A Bag of Fabric 05-05-12

One of the things I really enjoy about going to Empty Spools is shopping for fabric!  The Cotton Patch of Lafayette www.quiltusa.com/  sets up shop in Merrill Hall at Asilomar, so it is easy to just stroll through, pet the fabric and pick out some that I cannot leave behind.  And there is Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove www.backporchfabrics.com/   - a treasury of exciting fabrics and helpful employees.  I always go overboard - but consider, I'm there for two weeks!



The two Lonni Rossi's on the left are two different color ways. It was a pleasure to meet Lonni who was teaching at Empty Spools the first session.  Everyone I talked to who took her class was so excited - she will be teaching next year also.  These acid green stripes begged to be added to my huge collection of stripes.  The fabric on the right has a white/white background - sometimes my camera just changes colors.

The blue Australian fabric on the left with all the white dots has great possibilities - it's a little on the thin side, but I wouldn't use it in a bed quilt.  More black and white for the enormous black and white quilt I am going to make someday.  And there is the little birdies fabric, just like the piece that Suzanne Kistler bought at Paducah!  http://faithquilter.blogspot.com/2012/05/oh-goodies.html
I did also buy some BRIGHTS, but haven't taken a photo yet.

Tonight's moon didn't seem larger, but it is surely brighter.

Tagging - a rant 05-04-12

I know that some of you like seeing graffiti - I don't.  And I especially don't like to see it from my backyard.  Fortunately, there is a two foot wall across the top of the slope that leads down to a maintenance road, a cyclone fence and a flood control channel.  It isn't the best view, which is why the two foot wall is there, it blocks everything when we look out the windows.
I noticed these 'tags' today and know they were not there last weekend because Corky and I go out back frequently and I am always looking for birds.  
So, I will call the graffiti hotline and hope that someone will come along and paint out these tags.  I suppose they have a meaning to someone, but not to me and I don't want to look at them.

 

 

 

 

This is the view from the two foot wall at the top of the slope.

Spring vine 05-03-12

Lavendar Trumpet Vine (Bignonia lindleyana)

Wordless Wednesday 05-02-12

 

More travel on I-5 05-01-12

There is always something interesting on I-5, even the short two hours from Placentia to San Diego.  This time of year I usually swing by The Flower Fields located off the Palomar Airport Road exit in Carlsbad, CA.
www.theflowerfields.com/


This is the display on the corner of Palomar Airport Rd and Paseo Del Norte.  Armstrong Nursery is open all year, but the Flower Fields bloom for only a month and a half or so each
 year.

  
For $11 one can walk through the flowers.  For another $5 one can ride a tractor drawn cart.

It is difficult to get a long view of the fields from outside the fence.  This image is from the parking lot and I left the cars in to give an idea of the size and location.  The flowers you see are all ranunculus.

All the other views I had were through the cyclone fence that surrounds the acreage.

Another sight along I-5 is the Morman Temple in San Diego.  The trees have grown larger so it is more difficult to catch a good image.  I like this picture because of the dark clouds behind the very white buildings and the gold statue of Maroni on the top of the right spire.  

Guys on the open road 04-28-12

A couple weeks ago I drove down to Visions Art Museum in San Diego on a lovely day.  Somewhere around San Clemente a group of six motorcyclist entered I-5.  "Oh, no", I thought, "back away from these guys."  With the high cost of gas there are more motorcycles on the road and many, many more accidents involving them.   It isn't all the motorcyclists fault, but a lot of it is.  They split lanes, they speed, they zigzag into and out of traffic - that "I'm in front" mentality - they follow too closely,  they are a generally hazard.

 
But these six guys were precision riders.  At first I thought they might be police officers off duty - but not with the beards and ponytails!

 
The rider on the right of center pair was a woman.

 
The guy on the left in the front pair set the pace and they all kept the pace.

 
It was exhilarating to watch them ride in formation at a steady 70-75mph. 
This picture taken in my sideview mirror - notice the clouds to the northeast.


 

But ahead to the south the white clouds float in a pure blue sky.   It was a gorgeous day and a great, easy drive. 

Geri Congdon 12X12 quilt in TCQC 04-29-12

Here is the tenth of the 12x12 gift quilts, made by members of the online group to thank me for sponsoring their Quilt Festival exhibit at Houston/Cincinnati/Long Beach.
www.twelveby12.org

"California Poppies"  Geri Congdon  2011  12" x 12"

Silk and cotton, machine appliqued, machine quilted.

http://www.gericondesigns.com/ 

Geri and I met years ago at Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar/Pacific Grove.  At that time she lived in California, so we share a love of these native flowers that bloom along the roadsides and are cultivated in gardens.   Her selection of this flower was very thoughtful.

 
The back is a commercial fabric and she has not covered the quilting with a false back - something I especially appreciate.  I don't quite understand why quiltmakers do this instead of just doing good work. 

 
Here is Geri's signature, but no label, no indication of how to contact the artist. Of course, I know how to contact Geri, but a label with a contact is really a necessity.  Now that the 12x12 quilts are back from Visions Art Museum I will add labels where they are needed.