Smokey (Sutherlin, OR)

A lot has happened since my last post.  After leaving Blaine for the second time, I was hoping for blue skies and clean air in Monroe.  As you can see from the photo below through my bedroom window, that did not happen.  The wildfire smoke was even thicker in Monroe, but we still managed to get outside once in awhile.

Monroe, WA

A week later, we moved to Chehalis, WA.  We were pleasantly surprised to find clear blue skies and a very nice shady site considering that the campgrounds have been very busy this summer.  The cats loved our  new wooded site so much that we had to argue with them late at night that we were not going outside.  They did get to spend more time outside while we were there.

Max's new throne in Chehalis

We were able to get back into our walking routine.  This is a view of Mount St. Helens from one of the sites.  What a view!

Mt. St. Helens

The Thousands Trails park had some great trails going around the perimeter.  One of the trails led to their chapel in the woods.

The sky was so clear that we were able to view the 96%  eclipse from one of the campground's open fields.  We found out that being on I-5 wasn't such a great place to be during the eclipse with all the viewers traveling to and from Oregon that weekend.  It was bad enough that I-5 was moving at a snail's pace (southbound on Thursday and northbound on Tuesday), but Chehalis was getting an overflow of travelers trying to beat the interstate traffic caused quite a congestion for the town.  We finally decided to hideout in the campground until the traffic cleared out.

Dan was trying to get us moved down to Oregon in mid-August with no luck.  All the campgrounds were packed full of eclipse viewers.  The first openings was almost a week after the eclipse.  We are finally settled in Sutherlin, OR in the Escapees Timber Valley SKP.

.....and we are back in the wildfire smoke.  It was so smokey that the sun had a red tint to it during the day and we could not see beyond the first tree-line.  This lasted only the first few days of our stay.  It sounds like the fires are contained, but not completely out.  I hope this will be the end of wildfires for our firemen, the relief efforts, and for the locals involved.  It certainly has been a trying month for all between wildfires and Harvey.

I am actually finding it hard to adjust to our quiet surroundings after dealing with packed campgrounds since summer started.  Our new neighbors are very quiet and a little strange looking.

I'm slowly warming up to them.  They are fun to watch after all....  😄 🐰

Do you think he knows I am watching him?

I'm watching you...watching me

You should see the other neighbors....what a bunch of turkeys! 🦃🦃🦃  They keep alerting on the cats and gobbling to each other.  😆

On The Cutting Board

All right!  I quilted all four tops and I am adding the binding now.  Here are the other two that I promised to show you.  This is the first time I have tried the rounded corners.  I hope I gathered enough binding into the corners.  I'm a little worried that the corners will end up too tight or warped.  I'm working on this one tonight.   

I love the way this one came out.  It will make a cute newborn gift.  I want to make this quilt pattern again.  Maybe with different appliqués at the top.

I had enough teddy bear fabric leftover from another quilt to make a scrappy lap quilt using the Crazy 8 pattern.

I changed the fonts on the Bear Hugs.  I think it looks a lot better than the last one.

Okay, I could not resist showing off the black cats again....

....and the Showered with Love quilt as well.  Did I mention that I sewed this top by hand except for the border?  I need to put another kit together for more hand sewing outdoors.

I'm working on some new Happy Campers.  I recently had a request for a Yorkie peeking out the window.  I had to make the window a little bigger in order to keep the face from becoming one big blur of black thread.  I think this will work out well.

Well, plenty to do and more to plan so I better get back to it!
Happy Quilting!

Hazy Daze (Monroe, WA)

I have seen a couple of people refer to this as the 'Wildfire Season' and I now understand why.  It's not just the burn-ban or the threat of a wildfire, it is the smoke-filled air mixed with very high temperatures during the day.  

Blaine, WA

Our second visit to Blaine started out with fabulous weather, but during our last week, we started experiencing hazy days with smoke from Canada's wildfires.  We moved south to Monroe, WA on Tuesday only to find the smoke thicker here.  I haven't seen the local news lately, so I am not aware of wildfires nearby.  I would not be surprised to learn there are a few burning in Washington and in Oregon.  I can only hope that our brave firefighters stay safe and are able to get the wildfires under control soon.

In the meantime, I feel like I have gone a couple of rounds in a boxing ring.  It is hard for us to filter out the smoke during the night.  Every morning I wake up feeling like I have been punched in the face with my sinuses bruised and my eyes all puffy.  I feel really bad for those with respiratory problems.

Before the smoke moved in, we spent one afternoon walking through the Blaine Marine Park.  We like to take the walking trail instead of the sidewalk so we can view sea birds on the shores along with a nice view of the Peace Arch Park and White Rock, BC.

