More quilts at Long Beach 09-17-22

11-25-22  Now that I am on I see that this did not post way back then.  Sorry.  Del 

This small exhibit of quilts with birds was very nice.   It doesn't say, but I think this was a juried exhibit and may appear at the Houston Festival in October.  

I put this one first as it is my favorite from this exhibit.  

My policy is to not show quilts unless I can give attribution, but somehow I don't have the labels for the following quilts. If you know who made any of them please let me know. 

    

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Still having computer problem! 11-23-22

You see, I have been trying!!  11-25-22

I have not been able to connect to the Internet in order to blog.  On Tuesday I was able to connect in the morning, but by night time I was blocked again. Half an hour ago I couldn't get on and now I can.  This is driving me crazy!   I will post this little note and then try again later to post for today.  Del

Still struggling with AT&T! 11-25-22

Don't know how long they will let me stay online.  So, this is just an quick explanation of why I teased you with one post and then silence.  I'm trying, but may have to switch to another server if they can't keep me online.  It is so frustrating and doesn't help my Depression one bit.  But KoKo and I are well and had a lovely quiet Thanksgiving with leftover chicken for dinner yesterday.  For us it was a perfect Thanksgiving and we give thanks for all that we have.  Del

Back to Blogging 11-20-22

It has been over two months since my last post.  But I am going to try to post every day as I always have in the past.  Where have I been and what has kept me from writing?  Lots of different things; major computer problems, health problems, depression, lack of energy, and so forth!  On Oct 12th I received three epidurals for the sciatica.  The previous shots were Dec 2nd, they wore off toward the end of July and the pain kept getting worse.  I'm not very good at decision making these days, so it took me some time to take action and schedule more doctor's appointments, which seem almost impossible to confirm,   So far the shots have helped a lot, but I still have the "electric tingle" regularly.  Have schedule another round of physical therapy.  After months of dealing with UTIs the urologist scheduled a MRI and found a kidney stone which required "blasting".  I did that, but the stone is still there.  It doesn't hurt, so she is holding off to see if it will dissolve. Had to have a tooth pulled and am scheduled for an implant next month.  And right now I have a cold - the sneezing, coughing, aching, dripping kind.  So far I have managed to avoid Covid.    I suspect this is more than you wanted to know, but I needed to explain what has caused my silence.  I have added new quilts to the Collection and this is Sunday so I will post one of the new additions.  

"The Noisy Neighbor"  Sonia Grasvik - Seattle, WA  2022  12"X12"

Commercial cotton fabric, cotton and rayon thread.  Pieced, Appliqued, Machine Quilted

Beside the blackbird/crow the doodling machine quilting is fanastic.  She has quilted each square separately, or perhaps she quilted a large piece and cut it into squares.  Various colors and weights of thread create a intricate texture.  

This was part of the SAQA 2022 online auction in October.  

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Another Zena Thorpe quilt 09-17-22

 Zena does make quilts with a modern motif.  This one was at PIQF (Pacific International Quilt Festival -Santa Clara, CA)  in October 2021.

All hand applique and quilting.  

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More quilts in Long Beach 08-30-22

 

I went to the Long Beach show especially to see Zena Thorpe's quilts.  I have admired her beautiful, precise hand applique and quilting for many years.  

Zena has a definite English accent, but she lives in Chatsworth, California, on the north edge of Los Angeles. 

 

"Kells: Magnum Opus"  Hand appliqued and quilted.  This is the quilt that most quilters think of when when they hear the name Zena Thorpe, Master Quilter. 

I couldn't resist photographing the letters to spell my name!

More at a later date.  I'll get back to posting.

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Went to Quilts, Inc. show in Long Beach 08-29-22

The Quilt Festival was in Long Beach on August 4, 5, 6, for the first time since before the pandemic.   I wanted to go, but I just can't stand for very long (sciatica) and I don't have a lot of energy.  However, one of the special exhibits was Zena Thorpe and some of her quilts.  I have admired her work for many years at many different top notch shows and here was the chance to see her in person!  So, on Saturday (the last day) I drove to Long Beach in the afternoon thinking I could handle a couple hours.  No casual seating, but several staging areas for demos and talks with empty seats toward the back of the seating area - thank the goddess.  The exhibits were less than in the past and there were quite a few more antique quilts from various permanent collections, including that of Quilts, Inc.  There were other invitational exhibits but I only photographed a few.  Mostly I was up close and personal with Zena's wonderful hand appliqued and hand quilted works.  Amazing!  She was there and I followed as she spoke to a group of attendees about each quilt.  I said hello and told her I had admired her work for so many years.  She was gracious, but seemed a little tired.  I wasn't surprised after four days of being "ON" and talking to hundreds of people.  I was only there for a few hours and I wasn't on at all and I was exhausted by the time I arrived home again!  

I particularly wanted to see this quilt by Diane Hire that had been used on much of the advertising for the show, but even asking a number of workers I had a hard time finding it.  It was in the far corner facing a wall!  And was intended for attendees to take their pictures with it to show their friends that they had attended the show.  The professional pictures show it beautifully, but mine are not so successful.  A little washed out and I can't correct the color any more than this.

The surface of the quilt is not flat, but has "flanges" as some of the stripes.  They go the length of the quilt. 

On this picture I have marked two of the "flanges" between fuchsia lines, but can't figure out a way to make them show better.  Take my word for it!

Here is a close up.

My crazy computer won't let me post anymore pictures.  I'll try again tomorrow. 

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