Critters 06-01-23

There seem to be more wild critters around recently.   There are more birds and I've seen a few that I don't normally see.  In the daytime there are always small lizards enjoying every ray of sunshine.  I know  there are nocturnal animals - raccoons, opossums, rats  and mice, but I never see them.  There is a Great Horned Owl that I have glimpsed, but they fly so silently it is a rare view - the Crows chase him away from their nests.  There is a Wren nesting somewhere nearby, possibly in the ficus tree along with an Anna's Hummingbird.  And an Acorn Woodpecker has been pounding on the rotting wood fence in the backyard.  We have the usual resident Western Bluebirds, House Finches, House Sparrows, Crows, Bushtits, Goldfinches, and, most common of all, Brown Towhees.  They are almost always in pairs, searching lawns and underbrush for tasty morsels.  Cell phone cameras are not suited to taking pictures of birds, but I did manage to catch this gal/guy in my backyard, searching among the weeds.  They are constantly moving so many shots are required to catch one good picture - I took about 30 just to get these two!

Brown Towhee

This picture taken by a neighbor. Coyotes blend into the landscape very well.  They are here, but we don't see them very well.  They do, however, walk down the street and sidewalks and jump into backyards.  Wily!  

Then there are the coyotes with and increasing population everywhere.  I have not seen any since  last fall, but I hear them at night and  there are many reports of sightings and, unfortunately, missing cats and small dogs.  They cannot be killed so we just learn to live with them.  KoKo never goes outsie without his lease except to piddle in the backyard with me carrying a large stick by his side.  

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Wordless Wednesday 05-31-23

 

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Miscellaneous Stuff 05-30-23

Seems that my health is all I deal with these days and I hate to fill this blog with all that annoying stuff.  I do have a new medication which I think is helping some, but I  won't know until I have taken it for a couple weeks.  I did not have a epidural last Thursday as planned.  Somehow the locations got mixed up: I want to go to the Orange facility as I have in the past.  So that is rescheduled until June 8th.  Have needed to take some Norco a couple times.  Pain is so tiring that it helps  to be away from it for a few hours.  But if I take it I cannot drive and there are those other medical appointments I need to drive to.  Plus I still drive the boys to school on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I am a Tylenol junkie every day!!  I read an post and comments on the Elder Orphans Facebook page about the problems others are having with medical issues and it is reassuring to  know that I am not the only one who is dealing with these medical problems - there  are hundreds of comments on  the original post.  And there are some good suggestons about  how to deal with problems.  

I have had a "studio assistant" for multiple hours this past few weeks.  A young lady, who lives in the neighborhood and has some art training, has come to help me roll/cover/tag TCQC quilts to clear off the cutting table and get them ready for storage.   Haven't figured out the storage exactly, but it is progress and I can now use the cutting table for ...well.... cutting!    We could only work for a couple hours because I don't have the energy to work any longer.  I do enjoy  talking about the quilts, the quilt makers, and the many different techniques and Anna seems to enjoy hearing about everything.   Our progress has been slower than if I didn't talk so much. 

Rolled quilts waiting on the guest bed for decisions on storage.  One thing we did was re-roll all of the Ruth B. McDowell quilts in the same fabric and used all 21 yards  of the bolt I bought at Rosie's bargain room.  We also rolled quilts I have made in a solid crimson that has been in my fabric library since 2005!  

Of course, KoKo and  I  still  walk twice  a  day, even with the drizzle we have been having almost every morning.  Locally it is known as the ""May Greys" and we will now move into the "June Glooms".  Always surprises early summer visitors who expect sunshine.  But there are still bright flowers and drifts of roses, along with huge weeds  and tall lawns. 

For the Monarchs.

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Quilt from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 05-28-23

This 12" square quilt was part of the SAQA online auction in 2014.  The  shapes and the color interested me and it was one of several I purchased that year.  Somehow I remember that Mary was a fairly new quiltmaker and a newish member of SAQA.  But I must be wrong, she won big at Quilt National - '23.

"Ojala"  Mary Mattimoe  2014  12" X 12"

Cotton fabric, Fusing, Machine quilting. 

Detail

Label

Quilt National - '23 at the Dairy Barn in Ohio opened this weekend  and the quilt that Mary submitted was selected as Best of Show.  It is a fairly large piece - perhaps six feet square.  Can't find any place that says, but in a picture with the maker it appears to be at least that large.  

"Not Enough Time" Mary Mattimoe

BEST OF SHOW

$7,500 Sponsored by Moda Fabrics + Supplies

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Wordless Wednesday 05-25-23

 

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Happy Birthday #9 to KoKo 05-20-23

Here is KoKo ignoring his new toy - Lambchop.  The clerk at Petsmart removed the tags so KoKo could enjoy it immediately.  So, by the time we arrived home he had killed the squeaker.  Guess I will be doing Lambchop  surgery tomorrow!    Organ replacement seems to be very popular lately.  

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Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 05-14-23

Some viewers ask how I decide what to add to TCQC and I don't really have an answer.  The piece must "speak" to me in some way, but there is a great variety in topic, size, color, technique - well, in every way.  Some pieces I would like to add are way out of my price range, some are too dimensional and would require special storage, some are just oo large.  I don't know what appeals to me in this work by  Pamela Allen, but I do like much of her work and there are about six pieces in the Collection.   I love this one, despite  it's weirdness! 

"The  Cherry Picker"  Pamela Allen  2005  20"W X 25"L

This is the first of Pamela's quilts I purchased at an online auction in 2006.  I was surprised when it arrived that the cherries are actual round, hard cherries that hang by their plastic stems.   Her hand is a glove that Pamela cut out and the eyes she printed on fabric and cut out.  The applique is all hand done and many of the fabrics are from the 2nd hand store.   You can see what I said about this piece in 2009  at this page:

 https://delquilts.blogspot.com/2009/03/pamela-allen-quilt-from-tcqc-03-15-09.html

                 "Watching TV in Bed"  Pamela Allen  2014  9.5"W x 7.5"L

This is a tiny piece, only 9.5"W X 7.5"L.  It hangs in the guest bedroom, where I do my PTherapy exercises, and it always makes me smile at the memory of my late husband.  

Here is what I said about it when I purchased it: 

https://delquilts.blogspot.com/2014/08/another-new-pamela-allen-quilt-in-tcqc.html

Check out the quilts that Pamela has for sale on her website.

www.pamelart.com 

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