Quilt by Del Thomas 02-23-25

 I made this quilt in 2005 using a Ruth B. McDowell pattern from her Pieced Flowers book.  I titled it "Iris for Mom", although my mother died in 1972 this is the colors of her favorite iris.  It is usually hanging somewhere in the house because I like to be reminded of her love of flowers, iris especially. 

"Iris for Mom"  Del Thomas  2005   20" L X 22"W

Cotton fabric, thread, batting. Machine pieced and quilted.

Detail of quilting on domestic machine.

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A Sunday in February 02-09-25

 

Here we are 1268 Warren Street, Placentia, CA  92870

It was a lovely day,  about 70F with lots of whipped clouds high in a very blue sky.  Our house is basically a one story with an attic in the tallest part.   Several in the neighborhood have built out the attic into a couple more bedrooms. If I won the lottery, which I have never played, I would do that also.  I have  enough  treasures  in the  one story to fill another - fabric, of  course!   

KoKo took me for a walk about noon, the  first I have done for almost a week.   We managed a bit more than 900 steps, not much  compared to  our usual  5000+, but it did feel great to be out in the sun.

Computer is refusing to access photo files.  But it is Sunday! So, here is one of my quilts from the month before the pandemic. I was going out to Lake Havasu, AZ, then, hauling my quiltmaking along.

"Desert Dawn"   Del Thomas - CA   2020  48"L X 28"W

Cotton fabrics. Machine pieced, fused. machine quilted.

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Art Quilt group in SDiego 12-07-21

Saturday I drove to SDiego for the in-person meeting of the art quilt group I belong to down there.  Everyone was able to attend and we had a great meeting.  There was Show & Tell, including some work from the past, before the group was formed.  It is always interesting to see these earlier pieces and recognize the growth the artist has made.  I had nothing new or in progress, so I took a set of small works purchased at silent auction at the SAQA 2015 conference in Portland, OR.  Including these three.

"Bird"  Kristin Shields 2015  Machine pieced, hand applique and embroidery, machine quilted.

" New Zealand: Pukeko"  Martha Wolfe - Davis, CA  2015

Machine pieced and appliqued, hand embroidery , machine quilted.

"At the Market"  Terry Grant - Beaverton, OR  2015

  Machine Embroidery and applique.  This is done from the back. 

The meeting was at Judy Warren-Tippet's home and I supplied the refreshments.  We had a large fruit plate (which I failed to photograph) with Fuyus, green grapes, oranges, raspberries, dates, and honeyed pecans.  And for dessert after our bring-your-own-lunch we had a fabulous carrot cake from Katella Deli in Los Alamitos, CA.  It is very moist and coarse textured with all the fruits and nuts and not too heavy on the spices.  And then there is the yummy cream cheese frosting.  

It is an eight inch round cake with three layers and it is very rich, so one doesn't need a huge piece.  I brought home enough to share with my neighbor Mark-to-the-South, who takes care of putting out and bringing in my trashcans every week.  What a good neighbor who deserves a large slice of his most favorite cake. 

The traffic wasn't bad either direction and it was easy to drop off KoKo with Nancy Ota and to pick him up on my way home.  She wore him out and he slept almost all the way home.  

Altogether a really enjoyable, memorable day. 

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Friday Food 08-13-21

Wednesday I met three friends who drove up from San Diego to view a quilt exhibit at the Newport Beach Public Library and to have lunch.  Two of my friends have quilts in this showing of about 30 quilts from the Quilts on the Wall group.  I hope to post some pictures  over the weekend, but I am still quilting on a quilt that has a looming deadline, so I need to work on that most of the time.  

Andrea chose the restaurant because she seems to find restaurants that are good and different.  We went to Cappy's Cafe on Pacific Coast Highway at the north end of Newport Beach.  She told us it was a biker and surfer hangout and I had my doubts.  We ate outside and my seat faced the back of the building which has a fantastic mural of the beach, a big wave and surfers.  I almost felt I was actually looking at the ocean.  There is no real ocean view since the cafe is on the inland side of PCH.  There were barefoot diners, maybe surfers, and the bikers were bicyclists.  Very casual and quiet.  The service was a little spotty, but the food was great. 

Nelda had the Mahi Mahi tacos with a side of beans. 

