snowing blizzards

Quilting by the Lake

Posted on 24 August 2010 | No responses

I’m finally feeling that I can focus, maybe just maybe.  Sam has basically not napped since we arrived back home and it is killing me.  By the time she goes to bed all I want to do it crawl into bed.  Seriously, the last 2 nights I was asleep by 9:30.  Thus I haven’t had the most productive month.

Anyway, my week at Quilting by the Lake was awesome.  It was taught by Kerby Smith of The Digital Quilt.  He is a photographer by trade and a quilter by chance.  I love it when the wives get the men in their lives quilting.    Anyway, the week started out slow (at least for me), learning how to set up the file systems that he wanted us to use.  I was kept busy because it was the first time he had ever had over 50% of the class using macs and he doesn’t really know macs.  I liked being able to help because at least it kept me busy.  I also had some hand quilting that I was working on and that helped as well.

Towards the middle and end of the second day we made it outside to do some actual photography and after a slight cf card issue (it was corrupt) I was all set to wander and shoot.  I got some neat pictures and it helped me decide what I wanted to work on.  Luckily I happen to like taking pictures of flowers and was able to go back in my photos from the past and pull from there as well.  I also got extension tubes for my camera and with the help of a tripod (don’t try to use them without, it’s challenging at best) I got some really neat pictures of the flowers in my moms garden.

The rest of the week was spent learning how to edit in Adobe Elements and how to edit specifically for printing on fabric.  While printing on fabric has come a long way it can still be challenging to get the colors correct.  We also learned about pigment vs dye printers and what to look for in an ink jet printer.  It was very helpful to talk to someone who has tested almost every thing out there and is willing to share his experiences.

After an exhausting week (Adobe can really turn your brain into mush) I had a bunch of images and ideas that have been festering in my brain waiting for me to have time & energy to do something with them.

And here are a few that I did at the end just to learn how to play with effects and what not:

summering

Posted on 25 July 2010 | No responses

We’ve been on the east coast for most of July enjoying a proper summer.  Hot, muggy and thunderstorms, feels perfect.  I should also mention that I changed my flickr settings on many of my pictures with Sam in them because of a somewhat creepy mail I received about wanting to use a photo of her.  I therefore broke most of my previous weblog photos in the process.  I’m hoping to have time to go back and fix that soon.

Here are some photos from the adventures we’ve had.

I spent the last 5 days at Quilting by the Lake and have a big blog post brewing in my head about it.  I just need to have time to sit down and actually write it.  Maybe later this week…

Tooting my own horn

Posted on 5 July 2010 | No responses

A few months ago I submitted my “Building Communities” quilt into the quilt show at Quilting by the Lake.  I received notification that is was accepted!  I had made it my personal goal to have a quilt that I felt was show worthy and that I would submit it this year.  I never really expected it to be accepted.  The details of the show are as follows:

Quilt Show Hours: Sunday, July 18 – Thursday, July 29, 11:30am – 5:30pm & on Tuesdays, July 20 & 27 from 7 – 9pm.  CLOSED: Saturday, July 24

Open to the public. General admission is $6. Registered QBL participants, Schweinfurth Art Center members & children under 12 are free.

Directions as provided by QBL

If you’re in the area please come by and see the exhibit.  It’s a wonderful show and not one of those big mammoth ones like PIQF.  If you happen to  be at OCC and have time it would also be worth driving over to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center.  They have a Nancy Crow exhibit that I hear is quite stunning.

Miscellaneous

Posted on 11 June 2010 | Comments Off

I have a bunch of pictures that I keep meaning to post but don’t have a full post for.  So here they are in all their random glory.

growing in our yard

Posted on 7 June 2010 | Comments Off

We have entered the true growing season here in the last few weeks.  Our yard and it’s tiny patch of garden space is proving to be quite prolific.  Not to mention the trees that have been here for seemingly quite a while.  Here are some snapshots of what we have growing.

Not pictured: pumpkins, cucumber, green beans, herbs galore, kumquats and the oranges the never ending oranges.

doll blanket

Posted on 7 June 2010 | Comments Off

Sam was invited to a little girls 4th birthday party last weekend.  Originally Chris had told me that it was the Saturday of Memorial day weekend which left me 2 days to find a gift for a little girl that I had only met once.  I asked Sam if she wanted to get her a book or help me pick fabrics for a baby doll blanket.  She picked the latter and we got to work going through my fabric scraps.  The end result was Sam swimming and rolling in the scraps and me trying to pick some out as they went flying by.  Never let it be said that she doesn’t like fabric & texture.

The next day during nap time I started sewing all the scraps together and the following day (2 hours before the start of the party) I finished it.  Only then as I looked up the address of the party did I realize that it was in fact a week later.  Sigh.  At least we didn’t show up before we realized that.

