Island Hopping-Day 17

We are back in our beloved country now…Canada, still miles from home, but it feels good. We’ve taken the ferry to Vancouver Island and will be staying here a few days. The ferry ride was wonderful, saw a few seals, and gorgeous scenery. We drove into Victoria tonight and had a delicious dinner at an Italian restaurant. Dear Hubby had his standard spaghetti and meatballs but I opted to try the Butternut Squash Ravioli.  So yummy, I must try to find a recipe and make it when I get home.

Since it was a fairly uneventful a no quilt store kind of day I thought I would share more pics from the Sisters Quilt Show.  In hindsight I should have taken the pictures, then written down the name of the quilt. I am sure some of you will want o know what patterns some were. I did take paper and pen and had good intentions of doing so, however when I got there , there were so many quilts I wanted to capture them all on film. I think if I had taken the time to document, I would have missed quite a few.  These pics are from inside The Stitchin Post and some that were hanging outside.

Going Coastal-Day 16

We are slowly making our way back to Canada. We headed up the coast through Washington State. Lovely little fishing villages dot the coast. Lot’s of logging trucks on the roads and as we head north, we are back into the mountains and forests. Dear Hubby was a gem today and I got to see two quilts shops. I only had to whine, pout and stomp my feet  ask nicely. He rolled his eyes, but then complied. He did get to his hockey store in Everett and I let him buy his Everett Silvertips jersey, so he was a happy camper  cabin-er.
First shop was Bayside Quilting in Olympia. OMG this store is to die for. They have sample quilts everywhere and all their quilts are kitted and in bins that are numbered so it’s really easy to find what you are looking for. They had a whole display of Christmas quilts, Christmas in July, fancy that!  I did pick up a couple of patterns and strapping for bags which I couldn’t find elsewhere.  They had a large display of pantographs, but I thought I should quit while I was ahead.

The next store was in Everett…called The Needle & I. Very nice shop with a good variety of patterns and fabric. I did pick up a set of EZ rulers I’d been looking for. The store even had a pattern for making umbrellas. They were so cute hanging throughout the store.  They had the umbrella frames available and carry a spray that makes the fabric waterproof once it’s completed. They teach a class for it…what a great idea.


We are about an hour from the Canadian border and will head across tomorrow. We’re spending a few days on Vancouver Island before starting our trek back to Ontario.

Going Coastal- Day 15

I think I’m maybe getting a bit homesick for the grandsons and for the kids. Our daughter posted this pic on Facebook for us and every time I see it I want to start heading right home.  Gosh I miss these little guys!

We are on our way up the Oregon coast to Washington. The scenery and coast is breathtaking. Seaside villages all along the coast every few miles and you can smell the ocean. It is very foggy with a light mist drizzling all the way. We stopped in the morning at Quilter’s Cove in Newport. She carries a wide array of patterns and has great prices on batik fabric. The store has several McKenna Ryan quilts on display.  I love her patterns and quilts and have about 4 WIP’s still not finished. I did purchase a variety of brown and beige batiks for a pattern I am working on for my Son in Law. He’s a huge hunting fanatic and it’s of a deer in the woods. I did have most of the fabric for it but did need a few additional shades for the deer itself, so these fabrics will be perfect.

We stopped at Cannon Beach and walked the beach to the Haystacks….it seems amazing to have now touched both oceans in my lifetime. The Atlantic and the Pacific. The water was very very cold as was the temperatures. Just between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius..a huge change from the sweltering 38-43 degrees of the last few weeks, so I am not complaining. Tonight we are at another KOA…and I am willing to admit that I do not have cabin fever…yet.

Going Coastal- Day 14

I am having a little difficulty sleeping, due to the time change I think. It’s 3 hours difference between home and here. I’ve been waking up at 5 o’clock in the morning and haven’t been able to get back to sleep. This morning was no exception..5 a.m on the nose. Speaking of noses..while I’m laying there wide awake I get to listen to Dear Hubby’s snoring. Till this trip I didn’t realize it was so bad…OMG  now I know why sleep deprived wives commit murder.It was like staring in the movies…Sounds of the Wild. It started with a SNORE…T…the huge deep loud snore which abruptly stops and you hear nothing…you wait, hoping you hear breathing and just as you are going to check if he is still alive, he breaths. Then it was the “needs a new muffler” snore. You know the one that makes you want to take him right to the body shop for service. Then it was the “ Mac truck gearing down on a hill” snore. That one seems to go on forever, like you’re up in the Rockies (oh ya, we are) and the guy can’t seem to get it in the right gear. Then it was the “oscillating lawn sprinkler”…vut, vut, vut, vut, vut. Finally the  “plugged hoover vacuum” snore, the one that’s plugged with all your thread and pins from the sewing room.

