Stitching Hands Studio

Here Comes Santa Claus

Saturday was parade day here and you know how I love a parade!  It all started with brunch here at the house. Homemade cinnamon rolls, two kinds of egg dishes, hot spiced cider and fruit~yum!

Our spot to watch the parade was just down the road a bit.  It was chilly, but the sun warmed our backs and it was a spectacularly beautiful day.

Once again we had all sorts of adorable four footed creatures.

We had friends and family to share the day with.

We had lots of clever displays, including this little smart car/vacuum!

Santa's sleigh was filled with all  the goodies a Central Oregonian could need- mountain bike, kayak and paddle board.

The Polar Express float was just about my favorite.  Very clever!

Any beer drinkers among you might enjoy the CyclePub which is seen regularly on the streets of downtown.

Of course there were llamas!  I wouldn't skip the llamas.  Love these guys!

This is my favorite photo of the bunch.  Just look at that little tongue sticking out.  I think this dog did that the whole way along.

The Wells Fargo wagon is a comin' down the street.  

Finally, Santa came!  What a great parade and a perfect day. I'm looking forward to this week.  I have a studio that needs a thorough clean up and then I can get back to work on some old projects and some new ideas. I always look forward to that!

Janelle Rebick

My friend, Janelle Rebick, is this month's featured quilter at QuiltWorks.  Janelle is a multitalented fiber artist and a member of my book club, The Undercover Quilters.  I hope you enjoy this slideshow!

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Walking in late October

It's been glorious this week despite some really cold nights.  I've been walking around the neighborhood and can't seem to leave the house without a camera.  Today, Ryan and I went with some friends on a Bend Haunts walking tour of downtown.  Come along with me!  Above, our house decked out for Halloween (pun intended).  Actually, it's pretty light on Halloween, but I thought it would be nice to show where we started.

Around the corner is this lovely house, just dripping with fall leaves.

Shortly you come to the Newport Bridge, our gateway to downtown.

The tour started at the old Reid School, the first school in Bend.  This historical building is now home to the Deschutes County Historical Society and museum.

Our tour guide told us many stories about local sites that have had murders, suicides and ghost tales.  It would have been spookier at the later (night-time) tours, but then I wouldn't have these great photos, so just pretend it's dark and spooky.

McMenamin's Old St. Francis School has been remodeled and now sports a pub, hotel, theater and fabulous soaking pool.  On a side note, I was watching old episodes of Oregon Art Beat online yesterday and found this great story about the artwork at the McMenamin's locations.

There are stories about ghosts and hauntings here.  A couple staying at The Nunnery house (above) found the morning after they arrived, a photo of themselves sleeping, on their cell phone- creepy!   They didn't stay another night.  I wouldn't have either!

I just love the style here!

The old Bend Firehall has held restaurants for many years, but there are ghost tales here too.

Across the street is Hospital Hill (now hotel hill).  

Yesterday's walk took me past some leaf piles

and the footbridge

to Baked, an afternoon bakery that had a lovely pumpkin display to keep Scrabble company while I was picking out my delicious fresh baked bread.

Hope you have a wonderful Halloween weekend!  I'll be back with more spooky stuff soon.

Contemporary Folk Art Retreat

The Contemporary Folk Art Retreat with Sue Spargo and Tonye Phillips took place at the historic Camp Sherman Community Hall, about 15 minutes from Sisters.  It was so beautifully decorated and a really lovely space to do a bit of stitching.

Actually, we had three days of stitching and it was really just heaven!  Below is the class sample, a pretty bad photo.  I didn't realize my camera was on a funny setting and never did get a better one.  At least you can see the idea.  It was a blend of Tonye's whimsical houses and Sue's wool and embroidery.  Of course, most people took off in their own direction after getting a little inspiration from this and all the other pieces on the walls.

The piece above is by my friend Jan Tetzlaff.  She has a wonderful eye for color and loves to incorporate words and/or letters into any quilt she does.  

Above is from Janet Wilson, a fellow Jude follower (makes us sound a little creepy- Judite??).  Anyway, I think the blues were hand dyed indigo that Janet made.  Her mushroom houses will be just darling!

This piece is by Marian Shimoda, another retreat friend.  Marion will be teaching Whimsical Wired Angels at the Stitchin' Post in December!  I will be there with bells on.  Marion is so very creative and makes all sorts of intricate small dolls and other beautiful pieces.

And this is mine.  I've already added a bunch more applique.  I think my favorite is the Seuss tree!  I have several of my hand dyed fabrics in the piece, both cotton and wool.  The border has indigo dyed fabrics.  I'll post an update some day soon!

