More flowers 05-29-21

So quiet around our neighborhood, many people are away for the holiday weekend.  It is almost eerie.  During the pandemic it was quiet, but there were always cars parked on driveways or at the curb.  Today there are very few cars and no noise from garden or garage work,  Not even kids playing in the cul de sac in the evening.   I hope you all are having a quiet time or are vacationing some place fun.

I am still struggling with weakness and need to do something about it before I sort of grow into my chair.  The doctor took blood for blood work and I will see her again next week for results.  I also have an order for PTherapy and need to see if I can get some day this coming week.  Probably not with the three day weekend.  Meanwhile I mostly read and nap and take care of KoKo, who can be VERY demanding.  But also very loving.  

 

This is a hybrid penstemon that I have not seen before.  The yard where it grows is always loaded with lovely flowers and the owner keeps them trimmed and tidy.  

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Wordless Wednesday 05-26-21

 

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June Underwood quilt from TCQC 05-24-21

I failed to post a quilt from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection last evening, Sunday, as I had planned to do.  Just got so interested in the strange wood planks, I forgot.  Refer back to the comments on yesterdays post to see more information about this product.  Interesting.  I hope to take another picture tomorrow morning, if the planks are still there.  

"Crowsline"  June Underwood (Portland, OR) 2002  45"W X 20.25"L
This is whole cloth quilt using June's hand dyed and painted fabrics.  The crows are painted using fabric paints and the line is stitched.  

I sometimes hang this quilt backwards so I can enjoy the wild fabric on the back.  Some fabric dyers/painters recycle the fabric that covers their table under the fabric they are working on.  And that is what you see on the back of June's quilt - experimental strokes and "bleed through".  

I frequently mark the measurements on the label so that I don't have to keep measuring the quilt every time it goes out to exhibit.  June printed the label and I wrote the figures. 

When the quilt arrived in the mail and I hung it on the wall I was skeptical about this crow, how unlikely it is.  However, later I was watching the crows playing in the water along the gutter across the street and, lo and behold, there was this same crow on the curb complaining to his fellows.  He looked just like this, hump backed and screeching.  

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What kind of wood is this? 05-23-21

There are two renovation projects going on in the neighborhood.  One had a pile of lumber delivered the other day and noticing the texture on the top piece I had to stop and look.  

 

This "plank" is about 12" wide, 6' long, and 4" thick.  

Here you see the top and the end.  Weird, huh?  The bottom part of the image is clear plastic. 

And this is an end view.  Rather beautiful I think.  I thought about having it printed on fabric.

I wonder how this compares to "old fashioned" planks considering the astronomical increase in the price of building materials in the past year.  I may have waited too long to have my deck rebuild.  Maybe now I can't afford it!  

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Favorite rose and decluttering 05-22-21

My favorite rose again - Brandy.  My second choice is Mr. Lincoln, but I managed to kill that bush and have not replaced it.  I miss the fragrance. 

The changes in medications the doctor recommended may be working!  Although I am still dragging my tail and get so very, very tired at times, my mind seems to be back on track, or almost.  So, not only have I taken books to the Bookman, yesterday I took four smallish boxes of "no-longer-needed" stuff to Charity's Closet, a resale place supporting philanthropic efforts of the Placentia Presbyterian Church.  It is impossible to tell that anything has been removed from my very messy house, but I know they are gone and I feel good about it.  Now to start a few more boxes, putting in things that I don't use or need as I come across them.  Might start with the upper shelves in the kitchen since I have shrunk and can no longer reach them without a ladder and am too old and wobbly to climb a ladder.  Anyway, it is a bit of progress. 

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Quilts at Carlsbad gallery 05-19-21

On Tuesday I drove to Carlsbad to see the exhibit at the Cannon Gallery of a SAQA traveling exhibit.  Worth the drive!  My friend Carol went along and we met Deb and Andrea there.  Including the four of us there were about twelve ladies there; we all wore masks and tried to keep away from each other.  Hard to do when we are all concentrating on the quilts and the signs.  The gallery is only open on Tuesday and Thursday  11am to 5pm and the exhibit closes on May 23rd.  The exhibit has been traveling around the USA for four years.  This may be its last venue. 

Material Pulses: Seven Viewpoints

"Momentum"  Christine Mauersberger  9' tall, 10' deep, 8' wide

To me this is an installation, but not a quilt.  It is layered red plastic strips sewn lengthwise onto netting.  The artist has supplied a explanatory poster with actual fabric pieces one can touch.  The magical thing about this is the cast shadows.

 

Jane Willoughby (two-sided quilt),  two pieces by Elizabeth Brandt

From her "Falling Apart" series,  80" square. 

(detail)

The flowing patterns you see are the very close together quilting lines done in different thread colors. 

Image on the right shows the other side of the quilt.  The gallery attendant will white glove the back if requested.  I imagine the artist wanted these quilts hung this way, but it is too bad they couldn't be hung perpendicular to the wall.

The complex houses several other city offices, including the Carlsbad Library and there is a large patio area with seating and tables.

Andrea, Carol, and Deb waiting for Del.

Great chairs and comfortable. 

We had lunch at Beach Plum Kitchen in the nearby shopping complex.  Good food, great service, tent with well spaced tables.  

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More flowers 05-17-21

This desert plant grows in a small square between the street, the sidewalk and a driveway.  There are about six plants there and i have no idea how they are watered.  It is such a perfect mound and unusual color I took the first picture about ten days ago. Today when we walked I saw that it is covered with tiny yellow flowers, still a perfect mound.

May 6th

May 17th

May 17th

With a little yarrow in the lower corner. 

It was another grey day and we walked in a very slight drizzle this morning and it only got up to 67F today.  Prediction is for four more days of dreary and then some sunshine.  Of course, I always take the weather predictions with a grain of salt.  But sometimes they are true! 

KoKo is with Cherie and Jim tonight so I can leave early for Carlsbad tomorrow.  I hope to be home about 3:30pm, depends on the traffic.