There are wild blackberry bushes along the trail with water fountains...

and artwork.

The trail ends at a public pier overlooking views across the bay to Semiahmoo Resort and Pt. Roberts.  

This last picture is looking inland towards Blaine.  What a view!

On The Cutting Board

I can actually say something good came out of me feeling bad.  I have been very focused on finishing a few UFOs.  I finished four quilt tops.  They are pinned, and ready to be quilted!  Below is the new Black Cat quilt that I am making for a customer's request.  She bought the last one I made, but she asked if I could make a larger lap quilt.

I made the top bigger and did not realize that I had made it bigger than the backing fabric I had already chosen for it.  I really did not want to go shopping for more fabric, so I decided to extend the backing with leftover fabric from the quilt.  Now, the customer can display the front or the back of her quilt!

Backing for Black Cat quilt

Below is a photo of the Showered with Love quilt.  Lots of scraps used in this one....and yet the scraps seem to be growing.....taking over my storage bin...I think their master plan is to take over the motorhome......  Okay, back to reality.  This quilt is pinned and ready for quilting.  I will show the other two quilts next time.

Showered with Love

I was so happy to finish four quilts that I took a picture of the four together.  Then, I really started looking at this pile and it suddenly dawned on me that I had no idea where I was going to store my new quilts.  Darn!  I thought I was being smart trying to use up my stash.  Instead, I have created a new problem.  I spent the next couple of hours going through my storage areas.  I have some space open up since I used up the last of my batting,  That helped a little.  

Then I came across two pillow forms and remembered that I had planned to make two more pillows for our dining room benches.  I had forgotten about them since we had the bench seats reupholstered.  Talk about a senior moment!  The quilts were put aside and I went to work on the pillow covers.  I had already finished the two appliquéd centers.  I just needed to add a border and quilt.  I kept the quilting simple and was done within a couple of weeks.

And now...I can finish my four quilts!

Happy Quilting!

Happy Halloween!

Well, it is time to say good-bye to our son and to all my friends here in Albuquerque.  I was hoping for an extended stay, but the weather is not cooperating.  There is a cold front moving south and will be here by Wednesday.  So, tomorrow we are on our way to El Paso, TX.  I'm not sure how long we will stay, but you can bet I will let you know!

A very good friend sent this cute email and I wanted to share it with you.  I wish I could figure out how to upload the cute clipart.  Since I can't, I thought some LOLCats will have to do....

Halloween Rules for Seniors

You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You keep knocking on your own front door.

9. You remove your false teeth to

Change your appearance.

8. You ask for soft high fiber candy only.

7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag,

You lose your balance and fall over.

6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,'
And you're not wearing a mask.

see more dog and puppy pictures

5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...'

And you can't remember the rest.

4. By the end of the night, You have a bag full
of restraining orders.

3. You have to carefully choose a costume that

Doesn't dislodge your hairpiece.

2. You're the only Power Ranger in the

Neighborhood with a walker.

And the number one reason

Seniors should not go

Trick Or Treating...
*
*
*
1. You keep having to go home to pee.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

No matter, have a Safe and 
HAPPY HALLOWEEN anyway.

New Mug Rugs

I listed four mug rugs for the Fall season yesterday.  Here are a couple of pumpkins ready to harvest with Autumn colors.

Pumpkin Mug Rug

Pumpkin Mug Rug

All the designs are by  Nancy Halvorsen from Art to Heart.  I love the whimsical folk look of the black cat sitting in the pumpkin patch.

This whimsical Black Cat sits in the pumpkin patch
while holding your hot drink on long winter evenings. No jinx here!

I used fabric with spider webs on this mug rug to give it more of a Halloween look.  I also added a couple of small bats to fly around kitty's head.

Black Cat Mug Rug with Spider Webs

Back to the two quilts - I made binding for both quilts and got  the binding on yesterday.  I make a bias-cut and doubled binding for better strength and endurance.

Dusty decided to be my inspector to make up for his attitude the other day.  While I trimmed the edges before hand-sewing the binding to the back, he gave it a good inspection from above.......

I don't know I think I might need a closer look.

and below..........Yep, he's a helper...........

Feels good here...Check!

This is my favorite part: sitting in my chair, watching a good TV show or movie, a cup of tea, and hand sewing - quietly for at least a couple of hours.  It feels good to be almost finished with these two quilts and a little sad to see it end.

 I need to start thinking about my next project.  I do have a lot of UFOs(UnFinished Objects) to consider....