How did this happen? I vividly remember researching pre-schools and then *POOF* – now it’s time to look at colleges? Since he will be entering his Junior year and not want to spend every 3 day weekend going on road trips, we decided to check out a few schools this summer.

Today we took our first college tour – starting nice and close at Portland State University. A mere 20 minutes from home, I drive by the campus regularly when I head downtown. But when we were on the tour, I could have been in another city. Apparently in my 16 years in Portland I had never ventured to the many blocks that are made up by the school.

True to the environmentally friendly reputation of the state of Oregon, Portland State is quite green. The new rec center uses rainwater for toilets and when students run on treadmills, they help power up the backup generators. Pretty cool! The new science building has sensor activated lighting and other green features I can’t remember.

A bike friendly school – there are bike lockers all over and for $12/year you can belong to the “Bike Hub” – where they have tools and people to teach you how to fix and maintain your bike.

The main problem, from where Kyle stood, is that it is TOO CLOSE TO HOME!

Apparently any school within the state of Oregon is too close. He yearns for new frontiers… I have decided to interpret this as my raising an adventurous, confident and independent child and not that he just can’t wait to put many miles between us.

The tour was great and gave a good feel for the campus.  We learned what to look for online before visiting our next school and we decided to try and visit some of the departments of interest next time as well. Next time will be next week – when we head to Pullman, WA and visit Washington State University.  It’s a 7 hour drive but I’m not sure that is far enough for Kyle either – he may require planes… time will tell.

Just thought I’d share the beginning of a new journey for me and my son… we’ll keep you posted!

– Tara Reed

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We went up the Washington coast to a little town called Oysterville.

Aptly named, Oysterville is where the oyster industry began in the northwest.  The Brent’s friend, Sydney Stevens, had a book launch party and was talking a bit about the book, the area and the history of the town.  Her great grandfather was one of the founders of Oysterville and she lives in his house today.  At the height of the oyster trade – which coincided with the Gold Rush – there were 250 residents in the town.  Today there are 14 full-time residents.

I never knew that oysters are free floating until they are about 5 days old, at which point they need something solid to attach to to build their shell. (or something like that)

In Oysterville, the bay is sand so there is nothing for them to attach to.  To keep the oyster business thriving, old shells must be put back in the bay for the new oysters to attach to.  That is why they have these huge mounds of shells around the area and get upset when unsuspecting tourists stop and take them for souvenirs. (They do NOT smell good!)

To learn more about oysters and Oysterville, I encourage you to get a copy of the newly released book.

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Now before some man wonders if I changed the tire myself, I will tell you that had a man been with me I wouldn’t have let him either.  The road was too narrow and cars going too fast – it would have been so dangerous!

So think… now what? Look for a police car… I got lucky and saw one coming towards me within 5 mins – waved my arms like a lunatic and he stopped.  He called for a tow truck.  Now the 1 hour nerve-wracking wait, on the side of a narrow road, seat-belt on in case someone hit me and I flipped into the ditch.

Focus on the positive. I got help quickly – for the call, the tow-truck took an hour to arrive.  It happened to me and not my 16 year old. It was daylight. It wasn’t too hot or too cold or pouring rain…

When the tow truck arrived, we realized my spare was also flat so I was towed to a gas station to pump up the spare. (That made the gas attendants day – he got a good chuckle.)

LESSON: Check the air in your spare AT LEAST every 6 months.

I made it to the party and luckily had planned to stay the night so I had some clothes. I met an amazing woman, Sydney Stevens, who lives in Oysterville, WA and writes books.  I plan to go to her new book launch on June 26, 2010 – let me know if you will be in or around Long Beach / Oysterville, WA and I’ll give you all the details!

I ended up staying 2 nights (thank goodness Paul and Lana Jane are very welcoming hosts!) since no tire places were open on Memorial Day.  But the beautiful part of this story?  I had THE BEST seafood dinner on Saturday night – fresh mussels, oysters and crabs, all caught by the Brent’s son & friends.  So yummy and such great company!

Tuesday morning I was at Les Schwab the minute they opened and found out my tire was ruined by some random piece of metal on the road.  Now the proud owner of 2 new tires, I headed back to Portland.  On the way, a bird hit my windshield, scared me and didn’t survive to tell the tale.  As if we needed more drama!

So… all’s well that ends well but wowie!  A little more excitement than I need on a regular basis!  I hope your weekend was filled with good friends (mine was) but less stress!

– Tara Reed

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I design fabric for South Sea Imports and I’m told my fabric can be found all over the US as well as Australia, New Zealand and I believe parts of Europe.  Usually I’m coming up with ideas from my studio and brainstorming with the office in California.  I do sneak out and look through different stores that sell fabric from time to time.

But having the chance to interact with the people who are really using the product, asking what they like, what colors they want, what themes they wish they could find… that is some valuable information! I had a long discussion about what makes or breaks different “basics” groups (those textured fabrics that come in a rainbow of colors and can be used as background or fillers with all sorts of things).  I took a poll about some ideas I have been tossing around for a new collection and got feedback… and I had a great time!

Today I am back in my studio with new ideas swimming around in my head.  I asked the women who won or bought my fabric to send me a photo of something they use it on to post on my blog… hopefully they will!

If you live in Oregon, Washington or Idaho  and haven’t discovered the joy of a Craft Warehouse store, CLICK HERE and see if there is a location near you.  This family-owned store is a mecca for the creatively inclined!  I’ve never met a Craft Warehouse I didn’t like!

Now it’s back to the studio and back to creating wonderful new fabric collections for quilters everywhere to enjoy.

– Tara

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How fun to sit at my machine all day, sewing MY OWN fabric. *Pinch me* I still think this whole art licensing career is too good to be true!  All kidding aside, I work very hard but I am passionate about what I do so it makes the work seem more like playing…

This coming Thursday, July 16th, I will be talking to two quilt clubs at the Craft Warehouse in Gresham, Oregon. One meeting is at 11 am and the second is at 7 pm.  You are welcome to come — they are located at: 604 NW Eastman Pkwy. (Division & Eastman) in Gresham, OR 97030.  If you need directions you can call (503) 661-0574.

I will be talking about how I design fabric – from initial concept to putting the patterns together to getting my samples to play with! When I talked to the clubs in Aloha the quilters had great questions and amazing quilts to share – I am in awe of their talent!

When I was talking with the coordinator she asked if I had a “trunk show” – I will admit to not knowing what she was talking about.  She told me it was samples of things made with my fabric.  That’s why I got out my machine – I was inspired and figured it was better to get busy the week before than the week after.  So you will see some things I’ve whipped up (the bag below is one project I finished today), as well as a few quilts a friend did.

So if you are in the area, come on by! If you aren’t but like this fun Halloween Fabric, ask for it at your local quilting store or look online for “Midnight Monsters” from South Sea Imports.  You can also CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PROJECT SHEET.

Halloween will be here before you know it so find your black, green and orange thread and start your sewing machines…

– Tara

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