I met my brother and his wife in Cottage Grove, OR, this morning to take a nice long walk on the Row River Trail. It’s about a four hour drive from my house to my brother’s, so we chose a place that is almost exactly half way between our homes.
We walked for 8 miles on the trail, which is a rails to trails park — it’s a rail road track that has been converted to a walking/running/biking trail. It runs through the forest and along the edge of a lake.
We walked for 8 miles and then sat in the sun overlooking the lake and had lunch. I heated up some chili that I had made a few months ago and put it in thermoses early this morning. My sister in law brought some good bread and home made biscotti. It was really nice to have a warm lunch after a nice long hike.
My brother brought me a table that he made for me. He was a cabinet maker for years and has been making mandolins and other small stringed instruments in his retirement.
He told me that this table was his version of patch work — the gorgeous top is redwood, and other woods used to build it include koa, walnut and iron wood.
This finish is all the natural wood that has been hand rubbed with oil. It’s like silk!
The piece on the top is redwood. It’s made from a piece of wood that my brother got from a friend of his. He’s had it for years and couldn’t decide what to make with it. I feel pretty lucky that I have it in this gorgeous table!
Once I got home and got the car unloaded, got the dogs fed and cleaned up my kitchen, I had a quick dinner and then sat down to chunk away at finishing up the 20 duplicate blue 16-patch blocks that I had left unfinished. I’m happy to say that I got all 20 of them sewn and pressed.
A friend of mine let me know last week that a local quilt store on the coast had gotten a bolt of border collie fabric in. It was fabric that I’ve used for years and am running low on. It can be a little hard to find, so I got on the phone yesterday and ordered three yards for myself and two yards for a friend who wanted some.
In conversation with the clerk I learned that they had the Philip Jacobs Silk Road Collection so I had her send me a yard of each of these gorgeous pieces. I have no idea what I’m going to do with them, but I might have to design a quilt around one of them and use it for a quilt back. A good reason to buy more fabric!
I have tomorrow off from work and am planning on heading for a hike on the Banks Vernonia trail. I should be home in early afternoon and plan on spending a good bit of time working on blue 16-patch blocks. I have 40 of 72 blocks complete. On the down hill now.
agilejack 
Oh, my! That is a magnificent table! And the Philip Jacobs fabric is awesomeness š
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That table is beautiful!!! I love beautiful wood. My husband was a woodworker and he ordered many exotic woods along with the wood he needed for his pattern shop. It gave me an appreciation for types beyond the common pine, mahogany, and walnut that I was used to.
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My brother works with a lot of woods that are native to Oregon. He often uses a small scrap of something wonderful for the trim on a larger piece. You’re probably like me… you have a great appreciation for things that are hand made, regardless of the material.
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Your brother’s gift is amazing! Love the PJ fabric. Can you tell me the name of the quilt shop on the coast?
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The store in Cannon Beach is called Center Diamond. They have a really nice selection of batiks as well.
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Thank you! We have a place in LC and I don’t get north very often. I forget about Center Diamond. A lot of the shops in central coast have closed.
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There was a little shop in Wheeler that I loved. It closed about 1.5 years ago. A nice shop in Corvallis closed as well. And one in Salem. A couple here in Portland. It makes me sad to see so many closing… and these were all before the pandemic.
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