How spring like! Oh, my aching feet. But cute.
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Friday, April 6, 2018
Ocean Views 04-05-18
Only for a few years in the early 1960s have I lived near the ocean. But living in SCalifornia and driving I-5 to San Clemente and San Diego regularly, I see the Pacific in all its moods. I have a few pictures in the rain, but not many, because one must pay attention when driving in the rain - especially in SCalifornia. People here are not accustomed to wet pavements and many drive much too fast. So, I am only showing rain-less images tonight.
Catalina Island from the hills of San Clemente, CA.
From the church parking lot, San Clemente, CA. - Sunset.
From the church parking lot, San Clemente, CA. Catalina under the clouds.
On I-5 south to San Diego - overcast
On I-5 south to San Diego - sunshine. That darker blue line is the ocean!
Pebble Beach, Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 04-30-14
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Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Mixed Bouquets 04-03-18
A bit of Spring for all who live in colder climes. Some of these are mixed plantings, rather than mixed bouquets, but spring color is the idea. Enjoy.
Coupeville, Washington
Hospitality Table Surfside Quilters Guild
Hospitality Table Surfside Quilters Guild
A bouquet for the baristas at Starbuck's.
Poster for organ transplant campaign.
A mixed bouquet pin cushion.
Deck box at Mary's.
Lummi Island, Washington
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Monday, April 2, 2018
I read a lot 04-02-18
(I previously wrote about reading in one of my Saturday Stories.)
Born a reader, I guess. My mother always claimed I could read long before anyone knew I could. One day before I was four I read a cereal box and astounded everyone. Naturally, I couldn't read a book then, but I have made up for that in the last 76 years. A constant in my childhood was "Put that book away and go out and play." Which resulted in my finding places outside, or in the garage, to stash my books out of the rain and, with luck, a place to hide so I could read in peace. During WWII when my sister and I lived with our paternal grandparents in Los Angeles, I would sneak onto the terraced level in the front yard which was planted with Lantana bushes and recline on a battered rug I found in the back alley. I remember the Lantana because of the fragrance, which is still the smell of California to me.
I'm not as avid as my friend Dick, who reads a book a day, I think. He is a speed, speed reader, but I am just an average speed reader. I can only read one book at a time, unlike another friend who always had a book in every room and in the car.
I always feel fortunate to have a stack of books available when I go through my almost annual bronchitis. This past month I have been reading Ian Rankin's detective series about Inspector Rebus, the entire set given to me when a friend had to clear out her bookshelves for interior painting. Thank you, Carol. The last time I was laid up I re-read all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum adventures - she cracks me up. Some books I just keep for reading again and again. Ivan Doig is one of my favorites and he died this past year, so there will be no new wonders from his pen. It is sad, I will miss his voice.
Right now I am reading "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan, a non-fiction book about the great dust bowl of the 1930s and the people who survived and continued their struggles with the land and the weather. It won the National Book Award in 2006. The book is giving me an entirely different view of Dahlhart, OK, which I drive through on US Hwy 54 from Carrizozo, NM, to Wichita, KS. And I am seeing what a short span of time the Indians and cowboys reigned. To think of all the western movies that come from that brief period in the history of the West. Amazing.
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Revisiting a quilt by Karin Franzen 04-01-18
This quilt was part of an exhibit of Karin Franzen's work at the La Conner Quilt Museum in La Conner, Washington, in April 2013. It was very difficult to choose a favorite quilt and I left Washington without one. But once I was home again and looked at the pictures, this quilt stood out and I had to call the museum to give them my credit card number. When the exhibit came down they sent the quilt to me and I was so glad I had made the decision to add it to the Collection. It is so much more wonderful "in the fabric" than in the pictures.
It is currently part of the "Birds from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection" at Back Porch Fabric in Pacific Grove, CA., through April 30th.
Karin generally bases her work on Alaskan birds and plants. There were about twenty quilts on the walls at La Conner, each was beautifully made using her unique techniques.
This quilt has great balance and a lovely subtle color scheme. The bird is a Northern shrike.
"Flowers Come in Stony Places" Karin Franzen - Alaska 2012 32"W x 46"L
Various fabrics (cotton, brocade, sheers, hand-dyes. Piecing, fusing, applique, layering, printing, stamping, whatever is necessary!
Label at La Conner Quilt Museum in La Conner, WA. 2013
Karin beautifully blends color, value and texture using many different types of fabric.
Her quilting defines this fern frond.
An irregular piece of sheer fabric is laid over a brocade fabric and accented with machine quilting following the lines of the brocade.
Pictures originally posted on this blog 05-09-13.
Check these sites for more info on Karin's work":
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