Anniversary trip to La Connor and Anacotras Courtesy of Tara, Tammy, Tory and Imani

Day 1, Part 1

Thanks  to our children, Scott and I took a trip to LaConnor and Anacortas, staying at the Swinomish Casino and Lodge. Our first stop on our journey was at the Quilt and Fiber Arts Museum in LaConnor situated in the Ganches Mansion. The three floor Victorian Mansion displayed a different collection on each floor.

Photo by Scott Biles

Since no photos are allowed in the museum, I will share three from the museum brochure. My main purpose in going to the museum was to see the Hartsfield Quilt Collection, a collection that dates back to the early 1850’s. The oldest quilt in the collection was created by Ms. Molly from Whitlock, Tennessee. She was a slave and the seamstress for the plantation’s master. She had two children by her owner. One son, Richard Caldwell who was 9 years old when he became a free person, kept his mother’s quilts and passed them down to his son Philip. The collection was added to through the years by other members of the Caldwell-Hartsfield family and eventually came to Jim Tharpe, who is sharing these treasured pieces and their stories with the public. The one quilt on display created by Ms. Molly was a partial piece of a hexagon quilt made from scraps of fabric from her masters quilts and clothing.. It was originally totally pieced and quilted by hand. 

Nine patch Quilt from the Collection. Image from the Museum Brochure. This is not the quilt on display created by Ms. Molly.

An unexpected pleasure was finding the Mola Collection sponsored by Glenys Baker. "Mola, which originally meant bird plumage, is the Guna Indian word for clothing, specifically blouse, and the word mola has come to mean the elaborate embroidered panels that make up the front and back of a Guna woman’s traditional blouse.The Guna have been making their art works for over centuries now and are pretty skilled in it. Because they where a nomad tribe back in the days they did not make much art in forms like statues or buildings but they did decorate themselves with their artworks.

These days you can buy Molas in Panama or Colombia; it is not allowed to sell Molas outside these countries because they are of cultural heritage and the Guna’s forbid it." (From the Fiber Arts and Museum Brochure) 

One of the Molas from the Collection. Image from the museum Brochure

The first floor housed a multimedium collection from the San Juan County Textile Guild.

We both enjoyed seeing the collections. There were many take aways for both of us. Scott's main take away of the Hartsfield collection is that the quilts survived. I concur. Family's do not often keep quilts. Quilts can often be found in charitable stores or landfills. I am also amazed that women of the past made quilts for utilitarian purposes. They used scraps from old clothing, leftover fabric, and scrap donations from family and friends. They were not made with the beautiful fabrics we purchase specifically for quilts today. Beauty was a secondary outcome. Many of the quilts were torn or fixed, but they have stood the test of time.

Knitting Update

Every December I participate in a knitting project called Project Peace led Christina Campbell. In November, she posts a pattern available for purchase in Ravelry. It is not a mystery. The materials list is available early. Then the pattern goes live on December 1st. For the first 10 days in December, Christina emails participants  something to ponder/meditate/think about regarding peace, especially peace in one's life. The project culminates on December 21st, international knit for peace day. This years project was a cowl. I have done this since its inception. I find it relaxing and a calming effect during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Participants can also add a walk for peace portion to their experience, thus increasing health and building healthy habits. Here is my finished project.

I love the colors and flow. The yarn is marino wool,.I plan to make fingerless mitts to match. 

This is part of my series in supporting local women and businesses. The first blog is about nails. I did a new set of nails this week using color strips. At first I was hesitant, but as I started actually using the product I grew to love it. I purchase them from Chelsea over at Manis with Chelsea on Facebook. You can find her link to the right.

Chelsea introduces herself as "a stay at home mom. I have Marcus 11, Brody 8 and Torryn 4. I call them the wild bunch. Marcus was diagnosed with leukemia on 04/17/17, 2 days before his 10th birthday. We've been through horrible tough times but Marcus is a fighter and he is doing great! He's been in remission since May 2017! He still has a long journey ahead though. He is estimated to end chemo treatment in August of 2020. I can't wait for it! I started selling Color Street because first off I am absolutely passionate about it. After my first sample and first manicure I did myself with Color Street I was hooked! It's affordable, it's easy to apply and there are great styles. What isn't to love about it! Second I knew with Marcus being sick I wouldn't be able to go to a job. There are way too many hospital stays, physical therapy appointments and chemo appointments. A job isn't realistic right now. I knew I had to make some money though to help my husband out. Color Street was a perfect fit for my life and what I needed! Please feel free to ask anything! I hope you all will love the product as much as I do! Thank you for your support!

These are Connes-fetti over Manchester Mauve. So much fun, easy and gorgeous, don't you think?  And I can get four nail changes for the cost of one manicure. Now don't get me wrong. Occasionally I need a professional manicure and pedicure to clean up my nails. But in between I has a fabulous time playing with color. The strips last 2+ weeks without chipping and are so easy to apply!

My Pierce County Clothing and Textile group purchases dolls and makes and purchases clothing and accessories for foster children. Bought these dolls, Ella, Madison and Paige,at JoAnn's today with money provided by Starr K. The start for Christmas 2019 donations.

While at JoAnn's I scored on some art projects for my granddaughter. $9.00 for all. 75% off plus another 20% 4H coupon. I get that discount because I occasionally help with 4H sewing.  There is a decorated Christmas tree, three ornaments and some postcards. I'mani will have fun making these. She loves arts and crafts.

This month I am embarking on a new adventure. I am resurrecting my love for crazy quilting by participating in Take a Stitch Tuesday (TAST).https://pintangle.com/tast-faq/

Every week she gives a new stitch to master. Never one to just practice and not create a project, I am creating crazy stitch quilt blocks. Not sure of the final project yet. Here are my first blocks. I found the heart partially completed, so now I will finish it too. Since I have some background in embroidery and crazy quilting, I may also try the advanced stitch of the week. This lasts 52 weeks with a couple of planned catch up weeks. The square is called a naked block.

I will post pictures of the completed stitches.

In early November I decided I needed some fairly quick, inexpensive gifts to have on hand. I purchased this yarn at JoAnn's on close-out for $3.00 a skein. The yarn is wool, mohair and silk. These are the ones left over. They will be put away for future giftie needs.

During  December 2018 I participated in knitting for peace for the third year. This is an event that starts on December first and culminates on December 21, This years  project was a cowl with purl rib and flying geese sections. Of course I had to make the longer cowl, so 350+ stitches were cast  on. I restarted five times because I always ended up with a twist. On the fifth cast on, I left the twist as a design element. One year I gifted the finished project to my daughter Tara and the next my sister Nancy was the recipient. I will keep this one. It should go well with jeans. Here is my finished project. It is a soft merino wool.

I went to my daughter's mother-in-laws house for Christmas dinner. One of the other guests admired my scarf, so I gave it to her at the end of the night. It was a pink cloth scarf. I decided I needed a new pink scarf, so I made myself one from the $3.00 a skein of wool, mohair and silk purchased at JoAnn's. 

Now I am working on the special wool purchased at Tolt Yarn. Excited to see it progress.

Field Trip

Mr. B and I often go for rides just to get out of the house. Today we drove to Carnation, Washington to the Tolt Yarn Shop. Of course, I cannot walk into a yarn shop without making a purchase. Today's purchase was some super soft Marino wool, a pattern and ornaments.

This will be a gift.
I have two scarves to finish. This will be my next project. Mr. B is Such an enabler.