It’s Sunday night and I’m mourning the end of the weekend.
The big news for this week is that I finally decided to jump in and hang my scrappy KFC trip quilt above my bed. I needed more curtain rings for this larger rod. The package I had was only seven rings, which wouldn’t be enough to hold up this quilt.
So I ordered some from JC Penney and picked them up yesterday. It didn’t take long to get the rings in place and get the quilt hung this afternoon.
And I have to say… this makes me pretty happy!!!
I posted this photo on the Kaffe Fassett Collective Facebook page and one person commented, “A bit much.” It made me laugh!!! Like something made from these gorgeous fabrics is ever too much!!!
And that, you may not be surprised, is the only fabric-related thing I’ve done this week.
Instead, I’ve been playing A LOT of pickleball. I played Monday evening, took Tuesday off, played Wednesday evening, had a lesson early Thursday morning, then played a few games, then did some practice with a friend Thursday night. Then I met my teacher this morning at 8:15 for a quick lesson, then we played until noon! I’m exhausted and will probably be in bed early tonight. Well, early for me.
A fun thing happened during pickleball today. In one game I got what’s called an ATP, which stands for “Around the Post.” In pickleball, when your opponent hits a ball that goes wide, you can hit it around the post of the net and back on to their court without going over the net. The shot is typically very low and difficult to return. My ATP was the game-winning shot. The club celebrates ATPs with a photo of the player with a trophy.
I didn’t get to keep the trophy. How sad. It was a fun way to end a really good game.
I’m really seeing the result of my lessons during games. I played the first four games with my teacher today and then we split up. I think I only lost one game all day!!! And that was only by 2 points. It’s really fun to get to play with my teacher. He gives gentle suggestions during the game that help me remember what we’ve been working on.
It’s so much fun to see my improvement. And several of the people I play with have mentioned how much better I’m playing.
Yesterday, Rico had his sheep herding lesson down in Molalla instead of our regular spot. On the way home I stopped at a friend’s place in Canby, Oregon, to pick black berries. She has a lot of black berry bushes and had told me they were really plentiful.
Here’s a view of the driveway that takes you to the back of her two-acre property.
The plants lining that driveway are blackberries. They are pretty much everywhere in Western Oregon and Washington. They are not native and are terribly invasive. You see huge mounds of them all over the place.
Another fun fact about blackberries is that they have terrible thorns. They almost reach out and grab you and hold onto you! My arms and legs are pretty scratched up today.
I had one in my back yard years ago that literally ripped my pants right off of me!!!
My friend was right… there were a LOT of berries available for picking!
The berries can be very delicate when they’re ripe. I had juice all over myself!
I managed to pick four good size containers in the time I was there.
Look at how gorgeous these are!!!
And they’re so sweet and delicious! Nothing like eating a beautiful ripe berry right off the vine while it’s still warm from the sun!
Once I got home I froze the berries on cookie sheets first so they wouldn’t be frozen in one big clump.
I ended up with six quart bags of berries in my freezer. These will be so wonderful in the cold winter months!
My small cherry tomatoes are doing really well. I’m also getting larger tomatoes now from a friend who lives a street over. The arrival of those larger tomatoes means a BLT must be eaten! I had my first one of the season yesterday for lunch and it was sooo good!
Back to work tomorrow. We are scheduled to go live on our new database tomorrow, and there’s a lot of work coming up this week.
I have scheduled some vacation in September… 2.5 glorious weeks! My friend will be visiting again and we’re making plans fr what quilt we’ll make when she’s here.
It sounds as though you had a fun week playing pickleball, sheep herding lessons, visiting friends, picking blackberries, and enjoying a BLT. I’m glad you’re enjoying the summer. On top of everything, it’ll be nice to anticipate your upcoming 2.5 weeks of vacation and your friend’s visit. Your KFC trip quilt is so colorful and looks great hanging behind your bed!
I am really looking forward to vacation! Thinking about what quilt to make with my friend.
Anne
You do not cease to amaze!
So inspired by you!
Thank you!
Awww. thanks! And thanks for reading!
Anne
Embracing ALL the Much !!
Me too!
Anne
There can never be too much Kaffe Fassett! I love blackberries and they are so expensive here…..very jealous of what is in your freezer. Good luck with your database. I was a programmer at one time in my life. Going live was always met with much trepidation.
So far all is well with the conversion. I have an amazing team working on this!
I’m really lucky that I never have to pay for blackberries!!!
Anne
Hahaha – too much!!!
There is never too much Kaffe!!
Looks amazing – is pickle ball the same as we call paddle over here?
