My new Pincushions

I was in a pincushion swap recently and here are my newest ones. In the front row are my little goodies from Jo in Texas, Liz in California and Angela in Indiana. The 2 little anime' cats in the top row are what I made to swap. Aren't they all so cute?!

The last of my salsa garden

We got way too many tomatoes, these 4 tiny peppers and zero onions. Aren't they pretty?
It was a fun first attempt at gardening.

American Doll patterns

Since I have granddaughters, I'm thinking ahead...maybe too far ahead, but someday, they may like American Girl dolls...or at least the knock-offs. Do any of you have these dolls? Do you make clothes for them? If you're interested, there are free doll clothes patterns at A G Playthings and they are nice. They are by American Girl, but the patterns are retired now. And did I mention that they are FREE? :o) I like the idea of American Girl much more than Barbie and the clothes are easier for me to make. Go check it out.

Is it really the end of summer?

It's getting cold enough that I'm thinking of kickin' on the furnace, the leaves are starting to turn colors and fall off the trees and I'm wearing a sweatshirt. Then, why do I want an ice cream cone so badly?!? LOL In just a little bit, I'm going to take my nephew with me to the store so that we can choose out our favorite ice cream, and maybe even splurge on a box of waffle cones. Can you say "Yum!!!"? Yeah, I thought so. :o)

Frugality strikes again.

I am making a bag. So far, this is what I've got done. I took a bunch of leftover flannel scraps from my quilt backings and cut them into 3/4" strips and have used them liked yarn to knit this. It should be done in another week or so. I totally love being able to make stuff from "nothing". That's what lured me to quilting in the first place...making something out of "nothing".

First day of school and a wedding

Ben & Wren all dressed up for their first day of school. They started Head Start, but there will be a change soon. Next week, they get to go to the daycare/preschool at the university that Paddy attends. They are looking pretty grown up.

Here is a photo of the wedding procession. If you want to see more wedding pictures, they are on my webshots page:
http://community.webshots.com/user/quiltinggirl
It was a fun and interesting wedding, but the bride and groom are very happy.

Some of my summer activities

No matter what I'm doing, I always bring a hat and sunglasses.

This summer we went camping, to the coast and the Oregon State Fair and for drives in the mountains. We also went to a baby shower, a couple of weddings, for walks in the park and to the High Desert Museum. Here are some pictures so you can share in our summer of discovery.

Rose hips growing in the park. They are full of Vitamin C and are very popular to use in making tea. Rick loves them, I'd prefer more sugar. They might be healthy, but they don't taste yummy.

This next picture is poison oak. Rick knows what it looks like even if there's one scraggly little twig.

Since I am not allergic, I don't even notice it. I'm learning to so that I don't get any oils on Rick.

Just a plain ole' teasel, but I think they look cool. Fortunately, I've never had to use one for a hairbrush, but at least they are out there, if we're ever in that type of survival situation.

Here is part of the Willamette River, a slough in the back of the park.

Filberts, aka Wild Hazelnuts. Yum! I think they are even better before they are roasted.

An old fire truck from the High Desert museum. Jamie took all the photos there. He loves using the digital camera.

Here is a river otter. They sure are able to swim fast.

The inside of a covered wagon, or maybe a camp/chuck wagon.

This little chipmunk was stalking Jamie. He finally got it to hold still enough for a photo op.

Niece Megan, is holding her cousin Harley Rae. Oh, and the parents *loved* the Harley pillow.

Jeremiah and Vanessa holding their wedding quilts.

Jamie, at the beach wedding of his brother. He'll be 13 next month.

Bag #1 that I made from a polyester-y sheet, with some fancy machine stitching. This one is filled with 2 wedding quilts.

Bag #2. I needed a huge bag and by making it, it was free. This one is holding a baby quilt, baby donkey, outfit and one full-size pillow (with fancy pillowcase).

We always like to see some sort of animals at the fair. Baby cows are cute, aren't they?

Of course, I had to look at the quilts.

This is one seriously cool quilt!

Check it out! A Harley made of Legos. Sweet!

And Oregon is celebrating its sesquecentennial...150 years of statehood. Happy Birthday, Oregon.

I still have to post more, but it's time to get dinner ready. This is enough for now, to give you a wee taste of Oregon, for the last month.