Nancy Brown quilts 04-12-08

Nancy Brown is a Bay Area quilt maker who creates fabulous hand-appliqued, hand-quilted works, usually depicting animals. I have admired her pieces at Pacific International Quilt Festival every year and also at East Bay Heritage Quilters QShows. Today Mary and I went to EBHQ, held at the Oakland Convention Center and saw three of Nancy's quilts displayed.

"Elegy" (28"W x 23"L) is based on a photo of a tiger named Tatianna.

"Rocky" (15"W x 12"L) This sweet little tabby was part of the silent auction.

"Henry" (13.5"W x 18"L), also part of the silent auction, is named after the "Laugh-In" character Henry who appeared onstage with a flower and a poem. "Henry" will come to live in the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection. Hurrah, there is finally a Nancy Brown quilt in the Collection!

Wildflowers - I-5 near Gorman 04-09-08

Yes, I am on the road again! I drove north on Sunday, 04-09-08, back to San Juan Bautista to stay with Mary for a week - isn't she a kind friend?

There were a lot of wildflowers in the miles just south of Gorman, CA. This is at a much higher and drier altitude than the Paso Robles area I post about on 03-30-08. So the flowers bloom later and the background is not so lush.

There is a frontage road that follows the foot of the hills, the area between that and the Interstate is most grazing for cattle.

Christo had his umbrellas flowing over these hills in the early 90s.

Almost to Gorman, which is very close to the high point of this road - these hills are rather barren and above the natural tree line.

Runaway Truck Ramp 04-09-08

Are there runaway truck ramps all over the country? I have seen a few on my travels, but there are two that I pass frequently on I-5 on the north end of the Ridge Route. It is a very steep grade down onto the valley floor and a lot of trucks travel this route every day. Despite brake checks and inspections there a occasionally brakes that fail and the eighteen wheelers go careening down the grade.

Off to the left the valley stretches out for hundreds of miles. On the right the runaway truck escape road climbs a steep grade.

This ramp has quite a few inches of loose gravel to slow the trucks, along with the steep grade at the top where it dead ends.

A little further on, where the roadway curves to the right, there is a runaway truck ramp on the west side of the northbound lanes. It also has the deep, loose gravel and a steep upward slope, coming to a dead end at the top.

On the southbound lines the steepest grade is on the south end of the Ridge Route going down out of the mountains into community of Castaic. To avoid the steep downward grade the lanes have been switched, with the northbound roadway passing under the southbound and taking the steeper slope up for several miles before switching back again. Fifty years ago when I first drove Hwy 99 (as it was before the Interstate was built) the twists and curves, the up and down grades, the narrowness of the canyon and the overheated engines all made this drive treacherous. It is so much easier now.

Harris Ranch on I-5 @ CA198

This is one of the entrances to the restaurants, banquet rooms and offices at Harris Ranch, one of my regular stops on I-5 a little more than halfway on my drive from Placentia to San Juan Bautista. There are many fountains like this scattered throughout the grounds and the courtyards in the 'inn' part of the complex, lending the tinkle of water to the oasis feeling.

The flowers beds are full of brilliant flowers and there are lots of soothing white and green to help travelers feel cooler. It will become scorching hot soon and stay that way through the summer months.

This trip I just parked in a lot, used the lovely tiled ladies room and walked the circumference of the compound because I was getting stiff and needed to get some exercise. Doing this adds about an hour to my drive, but I feel a lot better when I arrive and can unglue my seat from the seat! I was surprised to see beds of Mexican Evening Primrose which can become terribly invasive in a garden. It has, however, handsome flowers.

It is a little early for the Hollyhocks to be blooming, but the leaves are lush and green. I might see some blossoms next week when I drive home.

From the Post Office 04-08-08

I had a package to mail today and, of course, I had to wait until my number was called. I didn't have a book with me (horrors!), so I was just looking at the stuff sitting around on the counters. Remember when the Post Office was just a post office and not a mercantile opportunity? Among all the stuff I saw a cardboard dispenser (with the PO insignia) containing these plastic mailing bags.

I don't know how new this program is, but I had not heard of it previously. I picked up a couple mailers, just in case I come up with something that I need to dispose of - although the hazardous waste disposal station is only a couple miles from my house. The permit holder for the prepaid postage on these is Small Electronics Return Center in Calexico, CA, it is down by the Mexican border.

