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!

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.

February and we're down with the worst respiratory flu ever!

 But NOT Covid  - we have the negative Covid home tests to prove it.  DH was down with it last week.  We thought we isolated each other in the bigger apartment ... guess we were wrong.  I came down with it Monday.

The worst thing ever is - I'm missing the Quilt Retreat!  And they are having it without me!!  Can you believe it?  It's my favorite thing to do - quilt retreat.  Well, I'll just have to live vicariously! And journey on!  

I have no energy or stamina.  Yesterday I was bored and rotary-cut strips for an hour - I was in bed for the rest of the afternoon!  Yes, I'm whining! < Sorry >

Here is the picture of the February gallery wall.  Honestly, I used to have lots of heart quilts and every other type of quilt.  But a couple of years back I liberated them from the tyranny of the closet shelf and gave them to family and friends. So this Guild Challenge is my favorite (that's why I kept it!)  That's hand applique and hand big stitch quilting!  I tried to make it look like a box of candy with the good ones already eaten!!  Not that we have ever experienced that ... or were the culprit!

There are a couple of stuffed hearts over on the bookcase but that's all for this year.  I do have some plans to quilt 2 more quilts for February - maybe by next February?

Besides hacking and moaning I've been reading like a fiend.  Some books in just one day!  I did read a couple of winners!

Hello Transcriber by Hannah Morrissey I thought the plot was engaging and living in a small town ... I could see the possibility .

Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child  Who doesn't love Jack Reacher?  I think there are more techie details involved since Andrew joined his dad's team, but still a darn good story.

Interference by Brad Parks  I have been stalking Brad Parks' books ... this was the last stand alone book to read.  And WOW!  I loved it even more than his latest book Unthinkable (the first I read)  I hope he gets busy and gives us a new one soon!  I have 3 more in the series ... also very good!  Well thought out and a sense of humor pops out for 'fans'.

#100daysproject starts February 13!  So in between sneezing, coughing and moaning I've been studying stash / UFOs / and Pinterest!  What will I have as a goal this 4th (5th?) year participating?  The first years I didn't make it to the end - I tried to finish ONE project.  Granted, it's a project I like and want to finish but I can't do it every day.  In 2020 I was successful promising one quilt project that I felt like doing - one block a day. 

It was a quilt I'd put off for - dare I admit - decades????  (I've been quilting for 48 years!!)  And I loved the process and ended up with "Wild Thing - I think I love you."  This is me showing it off the balcony for International Quilters' Day.

Last year was appliqued circles and All Around the Garden wool applique.  Both still ongoing.  Sigh.

SO this year I have choices!  I can make blocks for a Bonnie Hunter Churn-dash; 

Or a scrappy challenge that was done (without my knowing about it!!) in 2020.  #scrapsnapquiltalong.  It's making 10 color-block type - blocks each month and ending up with a throw-sized quilt.  They are so gorgeous and not cookie-cutter quilts!  Check them out on Instagram  or go to Quilts for the Making website.

I'm thinking one day a week I'll throw in "UFOs Lucky Day" and work on an languishing project for one day!  I can pick whichever one strikes my fancy!!

 

As always, there's a myriad of possibilities!!  Just the way we like it!!

Stay safe and always have boxes and boxes of Puffs ... just in case!

Slowly but surely making progress ...

 This week I finished TWO UFOs!  Hip Hip Hooray!  Let me first give you my definition of a UFO.  

A project that has been started but is stalled because 

• It's in time out - bad quilt!
• All the thinking is done, supplies gathered but first stitch still coming
• I'm sewing but I have to think my way out of a problem
• Something else got my attention - better known as "Squirrel! syndrome" from  Up - the Disney classic!
• Life gets in the way.
• Waiting for supplies

The second advent calendar of The Season is done.  And may I say this calendar wasn't due until Next Christmas!!  Hip-Hip! Both the calendars made were from panels - both with pockets and both in my stash.  

I have a friend who has made an Advent calendar for each of five grandchildren and she fills them every year!!  YIKES!  And she admitted that sometimes she puts a $5 bill in day 5 and if the grandchild is old enough she puts a $20 in day 20!

Disclaimer:  I make the Advent calendar - YOU fill it!!

And the second finish ... drumroll, please ... is CherryWood Lane.

This lovely quilt is Edyta's Quilt-a-long from 2021.  I talked about this last year - best quilt-a-long ever!  The blocks did NOT get harder or increase in numbers.  

And isn't it just cute as bugs' ears?  I used Cherrywood hand dyed fabrics.  Two other friends joined in.  P and I sewed together each week.  She used Kaffe Fassett fabric.  So, we used the other's fabric for our doors.  I have KF and she has CW.  It's fun to trade and every time I look it over, see the KF doors, I think of all the fun we had sewing it.  I designed (or found) some trees to fit into the rows and added the Cottonwood fabric 'brick' border.

