YOUNG AGAIN!

Bob Dylan, July Isolette, and a new home HVAC system.

2011-07-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan was incredible...he sang for 2 hours, taking about a 3 minute break before his encore...his last song was Blowing In The Wind....how timeless are those words?

This is my July Isolette quilt...

hope this brings some smiles to the nurses and families in the NICU. This is my first attempt at making a "modern quilt"...using negative space, solid colors, randomness of pattern.

I designed the quilt in EQ7, then drew/digitized the embroidered quilt designs for the solid areas. Hmm, I think I'm afraid to leave solid blocks of color alone! O well! I like the quilt!

Our house has 2 - 18 year old HVAC units that are on the blink...one unit is majorly leaking freon, it barely keeps our upstairs cool...if we hit the 100s, I'll be at your house to sleep! The third bidder comes tomorrow...technology has changed so much, there is so much to consider about EER, tonnage, 2 stage systems, attic insulation (we're looking for a healthy/natural/organic alternative to fiberglass...we think we have cellulose, which isn't the worst)......no vacation for us!

Making Progress...

2011-07-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

The first Finish It Up project is complete...Floral Visions quilt:

It took me about 20-25 hours of machine time to get this quilted and bound. I'm very happy with the finished quilt...sort of sorry it's been sent off...oh well. It was a great learning experience, and I have lots of ideas as to how I will use my machine to quilt more quilts. The best part is that I get to say that I did it all! The quilting designs are by Diane Gaudynski...for the future, I'll be creating my own!
Some close ups of the quilting:

The back of the quilt...it's a polished cotton....sage color...really soft and luxurious feeling!

This is an isolette quilt for the NICU...I make one of these each month...this is the June quilt, I'm a month behind, but will catch up quickly. This quilt is an experiment...I'm going to start designing quilts that can be totally quilted using my machine...oh boy, I get to think! I did digitize the bear quilting motif!

Tomorrow night we're off to Santa Barbara to see Bob Dylan! He's 70, and I'm not far behind...

Drive By Photography!

2011-06-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

As Robert "attacked" the road course (in our Prius) from the Carmel Highlands to San Simeon, otherwise known as Big Sur, I tried to perfect my newly discovered Drive By photography skills. I drove from San Francisco to Carmel, where we made one of two stops. The lushness of the greenery, a result of the heavy winter rains, the intoxicating smell of the wildflowers, pines, eucalyptus, scrub brush, the crashing surf, pods of playing dolphins,

made me reluctantly hand over the steering wheel...I know how Robert likes to relive his sport car infested youth driving on Highway 1. Because during our first few trips driving along the coast, with unlimited photo stopping opportunities, I knew better than to ask him, "pull over here, pull over here"...I mean, how many photos can one actually take of Bixby Bridge, a buttressed arched bridge used in multiple TV commercials, and a coming of age movie for me, The Graduate?

Or the coastal mountains, where Big Sur Cone Mountain rises 5000 feet above sea level? Or vistas incorporating fields of wildflowers?

Thus began the concept of Drive By photography, an easy technique to use while "road racing" down a partially wiped out twisty ocean highway - okay, we'll set the Canon G11 camera on auto, unroll the window, and start shooting. Hooray for digital cameras. Oh, and an open sun roof works well for other-side-of-the-road photo ops.

And the through-the-windshield technique allows an opportunity to snap a photo of a water fall while driving by (look at those silly tourists who pulled over to take pictures...ha!)

Staying occupied taking pictures took my mind off of us careening off of the often guardrail-less road.

A favorite newly developed photography technique is to hold the camera looking backwards...who knows what image you'll get...I was actually trying to get the bridge!

And then all of a sudden, Robert, Californian who knows the road, spontaneously pulled over. And for some unknown reason, he picked a great site...imagine, being able to frame a picture...the pressure was on to take a good photo! A beautiful cove lay below us...with an arched rock. Who knew?

The water was so green...like Caribbean water. None of these photos are touched up...I had my hard drive reformatted, and haven't loaded the Canon software yet. Not bad for point and shoot!
To the north, there were beautiful views-

And lastly, a few shots of why the road closes/opens -
Landslides...yep, when roads are cut out of the side of a mountain, and there's lots of rain, landslides - here's a partial hillside gone (this is a through-the-sunroof-shoot-blind shot)-

Here's the road beneath - road looks good, doesn't it?

Then along stretches of the road, there is netting to catch falling rocks...some examples:

Here, the road is a real mess...it looks as if Caltrans has built a platform, where they are building new bridges/roadway, that will be moved into place. Or are they just going to bypass the mountain, and cantilever the bridge off the side? Stay tuned, I'm sure we'll be back! In any event, it is interesting engineering.

And a question, why at the heart of the hairpin turn, where one could easily drive off the road, drop at least 1000 feet into the ocean, is there is no guard rail? I'm sure there is a good reason. Is it because there is no hillside left to place a guardrail? Hmmm...

As one approaches San Simeon, there is an elephant seal rookery...unfortunately for Drive By photography, the road straightens out, so one must shoot really fast, adds new meaning to the concept of point and shoot! There are three seals in this photo (to the right of the rock) ...

Yesterday was special...the air was so clear, the vegetation was lush, and I learned a new photography technique. And it was fun to see how Caltrans keeps battling Mother Nature to keep the road open. The few businesses along the road, Nepenthe (owned by Kaffe Fassett's brother), Ventana Inn, Ragged Point Inn were all jammed with cars...overflow parking on the road. We had planned to stop at Nepenthe...but seeing all the cars/crowd kept us moving. I'm sure they are very thankful for the business, after being nearly shut down for so long.
I love Big Sur...I was so shocked my first trip there...mountains jutting up out of the ocean, waves crashing, seals, dolphins, kelp beds...very different from the Tidewater of Maryland and Virginia. And I love the marvel of Pacific Coast Highway. The engineering. Robert (my always safe and careful driver) and I have driven darn near every part of it, from Tijuana to Crescent City...there are a few miles we have missed (not many), they are on my list!

