A few more pictures from Empty Spools 04-21-12

Oh, dear!  They are messing around with Blogger again.  Do you suppose they are trying to get rid of all the little out ladies who must struggle to keep up with the changes? 

 

 
These top two pictures are an array of fabrics that Ruth McDowell added to her fabric library while in Pacific Grove.  My selections are still in the bag, but some are the same as hers - twenty-one years of exposure to her fabric "eye" has definitely influence mine.

 
This is the nicest "tuna can" pincushion I have seen in many a year.  It belongs to Annabelle Treacy of Hawaii.

 
Suzanne Cox is one of the owners of Empty Spools Seminars along with Gayle Wells and the now retired Diana McClun.  I will never be able to thank them enough for the great experience I have had with them at Asilomar. 

 
Geri Patterson-Kutras
Every session there is an Artist-in-Residence who has a space at the back of the large meeting hall (Merrill Hall) to hang her quilts, set up her machine and work while talking to the students who stop by. I've been in classes with Geri in past years, so it was extra special to see all she has accomplished.   

Friday Feet 04-20-12

I suddenly wondered what I would find if I Googled "Shoe Quilt" - no surprise there are a number of listings.  One of them is this website by Deb Richardson.  
http://www.debrichardson.com/shoequilts.html

She has done a few shoe quilts including some bright colored zorries.

 

A Day with the Prince 04-19-12

I hadn't been with Corky since March 16th - toooo long.  I have really missed him while I was traveling and laying in bed trying to get over the cold I picked up at Empty Spools/Asilomar.  Yesterday I picked him up about 8:15am and delivered him to the groomer for his haircut.  Grooming is very tiring for him now that he is almost 16 (July 29th), so when we were back at his house he settled down for a nap and pretty much slept until his parents came home about 4pm.   I took a bunch of photos, but can't decide which is the best.  So, here are a bunch.  Isn't he wonderful?  Just look at those dear little feet.  Yes, I am besotted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The quilt is by Nancy Gasparotti.  I purchased it at the Surfside QGuild auction last fall and took it with me to Corky's so that I could have a nap.  He decided he liked it and sort of took it over.  He does that!

Wordless Wednesday 04-18-12

 

Pacific Grove Highlights 04-17-12

The area of Pacific Grove, Monterey and Carmel is so lovely and SPRING was in the air. 

 
"Pride of Madeira" (Echium candicans) is endemic to the island of Madeira, but is grown in areas with similar climate around the world.  It comes in various shades of blue and violet.

 
Here is a lighter blue alongside a variegated New Zealand flax plant.

 
Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron californicum) is a California native, growing here with Pride of Madeira, sheltering a mailbox.
http://imprint.printmag.com/illustration/botany-blueprint-the-california-flannel-bush/

 
Waves continuously pound at the rocks along Monterey Bay.

 
Our Empty Spools classes ended on Easter Sunday and I saw this family group doing an Easter Egg Hunt in the ice plant along the walking trails of Monterey Bay.

 
There are always deer around the grounds of Asilomar and throughout Pacific Grove.  This one was behind the Nautilus classroom and seems to be asking, "Are you looking at me?"  There once were many raccoons on the grounds, but I haven't seen one for a number of years.

The Last of Ruth McDowell class 04-16-12

These are the last of the projects from Ruth's class at Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA. 

 
Barbara Utting brought several pictures of this river location which has special meaning to her.  She and Ruth selected this one for her to work on.

 
Ruth marked the basic sections/sewing lines.

 
Barbara  completed her drawing, marking the sewing order and the tick marks, and started fabric selection.

 
This is where she was on the last day of class.  The pieces overlap because she has cut out each one with a quarter inch seam all around.  Usually it is better to not start sewing right away so that one can make changes.

 
Pippa Moore brought this picture of her three children watching the elephants.

 
Again, this design started with a drawn outline of the major features.

 
Ruth put in the section lines and major seams.
I did not get a picture of this project on the last day of class.




Michaelanne Gephart brought this great picture of a fox chasing a mouse in the snow.

 
The drawing is very complex, but she worked hard and sewed sections together as she found the fabrics.

 
This is where she was on the last day of class.

 
Ann Shaw brought this project to work on.  Originally she was going to do Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Oregon, in the actual colors - black/grey/green.  But after she got started she decided to jazz it up a bit and switched to bright striped fabrics. 

 

Wendy Knight brought this drawing to figure out.  I can't imagine trying to piece this one!

 

This was the picture I chose to work with, but I didn't do a lot of work, just felt lousy most of the time.

 
This is the basic drawing, but, as you see, it is not numbered or tick marked.  Woe is I!

Ruth's website:  http://www.ruthbmcdowell.com/

Ruth McDowell Class 2nd week 04-15-12

 

 
Mary Ellen Sakai came to the class with her drawing already prepared with the help of her  friend Sue Rasmussen who has taken Ruth's classes in the past.   The "B" indicates background on her original pattern.

 
Ruth had no additions or corrections.

 
Mary Ellen worked steadily and kept her concentration on her work.

 
And by the final day she had completed the sewing on her design.  One of the few times I have seen anyone do this in a Ruth class.  The teeth came from a fabric with stripes of dinosaur tails by Timeless Treasures Fabrics.

 
Deanna Ripley-Lotee lives in Ridgecrest where the snow geese winter - she brought a photo of juveniles.

 
Ruth drew the flowing lines for curved seam piecing. 

 
Deanne decided she would do the background first and later search for specific fabric to do the feathers.

 
This is how far she had gotten on the last day of class.


Kathleen Awalt had a photo of a window with a row of prayer flags across the bottom of the panes.  

 
She pieced the shutter slats a bit askew as they are in the photo.

 
When the shutters were pieced she started on the window itself.

 
This is where she was on the last day of class.  She is considering finishing the quilt and adding the string of prayer flags that would hang loose.