It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... The lists are getting longer!

We had a visitor on the rail this week.  And, NO! We do NOT feed the gulls!  But it wasn't convinced of that.  I was baking and there it landed - when I went to the sink to wash dishes - it walked around the corner of the deck so it could see me!  It took 3 days to convince it we had a 'don't feed the birds' policy!  I love it when they open their beak and let it wail while it's looking right at you!  "Yes, I'm talking to YOU!"

There are many 'challenges' to living in a small space.  Granted I'm not talking Tiny Houses here.  They lost me when a person living in one said, "You don't really need a closet ..."  Oh, I think we do!! 

Our apartment isn't huge - it has very usable space - and it does pay to be pretty organized and to know what needs to be closed to public viewing!!  Yes, we're definitely talking sewing room.

A plus - you can get it company-ready quickly - and its fun to decorate for holidays.

As you know, we have a Stas Gallery Wall (available on Amazon) that I love to change out.  

My favorite Christmas Wall Quilts and our "Papa" and "Nana" Stockings that travel with us to 'Christmas'.  Also our 5 grandchildren's stockings. Festive! Right?

I 'lost' my space for the Santa Hat when we moved.  So new spot:  I get a little giggle every time I walk in and see it.  After all, you don't know who will drop in unexpectedly for a snack!  

Did you see that Christmas "Drinking or Cookie" game?  You hang a Santa hat on a upper corner of your big screen TV.  Every time someone on screen is wearing it ... drink or eat a bite of cookie!!  You can do both, you know you want to!!

If you have Netflix - here's the favorite Christmas Movies:  some are new* and some are older but worth another viewing.

Santa Chronicles                *Love Hard (not porn, I promise! Charming)

HoliDate                            *The Noel Diary

The Holiday Calendar        *A Storm for Christmas (mini series)

                     

I miss Prairie Schooler stitching designs.  I was absolutely hooked on the yearly Santa patterns.  I changed this 'poinsettia' Santa to Sunflowers.  It was the year of the Sunflowers, showing up everywhere in any media!!

Snowman box doubles as a winter storage box.  I store all the fabric decorations in the house.  Our humidity is so high even storage boxes in the garage get saturated.  Mold - not festive!!

I put off making Lobster fisherman Santa.  Living in the Midwest - just didn't know about yellow fisherman coats!  I do now!!

I love Santa riding the reindeer!  The little sleigh was ugly, it got 'lost' in the move?!  This is much cuter!

This hanging Santa was gift from a friend.  She thought I'd like it and by golly, she learned how to make one!  She had a saw and she learned how to use it!!  I love getting it out every year!  Since we've moved to the coast (13 years???) we haven't had a Christmas Tree!  I never thought I would ever say that - but you learn to tuck your favorites around and it works!  

The lower left corner of the shelves in front of the Gallery Wall:

  That little house wall hanging was made many times.  "All Hearts Come Home for Christmas".  So true!  And the alphabet they used was purposely very primitive.  I actually marked it and sewed it from the back!  Probably good for my brain - had to keep track of the stitches you DIDN'T see - they made the letters!

This week has been filled with baking cookies and making 'candy'.  And we've been having trouble with taste-testing.  It's no longer taste-testing after the first cookie!  We're honestly not sure if we are sleeping better or in a sugar coma!!

Wishing you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Talk again soon!

Christmas Cards - Yay or Nay??

 It's that most wonderful time of the year ...  snow might be falling and the To-Do list is building up higher and higher!  AND it's 2 weeks to Christmas!!  Arrrrgh!

Let me admit, I LOVE Christmas cards.  Back in the day ... I sent 50 out every year, and we don't own a small business!  Over the last years, I've been switching correspondents to email greetings.  At first I thought I was cheating, but now it's a bonus!  More verbiage; more photo space; no stamps and cards to buy - what is the disadvantage?

I do miss getting actual mail.  But we live in Brookings OR.  It's a very small town on the edge of the Pacific.  Our mail comes/leaves once a day at 11 am.  That slows everything down to begin with.  Trust me - overnight Amazon used to be 3 days!  You don't want to know what it is now!!!

And have you looked at boxed Christmas cards this year!  Yikes!  12 basic cards are $20!  Yes, I broke down and bought some.  Not a huge selection in our town this year.  But, I'm offering to exchange e-cards next year with people on my list.

Here is my Christmas letter that's going out.

    

                                          Happy Holidays from the Boyds

 

It’s been a busy year, visits for sports and theatre productions.  Busy families and grateful Grandparents enjoying the chaos!! 

