Fixing things 02-24-25

After 25 Years I still miss my late husband, Floyd, in many ways.  And one big lack is his handiness.   His degrees were in Mechanical Engineering,  but he had a natural curiosity and ability to figure out how to make or fix just about anything.  Based on our years together, I can sometimes come up with a fix for something, but don't have the skill or dexterity to carry it out.  I bought a collapsible cane to always carry in my car, but it doesn't have enough of a hook to hang it on anything.  I need some kind of material to form a lump on the long side of the handle.  I know there must be something on the market that would be formable and permanently stick to the plastic.   Any Ideas?  

                                     

I am FINALLY recovering from the RSV virus.  Today we did 5511 steps/2.35 miles walking in the park and around the neighborhood.  I also went to my Fitness appointment and felt energized when I walked out.  Good progress. 

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The park has reopened 03-22-24

Construction is complete on Parque de Arroyo Verde, the park we look into from our backyard.   It is now a "play"  park with many different physical activities, including six or seven climbing structures, a cement ping-pong table, a zip line, many metal benches, and cement tables w/benches attached.  The grand opening was yesterday afternoon (after  being rained out twice before) and it was a gorgeous sunshiny day.  KoKo and I walked about 5:30pm and walked all the way to the back, which is what we see from our house.  

The view from our backyard. 

And the view from the park.  Our house is the blue/grey one on the right.

Looking  back at the entrance on Palm Drive.  The white vertical poles at bottom right are the zipline supports.  On the left is another climbing  structure.

We will walk there again in the future, although KoKo is not impressed because there are no low bushes that he needs to water.

In a nostalgic vein....  Today was anniversary 50 for Floyd and I. And it has been 34 years since his death.  Time just slips away, doesn't it. 

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Scraps - continuing 11-16-21

A long post.... In the 40s and 50s quilts were mostly made from scraps, so I am rather addicted to them and cut various squares and triangles to store for when I need them. When my late husband was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor I could not seem to concentrate on anything else but his illness and needs. I started sewing 1 1/2" scraps into squares - 100 scraps equals a ten inch block and continue. It was mindless. A box of dark and a box of light, pull one from each box and sew them together into a string of ten sets, then add another light or dark to each row. 

Like I said, mindless, but something to occupy my hands.  The only choice I made was to include red in every ten inch block.

Ultimately the blocks were sashed with red and made into quilts for philanthropy. In the past 30+ years I have continued to make my scraps into squares and triangles  and I have learned to use Wonder Under and other fusibles. I wondered what I could do with the squares and the fusible, so as part of my SAQA 100 day project I started a panel. 

Choosing a backing of plaid  to try to keep the rows even and ironing a layer of fusible to the wrong side to provide a neutral background in case any showed through, I just started laying out colors. It is rather addicting so that whenever I walked past the table I would stop and try to put in few more pieces; like having a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table.

I didn't start this until August 31st and the 100 days ended last week, but I haven't finished the panel. I rediscovered my propensity for using fabrics that appear as one or two colors and I don't seem to use much blue and almost no pink. It is an eye opener. It has been a 100 days of trying to corral my thoughts and get back to being creative and I would like to be part of the next 100 day project starting in January. I think I have learned how to make use of the opportunity and the time.  Some participants even finished an original design quilt, something to aspire to!

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"Last Walk in Autumn" 11-03-18

Autumn it always a time of memories for me.  My late husband Floyd and I both loved the season and especially to go up to the east slope of the Sierra for a last camping trip of the year.   He died in 1990 and when I participated in the Journal Project in 2007 this is one of the quilts (8-1/2" X 11") that I made.  It is based on several photos taken on our last trip in 1989.   I pin it up for a month or so this time of year. 

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July - Time for the mimosa trees to bloom 07-02-18

I don't remember seeing mimosa trees until I was an adult and moved to SCalifornia.  Although my sister and I came down from Portland about every other summer to see our paternal grandparents, we always came the last half of August and went home just after Labor Day.  So, the glorious mimosas blooming in July were a surprise when I moved to Arcadia in 1957.  

Their blooming closely follows and sometimes overlaps that of the jacaranda trees. 

In 1974 Floyd and I planted a mimosa in front of the townhouse in Fullerton where we lived for 16 years.  It was glorious when covered with those pink powder puffs, especially when viewed from the upstairs bedroom window. 

Mimosas shed something constantly (tiny leaves, blossoms, pods), but Floyd was always out there cleaning the debris from the driveway.  It was an exercise he enjoyed, I guess, just like he enjoyed vacuuming.  His odd quirk and my saving grace! 

 

The pods rattle in the breeze, reminding me of the sound of a rocky stream.  Very relaxing. 

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Another new Pamela Allen quilt in TCQC 08-31-14

As I said last Sunday, I do love Pamela's work.  It is so spontaneous, like a quick pencil sketch of a fleeting idea.  Of course, I know how many hours it takes to make even the smallest quilt and I appreciate her ability to make the finish product seem spontaneous. 

 

"Watching TV in Bed"  Pamela Allen  2014  9.5"W x 7.5"L

This quilt evokes sweet memories of my late husband.  Although we never had a TV in the bedroom, when he was ill we would snuggle in bed and talk about our life together. It is time that I now cherish.

Just look at all the hand embroidery Pamela has put into this small piece; French knots for curly hair and long straight stitches create elegant hands.
 

Her hair is detached chain stitch (what we called "lazy daisy" back in the day)  and the screen in the background looks like a couched filling stitch. 

This is the door on the TV set.  Just straight stitches going in different directions.  Forty years ago I might have gotten out my embroidery scissors and trimmed off all these loose ends, but now I see them as part of the charm of the composition - the "mark" of the artist.

The backing has no relation to the front, perhaps a small piece left from another project.  And her very informative and easy to read label finishes it off.

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Memories in Autumn 11-03-11

Toward the end of October 1989 my late husband and I took our last trip together up to the east slope of the Sierra to camp at our favorite fishing spot, Bishop Creek Campground.  It was a glorious autumn that year, with brilliant yellow and gold all around us.  This year I had hoped to take a few days to drive up there on a sentimental journey, but I may have missed my chance this year as snow is predicted for the Sierra.
 
As you can see from the label below, I made this 17"W x 22"L quilt for the 2007 Journal Quilt project which required the artists to use new techniques.   I had not done many photos on fabric so I needed to do some experimenting to get what I needed.  There have been a few photo-to-fabric efforts since 2007, but not many.  I like the way this quilt turned out, but I don't hang it often because it makes me sad.  After 21 years and 9 months I still miss him and think often of how things might have been without the cancer.

"Last Walk in Autumn" 10-31-07

The Houston Quilt Festival opens tomorrow, so I am posting my Journal Quilt tonight. A full picture (all the quilts in the exhibit are 17"W x 22"L), a detail shot and am image of the label. Some of the fabric was hand dyed by Mary Leakey of San Juan Bautista and some by Elizabeth Barton of Athens, GA.

I wish I could be in Houston just to see this last exhibit of Journal Quilts. If you are there, take a picture for me, eh?