Ruth McDowell class at the Quilt Galllery in Kalispell, MT 06-09-12

I'm sorry I missed posting last evening - I was just exhausted and went to sleep at 9pm!

One more day of class with Ruth McDowell - it does make me very sad because I don't know that I will ever see her again.  After 22 years, that is a very hard blow.  But I am enjoying the class here with sixteen very nice ladies - there are four who have never taken a class with Ruth previously and the rest have been regular students.   These first six pictures were take on Wednesday, the first day of class, and show something of the fabulous workshop space at the Quilt Gallery.
 
 
From the table where I am sitting, looking out through the shop to the front entrance.

 

Here is Ruth McDowell at the white board working on the photos or drawings that each student brought as inspiration.  The binder in the foreground has pictures of a great many of the quilts that were made in Ruth's classes here during the eighteen years she has be teaching in Montana.

 
Students Susan Hilsenbeck, Susan Vacek, Ruth Powers, Pat Andrews.  In the background are Ruth's Moth Orchids quilt, Ella (the appaloosa) and the Pink Rose - along with some student quilts I showed previously.

 
Students Sue Utt, Nola Partington, Bern Ward,  Vanelle Nurse with some student quilts on wall.

 
Students Vanelle Nurse, TJ Tack, Cathy Silva.  In the background Nola Partington and Bern Ward.

 
Student Anita Crane.

It is always interesting to see what Ruth is buying to take home for her stash:

 

 

 

 
She is a great saleswoman in a shop; she holds up the bolt and explains what she sees in the fabric and the entire bolt quickly disappears!   I've added some of these to my huge fabric library.

Show & Tell from Ruth McDowell's Kalispell students 06-07-12

The students who have previously attended Ruth classes at the Quilt Gallery in Kalispell, MT, brought some of their quilts for Show &Tell.


A desert scene by Donna Strain - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Plumeria blossom by Kim Woodruff - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

Prows of canoes by Kim Woodruff - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Little boy tossing a rock by Kim Woodruff - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 "Golfer"  Trudy Berne - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Forest Fire   Pat Andrews - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 Sampler blocks from Ruth McDowell's Piecing book by Susan Hilsenbeck - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Red rock cliffs w/lake by Cynda Clark - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Boy w/cup by Kathy Salvador - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Black Dog by Sue Utt - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Blue Horse by Trudy Berne - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Doorway by Kim Woodruff - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Osprey on nesting platform by Joan Hodgeboom - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Owl on osprey nesting platform by Joan Hodgeboom - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Joey by Joan Hodgeboom - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

DETAIL  Joey by Joan Hodgeboom - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Joan on her Harley by Joan Hodgeboom - made in Ruth McD Kalispell class pre 2012  06-06-12

 Quiltmaker at work (Joan Hodgeboom) made by Ruth McDowell and quilted by Joan - pre 2012  06-06-12

 
Ruth McDowell with student image for design inspiration.  Kalispell, MT., 06-06-12

Wordless Wednesday - car 06-06-12

 

 

Butte, MT & Nat'l Bison Range 06-04-12

Yesterday, Monday, was just too long a day for us!  So, when we arrived in Kalispell at 10pm, we found our lodging, unloaded the car and fell into bed.  Today, Tuesday, we were busy arranging things in our room, shopping for a few groceries, getting settled in our classroom and, of course, checking out the fabrics on offer at the Quilt Gallery.   And then there is eating and sleeping and all that necessary stuff!  The weather is cool and there has been thunder and rain this evening, but we are cozy and warm and almost ready to go to bed.  Here are a few images from yesterday. 

 
Butte, Montana, is an old copper and silver mining town, built mostly on hillsides.  We drove around looking at the views and the old buildings that have been saved.  Looks like a lot of restoration has been lavished on these two elegant 1890s homes.  The houses are level - the street is quite steep.

 
Old mining head frame and some blue flowers blooming in an alley.  There are a number of these head frames dotted about town, but the current mining is all open pit.

 
We were in the alley because I wanted to clip a few stems from a big lilac bush hanging over a back fence.  About the time I reached up with my clippers a lady came out of the house, I said something about admiring the lilacs and she said "Hhhrump" and spat!  I hustled into the car with my prize and zipped away.  The fragrance was lovely - lilacs are not found in most of SCalifornia, just in the mountain communities.  I still miss them from growing up in Oregon.

We drove northwest on I-90 to pick up Hwy 93, which goes through Kalispell.  But, more importantly it goes very close to the National Bison Range (near St. Ignatius, MT).  There is a nineteen mile dirt road loop through this sanctuary and we enjoyed every foot of it - 3-1/2 hours!   We saw lots of bison, pronghorn antelope, deer, birds, flowers and wide open country. Wonderful!  Here are just a few pictures from the several hundred that I took and Ruth Powers is willing to let me copy her pictures into my laptop.  I hope I will eventually have them all in one album.  

 
This little bison was walking on the road.  We stopped, knowing that his mommy was close by and he walked over to her.  Probably saying "Those ladies are staring at me."

Several magpies were sitting on this perimeter fence just waiting to have their pictures taken.  Very hard to get a good image with a point and shoot camera when the bird is against the blue sky. 

 
Although we saw many wildflowers it is still early summer here.  Lupine (above) was very common as was Arrow-leafed Arnica.

This pronghorn antelope obligingly turned his back to show the (sort of) heart-shaped white bottom that is easily spotted from a distance.  Almost all the pronghorns were solitary, although those I have seen from the highway in past years were always in groups of three or more. 

 
Across the green rolling countryside are the snow capped mountains in Glacier National Park.  We hope that the current rainy weather moves on so we can visit Glacier early next week.

Ruth McDowell's class starts tomorrow 9:30am to 4pm for five days.  We are excited!

Ogden, Utah to Butte, Montana 06-03-12

A long drive today, under a typical Western sky - little traffic and only a scattering of rain.

 
Last evening when Ruth Powers and I checked into the motel in Ogden there were newspapers spread under the legs of the sofa and chairs.  We HAD to ask - the house cleaners had chipped up the legs with the vacuum, so someone was re-staining just the legs.  This morning I saw this guest waiting patiently, perhaps for a cello, while I had breakfast and waited for Ruth to return from church.  I wonder why this instrument is sitting here in the nude.

 
Blue, blue sky with a cloud-eating cloud.

 
North of Ogden we saw a lot of flat pasture land with cattle and large herds of horses.   And another cloud-eating cloud (this one looks like a fish).

 
The terrain continued to rise - somewhere up head we crossed the Continental Divide at around 6000 feet and again at 6900 feet just as we reached Butte.  Both times taller mountains loomed over 11,000 feet.

 
We did have this little bit of rain.  Always an experiment with getting the automatic windshield wipers to work, I use them so seldom in SCalifornia.  Ruth drove for almost 200 miles today, including when I took this picture.  It was very strange to be able to actually look at what I was photographing.  Thanks, Ruth.

 
A huge red bluff seemed out of place way up here in Montana.  And why did someone build a west facing house so that they wouldn't ever see the sunrise?

 
Unfortunately, someone doesn't know that my name is spelled with only one "L".

Much cooler today, and tonight I have a sweater on.  The first time it has been out of the bag since I packed in Placentia.  It is very pleasant to not be overheated.   And I seem to have recovered from my diarrhea, at last, hope it is gone for good.