Enjoy your week.
Still laughing!
I think Padel is different… includes using the walls, I believe. Pickleball is sort of cross between tennis, table tennis and badminton.
Anne
My Kaffe quilt on our bed makes me happy, too! I love colorful things and fill my rooms with them. Your quilts are lovely!
Life is better with lots of color in it! I love my bedroom!!!
Anne
Here in the area I live in, blackberries come with chiggers. I was in Portland several years ago and picked enough blackberries to make a cobbler while visiting. I love your quilt hanging but I have visual overload when I see too much KF together. Congratulations on your trophy success and your continued achievement of becoming a better player.
you’re the second person to mention chiggers with blackberries! I’ve only heard them mentioned in Lonesome Dove!
I think my bedroom might be borderline visual overload!
Anne
I love reading about your life. Your quilt work is so very artistic as well as inspiring. Then to find out you also play Pickleball like me was the icing on the cake. Thanks so much for sharing!
Pickleball is my new life. And interestingly, I play with a couple of French Canadians with the last name of Bourque. Is it a common name?
Anne
Bourque is a common name is certain parts of Quebec (la Beauce region for example) and in the Eastern Provinces particularly New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We do share a love of Pickleball, totally addicted. I just wish that I would have know about the game when my joints were much younger LOL.
Hahaha! Yup. the only regret I have with pickleball is waiting until I was 61 to start playing!
Anne
There can never be enough color ! What a great weekend you had . Summer is glorious. I grew up with blackberries they have vicious thorns but are sooooo good right of the vine
they are sooo good when still warm! Bender and I ate quite a few. rico won’t touch them!!!
Anne
Your quilts are fabulous, sooo colourful, I love them. I am jealous of your blackberries, we will see none until early September!
by the looks of it, we’ll have berries for few weeks more. I might have to head down to my friend’s place and pick more!
Anne
Good morning from Niagara Falls, Ontario
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Good morning! I think I only got part of your comment.
Anne
Hey. Just read your post and I absolutely love the quilt you just hung!! You have an eye for color I doubt will ever regenerate in me.
Aw, the glorious pain of picking blackberries. When we had dewberries(itās a Texas thing) I remember looking like Iād been in a cat fight after picking those juicy jewels!!!
Wanted to ask you about your aboriginal quilts, what color do you gravitate to when picking aboriginal prints since they are all full of color?? Love those posts as well.
Great job on your pickleball playing! I have a friend that plays it and she says itās really fun to play. I might have to look into it around here in Victoria Texas.
Have yourself a great weekend thank you for your posts!!
when I first started buying Australian Aboriginal fabrics a few years ago, they were all pretty dark and drab compared to the colors we’re seeing now. I typically buy a piece of anything I see that I don’t already have. I am gravitating these days to the brighter colors since I have a pretty good collection of the darker ones already. But the darker ones work really well with the brighter ones.
Pickleball is so much fun!!! you should at least see if you can find a place with an intro class.
I’ve actually BEEN to Victoria, Texas!!! many years ago for work… three jobs ago. I don’t remember much about It except that I flew from Victoria to Austin (I think it was Austin) and I was the ONLY passenger on a great big plane. We barely got ten feet off the ground! I remember teh security person going through my bag by hand!!!
Anne
Hey. I will have to check it out. I have a friend that loves Pickleball as well but she lives around Austin.
I envy you and all of those colorful aboriginal fabrics. I myself am starting an aboriginal collection.
Thank you for your blog. I love it!!
Thanks for reading!
Anne
Wow- you have really excelled at pickleball!
Does your friend get many bears in that blackberry patch?
Love the quilt hung in your bedroom- never too much with any quilts!
I’d be surprised to see bears in that berry patch, but you never know! We’ve had them on the beach!
Anne
Hi
I love playing Pickleball and could identify with the feeling of accomplishment when progress kicks in. Keep playing and keep enjoying.
It’s been years since I’ve enjoyed something the way I enjoy pickleball! I’m having a blast!
Anne
I love it! Never too much Kaffe!
Lani Petersen
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I agree! The more the merrier!
Anne
šā¤ššššš love All of it, thank you for sharing.
Thanks for reading!
Anne
Your KFC quilts are both awesome!!! Never too much! The blackberries are screaming to be put into a cobbler, at least that’s what we did growing up in East Texas! Cobbler and jelly! Thank you for sharing your lovely pictures!!
I agree… never too much!
I think the best way to eat berries is fresh! After that, I like them in jelly.
Anne
I would be walking by that bedroom doorway a dozen times a day and smiling every time I looked at all of the luscious color.
