Fun weekend!

DH was golfing this week and a good time was had by all - here and where he was!  He left Wednesday, mainly because card group was at our house!!  It's a small condo and it's just better all around if he goes golfing on any day I'm having quilters or friends over.  Yes, I do have friends that don't quilt ... but not many!  But we all giggle and cackle all day!

We sat and giggled the whole afternoon long.  I got to win one game - first time in a few weeks.  We play "Hand and Foot" what a great excuse to sit around and eat munchies!  And there are a million variations of it - so there's always some confusion as to what the rules are this time!  It was a good time.


A quick trip to the library to get a Janet Evanovich book and take another look at the wall quilts hanging there.  I have several there - the Friends of the Library scouted out our quilt show in May and then called and requested certain quilts!  I sent a few extra to help fill the space when some people backed out.

My 2014 challenge - "Bucket List" and a slice of my little button Christmas tree!

Pine Tree - very appropriate out here! 

Thursday I invited 2 friends over to sew.  I finished some baby receiving blankies that were languishing in the sewing room corner.  Just in time for the announcement of two new babies in the family!!  Then I went on into my log cabin blocks mode.  I love mini log cabin blocks, just two rounds - 4.25" unfinished; 3/4 inch logs ... all from the scraps that are "too little to use and too big to throw away"!  And those are usually favorite fabrics!

I had many blocks at various stages of creation.  But by Sunday - I had finished 98 of them!!  Probably have 50 some blocks still started but not finished.  But they all got put away until next time.  I have a piece of paper with hashmarks in groups of 5 on it to keep count.  At the top it says I need 900 and I have no idea what size that makes!!  Since I'm only at 400 some - I've got time to figure it out!  I do miss my brain.

Friday we sat and giggled all day at "Woolies".  You probably notice a theme in this retired lady's life.  Yep, more giggles and less work, please.  We brought all our goodies bought at the Sisters show and compared "LOOT"!

Saturday, a quilting friend who's birthday was last week came over for a walk on the beach and lunch on the deck.  Then we tried to come up with a "fractured" project for one of our small groups.  I think we found a winner for her, but I'm back at the drawing board for mine. Anyone done one of these??  Ideas, tips???

Sunday was the Quilts in the Garden Tour for Habitat.  Some of my quilts hung in the garden - so 3 of us headed down to the Fort Dick area.  A quilting friend of ours was in charge and she did an awesome job.  The signage was superb!  And the gardens ... well, who knew those awesome gardens were tucked into the redwoods!  Great fun and lunch out too!

My sunflower table runner on display

Oh Glory Bee quilt

All throughout the tour there were all this redwood stumps on the property, of course.  And they are hard and expensive to tear out.  Most people added details all around and designed them into the garden.  They are so-o big - it's amazing when you are standing next to them.

The three of us - by the hollyhocks! That flower remindes me of Nebraska summers!

Ahhh! A summer day to laze about!!

The marathon that is "summer" is resting right now!  Time to sit and relax for ever-so-shortly!!  Ahhh!

July in Oregon - the weather is often overcast.  Heavy fog can be the norm in the morning.  It often doesn't clear until 1-3 in the afternoon.

Every morning is water aerobics in our own city outdoor pool!  Generally, it's awesome, but this morning it was cold water, fog and a cool breeze!  Not my favorite.  But there were 29 of us iron-women in the pool!  And you do feel so much better after you're done!

And believe it or not, my hairdresser told me today that I have one of the best tans she's seen this year!!  - all from water aerobics at 8 in the morning!  Often in the fog!! Seriously, even my thighs are tan and believe-you-me those only come out in the pool!  LOL!  I do tan fairly easily - but generally lose it just as fast.

Gosh - remember the days we laid out at the pool, the lake, just in the backyard, slathered with baby oil trying to get the tan of our dreams???  Let's hear it for Vitamin D!!

My sewing room is cleaned up for the first time in a long time.  A large computer armoire moved out of that room in June.  In theory it was supposed to give me more space.  In practice, that little beauty held a LOT of stuff that I now needed to find room for.  That was what made us think of having a garage sale! There was no room for anything - every flat surface was stacked!

My DH asked "where in the world" does all the stuff that's on the bed in there come from??  Well, from the chair and the ironing board, generally.  Then it all gets moved to the bed when I'm working; and back to clear the bed for my dearest insomniac's 2nd choice for nightly sleeping!! There's a lot of rearranging in my day!

AND I decided that our little garage sale would be a great time to un-muffin-top all the stash drawers!! Honestly, if you need a shoe horn to get yet another piece of fabric into the drawer - you may have too much fabric!!  Don't be one fat quarter away from being on the Hoarder's show!!

I piled the extra scraps :-) and the rejects from the drawers into gallon zip-lock bags.  I finally used my food scale!!!  Did you know that they think a pound of fabric is 4 yards!!! I sold them for $2.50!  I know that sounds cheap - but we were pricing so things would G*O!  I had over a dozen for sale!  Last five went to my fellow garage-seller for $1.00 a bag.  But I knew they were going to a good home!

Most of the garage stuff went and stayed gone!  That was a giant pile in the way in the sewing room!  We had a successful garage sale - people in and out all day long.  Only a pick-up full to go to the charity store!  We didn't make as much as we'd dreamed - when do we ever??  AND we all decided - that is the L*A*S*T one; surely we'll remember how much work they are!!  Yea, we'll see.

Then the last of the work on the quilts to be hung at the Newport Quilt Show the first weekend in August - finished!  They get delivered tomorrow; sleeved and labeled!  AND that tall kitchen bag of trimmings that will be used for pet beds goes with them!

