Vintage Faire and Book Signing

**I should be sewing, but I just want to take a minute and show some of the fun things we've been doing! these are the ladies from Vintage Touch in Lebanon OR~Julie Webber and Patty~Calvin and I met them at the Vintage Faire in Sublimity Oregon last weekend.
Lots of fun stuff to look at, I love just browsing through the stalls and getting ideas and reminiscing about how things must have been back then. Spotting things that I have (in storage) and things that my parents and grandparents used~

Love the pink radio!

Then we drove home through the "Side roads" and stopped in Silverton for their Art Fair and somewhere out in the country we found Swan Island Dahlia Farms~I wish you could see this one for real~it was bigger than my head!
Just rows and rows of beautiful Dahlias

On Tuesday evening Natie and I went to Powell's Books in downtown Portland for a book signing~Mother and crazy daughter!
I have been reading Posie Gets Cozy for a few years now and was so excited to meet Alicia Paulson and hear her talk about her books: Stitched in Time and Embroidery Companion

Franciscan Ware

I need more dishes like I need another hole in my head...so the saying goes...but I just couldn't resist these (and I really tried) when I saw them in our local "regifting store". I think I went back 3 times and they were still there so I knew that it was a sign-they were meant to be mine!

I have a love, no to be truthful, it's an obsession with all things dish-like. Dishes, bowls, plates, crockery, bowls, platters, bowls...We have enough to feed an army! So when I saw these they just spoke to me~"Rebecca, we should belong to you ". I love the colors, Aqua and cream, and the ripples.

These are Franciscan Ware from 1936 the Coronado pattern. Franciscan Ware was made in California beginning in 1934 and there are many colors and patterns.

These have seen better days, and are kind of beat-up with chips here and there, but I love them all the more for it, it means they have been well used and loved.

Play Date

Just wanted to put up a photo to show how big those Grandkids are getting! This was when Rachel and the girls were here visiting a few weeks ago, we all went to the park for a play date. From L-R Natie holding Megan, Rachel, Sara holding Olson holding Deacon. The kids are getting bigger and the grown-ups are getting smaller! (Thanks to Weight Watchers!) I love all my kids~and miss the boys that could not be here in the photo.

Beach Baby

Cutest babe on the beach! Baby Addi (Addison Paige Schanz) at Gearhart.

Swanky

Two recent projects that were made from "Swanky" by Moda: a baby quilt~
And summer dress for Meggie from Simplicity 5695. It is size 2, but I think it is much bigger-I haven't tried it on her yet so I'm not sure about the fit.

I love the bright colors and designs of this fabric!

Hexi's

I've been obsessed as of late with these little hexagons. I saw them being done all over blog land and couldn't resist trying English Paper Piecing~love it! It is easy and kind of mindless hand work that I can do while watching TV or just relaxing in the quiet. I've been using up some of my scraps and I'm not sure what they will end up being, because it will take a lot of them to make a quilt. Grandma's Flower Garden is what I have in mind, but that may take years to accomplish!

There is a great tutorial on one of my favorite crafty blogs ~Bee in My Bonnett

http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/2010/04/hexie-paper-piecing-tutorial.html