Fun with Linda!

My friend Linda from Washington state just left after five days of fun -- hiking, gardens, art, quilts and Mexican food! Here she is in a fabulous wrap that I badly wanted her to accidentally leave at my house. We were wrapped up against the cold at Agua Caliente Park, which has a palm oasis and ponds fed by hot and cold springs. But it was so cold and windy that we just took a few pictures and got back in the car.

We also went to two quilt shops that day and each bought a Laura Heine collage pattern. I bought the Cactus Queen and Linda bought the reindeer pattern. I've never made a Laura Heine quilt, and I'm eager to dive into my stash and pull out lots of colorful fabric.

After the quilt shops, we had our second Mexican meal of her visit, at my favorite, the Eclectic Cafe. The night before, after she arrived, we went to Guadalahara's but I forgot to get pictures. That's the restaurant where they wheel a cart of salsa fixings up to your table and make a huge bowl for you with as much or as little spice as you want. We asked for medium but it was closer to hot!

The next day the weather improved, so we hiked in the morning at Catalina State Park (look at little Linda next to that saguaro) and went to Tohono Chul Park in the afternoon.

There was an exhibit of Oaxacan rugs at Tohono Chul, and we feasted on the colors. The wool is colored with natural dyes, and two of the weavers were there for us to talk to. The rugs were a little out of my price range, but I'd love to have some in my home.

Tohono Chul has some beautiful architectural elements, like this wall below.

The next day, we saw an exhibit of Mata Ortiz pottery, also from Mexico. It was at the National Parks Store in Oro Valley, where I take a lot of my visitors because it has beautiful native crafts and art. Mata Ortiz is a town of more than 480 professional artists who dig local clay, create mineral-based pigments from local materials, and use paintbrushes of human hair. The details are exquisite! We watched one of the artists carve intricate patterns in the vessel below.

We also went to a quilt show that day with our friend Nancy. It was at Sun City in Oro Valley and had some beautiful quilts as well as smaller quilted gifts, books, magazines and patterns for sale. I had to get their picture in front of this particular quilt because it matched their clothes.

I love that there were little displays of old sewing items scattered among the quilts.

I almost bought one of these Japanese rice bags with boro stitching then decided I should just make one myself.

And, of course, we were out front watching the sunsets at 6:15. It was a really fun visit!!!

Have a colorful day