Sister Totes!

My sister has made me some really neat things since she has gotten into sewing, so I thought it was my turn. I made us a pair of quilted tote bags out of some Tula Pink Moon Garden fabric that I pieced together. The quilting is machined for strength then hand quilted for character.

Mine:

Both have the same material inside and some holographic thread for fun.

Emily’s:

Hanbok-vest

My sister follows Sara SJ Kim on Instagram and has made some of her patterns. She made a hanbok styled vest of hers that turned out so cute I wanted one! So when Emily and I were together for our mom’s 70th birthday we had some time to sew and she walked me through making my own. I love it! It’s reversible and was pretty quick to assemble.

You can find Sara and her designs here: http://www.instagram.com/yoursara_k

Em gave me a couple of cute labels I had to add.

Yesterday’s Wildflowers

One of our favorite trails has been closed while undergoing repairs, causing us to go the longest amount of time not hiking there since we first found it. It is still half closed as they replace bridges, making it an out and back for now. It was so good to be back! We saw so many spring wildflowers.

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What we saw:

Larkspur

Hooker’s fairy bells

Wood-sorrel

Western trillium

Fringe cups

Pacific bleeding heart

Garlic mustard

Vine maple

Salmonberry

Red elderberry

Lunaria, also called honesty or money plant

A Little This, a Little That

We’ve a lot going on at the McDermott house! Spring has sprung, our flowers are starting to bloom, we’ve got the house looking like spring inside and out! I’ve been trying to wrap up projects for the even busier months ahead. We’ve got a planned trip to see my parents for my mom’s (my sister and niece will be there!) 70th birthday, a slew of dr appointments as they sort out what they need to schedule a surgery for me in the next maybe 2 months - which I am told I’ll be recovered enough to hike after a few days/week, but I won’t be able to lift anything much for a bit. On that note- I am trying to get some big stuff done before then like swapping out the rug at my desk, which I just did and so feel like I have a whole new art space! So, on to the good stuff!

I love the refresh of my art space.

This small (5”) painting was a 2nd commission from a couple who are hanging it in their travel van that they are currently living in as they travel the country! I’ve become friends with Jess on Instagram and love seeing the hikes she takes. You can find her there @jess.off.trail

I’ve had the materials for this picture board for a while with the intent of making it for Cory’s office and we just did it the other day. I usually see them with the ribbons crossed and tacked down, but Cory preferred it this way and really I do too. The fabric is by Tula Pink and I picked it out because growing up Cory always had fish tanks. I wanted to bring that idea back into his office. Green is also his favorite color.

I’ve got all the sides quilted for matching tote bags for Emily and I as I’ve been trying to wrap up things I want to have ready by our visit.

This blanket is another gift made to be ready for the trip for our niece Elaina. Top and bottom pics are front and back.

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We recently renewed our Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens membership and have been taking advantage this spring. The nutria have been sunbathing, and we even saw a green backed heron!

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This I am sharing just because it is a happy thing and feel like it :)

My mom’s uncle, Uncle Mike, sent me an etching that belonged to my great grandma and hung in her house in St Louis. I had it rematted and a custom frame made for it and let him know, and asked about her. I never got to meet my great grandma Margaret, and I wondered what stories he could tell me. Mike turned this into a project and wrote down tons of anecdotes, facts about her, stories about her with other family, copied pictures of her and other relatives and shared it with not only me but the family! It’s a wonderful gift and going through the pages feels like I know her some. She was the mom of my grandma who I called Mawmaw, and she was my favorite. Is my favorite.

The art from uncle Mike in its new custom frame.

This was Margaret with her nurse training uniform.

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Lastly, some of our blooming tulips. I love the abundance of spring!

Emmy Kim, Quilter-Sewist

As someone who has posted about my sewing projects from time to time I felt a post about some of the inspiration behind that-specifically behind the quilting part- was long over due. I finally got my sister to say yes to a post about her and the quilts and other sewing projects she has made! We both grew up sewing a little here and there as our mom dabbled. I never would have thought I would quilt, but after some projects under my sister’s guidance you know I have made a few and have plans for more. So, I had to ask her, what got her into quilting? She said that when she found out she was expecting with Josephine and there were no quilters in the family that would be making her baby a quilt she decided she had to learn! She taught herself through tutorials on YouTube and through blog posts! (Pic is Emily at Quilt Con accidentally matching the Dolly quilt at the Moda booth)

You can follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsemmykim/

Me, Emily, and Josephine

Jo and the 1st quilt Emily made; a quilt for her.

Emily’s second quilt was this Christmas throw she designed herself.

An apron and accessories for Jojo.

One of Emily’s first quilts was this mountain quilt for me!

My friend Megan has given me fabric several times and that has certainly been a bit of inspiration for my sewing. This improv throw pillow case was made by my sister out of the fabric with quilting by me and it’s one of my favorites. It’s been so much fun when we can work together!

Em made herself this awesome quilt coat.

Em made Jojo this quilt jacket from an old baby quilt from when we were little.

Emily made us matching purses. This one is mine.

A tote bag we worked on together along with a matching pouch by Em.

This book quilt Emily made is just AMAZING. So is the Jojo.

