Back To The Oregon Coast (Florence, OR)

First I want to thank all our Veterans today and to my husband who served in the USAF.

We left Sutherlin to go to Eugene for some repairs on the bedroom's slideout.  The air bladder that seals the slideout has been leaking air for the last two months.  Dan had slowed down the air loss, but it was time to get it replaced before winter set in.

The cats were not happy campers when we spent the night in a motel.  Because it was a last minute reservation, we ended up in a room at the end of the building with the staircase along our headboard's wall.  Every time someone went up or down the stairs the whole wall shook.  Dusty growled several times until he finally gave up and sat as far away from the wall as possible.  Hitch and Dusty slowly adjusted to their new surroundings while Max found a way to hide inside the bed.  He finally came out late that night to nuzzle me several times for reassurance then to eat and use the litter box.  Come morning, he was once again inside the bed.  We had fun lifting the bed to get him out when we were ready for checkout.

Don't tell the cats:  this coming Sunday night, we are going back to the same motel for another four nights while we get solar panels installed.  We have asked for a room away from the stairs.  I doubt that will make a difference for Max.  It will be a very long week for everyone.

Dusty and Hitch claiming their spots

Our two weeks in Florence has been nice if a little foggy and wet.  The best part about the weather has been the red mushrooms popping up.  We are not seeing as many of the red mushrooms as we have in the past.  This is the best grouping Dan spotted while on one of our walks.  

 We visited the South Jetty (South Beach) park to check out the beach that we could barely see and the dunes which were buzzing with lots of activity.  We found the fog had added drama to the sand dunes and to....

the beach.

We drove up Hwy. 101 and stopped at the overlook to view the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

I never tire of seeing Oregon's rugged coast.  It's amazing what a little fog can do to change the atmosphere of a welcoming lighthouse to spooky feeling. 😊 I took this one a couple of days before Halloween. 

I noticed about four of these statues around Florence.  I took photos of the two sea lions in the downtown area.

Dancing with Sea Lions artwork

I found this article about 20 "Dancing with Sea Lion" statues that are scattered from Florence to Newport. I will be keeping an eye out for more when we come back to the coast.

On The Cutting Board

I have closed my Etsy shop for the next week while we wait on our motorhome.  I will have quite a few new items to list when I open back up on November 20.

I finished my True Lover's Knot.  All hand done with scissors, pencils, and needles.  No machine was used until I sewed on the binder.

It did take a couple of years from cutting out templates to quilting the layers, but I feel it is one of my best quilts.

I finished the binding on the other two and they too will be ready to be listed.  I was worried about binding the rounded corners.  I was very surprised by how easy it was and the corners are not curling from being too tight.

I love the way my playful cat quilt came out.  I tempted to keep it for myself!

I have also finished up quite a few new Happy Campers to be listed soon.  I just need to spend some time taking photos for the listings.

I have more mug rugs waiting to be embroidered so I will have something to do while sitting in the motel room when I'm not soothing nervous cats.

Happy Quilting!

Quiet Days, Lazy Ways (Florence, OR)

Happy Valentine's Day!  Today, I'm feeling very lazy.  I know there are projects I want to get done before we leave here, but motivation seems be running on empty.  I am certainly aware that the days are flying by.  Hard to believe we have been here for ten days. 

I thought I would share this for Valentine's Day from LOLCats - A purrfect spot for a cat to wear his heart...

source:  ICanHasCheezburger

We are enjoying a break in the rain, but no sunshine.  I haven't taken a single new photo.  So, here are a couple of old photos from our sunny day in Florence....

And one more of the duck enjoying the weather while swimming around the docks....

On The Cutting Board

I know I should be thinking of heart-filled items to make to celebrate today, but I really want to get some UFO's done.  

I decided to take apart the heart on the gingerbread man.  You can't see the heart with all those beads.  I knew that I wanted to do something to accent the heart instead of hiding it.

After, viewing some online photos of other quilters crazy quilts, I decided to do something similar by embellishing the heart with beads, lace, and ribbons.

It isn't very Christmas-y, but I can see the heart now.  I did try to add the look of mistletoe hanging below the heart.  Next time, if there is a next time, I will try to stitch in some mistletoe before assembling.

The top looked a little too plain, so I added more buttons with lace and ribbons.

This time I am happy with the results.

Off to get some more stitching done.  I'm not sure what to work on next...hmm, I have turtles to applique, a cat to quilt....I should clean out my scrap bags...eh!...time for a walk.  Get that heart pumping and some oxygen to the brain...yawn!
Happy Quilting!

