Gorgeous day 02-28-09

Lonely walker on access road along Hwy 101 near San Juan Bautista. The grass is green and the willows are putting out their yellow/green leaflets.

The cattle are out on the hillsides enjoying the grazing.

This field is the ultimate green, I think. It almost hurts my eyes.

Handsome fellow! One of San Juan Bautista's wandering roosters. Look at that iridescent tail! I didn't see any hens, they are probably all hiding from the dozens of roosters!

On the road again. 02-26-09

I'm sorry I missed posting yesterday - I was out of steam by the time I arrived at Mary and Joe's house in San Juan Bautista. I haven't traveled anywhere since October and I seem to have forgotten how to get ready! Old brain, I guess.

It was a lovely day driving up I-5, lots of interesting clouds and the hills are all freshly green. A couple weeks ago they were covered with snow! This is just south of Gorman, located about at the top of the grade. Last year I post pictures of these hills covered with wild flowers. http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2008/04/wildflowers-i-5-near-gorman-04-09-08.html

http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2008/04/spring-along-i-5-sjb-to-la-04-17-08.html

The clouds were dark and threatening, but I didn't see a drop of rain. The traffic was very light all the way after I passed Pasadena (210 Fwy). I found it rather spooky after years of driving I-5 with heavy truck and passenger vehicle traffic - guess people are saving money on gas.

Much further north I watched this gorgeous sunset interlaced with contrails from airliners out of San Jose. There were dozens of them so it must have been very, very cold up there.

Before the sun went down I drove past miles of almonds in blossom with stacks of bee hives under the trees. No fragrance, but lovely to look at. Not much actually growing now, but many of the fields are either just planted or ready to plant. If you click on the picture of the blossoming trees you can see some bee hives on the left of the picture.

Sylvia is also staying with Mary this weekend and we will be out and about tomorrow to visit the outlets and a new quilt shop in a nearby town. And, of course, to have lunch, but it probably won't be as good as the savoury panini sandwiches Mary served for lunch today.

Crow on a chain 02-24-09

I thought I had posted this photo of Corky and Tina at Discoveries Jewelry shop, but I can't find it in the archives. Tina owns and operates this lovely store, selling handmade jewelry and wonderful unusual handmade treasures. Corky likes to visit because she has treats for doggies and she insists that he can explore the shop off his lease. Tina is a dog lover!

Discoveries, 17350 17th St. #E, Tustin, CA 92780 714-544-6206

A month or so ago I bought this wonderful crow pin handmade by Gabrille Gould. I like it very much, but it is difficult for me to wear pins because of the type of clothes I wear and pins always get hooked up on the seat belt in the van.

I mentioned the problem to Tina who said the solution was to put a bail on the pin. I said go for it although I couldn't quite picture what she was explaining. "The bail has a sleeve that covers the pin," didn't register on my brain. Today I picked up the crow and now I understand what she meant. Clever - it doesn't slide around.

I did look at some earrings and other things, but managed to get out of the shop without adding anything to my jewelry box. Next time!

Quilt from TCQC 02-23-09

"Parking Magik" Deborah Lacativa 2003 22" square

This original design is about Deborah's minor skill that always nets her a choice parking spot, no matter how crowded or busy the parking lot. The foundation is a printed cotton bandanna with appliques of original digital images printed on PDF with BJS.

Embellished with glass beads...

tiny brass bells...

... and shells.

This quilt is so interesting and different than anything I have seen elsewhere. The use of the bandanna (India? African?) works very well and the shells, bells and beading are appropriate for this piece.

I purchased this one after I saw it in "My World in Black and White", an exhibit organized by Ann Copeland and her Fiberarts Connection of SCalifornia. And it isn't the only one I purchased from that very good exhibit! This quilt is very different than the work Deborah is doing now and I am pleased to have one of her early works in the Collection. I know that one of the influences that sent Deborah in a different direction was an Elizabeth Barton workshop. And, as she says, she hasn't looked back.

I also purchased it before I discovered the difficulty I have with storing quilts with lots of embellishments - especially dangling things. Along with a few other delicate pieces it is stored in a large flat acid free box for which I still haven't found a good spot in my house.

http://www.lacativa.com/

Problem w/blog 1:25pm 02-23-09

I don't know what is going on. Try clicking on the archives. This is a test message.

No photos 02-22-09

Sorry, Blogger won't let me post any photos. I will try again before noon. Earlier if I can. Check back! Del

"Color Bowls #6" - Chocolates 02-21-09

Periodically I have been working on the Color Bowls quilt I started back in January. Since I missed the deadline for which I had started this piece I am just going with my own idea and limitations. This center portion of the quilt is about 12" square.

On the January 26 I had five bowls of various sizes and I was trying out backgrounds. I won't show you all of those I tried, this seemed to be the best of the lot - but sort of wimpy. Then I put the whole thing aside.

Earlier this month I started looking for a background again and decided on this one, which I sandwiched and quilted using variegated thread. The color in this picture is pretty accurate.

Color Bowls #1 was laid out symmetrically and I liked it a lot. So, I tried it on this one. I had to discard the largest of the bowls and make some more small ones so that I would have nine.

I tried a random layout and it is okay, but not fantastic!

This closeup shows good color on the bowls, but the background is way off and I can't seem to improve it. Maybe I should take pictures outside in the daylight - right?

Opinions on the layout are welcome.