Starting a new month...home from vacation...with many thanks to Lynn Johnson, Director of the Lewiston Library, here in Lewiston...I was honored to be featured as a Local Artist for the 3 months of the Summer of 2026!!!

Now my quilts are all home and hanging in some of their regular places...The third one below, far right, is the newest for America 250th...will be entered into our fair later this month....

We just got back from spending a week in Gleneden, Oregon, right on the beach!!!!

I just love taking pictures of the sun on the water...a phrase I once heard, when the sea wears diamonds...love that!!!!

For the start of our week, we had beautiful blue skies, white puffy "real" clouds and sunshine!!! we were south of Tillamook and north of Newport. 

We stayed at the Worldmark on Gleneden Beach...

Our view from the room, dead center of the building...wonderful sunsets!!!

Some tourists, took our picture at Tillamook!!! 

One day we drove south as far as Waldport, Oregon! The coast is just so beatiful...

Then I found a wonderful fabric shop...of course!!!! Quilter's Cove had the most beautiful fabrics...

These two pictures are the same fabrics...but the bottom one is more true to the actual colors of the fabrics...

We had a pretty full day at the Oregon State Fair, in Salem, planned by Sandy. Lots of beautiful quilts there, plus WAY too much food...and a huge grounds of over 160 acres!!! Fortuanately, as I got too tired to walk all the way back to the car, Sandy got one of the employees to call for a golf cart...they were all over the place taking people back to their cars...so glad the next day it rained all day. Rested and Relaxed in our room!!! 

As we checked out of our room on Friday, we headed north into Washington, for a couple more surprises by Sandy!!!

I have always wanted to stop by Shipwreck Beads...came close one year, but they would have been closed by the time we could get there...due to traffic out of Portland.  So this time we had plenty of time to get there, and came up the whole coast of Oregon into Washington with no traffic back-ups!!!

Sandy said take your time...he wanted to go to the nearest hardware store. So off he went!!!

The place was huge, now in a industrial complex...the people were supper friendly and helpful! The whole back of the store, is inventory!!!!

One of the ladies, has put my email in for an alert, should these beads come in...which she thinks they used to have...

You can see I used a green one in the upper corner of the sky...I just love them, have only a few left and have been trying to find more...if anyone finds a source let me know!!!!

Then we went to the Washington State Fair, touted to be the tenth largest in our country!!!! A finny thing happened when we got there....we had to drive around the whole complex where parking  was available near the rides...but we don't usually do the rides. So we kept driving through neighborhoods, that had parking availble in their yards, most at $15 for the day...we kept driving around, till we came up to the block just across the street from the entrance gate. And there was a small parking lot right there...for $30 for the day. We looked at each other...and knowing I get tired of walking with my cane long distances...we said we would take it. So we paid and parked the car...and walked across the street to the entrance gate of the fair.

We walked up to the window, with no line!!!! And gulped when we saw the tickets for seniors was $14 each...but oh well.  (Now, I should tell you that Sandy wears a Viet Nam Veterans hat!) She looked at his hat and waved us in!!! Wait, wife too?! Yes, their first day of the fair is free for Veterans and their wives!!!!!! Well that paid for parking!!! Thank you, Lord!!!

We headed upstairs in the Huge Pavilion for the quilt display!!! Wow, we spent over an hour just in this room...the employees were so friendly, tooked time to talk to you. I met one whose husband had been stationed in Japan, but Tachikawa Base name had been changed by the time  they were there.

Lots of beautiful and well done quilts...loved the jelly fish one, and then the Galaxy one.

And the only "crazy quilt" I found was this one. For me, I was missing all the embroidery stitching that we typically do on crazy quilts! But, she did get a blue ribbon!!!

On my Flickr site, I have an album dedicated to crazy quilts I find on my travels!!!

Go to my site, and look at this album of Antique Crazy Quilts!

As always, thanks for visiting. If you want to be kept aware, you can add your email to the list of followers, no junk emails will ever by sent to you....

Happy Stitching!!!

BJ Sandusky

 Sew Crazy For You!!

 

                                               

             June is fast disappearing!!!    But what a great month!

             I am honored to be a  Featured Artist at our 

              Lewiston local library    for the whole summer!

They have graciously put on display 59 pieces of my artwork. Some

are hung on walls, some are on stands in cubby boxes. Some are

in a glass class where wondering hands can't touch!

