Quilt in progress 12-11-21

I am still TRYING to create something, but it goes sooo slowly.  Lack of concentration, ennui, needing a nap almost every day.  I don't know what is the cause - pandemic syndrome?  old age?  need more vitamins?   Whatever.  I know it would help if I did exercises every single day and maybe even twice a day!  But I don't seem to be able to force myself to do that.  Self control is not one of my strong points!  However, I have been working on several projects, switching off when I can't continue on one.  This is a small (18"W X 40"L) wall quilt composed of 1-1/2" squares that I have cut over the last 40 years or so.  I have a box of light and a box of dark that I paw through when needed.  I posted about this piece on 11-16-21 when I was still selecting squares.  Now I am machine quilting it and wish I had been more precise about lining up the little squares.  Oh, well - it isn't going to be a masterpiece!  

I have quilted vertically about 1/8th inch from the edges of the squares and will also do the horizontal.   I couldn't find a thread I thought would look good with all the different fabrics, so I am using mono-filament as the top thread and a lime green cotton on the back.  So far it is looking okay. 

I belong to Canyon Quilters in San Diego, but find it hard to do the two hour drive home after the meetings end around 9pm.  ZOOM has been a big help and I do attend most meetings that way.  They also have a "Sit and Sew" twice a month and I have enjoyed that.  There are usually fewer than 20 members attending, and once there were only four of us!  But it is a chance to become acquainted with some of the members.  There is not a lot of visiting going on, most are intent on their own work, but someone will bring uo a subject and we can all chime in or just listen.  I enjoy it and today finished up the vertical quilting lines on this little quilt. 

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Friday Food 12-10-21

Marbles for dinner?   Well, round things, anyway.  I hadn't thought of shapes when I prepared this dinner the other night.  I had fresh Brussel sprouts and a bag of fresh tiny potatoes.  Dipped into a bag of Trader Joe's cocktail meatballs (always a handy protein in the freezer)  and I ended up with a pie plate of "marbles".  I added a scoop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dried chives.  It was all delicious.  As the years roll by I find I eat simple meals and don't do much menu planning.  I buy veggies that look fresh and good at the market, sometimes eating just one thing for a meal.  Just broccoli or just green beans or rice with braised celery.  I have been eating more fruit lately, I suppose because fuyus are in season and there are still good pears to be found.  But my sweet tooth demands something sweet after a meal. Cookies are usually my favorite.  But that carrot cake from Katella Deli was fantastic.  Only a couple times a year though, it is very rich, rather expensive, and requires a 30 mile drive to Los Alamitos.  

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Food - Fuyus 12-09-21

I do love Fuyu persimmons and have several friends that share with me when their trees are loaded.   One of Carol's neighbors has a tree in their front yard and I don't think they eat them.  So, every year I knock and ask if I can pick some and they always say "help yourself" and I do!  The smallish trees are rather nondescript, but have nice shiny oval leaves.  Fuyus are best eaten when they are crisp and hard, like an apple, but you can also let them riipen until they are soft like the hachiya persimmons and scoop the flesh out with a spoon.  This can be used in cookies and puddings, however the hachiyas are a better choice for that.  

Hachiya  vs  Fuyu

Fuyu cut lengthwise and horizontal.

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Wordless Wednesday December 8, 2021

 

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Art Quilt group in SDiego 12-07-21

Saturday I drove to SDiego for the in-person meeting of the art quilt group I belong to down there.  Everyone was able to attend and we had a great meeting.  There was Show & Tell, including some work from the past, before the group was formed.  It is always interesting to see these earlier pieces and recognize the growth the artist has made.  I had nothing new or in progress, so I took a set of small works purchased at silent auction at the SAQA 2015 conference in Portland, OR.  Including these three.

"Bird"  Kristin Shields 2015  Machine pieced, hand applique and embroidery, machine quilted.

" New Zealand: Pukeko"  Martha Wolfe - Davis, CA  2015

Machine pieced and appliqued, hand embroidery , machine quilted.

"At the Market"  Terry Grant - Beaverton, OR  2015

  Machine Embroidery and applique.  This is done from the back. 

The meeting was at Judy Warren-Tippet's home and I supplied the refreshments.  We had a large fruit plate (which I failed to photograph) with Fuyus, green grapes, oranges, raspberries, dates, and honeyed pecans.  And for dessert after our bring-your-own-lunch we had a fabulous carrot cake from Katella Deli in Los Alamitos, CA.  It is very moist and coarse textured with all the fruits and nuts and not too heavy on the spices.  And then there is the yummy cream cheese frosting.  

It is an eight inch round cake with three layers and it is very rich, so one doesn't need a huge piece.  I brought home enough to share with my neighbor Mark-to-the-South, who takes care of putting out and bringing in my trashcans every week.  What a good neighbor who deserves a large slice of his most favorite cake. 

The traffic wasn't bad either direction and it was easy to drop off KoKo with Nancy Ota and to pick him up on my way home.  She wore him out and he slept almost all the way home.  

Altogether a really enjoyable, memorable day. 

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