MEMORY LANE

Like so many quilters, I began quilting by following patterns. This wallhanging was made.....oh gosh....when? Well, about 20 years ago. It found a new home with my brother and his wife a number of years ago.......what fun to see it now hanging in their family room.

Some of these blocks I believe were Debbie Mum designs. As I recall the applique and pieced sashings were my idea.......

It's amazing how that needle turned into a magic carpet.....taking me places I'd never have dreamed of. The learning, experimenting, and creating continues.....tomorrow our Fiber Junkies group meets as two of our talented members teach the rest of us how to screen print. I can hardly wait....

FUN ANTIQUING

I love to antique.....esp. when I'm looking for specific items and spending someone else's money......tx's for the fun two shopping days Pork and Barb!!

Sometimes you can find the strangest things....... Re-purposing items is very satisfying.....but I'm clueless how anyone would use this outdoor john seat?!?! However, I'm sure one of you readers will have a great idea....

If I'd have had room to bring this home.....I'd have slapped my money down for one of these graphically intriguing rusted bed springs. I can totally see this on a wall or as a room divider....but equally sure 'the husband' wouldn't see the charm in that idea!

Another....I wish I could have brought this home......it'd be such an unusual piece of yard art. (In case you don't recognize it....you youngin's ......it's a vintage baby swing.)

This folk art bee photo is for you Connie Brown.....my bee keeper pal who is a member of our PTA fiber art group. It was too big......or it would have been yours!

Yuck!!!

We DID rescue this weathered ladder during our shopping trip....it will be used to display a quilt in a family room.

Another 'find' on our Sunday trek through antique shops......the lid opens to reveal a purple painted cubbyhole......just the place to store all those remote controls!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this food wagon....it's sooooo Oregon....(California too!)

FAMILY MATTERS

Without a doubt, if the 'perfect child' would have remained living in Portland......I'm guessing 'the husband' and I would have found our way out West instead of to North Carolina. My brother and family have enjoyed living in the Eugene area now for close to 30 years and they love it as much as ever.

They are very active folks and great hosts......which has provided me with the opportunity to see a lot of the area.

Here's a view of the valley from one of the high bluffs....the "O" is of course their University Stadium....and far off in the distance you can see 2 of the 3 snow covered mountain tops of the 3 Sisters Mountain Range.

One of the two rivers that run through Eugene is the Willamette, a major tributary of the Columbia. It's an unusual river because it flows north, between the Oregon Coast Range and the Cascade Range....running 187 miles lying entirely in Northwest Oregon.

The folks here all seem to enjoy outdoor activities. On both sides of the Willamette River, you can find well maintained bike/walking paths. The river is very clean and is a source of enjoyment for much recreation......such as floating in inner tubes on a hot summer day.

My niece Amy seems to have grown up over night, she's almost as tall as her Dad.....my youngest brother. For you Mom's out there.....sorry, she's already taken!

Amy is the creative one in her family.......while munching on pretzels and ranch dip......she created this clever 'food art'.

Years and years ago I was here visiting.....none of us can recall how old Amy was at the time....I'm guessing maybe 8. She was always drawing......and before I left she gave me several of her pieces of art work. Upon returning home, I turned one simple line drawing into a a small wall quilt. My SIL uncovered it recently, surprising me with this great memory......we all promptly decided to hang it in their newly decorated guest room where the colors compliment the scheme beautifully.

This certainly makes me long for grand babies.....I could start a whole new art career......

I'll be saying farewell to the Emerald City before the crack o'dawn tomorrow to begin my 3 flight 15 1/2 hour travel day back home.......with a whole new batch of memories.

EUGENE, OR

YES, Wendy was right..... I'm in Eugene, OR.......

I got off the plane....and headed down the escalator......to the Wings restaurant.

Where I was greeted by my lovely neice....Amy.......who was so busy waitressing, I couldn't get an in focus picture.....my brother and his wife we also there with waiting with a plate of Nachos for me....yummmm.

Spenser is the owner of this restaurant.....and my brother's neighbor. He generously gave us a tour.....I felt like I was living the Food Network show "Diners, Drive Inns & Dives". COOL!

