Packing and other nonsense

Each day this week I've had a list of things to do, things to pack, things to finish, loose ends to tie up, etc. Spring Quilt Market is in Minneapolis May 20-23. Right around the corner. We are leaving a bit early to drive to Southern CA so we can fly to Minneapolis.?! It really makes sense....really. My dad's dear wife, Willie, is moving quite soon back to Illinois. This makes it necessary for us to pick up some furniture and memories and help her pack up and clean up before she goes. Also it's much cheaper for us to fly from a major airport than from our small, rural one.

Mr. Scottie Dog, Sydney & I will make the drive in a day and a half. We'll spend one night at Willie's, leave the car and flat bed trailer and fly out the next afternoon. We'll meet up with Liz in Minn. (she had a ticket already she couldn't change) and I'll get to see the Minn. grandkids too. While there we'll do all the typical things we do at a Quilt Market weekend....look at fabric, new books & notions, take classes, meet with my Quilt Shop Owner friends and more. One night we'll go to a fabulous dinner put on by Moda, squeeze in some time with the family.

All this meant I had to finish up matching skirts for the grandgirls Sydney, Mercedes & Shiloh. Poor Jakob....grandma had to buy him a shirt & shorts. I helped bind some quilts and samples for the store. My fingers have been busy. I've had to plan on what to wash, what to pack and what to wear now!

After Quilt Market Liz will fly with the rest of us back to Redlands. We'll do whatever Willie has for us to do, we'll go through the last of the "stuff" accumulated by my Mom & Dad for the 50+ years they were married and see if there is anything that has too many memories to leave behind (Liz is hoping for the red handled clippers Grandpa always used to cut oranges and lemons off the trees). I'm sure we'll come home with bags of oranges & lemons, some furniture, his car for Liz and who knows what! It will also be an emotional time....probably the last time I'll be in the family home before it is sold. I'll probably shed a few tears.

Another chaper in my life ended. I'm sure there are many more chapters in my future.

Yellowstone, Again

When I was a little girl we went to Yellowstone National Park every other year. We were a typical middle middle class family...no fancy camps or vacations to exotic tropical isles for us, no trips to Europe. Vacations meant camping, almost always always tent camping. Heavy canvas tents that smelled like...well, like canvas and a bit of mold and dust.

Dad got off work every day at 5 pm and was home by 5:25. We sat down to eat at 5:30 on the dot. 50 weeks a year, year in and year out. But one Friday night a year my Dad would get home at 5:25 pm, change his clothes and we'd get in the already packed car and off we'd go on vacation. Mom had sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper and a thermos filled with coffee. The children had already been fed. For the next day and a half our car only stopped for two things....gasoline and coffee. Mom drove when Dad was too tired and it seemed forever and yet just a couple of hours and we'd arrive at Fishing Bridge Campground at Yellowstone National Park. Mom had packed boxes with canned chili and pork & beans, Bisquick, powdered milk (yuck!), those tiny cereal boxes, packages of pudding mix, peanut butter & bread.

After the tent was set up Dad's first order of business was to get the fishing gear out and high tail it down to the lake with at least a couple of the kids so he could catch his limit (and ours!) of rainbow trout before dinner. My mom had stayed back at camp and set up the cooking and cleaning stations. I also remember my mom always on that first day painted her beautiful long fingernails with bright red polish. Years later she told me it was so she couldn't see the dirt under her nails!

We usually went with another family or two. The Meyers, the McNally cousins, the Blisses, the Kirkpatricks are some I remember. The women would play cards all day, wearing brightly colored scarves around their pin curled hair during the days. The men would fish and we children pretty much ran free. It was a much safer and innocent time. We at trout for dinner. We ate trout for lunch. And in the morning we ate left-over trout flaked & mixed with mashed potatoes, formed into patties. Mom made pudding for dessert (it was a healthy dessert!). Two or three times we'd venture to the grocery store for supplies and the children could pick out a Popsicle.

About mid-way into our two week vacation it was time to hit the showers. We all swam in the lake every day and didn't understand why we needed a shower, but our moms would insist. I remember having to wash our hair, get our ears and feet inspected to make sure we did a good job. We'd then walk out into the dusty dirt in our flip flops....instantly brown feet! In later years I can also remember wanting to take a shower every night but since the showers cost $1 I had to wait.