Sunshine and Christmas Stockings (Florence, OR)

We had a full day of sunshine after the much needed rain moved inland.  We took advantage of the sunshine and drove into town for a walk through downtown Florence.  We were not the only ones enjoying the sunshine.  People were out walking their dogs, hummingbirds were zipping around in and out of flowering bushes.

 We stopped at a sweet shop on the main street for a sugar fix.  I had the best pumpkin ice cream ever!  Okay, so I have never had pumpkin ice cream, but it was very good and it was not so rich that by the end I was still enjoying the flavor.

On The Cutting Board

I have been looking through my Etsy inventory and wondering why some items have not sold by now.  I decided it was time to modify or transform a few of the items to see if that will make a difference.  Plus, some of my old photos need to be taken again.  

So, I'm starting with the Christmas stockings.  Above, it the old photo of the stocking and below.  Quite a difference from my old photo.

I added a ribbon rosette with some metallic red thread.  I also added some clear glass seed beads to the rose for a dew drop look.

The gingerbread man was a little harder to add to without blocking the little guy...

So, I added a doubled red bow with green thread and white glass seed beads giving him a more festive look.

With the second gingerbread man, I decided to spruce up his little heart....

with some seed beads and threads.  Hmmm, this one might go back for more changes.  The heart has disappeared behind all the beads.

I got a little more creative with the elf's hat on this one.

I added purple and red metallic threads with more gold seed beads.

I don't have the old photo for the reindeer.  I added a green bow with gold metallic and blue threads.

The ribbon and threads were not enough this time.  I added a blue star and some clear seed beads to give the reindeer a more winter look.

Well, I am off to my Etsy shop to change photos and renew the listings.  

Happy Quilting!

Heathers and Angel (Florence, Or)

We moved back to the coast just before another cold front hit Oregon.  So today, we are sitting inside while watching the snow fall.  It's too bad it is not sticking to the foliage for me to get photos this time. 

I did get some photos yesterday of Heather soaking up the sun's rays.  They are blooming every where in the Florence area.

They are so delicate looking.  I love the colors of lavender and sage combined.   I have thought of making a quilt in those two colors, but I have never found the right fabric.

One more of some bright red berries.  So nice to see some color blooming in February.  I bet March will be an explosion of colors along the coast.

On The Cutting Board

I finished the custom order and mailed her out yesterday.  I set a new record on finishing this mug rug.

I definitely like the straight eyes better.  I'm thinking of making Uncle Sam and Santa with straight eyes.

Now, I can finish up my other projects.  I have been thinking about some new mug rug and wall hanging designs.  I hope to post about them soon.

Happy Quilting!

Sunshine On My Shoulders (Florence, OR)

We went downtown Florence on two different days.  We walked along the main street and the port.  We stopped often to read each building's sign that gave us a short description of their history.  One building actually slid into the Siuslaw river and was pulled back out by the owner.  The building is still standing and being used today.

We did not see any sea lions, but we did see some birds sitting out while soaking up the sun.  We noticed this Great Blue Heron has been in the same spot both times.  He is sitting on what looks like an old wharf near the town's park.

Go away.  I'm trying to sleep here.

He blends in rather well.  We almost missed him.  While taking its pictures, a motorboat went flying by and this was its reaction to it.

We need a "No Wake Zone!" sign.

In the meantime, the Cormorants were enjoying the sunshine and drying their wings.

That is the old Siuslaw River Bridge that was built by Conde McCullough in 1936.  I am always amazed by all his bridges with the beautiful art deco design and by the fact that they are still being used despite their age.  He built bridges to last more than a lifetime. Of course, the ODOT does a great job of maintaining these beautiful bridges.

oh yea, that feels soooo good

Titanic move over

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for walking and enjoying the sights.

On The Cutting Board

I'm moving right along on my next custom order.  Of course, it helps that the pattern is already to go from Nancy Halvosen's book.  The snowman is pretty simple.

I straightened out his eyes and he looks pretty good that way.  Maybe I should make more with straight eyes instead of following Nancy's pattern.

The Cupid/Angel looks very stylish with her new hairdo and straightened eyes.  I also did a double layer of peach for the face so the rose bud fabric would not show through her face.  Seems to be working quite well.

I used a crayon to give her a little pink to her cheeks.  After coloring with the crayon, I put muslin over it and heated the area with the iron until I smelled wax.  I read it will fuse to the fabric and not wash out.

Well, time to pull out the sewing machine and get them done.

Happy Quilting!