For an airport restaurant.....this his huge.....

They are known for their mesquite grill....

Huge gas grill....and a huge flat top grill.......

A walk in cooler where a large variety of beer is on tap.....

And a place where women of a certain age can cool off in their 'moments'....SIL is trying it out!

MY BREAD CRUMBS

I'm sure you all have felt my frustration yesterday.......I arrived at my destination about 8:00 PM, had a good night sleep and am a happy camper again. Here are my visual bread crumbs.....

Airport # 1......at before crack o'dawn......but as you can see.......other eager passengers are mulling about too.

Airport #1 - ON time flight??? Oh no it's NOT! Sure I want mechanical issues fixed....but this plane overnighted at airport #1.......why did they wait till the morning to begin the 'minor' fix?

So over an hour late.....I arrive at airport #2...... They all sort of look alike, don't they?

The good news at first was finding out that the business class section of this second flight had these really great seats. Pod like cubbies with large flat screen TVs that had video on demand. You could select movies, documentaries, TV shows, sports.....etc. Since we sat on the ground due to another mechanical.....a problem in the galley (hey....there were more than one galley on this plane and they don't serve food for most of the passengers anyway......let's just go....forget the repair.) But, of course I'm not in charge so the fix took an hour, then we waited 45 mins. for the paperwork to clear and then another 45 mins. for the push out tug to get the plane away from the gate.....all the while I was watching the time tick away, knowing I'd likely miss my next connection. What kept my head from exploding was that I would literally lay back....the seats recline to a flat bed and anywhere in between.....while watch 3 episodes of Mad Men! (New season airing in a few weeks).

Another view of these seats......

Instead of the thin blankets.....we got these hotel type white fluffy duvets.....wonderful!

So......here is airport #3......can you guess where this is?

Because I did miss my connection at airport #3.......I spent 6 hrs. here in United's Red Carpet Club waiting for the next flight. I've always said the day I can't justify having a airline club membership is the day I STOP teaching that requires air travel. It's a safe & comfortable haven for those of us who have to connect a lot.

The 6 hours ticked by......and finally I made my way to my gate at airport #3......now do you know where this is??? Of course this photo may be misleading.....

This is the best bread crumb.........the gate agent became my hero.....after fussing with United, assuring them that overnighting at airport #3 and then taking 2 more flights the next morning to get to my destination was NOT an option that I'd accept.....I was assigned a seat on a direct flight.....where they claimed no first class was available. Again, not true.......this darling agent played with her computer & put a smile on my face.

And with that smile....I boarded my final flight and arrived at airport # 4. Do you know where I am??

UPDATE....Yes, Wendy guessed correctly....I'm in Eugene, OR......and happy to be here!

WHERE ARE THE BREAD CRUMBS??

Okay, I get what I deserve....actually EXPECTING an airline to do their job.....seriously, I hoped we'd have fun following my travel today.....but NO.....

These bread crumbs barely got off the ground in Asheville....where my flight was almost an hour late.......I barely made my 1st connection.....

BUT....I made it and was relieved to be happily settled into my VERY deluxe seats (wait till I post the photos)........BUT that won't happen till I get my luggage with all my camera cords (whenever it turns up).

Does that flight leave on time?? NOPE......we sat on the ground for 2 1/2 hrs.......for really no reason....just total incompetence with the airlines. This was NOT a weather problem. You guessed it.....this is all leading to......

I then missed the connection of my 3rd flight of the day.....bread crumbs (or photo hints) have been documented....and when I eventually get my luggage...I will share them. So now I sit...in this unnamed city.....where the airline thought they were doing me a favor by re-booking me on the 6:00 AM flight tomorrow morning to San Francisco and then on other flight to my destintation........ 24 hours later than my original arrival time. Silly fools actually thought I'd be happy with these arrangments AND pay for my own hotel room OR.....stay in the airport overnight!!! With as much grace and patience in the airline club that I could muster....low and behold....there was actually 'just' a cancellation on a flight from the city where I am now stranded to my destination. Yes, it's 6 hrs. later than the one I was booked on....but......as much as I dislike coach travel.......which was the only seat available, I am now hoping to at least arrive today. Will my baggage be there??? Well, I sure hope that a 6 hr. layover will give them adequate time to make the transfer.....but then again...they may decide to wait till tomorrow.....

