I propose

I finished all the #1 blocks from Clue #5 of the Mystery Quilt and put them up on my design wall with  the #2 blocks.  This is the layout I propose:

Sorry this is not a great photo.  I had to lighten it up a lot so that the green showed up. There's one of each color pinwheel star on my design wall.  In total there are six of each. 

Again, this photo is subpar, but I really like the gray/black print with the green and cream.  This is a Kona fabric, ecru toned, not sure of the name.  Despite using a directional fabric for the green, the scale is small enough not to interfere with the graphic of the star. We'll have to wait until Tuesday to see what Judy's proposal is for the layout!  That will be followed by a border of cream and then a border of red, at least.  I'll decide after those two are on if I want to make it any bigger.  These are 12" blocks so it will quickly grow to a largish quilt (35 blocks total plus the borders). 

I hope everyone has nice plans for the 4th.  All my sibs and families except my sister will be over at my mom and dad's tomorrow night for BBQ and watching fireworks from the roof or backyard.  The community college where the city fireworks show is held is right behind my parents' house, so except for a street palm tree that is determined to block our view, we have pretty good seats. Oh, and we can see all the illegal fireworks being set off too.  Happy Independence Day!

Another Clue, Patriotic Fields

Clue #5 of Judy's Mystery Quilt was posted yesterday and I got right to work sewing my pinwheels and matching flying geese to the specified parts. 

Along with the pieced bars, Judy cleverly turned them into stars (hey--I just rapped!) and I am loving them in all the different fabrics.

Next week we'll get the layout for the top.  I'm hoping the chains will intersect in a beautiful way around these pinwheel stars!  On other fronts, the Strawberry Fields quiltalong project is a completed top, which I am calling Patriotic Fields.  I would have liked to have this done for the Independence Day holiday, but with my plan to hand quilt it, I'm not seeing a finish in the next four days!

This watermelon-y fabric was a gift some time ago from my newly married friend Tanya, with whom I'm having dinner Thursday night.  I might bring the top to show her.  Although not entirely in keeping with the vintage idea of the little quilt, it was the right color and was on hand!

I think the roses in the corner don't stand out as much now that the borders are on.  What say you--Aye or Nay?

Don't say Fire

See why I should never mention fire? We've had our first one of the season, and it was of the beloved landmark hill behind Ventura, Two Trees, so named because of the two Coast Live Oak trees gracing it.  I noticed the smoke on Friday when I went to lunch about 2 p.m.  Later there were helicopters and planes making water and retardant drops (photos courtesy of my mom).

 This fire was started by a 16 year old who was hiking with some friends from a local park and "found" a lighter. Stupidly he decided to see if it worked and the fire got started accidentally.  He tried to stomp it out but couldn't so called 911 and then warned some other hikers nearby about the fire.  There were 150 firefighters who battled the flames for about 4-5 hours until it was out, with some staying overnight to make sure there were no hotspots to flare up.  The 16 year old was cited by police and released to his parents. The trees were not damaged but there is an ugly black scar on the hill now--14 acres were burned.  Just a reminder of what a little idiocy can cause.  This land is all private property, hard to get to by vehicle as there are no direct roads.  There are gates and warning signs to keep people out, but obviously that doesn't stop them.  At least they should bring their brains.  I'm sure the youth did not mean to do what he did, but lighter-plus-dry-grass-equals-fire in a fairly linear fashion.  So be careful out there, people!

June Bugs

We actually haven't seen ANY June bugs this month but it has been too cool here yet, I think.  Not that I miss them, but that snap-squish they make when you smack 'em can be satisfying!  However, I digress from the purpose of this post--sewing progress!  First up, all the flying geese borders are on Erica's quilt top.  I only had to adjust the seams on a couple of the geese on one side to make them fit properly. That was one bug squished!

A close up of one of the corners.  This happens to be my favorite block (but not Erica's, which is why it is not in the center!).  I like how the corners came out.  The next border will finish at 7" and is a deep purple.  That's my next bug to squash, cutting that slippery suede-like material into 87" lengths.  Scary! 

Here's part of my Clue #4 pieces for the Mystery Quilt.  I love the large block.  How serendipitous that it turned out to be my favorite colors mixed in the one block for this Mystery Quilt.  Half of the flying geese I made now have the green bar on the bottom.  Judy is planning two more weeks of clues.  The bug for that is that I have to WAIT, now that I am all caught up with the sewing. I have a lovely pile of 17 of the big blocks that are making me very happy!

Now I'm off to cut purple suede borders and also work on an exciting idea I have for the back of Erica's quilt which I will share once she approves the plan.  I promise this one will work out a lot better than my last try at something special! 

