A boring life! 12-08-07

Weekends are usually quiet in my life. I'm just sewing and loving the Poodle Prince. More rain, but not very hard, which should be good news for those who live in the burn areas. The two Alliance auction quilts that I purchased came today and I am happy to add them to the TCQC.

New quilt for TCQC 12-07-07

"Quenching Rain" Melody Johnson 2007

16.5" x 16.75"

This quilt is the latest addition to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection, even though I said I couldn't buy any more quilts until after the first of the year. One thing I learned quickly when I started collecting quilts is that it is necessary to speak fast if I am interested in buying a quilt. It probably will no longer be available if I wishy-wash around. I suppose this means I am very average and am attracted to just what a lot of other people like! In the past twenty-two years several quilts that I was very interested in were sold to others before I could get my act together and I mourn their loss even today. When I saw this piece on Melody's blog I e-mailed her immediately. First come, first served! I like this new series she is doing using both her hand dyed fabrics and commercial prints. "Quenching Rain" is my favorite - so far!

Corky comes to Camp Del 12-06-07

It is 11:30pm, two hours after the Prince's bedtime! He gets very disgusted with me when I don't go to bed when he thinks I should. He'll have me whipped in shape by Monday.

No rain here yet, but it is raining in northwest areas of Los Angeles County. It is like waiting for the other shoe to drop - makes for a bit of tension. Especially for those people who have evacuated from possible slide/flood areas. We all hope it is a gentle rain.

This has been a special day for my good friend Ruth Powers in Kansas - her new website is online. Check out her gorgeous work and see her Innovation patterns at http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/

The website design is by Gloria Hansen and Gloderworks

www.gloderworks.com

Mistyfuse 12-06-07

A post script to 12-05-07 post. I should have mentioned that during the month of December Iris Karp of Mistyfuse is donating 20% of all Mistyfuse sales from http://www.mistyfuse.com to Fiberart For A Cause which raises money for the American Cancer Society through the sale of fiber art donated by the artists. This is a project I have been involved with since it's inception - I strongly support both FFAC and AMC. I hope you will stock up on Misty Fuse and help us raise more money!

Skinny strips #1 12-05-07

Over the last few years I have done a few quilts with fused skinny strips. The quilt above is "Grasses Return" a 12"square quilt I made last winter. And you saw the strips in my Dec 29th post showing my number one quilt in progress. But I hadn't thought of layering them different directions until I read Virginia Spiegel's Sep 28th post about skinny strips. You can read about Virginia's techniques at http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/blog/archives/category/technique-talk/

I kept thinking about what she was doing and decided I had to try it myself. I made up a layer of scraps on WUnder, fused some Misty Fuse on top and sliced the resulting 'fabric' into strips. This afternoon I was playing with the strips, but wasn't happy with anything I did with them. So I have layered them onto backing fabric and will be adding some more layers on top. I don't think what I come up with will look anything like Virginia's work. Many of us can use the same basic techniques to create something unique which reflects our 'voice'. Doing the experimenting is necessary - as Yoda said, "Don't think, don't try, just do." Good words to remember.

Road Runner 12-04-07

I didn't even step out of the house today, so I must go to my Picasa files for a picture. In previous Novembers this road runner was a regular visitor to Corky's house in the desert, but I didn't go out for Thanksgiving this year, so I don't know if it is still around. I think they are handsome birds, but they are usually quite skittish. This one seemed to enjoy having his picture taken, so I took a bunch. The end of November is a good time to visit Lake Havasu City, AZ. The temperatures have dropped, but it is usually not freezing at night, nor is there a lot of wind. I thought I might get out there for a few days before Xmas, but it doesn't look possible. Corky and his parents will go out for Christmas, maybe I will have to drive out to visit for a few days.

After sunset 12-03-07

I was returning from some errands when I drove over Bastanchury Hill, a high point on the road, which provides some wonderful views when the smog isn't in the way. This picture at 4:35pm is looking north to the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains in the far distance. This little park was built so that we could all enjoy the view, but there is no parking! A "walk to" park in this area seems very odd - I stopped in the bus turnout. The next time I am out when the air is clear I'll drive up here and try for an image of the distant LA skyscrapers to the west - now, THAT is a view!

Wunderground & Alliance auction 12-02-07

One website that I check frequently is Weather Underground.
http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/viewimages.html

Sometimes I go to check the weather somewhere in the country, but usually I go to look at the wonderful photos posted by amateur and professional photographers from all over the world. The pictures cover just about every subject possible and some are extraordinary.

This sleeping Roseate Spoonbill in Orlando, Florida, was posted yesterday by "Bubba's Canon". Isn't she beautiful? Naturally all the images are copyrighted, but they do serve as great inspiration.

The Alliance for the American Quilt auction ended at midnight. The final bid for "Tree House" was $710.00. I'm glad that it brought in so much for the Alliance 'pocketbook'. I hope someone will tell me who owns it now.