Pamela's fundraiser quilts

Some of Pamela's quilted fundraiser items.

One of the great things about blogs is the ability to sign up as a "follower" of blogs that interest you. Every day when I sign on, I get a list of new posts on my favorite blogs -- sort of like being handed a morning briefing at work, except instead of being about "work" it's about "play."

I always look forward to an update from the

 Art of Being Pamela blog:

http://www.artofbeing-pamela.blogspot.com

So today I'm publishing a link to Pam's blog post about a project she started last year at the Michigan hospital where she is a nurse. This year, she distributed pieces of fabric that co-workers made into quilt blocks. Then she collected the blocks and turned them into two small quilts, three art quilts, three pillows and two tote bags that will be sold to raise money for the Sue Maher Foundation.

You can see more photos at her colorful blog here:

http://artofbeing-pamela.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-can-almost-see-end-to-this-project.html

Happy blogging, and thanks to all of you who "follow" me. I love seeing your faces every morning when I sign on.

Have a colorful day

Long Beach quilt festival and California color!

I flew down to California last week for the International Quilt Festival-Long Beach and to visit family. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this sign in an alley in Redondo Beach.

Before we even got out of the Los Angeles airport I was soaking in the colors, like the mouth-watering tile mosaics we passed on our way to baggage claim. My daughter and I couldn't resist posing by sections that coordinated with our clothes, and check out her thrift store vintage green suitcase!

The tiles might inspire a quilt titled

"Avocado Salad by Turquoise Pool."

Day 2 was the big quilt festival, and here's the colorful scene that welcomed us at the convention center in Long Beach:

This calm quilt by Sue Andrus, "Stained Glass and Ferns," was declared the favorite of the friend who drove me to the show:

As Sue explains in the sign below (click on it to enlarge for a clearer view), she used sun printing to achieve the fern designs. I knew Sue's name from the quiltart.com list, so if you'd like to see more of her art check out her sites:

Art Quilts on ArtFire- http://www.AndrusGardensQuilts.artfire.com
Gift Items on ArtFire- http://www.AndrusGardens.artfire.com
NEW!Patterns& More on ArtFire- http://www.AndrusGardensDesigns.artfire.com
Blog- Works in progress, inspirations and more- http://andrusgardensquilts.com/blog
Main Website- http://www.andrusgardensquilts.com

There were so many fabulous art quilts that I couldn't pick a favorite, but high on my list was this happy quilt by Ceceile Francis.

I'm especially drawn to abstract work with strong colors and simple shapes. This quilt by Chantal Dupont was striking.

I didn't take many other photos because I just wanted to walk and gawk, but you can check out festival photos and news at the official show site by clicking here: http://www.quilts.com/lbqf11/enVivo/

Photography wasn't allowed in the vendor booths or in some of the exhibits, but you can see some of those areas by going to the quilts.com site.

 

The rest of the trip was all about the beach, food and family, but I was still on the lookout for color. The richly embroidered cushions above were at a vegetarian restaurant in Redondo Beach called the Green Temple, where we had healthy food surrounded by a lush courtyard setting and peaceful Buddha art.

We also ate at a Mexican restaurant, where Julia gives thumbs up to the velvet painting. She loves vintage kitsch and has a most hideous Don Quixote orange velvet painting from a thrift store.

Every time I visit Redondo Beach I photograph this lifeguard station. It's usually deserted in winter, but in summer the cute lifeguard car with its surf board shows up.

This is the beach where we have photos of my son trying to feed himself sand with his little plastic shovel when he was a baby, and here he is all grown up.

Then it was time to head home. One last photo with my kids, parents and brother:

More airport art called to me when we landed at Sea-Tac. Its colors are fittingly more subdued than the dazzling tiles in LAX.

Have a colorful day

Corn towers and potatoes

It's one month after Farmer Dick's corn was knee high by the Fourth of July, and now it towers over his head! Now if our nice warm weather will just hold out a little longer ...

That's his dog, Ben Bailey, who you may remember reading about last year for his birthday party. Click here to read "Dog Party Delivers."

Even though Dave wanted to wait until later to harvest potatoes, I couldn't resist digging around a little. The reds and Yukon golds are big and beautiful, so we're having some tonight. (Dave won't know -- he's kayaking in Alaska and won't see this until he emerges from the wilderness.)

Across the street, Rosemary's nasturtiums and baby's breath are looking good:

Have a colorful day!

Seattle-L.A. from the air

Mt. St. Helens volcano, from airplane window.

Just back from visiting the International Quilt Festival-Long Beach and family in L.A. My first report is a bird's eye view of the trip from my Alaska Air window. 

Soon after taking off from Seattle, we passed over Mt. St. Helens, giving us this spectacular view of the side of the volcano that was blown off more than 20 years ago.

Another view of the volcano.

VACATION HAPPENED,

THEN THE RETURN FLIGHT:

Taking off from Los Angeles, we swooped out over the ocean and got a final view of the long beach.

The ocean is in the distance, with arid developments coming into view below us.

Soon we were over the mountains and into clouds ...

... but not for long. Soon we were through the clouds and flying over farmland, which I think was in Oregon.

Finally, home came into view -- literally. I can see the little cove on Wollochet Bay where we live in this photo, but it was another two hours before we landed, caught the shuttle, and finally arrived home. That's Tacoma in the foreground, the Narrows Bridge (one mile long) connecting Tacoma to Gig Harbor, and Fox Island on the left.

More on the quilt festival and other colorful L.A. sites soon.

Have a colorful day

Ready for Long Beach quilt festival!

My quilting/embroidery/beading travel kit is packed, and in 36 hours I'll be headed to Long Beach, CA, for the ...

International Quilt Festival!

This little quilt will fold up into the travel case (a freebie from Clinique) along with scissors, needles, embroidery thread, beads, and beading thread. It weighs next to nothing and hardly takes any space, but it will keep me busy for hours.

Here's a closer look at the embroidery and beading. It's so meditative -- I don't have to think and I'm in no rush to finish. All I have to do is enjoy the colors as I sew them down. I've already made two passes around the main motif with different embroidery stitches, and now I'm making a third pass with beads.

I hope it's sunny in California, because we've had too much rain here lately. Above are the brave Feet and Forks women taking a break during a chilly, wet hike this week.

Earlier this month, I snapped these gorgeous plants in Nancy's garden. Luscious colors and patterns ... quilt inspiration.

Have a colorful day

Pie crust and garden bounty

I learned to make a pie crust yesterday!

My neighbor, the expert, had a little lesson for myself and another neighbor. That's mine on the left, in a pottery pie dish I bought at our local farmer's market. Our crusts turned out so flaky and light that I could hardly believe it.

I never had luck making crusts before, even though I followed directions exactly. They always cracked and fell apart. The problem, I discovered yesterday, is my hot dry hands. I just had to pat extra water on the dough as I handled it.

So I took my prebaked crust home and filled it with fresh peaches and blueberries tossed in a light fruit glaze that I made from my neighbor's recipe. This is all that was left this morning, and now it's all gone. It was delicious!

After mastering crusts yesterday morning, I shelled peas from our garden for hours last night. This is so much nicer than getting food at the grocery store. I hate the atmosphere in supermarkets -- not enough natural light and too much packaging and artificial food.

I picked a nice bowl of this romaine today for a salad tonight.

The bean stalks are growing like Jack's magic beans ...

The corn is lush ...

And this is a little medley of Swiss chard, kale and beets. Tonight will be a tomato-goat cheese quiche with onions, basil and parsley from the garden in my OWN pie crust; a saute of chard, kale, red peppers and garlic; and a crisp green salad.

Have a flavorful day!