Tuesday's Orts

Mixed bag of thoughts that land here--that's what orts on Tuesdays are all about!

• I forgot to mention something in last week's IQF related post--which was the time we had with Sandy Klop, of American Jane.  I pointed out to my artist mom that the designer herself was manning the booth and they had a lovely conversation about how Sandy got started, how she comes up with her designs (she draws and paints them), and the lucky break she unexpectedly got at her first few shows where she was only offering 11 of her patterns (which were picked up by Moda)  and was asked if she had a fabric line.  Suddenly she was a fabric designer!  It was a treat to hear her story.   I bought some polka dots :)
• Last week was very stressful at work--the doc was going out of town and patients were crazy to get in before he went.  My neck was killing me by Thursday and I was put over the top by a weevil infestation of my pantry at home that took a couple of hours of bending and looking into the cupboard, pulling out everything, wiping it all down, and putting it all back, organized.  I did not make it to work on Friday due to neck pain and a bad headache.  Thank goodness for Advil!!
• Traffic rant:  We've had lots of extra traffic around our office due to the fairgrounds being nearby.  The endless cruise of vehicles and people pulling into illegal parking spots is ridiculous, given that there are free shuttle buses from multiple locations around town that have free parking as well. 
• People watching is so entertaining.  I am always surprised, though, when I see gals dressed for the Club instead of the County Fair.  Is it really necessary to show cleavage while viewing pigs, chickens, and pie eating contests?
• Summer is winding down but the kids in our neighborhood are getting in as much play as they possibly can before school starts in two weeks.  There are chalk drawings everywhere.
• For my sister Kathy:

MINIONS!

Design Wall Monday--Aug 8, 2011

I did get some sewing time in this weekend and got together the entire top for the Scrappy Trails quilt, cut and sewed the binding and backing.

Leftover blocks add a bit of fun to the back but it is not wide enough.  Luckily there's plenty of length so I'll cut some off to use for that purpose.

Last night two tabletoppers for the wedding were completed.

You probably can't read it well, but this gold bias tape has been waiting patiently since 1976 to be used in a project!  Note that it was 4 yards for 45 cents way back then.    I'm pretty sure this came from my Grandma's sewing things that came to me after she moved into her son's house.  Wonder what it'll cost when I go buy more today...

See more Design Walls on Judy's Patchwork Times. 

Bounty of the County

"Bounty of the County" is this year's Ventura County Fair theme.  Grant and I went last night and checked out how my entries did.  All four received an award, which is so nice!

The Christmas tree skirt received a 2nd place.

The Broken Dishes tablerunner also got a 2nd place, and next to it is the patriotic pinwheel mini (hung upside down!), which has an Honorable Mention.  I loved the sailboat quilt up in the corner with rick rack as the waves, but didn't get a better photo of it.

All bigger quilts are hung high on the walls of the Home Arts building.  In the past, two or three have been hung together on each rod, so entries are down, as the volunteer mentioned to me when I entered mine.

Awful photo of me, but my Rick Rack Road quilt also received an Honorable Mention. 

Many other arts, crafts, and food entries are housed in this building.  Look at the beautiful painting on this gourd.  Love the bluejay with the berry in its beak.

Dynamic use of flying geese for this small ocean scene. 

I'm always drawn to fall colors in quilts.

I took this photo for the unusual vessel in the middle, which was made from acacia, but also like the wooden travel cup in the upper right of the photo.  Turned and carved wood pieces were in abundance.

Funny sentiment about dusting!  I liked the distressed style frame too.

Gorgeous lupine in this pieced and appliqued quilt.  It won a Special Award, but I don't know what that means quite.  Usually all the top winners are in a separate display case but I didn't find that this year.

Another lady and I were discussing this lovely greenwork version of the Crabapple Hill pattern that is so popular these days.  We both agreed it could have been displayed better but liked the unusual color.  Marylou and I talked quilting for quite awhile and walked around while I showed her my entries.  She said she had just taken a photo of my Broken Dishes tablerunner before we met--which pleased me. 

Absolutely wonderful hooked wool rug.

Look at all the yummy fall colors and intricate fill.

This mosaic tile piece was so pretty, and quite large, probably more than two feet tall.

