las floras

After a maze of freeways to avoid the big Dodgers 50th celebration, and a U-turn in Glendale for missing the 5 North, Tracy, Bob (B's parents) and I made our way to the Glendale Quilting Guild's 2008 show at the Marriott in Burbank yesterday.

Tracy noticed that there were a lot more quilts displayed which were quilted professionally than in past shows. She also noted that the quilts appeared to be more complex as well.

By far, our unanimous favorite quilt was the "Las Floras" quilt by Pat Rollie. It seems we weren't the only ones in awe because there always seemed to be a crowd in front of it, trying to comprehend the amount of work put into the piece. The judges must've also agreed since this quilt won First Prize for Large Applique. A lot of attention was put into the backside of the quilt as well, which we were able to see with the assistance of a white-gloved quilt show volunteer.

for pins and things

Yesterday, we were off to our usual early start on the weekend. I don't know why it's so much easier to wake up and get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. on the weekends. I wish I could sleep in, but it just doesn't seem to happen any more.

Since our plans to go hunting at the flea markets were foiled on Saturday morning due to matching pounding headaches from a long-needed margarita night at Baja Betty's a few blocks from our apartment, we headed out to be among the first arrivals at the swap meet on Sunday. Of course, there were lots of folks already there, but we were still part of the Early Bird crowd, getting there before 8 o'clock.

My find for the day were a couple of saucer-type ceramics from Japan. I like to use small dishes when crafting to catch loose threads, scraps or pins. My work station is still the dining room table and it helps to have something on the table to collect the loose threads which would otherwise find a new home underneath the table.

The only tasks I have left before my next class is to cut the strips for the inner border and binding. Can't wait until we get sewing again. I don't mind the free time though...had my first bass lesson yesterday. My pinky is supposed stretch how far?

first blocks

What a day I had on Thursday. Work has been really been demanding the past few weeks and I decided to treat myself to a leisurely lunch at Whisknladle in La Jolla Village. At the top of the hill, on Torrey Pines Rd., my clutch lost pressure for a split moment. At the bottom of the hill, my car halted when I tried to go when the light turned green. uh-oh. Turned the key and it started up again, so I continued driving to the village. Thought I'd let the car settle in a parking spot while I ate lunch. I didn't quite make to my destination...the car decided to stop running right across the street from the restaurant. I barely made it out of the line of traffic and into a red zone.

This was supposed to be a break to relieve some of the stress, right? Plan B. I got on the phone to arrange for a tow truck and also let my mechanic know that I'd be dropping the car off. I was getting hungry, but couldn't leave my car, so I stalked one of the servers at the patio of Karl Strauss Brewing and basically created my own take-out window. Great buffalo turkey burger!

I was determined to still make it to my second quilting class. I arranged for a rental car and later that day was on my way to Carlsbad with my sewing machine and supplies. I arrived an hour late, but made good time catching up cutting my blocks for my Just Can't Cut It quilt.

The fabric patterns looked good when I was picking them out, but now that I'm sewing them together, they're throwing me off a bit. I did get some help from my instructor and the helpful staff at Sowing Sisters, so maybe I just need to be patient and see it all come together.

Oh yeah, the first time I got back in battle mode with Slash, I "rocked."

waking up to hail

We were woken up by loud, clanking noises against the window at 5:15 a.m. It was hail! We realized this would be a short-lived passing during the storm, so we headed down to the pool to check out the layer of ice pellets on the ground.

Back on the crafts front, I've started taking a quilting class at Sowing Sisters in Carlsbad. Choosing fabrics for our project (anchored by an Amy Butler print, of course) was a nice diversion from the "unfun" past few weeks at work. I'll be washing the fabrics this weekend to remove any residual dyes on the fabric before starting the project during our next class.

I haven't started my bass lessons with Brian yet, but we did put in about three hours by his estimate of Guitar Hero III yesterday afternoon. I stopped after being knocked out of a guitar challenge against Slash. How does he keep the same hair style for decades? What if he wears one of those hats with fake hair attached -- like the caps with attached dreadlocks at the tourist shops?