Andrea enjoyed her Ruben sandwich with a side of onion rings.

Deb and I each ordered the Prime Rib Melt with au jus.  I had a side of excellent coleslaw and Deb chose the onion rings and let me have a taste.  If you go to Cappy's DO have the onion rings, they are excellent.   There are extensive breakfast selections and I imagine the place is packed in the morning, especially on weekends.  Their hours are 7am to 3pm - 7 days a week. 

The day was a break from the pandemic..  We all wore masks except when we ate and I keep hoping that all those other diners were vaccinated and covid free. 

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Virtual Quilt Show 01-22-21

Last month a friend contacted me to ask if I would submit some quilts for a virtual quilt show sponsored by Gallery Q in Laguna Beach. CA.  Gallery Q at the Susi Q has been a part of the non-profit Laguna Beach Seniors for over 10 years presenting changing art exhibits.  This is their first quilt exhibit featuring work by area quiltmakers, most of whom are members of Laguna Beach quilting groups.  I'm happy to be included even though I am not a member of those groups.  Check out the display at:

https://galleryq.org/featured-art-works/

I found the website a little difficult to maneuver, but if you keep clicking here and there you will be able to see the quilts and information about each one.   I submitted three pieces, but they chose to not include "Oystercatchers", so here is a picture and information about that very old work made in 1996.

"Oystercatchers"  Del Thomas  1996 38'W X 23"L

Commercial cottons and cotton thread and batting. 

Machine pieced and quilted, hand appliqued, fusing.

These are old world oystercatchers (Haematopus Ostralegus) which are found on the coasts and estuaries of Europe, Asia and NW Africa.  This was the fourth in a series of challenge quilts with bird images.  Showing water running off the rocks posed a problem and this is the only solution I could come up with.

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Southern California Contemporary Quilts Part 3 12-17-20

 Nelda is a member of Art Stream, a small art quilt group in San Diego that I also belong to.  It was so interesting to watch this quilt come together and to see how she solve any problems she ran into.  It is 29" L X 31.5"W

Another recognition of the SCalifornia fire hazard was created by Pam Palmer-Lowe.  It acknowledges the women from prison fire crews who put their lives on the line despite their incarceration.  Their colorful identifying uniforms are in stark contrast to the blacken forest. 

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Southern California Comtemporary Quilts Part 2 12-16-20

Charlotte Bird's multi-panel work is in the center of the large gallery.  It is fascinating and deserves extra time to look at all the details.  She covers the scenes of SCalifornia with great artistry.  18" high X 22" wide for each panel X a total length of 102"

I always admire the work of Kathleen McCabe and there are several of her quilts in TCQC.  This one is soooo California.  48"L X 32"wide

This detail of the flowers in the foreground shows her fine control of her quilting. 

See the people and the light poles out on the pier - just shadows. Color isn't very good in this photo, it is much  brighter. 

Nancy Lemke's quilt is another salute to the coast.  21"L X 32"W

Notice the crocheted doily representing a sea star and there are hand embroidered sea urchins scattered throughout.

And tiny white fish flowing across the tidepool. I like the borders only top and bottom, leaving the water to flow out on each side.  

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Southern California Contemporary Quilts 12-07-20

Just before the Sciatica struck me I had driven down to Oceanside Museum of Art to see the exhibit of quilts by Southern California artists.  And I did take pictures, but was not able to sit at the computer to post any of them.  So, I am going to start posting them so you can see at least part of the exhibit.  The museum is closed again due to the Virus and who knows when it will re-open.  If you are in the area you could stop by to shop in the museum store which is currently featuring "Tiny Art" - five inch square pieces donated by artists of every ilk and ready to use for stocking stuffers or just a regular tiny gift.  Lots of high quality jewelry, bowls, scarves, cards, etc. for your gift selection. 

This measures 58"L X 38"W.  The background is a solid piece of hand-dye (I think) that has been in my fabric library for years.  I knew it would find the proper place one day.  All of the quilts I make have a bird in them somewhere - as part of the design, in the quilting, on the back, on the label, wherever I can squeeze one in.  There are several birds in the trunks of the trees.

This measures 38.5L X 27.5W.  What an appropriate subject for this hot year. 

