And a sigh a relief is heard throughout the land ...

 

Things are looking UP!

We can all use some fun with Bernie!  They should give him the Peace Prize for cheering us all up.

Seems like the more we know about the Congress break in, the more damning it is.  Thank goodness, we have Biden in office and he has a plan to get us back on the right track.  Enough said.  I don't do politics.

This lovely Great-Niece of mine is at peace.  After fighting Cancer with all she had for over 2 years, she's no longer in pain.  We'll miss you, N.  But you will always be in our hearts, encouraging us to go the extra mile.  God Bless and RIP.

Taking the day to just let the memories come and go.  I would love to be there with family, but COVID is just too rampant yet.  One more milestone we will have to process later.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start! In a calm way, please

 

Happy New Year – though I did hear ‘Mrs Maisel’ say that she’s just calling February 1 the start of the new year.  Let January shake off it’s ‘2020 vibe’.  

It's a New Year from sunrise on Rainbow Rock

2020 did give us lots of time … to waste, to discover, to read and even to spend HOURS on your computer devise.  I will never tell how many Wheel of Fortune games I played!!  Although I do have to point out, it’s one of the few games there are no ads every move!  Just saying!

I read 83 books this year!  The last two years my count was in the 40s.  And a LOT of them were excellent!  Here’s the ones I recommend.

A Small Town by Thomas Perry  I love his Jayne Whitefield series: a one woman Native American witness protection force.  Always excited to find a new book.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn  Artsy woman trying to make a living and find a man ... good old romance for a bewildering year.

Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg  Not your typical book club group!

Virgin River by Robyn Carr  Beware there are over a dozen books in this series, you’re going to have to pace yourself!  And then there is the series on Netflix!  Oh, yeah!

Jane Harper’s series based in Australia   The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man.  Excellent series and The Lost Man took my breath away!  I hear there is a new book out soon.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett  She is usually a great read but she’s outdone herself in this one!  The cover is delicious and the story is even better.

American by Day by Derek Miller  Book 2 of a series from a Norwegian author.  The first book was Norwegian by Night.  I think I read it, but didn't log it.  I love a good strong woman character and this has her.

The Dressmakers Gift by Fiona Valpy  Generational tale centered on WWII

Year One by Nora Roberts  Set in an alternate reality, proving Nora Roberts isn't just a romance writer.

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian  This was really good, kept me guessing until the end.  And the series on HBOmax is good even if the story is tweaked a little.  As usual, book first is the way to go.

The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg  Who doesn’t want to run away from home?  Yes, I’m talking to you grown-ups!

The Lola Quartet by Emily St John Mandel

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins  Excellent prequel to Hunger Games.  Learn how Snow got to be Snow.  I listened to the audio book from our online library and the narrator was awesome.  Got a lot of quilting done just listen to the book.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Mortimore  This was a real find, different plot.  I loved it, loaned it to my friend, told my daughter to read it and they both loved it!!  SciFi but not really.  Try it!

Beyond the Black Stump by Neville Shute  Written in the ‘40s (!)  another Australia author.  I really love his writing, I went on to read 3 more books in our library.  Definitely a winner.

Well, shall we talk about quilting?

I looked at my list and I was underwhelmed.  But then I remembered I made more than 300 masks!  Well, that explains it!   

 

My favorite projects this year were:

I topped the Road to OK that was a raffle block from Nebraska.  I wanted to win back then but I didn’t, so I made one block to remember it.  It IS a tricky block because the points of the stars are in the center of the block, not the outside.  There was ripping.  The star is made by the 4 corners together.  AND I really just loved the name for it’s own sake:  I wanted to be on the road back to OK (normal), didn’t you.  We still do.

Happy New Year? YES, please!!

 My last post was the middle of November??  Well, that six weeks went by swiftly!!  How can a Christmas that doesn't involve entertaining take so much of your energy??  Who knows - but move on!!

I love to make lists at the end of the year.  How many books I read.  My favorites.  How much quilting got done.  And the never-ending To Do List for the new year.  I have UFOs from 1997 on that list!!  Not many, but still ....

All that will come out in the next post.  Tricky, not promising a date ...

A picture is worth a thousand words so here is a selection of our skies on the Oregon coast.  Most are taken from our deck  ...  Happy New Year!

WOW! This is my 501st blog post!! Amazing

Oregon is ordering "The Pause" starting on Wednesday.  A sneaky way of getting everyone to quarantine for 2 weeks.  And please, let's do that!  We have to get back to our lives! 

