Two days in a row - we're heading for a new record!

I forgot to tell you about Sisters this year!  It was a blast!  It was hot - can't deny that, but the evenings were cool and there was usually a breeze.

I got to go early and share a cabin with 5 other crazy quilters.  There was great food, show and tell and a whole lot of giggling!

We stayed out at Black Butte.  And there is always something going on around there.  Quilts in the Lodge and five swimming pools!  -alright, true confession, we only talked about going to the pools this year!  But last year when our family was there, we hit all 5!

I told you we ate (and drank) well!  We had a magical refrigerator, it never seemed to empty!  AND the freezer was full of ice cream!! These are seriously my kind of people!

Here is our intrepid group.  We were from Idaho and all over Oregon.  These ladies are rad!

View of the work space from the sleeping loft!  It's a quilty heaven!

Last year they exchanged strips and each made "Many trips" -  a pattern and technique by Bonnie Hunter.  I tried to claim one (all) of these, but no luck.  Darn, I'm going to have to make my own.  Next year the challenge is Hexagons!

One of my favorite things at Sisters this year was the Jenny Doan Lecture (Missouri Star Quilts)  we went to.  She filled the HS auditorium to the max.  OMG!  She is the best speaker.  It's like you've known each other forever and she's just catching you up on the news!  We laughed, we cried, we all enjoyed her.  Her dear husband was her stage helper and he is such a good sport.

They have 7 kids (in 9 years!) and Jenny said when she introduced him, "This is my husband, I didn't even know he could talk until the kids left home!"

She told how she got started with Jelly rolls and pre-cuts, couldn't afford to buy bolts!!  I wasn't a groupie before hearing her.  I have lots of stash and thought (erroneously!) that pre-cuts were too expensive!! She showed me the error of my ways!

She uses the patterns she demos online for her charity and gift quilts.  Genius!  AND she doesn't give a bed quilt for a wedding present.  She makes a good-sized square quilt, pairs it with a picnic basket and gives the happy couple a card that encourages them to go out and make memories!  What a great idea!

She talked about the surprises running this business.  With all of her tutorials online, we has many children and handicapped quilters following her.  They may not be able to get out for classes, but they can watch the tutorial and rewind it as many times as they want.  It has changed lives.

Most of their children are involved in the business.  There is one son in NYC.  Her favorite call from him was, "Mom, you are on the front page of the Wall Street Journal!  What's going on out there!!!"  She laughs every time she remembers that call!

We stood in line after the lecture and got the latest "Block" Magazine autographed.  I asked her to sign mine - "Pick your first quilt out of this" for Miss P who turns 12 this weekend.  Of course, she has many quilts, but this year we are going to SEW one TOGETHER.  She picked 3 favorites, settled on one and I ordered the Layer Cake!  Next time we get together, we'll start.  Miss P's a little nervous, and so am I.  But, it'll be great!

We were there Saturday at the crack of dawn, it was still cool then!

There were a lot of text quilts - always my favorite

 Everybody matched this quilt!  So Photo-Opp!

Just 2 Stashbusters present for pictures this year!  But we had a good visit and enjoyed looking around the show together.

Well, two days in a row.  Can you stand 3???  We'll see!

Sisters recap

Sisters was a great show this year.  The weather was just in the upper 70s!!  Practically sweater weather for Sisters!  It did rain on us all the way there on Friday, but no problems on Show Day (Saturday).

My day - in no particular order!!  Both devises were very low on battery power way before I was ready to stop taking pictures!!  So I kept switching!  Even mixed myself up!

I love this mixed up sampler!

Looks like modern houses on a cliff - sort of!

Beautiful melding of colors

Very interesting medallion!

My friend Karen D did this awesome whale!

Blooming 9patch - on my someday list!

Loved that circle - the modern quilts are getting really interesting.  

They've come a long way in a very short time!

Now this quilt could easily adapt to a selvedge quilt, the sashing strips were just 3/4" x 3" 

- wouldn't it be fun!

Loved this - look at the sky diagonals, the floating borders, the reflections in the water!

Ann Shaw is coming here for a workshop in Sept.  This is one of her new "pet" series - hope she brings the patterns!  I have grand-dogs, grand-bunnies and grand-lizards you know!!

R and I faithfully represent Stashbusters online quilt guild each year!