The fabulous quilting is by Lynette of Fernwood Quilting on Instagram.  A good friend who really thinks about the quilting.  She posted that she had 3 days of design work; 52 thread changes! used 5 Handy-quilter rulers; 6 super bobbins and 18 hours of quilting!!  And it shows!!

Part of the delay on this quilt is that L fit me into a slow period and I got it earlier than expected - in the Christmas rush of other things!  

And I've been racking my brain trying to find a way to hang quilts easily on the STAS Gallery Wall.  The little hook on the 'sliding hanging thingies' (official name) is too small for a dowel that will stay straight under the weight of a quilt.  I've tried safety pins (They open easily under pressure.)  A bulb shaped safety pin (really too wimpy)  And white drapery rings (either have to force dowel thru the ring, and then onto the hook at weird angle - or have to sew rings onto the back of the quilt at EXACTLY the same measurement down from the top.)  I thought that was the answer.  But there will be at least 10 collections of 3-5 quilts hung during a year!  That's a lot of white rings and a lot of time exact sewing.  (Not my strength!)

Eureka! Dollar Tree has these chip clamps that come in a pkg of 6(?) for $1; they are brightly colored but will clamp on the curtain rod and hang nicely within the hook of the 'sliding hanging thingie'!  Everything in the same orientation!! I'll try to find them in white ... but meanwhile I think I have a winner!

BUT  I had to put a new style of top sleeve on my bigger quilts.  The clamp needs to attach to the bare curtain rod so it doesn't distort the quilt.  Last night I sewed the 5 partial sleeves onto the quilt.  And - Lo and Behold -  it worked!!  Note to self:  try to have an epiphany earlier in the evening so you can get to sleep!

Some other highlights of the week:  Crab season!  Catalyst Restaurant has pretty good Crab Melt sandwiches.

The Good Guy by Dean Koontz was read.  And he was a really good guy - not often found in Koontz books?  But have no fear, there was a really bad guy in it too.  Reminded me of his Odd Thomas character.  5* rating!

 

Happy New Year! It's time to get busy!

 

The first week of the year was mostly rain, and by rain I mean buckets of rain!  Sneaky rain squalls that just wait for you to venture outside with the garbage, to go down to get the mail, or take a library book back! …  You can almost hear Mother Earth cackling with glee to catch you!  Rain squalls beating on your windows, making you dream that the tide is crashing against the building!!  And when you wake up – it still sounds like it!

But today is sunny! I whisper, so Mother Earth doesn’t hear me!!!

Have I told you the ‘Mystery of the Lighthouse’ after moving to the other side of town??  It’s a hum-dinger!!  We lived in Rainbow Rock Condos for 11 years.  It was North of town and our view looked toward town.  We couldn’t see Brookings because of the bluffs between us.  But we could see the St George Lighthouse in California on the horizon.  We loved our view – ocean, everchanging.

SO, we moved to the other side of town.  We are looking toward town and when we look out toward the ocean … we can see the lighthouse!!  Amazing – still a southern view!  101 does twist around in Brookings, but it doesn’t feel like 180 degrees!  And if you don’t believe me – well, I guess you’ll just have to come out and see it for yourself!!  But, I recommend NOT during the rainy season!

View from Harbor

Lighthouse on the horizon

The book I read this week is Bewilderment by Richard Powers.  It is highly rated and deserves it!  I liked the characters, I hardly put it down, even when I didn't want to reach the end!

I'm still having fun with the Gallery Wall.  I just finished "HOME" but it had bright white background!  I know, not like me at all.  Even DH thought it was weird!  So I over-dyed it with liquid tan dye.  In the kitchen sink,  hot water and 2 caps of dye.  I just wanted to take the edge off - I think it's perfect!

Here's the over-view.  You can see my computer station (and oolong tea!)  The quilt behind the table is "All around the town".  I love that quilt and put a sleeve on each side so it could hang 4 different ways.  I was very surprised that it was too big for the gallery wall, yet a little too small for the "big quilt" display area.  Oh well!

Here are the 3 quilts 'featured' this month!  I had to scramble for the third quilt - ended up using "September" quilt on the left.  It has buildings and people on it.  Good enough!  Great save!

I gave away quite a few quilts to friends and family in the past few years - some of which I should have kept!  But it's an excuse to quilt away with smaller projects - should be faster, right?  The wall can take a crib size quilt.

I cleared and cleared out my sewing room stuff before moving.  I reorganized it since I moved and I still have TOO MUCH STUFF!  To actually sew in there I have to ‘rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic!’  I even participated in   “De-stash and De-clutter” by GoodFibers.  Still too much stuff!  I tried to sell some online through their site.  Apparently it doesn’t like Chrome.  Sigh!

So there’s only one thing to do – roll up those sleeves and get merciless!  (Yikes!)  I’ll let you know what I did to help the situation each week!  And of course, the reverse.  But seriously, I’ve been NOT going to quilt stores and NOT buying online.  But you wouldn’t know it!

In fact, I’m headed in there right now!  If I’m not back next week – sent the Coast Guard for a wellness check!

Stay safe!

Fall Recap - read all about it!!

