Loaded shelves and scraps 07-19-08

Boxes of fabric filling the shelves. There are fifty-four large boxes and fifteen small. And some miscellaneous baskets and paper boxes. So neat and tidy. Will I ever be willing to mess it up? Will I ever be able to find anything? I will need to buy two more of the extra large boxes like the one on the very top shelf which is where the batting will live.

What is left over is scraps - piles, baskets, boxes and bags. I think I will just divide them up into three bags and donate them for the Beach Cities Quilters Guild Xmas auction in December. I did this about a decade ago and it was a popular item on the silent auction tables. There are other 'scrappers' out there!

Birds, Mysterious Ads 07-18-08

I picked up Corky in Long Beach this afternoon and on the way home I saw this Osprey bout three blocks from his house. He was perched on a light standard right over the street, spending most of his time preening and not posing for pictures. These are the best I could do with my digital camera.

Osprey are one of the bird species that was threatened with extinction by the use of DDT. They have made a good comeback since DDT was banned in the USA. I see them frequently about two miles from my house near Anaheim Lakes (which are artificial) because several Osprey nesting poles have been erected in the area.

Osprey eat fish, diving into the water to hook them with lethal talons. They carry them suspended in both feet with the fish head pointing forward to cut down on drag. An elegant form of delivery to nest or roosting tree.
Growing up in western Oregon I saw a lot of Osprey fishing in the rivers and lakes, I'm so glad to see them more frequently now.

The mysterious ad was on a billboard along the freeway. It was one of those that keep the product a bit of a mystery - I didn't see a brand name, but I was going 65 mph. All I caught was the image of an auto and the words, "Distilled yet not reduced." How do they distill a vehicle? And why? Weird stuff.

Sorry ..... 07-17-08

Sorry, no post! I am too tired to think. And when I do think I think how tired I am. It is very humid here lately, combined with the heat it saps my strength. I don't know how people manage in the South or anywhere else there is summer humidity. I'll do better tomorrow.

Raspberry Love 07-16-08

I do love raspberries. I had intended to post this earlier in the month because the photos were taken in Portland, OR, July 9, 2005. But I needed to locate this poem - it is so apt.

Raspberry Love by Monroe Sprawl

If ever I dies an’ yo ain’t certain I’s dead,
Just butter some biscuit an’ new made bread
An’ spread ‘em all over with raspberry jam,
Then step mighty sofly to whar I am
An’ move dem vittles above my head, --
If my mouf don’t open I’m certainly dead.

I moved to California in 1957 and for many years I drove back up to Portland about every other year to visit family. My mother always accused me of being there for the raspberries, rather than to see the family. I wasn't, but it was certainly a great bonus. It had been a long time since I had enjoyed fresh off the canes Oregon raspberries, so when I went through on a road trip in July 2005, I ate all I could. I still dream of them. Imagine four raspberries large enough to fill my palm - heaven!

Remainders/Reminders 07-15-08

Since I have been sewing/quilting I have always saved scraps. When I made my own clothes I rolled up the scraps and tied them with a thin piece torn off of an edge. This is what my mother and my grandmother and my aunt did, so I did it also. Now, of course, I stuff them into a zip baggie of an appropriate size.

I've always enjoyed running across these little bundles when looking through my scrap box. They bring back memories of clothes and quilts long gone. In my organizing I came across a bag containing these scraps, which are not all from the same quilt - I wonder how that happened? But most are from the quilt below.

"Cactus Flower" Del Thomas 2000 61.5"W x 48"L

Machine Pieced and Machine Quilted

Of course, this evening I cannot find a really good picture of it on my computer, this one was taken at a group exhibit at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, CA, a couple years ago. I started the quilt in a Ruth McDowell class at Asilomar, took the paper design back the next year to do more work on it and finally start auditioning fabrics. Back home it was so hard to concentrate on such a complex project that I finally went out alone to Corky's house in the desert and did nothing but work on this quilt for five days. And that is just fabric selection and piecing. As you can tell, I am not one of the speed queens in the quilting world! I didn't keep track of the machine quilting time, but it seemed to take forever. I guess this quilt took me about 2-1/2 years and cost around $3000 - counting two classes at Empty Spools and one trip to the desert! Of course, one can't think of it like that, because everything we learn along the way continues to be useful for many future quilts. This is the largest quilt I have made using Ruth's piecing techniques, but I have done many smaller ones as it is a technique I thoroughly enjoy.

Shelves complete at last 07-14-08

The last shelving unit went up rather quickly. It might be we learned enough on the first two - or maybe we are just lucky. If there ever is a next time, I'll pay someone to do it!

LOOK, we emptied three large boxes and two small ones. With the exception of one box of orange fabric on the left, all the bags under this table are full of scraps! I am addicted to saving scraps, if not to doing something with them.

However, in emptying the boxes we made new stacks of fabrics - like this box of lights with an equal number of lights sorted on to the top. Even after culling it will still make two boxes - you can never have enough lights.

Here are three boxes of 'motifs' which I have been collecting for decades! I do use some of them, but I still intend to make at least two 'I Spy' quilts. As you can see I have enough piled on top to fill another box - more culling.

Liz was here all day today again, still cracking the whip, is there another friend in all the world who is so kind and helpful? In addition to organizing we have enjoyed talking fabrics and colors and designs and sharing laughter, but she still won't make any decisions for me! My brain is very tired tonight.

Still at it! 07-13-08

This is how we left it when we quit on Friday. I was honestly on my last leg and Liz had to get home to fix her husband some dinner.

Corky checked out what we had done. He looks a little bewildered, doesn't he? Poor guy didn't get a lot of lovin' that day, but I made up for it today.

What he likes to do most of all at my house is lay on the hot cement patio. Even when the air temp is in the high 90s - and the cement must be at least ten degrees hotter. Occasionally he has come in by himself, but usually I have to pick him up and carry him in the house. He is one HOT dog.

I took him back to his house today and also went to the Container Store to replace a set of poles. We couldn't keep the fitting that holds up the shelf from sliding down and decided there was something wrong with that one pole. We had put two shelving units together, what was with this third one? We'll try again tomorrow - with a different set of poles.