Quilt Festival - Long Beach 07-29-11

Quilt Festival - Long Beach opened yesterday with a preview evening and continues through Sunday.  I did go last evening but I didn't take a single picture! I was too busy visiting with friends I seldom see and making new friends with other quilters at the Long Beach Convention Center.  But I did go back today to look at quilts and visit yet more friends I bumped into.  The first exhibit inside the door is "West Coast Wonders 2011" - an annual juried exhibit showcasing quilts showing the beauty of the West Coast of North America.   Here are three of the lovely quilts in that exhibit.  

The spotlights in the Convention Center are very bright and sometimes it is impossible to take a picture without some "spotlight washout" - as you see in the upper right corner of this diptych.  the fabric selection is very good, as is the workwomanship.

 

WOW!  Do I love this quilt?  Even the mouse for dinner is perfect within the design. 
Nice fabric selection and the stars give it a bit of Harry Potter feeling.

And it brings to mind a book the Book Group read earlier this year, "Wesley the Owl" by Stacey O'Brien.  A fascinating true story about a young woman who took in an abandoned baby barn owl who became her companion for almost two decades.  http://www.wesleytheowl.com/

I was fortunate to be invited to go out to a Thai restaurant with some other ladies and one of them happened to be Deb Mackay. The food was wonderful - more on that in a future Blog. 

I always find Laura Fogg's quilts very charming and beautifully made.  She comes up with some great techinques/materials to express her ideas. 

 

Notice that the border has tucks and rows of stitching and couched yarns/ribbons - I don't know if she was attempting to make it look like wood, but it has that appearance to me. 

More quilts tomorrow. 

Chicken for Lunch 07-28-11

Another "Favorite Thing to Make with Leftover Roasted Chicken"...
Make a chicken/avocado/mayo sandwich on romaine lettuce leaves. 
I usually grind a little fresh pepper on top.  M-m-m, GOOD.

Wordless Wednesday 07-27-11

Cooking 07-25-11

I'm not a "food presentation designer", obviously.  This picture doesn't make my roasted chicken look very appetizing, but I assure you that it is delicious.

As the past twenty-plus years have zipped past I have cooked less and less.  When I was widowed and started cooking for one, I quickly lost interest.  For a number of years I entertained and enjoyed it, but it seemed to become a one way street and I rarely had invitations to other homes.  It hasn't seemed to make much difference that I don't entertain, few friends other than Corky's parents and the Bednars invite me to dine.  It is probably better this way as I have developed so many food allergies as I "mature" that I hesitate to eat out.  I have found some restaurants that I can trust to not add weird stuff to their food and sometimes I venture into the unknown and try something new.  Unfortunately, it is usually higher priced places that have "pure" food.

But, about the chicken...   I do occasionally buy a "supermarket" chicken and I have even found a market that sells low sodium versions, but they are still too salty for me.  Mostly I cook chicken breasts or thighs on the range top with mirepoix and low sodium chicken broth.  However, I do get a hunger for a real roasted chicken, so I find a nice five pound hen, roast it early in the morning or late at night, and have lots of leftovers!  This time I will take some to the Bednars who just returned from Europe and probably need some old fashioned Oregon cooking.  And I will package some to freeze for future use.  Meanwhile I will eat chicken sandwiches, including some made with romaine instead of bread, some chicken tacos, and whatever else I can think of.  It is a chicken week.

And, incidentally, it is also the anniversary week of the death of my chicken-loving friend, Judy House.  Such a talent and such a great friend to all of her friends.  I miss her still and I know that others do also.  I posted about Judy's Chicken quilt back in 2008:  http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2008/11/posted-by-picasa.html

Terry Grant quilt 07-24-11

This was the first of the six Terry Grant quilts added to the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.  In February 2007 Terry posted this piece on her Blog and invited her readers to post a comment and add their name to the "hat" for a drawing.  I added a comment and, surprise, my name was the one drawn.  Like many of Terry's quilts this is a little jewel done in her very distinctive fusing technique, which she generously shared on her Blog.  http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/   Look on the sidebar under "Favorite Places".

Here are the posts where she talks about this little quilt:

http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/2007/01/first-little-piece-of-2007.html

http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-valentines.html

While I was looking up the above URLs I looked for the Blog post where Terry made her offer, but couldn't find it.  Maybe I remember it incorrectly.  Perhaps she will enlighten us!
07-25-11  And she did!  See:
 http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/2007/04/post-number-300-sharing-love.html 
and  http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/2007/04/hump-day.html 

"Valentine 2007"  Terry Grant - Beaverton, OR.  2007  8.75" x 8.75"

Cotton fabrics, fused, pencil shading. 

Look at that great Clementine!  It looks real, doesn't it? 

I especially enjoy the detail in Terry's work and like to hang her quilts where I can see them up close - over the switches in my bathroom,  on the narrow wall between the kitchen and family room or on a little stand on my desk. 

 

The back is plain and covers the back of the stitching.  There is no label.

Out to Lunch 07-23-11

My f riend Toni and I had lunch today at Corner Bakery on Jamboree Road and I-5 - good lunch, but not very photogenic.   We have not done well with our pledge to meet for lunch once a month.  Here it is the seventh month and this is only the fourth time we have met this year.  How can our lives get so busy?  We are going to do better, BUT we'll both be traveling in August, so our next chance is September.   Friendships have become more important as I have "matured", but I know that one can't just let them slide.  Like gardens, friendships need regular care.  Call a friend you haven't seen for some time, have a phone visit, make a date to go out for lunch.   Cultivate your friendships.  I'm going to cultivate mine

After lunch we went to my favorite frozen yogurt shop, Yogurtland, which is a few blocks away from Corner Bakery.  This is Caramel Almond and Vanilla with mochi bits, sliced almonds and chocolate covered caramel bits.   M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!

On the way back to the freeway I saw this lady on a bicycle towing a real estate ad!  Something I have never seen before.  Is it a clever attention getter?  A gas saver?  I notice many more bicycles and motorcycles on the road these days.  There is even a guy in my area who trundles around on a Segway.