Walking with Corky 11-29-10

Corky's parents dropped him off with me when they drove home from the desert on Saturday. He was really tired - all those people, all that excitement, and another visiting dog. It has been quite cold (for SCalifornia) and very windy - he has mostly just slept, curled up in his beds. But he does need a walk every day, so we tried a new walking spot at an industrial complex which is mostly empty. It isn't quite so deserted as where we have walked before - there is a residential inn that shares the parking lot, so there are business people coming and going. He prefers to not double back and at this place we can walk entirely around the building. We walked around twice yesterday about 4:30pm. It was a good walk, despite the wind.

There is the "Gold Standard", the only car in the parking lot, although while we were walking someone else parked a few spots away. I could see the light of a computer screen through the tinted windows of the building, someone was inside keeping an eye on the building and us!

Lots of leaves being blown around - mostly sweet gum/liquidamber - and the trees on the other side of the building were pretty bare.

As I have said, I like to check in on http://www.dooce.com/ to see the "Daily Chuck". I have been amazed at the things Heather can get Chuck to wear on his head while she takes his picture. http://www.dooce.com/daily-chuck/2010/10/06/got-it I've tried a few things on Corky, but he hasn't tolerated them well. I guess this big Sycamore leaf is light enough - he seemed to not know it was there.

But it works better when the stem is facing front. Reminds me of the palm frond hat the lovely ladies at Westside Quilters gave me http://delquilts.blogspot.com/search/label/Hats when they had the program in the garden in August. It seems that Corky has the same stunned look on his face as Chuck sometimes does. And as I probably did when I tried on the palm frond hat!

Westside Quilters 08-28-10

What a lovely day! A new quilt guild in West Los Angeles invited me to do a program today as part of their first event - a fundraiser at the Fowler Museum followed by dessert and a glimpse of the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection in the garden of Sally Wright, the new President.

I've never done a program in a garden and such a lovely old garden it is with towering trees, lovely flowers and the most enormous hydrangea blossoms I've ever seen. The members gathered with their dessert plates and enjoyed a chance to visit.

Sally speaks to the group while standing in front of the three quilts that I hung - Joan Colvin's "Copper Tree", Jenny Bowker's "Hot Water, Dead Sea", and Dijanne Cevaal's "Banksia". I didn't see the leaf shadows on the quilts until I downloaded this image - interesting. They had requested a shortened program, so I only took seventeen quilts, instead of 30 or so. Hanging a few quilts gives the audience something to look at before the program starts, and when I attend programs it is always a treat to look at some one's work close up. Joan's quilt shows her use of twisted strips of fabric to give texture to her trees and Dijanne's fabulous quilting with rayon thread needs to be seen to be believed. Jenny's quilt is hanging to provide a chance to admire the piecing perfection she can achieve.

Lovely ladies, some of whom I have met previously at Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar.
We are so fortunate in SCalifornia to have so many quilt guilds, activities and fellow quilters close by - it just depends on how far and how long one is willing to drive. In low traffic times this guild is about an hour northwest of my house - just as Surfside is about an hour to the southeast.

I was so impressed by these cupcakes topped with an edible image of the new guild logo. A really clever idea.

Thanks to all the Westside Quilters who welcomed me and my friend Liz Williams today, you were a great audience.