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!!

Pelicans 101!

Today is gorgeous!! Ahhh, now I remember why we love it here! LOL! I got up this am and it was thick, thick fog and I thought - not again!! There, I admitted it! But the fog burned off early and I actually walked down to the beach during low tide.

I've been fighting off this throat thing forever [all right - since Saturday!!] it just seems like forever. R was sick with throat, then cough when Miss P was here. But it seems to be taking a different course with me. So I hadn't been down to the beach since Miss P left.

We've been getting alot of sand swept in. I could see that from looking down on "the well". It's buried and not that long ago it was hip-high! The well is a rock with a deep hole in it - kind of obvious, but sometimes it feels like we're talking in code! But, I wanted to see the 'cave' - R said it was filling in. Two weeks ago, R and Miss P walked thru the cave, R only having to bend over at the other end - now there is no other end - and you'd have to crawl in! Amazing! The ocean changes so fast!

We also woke up to foam on the water today - thick foam that apparently happens in some fish cycle. Don't ask me more than that - I'm from Nebraska!! But it means there's a lot of fish in the water and the pickings are easy. So we have a lot of birds hanging about today. Including a whole group of pelicans - they're simply amazing.

First of all - they look like dinosaurs when they fly - they're all angles. They fly in groups and zoom down close to the surface, gliding, looking like stealth bombers, apparently looking for fish. When they find some, they dive into the water like yard-darts!! But when they sit - they're all curves!! One of life's mysteries!

For the first time today, we've noticed smaller ones in the flock - fledglings?? The information sheet I pulled up on Pelicans says there isn't much 'post-fledgling' care - but apparently there are some fishing lessons!!

They have been fishing in front of the condos all day - so interesting to watch. And there's a 'seagull/chickens clucking' sound!! I've been trying to compare it to something all afternoon - and that's the closest I can come to!!

This all sounds slightly weird - but it's been a really fun day watching them and hearing them and I wish you were all here to share my day!!

I quilted yesterday afternoon on Birds of a Feather. Rick went golfing and I watched "Independence Day" [of course!] and then E.T while stitching away. We had leftover BBQ sandwiches for dinner and saw some of the fireworks from our balcony. All in all, a nice, low-key day.

Happy 4th of July Weekend!!

Well, after our last 'talk' we headed to Portland for R&R with our DD and her family. The adults went to Cirque du Soleil's show and then we spent a few days in Portland before heading back to the coast with Miss P - our 4 yr old DGD.



I just want to show you the awesome pictures my L took of her children. She's so talented and has a gift for catching them. Of course, the kids are very used to posing for her and love to ham it up!! There were a hundred shots of the kids on my camera - I'll just show you my favorites!! Gotta love digital!!







When we left Portland we had both Miss P and Mr M (age 2) in the car. We traveled over to the Newport Aquarium while DSIL trailed behind us; on the ready to bring Mr M back home after. We wanted to see if Mr M would even leave home without a parent!! He did great! Both kids love the aquarium and it's always fun to see their excitement. These few times a year - when we head out with the kids - well, that's when I miss living closer to them!

After lunch and some time at the MacDonald's play area, Mr M and his dad headed back to Portland and Miss P headed for Brookings with us. It's a long ride but we were all 'troopers!' Within 10 minutes of arriving home ... we had all the toys out, had looked out at the ocean with the binoculars and were totally at home!!



Miss P was here for 2 full days and 4 nights ... and they were fun-packed with all of our favorite activities: digging sand on the beach; eating lunch on the patio; reading lots of library books; and a visit to "Kidtown" the Azalea Park playground. Miss P got a child's set of golf clubs this trip, so she also went to the golf course with Papa to hit a few and drive the golf cart around. They saw deer and a new fawn out there - definitely a highlight!

And I'm not saying a little spoiling wasn't being done - here's Miss P's breakfast with strawberries ala Food Network!! LOL! Yep - that's the extent of my 'fancy' meals - cutting up strawberries!



Then off we went to A&J2's so Miss P could meet Mr D and play with the bunnies! Since Miss P is the older sister - she knew what babies were, do I need to point out the real attraction was the bunnies??? LOL! She helped J2 make us blueberry pancakes the morning we were headed back to Portland.




Hasn't Mr D thrived and grown!! He's a smiley baby and lots of fun to cuddle. He was on his first camping trip the weekend before - a wedding - and did great! It's just so amazing to see him grow so fast!!




Sunday we took Miss P to the Broadway tour of "Mary Poppins." We had so much fun! Miss P stayed awake the entire show - despite not sleeping much the night before - and then cried at the end because she didn't want it to be over! I sense she's a 'chip off the old block' of her mom, who dearly loves Broadway and all things theatre.