Garden Tour and a Cat on a Mat

I am not much of a gardener but these plants are like iron and even I can't kill them: Mexican sage and daylilies.  I love orange!

This peachy orange is just yummy.

Golden Rain tree, just about to bloom.  This tree is less than 10 years old, I think, and started out as a stick no wider than my thumb in a 5 gallon pot. Someday it will shade the front of the house, though now it only its the driveway and garage!

Covered with yellow flower spikes.

Mini holding down my cutting mat for me.

Tonight is the once a month Bunco night again--the last four weeks sure have flown!

Jimmy Crack Corn and a Quilt Show

Saturday I picked up my mom to accompany me on some quilty outings.  On the way I was making up my own lyrics regarding my outfit, to the tune of Jimmy Crack Corn..."My legs are white and I don't care, my legs are white and I don't care, my legs are white and I don't caaarre, I'm wearing a skirt anyway!"  Seriously, wear your sunglasses.  Sorry, due to surface glare, no pics are possible.  

We went first to a charity quilt show/sale and silent auction fundraiser for a maternity home, with Amish style quilts by an acquaintance of my mom's.  Ardelle, who must be in her 80's, told us she went to an Amish exhibit in San Francisco several years ago and was inspired.  She has made over 400 table topper sized quilts since then--all hand pieced and hand quilted.  There were close to 200 quilts displayed around the church hall, all for sale for $25 or less.  I was stunned and wished I'd brought my checkbook, but did immediately plunk down my $20 bill for this lovely one:

My photography assistant, Mini, helped immensely of course.

The colors are not exactly coming through in these shots but she used a dulled down green, warm purple, and of course that orangey-red, and quilted it with purple thread.

Prior to discovering Amish quilts Ardelle used a lot of plaids and thrifted or donated fabrics.  I own a little square quilt of hers that I cover my sewing machine with.  Here's one of her "before the Amish" log cabin quilts, in a typical size (pic from several yrs ago). 

I hope Ardelle's quilts sold like hotcakes and a lot of money was raised.  At those prices for that kind of work, who could pass it up?

We then went downtown to the County Museum where a juried quilt show has been hanging for months--this was the last weekend so we barely made it.  Very interesting art quilts, most of them small but incredibly detailed.  I loved this one the most:

It was probably the most traditional of all the quilts displayed.  The thread work for the leaves was amazing.

This pic below does not convey the intense colors of the quilt, which was probably 24-30 inches square and just gorgeous.

It was fascinating to read the "process" stories of the quilts.

A nearly bed-sized quilt was on display but this closeup shows the "quilting".

It is a quilt of paper advertisements, attached to a paper backing and quilted with brads.  Very clever.  I hope you can read the description below.  The pic should be somewhat clickable.

After the quilty fun, Mom and I had lunch at a little outdoor cafe and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  I visited with my dad too and admired the work they've been doing on their yard, with the help of my nephew.  Late that night I finally got to some sewing and stayed up until 1 AM to finish all of the Mystery Quilt Clue #3.  The little four patches are now a chain.  

I have no idea where Judy is going with this, but with geese, pinwheels, chains and bars, it is going to be one dynamic quilt!  Tomorrow Clue #4 is posted and I'll find out what to do with the last of the unsewn building blocks. Very exciting!

Bad Company

Friday I left work a bit early so Grant and I could have a date with Paul Rodgers.  Well, there were several hundred other people there too, but it was still just the two of us together.  We drove about an hour and a half north to the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez.  The Indian casinos are everywhere in California now and are hugely popular.  The Chumash were the Native Americans who lived in much of the Southern California coast when the Spanish explorers arrived in the 1700s.  It was a beautiful drive along the coast from Ventura to Santa Barbara, then we turned inland over the San Marcos Pass.  We took this road home from our trip to Pismo Beach for our anniversary in February and I shared this picture:

It was very green and lush in February, which is typically our rainiest month.  This is what it looked like on Friday, four months later:

All that green has turned golden and dry and the deep green of the Coast Live Oak trees really stands out. 

It has not been too hot yet but the fire crews are all tuned up and we fervently hope that they don't stay very busy this year. 

We ate at a steakhouse in the quaint little downtown and then filed into the smoky casino for the show.  Luckily there was no smoking allowed in the theater.  Paul Rodgers, of Bad Company and other bands, known as 'The Voice', still has it going on at age 60.  It was a great show, though of course too short for all the fans.  Grant and his bandmates cover several of his songs in their playlist, such as "All Right Now" and "Bad Company".  It's great to see live music any time, especially great rock and roll!  Grant and his bandmates have a chance to play at the County Fair this year.  He should hear in a few days if they made the cut.  It would be great fun to see them sing these songs in the open air bandstand at the Fair!