Mid Week Muses

Well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do a little shopping. The Back Porch Quilt Shop in Pacific Grove has been a long time favorite of mine. Since the area has many art quilters there are many products available to support the creative process. I took Mary Ellen's recommendation and purchased a variety of silk threads because I see the "A" word playing a big part of my future. Of course I found some great fabrics! A dream...of the Empty Spool seminar 2014 is rattling around in my brain! How about you?




Farmers, the food warriors are the hardest working people in the world and you can see it every day in the Salinas Valley. One of my favorite memory photos is of a lettuce field, early in the morning as the sun is rising with dew...like diamonds.



As we passed through Castroville, the artichoke capital of the world I had to pick some up...yummy.



Our final stop was the cemetery to spend time with the parental unit's, cleaning and weeding their grave site. The Monterey Bay is just over the sand dune behind them...where they spent so many i happy times. I believe places like this had a place when we were not such a transitory society...now it is difficult. I feel challenged by the idea that someday these sites will no longer be tended, abandoned by time and distance.



Sometimes I wonder about my quilts...I make them for my own joyful satisfaction but a part of me hopes that a few family members love them after I have gone to the sewing room in the sky and they become a part of family lore...remember that ancestor who had a whole room just for quilting?!


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Did You Guess???

On yesterday's post the first two photos were taken on the streets of Sonoma...what a wonderful little town. And, they have a quilt shop...that slideshow to come later this week when I get around to making it. The 2nd two photos were traveling down Hwy 101...the next, the lettuce fields of Salinas, the salad bowl of the world. Followed by the grapes of Parsonage Winery...boy are you ever in for a treat with that slideshow!! Lastly, Monterey Bay...the view from our window. Boy, have HH and I been reminiscing.

I hate how big my butt looks in this photo! The shadow is me!



No matter where we are...the deer follow us, lol.



The largest antique store, 3 floors of stuff in the old Holman's building in Pacific Grove.



Here is a little tease...guess where I was?



Lunch was at one of our favorite places, Dametra's in Carmel. Music and...



...the chef came out to sing! It makes the food taste better!



More Woolie adventures to come!

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Where in the World is the Woolie??

Remember that show, Where in the World is Carmen Santiago...or Where in the World is Matt Lauer? Well, can you guess where in the world the Woolie is? These two signs are located off a beautiful square.







Then we saw this car go by and it brought to mind Sue, who said not to let her hang any teddy bears on her front door! Or anywhere around her! She is not allowed to collect teddy bears! LOL



Can you guess where this was?? Some people take their dogs for a walk and some take their rocks for a ride!




There are fields and fields of green gold here! Can you guess what this is and where it is?




Hummm...wonder where this is? You are going to be in for a treat later this week! Slideshows galore!



Is this a lake!!!



...and I am continuing with block 11!




Did you have a great weekend?


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Thing One and Thing Two...

I know it is a weird title for a post, but I am a Dr. Seuss fan ...and, for some reason when I see this photo of Jeanette, the incoming director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show and Ann, the outgoing director I see 2 people who are going to shake up our world this summer!!!  Jeanette has a long history of supporting non profit organizations with her talent.  Having moved here less than a month ago from Wisconsin she has jumped right in, absorbing all the info she can from Ann.  Jeanette didn't move alone...she came with Sally her dog.  You'll see them taking walks around Sisters, so be sure and say hello.

I enjoyed a wonderful lunch with these two along with Sue, Mary and Kathy, 3 other quilters and supporters of the show.  We enjoyed lunch at The Open Door which is a little bistro off the Clearwater Gallery.  If you're ever in Sisters I can attest my lunch was delish!!!  A grill portobello mushroom sandwich and tomato bisque...YUMMM.

After lunch I headed over to the Stitchin' Post to pick up tickets for the Friday night program and dinner featuring Kathy Doughty of Material Obsession located in Australia!  I have attended one of her presentations  before and she is an amazing quilt artist!  I hope to see you there!!!  