 A and family did some camping and road trips!!  This Fall everyone changed schools!  D is in Middle School, K in Elementary.  E is going to a Bilingual Kindergarten where Mom works.  

E’s school started a week later than the boys.  So, she got to come over to Brookings for Camp Nana/Papa.  D called on his new phone - once she figured out who was calling, she ratted us out – “I got a LOT of screen time, but don’t tell Mom.”  Which they immediately did!

 The Portland Gang was busier than usual.  P, (Freshman) played Varsity Tennis and now City Volleyball!  M is still playing baseball, he was Honorary Captain at the end of the season.  

But the highlight of 2022 was their Epic trip back to Nebraska and Chicago!  So-o much fun!  They’re still talking about it. Thanks to all for the great time!  L works from home for the Tennis Program, with their 3 dogs supervising.  J just switched jobs to work with At-Risk High School students just down the hill from their home.  He loves the job AND not missing the kids’ games, practices and events.

 R and I enjoy overlooking the Port and keeping track of all the hullabaloo going on down there.  Golfing and Quilting are still our favorite hobbies.  R  makes a mean Martini - Lemon Drop and Manhattan weekly!  We’re celebrating our 50^th Wedding Anniversary this year!!  Holy Cow – that went fast!!  We hope the weather cooperates so we can gather the gang and celebrate in Portland after Christmas. 

 Wishing You the Best in 2023

More on Christmas and Big Anniversaries later.  Ho, Ho, Ho! until next time!

Thanksgiving and keeping track of what we are doing, making, remembering!

 All in all, we probably don't Give Thanks often enough.  That's where a Gratitude Journal comes in handy.  I don't have an official journal, but this should do!!

The first journaling I did was a Quilt Journal of all the projects I made.  I started quilting in 1974 So - there's a lot!  The projects I made multiple times were shown once or in a pile!  I've made hundreds of Christmas stockings!!  Always a favorite!

I started my quilt journal because I thought I was losing my mind (not completely wrong!) and I wanted to remember the stories of my quilts when I was in the Rest Home!  I love looking at it.  Updating it when quilts are 'released into the wild!'  I highly recommend keeping one.  So easy nowadays, on the computer (in Word) - Voila!! A copy for anyone who wants one!

I don't like any of the commercial Quilt Diaries.  They get too specific in my view.  I'm a scrappy quilter - don't know the 'designers' names'.  I try to take a picture; year it was made, measure it and then write about why it was made, if someone said something about it ... things in my life. 

Best Buds

2012
22 x 18

 I started with a photograph of Miss P and Mr M, 2 of my (5) grandchildren. LuAnn put it in Photoshop, she reduced it to lines and printed it on cotton fabric. During our class we colored the picture with fabric crayons, fabric markers and then painted fabric medium on it and picked border fabric. I have to admit, it was a year before I was brave enough to machine quilt it. I'm pleased with how it came out. Now for the next 3 grandchildren!!

Then I've started making email letters for family birthdays.  I love looking thru all the photos and reading old Blog posts.  It's so easy to take it for granted.

It all started when our DS, A turned 40.  40 memories (in no particular order).  They are not easy, but once you get started you end up with more than '40' memories.

12. On Folsom street you played "bye-bye" with Grandpa McGrew by climbing into the living room bookcase; waving bye-bye to him and shutting the sliding panel on yourself!!

Then to my DH for our 36th anniversary!  Remember to make it "G Rated" other family members will see it!

16.  Husker games, I have to admit, I'm a fair-weather fan, seriously!  Did you know I bribed the kids to go to the games in bad weather???  Oops, I thought you knew! Never mind!

Then my DD, L.  They all got a numbered list of my memories - it made for some "That's not how it happened!"  And "How did you know about that?" conversations

Some kids are 4-legged

Then, during COVID it was so hard to stay 'connected with our GKs'.  Email was our friend.  I started taking close-up pictures and sending them to the GKs to guess what it was.  They even sent some back!  I posted them on this blog and quite a few followers and friends played along.  But it did go longer than expected ... both COVID and the game.  After weeks and weeks, P turned to her mom complaining, "Nana sent me a picture of the dining room chair!"  Yes, but it was artistic!!

 

For guessing                  PS Always take solution picture at same time!

Even on a Mom's Day long ago, I gave my daughter a card for me!  Told her I wanted to hear from the kids 'why I quilted'!  The kids were a little young to write it themselves, so their mom 'took dictation'.  I'll never forget DGS, M's response:  "Who knows why Nana does anything!!"

