Christmas Funny 12-20-12

 

Wordless Wednesday 12-19-12

 

Produce from the Chinese "99 Market" 12-18-12

I drove down to San Clemente this morning for the Surfside QGuild board meeting.  Such a nice group of women.  It rained heavily on the way down, but by the time I was on the road home the sun was peeking through and it was clear and sunny in Placentia.  However, all around the horizon was a ruffle of clouds, mostly fluffy white, but some ominous dark grey to the south - above San Clemente and over the mountains to the north.

A friend kindly corrected me - the 99 Market is Chinese, although they carry food from many different Asian cuisines.
I stopped at the 99 Market, a large Japanese Chinese store in Irvine right off the I-5.  I was seeking the tiny bok choy they carry which I cannot find anywhere else.  Of course, there were other things I couldn't pass up.  I'd show a picture of the sushi tray, but I have already devoured those for dinner, along with some sauteed baby bok choy. 

 
On the left are two Jonagold apples, one of my favorites that is available for a very limited time in the early winter.  The smaller one came from Albertson's few days ago and the huge one came from "99".  It is big enough to make four servings for me.  Then there is a Fuerte avacado, which has a flavor that I like better than the Haas, but it has poor shelf life due to the thin skin.   It is becoming rare as a commercial product.   On the right rear is an apple new to me called "Pinata" which the sign told me has "undertones of citrus". Wine-speak applied to fruits!   Front right are four Fuyu persimmons, another fruit that is available for only a short time in late fall/early winter.  They are delicious eaten raw, skin and all, and make a great addition to a green salad with oil/lemon dressing.  And, finally, the baby bok choy which they only sell in a fairly large cello wrapped bunch.  I'll either find someone who would like some of it, or I will be eating bok choy for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I just slice it lengthwise and saute it with some chopped garlic or shallot.  Sometimes when I make soup I drop some slices in during the last few minutes, but I eat them all in the first bowl because I don't like the flavor after the soup has been refrigerated. 
I have some lamb shoulder to make into soup tomorrow and also enough spinach to make another pot of spinach soup - it is really potato soup with spinach added.
 

http://bettereats.com/recipes/view/2290719/spinach-soup-with-rosemary-croutons

#   #   #

Monday Browsing 12-17-12

 

Poinsettias on my porch  12-05

http://artquiltsaz.blogspot.com/  Current exhibit at Chandler Center for the Arts in Arizona (click images for information about each quilt).

http://hoffmanfabrics.com/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=187

Hoffman Fabrics catalog of all their current fabrics.

http://www.hoffmanfabrics.com/EDocs/Site10/Slight%20variations%20page.pdf

Shows a method of dealing with varying strip sizes on Hoffman Bali Pops which are hand cut in Bali.

 http://www.judycoatesperez.com/?p=6374   Tutorial for felted wool ball ornaments

http://stegart.blogspot.com/2012/12/stenciled-fabric-surfaces.html  Video tutorial for using stencils

http://curioroad.tumblr.com/post/37641832936/artist-spotlight-emily-mcdowell  Article about the elder daughter of Ruth B. McDowell and her creative endeavors.

Sonia Grasvik quilt from SAQA online auction 12-16-12

This lovely little quilt from Sonia Grasvik is so evocative of  flocks of little birds in winter - even in SCalifornia.  They are so much more visible when the branches are bare - I watch them in the rose bushes outside my kitchen window. 
 

"In the Thicket"  Sonia Grasvik - Seattle, WA 2012  11.75" x 11.75"
 Hand dyed and commercial cottons, silk thread, fabric ink pens.
Machine pieced, FMQ.
Sonia wrote to tell me that all of the fabric in this piece is commercial cotton.
 

 
The bird and the briers are inked on the background and then the outline is sewn in black thread.  Or maybe the outline was sewn and then inked to fill in the black silhouettes.  The hand dyed background presents a hazy, damp, cold winter day.
Sonia  advises that the inking was done first and then outlined with YLI silk thread.

 
The tiny stripes are folds - like piping - and the background looks like those damp leaves and twigs that cover the wintry ground.
 

 
A nice matching label with all the necessary information.
 

 
Faced rather than bound, Sonia has rounded the inside corners of the facing to make it lay flat and easier to sew.   I love having this 12x12 gem in TCQC. 

A Quilt for the Guild President 12-15-12

Like many guilds (at least in SCalifornia) Surfside Quilters Guild members create a quilt for the outgoing president every year. The Past President is in charge and determines what the current president would like in the way of motif, color, style, whatever. All members are encouraged to create a block, which finishes at 4"W x 6"L, the blocks are assembled by a volunteer committee, and the quilt is hand quilted at quilting bees held at member’s homes.   I have always enjoyed participating  in this project and sometimes even put in some hand quilting stitches (tho’ my arthritis prevents me from doing very much).  This year President Jan Hirth asked for a people quilt, one of my favorites, and the blocks are being shown at guild meetings, instead of being kept a secret.  Maybe this will inspire more members to contribute blocks.  Here is a picture of the very beginning of the project at the December meeting with blocks mostly made by board members.  I will try to keep you posted as the months go by.   

The two blocks on the left are pasted up samples showing the block assembly.  We don't have any male members, but many of us wear pants most of the time, while others wear skirts or dresses.  Or a member can design their own original block or do a flower block.  It will be a beautiful quilt.

Friday Feet 12-14-12

Someone who is really in love with shoes would probably love to find this in their Xmas stocking.  But I think it is over-the-top.  I had gone to Office Depot to buy an appointment book for 2014 and found this display for tape dispensers.  The open toe with the strap has the tape in the heel while the zebra striped pump has the tape in the toe.  There were a few other colors available. 

 

Happy Christmas shopping!