Getting Fabric for the Map Quilt

Dear Liza,

Auntie Bridgett and I headed down to the Mill End Store in Milwaukie on Wednesday, to see if we could find fabric for your new quilt. The store is enormous, but most of what we needed were quilting cottons, and pretty close together.

We started with the background colors. A pattern called Shadowplay had just the right colors for the green and grey, and a nice variation. The blue in that collection was too bright, so we found a flat medium blue. To make it more interesting, I’m planning on doing lots of embroidery to give texture and shading.

After two hours, two energy bars and lots of looking, comparing, and deciding, we had our fabrics, as well as a fabric marking pen, some thread, and supplementary embroidery floss.

Fabric veteran Sally gave us lots of advice on how much yardage we would need. She also told us her rule: We need to bring the finished quilt back to visit. I warned her it may be a while!

When we got home, we had a well-deserved lunch and I got all the fabric pre-washed and pressed.

And this morning, with help from Molly and Moxie, I got the base layer pieces cut and laid out. Once my order of Pellon 805 (known to its friends as Wonder Under) comes in, I’ll give them their nice curvy shapes and join them up.

In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of things I need to figure out.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Fall in Laurelhurst Park

Dear Liza,

Our weather has turned wet and chilly here in Portland, just like it’s supposed to. The oaks, maples, and chestnuts are flamboyantly colorful while preparing to discard all their worldly goods and head for a well-deserved rest.

Heading out for a walk the other day, the gorgeous-ness hit me before I even reached the park! The pedestrian crossing sign fit right in with the bright leaves.

The paths through the park were shiny from the morning’s rain, and leaves were making little drifts around the trees. Our park ferns are hardy souls, and don’t disappear until we get a freeze.

The oaks by Firwood Lake got to be beautiful twice!

When the afternoon sun hits a curtain of leaves, they are backlit like stained glass windows, and it just blows me away.

Walking back through the neighborhood, we saw some stubborn zinnias who are trying to ignore Fall altogether,

and this tiny tableau of succulents, lichen and leaves under a log.

Getting all snuggled down for a nice long Winter. Enjoy!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Map Quilt Continues…

Dear Liza,

I’m still planning our map quilt of Horsens (with your suggestions) and I’m really happy with the design. Your color choices of rich, solid ‘Jewel tones’ will make a quilt as unique as you!

This is the almost-final layout, with everything in the right place, but some proportions a bit off. JR.’s icon should be smaller, the railroad station, a bit bigger. The colors are almost good, but the large grey swath is too dark.

Here are the icons on their own….

And of course, when transferring from the small paper drawing to an actual pattern, things can go wrong. Just taping all the newspapers together to make a 5.5 by 7.5 foot twin size was exhausting.

In this mock-up, I have corrected the sizes, so I can use these black shapes as patterns for the icons that will get ironed on.

But as you can see, the old church in the center has mysteriously shifted to the west of the Crooked Cauldron… sometimes my attention lapses. But actually, none of this is a problem until the time comes to iron fabric to fabric, so I’ll just be patient with myself and work slow.

Meanwhile, I’m getting a preview of what I need to buy and what it may add up to, using estimates from online shops. It will be interesting to see how accurate I am.

I’ll be going down to the Mill End Store next week to get the supplies, and I’ll let you know how that goes.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Saying Farewell to the Crows

Dear Liza,

There have been 30 oversized, beautifully painted crows scattered all over Portland this summer! In the woods, in front of the Art Museum, at City Hall…

You’d almost run into them coming around the corner! Lots of people have enjoyed, photographed, and chatted about them.

But now it’s time to say good-bye. The crows will all be moved to a warehouse to get any nicks repaired, and then will be auctioned off at Lewis and Clark College’s Agnes Flanagan Chapel to raise money for OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

But first, they were all gathered at Darcelle XV Plaza on SW Washington, and everyone in town (it seems) went to see them last Sunday. We hopped on the #15 and smooshed in, happy to see the ones we’d not been able to visit in the “wild”.

I even got to meet one of the local artists and her creation! This is Olivia Mount and her crow Emergence. Aren’t they pretty?

After we’d seen and photographed as many as we could, we had a walk through downtown Portland. It’s already getting dressed up for Christmas!

The joys of living in a big City, taken in moderation, are delightful!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Death at Dusk 2026

Dear Liza,

Last night was Halloween, and Auntie Bridgett and I spent it in one of our favorite places, the Lone Fir Cemetery. This year’s tour was called Death at Dusk, and ran from 2 PM until sunset at 6. Having the tour in daylight is less spooooky, to be sure, but allows us to NOT set up hundreds of lights, which saves a ton of work.

This year, Bridgett was helping Margaret and Perry sell all the wonderful “Friends of Lone Fir” tee shirts, hoodies, tote bags and maps . The sales generate income for the group to help maintain the cemetery. Bridgett had lots of fun chatting with folks and sold a bunch of things!

I was doing Tour Support, which is basically a backup for the Tour Guides. I walked along with the tour groups, trying to keep guests together and adding bits of trivia as we went. Having immersed myself in Lone Fir history for a few years, I know quite a few dead folks.