Then I made Mom's Day and Dad's Day e-letters to send.

Other duties as assigned!

P and I have been active in the Quilting Sweatshop lately.  I put together the Monkey Business quilt top and handed it in for the Hospice.  When asked whether I wanted to bind it, I said I would so I could get a picture of it finished for my Quilt Journal.  SO now, I've been volunteered to show it and encourage quilters to keep track somehow!  (As my Mom always said, "No good deed goes unpunished!")

I had my QJ all up to date when I was "Honorary Guild Member" at the show in 2018.  Sadly, I haven't kept up, so this will be a good excuse to bring it up to date again.  How? You wonder:

Well, I'm a list - maker.  So each year in a designated notebook I write down all my finished projects and the size.  I always (I hope) take a picture of the project, with the recipient if possible.  Then when I have time (oh, sure!) I start the description page with what I remember.  Sometimes it's long, sometimes, short.  But it usually grows as I think on it.  Wish me luck!  AND if you don't have a journal in your life ... it's time to save those memories!!

We're BACK!

 But first I must show you the article I saw:

To be honest, it went on to give some really weird Jello salads to make.  None sounded good to me - but my cranberry salad is WAY BETTER than canned cranberries.  Just saying!

I was at the Bandon Quilt Retreat and had a blast!  With the Bayshore Babes anything is possible!!  The food is delicious and most days we had a 'chocolate smorgasbord' of assorted chocolates to keep up our energy and spirits!!

J kept bringing delicious snacks over telling me our room wasn't eating enough!  I almost always snuck them back and put them in front of her machine!  On the very first night R, for some reason, put Dawn Liquid dish soap in the dishwasher.  Its a good thing to do if you want to clean the floor at the same time!!  R has a great sense of humor and always helps clean up any mess.  Did you know that Dollar Tree stores have 5 different color mini bottles of Dawn?  It was truly meant to be - the next day when R left (finally) her sewing space we 'dolled' it up with 3 Dawns!  We all laughed about it all week!

P and I were pretty 'nose to the grindstone' when we were there.  Here's the selection of projects I worked on - on my design board.

Now don't get excited about how much I got done!  It was a 5 day retreat; we were cramped in the Subaru we were driving so I packed UFOs - almost all these blocks were already made.

Starting in upper left corner:  

Japanese Boro with fabrics and silk screens from Japan when P & I were there in January 2020.  I've been wanting to design this for years ...  add a triangular border or not?  You'll be the first to know!  

Across the top is a part of a kit that I got in a class at Portland Block Party in 2008(?)  I like the colors but not enough to make a quilt!  But I think it will look fabulous on my green dining room table!  I got the 3 blocks that were made together with the first of many borders.  Unfortunately, I thought the second border needed some pink in it - but didn't have any.  

Stripe Me Lucky is a pattern from Jen Kingwell's Posse - young designers that she sponsors!  I made this quilt last year for D, my grandson, one of the family quilts  to replace quilts that burned in the Almeda Fire while they were in Panama.  P and I loved it so much we cut and made blocks for each of us too!  Still love it and want to make a 70 x 90 couch quilt.

Along the right side:  Bonnie Hunter's Monkey Business.  It looks like a churn dash but isn't.  It's based on a 5 patch (not 9 patch like churn dash)  The corner blocks are twice as big as the middle rows are.  I loved BH's quilt but was not that happy with my fabric choices.  So I made it for our Hospice Charity quilts.  Ta-Da - just need to find a back and turn it in Tuesday to our chairwoman. Done-done.

Across the bottom almost "Annabelle's Quilt" pattern.  I tweaked it quite a bit! Very old UFO too.  I have all the blocks done and was sashing them together. And ran out of the beige-ings sashing.  Now I have bins and bins of "beige-ings" and wasn't going to buy any.  So - cut more sashings and Get 'R Dun!! is on my ToDo list!

The reason I hung them at home was - we left the day after we got home - and I didn't want to let them to be forgotten!!  Because DH whisked me away to Palm Springs for a week!  This year is our 50th wedding anniversary!! And a little get-away was needed after Covid, right?

We started with DD in Portland for 2 days.  Direct flight from there to PS!

We had a great time - especially at Sherman's Deli five out of the six days!!  It's our favorite, what can I say?    For Breakfast I recommend the Greek Omelette.  Lunch:  Pastrami sandwiches is always a must.  I swear there is a pound of meat on that sandwich!  

