Looking back at Pacific Grove visit 09-06-11

On Wednesday, August 31, Mary and I drove to Pacific Grove to have lunch and fondle some fabric.

Lunch, of course, was at the Red House, my favorite spot in Pacific Grove.  This was my view out the window looking to the West.  The sun did come out while we were there - it turned into a beautiful day.

First, I had a latte.  Not as good as Starbuck's, but adequate.

Mary ordered one of the specials - sand dabs - and let me have a bite.  M-m-m-m, good!

I had my "usual" the Portabello sandwich (with extra sauce).  I've eaten it so many times and always enjoy it.  But this time I had a sulfite attack afterward and I don't know what might have had sulfites added for "freshness" - maybe the sauce?  I will have to find out before I order it again.

We stopped at the market for an olallieberry pie for our birthday celebration.  And it was delicious!

Then we stopped at Back Porch Fabrics where we were greeted by the color coordinated Wendy.  It is always so colorful at this shop and Wendy just added an extra note.

Kathleen was folding colorful fat quarters and ready to cut our fabric - whenever we made up our minds. 

 

Back at Mary's I had to photograph her deck flower boxes - should have clipped out the dead marigold first!

 

I love the color of this petunia and it goes so well with the marigold and the sweet alyssum.

It was a lovely, quiet visit with Mary and Joe.  I didn't go out at all after the day in Pacific Grove, so I was quite well rested by the time I headed home on Sunday.   It is a treasured friendship and I appreciate all that they do for me. 

PIQF #5 New Quilts of NCalifornia 10-19-09

New Quilts of Northern California is an annual exhibit of quilts from members of guilds that compose the Northern California Council of Quilt Guilds. It is a juried exhibit. Unfortunately, their labels don't give size, so if I forget to estimate at the time I take the photo I have to guess.

Be sure to click on the images to enlarge.

I estimate this quilt is about 22"W x 26"L

It is difficult to see against the black background, but the bottom edge forms a point.

Black glass leaves make a nice counterpoint to the flat cotton and add a bit of sparkle.


The word Hukilau immediately brings images of the movie "Dirty Dancing" to my mind. And I think this quilt does resembled the nets with their floats in the water.

I guess this quilt is about 48"W x 52"L.

14.25"W x 48"L

Somehow I missed a detail shot of this quilt - it is heavily hand embroidered with matching ? perle cotton?. The texture is wonderful. Perhaps it will show in the enlargement.

Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature. "Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and the suggestion of natural processes." From Wikipedia. Also check out http://tinyurl.com/556dz2

What a marvelous collection of Japanese blue and white fabrics. This is the lower portion of the quilt, it is very long and lays out on the floor, so people can't get too close. .

Roberta has added many horizontal strips of (possibly) Japanese silk in mostly red values.

If you enlarge the picture by clicking on it you will be able to see that the flowing quilting lines are machine stitched in dark blue thread and hand stitched in red, white and dark blue perle cotton. This is a quilt in which you will discover something new each time you look at it.