Portland Expo, More Than Antiques

How strange it was to pull up to Expo and not be pulling a trailer.  To simply drive in, get out and walk around like I wasn’t on some kind of crazy mission… felt kind of odd, like I forgot something… And then the most bizarre part was inside… Rows and rows of quilts!

Some like this,

 

Some like these

 

Quilts made with batik fabric seem to be especially popular.

I love this color combination for fall.

I had lots of favorites, luckily I didn’t have to pick just one!

There were also lots of vendors selling all sorts of products that would appeal to quilters. 

I loved this booth, sadly I didn’t do it justice with my photographic skills…  

 

I sat down at a table where people were having lunch to change the lens on my camera.  Who should I be next to but Virginia Cole, the woman who’s booth I had totally loved!  Here is what she says about her art.

Here you will find miniature quilt collages created with antique buttons, fabric scraps, vintage papers and forgotten photographs.  Treasured pieces of the past mingle with newly sewn mini quilts and quotes that warm your heart (while large quilts warm the body!)  Tucked into old books, bottles and rescued frames, they are machine pieced and hand quilted.  Each piece is one of a kind, full of detail and lovingly made.

The reason for the name "Galloping Pony Studio", is based on a quilter's theory.  The galloping horse theory says if you can't see a mistake in a quilt from a galloping horse it really doesn't matter.

Here us a photo from her web site.

I hope you will take a minute and go here to see her beautiful work.

 

While we were in Portland, we also went here,

Now here is a place you can find a HUGE selection of donuts!

Maybe not where you want to take your grandma or your young child, but I had to laugh at their innovative concoctions… Certainly not like any bakery I ever worked at!

Naturally I was out looking for “stuff”

I love Portland, it always makes me feel like I am far, far away from home, even though it is less than 50 miles.   It is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen and talk about diverse… there is something there for everyone. 

Now it is time to get back in work mode and get the trailer packed and ready to go!  We are headed to Spokane for the June Bug Show tomorrow.  We are leaving Sam home with Grandma and Grandpa, he will keep them in line… actually Dusty will be here making sure!  It is a little more complicated now that school has started, figuring out who is going where and how they are going to get there.  We have plenty of vehicles, just a little short on drivers! 

Today is my dad’s 86th birthday, we will take time to celebrate that for sure!  I hope to do a post sometime on him, he has lead an incredibly “interesting” life, on second thought maybe that should be a book!

Beware!!

Whatever you do, don’t let the flu catch up with you! Run, hide, take your vitamins, get plenty of rest (probably where I messed up) but do not get near the flu, or you will be very sorry. I spent most of last week either wishing I was dead, or thinking I must be, was I ever sick! And take it from me, I am not good at sick! (Who is?)

Nothing like being sick to make you appreciate the days your not…

Thankfully my friends came to the rescue, they cleaned, organized, decorated, brought food and totally got the store ready for the show at the house Friday evening and Saturday.

I was there but not at “the top of my game” as they say so there are few pictures.

Here is a great shot of Jen

Her business is

and she, has mountains of “needful” baby items and aprons.

She is a worker like you can only hope to have help when the clock is ticking!

And I also cannot thank Pam, Karen and Jori enough for all the work they did, while I laid on the bed and whined…

Naturally Dave the Driver, became Dave the Digger and proved that he could have a new career as a yard boy…

(let’s not tell him I said that)

The fact that I got any pictures was a miracle, but we had a great time and why would we care that it

“rained on our parade?”

Sunday turned out to be beautiful sunny, we had a lovely day set up on the lawn of a local mansion, Deepwood. I have done this show several times, but I have always been in the shade garden.

This year it was the front lawn for me and I loved the spot.

There was room beside me to set up a little spot to relax…

Entice some shoppers.

He loved my space.

There was even room for Sam to promote his show…

Evidently he is planning a model train convention next week???

I am taking a couple of days off this week to enjoy a visit with my cousin, she brought her mom, to see her sister (my mom.)

We are off to Portland for a couple of days to enjoy a quilt show and a little junking.

Next week or is that nest week I will be heading to Spokane for the

June Bug Show.

All week I have been out finding lots of new treasures to sell. It will be fun to pull them out and pack them up… (not the fun part)

And get this show on the road!

Weekend Adventures

It started Friday with a BIG garage sale. My friend Pam had closed her store over a year ago and had a basement full of merchandise to get rid of. I have the perfect driveway and tree to set up under, so why not I say, bring it on. We had quite a time coordinating our schedules, but knowing Sunday was The Coburg Antique Show I said oh well… We can do it Friday and Saturday… Opps I forgot Saturday was Albany’s Antiques in the Streets Show. She was on her own for Saturday, thankfully her husband/helper would be available. We had a great time, and got rid of a basement load of stuff!

Dave and I were still packing the truck at midnight,,, and after an hour and a half nap we were up and going. We like to be first in line because Dumbo, pulling the trailer takes up a lot of room. (more than 65 feet)

Once we get the Diet Coke unloaded we are ready to roll!.

Set up and ready!

Cool buildings downtown Albany.

Over at 4pm and we are packing and off to Coburg.

Fun being on the grass, with lots of room to spread out.

Using the limes from the wedding last weekend.

An adorable shopper.

Thrilled to be out looking..

Not that impressed with what is going on.

Doesn’t see a thing she would like.

The neighbors, just kidding, we made a quick stop at my brother’s farm, my how the nephews have grown!

Kinda makes my flimsy excuse for a garden look even worse by comparison.

We made ourselves feel better with a truck load of produce, and flowers.

My Trip to Oz…

My little trip down the yellow brick road lead straight to Oz.  Imagine my excitement when it was my turn to see the Wizard, oh yeah a brain!!  What I didn't plan for was that the Wizard of Oz would be so OLD, and hard of hearing... I asked for a brain, he said, ”what?"  I said, “I want to be smart!” He thought I said, I want a heart. “ So, now I just love more.  Great, like I wasn’t over the top excited about almost everything already??? 

I will try again another time for a brain, who wouldn’t want to be  heart smart?? Sorry just a little attempt at humor…

I loved the way my space turned out at the

Monticello Fall Premier Show,

I also loved having Sam there, helping me …

And only 2 hours later than I had planned I was on my way to the opposite side of Portland to set up for a wedding.

I was so excited to help my friend Carol set up for her daughters wedding this weekend.  We had 65 dozen pink roses to scatter in a delightful way. And you know I LOVE pink roses!We took over the conference room at the hotel and made our own little florist workshop.  The room had windows to the lobby so we were making quite a color spectacle.  

 

How sweet is this?

 

The mother of the bride and other helpers.

Daughters of the helpers

I have been friends with these women for over 25 years and have watched their babies grow into beautiful young women.  What a pleasure it was to spend time with all of them.

I loved it!

I only took about 600 pictures so I made a collage of the bride so I could show more…  I know you will LOVE it!