10 days, count them, with grandchildren!!! Nana was plumb tuckered out!! I pretty much hibernated for the week since we got home. The ocean is eerily quiet{!} after all the ruckus! And while it's always wonderful to see the GKs - it's fun to get back to 'normal' too.

I entered 3 quilts in the Newport show - but Birds of a Feather-ish wasn't one of them. I'm still working on the first border ... so it will make it's debut next show! But I'm bound and determined to work on it everyday and FINISH it this summer. It's been on the UFO list TOO long. I'll let you know!!

I'd love to promise to blog again next weekend - but that's the Sister's Quilt Show weekend and I'm going to be too busy!! LOL! A bunch of Stashbusters are meeting up at the library Saturday morning; a bus is coming with Newport friends and my DD and DSIL will be with us in Bend. DD probably won't come to the show - we'll shop around in Sisters on Friday - while the boys golf. I'll tell you all about it when I get home!

Summertime and still sweatshirt weather!

But of course, it's always sweatshirt weather here - sometimes you have to wear a raincoat over the sweatshirt, so guess I'll be satisfied with what we've got.

Water Aerobics started in our outside pool last Monday. It's a heated pool but weather has been in the 50s when we're in it! It's as close as I get to joining in any Polar Bear events!! Actually, the pool feels great and its fun to drive only 5 minutes to the pool. I drive 45 minutes to get to the Crescent City Pool the rest of the year. Eight am and I've already got a tan - after 4 days, I have suit-lines - even with the morning fog!! It amazes me.



June's flowers came - beautiful full dark red peonies. The bouquets have gotten bigger each month - this one was too big and top-heavy for our glass vase. I put the white flowers in a second vase/mason jar and while the peonies are starting to fade, the white flowers are still going strong.



Our local quilt shop expanded and put in a LongArm machine. You can take a LA lesson, get 'certified' and then be able to rent it and work on your own projects. I am now certified, as compared to certifiable!! I had another quilt UFO in mind for my work session, but switched it out to this flannel kids quilt. 'Brrr-winter' could take an all-over design and was a better '1st' project for me. I free motion quilted it - I'm am terrible at pantographs!!

Let me say - long arm quilters have nothing to worry about with me!! Wow - it's an eye opener to try it yourself! But, this UFO is now off my list and hopefully I'll get over there every month or two to work on another UFO. Lord knows I have enough UFOs to get thru!



Here's my Holiday Challenge again - as I told you, it won 3rd place Viewer's Choice in the Challenge category at the show!! Fun surprise!!



I finally turned the corner on my 'on again, off again' handquilting project - I'm out to the borders on my 'Birds of a Feather.' A BOM from 2006ish! I hate to quilt borders in a hoop - it's all set-up again and again with very little time quilting. So I framed it up and like working on it that way. I put it in the sewing room and as you can see - it barely fits. In fact, you have to squeeze thru to get into the room.



While we're in the sewing room - might as well have a tour!! A closet [stuffed full of quilting stuff] is on your left. The black board on the right is the computer armoir. The design wall is straight ahead, those jungle animals are half the blocks for a quilt for Mr D. It's called Jungle Boogie by Sindy Rodenmayer of Fat Cat Patterns.

The original dimensions are huge. I reduced it to 75% and the giraffe is still 23" tall! And - in case you want to make this - the pattern is not reversed, since I'm using a wonder-under method, my quilt will be backwards. I hate when that happens!!

Moving on - the next blocks on the design wall are Pies and Tarts. My goal is to have all 64 pies made and appliqued to the backgrounds by the end of July when a good friend from ARK is coming to visit. She can consult like nobody's business! I'm counting on her to help me lay it out.

In the basket on the floor is a Grandmother's Flower Garden that has been languishing for years. A church group in Lincoln NE quilted it for me and offered to bind it - I foolishly said "No, thanks." Why, oh why, did I say that??? It's still not bound - but this year .... better be longer than 365 days based on my to-do list for 2011!! LOL! Hope springs eternal!!

Then the wonderful card catalog my daughter gave/lent me for Mother's Day!! On top are various baskets, one of which holds my Sue Spargo 'Journey Tree' project.

I'd love to say that's as messy as it gets - but sadly, no - I had to straighten it up to make room for the frame!! The best I can hope for is 'livable'!!

June has sprung

Last weekend was our Brookings Quilt Show as part of Azalea Festival. The weather was spotty - but that doesn't deter quilters - we're inside!

