Scrappy Hearts

Shop Hopping in the West - Part Two

Sunday, the last day of the Western Washington Shop Hop. As I mentioned in a previous post, this shop hop featured 50 shops. Having just arrived on Saturday, and not really knowing my way around, we really did not plan on trying to accomplish too much of the shop hop. The goal was to visit the closest quilt shops so that I would have a place to go when I was looking for inspiration!

Before the hopping could commence, we needed to stop by the Farmers Market in Ballard. One of our goals this summer is to chose our foods more wisely. Eat out less, eat home more, and eat local whenever possible. The Farmers Market will play an essential role in helping us to achieve our goal!

Next stop, not really far, the Quilting Loft.

 This shop was filled with inspiration. I am looking forward to starting the Thangles Buck a Block monthly quilt block that begins in August. It features a collection of fabrics designed by Jason Yenter of In The Beginning Fabrics. Beautiful blues, very sea-like in color and intonation. The Quilting Loft offers many Blocks of the Month making it difficult to chose just one!

Next stop, QuiltWorks Northwest. A very large store but not overwhelming. The class list here had a few offerings that were manageable in terms of their timing and that made me feel good. I love to connect with other quilters and a class offers the opportunity to become part of a community of quilters. I am really looking forward to it.Final stop on our Shop Hop was the little town of Duvall. One of the “mountain” towns located to the east of Seattle.

The Quilter’s Garden was one of the smaller shops that we had visited. The did have a sign outside indicating the hop was happening.The Quilter’s Garden was nestled in the front of a small collection of shops housed in one building. Much to our surprise, they are a Janome dealership. One of our goals over the weekend was to decide on and purchase a sewing machine that I will be able to use over the summer, and that Mark will be able to use to learn quilting. Mark had a grand time discussing the ins and outs of the different machines with one of the woman in the shop. I had a fun time perusing the fabrics!There are just too many inviting projects waiting to be created! I can’t wait to get sewing!

When all was said and done, we had visited five shops all in relatively close proximity to where we are living in Redmond. I have selected a class to take, determined a few projects to start and have a places to visit that feel comfortable and welcoming when I become a bit lonesome for the companionship of other quilters. 

Tonight...

I need to work. Still completing a couple of reports and trying to organize myself for a summer of relaxation. So tonight, I work.

But tomorrow, tomorrow, the sewing machine arrives and I will be able to spend some time creating. I have big plans for my summer, in terms of being able to create - there are quilts to finish and scrapbook pages to complete. There is our summer mini album and, of course, Project Life.

I am planning on taking a quilting class the first week in August. I saw this quilt while on the shop hop and I couldn’t resist learning to deal with curved seams.

I am thinking of doing the quilt in batiks, primarily earthy tones. Well, we’ll see, still so much to do before August 2nd comes around! 

On Monday, while wandering around the neighborhood and heading towards the supermarket, I came across a Ben Franklin Crafts, not even a block from our home. I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside, a treasure trove of possibility!This store is so not an AC Moore or Michaels. The scrapbooking section reminds me of The Scrapbook Station. Brands like Little Yellow Bicycle, Cosmo Cricket and Crate Paper, just to name a few. Also, for those of us into mixed media, the latest and greatest from 7 Gypsies. 

One of the first little projects I wanted to complete this summer is a new purse using the Hazel Hipster pattern from 2 Peas in a Pod. My first foray into Ben Franklin was in search of ball fringe to use on my purse and guess what, they had a sample of the Hazel Hipster on display and they had the ball fringe that I wanted.

I cannot believe their fabric department. Not your typical big box store collection, but there were actually good quality quilt fabrics from Moda and Free Spirit. No that I have seen a sample of the Hazel Hipster, I am inspired to get my bag made, and soon. 

So excited about tomorrow because tomorrow, I can create. But tonight, yes tonight, I must get back to work!

Project Life, Week 24

The weeks winding down to the end of the school year were busy ones for me. There were so many things to take care of around the house. Once report cards were done and handed in, the real work began.

