Sweet Dreams (Hot Springs, SD)

Well, I can't believe it!  I have sold 100 item through Etsy.  Wow!  To think when I first opened my shop, I really did not think I would sell more than a couple of items before I would get discouraged and close my shop. 

 My customers have been wonderful with their reviews, but I have also been seeing quite a few comments that my photos are not doing my hand work justice.  Sooo, I'm working on getting at least one close-up of each item.

You can now do a thread count on the fabric and see every single stitch.  I'm not sure if this will be a good thing, but I'll post one macro for each item listed.

The Sweet Dreams quilt is finally finished!  A year or so in the making and I am very sad to see it done.  I found the small embroidery projects fast and fun on those evenings when I did not have the energy to think out a complicated project.  I might have to make another one.  Although, I do have the Snowman collection to embroider.  Maybe I should work on that one first.

I took a photo of all the embroidered blocks.   I have added a new page at the top of my blog with all the photos from the quilt.  When I list it, I will offer the link so people can look at all the cute critters.  I probably should do at least one close-up so an interested buyer can count my stitches.

I started working on a custom order for a friend.  Her sister loves her motorhome and travels part-time with her family.  Her motorhome is very long so I had shorten the length so it would fit on paper and I made it taller.  I will use the dark pink floral for the backing.  

The light green will be the motorhome.  I haven't decided if the dark teal or the light pink will be used for the doors.  Or maybe, I should look for a different light pink to match better.  What do you think?

Well, back to the drawing board!

Happy Quilting!

Living In A Fog (FLorence, OR)

We visited the Heceta Head Lighthouse (Ha-SEE-Ta) a couple of days ago.  The fog bank was sitting low and giving the area an eerie Gothic look with sunshine.  I went nuts with the camera.  I'll try not to overdue the photos.  I get the feeling this place sees more fog than sunshine.

From the parking lot and beach area, we got a great view of one of the original houses.  The house is now a B&B and the head lighthouse keeper's home.  

There were more black birds than seagulls all over the beach area adding to the atmosphere.

It's too bad a second house that probably housed the assistants was dismantled and the lumber sold.  I would liked to have seen the other one.  This one is a wonderful well-maintained Queen Anne-style home.  I just love this porch.  A great place of a cup of tea...and to have

such a gorgeous view!  So peaceful with just the sound of birds and the ocean crashing against the rocks below.  

You can see the lighthouse between the flag pole and the house.  The keepers have a short walk up a hill to the lighthouse.  Not too bad of a walk as long as you are not carrying a heavy load.

The lighthouse was started in 1892 and was first lit on May 30, 1894.  Restoration was done in 2011.  The lighthouse looks almost brand new.  The lighthouse is still active and its beam shines out to sea for 21 miles.  Making it one of the strongest lights on the Oregon coast.

On The Cutting Board

I finished and mailed my latest custom orders.  I hope my customer is happy with them.

I'm back to working on some unfinished projects for November.  I started the one below during the summer.  Now I'm not happy with the shadow coming through the face.  In the above photo of the Cupid/Angel, you can't see the print beneath her face.  Two layers of fabric really makes a difference.  From now on, I'll be doubling the peach fabric!  She is still cute despite the shadow.  I plan to finish her with some oak leaf quilting and a teal border.

This pattern is a smaller version of the one above for embroidery only.  Both are designed by Nancy Halvorsen.   I decided to add coloring to this one with crayons.  I have been following Mamacjt's blog.  She is the one that got me started on thinking outside the box or crayon box.  The regular Crayola crayons work quite well.

The instructions are easy enough.  After the pattern has been transferred to fabric, iron a sheet of waxed paper to the back to stabilize the fabric while coloring.  I did not do that this time because I had already started stitching when I decided it needed more color.   After the coloring is done, pull off the waxed paper.  Heat iron on cotton setting, cover project with muslin, and press until you smell melting wax.  Ta-da!

Next time, I will use some waxed paper.  I want to see if I can get a deeper darker coloring into the fabric.  First, I need to finish these two...so back to the projects...

Happy Quilting!

Time To Move South (Seaside, OR)

Where did the time go?  Our two week stay in Seaside just flew by.  Between visiting family, taking care of some motorhome problems, shopping, and finishing two more custom orders...well, I can say we did not sit around twirling our thumbs.

Travel day - time to move back to Pacific City for the next two weeks.  Then we will come back here for another two weeks before heading farther south along Oregon's coast.  Which reminds me....I have updated our travel map page.  The last place I logged in was back in Idaho.  Yea, I was a little behind on keeping that up-to-date.

On The Cutting Board

I will be mailing six mug rugs to three different customers today.  This will be a first for me!  I finished the two "Travels with Emma" on Friday night and I was able to finish another custom order for a red/aqua Happy Camper over the weekend.  Having a pattern and a plan makes the work go a lot faster.

 I also sold the last maroon/tan Happy Camper with the two Sheepish Lamb mug rugs.

I was so excited over selling so many this month that I pulled out some half done mug rugs and I plan to finish them within the next two weeks.