My friend C quilted the Sisters Raffle quilt this year - she's an artist with a long-arm machine

This year we stayed at the Pronghorn Golf Resort.  Very nice but in the middle of nowhere!  It's 30 minutes from Bend and 30 minutes from Redmond. But we loved the cookies in our room, the hot tub at night and the fun patio surrounded by flowers.

The two golf courses were designed by two well known golf pros.  But I swear the 4 mile approach must have been designed by Mario Andretti!!!  Nothing but curve after curve - for no apparent reason!  Just strange to me!

Sunday we took the 'scenic route' to Portland.  We wanted to have the famous (to us) clam chowder at Horsefeathers in Hood River.  They don't make it any more!  :(  But the smoked salmon chowder was tried ... it was okay!  (We're tough customers - don't mess with our favorites!!!)

We'd planned to stop at the waterfalls in the afternoon, it had been a long time since we'd visited and hiked up Multnomah .  Didn't know it was "Quick, go to the waterfalls day!"  No parking and Traffic with a capital T!  So we'll try again in the fall - on a week day!

Monday the Davis Cup started with a kid's event so we took the kiddos there. Mom was working it and kept track of what we should do and see.  It was set up so nicely - the kids got to grab some rackets and volley with tennis teachers and enthusiasts!  Sometimes for prizes!! It was hot but well organized and we had our water with us.

Both playing side by side

While waiting in line they played a mean tennis "air guitar"!!

And then there was face painting with an air-brush! A big hit!

 And that was just the start of our time with them.  More later on what happened here on the coast!

Summertime - what ever happened to the l*o*n*g summers we had as kids??

My Grandmother once said, "This summer is going so fast!"  I was in elementary school and thought to myself: "You are losing your mind! This summer is never going to end!!"  Fast forward to 2016 - "Sorry, Grandma.  I know what you were saying now!!"

One exciting weekend in June we were celebrating our DS's graduation from Nursing School.  Look at all that honors 'stuff' around his neck!! So proud of him, it takes determination to go back to school when you have preschoolers of your own.  DDIL is a middle school math teacher - not a lot of spare time there either.  Then to graduate Cum Laude!!  WTG!

School of Nursing was the LAST college to walk.  The weather was surprisingly cool for Ashland OR in June!  The boys were very patient and well behaved but we had our work cut out for us to keep the entourage entertained for 3 hours.  

Victory Lap!!

And of course, with every graduation comes a quilt! Found this quilt on Pinterest - a very dangerous place for me to hang out!  It had been in "Easy Quilts" magazine last year.  Great - because I was working last minute - no surprise there!

  

At our quilt show I found these "Nursing charms" Great sayings on them - "It's only poop!"; "Nurses call the shots" and so on!  So I pieced them into the back.

Way back when  my DS loved the back of his kindergarten quilt more than the front.  So every time I told him to make his bed the Kilban Cat sheet backing was up and the log cabin piecing was down! I wonder which way will be up for this quilt!

Two weeks later we were back for babysitting duty with the boys.  DS and DDIL were in Hawaii!  It was very hot.  Saturday morning the little old neighbor lady came to our door and said, "It's going to be really hot today.  Here's some money to take the boys for ice cream!!  I really like the way she thinks!  So we bought Rainbow Sherbet and ice cream cones and enjoyed them all weekend!

We also watched "Charlotte's Web" and then made spider webs. (Another idea from Pinterest!)  Cut slits around the edges of paper plates and weave some yarn around the plate.  D had a really big plastic spider, we wove him into the web and he hung it in his closet!! Glad I knew about it - that would have been a big surprise to someone not quite awake!

When we got back to the cool weather coast from that - we had a sweatshop here at our house.  Three of us sat and worked, worked, worked on languishing projects.  Okay, we took too many breaks out on the deck; and had time for smoothies ... but we did get alot done.

P and I worked on - wait for it - a quilt we loved on Pinterest!!! Vintage Stripes Quilt by RedPepper. Of course, the original idea was a crib quit and we were making it MUCH BIGGER!!!

We'd collected stripes for a couple of years.  Cut 5.5" squares and then made giant checkerboards alternating the direction of the stripes.  They are so 'summer-y' and the tops are done.  I ran into problems with too little backing fabric.  But hope to simply quilt it and get it on our bed yet this summer.  IF it slows down long enough!  Our bed quilt is quite heavy and DH doesn't need it in the summer.  He tends to throw it over on my side.  Now I sleep 'cold' but the quilt doubled is so heavy that I can't turn over without waking up!!  Not good.

