Yesterday's pictures 08-28-14

Yes, it is a repeat of yesterday's picture.  I haven't been to a Mall for years, but the other day I kept thinking about California Pizza Kitchen's Moroccan Salad.  I looked up the closest CPK on my cell phone and drove over after seeing the dental hygienist.  I wasn't sure which end of the mall it was located and I picked the wrong one.  By the time I walked in the heat from the parking lot to the A/C'd interior  and found a schematic, I decided I would just walk down to the other end rather than go back to move my car.  The display of books hanging on ropes was at one end of the mall.  It seems like a clever idea, but the volume of books was too puny to make an impact.   Whoever did the display work was not a professional book hanger and it just looked shabby.

 

 

This mall has changed since I was there maybe five or six years ago (or longer).  They have added seating areas with comfortable chairs and love seats.  Also a few with massaging chairs!   There are also little snack places in the middle of the "concourse" - used to be food was either in the food court or in a store front - like CinnaBon or Mrs. Fields, the chocolate cookie company.  There were a lot of people there (I thought) for a Monday afternoon.  They seemed to all walk abreast, no matter if there were two or half a dozen, so I had to do some New York shuffle.  I saw many tiny stores - a place that sells just ball caps, one called the "Flip Flop Shop" which sells only flip flops, and other "exclusive"  sales places.  It was interesting, but it will probably be another five or six years before I visit another mall.  The salad, by-the-way, was just as delicious as when I had it a few months ago in a stand-alone CPK in Long Beach.

#   #   # 



Wordless Wednesday 08-27-14

Sushi for lunch 08-26-14

I do love sushi and what they serve at Ikiru in San Diego is fresh, tasty and filling.  Beth Smith and I went there today and, as usual, shared two rolls. 

 

In the back is an Orange Blossom roll and in the front is a Liberty roll.  Both  are served with Ponzu sauce, which is the dark semi-liquid on the plate.

 

Liberty is seared on the top, so it is served warm.

Orange Blossom is cold and has super thin slices of lemon  in each cut.  Tart, but oh-so-refreshing on a hot day. 

 

One reason I went down today was to take several boxes of books donated by Toni Mahoney to share between Surfside Quilters Guild and Visions Art Museum.   The Guild is preparing for their November Fest which features raffle baskets, so some books will go in those, and VAM has an ongoing sale of "Gently Used Books" in their gift shop all year round.  There will be some good bargains when the books are priced and shelved.

 

If you haven't been down to see the current exhibits at VAM you should try to go, they are outstanding.   When they come down the end of September the new Visions biennial exhibit will go up - it is a juried show with quilts from around the world.  While you are in the area, stop by Oceanside Museum of Art which is showing one-third of the quilts from Quilt National 2013.  www.visionsartmuseum.org

 

Monday Browsing 08-25-14

How to do rolled hem in silk: http://www.amisimms.com/videos.html

http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/18/tom-hanks-typewriter-app-shoots-to-the-top-of-the-app-store/

If you have some browsing time, it is always educational and awe inspiring to look at Luana Rubin's photos of major international quilt shows.  Check out:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/sets/

pelargonium

 

Pamela Allen quilt in TCQC 08-24-14

  Although Ruth McDowell quilts predominate in the Thomas Contemporary  Quilt Collection there are other artists who are represented with several quilts.  I think the artists with the second most quilts is Pamela Allen with ten pieces, half of which are very small.  They make a nice display when hung together, not just because of the style of her work, but also her fondness for the color aqua. 

"Sailing Past"  Pamela Allen - Kingston, Ontario, Canada -   2014 

9.75"W x 7.5"L

This bird seems to be a cross between a seagull and a butterfly!  He is busy watching the sail boat speed by and paying no attention to the lunch swimming below. 

Pamela does her hand sewing using several strands of embroidery floss - three, I think. 

 Notice the color change she has done on the rock(s) by using a rusty red thread for accent.  This is repeated on the feather stitched trees in the background.

 

The bird has tendrils and leaves embroidered on his body and sort of satin stitch legs.

 

Pamela chooses to cover the back of her work, but then adds a few stitches here and there.  This is the first time I have seen the metal washers for hanging used on her quilts.

 

I love her sense of whimsy (Pam in Can, indeed!) and the uninhibited way she uses fabric.  Fabric selection is a problem for many of us; I have tried to learn from Pamela and from years of classes with Ruth McDowell, whose fabric selections are the envy of many art quilters.  But I think it is mostly intuitive and not something one can learn from someone else.   However, I am going to keep trying!

 

#   #   #