Saturday, August 21, 2021

A KoKo & Froggy Saga 08-21-21

Oh, dear!  KoKo has ripped open Froggy's back, so it is time for a new back.  KoKo has to be right there to keep track of his Froggy and cannot wait to have him back again.   It has been just a year and 20 days since Froggy's last major back replacement.  This time I used a heavier fabric I found in one of my scrap boxes - maybe it is Trigger - perhaps it will last longer. 

KoKo stands as tall as he can, but cannot quite reach the wounded Froggy. 

Froggy peers back at his tormentor.  

Removing the torn back and some of the stuffing.  KoKo supervising. 

Back exposed and some stitches to hold it together. 

The waiting is too much, KoKo has to hold on to his friend. 

"Are you almost done?"   I NEED him. 

Some final stitches.

Froggy has survived his surgery and has a fine, smooth green back.  How long will it take KoKo to tear him up again?  And how many successful surgeries are them in his future?

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Friday, August 20, 2021

A Quilt Exhibit 08-20-21

Last week when I met friends from SDiego at the Newport Beach Library to see a small quilt exhibit I took pictures of every quilt.  But somehow missed a few of the labels.  So, if you know the unnamed artists please let me know so I can update this blog. 

The artists, mainly from the Los Angeles/Orange County area, are members of the group "Quilts on the Wall".   The quilts are 36"L x 24"W using black & white and one other color.



                                         

                                "Purple Mountains Majesty"  Andrea Bacal 2020 


"Macaroni Meeting"  Nelda McComb 2020



"Fractured Forest"  Ann Turley 2020


"Focus"   Carol Nilson  2020


"High Score"  Janet Tranbarger  2020


"My Lexus"  Karen Markley  2020

DETAIL

And an even closer detail.  Clever!

"2020"  Charlene Tuch 2020


"No Division"  Jennifer Beatty 2020


"Hope"  Janice Willis 2020


"No Hugs, No KIsses"  Karen Markley  2020

"Wish I May, Wish I Might"  Judy Crotts 2020



'I Miss Walter Cronkite"  Karen Guthrie  2020


"Hang in There"   Sally Freeberg  2020

 DETAIL.

"Flowers" Julie Schlueter  2020

"French Zebrinas in Victoria's Garden"  Stephania Bommarito  2020
(Wonderful lace in this piece. Del)


"Bright Times in the Humdrum"  Sharon Oblinger  2020
(This piece is not a rectangle, but wonky. Del) 

(Missed the label on this one.  Please identify)

"Floral Rhapsody"  Marilyn Gourley  2020

"Ripe Berries" Sharon Jaeger  2020


"Topography"  Janet Farmer  2020


"Fantastic Forest"  Bunny Mauldin  2020


"Hygieia"   Tara Ritacco  2020
(Don't know why I cannot edit this picture.  This is the best I can do.)

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Thursday, August 19, 2021

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Quilt from TCQC - Sonia Grasvik 08-15-21

This is a repeat of a post from 2012 after I added this piece from the SAQA online auction in October 2012.  

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.
I added the measurements in the upper corner because I need to know the exact size for when it is shown in a gallery or exhibit.  This is one of the few that are not 12" square.  
 
 
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. 
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Friday, August 13, 2021

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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Thursday, August 12, 2021

SQG Challenge 2021 08-12-21

It was the first face-to-face meeting of the Surfside Quilters Guild in San Clemente and at a new meeting place AND the reveal of the 2021 Challenge quilts.  I believe there were 32, which is an amazing participation during the pandemic isolation.  Under the direction of Jan Hirth, committee chair for several years, everything was organized and beautifully presented. There were mostly original designs and almost every technique you can think of.  The theme was "Bucket List" and every item had to include a bucket somewhere.  Awards were given in about twelve categories, including Viewers Choice.  

The item did not have to be a quilt, but a fabric creation. So, in addition to flat quilts there were dolls, totes, garments, a clock, and even a bucket!  Here are a few pictures of things that I especially liked.

Hiroko Moriwaki made an actual bucket!  Surely the best representation of the theme.  

You can just see the river that goes down to the sea.  
Very clever and original. 

Dawn Johnson is very creative and always meets the Challenge with a unique creation.  This year she made a clock with a different Disney character for each number.  It is an actual working clock, but we weren't able to hang it so the pendulum moved.  As you see it won the award for the Best Non-quilt Entry. 

OOPS!  I did not write down the name of the maker of this lovely quilt which won an award for the Best Original Design.  Very nicely made. 

Debbie Myers received the Best Traditional with this gorgeous Lone Star shining over the ocean and an image of Debbie with her dreamed of red pickup.  See the bucket on the back of the truck.  


This secondhand denim jacket hung in Vicki Janis' closet for years until she hauled it out and created a winning design in memory of her late pouch.  Notice her bucket full of cherries(?) at lower right. 

I will post some more pictures later, need to check for correct names. It was a lovely meeting and sooo nice to see those familiar faces (although some of us wore masks, most did not).  

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