My Tour Guide was Anne, giving her first-ever tours. She was understandably nervous, but got through and was able to answer many of the questions folks had. On our second tour, later in the afternoon, Anne was more comfortable and able to include more details in her stories.

Besides meeting and talking to folks who love cemeteries, my favorite part of any tour is seeing Lone Fir at sunset. The setting sun backlights the leaves and makes them glow. The shadows get long and give the whole place a welcoming, comfortable feel.

I hope to be a Tour Guide next year, learning all the stories by heart and sharing them with folks. Maybe by then, you can come visit!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Meeting the New ‘Puppy‘

Dear Liza,

Cousin Kestrel has a new pet! His name is Ganache, he is a ball python, and he is adorable.

Since he is going to grow to be five feet long or so, Auntie Katie has rigged up a fine big terrarium for him. He eats a little frozen mouse about every ten days and is very cuddly and curious.

Ganache is still learning to be social, and everyone is patient and gentle with him, speaking softly and moving slowly.

I love how this little guy is so good at scooting around… wrapping around arms, just exploring the world….

And not too shy about personal space, either!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Next Map Quilt

Dear Liza,

Years ago, I made you a map of our neighborhood in Salinas. Every house on every street between the park, your house, the school, and my house, all done in fabric, felt and embroidery. It took a long time and I really liked it!

When your family moved to Denmark, I held on to the quilt, and returned it to you this past summer. Your Mom suggested a new quilt of your new neighborhood in Horsens. She may have been teasing, but the idea stuck, and…. Well, here we go again.

This will be a less exact depiction of your area, for a few reasons.

At a few miles long and a mile wide, your neighborhood has grown. Also, I want the quilt to highlight the parts of town that are important to you: Your schools, favorite café, hang-out spots, as well as your house and your dad’s boat.

But the design of the quilt isn’t the only thing that’s different.

Since you were just a baby when I made the first quilt, it was all my ideas. But now that you are 13, we are collaborating! Design, icons, color scheme… we are developing them together over hours of Zoom calls. It is such an adventure, seeing the changes as we go along.

I am really stretching myself with the techniques, as well. There will be piecing, appliqué, embroidery, and quilting to get all the images in.

I’ll soon be ready to go hunt for fabrics and other materials at the gigantic Mill End Store in the south part of Portland.

Wish me luck!

Love,

Grandma Judy

In Love with Dahlias

Dear Liza,

My Momma always loved dahlias, and when we lived in Southern California, the wonderful Descanso Gardens was only about an hour from our house. Every year about this time, she would see the other flowers in her garden fading, heave a big sigh, and say, “We should go visit Descanso Gardens.”

And we would.

Living in Portland, Descanso is a long way away. Fortunately, we have the Sunnyside Environmental School just a few blocks away, and they do dahlias very, very well.

In the late afternoon, with the sun slipping behind the trees and the soft shadows making everything glow, they all stood out, fairly begging to be photographed.

Momma would be so pleased.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Showing Support for Democracy

Dear Liza,

President Trump and his administration continue to work AGAINST our freedoms, and people all over the country are marching FOR our freedoms. This week, the marching was focused on how important it is to vote, and support others so that they can, too.

I am grateful we are still able to both march and vote.

This weekend here in Portland, there were neighborhood No Kings protests in the morning, with many of the folks converging downtown afterwards. I walked up to the Laurelhurst Theater at 28th and Burnside to wave at traffic and stand for our Democracy. Also, to take pictures of all these wonderful signs!

There were lots of people there, holding signs and waving, chatting, and listening to great music, like John Batiste’s “Freedom” and Woody Guthrie’s “All you Fascists Bound to Lose.” There were folks signing us up for quick response lists, in case a group of non-violent citizens is needed somewhere. We got lots of friendly honks and waves from the drivers heading by.

Once again, going out and supporting the things I believe in was reaffirming, frustrating, and exhausting. I didn’t go downtown because I was dead on my feet already and still had to walk home. But I had stood up while I could.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Anna Magruder’s Open Studio

Dear Liza,

Saturday was drizzly and cold, a proper Fall day in Portland. But Auntie Bridgett’s friend, artist Anna Magruder, was displaying her paintings in the garage of the SideStreet Gallery, so we put on jackets and headed up.

I love Anna’s paintings! She has a delightful, whimsical, surrealist style that keeps me looking, because I keep seeing something new.

Some of her big acrylic paintings seem to be proper portraits, and on closer inspection, show lizards, mushrooms, or other unexpected details. While we visited, Anna was working on a lady with Turkey Tail fungi as her hair.

But others have a dreamy look, like a thought that is not quite formed in your mind. I just love them.

Anna herself is a lot of fun, as well. We chatted and laughed for nearly two hours as she painted. Inside the Gallery, we found lots more to look at, including some Christmas presents for the Cousins and Auntie Katie.

All in all, a very satisfactory afternoon!

Love,

Grandma Judy