Did you know there’s a new American Girl Store in Seattle?  I started buying American Girl dolls for McKenna when she was small.  Then my mom bought me one!  She bought me Kerstin, the Swedish doll.  How perfect!  I didn’t really play with dolls as a kid, but I loved having Kerstin and her Swedish accouterments. Then, a friend bought a Kerstin for Sally, too!  So, we just all had to go.  I drove up to Seattle and spent the night with Sally.  Here are our Kerstin dolls waiting for the big outing.

McKenna and Tamara drove up from Albany to meet us.

It was so fun to see the displays in the store.

What’s this!?!  Julie is from 1974.  Oh, my god!  I’m old enough to be an American Girl Doll!

When I was in high school, my bedroom was hot pink and orange, just like Julie’s!

When I got married in 1974, I got a fondue pot exactly like this, except mine was Harvest Gold, not Avocado Green!  It’s all too much….

I had to move on.  McKenna liked the special doll for this year, Kanani.

We had to swing by the beauty parlor.  Look at all the choices you have for giving your doll a new hairstyle!

Elizabeth had to have a new ‘do.

Doesn’t it look pretty?

We had a lunch reservation.  McKenna and Sally.

Tamara and me.

The dolls each got their own chair!

And their own beverage!

The ceiling was adorable!

Some lucky little girl was having a birthday party.

We topped of lunch with decadent desserts.  McKenna had the brownie sundae (and so did I!).

Sally and Tamara had cake pops.

I have another granddaughter now, so guess who will be getting a Bitty Baby for Christmas?  Yep, Peyton.  And the whole family loves camo, so what could be more perfect than Bitty Baby in a camo outfit?  I’ll tell you what.  I bought a matching outfit for Peyton, too!

Oh, it’s fun to be a grandma!

When I stopped at the Willapa Harbor Quilt Show last week, I was delighted that the first quilt that greeted me was an antique–this beautiful Irish Chain.  The quilt was pieced between 1900 and 1905 in Fairfield County Ohio.

The finished squares were about 1″ and the quilting stitches were amazing.  The border alone is a work of art!

I’m always pleased to see Redwork.  The vintage cats were adorable.

And Becky Coburn had stitched my Redwork Flower Baskets.

And Yvonne Smith had done the Blue Flower Baskets!

Pat Jones had done the Sunbonnet Sue and Scottie, too quilt.

She also did this charming Christmas mini.

This was the gorgeous raffle quit the guild had made.

This is Prairie Paint by Alice Wells.

Here’s a wonderful quilt for the outdoorsman.  I’m sorry I don’t know who made it.  Note: I received this message today from the quilt show chair and wanted to share it with you.  The outdoor fishing quilt was made by a group of women who were sisters.  Our local sister member is Vivian Edersheim.  One of the sisters, Bertha, decided to make each of her brothers a quilt and had barely gotten started when she was hit with cancer.  After her death, her surviving sisters decided to finish the quilts, and over the completion process the quilts traveled over 2000 miles as each sister took her turn at working on blocks.  Bertha continues to share her love of fabric and quilting with our guild because her sister Vivian has shared her fabrics and scraps with our group, and we pay a small donation to Vivian which in turn she gives to a charity.

Pat Jone’s made the Backyard Birds quilt.

This quilt is called Under the Sea by Arlyn Harris.  Perfect underwater colors!

Oldzii is a Never Ending Knot pattern made by Toni Gwinn.

Yvonne Smith made this Kindred Spirits quilt.

Oh!  This is my Christmas fabric made into a table runner by Helga Schiel.

Here’s the same pattern (which was designed by my friend, Karen Montgomery).  This patriotic version was made by Alice Wells.

I love the name of this cat quilt–Eight Lives Left.  It’s by Toni Gwin.

Lovebird Lane is by Dorothy Gruginski.

Life’s a Journey by Vickie Fenstermacher really caught my eye.

Who wouldn’t love an orange quilt?  Windmill by Marge Habersetzer.

The stitchery work on this quilt,Wild  Flowers by Vickie Fenstermacher, was amazing.

This quilt has a wonderful story.  Margaret Payne gave her nephew, Bruce Hill, the aqua fabric seen in this quilt.  Bruce, a quilter, made this quilt using the aqua fabric and gave it back to Margaret!

