It’s 3 pm in early June, you’ve arrived two hours early for the Washington State Ferry home to Friday Harbor because the tourists have already started coming to the island for the season, and you need to get in line early to be sure you make it home. How do you know if there are any other island quilters in the ferry line? Easy—San Juan Island is sufficiently small (7000 year-round residents) that, once you’ve been living there a while, you know the other quilters, so you just look for their cars! Then, every islander quilter has a pillow and car quilt—usually it’s one of those quilts that didn’t turn out quite the way you wanted it to, so it’s OK to toss it in the car and let life happen. When you take the red-eye (the 6 am ferry—get up at 4:45 am to get ready and to town and in line) off-island to do the errands and Costco run every other month or so, you can curl up and sleep in the car until you dock in Anacortes at 7:30.

Another good clue, and how can you tell it has been a successful quilter’s off-island day: on the front seat is the tell-tale pink and white checkered bag from The Quilt Shop in Anacortes, Washington, our “local” store. Yes, imagine it folks, we moved to an island paradise with just one major drawback: NO quilt shop! To get from Friday Harbor (the town and mailing address for everyone on San Juan Island) to the mainland you fly or sail—no bridges. Since most of us are not inordinately wealthy, that means we take the state ferry, which usually takes about 1 ½ hours to get from the island to the mainland, plus extra time to get in line in advance to get on the boat. A good day “off-island” is one where you have time to stop at The Quilt Shop in Anacortes before getting on the ferry to go home…

So, you ask, how do you quilt without a local quilt shop (i.e. one you reach by car in less than four hours)? Well, first you plan and share with friends. Second, you become very adept at the Internet. Third, you become friendly with our local shops, especially The Quilt Shop and Fabrics Plus in Anacortes, who—getting ready for sainthood—will gladly take your telephone order for an emergency re-supply of whatever it is that just ran out and mail it out to you immediately. Finally, you and your best friend plan periodic “girls’ day away” quilting forays to the mainland—no chores or errands—just quilt stuff!

And how did we get to rural San Juan Island? In 1994, my husband and I decided to leave the rat-race; we were both members of the US Foreign Service (diplomats), and were tired of moving all over the world. On a vacation bike trip, we visited the San Juan Islands, and like so many others fell in love with the beauty of the region. What we didn’t know until we moved here four years later is that the community is even more beautiful and giving than the environment.

But how to find the quilters? Well, during a visit one summer before moving, our oldest son became ill; when we entered the medical center, I knew I would be fine—there were quilts on the wall! After moving here, I contacted that quilter, and learned that almost every Wednesday night for well over a decade (at least) quilters have been getting together at each others’ homes to share and quilt. The rest, as they say, is history.

But best of all is the San Juan County Fair, held in August every year. The Fair is such a big deal that one quilter’s son, during his first year in the Coast Guard, had a hard time deciding whether to come home for Christmas or the Fair! It is a true, rural county fair—the best of small town and rural America, with categories that run the gamut from pigs, llamas, sheep, and horses (including riding contests) to photography, baking, canned goods, fiber arts, textile arts, fine arts and crafts, writing, plants, produce and---an island classic—the Sheep-to-Shawl contest, where teams card a fleece (the contest used to include the shearing, but we are down to one sheep-shearer so that’s done ahead of time now), spin, and weave a shawl in one day—and the shawls are then raffled to support the Textile Guild—and, oh drat, I still haven’t won one, but I keep buying the tickets!

The Wool Shed, an old building that would frighten most U.S. quilters, is our home-away-from-home for the Fair. It now has a cement floor, not dirt or boards, but every year we sweep out the spiders and birds nests and vacuum and wash the tables and floors of the dust that has blown in through the cracks over the past year. We now have so many accomplished quilters here that we are close to overflowing---and most of us think that our little group of islands (which also includes Orcas, Lopez, Shaw and the smaller islands in the county) produces work as good as that anywhere in the US. Our trusty superintendents make sure that someone is there to watch the quilts at all times, share our love of quilting with the fair-goers, and keep sticky fingers away. You know you’re really an islander when you have entries in the Fair!

The rest of the year, I quilt with the best view in the house—over the Straits of Juan de Fuca to the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula. My sewing space is upstairs, in the open area under the gable between the boys’ bedrooms, which is a mixed blessing. I get to be near them (ages 5 and 10), but remind them often (and loudly) “Don’t ever touch Mommy’s sewing stuff!” I am inspired by the magnificent view, but was challenged to find space for a “design wall.” With the eaves, I had only 30 inches of wall space. One day, inspiration hit---make a “wall” like a 3-way dressing room mirror! So I plotted out the size, bought plywood, homosote, flannel and hinges, and made the wall you can see pictured in the photo. I also adapted an on-line free plan for a potting bench to make the drop-leaf cutting table, with boxes of projects on the shelf.

Since I’ve moved here, I’ve finally been able to do some of the quilts and try techniques that have been inside my head clamoring to get out. I’ve begun to make art quilts (which some day I hope to be able to sell to support this wonderful avocation) and have produced my first pattern, Haleakala Sunrise, a Hawaiian-style pattern. I’m blessed to have a strong family, two wonderful sons, and live in a place that is safe, clean and beautiful, and where I can quilt.