My second lunch was with my Newport friend who lives in the area now.  I ordered Stuffed Tomato with Chicken Salad.  And there was cups full of fresh fruit around the perimeter of the dish!  Cantaloupe, Musk Melon, Pineapple, Strawberries and Blueberries! Generally, I'm not a melon fan but I am now!!  Other customers even asked me what I ordered!!  It looked as good as it tasted!

After our 'light lunch' we walked around downtown and window shopped.  The Art Museum had some outdoor permanent displays.

  

Palm Springs' 28 foot Marilyn.  We saw a biker gang stopping by for selfies!!  And I was glad I did my toe nails before the trip - even the statues have painted toe nails!

Of course we did eat at other places too!  PF Chang's; a PD Mexican Restaurant and Castillo's.  Chang's is always good, the Mexican restaurant was so busy and loud - it was impossible to have a conversation.  And I have to admit, our food wasn't very good or hot!  

Oh, but, Castillo's was fabulous!  And old Italian restaurant with pictures of famous guests on the wall.  Just in our little corner we spotted Bob Hope, Florence Henderson, and a very young Joe Biden!  There was a piano bar that we could faintly hear.  They make their own Limoncello!  The food was out of this world!  We love Italian and on special occasions we almost always celebrate with Italian food.  Castillo's was a Top 10 restaurant and meal!!  And we've been doing this over 50 years!!!  I had Lobster Ravioli (oh my!)  and DH had Chilean Sea Bass with a side dish of very delicious grilled veggies.  

Our time was very low key - most afternoons were laying by the pool and reading.  I finished 4 books!!  It was marvelous!  And if you ever have a chance to fly into Palm Springs Airport - its a gem! Most of it is outdoors with Palm Trees welcoming you.

A sunset from our balcony in Palm Desert.

We are back home now - just in time to start a 7 day storm!  Sigh, but still good to be home!

It's Fall!

 I was at the grocery store a few days ago, walked around the corner in produce and  Lo, and Behold --- there were fresh cranberries!!!  Seems early but maybe I don't usually start looking until November.

I know there is canned cranberries and I like them,  BUT there's nothing like fresh cranberry chutney!  Add apples and oranges - delish!

Here's how a Nebraska Girl makes cranberry salad -  don't judge me until you try it!!

                                 

Mom's Cranberry Salad

1 small bag of cranberries.  Washed and picked thru - dispose of the mushy ones! 

When washing I put handle a dozen at a time, put the washed fruit into a small mixing bowl with pouring spout.  Ready for the Cuisinart - pour any excess water out before adding berries to Cuisinart.  Cupping my hands around the mixing bowl helps cranberries to funnel into the Cuisinart.

2 apples.  Washed and sectioned (to drop into Cuisinart) Put each fruit into a large mixing bowl after food processor. If you want bigger pieces, pour in little batches and use Pulse button. Stop when they are the right size.

                          

2 oranges.  I peel them and cut them up manually - they tend to 'juice' when put thru the Cuisinart.

                       

1/4 of one orange rind.  Put thru the Cuisinart

After all the fruit is ready in large mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup of sugar, blend, cover and set in fridge for about 1 hour.

Now here comes the "midwestern" part.  Prepare a family box of Raspberry or Cranberry Jello with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.  Stir well.  Pour into glass casserole dish.   Cool by adding 3 ice cubes.  (fish out the unmelted cubes)

Add in chutney, blend together gently and add 1/4 bag of mini-marshmallows!! Let jell for a few hours.

I know it sounds over sweet and not wonderful - but it isn't!!  We eat small portions and I keep making it until I can't find fresh cranberries.

I was all ready to brag about being in the 'Western Cranberry State" and then I looked at my Ocean Spray cranberry bag and it said "Washington"  I wanted to say the cranberries came from Bandon Oregon - just up the road for us. But apparently not!  Well, Washington State is just a little farther up the road!

Hmm, Hmm, Good!!

Headed to the Bayshore retreat this weekend.  I'm so mentally ready to get away with like-minded friends.  Physically, still sorting thru projects to take!  

Have a good fall, try fresh cranberries!  I'll be back!

A friend came to visit last week ... no time to post

 C is one of those friends where there is no awkward silences, we simply start where we left off.  And she is my favorite project consultant, we reviewed many projects and mapped out the way to continue.  There is hope for my (I want to change the pattern) Wool around the Garden languishing project.  Now to get to it!

