Friday Feet 05-19-17

Presenting the artists on the panel discussion.

 

I think they needed a long tablecloth.

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Thursday Threads 05-18-17

I wonder if everyone has a few quilts that are almost disasters or complete disasters.  This is one of mine.  The theme was chocolate and I developed this grand idea of having chocolate bunnies getting a face lift by walking under a chocolate fountain, such as they sometimes have at weddings.  I had recently been to a wedding that featured such a novelty.  I wanted to make the quilt pink because I really dislike pink and thought I could force myself into making something successful with it.  WRONG!

The concept was too complex and too far removed from most people's experience. 

And the fountain is just too weird. 

 

"Facelift"  Del Thomas 2013  Approx 20"W x 15"L

 

On the left of the fountain is a bunny who has been recoated and on the right one who is in the process of having his facelift.  Dumb, huh?

These are two bunnies waiting their turn.

I do like the flowers used as an integrated border.

Of course, a candy backing was appropriate.  

 

There are some successful elements, but taken as a whole, it is a complete failure.

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Wordless Wednesday 05-17-17

 

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Same bed, different dog 05-16-17

It is all about the doggie these days.  He is so active and yet so lazy!  Somewhere I read that dogs sleep 80% of the day and I think KoKo is upholding that idea.  The other day I washed all his bedding and equipment (leash, harness, toys, quilt, etc.) and threw in the cover for one of Corky's old beds which has been in the back of a cupboard for about four years.  Amazingly, KoKo loves the bed and has been sleeping in it during the day.  Also wallowing and rubbing his body all over the textured lining.  So, here are Corky (1996 - 2013) for whom I served as Poodle Nanny, and KoKo (May 20, 2014).

 

Corky Loos

KoKo Thomas

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Monday Browsing 05-15-17

Not much to share this week, but you can spend days on the first offering.  There were over 500 quilts submitted for this exhibit. 

Threads of Resistance entries – see them all at:  http://threadsofresistance.org/the_artwork.html

Is your battery dead?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_m6p99l6ME

And a more scientific explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRf9JTg3QwA

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Sue Benner Quilts from TCQC 05-14-17

I am a great Sue Benner fan, but I only have two of her quilts.  The first purchase was in 2001 when I found "Marsh #11" at the Thirteen Moons Galllery in Santa Fe, NM.  I had not met Sue at that time, so I didn't know what a delightful, warm person she is.  But I couldn't leave Santa Fe without her quilt.  

 

"Marsh #11"  Sue Benner  2000  36"W x 18.5"L

Silk and cotton, fused, machine quilted. 

Previously posted at: http://tinyurl.com/mpyvsg4

 

In 2010 the quilt below was part of a fund raiser for the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles.  It doesn't quite fit in with all the 12X12 pieces from SAQA auctions, but it is a wonderfully colorful piece that I hang with other small quilts.   

 

 

"Checks and Bars Jumble"  Sue Benner  2009  11"W x 11"L

Silk, cotton, and other fabrics, fused, machine quilted. 

 

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Satuday Stories - Driving 05-13-17

Diane never had a  drivers license before she moved to California in 1957.  Of course, she had driven the cars of various boy friends, but needing to drive wasn't a big deal back then.  She rode the bus as did almost everyone she knew.  Her mother didn't learn to drive until Diane was a senior in high school - she also took the bus, even to the grocery store.

When Diane moved to California her uncle took her out driving and it was just like she had always driven - possibly the result of observation? - and it didn't take many practice drives before she was always in the driver's seat.  But she had to have a student license before she could qualify for a "real" license.  The first time she drove on the freeway she had a licensed friend in the passenger's seat, one who had not ridden with her before.  They knew where they wanted to go and knew they would take the freeway.  Turning onto the on ramp, Diane increased her speed so when she merged into traffic she was going about the same as the cars in the lane.  She looked over at her friend to see that she was white-faced and gripping the hand rest.  "When did you learn to do that?  I thought you hadn't driven on the freeway before?"  Diane was surprised, it seemed to her she had just done what everyone else did when entering a freeway.  Again, it was probably observation.  Soon she had her license and was driving everywhere she wanted to go in her used, bright red Mercury convertible, mostly with the top down. She worked in downtown Los Angeles and had been just a rider in a carpool until she was licensed and took her weekly turn with all the guys.   Within a few months she drove to Oregon in her flashy car - no problems.  It was before I-5 was built, so she drove up on Hwy 99, getting lost with everyone else in Sacramento, and winding through the Siskiyou Mountains on mostly two lane roads with strategically placed passing lanes.  Her first grand road trip.  Over the last sixty years she has driven many hundreds of thousands of miles and has visited every state except Alaska - she might have to leave the road and take a cruise to complete the fifty states.

Originally her California license was a letter followed by five digits.  Sometime, long ago, the state re-numbered everyone by putting an additional two digits between the letter and the numbers.  She wonders when it will be necessary to add more digits to accommodate all the drivers in the state. 

She is always excited to be "On the Road Again".

 

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