Quilts by Del Thomas 03-16-24

Just looking through my photos for a picture of something else, I noticed these images that I am sure I have never posted.  They are all original designs, machine pieced, machine quilted.  In 2007 I belonged to a fiber postcard exchange group and was really into doing these little jewels.   I may have a couple in my storage somewhere, but most were exchanged or sold.  

Exhibit at Back Porch Fabrics  2007

"Hanging Ring"  2005   24"square  Pieced

Postcard  2007

"Mahjong in the Garden"  2005

"Late Autumn II"  2006  24"L X 18"W

"Making Friends"  2007  11"L  X 15"W

"Nipsy, the Cat"  Postcard 2007

Postcard  2010

                 "Parrot Percussion" Del Thomas - Placentia, CA 1996 30"W x 85"L 

"Cactus Flower"  2000  48"L X 61.5W All pieced using Ruth B. McDowell's methods. 

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Friday Food 01-07-22

It was a little foggy and about 45F when we went out for our walk this morning, It was not a promising day.  Last evening my laptop couldn't do a wi-fi connection so I missed my Thursday ZOOM meeting with my art quilt group and I was not able to blog.  Some how I just couldn't face it this morning.  Instead I picked up my friend Carol and we went out to lunch at one of our favorite places, Fitness Grill in Yorba Linda.  We sat on the patio with the overhead heater on and there was only one other table occupied.  We do hope the place can stay open with the Covid lurking again.  I guess both Carol and I needed this outing because I think we both felt better when we got home.  

We both ordered the same thing - salmon tacos and lobster bisque.  Both were delicious.  We opted for the tortillas instead of the lettuce wrap.  Somehow it isn't a taco without a tortilla. 

Nice grilled salmon with a green sauce that wasn't too spicy.  It was a big lunch so no dinner required this evening. 

I had an announcement from Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove that they are now open in their new location, which is about a block and a half from the old site - on the west side of Lighthouse St.  Wish I could pop in, but Covid keeps me from traveling. 

Back Porch Fabrics   218 Grand Ave   Pacific Grove, CA  93950

www.backporchfabrics.com

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Fabric tonight 10-25-21

I definitely don't NEED any more fabric, but I do love printed cottons and there are always some that I cannot pass up.  Being at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, CA, (the world's best quilt shop) was sooo wonderful.  But I did restrain myself and only purchased nine fabrics.

These four were all on the sale table.  Gail Abeloe, the shop owner, doesn't let fabrics sit around on the shelves.  If they are not selling she marks them down so that when you go to the shop there are always sale fabrics and lots of new fabrics to tempt us.  

When I went back the second time I was looking for a background for a Challenge quilt and there was the coordinate to the Challenge fabric of which I didn't take a picture.  I had changed my mind about the background for the Challenge and found the Grunge green which is a good color match. 

I also bought enough of this drapery weight fabric to make a tote bag for a chicken loving friend, using Gail's pattern sheet.  The red wattles are bright red. 

At PIQF I spotted these two which I had been sort of looking for.  Nelda in the art quilt group used the white for the background of her Himalayan Poppies quilt.  

 

While I was in Pacific Grove I set up my machine and planned to work on the Challenge quilt for Canyon Quilters in San Diego.  I had everything with me and bought the new fabric for the background and the backing.  But other things got in the way.  Since I have been home I have been working on the quilt.  

I sandwiched using a sample of Mountain Mist Cotton/Silk batting which has been on the shelf for years.  I quilted the sandwich in a plaid pattern.  

I fused the Challenge fabric and cut out the red flowers and a few leaves. But they are not enough to make the wreath I was looking for.  I am cutting leaves and dots from my fabric library to see if I can fill it out a bit. 

And this is the back!  I think I will need a binding of this same fabric. 

I will need to work hard at machine appliqueing the flowers because the quilt has to be turned in on Saturday.  Always a procrastinator!

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Last day in Pacific Grove, CA 10-16-21

And it was a busy day.  

 

Had this hearty breakfast at Toastie's - 2 eggs over easy, five enormous strips of excellent bacon, six 3" pancakes with syrup, 3 cups of coffee and lots of people watching.  Something I have certainly missed during the pandemic.  I do love to observe people and make up stories about them.

