It's (almost) summer!! Wahoo!!

This month has been very summer-y.  We're still low on rain; but we're having high beaches and the summer's usual very low tides.  Makes it such fun to walk the beach.  Always something interesting down there.

Look who's back!!  The Starfish!  Pardon moi!!  Sea Stars is now their official name. We haven't seen them for months. I don't know where they go in the winter here - but we don't see them hanging around on the rocks.  I suspect they either go deeper in the sand; or farther out in the surf. For more information about Sea Stars - go here

Then last weekend we found we'd been invaded by the Blue Sailors again.  Here is a close up of what we found - they are such a bright blue.

And here is the L*o*n*g view.  They were everywhere, they were everywhere! "By the wind sailors" are part of the jellyfish family.  They float about the ocean following currents until a wind or current drives them to the beach.  Here is a link to more information about them. Fascinating!  We love living by the ocean - full of surprises everyday.

Besides taking advantage of the Oregon great Outdoors; I've been quilting like a maniac!  The Brookings Quilt Show is this weekend during our Azalea Festival. Our guild is about 40 strong and we have a quilt show every year!  This year there will be at least 190 quilts in it!!  Yes, we are a busy group!

One of the fun things about moving to a new quilting community is that they haven't seen your work!  So every year I bring out an old favorite for the show.  Now - I've got 5 things in the show and only one of them is more than a year old! So I'm not cheating too much.

Button Basket was made while I was working at the University.  I sat in my favorite window seat during lunch and stitched away on the border!  Very relaxing!

In Art Quilts I've entered the R Family Portrait from last fall.  It was J&L's 10th anniversary.  L wanted a family portrait in counted cross stitch, but I thought that was too small for what she had in mind.  So I made this.  I'm happy to say it was a great success!  Artistic license was running rampant, but I think I recognize them!! Do you?

When I lived in Newport, a friend S and I fell in love with the Crabapple Hill pattern named "Over the River and Through the Woods".  I remarked I wouldn't want to do that much embroidery and S said she wouldn't tackle that much piecing ... so we agreed to do double duty on our favorite parts!  S does awesome embroidery.  P a friend here in Brookings was finishing a blue rendition. Another friend here in Brookings, C long-armed them and they are both in this year's show. I love when an  UFO bites the dust!!

The guild challenge this year was "Nautical".  I was convinced that I didn't have time to enter but I love challenges!  Then while clearing out the sewing space I found an old book of cool nautical designs that I had never taken the time to sew.  (I'm sure none of you have ever been in this position!!) I started this and finished it the same week!!  It's small, but I really do like it!! "Rain or Shine, the Weather's Fine!"

I also finished piecing a Quilt of Valor for this year.  I love this pattern.  Basically a Bento Box, but you can use any size half-square-triangle to start and any size strip for the "logs".  It looks very modern when viewed from afar!  An interesting and kind-of masculine look is my favorite quilt for men.  W, a good friend in Newport, has volunteered to quilt donation quilts for me as her contribution.  Win-win! AND it's done for our show and the annual deadline for donating the quilts. 

It's a free tutorial by Jean MaDan, a fellow Stashbusters quilter.  If you are interested you can find it here.

Thanks for joining me for a "monthly" report!  No promises of being more prolific, but I do feel guilty when I stay away this long!!

Hooray for good friends and time to quilt!

Last week was the third annual "Finishing School".  A small quilting retreat that I organize.  Three years ago, I was trying to organize a guild retreat.  There wasn't much interest in changing anything up! But there were 8 of us who wanted to get together.  In Bandon, there's an awesome quilt store - with - wait for it! a retreat center above it!  Perfection!  Thank you Forget Me Knots!!

And so Finishing School started.  Every year it's full and every year we have a great time! This year, 9 of us went and it was very productive!

My first project was "Over the river and through the woods" by by Crabapple Hill.  A good friend in Newport did the embroidery for both of us and I did the piecing for both.  Unfortunately, we both just did each others!  So both of our projects languished for Y*E*A*R*S!!  So typical!  In middle of this I moved to Brookings, so I would hope we would have finished them faster if we were still neighbors.  But I'm glad to say, my top is done!  With my own little twist, of course!  Made enough blocks to create rows above and below the embroidered panels.  The scariest part of the whole project was cutting the embroideries to the correct size!

Next up was bringing out an "oldie-goldie" Courthouse steps and 54-40 stars.  I thought I would finish it as a couple of baby quilts.  I thought I had lost interest in it.  But when I laid it out on the design wall - it was love again!  I had paper pieced the stars, why, I have no idea!  So I spend a good amount of time removing the papers while being entertained by everyone around the table!  Good place to do it.  New plan - make more blocks!

In between quilting projects I made baby receiving blankies.  The cutting room was perfectly set up to trim and pin.  I made eight!!  Four of which went to my DDs house this week.  Her friends are having babies at an alarming rate!  LOL! And she made me promise to make these comfy square little quilts.  They are easy care, and great for tummy-time, swaddling and protecting against those really big burps!  I wrote up instructions here.

My last quilting project was a baby size I spy.  I was looking thru someone else's magazine and saw this pattern.  Sorry I don't remember which magazine.  I jotted down the measurements ... and was worried about sashing that was just cut 1 1/2".  But it came out wonderfully!  This will probably go to the next community baby shower.  But it's going to be a "go to" pattern for me!  Sorry, just noticed the picture was of blocks.  I'll post another one when it's quilted! Promise!

And here we are - the Finishing School Graduates!  Thanks ladies for such fun!  We've got next year already booked!  Can't wait.

Finishing School 2015 - Bandon Oregon

Yikes!! It's been over a month!

Sorry! Time is speeding by this year and especially this fall. I'm sorry to say that I dropped my camera after taking the picture of the fabric postcard group. Bummer - so it had to go to the 'doctor' this month. Luckily for me, it was just a lens mounting bracket that needed replacement ... of course, it was on backorder. But it's back now.

Last week I was traveling for 5 days. Went up to Portland to pick up the camera lens; take back the new glasses that make me dizzy and see the kids. It had been three weeks! I got to Portland Nov 1st so was able to hear all about trick and treating.




We listened in when Miss P told Beachpapa about Halloween:
BPapa: "How was Halloween?"
Miss P: in very soft voice, "I was saared." [scared]
BPapa: "What?"
Miss P: in slightly louder voice, "I was saared."
BPapa: "what?"
Miss P: in very loud voice, "All right, I freaked out!"

At the 8th house they went to - 5:30 in afternoon, man answered the door in a very scary mask! Miss P screamed and ran with Mr M - the elephant - trying to run too.

He took off the mask and offered her 10 candy bars if she would come back. NOPE! She went home and enjoyed opening the door for their T&T-ers. But she's already planning what she will be next year! So I don't think anyone was permanently saared!!

Wednesday I headed for Newport and a visit with S - a quilting friend. We'd seen the Crabapple Hill pattern "Over the river and thru the woods" and loved it. S does marvelous hand embroidery but didn't want to do the piecing. So-o she did the embroidery for both quilts and I am doing the piecing for both. We didn't stick with the original browns and blacks - S has fresh red and green and I went with scrappy.[no surprise here!] I had done this type of exchange years ago and didn't realize that getting both parts done at the same time was so special! Thanks C for your wonderful applique!




I had S's blocks done and she had just my embroidery done ... so nothing to put together yet!! But I'm working on my blocks and hope to get the top together yet this year. I'll keep you posted!

That's all the news today - I'll save some so I can report in on the weekend and get back on schedule!