Playtime

It has been a lovely, lovely week of vacation here with my in-laws in Southern Arizona. Normally I'm not a desert vacation kind of girl. Broiling temperatures? Sharp plants? No, thank you. But there's something about the little retirement community of Green Valley that gets to me. The summer months are far more quiet than usual since half the population heads off for cooler climates, and there's a peacefulness here that speaks to my soul. The light is incredible in the evenings at dusk, softening the edges of the landscape and making everything beautiful. Since it's monsoon season in this part of the world, we've also been having nightly thunderstorms. I love to stand at the patio window and watch the lightning flash over the mountains.

My parents-in-law live in a complex that is surrounded by small stretches of desert wilderness which are full of little creatures: rabbits, quail, ground squirrels, and the occasional lizard. I do my best to catch them in motion, but they're quick. I'm afraid all these vacation photos are taken with my phone -- I just didn't feel like packing the fancy camera this year -- but at least you get a feel for the area this way. You can follow me on Instagram to see more.

Every night before bed, my daughters love to go exploring with us -- "bunny hunting" they call it -- hoping to catch a glimpse of those soft brown-grey rabbits playing games among the cacti.

With all the playtime, I've not done a stitch of sewing yet, though I brought some projects along with me just in case. Maybe tomorrow. For today, I'll share a few projects that I brought along as gifts for family members.

These patchwork wristlets were made using Ayumi's tutorial. To speed things up, I left out the inside pocket and used precut mini charm squares from the Posy and Baby Jane lines.

I love these pouches -- such a fun, personal gift and so useful.

I also made a throw quilt for my brother-in-law and his wife out of charm squares from Glimma and Bella by Lotta Jansdotter. It's a very simple design in layout and quilting, but that seems to suit these prints somehow.

I backed the quilt in that wonderful IKEA print I bought last month. I really need to get some more of that soon.

As I sit here typing, my little bunny hunters have finally fallen asleep after another big day, tired from the night's activities and excited about tomorrow's trip to the Tuscon Zoo. I'm tired too...and so very happy.

Linking up to Finish It Up Friday.