Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Hawaii Revisited

When I'm not busy with my beads, lately I've been spending some time on another passion of mine -- quilting.  Nearly ten years ago when my husband and I visited Kauai, I purchased the pattern and raw materials for a Hawaiian quilt that captured some of the beauty of the flowers of Hawaii.  Until recently I haven't been able to devote the time to working on it; but now it is progressing nicely.  Take a look. 



It still needs more quilting of the flowers and of course the edge binding, but I'm pretty happy with how it is turning out.

I've never really attempted quilting on this scale before, so I'm taking it pretty slow.  I'll be sure to post a pic of it when it's completed.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Fun in Florence

Don't you love to just happen upon a great, unexpected find?

I sure do and such was the case for me a few weeks ago while vacationing around coastal Oregon.  Anywhere and any day near the ocean is a day in heaven for me, but after a great lunch at Mo's Seafood down in old town (gotta love that clam chowder!), an even greater plus was my stop in at Waterlily Studio in Florence, Oregon on Highway 101.

This local bead store shares a building with a dive business, but the vibe in the bead studio is all creativity and friendliness.  The owner greeted me warmly and encouraged me to take my time exploring.

Seems she used to have a 10 x 10 booth elsewhere in town but had recently expanded into a full-size store and is growing her inventory.  Having moved to Florence, Oregon from San Diego, California in search of a slower pace of life and "better weather" (but how much better can you get than San Diego?), she also made the choice based on a family illness.

I can tell you that her store is a welcome addition to the coastal area.  Taking nothing away from Sweet Creek (another fine local bead store in Florence), I enjoyed my time exploring the wide variety of offerings.

I made a small purchase, including some ocean/sea feeling beads and some Lucite flowers.  My purchase was placed in a small fabric bag tied with a ribbon and of course, there's no sales tax in Oregon.  Next trip up to Florence, I'll definitely return to Waterlily again.