Finish It Up Project

2011-06-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

I've been busy trying to finish my Floral Visions quilt, which I'm giving to a special person who is soon to have surgery...some computer/digitizing software issues are taking more time than I had anticipated...the learning curve. Here are some sneak peeks...don't want to show too much!

Haven't done any knitting...can only sit for so long. We made it through our first few days of 100+ weather...I really don't mind the heat...it's cold I don't like! That white stuff...yuk! We leave for San Francisco in a few days to see Picasso and Gertrude Stein exhibits, then off to San Simeon. Now I must balance check books, pay bills....hopefully I'll get to sew today!
Ciao!

The Finish It Up Blog Project! Ha!

2011-06-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've joined Meg's Finish It Up blog along. I'm trying to publicly force myself to finish some sewing projects...I'm pulling out three at a time, and will then re-evaluate what else is hidden inside a plastic tub...oh, thank heavens for Costco's storage bins.

Project Number 1:

an embroidered quilt top, Floral Visions, that must be quilted. I just finished pin basting, and will start the stitch in the ditch part. I worked out machine quilting designs, feathers, so that is next, trim, binding, done, given away.

Project Number 2:

this will be an art quilt of our Corgi Freckles...his eyes even look like his real eyes with cataracts...this will be fun to finish. This will be a keeper for our family.

Project Number 3:

a new finish it up, class today to put together the emboridery designs...this is for my sister Michele...when I saw it, I thought "those are the colors she loves". Lucky you Michele, you know this will get done!

Oh, and then there are a few knitting projects
#1:

an afghan, made of 20 12inch blocks...each block is a different pattern. I love making this, perfect for short attention spanners like me! I've made seven blocks, have 2 more on needles. This is so much fun! This will not be finished this summer.

#2:

a black triangular shawl that has sparkly doo dads hanging from the soft, fuzzy yarn.

#3:

a kid mohair scarf that has five rows of beading on each end, lace pattern inbetween ends. Very tedious.

Okay, that's all that I'm publicly declaring about sewing. I'm starting another weight loss goal...I took off thirty pounds last year, and am going to try to loose 20 more before Jan. 2012. Time to rev up the online Weight Watchers...I'll start tomorrow - - -there is some mint chip ice cream in the freezer.

Happy Father's Day Daddy...

Thumpa thumpa Freeway!

2011-06-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

Route 99, sometimes called the Thumpa Thumpa freeway (because of the wear and tear caused by trucks and the lack of CA money for repair) took me to my workshop in Visalia last Saturday. Although I've been a Central Valley resident for almost 20 years, I still feel like a stranger! Driving through little farming communities still manages to put a smile on my face...seeing a giant pig on top of an RV sales lot building, the visual impact of at least 500 semi trailers lined up at Paramount Farms, doors open, ready for nuts? produce?. Stately eucalyptus (we call them euks), oleanders, grape vines and nut trees for as far as the eye can see. Or it can give me the shivers...driving through Earlimart, where a cluster of children died of cancer (pesticides ya think?) and there's always Corcoran, home of Charles Manson...enough digression.
Phyllis Binkley is an awesome teacher, and Jeremy at ThimbleTowne is an awesome shop owner! Everything was well organized, we were able to get right down to business! I made this little landscape in 5 hours..

had never done water reflections before, so that was my challenge. A few hours the next day to quilt it...great fun! Here's a close up of the water - I used the same fabric as the trees above, just lightened them up with fabric pencil/crayons, and quilted it with a metallic thread.

Here are some other "art" quilts that I finished in the last couple weeks...I was afraid to finish them...if that makes any sense...

I call this one PCH, Pacific Coast Highway...it reminds me of the road to Big Sur (which is now closed due to landslides due to our wet winter)...rocks, ice plant, grasses...

I started this in October at a Kathy McNeil class, used watercolor crayons to paint the sky and water...it was fun. I hope to take another class with Kathy this fall.

This is from Ruth McDowell's book, Piecing Workshop. I attended her class in April at Asilomar, but I don't like what I made, so it is shoved, shoved away. But I do like this little leaf study, that incorporates all sorts of sewing techniques, plus it looks to me like the redwood trees in my backyard!

This last Sun Portrait is from a class with Susan Carlson, a fellow Marylander. She is another incredibly generous teacher...she's devised a technique of cutting little scraps of fabric, gluing them down, like little brush strokes. Boy did I leave my comfortable, little box!

I'm working on a picture of our dog...then I'm done with art quilts for awhile....my plan is to finish a couple (it's more like serveralllllll) of quilts that are almost made, and make some summer clothes...

And for the best pictures, my wonderful little great nephews Will and Nick...I hope to see you all soon...
I love you guys!

Workshop!

2011-06-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm off to Thimbletowne in Visalia (about an hour drive) for a Phyllis Brinkley landscape quilt workshop! All I have to take is pins and scissors, she provides everything else. Cut and paste! More later!
This is one of her quilts.

Yep, I guess I'm a binge blogger...

2011-06-08T12:21:00.001-07:00

Well, I believe that summer has finally arrived...prior to today, we've had about 2 days in the 80s and 1 day in the 90s. Our cooler, rainy weather has played havoc with the vegetable garden, and the roses don't know what to do...the 90s and 100s are on their way. Not complaining, I like warm! How about a trip around the garden?

Freckles says, let's do it!

The artichokes are finally coming around,

as are the blueberries

and the tomatillos, which will produce a huge glut! Good thing we like salsa verde!

This is the sunflower/pumpkin patch gone wild!

And our funny looking avocado tree...been in the ground for 2 years...we'll see....

The first Rose of Sharon of the year...one of my favs.

Hydrangea wall is maturing,

The last calla lilies, and beginning gardenias.

