Pickled Beets

My husband and I love pickled beets. Living in Alaska for so long meant buying them in a can at the grocery story. They really don't taste like the home canned ones. Last week my Mom and I purchased 50 pounds of beets for $20. What a deal. Earlier this week we canned 57 pints of beets. She had a great recipe that doesn't require a water bath so that saved time. It was quite a process but we had a system down and they're beautiful besides tasting good.

My husband Ron and I spent a wonderful weekend in Central Oregon near Bend celebrating our 41st anniversary. It was a fun get away. During out stay, besides our great anniversary dinner, we had breakfast with some Ketchikan friends, Diane and Allyn Haynes who live in Sunriver. We also had lunch with Ron's aunt and uncle Bob and Norma Harper. It was a fun time being just us and also visiting friends and family.

This weekend is a camping trip with our son Ian, Bethany and 9 month old grandson Oren. We haven't camped in a long time and we will be on the ground in a tent. Hopefully our "older" bodies can take it. The weather forcast is calling for a little rain but it will be a fun adventure.

Today is a sewing day! I have so many projects, it's hard to decide where to start, but it's time to get busy. Happy Quilting!

Blocking a Quilt

When I talked about doing a blog it was recommended to me to write about twice a week. Obviously I have been remiss about doing just that. I can't believe where the time goes. Writing the blog definitely needs to be on a regular to-do list.

The last few weeks have been full of scheduling classes and getting the class requirements and samples to the shops, some driven and some in the mail to Washington and California.

Before I could mail a Rising Sun quilt it desperately needed blocked. It was quite lumpy. I followed directions by the famous machine quilter, Diane Gaudynski. I let the quilt soak in the washing machine in cold water, spun it dry on the delicate cycle; Filled the washer full with luke warm water and a little dissolved quilt soap. It ran through a whole delicate cycle. I carefully lifted it out of the washing machine, supporting the weight so it wouldn't put stress on the wet quilt, then spread it out flat in a prepared area. I'd put a bed sheet and plastic garbage bags down on a carpeted floor out of the way of people and pets. I shaped it using a large square ruler for the corners, made sure any borders were straight and patted it down anywhere it wasn't flat. I closed the door and let it dry. It came out amazingly flat and ready for a wall or show. The two quilts I've done have come out perfect without that "washed" look. I think by drying them flat instead of in the dryer helps to keep them looking new.

Pictured is a miniature pinapple quilt that I machine quilted and blocked. The blocking set the quilting and made it lie perfectly flat.

Today is a busy day of household chores and not much quilting. Boohoo!

Have a great day. Happy Quilting!

A Productive Day

I actually spent part of yesterday sewing in my sewing room. It seems life gets busy and that's the last thing I get to do. I have two quilts ready for the machine quilter and am working on a third. One is a class sample and the other a "belated" wedding gift. I'm envious of those people who have the wedding quilt done by the wedding and the baby quilt ready before the baby is a toddler. Way to go!

Part of yesterday was spent helping two friends pick out fabrics for their first quilts. Fun and exciting helping new quilters. Watch out the quilting bug is alive and well!

Today is a playday. I'm going to the Oregon Garden with two high school friends. The Oregon Garden, near Silverton, Oregon, is a beautiful outdoor garden with paths to enjoy all the flowers. The weather has cooled and it should be a fun day.

Wishing you a wonderful day full of the things you enjoy!

Trying to stay cool!

Boy the weather has been hot. I think it's hit 100 over the last few days. I so appreciate my air conditioned house. Fortunately Oregon doesn't get that often. I feel for those people in the southeast part of the United States who are so hot and not just for a few days.

I finished the pillow to be donated to the Give a Little Foundation for their auction. Doing the stitching is fun. It's hard to say "whoa" when you're on a roll and can add just a few more colonial knots here or lazy daisy stitches there. It's fun, creative, relaxing and I love the way they turn out. I'd love to make a whole quilt someday.

I spent a few days last week in the Seattle area visiting my son and family. Love the grandson time. Nathan is 11 and Aidan 9. They are fun to hang out with and listen to. They're at a busy age. Nathan broke his arm being hit by a pitch earlier in the summer so that gained a little time with him  not playing baseball and taking golf lessons.

Yesterday was a reunion in McMinnville, Oregon of people who used to live in Ketchikan, Alaska. It was a first attempt so there were 13 of us. Fun time visiting there then 9 came to our house for hamburgers. It's fun talking about old times, people we knew and  how much we loved Alaska. A part of our life we so treasure.

The best to you all. Enjoy what's left of the summer and stay cool!