 

This vintage Flower Garden quilt was started over 70 years ago!  It was pieced by Catherine Lorton.

Charlene Phinney was the featured quilter.  Her quilts, like these African Birds, were works of art.

I believe this flowers are her work, also.

She created Rusted Quilt With No Name when she was playing with triangles.

This plaid quilt is the result of a class she took with Roberta Horton.

Another funky bird quilt!

 

More of Charlene’s work.  She hand dyes many of her fabrics.

 

I love these houses.

Dorothy Gruginski made this beautiful Out of the Darkness quilt.

The quilting was done by Arlyn Harris and is just beautiful.

The variegated thread was a perfect choice for this quilt.

It was a lovely show and I was delighted when I was asked if I would the featured quilter next year!

The High Desert Museum in Bend had an exhibit called Quilts: Bedding to Bonnets, so we decided to check it out.  It was in a small gallery at the museum, but a very lovely exhibit.

Like most people, I tend to forget that the art of quilting–stitching fabric together with tiny stitches, wasn’t always used just for bedding.  I took photos of the descriptions of the articles in the exhibit and will share them with you!

“Petticoat.  Machine quilted white cotton with hand gathered waistband and cotton batting.  C. 1860.”

“Petticoat.  Hand quilted cotton with diamond pattern.  c. 1875.”

“Petticoat.  Calico prints.  c. 1880.”

“Bonnet.  Quilted silk with wool batting.  Used as winter hood.  c. 1860.”

Bed jacket.

“Comfort on the Trail 1841-1868.  Quilts were a much-needed commodity on the Oregon Trail.  Referred to as bedding, quilts could warm bodies, cradle treasures and provide quick cover from the elements.  Guidebooks recommended two or three bedding articles per person to be sufficient.  Quilts were bartered for river passage, supplies, and other necessities.”

“When tragedy hit the Trail, quilts were used in burials to wrap around the body, as no time could be spent to make coffins.”

“‘The bodies were wrapped together in a bed comforter and wound, quite mummified with a few yards of string that we made by tying together torn strips of cotton dress skirt.’  Catherine Haun, 1849 diary of her travels on the Oregon Trail.”

“Princess Feather with Star Pattern.  Quilts like this one were often used in political fundraisers for the Whig’s Party.”

“To achieve green, the fabric was dyed yellow then blue.  c. 1850.”

“Sunflower Quilt. Sunflower patterns are appliqued on.  The densely quilted top has a shell pattern around the border.”

“Red, white and double pink colorings with novelty prints in the Indigo blue.  c. 1850.”

“Silk Fan Quilt. The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 was held in Philadelphia to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  The Japanese exhibit influenced Americans to adopt Japanese styles and motifs throughout their homes. The Silk Fan Quilts was a popular motif for decades after the exhibition.  c. 1890.”

“Whole Cloth Quilt. This white-on-white cotton quilt was made by Sarah Dibble Conley of Minnesota, 1856-1950.”

“The variety of quilted designs showcase the quilter’s talent.  The quilt’s unique feature is that it was made of one large piece of cotton, which was expensive to buy in the day.  c. 1900.”

A lovely little vignette.

“Women’s Relief Corps Ribbon Quilt. This quilt consists of ribbons of the Womens Relief Corps from the Oregon Pioneer Association Meetings.”

“These meetings were held around the state of Oregon and in other states.”

Participants were given ribbons to wear, showing what year they had crossed the plains.  If you note below, there is also a ribbon that says “GAR.”  That stands for Grand Army of the Republic.  It was also popular to hold reunions for those who served in the Union Army during the Civil War.  This ribbon would have come from one of those gatherings.

c. 1925.

“During the Great Depression, women continued to quilt with renewed enthusiasm.”

“American Legion Auxiliary Quilt. Community quilts like this one were made with bold, original designs and a strong sense of purpose.  The people whose names were embroidered on the quilt were involved with post 9 of the American Legion Auxiliary in Salem, Oregon.”

“Past officers names are designated with titles.  Two of the names also have gold stars.”  I believe those two women lost sons during the war.  c. 1931.

I don’t know why there weren’t individual signs on these quilts.  I know this pattern as Hummingbird or Snowball.

Even a utility quilt like this Nine-Patch was made to look beautiful with its four block setting, green sashing and pink cornerstones.

This darling Noah’s Ark Quilt was undoubtedly a kit quilt.

