Hey! It's finally above freezing. I don't know if it will last through the night but at least it isn't in the teens anymore. Ryan at I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts is having a give away.

I need a quilt calendar for next year. Hope I win. Go visit his blog and enter, too!

Oh, No! I think I missed my one year anniversary on my blog. Hmmmmm........maybe I need to think about a give way?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Back to work tomorrow! I have book fair and parent conferences coming in the next week and a half and then only another week and a half until Christmas (politically correct=winter) break.

Thanksgiving morning I did the Turkey Trot with family and friends. It started at the Oregon Zoo, went to the Japanese Garden and then back to the Zoo....four miles in all. Some people ran....some people walked....it really was fun. I have a number of pictures to post and you will notice rain in many of the pictures. I will admit that I am a true Western Oregonian because I love the rain. I definitely have webbed feet!
Here we are arriving at the zoo. The weather forecast was for a dry morning with rain in the afternoon. Hmmmmm.....something is showing up in this photo that looks a lot like rain!

Levi, Mike, Regena and I waiting for the start. My son, Russ, took the picture.

Mike and Russ ran while Levi, Regena and I walked. If I remember right Mike said he ran 9 1/2 minute miles.

Runners! On your mark!

Get Set!

Still getting set!

Go!

Still going!

Then it was the walkers' turn. Forest Park is beautiful.

Stunning....even in the rain!

Coming in to the zoo. We must be close to the finish!

Inside the zoo by the mountain goats....we are still walking, haven't come to the finish yet! Notice the women in the center of the picture. They had turkey hats on for the walk. It was at this point that my camera quit working because it was wet.

Coming in to the finish....extremely wet but happy! There was about a half mile walk inside the zoo to get to the end. They had oranges, bananas, and chocolate turkeys for us. Sure tasted good. I'm planning on doing it again next year. Come on and join us!

I've been wanting to post some pictures to show you what I have been doing. It occurred to me that if I did all my family would know what they are getting for Christmas so......pictures will be posted after the holidays.

Thanksgiving morning I will be doing the Turkey Trot at the Oregon Zoo. My son and our friend, Mike, will be running and I, along with Regena and Levi-Mike's wife and son, will be walking. It is a 5K from the Zoo to the Japanese Gardens and back. I think it will be a lot of fun and a good excuse to have everyone else fix dinner. I'm sure I'll be so tired I can't do any work!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I've been relaxing a little tonight and searching blogs. I always check out Regena's blog since she is my other sister. (Sorry, Annette, you have another sister you didn't know about!) She is playing Pay It Forward. Since you have a year to complete it I joined the bandwagon. Here are the rules:

1. I will make a little something for the first three people who comment on this post. (Please send me an email with your mailing address so I can send the gift sometime within the next 365 days) It will be a surprise and it will arrive on your doorstep when you least expect it!

2. I will have 365 days to do it in.

What's the catch? to get the handmade gift from me, you have to play too.

3. You must have a blog.

4. BEFORE: you comment here, you must post your "Pay it Forward" on your blog to keep the fun going, and display the "Pay it Forward" button. (just copy the button and put it on your blog you can even copy the rules and paste them to your blog as well)

I think this is a fun way to make new friends. I look forward to hearing from you.

It has been a busy two weeks. Sewing...Book Club at the Beach.....Aurora Colony Quilt Show....last, but not least, work.

I didn't like the fanny packs the school had for us for recess so I made a new one.

I used a Penny Sturges pattern but made the bag 8"x6" instead of 6"x6". I put some pockets inside so I can keep all the things I need in order. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. The kids like it, too.

Book Club at the Beach was fantastic. The weather was better than it is in the summer. We did lots of walking and talking.

We have so much fun together. What a great group of friends.

We watched Persuasion, which is the book we read, and had a good discussion. We had to replay the kiss scene several times. It needs an award for the worst kiss on film! I haven't laughed that much in a long time!

This is my dream beach house. It is actually a log house. I think it is one of the original houses at Cannon Beach. It took a big hit in the big winter storm two years ago but the owners have fixed it up. You can't really see but there is a hammock hanging between two of the pillars and one is hanging on the left side of the house.

Yesterday my hubbie and I went to the quilt show at the Aurora Colony. The Colony was a Utopian society that had everything in common. The historical society in Aurora has done a wonderful job of preserving the heritage in the area. I am related to some of the original members. There were some very old quilts and some very modern quilts.

I love this quilt! The colors aren't quite true in the photo but I think you see how incredible it is. It is called Friendship Star. It was finished in 1937. The signatures are from family and friends in Furnas County, Nebraska. It was made during the Depression.

I really like the colors!

This is another antique quilt that really caught my eye. The quilts were displayed in the Colony Museum and one other restored building. The original furniture and items that are on display are beautiful. If you want a relaxing and beautiful drive go to Aurora and then tour the Museum and visit the antique shops.

I think Chloe, the cat, has the right idea. She knows what quilts are for and it is getting close to my bedtime. Hope everyone has a good week and stays healthy.

It's bloggin' time again! Now that I am over cellulitous and only have three more horse pills to take, I'm feeling much better. I actually did some cutting on my next quilt today. A couple of weeks ago I finished a quilt for baby Lawson. He did give his mom a great deal of trouble before arriving but they are both doing fine. Lawson is plumping up nicely!

This was a fun pattern from The Quilted Nursery by Leslie Beck. I love the blue and brown together. I was actually able to quilt some stars in the border.

