Looking Forward.... 12-31-11

I wish for you a new year filled with good food, good health, happiness, creativity, prosperity, and ROAD TRIPS!  I hope my body will cooperate and I can spend some time on the road somewhere in the West.  Maybe I will stop by to see you - wherever you are!



Western New Mexico - May 18, 2007

Friday Hands... and Feet? 12-30-11

I met this lady in Lake Havasu City at the wonderful Bagel Bin.  She has worn this shirt for Christmas since her grandson Caden made it for her in 2000.  It has held up very well.  We know those are Caden's hand prints - notice that they are reversed, the left is on the right, etc. - but I wondered about the reindeer nose.  Is that Caden's foot print?   The toes are almost visible above the googly eyes. 

How grandmas do love theirr grandchildren!   I don't think I could wear this no matter whose prints they are.

Corky has laser surgery 12-29-11

A big reason for driving out to Lake Havasu City the day before Christmas was so I would be there when Corky went to the vet to have laser surgery to remove a number of warts that had become a problem when the groomer accidentally nicked them.  I don't know about other breeds, but poodles have a tendency to develop the warts as they age.  Using laser surgery with local anesthetic avoids having to put the dog to sleep which becomes more dangerous as they age.  I was not invited to attend the surgery, although I was very interested in seeing how it is done.  Corky did not seem to be in any pain afterward and, of course, he didn't have the grogginess that accompanies many surgeries.  He is doing great.

Unfortunately his bad back, arthritis and old age make it impossible for him to get up the steps to his perch in the windows at both LHC and LBeach.  A new addition to his "doggie paraphernalia" is this expanding ramp shown in LHC in the guest room where Corky views the not-so-busy street from the window seat.  In LBeach he has a free-standing 'table' in the front office where he watches a MUCH busier street and we think the ramp will work there also.  He did need some training - coaxing him up with treats and down with treats worked, but will have to be repeated in LBeach!  

 

The surgery required some shaving and sutures, so he is wearing a T-shirt to protect the stitches and keep warm.  This is the post-surgery size 4-T outfit the vet provided.  The tinsel was part of his Xmas bow.

 

Corky received a lot of TLC from his nanny, his g'ma and his mommy.

But the 4-T was a little large, so his mommy went to the pet store for a more fitted shirt.  This one hikes up better when he goes out to piddle.  He looks so long with his hair all compressed - more like a dachsie.

 

Here is a shot with papa's cell phone - I can see the thought in his head, "Enough, already."

Wordless Wednesday - Wood

Trains and Trucks 12-27-11

What are you looking at?  This is a view along I-40 where the train tracks pretty much parallel the highway - or visa versa (I imagine the train tracks came first).  You will have to click to enlarge to see what I am talking about. 
 
On the left is a truck and trailer in the east bound lanes, followed by a line of cars.  Just above the trailing end of the trailer starts a curved white line - the leading end of a freight train which stretches to the right and curves back on itself.
On the right is a truck and trailer in the west bound lanes and slightly to the left is a row of five rigs that are about the same color as the freight cars, they are also heading west.  Of course, when I first noticed this juxtaposition there was more train on the 'straight away' and it was a more dramatic image.  However, I had to lift the camera from where it rides on the seat beside me, turn it on and point it in the general direction of the scene.  I cannot believe my luck that the camera captured what I wanted it to.   Maybe we are becoming simpatico!
I suppose all this is silly, but to me it is so amazing.  To make such a shot intentionally would require shutting down the highway (something that film makers do in SCalifornia - with extensive permits, tens of thousands dollars in fees and an equal number of irate commuters), hiring dozens of drivers and a train and a bunch of trucks and.....!  Well, you get the idea. 
This all occurred as I drove home from Lake Havasu City today.  However, I am so tired I need to go to bed - you may find me there late in the day tomorrow, recuperating.
Corky, by the way, had his laser surgery to remove the bothersome warts and is doing just fine.

Another Desert Sunset 12-26-11

I've taken a lot of "sunset over Lake Havasu" pictures in the fifteen years I have been coming out here, but I can never resist a few more.  These are not SPECTACULAR, but they are very nice!

 

5:40pm MST

6:02pm MST

 

6:04pm MST

And then it was dark!

A funky angel for Christmas Day 12-25-11

I always enjoy seeing Bodil Gardner's quilts at a quilt show.  She looks at things in a very original way and uses her unique style to present her view of the real world or a fantasy world.   I have posted a number of her quilts that I photographed at quilt shows/exhibits - look in the sidebar for her name and click to bring up the posts where her quilts are shown.  

