Best Laid Plans…..

I’ve been planning this weekend since November.

Twice a year I get four days of uninterrupted quilting bliss. A retreat where there is only the nonstop whirring of sewing machines, the laughter and chattering of good friends, a table piled with shared snacks, meals prepared by the camp staff, and spotty cell service at best (for me there is none!) — truly off the grid, concentrated quilting!

I usually get several projects done during retreat weekends. Working full time, this is really the only time I consistently get things done.

This weekend’s goals?

1) Finish my youngest son’s quilt top & back to take to the quilter next week!
2) Finish the Christmas Quilt which hasn’t been touched since late January. See Never Enough Time!
3) Do a new Jelly Roll quilt.
4) ???

So here it is, the third evening of the retreat and the room divider in the camp’s dining hall is probably filled with many finished projects (last retreat ended with 53 projects done among 14 women!).

Notice I said “probably”. That’s because I can’t see the wall from where I am. In the wee hours of Thursday morning, just hours before loading the minivan, my teeth started rattling, my body started aching, and my throat was wretchedly sore!

Just like that, my weekend was derailed and so were my projects! (Sorry, son. Please be patient a little longer.) I am feeling a little better and hope I can sew tomorrow afternoon so the weekend won’t be a total quilting loss.

Still I am Blessed! My Hubby has found a never-ending supply of chicken noodle soup, orange juice, cough drops and patience!

I have also been able to play many games of Words with Friends, Candy Crush and Ruzzle between naps. (Should I really admit that vice?!) Oh, and I have watched slept through several movies I have been wanting to watch!

Until next time,
Happy Quilting!

Empty Bowls, Quilt Bowl :-)

Remember this?

It’s the clay bowl I decorated for the Empty Bowls Sale, which is a benefit for the food bank in my area. Just look at it now!

I am excited by the way it turned out. Not perfect, but okay for a first attempt. It was one of about 1000 handmade bowls that were donated for Friday’s sale.

The sale started at 4 o’clock and look at the line of people waiting to enter the tent.

Bill and Angie are always the first in line for this annual event. They bring chairs and a cooler to “tailgate”, arriving at least two hours before the sale opens.

They arrive in style as well! (One of these days, I really will go for a spin with them instead of just posing for pictures with Bill!)

The sale lasted four hours and only about 75 or so bowls were left at the end. They will be available for sale at the food bank for the rest of the month.

I had also made a glass plate for the sale at the Fuse-a-Thon:

Sadly, I was told it had trouble during the firing process and could not be re-fired in time for the sale. I will get the chance to buy it later, but the glass ones at the sale were beautiful!

The Empty Bowls project is a great way to help your local food bank. If you get a chance to be involved in your area’s event, do it.

And, yes, I did get to buy my quilt bowl, along with a few others! LOL
Until next time, Happy Quilting!

The Last Leg….

It’s over for me and I’m sad. My Hubby calls it the “Post-Safari Blues”
On the other hand, I did it!! I made it to all 12 stops on Off the Beaten Path…A Quilter’s Safari.

After creating shop hop-sanctioned Panda-Monium on Saturday with a carload of friends, I only had three quilt stores left. My cohorts couldn’t go on Sunday but it was the only other day of the weeklong event that I could go, so I recruited my Hubby and Son to do the Southern leg with me. Of course it helped that I enticed them with a new foodie adventure!

So with the goal of getting the last three passport stamps, we set out right after church. First stop – gas (I forgot to fill up after the Saturday road trip ). Second stop – that food adventure. Tried a BBQ/burger joint in Cottage Grove that I had heard was really good. The BBQ was tasty, but unfortunately the staff gave new meaning to the slow food movement! An hour and a half later we were back on the road.

It was almost three o’clock when we arrived at The Fabric Farm in Drain. Three years old, this little shop’s motto is “growing creativity” and it does! The owner and staff are very helpful and so willing to take time to discuss patterns and problem solve with you.

(This photo is from the shop’s website – I was busy talking and forgot to take my own!)

For a small shop they have a wonderful selection of fabric, as my Son discovered! Let me just say, I was under budget until he found a stars and moon fabric to go in the quilt he is patiently waiting for me to finish. I have very few UFO’S and his is one of them, but that’s a post for another time!

I also found a ruler for “lazy angles” which is right up my alley and am eager to try it out, but not until my Son’s quilt is done!

