"Friday Feet" and Thanks

Thank you for the kind and supportive comments on yesterday's Blog, either in the comments section or directly by e-mail.  I am trying to put those particular problems behind me - one more time! 

I recently browsed a Blog where the Blogger posted pictures of her feet in various places.  An intriguing idea - and I decided I would give it a try.  Perhaps not every week and the pictures will not necessarily be taken during that week.  You will have to tell me if this works and is interesting to you.  And, if you know whose Blog I was looking at I hope you will let me know. 

 
Look familiar?  Yes, potholes everywhere.  I am mystified that nobody can come up with a solution to potholes that keep returning year after year.  Such as this one and the one on the offramp when I exit the freeway to go Corky's house.  That one has been there for at least thirteen years.  Fixed and fixed and fixed again - year after year. 

 
This view is without feet.  You can tell this 3" deep pothole has been repair before.  I'm sure you have potholes in your neighborhood, some of them large enough to eat a car.  With the economy what it is we will not have any magical solutions any time soon. 

Looking back 01-06-11

 
Delmay and Ellamarie Spencer, sisters - about 1941 - '42.

This picture was taken in front of the chimney on the house my father was building in Portland, Oregon.  He died  of kidney failure in the fall of 1942, so the picture must have been taken sometime that summer.  My hair is in pigtails,which was my hairstyle until I was in the 8th grade when I went behind every one's back and had it cut in a duck's butt.  My sister's hair is naturally curly - still!
I don't have much contact with my family.  They mostly live in Portland - my sister lives in the house our father built.  Every year or so I hear from my sister or her daughter, who has a family of her own.  My sister never wanted me to have anything to do with her kids (four boys & one girl) and I have lived in California for fifty years, so I don't actually know any of them   For some unknown reason one of her sons, who has a family of his own, has become interested in photos from years ago.  The son's wife called me yesterday, I did meet her once years ago, to ask about family photos.  I only have a few and haven't looked at them for years - not even sure where they are right now.  She e-mailed about twelve photos, most of which I have never seen before.  I took some time today to try to caption the photos - a not-fun trip down memory lane.  Funny how looking at those images brought back memories that have been hidden for decades.   I wish they were still hidden - after all these years I can't go back and make connections again.  What a downer this is.  

Wordless Wednesday 01-05-11

Miscellaneous Online (No pictures) 01-04-11

When I began the job of Newsletter Editor for Surfside Quilters Guild in May 2009 I started doing a column "Quilting Online" which gives websites that might be of interest to the members of the guild. I try to do a mix of traditional and contemporary sites, but it means I have to do some research in between newsletters. Here are three sites I have found this month that may appeal to some in the guild.

http://3creativestudios.com/ This is the revised home of Terri Stegmiller and Vicki Welsh. It offers projects, tutorials, patterns, challenges and a different guest quilter each month. I think it will especially appeal to quilters who want to move into more contemporary work.

This Self Portrait Challenge shows different designs and techniques that might inspire a quilt maker to try something different, even if it isn't a self portrait http://aroundtheworldin20quilts.blogspot.com/search/label/self%20portrait

I feel sad for quilters who haven't discovered the world of quilters who Blog. There is so much of interest out there - something for everyone. Only one other person in our guild of 250+ has admitted that they Blog! Maybe they will look at the Quilting Gallery site which has lists of quilting blogs around the world—about 5000! - and decide to join the fun.

http://quiltinggallery.com/quilting-bloggers/

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Rain brings..... 01-03-11

In the midst of the rain and snow and cold just think of all that will mean in the Spring!

A field of lupine and yellow poppies.

A stunning picture by Barbara Mathews, May 14,2005, in the Carrizo Plain National Monument.
The east side of the Carrizo plain, in the Temblor Range, about 50 miles due west of Bakersfield, California.

Closer to home in the Poppy Fields in Antelope Valley, California State Reserve.

Quilt by Deborah Boschert from SAQA Auciton 2010

"Possibilities" Deborah Boschert 2010 12" X 12"

Cotton fabric, newspaper, paint, beads, sequins, embroidery thread. Raw edge applique, embroidery stitches, beading, printing, air brush (?), fusing, hand and machine stitching. If you focus on the background in the center you will see a bird (dove?) flying there.
This is another purchase from SAQA Auction 2010. I have seen Deborah's work many times and always admired it, but this quilt truly 'spoke' to me. She told me via e-mail that she worked on it when their family was preparing to move to another state. She said, "There are subtle and not-so-subtle images of growth, adventure, flight, communication, order and stability in the quilt. Life (and art) is always a balance of all these ideas."

The calligraphy is on a newspaper that Deborah picked up at an Asian grocery when she lived in Dallas. She adhered it to muslin with gel medium and stitched it as though it were fabric.

The stones give a strong base to this piece and Deborah has hand stitched across the binding to make the base even stronger - it is one of the touches that makes her quilts uniquely hers.

The back is covered with a layer of fabric, so the stitching is not visible from the back. I've known several quilters who do this, but I don't understand why.

Deborah is one of the "Twelves" - twelve quilters from around the world have an ongoing project that challenges their creativity and helps them grow in their work. See Deborah's work at http://deborahsjournal.blogspot.com/ or at http://twelveby12.blogspot.com/

Rerun & Miscellaneous 01-01-11

Sunrise from Jan 6, 2007. My night owl tendency means that I don't see a lot of sunrises. I don't remember why I was up on this glorious morning, but this picture is one of my all time favorites. The plane was probably en route to LAX - must have been the "red eye".

Now that the holidays are over you might have a little time to explore online. If you don't read Elizabeth Barton's blog you might enjoy checking it out. http://elizabethbarton.blogspot.com/ In her 12-31-10 post she talks about slicing up a quilt that doesn't work, something I referred to in my post on 12-19-10 with a picture of one of those "reductions" that is in the Collection. http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2010/12/elizabeth-barton-quilt-new-to-tcqc-12.html Elizabeth thinks about what she does and many of us learn from her thoughts.

Terri Stegmiller and Vicki Welsh have revamped their website and have some interesting offerings coming up and some in the archives. I think it is especially good for quilt makers who want to learn and expand their library of techniques. http://3creativestudios.com/ There will be interviews with guest quilters who will share their methods of working.

If you are looking for new blogs to add to your reading list the Quilting Gallery has about 6000 from around the world listed on their website.
http://quiltinggallery.com/quilting-bloggers/