As always, click to enlarge any image.

"Danish Angel"  Bodil Gardner - Denmark  12.5" X 12.5"

Cotton fabrics.  Machine applique, no quilting.

Bodil did not give a name for this quilt, so I named it.  I was disappointed that it exceeds the 12 inch requirement that existed back in 2007 when I purchased it from the SAQA auction.  Now the quilts in the auction are captioned to indicate the size and I don't bid on anything that is an odd size.  Why?  Display and storage.  I don't like the look of half a dozen quilts on the wall when one is a different size - of course, if they are all different sizes it is more acceptable.  Just my personal choice.  Storing so many quilts requires organization - as I explained a few days ago I store 12X12 quilts in archival boxes that are 13X13, so the 12X12 quilts fit perfectly.  I have another box the same size in which I store smaller quilts, but anything larger would have to go in a larger box.    For that very reason this quilt has not been listed in my inventory because I don't see it when I am working with the 12X12 quilts.

 

But I do love this funky angel, who is sexless, and the awkward flight it is taking.  The sheer polka-dot wings are delightful.  And check out those rectangular eyes!

 

 

Both the Bodil quilts in TCQC have a plain back that covers any knots or stitches.  And they both have a hand printed label.  Too bad she didn't put on a quilt title and a date. 

Desert Journey on Xmas Eve Day 12-24-11

Corky and I drove out to Lake Havasu City today - a little change in plans from my quiet, solitary Xmas weekend.  He has been having some health problems requiring an antibiotic and an antibacterial, so perhaps needs extra rest and TLC.  His parents drove out on Thursday so they could shop and visit and do tasks around the house and Corky came with me today after a few days rest.  He was really wound up for the first part of our trip, but after a "walkabout" in Essex he calmed down and slept almost the entire rest of the drive.

Once out of the LABasin and up I-15 into the high desert through Hesperia and Apple Valley it is not far to Barstow.  On the western boundary are outlet stores and several hotels, gas stations, restaurants, etc..

Fifteen years ago there were a few truck stops and gas stations and some fast food places.  I think the outlets were quite new then.  I wonder if someday this will be the town of Lenwood abutting Barstow which is just over the first hill off to the left, so there is plenty of room for both to grow. 

As I-15 continues north to Las Vegas (and up through Nevada, a corner of Arizona, Utah,  and Montana to Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada) we turned off I-40 which originates at Barstow and continues east to the Atlantic Ocean.  This sign always catches my eye, although sometimes it has been removed by souvenir hunters.  Eventually the highway sign people replace it with a new one.

Then it is pretty much a straight shot through unpopulated high desert for about 170 miles to the Arizona border and nine miles further to the turnoff on US-95 South and another twenty miles south to Lake Havasu City.

Usually the only wildlife I see are the ravens (notice his spade shaped tail), although there are occasional signs warning to be careful of burros on the roadway.

As the sun nears the horizon the hills on the south side of the highway are dark against the paling sky.

On one of the higher peaks stands a tower with relays for cell phones and other transmissions.  Generally there is cell service the entire distance from Placentia to where US 96 bisects I-40 - on Verizon, anyway.

This appears to be water, but is actually a long freight train reflecting the light from the setting sun. 

The sunset in the desert seems to linger, but when it is gone there is total darkness other than the other cars and trucks on the highway.  A few isolated lights and the town of Needles on the Colorado River are all the shows in the night.

Here is my companion on the ride.  He spent much time staring out the window, although he has traveled this route many, many times in his life.   He has his blue pillow with white dots propped up on his chest - he is very good at pillow manipulation.  Buildings in Lenwood out the window.

And he finally took a nap for quite a few miles.  The yellow out the window is the setting sun reflecting on the desert plants - no flowers in bloom this time of year.

 

The Christmas Reindeer Quilt 12-23-11

This is a repost of my reindeer quilt, which I like more every year. 

"Teenage Reindeer" Del Thomas 1993 27" x 31.5"

A friendship group I belonged to in 1993 did a challenge where we had specific steps to prepare for the meeting where we started our projects. I'm not sure this is the order, but we had to take to the meeting a fat quarter of definitely Xmas fabric in a brown lunch bag; a half yard of red or green fabric rolled and tied with a ribbon, and a white fabric wrapped in Xmas paper and tied with a ribbon. We could add whatever we wanted to create a Xmas quilt. No size restrictions. At the time I was teaching a class based on "One of a Kind Quilts" a book by Judy Hopkins of Alaska and this challenge fit perfectly into my need for class samples.

