Shop local -- colorfully

Bed at Quilt Revolution quilt shop in Gig Harbor.

Today I went down to the harbor (Gig Harbor) to focus on color and do some local Christmas shopping. I started at Quilt Revolution, where they always have a colorfully made up bed by the door.

There was plenty of red and green.

Tree at Quilt Revolution.

 In the same building, but down around the corner, is Rainy Day Yarns, my next stop.

It was loaded with color!

Comfy sitting area at Rainy Day Yarns.

My next stop was to buy wild colorful knitted socks -- not at the yarn store but at Wild Birds Unlimited.

The socks are deliberately mismatched and make great gifts. Outside, Wild Birds has a very colorful courtyard.

Purple berry bush at Wild Birds.

Then, because we finally had sunshine after days of rain, I strolled through the harbor out onto the public dock and snapped some pictures of the boats and colorful row of life jackets that you can use for free (the life jackets, not the boats).

These two boats are named "Sugar Pops" and "Kahlua" -- sounds like breakfast!

Have a colorful day

Eat, drink and be merry!

My STITCH art quilt group wrapped up another year of inspiration and friendship this week with our traditional holiday potluck at Karen's house. My fortune cookie message (Barb gave us all cookies) sums it up: Friendship is the greatest gift you can give. I'm so thankful for these wonderful women!

Some of the other gifts were embroidered pin cushions, mason jar pin cushions (I'm going to use mine to store fancy thread tails), chicken pin cushions, sewing machine needles, beads, apple butter and a quilt pattern. All will be treasured.

As always, Karen decked out her house for the holidays, with a festive table and an extensive winter village scene.

 We ate, drank and were merry!

We wrapped up the party with a show-and-tell, which included nine elaborate crazy quilt stockings by Delaine.

Other show-and-tells included my table runner and Anne's very colorful quilt top. Hope this inspires you!

Have a colorful day

Winter white lights

It's that time of year again -- time to deck the halls and walls with hundreds of little white lights to keep the outside darkness at bay.

Last night, the wind howled and rain pelted the roof. When I got up this morning, I saw that the storm had rearranged our deck chairs.

Before I even started the coffee, as the rain continued, I turned on all of the lights draped along the windows and on clusters of little lighted trees.

This lone little tree in the entryway stands beside one of the buckets that will hold Christmas cards.

Instead of cramming the mantel like I usually do with dozens of figures, I limited it to three this year.

I focused mainly on white lights and left all of the ornaments and most of the larger decorations in storage. In past years I've always felt overwhelmed at the thought of pulling everything out and then putting in away again, so this year I kept it simple: lights, little trees and a few decorations. More time to relax and enjoy.

Here's a blog post from five years ago, when gaudiness was the word in my decorating:   http://sherriequilt.blogspot.com/2010/12/tis-season-to-be-gaudy.html

Have a colorful day

Colors of California

We "slipped the surly bonds" of Washington and flew to L.A. this week to visit family and find sun. Actually, it was sunny when we left, and Mt. Rainier (above) was bright with snow as seen from the plane.

When we landed we headed straight to Whole Foods, where these palm trees towered over the parking lot. Such an exotic sight after all the moss and cedar trees of the Northwest!

Midweek, we drove down to San Diego to visit my brother and revisit the site of our marriage 32 years ago. We said our vows in Torrey Pines State Park on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, shown in the photo above. Below are some more photos of the breathtaking views at Torrey Pines.

Pelicans glided silently over the bluffs.

A few things were different at the park from when we married, including the "No Drone Zone" sign at the entrance. Also, Dave's hair is now grey.

All too soon it was time for us to fly back, which meant gluing my camera to the window of the plane for more shots.

Clouds over the shining Pacific.

Leaving Los Angeles.

Back in the watery Northwest.

The last photo shows the bay where we live in the Puget Sound. It's just to the right of center and down a little! The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is in the bottom right -- click to enlarge for a better view. Last night a rain system moved in and now it's pouring, with nothing but rain forecast for the next 10 days. Good weather for sewing.

We live to the right of center in this photo.

 

Have a colorful day

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pot holder by Carolynn.

 

Good Thanksgiving Morning!

We did most of the Thanksgiving cooking, prep and cleaning yesterday, so this glorious, sunny morning I get to relax. Table is set, Buddha is calm. Coffee is strong.

Julia is home with my grandbunny Bailey. I'm grateful.

I usually don't make it up for sunrises, but I caught this one earlier in the week. Grateful again. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Have a colorful Thanksgiving

Table runner is done

I poured a cup of coffee and settled in yesterday to finish sewing down the binding on my fall table runner. Soon it was done and stretched out under a pumpkin, just in time for Thanksgiving. I may do a Christmas one next with the same pattern, since it went together so quickly.

 
I've also been enjoying these yellow roses that I got Monday from Trader Joe's ... two dozen for $9.99!

Have a colorful day