If you have been a customer of the Stitchin Post in the past you will be amazed at the transformation the shop has taken in the last few months.  It is bright and fresh!  Modern is the word that would describe the shop.  Although I am a traditional quilter you cannot ignore the modern movement in quilting and there is something refreshing about a modern quilt.  I hope you enjoy a peek at the shop as the busy bees get it ready for Quilt Show week!  Have a great weekend and we'll meet you back here on Monday.

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Rambling Thoughts

I did a little stitching on my 2012 Primitive Gathering BOW...I'm on block 11 but it wasn't enough to take a photo of and share.  I did decide that I will be making aprons for my sister and her friends who are coming for Quilt Show this year and so I played with fabrics.  I need 2 prints for each apron.  I wanted a special one for my sister which required a trip to the Stitchin' Post for some of Valori's new fabric line Wish.  I love the idea of the wishes of her family and friends printed on the limbs of trees.

This past weekend my phone made a little jingle and when I looked on the screen it was a reminder that it was my mom's birthday.  When I programmed it originally I must have set it on a yearly reminder.  It gave me pause...she would have been 83.  Sometimes it is a little thing that will make you take an intake of air that hurts to the core.  Now it is my sister and I...we are the oldest generation of our immediate family...how the heck did that happen???  

Times keep a marching, today our youngest turns 25!!! Happy Birthday Connor! ...when we were in Redmond I took a photo of this building...we used to take our kids here for lunch and an afternoon of fun...it was a funky museum with games to play...now it is a run down building for sale....most likely some one will buy it, knock it down and build a mini-mall.  It would make a really big quilt store!!! LOL  Maybe I can convince Fabric Depot to open a satellite depot in Central Oregon!  Not!!!  We have many wonderful shops and I hope that those of you who can make it to the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show this year enjoy all the shopping opportunities.

Evaluation Time

I realized that it is Evaluation Time!  Since I no longer work for an organization which gives me a evaluation I have decided that I will give myself one every 6 months.  Evals are about the good, the bad and the ugly.  I want to use this opportunity to see where I have been and where I plan on going.  I had an opportunity to hear how my "excited about everything" personality, Labrador Retriever brain...I want to do, see and experience it all...doesn't always work for those around me.  I think it may be time to rein it in a little...not commit, volunteer or join everything that looks exciting...for myself and those around me.  I also am looking at how I spend my quilting time.  It seems since I gave up the day job I am less productive...what the hey is that about.  Those of you who are retired...are you getting more quilting done or less??? 

What I am feeling good about is I have week 1 of the Temecula BOW done!!!  Isn't that Dresden plate just the cutest! And I checked my mailbox and block 2 hasn't arrived!  This is what it must feel like to be on top of a project. :)

Talking with my friend Lori today...we started dreaming about how we want to approach our huge desire for new projects and completing what we have...yikes it is a daunting.  What we need to do is work on Halloween and Christmas projects now...which means a re-evaluation of the summer quilting projects.  What are you working on...right now???  A summer project...or a Christmas project???

I also forgot about my Monday...book and garden report...so you are getting it today.  The book I am reading is "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls" by David Sedaris.  I have definitely had some laugh out loud moments...and...no way moments while reading.  He is not everyone's cup of tea but I have been a long time fan of David Sedaris.  As for gardening, %^&* it was supposed to hit freezing last night...come on, it's JUNE!!! All right, already...I don't want to see the 30's until December! 

The Woolie slideshow is always a fun one...after all, I am partial to wool...duh! lol

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Therapy...A dog has got to do what a dog's gotta do...

I was watching the nightly news and they had a segment on Service Dogs at the local college who are providing therapy for the poor students who are in the middle of their finals week!!!  I almost pee'd my pants laughing so hard...therapy dogs for finals week.  Give me a freakin' break!!! Finals week is supposed to be stressful, filled with days and nights of junk food...no sleep...heck I remember one quarter at the University of California, Santa Barbara where I didn't sleep for 3 days during final weeks!  Then I realized that I had a Service Dog at home although not for finals week...yes, Enzo who has never had a morsel of people food in his entire life discovered his calling.  He is now Wyatt's personal Service Dog...clearing up any morsels that fell to the floor.

