A day of complete rest 05-04-19

Yes, I stayed in bed most of the day!   And I feel 100% better.   Bless my hostess Mary for putting up with me.  But we have known each other for over twenty years and she understands my peculiarities.  I have crashed at her house before after having a marathon drive or a hard week at Empty Spools.  I did eventually get up, get dressed and have a late brunch.  Then an afternoon lie down to read turned into another nap!  Old body, old age, old brain.  

I have my design board propped up in the living room where we can look at it and kibitz on the present state of the designs.  Maybe Mary will let me work on her dining room table tomorrow.  I can see a few things that won't take long to change or complete.  All those rectilinear blocks need attention.  

Here is Sue Benner's class sample of that project.  She has trimmed and overlapped the blocks to minimize bulk, but I intend to just abut the blocks and zig-zag the joins before quilting the whole piece. 

Notice the cross hatched quilting over the entire quilt surface. 

And, as a refresher, here are my unfinished blocks loosely pinned to the design board.   

I did a more jagged cut than Sue, and everyone else, what was I thinking?

#   #   #

End of session at Empty Spools 05-03-19

Seems like a long day today!  Getting everything out of the sleeping room and out of the classroom and into the car is a big deal for me these days.  With my bad hand and elbow and shoulder I am hard pressed.  But with help from Suzanne and Katie I made it.  My portable design board, designed and made by Mabel Huseby, makes the task so much easier.  Just leave all the project pieces pinned to the board, fold it up, close the Velcro fasteners, carry with included handle, and stuff it into the car.  Great.  

I drove the road that follows the bay all the way to the aquarium, stopped for a Starbuck's latte fix and had the car washed (on the outside only) because the windshield was so buggy I could hardly see out.  And with my hand/elbow/shoulder problem I can't reach up to wash the window myself.  Besides, the car always runs better when it is clean, doesn't it?  

I had a three hour nap when I got to Mary's and am ready for another eight hours!

Sue Benner explaining her quilting process.  She is a thorough and sharing teacher. 

My table mate Carole Pirruccello.  Her board is set up like mine and those of a number of other students.  Clockwise from top left: Rectilinear Composition, Curvilinear Composition, Landscape (hers with curved strips), and Cut Composition.    

The drive all along the bay from Asilomar Beach to the Aquarium is slow and gorgeous.  I try do to it several times while I am in Pacific Grove. 

#   #   #

Empty Spools check out 05-03-19

Checking out this morning and have only the critique of our class yet to do.  I packed up my classroom stuff last night and have everything in my sleeping room ready to go into my car.  Guess I'd better have breakfast first.  It has been a good session and a wonderful class with Sue Benner.  Of course, doing a different (small) project every day has been a challenge and has left me with four more unfinished projects.  The students who are speedier than I have some projects pinned for quilting already.  But my goal is not finished, but what I learn in the class, even if I never finish any of the individual projects. 

I'll be with Mary in San Juan Bautista for another five days, until Thursday when I take down the quilts at Back Porch and head home.   To see my little roommate, missed him terribly.  

Here are my four projects.

Day One - Rectilinear with 5-1/2" x 4- 1/2" units

and at the lower left my cut/collage from day 3.  But I missed the cut part!

Day 2 - Curvilinear  This is the background with a few blue trees pinned up and all the blue fabrics that I dug out of my fused scraps and the fabric that I brought with me.   Just auditioning possibilities.  The trees will all be straight although I considered different possibilities, this is the one I find most pleasing.  About 22" long and 18" wide.

Day 4 - Landscape done with strips of fabric.  I used straight strips laid horizontally, but there was a variety of horizontal, vertical, curved, a combination of all of these.  Of course, it isn't finished.  I'll add more sky above and fix the blue hole in the middle.  Also more bushes .  The yellowish strip across the center represents grass growing along the edge of the highway and is fringed on top..   About 22"wide and may end up 26" long.  

  Now 7:45am and I gotta get going.  

#   #   # 

Still at Empty Spools 05-01-19

Too late to be up and on the laptop.  Had another hard working day in Sue Benner's class "Composition Quartet".  But I did have my annual massage with Heidi - HEAVEN!  And went out to dinner with Jeanne Mills and Gail Abeloe to Il Vecchio, a great Italian restaurant.  The carbonara is as wonderful as ever and we had cannoli for dessert.  Now it is time to hit the hay, as we used to say in the old days.  Maybe more tomorrow night.  I'll ask some ladies if I can post their work on this blog.  

#   #   #

Yes, I am at Empty Spools at Asilomar, Pacfic Grove, CA 04-30-19

Apologies for not writing.  I have just been overwhelmed and sooooo tired.  This is my 28th year at Empty Spools and seems harder than any other year.  There are so many hills and stairs to climb.  Fortunately I have my favorite room #520 in Pirate's Den and my class is right across the drive at Merrill Hall.  So, other than going to meals I just have a short flat walk to get to class.   

Sue Benner is such a good teacher, but this must be her most difficult class because she presents a different fusing project on each of the four days.   I did not complete the first one, rectilinear composition, but put it away to start the 2nd day project, curvilinear composition.  In it we need to show background, mid ground, foreground.  I am as far as the background which will continue with trees in the mid ground and leaves in the foreground.  Hope I can pull it off tomorrow.  Too tired tonight to go back to work after the evening program.

I am suffering from a very sore wrist, elbow, torn rotator cuff, so wear different kinds of braces and try to use my left hand/arm.  I've discovered that I always put my left arm in my clothes first.  After all these years I have to start over again because if I put the left arm in first, I can't bend my right shoulder enough to get into the other arm.  Odd things one discovered with advancing age!  

Several people who read my blog have stopped me to say hello.  Always so good to meet those people out there keeping up with my life.  Thanks to each of you.  Leave a comment!

First day Project.   Actually color is brighter, but not too bright.  

Second day project.  Black fabric with white lines is upholstery fabric, light piece on left side is a sheer linen.  The stripy piece is not a tree trunk, but a background.

#   #   #