Eat. Breathe. Quilt.

Way back in early July, during Quilter's Affair, I was fortunate to attend the Quilter's Picnic in the Park with some fabulous friends.  We had the most fun time!  Tonya, Jessica and Sarah made the evening amazing.  We had a yummy dinner, a hand quilting without a hoop demonstration by Tonya, and lots of laughs.  Thanks gals for a great evening!

Look who I got to meet!

Finally, Lazy Gal Tonya and I are in the same place!  It was so great to meet her- like old friends.  We had a nice dinner at Los Agaves Mexican Restaurant and then attended the Gee's Bend quilter presentation.  While waiting in line I did a mini show and tell and of course, we had to get a photo of this quilt, Love Always, our collaboration.  Tonya made the letters and sent them to me and I made the rest.  

I've got more to share, but it will have to wait.  Two more long days ahead.  See ya! 

Small Wonders

* Edited to add:  I should have known better, to make sure I had all the quilts and awards right.  I made some mistakes, but have fixed them and added the judges' comments below.  I still hope I can get over and take some better photos of the winners soon.

During the month of May, the Sisters Library community room has been filled with amazing color and design!  Over 80 quilts were entered into the Small Wonders Challenge for the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show.  I entered two that you can see above, Ginger's Garden II and Quilt!.  Last weekend Sarah and I went over to see the quilts and vote for Viewer's Choice.  Sarah did a nice post about it here.  Most of the photos here are clickable to see more detail.

As you can see it was hard to decide.  There is so much variety in technique and design!  

Here are some close ups of my favorites:

Marion Shimoda

Little Bird by Valori Wells

Virginia Cole

From a woman's soul, through a  woman's eyes, by a woman's hands.

Marion Shimoda

Ann Richardson

Bird by Jean Wells

Salmon Says by Dianne Scharf

Tonye Belinda Phillips

Spring has Sprung by Mary Ann Lisk

Shirley Peterson

Karen Shadley

Quilts by kids in Sisters schools

Last night there was a reception to reveal the winners of the Viewer's Choice, as well as the judges' picks for Best Use of Color, Best Use of Recycled Materials, Best Use of Innovative Techniques and Judge's Choice.

Three of the winners were there and one was me!  I couldn't believe it.  I won Judge's Choice for Ginger's Garden II.  Joanne Myers (middle) got the Viewer's Choice award and Kathie Leonard (left) got the award for Best Use of Innovative Techniques. 

Best Use of Color, "Seasons in Bora Bora" by Mary Nyquist Koons

Judges' comments:  Use of color allows the eye to move around the piece; Great form of color wheel – very innovative; Clever composition, contemporary shape and feel and the use of color makes it dynamic

Best Use of Innovative Techniques, "African Adventure" by Kathie Leonard.  No wonder I was confused.  The name listed on the quilt here is wrong.

Judges' comments:  Great use of batiks and choice of beads, feathers, etc.; Embellishments used tastefully to create an African look; Nice composition; like the variety of surface embellishments

Best Use of Recycled Materials by Charlene Kenny.  This quilt uses pieces of an old quilt to great effect.

Judges' comments:  Outstanding use of recycled fabrics, nice design; Like the mix of old & new to create a classic little quilt;  Re-creation of old quilt – very unique; Traditional with a twist; Great choice of fabrics to compliment recycled blocks; The use of completed blocks from other projects was put together beautifully and was very unique.  The technique to create the wave pattern was successful and created a very pleasing piece.

Viewer's Choice by Joanne Myers

Ann's comment:  Just about by a land slide!

Judge's Choice, Ginger's Garden by me!

Judges' comments:  The color in this piece produced a very vibrant, rich image.  The bright colors combined with light but intense colors played so beautifully off of each other;  The quilting is terrific and while the border is busy, it is filled with interest and truly sets off the image in the center.  Everything works together – lights and darks; Truly a charming piece; Wonderful combination of color, pattern and design; Very fun piece; Great composition and fun – happy quilt

 The quilts will now be sold as a fundraiser.  All the quiltmaker's get first dibs on their own quilts.  I think the 5 winners will be sold for $200, the honorable mentions for $150 and the rest for $100.  The sale will be at the Sisters Summer Faire on July 2 and 3.  They'll remain at the library until the end of May.

It was a wonderful evening with delicious food catered by a new Mexican restaurant in Sisters, Los Agaves.  Thanks to my friend Sarah for attending with me and to my Mom and Dad for coming to the event and to my Dad for taking the three photos here with me in them.