I didn’t realize blackberries grew in big clumps. That is a lot of berries.
haha! That’s exactly what I’ve been doing! I just walk down the hall and stand there and look at it… over and over!
I probably could have picked 20 gallons of berries if I didn’t value my skin! the best clumps were just out of reach!
Anne
I love your hanging quilt with the bed quilt. I think they complement each other very well. šššš
Thanks! it’s bold but I love it!
Anne
I love all the luscious color in your bedroom š. Ouch! I remember picking blackberries as a kid growing up in Washington State – worth it, they were so delicious. You officially have a pickle ball addition š that is a good addiction! Our grandson who is 24, used to be a fabulous tennis player – now he has migrated over to pickle ball with a bunch of 20 somethings. He said it is addicting š hi Rico and Bender š„°
the berries are worth some scratches! They are really good!
Someone said about pickleball: “It’s like tennis except it’s fun!”
Anne
You made me hungry with the blueberries and that tomato bacon sandwich! Congratulations on the ATP award ! I remember wearing garden gloves picking blackberries and it helps a little. Love your Kaffe above your bed, good job! š„°š»hugs to the boys!
I think it would be really hard to pick these berries with gloves on… they are so delicate. I think you’d have a pile of mush!
That sandwich… gonna have one for lunch tomorrow!
Anne
Love the KFC quilts just like you placed them! Drooling over your berries. Grew up Alabama and the thorns weren’t the problem it was the snakes and chiggers that we worried about!!! Enjoy your winter treats.The bread of your BLT looks special.I. have mastered the making of tofu bacon and make a mean BLT but don’t have that dense bread.
I’m pretty happy I didn’t have to worry about chiggers and snakes!
and a good tomato deserves good bread!
Anne
āA bit much?ā Why do people think that the world cares about every negative thought that enters their minds. I think itās gorgeous.šš»šš»šš»
It just made me laugh. I see a lot of quilts on Facebook groups that I don’t care for. I never have the urge to tell someone that I don’t like their quilt. I just scroll on by. So funny!
Anne
Are you going to make any blackberry jam?
I’m not much of a maker of sweets. I think it’s been at least five years since I baked cookies! I much prefer savory foods. I’m lucky that I have friends who give me all the home made jam I need!
Anne
Hey there. You can never have enough Kaffe Fassette. I love his fabric and have made quilts, purses, bags, placemats, you name it. ItĀs a happy fabric and it sells at craft fairs and Markets. We have blackberries everywhere up here on Vancouver Island. If youĀre not being scratched to bits by the bushes, chances are you are fighting off the wasps while picking buckets of the berries. My favourite is blackberry jelly and I make that every year.
I have to tell you that my uncle was a sheep herder (shepherd to us up here) in Molalla in the 1960Ās. He spent quite a bit time up here fishing with my Dad. Anyway, IĀm really enjoying your blog.
Heather James Comox, Vancouver Island, BC
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I’m glad I didn’t have to deal with wasps while picking berries! there were lots of bees however. I did get nailed on my right temple by a yellow jacket the previous weekend. I was sheep herding with Rico and it came out of nowhere and just stung me!
Interesting that your uncle was a shepherd in Molalla. It’s a beautiful area. I love seeing the sheep out in the green fields in the spring!
Anne
How I envy you your blackberry stash in the freezer, do I see blackberry pie in Winter? The more Kaffe, the better!
I’m not a fan of pie. Too sweet for me. I really prefer to eat these berries with my yogurt and granola for breakfast! Maybe put them on a big fluffy pancake when I have company!
Anne
It’s beautiful!
Thanks!
Anne
Love your quilt! The sandwich looks delicious. I have been enjoying BLT ās as well thanks to the generosity of friends and neighbors who have been supplying me with delicious tomatoes. This seems to be a very good year for them.
I only grow cherrie varieties, so I’m really happy to have a friend who keeps me in BLT tomatoes!
Anne
Oh, how I miss the blackberries in the PNW! We moved to Colorado three years ago and while we love it here, some things have been hard to part with (although, not those tiny blackberry thorns!). Thank you for your blog. It takes me back to my roots!
This is a gorgeous area that has its perks. But I really miss the mountains. and the winters can be dreary.
Anne
You can never have enough colour! My husband is also a pickleball devotee…I will send him your ATP story. And blackberries are my fave berry. It is not summer without one go at this recipe: https://herewebee.wordpress.com/2018/08/10/bees-blackberries-batter-cake/
I agree about color!
thanks for the recipe!
Anne