Every year we went we had our family picture taken in front of the Old Faithful Geyser sign. You can see my brothers and I grow up according to the signs. L-R brother Pat, Mom, Denny, Dad and me. I think I'm 8 years old so this would be summer of 1960.

In 1986 Mom & Dad, my brothers, their wives & children and Mr. Scottie Dog and our girls made the trek again to Yellowstone for the 1st McNally Yellowstone Reunion. The 2nd McNally Yellowstone Reunion will take place this summer. My dad was really looking forward to sitting around the campfire and telling and retelling all the family stories. We're going to do it again.....and I think Dad will be there too. Oh, and we'll be sure to take more pictures in front of the Old Faithful sign.

Sydney's Debut

Sydney had her 5th birthday last month and Auntie Beka & Uncle Jason sent her an accordion. For those who know...it is a Honer and they make wonderful accordions. The first time Sydney showed me her instrument she asked which button she should push to make it play Happy Birthday since Grandpa's accordion always plays that on special days.

Last night was the monthly concert/dance for the Humboldt Accordionaires and Sydney was ready to go with her accordion. While Grandpa and the other 20+ musicians set up, Sydney set up her snazzy red accordion right next to Grandpa. Mr. Scottie Dog is sporting a new-to-him accordion himself these days. The first couple of songs, Sydney sat next to me in the back of the hall (I was binding a couple of quilts) "waiting" a bit to play. She danced a couple of numbers with Caleb...her "older beau." Caleb just turned 9. Then Sydney decided she was ready for her musical debut......She wandered up front, stood by Grandpa and proceeded to "play" with the big boys and girls.

They were quite understanding and announced over the loudspeakers that Sydney would be joining the group. So she pulled and pushed the "squeeze box" and pushed a few of the buttons. Doesn't she look happy? Pretty soon Grandpa is going to give her lessons.



After she played a few numbers they asked the 100 or so gathered to give a round of applause to the littlest Accordionaire.
One of the songs that is played nearly every month is When the Saints Go Marching In and a bunch of ladies hand out feather boas and umbrellas for the Cakewalk. Sydney and Caleb are always in the parade...he brings his own umbrella.

Looks like fun, doesn't it.

It was a sunny day!

Today was a sunny day and I didn't have to work. Mr. Scottie Dog planned a day trip for us. All I had to do was show up...dressed. He said I couldn't wear my nightgown.

First off we drove to the Victorian Town of Ferndale, CA about 20 miles south of Eureka and went to the Ferndale Museum. We've been before several years ago but since they change out their exhibits it was time to visit again. They've remodeled the building inside and out. Mr. Scottie Dog especially liked the old telephone exchange exhibit but my favorite was the 1903 bathroom. A built-in, wood surround zinc bathtub....you filled buckets and brought the water into the house...no indoor plumbing yet! When you pulled the plug in the tub it drained down a tube and out the window! A shaving strop hung by the sink. We enjoyed all the indoor exhibits and then the old machinery in the 'barn.'

By then it was time for lunch so we strolled up Main Street and decided to go to Lost Coast Bakery & Cafe.

I'm not sure Mr. Scottie Dog realized they were a Vegan Cafe at first, but we had a table in the sun in the courtyard and he tried a grilled tofu & vegetable wrap. I had the tamari portobello mushroom on focacia bread. YUM! Bill didn't know a blue corn chip from a piece of moldy cardboard but ate them any way. The sandwiches came with fresh pineapple, strawberries and the biggest, sweetest blackberries I've had in a long time. Bravo! Mr. Dog...I'm proud of you for trying Vegan (he said the tofu tasted a lot like an omelet).

Of course Main Street in Ferndale is a treat for the eye..so colorful, always an inspiration.

The farms and farm houses are always fun to see too. We drove south to Rio Dell by the back way. We saw their new Mini Golf course (only one for 250 miles around) and said we want to take the grands there.

Through Scotia, the last of the lumber company towns we stopped at Hobby Market for drinks.