Remember those little red squirrels, with their teeth that grow 6 inches per year? It seems they've been grinding down their teeth on our outdoor lights...

I've been to a couple of sewing classes, and am finishing some projects...art quilts - wall hangings. It's sort of scary to come out of one's box...gives me more respect for artists. I'll post some pictures soon!

This is for you Will...a bobble head troll!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T08:13:00.000-08:00

I'm borrowing from two blogs that I read this morning: a quote by Edgar Guest from Cactus Needles blogger Nedra

A happy New Year! Grant that I

May bring no tear to any eye

When this New Year in time shall end

Let it be said I've played the friend,

Have lived and loved and labored here,

And made of it a happy year.

~Edgar Guest

and Suzanne from Strawberry Patches blogged about what one word would summarize for you your hopes for the new year. She suggested growth. Readers who left comments added compasssion, contentment, giving, lucky; I added gratitude, and I could add peace. We have so much to be grateful for - we're lucky enough to live in a free world, to be surrounded by our loved ones, we can read and write, we can explore our creativity, we can be generous with our time and assets. Life is so difficult for so many. Let's hope for a world where all can live to enjoy the happiness we have.

Holiday Projects From Seasons Past!

2010-12-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

I donated this quilt to the Assistance League of Bakersfield for their Chez Noel Fundraiser. It was machine quilted by Christiana Marzi.

This wall hanging I gave to my friend Carole in Asheville, NC. Quilted by me!

This one went to the Roulettes, my niece's family.

Here is a Hanukkiya (Hanukkah menorah) for my friends Susan and Stan...the flames have velcro, so you can add them as the nights progress!

This one went to the Assistance League raffle. Barbara Overton hand quilted the quilt!

Our wreath! I actually kept this!

Various gifts - placemats, towels, tablecloths!

Reversible tablecloth.

That's all I can come up with for now...hmm, my photos aren't organized so well!

Happy Hanukkah!

Christmas Quilt Show!

2010-11-21T21:49:00.000-08:00

Sew Cal Gal

is hosting an online Christmas Quilt Show...this is my entry:

I made this quilt for my great nephew Will. It is machine appliqued/embroidered with minkee, and velvet, and all sorts of fun things to touch! This was a lot of fun to make, and I hope Will will enjoy for many years!

Go to her site, and check out some of the other quilts! There are many beauties to see!

Hearst Castle

2010-07-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Hearst Castle, and took the self guided garden/grounds tour. We've been on all the other tours, and because we love gardens, we were excited about this...and we were not let down. To walk the gardens, and sit on the benches where Hearst and all the famous people who visited, was a treat. Knowing the history and the layout of the castle rooms is a definite asset before embarking on this tour. As an aside, we like Hearst Castle better than the Biltmore Estate in NC. For those who may not know, Hearst traveled Europe at a young age with his mother...and developed a taste for European antiquities. Inside the castle, there are still many of the tons and tons (literally) of furnishings he bought. Outside, there are too many sarcophagus (i?) to count. I'm only going to comment on a few pictures. There is the main house, Casa Grande, and 3 guest cottages. Hearst's wife lived in Casa del Mar, the first guest house built, as she allegedly knew of his mistress, Marion Davies (who financially bailed him out), and refused to move into the main house. Hope you enjoy!

Front of castle

Hearst's library balcony in the front of the castle...supposedly, he only slept 2-3 hours per night...had newspapers flown in from around the country and read them.

Main entrance

Back of the castle

Casa del Sol

Casa del Monte

Tile work on the front of Casa del Mar

Walkway from Casa del Mar (about 5,000 sq.ft. to Casa Grande - Castle)

View of San Simeon Bay...it was a foggy day

Flowers, particularly multiple varieties of fushias. Hearst did not allow the picking of fruit or flowers around the estate...he had special groves for harvesting...the State. of CA keeps it that way today!

so many varieties...Robert called this the Tinkerbell fushia!

Check out the cables and supports on this oak tree...the castle had to be built around the large trees...Hearst wouldn't allow them to be cut down.

And the outdoor pool...only one movie was ever shot here...Spartacus, with Charlton Heston, an early Kubrick film! (Casa del Mar on the right).

The Birth of Venus

Naked women everywhere!

Hearst locked up his liquor...he had an extensive wine cellar. Supposedly only allowed his guests one cocktail, and a little wine with dinner. He drank one beer per day. Didn't like to see his guest tipsy. He was a fascinating man.

Oh, and one last photo from Sebastian's

More Vacation!

2010-07-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Sebastian's,

a deli, which is in the old part of San Simeon - where the Hearst Ranch bunkhouses, buildings, pier are located. Our mission was to have lunch, and lucky for me, the Hearst Ranch Winery tasting room is in the building! They just released their first vintage in May 2010. Robert had a pastrami sandwich, and I had a burger (didn't eat the bread!). Sebastian's is special because they use Hearst Ranch beef, which is grass fed, no hormones/antibiotics, no feed lot shenanigans (the whole beef/corn thing scares me). It's humanely butchered. Since learning about the the beef, I have ordered it over the internet, and it is now all that we eat. We're into organic, sustainable living. Trying to be locavores. It is more expensive, but we just eat less of it.

Onto the wines! The grapes are grown on the east side of 101, north of Paso Robles.

Tasted all 6 of their offerings, and bought a bottle of 2008 Chardonnay, 2007 Cab Franc,and a 2007 late harvest Zin. All the wines were delish, these three were my favs. The Zin is not syrupy or overly sweet as late harvests can be. The Cab Franc is very bright, with overtones of leather and deep plum, little smokey...my fav of the three. The Chard is fruit forward, which I love. White peachy, little citrus...yum. Wish they made a pinot, but there aren't many pinot grapes in the area. Now, on the other side of the freeway is Adelaida, with HMR Vineyard (the original Hoffman Mountain Ranch, now called Hidden Mountain Ranch), my favorite Paso Robles' Pinot Noir. Different from Sonoma or Santa Barbara pinots, but really good.