 

We immediately took down the September 'gallery' and put up the Halloween display.  I found out I have two fall quilts that have the same plaid border ... guess they've never been hung this close together before.  Oh well!  One will come down after Halloween, the other will stay up for Thanksgiving.

We laughed and giggled, attended a "Woolies" meeting (group giggling!), watched TV while we sewed, gathered rocks on the beach, Stacked them, walked thru the Redwood groves, and ate fairly healthy if you don't count the ice cream breaks! (We never count those!)

The weather started out so well, an 80 degree day for our beach walk, 70s for the Woolies meeting.  Then Fall Fog rolled in and, well, we got a lot of consulting done!  Can't complain about that.

Here's 'my' stack of rocks and my surprise 'sewing is cheaper than therapy ... I think' present.  Both sitting in front of my sampler corner!

A married couple that I know is moving out of our area.  They know I quilt (everyone who knows me knows that!!) and asked me to help re-home some antique table linens and 50s quilts.  C and I consulted on those.  I'm happy to report that Latimer Textile Museum will except any donated textiles.  If they don't incorporate the items into their archives, they share with their members or sell / auction them off keeping the proceeds for the museum.  Sounds like a win/win!  I see some Newport quilters next week and hope to hand these off to be taken to Tillamook.  

Our new Guild year has started.  P and I are in charge of the BOM program and we decided we're doing 9patches - all the different figurations of 9 patch.  September - the year's 1st meeting - we showed a traditional 9patch made with fabric squares.  Easy peasey!  In October we're presenting Double 9patch using strip sets.  

So many guild members have 'written off' 9p because it's so elementary.  We hope to show interesting possibilities.  A 'new' member posted her 'first 9p' on IG.  She pieced fabrics to construct the dark squares - EXACTLY what we hoped for!!  Someone trying something new and making it their own!  Happy Dances all around!

The new President introduced a new EPP project exchange.  Halloween fabric coffins!  A Dresden Plate pattern with the points cut off.  AND she commissioned a local shop with a 3D printer to make us a 2 piece template.  And it is GREAT!  Taken apart you have a window template to line up your motifs for cutting (the green cats) 

Warning:  It is addictive!  C cut out the card stock papers and then started gluing the fabric onto it with my new Glue Pen!  We were a team!  I cut out 10 piece sets out of 6 fabrics now bagged and ready to exchange!  It's going to be cute!!

                        

The Whimsical Griffin, he made the template, is willing to sell it to anyone wanting one from his Etsy shop.  Here's the link.  Whimsical Griffin   He's charging the same he charged us to walk in and buy it.  He thinks postage will be $3.  

I'll keep you informed of our progress.  We hand in sets this month, but don't get the exchanged shapes back until next month.

THREE! I'm going for a new "Month's record"

 If you know me, you know I love to read.  Every day, my favorite time is to read an hour (or more) before bed and you can go thru a LOT of books - even more if they are so good you must read past bed time!!

AND I keep track of what I read!  Since 1985!! On an excel sheet!  Before you click me off because I'm crazy - I started keeping track because I rate them 1 - 5 and every year I look back at my 5* books and see if their author has written more. Don't worry - I'm a library girl.  Thank goodness!  I love our Brookings library.  They are the best!

Of course, now-a-days all you have to do is Google an author and you will get notices of all their books and anyone else they consider is like them!  Back then, not so much.  

Favorite books lately:

• Anything by Brad Parks   Interference; The Girl Next Door
• The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel
• The Mother In Law by Sally Hepworth
• French Braid by Anne Tyler

You can always look back on this blog to the January entries.  I usually have 2 year's summaries and always include the best books that year.

If it's not too foggy - salmon season is full speed ahead.  Every day there is 20 -30 little boats at a time in the mouth of the harbor getting those salmon headed up stream.  There have even been some tuna (mixed up apparently) caught.  It's very exciting when our commercial boats are headed out.  Horns - get out of our way!!  You talking to me???  People who fish in little boats are crazy!

Here is the September gallery hanging in our living room.  And yes, I did clean the top of the bins to get to avoid a junky picture!  C, a good friend from the MidWest is coming this week.  She'll recognize all of these wall quilts.  She's the one that made me add "DS" to the schoolhouse.  We laughed and laughed at the smoke rings behind the school.

And C started the invasion of the Sunflower Quilts in Lincoln NE. Every quilter that saw her quilt, made one!  G made the same design in reds for a poinsettia - gorgeous!  I also have a sunflower king size quilt - this wall quilt is a remake of the king-size pillow sham. (It looked like a coffin cover!!!)

