A Week in the Life...

It has been a pretty hectic week here since last I posted. I managed to make it to two knitting groups, start 2 pairs of socks, start free hand baptist fan quilting on the tree quilt I brought over, and keep the kids doing tons of activities!

Here are some of the progress shots of crafty stuff:

Finished Dear Jane blocks. I ran out of pre-prepared blocks!!!


So....then I basted and started quilting on the Tree Quilt.


Then the knitting obsession took over. Sarah is teaching me how to knit two socks at the same time on two circular needles, I like it so far!!


But I also like DPNs, on which I started some very pink socks for some larger adult feet. They are for the 30th birthday of a friend of mine who likes pink. She picked out the pattern and it is keeping me on my toes, I like it, though the complicated pattern isn't really showing up quite yet, maybe next week.


Tuesday the girls, dad, and I went to the library for storytime, Wednesday a good day of swimming and playground. Sarah and her kids have been great. We met up with them on Thursday and saw daily for long hours on Friday and Saturday too, I bet they are happy to get a break from us. We went to a horse ranch with them on Thursday, on Friday went to knitting at Barnes and Noble with Sarah while the kids explored the kid section, then down to the library and a gorgeous tea house on the river. Saturday was a very fun Children's Festival. Add into the mix the usual errands, some yard sales, a paddling pool (aka wading pool) purchase and some sidewalk chalk and a fun and busy week was had by all! Thank you so much Sarah for keeping us busy last week, the girls and I had a great time! And look what Sarah had left for mom before we arrived! So generous!! A shawl she designed and knit herself, tea, chocolate and jewelry, what more could you want! Thanks again, mom loves the presents and the thought! Bloggers are wonderful folk :)


Check out this link to see shots of the various things we have done over the week. Here are a few favorite photos:

Sisters and Friends!

The day before the quilt show I was able to do a bit of shopping with a bloggy friend or two. They were both lovely and were bemused by lack of spending: only $5 in one shop and less than $20 in the other. But look at all the goodies I got!!


I lost the run of myself the next day at the Sisters Show, only one quilty purchase, but a major one, a sterling silver charm bracelet and 6 charms (chi-ching...way too much money dropped there, but I love it!!)


I went to Sisters with my dad and my oldest daughter, Aine, who ran around snapping photos excitedly of the first 30 or so quilts but lost momentum after she realized there were 1200 quilts on display!! We had a great time, though I didn't see anyone I was supposed to meet at the Sisters Library at 1pm, where were you guys? I did manage to meet up with friend Kristin for a quick chat, but hope to see her more in the summer for some kiddy playdates and maybe some knitting meet ups!! Dad wants me to mention the totally excellent parking space we found in a shaded area just off of Main Street too...

Here are a bunch of photos of quilts around town. Wish I had gotten a chance to meet more fellow bloggers. Maybe another summer?? Or any other Oregonian quilters that want to meet up sometime for a shop hop here or in Portland at the end of my trip, let me know!!
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DJ Spotted in the Wild at Sisters!

The way it is hung it is hard to get a full view of it, but it is exciting to see it up at the show...now I have to sneak in and hope to hear some nice comments about it! The whole family made it up to see it, so I am glad. Here is dad with the quilt!!

We had another lunch with my cousins, mom, dad and bro in Sisters on Wednesday, then took the kids for another play at the park where they made some new friends.

Yesterday mom and dad took the kids for the day and sent me off with my brother and cousins to Crater Lake. I of course used the long drive to get some sewing done. Got three DJ blocks for my swap with Katy done, but here was my setup on my lap in the car!


I don't think you can take a bad photo of Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the States. Look at that blue!! Here is a photo of my and my brother, and a favorite photo of the lake on its own.


I may be heading off a little later today for a shop hop with some blogging buddies, we shall see how that works out, depending on whether the nanas and papas are up for another few hours on their own with the kids!! Will definitely be blogging about that if it happens!!

Kids are sleeping in this morning as it was the last night with the cousins and I let them stay up till 10pm, so am using this time to catch up with my blogging. Poor kids, they will have nothing but momma and the grandparents after this afternoon, how boring is that, lol!! Just for a few gratuitous kid photos, here is Aine with our rock cand crystal growing experiment, and playing a card game with my cousin! That elusive Aisling doesn't like her photo taken much!!

We made it to Bend!!

And look at what was waiting for me!!

My ALQS quilt from Toni!!! It is gorgeous!! I love the colors and they are blocks from the Civil War Diary quilt, very cool. And not only did she make me the quilt but gave me all the leftover fabrics that she used in the quilt, very generous!!! She sent pirate duckies for the girls which already have had adventures on the "high seas" bathtub, and some Old Bay seasoning for me to remind me of my Maryland roots!! Thank you so much Toni, you are very good!!

I also won this gorgeous stitchery prize from Lise, the Chocolate Cat. I think I may start this one over here in the States!

I also got a package with these goodies from Weronica in Sweden. She sent me these and I will be getting a few things from the States for her in return!!


We have seen a lot of Oregon so far, a lot of driving since we arrived: a day in Portland with my brother and cousins, a drive to see a high school friend living near the Washington state border and watching her small town of Clatskanie's 4th of July parade (where the kids received their body weight in candy from folks on the floats, and each got a free stuffed teddy!) and a very short overnight stay at the Pacific shore in Lincoln City (no photos: it rained most of the time!). It was a bit whirlwind as I had to drive another 4 hours over the mountains to Sisters to drop my Dear Jane off in time for a July 5 fiber arts stroll event.


Sunday I tried to take my mom up to see the Dear Jane hanging up in Sisters, but the clock shop that it is displayed in was closed!! She just had her chemo yesterday, and I had wanted her to see it while her strength was better, bummer. We ended up have lunch in town and bringing the girls over to the park for a "Summer Faire". Girls had a great time on the playground and getting their faces painted.


We have cousins here now visiting from St. Louis Missouri, so lots of activities are going on, though minimal quilting ones!! I have managed to hand piece the start of a Dear Jane block for my ongoing swap with Katy, while watching the kids at the local Mc Donalds play area. Will probably make that a once a week activity for them, as they loved the slides there, and once a week isn't so bad!!

Today the girls and I plan to do a crystal growing experiment (I was too cheap to buy a kit from a toy shop we were in, so told them about rock candy...then spent the next several days fending off their requests to do the candy immediately (never cotton string or wood skewers around when you need them!!)) and possibly some swimming. Cousins, brother and dad have headed off for a white water rafting trip down the Deschutes river today. We plan on going to Sisters tomorrow, so hope to show you the Dear Jane in its display place!

Quilty content in future weeks I promise, but might be a bit sparse for this week!

And the Winner is....

Sorry that I didn't do the drawing yesterday. I blame the 28 hour journey across the world and jet lag! The kids were STARS, they did a great job traveling, I am so proud of them. We are even going to visit with a new friend they made on the journey today on our way to the coast for the 4th of July festivities!

Without further ado...the winner is.....


Barbara at Mainely Stitching!!!

Can you send me your address in an email so I can post this out for you next week??

Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!