Thursday, September 30, 2010

Big Month for Visitors

I've had a really busy September, with visits from my younger son and two other friends.  Eric drove down the Alcan Highway solo, taking several side trips to mountain bike, and arrived here in early September.  He's on an adventure, leaving Alaska and moving to who knows where? 

A few days after he arrived, I drove to Seattle to pick up Deb, my old-time Alaska work partner who now lives in Maine.  We toured Gig Harbor, Tacoma, Seattle, and drove up to La Conner to see the museum and the Quilt Walk.  La Conner is really a vibrant little town!  And, when we arrived at the Country Inn, we were greeted by Mary Arnold's Guatemala Bound quilt hanging behind the reception desk!

We spent a couple of days in Vancouver, then headed down the coast to our friend Rosie's B&B in Lincoln City, Coast Inn Bed and Breakfast.  Rosie is a wonderful host, and a GREAT cook!  Go there!  The house is beautifully decorated, and there are many wonderful quilts throughout.  Here's just a sample.

A quilt by Nelda Warkentin graces the entryway.


Here's a quilt by Alaskan artist Ree Nancarrow.


This quilt is by Alice Gant.  Alice now lives in New York state.


This is my quilt, Vallejo's Garden, in one of the guest rooms.

This is the view from Deb's room.  Actually, the ocean is there beyond the trees.  It's a bit too foggy to see it in this photo.


Rosie, the innkeeper, is a glass artist.  Glass by Rosie and by Kathy Steele is available for purchase.  Guests can also sign up for a glass class and make coasters during their stay.


Here's the sun room.


Road to Nenana, by Rosie Huntemann.

A couple of days later, Deb and I took a drive up Columbia Gorge.  We stopped at Multnomah Falls on our way to a quilt show in Skamania.




That's Deb in the orange coat up on the bridge.

Last Monday my friend Pat arrived on a stopover on her way home to Alaska.  Deb departed later that day, but the three of us had some time to explore fabric, yarn, and thread shops in Portland.  Pat and I sewed a top for the Guatemala Bound project.  We used the Chinese Coins strips that we sewed but didn't use during Pat's last visit here.  Here's the top that we made.


Sunday, September 26, 2010

Roman Coins


Way back in 1986 I was part of an Amish study group in Anchorage. Over the course of about a year we made several small quilt projects based on Amish designs and colors.  I constructed two Roman Stripe exercises that I never completed.  Lately I added the Chinese coins borders to make these bunk-bed size for Guatemala Bound.  After 25 years, finally a purpose!