We saw this Red Wagon quilt and loved it.  But we both lamented that the applique or the piecing was too hard ... so I did the piecing for both quilts and C did the applique for both of us.  One of my favorites!

                            

So after C sees these, we will put up the Halloween quilts.  In fact, I have a whole list of what we should do!  Visit and walk the beaches is on the top!

More information next time.

We have a new record! Unfortunately it's just 2 weeks in a row.

 But it IS two weeks in a row!!!  Pretty sad!  And I wouldn't be writing now if our plans hadn't fallen thru.  It's the Birthday Weekend! My DGD is 16 years old!!! and my DH is 70 - caught up with me again! (It's a long 5 weeks with bad, bad jokes!)

We were all ready to head up to Portland for a big celebration and then ... my DD failed a test!  Yep, she and DGS have Covid.  They are both fully vaccinated and boosted.  But it still is not a fun thing to have.  Wishing everyone a speedy recovery.

So here we are, a cool misty day on the coast - luckily, on my DH's birthday, there is football to watch!!  I feign an interest, but he sees thru me -  but it gives me time to piddle around and pretend to get things done while at the BD boy's beck and call.

Last night was his birthday dinner - he requested ham and Au gratin potatoes. AND a Marionberry pie.  Grocery store didn't have our favorite ham - Cook's Family Foods (Lincoln NE) at least not in the smaller size we needed.  But I'd already gotten the ice cream ... so I dropped the groceries "so far" off for Rick to put away. And went searching for ham at another store.

I should have know it was going to be that kind of day ... all week we have been swarming with workmen trying to finish the outside paint job they started in April!! Stairs and doors were out of commission.  Men hanging upside down painting the eaves.  AND Rick went into town for a pop, and I could NOT get the Marionberry pie filling jar open.  Looked around and no one to be found!'  I googled it - 6 ways to open a jar.  5 of them did not work.  The 6th one involved a knife wedged under the lid.  I didn't try that - I have a bad record with using knives in an unauthorized way - with stitches to prove it!  So I made my Canned in Water cherry pie for his birthday.  

I explained my sad, sad story when DH got home.  He looked at the jar, 'is this it?' and in a split second, half a turn, it was open.  (I didn't even say I'd loosened it for him!)  Luckily, cherry pie is one of my best pies!!  but now the jar is loosened and I need to buy another Pillsbury pie crust (don't judge) and get it made.  The cherry pie is almost gone! It's a birthday weekend and I'm going to share the recipe!!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Canned Cherry Pie

Make pie crust (I use Pillsbury refrigerated crust!)

•  ¾ c sugar                                            
• 3 T flour
• 2 cans drained canned cherries in water (4 cups)
• 2 T butter

 Preheat oven to 450. Combine sugar & flour in a small bowl and stir well.  Add drained cherries and toss.  Pile cherries into dough-lined pie pan.  Dot with butter.  Put on top crust.  Bake 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 and continue to bake about 45 minutes more until crust is browned.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

At least 30 years later I'm still making it!  A neighbor in Princeton Jct oh-so-many years ago gave me her recipe.  She made her own dough (!)  But she knew I didn't.  They stopped by one evening to return something and we invited them in for some pie.  Her husband praised my pie and said he was surprised that she gave me her pie crust recipe ... my husband knew enough not to correct him, But, Oh, dear - I think her husband slept on the couch that night!  Don't know when she ever made her homemade crust again!

I'm back in the quilting mood this week.  Yes, my Eversewn still has the pedicure separator holding the cord at the right angle.  We have an appt with the Sewing Machine Dr in Medford in 2 weeks.  They are getting the part and I've got a date to haul it over.  Fingers crossed that they can fix it that day - before I come home.  We have separation anxiety without our machines, right??

Meanwhile, I'm not moving it at all, and wearing my lucky socks when operating it.  I managed to get somethings finished!  I love making progress.  Such as it is!

Sorry, this photo is sideways - the black borders are top and bottom.  This is from the Instagram sew along - #scrapsnap.  It was offered in 2020 but I didn't see it!  I saw it this year and started cutting and sewing the first day I found it.  I love the color block methods - this lay-out combines 2 different color combos for each block. yellow/orange; red/pink; blue/purple and green/teal. It really makes those blocks glow.

Many years ago this Improv Bird was offered as a free block on the web.  And now Jenny Doan tells you how.  Birds with attitude!  Just the legs are improv, you decide if they are standing still or running!  I made my Finishing School quilters make a block or two at our retreat for charity baby quilts.  I've spread the pattern around, and some people don't care for them!!!  I know, hard to believe, right?  I love them.  

