by Sandra Bruce
Greetings, and Happy November!
I had a fabulous 12-day trek in Oregon and Washington, sparked by teaching dates in Bend and Sunriver, Oregon. I decided to make it a road trip on either end, visiting friends I haven’t seen in a long time and combining the visits with my dates with the quilt guilds. Here’s a few pictures and memories of my 1,600 miles driven in 12 days!
My first peek at a snow-covered mountain, which I had to pull over and take a picture of….Mount Lassen. After many months of heat and dry weather here in Grass Valley it was such a pleasure to see this. A sure sign of Fall!
My first stop was Portland, a long drive from Grass Valley (I was so glad to have books on CD to listen to on those long stretches). Portland is such a fun town, so much to look at, and so may cute shops and stores. And…the best salted caramel-ribbon ice cream I ever tasted!
Wouldn’t this make an interesting modern quilt design? Love the colors.
On to northern Washington, where I visited a friend in Auburn, outside Seattle. We had wild weather (had to almost stop on the freeway for the rain) and went to as many quilt shops as we could!
Onward (and south again) to Bend, Oregon where I did my lecture and class for the Mount Bachelor Quilt Guild. The terrain definitely changed!
What a great group of ladies I had in my class, they could not have been more of a pleasure! Bend has beautiful facilities, and the workshop was held in one of the nicest I’ve had the pleasure of teaching in. Here’s a couple of shots from the Bend workshop and guild meeting that night.
My stay in Bend was over too soon…..the next morning I drove to Sunriver to do my lecture for the Mountain Meadow Quilters’ 9:30am meeting. Again, a beautiful setting. I so enjoy being in guild meetings, to see the workings of other guilds and especially Show and Tell! One day I want to make a “Dear Jane” quilt like this one, wow!!
My afternoon was free, which of course means going to quilt shops in the area, and there are many! It is amazing how many quilters and quilt shops there are in the Sisters/Bend/Sunriver area.
Next day, the Sunriver workshop. Again, a nicer or more enthusiastic group of ladies could not be found.
I left Sunriver to head back to Portland to visit more friends before coming home. I stopped to take a picture of Mount Bachelor and the “Three Sisters”, which had had it’s first dusting of snow days before. Beautiful!
Back in Portland, I visited the Chinese Gardens for tea, and had a few fabulous meals, including one made with freshly picked chanterelles (picked by my hostess that morning). The best part was reconnecting with friends (and kitties).
All in all, a wonderful trip, in which I became rejuvenated by students, quilts, quilt stores, friends, scenery, and the delicious opportunity to be alone in my car for all those miles. Thanks to all the Bend and Sunriver ladies who welcomed and pampered me, and my friends whom I care about and was so happy to see, and took such good care of me.
Back in Grass Valley, we had a rainy Halloween yesterday, cold and windy too, but we cannot complain about one drop of that precipitation! I am back to my long arm work, and am also working on a greeting card design in my lettering business. Fremont, CA this week, and Modesto, CA next week for Matrix lecture/workshops. Christine, Heidi and I are still working on the Zephyr dates for 2015, stay tuned. The holidays are around the corner!
Bye for now……..
Sandra
What an adventure you had, spending time with wonderful guilds and seeing the northwest. Your students obviously loved your workshops! Nice to get out of town now and then, isn’t it?
Loved getting away…..soaking up good Oregon/Washington energy! 🙂
s- love your writing – always delighted to get your blog – had another brisket sandwich from p’s & q’s the other day – just as good as before – love you – k.
Thanks Kathy…you are a great host, and love you and Portland back! 🙂
Hi, Sandra! You are amazing! I’m so glad that you are having such a good time, doing what you love, plus quilters love you, too. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip!
Therese, think of you often when I go to guilds…people love seeing our collaboration and friendship
in my slide show. Thanks!! Miss you!
Great post Sandra. I am jealous of wonderful fall foliage you were able to catch !!!
Such a beautiful part of the country.
Thanks Nancy! I was (and am) surprised at the colors we’re having this Fall, with the lack of water we had last winter/spring.
What a fabulous trip, Sandra! It is so beautiful up there, and your pictures are so much better than the pictures I took a few months ago when I was there. Yours look like photos for postcards! That’s quite a long trip to take by yourself; it was evident that it was really successful, too. You are continually amazing!