Missing Fabric

I just posted an ad on missingfabric.com - but then I thought - hey, alot of you have the same taste in fabrics as I do ... maybe you've seen this somewhere - maybe even in your stash!!!



I'm looking for 1 yard of Judie Rothermel for Marcus Bros shirting. She put out a collection a few(?) years back and the one I'm craving is the 'house key' fabric.

If you've seen this fabric lately - let me know! ASAP!!! Thanks!

Fall at the coast!

Well, the weather has been almost perfect since Labor Day! September and October are the best months here. We actually had our 'high temp' of the year last week - it was 75!!! Amazing. So-o there's been alot of walking on the beach and toodling around in the car with the windows down.

I completed the second row of A&J2's wedding quilt and decided the first row was simply not enough contrast - so I'm ripping that row out. It's not too bad - I take it to stitchery group and they entertain me while I do it. AND then I'll have the darks for 2 rows cut and ready to resew. Just have to add the lights. At least that's what I keep telling myself!

TIP: If your frog-stitching [rip-it, rip-it] and hate to get the snips of thread all over you and everyone around you ... take a small piece of batting with you to put the threads on. They 'wipe off' your fingers and seam ripper really easy and they STAY IN PLACE! When you're done, you can either scrape/pick-off the threads into the garbage or throw the whole piece of batting away and use a new piece next time.

Last weekend the ocean was BIG! We're still trying to figure out why sometimes the ocean is like a lake with little rippling waves and then next it's booming waves and it seems to take up the whole window! It seems to be a 1/2 moon during 'bigger' ocean days - but still working on that theory.

After big waves there can be alot of rocks and agates on the beach or none - if the ocean was 'scrubbing' it clean. Saturday, I was taking a break when the sun was actually out for an hour. I was walking the beach -scanning for rocks- but the beach is pretty clean, talking to G in Nebraska. I'd forgotten my litter bag so I was holding the phone with one hand and 2 plastic bottles and a paper label litter in the other hand. Happened to look and down and saw an agate the size of a 1/2 peach!!! Needless to say, in my excitement I dropped everyting - including the phone! Sorry, G! After washing off the agate, holding it up to the sun to admire it, and stowing it in my pocket. I picked everything back up and called G back and continued on my way!! There were also seals swimming in the surf - they are all congregating in the harbor these days. If the wind is right, we can hear them barking out by our garage - it's about 5 miles to the harbor!

Yesterday afternoon I sat at the dining room table doing paperwork and the whales were out in front of my windows in force. So much fun to watch the spouts and anticipate where they are coming up next! To me it's like God saying, "Hi! I'm here!" We've been here 16 months and I'm still amazed every week by the beauty that surrounds us.

The back to school alphabet exchange was a big hit. I filled two alphabets within 3 days of presenting it at the meeting.

Last night I got the first call. "Hello, I'm done with my alphabet blocks but I didn't notice that we were window-paning the fusible."

Really, you didn't notice 20 'x's hollowed out and fused to 1/2 yard of fabric as the example on the table? You didn't notice the letters I showed you, pointing out the method to do the letter you chose? You didn't hear me [seriously, I'm a megaphone] telling how to do it at least 50 times during the meeting. You didn't hear me mention it when I told about the project in front of the group? You didn't notice paragraph 4, 5 and 6 on the first page of the 7 page handout. Or the illustrations on page 1 and page 2 showing you the method? You didn't notice ALL my contact information and telling you to call me if you had any questions??? In your case, you didn't even notice when I presented the idea to the board???

Well! I was stunned!!! LOL! And I'm sure she won't be the only one!!!

Happy Birthday Miss P!

Today was the big party - Miss P is THREE - I know I can't believe it either! The party was busy and loud - just perfect for a three year old!!


And little brother came out of his shell and smiled at the camera. Birthday parties are cool! Lots going on!

Other news later!!! Nana's pooped and on bedtime story patrol. We got alot of new books today!!!

What IS it about fabric that's so fascinating???

FINALLY got in gear today and spent the entire day making mountains - okay molehills of 2" strips. Prep work for my son's wedding quilt. He and J2 are getting married next July! Hip hip hooray!! I've been mulling over patterns and picked a log cabin. Both my kids are really hard on quilts ... use them to death and come begging for me to fix them! This one will be sturdy! [I hope!] Log cabin is on my 'Life List' so might as well start one this year.

I saw a cool rainbow log cabin on Maryquilts web site. The woman is seriously talented. She has instructions for many wonderful quilts there - but of course, not this one! How like me! But it's fairly simple I just had to figure out where the colors went. So looked up the rippling waters diagram in "Log Cabin Quilts Unlimited" by Cox & Gordon. Drew it out on graph paper and colored it in with my colored pencils!!

You can get so lost in going thru stash. I started with the 'width of fabric' strips I cut off fabric that didn't 'make the move' here to Oregon. I left tons of fabric. G cut me 5 inch strips off of it for presents after we moved, but when I was back last April, G brought the rest of it over to J's and we stripped it up for whoever wanted it - I mailed a paper box back to Oregon with my portion!

Yes, moving is hard [but I'm almost over it - 15 months later, can you tell???] LOL! - I sold or donated 1/3 of my stash and then I ended up leaving at least 1/3 of what was still there and thank goodness I did! We barely fit everything into the truck AND this condo! After going thru those stacks I had to pull reds, yellows and oranges from my stash and strip them up too. Then went thru a LARGE box of scraps because I can use them for the start of the log cabin blocks. It's going to be very scrappy - kind of like me!!

