Friday - both Feet and Fanny! 08-16-13

I was in Trader Joe's the other day and turned to find this very tall young woman wearing 5" heels.  Her skirt is a shiny, stretchy fabric - think gloves. 


She can easily reach anything on the shelves.
 

 
I'm sure she is more than six feet tall sans heels.  Unfortunately, she was walking away from me, so this is the best image I could manage.   How difficult is it for her to live in a world of shorter people?  Considering the problem I have trying to reach for items on the shelves over the frozen food bins, I still would not want to be this tall. 

 I tried for the feet, but they were just a blur. 

 

Wordless Wednesday 08-14-13

September  2005

R.W.& B. quilts - old and new. 08-13-13

Surfside Quilters Guild met today and heard Leah Zieber's presentaton about antique/vintage quilts.  She showed examples from her personal collection and commented on old quilts that members brought to the meeting.  Most of her examples were from 1850 - 1900, and the members' quilts were mostly early to mid 20th Century.  I found it  an interesting program and am gratified that some younger women are studying and preserving our heitage quilts.  

One of the continuing favorite color schemes for quilts is red, white and blue.  Here are a few examples. 


Maker unknown.  Detail of about double sized quilt. 

This is one of Leah's quilts, a very strong design from about 1900.  These are printed fabrics and can be researched.  If they were all solids this quilt could have been made anytime in the last two centuries, so research would depend on pattern, stitching, batting, binding - a difficult job. .

 

"That 4th of July Feeling"  Ursula Hartunian  2012  About 45"W x 31"L

Ursula likes Red-White-Blue quilts.  This representation of the US flag is composed of  9-patches and half square triangles. 
 

Red-White-Blue wall hanging  Joan Orris  June 2012

 

 

 Red-White-Blue wall hanging Joan Orris June 2012

This quilt is not, I recognize, Red-White-Blue, but it is just so charming I need to share it.

"Just Between Friends" Sharon Pembroke 2013  About 38" wide and 46" long.

 

Sharon made the redwork over time and then the blocks of all different sizes and patterns from different time periods sat in a box.  She finished this "UFO", at last, and now has this cute little redwork quilt. 



 

Monday Browsing 08-12-13

Great pictures of quilts in shows/festivals around the world.

I enjoy browsing in Luana Rubin’s photo albums http://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/sets/

 

The Oceania section of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) has twenty-five members lined up ready to share a "behind the scenes" glimpse into how they create. Over six weeks you'll have the chance to visit each artist listed below and see the inspiration behind the piece they made and donated to the SAQA Benefit Auction 2013.   There are 32 quilts in the Oceania Collection, but some artists are not “hopping”.

http://saqa-oceania.blogspot.com/2013/07/oceania-collection-blog-hop.html

 

Pet Postcards for Houston Animal Shelter:    http://pokeysponderings.com/2013/06/28/quilters-its-time-to-get-busy-quilt-festivals-pet-postcard-project-is-back/ 

Participants make postcards related to animals and send them to Houston.  The postcards are sold at a booth at QFestival  and the funds raised help support the animal shelter.

 

Havel’s Scissors has a number of free tutorials and patterns.  Including some by Jamie Fingal of Southern California:  http://www.havelssewing.com/free-quilting-sewing-tips-from-havels-sewing.html

 

I read this when I was on the Ohio Road Trip and can’t keep it out of my mind.  What an amazing world we live in.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/22/3d-printer-implant-baby/2348091/

 

Portal - through a blue door.

Color in my day. 08-10-13

This past week I have been "doctoring" bronchitis, which always hits me hard.  The cough alone is enough to keep me off my feet, with my mouth closed.  Talking just makes me cough.  I've had medications and an inhaler and cough medicine and finally I am starting to feel like a human being.  Today I had to go out because my computer was invaded by gremlins, requiring a quick trip to Micro Center in Costa Mesa.  I don't know what the fellow did to solve the problem and I don't think he knew either - it just disappeared and my laptop is working normally now. 


This glorious China Silk Tree was on my route and really surprised me. These trees usually bloom in September - late September.  Everything else in sight was drab in contrast.
 

While I was out I gassed up the car and stopped at Trader Joe's for a few groceries.  It has been over a week since I shopped, so my refrigerator was looking a little bare.  TJoe's provided my dinner - madeleines crumbled in a bowl, fresh raspberries on top and a glug of cream.  Heaven in one of my favorite blue and white bowls.