August meeting

The Piecemakers August meeting will be August 8 at 7pm.

The program will be  "Quilt Show at Sisters, Oregon"
Also on the agenda is the continuation of the Block of the Month with Colleen.
What project have you been working on?  Show and Tell
Sewing for Christmas - set up a date for a work day.
September meeting location to be announced- '"Back to School -Quilter's Style" program.

Sisters Quilt Show pictures

One picture is 1,000 words.

Oregon pictures

Adventures in Oregon Part 4

Morning at Elk Horn Valley arrived with a clear sky and 44 degrees.  We had slept with the window slightly opened enjoying the fresh, cool, mountain air from the deck.  There was a mist in the valley, a very filling breakfast of yogurt, fruit, quiche and lemon muffins.

On the drive to Sisters, the road was curvy as we went along the mountain range and was especially scenic at Detroit Lake.  Sorry no picture, in a hurry to get to the quilt show. We had read on line about limited parking during the show, and luckily the highway came in on the north side of town where there was parking at the Rec center to catch a free shuttle to the downtown area. 1300 quilts were on display hanging inside most of the buildings and outside on a wire line strung up 7:15 am is when volunteers started hanging the quilts.

It was crowded with many people. the Main Street was closed to traffic.  The town has storefronts that resemble an old Western town. Sisters draws a lot of artistic people to the area. 
From town you can see the three mountains Sisters are named for- Faith, Hope and Charity. They had a lot of snow still on them and people were able to ski. the temperature was 80 and clear.  We wore hats, sunscreen and kept drinking water.
We were lucky to snag a table for two in the air-conditioned bar of The Gallery. I ordered "killer salad" that had baby shrimp on a huge bed of lettuce, homemade roll, very very yummy.
The Stitching Post sells, charms, t-shirts, bags, cups, posters, fabric of this year's design by Cathy Deggendorfer.  a local artist.  www.stitchinpost.com

I enjoyed a tented area called "The Teacher's Tent". It showcased the quilts from the teachers who were presenting workshops earlier in the week Monday-Friday that you need to sign up for way ahead of time.

Adventure in Oregon- Part 5

Oh my, it's Sunday already.  A bus load of women left the Bend hotel at 8 pm.  I met two women  checking out from the San Francisco bay area.  One said she had been born in Ames while her dad was in grad school.  They moved to California when she was one. 

We left Bend, to return to Sisters for a lecture by Jean Wells at 11am and arrived an hour early.  The sky was clear and we walked thru the pines to view the exibit of her quilts at the FivePine Lodge and Conference Center.  We met Fran from Salem who was looking for a ticket to the lecture even tho they were sold out.  We had an extra one so she lucked out.  Fran said her son was looking at going to college in Iowa at Grinnell.  She is also a lactation nurse in Salem. 

The pictures of the quilts in the pines are spectacular.   The lecture was "Sticks and Stones: Exploring Pattern and Color"

After the lecture we made a return trip to the Stitching Post shop and it was less crowded and easier to see the merchandise.  I got a book- Stitch 'n Flip quilts by Valori Wells (Jean's dau.) - it is out of print.  Anniversary Bouquet is one of the quilts in the book that we saw that morning.

Leaving Sisters on Hwy 126 to Redmond OR.  The GPS helped us get to Material Girls Fabrics quilt shop in a cute little house.  Great selection of unique fabric and also selling a kit of vinyl fabric to make a useful shopping bag.  I also bought 2 fat 1/8's and 1/4 yd to make a insulated water bottle holder with a free pattern included.  I was disappointed they did not have a shop pin.

Grabbed a quick lunch and started back on Hwy  26 to the Portland area.  Scenic route and stopped in a rest area at Government Camp to get a picture of snow covered Mt. Hood (11,235 elevation).

We didn't stop in Sandy, OR so I didn't get any souvenirs with my name of them.

After checking into our hotel in Troutdale, OR, we got directions to see Multomah Falls along the Columbia River.   It was awesome and right along Highway 84.   It really was great to see it.

There are other waterfalls in the area, but this is the largest waterfall in North America.

After seeing the falls, we found a restaurant "Tad's Chicken and Dumplings"  One order of the famous chicken and dumplings fed two as served with relish tray, dinner salad, roll, and green beans with ham chunks as a side.  There was old fashion bread pudding on the dessert menu, but too full to eat it.

We returned to the Cascade Inn and Suites  Best Western to re-pack and sleep

Our flight leaves at 10:40am for our return trip to Iowa.  The post office opens at 9 am so we can send a box of fabric home. 