On July 29th I will be doing a special presentation. A little on history

of Crazy Quilts, my passion.   I will have two antique crazy quilts with me.

But the big surprise will be, my large 2020Challenge, His Love Story

In the Stars Quilt. It will hang on a stand with wheels, so I can turn it 

around and show the back. My hubby will have to help me cart it 

in to the library!!!

I will have a sign-in book, free pens, some handouts for the guests.

 

 

And that's not all the good news for this month!!! 

Remember the 2020Challenge by Sharon Boggon? 

I have just published my story of my 2020Challenge Crazy Quilt,

His Love Story in the Stars!

You can see in the upper left corner of my blog, a link to go to which enables

you to buy your very own copy. For all who participated in this

challenge, and some still working on theirs, you know this was a

huge effort. Not only was it the biggest quilt I ever made, but also with the 

goal of 2,020 unique embellishments! Well, I am pleased to say that

my total count is 3,865!!!! Good thing I kept a notebook journal of

my progress.  

So I thank you in advance for any who go to purchase my magazine. https://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/3355119?__r=307630

You will help encourage me to write another one maybe next year!!!

Last weekend, for my birthday, which was on Sunday, Father's Day, 

Sandy surprised me with a day trip to Dayton, Washington on 

Saturday. It was hot and windy, but we had a great time.

Well over 200 classic cars to admire and yes we saw some we have 

had in the past. Old trucks, a Corvair, an Impala and even we had

as our last car, a Town Car like the one pictured, only ours was green.

Our car now is another Town Car, which is getting close to 20 years

old...almost a classic itself!!!

But for me,  the best was finding a brand new Quilt store, having their 

Grand Opening!!!!          Dayton Quilt Co. 

Amy, the owner, was just the most out-going and friendly person to meet.

Their web site is: www.daytonquilts.com 

Here's some of the fabrics I bought:

Found this glass basket at a garage sale. 

So, I think that's enough excitement for one month. I will 

do a post next month after my presentation. We bring the

quilts home on August 27th.  I have also been asked to do a

presentation/trunk show for my local guild in September.

And of course, September is fair month, and I better get busy

if I want to enter something!!!!

Thanks as always for visiting my blog. A little longer than my

 usual, but so many fun things to share.

Have a great summer....and Happy Stitching

BJ Sandusky

https://www.flickr.com/photos/60882932@N06/

   

Exciting news today in my crazy quilt world!!! In our local Lewiston Library I have an opportunity to showcase 49 pieces of my artwork! It not only happens to be the year of the Library's 125th year, but America's 250th Anniversary!!!  Earlier this year, Lynn the director at the library suggested I should do a piece on the 250th....and of course I couldn't resist!!! The fabric tabs at the top, is called Starts and Stripes!

 

This is the back panel!

When I did the presentation last summer, we were targeting April, but it would be only two months. Then earlier this year, Lynn said let's move it to the summer months, for three months!!!!

Sandy helped me take in four suitcases and a couple tote bags to layout on their tables. Their were two gentlemen who immediately started pulling from the tables what they wanted where. Instead of keeping themes together they went with playing colors off each other. One of the men is an art teacher!

Enclosed in an glass case, are some smaller items.

Some of the smaller pieces, were stood up against a bookend, above the shelves out of reach of young hands!

My first pictures posted on Facebook, didn't have the identifier tags, but they did get listed.

Titles, dates when made and mixed media, crazy quilted.

My very first Under the Sea (UTS) that I learned to do in Judith Baker Montano's class in her home studio.

 A total of 49 pieces of artwork are on display...98% are all ribboned from one fair or another over the 29 years!

I will be doing a presentation on July 29th...and Sandy has talked me into describing my 2020 Challenge!

"HIS LOVE STORY IN THE STARS"

Started on this project, as a challenge from Sharon Boggon in June of 2017!

I will do part of my presentation on how I made this quilt. If you still would like a copy of the Crazy Quilt Magazine about this piece: it is a print on demand, Just click on the highlight above.

I will have 2 or 3 projects in the Lewiston fair in September again. You will have to wait for the post on those! And I also will be doing a trunk show for our local Seaport Guild in late September!!

So Excited....so Grateful!!!

As always Happy Stitching...and be sure to check out my Flickr site too for more pictures, up close!

BJ Sandusky