Sisters Outdoor Show - July 2015

This weekend is the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  I've been going to it for 17-18? years.  We even came from NE on vacation in July each year so I could go to the show.  This year - so far - the weather forecast is for 80 degree days!  Much better than the 100+ weather in past years.  Looking forward to strolling thru the town with friends and enjoying the quilts.

Our small town has an outdoor swimming pool that is open now.  Every year we hope and pray that the pool will open again.  And we have quite the phone chain about developments.  The very first day it was open for Water Aerobics at 8 am - there were over 30 people in the pool!!  The next week there was a day with 45 people there and 5 of the regulars were missing!!  It has settled down to 25 - 35 each day - just about right!

I love water aerobics - I even drive to Crescent City twice a week during the rest of the year for Water Aerobics at their indoor pool.  (35 minutes each way!!)  But summers, the 5 minute commute; the outdoor air, the camaraderie of meeting everyone at the pool - it's the best.  You feel like "Iron Woman" afterwards! And oh-so-virtuous!  FUN!

We bring Miss P and Mr M back from our trip to Sisters next week.  We'll see how long we can get them to stay this year.  Crossing our fingers for 5 days!!

Back from Sisters - but moving slow!!

What a gorgeous day it was in the high desert! 80 - 85 degrees and a slight breeze in the afternoon - just enough to wave the quilts as you were trying to take a photo. It was wonderful. And the quilts seemed to be a wider variety of styles this year - I saw the majority of them ... but, even not walking the whole show - I was a broken woman the next morning!!

Eight Stashbusters Online showed up at the library at 10 am. We talked and compared notes for 30-45 minutes and then went off to rejoin the friends and family we came with. We were there from Washington, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Australia (!), and all over Oregon. [that's based on memory - may not be entirely correct!!] Thanks gals! It's always fun to meet in person.



A bus from the Newport Guild came up and I got to walk-about with friends I don't get to see as often. 8 of us actually stayed together the first block! LOL! At one point, I called V on the cell phone trying to find her "I see a sign that says ..." "Yes, I'm standing right next to it!!" LOL! It's a big crowd, that's for sure!



And thanks to C's eagle eye, I was able to meet up with C & M. We were the first 3 stashbusters to meet up at the show 5 yrs ago! We've caught up a few times over the years - this was my 12th time to the Sisters show!! C saw me and had M's cell phone number. I didn't even have M's current email address! - I'd sent her an email but when I didn't get an answer - figured she was away. We ran across each other a few times browsing the show, but met up at 1:30 for a good visit and an ice cream cone!! On a chair! In the shade!! Life is good!



After the show - back to Bend where we were staying along the river. My DD and DSIL joined us on this trip - but without the grandkids. It makes a big difference! The adults were allowed to eat together - not take turns with the kids while the other couple goes out! And of course, you know what we talked about - the grandkids, of course!! Always the case!



The food we had was awesome this year! We went to Amalia's for great Quesadillas; [shredded chicken, grilled fresh mushrooms and wilted spinach!! Yummm!]; Pine Tavern for the best Smoked Salmon salad [with pears, walnuts, blue cheese crumbles and raspberry vinegarette dressing!] and Thai food at Toomies. Needless to say, I needed to get my body to Water Aerobics when I got home - for several reasons!!

And then continuing our "Going to Sisters" grand tour, we stopped at Crater Lake. There is so-o much snow up there still this year! Our favorite picnic area was still under 3-4 feet of snow! We saw a van-load of middle schoolers snowshoe-ing away! And there was the coolest slide of snow off the lodge that still reached the roof! No water scarcity this year - so far. The Rogue River was running high at the viewpoints too!

On to Talent where we stayed with and admired Mr D!! This little guy is all smiles! And so cute - but of course, Nana would say that!!

Back from Sisters

With helpers like these - of course we had a great time with family as well as looking at the quilts. Miss P and Mr M, of course!

















What fun! We had perfect weather; okay it was 90 but it felt REALLY good coming up from the coast. Friday we pulled into Sisters about 1 minute behind L&J and the kids! [They were coming from Portland] We turned the corner and saw them at the next corner! We ate lunch at our favorite cafe - seriously, the best fish and chips we've ever eaten and remember we live at the coast!!! The guys headed off to golf and we headed the kids to the park playground. After some time in our favorite stores while Nana or Mommy sat with the kids it was naptime at the Bend hotel. Sisters is a pretty little town at any time - but they really want it to shine during the summer festivals.

















