On our recent road trip, I had prepped 3 of the Art Deco blocks to work on.  I finished 2 of them and had posted a photo of one of them previously.  

This is the second Art Deco block I finished during the trip.  In fact, one of the "lovely towns" we drove through was Mojave, CA ... a lonely desert town that really doesn't have anything to recommend itself.. EXCEPT that our very own Ami (SewingUpAStorm) has been living there, as her favorite husband works there as a space engineer (if I am remembering correctly).   

Mr. Pirate was receptive to the idea of stopping for a *BRIEF* chit-chat on our way through the town en route to our final destination.  It was totally out of the blue, as I had actually forgotten that she was there.   Our visit was only 45 minutes, as we had miles to yet travel.  However, on the return journey, we had no such time restriction and we actually spent the night at Ami's RV park, where she & I had a wonderful and lively conversation well into the night.

As we were chatting, I was working on the block below and because I was SO CLOSE to finishing it when Ami left, I simply stayed up a little longer and finished that second block.

Some of those flower petals are awesomely complex.  My mind has been boggled again.

How fortunate that you remembered that you were passing through Ami's neighborhood.

Let me say that block is even prettier in person. It was so awesome to see you two, not once but twice. 

I finished my last 4 blocks last night and am excited to put them on a design wall and continue with the quilt.

We are leaving today after Mark gets off work and will get to the Grand Canyon Friday. Both my girls are driving over so we will have a family mini vacation. Then I will be back in New Mexico for a while.

Shelley, I really like these blocks and seeing them as you do them!

Very nice!  Both the block and that you got to visit with Ami.  I'm sure she loved it.  What did the husbands do while you two were visiting?

How nice it was for you two to have a post retreat visit!  Your Block is very pretty. My husband was born in Holtville. I don’t think it’s too far from Mohave.

Ami_Quilts (sewingupasto) said:

Then I will be back in New Mexico for a while.

So that is part of your big changes coming? Inquiring minds want to know! 

I sure hope the weather cooperates and you have a beautiful Easter sunrise at the canyon.  Nice that the girls will drive over so the family will be together.  Are you taking the RV with you to the canyon?

They were chatting also; apparently they got along well.

Yep we are leaving California. The RV is hooked up and parked near Mark's work. We will drive a few hours tonight and get to the Grand Canyon tommorow. 

Mark's next assignment is in Boulder Colorado and we will park the RV at his brothers place. I will be in New Mexico for a few weeks.

I already have a list of what I want to accomplish.