We've been laying pretty low most of the time.  I wear a mask in public.  No meetings.  I do have P in my covid pod.  We're together quilting or cleaning up quilting most days.

My sister (almost 80) caught Covid in Nebraska.  She was in the hospital for two weeks, but never on a ventilator.  It was so scary.  I was able to talk to her most days.  Thank God our medical personnel believe in science and use it daily. 

Sis got the plasma from a recovered patient, steroids and the drug.  We kid that people have to stand up when she enters a room - Presidential treatment, don't you know.

Please wear a mask - it isn't going to kill you - and Covid could.

Off the soap box - I teach a Hand Quilting class to artists tomorrow!  Gulp! This month's display is  Annabelle Walkley's one woman quilting exhibit at the Manley Art Center in Brookings.  She's a good friend of mine, and a member of Mod Squad.  At our meeting yesterday, she curated her show for us.  What a font of info!

After finishing a quilt, she soaks and rinses her quilts in cold water - no soap.  And never puts them in the dryer.  Blocks them on the floor to dry.  Hmmm.

Well, tomorrow, I teach up to 7 women hand quilting tips.  The first thing I will say - "our quilting is NOT going to look like Annabelle's!  But we'll work on learning the process."

Working with artistic personalities has so far been like herding cats!  And I'm allergic to cats!!

No contract; I didn't get the class list until I begged for it yesterday to send a reminder.  I furnish the kit so-o we'll all start with the right supplies!  

They wanted a class to 'go with the show'.  Everything about piecing quilts can taught at stores, on the web, etc.  But even books tend to 'cover' quilting with "quilt as desired!"  So - wish me luck!

We're having a King Tide here - seriously, there is NO beach today!!  The promised winter storms have arrived with a vengeance two nights ago.

I was wearing ear plugs (DH was mumbling / whistling in his sleep)  And the wind in the trees woke me up!  It was that strong! We're supposed to get about an inch of rain each day for the next week.  But the storms always give us an interesting ocean to watch.

So - it's been going thru my mind lately, Hello, I'm Doni and I'm a quilter.  I have no wish to 'recover' from it.  Quilting has occupied me for over 40 years now.  DH says 'possessed' is more accurate!  

I honestly don't know where I'd be without it!  It's given me an outlet for creativity and energy.  Kept my mind active - planning the next project, working out the problems and organizing.  And I love to gift them, display them and pet them!  And of course, cuddle under them.

My DS and DDIL are in Panama for 2 years.  Interesting times to be there.  They left everything they couldn't fit into suitcases in a storage unit in Oregon.  It burned down in the Almeda Fire. Luckily I have the important papers.  BUT they lost family photos, the kids' toys and stuffed animals, thousands of Lego blocks, musical instruments, books, videos, kitchen supplies, dishes and at least 28 quilts.

A friend in the area went into the storage unit area and found very few things left but recognizable.  One golden dragon tea cup that was part of a set of dishes my birth brother brought back from Japan for me in the 50's.  DS loved that set.

No Legos were found - they were expecting to have a large multicolored plastic lump but apparently Legos evaporate!

Do families that are not related to quilters have 28 quilts?  Probably not.  I'll have to count how many quilts I have in the small condo we live in.  I'm pretty sure it's more than that!  How many do you have?  Yes, count the wall and holiday quilts!

I'm going to make/finish a quilt for each of them - ready when they come back next summer.  Most of the kids' quilts were panels, we have pictures, but there is no way I can duplicate them now.  It will be a new adventure.  Lord knows I have enough fabric for the undertaking!!

Stay safe!

Quilting Physics - no really!

 I've been quilting for 45 years!!  OMG!  I consider myself an 'advanced beginner'!  I don't take my skill seriously.  I mainly follow the "Squirrel!!" method of learning!

"Squirrel!" is from the Disney movie UP!  The dogs would be seriously training and then ... you guessed it - they saw a squirrel and everything changed!  And all of a sudden, everything on the To Do List was forgotten and off they all went in a totally different direction.  Sound familiar??  It's rampant here!

Once a year we have carpets cleaned.  It's this month!  DH likes to make it easy for the company to clean every inch so everything comes off the floor.  Furniture is set in the bathrooms, brick hearth and kitchen space.  Closets emptied onto the beds.

