San Juan Island trip

Last weekend I had the pleasure visiting Friday Harbor, on San Juan Island.  The Rainshadow Quilting Arts Guild  invited me to speak and teach my fusible applique technique, and I was excited to be able to go visit them!  Their guild is filled with lots of wonderful people, so the lecture and class were lots of fun to do.  I was surprised to hear that one of their dedicated hand applique ladies was in my class, and had enjoyed learning my technique!  There was also a new quilter-to-be whose first visit to their guild was the Saturday meeting, and she decided to come to my class on Sunday.  I bumped into her again as we were waiting for the first ferry to Anacortes, where she was on her way to pick up a sewing machine from her mom.  She's off to a wonderful start and I hope someday I'll see some of her quilts!

While I was there I stayed with Barb, the Program Chairman, and it was like a mini retreat at her house!   Her friend Mary was also there, and we were able to work on our projects in the evenings.  Just look at the view we had:

After class on Sunday, we were able to visit a local quilt artist's studio.  Penny makes such gorgeous quilts and had wanted to come to my class, but she is busy preparing for a one person show.  The finished quilts and ones in progress were all beautiful, but the 3-D quilts were gorgeous!!!  Wish I could see them hanging in her upcoming show.

While waiting for the ferry, I was able to hear these gypsies from my spot in the ferry line.

There are many cafes and restaurants near the ferry lanes, which is a good thing, because you need to get there early to get your spot in line, and then wait for it to arrive.  Only one street away are the shops, so those leaving a bit later in the day can shop while they wait.

The ferry is arriving.

There are so many boats in the harbor, it's a maze to walk through it.  From here you can't even tell one boat from another (except for the few in front).

Can't wait to return again...

Mt. Ranier - Journal Artwork

My husband is a much better photographer than I am, but his pictures are his end product, while mine are mostly inspiration for some kind of art.  While I took less pictures at Mt. Ranier National Park than he did, I had brought my journal and some art materials to try working outside, with the supplies I brought.  We travel by car, so of course, I brought too much stuff to really carry, but was able to pick different supplies from a larger bag in the car for each hike or project, which was nice and I learned a lot!

Working in my smaller, 5" x 7" watercolor journal, these wild daisies were sketched lightly in pencil, then watercolor was added, finishing with my black artist marker.  

The daisies I was painting:

While we were by the lake, I attempted a charcoal sketch of Mt. Ranier.  I guess it's not bad, considering it's the first time I've worked with charcoal.

One of the pictures I took from that location:

Things I learned:

• It really is best to travel light.
• Make sure to take a few graphite pencils for sketching.
• Charcoal is messy, take wet wipes to clean up.
• Trying to stand and hold everything while painting is a pain - need to find a solution.

Wish list:

• Easel, or at least a drawing board.
• Something to sit on - lightweight stool?
• Backpack that is more accessible for my supplies.

Mt. Ranier

We took a little photography trip to Mt. Ranier recently, and although we were worried the weather was going to be foggy and cloudy, it turned out to be perfect!  Many of the wild flowers were in bloom, so I was able to get some inspiration pictures to use in future projects, as well as some classic pictures of the mountain.  This was the best place to take pictures of the mountain:

Because we arrived before the visitor center opened on the second day, I was able to get a clear picture of the words of John Muir, that have been carved into the steps at the Paradise visitor center.

Although you can find these all over, there are lots of these tiny, wild lilies in the shade near the lake.

The lupines are almost everywhere, and they are at their peak at this time of year!

It amazes me that we work so hard to get some flowers to grow in our gardens, while others will grow wild in the most inhospitable spaces!

If you pay attention, you can find flowers everywhere, even along the road.  This one is very tiny, but I love it with all it's details!

We were able to find this beautiful field of flowers on our second day and wished we had found it the first day so we would have been able to spend more time there.  Well, that's a reason to make another trip...

Summer Travel

Oh, the places I've been!  As I look back on the last couple of months, I think I've been busier than ever.  There's been two large trips and then lots of weekend trips, with a few days to try to regroup and then off again.  

My husband and I took a road trip to Eastern Washington, and a little of Western Idaho, then South and around to get home again.  We found lots of wheat fields and some beautiful old barns.  While the weather wasn't at it's best (and even when it was nice) we were able to take some pictures from the side of the road, by pulling the car over and rolling down the windows.  

When the weather was nice and we could stand outside, more pictures were taken and I was able to do some sketching.

July took me to Sisters Oregon, meeting up with friends for a week of Quilter's Affair classes and the Sisters Quilt Show in Sisters, OR, where I was also invited to do a book signing at the Stitchin' Post for two afternoons after class!

Tulips are running late

this year, but the Daffodils  are beautiful!  Here's a quick photo of some that are growing in my garden.

I'm hoping the tulips will bloom soon, because we're looking forward to the Tulip Festival again this year.

Lecture and Class Next Week

I'm looking forward to speaking at the Pieceable Quilters guild meeting and then teaching the Sunflower Garden class next week (October 18th and 19th).  Their guild is in Lynden, WA and it is going to  be lots of fun, but right now I need to finish sorting, packing and taking care of all the little details that need to be finished before I leave.

Olympic National Park (continued)

The ranger station on Hurricane Ridge has a spectacular view!

The road continues a bit further up the mountain, and ends with a parking lot where you can continue further on a paved trail, which we couldn't resist!

Besides the gorgeous views, we chose this time of year to visit because the wildflowers were blooming.      At this altitude, the spring / summer is quite a bit later and much shorter than we have at home.

It's such a beautiful place to visit, I'm already looking forward to the next trip!!!

Olympic National Park

Saturday, my husband and I took a road trip to Olympic National Park!   We took a scenic highway that followed the Hood Canal for part of the way, headed towards Port Angeles, and then into the park and up to Hurricane Ridge!  We stopped at Switchback Trail, and took a short hike, before continuing upward.

View from the pond at the bottom of the trail:

There are lots of springs coming out of the mountain here!

My husband said I had to pose for a picture to post on the blog, so here's me at the ranger station at the top of the road to Hurricane Ridge.  We drove a bit past here and then went for about an hour and a half hike at the end of the road.  As you can see, views from here are gorgeous!

These pictures were taken with my little pocket camera, but I also took pictures with my little video camera, as well as another camera, so I'll post more as I get them uploaded to my computer and edited.

Trip to Olympia, WA

This past weekend, we took a little road trip and then extended it with a drive to Olympia.  Fortunately we happened to pick a wonderful weekend to visit, as the weather was beautiful, and they even had an event called "Sand in the City" going on down by the harbor!

It was impossible to get the full capitol building in one picture, as I only had my little pocket camera with me (my phone doesn't take that great of a picture), so here it is in pieces:

The grounds and view from the capitol are gorgeous!

And the sand sculptures were amazing!

Whidbey Island trip

Yesterday, we took a family trip to Whidbey Island and had a wonderful day!

One of our stops was at the Captain Whidbey Inn, in Coupeville.  In looking at the building, I think the original building must have been much smaller, and it had been expanded more than once, but I'm just guessing.

When we were walking near the water, I saw this table and chairs, and thought how nice it would be to sit and eat right by the water.

I love this old boat, it has so much character!

The inn looks out on Penn Cove.  If you've ever had Penn Cove mussels, this is where they come from.  Between the inn and the waterfront shopping and restaurant area of Coupeville is where they grow the mussels.

Another place we stopped was at the top of Mt. Erie, where you can see for miles!  Lake Campbell is the body of water in the foreground with the small island.