Westside Quilters 08-28-10

What a lovely day! A new quilt guild in West Los Angeles invited me to do a program today as part of their first event - a fundraiser at the Fowler Museum followed by dessert and a glimpse of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection in the garden of Sally Wright, the new President.

I've never done a program in a garden and such a lovely old garden it is with towering trees, lovely flowers and the most enormous hydrangea blossoms I've ever seen. The members gathered with their dessert plates and enjoyed a chance to visit.

Sally speaks to the group while standing in front of the three quilts that I hung - Joan Colvin's "Copper Tree", Jenny Bowker's "Hot Water, Dead Sea", and Dijanne Cevaal's "Banksia". I didn't see the leaf shadows on the quilts until I downloaded this image - interesting. They had requested a shortened program, so I only took seventeen quilts, instead of 30 or so. Hanging a few quilts gives the audience something to look at before the program starts, and when I attend programs it is always a treat to look at some one's work close up. Joan's quilt shows her use of twisted strips of fabric to give texture to her trees and Dijanne's fabulous quilting with rayon thread needs to be seen to be believed. Jenny's quilt is hanging to provide a chance to admire the piecing perfection she can achieve.

Lovely ladies, some of whom I have met previously at Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar.
We are so fortunate in SCalifornia to have so many quilt guilds, activities and fellow quilters close by - it just depends on how far and how long one is willing to drive. In low traffic times this guild is about an hour northwest of my house - just as Surfside is about an hour to the southeast.

I was so impressed by these cupcakes topped with an edible image of the new guild logo. A really clever idea.

Thanks to all the Westside Quilters who welcomed me and my friend Liz Williams today, you were a great audience.

Under Construction 08-27-10

This is an overall shot of the building under construction that I showed yesterday. I think this is part of the new Kaiser Permanente facility, but it could as well be something else. There are a lot of apartments being build in this area of Anaheim, along with Kaiser. This is north of and adjacent to the 91 Fwy and about two miles west of the intersection of the 91 and the 55. I wish I had found time to photograph it before the purple faded so much. I might try earlier in the morning when the sun is more in the east. I haven't seem a crane like this before - it looks like a child's plastic toy. The workmen are still employed - so someone has a paycheck these days.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday! 08-26-10

The Annual BLT 08-25-10

I love tomatoes and for years I always grew them so I could have them very ripe and fresh. Then I started having skin reactions to them and stopped planting them. But, oh-my-goodness, do I miss BLT sandwiches. So, every year I bum a very ripe tomato from one of my tomato growing friends and have one BLT. Tonight was the night....

... and it was delicious!

Special thanks to Teresa Malinowski who provided the 2010 tomato!

Doctoring equates with Brunch 08-24-10

As a treat for myself I sometimes go to 'brunch' after a morning doctors appointment. Not usually after physical therapy, but I had a great session this morning and I decided a visit to Kimmie's in Orange was in order. I've shown pictures of this cafe in previous posts and it is one of my favorite brunch spots. I like to sit in the front window and watch the people on the street while I eat - it is a good people watching spot.

Like any older area there are deep, narrow shops and stores in downtown Orange, Just wide enough for a row of tables and a counter fronting the long, narrow kitchen. I was there in the lull between breakfast and lunch so it wasn't very busy. The decor is very much like the cafes I remember from my growing up years in Portland, Oregon. Unmatched chairs, tablecloths, flatware and dishes.

This is the view out "my" window - not very interesting at the moment.

And here is the 'brunch' - a "Short Stack". Two fresh eggs - created in California - two slices of bacon (origin unknown), two buttermilk pancakes (made on the premises) and decaf coffee (not as good as Starbucks). Notice the designer plate (they don't know I am a quiltmaker) and the non-matching mug. The shiny disk near the flatware is my purse hook.

After all this I came home and worked on the Surfside Quilters Guild newsletter.

Libby Lehman quilt in TCQC 08-22-10

There are some quilts in the Collection that I have not posted because I don't have decent pictures of them. I will try to find time to do some photography during this coming week, but it is really booked up and the Surfside newsletter is a work in progress.

This is a repeat post from 05-31-08 that shows an outstanding example of Libby's work.

"Silent Partners" 1995 Libby Lehman 35"W x 35"L

I bought this one from Libby when she was doing a guild program in my area. After the meeting I went up and asked her if any of her quilts were for sale, this one specifically, and she said yes, she gave me a price and wrote up a receipt. I took it home, hung it on the wall and stared at it for a long time before I could go to sleep. I think this is such a fascinating quilt. It is just a one-patch quilt made with hand dyed fabrics. But Libby has stitched over the background patches so that it appears to be a pattern on point. No, all the patches are set square and the stitching, using rayon threads, is superimposed over them. Some of the stitching was done just on the top and some goes through the top/batting/backing.

Here is a detail showing the variety of stitches that she used.

Libby's website is http://libbylehman.us/

Physical Therapy 08-21-10

I have had quite a bit of physical therapy over the past six or seven years. For fractured ankles (after I was out of the braces, of course), shoulder injuries, arthritic hands and, now, for my psoas muscles. If you are curious you can Google "psoas muscles" and find out more than you ever wanted to know! The reason my psoas are killing me is that I have avoided exercise for most of my life, particularly in the last twenty years. Until I started having trouble getting out of bed, going up stairs and, worst of all, driving for more than about an hour and getting out of my car at my destination. The pain is in my buns, groin and crotch and it is very strong pain. The solution is to stretch and strengthen the muscles every day until they are strong. The exercises are not hard, but there is that aversion to exercise in the way! However, pain is a great motivator, isn't it? So, I am trying to follow the routine at least once a day, if not the two times a day recommended by the therapist. I do want to go on road trips again, and walk up and down stairs like normal people do - there is Corky's need to be carried up and down now, so that is another incentive.

These instruments of torture are in use at the PTherapy office, but the only one I use is the peddling contraption in the middle with what looks like a little computer monitor sticking up. You can see out the window where my Lexus is parked, right over the back of the seat.

Here is my therapist Terry talking to another patient who is engaged in some of the same exercises I have been doing. It isn't polite, I am told, to inquire about some one's problem, but I suspect this lady has something similar to what I have. Terry helped me when I injured my shoulder last August falling down Corky's stairs. I think she is the best therapist in the office and feel luck to have her. I will go twice this coming week and then have a week off to see how well I do with just the home exercises.

Corky is here, just for tonight, and he is completely disgusted that I am still up at this frightful hour. Guess I had better get to bed so he won't be angry with me tomorrow. Gosh, just like being married!