Crazy Quilting

I've been working on a crazy quilt pillow. It's a donation for the Give a Little Foundation which is a non-profit organization that assists residents of Yamhill County in Oregon, who find themselves in a financial crisis. I've done a few crazy quilt projects and forget how much I enjoy it. I find it very creative and it's hard to stop adding stitches. The title of the fundraiser is Amazing Lace. The organizers are displaying a lace collection from 1600-1900.That will be fun to see.

We had a busy weekend with a Gelbrich family BBQ on Saturday with 25 attending and a PEO BBQ on Sunday with 21 attending. They just happened to fall on the same weekend and it didn't work to change either one. I took a nap on Monday!

I entered a quilt in the local county fair. It didn't even win a ribbon. I got notification yesterday that my quilt was accepted in the AQS Des Moines show. I felt better about not winning a fair ribbon.

My Mom isn't doing well. Seems to be running a fever with some sort of infection. She went through a lot of tests yesterday so hopefully they'll find the cause and get her on the mend.

Hope you're all doing well. Happy Quilting..Peggy

Oh my! Where has time gone.

I can't believe how time slips away. I'm sorry I've been so absent. Summers are a slower teaching time, so time to get other things done. I've rearranged cupboards. We moved into our new home a year ago and after shoving things into place I'm amazed at how much space I've found by being more organized. There are always things that aren't really needed so that meant several trips to the 2nd hand store to donate. Not in my sewing room of course. Anything I find that I don't need there goes to my Aunt Willie who lives just up the road and is also a quilter.

I've been working on a class sample that I'll be teaching at the Ocean Waves Quilt Camp in October. The camp is very fun. It's held at the Friends Church Camp in Rockaway, Oregon. Attendance is around 100 students who have many classes to choose from or just sewing in study hall. Classes are offered by six teachers so there's something for everyone. The camp is put on by Jane's Fabric Patch in Tillamook, Oregon.

Oh...here is the center of my class sample, Pinwheels Left and Right. It has some different tricks and techniques and fun and easy to make. Once it is sewn together it will also have a pieced border. This is my second sample which I like much better than the first. Some quilt ideas take more fiddling than others.

I've also had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with my new grandson, Oren. He was 7 months old yesterday. Here is a picture of Oren and my son Ian. Ian and his wife Bethany are both architechs. Ian designed our beautiful home and gave us a beautiful grandson.

It's a beautiful morning and it's time to walk the dogs. Our year-old springer, Reggie, gets very antsy if he doesn't use up some of  his excess energy. It's good for me too. A morning walk in the woods is good for the soul. Happy Quilting!

Home from Quilt Colorado

Colordo is a beautiful place. The quilt conference was very well organized and successful. I met great quilters from Colorado as well as a few from other states, including New York.  The classes were held in Estes Park, the gateway to the Rocky Mountain National Park. I was fortunate to be driven into the park one evening where I experienced amazing scenery and wildlife. Pictured below is a Montana Cartwheel class. Great students! With all the quilters, sewing machines and irons the classroom became very warm, but we all survived.

I'm home for a few weeks. Time to get some new class quilts completed and do some yard work. It's been very cool and cloudy here in Oregon. The weather has finally turned warm so I think summer may be on the way.

Happy Quilting to you all!

Quilt Colorado

I'll be leaving early in the morning for the Portland Airport to fly to Denver, Colorado then by car to Estes Park where Quilt Colorado will be held. This is my second time to Denver, first to Estes Park. I've been drinking water like crazy to help prevent altitude sickness. I hope it works. I'll be teaching three classes. Thursday is Hunter's Star (pictured), Friday, Montana Cartwheel and Saturday is Diamonds and Arrowheads. I'm rooming with Karla Alexander. Even though we're both from Oregon, we've never met but I hear she's a wonderful teacher. She has five books including "Stack and Deck" and "Stack a New Deck." The trip to Colorado will be fun and I'll be home on Sunday, just in time to take my husband out to dinner for Father's Day.  Happy Quilting!!

This week we celebrated one year in our new home. We are much more settled now than a year ago and the yard looks a lot better. I've heard summer is coming tomorrow with 80 degree weather. I'm sure what we've planted will enjoy the warmth.

I had the opportunity to teach for a group in Tigard, Oregon this week. A very nice group of 11 ladies from several groups brought together by my friend Bonnie. They wanted to learn how to paper piece with freezer paper. It's a great technique where you never sew through the paper so there's no paper to tear away and the pattern is reusable. Here is the pattern they learned. I ran out of fabric for the border and found it this week so the border is yet to come... I'm  thinking a pieced or appliqued border. It's a fun block to make. I struggle with naming quilts so right now it's Whirligig or Giggling Whirl...who knows. Maybe something will hit me. So when I get it completed, a class and pattern to come.  