Additions for my fabric library 04-07-08

Someday there will be a group for fabric lovers - like Alcoholics Anonymous - and I will be a charter member. I will stand in front of the group and state, "Hi, my name is Del and I am addicted to fabric." Although I laugh when I say I have a fabric "room", I am quite serious. I'm sure if all that I own were in one room it would fill it to the ceiling. And still, I bought more fabric at Back Porch Fabric Shop while I was in Pacific Grove last week.

How could I resist these great prints, even though I haven't made a child's quilt for ages. I'm always a sucker for birds.

This black/white/red 'architectural' print is so charming - it could almost be a whole cloth quilt.

When I saw the fourth print from the right I thought it was slices of tree branches, but it is actually buttons. How could I resist?

The third and fourth fabrics from the left are destined to be vegetables, but I didn't need to buy a half a yard - an eighth would have been enough. I seem to think in 1/3, 1/2 and 1 yard cuts.

This is a rather subdued selection, I usually have two or three wild prints which invariably end up as backs on very subdued quilts. Sort of my Jekyll and Hyde fabric personality being revealed.

Asilomar Views 04-04-08

Jane Barnes matches this ceanothus bush near the door to our classroom, Nautilus. The bush was in beak bloom on Sunday when we arrived, but I was so busy with other things I didn't photograph it. It is probably better with Jane as counterpoint.

Some trees are always bare this time of year and they are one of the things I love about Asilomar. All those gnarly, twisting limbs are so graceful.

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See the raindrops across the top of the picture? This was taken looking under the railing and along the back of the sleeping rooms. It rained all day on Tuesday (I think it was, anyway), but the other days were mostly clear and cool.

A last look down the path to Asilomar beach which is directly across Sunset Ave from the back gate into the Asilomar grounds. There always seems to be someone on this beach, no matter what the weather. Most of the coastline is rocky, so a stroll on the sand is special.

I have visited Asilomar for about thirty years. Floyd and I stayed there when there were rooms available and since 1991 I have visited at least once a year for the Empty Spools Conferences. It is high on my list of very special places - along with Yosemite Valley, Pawleys Island on the coast of South Carolina, the Oregon beaches and Bishop Creek west of Bishop, CA.

Ruth McDowell's class (#8 ) 04-03-08

The Boy at the Beach is Judy Macurda's grandson. She has added some bright 'summer-at-the-beach' colors to her design.

This colorful landscape has been designed and constructed by Grace Giaimo. Isn't that sky wonderful?

Ruth McDowell, Patty Bagley, Kay Crabbe.

Deborah Lancaster, Kathy Shaker, Kayrn Meyreles and (in front) Carolyn Tickner. On the left of the picture are veggies from Ruth McDowell's "Pieced Vegetables" book. Del Thomas is making them in the size they appear in the book - except the celery which was too small for her to piece!

Ruth McDowell's class (#7) 04-03-08

Mary Ann McReynolds' Dahlias and Butterflies will be very striking when completed - she has a good start. Mary Ann has placed a plastic wastebasket liner beneath her work and will pin the pieces to this when she transports her work home. Clever!

This Chicken will be raw-edge appliqued to a pieced background that Deborah Lancaster started constructing in Ruth's class.

Last year in Ruth's class Lisa Batris didn't complete her Pelican, so she brought it back this year and has made good progress - the pelican's head has all been pieced together. (See my post of 04-02 for an earlier view.)

Here is Patty Bergkamp with the Pelican she started in the class this week. Lisa is pointing to a fabric with the appearance of a rock that birds have been sitting on. Sorry about the quality of the image, but it is the only one I have!

Ruth McDowell's class (#6) 04-03-08

Carol Jacobsen took this photo of a camel on a trip to Australia. She has carefully drawn the rectangles formed by the wire fencing and shows the camel superimposed on this background. She hopes to include some of the Australian fabrics like the one across the top that she has collected.

Clematis flowers are the focus of Kay Crabbe's design. She has some of the fabric pieces in one flower pinned up and a selection of fabrics she is auditioning for other pieces.

Margaret Harden has one section completed for her Hibiscus flower. She has decided to minimize the pink color and accentuate the red and white.

Patty Bagley's Lighthouse is looking very realistic. After the fabric for the building is all selected she will audition fabrics for the rocks and the sky.

Ruth McDowell's class (#5) 04-03-08

Karen Meyreles has all of the fabric pieces for her Lotus pinned up on a master drawing, with a copy of her design shaded with the colors needed for each piece of fabric placed below.

This is the photo Karyn used to design her quilt.

Joale Starkie is making blocks with sunflowers and an Indian head for her quilt. She has sewn together these sections of one sunflower block.

Kathy Shaker is duplicating the picture of a moth with the very subtle colors of her original photograph.