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!

On The Colorado River (Columbus, TX)

We left Rockport last week and settled into our new campground near Columbus, TX.  

We were sad to leave the coastal area until we arrived and saw the view from our site in among tall pecan trees on the Colorado River.  Every once in awhile, cattle show up on the other side and there are plenty of birds to view....hopefully, I will get a few in some photos too.

View from our new site

This morning, I woke up to what felt like a 20 lb furball with an icy cold nose on my chest relentlessly nudging my chin and hand.  What?  I didn't give you enough attention yesterday?  It might be dark outside, but Max was ready for today to begin.  The cats haven't been outside for two days because of the cold front that came through Texas and they are getting very restless.  They certainly love their new location with lots of grass to chew, tall trees to sniff around and plenty of wildlife to watch.  We will probably take them out today.

Colorado River

Since I haven't taken many photos of our new location, here are a few more from Rockport of the birds having a lazy afternoon...

well, most of them were relaxing.... 

i'm not squawking!!! you are!

Just before we left Rockport, we saw a big White Pelican near the shore.  We are familiar with the small Brown Pelicans, but wow! the White Pelicans are huge!  Okay, granted, I have seen many big birds like the Herons, Egrets, and Cranes, but to see a male White Pelican up close and near people for a comparison was quite a surprise.     

 I had to look up their facts and found out that the male can weigh up to 30 lbs and can be as tall as 70 inches which means he is taller than me.  His wing span can be up to 120 inches....or for me..being a fabric fan ~ over 3 yards!

Too bad the Great Blue Heron wasn't closer

I never got around to posting photos on my blog of the Whooping Cranes that we saw in a farmer's field, so here's a couple of them...

On The Cutting Board

I have been having a blast working on my scrappy quilts.  I have been adding applique to each top.  Special quilts to keep the owners warm and hopefully, make them smile.

For the Christmas Winter theme top, I added a snowman and a pair of mittens.  I got the cute designs from Colleen Parry's Christmas Goodies clipart.

I picked bright colors for a cheerful snowman.

 I had fun embroidering his scarf and face.

Once I finished the snowman, I started working on a teddy bear theme top.  I found this teddy bear online.  Isn't he adorable? 

I anchored all the balloon strings with closely stitched couching.  There's no way a little finger is going to get under the balloon strings or pick one out.

 I used the crayon technique to add a little dimension to teddy's face and belly.  I'm using the freezer paper method for applique.  So, after ironing the freezer paper to the backside of the fabric, I colored in the spots with a regular Crayola crayon.  I melted the crayon into the fabric by putting a piece of muslin over the area and set a hot iron on top until I smelled the melting wax from the crayon.  According to the online instructions, the crayon will not wash out.

Well, I have one more finished top - the transportation theme to applique.  I have already decided to add a train with a few colorful cars.  I have more cut-up quilt kits to sew as well.  I should also start working on some more Happy Campers soon.  Spring is around the corner and many people are starting to plan their warm weather camping trips, so I better get busy and restock!

Happy Quilting!

A Trip to Port Aransas Birding Center (Rockport, TX)

We took the ferry to Port Aransas last week.  The ferry is free and such a short ride that it isn't worth while to get out of the car.

Port Aransas attracts the sun & sand crowd so there wasn't a whole lot for us to find interesting.  Lots of shops for beach wear and fishing gear.  There's even an entrance to one shop that you need to walk through the mouth of a huge shark.  No shopping for us today.  We wanted to enjoy the sunshine.  We wandered around the harbor near the ferry landing for a short walk.  Of course, I found the Pirate ship the most interesting attraction.  We could have signed up for a Pirate Cruise.....hmmm

Instead, we watched the ferries crossing through the busy waterway for awhile.  Spotting dolphins every once in awhile.

We did not go to the beach because of parking fees.  It wasn't worthwhile for us since we would only be on the beach this one time to walk for less than two hours.

After lunch, we visited the Birding Center and hit the jackpot!  There were so many species of birds.  Ducks were quacking and splashing while other birds were hunting through the marsh for food.

There were Roseate Spoonbills and..........

turtles and.....

Little Blue Herons and....

ducks and.....

more ducks......

And this guy that I have never seen before, but I have heard of them - river rats.  This is not how I pictured a river rat.  The Center's sign says they are Nutrias or river rats and they are considered a pest because they can eat up all the vegetation.

marsh grass! yummy....nom! nom! nom!

They try to keep them under control.

yawn!  check out the big teeth

Controlling them doesn't seem to be working too well since we saw two nests of little ones sleeping with the turtles and there were several larger ones moving around the marsh.  We weren't the only ones that found them entertaining to watch.  Many of the visitors were getting photos and watching the river rats through their binoculars.

baby Nutrias

So, we were not disappointed after all.  Our day trip turned into a wonderful visit thanks to the Birding Center.