This Ohio Rose in yellow is absolutely gorgeous.  Both the applique and quilting are exquisite.  I love the swagged border.

If you look closely, you’ll see that this butterfly quilt has yellow sashing, but it has faded to almost whilte.

In another section of the museum was this wagon with another vintage quilt.  I snapped this photo both for the quilt and the canvas that says 1852.  That’s the year my great-grandmother crossed from Missouri to Oregon Territory.

Special Exhibits are always exciting to see.  There’s a quilt guild in the Portland area called Cover to Cover Quilts.  Every six months they read a book and make a quilt based on it!

I’m sure you can guess their latest project–Alice in Wonderland!

Even the Mad Hatter was there.

And the Hookah smoking character.

And the Cheshire Cat.

Oh no!  Alice goes down the rabbit hole!

Most of my knowledge of Alice comes from the Jefferson Airplane Song!

The Cheshire Cat.

“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!” (Actually, I am, but I wanted to get this post up before I leave!)

Another great exhibit that I enjoyed was this one, sponsored by Greenbaum’s Quilted Forest from Salem.

Fiber Artists were asked to make their interpretation of a tree.

They were amazing.

Sisters is located in Central Oregon.

It’s on the eastern edge of the Cascade Mountains.

All the area beyond Sisters is high desert–sage brush, junipers and lava rock.

It’s as close to the old West as you can get.

If you love the outdoors, it’s a great place to live.

I always think of quilts like these as Central Oregon quilts.

They are so influenced by the the world around them.

I find them truly works of art.

These are what I call the Novelty or Pictorial quilts.  Some are whimsical and some are works of art.

This VB bus sure fits the whimsical category!  I love the attention to detail, like the tiny barbecue and the ice chest!

More summer fun!

This reminds me of gathering eggs in the hen house.  Yes, I’ve really done that!

I wish this were our forecast!

Around the edge, this quilts says, “There’s No Place Like Home.”

Hmm, I wonder if I need a quilt like this in my potting shed?

What little boy wouldn’t love this quilt?

OMG!  Isn’t this adorable.  I’d even like it without the robot.

I was delighted to see this.  It’s made with my friend Glenna’s fabric.

So was this one!

Aye, the pot o’ gold!

Isn’t this charming?

This butterfly quilt was for sale from one of the antique dealers.  Even though butterfly quilts are my favorites, I didn’t buy it.  I already have one like it in my collection.

Who says orange doesn’t look good with pink and green?

Moon over the mountain?

I love this cat pattern.  Not so much the “things” in the borders.

I thought this was very whimsical.

I wonder what the inspiration for this quilt was.

Very pretty.

This Mammy quilt was nicely done.

Great fabrics in the clothing.

I’m starting to see some interesting and modern versions of the Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

I love sunflowers, and the pieced backing on this really makes it sparkle.

Wow!

The bird in this quilt looks more real than the lady’s eyebrows!

The realistic ones fascinate me.

When I was organizing my pictures, I decided to do a separate section for applique.  Like all quilts, it’s amazing how diverse “applique” can be!

It’s always so interesting to see how the same pattern is done by different people.

This looks like it was a fun challenge.

Here’s an Asian inspired quilt.

The mottled green in the leaves and stems of this quilt are really cool.

Wow!

Not only is the applique on this quilt stunning, so is the quilting.  Imagine being brave enough to quilt with black thread on white!

This quilt was wool.

Here’s a lovely Baltimore Album style quilt.

Sorry I don’t know how to photoshop out the sign that was hanging from this porch, but I thought the quilt was worth sharing.

This Hawaiian sampler is so pretty.

Another Hawaiian influenced quilt.

Oh, I have the pattern for this.  It’s on my to-do list.  It cracked me up that the maker left the buds out of one basket!

Note:  I get a lot of questions about this pattern.  It’ is from the book A Bouquet of Quilts from C&T Publishing.

This quilt really popped!

Does this say Flower Power or what?

So graceful.

The split leaves on this quilt are great.

It’s hard to beat bright in my book.

This is a very interesting combination of piecing and applique.  It’s done with Asian fabrics on a black background.  If you look carefully, you can see a bamboo design stitched into it.

I think I may like poppies even better than daisies!

This quilt makes me want to get out a Matchbook car and have some fun!

