Visiting.... Part II 03-06-09

Blogger would not accept these photos on the first part of this post. I think they are trying to discourage me from having a blog.

Mary Leakey, friend-beyond-price,extraordinary hostess, and great traveling companion.

Ruth McDowell in her classroom and Mary Leakey looking on.

"Sumac 2" Ruth B. McDowell 2009 28.5"W x 59.5"L

One of Ruth quilts in the classroom.

http://www.ruthbmcdowell.com

Visiting Empty Spools 03-06-09

If I can actually get these pictures onto my blog you shouldn't expect anymore until I am home. Maybe Sunday night.

Mary and I had a great time visiting with friends we have made over the years at the Empty Spools Conferences at Asilomar in Pacific Grove, CA. We went in the late afternoon so we could meet after classes were over at 4pm - we didn't take away any one's class time. We know that every minute is precious

Sylvia Einstein http://www.sheinstein.addr.com/

Sylvia's sample for the class she was teaching: Divide and Conquer

Friends from Washington State:

Reynola Pakusich, Suzanne Lucy, Mabel Huseby

http://www.pakusich.com/

Spring Green 03-04-09

Yesterday (Tuesday) Mary and I drove to Gilroy, the next town up Hwy 101, to shop at the outlet mall. I was the shopper (for trousers and shoes)and Mary along to keep me company. The rain had been periodic, we didn't even need umbrellas. Going south on Hwy 101 the fields were bright green...

...with wild mustard in flower scattered about.

Later in the day I drove to Asilomar in the rain and shot this view while driving on Hwy 1, looking to the east over the mustard along the road and the newly planted strawberry field to the misty covering of the hills beyond.

This image is looking west to the ocean with a band of trees at the far side of a field of artichoke plants. Close by is the "Artichoke Capital of the World" - Castroville (NOT Watsonville - sorry).

I have more landscape pictures that I will edit a bit more and then post in an online album. I'll post the URL tomorrow.

Food, again! 03-03-09

This evening I had dinner with three friends I know from Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar in the past. Mabel Huseby, Suzanne Lucy and Reynola Pakusich all live north of Seattle in Washington State. I only see them at Asilomar and this session Reynola is teaching and Mabel and Suzanne are taking classes. If I wanted to see them before spring 2010 I had to be here during this session. Even so, we haven't seen much of each other because there is always so much going on. Therefore, the four of us went to dinner at our favorite place - The Red House! I'm sure I could dine there every night for a week and not get tired of their delicious food. No exception for dinner tonight. But we were too busy catching up with each other to take pictures of the food! However, when dessert came we had slowed down a bit. I'm sorry the pictures are not better. A nice guy even offered to take a picture of the four of us, but it is so blurry we are unrecognizable. When I put the pictures in my computer I couldn't figure out why - oh yes, at night one needs a flash! Duh! We will have to try again before we all leave for home.

Reynola and Suzanne opted for the cheesecake which is served thusly.

Mabel ordered the Apple Strudel which had the same toppings as the cheesecake. And I had the Apple Strudel, but without the toppings. We figure that we are only here one week a year so splurging is okay.

Workshop results/Afternoon in Pacific Grove 03-02-09

Is this pitiful or what? This is all that I accomplished in Sylvia Einstein's workshop "Little towns" on Saturday. Can you see it as a city in the background and little houses in front? They will have pointed roofs and a road along the front. It is all in my head!

I made a stop at Back Porch Fabrics Shop this afternoon. They had received a shipment of new fabric earlier and were in the process of putting it out on the shelves. What goodies! But I did restrain myself and only bought two half yards + a one yard piece. Of course, I could stop back tomorrow when I am in Pacific Grove again. When you walk out of the shop and look to your right the image above is the view down the street with Monterey Bay at the bottom and the hills around Santa Cruz across the water.

Look slightly to the left and you see this gazebo in the park with the large deodar trees and the blue sky. It looks like a lovely day, but mostly it rained - from gentle mist to pounding downpours. Then the sun would come out again for an hour or so.

There was a farmer's market on Lighthouse Street, but only about eight vendors. I was struck by the beauty of this cauliflower. I had only seen white and green previously - aren't these colors wonderful?

What an image! I wonder if the purple and gold retain their color when cooked. These come from a local organic farm.

Quilt by Jill Rumoshosky Werner 03-01-09

"Discombobulated" Jill Rumoshosky Werner 2001 2"W x 9.5 YARDS L 2001

Hand dyed fabrics by the artist. Machine pieced and quilted http://www.wernerstudio.com/

Part of Jill's Emotions series, the name of this quilt means "upset, confused, frustrated". Appropriately, it can never be exhibited in exactly the same way twice. Although it has all the 'requirements' of a quilt, it steps into the realm of sculpture and challenges the viewer's concept of both quilts and sculpture. This quilt has traveled the country, appearing in museums, quilt shows and exhibits, including the prestigious Art Quilts at the Whistler in Lowell, MA.

When I first saw a listing for this quilt I thought there was a typo and it should have shown as 2"W X 9.5"L, but, when I inquired, Jill sent back an image of the quilt that explained the unusual measurements - 2" wide by 9.5 YARDS long is correct. I was amazed and enchanted, so I purchased the piece from her. It was traveling at the time and for several years spent more time in exhibits than it did in my house, which was fine by me. I think this is a ground breaking quilt that helps expand the way people think of quilts. It is always a topic of conversation and when I do presentations I challenge the audience to find something about it that is not a quilt. It has batting, is pieced, quilted, bound (hand finished on the back). It can lay on a bed, hang on a wall or be draped on a piece of furniture. When Jill showed it to a group of children as part of a presentation about quilts she had a group of them stand together and she wrapped the quilt around all of them to show that people could even wrap up in it! Some people will never accept this as a quilt, or as a work of art, but a few viewers are always 'won over' to the quilt view.

This quilt was displayed like this when it was part of the exhibit "Quilts from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection" at the Visions Gallery of Art Quilts in San Diego in summer 2007.

Workshop & Dinner 02-28-09

We drove to Monterey this morning for Sylvia's "Small Towns" workshop - Sylvia as teacher, Mary and Del as students (2 out of 20). It was a fun workshop and a great bunch of quilt making ladies. I didn't take pictures but have been promised some copies of pictures taken by another student in the workshop. I'll post some when/if I receive them. And maybe tomorrow I will be able to post a picture of what I did today.

After the workshop Mary and I went to dinner with Gail Abeloe and Jeanne Mills at the Red House - and sitting at the next table were Sylvia, Ruth McDowell and Sue Broenkow! Hugs all around and then we went to our separate tables.

Mary, Gail and I ordered the Blue Cheese Souffle, which is just too delicious for words, and Jeanne ordered the fantastic spinach salad with chicken. Above is an image of the outside of the souffle. The field greens that surround it are lightly dressed and accompanied by very thinly sliced pickled pears. There should have also been candied pecans but somehow they were left off this time.

This is the inside of the souffle showing the chunks of blue cheese.

I haven't had a Latte since I left home on Wednesday, so this one was extra tasty.

Jeanne had the spinach salad with chicken on the top.

We contemplated dessert because they were serving ollalieberry pie - and theirs is undoubtedly the best in the world. However, we were all satiated and decided to come back another evening just for pie and the special hand churned vanilla ice cream.

Doesn't it look delicious? It really is!