We had 162 quilts entered and all showed up. I was so glad I entered quilts that were finished - I remember those last hours of sewing against the clock many times other years and delivering quilts that were 'still smoking!'

But I was kept busy by going to work day on Monday before the show; accepting entries for 4 hours on Friday; helping to hang the show Friday night [my favorite part!]; working the show and photographing all the entries on Saturday; and wandering the show before helping with 'take down' Sunday. It seemed it went well - we'll get our report next Monday night.

We were able to sell cookies for the first time in many years - with the strict instructions that none were to be eaten inside the building. So we advertised "Go Bags of cookies" [for New Orleans fans!] And "Cookies to go".

We had everything! And could smell the baked goods right thru the zip-lock bags! I made batches of my rice krispie bars with M&Ms. But there were all the usual suspects plus a new favorite - Cranberry-White Chocolate-Oatmeal cookie. The recipe is on the Craisins Bag of Dried Cranberries! Trust me - awesome!!

One of the best perks of joining a new quilt guild is they haven't seen your quilts yet. Many don't have date restrictions on entries into shows, so you can bring out your old favorites [and see if they hold up to the new standards!] And I'm happy to report they did!



The oldest quilt I entered was the Blazing Star Whole Cloth quilt. I hand quilted this quilt in Lincoln in 1984. [isn't a yearly 'quilts finished' list handy!!!]
I ordered this pattern and was severely disappointed to receive one quarter of the star drawn out!! I, of course, picked fabrics that were too thick to see thru and had to gerry-rig a light box to trace it. Well, by the time I got to lining up the last quarter - it was 1/2" off. I stomped on it - not kidding - sprayed it with Shout and sent it thru the wash a few times. Determined, next I drew out the pattern on newsprint from a roll; [remember those - you got them from the newspaper office and they were Grrr-eat!!' This time I basted it to the fabric so it wouldn't shift; traced it and proceeded to quilt it with contrasting thread. I even made the hanging loops change color so as to match the side that was hanging out AND added an invisible pocket for a small dowel to help it hang perfectly straight!

I still love it. It was made during my 'blue and brown' period! Ha - I can hear friends laughing!! That period lasted about 30 years!! I still love blues and browns - but do work in different colors -on occasion- now!! LOL!



I entered "Lights Along the Coast" the silk-screened lighthouse panels set in a log cabin setting. My DH's admitted favorite quilt of mine! Although he still has "improvement suggestions"!!



I entered "Season's Greetings, Dearie" this year's Brookings Round Robin quilt. I'm pleased to say that 4 of the 5 quilts in our round were done by the show. And they looked mighty fine!! Many thanks to M in Lincoln for long-arming that quilt for me on my visit to Nebraska in April. It turned out so cute and provided me with a relaxing pre-show interval.



You remember "Be Mine", my Holiday Challenge - my foray into 'slow quilting' last winter. I love it - but it didn't do well in the Guild's Challenge Contest. I was surprised that it won a 3rd place Viewer's Choice at the show. Always fun to walk around the corner and find a ribbon on your quilt!

We're headed to Medford this weekend to send the new parents out for an evening while we babysit Mr D! Almost 2 months old now ... wish us luck!!

Back in the blog business!

I've been spotty in blogging lately - sorry about that. There was nothing major - just a little sleeplessness, spring allergies and laziness. I'm trying to talk myself out of that routine right now!!



We've had so much fun getting to know Mr D. We saw him 3 times before he turned 1 month old! Not bad for a baby that lives 3 hours away! Of course it does help that DH loves to play golf over there. He gained 2 lbs the first month - the doctor asked if he had any other hobbies other than nursing!! NOPE! But cute as a button and starting to do those involuntary smiles!! Fun to watch him grow.

We were up in Portland last weekend and were surprised to see a giant patio project finished before we even knew it had started!! What a nice job - and so much fun to play with the kids somewhere we can also sit while waiting for action to continue! No seats on the cul de sac out front!! They are going to get so much use out of that space - fun, fun, fun!

But of course, we had some rainy days there too - it IS Portland! But L had a 'rainy day activity' hidden away. A "Mousetrap game-like" marble track toy. Unfortunately, it took two adults to figure out how to put it together while a third adult entertained the munchkins out of sight!! LOL! But very entertaining after that.



Did I mention what I got for Mother's Day from L and DH??? Well, L had found a card catalog built like a barrister's bookcase. [It comes apart for easy moving or rearranging!] Lucky for me L didn't find a space for it in her house and it came to me!! DH was not excited - there was work to be done. We hired a cabinet-maker to make a top and toe-guard for it. Then there was a whole lot of elbow grease to clean it up. [No wonder I was having allergy attacks!] - years of spiderwebs, dust and mouse doo-doo! But I'm really happy with the way it turned out. And it holds a lot of little stuff for quilting, of course, you have to remember what drawer you put it in!!! On top is this month's flowers - Flora Pacific does such a good job with monthly bouquets! It was a great gift from DH.