Next stop, Cambria.

We stopped for an expresso at the French Bakery. Robert went inside and I sat at a table with the dog. This 1946 MG TD pulled up in front of me. (I used to have a TR6, so the Brit sports cars have a special place in my heart). This is a real beauty, and its driver was very talkative...said he's written lots of checks for its restoration.

On to the Framer's Market. WOW, is all we can say. The produce was beautiful, from organic farmers in the Paso area.

We bought white peaches, nectarines, dried persimmons (good with cheese), olive oil (so fresh tasting), olives, tapenade. All vendors allowed tasting, and one vendor had a fig-walnut nougat. Step away from the table....could have eaten every bit he had.

And of course there were beautiful flowers.

I had scheduled a facial at the spa next door, Diva Day Spa. My friend Carole in Asheville, NC, sent a birthday card and gift certificate. Boy was I surprised! We love this spa; for facials, they use Eminence products, which are organics from Hungary. Their prices are so reasonable, plus they're really nice people. After that, had a few inches of my hair cut off...the yearly shearing!

Today's agenda: mani/pedi, lunch at Hoppe's in Cayucos. Tomorrow, the Hearst Castle garden tour....better charge up my battery. Hooray for slow days....

July 4th at San Simeon

2010-07-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Summer has arrived in Bakersfield - we had days of 105, 103, 101 degrees on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Time to go to the coast!

We're at our favorite little spot in San Simeon (population of 442), which is known for William Randolph Hearst's San Simeon home, Hearst Castle. And that is what it is, a castle! We're going there on the 5th, so more of that later.
Today we went to Taco Temple in Morro Bay, one of my most favorite eating places...gourmet fast food! They serve open faced tacos with fresh seafood...really good. Have to boast here a little bit, I've lost about 17-18 pounds since January 1st, and am determined to keep it off, plus I want to add more, way more, to the total poundage. So I had fresh salmon on a bed or baby lettuces, frisee, carrots, lots of yummy veggies...really good. Robert had sea bass. We avoided the chips and dessert...and they have killer chocolate bread pudding and carrot cake. Good bye to those days! I did have a glass of chardonnay, after all, this is vacation.
On the way back to SS, Robert dropped Freckles and me off on the "boardwalk" (CA boardwalk)

on Moonstone Beach in Cambria, just down the road from SS, and he parked at the other end. Freckles immediately remembered this as a high population ground squirrel area. As we walked along, he chased the little rodents, and I took pictures and enjoyed the view.

The area is xeriscaped...I love all the native flowers/plants. The smell of the herb/succulents with the ocean spray is special.

Beware!!! Ground Squirrel alert!!!

A bench surrounded by sage.

Me too!

Robert met us halfway, and we all walked back to the car. Nearly had to drag Freckles to the car...tired little dog!
It is windy here today, so a few kiteboarders are out.

These guys are incredible...they reach really fast speeds, and go airborne, about 15-20 feet above the water.

They work the parachutes just like the sail on a sail boat. I love to watch them.
Let's see, what's left for the day? Dinner, a little sewing, more web surfing, some Iz music, maybe a jacuz....Robert and the dog are asleep, both snoring...facial tomorrow, farmer's market...more time to blog....v a c a t i o n.....

Star Crazy - I'm caught up!

2010-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Last week, I completed 5 months of work ! Woohoo, I'm caught up! I'm really happy with how well (my opinion!) my blocks are turning out, and am having a great time time trying to be as precise as possible with sewing and cutting.

A sneak preview! Couldn't resist!

Happy Memorial Day!

2010-05-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

An homage to my dad, John Arthur Benner, Sr., who is buried at Arlington Cemetery with my mother, Mary Louise Monroe. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Daddy gave up a full scholarship to the University of PA School of Law to enter the Army. World War II had escalated, and he felt a need to serve his country. He retired as a colonel, after 21 years of service; we lived in Austria, Taiwan, and Hawaii, always returning to Portsmouth, Virginia, my mother's home. Daddy's second career was as an Administrator with Housing and Urban Renewal in Baltimore. We moved there when I was 12. Being the protesting-Viet Nam war-daughter of an army officer caused some unhappy years between us, but as an adult, we were able to have conversations about what he believed was going on. I knew so little about him as I was growing up; then as an adult, he would share stories about Chiang Kai Shek, or carrying classified papers in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist with an incendiary device ready to ignite should the wrong passenger - a Russian- board the train, or his dealings with the Red Communists, etc. Daddy became very ill right before 9 1 1. Fortunately, he was non compos mentis during the situation; it would have caused my 83 year old dad way too much grief. As luck would have it, his burial spot in Arlington overlooks the site of his former Pentagon office, the site of one of the terrorist airplane crashes.

This flag was placed on his grave at Arlington, Memorial Day, in 2004. While visiting, somehow the flag got into my hand, and came home with me. I love you Daddy!

The Merry Month of May!

2010-05-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

Where to begin? Went to St. George, Utah for a work shop with Pam Holland at Superior Threads. Wow! Please read Nedra's blog, which will tell you all about Pam and the workshop. Pam is AWESOME, an incredible woman. She encourages creativity...this was her pattern, and I decided to just have at it!

His body

His head

His legs

The thread painting was all done with Superior Threads....I LOVE their threads. Besides the Pam workshop, Heather and Bob Purcell talked about thread quality, machine tension, stuff like that. At home, using their suggested machine set-up advice, I had no problems with mono filament thread (usually very persnickety), or King Tut, Masterpiece, or Bottom Line. Love those threads...and the variegated threads blended so well.

It was fun just to use the colors I wanted, just let it be wild...I figured he was a jungle grasshopper! I must have been channeling my sister Mary Jacque, who in my opinion, was an incredible artist. I would watch her in her studio, and say stupid things like, how do you do that...and she would say, Patty, you just let go...she left us too soon. But her art lives on.

