Posted on by agilejack

What a Week!

On Sunday a friend of mine from Utah contacted me and said she was coming into town to look at houses. She has recently retired and she and her husband have targeted the Pacific Northwest as the place they want to spend their retirement. She flew into town on Monday evening.

I spent most of Sunday scrambling to get my house ready for company. She just left for home this morning.

It was so much fun to have her staying here with me while she explored houses, neighborhoods and communities. I’ve known her for many years and originally came to know her through dogs. We did dog agility together for many years when I lived in Utah. After I moved to Portland she got into quilting. I helped her learn paper piecing during one of my vacation visits back home.

And recently she and her husband have started playing Pickleball! It’s like we live parallel lives. She brought her Pickleball paddle with her so we could play together. We played THREE times on Tuesday! I had a lesson early in the morning and she joined at the end. Then we drove to another park and played for 1.5 hours. Later that evening we ordered some takeout and ate dinner on the patio. Then we headed out to practice some Pickleball. and then last night we went and played for almost three hours, then finished up with some really good Mexican food. We had so much fun! I’m really hoping she ends up living close enough to me that we can play Pickleball, quilt and hang out with our dogs on a regular basis!

That’s us documenting the fact that we were playing Pickleball!

My only recent foray into anything fabric related was a purchase I made of 3/4 yard of this wide backing fabric that I found on Etsy.

Why on earth did I buy that? I saw this string quilt on a Kaffe Fassett Collective Facebook page last week and absolutely fell in love with it. This fabric appears in every block in this quilt, and it’s so fantastic and this fabric makes the quilt extra special and I so good combined with Kaffe Fassett Collective fabrics! This gorgeous quilt was made by Kathy Polnaszek.

I asked Kathy what that fabric is and she told me it’s this.

A quick internet search directed me to a quilt store that only had it for sale in 3 yard pieces. Remember, this is a wide back!!! I was really lucky to find a 3/4 yard piece on Etsy.

I just LOVE string quilts and have been wanting to make another one. I’ve made several over my years of quilting and love making them. So my take on this will be in my future some day.

My dogs absolutely loved having my friend here. They definitely know when they’re in the company of someone who loves dogs! Rico really fell for her. Bender discovered quickly that she was willing to throw his ball. She even got Bender back into his balancing stunts.

And tonight my dogs are wondering why I’m so boring.

I’m very happy to report that after 1.5 years since my last one, I got my hair cut on Friday! And it feels wonderful!

She gave me a full styling, but I’ll let my natural curls fly on a daily basis! My hair was such a mess and needed to be cut badly.

And one last thing I’ll share with you tonight… on a walk through our neighborhood on Monday I ran across another free pile and came home with this.

How could I possibly walk past it???

38 Replies to “What a Week!”

  1. Love it all: the wide back sings to me, your haircut sings for you and the metal doggie….. well  well just  have to imagine his singing. Silent singing…hmmm

    CheersPauline Chiarelli 

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  5. You started my day with a smile and a giggle. “Girlfriends are the best
    especially when your interests are the same. That backing fabric is just what I’m looking for…gonna hunt down a piece.
    Just walked my cottage beach in Westbrook CT and it’s covered with logs…yes logs from the CT River. Gonna be a lot of work‼️.
    Hope your friend lands close to you. Have a great week end.

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  6. What a fun few days you had! Hope you finds a place close to you.
    I saw that quilt on Facebook and I too was drawn to it. Couldn’t figure out that odd fabric thrown in. Good for you for asking her. Did you also ask how big the blocks and quilt are? That might have to be next on my agenda.
    Missed your blogs and photos but nice to know you were safe and having fun.

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    1. I feel like she said she used the Missouri Star paper squares for this. I’ve used them in the past but I can’t remember if they’re 8 inches or 10 inches. you could really make the blocks either size.

      Anne

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  9. Yes, eQuilter has the fabric in the bright blue and the bright green. They also had a light bluish lavender. I just received my 3/4 yards of each yesterday. eQuilter is out of Colorado. They also had a couple of other colors available but not the one in bright pinks or the bright yellow.

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  13. Oh, Anne, sounds like a great week! I hope they settle near you ! I love that mod plaid fabric and the pink one is quite pretty too. String quilts are my favorite 😻. Hugs to the boys 🥰

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    1. I love string quilts. Been thinking it’s time to make another one so this will be fun! A great thing to sew on when you don’t have very much brain power.

      Anne

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  14. It’s so much fun to be surrounded by friends (and beautiful dogs)! I need to get the stash used up and the String Quilts just might be a solution! Thanks!
    Have a great weekend!

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    1. I’ve made several string quilts. They are a great way to use up scraps and I love that kind of improv piecing. But I still have piles and piles of scraps!

      Anne

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  15. Do you work for public radio or tv? I’m an addict…listen all day to one of them!!! No wonder that I love your work!!!

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  16. Fabulous 💕 very nice you had a friend visit and you two have the same interests! I hope they find the perfect house nearby so you can hang out and play pickle ball and do all the things you love to do. Rico and Bender will have fun too! Have a nice weekend 💕

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  18. Loved your weekly report. Your hair looks perfect! I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want that precious metal dog, are they nuts? I hope your friend finds a great house near you, sure wish my friends were as compatible with quilting.

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  19. Hi Anne, I can really see a variety of uses for that
    Mod Plaid. I would cut it up and use it in a number of projects. However, I really don’t like the white….
    it’s really all I see. So many other colors to use
    there. I would go with a red-orange. Or lime, or
    yellow….purple maybe?

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