Saturday, May 2, 2026

A Finish, A Road Trip (with a blogger meet-up), and Guild Stuff

 Settler's Puzzle is finished!


So happy to have this completed. It was not the oldest UFO in my quilt closet or cupboard, but it was started 12 years ago in a class with Pam Buda, so it is good to have it ready to put on a bed. That is exactly what I did with it when we got to our daughter's house in Eugene, Oregon. I even took a couple of photos of it perfectly centered on the twin bed. Now they are nowhere to be found in my photo storage. Go figure!

We try to get to the coast when in Oregon, if at all possible. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed a few hours of the sand and sunshine.


No one enjoys it more than my granddaughter!

And just in case some of you are wondering, I DID get my toes in the water.

After a lovely week in Oregon, we headed for home, but took one brief detour to McMinnville. That is the home of Ruth, the blogger at Country Log Cabin blog. She has talked of a quilt shop there on occasion, and we finally had time to swing through the beautiful countryside to reach Boersma's. Ruth met me there.

She immediately felt like an old friend, and we chatted as I did a very quick job of shopping, and checking out. Our visit was shorter than I would have preferred, but we had a Zoom meeting we had to make at our hotel that night, and we still had to drive across the state. Thank you, Ruth, for taking the time to meet me, and for bringing lovely, handcrafted gifts. It was such a pleasure to finally give you a hug, and see your stomping grounds, after years of following each other's blogs.

In Guild meeting last month, 4 of us brought our "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" quiltlets, from Pam Buda's Vintage Patchwork book. 


These each finish at 10 1/2". Mine is in the upper right corner. I actually got it quilted and bound. I love seeing the variety achieved with fabric choices, when each of us used the same pattern.


Tammy shared what she did with 10 vintage Dresden Plate blocks.

So clever the way she made up for a difficult number of blocks to work with by using blank blocks in two opposing corners, and quilting them as though the Dresden Plates were there. 

Tammy is heading off soon for a two year mission in Africa. We will miss her, but she will be amazing.


Our guild project for May, from Vintage Patchwork, is "Wives and Daughters".  I love the book, and the BBC production. I didn't want to miss out, even though I will not be able to attend the meeting when we share them, due to leaving the country for a little adventure. I mostly followed the pattern. Just did my own thing with color placement. This finishes at approximately 6 3/4" x 8 3/4". Just a tiny thing.







Purples often find a home in my quilts, so I just had to share this gorgeous collection from Heartspun Quilts (Pam Buda), called Plumberry Farm.

What I have always loved about Pam's collections is that they look like you have been collecting the fabrics for a long time. They don't all have the same undertone, or coordinating prints. It looks like you have been collecting, not just buying a collection. Good job, Pam! :)

I'll end with a little video I took on a walk to the bottom of the family farm last month. You will see and hear sandhill cranes and Canada Geese, and hear peacocks from the neighboring farm. You will also see a fox slinking in and out of the picture. I hope it works for you. But don't try to watch full screen, or it will be blurry. I took this with the full zoom on my phone. Enlarging it doesn't do you any favors.


That's all for now. Until next time,

Be creative and be kind!

Janet O.

15 comments:

  1. I very much enjoyed listening to the various bird sounds and I think I saw the fox.

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  2. Lovely to meet another blogger. And so many inspiring things to share too. That Dresden quilt is lovely and as you say a great way to use all of the blocks.

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  3. I hope that fox did not get eggs or hatchlings!

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  4. A wonderful finish on the quilt Janet. I am envious of you with your feet in the water & also VeRy envious of the blogger who got to meet up with you - it feels like so long ago that I was lucky enough to be in her shoes. It was such a special time. I absolutely adore that Dresden quilt & think that is a wonderful idea with the blank blocks quilted like that. So pretty. I loved the video & I managed to see all the things you mentioned even with my not-great eyesight. Have a lovely week Janet. xx

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  5. Love Pam Buda's fabric line. Thanks for the show and tell, they were all lovely. As I am reading your blog, I too can hear the orchestration of many animal that live on my side of the county. It is very peaceful.

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  6. Such a delightful post, thank you so much. I'm wondering the size of the four patches in Wives and Daughters, love this especially!

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  7. What an amazing clip of time! Lovely bird sounds!

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  8. What a delightful post. I'm so glad you got to go to Oregon, it must be beautiful up there in the springtime. Your Wives and Daughters mini is so pretty - purple border and all. And speaking of purples, that is a dazzling array of purple fabrics. Pam KNOWS how to do purples. I enjoyed your little video. How did your get so many animals to cooperate and come together?

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  9. So glad you passed by our exit. I would have loved meeting you for lunch somewhere along your route. So close, yet so far away. Love the purples! Congrats on the finish.

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  10. I'm sorry but Tammy's Dresden quilt steals the show! Absolutely STUNNING! I love the 'ghost' Dresdens....which gets me thinking about a un finished vintage Dresden quilt top I purchased...percolating mode on!

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  11. Thanks for sharing our visit together in your blog post! It was such a delight to get to meet in person. In the past I had the opportunity to meet other bloggers and it is so much fun. By the way, I went back into Boarsma's and bought some of the black fabric that you bought! The one with the orange leaves in it - and a couple others. I watched your video and I think I saw a fox in the distance and enjoyed hearing the birds. I hear Canadian geese flying over our house often and like to see them flying high up in the sky. Happy travels to you!!

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  12. Oh, what a lovely post!! I knew that colorful block in the top left corner did not belong to you!!! LOL!! Me, maybe!! I am so sorry I did not know you were here for a week!! I could have come up to Florence or whatever beach you landed at for at least for a hug and a hi!! I LOVE the purples!! Please tell Tammy hi and that I wish her the best on her mission!! Africa!! How exciting!!

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  13. Oh my, you have been busy. So nice that you could meet up with Ruth and do a little shopping too! Your quilts are as always, amazing!! I love the four minis together. I picked out yours immediately! The wildlife video is so relaxing to watch even with the fox running through it! We are so fortunate to have our precious wildlife around us. Thanks for sharing yours.

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  14. Goodness - so much to see, appreciate, comment, etc., but 'll stop after the first one -- it's absolutely what quilting should be! And beautiful, to boot!

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  15. So many good things in your blog, Janet! Beautiful big quilt, bound block, and mini! Love Tammy's creative solution to her Dresden Plate quilt. Those purples are to die for! The Sandhill Cranes are amazing and that little fox was very entertaining. Sounds like you are traveling soon . . . Enjoy!

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