quilts curated by Nancy Crow called  Color Improvisations 3.

We a bit surprised to see the museum was filled with workers installing tables and displays for an upcoming event.  There were light fixtures on the floor to manuever around and things being constructed.  We were thankful they let us in to see the show.

The next stop was lunch at Rosewild restaurant.  Excellent food!  Just across and down the street from the restaurant was the famous Fargo Theatre where the Fargo movie was premiered.

QUILT DISPLAY

 Once we were all set up in the Conference Rooms this year, we put out the things we had brought for a display of our work.  It was set up in the big Auditorium where we had been last year.  This year that area was filled up with the regulars and so they had decided to give us our own area upstairs.   There were so many wonderful things to see.

I brought my Out of Africa quilt.