Friday Feet 03-25-11

These boots belong to a friend of Corky's dad who comes from Japan every few months for business and shopping.  He is quite a clothes horse and carries off just about anything.  These are such elegant boots and I am so disappointed in the pictures which don't show the decoration on the toes. 

 

Just barely visible here are the dragons on each toe.  

Maybe next time he visits I can catch him for a shoe modeling session!  Shoes come off at the door at Corky's house, so it will have to be outdoors.  

More rain and a change of plans

Not much to say tonight.  It is raining - AGAIN - and is only 38.5F at 1am.  Very strange and rather tiresome.  But along about August I will probably be complaining about the heat - never satisfied.  It is almost always much cooler at Mary's in San Juan Bautista than it is here, so I hardly know how many layers to pack.  At Asilomar in Pacific Grove it is usually quite nice this time of year, but one never knows.  So, I must plan my clothing accordingly.

The change of plans is that Fumie Ono, collector of fabulous antique American quilts, is have some health problems and had to cancel her program for Surfside QG in April.  So, we are moving my program to April, but leaving the workshop as scheduled for May.  However, I have not sorted quilts or done any planning for which ones to show at the meeting.  So, I will only have one day of rest at Mary's before I must drive home.  And then I have one day to get everything together for the meeting on April 12th.  Fortunately, I had not finished the newsletter and needed to do some rearranging of articles.  It will go for proofing tomorrow sometime - I hope.  I have an 8am aqua therapy appointment and then will have the Poodle Prince for a few hours - he'll sleep and I will type.  Or maybe we will both sleep! 
                                                        #   #   #

Wordless Wednesday 03-23-11

More Stormy Weather 03-22-11

These two pictures are from Sunday when I took Corky back to Long Beach. 

It had been raining hard and the wind was strong.  The palms look so dark soaked with rain.

 

But on the leeward side every palm had a long dry line from top to bottom.  I've never noticed this before - it was very strange looking. 

I have been working on the Surfside Quilters Guild newsletter and thought you might enjoy these websites that I have listed in the "Quilting Online" column.

> Another publisher of needlework related books, Interweave has free e-books to download. They are derived from all the different magazines that Interweave publishes - quilting, beading, crochet, knitting, etc. http://www.interweave.com/Communities/

> Havel Sewing Co., known for their useful scissors, has a informative website and offers a weekly newsletter. http://blog.havelssewing.com/     Their tutorials look interesting - especially the one on Thread Painting with Liz Kettle. You’ll find it at the top of the right sidebar at http://www.havelssewing.com/prosewquitips.html

> This site is not quilt related, but it is fascinating. Check it out if only to see the wonderful late 19th Century “Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe” images in the March 9, 2011 post. I’ve added this to my list of the Blogs I check regularly - Beatrice Behlen writes beautifully. http://www.mymuseumoflondon.org.uk/blogs/blog/category/fashion/

Stormy Weather 03-21-11

Unusual for Southern California to have such stormy weather at the end of March. 

 
Corky's daddy took this image from the 4th floor of the USC Dental School near Jefferson and Hoover and sent it to me via his cell phone.

Yesterday and today we had rain, sleet, hail, snow, and BIG winds.  One good thing to report is that people seem to be listening to the announcements to SLOW DOWN.  Last evening I drove home from LBeach in a torrential rain (and wind) and didn't ever get up to 65mph.  A little SoCal rain-paranoia is a good idea.  This morning was cloudy but sunny, however when I came out of aqua therapy it was pouring again.  Another slow drive home, but only ten miles.   Another storm is making its way down the coast and will probably be here on Wednesday, followed by one on Friday.  And the temps are 60F and lower.  So, if you are planning a trip to this area this week, don't expect California sunshine.

A 12 X 12 quilt from SAQA auction by K. Velis Turan 03-20-11

This quilt is from the 2008 SAQA online auction.

" From Above - Crows"  K. Velis Turan - New York  2007  12" X 12"

 

Cotton fabrics, cotton and rayon threads.  Dyed/painted, beads, metal embellishments.  Pieced border.

I especially admire the border - two similar sides and two wildly different sides.  The crows are applied by machine stitches.  

Very detailed embellishment with some metal rings centered with beads and others not.  

 

The back is certainly something that has been in K.Velis' 'fabric library' for quite a few years.  I'm guessing it is a print from the mid 1990s. 

I'm intrigued by this quilt and enjoy trying to figure out the methods and techniques she used.   There is an article about her in the Feb/Mar 2011 issue of Quilting Arts Magazine and one of her pieces is on the cover.  You can also see her work on her website www.kvelisturan.com