I did allow for some creative time - a mini album to record our summer adventures. That bottom right hand photo is actually the parking lot at the Home Depot where I had to pick up paint and flowers for our traditional room mother gifts. The violet impatiens were gorgeous!

There was dinner with Jason - and the photo of the sunset in my side mirror as I drove home via the Walt Whitman Bridge. Thursday was shopping for second grade appropriate supplies, name tags and table organizers. Mark flew to China this week so a large part of my journaling has to do with that. Friday, Mark was left in one city while the rest of the entourage moved on. That made me very nervous, but Mark, he is so low key he managed to relocate himself as well as find little pieces of China to marvel at. In this case, the noodle man.

All in all, Week 24 was a very busy and eventful week. I practiced a new technique in Photoshop Elements that allowed me to place an overlay on a masked photo. I was very proud of my accomplishment!

From Week 25, moving forward, I need to order my photos for my album. Not sure how that will work out - but I am being flexible!

Project Life, Week 23

Week 23 began with the Saturday that Mark was visiting from Washington. I had been missing him so much - it was so nice to have this visit before report cards and his trip to China.

We managed to play all weekend! What a treat. Time exploring the wetlands of New Jersey south towards the Delaware Bay. Lots of picture taking and a chance to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Our exploring took us east toward the ocean and Cape May where we arrived to see the sunset. Wonderfully warm evening, perfect for strolling along the quaint streets of Cape May and breathing in all that wonderful sea air. Sunday called for a quick trip to the Grounds for Sculpture and dinner with my dear friends Howard and Naya. Pirates of the Caribbean on the big screen completed our day! We squeezed quite a bit into Saturday and Sunday. 

Most of my documenting of this week in photos includes events that happened over the weekend - I am quite okay with that. The journaling actually mentions the rest of the daily happenings which were limited due to the extremely high heat. I did break down and turn on the air on Wednesday, but just until it cooled off a bit. The final photo is the front bedroom after the new carpet was laid. That room really looks great!

To me, the beauty of a project like this lays in its versatility. It becomes whatever it needs to be depending on the week and the mood of the creator. How cool that there are no preconceived notions about the “end” product. For me, my use and completion Project Life is undergoing a bit of a change. Week 26 begins my summer away from home and the documentation will be made a bit more difficult because photos will need to be ordered. My planning will be a bit more intense but the end result should be the same!

Northwest Colors

The sky was blue for two days with light scattered clouds. Rainier was “out” and the sun was shining. What more could a girl ask for? Uhm, more of the same!

But, to be honest, what I have been paying real close attention to since my arrival is the brightness of the colors I encounter. For some reason I seem to be especially sensitive to color. Perhaps that’s because of the Shop Hop or the Farmers’ Market or, just because we have spent most of our time outside taking it all in!

Yesterday was truly a feast for the eyes.

I loved seeing this New Orleans sounding band at the Farmers’ Market. In fact, there was plenty to hear in the way of music, ear candy I guess!

Look at the density of the petals in this rose - just gorgeous. 

Here I am, relaxing, just taking it all in. Truly blessed!

Shop Hopping in the West

For the second time in less than 2 months, I hopped. Yup, shop hopped that is. 

My arrival in Seattle coincided with the last two days of the Western Washington Shop Hop, 50 shops to explore and I had two days! Well, I had no intention of completing this shop hop, but it was fun to shop hop with Mark who had never shop hopped before!

The shop hop in Washington is done a little differently. There are 50 shops and each shop designs and 8” block using the fabric collection designed for the hop. How cool is that! As you enter each shop they have a stamping station where they stamp your passport and give you the pattern and 3 pieces of fabric to use for that particular block. Isn’t that cool? 

The fabrics for this year’s shop hop were bright and colorful. Very enticing! 

Our first stop was Gathering Fabric in Woodinville. We had a great time chatting with the girls at the stamping station and the shop had a great quilt design using the Shop Hop fabric collection. 

The stores participating in the shop hop were open until 8pm on Saturday so that left us a little time to enjoy dinner and to take in a wine tasting. Gathering Fabric is located in a neat little area and we look forward to heading back to enjoy more of what the area offered.