We have a small condo and DH was worried we'd never get use of our diningroom table back - ever! What a mess! SIX HOURS later - I have six small stacks of colored 2 inch strips. But I thought of quilting friends back in Nebraska all day! Since it was rainy, very windy and grey outside I enjoyed my rainbow inside.

It's so much fun to go thru your stash ... all your favorites are in there - you know!!! AND lots of fabrics you never would have guessed you had! I was cutting strips with the selvedge too - my oldest marked selvedge was 1986(!) but I know some are older - like that VIP Moss Rose that I still have a 'bit' in 3 colors! I have been known to buy my old favorite fabrics at garage sales ... but there's no guarantee that it wasn't the original fabric I bought in 1986!! And today it got picked for a quilt!!!

Tomorrow - I'll make at least one of the 64 log cabin blocks to try it out!!! Don't you love 3 day weekends?

Happy Labor Day, everyone!

Busy FUN week!

This was one of those weeks that is almost too busy! Wednesday started with drawing class and an afternoon of dominos! I'm telling you, retirement isn't for sissies! :>

Thursday was "Projects Anonymous" which is an all day 'work on an UFO' day. P and K run it and we have such fun. They actually make a wonderful pin cushion every month for a door prize! Everyone's happy to give you praise or an opinion as needed!! I worked on more and more plaid bear paws. Even I am getting tired of half-square triangles. This UFO started at a fall retreat back in Nebraska. The pattern was in a "Quilt it for Christmas" magazine. So cute - 9 blocks but I wanted it bigger [of course] ... 16 might be good, but then decided to make it bed size - yep, 25 blocks. Well, if only I had finished it before - because when we moved here we got a new bed - one of those really high king-size sets so now the count is 36!!! If I don't finish it soon it will be big enough to cover the house!!


Friday was quilting day at Bayshore. Again a full day of quilting and conversation.


But Saturday ... what a beautiful day! Corvallis had a "Quilts in the Garden" house tour. They have it every other year and they couldn't have ordered a more perfect day. Seven gardens, each different with gorgeous quilts hanging about everywhere! S, J and I took off from the coast - visited, took alot of pictures and thoroughly enjoyed the day. When we got back to the coast it was foggy, windy and cold - so there wasn't even any guilt over missing the day at home!


We saw beautiful flowers, figs, all sorts of veggies, plums, apples, pears and these peaches. We had to remind ourselves that it wasn't 'u pick'. We were nervous that we wouldn't get to all the houses - after we spent an hour at the first one! So we didn't eat lunch until 4:30 when we were done with the tour.

Sunday - off to Portland to babysit today and tomorrow. I did sneak out to a quilt store this afternoon during nap and bought Jo Morton's latest book "Vintage Journey" and I bought a few fabrics to go with it!

What a great book!!!

Has everyone else read this wonderful book? I've read reviews and thought, okay, I'll get that one someday. Well, today was the day. The library got it from another library for me. I picked it up at 1 pm. I opened it at 3:45 pm and I finished it at 8!!! I was spellbound - I never put it down. Do you know how long it's been since a book gripped me like that??? Forever!!!



So - tell me what you think/thought of it. It's okay - you don't have to love it - we can still be friends!!! Just let me know!

And J? I certainly highly recommend it for the book club!!!

Oops - time flies!!!

It took me longer to get my energy back after that bout with the flu than I expected. We also went up to babysit for FIVE days for the kids - and that took alot out of us! But mainly - I have no excuse! Just bumming around and not blogging about it! Sad, but true.




I'm running a 'Back to School Block Exchange' at our guild - here's my newsletter writeup to attract participants:

Celebrate the return to school with an “I SPY” alphabet block exchange. Each letter is ‘fusible appliquéd’ in fabric that has pictures of something that starts with that letter – think ‘A is for apple.’ Make 26 of one letter, fuse each to a 7” beige background square – no sewing involved! Everyone can finish their complete alphabet how they choose. Hand or machine stitched. And then the fun is just beginning – because you can use them anyway you want to! Any design with a 6 inch square in it will work. Churn Dash; Ohio Star; Square in a Square; Snowball … or just add sashing … the choice is yours.

Hope it encourages people to join up! The board thought I'd have enough participants for TWO alphabets ... we'll see.

It was funny - I knew I had to present the idea to the board ... so I wrote up the 7 handouts, supplies needed, suggested motifs for each letter; and a complete alphabet scaled to the correct size. I made an entire alphabet of fused fabrics; brought stacks of fabrics that were good examples of both the beige backgrounds and the featured fabrics ... made a block and cut out the square of fabric ... I was so nervous about doing the presentation! I was a wreck!

But that's what I thought I needed to have done ... in the same meeting 3 ideas for a challenge project were brought up. They just discussed how it would run - no samples or anything! By the time I got everything set up - I'd made my alphabet - so if they didn't accept it - well, I was well on my way to my own quilt!!! But they accepted it and it starts in 3 weeks!!! Good thing I was totally ready - mostly!

If anyone has any tips for running exchanges ... all suggestions will be welcome.

On a sad note: My birth sister MV died this week. She was the kindest, most down to earth woman I have ever known. Although she'd been sick for many years she was still connected to life. Always interested in what you and your kids and your grandchildren were up to. Loved stories about the everyday stuff, delighted in pictures, never one to complain about her lot in life. She will be missed. Rest in Peace, Dear Heart.