I saved half the bacon and ate it for dinner tonight with my left over broccoli and a hard boiled egg from home.  Tasty!

Then another browse at Back Porch.  It is the BEST quilt shop ever.  And the ladies are so friendly and helpful.  I was specifically looking for a background for the Canyon Quilters Challenge and bought a piece of greenish-greyish Scrunge.  Thought I might get going on that 14" quilt today, but ran out of time. 

As you see, a fabulous day and there were people all along the road that follows Monterey Bay to the end of Hwy 68 at the entrance to Asilomar.  There were people setting up their spots to relax.

 

And people watching the birds, like this long line of brown pelicans flying along. 

And people running.  This one gave me a pang as he resembles my late husband was a daily runner, a habit he formed in college and he ran wherever we were in the world. 

 

And some people hauled their home in and parked, apparently for the day since they have their bump-out set up.  I thought there was a limit to how large a vehicle one could park and how long one could stay.  

There were also walkers, dog walkers, baby strollers, electric bikes, non-electric bikes,couples, families, singles, hand-holders.   It seemed that everyone was out and about in the sunshine.  I just drove along at 15-20 mph enjoying the sights.  Wonder when I will be back here again.  Hopefully before Empty Spools in the spring.  

Back in my motel room I set up for the ZOOM workshop with Brenda Gael Smith in Australia.  It was her three hour circles/curves and was an excellent little class.  I had all the materials and equipment with me and found her to be a good teacher.  It would be better to have her in person, but under the circumstances it was great.  The last time I saw Brenda was at PIQF  few years ago.  Hope she will be able to come to the States again one day.  

And here is a little quiz for you.  Which side is up?  The very light color is actually a pale yellow on yellow print, not quite as pale as in the images.  I'll try for better color when I decide which is the top and which is the bottom. 

Back to PIQF in the morning to look at the quilts until they close and I can pick up our six quilts and head home.  I'll stay some place along I-5 and finish the drive on Monday.  Don't expect I will get very far tomorrow evening.  

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Miscellaneous 08-31-21

I seem to be spending a lot of time looking back through my photo files and rediscovering things I vaguely remember or completely forgot.   For tonight's post I looked to see where I was ten years ago on August 31st, it seems much longer somehow.  I had been up to Washington State to see my friends Mabel and Mac, went to a quilt show, and visited friends along the way.  

On Sep 1st, my 73rd birthday, I was in San Juan Bautista, CA, enjoying Mary's lovely yard with flower boxes overflowing.  

Instead of cake we had a marionberry pie, which we all preferred. 

Of course, one day we drove over to Pacific Grove and had lunch at the Red House.  My favorite there is the Portobello sandwich.  

Followed by a visit to Back Porch Fabrics where Wendy cut lots of fabric for us.  

I drove home on September 3rd and stopped along I-5 to photograph in a cotton field covered with the lovely white flowers. 

Now, ten years later I will turn 83.  Amazing.  Who could have expected what those ten years would bring with the politics and the pandemic and my ageing body!  Hope the next ten will find us in a better situation.  

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Another day in isolation! 01-03-21

The longer I am in isolation the less I seem to be able to accomplish.  Today we did our two walks around the loop, ate, read, napped, played toss Froggy, did a few little household jobs, dismantled the Christmas wreath, trolled Facebook, read and answered a few e-mails.  Didn't talk to anyone and only saw three people on both of our walks.  Is that a dull day, or what?  I must do better.  Make a list and stick to it.  

I had an e-mail from Suzanne at Empty Spools Seminars.  Looks like I might miss another year - after going every year since 1991.  They have had to cancel the first two sessions, so no class with Sue Benner.  I'll check to see where else she might be teaching later in 2021.  But I moved my reservation to Session V in April for the Independent Study.  I have taken that before, just taking a project from home and working on it all week.  As I recall I didn't finish it there, but that is my SOP anyway. Unless the vaccination program gets going there may not be any Empty Spools Sessions at all this year.  Here is a picture of one of the housing buildings at Asilomar taken maybe 15 years ago.  The blue flowers are ceonothus bushes, native to California, but I doubt these were natives.  Lots of deer all over the campus and the surrounding town of Pacific Grove.  