Early in September a friend, K, came over to help clear the sewing room.  Even though the sewing room is larger than the Rainbow Rock sewing space … storage is all mixed up throughout the new apartment.  And even after clearing out a BUNCH of quilting fabrics, tools, patterns and books during the move -  I’m still stuck with no actual working space!  Sigh!  However, the timing was perfect to make room for my friend coming to visit for a week!

K helped a lot, gave me good energy to get back to sewing.  BUT still stuffed in my space.  So I joined the DeClutter andDeStash challenge.  It was really good for taking a realistic inventory – Martinis that night to drown my overwhelming emotions!!  

The timeline was pretty short.  I was able to keep up for a few weeks, but then it was deep into fall and Xmas prep.  Going to revisit it in January – run through the steps a few times more. Fingers crossed.  I mean really – I’m 69 years old, how many projects do I have left in me???  Let’s say 10 more years – say 10 projects a year … probably pie in the sky. I have more than 100 UFOs / WIPS.  I suspect I’ll find more “Oooo – I want this” projects on the horizon.  But don’t you hate to give up on promising projects – the potential you’re going to miss out on!!

In summer, I entered the #100dayhandsewing challenge on Instagram.  It was fabulous!!  I’ve been working on – okay, getting ready to work on “Wool around the Garden”  A BOM in Quiltmania 6 years ago – but I really got it going during those 100 days.  And it’s so much fun to make sure you have a project to work on for tv or God forbid football evenings.  :>

 

 

We went up to Portland for Miss P’s 15^th birthday.  They grow so fast! 

Then a visit from one of my friends. She's the kind that it always seem that you just talked.  No awkward silences – no ‘not getting it’!  She was here for 7 days.  We never ran out of conversation or laughter.  Funniest part was the inspection of new quilts!!  We walked the Redwoods and a lot of beaches – voting on favorites!  We sat and watched a huge tide coming in against the sea stacks at Lone Ranch Beach.  I even talked her into joining the Tai Chi in the park.  Hmmm, she thought she’d try to find a class back home.  I’ll have to bring that up next phone call!

Now that's close inspection!!

The next visitor was our son A.  We had missed quite a few chances to get together since summer.  Covid and child germ bombs!  (His definition!)  He needed to come over and inspect the new digs; walk a few beaches and watch football with Dad.  Before he left, K(8) asked him tearfully why he had to leave for the weekend.  A(46) replied, “I miss my mommy!”  K blinked and couldn’t argue with that!!  Before I let A leave, he helped me clear the garage and put up a shelf.

Good thing – the weather had changed and the cover was off the Band Shell and we needed a place to do Tai Chi.  When we first saw the new apartment’s garage – my first thought was “I think we could hold Tai Chi here!!!”  It’s an oversized double stall garage AND there is a large window on the back wall – so some natural light and weather protection.  It holds 5-8 of us pretty well.  We’ve been meeting twice a week the last 3 months.  We like to keep the garage door open for the air.  We really can’t meet if it’s under 50 degrees or with rain and wind coming from the South. Works well except for that last few weeks.

I have to tell you about the coolest thing since sliced bread.  Stas Gallery Wall.  In the new apartment we have a large wall with a light switch and the thermostat in the middle-ish.  Not too convenient.  Found the Stas system on Amazon.  The big draw was you can change things out without any additional holes, etc!  There’s a top ‘bar’ that goes across and hanging clips from there.  We had our handy man hang the bar … we really don’t like to do ladders anymore!  Within 15 minutes of him hanging it I had 4 quilts hanging up!!  Then I change it out every month or so!  So much fun!  A real showcase when hosting my quilt group!  I’ve had so much fun with it already.  Check into it!  It can hang pictures too.

One day DH and I were walking the beach at Crissey Field Visitor Center and lo and behold – there was a pumpkin tide!!  Yep, pumpkins had washed up on the beach!  So cool to wander by! There was double-takes and wonder!

Winter storms come from the south out here.  (Bad weather from the south?? Not what we’re used to from Nebraska.)  Our new apartment bedroom has large windows facing South.  The really big storms pound on the glass, squall after squall!  One night I actually dreamed it was the tide hitting the window!  I was not reassured when I woke up.  It did sound rhythmic like the tides.

 

Thanksgiving was a trip to both kids’ houses.  And we knew it was going to be a great trip!  We saw NINE rainbows on the way!  Some were to the right, one was to the left and several were Full or (double) rainbows.  We started seeing them 30 miles from home.  They continued all the way to Portland 300+ miles away.   Of course, that was some storm front that went that far!!  A pre-Christmas gift was going to the Van Gogh Experience with the Portland and gang.  It was wonderful.  If you are able to catch it somewhere – go!  Totally worth it.

 

Entertainment at the Medford gang’s house was playing games.  All kinds of games.  DH and the boys had many War card games over the 3 days we were there.  We played Azul and Catan and E (4) played cut-throat Go Fish with the most beautiful deck!  Very fun!

So now you and I are all caught up!!  See you at the year summary!