The Sisters Quilt Show was fabulous.  I took a lot of photos, of course.  As I got home and was looking at what I took, it occurred to me that everyone who goes to the show probably comes home with different memories.  Surely no one else took the same photos I did.  I guess it says a lot about who we are as quilters.  I find I’m drawn mostly to traditional quilts, but I also love looking at modern quilts—even though I may never want to make one.

I just spent some time organizing the photos I took and grouping them together a bit.  So, we’ll start with the basics–the Nine-Patch.  It doesn’t get more basic than that, but it’s amazing what quilters can do with just a few squares!

I apologize for the shadows on some of the quilts.  It was a bright, sunny day, which was lovely, but doesn’t always make photography easy!

I think there’s something to be said for a two color quilt—and the sawtooth border on this is great, too.

 

This quilt has a beautiful applique border.

When I look quilts, I’m alway curious about how the blocks are set together.  Did this quilt maker do a square-in-a-square setting around each Nine-Patch, or did she make alternate Broken Dishes blocks when setting this quilt together?  The result would be the same either way.

Here’s a nice combination of a Sixteen-Patch and a Four-Patch.

I think this was the only vintage quilt I saw hanging in the show.  Interesting setting, with the single block in the center.

Now things are really starting to change, but still the same basic grid.

The alternate dark and light is good here.

This block isn’t that different than the one above, just a change to two corners, but the result sure is different.

Perspective is different when things are set on point, too.  Also, the darker outer blocks act as a cool border.

More geometric quilts.

This is an interesting quilt with some dimensional blocks.

This Tennessee Waltz is very pretty.

I thought this quilt was simple but elegant.

This gives the impression of a Nine-Patch…

…but the construction was more like a log cabin.

Isn’t the border on this quilt great?

And I’ve always loved this block.

Color placement in this Triple Irish Chain sure makes a statement.

And what about the Four-Patch?

It’s pretty versatile, too.

This was a vintage quilt that was for sale.  (No, I didn’t buy it!)

This Tussie Mussie quilt was very clever.

Usually I don’t like shadows on the quilts, but the sun dappling on this diamond quilt is kind of cool.

Isn’t this an interesting geometric design?

I’ve made a quilt similar to this called Spruce Root.

At first, I thought these were half-square triangles, but one side is longer.  It really makes for an interesting design.

Lots more to come!

Quite some time ago I posted photos of some cool old neon signs.  On our recent trip , mostly through Utah but with a few detours into Arizona and Colorado, I was able to snap a few more.

Some had a distinct Southwest feel.

Love the chicken, and we all know about drive through dining, but what’s the deal with Drive Thru Parking?

Cool old bank sign.  I wonder if this is where they keep the old money, as in, “He comes from old money?”

Not only had the Wash-O-Mat seen better days, so had its sign.

Check out the sky in some of these photos.  Not the best weather!

When I was a kid, we had a local, tiny place called the Shake Shack.  I really wanted to stop here, but we’d just eaten.  My ice cream consumption was WAY down on this trip, and that’s not like me.

Here’s an oldie, and so Southwest.

Oh, perhaps we should stay here!

Or maybe not.  But it was a great price.

Cool signs, though.

This was in Page, Arizona.  Again, check out the sky.

A great combination of old and new!  I wonder what happened to the pool?

So many motel choices in our travels!

I love the starburst on this one.  So very Sixties.

Cute deer on this sign.  Looks like he’s being chased!

I thought this Fiesta Theater sign was terrific.

Uh, we weren’t in Utah anymore!

We didn’t get to all the places we wanted to go in Arches, so we went back for a second day.

For perspective, take a look at the two people under the arch.

I do promise, though, that this is the last post of “rocks!”

It was hard to imagine that after a week there were still new and unusual things to see

The arches were great.  This one is called Double Windows.

 

Bob looks pretty good here, doesn’t he?

I think most of these arches have official names, but to me, this is Mamma and Baby.

I prefer to be behind the camera, but Bob did get it away from me!

Look closely at the snow on the mountains in the background!

The arches never cease to amaze me.

 

And I could say the same for the rock formations.

But this was the one we’d been waiting to see.  This is Delicate Arch, the unofficial symbol of Utah!

What a great week we had.  We visited 5 National Parks, 2 National Monuments, 1 National Forest, 1 National Recreation Area, 1 Tribal Park and 1 Tribal Monument!  Whew!