How about "Friday Face"?

Guess this is how I truly appear to others.  Beth Smith, director of Visions Art Museum, took this "Glam shot" in the office when I was there on Wednesday preparing the layout for the 12X12 quilts that will be on exhibit starting February 3rd (that is the date of the opening event - mark your calendar).  The scarf is a new one from Rayna Gillman, who does every possible kind of surface design, and it is wonderful silk crepe - my favorite fabric for scarves.  I have become a collector of Rayna scarves - "two is a pair, three is a collection" - since I now have four in my drawer.    http://studio78notes.blogspot.com/


The event on Feb 3rd will include the 'reveal' of the new name of the large VAM gallery - the "Del Thomas Gallery" - and also celebrate my ongoing financial commitment to the Museum.  I have been to all eleven Visions exhibits over the years and try to be as involved as possible in what is going on at VAM.  Living 2 to 3 hours north sometimes makes it difficult, however, I can send money and so can you!  With the "Great Recession", as the media has termed it, all non-profit organizations are hurting.  You can help by becoming a member and participating in those programs that are open to members all over the world, including an opportunity to exhibit and sell your work.  Every membership and every donation helps the continued operation of the Museum.    http://www.visionsartmuseum.org/ 

Thanks to Lisa Broberg Quintana, whose Blog is among my daily "reads", for the kind words she posted yesterday.   http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/
 

What's for Lunch? 01-05-12

In San Diego yesterday the first order of business was lunch.  I have been eager to go to Solare again - the restaurant is in the same block as Visions Art Museum, so we could walk over.  Getting in and out of vehicles is difficult these days and after the drive the short walk was good for me. 

They serve delicious moist bread squares and made-on-the-premises tomato sauce.

I selected one of the specials for the day "Lobster Ravioli" and it was delicious.  I didn't think I should lick the plate, so I sopped up the end of the sauce with a couple bread squares.  M-m-m.

Beth also had pasta - but at the moment I can't remember what it was.  I'll ask her and maybe have an update in the morning.  Finally contacted Beth - her lunch was

Spaghetti Carbonara: Spaghetti, Pancetta, Eggs, Parmigiano.

 It looked delicious.  Her lunch came with a small salad which she kindly shared with me. 

There are many interesting restaurants in Liberty Station, the complex where VAM is located - if I lived down there I would try every one of them.   

Wordless Wednesday - I-5 Vista Point 01-04-12

Lemon Tree Very Pretty...... 01-03-12

 
My neighbor's Meyer lemon tree is really loaded and some of these are ripe for the picking.  I don't think he uses them for anything, so I leave him a message on his phone asking for "a few" and he leaves a huge bag of them on my porch.  Usually I use one or two to make him some lemon bars and squeeze the rest to put the juice in the freezer.   I have always taken some to my friend in San Juan Bautista, but they planted a tree and this year it has at least a dozen lemons on it - fast producer.

Monday Browsing 01-02-12

 I haven't had time for browsing today, but have spent my time "entertaining" the plumber!  For a mysterious reason a pipe in the wall between the family room and the garage developed a $600 leak on Saturday.  Rather than pay double time I turned off the water to the house and have been using bottled water and pails of outside water for the toilet.  But Dan, the plumber, came about noon and stayed until a little after 6pm.  For this type of leak the company charges a flat rate - Dan said nineteen out of twenty similar jobs take a couple hours, the charge for those makes up for the all afternoon jobs.  I'm so glad - it might have cost me a thousand or more.  The insurance company is supposed to contact me tomorrow.  We'll see what is next.  Nice that I caught the leak before it was a flood and that the weather here is in the 80s right now.

Imagine Snow http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vf6dRjJ6Z5c

Crayon Quilts

http://reviews.ebay.com/No-time-to-embroider-or-sew-Color-quilts-w-CRAYONS?ugid=10000000007304771

Flash mob Fa la la la la http://www.carlsonschool.umn.edu/holiday11/

A comfort quilts project in Washington State:

 http://blog.earthbongo.com/2011/10/quilts-wrap-900-breast-cancer-patients-in-love/

This lady’s rule is “the fabric must be $!/yard or less! http://quiltingonthecheap.blogspot.com/

Boys will be boys!  Ouch!   http://biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=30018

 

"Christmasy" dracenas in San Clemente on New Year's Day.

Britt Friedman quilt in Collection 01-01-12

The image of this quilt and the original text was on my Blog 11-16-08.

This is the first quilt I purchased from a Visions exhibit. I thought it was wonderful from the first moment I looked at it - and I still do. It seems to be the very essence of cold, icy winter trees.  It happened that Britt was at the Visions opening in 2002, so we were able to meet and I took her picture with her quilt. She lives in Oberlin, Ohio, and has not made the trip to Oceanside in subsequent years.  I purchased another of her quilts at Visions 2008.

In 2002 there were not very many quilt makers using photos on fabric, so to me this seemed very different. I was at the gallery one day, admiring this newest addition to the Collection, when two older ladies came through and found flaws in every quilt. They seemed to like this one until they got really close; one leaned in for a two-inch view and declaimed, "Why that is just a photograph. That's cheating." I swallowed my laughter and drifted away, but I'm sure they found something wrong with every quilt in the gallery. Funny how some people 'enjoy' an exhibit, isn't it?

"Winter Tree"  Britt Friedman 2002 27"W x 34.5"L

Photo printed on fabric, machine pieced and quilted.

 Britt Friedman - November 2002

I don't find a website for Britt, but if you Google her name + quilts there are a number of references.