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Saturday, September 19, 2015

You Otter Been There


Last week, I had the distinct pleasure
of attending the Maritime Modern Quilt Guild (MMQG) meeting


in Halifax, NS with Linda from Scrapmaster.
(I spent the most wonderful three days with
Linda and her family.)

I'd like to thank all the 'girls' for making me feel so welcomed.
It was just delightful to be able to meet and put a face to
some of the members of that guild who are also bloggers -
Anja, of Anja Quilts
Miss Valerie, of Purple Boots and Pigtails
Jenn, blogging over at A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Adrienne, the pres, of Chezzetcook Modern Quilts
Aimee, from Candy Coated Quilts
Dominique, of The Running Thimble
and Karen, at Sugarfree Quilts, who needs a little 
encouragement to write some posts.
We'll be hearing more from Karen, and I can't wait to share!

During the evening, there was a fun swap.
Linda and her swapmate, Miss Valerie, went first.


Do you think they were excited?
It was pretty funny.  Miss Valerie hadn't even opened hers yet!
She was jumping all around because Linda was.
I couldn't get a clear picture for all the tea in China.
Wish I had thought to video it all.
Valerie made a very special and meaningful wallhanging for our Linda.
You can read about it here.
All the swap wallhangings were amazing.
You otter been there.

*

Speaking of otters...
we went for a little local paddle in our kayaks the other day
and were visited by a new friend.
(Click on pics to enlarge them.)


Isn't he/she just the cutest thing?


They don't appear to be at all afraid, just curious!
I floated up to 15 feet of him/her.
Once I was paddling during the wee hours of the morning
(morning being my favorite time of day)
and  had three swim right by me,
not an arms length away,
and they all three lifted their bodies way up high out of the water
and looked at me as they passed by.
I can't imagine what they might have been thinking!)
This one chatted with me for a few minutes before disappearing.
They grow to about 4.5 feet long and weigh in at 30 pounds.
Experiencing nature like this really makes my heart sing.

I hope something happened during your week
that made your heart sing!!
~karen


26 comments:

Anja @ Anja Quilts said...

It was good to meet you. Glad you had a great visit.

DeniseinVA said...

The otter encounter must have been very cool. They looked so sweet. Glad you had fun with them and with all the quilters. It was fun to read about it :)

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

love seeing your otter - I always enjoy spotting these and minks too and other things as well. It looks like you had a blast at your get together! and thanks for sharing some blog addresses - I will go have a look.

Sondra said...

Love your curious otter...y'all are poetry in motion!!

Lesley said...

Sounds like a wonderful time! I can see their excitement in the picture, or rather, I can imagine their excitement as they jumped up and down! Thanks for sharing your visit to the MMQG meeting!

Peg - Happy In Quilting said...

Glad you had a good time .... Great photos of the otter 💗

gwenyth said...

I cannot think of anything much more thrilling than swimming with otters.

eileeninmd said...

Hello, sounds like you had a fun time with your quilting friends. I love the otter images, they are so cute. We see there tracks around our lake in the winter, they play in the snow. Have a happy day and new week ahead!

Binsa said...

Hi Karen loved your posts what a thrill to be up close with the otters regards lyn

Linda said...

It was so freaking awesome to share that time with you. I have been bragging to you for almost two years about how wonderful my lovely little guild is, how welcoming and fun, and it was such a pleasure for me to have you there to experience it in person. Yes, I was a bit over-excited but now that you know me better, I think you realize that is pretty normal for me. Make sure to plan your next stay with me over one of our Sew-In weekends. I know you will love that! It was super fun to have you spend time with me and the Fam and to get to know each other better. Blogland is fun but Facetime is better! Love your otter story. That must have been pretty cool to see those three creatures checking you out. hugs

Kerstin said...

Looks like you had a good time . Lovely pictures of the otters :-)

Adrienne said...

Those otters are adorable! I want one! It was so great to meet you in person Karen, I hope you get to visit us more :)

Lin said...

Glad you enjoyed your stay with Linda and you got to meet all those lovely ladies! The swap quilts were gorgeous. I have only once seen an otter and that was just a fleeting glance of it running away. We were with some friends driving in Spain almost to the border with Portugal. However, they have been reintroduced to the UK and I understand that there are quite big colonies of them there now. Philip's daughter lives in Devon - Barnstaple, which is on the Tarka trail. I forget the name of the book now but it was about Tarka the otter. I expect you know it. Special here is that the sun has been shining all day! after a damp grey week with some strong winds it's nice to have calm and warmth again. xx

Needled Mom said...

The otter is so sweet. They are so curious - like our dolphins here. It's as though they are saying, "What are you doing in our house...we don't come in yours"!

Just Ramblin' said...

How fun to be up close to these little otter's. They are so cute. Sounds like you had a great time with your quilting friends. Isn't it fun to be with those who share your same interests and get so excited over everything and anything. Will have to check out their blogs.
Nola

Dena said...

I think your photo of Val and Linda captures them perfectly. It was great to meet you and I am so glad you were entertained and hopefully a bit inspired.

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

What a treat to see those cute little otters.

Alycia~Quiltygirl said...

Looks like fun!! I can't believe they jumped that much - that is just hilarous!! The otter is very cool!!

Jenn @ A Quarter Inch from the Edge said...

So glad you enjoyed the meeting! I hope you'll make it back again!

FlourishingPalms said...

It's great that you were able to join that MQG chapter for a meeting... and maybe brag a bit that you'd been to QuiltCon?! :-) Sounds like you had a great time, and were warmly welcomed. I'm sure that was easy for all of them to do. The otter is cute. It's always a surprise to see how you're able to interact with nature, living where you do. It's also great to know you appreciate it. Lovely seeing what you've been up to.

BillieBee (billiemick) said...

What a wonderful time for you....love the otter photos.

Roy Norris said...

Wonderful to see an Otter Karen, great shots you took as well.

Judy said...

That sounds like a wonderful time and it would be so neat to be able to meet some of the bloggers. Your kayaking sounds so peaceful and how cool is that you were able to get so close to an otter!! Thanks for sharing the photos with us.

Abby and Stephanie said...

Sounds like you had all kinds of excitement both indoors (quilt group) and outside with the otters. They have such sweet faces and it must really have been a joy to be so up close with nature.

Purple Boots and Pigtails said...

Glad to have finally put a face to your name! That was such a fun evening...
I love my kayak too, so peaceful. I be thrilled to see an otter...we someties get a glimpse of an eagle ad other seafaring birds but rarely a mammal. Saw a seal once....very cool.
Hope you're coming back soon and when you do maybe I'll be able to stay longer!

Allie-oops Designs said...

That looks like fun, and how neat to meet up with other bloggers! I love otters, what fun - he's so cute!