Links to the live ferrycams that give you an idea how long the lines are at the ferry lanes in Anacortes and Friday Harbor (the latter gives a lovely view of the harbor!).
http://www.ferrycam.net/friday_harbor.shtml
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/cameras/index.cfm (Anacortes is on the fourth line down)

Design wall closed and cupboard: The cupboard houses my fabric stash--when we moved in, we decided to add doors to the bottom since my youngest was then 9 months old, and I could just imagine fabric strewn everywhere (worse than when I get at it!). The door in between is to the upstairs bathroom, and my design wall is on the only real "vertical" wall space there was--and it was only 31 inches wide. One day, inspiration struck. Why not make a design wall like a 3-way mirror in a dressing room? I built a frame of 1x2 lumber, backed with 1/4" plywood, with homosote cut to fit the inside areas. I covered it in batting (to even out the difference in depth between the homosote and the wood), then "upholstered" it with heavy flannel. The two small wings are attached with hinges. When I'm done working, I can close up the wings and keep the cats and boys from knocking stuff off the design wall when they race past.....ahem! The outside of the design wall can function as a mini-design wall, but has lately become a big bulletin board for ideas, small projects, favorite cards and such.	Design wall open: When closed the design wall is 30" wide by 72" tall. When open, it is a nearly-flat surface 60" wide by 72" tall (my only goof was that I neglected to measure the space on the right...it didn't occur to me that the tall skinny built-in bookcase between the wall space and the bedroom door was less than 15 inches....it is...oh well...an almost-flat wall works, too....). Here, I have the beginnings of a project for Bali Fabrics, Inc., featuring some of their new line of fabric (they are wonderful folks with wonderful fabric!).
Healing Garden Quilt, July 4th, 2001 In 2001, the Wild Rose Quilters, who meet every Wednesday evening in someone's home or studio to quilt and socialize, decided to use the wonderful line of fabrics called the Healing Garden (whose sale helps support breast cancer research) to make both our own quilts and a raffle quilt. We had the top completed in time to display it in the Friday Harbor (the town on San Juan Island) Fourth of July Parade. The Fourth in Friday Harbor is, along with the County Fair in August, representative of the best things about life in small town, rural America. It is truly a community affair celebrating our freedoms and our community. Our small island, with just under 7,000 year-round residents, raised nearly $2,500 for breast cancer research--thank you, Friday Harbor! The first photo is shot looking up Spring Street, with Marie Johansen and Linda Cooper carrying the "How to make an island quilt" banner in front of the pick-up truck which is carrying the quilts and raffle top. The second photo shows Christy Hinkle driving the quilt-bedecked pick-up; the queen-sized raffle quilt is draped like a tent in the back (I designed the quilt and over 20 members of the Wild Rose quilters donated $10 each to buy the fabric, make a block, and support breast cancer research--thanks, ladies!). That's me, Sarah Smith, in the red T-shirt at the end of the pick-up.
June 2003 Journal quilt: My best friend, Marie, and I periodically arrange "girls' day away" forays to quilt shops on the mainland (often referred to here as "going to America"). We take the 6 am ferry (known locally as the "red-eye" for obvious reasons) so we can get in a full day visiting and shopping. I made my June Journal quilt in honor of these days and my dear friend. To see more of the journal quilts, go to www.quiltart.com and click on the link for the Journal Quilts, which were displayed at the IQA Festival in Houston, November 2003, and are now on tour	September 2003 Journal quilt: The view from our living room window at night is beautiful, with the moon rising over Whidbey Island behind the fir tree alongside our driveway (I did take some liberties with the size of the moon, which only seems this large!).
Oceans Alive, August 1999 In August, 1999, I had finally completed my Mariner's compass quilt (from a pattern by Mary K. Ryan of Vermont), and called it Oceans Alive. I began the quilt 10 years earlier--my second project--when I was living in Central Africa. It was way too hot, even with the air conditioning on, to quilt, so it got tucked away, but I had already designed the quilting with dolphins and orcas (never having seen the latter). It must have been fate, because I ended up living where I can see and hear the orcas from my house! I finished the hand-quilting in time for the fair, and was thrilled to win the Grand Champion ribbon. Here, the quilt hangs in the place of honor at the back door to the Wool Shed at the County Fair.	Studio, east end: My antique Hoosier is the perfect sewing cabinet--holds the TV/vcr, books, rotary cutters and scissors in the knife drawer, small batting pieces in the old flour sifter, knick-knacks on the shelf, patterns in the tin-lined bread drawer, and various notions in the storage cupboard on the bottom. My oldest son's bedroom door is to the left of the Hoosier.
View across table, due south: The drop-leaf cutting table in the foreground was modeled after a potting table plan, but adapted and extended (35x60 inches, 35x84 inches with leaf up). My Janome 6500 sits right in front of the window and the spectacular view---it has been a long time since I have been in love with my sewing machine, and I'm head over heels in love with this machine! On a non-cloudy day, I can see the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula across the Straits of Juan de Fuca, the body of water that connects the Pacific Ocean with the northern end of Puget Sound (which is to the east and south of us) and the Georgia Straits (which run between the islands, including Vancouver Island, and the mainland of British Columbia and Washington state)	Mt. Rainier Sunrise, December 2003 Many folks don't realize that Washington state is as far north as parts of Maine, so the sun rises very late in mid-winter--around 7:30. Since I'm up fixing breakfast and school lunches well before that, I get the treat of some spectacular sunrises such as these, this past winter. Although Mt. Rainier is over 100 miles south of here, you can still see it clearly on some days, especially at sunrise and sunset. The Mid-Winter Sunrise photo is looking East, through the fir trees, toward Whidbey Island.

©2004 Sarah Smith
Sarah By The Sea In Friday Harbor
www.quilterswarehouse.com (Sarah’s patterns are available)
http://community.webshots.com/user/maleadysmith (Photos of Sarah’s quilts)
www.thequiltercommunity.com