Class with Jenny Bowker 01-19-08

As you can see I am, as usual, not getting very far, very fast. I am terrible in workshops as I find it hard to work with fascinating creations going on around me, plus I always seem to find reasons not to be in the classroom! I didn't take a design board because I thought we could stick pins in the walls, but they are too hard. I needed to get the squares up where I could move them around for a good color/value arrangement. So, at the beginning of lunch break I went downstairs to the vendors to find some batting, thinking I could be back in less than half an hour to attend Jenny's lecture on Egyptian textiles. WELL, was I ever wrong! There was almost no room to move with all the people, requiring some wiggling and sidestepping and butt bumping, but I finally located Hobbs booth and bought a 60" square of unbleached cotton batting. Then I had to retrace my steps back to the lecture room - this little jaunt took me 50minutes! So, I missed the first 20minutes of the lecture, but I'm glad I didn't miss the end because Jenny held up some gorgeous tent maker's hand appliqued ..I don't know what to call them... wall hangings, I guess. I will post one soon because, of course, I couldn't resist adding one to the TCQC. Later in the afternoon while I was chasing around the Convention Center looking for a Xerox machine I ran into so many people that I know, some that I haven't seen for years, that I spent way too much time getting hugs and updates. And that is why the above picture is all I have to show for two days work. This is the beginning of a triptych, but I'm not sure it is the direction Jenny intends her students to go. Guess I will find out tomorrow, eh? This evening I am in Long Beach with the Poodle Prince whilst his parents go to a symphony, but I'll be home in time to get some sleep before 6am rolls around again.

Road to California 01-18-08

Today I attended the first day of a three day class with Jenny Bowker at Road to California. http://www.jennybowker.com/ The class starts at 8:30am each morning, which means I have to leave the house sometime between 7:15 and 7:30am! Practically the middle of the night to this night owl. I can't post pictures of the class or the show w/o permission; besides, I never quite got around to picture taking today. I met Franki Kohler and her sister Christy Cutting for a lovely dinner at the Marriott before I drove home and now it is 10:15pm Pacific Time and I am too tired to think of any other pictures I might post! I'll try to do better tomorrow.

Paper-white Narcissus 01-17-08

I logged out of Picasa and back in and the paper-white pictures reappeared. The mysteries of computers will never cease. Notice the tiny center cup holding the stamens and anthers.

Cute!

What'sit? 01-17-08

Looks a little like some kind of pepper! But these are the seed pods of paper-whites which are about midpoint in their winter bloom. I had some wonderful photos of the flowers, but when I tried to move them to Blogger they disappeared, leaving just this one behind. I don't know where they went! I doubt that I will be home in time to rephotograph them tomorrow. So, I have to settle for just the pods!

Thread 01-16-08

Presencia Cotton Sewing Thread 3-Ply, 50wt 500m spool

361 Dark Elephant Skin Gray, 363 Medium Gray 1, 365 Jet Gray

These spools of thread are so similar in color I think it is amazing how much difference there is when they are used in quilting. I am using 365 Jet Gray on "Woodland - Early Winter".

The spools are all the same size, the camera just distorted them.

A day of quilting 01-15-08

The thread from Sew Thankful http://sewthankful.com/ came in the mail yesterday late afternoon (there is a substitute carrier this week) and I opened the package quickly so I could compare colors in the daylight. I see the color as a greyed brown, but it is actually grey with a slight brownish cast. And I thought my eyes were just bad in the night time! Anyway, I have been working on the quilt most of the day and hope to do the binding tomorrow. The only time I went outside all day was to put out the trash cans, but it looked like it was another balmy day.

Snowy mountains 01-14-08

The series of storms that came through Southern California left lots of snow on the local mountains and yesterday, being Sunday, was a wonderfully clear day allowing us to enjoy their distant beauty. Today the temperature was in the 70s and a great deal of the snow had melted. And, though balmy, it was not very clear.

I took this picture from the transition ramp from the 55Fwy to the 91Fwy, with the Anaheim Lakes across the middle of the view - the lightest area.

Color Bowls 01-13-08

While I am waiting for my thread I went back to another project which is part of a series I call "Color Bowls". I've made several quilts based on this idea, but only one other with this exact design. So, I suppose this is "Color Bowls" #2. I'm having a terrible time choosing a background, but this black/white print might do it. I need a few more bowls and then I will put it up on the design board and move things around. There is usually a point that I get stumped and it takes lots of thinking and looking to solve the problem. I don't think I'm the only one, but it is frustrating.