Here are some of her works:

This is part of what she called the Healing Quilt (as an aside, I wasn't quilting when she did this, and she was being treated for cancer in her lower back - thus the name)

I have the Circle In A Square, the 2nd from right on the bottom. She did about thirty of these.

This is Winter Scene from her Images From The Floating World series:

I hope to make this into a quilt someday. I have one of these watercolors - it's called Peacocks, I'll photograph it, and post it some time soon. We both collect(ed) stamps...before she died, she gave me her collection of Japanese art stamps...each one is a beautiful little work of art.

Yep, I miss her.

Keeping with the merry, merry theme, how does the garden grow? The fruit trees in the gulag are prosperous, as are the artichokes:

apricots finally getting some color

because at last, we are getting warmer temperatures, and the fruits and veggies are doing their thing.

Our "raised bed" vegetable garden...an experiment...my back can't take the in the ground gardening...we do have watermelons, pumpkins, and beets in the ground.

Zuchinni...everybody's fav!

And the patio cherry tomatoes and basil.

yumm....pesto!

And could we be more pleased with our roses -

a tree rose in front of the house -

a close up of a beautifully scalloped petal rose-

and the pool roses couldn't be more abundant or beautiful!

Uh oh, somebody, moi?, has some serious dead heading to do! The color is so pretty, I hate to whack them off! I'll pretend I'm Marie Antoinette!

And what about this Calla Lily...another quilt idea!

We've had way too much drama here on the home front this week...I had a partial intestinal obstruction (past history of such), and on the same day, little Freckles had hemorrhaghic gastritis...poor Robert didn't know if he was in the ER or at the vet's. We're both better...but we both must drastically change our diets...no more cheese for either of us!

And speaking of Robert, here is my sweetie with his new Perazzi shotgun! His hobby is shooting trap and skeet.

That's all for now! Ciao!

p.s. Here is my great nephew Will examining the caterpillars I sent to him for his 3rd birthday from Insect Lore:

And the birthday cake that my sister Michele, his gramsie, made for him!

Choo Choo!

El Nino!!!

2010-04-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

California is having really different weather...the good news is that it involves rain! We've had several days of rain, and the meteorologist says there may be more on the way...it will be an interesting fire season. I love the rain...it just plays a little havoc with the gardening. When the storms move in, there is lots of wind...and the dry needles in the redwoods end up in the pool...ditto the seed pods from the oaks and alders. Here are some that only made it to a rose.

Whilst cleaning the pool after the last storm,

I noticed how beautiful my roses were, ran into the house and got the camera...a new storm was moving in, and everything would change.

A close up of a cabbage rose (about 6-8 inches across)

And an unwanted visitor

I know someone who puts on garden clogs and goes about her garden stepping on snails...YUK! I don't like them, but I couldn't do that...hooray for Sluggo...or Deadline...at least I'm not physically doing the killing.

Remember I posted about the squirrel proof bird feeders....Robert says I should send these to the feeder manufacturers.

This guy couldn't get on the feeder...there is a dome on top.

So he went to the ground instead.

We now have at least 3 squirrels, and poor Freckles is beside himself -

Should he herd here or

there.

Tired little guy!

Sewing!

I finished this quilt, called The Secret Garden by

Cindy Lammon (from Gathered From The Garden)

I digitized the applique designs, and used wool for some of the applique pieces. My friend Lynn now has it for quilting...I can't wait to see what she does with it! If you look at her page, you will see some of Pam's beautiful hand applique quilts. Here is one which has won multiple awards!

Pam Gavin's quilt.

I made two of these cats from Quilter's Treasures

After I was well into the process, which involved burning the ends of the black woven bias tape to prevent it from raveling (it is a petroleum product and stinks), my friends Lynn and Pam, who were lucky enough to watch this process, told me that there is fusible bias tape...hmmm. These cats were supposed to be part of a blanket for my sister's rocking horse footstool, but I didn't compare the finished measurements before making them, and alas, they are too big. They will become pillows. One for her, and one for me. And for her blanket, I took the silk pants that she sent to me (which she purchased for pennies at a thrift store), and made them into the blanket she had originally imagined. Next time I won't try to reinvent the wheel!

I took a needle turn applique class with Cathy Van Bruggen, and liked her technique. More on that later.

Here is an isolette quilt for the NICU. The fabric was so cute, I just made it like a wholecloth quilt.

Little racoons, owls, critters!

Well, that's all I've got. Enjoy Spring!

When Sewing Causes Frustration...

2010-04-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Take photos! I've been working on projects that just aren't working...makes me not want to do them. I'll take some photos and post them, but now check out this little sequence!

Hmm...time for a nut?

Is it safe?

Okay, let's git 'er done!

Yum!

What's that moving toward me?

I'm outta here!

My favorite rose...don't know the name, but its fragrance is to die for.

And of course my Miss Lili

and the Triumvirate!

And yes, there is a squirrel up in the tree!

Enjoy the weather...summer is coming!

For Will and Nick

2010-03-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

In Bernina Club last month, Annette showed us how to sew with vinyl, and she made some place mats. I immediately called my sister Michele, grandmother to Will (almost 3) and Nick (almost 1), to determine if place mats would be welcome in their home... oh yes, Will's into Thomas The Tank, and make them BIG! After the internet fabric search and sewing, we have:

They are reversible, and have matching napkins. Wish I could be there when Will sees them!

The years first rose!

This is a miniature rose, that was given to me about 3-4 years ago by Tracy, my friend Carole's previous neighbor. Carole moved to Asheville, NC, and I had a goodbye party for her.

So, I call this the Carole Rose (now I'm going to know if she reads my blog...).

I also have an African violet that Carole gave to me 9 years ago that is still alive and well!

While looking at the roses, I heard a commotion...