While I was in the quilt cave - I took a full picture of the design wall [instead of just that tease in the other picture]. That's Pies & Tarts on it. My friend J, back in Nebraska got this pattern as an English paper piecing BOM. She's been working on it for a year and it's fabulous. When I saw it a year ago - I tried to join that BOM but no luck. I did get the templates and one of the fabric packs. But then left it to 'age' for a whole year. Does anyone else do that???

This year I had a workshop on 'paperless paper piecing' and figured this would be a good project for that method, especially since I hate English PP! And it's working out well. I'm aiming for 64 pies - that will be a nice 60 x 60ish quilt that will hang in my quilt display space just right. Let's not even mention my ambitious plan of sewing 3 pies and 3 tarts by machine each day and hand appliquing them onto the background each night in front of TV. We all know that's not going to work!! LOL!

The tarts are just 'patted' on since you don't sew them until the blocks are together. I studied pictures of this project on the web, since I had to make up my own fabric selection. I had to make sure that I didn't always line up the dark wedge with the center top. [gives it a little movement] And some blocks will have darker backgrounds with light wedges. Being me [LOL!] I cut wedges for 60+ blocks and an assortment of backgrounds before I really got into production - but it is addicting to see what the next block will look like!!



We have an unexpected sunny day today, in exchange for an unexpected grey day yesterday. We've been having wonderfully civil [8 - 10ish in the mornings] low tides this week. We were down on the beach yesterday and got to see a young teenage? deer frolic in the tidepools! It was running and splashing and you could see he was loving it!! I laughed and he stopped and looked at me like "What are you looking at??" And then splashed some more. FUN!

The Merry, Merry month of May

My goodness, April went fast! Of course, it was visit, visit, visit for 3 weeks - and do wash, unpack and pack again for the 4th week! Besides spending 10 days with my mom for her birthday, a visit with Miss P and Mr M [pictured here in a rare appearance without his sister!],



and we 'accepted delivery' of our new grandson,Mr D!! Two visits to meet and play with him! Here he is 2 weeks old.



I also had a 5-day retreat with the Bayshore Quilters from Newport. What fun that was!Good company and great sunsets!!


Picture 19 crazy quilters meeting in both sides of a duplex in Bandon. Lucky for me, Bandon is pretty much 1/2 way between Brookings and Newport. Although the Newport gals DID leave about 8 am to get there! 4 quilt shops on the way, don't cha know!! I left at 1 pm and we all got there about the same time - 4 pm on monday. Bags were hauled in, sewing machines were set up and let the party begin!!

The projects everyone was working on were awesome. For example, I'd never seen or heard of Lucy Boston's Patchwork of the Crosses. Oh dear, a new category of fabrics to look for!! It's fabulous! A woven log cabin, many sewing kits in an exchange, lots of eye candy - both worked on and brought in from shopping trips!

Tuesday, some of the gals took a crumb quilt class from Nancy Chong of the Pacific Rim Quilting Company. This was the 4th year they arranged a class by her. The renegades - including me - sat at home and worked on our own projects. It was a great sewing day 'while the kids were at school!'

Tuesday, I worked on 'Pies and Tarts' antique reproduction quilt. Instead of English paper piecing, I'm paper-less paper piecing by machine and got several pies and a few tarts pieced and ready for applique that day.

Wednesday was spent working on Sliced Bread - an asymetrical log cabin-ish pattern from Wilmington Fabrics. The link takes you to the index, patterns are in alphabetical order. This was a March Madness workshop we had in Brookings. It's pretty wild, so I'm looking for a 4th 'log' to mute it down a bit. Hmmm, navy? brick red? tone on tones? but 48 blocks later ... it was a very productive day.

Thursday I put my machine away and worked on the Sue Spargo wool applique project from Lincoln's class. And then when I ran out of thread colors I needed, I switched to quilting on "Birds of a Feather." Each year I drag it out of it's corner, I love it, everyone else oohs and ahhs over it and I'm dedicated to finishing it by ... until I get distracted by something else!! Poor UFO! But it's at the head of the list again. [or is it? a shoulder injury from carrying furniture sidelined me this week from any sewing!]

Friday was time to head back home again - with a short stop at Port Orford to pick up some of those missing colors of thread.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Hope yours includes some leisure time, a favorite activity and a wee bit of dessert!!