Unusual foods 02-04-08

Trying different foods is something I enjoy very much. It may come from my mother who was an adventurous cook - especially for the times (1940-50). I've eaten a lot of unusual foods, some I liked and some I didn't. There are a few things I have not been willing to try, yet! One is snails, no matter how much garlic and butter there is I just can't quite slip the little guys into my mouth. I also passed on a fat white roasted grub in the Australian outback.

However, I have recently eated these unusual fruits.

On the left is hoshigaki, a Japanese treat I have known about for years, but have rarely eaten. They are grown in California's Central Valley and this year I found them for sale on the Internet. Hoshigaki are dried Hachiya persimmons that have been slowly massaged daily for a month to soften them and bring their natural sugars to the surface as a fine white powder that you can see above. They are eaten as is and have a moderately sweet taste and a chewy texture. I think they are delicious.

On the right are freeze dried mangosteens which I am trying for the first time. Grown in Thailand we have not seen them in the USA due to fear of importing new kinds of fruit flies. They are also available as juice which is imported already prepared. The white coating is the natural sugar that surfaces in the freeze drying process. They are sweet and tart at the same time - in fact, sort of like those candies called sweet tarts, if I remember correctly - I haven't eaten those in decades. They are also sort of crunchy, like cheese puffs! I found the mangosteens at Trader Joe's and I will buy them again. A 1.5 ounce bag has 170 calories and supplies 3 grams of fiber.

In the middle is a thimble to give you an idea of size!

Spacing skinny strips 02-03-08

When I was playing with spacing yesterday I wondered what it would look like if I took out every other strip. Like a RR track w/paint spots!

Or how about crisscrossing the strips. Hm-m-m-m, looks like a dense split rail fence - with paint spots.

I'll have to put the skinny strips aside for a week while I do other things.

4 skinny strip backgrounds 02-02-08

I rephotographed a couple of the lousy pictures from yesterday. And tried a few other backgrounds.

This is my original choice.

And here is the red w/o so much reflection on the vinyl.

This background was much more gold before I sent it over from Picasa.

This very pale stripe is a piece of furnishing fabric.

You will notice that the strips have gotten closer and I think that is more the look I am going for.

The latest SAQA journal has one of Eileen Lauterborn's quilts on the cover. Her gorgeous work is all done with REALLY skinny strips, like 1/4 inch. http://www.eileenlauterborn.com/

Skinny strips w/backgrounds 02-01-08

I wondered how the strips would look on different backgrounds.

So, I put the strips on a piece of clear vinyl (JoAnns) and moved them to some additional backgrounds. Only I did it after dark and even without a flash there is a reflection on the vinyl. Also, these pictures seem very blurry to me, but I have been on the computer so much today that everything is double - on screen or off.

In looking at these up on the design board one fabric is very obvious - the turquoise is a solid, too solid. I may overprint it with something. Or I could just throw these away and make another set.

Almost midnight - time to rest my body and my eyes.

Skinny strips, again 01-31-08

I'm really getting hooked on skinny strips. I assembled the strips differently this time. Using the black fabric as a base I fused different colors and shapes randomly to the base, then I turned it over and fused a layer of Misty Fuse on the back of the base fabric. And finally I free cut the strips. They are just laid on the background fabric here, but when the time comes the strips will be easier to fuse down. This version seems a little dull to me.

In my box of fused bits I had these squiggles with the fusible already on, so I thought I would see how some contrasting color would look. For some reason they make me think of Halloween - pink pumpkins on a three rail fence? ThenI ran out of steam! Maybe I can get back to them tomorrow.

Miscellaneous 01-30-08

My blog friend Christine Thresh posted a video on her blog this morning, but I haven't gotten that far on the learning curve. So, I refer you to her blog at http://winnowings.blogspot.com/ for the joyful meeting of a group of elephants at an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. It did bring tears to my eyes and might to yours.

I packaged up ten pounds of 1930s fabrics today because I have found someone who can use them in her quiltmaking. What a great feeling to be able to pass them on and not throw them out. Or continue to store them in my 'fabric library'. I used to do quilt repairs and built quite a collection of those Depression era fabrics, from tiny bits to yardage size pieces. I really enjoyed repairing or restoring quilts, but it is a thankless job because people don't like to pay for the time it takes to do those repairs. Even if we agreed on a set price beforehand there would be reluctance to foot the bill. Additionally, they wanted the work done yesterday! I could no longer take the aggravation and now I won't be tempted because I no longer have the fabrics. Hurrah!

Self portrait 01-29-08

I don't know anyone who is ever happy with pictures of themselves. This is about the best anyone can do with me! It was taken while I was helping to hang quilts from the TCQC at the March 2006 East Bay Heritage Quilters Show in Oakland. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to put my picture on my blog - might not be this one, but it will definitely show me wearing a hat, because I always wear one. Behind me is Elizabeth Barton's "Gate House" and to my left the fascinating "Discombobulated" by Jill Rumoshosky Werner.

www.elizabeth@elizabethbarton.com www.wernerstudio.com

"Crowsline" 01-28-08

The crows have come back from their winter vacation - at least one has, he was screaming at me from the neighbor's pine tree this morning. I don't know where they go between November and February but, as raucous as they are, I miss their antics and their vocalizations.

"Crowsline" June Underwood 2002 45"W x 20-3/4"L

June has an affinity for crows and has made quite a few quilts which included the crow image. This one is part of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection. I bought it from her website www.juneunderwood.com and had serious reservations when I hung it on my wall. I thought the crow in the foreground seemed too strange. A week or so later I was on my way out and looked across the street to see what the crows were going on about. And there was the exact same strange crow in just that position standing on the curb and complaining to his fellows wading in the puddle at curbside. I didn't know that June would include him in the deal. He and his fellows frequently gather in the trees in the park behind our house to greet the dawn with their cawing and clacking. They really disturb some of my neighbors, but, hey, they are doing what crows do!

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie 01-27-08

Corky is never so asleep that he doesn't know what is going on around him. He has his left eye just a tiny bit open to be sure I am behaving myself. I picked him up yesterday afternoon and returned him at about the same time today. He is such good company, I love to have him stay. And he forces me to go on a walk with him, something I should be doing daily.

Our area of SCalifornia now has 11+ inches of rain (since July 1st) and no major landslides. More rain is promised for tonight and tomorrow, I hope it continues to be a gentle rain.

"Color Bowls - Two" 01-26-08

DETAIL "Color Bowls - Two" Del Thomas 2008

(See 01-13-08 post)

I'm only posting a detail of one corner because this quilt will be in the Reverse Auction for Fiberart For A Cause which will take place online in March and Virginia Spiegel has asked that we not post pictures of our donations. I will post more about the auction later, but meanwhile you can find information at

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/NewFiles/ACSFundraiser.html