Material Girls was a treat yesterday.  Honorary MG, Diane from Texas was visiting...which meant we had a mini show and tell.  That way Diane could see what we were up to since her visit last fall.  We don't just sit around eating and talking...we actually quilt!

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Adventureland!

This past weekend was a combination of Mr. Toads Wild Ride and Adventureland!  Our DIL was having a cousin/sister weekend and so the son brought his kids over the mountain to spend the weekend with Grandpa G and Nana.  First on the agenda was the 2013 Sisters Rodeo!  The parade consists of the local high school band,  all the rodeo princesses and queens in the state...talk about a some beautiful women on horses!...and various organizations...pure small town fun!

It wouldn't be a parade without the Corgi's pulling their wagon and their musher Ann (outgoing director of the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show)

Paige, the webmaster for the Stitchin' Post was riding her horse in the parade also!

Needless to say, every parade needs a couple of chicken driving a car!

The finale is always a salute to our local fire departments!

Sweet exhaustion pursued me this weekend...heck it had been 24 years since I had a little one to chase around!  And this little guys was on the go...no wonder they say children are for the young, lol. We had a blast spending time with our grandkids...and we know that time is limited.  Our 11 year old grandson is already more interested is spending time with his cousins then a couple of old fogies, lol!

up and down the stairs we went!

Enzo was trying to teach him to ring the bell...and they will open the door!

Come on kid...what did you do with the bell?

Hey!!!  This is my bed...and those are my treats!

When we walked down to the mailbox I discovered a package from Temecula Quilt Company...what the heck?  I don't remember ordering something from them???  Then I opened it up and my memory returned.  When I looked at the project I thought this is totally doable!!!....then I remembered it was a BOW, dang!!!

What did you do this past weekend????

Is It TGIF?

It seems the days are running together!  As you may have noticed as we moved into June I have been posting Monday-Friday with a break on the weekend.  I am enjoying this schedule of posting and I hope you are also.  This week HH and I hit the antique/2nd hand stores looking for specific items.  We did find a bench for the front porch which I will show you on a future post.  What we did not buy was this cat...I am not sure about this cat...there is something kinda creepy about a cat in a dress and bonnet.

I also saw this item...when I was in high school I was convinced that this was going to take a couple of inches off my rear.  Instead I think it might have shook a few marbles loose!  Did you ever use one of these?

My sweet DIL always makes sure we get a couple of photos of the boys each week and this little guy is gonna break hearts someday...

Embroidery group at Sew Many Quilts was so fun!  Lots to catch up on as I have missed a few gatherings during the move.  I hope you get inspired and find a project you just can't live without! This week the rodeo is in town and the grandson's will be here for the parade, yippy skippy!

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Chatty Woolie + A Slide Show

Well I have gotten a lot of responses to the posting of Anne's Homespun Houses.  I know that it has spurred me on to try and get mine done before Fall...sigh...so much desire and so little concentration, lol.

The pattern is located in this book.  No, this book isn't one of  Lisa's at Primitive Gatherings and it is out of print but you can find copies for sale on line.  Try Amazon.  It is a wonderful book filled with many great projects!

Has anyone else been having a hard time quilting because the weather is sooooo dang beautiful!  I have been trying but my attention span for quilting is a nano second...well, a little bit longer.  I have been dropping into bed each night and falling sound asleep.  I have to tell you I have found out an interesting fact...my sister told me a while ago that some of the problems that we have with our necks/headaches has to do with the use of pillows when sleeping.  While sleeping on her back she does not use a pillow...when she turns on her side she uses the pillow.  While we were in Chicago at a hotel I couldn't do it...but, here at home on my Temperpedic Bed I have been doing it for a week...and guess what?!  No neck pain from stitching/cutting or sewing.  It feels weird at first but I can tell that without a pillow my head, neck and spine are in alignment!  I think I will have many more years of stitching ahead of me!

Enjoy the slideshow of quilts made my Janie Adams of Bend, Oregon.  She comes from a family of people who love to sew and craft. Upon retiring in 2006 she really jump started her quilting.

The photo below is from a Telamadera Fusion class Janie took from Alma de la Melena Cox.  Wish you could see it in person...absolutely beautiful!

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