Expert applique artist 05-10-08

Nancy Brown is an award winning hand applique artist with a delightful sense of humor. She spoke to the Beach Cities Quilters Guild in San Juan Capistrano on Thursday evening and had us enthralled with her fabulous quilts and laughing at her humorous asides. Her quilts are all hand appliqued and hand quilted. If you get the chance, go to see & hear her presentation. The picture above is from her "Striped Cat" workshop - not a very good image because it is a picture of a picture! I wasn't able to take the workshop today, but I do have the pattern with instructions on her design and applique methods. Someday......!

You can see more of her work on my blog at: http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2008/04/nancy-brown-quilts-04-12-08.html

Or on her website: http://www.members.aol.com/nancybrownquilts/

Desert Wildflowers 05-09-08

Before I drove to Tehachapi I looked online for directions for Mabel's daughter's address. Foolish me! I have found in the past the MapQuest directions are not always the best way to go. They sent me far beyond where I needed to get off the highway and then they backtracked to the address. So, by the time I arrived I was an hour later than I expected. If I hadn't been so late I would have stopped to photograph the fields of California poppies in full bloom. They are such a glorious gold color. In the 19th Century they clothed California in gold, but civilization has pushed them out. There is a California Poppy Preserve in the Palmdale/Lancaster area and this year was a good poppy year. Unfortunately, by the time I started home the sun was going down and the poppy flowers closed their blossoms. It was also extremely windy - good for the wind turbines, but not for the poppies.

The flowers are furled in their nest of dusty green foliage.

The soil looks so inhospitable, but the poppies seem to love it!

Somewhere near Mojave I stopped to take pictures of this hawkweed which formed patches of color on the barren desert.

Doesn't look like much here, but when everything around is grey/beige/brown, the light yellow flowers really stand out.

Trip to Tehachapi 05-08-08

I have not been to Tehachapi for about five years and then I only stopped for gas while driving east on Hwy 58. This time I saw an entirely different section and it is lovely. Mabel's daughter and her family live in a gated community in this wide valley with several lakes, a golf course, equestrian trails, etc.

You can see it was very hazy, maybe it always is, I don't remember that from my previous visits, but they may have been different times of the year.

There is pasture, apple orchards and some crops, but the surrounding hills are typical of native California flora and have heavier vegetation on the east and north sides and mostly grass on the west and south, which get much more sun.

I drove I-15 to US395 to CA58 and approached the town from the east. Along the ridges of the Tehachapi Pass are wind farms (although I think wind orchards would be more apt) that take advantage of the very strong winds that dominate the weather. You can click on the images to enlarge them.

It is somewhat mesmerizing to look at the propellers going around, seemingly at different speeds, but all going the same direction, of course. They are so white against the hills and the sky, they really dominate the view. There are many wind farms in California, all working to make power for the enormous and continually growing population. The power company envisions in the future fifty square miles of wind farms, which would make this the largest wind farm in the country

Long distance friends 05-07-08

I drove up to Tehachapi today to see my friend Mabel Huseby, who I know from classes at Asilomar. We haven't taken classes at the same session for several years, but we keep up-to-date via e-mail. Mabel's daughter and family live out in the country near Tehachapi, so Mabel and Mac drive down from Washington State a couple times a year to see them. It isn't close to me at all, but a lot closer than way up above Seattle, and we have been wanting a face-to-face visit. We both had quilts to show.

We were going to have someone take a picture of the two of us, but forgot until there was nobody else around. I've never used the "self-timer" on my camera, so I got out the book and we figured it out. The picture above was the first try and we were paying more attention to whether the timer would work than we were to how we looked. You can see the "well, is it going to do anything?" look on our faces.

Good thing we tried again, we look happier here.

The Poodle Prince 05-05-08

Someone asked what my association is with Corky and I can't find where I have ever explained it. When he was a tiny puppy his parents, who run a business out of their home, were overwhelmed by the demands of the little guy and were looking for someone to stay with him when they were gone. Through quilting I know Corky's grandmother, Annabelle, and she knew that I would be interested. He "auditioned" me and we seemed to get along. He did need to learn some manners and how to behave, but it has worked out very well. That was a little over eleven years ago and he will be twelve in July. He stays with me, or I stay with him, several times each month, it varies from month to month. If I didn't travel so much I would probably have a poodle of my own, but I would have the same problem his parents have because I wouldn't want to put him in a kennel while I am gone. I am allergic to most dogs, but I love a well-behaved poodle, they are so smart and so curious about everything.

Collage Mania 05-04-08

Collage Mania offered by Fiberart For A Cause in support of the

American Cancer Society

All of the money raised goes directly to the ACS.

Coose from 235 donated collages by 100 artists from around the world.

Go to: http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/CollageMania081.html

Monday, May 5, 2008 starting at 9 a.m. CST

All collages available for a minimum donation of $80.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008 starting at 9 a.m. CST

All collages available for a minimum donation of $40.

This is one of four collages that Karen has donated - Hope, Faith, Charity and.........

Karen Stiehl Osborn
Love
7"h x 5"w
Cotton cloth, papers, acrylic paint, pigment dye, ink

A Gorgeous Day 05-03-08

I spent the day with Corky, the Poodle Prince, while his parents went to a convention at the Anaheim Convention Center - not that far, but they were gone all day. It was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine, not too hot and not much wind. It is my practice to give presents when I find something someone needs or would enjoy, so I bought this new bed for Corky to keep out at the desert. He has a bed out there, but he really needs two - one for his parents room and one for the guest room, at opposite ends of the house. The bed came with a little pillow and a blanket that match - nothing is too good for a Prince, eh?

When we went for our walk we saw a lot of people out enjoying the sun and the water. Dozens of kayakers, groups of people visiting on boats and other people walking their dogs.

These Duffy Electric Boats are very popular in the bays, harbors and channels around Long Beach. Coming up with a great name is very important, I think. The best use 'electric' words!

Cute, huh?