Great Quilt Show

This past weekend I went to a quilt show sponsored by the North Central Washington Quilt Guild at the Wenatchee Convention Center. It was a great show--many quilts and many vendors. The featured artist at this show was a woman named Ruth Geyer, who had several exquisite quilts on display. The majority of the quilts at the show were made by members of the local quilt guild (all skill levels, all ages), but there was a row and a half of space dedicated to Ruth Geyer. I walked from one end of the row that displayed her quilts. I noticed that she had some very different techniques in her quilts. They were all very beautiful. As I got around to the last of her quilts, I could hear someone complimenting Ruth on her quilts (she was out of my view at this point). Well, as I rounded the corner, I was pleasantly surprised to see a very delightful white-haired elderly woman. I was so surprised that such a delicate woman could be responsible for making these elaborate quilts! She said that it wasn't until after her 4 kids were raised and her husband had died that she started to make quilts. I didn't ask her how long she had been quilting for (could be 5 years, could be 20...who knows?), but wish I had. She was dressed very pretty and sitting next to a small end table with a small lap quilt draped over, and 2 large quilts hanging up behind her. It was such a pretty display, and with her sitting there, I thought how I'd like to have a picture of her. I asked her if I could take her picture to which she replied, "I would really rather you didn't, but feel free to take pictures of my quilts." I couldn't help but laugh! I guess I thought that being photographed with her quilts would be something she would be proud of, but she seemed very modest like that. If I had to guess her age, I'd have to guess 85...so hard to know.

One of the tasks for those attending the show was to vote for your favorites in a variety of categories. My favorite was one made by Linda Riesterer. It appeared to be hand quilted, and it was just SO beautiful.

I did joing the Guild, so I am now tasked with sewing my name tag (a small quilted patch, 3 inch x 3 inch with an apple at the center). I'm glad I joined, and it appears that I could possibly be one of the youngest in the guild.

Here are the kids with Candy, the bus driver--all the kids love seeing the bus, although Andrew wasn't too keen on being ON the bus! Candy drives Bowen home from school, and he likes her bus best because "it goes fast and it is bumpy."

FIRE! FIRE! FIER!

Yep, that's what I meant: Fier! That what Andrew screams in the morning (sometimes 5 am) when he can't find his paci-FIER! Just when I thought the house was getting quieter, my sweet baby turns into a LOUD talking toddler! Right now, Andrew is in the tub simmin' (swimming), and Emma is standing outside the tub washing his hair with the baby soap! Now she's putting soap on her belly, so now she's getting into the tub also. Chaos, but on a low level!

We've had some gorgeous sunflowers sprout here. It was interesting to see the bees collecting pollen (not the yellow-jackets that have been piling up quickly in the traps). Also, Jimmy discovered that the green beans out in the garden are a blast to pick AND they stick to his shirt! HOW FUNNY!

Yep, that's the scorpion that was in the garage...I do all my own pictures, in case you were wondering. I don't pull anything off of the internet. Above is one of my favorite pictures of the 3 kids on the tire swing.

Well, as you may have guessed, the home-building process is taking us longer than we originally hoped. Since we don't think we'll be able to move into our new house until late November, we decided to go ahead and start Bowen in school here in Entiat. This is the school that my mom attended and graduated from (still think it's cool that the graduation pictures of ALL the alumni line the hallways). Bowen loves to ride the school bus now (first couple of days were rocky). It is not difficult to get him ready in the morning. He's an eager Beaver!

A couple of weeks ago, we had a well 'guy' come and fix the problem with the well here. THAT was a learning experience for me! I'm glad I was here to see the work get done, as I'll have to go through this again out on our property in Soap Lake!

As far as the process in Soap Lake goes: The well should be drilled in about 2 weeks. I have to send a form off, plus pay a fee. THEN there are the permit things...lots of checklists, plus I need to construct a plot plan (a drawing showing where everything will be on the property--including easements and setbacks). Think of your worst homework assignment in college....that's what this feels like! PAINFULL!! Not to mention all the paperwork for the loan.... And I'm trying not to bug Jim too much about the little details--he has enough stuff to worry about! We have selected our contractor who will be building our garage, doing our septic system and also doing the foundation. Nice guy... Hope I still feel this way when it's all said and done!

Highlights of the past couple of weeks: my back went out again; well guy worked on the well here; rat smell seems to linger in the house; scorpion was found here in the garage; Bowen's school open house went really nicely; Jimmy is now pretending to be driving a 'food truck' around the house asking if we want something to eat (I call him the Schwann's Guy); Andrew is saying several words plus 3-word sentences (hamburger, yogurt, apple, monster truck); Bowen has constructed an 'animal cemetary' in the back...so far just for grasshoppers and maybe a moth or two (however, we did observe a chipmunk 'spazzing out' this morning, so maybe we'll get him in there too!), but Bowen has been making grave markers (Jim is reminded of a Vincent Price creepy movie...).

There have been several things that lend themselves to this blog, but darned if this internet dial up is PAINFULLY slow! But I hope to get the next post on here sooner.

Did I mention that I'm having a great time sending Bowen off to school? He spends about 1 hour 45 minutes on the bus (adding up to and fro) which is probably why he loves going to school so much. LONG bus ride!

That's it for now. Enjoy!

Road Trip, Part II

(Side Note: Bowen and Jimmy are now on 2 wheels!!! They are SO excited, and doing SO well!)


Well, after getting back from our CA trip on Thursday evening, we had to get ready for a trip on Friday to western Washington. My cousin was getting married that afternoon, so we got ready and headed out to Everett, WA. The wedding was beautiful, and the weather could not have been nicer. The next day, some of us went over to La Conner, WA to go to the Quilt Museum at Gaches Mansion. That was very interesting to see. The mansion was beautiful, and the display of quilts included old and new. Some quilts were double sided, which is a heck of a trick!! La Conner was a great place to visit, and I'm glad that I had a chance to go with my mom and some of my aunts. It was a nice outing, and I think it was the first time my mom and her sisters have had the chance to gather since my mom and aunt finished their cancer treatments. It was a special day, and I'm very grateful for the chance to spend the day with the girls!





After spending the day in La Conner, we drove up toward the Canadian border to spend the night at my aunt's house. It was rainy by then, which was fine since we were all tired from walking all day! It was a great chance to see my aunt's quilting frame and machine, plus and Electric Quilt program that she uses to design quilts. It was all very inspiring--so much so, that I finally took the step to order a quilt frame for myself (Little Gracie II). I haven't gotten it yet, but I'm eager to get it up and running!!!





The picture of the kids on the tire swing was taken at Smallwoods Harvest, in Peshastin, WA. One of my favorites!! And, here are the kids at Crooked River Gorge in Oregon...cool that the sun was setting when we got there.