I will be making more Happy Campers.  I have some more trailers all cut out, but I want to get these four mug rugs done first.  Once I start adding embellishments..well, let me just say I might working on one for a while.  I really enjoy creating and designing the trailers.

Frog design from PC Crafter - no name

Halloween will be here soon...and Thanksgiving....and Christmas....okay....breathe

Hood to Coast Relay

On Saturday, we walked downtown to watch the runners for the Hood to Coast Relay cross the finish line.  

In 1982, they started with 8 teams.  Today, there were 1,050 teams of 12 runners running a relay for 198 miles.   They started on Friday and finished on Saturday.  It was very inspiring to see so many people take on this challenge.

Each team was able to follow their finishing team member across the finishing line.  I thought that was a nice touch.

Each runner had to run 3 legs of the race.  The relay started on Mt. Hood and finished on Seaside's beach.

Lots of support

 They had live music, food, and fireworks that night.  Seaside was booming with life and energy.  I like the running shoes on top of this team support van.

Time to pack up and head on down the road...

Happy Trails!

I'm Actually Busy! (Pacific City, OR)

On Th Cutting Board

All Right!  I finished my second custom order and within a week's time.  Of course, it helped that I already had the templates from the first one.  So, here's the finished Harvey J.

I like the deeper colors of the new one.  If you are wondering what I am going to do with the blotchy first one, I'm going to mail it with the other one.  It was almost done, so why let it go to waste?  Now the customer can hang one up and use the other one.

I have a new custom order for two new mug rugs.  This one is for "Travels with Emma".  Emma is the dog in the left-hand corner.  The blue is for the windows because Emma is going to be looking out the window.  This will be a new challenge for me.  So far, I have found some good samples of royalty-free cliparts of dogs that look similar to Emma and matching fabric.  I hope to get started on the mug rugs today.

 Today, I was on Facebook and there was another one of my mug rugs being advertised by Etsy!  This time I clicked on "Quilts on Etsy" and I was surprised it took me straight to my Vintage Trailer!  That is so cool!

Of course, this one sold already, but at least it is taking customers to my shop.  Thank you Etsy for the free advertisement!  All four of my Vintage Trailers have sold!  Which means I better get busy with making more mug rugs.

The following photos were taken at the Yaquina Lighthouse and the rocky beach area from Newport.  I'm glad I uploaded the following photos earlier this month.  I don't know if I could have done them while we are here in Pacific City.  I can't even get the link to the state park's website to share with you.  Oh well.

 

Anyway, we had a great time watching the harbor seals sunning on the rocks..

listening to the birds...and smelling them too...

exploring the tide pools....

and getting some great close-ups of sea life...

Even though I have seen this lighthouse a couple of times, I never tire of looking at it again or any of the other lighthouses that we have visited in the past.  They are so fascinating.

As much as I enjoy the rustic lifestyle, I'll be so happy to move next Monday to Seaside....back to civilization...back to cell phone service....back to WiFi....back to some kind of TV signal...Yes!  We are only spending two weeks at Seaside.  Before we head back to Pacific City, I do hope to get caught up with everything online.

Well, time to get back to work.  I have mug rugs to wrap up for mailing and a new custom order to get started.  Pinch me!  I can't believe I am this busy!  

Happy Quilting!

In A Fog (Newport, OR)

Check out the screen print below.  Not Castleville and yes, I do play a couple of games online.  I like the graphics and they are fun to play.  

No, I'm talking about the rabbit in the circle.  That is one of my mug rugs being used for an Etsy ad.  I'm thrilled they did that, but wouldn't it have been nice if they had notified me and had a link to my shop?  Oh well, I guess I can't be too picky about getting some free attention.  Right?

So, I have been working hard on finishing my friend's two mug rugs.  This is what they looked like two days ago.

Yesterday, all three were ready for their quilting, a button, and a patch on the back.  I'm not sure which of the other two she will want for her friend - the one with the cups or the kitty peeking out the window.  They will be done by Saturday.

Since I started talking about making two mug rugs for my friend, I have had two more requests.  I decided it was time to research Etsy's Custom Orders to make it easier for customers and for me.  I plan to keep the Custom Orders for mug rugs and wall hangings only.  I don't have enough room to special order "yards" of fabrics for quilts.  Where the smaller projects use fat-quarters or less than a half yard.

With the custom order button, a customer opens a request for a special order.  Once we agree on a project, the customer will pay upfront.  The payment will be held by Etsy.  The order is completed when I ship and notify the customer....then Etsy pays me.  I'll see how this goes for a few months.

On The Cutting Board

Before I received the new requests, I had already started two owls....

....and two more vintage trailers.  The other Vintage Trailers are still available in my Etsy shop if you are interested in one of them.

More Photos of Sisters

Here's a few more shots from Sisters.  I haven't taken many photos here in Newport because it has been very foggy.  My main goal lately is to walk as fast a possible to get out of the chilly wind!  Great way to burn some calories!

Now that's a view - quilts and the snow covered mountain

vintage truck showing off its own beauty next to the quilts

Happy Quilting!