The next best thing to fabric shopping is eating a good lunch while lingering over the fabric finds. In the last week, Pat and I went to Sisters. After shopping at the Stitching Post and seeing an art quilt exhibit, we went to Angeline’s for lunch. Happy Birthday Pat! She is now nine months older than I am.

This week we went to lunch at Soba Noodle in downtown Bend before browsing quilts at an annual festival of quilts at the Aspen Ridge Retirement Community in Bend, Oregon. This photo shows Pat and I with our favorite (wait)person. He remembers our favorite food items and is always smiling: thank you, Phil- you make the world a little better place.

At my house, chickens sit on nests of thread. Well…maybe not, but how else can I explain my dozen or so storage boxes of thread?

January 30: I like thread.

P.S. I’ve never met a thread I didn’t like. I use all sorts of fiber types, finishes, colors and name brands (not limited to these because I’m sure to leave somebody out, in alphabetical order: Aurifil, Coats & Clark, Gutermann, Madeira, Mettler, Signature, Sulky, Superior, YLI).

I piece with Aurifil Cotton Mako and Superior Masterpiece- both 50 weight/2 ply threads. When you sew fabrics together with a skinny thread, you’ll get better results: the thread takes up very little space compared to a thicker thread.

If you can’t find Aurifil in your hometown local shop, go to www.pumpkinvinecorner.com for a wide selection, great price and fast service.

David and I have a 5:00pm green tea habit. We found an organic green tea in Portland/Hillsdale at Uwajimaya. Now when we go to Portland to visit our son, Luke, we stock up on boxes of our all time favorite green tea- Prince of Peace.

January 23: Tea Time

I entered this little 8 1/2″ by 11″ quilt, “Zebra”, into the Quilting Arts Magazine quilt challenge. The zebra is a tall (about 6 feet), social animal that travels in herds. The stripes of the zebra are unique to each animal, like fingerprints for us. I’m tall (also 6 feet), social and am frequently seen in herds of humans. And I have my own unique viewpoint.

Oh- didn’t someone say “I’m unique, just like everybody else?”

Friends and family know about my ongoing circle obsession. As an experiment, I’m going to post a new circle composition each Saturday: the Saturday Circles. Whether found in nature, put together with objects easily unearthed in my house, or created in fabric, we’ll see what comes of it.

January 16: Sewing Room Planet and Orbiting Moons

The little chicken sits on my sewing machine, watching over me while I sew. Given to me (and made) by Kathy Shaker, I treasure it! Jenny-The-Cat used to carry it off, but fortunately she had a short attention span, and abandoned it close to my sewing machine.

I brought in my kitchen timer, another chicken, to help me stay limber. I’ve always said I have a tedious mind. At least, I have a mind that allows me to do tedious things. My body is another story. Doing repetitive motions have really started to hurt. Voila- the timer set at 15 minute intervals jolts me out of my daydreams and gets me walking around.