The second shop on our agenda was Keepsake Cottage Fabrics located in Bothell. Nestled in a little village filled with interesting and eclectic shops the store offered more fabric than I have ever seen in one store. Most shelves had the fabric in rows three bolts deep. The store had several separate rooms that enclosed you like a maze. So much eye-candy!    I think our greatest find was a little Italian restaurant that features a piano player every Friday and Saturday night. Almost sorry that we had eaten before we discovered it, but thrilled to have a plan to go back in the future. My stay here is longer than a “normal” vacation so we will have time to explore lots of new places and venues, together!

The little collection of stores also offered several antique stores and a stamping store! I can’t wait to go back! There were many photo opportunities, daisies, peonies and a little tug boat! Perhaps the most unusual was the chicken along 238th Street that stood ready to great all that passed by!   It was a luscious day, made so much because I was able to share the experience with Mark. It has been a while since we’ve been able to share a significant amount of time together, this summer is truly a blessing in that regard!

Anticipation

“All journeys have secret

destinations of which the

traveler is unaware.”

– Martin Buber

Getting Ready

I am getting ready to leave for the summer. Not an easy job, but I am making progress. Considering that I have less than 24 hours, that’s probably a good thing.

The biggest job I have yet to complete is the mulching of the yard. I ordered 5 cubic yards of mulch, what was I thinking? But, I am happy to report, that the pile is getting smaller. I have made a dent in the job!

Maybe I can consider the pile one half of its original size, I think I can!

It is not just the spreading of the mulch that is so time consuming, it is also the weeding of the beds and the clearing of the debris from over the winter. The weeds were a little out of control and I think that’s because I didn’t mulch last year. Oh well, live and learn.

I actually love the job of spreading mulch. I love the way my garden looks when the mulch is fresh and the gardens look well-tended!

The gardens actually need more plants, that is the biggest issue. Hopefully in the fall some serious planting will take place so that the spring clean-up isn’t quite as intense.

Just a little more mulch to lay in the front and then off to the expanse of garden behind the house leading to the patio. I may make the job a little more difficult on myself, I insist on moving all the slate pathways, laying the mulch and then replacing the slate. Otherwise the slate gets lost, it just doesn’t look as clean. Tomorrow the mulch needs to be finished, the lawn needs to be mowed and the edges, trimmed. It’s a good thing that there are 24 hours in a day!

Celebrating the Solstice

The longest day of the year was a great day to take a drive to see my baby! More daylight hours meant more time for galavanting. We like to galavant.

Actually, our evening was really low key. Jess had to work so my drive to New York did not begin until 4:30. First stop, Red Top Market. Rumor had it that they were the only place selling Jersey corn, so I needed to pick some up if that was true. Jessie loves Jersey Fresh.Corn and tomatoes, the mother load. Jess was thrilled!

After unloading the other “provisions” we were off to the city. Jess was looking like quite the professional, me, not so much! First stop Herald Square, one of Jess’ least favorite places. Then, off to find dinner. We ended up at one of our favorites, Chat ’n Chew. Good stick to the ribs comfort food. Yum! Just what the doctor ordered!

We had walked from Herald Square over to 16th Street so the added calories from our indulgent meal were absolutely needed.

The subway at Union Square is right around the corner from the Chat ’n Chew. I was busy taking photos for my NYC Subway scrapbook when I noticed what all the stickers on the wall represented. On each sticker was the name of a victim from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. I had never noticed that before. Sobering.

The ride to Brooklyn was quick and easy. The ride home, not so much. Road work left me sitting in traffic more than usual. Jess and I took the required self-portrait and talked about how quick our visit had been. We do not get to spend nearly enough time together. We planned a date for August when I return from Seattle and she is planning some time at the house while I’m gone. I hope she has a great summer! I just love my baby!

Story?

I just loved this! Last night I spotted this advertisement in a city subway station and I couldn’t resist. Everyone has a story to share - “What’s Your Story” and more importantly, how will you share it?