A great time was had and hopefully now that the mothers have met, exchanged numbers and since we only live 2 blocks from each other we will get together more often.

Blogger’s Quilt Festival/It’s Done!

Posted on 21 May 2010 | 18 responses

I finally finished the quilt that I started at Quilting By the Lake last summer.  I have to say that I love it.  I’m incredibly happy with the way it came out.  There were some bumps along the way but they ironed themselves out (some literally) and I think it turned out great.

For those of you joining me from the Blogger’s Quilt Festival let me tell you about this quilt.  I started it last summer at QBL in a class taught by Jane Sassaman.  She is a wonderful teacher and the class was full of other inspiring women who were warm and welcoming.  While I was taking the week long class all of our worldly belongings were winding their way across the country to the new city we were moving to.  It was quite a stressful time for all of us and it was utterly fantastic that I had been given (thanks mom!) this week where I was able to reconnect with my craft and that it happened to coincide perfectly with moving was an awesome side benefit.

I have titled the quilt building communities as it seems like that was what was foremost on my mind that week, and during the process of completing this quilt that is what I have been doing.  Slowly but surely I/we have been building a new community for myself and my family.  It is also clear (to me anyway) that my past is as evident in this quilt as my future.  Having spent so much time in/surrounded by India and Indian art all my life has had a very profound influence on me.  It has influenced the way I view color, pattern, texture and the way that I view life.  Who knows what my future holds in store but I’m sure that with time the beautiful scenery, landscapes, people and culture out here on the west coast will also find it’s way into my craft.  I can’t wait to see what it brings.

I hope that you have enjoyed stopping by, I am so grateful to be able to share this quilt with you.  I would like to say thank you to Amy for being so kind to host the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, it is a truly special event and something that I have been looking forward to all winter.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank Jane for teaching the class that helped me to reconnect with my craft in a way that I hadn’t been able to do for too many years.  It was an honor to be in your class and to see you work.  I won’t forget it for a long time.  With your help I was able to remember what it was that I love so much about quilting.  Thank You.

I finally crossed the Golden Gate Bridge

Posted on 19 May 2010 | Comments Off

We’ve lived here for what, 10 months?  I am embarrassed to admit that it took that long to cross it.  We finally did cross it a few weeks ago.  We went to see the Point Bonita Lighthouse and stopped by the old bunker that was installed there I believe during WWII.  The west coast is so unbelievably gorgeous that I’ll just let you look at the pics.

Does “Organic” Make Junk Food Any Better For Us?

Posted on 19 May 2010 | Comments Off

I borrowed the majority of the title from this re-nest article.  In the article they say “In a study released by the Cornell Food & Brand Lab, results showed that people assumed that snacks labeled organic contained up to 40 percent fewer calories than they actually do.”

For a long time I have grappled with how to deal with this issue myself.  I remember watching on episode of Jon and Kate plus 8 (a guilty indulgence that made me feel good about having 1 kid) and watching her spread mashmallow fluff on 8 sandwiches while saying “oh but it’s organic.”  To which I believe I yelled at the TV “BUT THAT DOESN’T MAKE IT HEALTHY!!!”  For me junk is junk even if it has “organic” on the label, but I also realize there are a lot of people out there who for ones reason of another believe that it is healthier.

Somehow someone(s) needs to do more to help the general public realize that “organic” does not across the board mean healthier.  Annie’s Cheddar bunnies, organic potato chips, organic fig newtons (the list goes on really) are junk, tasty and delicious yes, but still junk.  And they will get you as fat as the regular non-organic ones.  Please keep this in mind the next time you find yourself thinking that the “organic” one must automatically be the better choice, maybe you should steer clear of it altogether.

What Sam’s reading

Posted on 13 May 2010 | Comments Off

A friend asked me today what Sam was reading about a year ago and for the life of me I can’t fully remember.  Some of them I know because we’re still reading them but some I just can’t remember.  On that note I figured I’d write down what she’s reading now so that in another year I can look back here and remember.

Fancy Nancy By Jane O’Connor

Angelina Ballerina By Katharine Holabird

Max and Ruby By Rosemary Wells

Little Bear By Elsa Holmelund Minarik

Frog and Toad By Arnold Lobel

anything by Mo Willems

Dr Seuss

Llama Llama Mad at Mama & co By Anna Dewdney

Olivia By Ian Falconer

Eloise By Kay Thompson

The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein

Where the Wild Things Are By Maurice Sendak

Harold and the Purple Crayon By Crockett Johnson

The Little Mole Who Went in Search of Whodunit By Werner Holzwarth and Wolf Erlbruch

anything by Jan Brett

Biscuit By Alyssa Capucilli

I’m sure there are more but those are the ones that have surfaced for me to read in my most recent memory.

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