Grant and I ate all our fair favorites--fish tacos, corn dogs, Indian fry bread for me, and cinnamon roll  for him.  We spent some time hearing Pat Benatar in concert (free with admission) and enjoyed the people watching, ran into a few folks we knew (including our neighbors across the street), and watched a hypnotist make folks salsa dance.  I will probably make a return trip to see exhibits I missed and spend more time in the Home Arts building looking at all the wonderful things people make!

Tuesday's Orts/Long Beach International Quilt Festival

It is still Tuesday here on the west coast for an hour, so I'll just squeeze this in...it is a subject-specific running of the orts, a recap of our weekend trip to the International Quilt Festival, Long Beach edition.

• My friend Tanya drove, which was good for our four person party since she has a lead foot, lots of L.A. freeway driving prowess and is not a pokey wimp like me.
• With the two shorties--Tanya and her mom--in the front seats of the car, my mom and I could stretch out.  However, both of us having hearing problems and their being soft-spoken made the phrase "I can't hear you" come out of my mouth frequently.
• Traffic rant:  LOOK before changing lanes.  We were nearly rubbed out by someone who didn't!
• We met up with a friend of Tanya's unexpectedly in the lobby of the Convention Center.  She was also with her mom.  Do you sense a theme?  Later we lunched at California Pizza Kitchen with them, and as we did last year, scored the first table by getting hungry early before the hordes of quilters descended upon the restaurant.

See the hordes?

Another picture perfect day in So Calif.  I know you're jealous!
• I also ran into a friend at the show, Lani, whom I met in person in April.  She was considering a show special purchase on a Gammil longarm machine--as a special gift her DH could buy her for an important birthday.  Way to go, Lani!
• I got separated from my peeps after getting stuck in a long line at a vendor booth.  While I was wandering around alone I found a booth selling fabric for $7.  There was a bin full of smaller cuts of fabric for 75 cents each and I was pawing through it when someone appeared at my elbow wanting to get in the bin too.  I scooched over and then looked at the person, who suprisingly turned out to be my blog friend Tanya from Japan.  We could certainly not have planned that "cute meet" ourselves!  Too funny.

Tanya's SIL Marcy took our picture--the photo on Tanya's blog is better than mine.  We had a lovely chat and catch up and it was nice to meet Marcy.  Tanya was looking for tools and gadgets and I only bought fabric.  See you next year, Tanya!

• My mom found her favorite non-quilting vendor, a jewelry seller who has amazing antique as well as newer pieces of all sorts.  She purchased a gorgeous amethyst and silver pendant and matching drop earrings to wear at the wedding.  I told her both my girls would be eyeing that set for "later".
• We looked at most of the quilt exhibits and especially enjoyed the Baltimore Quilt display.  No photography was allowed there but I took exactly two  three photos of other quilts. 

I loved the exuberance of this one.

Oops, the flash glared out some of the description, sorry!

I recognized this as a Ricky Tims quilt before I read the label. 

I know Ricky Tims hand dyes his fabrics and they have that sueded texture that is really irresistible.  My friend Tanya had to be warned to restrain herself from touching it. Ricky does all his own quilting.

• Traveling home, I spotted a car license plate frame that had an unusual college association.  Instead of the common "Alumni" and college name, it read "Dropout--Cal State".  Funny!
• Purchases were a lot less this time--since I already went to the Cincinnati version of the Festival and spent a lot of my pennies there.

Two one-yard cuts of neutrals and an array of browns, teal blue, burgundy and cream will become Bricks & Stepping Stones for my last remaining quiltless brother, Ted.  The small rolls of fabric were in the bin I was pawing through when the other Tanya and I bumped into each other :) 

We had a great day and plan to attend again next year.  Maybe next time I will take a class, who knows?

Design Wall Monday--August 1, 2011

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers for our future son-in-law Chris's family.  Services for Chris's dad will be Saturday and I expect the church will be full.  He most definitely will be missed and remembered.


There's nothing new on my design wall because all the blocks for the Scrappy Trails quilt are complete and ready to sew together. 

