The snowman quilt is finished 10-06-19

You would think I was creating a giant complicated quilt, wouldn't you?  After working on it and talking about it for weeks it is finally finished and it is only about 15" square! 

My friend Toni is no longer able to sew and this was in her UFOs.  She did the piecing, machine appliqued the snowman, sewed on the border, and started quilting the background log cabin block.  I took it from there, finished the machine quilting, added beads and buttons, binding, and sleeve.  I imagine it isn't what either of us would have made on our own!  

It will go to Surfside Quilters Guild for the big fundraiser "November Fest", along with the coasters I quilted, and eleven feet of yoyo cranberry garland for a Christmas tree. I did not do a raffle basket of thread this year, maybe next. 

I am taking pictures with my cell phone, but can't get the color right.  It is much brighter than this.  Sorry.  

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A boring life 03-26-19

This seems to be a slow time in my life.  I try to work out my computer problems and take care of KoKo.  That seems to be it.  We walk twice a day - sometime between 7 and  9 in the morning and in the evening about 6:30pm, or before the coyotes start serious roaming.  Haven't seen any this week but they seemed to love our front yard last week.  Scary stuff.

Here is another scary thing - Del on a stepstool.  I thought I had figured out how to crop a picture on my phone, but it didn't work.  I want to show you a table topper (40" X 40") I constructed from blocks I found in Toni's things when she stopped sewing last fall.  I'm sure these were made in a class, possibly at Empty Spools.  Liz suggested they might be from a Cathy Hoover class, but I don't know.  Of all the settings I tried this is the one that I could live with.  Am looking for something to put about a two inch border on it.  It needs something to contain it!  Then to figure out how to quilt it and then probably donate it to Surfside QGuild November Fest auction.  

I know I have more pressing things to think about, but sometimes one needs to just sew on something.  Right?  

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Playing with blocks 03-19-19

These sixteen 10" blocks were in Toni's stash and I set them aside thinking I would try to do something for philanthropy.  Since my cutting table was bare, an unusual occurrence, I spread them out and have been moving them around for a few days.  Hoping to come up with a bed sized quilt, I worked out this configuration, but find it somewhat disturbing. 

Fifteen blocks set three by four.  Toni's sticky notes with numbers and letters are still attached, but I couldn't figure out which way the letters and numbers went.  Not the way I mark settings. 

I moved the blocks around again and again and finally came up with this setting, which is sixteen blocks set four by four.  I tried to not put rings of the same fabric together, but there are five of one fabric instead of four.  Wonder if there were more blocks originally.  I think this is the best I can do.  Will it be a table topper?  Or should I find something to add borders to make it a bed quilt?  Doubt if I can find any of the same fabrics as they are five or six years old.  But considering the age of my fabric library, maybe I can!

I was disappointed that I didn't receive some kudos for figuring out how to put new pictures on this blog.  Maybe you will be more impressed when I figure it out the next time.  These are from my cell phone and I don't know how to edit them.  Last night I used photos from my Cannon camera and did minimal editing.  I'll learn - eventually.  

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Still sorting 08-04-18

On July 25th I picked up two carloads of sewing "stuff" from my friend Toni who is moving with her husband into retirement housing.  I don't have excess room in my garage which is full of my own "stuff", mostly junk that I just need to haul away, so there is still some of Toni's things in my car.  I have been trying to sort and fill boxes for a number of different organizations and people who will be able to use things.  But the heat gets to me quickly and I have to cool off and rest a bit.   I can't sort in the garage since it is about 120F in there, so I move some boxes into the family room and sort through them, putting different things in different boxes.  Toni has definitely lost her organizational skills in the last few years as everything is just mixed together in a pattern I don't recognize.  I wish I had been more diligent at the sorting this last few weeks as I have only two days left and I haven't gotten through half of it.  I am driving to San Diego on Tuesday to take some full boxes to the Visions Veranda Sale, which is one of their best fundraisers each year.  Guess I will just have to take what I have ready.  There are lots of different fund raisers by quilt guilds and groups so I know I can find a home for everything.  Some things will go into raffle baskets for SQG, I know that the baskets of thread I have donated in the past have sold well and there will be another one this year at November Fest.  And I think I will put together some of the gently used items for another basket, maybe for a somewhat beginning quilter.  Anyway, I have to hustle the next few days.  In fact, I have to hustle tonight to move things out of the way so I can walk through the family room to get to bed!  

But it all makes me think that I, and almost everyone I know, need to go through our own "stuff" before leaving it for someone else to sort through.  How 'bout it, eh?  

And KoKo hasn't made this easier.  He demands his normal walks and play time and he wants to look in every box in case there is something he can't live without.  What a pest he can be. 

By the way, this is my 3333 blog post.  Wow! 

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Sushi for lunch 08-26-14

I do love sushi and what they serve at Ikiru in San Diego is fresh, tasty and filling.  Beth Smith and I went there today and, as usual, shared two rolls. 

 

In the back is an Orange Blossom roll and in the front is a Liberty roll.  Both  are served with Ponzu sauce, which is the dark semi-liquid on the plate.

 

Liberty is seared on the top, so it is served warm.

Orange Blossom is cold and has super thin slices of lemon  in each cut.  Tart, but oh-so-refreshing on a hot day. 