Back in the car, we continued south to Roseburg where an incredible shop awaited us. If you like batik fabric, you MUST visit The Country Lady. There has to be at least 1000 bolts of batiks alone! A large selection of Civil War reproduction fabrics lines one wall and there are dozens of 108″ wide fabrics for quilt backs. Several long arm quilting machines are also available to use after taking lessons.

Leaving the shop with a 70 mile drive back to the Eugene area ahead of us, I knew we would not make it to my third and final shop before closing time. So, instead of rushing back, we took time for smoothies and iced coffee and enjoyed the beautiful evening drive.

Today (Tuesday) I finally completed my Safari. Something To Crow About has a helpful staff and you find wide variety of fabrics, including wools that have become quite popular.

Collecting my last passport stamp was bittersweet. This little card represents so much fun!

Each stamp represents a moment I shared with friends as we scampered (or hobbled!) from store to store. It marks time spent with family (thanks, guys!). Yes, it’s satisfying to complete the journey but now I have to wait another whole year before going on Safari again! As I was leaving the store some women came in who were just beginning their journey. What fun they have ahead of them!

As for me….I am still dreaming of winning that new Bernina sewing machine!

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

Panda-Monium Reigns!

My weekend “Shop Hop” adventure continued on Day Two when three friends joined me for the northern section of the Off the Beaten Path…A Quilter’s Safari.

We left the Eugene area a little after 9am Saturday morning and headed north to our first stop, not quite an hour away. The sun was shining and the van filled with laughter as we plotted our journey. With a couple of hundred miles to cover and five stops, plus a lunch break it would definitely be a full day. Yippee! A great fix for a fabric-holic!

The shops are supposed to open at 10 each morning of the Hop and we pulled up to the Lebanon store at 9:55am. To our pleasant surprise it was already open, so no waiting here! Finally Together is housed in an old movie theater and the walls and balcony railing are covered with beautiful quilts. The staff is very friendly and helpful.

In addition to the passport stamps, block pattern and free fabric we each got, one of my friends found some quilt labels and a pattern for a bag that will be perfect for collecting scraps next to her sewing machine. Of course I told her it would make a great gift for me when it’s done!

Satisfied and inspired we continued north to the shop in Jefferson, which I think has a great name — The Purple Frog Quilt Shop! A relatively new store, the shop is gaining a good reputation as being helpful and welcoming.

I have been to The Purple Frog several times now and each time I have found “just what I was looking for”. In 2011, I fell in love with the Deco Delight collection from Fabric Freedom. I found it while at a retreat and made a jelly roll quilt from it. I have been searching for more of that collection since then to make a second quilt. I have only found a few fat quarters, so I was thrilled to walk in and find several bolts of the collection. I had been told by many places that it was no longer available. Double Yippee!!

Passports stamped and my wallet a little lighter, we headed north and west to Dallas (Oregon , not Texas! Lol).

Grandma’s Attic in Dallas is just like it’s name. A good sized, but cozy shop with MANY hidden treasures.

If you like reproduction fabrics from the 1930-40′s or the Civil War periods, you will love this shop. There is also a wide variety of other fabrics and just like Grandma’s house, there are numerous needlework patterns and supplies, unique buttons, gifts, etc., etc.! Several of the women in my group found and purchased finely ground nut shells to put inside pin cushions. We did not see those at any other shop. In fact there were lots of things at Grandma’s that we haven’t found at other shops and we left wishing the shop wasn’t 75 miles from home!

Oh, before I forget, we found Henrietta at Grandma’s, too! This is the character depicted on the Safari’s poster:

Henrietta shows up at shops randomly throughout the Safari with a special stamp for your passport (enters you into a special drawing!) and in store prizes. Last year, I looked and looked but never found her, so I was tickled when I realized who she was even though my companions must of thought I was crazy because I had forgotten to tell them about Henrietta. I was so excited, it didn’t occur to me to take her picture until much later!

All of us left Grandma’s on a high and more than ready for lunch, having each found some goodies to buy and two of my group winning special prizes from Henrietta! With a recommendation from the lovely ladies at Grandma’s, we headed to Taters and had a tasty meal.

Satisfied and refreshed, we headed south toward two more shops. In Philomath, JanniLou Creations, like the shop in Lebanon, is housed in the old movie theater.