I cut fabrics and background and striped legs for one of my 'very' small groups and we all went to town making wall quilts.  I had leftover 'legs' and incorporated it into a border.  It went into time-out for a while - it was wider than it was long and that just looks off-kilter to me.  But I found 3 more birds - put in a new top row. (harder than you think!  It's uneven up there!) And still had enough border to go all the way around.  Hoo Rah!  It's only a top - but it's calling to me!  Once my machine is fixed, I can see me pin basting this and finishing it yet this year!  Oh dear ... don't hold it against me if not!  I'm an incurable pie in the sky kind of girl!!

And here is Peek-a-boo! clipped ready to be bound.  The original pattern is by Missouri Star Quilts.  The squares are 5" and make a twin size quilt.  P made the quilt for a grandkid.  We thought it would look really cute as a small wall hanging.  P cut 2.5" squares but I cut 2" squares.  Last April we made them at the spring retreat.  They looked like 2 brothers and I had the youngest one!!  The 'bling' around the outside is the binding clips. 

 I love these clips - a Christmas present from a quilting friend - they hold the binding in place tightly and if it's clipped overnight, the binding stays in place as you remove the clips one at a time.  No pulling and holding it in odd hand movements (Hello 70!) and arthritis!

Enjoy the Canned Cherry Pie recipe and who knows - I might be back again next weekend!

To Blog or not to Blog -

 A 3 month blogging hiatus??  Why?  Who knows!  We are still under construction - the painters did come back this week and we don't really have that unique light blue and medium old brown combo on the outside of the house.  BUT they still need to finish doors, railings and PLEASE put back the handrails!!  It's really depressing, I know Curry county is often called "No Hurry Curry."  But these guys are stretching that to the max!

I celebrated a BIG birthday in August - SEVENTY! Thanks to P, I had 2 surprise lunch parties!!!  Fellow quilters know what you want!  Always the best presents. Thanks so much for the festivities!!

 I'm don't feel older but seem to catch every cold/virus around.  And for some reason, at 70, it takes longer to recover from said viruses.  Thank God, not COVID - but many days thinking 'if this isn't COVID, I sure don't want it'  And of course, aren't we sick and tired of Covid directing our lives and thoughts?  Bah!

My 'new' Eversewn QE sewing machine has been on the 'PIA' list lately.  Now the foot pedal port is loose.  It took 2 weeks to figure out the problem (one week it was in California to be looked at!)  No machine repair here.  Nearest is 2 hours away.  Meanwhile, I have a 'fix'  cram a folded 'pedicure toe separator' between the cord to the foot pedal and the electric cord!  P is convinced I got a lemon.  Sigh!  I miss my Janome that served me well for over 12 years!!  And the Kenmore before that I got while in HS!!  The quilt projects are stacking up!

Hmm, maybe I quit blogging because of my mood??  I'll try to correct that.

Blessings:

Living in Brookings where the climate is down right 'medium'.  Although, the Port, our neighborhood, was 101 degrees last week.  Yep, hotter than Medford AND Nebraska summer weather!  But, that's highly unusual.  Usually we are 50 something degrees sometime during 24 hours all year round.  Sometimes the high, sometimes the low!

These gulls insisted on posing for me!!

R and I walked the beach at low tide that 101 day.  We're walking close to the water and I kid you not -  hot, hot, one step, cool breeze the rest of the way!!  AND on the way back to the car we crossed that invisible line again - back into the heat!  Things that make you go "Huh?  What?? Why??".

Miss E was here for 6 days!  Everyone else in her family was in school.  She starts kindergarten a week later - different districts.  She did fine, until she heard Dad's voice on the phone!  That day was rough.  But with 2 older brothers, she's a tough little gal.  Not a fan of "NO!"  But who is!!

Brother D, now in middle school and just got his own phone.  D & K called us to talk to E.  She wasn't quite sure what was going on, but when she figured it out, she immediately threw us under the bus!!  "K, don't tell mom, but I got A LOT of screen time!!"  K immediately told mom!  Well, I admit screen time did go up after Nana got the cold.  

Redwoods - our model wanted pictures with all the trees!  40+! 

The call of the sea

Breakfast conversations! Love her crossed legs.

We had loads of fun reading library books over and over again!  Our favorites were "Ducks Don't Wear Socks"  And "Stephanie's Ponytail."