Now we were ready to drive Avenue of the Giants. click here for a fun video ride through The Avenue of the Giants.

We stopped in for a hike at Bull Creek where the World's Tallest Tree 'used to be.' The tree is still there but the last time they measured it was 1959 and then it was just a few inches shy of 359'. In the 1970's they declared a tree north of Eureka as the tallest. About 365' or so, if I remember correctly. Then in the 90's it was south of us near Ukiah. Now it is somewhere else nearby, but what is funny is that they don't really measure the older trees again. Bill suspects that perhaps the one at Bull Creek really IS the tallest currently.

Here's my honey today posing for me next to a tall tree. Not THE tallest tree, but heck, all the trees are so tall you can't see the tops anyway. The redwoods are beautiful and I always enjoy a drive through the local forests. We've got huge redwoods in our yard too. Come visit me and I'll give you a tour!

What is the point of business?

People who don't quilt often ask me, "What is the point?" I think they are really asking why I own a quilt shop....after all, "Who REALLY needs to go to a store to buy fabric just to cut it up into little pieces and then sew back together when all you really need is to go to the store and buy a blanket for heaven's sake!"

They don't seem to understand what it's all about. Scottie Dog Quilts is a store like many across the world. It IS a place where you can find beautiful quality 100% cotton fabrics for quilting. Or for home dec curtains & pillows, or aprons or kids clothes or pillowcases or tote bags & purses or jackets or place mats and, of course: QUILTS!. We also sell needles and thread and rulers and cutters and scissors and such. You can find patterns and books and kits and more.

But is this really what the Quilt Shop is all about? In the past several weeks we've heard some stories from our friends and customers: Two women who live but a block apart have been the best of friends for many years. And yet, they met in a class at our quilt shop. Another sweet lady who just retired confided that she never had "girl friends" until she started coming to classes here. Now her social calendar if full of fun events and a shop full of women she feels a connection to. Another gal was telling me she always lived in awe of her artistic family members. She was the only one who wasn't talented. Then someone sent her into our store. Imagine that her mother who paints, her brother who is a sculptor and her sister who illustrates children's books are all clamoring for her to make them a quilt! She's thrilled to have found "her" niche.

Quilting is an art form that transcends so many genres. Quilts are a feast for the eye, a tactile comfort. Quilts are an art form that can exude love and caring, sympathies and delight. There is fabric for every sport, hobby, nostalgia. There's fabric for pizza lovers and chocoholics, for I Love Lucy collectors and Wizard of Oz enthusiasts, for doll collectors, stamp collectors, dog & cat lovers. Are you a guy who likes Pin-Up Girls? How about Pin-Up Guys for the ladies? Do you like polka dots? Last night I sold a gal several 1/2 yard cuts of polka dots...her queen-sized quilt is going to be made entirely of polka dots!

Quilts can be soothing, they can be celebratory, commemorate a birth, wedding, graduation or a life well-lived. Sometimes they are made simply for warmth. But they are all made with love and the process of making them allows us to create, to work through a tough time, to help us grieve, and so many other things.

What's the point of the business of Scottie Dog Quilts? The point is all of the wonderful people we meet and have an opportunity to share our lives with. And they share theirs with us. It is an incredible chance to witness the birth of artistic awakening in so very many people. Liz and I are so very blessed that we come into contact with so many of you. Thanks for the opportunity.

Do we ever tire of dolls?

Yesterday we got some new fabrics from a company called Blue Hill. They were new to me last October at Quilt Market but Liz & I loved the vintage dolls we saw on their fabrics.

Here's a shot at the panel. It makes 4 dolls (about 16" tall) and 4 toys.

Today I made three dolls and three toys. Sydney helped me stuff them. Aren't they the cutest things?






We also got some fabric from Blue Hill with these smaller paper dollies on it and there is a companion bolt with even more clothes. I guess I'll be making some "paper dolls" soon.









Come into Scottie Dog Quilts and make your own set of dolls...or maybe some for your daughters or granddaughters. I wonder how they'd look on a quilt or maybe a book of paper dolls?

I guess we girls just never tire of dolls....no matter how old we get!