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!!