This measures 20"L X 29 3/4"W.  SOOO Southern California! 

More to come in future posts. 

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Oceanside, CA drive 07-23-20

Today I drove to Oceanside to deliver a quilt for the "Southern California Contemporary Quilts" exhibit at Oceanside Museum of Art that opens August 1st (through Oct 25).  They will hang the quilts and then post them on a video on their website.  If it can be arranged there will be a way to make a reservation to go to the museum with a limited number of visitors for a limited amount of time.  Something similar to what Visions is currently offering.  All the makers are in Southern California and the "theme" is our "view" of Southern California.  Mine is "Palms", to me the symbol of the area.  More on the exhibit later.  

I dropped KoKo for a visit with Nancy Ota in San Clemente, which is about an hour from my house and half an hour north of Oceanside.  Amazingly, it sprinkled on the way down and it was very overcast.  But by noon the sun was out and there were many people walking the huge Thursday farmer's market one block off of Mission. I turned in my quilt at OMA and found the crepe "booth" for a bacon/cheese/avocado/egg crepe which I ate sitting in my car, parked next to my friend Beth in her car, while we had a nice visit.  It did seem strange, but it worked rather well.  Then home again, stopping to pick up KoKo, and just in time for a ZOOM meeting with an art quilt group I belong to.  After which we required a nap!  

The Pacific Ocean on a grey overcast morning.

Don't know where the circle came from, it isn't part of the picture!

A military ship off of Camp Pendleton. 

The front of Oceanside Museum of Art with the current art piece displayed. 

And a close up!

We parked under the palm trees behind the museum to have our lunch. 

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Ruth McDowell is still making quilts 06-29-19

Here is her latest, fresh off the sewing machine.   It is a most tranquil view of a very old barn near her place in Massachusetts.  The barn has been maintained for over a hundred years with several additions made during that time.  

"Hill Town Farm"  Ruth B. McDowell - Colrain, MA  2019   36”L x 62” W

Machine pieced, machine quilted, cottons, cotton batting, tiny bit of colored pencil

$5600

DETAIL  "Hill Town Farm"  Ruth B. McDowell - Colrain, MA  2019 

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Quilts at PIQF 10-14-18

Pacific International Quilt Festival is an annual show presented by the Mancuso brothers in Santa Clara, CA, near San Jose.  I used to attend every year, but for several years have had scheduling conflicts and have missed it.  It is quite a good show with hundreds of quilts in the judged competition and many, many special exhibits, from the World contest down to people like the ArtStream group from San Diego. The Art Stream group has only eight members and we have been working on this exhibit challenge for about two years.  Some members finished their quilts well over a year ago and I finally finished mine last month.  There is always a poky person in every group, isn't there?  Anyway the quilts were finished and I drove them up here on Tuesday and was there when the guy crew hung them and I pinned up the labels.  Easy job.  

I had some trouble editing the pictures I took, but I seem to have succeeded at last and post them below with titles, artist, etc.,  This is our first exhibit in a quilt show, although we have shown quilts at San Diego galleries.   These quilts plus a companion piece from each member are scheduled for an exhibit at Visions Art Museum in 2019 from April 20 to July 7. 

The theme is "Urban Elements" and each quilt is 24" wide by 36" long.  I think the reason they look different lengths is where the sleeves are put on.  The area they are hanging is on the outside perimeter of the room and it bends, so they are not all visible at once. Here is the beginning on the left hand side. 

And here is the other end.  The labels are hung at different distances because behind the drapes is a storage area that needs to be accessed where the drapes meet.  So, I hung the labels so they are close to the quilt and not on a place where the openings are.  

"Checker Cab Company"  Deb Mackay   Hand-dyed (by artist) fabrics, linoleum cut printing with acrylic paint, machine quilting. 

"My grandfather owned stock in Checker Motors Company, but sold it after the October 29,1929, stock market crash.  My dad would tell me that we would be wealthy people if only his dad had kept the stock.  I have always had an affinity for Checker Cabs when I am in the city.  They have been an important moving element of the urban setting."

"Glass Ceiling"  Ellen Spellman   Hand-dyed (by the artist) and commercial fabrics,  machine piecing, machine and hand applique, machine quilting.  