I'm ranting..........tx's for being there for me...... I feel better...though you may never want to fly again!!!

UP, UP, & AWAY

Yup.....I'm packed again and ready for my 6:00 AM flight to my much anticipated destination. I've considered turning my travel day tomorrow into a quizz.......or perhaps leaving bread crumbs for you all to follow my journey to guess where I am....

If I have good internet access throughout the day...perhaps I will......I can say that it will include 3 flights......when I think of the city I will land in ......I think of emeralds.

LEAF PEEPERS

As we are still in the midst of summer......and my Great Smoky Mountain Quilting Tour is right around the corner on Aug. 5th......

But, I've had to be thinking ahead to other future events as well. Next fall I'll be hosting a fabulous New England/Canada Quilting Cruise - Sept 1-10, 2011. Details will be available soon......but before all that can be put into brochure form, I needed to create my workshop project.....and yippie....... this cruise we will have PRIVATE classroom space!!

To make the trip as enjoyable and hassle free as possible for our participants, we will be doing fun hand work projects to introduce students to new and eye catching techniques.

I'll be providing complimentary kits for everyone......so packing your supplies will be a snap! Above is the beginning of my design process.... which includes auditioning fabrics/embellishment materials etc.

We'll be creating a "Leaf Peepers" eyeglass case......and learning some pretty nifty and awesome looking beading motifs in the process! These only LOOKS difficult.......

Detail

We'll have 3 full days of classes......with myself and a guest instructor (to be announced soon).

The eyeglass case can easily be completed during this time.

Here's an optional design.....using the same beading techniques. So.....you may want to mark your calenders now and as soon as it's available, I'll be posting all the details and a link for you to register. You won't want to miss this one!!

XOTICFELT (TM) NEW COLORS

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know how smitten I am with National Nonwoven's products. Their newest product is XoticFelt (TM), a Bamboo/Rayon felt. The 'hand' is soft, it's very easy to needle, the edges do not require finishing (though you can of course embellish them) which of course is the big draw for me. The material is a perfect backdrop for my bead embellishing!

Since our quilt shops and big box stores don't often carry these products, do as I do....go direct to the source to purchase any of their various felt lines of material. Their website is a valuable source of education about their felt as well.

I just got my hands on the newest colors of XoticFelt (TM)......delicious and enticing names from top to bottom.... Papaya, Ocean Breeze, Silver Beach, Fuschia, Pirate Cove, Cocoa Bean.

It may not surprise you.....I've already chosen Ocean Breeze to start a new piece....

MORE CREATIVE INSPIRATION

The very productive members of our PTA small fiber group always make show and tell such an inspiration.....here are some more great pieces from our meeting this past week.

Gen brought this new purse to share.....we all wanted to keep it ourselves!

She also claims this is her last big quilt......we don't believe her. It was made specifically to fit the bed of someone special.

And another of Gen's pieces that she's been working on for awhile......a large pieced quilt.

I liked the combination of patchwork, heavy machine stipple quilting, embroidery, and the addition of painted flowers. Lovely!

Georgia Bonesteel lives on a lovely quiet lake......her property reminds me so much of the cottage lake homes we frequented while I was growing up in Wisconsin. She's in the process of completing this vertical loom. It's located on a flat area of their hillside, near the water.

It's basically a wood frame structure, fitted with heavy twine, where other fibers can be woven through for display. She had a basket of plant material along with colorful strips of knit fiber that (if I got this correct) she got at a sock factory.

I came home all jazzed about making one......unfortunately, 'the husband' has yet to see the charm in it!

Wouldn't you love a view like this??

The water lily flowers were just opening......it brings me back home with memories of the Midwest....and grateful that I'm now making new ones here in the mountains of North Carolina!