Quilting AdventuresI

This past weekend my mom and I were supposed to go to the Roslyn Quilt Show. Due to some scheduling hick ups I was unable to get the correct day off from work. So instead we spent the day working on one of her quilts. This quilt top belongs to her boss. This quilt was a gift from her boss' mother the fabrics collected on her travel adventures. Last November mom and I bought the fabric for the borders and backing.

Sunday we spent the day sewing the boarders and getting the backing ready. The last thing we did was load the quilt onto my quilting frame. We had already decided that we would hand tie the quilt. Tonight we got together after dinner and hand tied the quilt.

close up shot of the quilt squares

My Mom

The quilt is almost finished.

More Kitchen Adventures

Canning Peaches

Each year mom and I both say that we want to get together and can peaches. Well we finally did..two weeks ago we canned 28 cans of peaches after work one evening.

Adventures in Jam making

Thursday was a raspberry picking day. My husband and I stumbled out of bed early so that we could make it to Harvold's farm in Carnation before they closed. The rumor was that the field opened early and closed when the majority of berries for picked for the day. Usually before noon. We also had to return the car we had borrowed from my parents so we had two reasons for the journey out to the Snoqualmie Valley.

Within an hour Paul and I picked 14.5 pounds for raspberries. On the way home we stopped at Fredmeyer's and picked up the necessary canning supplies. Paul and I have been gradually making changes to our diet. Eliminating processed foods like sugar and replacing them with unprocessed alternatives like honey, increasing the amount whole fruits and vegetables in our daily food intake with green smoothies each morning packed with fruits, flax seed, fish oil and a green vegetables...With these changes came a new adventure in cooking....Honey sweetened jam.

One of the two flats of raspberries that we picked with my jug of honey sitting along side. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the honey came from Moses Lake, Washington and I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg from the local farmer's market for 1/2 gallon jug.

Don't mind my messy kitchen I'm in full jam making mode with the hot water bath going. Someday my dream kitchen will have a ton of counter space. Until then I'll make of the most of counter space.

Almost time to ladle this delicious red sauce into hot jars. I'm sure you'll find it odd that I don't eat jam after it has been canned. I only like it fresh out of the pan.

Two jars filled and a few more to go.

From raspberry bush to sealed jar all in a days work. Raspberry jam ready for Paul's PB & J sandwiches and holiday gifts.

All good things must come to end:)

I've been enjoying the last seven days off from work...but I must return to work tomorrow morning to begin my usual work week of three twelve hour shifts followed by fours days off.

My husband took an extra day off work this week so we got to enjoy three days off together in a row. A rare treat for us. Tuesday we enjoyed a lazy day of sleeping in, dog walking and going out for ramen in the international district. Wednesday Paul had a craving for our favorite pizza restaurant in Portland so we headed South and arrived just in time for Apizza Scholls to open for dinner. Along the way we stopped at the Bayside quilting store in Olympia and after dinner we checked out Twisted a knitting store in Portland. Although I was not in the market to purchase any quilting or knitting supplies I did find some very interesting yarn. If you are the type that wants to purchase items that were made close to home you can now buy yarn that was made in Oregon using sustainable practices check out the imperial ranch.

Just today Paul and I went berry picking for the first time together. Growing up in the Snoqualmie Valley I went berry picking several times with my mom. So today was a first time with Paul. Hopefully it will be one of many time for Paul and I enjoy harvesting our food. My kitchen adventures is a topic for another post soon to come.

Tomorrow I head back to work full of fun memories of my week away from work.

The Quilt Gathering 2010

Each opportunity I have a for a road trip is always exciting. I like being able to just let the miles cruise beneath the wheels of the car soaking up the scenery as I drive by. Friday afternoon I headed East and North to Okonagan, Washington. My adventures took me East over Snoqualmie Pass and then North over Blewette Pass. As I was driving a long it hit me that I have traveled this road many times during my teenage years on my way up to Silver Star Mountain for family ski trips. I don't remember the section of road between Wenatchee and Okonogan along the river....All I can say is that I must have had my nose buried in a book...

My destination was the 10th Annual Quilt Gathering for my friend Mo's family. The women in her family gathering each to honor their grandmother's life. We eat, quilt, socialize, sleep a little bit, share our projects from the past year and quilt some more.

Pictures from the quilt gathering can be found here.

Mo's mom made individual goodie bags for everyone coming to the quilt gathering. Each bag was personalized to the individual. Everyone brings a little something to add to each person's bag.

Knitting Project....

I need to give a little back ground on this project... Last November I went up to Anchorage to visit my friend Mo. She has lived a variety of places but usually always ends back up in Alaska. While visiting her in Anchorage I wandered into the Oomingmak store . Its really a co-op for native communities and the knitted items that they make from Musk Ox yarn aka Qiviut yarn. The Qiviut yarn is very soft, very warm and very expensive.... Something I could never justify purchasing for myself. My husband bought me a skein of qiviut for my birthday. It took me a while to decide what I was going to make with it... something for myself of course, but I had to find just the right pattern.

After consulting my pattern books and borrowing a book from Mo. I settled on a pattern from this book. If you are knitting anything from this book you should check for any errata's for pattern edit

Usually I have at least two knitting projects going at the same time. One for the bus and one for at work. My at work project is a season 18 doctor who scarf for my husband. Eventually it will be 14 or 15 feet long. With the air conditioning on the fritz at work it was simply too hot have a really scarf draped over my lap. So I took the opportunity to spend more time on my bus knitting project.

Here I've made it through the first two charts for the pattern and I'm contemplating modifying the pattern because it seems like that will be a little too short for my liking. I like my hats to cover my ears completely.
The finished product! I can't wait for fall to arrive so I can wear my new hat.