"Contemporary architecture brings modern art to life in urban settings.  Frank Gehry's iconic buildings unfurl, bend, twist and soar from their urban roots, flaunting unusual materials and assembled in collage-like forms.  They stop me in my tracks and make me smile.  My quilts honors one of his ceilings, full of windows and curved to meet the sky, a ceiling to look up to in wonder.  I took liberties with the design, but the intent was to capture in some way the beauty and surprise of the original." 

"Summer in the City"  Andrea Bacal    Hand-painted (by artist) canvas mixed with canvas reproduction of artist's hand-painted canvas, hand-dyed (by artist) and commercial fabrics, machine piecing, fused applique, machine quilting.  "I had previously painted a canvas with textile paints, and wanted to use the images from it.   I had several images printed by Fabric on Demand.  I used this new fabric to create the piece, recreating the feeling I always have when listening to the 1966 Lovin' Spoonful's Summer in the City." 

"Birds in the City"   Del Thomas    Commercial, batik, and hand-dyed fabrics, fussed applique, machine quilting.   ""Since I am not an urban dweller and avoid cities, I tried to think of something in a city I do enjoy.  Sitting in a park and observing the natural environment surrounded by birds, trees, flowers, and water sources is my first pick.  So, all these are shown in my quilt."

"Reflections"   Carol Sebastian-Neely    Commercial fabrics (painted by artist), hand-dyed (by artist) fabrics, fused applique, painting on paper fused to organza to create mono print, machine quilting. "Reflections was inspired by a photograph of buildings looking down at the cool flowing waters moving below them.  Lights glowing under the surface.  Linear elements reaching skyward.  Tiny windows keeping life secrets within. 

"Rockefeller's Flags V - Atlas"   Nelda McComb    Commercial fabrics, embellished with ink, machine applique, hand quilting.   "Trips to NYC have inspired a series called Rockefeller's Flags.  The Center is lined with beautiful flags, hence the birth of six quilts extolling Rockefeller's flags."

"Midtown Massif"   Judy Warren Tippets    Commercial fabrics, embellished with pen,ink and specialty thread, fused applique, machine quilting.    "My inspiration comes from a photo my husband took in the High Sierra.  The massive granite ridge of the Minarets more than hints of a great city rising abruptly at water's edge.  Midtown Massif transforms the multi-pinnacled Minarets into a fantasized urban skyline."

"STOP"   Michalee Sloan    Commercial batiks and over-dyed fabrics, machine applique, machine quilting.    "I am always thinking about my art projects on my commute in the Southern California traffic.  Images of stop signs and stop lights became part of the graphic shapes as they are traffic icons.  Windows and scaffolding appearing in layers.  Red to emphasize the brake lights and stress often present in urban life."  

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PIQF ends tomorrow and I will spend the day looking at the quilts and trying to find places to sit down to rest once in a while.  When the show closes at 4pm I can take down the quilts and drive back to Mary's.  Then I will drive home to Placentia and my KoKo dog on Monday.  

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Playing with paper 06-18-18

A small group of arty ladies meets every month or so to share ideas, show and tell, learn new techniques, and enjoy lunch together.  Last week we played with cutting paper without any pre-planning.  Just select a palette of colored papers and start cutting.  We all came up with something completely different - uniquely our own.   The organizer for this project supplied us each with Titanium scissors that came six to a box from Amazon and claim to never need sharpening.  They cut paper very well and I think I will keep them for that.  She also provided many packages of origami papers in solids and black/white geometric prints.  So, we cut out our shapes and with a glue stick affixed them to a background.  Mine is the most traditional, which is as to be expected.   They did not give me permission to share their work, so I am showing only my two pieces done at the meeting. 

Lesson everyone needs to learn, don't take pictures pointing the camera at a window. 

The flowers on the left are made of wood, the orchid is real. 

One member decided she needed to take a picture of my arthritic hands and the papers.  The face on the right is on the front of another member's blouse.  

The piece on the bottom is my main project.  The top one is an experiment using the cutting scraps - a la Sue Benner.  Oddly, both are pasted onto the same piece of black card stock and photographed on a dark grey sofa.  Why one looks lighter and the sofa looks black is beyond me.  

It seems like any small group would enjoy doing this design experiment.  One could translate the design into fabric.  

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