Two sisters own this shop and they are the brains behind the Safari. At each of the other stops you get the pattern for one of the blocks for this year’s specially designed quilt, but at JanniLou’s you get the instructions for putting the quilt together:

These women coordinate all shops, the drawings and delivery of the prizes as well as the many, many other details of this event. As an event planner myself, I hope every passport holder takes time to thank them for such a well-planned and FUN opportunity! (Forgot to take a picture of them – sorry.)

Again, with each of our wallets a little lighter we head to Corvallis. There we find Quiltwork Patches, which specializes in modern fabrics.

The best surprise happened as we left Quiltwork Patches. Look who we ran into again:

Yep, that’s me and Henrietta! A great delight to visit with her again AND we each got another Henrietta stamp on our passport! Left Corvallis feeling pretty good!

Heading south again towards Eugene, we realized we might get back into town early enough to hit a couple of shops there, too. I did them the day before, but was more than happy to help my friends get more stamps. Plus we were having such a good time. It was quick, but we added three more stops as we worked our way through Eugene toward home.

By the time we parted for the day, we had made it to eight (8) of the twelve (12) stops on the Safari, covering just shy of 200 miles. A very good day, indeed! Let me say a special thanks to my friends for joining me on this crazy adventure. I think we made good memories!

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

My Safari Begins….

Any time I get to spend in fabric stores is a happy time, so I couldn’t wait to begin this weekend adventure. This Safari adventure (aka “Shop Hop”) involves twelve stops in Oregon’s beautiful Willamette Valley and beyond.

According to mapquest the complete journey involves driving about 320 miles. Since I live near the center of the Hop route, I started in Eugene and plan to do the Off the Beaten Path…A Quilter’s Safari in three stages. I am determined to get all 12 stamps on my passport, so I can dream of winning the Bernina sewing machine that the Bonus Stop, Rich’s Sew & Vacuum, is offering.

My first stop Friday was The Country Bumpkin in west Eugene.

This store used to be in a small community southeast of Eugene, but moved to the “big city” about a year and a half ago. The move yielded a much larger classroom space and room for the long-arm quilting machine, plus a delightful assortment of gift ideas as well as quilting supplies.

At each stop on the Hop, you get your Safari Passport stamped and choose your free little bundle of fabric.

Most of the shops also offer the chance to win a store prize by entering drawings at each store. (Note to self: Next time bring address labels!) The Country Bumpkin’s prize is a wonderful Quilt and Tea basket.

My next stop was the Bonus store where after getting my passport stamped, I was given a package of three sewing machine needles. Oh, I also spent time drooling over the wonderful sewing machines and dreaming how nice it would be to own such a tool. Please, please draw my name to win the Bernina!

Then on to The Quilt Patch which is in a historic part of Eugene and next door to a fly fishing shop (hear that guys?!).

The Quilt Patch has a great collection of locally made patterns and a wide variety of fabrics and the staff is always friendly.

My final stop of the day was Piece by Piece, Eugene’s thoroughly modern quilt shop filled with lots of bright and colorful fabrics. This is where I got the fabrics for my Work in Progress.

Piece by Piece is also in the middle of auctioning its sample quilts and projects off to benefit the local food bank. If you want to bid, click here. I am sure they would ship if you can’t pick up.

Day one solo…four stops completed. Day two starts early, but with a carload of quilters it will be a blast! Stay tuned

Happy Quilting! (And shopping!)

Going on Safari!

I am SO EXCITED! I’ve waited a whole year to do it again and this time I’m taking quilting friends. (Sorry Hubby, I know you tried to enjoy it last year!)

What is “it” you ask? It’s the annual Off the Beaten Path…A Quilter’s Safari. It’s a widespread (but doable) Shop Hop in my area and it starts TODAY!!

Last year’s Safari was my first Shop Hop and it was so much fun. Going shop to shop, collecting the block patterns for the 2012 quilt, entering drawings (I won a package of Fat Quarters!!), and collecting the little bundles of fabric given away at each store.

This Shop Hop covers a wide area (I will drive about 310 miles to cover it all). Because of my schedule, I have to do the Hop in multiple days, so it’s a good thing it lasts a whole week.  Watch out world, because my carload is going to do it’s best to create:

I’ll keep you posted on my adventure. There are some great shops to share with you and show you what I find.

Happy Quilting!

Happy Easter!

Here’s hoping you are spending the day with Loved ones and the One who loves you! Have a Blessed Day.