Portland's Secret Garden

Let me begin by saying that Portland has MANY beautiful Gardens, but because of the "hidden" location of this one, it's known as the Secret Garden. It is located at the end of a gracious established neighborhood street in the Dunthorpe section of Portland. The Gardens overlook the Williamette River.

On a day that sunny, had the absence of rain, I dashed out to take some pictures of this beautiful place.

I had never taken he time to really explore the paths in this English style garden and it was really enchanting (OK-I know that's an old fashioned, corny word, but that's who I am).

As you can see, moss grows abundantly in this neck of the woods.

There were numerous stairs to climb and paths to walk...

...and in case you are wondering, I took the low road.

This was the original home on the property. It was bequeathed to the Episcopal Diocese many years ago so the official name of the gardens is "Elk Rock Garden of the Bishop's Close". I hope you have enjoyed the tour. See you again soon!  -Derrith

Laundry Room Make-Over Part One

Today I wanted to give you a sneak peek at some of the elements I am working on for my Laundry Room make-over. Since this room has been neglected for the 25 years we have lived in our home, pretty much anything would be an improvement. I want to make it bright and pretty and as usual I have been inspired by Sarah Richardson's style. I just finished this chalkboard, but it will be the only dark thing in the room.

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This is my color palette. The walls will be a softer version of the minty color. The top two fabrics are for the curtains and the bottom you will see below. I painted some clothes pins for fun and collected a few other accessories.

I covered an ironing board with the third fabric. I will save the rest for the big reveal, which may not come as soon as I had hoped as Gary and I can't agree on the new floor. :-)  I'm so glad you stopped by for a minute today. We have steady rain here in the NW this week. I hope the sun is shining on you wherever you are, friends.  -Derrith

More from Barb's Gallery

In today's post I'm going to show you some of my friend Barb's wall hangings and table runners. This chicken one is SO FUN! In the tree, Barb added several little machine embroidered apples.

I love this one as well - simple, peaceful and charming.

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This was a panel she embellished with great results.

This one has a fun story. Barb made a crossword quilt spelling our all the things she loves. Her grand children said "Where's Grandpa?" so she hid a picture of her husband, Richard in the print fabric, named the quilt "Where's Grandpa" and it became a fun treasure hunt game every time the children came over!

This wall hanging she designed also has a message of sorts. It hangs above the coat closet as you enter her house and each block represents a part of her and Richard's life.

Here's another cute runner. I've always admired her choices of fabrics and of course her skill at just about anything quilt related. I'm saving the best for last...soon I will showcase many of her full sized quilts and they are really spectacular. Thanks so much for visiting today. Love, Derrith

5 Blocks Down, 2 To Go

Just got one more block done on my fall quilt. Only two more small ones to go and it will be time for the borders. It's funny how I am not as excited about it when I am thinking about Spring!

Speaking of spring, the daffodils are out in my yard and my neighbor's yards and I love to see their cheerful little faces!

I had to share this fun graphic that Bev posted over at 44th St. Fabric. (see link on side bar) It was so funny and so true!  Well, I hope it is a bright, sunny day where you are! Love, Derrith

Quilt Group March Madness



Our merry band met last Tuesday and laughed and ate and sewed-our three favorite things to do! For "show and tell", Darlene showed us these three sharp looking bags she had made.

Her machine embroidery work is simply amazing. These are small black felt (or flannel?) bags with a crisp white zipper. We all went crazy for them.

Jayna's spring runner was adorable. We are all so ready for spring.

This is also Jayna's. It is a darling wool applique halloween themed table topper.

Here is a close up of the fun detail.

Here is Margy with the beautiful tapestry bag she made. Enlarge the picture so you can see the machine embroidered detail on the red corners!

Another great idea from Margy...perfect for someone going off to college or, as in this case, a boy leaving for his mission.

Anita made this eye popping quilt with colorful batiks - very cool.

This cute bag was also Anita's (and it's reversable!) I'm glad you stopped by today. A shout out to our "mermaid girl" - We miss you still!

  I hope to see you again soon. -Derrith

Spotlight on Barb

Today I want you to meet my wonderful friend, Barb Perkins and see some of her amazing work. Barb is the founder and leader of our quilting group, "Sisters'n'Stitches".  Over the last year, I have been highlighting some of the studios and quilts made by members of our group, and now it is Barb's turn. She has made so many stunning quilts, that it will take a few more posts to show you, but I wanted to start with this quilt because I love it so much.

I'm going to show you different sections of the quilt so you can appreciate the precise applique and wonderful detail work. This was actually several blocks joined together, but you wouldn't really notice that to see the whole panorama.

She has embellished it with silk ribbon embroidery. Can you see the little flowers the sheep are grazing on? Each one is a silk ribbon flower!

I love the colors in this quilt also. If you can enlarge this picture, please do so you can see the silk ribbon bees flying around the beehive.

I LOVE the bunnies!

Can you see the graveyard next to the church? Each little gravestone has embroidered flowers on it. Amazing!

Notice the boy in the tree and the birds on the branch.

All the leaves on the tree are silk ribbon.Such patience!

Here she is! Our very talented and generous leader, Barb has always shared her talents with those who want to learn how to sew and quilt. She had introduced the joy of quilting to many women and girls in our area.  She is in her studio...a VERY neat and organized place!

This darling quilt hangs in her sewing room. I love the vintage-y fabrics with the Mary Englebreit panel.

Her international thimble collection is displayed on the wall.

In the tall bookcase, she had dozens of notebooks with patterns and projects. In the foreground, you can see her Super Duper sewing machine. She does beautiful machine embroidery in addition to hand work.

A portion of her stash. I have many more amazing quilts to show you in the next few weeks, so please visit again. Thanks so much for stopping by. -Derrith

Apron Day

I've been working on a few projects and one of them was this apron I made for a fund- raising church auction.

I had four co-ordinating fabrics to play with in an attempt to produce a contemporary looking apron. I am also working on a Make-0ver for my laundry room which it turning out to be pretty fun and I will share pics of that next week. I will be back soon, so I hope you will be too. Thanks for visiting! -Derrith