The problem - as always - is my sewing room.  I'm always 'rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic' in there.  There is always lots of things on the flat surfaces; sewing desk, single bed top, under bed, ironing board ... and the floor.

I had an epiphany - I don't have enough storage space.  Perhaps I should "Marie Condo" everything!  If you're not familiar - she only keeps things that sparks joy.  Bad news, when you're a quilter ... everything sparks joy!

I was doing fine until I started helping my friend P fit everything back into her sewing space.  Yep, some things started coming home with me.  

I have several UFOs - Unfinished Objects - some are even from the 90s!!  I have revised the list year after year ... but some projects still spark joy! And trying to tide up does encourage me to revisit those languishing UFOs - seeing if they are worth working on again. 

Here is Bonnie Hunter's Pineapple Blossom in Christmas colors. Bonnie was here teaching 3 years ago.  I'm happy to say that the top is finished.  I made a few more blocks for the back - I really love seeing that row of blocks on the back when I make my bed!  It cheers my soul!

             

And a very old Courthouse steps with 54-40 or Fight Stars combo.  It's hanging on P's design board.  We did take breaks!!  This pattern is definitely from the '90s. One of my favorite pattern companies, that I cannot remember the name of!!  Any guesses??

 I'm still playing with what size I'd like - the next task is to cut and sew a bunch of the stars.  Then I can see ... but it's one of those that I can picture KING-SIZE.  Gasp!  We'll see.

The quilts above have a wide variety of fabrics in them.  From batiks to plaids.  

I love plaids!  And I have several UFOs and current projects that look really good in plaids.  So, I took out my basket of plaids and the Bear Paws UFO - started around 2000.  It must be the Mary Poppins basket of plaids, I'm not joking!

The cute little basket sitting in front of the door to the balcony.  That's a 12" square ruler in it!  So innocent looking, don't you think?

This is basically a 41 x 53 kitchen counter.  My appointed cutting station.  Covered and stacked with the basket contents!!  After ironing!!!  Someone call the science police, please!!  Two long days of recutting into the pieces required for the 3 patterns.  Oye Vay!  But wait there's more ... I found another box, so another day of cutting up pieces tomorrow!

Luckily, it's work I love - petting and reshaping beloved fabric.  We always say - shop the stash first, it's filled with fabrics you love!

The plaid projects I'm currently recutting for are:

Double Slice - see the tute on Jenny Doan's Missouri stars.  I've made this several times with different types of fabrics.  It looks good in everything!  Especially cute - in a manly way - in homespuns.  Voila!

On commission for my sister, Here's one I made for a Great Niece, I sashed the blocks to calm it down - these fabrics were wild and crazy without the sashing!  Trust me!

Plaid Bear's Paw blocks - I was hoping to just make a 60 x 80ish quilt - my new resolution.  I can quilt that size myself with my domestic sewing machine.  But, alas - it's way too cute!!!  Pay no attention to the bedspread under the blocks! That striped checkboard is not part of the quilt.!

And a new project found in an old publication - 6.5" squares with 2.5" squares making up a sashing.

Must go and start getting thing done ... oh, oh!!  Squirrel!!

Hello - waving royally - The Queen of the UFOs is in the room!

 I belong to Stashbusters online.  And we have an UFO challenge contest every year,  you finish UFOs to go to the bottom of the list.  There is usually around 70 participants.  

As other quilters go to the bottom, you work your way up.  There's a few Ladies In Waiting and a Queen of  UFOs.  (This is not really an honor!!)  

I just got an email last night that I've actually been Queen since Monday!!!  During your reign of 1 week, if you finish an UFO you can abdicate the throne; descend to the dungeons and start working your way up again.   IF you do not finish an UFO during your reign, you must mail a FQ to the royal treasury.  It's not the FQ that bothers us, it's the shame of not finishing the UFO. After you send in the FQ you do go down the list to the dungeons.

Here's what I've written to my loyal subjects so far:

Wednesday:  Arrrg!  I've just found out I'm the Queen of the UFOs ... Since

Monday???  Your royal highness is so sorry to leave my royal subjects 

without guidance.  Oops!  I’m pretty sure that I’ll be mailing a FQ pretty

 darn soon!  I just finished “Wild Thing - I think I love you” BUT alas, it’s 

not an UFO - it was started during quarantine!  Quarantine just seems like 

it’s been years!!  It really hasn't been years, at least not yet!!

More assignments, royal edicts and babbling will be forthwith tomorrow!!!