 

One reason I went down today was to take several boxes of books donated by Toni Mahoney to share between Surfside Quilters Guild and Visions Art Museum.   The Guild is preparing for their November Fest which features raffle baskets, so some books will go in those, and VAM has an ongoing sale of "Gently Used Books" in their gift shop all year round.  There will be some good bargains when the books are priced and shelved.

 

If you haven't been down to see the current exhibits at VAM you should try to go, they are outstanding.   When they come down the end of September the new Visions biennial exhibit will go up - it is a juried show with quilts from around the world.  While you are in the area, stop by Oceanside Museum of Art which is showing one-third of the quilts from Quilt National 2013.  www.visionsartmuseum.org

 

Wordless Wednesday 02-06-13

 

Out to Lunch 07-23-11

My f riend Toni and I had lunch today at Corner Bakery on Jamboree Road and I-5 - good lunch, but not very photogenic.   We have not done well with our pledge to meet for lunch once a month.  Here it is the seventh month and this is only the fourth time we have met this year.  How can our lives get so busy?  We are going to do better, BUT we'll both be traveling in August, so our next chance is September.   Friendships have become more important as I have "matured", but I know that one can't just let them slide.  Like gardens, friendships need regular care.  Call a friend you haven't seen for some time, have a phone visit, make a date to go out for lunch.   Cultivate your friendships.  I'm going to cultivate mine

After lunch we went to my favorite frozen yogurt shop, Yogurtland, which is a few blocks away from Corner Bakery.  This is Caramel Almond and Vanilla with mochi bits, sliced almonds and chocolate covered caramel bits.   M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m!

On the way back to the freeway I saw this lady on a bicycle towing a real estate ad!  Something I have never seen before.  Is it a clever attention getter?  A gas saver?  I notice many more bicycles and motorcycles on the road these days.  There is even a guy in my area who trundles around on a Segway.   

Let's Do Lunch 05-03-11

Geraniums at Norma Jane's Restaurant  03-26-11

Lunch today with my friend Toni at Norma Jane's restaurant (where I had dinner last Tuesday).  Toni is one of those friends that I might not talk with for months, but when we get together again we just pick up where we left off.   Our original connection was through quilt making, but Toni now is spending more time on her violin and hasn't much time for quilting.  But it doesn't matter, she is still interested and I am always interested in hearing about her music and what is happening in her life. .
 
At seventy-two I am still trying to figure out friendships - in all their variations.  Why is it easier to make friends with one person rather than another?  I have known ladies for thirty years and don't feel any closer to them now than when I met them.  And with others there is an instant rapport that continues regardless of time or distance.  I always feel terrible and guilty when someone "drops" me and I don't know why.  It would be painful, but it would be over more quickly, if we could just tell someone the truth about ending a friendship.  Don't you think?  I once called a friend six months in advance to invite her to a program I was giving and her response stopped me cold.  Without hesitation she said, "I won't have time.".  What could I say?  Something like, "I'm sorry.  If you change your mind give me a call."  She has never called and I still miss her in my life.  I always admire people who are still friends with people they met in kindergarten.  Why can't I do that?   I always think it is my fault, but have no solution.  I can only think of about five people who I don't want to be friends with and I don't think they want to be friends with me. 

A Friend 12-29-09

What sustains us better than our friends? Since I stopped celebrating Xmas I have discovered that everyone else is terribly busy just when I am not! They are shopping, wrapping, cleaning, preparing for company, cooking, etc....! Meanwhile I might clean out a drawer or two and do my usual chores (or not). And I certainly have lots of time to think about friends I am missing. The list is long, but here are two friends who are close to my heart.

Friend Toni Mahoney at her 2nd home in Colorado in August 2004. Toni and her husband live in Tustin, CA, with their amazing cat Stanley. http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3236658054810119404&postID=8710554107460630782 Toni belongs to quilt guilds in California and in Colorado, although she seldom attends those in CO; she has in the past year returned to playing the violin and is involved in several small groups. Her husband's health is not good, so they seldom travel these days. Toni and I are determined to get together soon - between her schedule and my poor health these days we most 'talk' via e-mail.

I took this picture of my friend Maggie Ezell in Feb 2007 - the occasion was Karen Kolwalchuk's birthday party held at Maggie's house. A perfectly lovely party - bittersweet because we knew that Karen was moving east before long.

Maggie has just had major surgery and is waiting for results from biopsies - so everyone is sending good thoughts, prayers and meals (unfortunately I live too far away to be much help in the food department). Maggie is one of those amazing people who always makes others feel good when she is around; she has done several jobs for Beach Cities Quilters Guild (including President) and is active in a number of none quilt related philanthropies in south Orange County. I have not seen her for sometime, between her busy life and mine it just doesn't seem to work out as often as we wish. I hope we can get together early in the new year to catch up on all our news. Meanwhile I solicit your good thoughts and prayers for a very special lady.

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Lovely day + another trip to Visions 02-10-09

Not as many blooming wildflowers or escaped flowers as last year this time, but they are coming on. This is an escapee, a type of ice plant which is extensively planted on hillsides and comes in a bunch of different colors. Seems to me this magenta color is the most common.

Friend Toni Mahoney and I drove down to Oceanside to see the Visions quilts again. I find something new every time I look at them. It always makes me sad as the exhibit comes to an end and I know I will never again see this group of quilts together. The people at Oceanside Museum of Art do such a fabulous job of arranging and hanging, that the experience of the viewers is enhanced by the juxtapositions of the pieces. There are only seventeen days remaining, if you have a chance go to Oceanside to see these first class art quilts.