Author Archives: Becky Goldsmith

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About Becky Goldsmith

I am a quilt designer/teacher/author, a wife/mother/grandmother, and certified yoga instructor who is searching for balance, strength, and happiness in all things.

Living dangerously…

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We visited the American Monument today honoring soldiers and sailors who died on ships that sank nearby in 1918. It’s a bit of a hike to get there.

American Monument Plaque

We walked through a small herd of Highland Coos (cows) that appeared docile. But cows make me nervous and these have horns!

Highland Coos

Part of the trail ran alongside the top of cliffs. Not the most giant cliffs you may have ever seen, but falling off would kill you. of course my sons tempted fate and went to the edges 😳🙄😱😬.

Jeff and Chris
Lorna had to look away.
Steve near The American Monument
Jeff, near the cliff edge wayyyyyy up there to the right of the Monument

I stayed back from the edge :-).

Bowmore Distillery was closed for a private event so tomorrow will be a 4 distillery day!

Monday… distilleries!

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Each distillery has whiskies that are not available where we are in Texas. Those are what the boys especially are interested in tasting.

Ardbeg

Our only scheduled tour of the trip was in the Ardbeg warehouse rather than in the distillery which was “quiet” for cleaning and maintenance. I learned a lot and enjoyed the smells of the whiskey.

The casks are oak, and many come from American bourbon makers.

Laphroig came next. My people loved it 🥰.

Laphroaig

The last stop today was Lagavulin where I had a lovely mocktail!

Lagavulin
Tonic with a nonalcoholic distilled plant-based spirit that was a lot like gin.

It was here that a man behind us noticed me knitting (I wasn’t drinking so knitted instead 😊). He and his wife had never seen anyone knit in the American way—“throwing” the yarn with the right hand. Turns out they were with a group of friends from Bavaria who call themselves the Whiskey Pilgrims. They have been visiting distilleries in Scotland since 2013… what an amazingly good idea!

The gentleman on the left was a knitter in until his 20s and work got in the way.

Everyone was happy, especially our boys 😊.

Islay, Sunday, June 9

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The day started with a rainbow!

Steve and I walked in the village before most people were up.

Rainbow outside our door.
Lots of white walls and colorful trim. Love it so much!
Houses and harbor, Portnahaven
Tiny dancer…
There may be a phone in there.
Old, beat up, lovely.

Went walking in nature.

Jeff, Steve, Lorna, Chris

There are sheep with little lambs…

Baby lamb, chowing down.

And Highland cows!

We also visited Kilchoman and Bruichladdich distilleries where I failed to take photos—or drink because I was the driver!!! Hello left side of the road and one lane two-way streets! So exciting, and we got home just fine.

We made it to Scotland!

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Flew from Dallas to London and London to Edinburgh with minor hitches. Had a rental van adventure (#1 had tire issues, #2 would not go forward and it wasn’t our fault 🤣, #3 is perfect!).

On the drive to Tarbet.

Got up today and drove to Kennacraig to catch a ferry…

Drive on, drive off.
Steve is birding on the ferry.

And now we are on Islay and it is beautiful 😊.

In the village of Portnahaven, Islay

This is our house, for many days 🙂
And we can swim 🤣!

Show and tell: Steve’s Birds

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Marie Szlachtianshyn sent a photo of her Steve’s Birds blocks to date. They are wonderful! I’m glad that you are enjoying sewing the birds. It is true that the little feet and eyes can be a challenge—but you are handling that challenge very well!

Look close and you can see that Marie’s blocks are not sewn together yet. If you are following my layout, you can’t sew them all together yet because this is not a quilt that sets together in rows. That’s not a bad thing! Try out sashing ideas as the blocks accumulate but know that, as you make more blocks, your idea of what is the best sashing fabric may change.

Click here to find Steve’s Birds Block of the Month.

Show and tell… Steve’s Birds coming later this year

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Linda has all of the block of the month patterns because she’s my (not all the way retired) partner and special. These 4 blocks are in your future!

Greater Roadrunner

Linda is choosing the colors that she thinks the birds should be, whether they are that color in real life or not. I love them!

Scissortail Flycatcher
Carolina Chickadee
Great Blue Heron