This little reindeer was part of the design on the Xmas wrapping I received.

Look familiar?  I posted this quilt before at: 

http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2007/12/christmas-quilts-12-22-07.html

Collecting Secrets Revealed 12-22-11

I don't know if there is an instruction book for starting a collection, of quilts or anything else.  Perhaps, like me, people don't think they are starting a collection.  There is a saying, "Two are a pair, three is a collection."    I bought one quilt.  A few years later I bought another.  And then another.... until I had to start organizing records and storing everything.  I am up to 180 quilts of many different sizes.  Right now they are stored in several different places in my house, but the twelve inch square quilts are either on a wall or in an archival box - each encased in a mylar sleeve.  They are the easiest pieces to store, fitting well into one of the 13"x13"x6" boxes in the pictures below.   I have been working to get them all in order for a special exhibit of forty 12" x 12" quilts from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection at Visions Art Museum in San Diego that will open on February 3, 2012, at the same time as the SAQA exhibit "Art Meets Science".

When I first started using these boxes I hadn't thought about carrying the them around, but it turned out that I needed to do that.  The only large sturdy bag with handles I could find at the time was this one from California Pizza Kitchen.  Since that day I have thought often of making a fabric bag to fit the box, but that job is way down on my "To Do" list.  As long as this one holds out I have no incentive.  When not being carried somewhere the boxes sit nicely on a shelf and don't need a bag or a handle.

The archival boxes come flat with all the scoring and cutting done.  One just uses the archival tape to put the boxes together. 

 

Each box holds twenty to twenty-four quilts - the quilts are different thicknesses and I don't want to squeeze them in too tightly.  In this picture some of the quilts are in the plastic covers that SAQA uses for their auction quilts - I did not have enough Mylar sleeves, but have recently ordered more.

Larger quilts are rolled around a "stuffie" or a covered pool noodle for storage on shelves.  And the REALLY large ones are generally flat on the guest bed.   I also have larger archival boxes to store those pieces that cannot be rolled or that have fragile bits that need special protection; although I no longer buy quilts that require special boxes or storage.

The reception for the exhibit is February 3rd from 5pm to 8pm at the VAM.  It is open to the public.   http://www.visionsartmuseum.org/

The archival boxes and Mylar sleeves are from http://www.talasonline.com/
 

Wordless Wednesday - Berries 12-21-11

Blog Break! 12-20-11

Just a bit in the doldrums and can't think of single thing of interest to say.  Hope you are all getting caught up with your Christmas business.

Be safe.  Keep well.  Love, Del-at-home

Monday Browsing 12-19-11

Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus, meaning "Californian Earth-cuckoo") 
Nov. 26, 2005  -  Lake Havasu City, AZ.

In Memoriam – Clotilde died November 29th.    http://www.clotilde.com/clotilde.html

Several artists in the Twelvex12.com group are offering online lessons …

http://almastoller.blogspot.com/p/register-stitched-workshops-2012.html

Sale on charms   http://www.softexpressions.com/software/beadcharm/EVFabricards.php  

Free holiday gift tags    http://thepaperseed.com/?p=2948

Collecting words   http://www.smallworldofwords.com 

It is cooking season!   http://hungarianhousewife.com/    http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/11/nantucket-cranberry-pie/

Fun with Google:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/17/let-it-snow-google-easter-egg_n_1155462.html?ref=mostpopular

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/google-easter-eggs_n_1080217.html

Angel Quilt #2 12-18-11

This is the second of the three angel quilts I own.  I will post the third one next Sunday.

When I was still celebrating Xmas my favorite tradition was handmade ornaments and I made hundreds over the years.  I particularly enjoyed doing angels and still have a box labeled "Angel Supplies" - maybe I will be moved to create more angels sometime in the future.

"Angels We Have Heard on High"  Donna Bensey - Charlottesville, VA  2009

Cotton fabric and batting.  Hand appliqued, machine quilted.

 

Purchased at an online auction to raise funds in support of the Virginia Quilt Museum.  Supporting quilt museums is important, no matter where in the world they are located.  If I know there is an online auction to raise funds I look to see if there is a quilt I might add to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection, to my personal collection or as a gift for someone I think will enjoy it.

 

Donna has done a very nice job of the applique - all those sharp points and inside corners done well.

 

A nice printed label with a machine stitched edging.