The Other Side

Last weekend we took Dad over to Chelan to see my brother's house. He's lived in Chelan for almost 3 years now and this was the first time Dad had been over there. This is the view from the hill, above Highway 97 (the road in the middle of the picture.) All the green between the highway and the river, the Columbia, are orchards and vineyards. All the brown is the natural landscape. Two thirds of Washington look like this, or similar. Visiting the east side of the mountains sure makes me appreciate the rain and green of this side. The contrast of the two sides of the cascades is pretty amazing.


I'll never forget the first time I ever went east of the mountains. We left at 0'dark hundred so I promptly fell asleep. When I woke up, somewhere in the middle of the state, I thought we had transported to the desert southwest! I'll take the rain and temperate climate of Western Washington any day over the brown, arid climate of the rest of the state.


On the quilting side of life, I've been working on my QB Christmas Challenge. It's been stalled for over a month now. After deciding on and rejecting numerous options, I think I might have settled on a finish. We'll see...I think only time will tell on this project.


That same restlessness has affected my UFO finishing for Finn's challenge. I pulled out the Blooming 9-Patch and managed to sort all the long rows. I even cut a few strips for the next round. But, I just can't seem to get excited about it. Instead, the pile of Christmas fabrics started calling to me. I had originally purchased the gold background for use in a Christmas quilt. Originally I thought I was going to do something from one of the Nickel Quilt books. But, I've changed my mind. The same pieces of the block, just rearranged differently, make up either one of these settings. I'm leaning towards the first setting. But, the more I look at them, the more I realize that I don't like the gold. I think I'll do the background in neutrals, whites and off-whites. What do you think?