Freckles says What fresh hell is this?

Why is Jax, the neighbor cat, lazing so brazenly on my patio?

Lili says This could be interesting (Lili knows that she intimidates Freckles)

Nah...boring

A standoff, with a potted gardenia DMZ

Lili watches

As Jax-y hunkers down...

Ah, another day in the back yard. We're thinking about getting another Corgi...Freckles is on two pain medications, and is still sore...that nobody-wants-to-make-it decision will have to be made probably by late fall, and I don't think I can bare having a backyard without a Corgi. Sigh.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Glendale Quilt Show, for a two day course on EQ6, a quilting software program. I'm thinking about stopping at Samy's in Pasadena, and buying a new point and shoot...the Canon G11 and Leica D-Lux 4 (pocketsize) are contenders, they offer manual focus (the above photo of Jax shows how the autofocus focused on the leaf, (not his eye, which is what I was aiming at), as well as all the automatic features....I love my Canons...we'll see! In any event, I'll take my little Canon and take some photos.

Have a great weekend!

SWEET SUGARY SWIRLS!

2010-03-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of Fig Tree Quilts Sweet Sugar Swirls finished quilt:

The fabric is Moda Aviary, and the quilting is by Lynn Douglass...she is awesome, isn't she? Can't say enough about how happy I am that she quilts my quilts!

This fabric color is so soft, there is hardly any contrast to this quilt, so I photoshoped (have I made up a word) the images so you can see what's going on...in real life,

the quilt is very soft, low contrast

Each block has 30 seams...that's 30 opportunities for error! When quilting, just an 1/8 of an inch can cause trouble! Until I bought a new machine a few years ago, I had never made a quilt...just made my clothes, and did home dec stuff. It's precision sewing!

The border:

The back:

I LOVE the birds!

Here is an isolette quilt I made for the local NICU; it was an experiment, in that I used my embroidery machine to do the quilting.

Feather quilt pattern.

This shows the pattern on the screen of my sewing (machine) computer (what the manufacturers call it), and the machine doing its thing. Robert, who has watched me for years doing needlepoint, which takes about 1 hour per inch, has said, the machine's doing all the work, you're just sitting there...he has a point...but someone does have to change the thread, and put the design in the machine!

Garden time!

We're having a wonderful spring...lots of rain and scattered showers. This past weekend I went to Lancaster, which is across the Tehachapi Mountains in the Antelope Valley. It's always fun to drive by Edwards Air Force Base. Never know what you'll see, or hear. Once when my Dad (retired army officer) was visiting, we went there. Because of his ID card, we were allowed on base, and were able to view the Space Shuttle UP CLOSE...it was mounted on a vertical gantry crane, ready for placement on the 747...it was incredible, it didn't seem very big. Back to now. Fields are covered with fiddleneck, the first local wildflower to pop. It's poisonous for horses, but apparently desert tortoises love it, so, bon appitit!

(not my photo)

When we lived on the ranch, my daughter and I would go on spring wildflower hunts each day, and as we found different flowers, we would place them between waxpaper sheets, in heavy books, to press. The flowers are still there!

clover in a LeRoy Neiman Horses book

Our white peach tree...I've been keeping my fingers crossed that the rain we're having won't knock off the flowers ...plus the last two days have seen temps in the mid 30s....poor farmers...

I really should pull out my 35mm with macro lens...lazy Patty...

I love Georgia O'Keefe!

The apricot tree is loaded with fruit!

My little buddy!

No artichokes yet, and the asparagus is slowly making it's way:

Check out the lettuce pot on the right...something has been having a smorgasbord

with my lettuce! Where's my Sluggo?

This lettuce has protection! Let's see the snails try to take on these guys!

Down the path the azaleas are blooming

Red camellias

Geraniums

Hmm...why's this bird feeder on the ground?

And why is the stopper that closes the filling spout open?

A few days later, after the feeder was put back in the tree...again with the stopper...later that night Patty says to Robert, I think the squirrel is getting on top of the feeder, and pulling out the stopper. I think he then sticks his little hand in there, and scoops out seed. Robert says to Patty, do squirrels have opposable thumbs? How would they open it?...Patty replies, with their teeth?.......Somebody needs to google, do squirrels have opposable thumbs. It's hard to find a definitive answer. I think they do, because when I've looked at our visitor through binoculars, I see thumbs holding and twirling the nut.

Yesterday, I saw the squirrel on top of the feeder. When I opened the door, he quickly leapt to the tree. This is going to require some stealth.

Oh, and by the way, this is another squirrel proof feeder, where we've seen the squirrel hanging upside down on the red cage part, and he sticks his hand through the cage, and scoops out the seed that lands on the little bottom shelf.

Meyer lemon blossoms...aromatherapy in a few weeks!

And for fun:

This is a close up of my scrap thread jar! Cool huh?

And Happy Birthday Peg!!! I thought this was a really cool picture

of my sister Margaret (at the end of the table) and her friends

And photos from my niece Kristin: Kristin's 2 1/2 year old son, Will

Sleeping

And being a nerd! Check out his answer. He's very smart and serious!

He speaks in complete sentences, with 3 syllable words.

And his brother, about 9-10 month old Nicholas

Later.....

Riders On The Storm

2010-02-28T18:59:00.000-08:00

Ray Manzarek, keyboardist for the Doors, played in Bakersfield with a slack guitarist, Roy Rogers. This 71 years young man met Jim Morrison at the UCLA Film School, then hooked up later in Venice Beach, and founded the Doors. He told lots of antedotes about Morrison, mostly about his genius. Ray started off with a boogie riff, then played Muddy Waters type blues, insturmental Doors' songs like Crystal Ships, all of which were incredibly beautiful. He even played an Erik Satie piece Gnossienne No.1. Satie is definitely one of my favorite composers...next to Beethoven. I did sort of master Gymnopédie No.1 (okay, so with the music I was able to power my way through it!) Ray ended with Riders On the Storm. Robert and I were just blown away...we thought that seeing Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood at the Hollybowl Bowl last year was the penultimate, this was pretty darn close!
You know how sometimes you just really need a piece of music to lift you...well this whole concert did it for me.....and especially Riders On The Storm......aren't we all? Thank you Ray!