A quilt Emily made for her mother in law. This is the top, as it was being pieced.

Jojo testing her grandma’s finished quilt

A hanbok-style vest Em made herself from a pattern (it’s reversible!)

A close-up of one of my favorite quilts Em has made to date. I love the loud colors and the crazy log cabin centers!

One of Em’s most recent projects was this duffel bag for her trip to STL to take with her on the plane.

This purple and yellow quilt with colors picked out by her niece as it was a gift for her.

Emily had made a few of these fleece jackets with this one being made for Dad on request.

A tote for Mom

Pororo for Jojo

Some gifts Em made.

A colorful quilt for Dad, with tools in flannel on back!

A blue quilt for her husband, DoYoung

Emily’s FAVORITE fabric line is Ruby Star Society. Their collection “Smol” by Kim Kight is what won her over. Kim Kight is also her favorite fabric designer. Pictured above is her all-time favorite pattern from that collection, the apples.

A Halloween quilt with a matching quilt for Jojo’s dolls after she tried claiming the full sized one.

Jojo’s Christmas present for her big girl bed.

A baby blanket for Cory’s sister’s baby

A wall hanging

A baby blanket gift

A purse for Jojo.

Both sides of a tote Em made for herself.

Yaquina Head

Yaquina Head is a favorite place of Cory’s and mine (we have been going there a few times a year) since we moved to the PNW. Along with some photos of this amazing place, I wanted to share a bit about it and some tips for if you go.

The lighthouse sits at the end of a peninsula effectively putting you about a mile out to sea. Weather here can be different from the rest of Newport- so I’d recommend always bringing a jacket and a beanie. Sometimes it’s much warmer there, but often the opposite can be true.

At the gate you pay to enter, but if you have an America the Beautiful Pass it is free to enter. These passes are also sold here (and if you’re a vet the forever pass is available too)

At the gate they will offer you a map but they rarely offer the tide times charts as they are trying to get people through quickly. Ask for one! It’s good for the whole calendar year and will let you know when to explore tide pools!

The gift shop and museum is a good place to learn about what animals have been seen that day, tide times, and lighthouse tours. They also have the best gifts and the prices are really reasonable.

The quarry is the best chance to see seals close by, though you will always see them from the cobblestone beaches.

I’ve had some luck seeing whales from the end of the peninsula past the lighthouse, and once one in very close near the cobblestone beach.

Hike to the top of the hill for 360 degree views.

I love when the tide is out and you can explore. Careful where you step!

Seeing whales is always a high point.

Cory and I both scored sweaters featuring the 150 year anniversary of the lighthouse (1873!).

After a day on the beach in Newport we love to get dinner at the Rogue Brewery.

Mt Scott & Medicine Park

My family has experienced a string of losses that has been very heavy on us all. First, Cory’s dad passed unexpectedly at the very end of August, my aunt of pancreatic cancer on Thanksgiving day at 57 years old, my grandma on Dec 30th, then my grandpa of a broken heart on Feb 1st. After all of this I needed to see my family and be there for the celebration of life held for my grandpa. It’s been hard to come such a long way and we hadn’t made the trip in years. I’m never quite sure how much to share about personal matters online, but in general I try to keep it real.

The loss of my grandpa hit pretty hard as he was someone who loved me for me. He supported my art in college by taking me to get supplies when I needed them, he commissioned a portrait of my grandma some years later, and displayed my art in their home. He was a graduate from Central State where I later graduated from. He and grandma traveled to the PNW yearly for a long time and took us on a trip through when Em and I were in high school- and now I call this place home. It felt good to go back to OK to share some of my favorite things with Cory - many of them places I first went with my grandparents.

This cute place in Medicine Park had great mini donuts that reminded us of funnel cake.

Skye and I got matching rings at a little open air shop while in Medicine Park.

Turtles sunbathing.

We walked around Medicine Park quite a bit. We went to some shops, got sno cones and walked by the water. It was nice seeing it so full of people enjoying the sunshine.

After Medicine Park we went up Mt Scott.

So many wind turbines in the distance!

While in OK we also went to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum- aka the Cowboy Hall of Fame. I don’t want to share pictures here as they are of others’ artwork that I do not have permission from- but I have to note that this is one of my very favorite museums and I cannot recommend it enough. It alone is worth a trip to OK.

Axe Throwing

At my birthday my friend Emerald’s 7 yr old daughter (our Portland niece as we think of her) was telling us about this camp she did where they were throwing axes and throwing stars. I had NEVER heard of a kids camp doing this and Cory, me and our friend/neighbor Dave wanted to go throw axes ASAP.

Or throw spades?!

We three friends went, threw axes, ate pizza and poutine, drank beer and were talked into joining the winter axe throwing league. So now for the next several weeks we meet one night a week, throw axes and hangout. I am pretty terrible at it, but I think getting better, and we all got axes for signing up so we can set up a target at home and practice! (I think the axes might be a this time only thing-unsure) The group is a really positive bunch that encourages each other so the atmosphere is cool too.

A few years ago our friend Emerald got us a small branding iron to mark things with our last name. It fit our axes perfectly!

I can’t wait to tell my Portland niece about it tonight and how she inspired us to go try it. She’s such a fun kid!