I gently placed the pillow over his face and was about to press down when….I must have dozed off. Next thing I know he was waking me up, it was 8 a.m and he was asking how I slept! )&&%***_)&)&&%*%

We’ve finally made it to the coast…Beautiful Oregon. We are staying in a KOA in Newport, right on the water…magnificent. We had ever intention of using the tent today, even booked a tent site. Once we got to the campground, we caved and asked if they had a cabin…you guessed it, the tent remains in the box and we remain in the cabin!

On the way we did stop in Sweet Home and discovered a tiny little quilt shop called Seamingly Creative. The owner was so sweet, she asked if it was my first time in the shop and said that first timers get a free fat quarter. She had designed these cutie patootie  towel hangers for your stove that look like little dresses. So sweet. I had to buy one, and a cute pear pincushion as well .

We went for a fabulous dinner at a place the locals frequent in Waldport called The Salty Dawg. Delicious fish and chips, great local atmosphere, right on the bay…what a way to finish the day.

Destination Oregon- Day 13

Dear Hubby wanted to go to the gym this morning and asked if I could amuse myself for a couple of hours while he went. Silly Dear Hubby!  The hotel we are staying at is walking distant to one of the local quilt stores, Joann fabrics and an outlet mall. “ Gee, I’m gonna be hard-pressed but take your time”.  I was laughing all the way to the quilt store called BJ’s Quilt Basket. It was lovely having time to look around without that little voice saying…are you done yet.

We had booked 3 nights in Bend during the quilt show and today we spent the day trying to fill time enjoying the sights. We drove to Tumalo Falls which are quite beautiful. On the way there I’m reading the GPS and the road we’re travelling on is Bear Wallow Road. Now I want to really see these falls, but I’ll be damned if I’ll say to Dear Hubby, “maybe we should reconsider as I’m pretty confident that there are bears in them there woods”. Typically people don’t name roads after non existent things in the area, do they?  I’m just hoping it’s a technical error on the GPS. Surely to god, there can’t be bears in the mountains of Oregon..that would be ludicrous.  Much worry for nothing as the road leads right to the falls and there are all kinds of vehicles and people around, so you know…safety in numbers! It was definitely worth the drive. There was also a Summer Fest on in downtown Bend. We stopped and visited that for a bit as well as had a picnic lunch at a park close by. They have the most beautiful parks throughout the town here.

You know that if you are taking Dear Hubby to a Quilt show, it’s not all about the quilting! You have to let him have a bit of fun too. We both have been enjoying all the beer choices along the way. Some of the names are so comical, makes you want to try them all. These are just a few….Fat Tire, Snarling Badger, Moose Drool, 3 O'clock Shadow, Bitch Creek, Fat Weasel,  Black Toad ,Big Foot Ale, Jumping Cow,  Nice Rack and my personal favourite Pin Up. Just to clarify..we haven’t been drinking them ALL, drinking some, taking pics of most.

Destination Amazing–Day 12

This was the view as I drove to Sisters Oregon today to visit the Sisters Outdoor Quilt show. The view was breathtaking, the mountains as well as the miles of traffic ahead to get there. It was traffic chaos to get downtown, but I opted to park at the local high school and be shuttled in which was a wise choice.

Once I got off the shuttle I was in complete awe. You really have to see it to believe and experience it. It  makes you want to go right home and quilt. The Stitchin Post hosts the local show which is always held the 2nd weekend in July. Their store is as awesome and inspiring as the show they host. Over the next days and months I will share my pics with you, it will take a while as I took 183 of them. I would have taken more but the camera battery died. Part way through the show I found myself sitting at the local library recharging…literally.

Hope you enjoy this little piece of heaven.

Destination Oregon–Day 11

We’ll we have finally made it to Oregon and tomorrow is the Sister’s Outdoor Quilt Show. We are staying in Bend, about 20 miles from the event. We are actually lucky to be here as a couple of days ago they closed the highway from Mountain Home to Boise because of a fire along highway 84.  They said it was a traffic nightmare as that appears to be the only highway that crosses the state there. When we drove the route, all you could see for miles was burned brush and grass, everywhere you looked was black. We travelled from Idaho into Oregon and along route 20 through the valleys and deserts of Oregon. The distance was about 500 kilometers, and during that stretch we drove through about 2 towns, not even towns, they were villages.

You literally saw no buildings or people for hours at a time. Then miraculously,  as my husband would say..in the middle of bum---- no where, in a small town called Burns, there’s  a quilt store….and a nice quilt store. It was so strange. The quilt store was called Country Lane Quilts. Nicely stocked, good selection of patterns and notions, rulers, with  lots of western fabric and patterns too. Believe it or not there slogan was “ Your Quilt Oasis in Oregon’s High Desert”…how true!

So, tomorrow I’m off to Sisters for the show, making sure that I have comfy shoes and a fully charged camera.