Adventures in Oregon - Part 3

After leaving Garibaldi, we stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for a self guided tour.
They recieve milk from 150 dairy producers in the area. BFF liked "squeaky cheese" and I liked the smoked medium chedder when eating samples. Also make ice cream so sampled it too.
It is always time for ice cream.
In Tillamook is Jane's Quilt shop in a pink house on south Main St. Crowded with fabric, customers and a dog. In the backroom were 5 sewers. Met a lady from WI in the shop - she had a friend in Ames. I got a Bali batik scarf and a shop pin.
Tillamook has a quilt trail with 30 blocks 4 ft by 4 ft on their downtown businesses. This was started in 2009 and they were the first quilt trail west of Nebraska.
South of Tillamook the road goes along the coast and we stopped at the Cape Mears lighthouse to observe the ocean, saw a sea lion on a rock, and an "octopus" tree. There were ferns along the road that were huge and in spots the trees grew over the road in a canopy.
Back inland along more curvy mountain roads.
Ate lunch at , a cute little town off the main road. Two local friends bought the building and have a restaurant on the first floor and hotel rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor.

Greenbaums Quilted Forest in Salem, is loccated in the downtown area. Modern quilts and loads of samples and kits. I found a 1/2 yard of Laurel Burch to add to my collection.

The Cotton Patch in Keiser was only 10 minutes north. BFF liked a quilt there but the kits were gone. some of the fabric still available but no pattern. The owner grew up in Mason City, IA.

Heading for Sisters Quilt show on Saturday, we stopped off in the evening at
Elk Horn Valley Inn in Lyons, OR. It is a bed and breakfast run by Robin and her son, Larry.
They made a fire in a small fire ring on the deck and there is the rushing water of the stream nearby. Meadow area and beautiful flowers. Comfortable rooms- we got a tour all the rooms as the other guests (travel writers) had not arrived yet.

Adventures in Oregon - Part 2

First stop of the day is the International Rose Garden located in Portland "City of Roses"
This is a remarkable display over looking the city and showcasing many varieties of roses.
Very fragrant. It was hard to pick just one favorite, so many colors, and sizes from minature to as big as a dinner plate. We talked to a volunteer who comes to help deadhead the flowers. Others were there to walk their dogs or photograph the flowers. The house near by were set on the hills, rose bushes and blue hydrangeas in their yards. Cute!

Next the Fabric Depot is located east of the downtown area and were having a 30% off everything in the store. Inside the door was a table with Marie Bostwick in person, autographing her books, BFF went out to the car and got the #4 book Threading the Needle she bought to read on the plane. Marie autographed it. I got an autographed bookmark as I am planning to read BFF's book when she is finished- more money for fabric that way. Marie has been a quilter for 25 years. She had been in Iowa at Ottumwa talking at a quilt guild and Des Moines at book signings. I found a bias print -black and white that I will be using for a binding.

Hollyhill Quilt shop in West Linn is where we went next. We weren't there very long when a bus arrived. It was the tour from TX shop- Stitching Heaven. One lady in the shop -not on tour -
grew up in the Cedar Rapids area. She lives in Washington now and was also traveling on to Sisters with her husband for 3 days. We got shop pins there. I found some fat quarters from Minick and Simpson that will go with some of their Prairie Paisley line I have at home. There were lots of kits/quilt samples and a lot of fabric lines.
A late lunch (too busy shopping to eat) at Coopers Mill was right down the street and not crowded.

The next shop was A Common Thread. They were open later as waiting for the same bus to arrive there. The owner gave us each a kit of "Quilt Oregon" block. It was a nice treat.
BFF got two patterns and the one I wanted by Toad U Sew was out of stock. We liked their classroom and the samples in the store. They also sell Bernina and had a lot neat sample quilts.
Rush hour traffic as we left Portland for the coast- curvy 2 lane roads when in the mountains.
Beautiful scenery. Closer to the coast is farm country and dairy farms.
We did not have time for three more shops on the list. Maybe next time.

Our final stop for the day was the Garibaldi House Inn Suites in Garibaldi near the ocean.
http://garibaldihouseinn.com
It is a small village that has a harbor and fleets of fishing boats. After checking in, we had to find a place to see the Pacific Ocean. It was cloudy, damp and low 50's watching the waves rolling in.
Seagulls were nearby.
Along the road was a restaurant- Pirates Cove with a view of the bay. One of the specials to eat was fresh salmon cooked on a cedar plank with citrus glaze. Always eat local cusine. Not much fresh seafood in Iowa. I could not eat all of mine and packaged it to go. Refrigerator in room was nice.
The next morning in the parking lot, I met 4 biologists who were loading their boat. They were working on a marine life study of burrowing shrimp. What a job!