I finished this TABLE RUNNER and am very happy with it! Love the colors.

This shows the back.

I have a special project for the week...to make a blanket for my sister Peggy's footstool wooden rocking horse....I've been thinking about this for awhile, and now have a plan....more later. Check out her webpage...it is an incredible site...hope my grammar's okay...

We've been having truly glorious weather in Bakersfield...I would like to say we've had lots, but it's more like ample, amounts of rain, so the trees are clean and happy. Ornamental trees such as Bradford pears, and ornamental plums are going nuts! Everyday brings a new surprise. I took my camera with me, as I strolled around our property...one day I'll dig out my 35mm and try to take some really good photos (I worked as a professional photographer for awhile, mostly sports and a few weddings - yuk), but darn, my little point and shoot is so good!

This is what we call the gulag, the dog run, which is where we have the "permanent" crops; well at least we think our dogs have called it a gulag.

Asparagus

Baby Avocado tree...yum!

To be blueberries

White peach blossoms....August peaches!

Dropped apricot blossoms.

Ferrell sunflowers.

Into the yard:

My Buddha in the Meditation Garden

Love my camellias!

Hmmm, a squirrel in the tree?

Jax, the neighbor cat, carefully watched by Freckles, as is

Lili in the tree!

and Lili on the bench,

and just pretty Lili!

Jax, on the prowl - notice his one blue eye, and one yellow eye!

Freckles, herding the cats! I should probably put away the burlap bags...Lili does like to perch herself upon them.

Ah, the thieving scrub jay at the squirrel chewed-on squirrel feeder. We put the squirrel feeder up to keep the squirrels out of the bird feeders. Now we have the birds eating from the squirrel feeder! The squirrels chewed through the wood, and also gnawed/ate a hole the size of a squirrel head in the plexiglass. This made it possible fo the jays to steal the peanuts. I had to wrap it it in wire and staple it to the wood...they started pulling out the staples, so now I'm trying push pins. Notice how the wire is chewed; stubborn little beasts! Did you know that a squirrel's teeth grow 6 inches a year? I believe it!

They are pretty scavengers! Clever little devils! Sometimes I think "what's wrong with me, that I'm battling with the squirrels and jays?" My Dad used to put garbage can lids on top of the bird feeders to keep the squirrels off of them...I'm not there yet!

Ah, the little red tailed squirrel....

eating a peanut!

Romaine lettuce - I'm sure the snails will be here soon!

And finally Freckles gets everybody lined up properly - he's still working on the birds and squirrels! Sometimes I think I'm living in a Beatrix Potter book. I just love backyard wildlife, and do all I can to encourage a welcoming atmosphere for the critters.

And these are 8 year old cyclamens, in a basket given to my by my friends Tracy and John Lovelace. They are probably my oldest friends in Bakersfield. I met Trace when she worked at Babcock's Book Store, which she later bought, then sold to a local retailer. I needed friends today, and Tracy and John were there. THANK YOU Tracy and John!

Have a good week everyone!

A Tisket A Tasket

2010-02-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

This is the first quilt where I digitzed the designs, and did machine applique. The designs were by Anne Sutton, of Bunny Hill Designs. Anne offered one design per month, for free! I finished this quilt in December, and Lynn Douglass, long arm quilter extraordinaire, quilted the quilt. I put the binding on today, and voila! Another one bites the dust! Suzanne and the gals at Strawberry Patches picked the fabrics; I substituted wool here and there.
Notice that Lynn has quilted little designs in some of the blocks! She is so talented.

A New Week

2010-02-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

I think I'm addicted to watching Curling...oh thank heavens the Olympics will be over soon...I hate feeling so tied to the TV...but I do like watching Curling! Do you watch Project Runway? Didn't you just love Seth Aaron's little girl look? And the woman's jacket was fabulous!

My back is feeling better, so I will try to workout tomorrow, and then home to do some serious sewing. I'm trying to take off some weight before my 60th birthday...such a battle.

Yesterday, I finished the Fun and Done quilt:

tada!

Here is the back:

This is what the seams are supposed to look like

Not this (I'm embarassed to show this!)

So if you decide to make this quilt, remember to line up you seams!

Strawberry Patches is offering a 12 month class, one block per month, that is designed to teach us how to use all the functions of our sewing machines. This is the first block which I sewed today:

This block teaches applique and using decorative stitches, which are seen better in this close up:

The quilt is called A Stitcher's Garden and will look like this when completed:

It will be a fun learning project. I've got so much going on now, I'm just trying to get caught up.

There just aren't enough hours in the day, soon it will be time to plant the vegetable garden. I did plant some romaine lettuce yesterday that my next door neighbor gave to me. He's in the irrigation business, and visits the local commercial farmers, who give him flats of seedlings of their crops. Lucky me! Last year he gave us watermelons, which grew very well and tasted delish! Sometimes when we go outside early in the morning to get the paper, there will be a bag of potatos, or oranges, or onions by the front door. Jeff is like the year round Santa. We love it! Our apricot tree has bloomed, and I think it has set...hope we get a good crop. The white peach tree is thinking about blooming. The artichokes look healthy, and the blueberry bushes are budding. The asparagus is just starting to push up. Hooray for the permanent crops!

Off to bed to read Noah's Compass, Anne Tyler's new book!

Thursday p.m.

2010-02-18T20:23:00.000-08:00

Some photos of the new path

We're waiting for 15 (!) flats of baby tears, and some impatiens and begonias to fill in.

I swear, landscaping must be like having plastic surgery, once you start, you can't stop.