The American Girl doll clothes were finished and some sold to online friends.  Others given to friends with AGD loving family members.  Several are going to Miss P this month for her AGD - apparently a lot of stuffed animals are also sporting Nana's doll clothes! As long as they get played with ... it's worth it.

I straightened the sewing room, surprised DH! Nothing on the bed or the chair!!  And not many piles on the floor!!!  And believe it or not, I'm not sewing today!!  Amazing - I hardly ever take a day off!  But today's the day - guess I'll laze out on the deck with a book!!

Hope your summer is going well too!!

Oh dear - time flies!! Here's what keeps me busy this summer!!

Happy 4th Of July!!

It seems this summer is especially busy!  I keep putting off projects until 'next week' when it will surely slow down.  It doesn't!!  After my last post - yikes! almost a month ago!! [Bad blogger! No biscuit!]

After the Memorial Day Weekend Quilt show but before my Portland trip we decided the kids could come home with me for a visit.  School was getting out on the day I arrived!  All you Nanas out there know how much prep-work is needed to have small guests - especially if they sleep in the sewing room!

Major cleaning of that area.
Special activities lined up, movies ordered!
Special grocery shopping
Other duties as thought of!!

I was able to see "Once" the Tony-winning musical of last year with my DD.  We were up in the rafters but as always a great time.  While we were all together, we had to go get Menchies - it's close enough that we can walk from their house.  Good thing I don't live up there!!  I meant Portland, but I'm really thinking - good thing I don't live that close to Menchies!!  Or I'd live THERE for sure!  They already recognize me!!

                 

I drove the kids back from Portland all by myself!!  DH and I usually 'tag-team' the grands.  But Miss P is 7 and Mr M is 5 so it's pretty easy these days.  A 6 hour drive (without stops) turns into a much longer drive, but it went extremely well.

Here are the stops I recommend between Portland and Brookings!!

Gas and snacks, of course!!

Elkton - Butterfly Pavilion.  It's free.  A greenhouse that they hatch butterflys.  We didn't see any but we saw the caterpillers; the eggs; the larva and the flowers!  They were very kid-friendly and we sat at the picnic tables and ate popcorn and apples for a snack!

North Bend - Visitor's Center playground. This is the old fashioned playgrounds that we grew up with. Swings, merry-go-round and a fairly high slide!  Sand based so we had to dump shoes out before getting back into the car - and I managed to leave one of  Mr M's BRAND-NEW shoes in the parking lot!!  Oh dear!  I did keep track of two kids, and 3 of 4 shoes!!  A few phone calls from Brookings and leaving my contact info ... I'm happy to say that we were able to collect it on our way back to Portland - and we had a spare pair for him to wear!!  It was so funny getting the call from the desk.  "Oh, you found my shoe!"  "Well, I don't know if it's yours!"  How many kid size 12 black shoes with bright green stripes and a marbled sole do they find???"  Just to be safe, I carried in the mate to claim it!!

Port Orford - Prehistoric Gardens This is a campy little 50s style park.  Statues of dinosaurs built to scale from skeletons.  Miss P had been there before and I was a little worried that she would be bored.  Didn't happen!  They had a ball.  The park really knows how to engage kids.

First while standing at the window you get a peanut to feet the jays; squirrels, and chipmunks who are happy to see you!!  Then they give the kids a map to follow.  With pictures of the dinosaurs.  Then there's the footprint signs pointing the way!  They went thru it twice at top speed!! Both having a really good time!

Then home - a simple 8 and 1/2 hours later!!  Followed by a fun-filled few days before we headed back up the hwy to meet their Dad at the Newport Aquarium.  What fun we had - those two are whirling dervishes - and they slept 11 hours every night!!  Thank goodness!!   Thanks for the good time, kiddos!!

I volunteered to have cards this month - cuz it was going to be such a slo-o-ow month, don'cha know!  Then 3 of us quilters decided to have a garage sale together - how hard could it be???  Yep, I'd forgotten how hard!

Then Habitat for Humanity is raising money with a Quilts in the Garden tour.  A friend of mine is the chair and of course, I volunteered some quilts, and a raffle quilt!  Just turned them in today - still smoking from being bound, of course! This is the raffle quilt I made.  Turned out so cute.  It's an old pattern by Pieces from My Heart.  I usually make it with antique button flowers ... but found those large bright flower buttons at JoAnns [on sale too!] and had to step up my colors to keep up!  I hope it does well at the auction - all the extras for sale are gone - in a flash!  Darn cute and too cheap is that lesson!

Then the library called,  Friends of the Library is having a display of wall quilts in the meeting room.  She had a list of my quilts, which she saw in the show that she wanted!  She mentioned some people had said no - so I sent 7 quilts total, for fill-ins if needed.  I'll just pick up anything you don't use - they're all hanging!  And they Look G*O*O*D!

Last weekend went over to Medford to babysit for A&J2 for a night out and to see the Medford Quilt show.  And I'm sticking to that order of importance too!

Those boys - D is 3 and K is 1- are so busy; it's impossible to get them to sit still for pictures!  But a Nana has to do what a Nana has to do!  This was the best of a series of 20!!  Had great fun Sunday morning in Lithia Park while it was still cool.  Thanks for the good time, kiddos!

Here was my favorite quilt in the show - houses!!  I know nobody is shocked!!

                       

Saturday is the garage sale ... I'll have to post pictures of what I'm selling later - alot more work to do!!

So "Happy Independence Day!"  Who else always watches that movie every year??  It's always good!