Woodland in Bloom

It's pretty hard to resist making a visit to Woodland when the Tulip Festival AND the Lilac Festival are going on. It was worth dodging a few raindrops to see such beautiful evidences that Spring is here and life begins again.

The Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens are beautiful. They have made some lovely improvements, including this brick pathway that meanders through dozens of varieties of Lilacs.

This Arbor on the property hold a special place in my heart.  It is where my son Matt and his sweetheart Veronica were married.

Just down the road from the Lilac Gardens is the Holland America Tulip farm and it is spectacular this time of year. 

A camera really doesn't do it justice. In person, the colors are so vibrant, it is really a stunning view.

There are so many varieties and colors. This one caught my eye because it almost looked like a rose.

I also loved this pink striped variety. I won't post all the rest of the pictures I took, but I would encourage anyone to go see for themselves!

A Sunny afternoon in NW Portland

I got to spend Monday with my favorite (and only) sister, Cheryll who was visiting from Salt Lake City. We went to Northwest Portland and strolled along 23rd St.

We came upon this Flower Shop which was so charming. It reminded me of the flower shops in Paris which have their flowers out on the sidewalk with a colorful carpet of petals below them. It's one of my favorite memories of my one and only visit there.

The lavender was heavenly.  We had lunch at Papa Haydens, including one of their magical desserts. We also spent some time in my favorite paper store, "Paper Source".

It was a wonderful, sun filled, therapeutic day!

Olivia Beach Cottages

Gary and I were able to spend a couple days on the Oregon Coast last week. We stayed in Depoe Bay and did some exploring in Lincoln City.  There is a planned neighborhood there that I always enjoy driving through. 

It's called Olivia Beach Cottages and even though they are only a few years old, they have a quaint vintage feeling to them and I really love them.

I love that even the garages and little out-buildings get special attention and details.

I also love the pops of color on the shutters and door.

Pretend you don't see the trashcans in this picture, because the cedar shake cape cod style house and garage is so cute!

Even though they are not "on" the beach, they do represent beach living. This neighborhood centers around a private park for residents.

This was the view from our condo. It was a beautiful, relaxing visit!

Springtime in Quilt Land



Here are the "show and tell" goodies from our April meeting of the Sisters 'n' Stitches. This modern version of a log cabin quilt done by Barb was really fun and  bright with sun flowers.



Another gorgeous bag by Barb with different textures and designs.



It's kind of hard to see the stitching on this trivet (I think that's what it was) by Margy but it was really pretty.

 

Pat's yellow and black checkerboard quilt was fabulous and so was the quilting by Darlene!



Here is our collection of ornaments for this month and a few from last month.



We all ouued and aahed over this embroidery Margy did on her blouse.



Even though Lorali is hiding behind this creation, it is really Darlene's and it is really cute and clever: it is a thread catcher if you are quilting or a scrap catcher if you are scrapbooking.



This is my pastel "Posy" quilt.

 

A Little Celebration

Thanks to my "followers" and friends, I have just reached a milestone: 1000 visits to my blog. I have been blogging since August and it is really fun to share fun and pretty places and things with you.  I got off to a slow start, but I'm learning more as I go. Thank you for your support!

Spring Bouquet Quilt

I just finished this Spring-y quilt. I had a lot of fun aqua and turquoise "Flower Sugar"  fabric which went well with my favorite pink and raspberry fabric.

I used a pattern from "Late Bloomer Quilts" called "Sweet Bouquets".  It was a bit time consuming because I do all my applique by hand, but I enjoy having handwork to do in front of the TV.

My grand daughter, Ashley has claimed it for her bedroom which is decorated with the same colors!

Easy-to-make Tray for Entertaining

This is a fun and easy project to do. I found the wooden frame at Goodwill and got the handles at Home Depot. (I did have to find shorter screws than the ones that came with the handles) I then had Gary screw in the handles with his Makita drill. (It could also be done by hand - would just take longer.

I had an old vintage wallpaper sample book I found at Goodwill a year ago, and the size of the samples were just right to go under the glass. Fabric would have worked just as well. I picked this one because it looks so summery - like I should be serving lemonade on it!

Voila! You have a pretty and versatile tray and you can change out the paper or fabric under the glass to suit you occassion!

I LOVE hydrangeas! Just when I think I love pink ones or periwinkle ones best, I see white ones and fall in love again.  I couldn't resist these at Costco yesterday.  With these on one's table, one can almost believe that Spring actually will come someday!