A Saturday Drive to Corona del Mar, CA 05-01-10

Corky and I started out just to go to the POffice, the bank and Starbuck's, but when we were on the road it was such a gorgeous day we ended up going for a drive. Here are the San Bernardino Mountains from near the Anaheim Lakes in Anaheim. There is still snow up there, more on the other side because it doesn't get the full day of hot sun. These are the mountains that are usually shrouded in smog.

I needed to pick up something in Corona del Mar, on the coast near Newport Beach, sometime this coming week, so we just kept going.

What I picked up are tickets for the Home Garden Tour sponsored by Sherman Library and Gardens. http://www.slgardens.org/default.asp For most of the 14 years the tour has been offered Liz and I have have talked about doing this, but there is always something that has prevented us from going. This year is THE year we will make it. In addition to driving around to see the different gardens, we will have time to wander in Sherman Gardens and maybe slip over to Roger's Gardens, a fantastic commercial nursery in the area. When I lived in that area I would visit Roger's just to enjoy the flowers and the peacefulness. The picture above is a variety of white flowered oxalis with wonderful red splotches in the heart of the leaves.

This vine grows on the outside of the wall all around Sherman Gardens. I used to know the name of it, but I can't think of it right now. No fragrance. (After more research I believe this is a form of Bignonia and I have posted a comment.)

And it seems it would attract bees, but I didn't see any today.

In the background is the vine shown above and in the foreground a mixture of sedums with wonderful color contrasts.

When we got back in the car Corky looked so sweet and bright eyed I thought I would get a good picture. However, he took exception to having his picture taken. This is his "She's at it again, pointing that camera in my face." look.

On the way home we drove past the Orange County airport, which in this picture is almost directly in front of us beyond the taller buildings. And far, far beyond are the same San Bernardino Mountains that I photographed earlier when we were in Anaheim. The snow is just visible in the top left of the picture. As I said, it was a gorgeous day.

Clip Art 04-30-10

For several days I have been experimenting to find a way to move something from Publisher to Blogger and this is what I have been able to do. They aren't perfect - but they are here and I hope they don't just disappear. When I create the Surfside QGuild newsletter I am always looking for appropriate clips to use in those odd blank spaces, but I don't want to have to pay for them! The free clip art sites seemed to be arranged in strange ways. Below are a few of the images that are offered in the category "Spring".

Some I could figure out. Here is a guy exercising with equipment composted of coil springs. And maybe the school bus is Spring Break? I had to think a bit about the green onions - they are referred to as spring onions in some parts of the country.

I haven't a clue what this has to do with Spring. It appears to be someone tying together large bones in a cave. Spring bones? Nah.

The image on the left has lovely spring colors, but what does it mean? Is there a country that celebrates Spring with a lady on a stick whose hair resembles fire? And finally there is Spring with a flower - a snowdrop maybe? I was able to locate some images I could use. You can check them out in the Surfside QGuild newsletter post May 1, 2010.

http://sites.google.com/site/surfsidequiltersguild/Home/newsletters. or http://tinyurl.com/2c7eqel

Who reads my blog? 04-29-10

I didn't start 'monitoring' my blog until several years after I starting writing DELQUILTS (and others) and now I use both Site Meter and Stat Counter. They are just two of the services that I have come across and I don't know how they compare with other such services. I like Site Meter, but go to Stat Counter because they have great maps showing where 'hits' came from. Usually the numbers on both sites are within two or three numbers of each other. Anyone have ideas, thoughts or other services they like better than these two?

I don't use the statistics for anything - I just look and amuse myself thinking of why someone at some far distant point on this earth would find anything interesting in my blog. And where are some of these people? The map above shows a "hit" off the coast of Africa, but I couldn't find an island that looked to be in that position. Do ships or private boats have their own ISP? Is it like a hidden bank account on a foreign island?

This is the 'explanation' that pinpoints where the hit originated. As you see, this one was in February, but whoever it is has looked at my blog several times since then. Of course, I don't check every single day, so I don't know how often they might be online and blog reading.
I do know who some of my readers are, of course. They post comments or send e-mails directly to me. And sometimes I know it is a friend that lives in a particular small town. How many readers would I get from Mt. Vernon, WA? Except my friend Mabel who lives there. And some are bloggers whose posts I read and they, in turn, reciprocate. I do find this blogging world simply fascinating. I like pictures of where people live and places that they go and I become attached to their families and their pets. One friend says "Get a life!", but I enjoy both my real and my online life. So far, I haven't gotten them mixed up.

Wordless Wednesday 04-28-10

Natalya Aikens quilt from TCQC on blog 04-25-10

Here is another of the quilts I purchased at the SAQA 2009 online auction.

"Piterskoie Okno" (St. Pete Window 15) Natalya Aikens 2009 12" x 12"

Vintage handkerchief, vintage lace, dryer sheets, plastic, paper, synthetic organza. Printed, painted, free-hand
machine embroidered and hand stitched.

I have left a bit of the wall surface showing since the silk edging is so soft it is impossible to flatten it and make the piece square.

Natalya uses a variety of surface design techniques and products in her work. I especially appreciate the delicate hand stitching on this piece and the lovely fine cotton handkerchief she has used as a background. Notice that she has inserted a piece of filet lace (Guipure d"Art, net darning) in the right panes as if there were a curtain hanging there. I suspect she has also used some Luminiere paint in the left side panes.

Natalya has a DVD demonstrating some of her techniques. I believe it was made in 2009, but nobody seems to date DVDs (one of my pet peeves) so it could have been made at any time. Her fondness for window images is apparent in the DVD and on her blog. http://artbynatalya.blogspot.com/

http://www.interweavestore.com/Quilting/Video/Texture-Transformation-DVD.html

Quilt by Jan Hirth 04-24-10

I admire the work of Jan Hirth, a member of Surfside QGuild and Beach Cities QGuild and recent retired adult ed quilting teacher. I know that her students miss her, but I think she might have more time now to choose projects she might not have had time for previously. She showed this recent quilt at the April SQG meeting. What great colors, what precise stitching.

"Tree O' Life" made by Jan Hirth from a pattern by the Piece O' Cake ladies. Hand appliqued and machine quilted. Made for Emily Stegman, Jan's 27 year old niece. Jan has added Emily's gold kitty, Twix, using a pattern from Nancy Ota. It's hanging from a limb of the tree.