On The Cutting Board

I have been working on my quilt kits with the Crazy 8 design.  I plan to donate these scrappy quilts.  We plan to return to Patagonia, AZ for next winter to work at the Preserve.  Which means we will be passing through Albuquerque.  Hopefully, I will be there for a Saturday meeting with my quilting friends from Project Linus with a few finished quilts.

This one's theme is bees in the garden so I appliqued a big yellow flower.  Now, I wish I had made it large enough to cover from top to bottom.  Next time..

Recently, I have discovered Leanne Beasley's website.  She is a unique quilter that incorporates quilting and embroidery in a different way.  She has some great photos of her quilts here.  I would like to get one or two of her magazines, but they are only sold in a dozen quilt shops across the US.  I am in love with her designs, but I want to come up with my own.  It is going to take some practice.  I use a lot of dark fabrics while Leanne uses pastels or blocks of white making it easier to embroider.

I decided to practice this new idea by finding some bees and garden clipart to embroider into some of the lighter colored blocks.  I did not embroider a lot to the top this time since I am crunched for time and I have so many more that I would like to finish.

I have three more tops ready for applique or embroidery and at least three more quilts to sew together before we arrive in Albuquerque. 

Christmas, Travel, and Baby Bears quilt tops

I promised a full view of Laurel Burch's cat quilt a couple of posts ago.  Now that I am seeing the whole top, I am thinking there should be more cats or bigger cats on this top.  The four cats seem to be lost on the big blue top.  When it is done, I'm not sure what I will do with this one.  I love this fabric so much that I might keep it for myself instead of selling it on Etsy.

Decisions!  Decisions!  Right now, I believe I am ready for less thinking and more sewing.  Yea, that sounds like a good plan.

Happy Quilting!

2015 Happy New Year! (Lakehills, TX)

We traveled through Boerne, TX (pronounced Bernie) on our way to Medina Lake. I think I gave myself a sore neck trying to see all the Main Street sights. The one that really caught my eye was St. Peters.  

The building is gorgeous and I had to go back for photos.

After I took some photos, we drove around the backside.  The front is old, but the area in the back has been added on in recent years.  I thought they had done a wonderful job of blending the old with the new.

 

Here's a photo of where Medina Lake should be.  The water is all but gone.  Now it is filled in with trees and vegetation.  There were cattle grazing on the far side below the old water level.

We found out that rattling plastic bags brings the deer out of the woods.  Dan shook the bag twice and they came running!  Two decided they were not going to take a chance of missing out on some goodies and ate out of Dan's hands.  He had to throw the food to the others.

One more thing...we did not feed them near our motorhome.  We learned that lesson from our neighbor.  He is still getting deer loitering around his site and it has been almost a week since he fed them!

Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you what I found at the Fredericksburg Trade Days.  Trade Days is basically a Flea Market/Artists Booths plus food and it is huge.  You can find just about anything there.  I loved looking at the old buildings being used for some of the shops as well as some of the antiques for sale like old wringer washers and even old bed springs.  I bet this is an upcycle artist's dream come true.

 We spent a lot of time roaming around, but it was seeing these 2 vintage trailers that I found most interesting.  Both trailers are a Serra Scotty.  Check out the wheel well design.  Very different.  It is too bad they were not open.  It would have been interesting to see inside of both of them.

 This Shabby Chic pink one is extra cute with the outside staging.  The swan made from an old tire is cute and I really love the old pink bike!

I am thinking about a new mug rug in this vintage trailer style.  I'm not sure how I will be able to incorporate the wheel well design.  Something new to work on!

On The Cutting Board

I'm trying very hard to whittle down my fabric pile.  I started by cutting up the fabric for the Layer Cake Recipe pattern.  I was going to sew it together before starting another, but it seemed easier to do more cutting.

So....I started cutting for the Crazy 8 pattern.  The two piles on the left were already done from a previous cutting frenzy for scrappy quilts.  Now, I have four more theme-related quilts ready to sew together.  But...wait!....there's more!....

I have been wanting to use the pink and black cat fabric for quite some time.  Once I started cutting, I could not stop there.  I wanted to applique a big cat in the center, so that is done.  The quilt is coming out small - only 36 x 36.  I need to add borders and I would like to add some length to it.  I might need to get a little creative with the leftover fabric since there isn't a lot left.

I have been working on some more red and aqua (R&A) Happy Campers.  I recently came across one of my R&A trailers in Pinterest.  I'm surprised how many times it has been Pinned!  342 times!  If you do not follow Pinterest, This is like Facebook Sharing.  I guess it is safe to say that it is the most popular color combination.  None of the other Happy Campers have been pinned as often

Now, I need to setup the sewing machine and get some sewing done.  I also need to finish embroidering the edges on all the Happy Campers!  Oh no, the cats want out...hmmm, maybe they will decide it is too cold to stay outside and I can get back to sewing....
Happy Quilting!