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?