KoKo again 03-23-19

KoKo poses in his chair.  Along with Froggie, of course.  Froggie is going in for surgery tonight, not a lot of unpatched skin to sew to though.  Still looking for a Froggie II.  

#   #   #

A shopping day 03-21-19

Every few months I have to go to Albertson's to stock up on things like water softener salt, bottled water, TP, detergent, etc.  Things I can't buy at Trader Joe's.  Today was the day.  It was a strange day weather wise.   Cloudy, but sunny.  Clear, but raining.  When I parked I saw this jacaranda tree in a parking lot full of very green jacarandas.  Don't know why it alone is yellow, but it is quite attractive against the grey sky.  And, like all jacarandas, it has a pleasing branching system.  Notice also the light colored cars.  I think that 80% of the cars in this area of CA are white or light grey.  I remember the 70s when there were cars of screaming orange, bilious green, hot yellow, and flashing turquoise.  We  have gotten really wimpy in this new century. . 

#   #   #

Wordless Wednesday 03-20-19

#   #   #

Playing with blocks 03-19-19

These sixteen 10" blocks were in Toni's stash and I set them aside thinking I would try to do something for philanthropy.  Since my cutting table was bare, an unusual occurrence, I spread them out and have been moving them around for a few days.  Hoping to come up with a bed sized quilt, I worked out this configuration, but find it somewhat disturbing. 

Fifteen blocks set three by four.  Toni's sticky notes with numbers and letters are still attached, but I couldn't figure out which way the letters and numbers went.  Not the way I mark settings. 

I moved the blocks around again and again and finally came up with this setting, which is sixteen blocks set four by four.  I tried to not put rings of the same fabric together, but there are five of one fabric instead of four.  Wonder if there were more blocks originally.  I think this is the best I can do.  Will it be a table topper?  Or should I find something to add borders to make it a bed quilt?  Doubt if I can find any of the same fabrics as they are five or six years old.  But considering the age of my fabric library, maybe I can!

I was disappointed that I didn't receive some kudos for figuring out how to put new pictures on this blog.  Maybe you will be more impressed when I figure it out the next time.  These are from my cell phone and I don't know how to edit them.  Last night I used photos from my Cannon camera and did minimal editing.  I'll learn - eventually.  

#   #   #

South on I-5 to Oceanside 03-18-19

Today I drove south on I-5 to have lunch with friends in San Clemente and afterward south to Oceanside for an errand.  I thought I would take pictures of the wildflowers on the northward journey home, but a dense fog rolled in from the ocean and everything was blurred or blocked out completely. 

Here are a few pictures I took on the way down.  I have been "playing"  with them for an hour and managed to do some editing and to get them this far.  They are not great pictures, so I figured if I lost or ruined them it wouldn't be a big deal  So, at last I know there is a way to post pictures on my blog now, but will I ever be able to do it again?  Dunno!

View toward ocean (the medium blue in the middle of image) over the training "town" at Camp Pendleton.  Fields of wild mustard. 

But mostly sage/scrub with just a few flowers.  The ocean is the medium blue between the sky and the land. 

Looking to the northeast near San Onofre.

There are many electric towers coming out of San Onofre, but the nuclear power plant is inactive. 

Wild mustard is prolific in this area on both sides of I-5.  The lighter triangle at bottom right is a reflection on the side window of the car.  

Not a very stimulating post and some lousy images, but I DID IT.  Now to see if I can do it again.  ….and again.    ….and again! 

#   #   #

Quilts rolled and stored - mostly 03-16-19

Friend Liz came today for coffee and to help roll and cover quilts for storage.  It is an energetic process and two old ladies manage it better than one!  

There are some quilt and rolls on the guest bed as I need to inventory and check all the Ruth McDowell quilts for a future exhibit.   There are over 30 of Ruth's quilts in TCQC.

But the other quilts are stored all over the house.  These are up on the shelf in the guest bedroom.  The white fabric in the middle of the image is a stack of name labels, one for each quilt rolled inside. 

The master bedroom, which has never been used as such since we have lived here over 30 years, has storage cabinets across one end of the room.  Mostly it is filled with craft and sewing stuff, but two shelves accommodate rolled quilts up to about 40". 

This is a stack of the sheets we use to bundle the quilts when we take them traveling.  The top eight will need to be laundered this week after being used for a program last week.  I love sharing the quilts at meetings and exhibits, but there is a lot of "upkeep" involved.  But with the help of Liz I seem to manage it okay, so far.  

#   #   # 

More pictures from "People and Critters" 03-15-19

Here are a few more of the 39 quilts that are currently in an exhibit "People and Critters" at Back Porch Fabrics in Pacific Grove, CA.  The quilts from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection will hang until May 8th, through the entire run of the Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar Conference Grounds.  

World Quilters  Cynthia St. Charles  - Billings, Montana  2011  12"X12"

Jane Goodall - Portrait Study   Mary Pal - Toronto, Ontario, Canada   2011  12"X12"

Fort Morrison Jerseys  Ruth B. McDowell  - Colrain, MA  2003  65.5"WX45"L

#   #   #