Queen doni @ Oregon coast, humbly asking for your attention at this late 

date!!!

Thursday:

Ahem - waving royally - the Queen is in the room.  A little history on your queen:  I’ve been quilting since 1974 [gasp – that IS a long time!] My grandma quilted but not by the time I came along – she was hemming diapers for the Red Cross by then because her eyes had failed.  Besides, I was too much of a tomboy to bother learning to sew from her!  My great-grandmother on my dad’s side ran a house for ‘girls in trouble’.  She kept them busy with piecework – and I’ll tell you, they were NOT passionate about it!  I found some really odd scrap quilts that were poorly made – but immediately fell in love with them.  From then on –scrap patchwork has been my favorite type of quilting! 

Here is "Wild Thing - I think I love you!"  top.  It was quilted by L, a longarmer here in Brookings.  "Finished" picture still to be taken!

 

My first quilt was 2 sheets tied together – after I made a simple frame.  Don't laugh!  My children are still using them and they have definitely stood the test of time.  Then – well, would you believe, a queen sized bedspread of baby blocks [tumbling blocks] set in a pyramid!!  I was sure it would be oh-so--much cheaper than that $200 bedspread!! LOL!!  I was simply too dumb to know it was beyond my reach!  AND my MIL’s quilting group hand quilted it with a bed sheet back!  Poor ladies!

Here is my 'booth' as Valuable Guild Member in 2018.  You can see the Tumbling Blocks quilt on the right.  Everything in the booth was made by ME!  The fabric postcards hanging on a ribbon on the right, the Nautical Stay Robin, the silk screened lighthouses of Oregon.  The Pies and Tarts on the back table and "Cat Bellies" on the side table!  Yes, that is a green bungee chair.  My good friend P loaned it to me and I charged everyone who wanted to try it out $1 - to the cookie sale just across from me!!!  The cookie chair decided she always wanted to be near me - where ever I am!!

I have learned a thing or two since then,  and forgotten a lot of information I wish I could remember.  I still love scrappy.  The more the merrier!  I'm not a 'neat sewing space' type of person!  

And you have to be a really good friend to be willing to share a table with me - I don't work well in captivity!!

One time, a friend was coming over to quilt.  We have a LARGE dining room table that seats six.  To be funny I ran a piece of masking tape at the 2/3 for me, 1/3 for you mark.  BUT the joke was on me - by the time my friend arrived, I was already spread across to her side of the table!

Ladies, start your engines, errr, sewing machines!  I will give an edit about the weekend tomorrow!

Queen doni @ Oregon coast

Foggy August Days!! but not complaining!

 When the valley across the mountains from us gets HOT, we get fog.  They've been up in the 90s - 100s for the last month.  And although we typically get some sun each day, the fog has been pretty tricky this week.

Last night it was beautiful at sunset, DH and I were sitting on the deck having martinis(!)  Something new we started during quarantine!!  And I spotted a whale!  There is an island close to our beach - Rainbow Rock Island.  And the whale was between the beach and the island!  I don't know if he was really BIG or just looked big because he was so close!  Either way, it was a thrill.  I'll take a picture of our view looking North - if the fog ever lifts!

And don't think that it was just the Lemon Drop martini talking!  We both saw it, spouts spouting for hours!!!  No we were not drinking for hours, but after we had lasagna for dinner, I went back out to see if he was still there - he was!

Just like dogs ... people tend to refer to whales as he or she.  I think that depends on which sex your dogs were / are.  I always call them 'he' but a good friend calls them 'she'.  We try to convert each other to the other pronoun, but no luck so far!

Last night I finished binding "Wild Thing - you make my heart sing"!  You remember the X-plus blocks I made during quarantine.  (picture of blocks on the design wall.)  Someone, when seeing it, asked if it was for a child?  Nope, just made by a 68 year old child!!!  A Grandkid might get it eventually ... but tonight it's going on my side of the bed!!

I've been going to our outdoor pool faithfully all summer.  It had a late start, but we've been holding water aerobics classes.  There's a lot of hoops to jump thru ... wearing masks everywhere but IN the pool.  Temperatures taken each morning.  Outside entrance and outside shower.  I miss the changing room.  But so glad to be there, my knees are much happier.  For those of you concerned, our county has only had 19 cases.  The lowest covid count county on the Oregon coast. And we are fighting to keep it that way. :>

Pictures coming,  really, I promise!!