I went to the quilt show at the Expo last weekend with Regena and my daughter, Carrie. Carrie asked for quilting lessons for her birthday. Yea!!!! We are going to have even more fun than we already do. There were many art wallhangings and quilts. I am drawn to the pieced quilts so most of the pictures that I will share are of the pieced variety.

Loved the colors in all three of these quilts.

Lately, I have been drawn to log cabin quilts. The many design possibilities have captured my interest. So many different looks from one block.

Loved this Christmas quilt. I like to do applique but my hands don't so I have to limit what I do. In the next life I am going to make sure that carpal tunnel does not exist!
Jodi wasn't able to come with us. She caught "the bug".....terrible cold. She's still trying to get better. The best part of the whole Expo experience was seeing Karen, Connie and Robin again. We actually were able to shop at Anna Lena's! If you haven't been to her online shop you are missing a treat!

Enjoy the beautiful fall weather!

I had a wonderful field trip with some friends on Saturday. Jodi picked me up at 8:10 but then we had to return to my house because I forgot the directions on how to get where we were going. We actually left about 8:30.
Regena came with us to help keep me in line and because she is a very special friend! We tend to find all kinds of extra things to do whenever we go on an adventure. We headed off and finally came close to our destination.

This is one of my most favorite areas in the whole, wide world. I will find any excuse I can to go there. The mouth of the beautiful Columbia River is stunning no matter what the weather. We had sunshine to cheer us on our way. We were headed to Long Beach, Washington to visit Karen. She is a designer for Timeless Treasures among her many, many talents. She invited some of her friends to be with us.


Regena and I had met Karen briefly in the midst of her closing sale at AnnaLena's Fabric Shop. I follow her blog and she had pictures from the Pomeroy House and their apron collection. I had a bag of old aprons that I had received from a friend's family when she passed away. While I loved them they just sat in the top of my closet in a bag. I knew that they really needed to be with Karen so we set up a day to visit. It was wonderful to meet people that I recognized as "kindred spirits" immediately. There are many incredible women in this world and I was lucky enough to meet three more of them.

Karen served us a "scrumpdillyiscious" lunch,

followed by strawberry whipped cream cake. Oh, my...she is a marvelous cook! We looked at the aprons and then visited her studio.

Her table and chair add such a whimsical touch and are a delight to look at.

The quilt from the Chicago World's Fair was stunning. It has a hot pink backing.
All in all it was just about a perfect day. I went to visit a few women that were strangers but left with three more wonderful friends. Karen, Connie and Robin...you are the best!

Jodi at Pleasant Home is having a super first week of give aways on her new blog. Go check it out!

You must go visit Jodi's new blog Pleasant Home. It is fabulous and she is having a give away every day! She is very talented and shares super ideas. Go enjoy!

I made it through the first week back to work. Hopefully, all those computers will work right for all the teachers. I have been busy, busy, busy lately. About five or six years ago I bought fabric for new curtains for my living room and a slipcover for my sofa. I got the fabric at the outdoor sale at Fabric Depot for $3 a yard. I got the curtains made but just couldn't bring myself to attempt to cover the sofa. I bought patterns and books on how to do it but just didn't feel confident in trying it. For Christmas my daughter and daughter-in-law said for my present they would help slipcover my sofa. Being a type zzz personality I put it off for awhile but, finally, I just couldn't stand looking at my sofa any longer. I inherited this Ethan Allen sofa from my mom after she died. It was blue with pink flowers. My living room is yellow with barn red accents...didn't look too good in there so two weeks ago I bit the bullet and we scheduled the sofa makeover. I had a lot of support.

Cookie Support

Piano Music Support

Eating Support

Daughter Support or Sister Support for the Cookie Maker
(whichever way you want to look at it!)

Grandkid Support

Nothing is ever simple or done alone in our family but we sure have a lot of fun!

There was a lot of pinning and measuring.....fitting and refitting. Isn't the old color of the sofa lovely? In its defense the sofa is many years old but being of good quality has excellent "bones."

It was getting closer to being done. I couldn't believe what a difference it made in the look of the room. I used all my books and patterns because none of them had my exact sofa. I even found tutorials on the blog to help. After two weeks it is finally finished!

My daughter-in-law did the cushions with piping and zippers! They are great! The picture isn't the best...the colors are off a little but you get the idea. I figure it took the three of us a full three days, maybe four, to finish the entire project. I would never attempt to do something like this without at least one other person helping you.

The quilt hanging on the wall is "Home is Where the Heart Is." It is from Quilting Delights' 1997 $5 quilt club. The quilt on the left hand side of the picture is Chocolate Delights. You can't really see but it has a scalloped border and is hand quilted by another daughter-in-law. The quilt on the right hand side of the picture was made by the same daughter-in-law for us to use in our car. It was a Christmas present. It is also hand quilted and you can see that it does not reside in my car...ever.

Now for the next project....a cute "cricket" chair that my mom bought from "Ye Oldde Maple Shoppe" when I was just a kid. Mom had reupholstered it to match the blue and pink sofa. I think it really needs to be rebuilt (just like me) because it is truly an antique! Wonder how many years it will take me to get the chair done?

Hey! Regena at Quilt N QuiltThings is having a giveaway. She wants to see if she can get entries from around the world. Go check it out!

Oh...almost forgot...the quilt is in the giveaway,too!!!!!

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine in the great Northwest. I received a call the other day telling me I need to go back to work a week early. There go all my projects for next week. At least I can finish making a slipcover for my sofa. Think of the money....think of the money...think of the money!