Summer is here and the river is arising!

Today was my first chance to get outside and take some pictures since the official arrival of Summer.

 We've had a very wet cold Spring but the gardens are looking very lush. It rained yesterday and overnight, but the sun is out right now.  The foxglove looks so pretty with the raindrops on it.

 In Rita's garden a few of her poppies are still blooming.  Last week her had a gorgeous display of peach ones, but it was a downpour on the weekend and I missed taking pictures.

 This guy is one of the few remaining peach ones, love the curve of the stem and petals.

 Looking up the Fraser River where there is flooding happening.  We had a couple of warmer sunny days and Rita tells me there is water in her garage.  I better check mine out.

 The tide is heading out, but the river is high.

 Beautiful colour and design of nature.

 I think that is the highest I've ever seen the river since moving here in 1988.

 The trees are looking lush and green.

 The bush roses are in full bloom, check out the ant on the petal.

 These buds seemed to glow, sun found them and everything else was in shade.

 The peonies outside my place are putting on a great show.

 Love the feathery centre of this one.

 Pale pink just sparkling in the sun.

 An almost perfect blossom.

 The train bridge over the river and looking west.

 One of my neighbours has some lovely roses outside her condo, this will look lovely when the sun creeps around the corner.  Those leaves couldn't look healthier.

Cross your fingers that the river doesn't come too high.

On the road again Spokane, Waterton, Wenatchee and finally home to stay.

Mary Lou's retreat finished at about noon on Friday, some people left a little early to hit the road south, some went to the airport to catch flights home.  A few of us stayed another night before driving home and others flew home the next day.  I decided to check out some quilt shops in the Spokane Valley area.  First on my list was Hattie's Quilt Shop.http://www.hattiesquiltshop.com/

 This lovely red work piece hangs by the cutting table.

 The store has a strong country feeling to it mixed in with modern.

 Two busy cutters while I was at the shop.

 Interesting little corners as you walk around the shop.

 Not only did the cow have a flaming Mohawk, but it had boots and was smoking a cigarette!

 Walking in there is a long narrow hallway past the first display grouping.

 Next stop was A Quilt Cottage http://www.aquiltcottage.com/

 They had a trunk show up the stairs. Heart of Flowers by Raquel Lawson.

 Baskets of Hope by Raquel Lawson, 418 of them.

 The front attic area set up for ironing.

 Look at the angles of the roof set up for class.

 An antique quilt hanging on the wall.

 

Downstairs on the clothesline were aprons and pillow cases.

 Great re-purposing of some garden items.

 A flower basket sampler.

 A great quilt depicting the quilt shop.

 Next up was A Heart Like Yours Quilt Shoppe in Spokane Valley http://www.aheartlikeyours.com/

 This shop has lots of samples.  I bought the apron sampler several years ago in Utah and they had a sample made up and have run out of the fabrics, so they have pinned new blocks on top of the old ones to let you know they have the current fabrics.

 Some bright batiks for sale.

 A classroom filled with samples on every wall.

 I like the bold colours of the chicken sampler.

 

One last shop in the area is Sew E-Z too. They don't have a website, but look for them in Spokane at 603 W. Garland Street.

 They have a large selection of quilting fabrics along with other home sewing fabrics and trim.

 Check out those brights.

 They have a large selection of yarns.

 They sell wool roving by the yard.

 Great paint job on the side of the co-op.

 The final sunset over the Spokane River before the long drive home.  Look at the pinks in those clouds.

 Next day I took Rte 2 West across the state for a different drive home.

 Look at the blue skies that I was driving toward.  The day had started out cloudy, rainy and very windy.

 

In Waterville Rte 2 takes a series of turns going through town and as I turned the last corner I felt that there was a quilt shop coming up.  On the right side I found Yesteryear Quilting!

 In the front window is a long arm quilt machine.

 They have a collecting of old sewing machines decorating the shop. This one is a Franklin.

 An old Singer with some bobbins sitting beside.

 Another Singer on display.

 A blue Singer portable.

 A Domestic that was gifted to the shop.

 A child's Singer, I have one but without the base.

 A stack of old quilts.

 Inspiration Center.

 This shop caught my eye as I turned the corner.

 They have some great old signs around the shop.

 Mom's Diner...everyone should have one.

 Some interesting art by a local designer.

 The old auto garage.

 The blue skies are getting bigger!

 In Wenatchee I found the Attic Window Quilt Shop http://www.theatticwindowquiltshoppe.com/

 Watch for the shop as you drive along.

 

This shop is just filled in every nook and cranie with  samples and fabrics.

 A quilt top from a previous shop hop.  I like the colours.

 Wenatchee is famous for it's apples.  The core is made with 3D flying geese.

Another view of the shop showing lots of inspiration.

A Buggy Barn sample on the left in purple, green and cream.

More samples towards the front of the shop.

A long arm quilting machine that you can rent time on.

A class room where they were working on a Block of the Month,

A second classroom where they were working on tuffits.

Threads?

Another great shop inspired quilt.

Lots of blue skies as I arrived home in New Westminster B.C. and looked over the Fraser River.  What a pleasant view to end the day enjoying.

Our courtyard gardens are looking very lush due to all the rain that happened for the time I was away.

Back home from on the road again, hope you enjoyed the trips.