Here are my grandsons. Aidan 8, Oren, 6 mo. and Nathan 11. Aren't they adorable. I'm in love with them! Being a Grandma or Nannie as I am is a wonderful job!

I love strawberries. After 22 years in Alaska, with fabulous seafood but berries that had been shipped from who knows where, good ripe Oregon strawberries are heavenly. So far this season I've made 4 strawberry pies. I wish I had a picture but I guess the pies have been eaten before a picture could be taken. They are a wonderful treat; one of our favorites. Here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Gala Strawberry Pie

(Reprinted from the Portland’s Palate Cookbook)
One 10-inch baked pie shell
1 cup whipping cream
1 (8-ounce) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1-1/2 c. granulated sugar, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water
1 cup fresh strawberries, mashed
4 cups whole strawberries for garnish
In a small mixing bowl, whip cream. Set aside. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream and beat lightly by hand. Spoon into baked pie shell. In a medium saucepan, combine remaining 1 cup sugar and cornstarch. Mix in water and mashed berries. Over high heat, bring to a boil, stirring constantly until mixture begins to thicken, about 1 minute. Let cool. Arrange whole berries on top of cheese mixture, then spoon on berry topping. Refrigerate 3-4 hours. Garnish with additional strawberries

Work in progress

Hello, I've had a week at home working on quilting projects. What a nice treat. Of course that's between cleaning house, laundry, cooking and walking the dogs, Josey, an 8 year old West Highland Terrier and Reggie, a one year old Springer Spaniel but still time to sew.

A couple quilts that I'm just finishing with binding are a Storm at Sea and a Pickle Dish. The Storm at Sea was a class request from a retreat where I teach in Rockaway, Oregon, the Ocean Waves Quilt Camp. It's made using a new ruler set by Wendy Mathson by C&T Publishing. The units are oversized and trimmed down and it goes together beautifully. It was fun to collect the fabric and fun to make. The Pickle Dish has been on my "list". You know that list of quilts you want to make in your lifetime. I'm a traditional quilter so still get excited about old traditional patterns.

I purchased a packet of purple and lime green batiks several years ago. It was beautiful to look at and one day I thought a purple pickle dish...green for the pickle and it all came together. Of course I collected enough purple and limey green batik to make a king sized but thought a wall hanging was a better class size so students didn't feel overwhelmed and could choose to make larger if they'd like. I used the Marti Michell Double Wedding Ring templates set which inlucdes a paper pieced arc for the points. I use freezer paper to paper piece so there is no paper to tear out of the seams.....so much easier and timesaving.

Both were fun quilts to make. I'm now sewing down the  binding and have both quilts scheduled to teach. Both workshops in Canby, Oregon at Canby Quilts and Fabrics and in Washington in November. If you're interested where I'm teaching and what class my website has just been updated. Check my schedule at http://www.yellowhousequilter.com/.

I want to thank Terri of the Northwind Quilters in Cordova, Alaska for her encouragement in doing a blog. She was so helpful with lots of suggestions. I visited and taught for the guild in April. What a treat to meet the members of the guild and to visit Cordova. What a beautiful place. Check out the Northwind Quilter's blog http://www.cordovanorthwindquilters.blogspot.com/.  They've posted pictures of the quilts they're working on as well as pictures of the classes. Cece has done an amazing job on her Montana Cartwheel. It's beautiful.

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Happy Quilting!

Hello

I'm Peggy Gelbrich. I have been contemplating this blog for quite some time, trying to deciding what to say. So here goes......... I am a wife to Ron, for 40 years. I am the Mom of Travis 38, Ian 34 and Allison 29. I am Nannie to Nathan 10, Aidan 8 and Oren 5 months.

I have been a quilter for about 35 years. I have been a quilt teacher for about 25 years, full time in the last ten years. I am the sole proprietor of Yellow House Quilter, http://www.yellowhousequilter.com/. I've been asked, why Yellow House Quilter. In 2002 we moved from Ketchikan, Alaska to Vader, Washington and purchased a large yellow house and that is where my business began...so that is how the name began.

I now live near Yamhill, Oregon where I grew up. My husband and I moved into a new home about a year ago. Our son, Ian, is an architect and designed us a beautiful house that sits on 15 acres, land that I walked on as a kid. I've really come back to my roots.

Teaching quilt making is a true love. Sharing what I've learned with others makes my day. I've been very fortunate to have met and taught many quilters from Alaska to California, Utah and Idaho. Next month I'm headed to Quilt Colorado in Estes Park, Colorado. Can't wait.

We'll I've rambled on;  more later. Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day, hopefully with a few stitches sewn.