Saturday morning was bright and no wind. That's a good thing for photographing quilts hanging outside. 1,300 quilts and hundreds of pictures, alittle too much sun and a few blisters later ...

















Stashbusters online gals met up at the library. Michele, Cher, [Michele and Cher pictured] Susan from Maryland and me. We wandered about town chatting all the way. Found Nancy at the booth she was volunteering at - went different ways, rejoined at the park for picnic lunch.

















There we got to meet Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame. Bonnie is 'southern charm' personified. Just as nice in person as on the blog and in her book. Great fun to meet her.

"Blog-aversary" coming up!

Time sure does fly! A year ago on July 17 - I started this blog while on vacation in Oregon. It was just after the Sisters quilt show and I met a few Stashbusters at the Sisters library. Cher didn't let me get away with saying "when I have some time I'll set up a blog"! Nope! She said, "just do it - it's like emailing all your buddies with just one email!" Thanks, Cher! I had no idea how easy it was and how easy it continues to be!

I've been without "my favorites list" since the move. They got transfered to the computer that isn't set up yet. :< and I miss surfing thru the quilt blogs I love. Some were so familiar that I knew their address - others I'll be catching up on when I'm set up again. Note to self: set up the computer!

In honor of my blog-aversary I'll send FQs to names I draw from anyone who leaves a comment this week. I've got no cute pets to pull the names - and I'm not exactly sure how many prizes will be offered ... I'm still going thru quilt stuff and will cull some FQs out as I organize. But what the heck! It will be quilt related and free - so leave a comment and enter! My anniversary is July 17 - so all comments thru that day will be in the drawing and July 18 I'll draw names. Sounds like a plan!

Sisters was wonderful again this year. The weather was a little warm but basically just right. I was walking across a street and thought - DH is right, all quilters can look alike ... I swear that's someone from Lincoln. And she looked up and said, "Doni!!" MB from Lincoln was here for the Sisters show with other friends from Nebraska. What a hoot to see a familiar face. We exchanged cell phone numbers and met up for lunch later. After lunch, the Stashbusters die-hards (Cher, Michele and me) met at the library and wandered the show the rest of the afternoon together. What fun! I'll try to post some pictures yet today.

The boys had fun golfing and L and Miss P enjoyed the art fair in Bend ... so a good time was had by all. I felt so relaxed there this year - must be because I haven't just arrived for a few weeks in paradise - I live here now! Although 'paradise' can still surprise you! We came down the mountains where it was clear skies and 98 to the coast where it was getting foggy and 61!!! Hmmm, where did I stash that sweatshirt?? Chowder for dinner, anyone??

The grand tour of the sewing space!

Okay - I took some pictures - although the sewing room isn't totally done yet - [insert dining room whining here]

#1 is looking into the sewing room from the doorway. The table for computer and sewing machine will be to the right of the tv - about where those baskets are sitting on the floor. IF our dining room table EVER arrives! [insert more whining here!]

#2 is the 3 bookcases [upright] in the sewing room. In there are the kits, UFOs, books, knickknacks and tools. It was kind of organized - then I had to stuff more into the cubbies. That's DH's hairy leg kicking in from the doorway - who knows why! - no extra charge!!!

#4 is the stash storage - which is actually out in the dining room area. The bins are clear and this shows what you can see without the handy dandy inserts we designed, cut and installed all by ourselves!We need one more blue mat from the frame shop to cut up and insert them into these 4 bins.

#5 is 3 of the Expedit bookcases sitting horizontally from Ikea with plastic bins covered. It also shows you our elegant dining area with the computer table and 2 folding chairs!

Tada - that's the tour! I'm almost afraid to get out anything to sew - it's gonna make a mess sure as the world! [Don't worry - I'll get over it!]

Thursday we leave for Portland to babysit Miss P in the evening. Friday, all of us go to Sisters for the big show. The boys golf and us girls shop. At least until Miss P's nap. Saturday I go to the Quilt show when the guys head for the golf course AGAIN. Evenings we walk about in Bend during the art/music festival. Oh, and we eat delicious food again and again!!! Yummm!

I'll check in when we get back! Have a great week!