A President's Quilt for Nancy 05-29-10

It is the practice of Southern California quilt guilds (and some guilds in other parts of the country) to make a quilt for their outgoing president. Nancy Ota, the founding president and the person who has devoted much of her life this past two years to getting this guild up and running, deserves something special. And this "kimono quilt is it. Members were asked to make a 4-1/2" block using the dark blue fabric provided by the guild as the background and to create a brightly colored tropical flower. Of course, hand applique would be preferred, but some members cannot hand applique, so there are also machine made blocks and fused blocks. There are 154 blocks in the quilt.

To honor Nancy's Japanese heritage it was decided to use the kimono shape and to include symbols meaningful to her and her family - her family kamon (crest), her husband Mike’s kamon, the guild logo, signatures of the board and all the participants and even a photo of Mike and Nancy in Japan wearing yukata.

The fans on the back contain the signatures of the board and the volunteers who worked on this project. The picture of Nancy and Mike is at the lower right of the back.

A great start to the tradition of quilts for the outgoing president of the Surfside Quilters Guild.

Hummers - not a happy day 05-28-10

This is the last picture I have of Hope and Hoku together - Hope is on the left. Sometime this morning a crow attacked the nest, knocked the camera off its 'hook' and both of the babies were gone. The owner of the camera immediately went home from work and after a 45 min search Hoku was located and returned to the nest. Hope has not been found.

Mommy Phoebe returned to the nest and sat on the edge with her body stretched over her remaining baby as though to comfort and protect him/her. We love to give our favorite animals human traits, don't we? Hoku just sat in the nest for the longest time, but after several feedings from his/her mommy perked up and started moving around, exercising wings and pooping over the edge of the nest. The business about an adult bird rejecting a chick that has been touched by human hands is a myth and definitely doesn't apply to hummingbirds. The camera owner spent a good deal of time searching his yard and all the trees and bushes for Hope, but no luck. Some of the people in the Chat Room are convinced that Phoebe knows where Hope is and is feeding him/her there, but, knowing crows as I do, I doubt it. It would be a miracle after 24 hours to find the little hummer alive and well. This has affected many people very deeply, including me - we are in mourning for this little creature we watched grow and almost reach the point he/she could fly away and live a long and happy live. Can hummers be happy? We like to think so!

Hummingbird babies 05-07-10

This nest is slightly smaller than a golf ball.

This picture was taken in the morning on May 25th. Hope (the first born and therefore the largest) is at the bottom of the nest with his/her beak pointed straight at you. Hoku is to your right with his/her beak pointed to the top right corner of the picture.

Here they are on May 26th - both beaks pointing to the top right with Hope in the front. You can see that they still have white coverings on their foreheads and wings - they will preen these off with their beaks and their toes.

Later on the 26th Hope is squashing Hoku into the nest to give him/her room to do wing exercises. Hoku is on the bottom 90% of the time - he/she was born 24 hours after Hope.

May 27th - As the babies grow the nest (made of bits of grass, leaves, moss, whatever) which is tied together with spider web silk expands to hold them. Hope is in the front pointing left and Hoku is in the back pointing right - perhaps they fit better this way!

They are in the same position, but Hope has really gotten on top and spread his/her wings so he/she can preen and exercise. Poor Hoku is buried.

Phoebe, the mother, has come to feed her kids and we are looking at the back of her head as she perches on the edge of the nest. You can just see Hoku's yellow bottom bill to the right of mamma's head. Hope has his/her beak wide open, begging for more.
http://www.ustream.tv/hummingbirdnestcam

Wordless Wednesday 05-26-10

A Wonderful Book 05-25-10

I have always been a reader - I don't even know how I learned. My mother thought I was pretending and had memorized something someone had read to me. She was very irritated, so I tried not to let anyone know I could read. Odd for a little child, I think. I always felt that teachers really didn't want me to read unless I read what they told me to, but mother sent a note to school and the public library saying I should read anything I wanted. On the other hand, she would tell me to "get your nose out of that book and go out and play". It was all rather confusing and I still don't understand.

I recently finished this book and recommend it to you. But not if it bothers you to read about illness and surgery and bodily functions! It is, I think, all part of life and reading just about anything teaches us something about living or about how we have lived. Within the first few pages Verghese writes "Life is like that. You live it forward, but understand it backward." He does have the ability to 'turn a phrase' that speaks to me and, I imagine, to a lot of others as his book is a best seller. If you need further prompting just Google his name and read some of the information about him. I enjoyed this interview: http://tinyurl.com/2wdr2fd

Jenny Bowker quilt in TCQC 05-23-10

I have admired Jenny Bowker's work for years having seen her pieces in magazines, at Pacific International Quilt Festival (PIQF) and, more recently, online. When I had the chance I took a workshop with her at Road to CA - she is an excellent teacher and it was a great class. Last August we were again in touch and I looked at the quilts she had available to sell. This one is beautifully made and a wonderful example of monochromatic work, so I bought it. And it has been hanging on my wall ever since - a daily delight.

"Hot Water - Dead Sea" Jenny Bowker - Australia 50 cm x 150 cm (19"W X 60"L)

"As the waters of the sea increase in temperature the sea will become more acid. Corals and molluscs will be unable to form shells and the reefs will die. For a while at least, coelenterates like jelly fish will fill the seas."

Cotton fabric, wool mix batting, layered appliqué, piecing.

This detail shows that the outside edge is the blue binding and gives a closeup of Jenny's imaginative quilting. The patchwork is typical of the pieces she has made in the past and gives a connection to the origin of 'art quilts'.

Check her website at: http://www.jennybowker.com/ You might also look at http://www.canberraquilters.org.au/galleries/2008/Bowker_73.html which shows Jenny's quilt that took Best of Show at Canberra and http://www.quiltgallery.co.nz/exhibitions/achangeintheweather.php showing the exhibit in which this quilt appeared. If you are interested in traveling in Egypt you should read the archives of Jenny's blog: http://jennybowker.blogspot.com/ Jenny has been conducting group tours of sights in Egypt - contact her.