Asilomar is part of the California State Parks system, so when everything is locked down the entire campus is closed.  When I was up there last April to pick up quilts at Back Porch I thought I would just drive through, but the gates were chained closed.  Hope I do get to visit again one day, it is one of my most favorite places, I suppose because it hold so many happy and satisfying memories. 

Those of you who have been to Back Porch Fabrics may remember Dorothy, mother of Gail Abeloe who owns the shop.  Dorothy died recently at an advanced age.  I don't think she had Covid-19.  She was such a gracious, lovely lady, as is her daughter Gail.  

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To Pacific Grove, CA, and back to Placentia, CA 05-29-20

The trip to Pacific Grove was a really fast one.  Up one day and home the next.  Perhaps more than this old lady can do anymore. In the future  I think I need to plan more rest time between two long drives.  I chose to drive up on Hwy 101 along the Pacific Ocean and to come back through the inland valley on I-5.  A nice loop that I have driven many times before, but separated by stays in Pacific Grove or San Juan Bautista.  

North of Santa Barbara there was fog over the ocean and hamging over the highway.  No delay, but I couldn't see the blue ocean except for a few glimpses. 

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This is one spot where I caught a lucky shot. Nothing out there for thousands of miles. 

Hwy 101 switches from freeway to surface in the blink of an eye.  There are always signs indicating what the designation is, but you can also tell when you see farm equipment moving along in the lanes.  Not on a freeway!

This is the same picture I showed earlier, but it is such a great shot and it contrasts with the next image.  This is looking east from 101 where there are miles of low hills, some with cattle, some just grass covered vacant land. 

But the railroad runs along the valley and brings signs of the big city.  Lots of graffiti on the low freight cars stopped along the way.  

And then I was in Pacific Grove where I stayed at the nice Centrella B&B which is about a block and a half from Back Porch Fabrics.  It is an old house (1893, I think) and the décor is in keeping with that era.  I have stayed there previously and it is quite comfortable and convenient to the main part of town. 

They have interesting plants in their landscaping including a bush that produces these pendulous flowers.  I can't remember their name, but they grew them in Portland when I was growing up there.  

Along a picket fence these nasturtiums were peeking out, like colorful prisoners trying to escape. 

And along the road that follows Monterey Bay there are carpets of ice plant.  This house has it instead of lawn. 

The color is wrong in this image, the flowers are much pinker. There used to be  great fields of the ice plant along the water, but it is not native and most has been removed and replaced with native plants in keeping with the state parks of California rules. 

It was a gorgeous day with just a slight breeze and there were hundreds of people out enjoying the sunshine.  Didn't see any masks or social distancing.   There were vehicles parked bumper to bumper on both sides of the road. 

The water was quite calm and the tide was high as I was driving along.  My intent was to drive through Asilomar, but access was blocked off.  Of course, it is a California State Park and therefore closed due to the virus.  So, I drove back along the Bay and headed north and then east. 

And then over Pacheco Pass along the San Luis Reservoir. 

The reservoir has many fingers that go to into the surrounding hills.  At some time since it was constructed the water rose to the level of the top of the darker area.   Not for a lot of years now.

The hills are covered with the grass which is yellow-white most of the year.  The green trees are live oaks that are native to the area. 

On the opposite side of the road from the reservoir the hills are fenced and there are many fire breaks cut into the soil.  They do have fires that run for miles through the dry grass.  With the closeness of the roadway I suspect a lot are cigarettes thrown out of car windows.  Dumb.  

Soon I was on I-5 heading south for another four hours or so.  I did stop at Harris Ranch thinking I would rest for a half an hour or so, but it was 103F and I wasn't tired enough to sleep.  Arrived home about 8:30pm and waited until the next day to pick up KoKo from the KoKo Keepers.  They enjoy him and he always seems happy to be there.  But happier at home, I think.  I'm going back into isolation.  Who knows what I might have picked up on my journey.  

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