More from Oregon

Our drive north from DePoe Bay to Astoria, Oregon took us through Tillamook. Many of you may recognize the name Tillamook because of  their cheeses.  

What I didn't expect to see was a "quilt barn".

After seeing the barn shown above, I decided to look for more painted quilts. Lo and behold, it turns out that there are lots in the city of Tillamook, and they are not only on barns. We later learned that in 2009 plans were made to create a Tillamook Quilt Trail. Quilt trails first began in Ohio and are mainly found in the East and in the Midwest sections of the US. The Tillamook Quilt Trail was the first one on the West coast. You can read more about the Tillamook Quilt Trail here.

Here are a few of my favorite Tillamook quilts.

The next quilt was on a wall inside a building.

The next one was in the window of a local florist shop. I'm not sure why they decided to hang it the way they did. In my humble opinion, it would look much better turned 90 degrees counter-clockwise.

I spotted a small road sign on the northern side of town pointing to the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center. Of course, I  wanted to check it out.

I think it's wonderful that the center is housed in an old school. Notice the old school bell on the left side of the photo below.

Inside there were several large rooms. In the West room there were weaving looms, although no one was weaving while we were there. We spotted a woven coverlet on one wall and took a photo of it. It reminds us a lot of one we inherited through Tom's family.

The East room was dedicated mainly to quilt making. This room is one where various guilds can meet. Here are photos of several old quilts that were hanging on the walls.

The next quilt is made entirely of yo-yos. I found a brief history and description of yo-yo quilts along with photos of two yo-yo quilts here.

The Center also has a wonderful textile library and a large exhibit room.

One of the big attractions in Astoria is the Columbia River Maritime Museum where we spent several hours. There was a small scrimshaw exhibit, and I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the items.

Look at the detail on  this ostrich egg!

  

I also spotted a ditty bag along with some needles and a seam presser.

And then, all too soon, our trip was nearly over. We next headed to Portland to catch our flight home. We allowed an extra day to visit a needlework shop, Acorns and Threads, to have lunch with friends,  and to visit Powell's Books  (probably the biggest book shop you've ever seen).

In my next blog post I'll show you some photos we took at Acorns and Threads.