We're having a stepping stone path put through this little area, with more plants. And then that's it! Except for the vegetable garden, I'm done with the landscaping for the year!

Could there be a squirrel in this tree?My little Freckles just makes me smile!

My sister Michele knows how much I love whimsical "yard art" (well, that's a stretch), so for my birthday or Christmas, she sends me wind chimes,

gnomes

"when pigs fly" flying pigs

Must find a place to plant these treasures in the new pathway.

Because of the back, sewing has been sort of blah, I can't sit for long...worked a little on the Fun And Done quilt, it's more than half complete

It will be okay, I'm not crazy about it. I should have chosen fabrics with more contrast.

Here is a close up

I'll post pictures when I'm done, which I hope will be tomorrow....off to watch the Olympics!

Bye!

Ouch!

2010-02-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Robert and I went to the family ranch in Keene...he rode a horse, and I watched. As we were leaving, I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking, and I tripped over Guy, a big dog. To avoid stepping on him, and falling down flat on my face, I leapt forward, and landed on my right foot...yep, the leg with the broken ankle. It hurt immediately, so I stayed off of it the rest of the day. Woke up at 3 a.m....my back hurt. Hmm.....couldn't get comfortable, got up, took a hot bath...and have been an ibuprofin/darvon laced couch potato since with a hot rice bag attached to my lower back. The good news is, the ankle doesn't hurt! Maybe I'll be able to sew tomorrow!

Robert riding Inky

Big Doings Here!

2010-02-11T17:01:00.000-08:00

The landscaping is coming along really well...we're so happy with how it's looking

I love meandering pathways. Our landscaper, Dan Monji, uses broken concrete to make stepping stones. Baby tears will fill in the cracks, and soften the look.

Today's sewing project was the Fun and Done quilt

The backing, batting, and top are all sewn together

And now I have a pile of 48 squares!

I'm supposed to wait till class next Monday to finish this....hmm, can I be patient?

Our camellias are blooming...I guess they're a Bakersfield version of snow!

Landscaping!

2010-02-10T20:14:00.000-08:00

I love my yard...our house sits on a half acre lot (smallest we've ever been on...always at least 3 acres or more because of horses), pie shaped, house on narrowest part, with the yard surrounding...we started a landscaping project a few years ago, and are now finishing. The former owners planted roses around the perimeter, with Japanese boxwood (really boring!)...the roses were shaded by redwoods...didn't bloom...we transplanted the roses, replaced with azaelas.

Now it's time to pull out the rest of the boxwood

and replace with a wall of hydrangeas and gardenias....am I trying to make this into an East Coast yard?

This boxwood is now gone...yeah...the beds all surrounded by boxwood looked like a jail...and of course, here is my faithful companion

Mr. Freckles.

He's not sure about the changes...as long as the birds and squirrels are available for herding, he's okay.

More pictures later! I hope my family and friends in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina are snug!

Progress!

2010-02-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the top half of the Back On The Farm Quilt:

and some close ups of individual sections:

Aren't they adorable? For as time consuming as this process is, the result makes me smile! When I stitch the animals faces, etc., they'll have more character.

I received some fabric this week for my table runner...hopefully, I'll have that done in a few days.

Here is another project I'm about to begin. It's call LeJardin, by Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs. Hand applique...for me, a true labor of love. I like to think, if the machine can do it, why should my hands? Sometimes, you just have got to give in. It's good to do while watching TV or traveling. I'll be starting the upper left block.

The snow on the east coast has made me homesick...I remember childhood days of sledding for hours and hours, building forts of snow, jumping off of buildings into drifts, you name it, we did it. We would pour water on hills at night so they would ice up, build little "jumps" so we would have faster runs. Once we hit a tree and split a toboggan in half. Oh my poor mother!

Here is a picture my sister in Baltimore sent to me:

Probably not as much fun as an adult!

Just a musing...

2010-02-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

After working out, I put my sweaty body in the tub, and was watching the finches flit from branch to branch in an alder tree. How free birds are...they don't have to worry about people hating them because of religion or politics, braking problems in cars, what money they'll use to retire, needy high maintenance friends, children...plus, they can FLY! Oh well, back to reality.

Happy Groundhog Day!

2010-02-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my sewing works in progress:

BACK ON THE FARM by McKenna Ryan, a fused applique quilt. You trace the pattern on fusible web, iron the fusible onto fabric, cut out the pieces, then iron onto a background fabric. Like kindergarten, cut and paste. These are batik fabrics by Hoffman.

This picture is what the finished quilt will look like.

This is what I've done so far

The next step will be to place the top over batting and backing, and use the sewing machine to quilt the pieces. Thread and quilting will give the shapes character!

These are the fabrics for a quilt named FUN AND DONE, which uses a technique I've never used before....quilt as you go. It's a class I'm taking next week at my favorite local quilt shop, Strawberry Patches.

This is the pattern, sorry it's such a crummy picture...

And these are my fabrics...my husband Robert loves green,

so I'm thinking about him with this quilt! I love batiks!

This is going to be a tablerunner...originally, the fabric was a panel of individual squares; I cut out four like blocks, and sewed them together, like a kaliedoscope...did it for fun, with no plan in mind. It kills me to have unfinished sewing around, so I looked on the internet, to the fabric makers site, and they offered a tablerunner patterns...what a great idea!

The fabric is called Botanica.

I'll post pictures as I progress with these projects...plus I've got some other things going on!

Did I mention that I love to sew?

How Finished Star Crazy Quilt Will Look!

2010-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

2010-01-30T14:28:00.001-08:00

STAR CRAZY! And that is what I will be when I finish this quilt! This is a monthly project designed by Sue Garman for The Quilt Show. It's really beautiful, I love stars, and I've chosen batiks to make my quilt. I tore apart the first block 3 times! Finally got it right...and made sure not to fall into that trap for the subsequent 6 blocks.