Switcheroo went on for far too long but I finally called "Time!" and stopped.  Now I'm working on something else with a deadline:

Looks like some kind of weird game but those mugs and that plate are actually holding down some ivory tulle for DD Elaine's bridal veil before cutting.  It had been awhile since that dressmaker's cutting board had been opened.  I had to check it for spiders when I pulled it from the closet :)

After a brief conference with the Bride-to-Be to confirm measurements, I cut the tulle and began sewing on the rhinestone beaded trim.  I'm using invisible thread and rolling the edge of the tulle under the trim for a nice finish--I may be blind in a couple of days!  Previously I estimated it would take 4-5 hours to sew the trim on, but after working on it for some time, I think I need to double that estimate.  Elaine is having a bridal hair consult on Thursday so there are only a few days to get it finished.  Gulp.

See more Design Walls on Judy's Patchwork Times.

At Peace

With a heavy heart, I share that our future son-in-law's father passed away yesterday.  Gary had emphysema and suffered tremendously for the last year.  He is no longer struggling for breath and is free.  His family knows he is in heaven and at peace at last.  Gary will be forever loved and remembered by his wife Sandy, and sons Mike and Chris. 

Tuesday's Orts

If it's Tuesday, it must be time for orts to land on this spot!

• Friday night Grant took me out to dinner. A friend and his band was playing in a restaurant/bar the next town over--I was pretty excited just to get 10 miles away from home in a direction not towards work!  The restaurant (Garman's Pub) is owned by a kid I used to babysit for years and years along with his brother.  When I met the family, his divorced single mom was dating her boss and they then got married and moved to a big house.  I later worked for said boss in his optometry business, and he drove us from our wedding to our reception in his Rolls Royce.  It is a small world indeed. The food and setting were great at Garman's and we enjoyed the entertainment.  Grant had a Boxty and I had rosemary chicken. 
• I was so tired Friday night after we got home about 9:00 that I told Grant I might have to take a nap before going to bed.  I managed to stay up to 10:15.
• There are two dogs somewhere in the neighborhood behind ours that rile each other up at night.  Bark bark bark bark bark, goes one deep voice, and yip yip yap yap yip yip goes a higher one.  It sounds like a Fox News show because they are not listening, just each barking over the top of the other.
• Traffic rant:  Drivers blocking traffic to a turn lane because they fail to notice that they need to move up two or three feet to allow another car to go around them.  Dolts!
• On Sunday I took four quilts down to the Fairgrounds to enter them in our County Fair.  I was surprised to see no line at the Home Arts building.  The gentleman helping me said other volunteers told him entries were way down this year, which is so sad to me. I entered the Rick Rack Road quilt, a mini patriotic pinwheel, the red and white Broken Dishes tablerunner, and the Christmas tree skirt I made for DD Elaine.  I'll let you know what happens.
• Our fairgrounds is popular with vendors since it is right on the ocean; unlike the inland fairgrounds, it is temperate most days and cool at night.
  
  
  

This is the backside of the grandstand.  Beside the fairgrounds is a newly renovated and restored bike/walk path and permeable parking lot to reduce runoff.  They added that nice seat-height berm to protect from storms and also made a big wide sandy beach. It was a very windy day and the kitesurfers were out in full force. The man on the right was inflating the bar on his kite, a sight I had never seen before. 

Walking along, I came upon this village of rock statues with a winding path.  There was no signage or explanation but it looked pretty fun.  

Here's the real eye candy.

Just one more shot...

These girls and their horses rode up out of the fairgrounds from a horse show to the beach.  I'm pretty sure a few of those horses were Arabians.  One got spooked when a helicopter passed overhead and the passenger bareback rider got thrown.  She was okay but neither girl could get back on the horse, he was too excited.

Here is the mouth of the Ventura River.  Pretty icky looking just now.  This river is a mere trickle due to a backcountry dam that may one day be removed to allow the silt and sand that builds up the beaches to return.  Unfortunately, that will cost millions to remove.  I have lived in this city my whole life and I think this is the first time I have actually stood at the mouth of the river.  You can see a train trestle bridge crossing the river in the middle of the photo and the citrus groves skirting the hill far behind.

A gorgeous late afternoon day in Southern California.  Am I lucky or what?