Unfortunately, she came with a cold and generously gave it to me (see 'colds' lament above)  Yikes, we drove her back to Medford and my ears did NOT like going over the mountains at all!  Took me 5 more days to get over it.  BUT not the first time (or probably the last) a beloved Grandchild spread the plague!  No hard feelings!

Meanwhile, there are failed projects and projects waiting to be finished.  Sewing rooms to be cleaned and reorganized ... all in different levels of implementation!  I'll let you know what's going on next time - hopefully before 3 months!

Monthly Round Up!

A Nebraska friend reminded me I've not blogged in awhile.  So I'm going to list all my reasons at the top.

Besides the national and international news.

The Electronics Strike of 2022!  My laptop got the ick!  3 hours on shared network with our computer gal ...

We can't stream!

We're under construction - still.  They start something then walk away for a month!  Leaving us wondering if they will ever come back! PS they start something else in the meantime!

But I'm happy to report our guild's Annual Quilt Show finally happened after the 3 year hiatus we shall blame on COVID.  It was a wonderful show over Memorial Day Weekend - part of the Azalea Festival here.

The hardest part was picking what we'd put in the show and what we'd put in the 'Country Store' to clear out!

A wedding quilt was sent to Nebraska for a Memorial Day Wedding!  Whew!

My Great Nephew got married and My Sister asked me to make him and his wife a quilt.  Okay, what colors?  Grey  What for an accent?  Dark Grey, and oh, it has to have cows on it!!!  Thank Goodness she likes "turquoise" too. (Whatever turquoise is these days!!)  I got 'r dun and mailed off to get to Nebraska before the big day.  It was a hit with the happy couple!  Smiles all around (relief)!

Here's what I entered in the Quilt show:

Wild Thing - you make my heart sing  This was my 100 day challenge in 2020.  We were so busy making masks that I decided 1 hour a day I could work on something I'd put off for years - X-plus traditional blocks.  I turned it into a circus by using my wild and kid fabrics.  I like it - but seriously, it needs to be calmed down a little!

My quilt is the one on the left - yellowish orange.  It was entered in the Antique Quilt category.  They make up a whole display with antique sewing supplies.  And this year 3 of the 5 quilts were hexies!!

Years before we moved from Nebraska, I found a Hexie top at a neighborhood garage sale.  The gal 'knew' me by reputation, being a quilter.  I told her she was pricing it too cheap, and she ended up practically giving it away, knowing I'd finish it.  A quilting friend announced an opening in their hand quilting group at church - I quickly signed it up.  They loved it and called it the Bumble Bee quilt!  I foolishly didn't have them bind it and alas, it languished for a decade!  But Miss P, a great friend here in Brookings bound it for me - that's above and beyond!! And a relief that it is done!!  Thanks again P!

Last summer's Edyta Sitar's Quilt Along:  Summer Village. Three of us joined in.  Easy-Peezy pattern.  You made 1/2 a row each week.  I named it "Cherrywood Lane" after the Hand-dyed Cherrywood fabric I used.  It is one of my favorites.  It was in a large category of some stunning quilts, so no ribbon, but still lovely to see there.

It's a Small World After All - and you're welcome for getting that song in your head again!!  P and I worked on this during the quarantine (we made our own bubble)  My Small World by Jen Kingwell.  We, of course, made it our own.  We left out 4(?) of the arcs and built a little hill town on the left side instead.  It was great fun searching out motifs on our fabrics.  Adding personal details thru out.  And it kept our brains engaged during that siege!  This one won a 3rd place ribbon!

And my challenge entry I can't seem to find a picture of right now!!  Later ... I promise.

Foggy here today, but there was a surprise!  A L*A*R*G*E ship showed up at the harbor.  Of course, our harbor can't handle a ship that size, but apparently someone needed to come in.  A boat went out to get them, the Ship hung around in the fog and now a boat took that same person(?) back out - it blew it's horn and off it went!

Must learn to edit pictures more!!  

To the left of first tall tree?

On the horizon - now we're at least a mile away and the ship is probably a couple miles out to sea.  Hard to tell - nautical miles have no markers!

I'll check around, but it might be I'll never know more than that!  I was darn lucky to see the shape thru the fog - it was other-worldly!!  I'm off to see if I can get a better shot down in the port!!  I'll let you know!

UPDATE:  It was the dredger ready to dredge our harbor.  I'd seen it before from the Rainbow Rock condo balcony, but never so close!  It was huge and I expected a lot of sound and smell from the dredging ... Nada!  A happy surprise!