Go west, young lady, Go west!

The long-awaited day came to take my daughter to college.  Snow College is a small (5,100 students), two-year college in central Utah in a town called Ephraim.  Ephraim has 6,135 residents and includes 3.6 square miles.  A super Walmart is on the outskirts of town and Snow College is approximately in the center of town, about 7 blocks south.  Another grocery store, Market Fresh, is close to the other end of town approximately 7 blocks further south from Snow College.  Ephraim boasts Anderson Drug and Floral, a Hawaiian restaurant, and a library and a few hotels.  There are other businesses and eateries as well but those were destinations we visited while I was there.

The Ephraim Cooperative Mercantile Association from the pioneer era.  Today it's a craft shop.

The Hawaiian restaurant, Kalama's Hawaiian Style, where I ate an excellent meal.

We also found the driver license bureau that operates in Ephraim, the Sanpete County seat, two days a week.  After some challenges getting two items showing that my daughter lives where she claimed, she was later able to pass the written test, produce required citizenship forms, and display TWO items proving her place of abode.  That was particularly difficult because Snow College requires students to get post office boxes and never reveal their physical address.  In fact, she received a document with a firm injunction that she NEVER receive mail addressed directly to her domicile.  They would, in fact, destroy anything that tried to be delivered that way.  They are very protective of their students living in on-campus housing.  We found a way to game the system, and those letters were delivered and the state driver license office accepted the posted envelopes.  (I sent her a card with both the post office box number and physical address listed.)  The first item, a letter provided by the college, was easy.

First week of classes.  This is a very pretty campus with helpful administrators.

The bell tower.  My daughter says the internet signal is strongest directly underneath.  (Verizon's signal stinks in this town.)  

The gateway to Snow College

The front desk of the dorm

At her desk in her room

The kitchen.  The only thing you can't see is the microwave and the front door and table across from the sink area.  There is no stove or oven.

Our creative solution to covering her closet, a shower curtain and rod.

My daughter and I in back of her dorm.

Registering for a class at the Institute of Religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  The building is conveniently located kitty corner from her dorm.  She's chatting with her dad, who just started a new job, on the phone.

The reading/studying lounge in the Institute.

Half of the multi-purpose room in the Institute

Looking down the street after unloading the car into her dorm room.

More on sidetracked

When we got home from vacation, I spotted a fun Pumpkin Party Flannel layer cake (10" precut squares) that my daughter also loved at Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Since she absolutely loves decorating for Halloween, I bought the precuts and challenged her to make a quilt.

She had the squares sewn together in two days (she had less than a week before school started again) and then I quilted it.  I stitched every block in the ditch and then put a decorative S in the center of each block to hold it all together.  It's the first quilt I have ever machine stitched.  Nothing fancy but it should hold!  Here she is all bundled up in 95 degree heat with 98% humidity.  She loves it!

And a full view:

I guess it isn't big enough to see all the cute little ghosties, candy corn, and pumpkins!  No skulls, skeletons, or bats!  If you click on the MSQC above in this post, it should take you to see it.  I think the fabric is sold out though.  

Almost there

It is amazing how slowly placemats can come together.  I finally finished the third one; can you believe it?  I've been learning a lot about putting together quilts though.  Today I sewed on the binding and the corners weren't laying down flat so I had to go back to watch some tutorials of how to do it.  I finally got it right.  Or almost right anyway.  Missing something still because the binding is still puckering slightly at the corners.  The placemat is laying straight and the puckering isn't noticeable.

I ran out of bobbin thread on the third placemat which took the rest of the spool.  Unfortunately, I didn't look closely enough and went out to Joann's to buy more thread.  When I got back home, I reorganized my thread holder and found another spool.

Oh well.  I'l be needing that color for the Flag blanket I'm doing next.  Unless I back and quilt the pink blanket next.  So many quilts to make and finish with close deadlines.

Here's my freshly made binding:

My daughter started making a dragon today since she is on spring break.  It is cut out and its arms are made.  I think.  She's finding out how challenging tiny pieces can be!  The pattern is available on Etsy.  Cute, huh?!  (Hers will be more of a turquoise-y color because that's what I had on hand from a sweatsuit I was going to make when I was 20-something.)

I love being able to make quilts, dragons, etc. out of my stash although I'm not sure I like what it's saying about my long-time fabric addiction.  I'm really glad I have all of it on hand right now though.  I wouldn't be able to satisfy this urge to create without it.  A lot of it came from a woman in Ohio who was clearing out her stash a year or so ago.  Not a day goes by that I'm not grateful to her!