Tour of Mexican Ports

Here's an unusual angle of the Holland America cruise ship we travelled to Mexico on.

The harbor at Cabo San Lucas isn't large enough for cruise ships, so we had to take one of the smaller boats ashore. My husband took this shot on the way back. Although it looks huge, the Zaandam is actually a medium size ship that holds about 1400 passengers. I still can't figure out why they would hang this sign on the rooftop of a restaurant. Bad translation perhaps? It did get my attention, but I didn't eat there. The harbor was pretty, but I wasn't in the mood to have people trying to sell me trinkets. We decided that tours were the way to go. And here we are . . . a Town, Country and Tequila Factory Tour in Puerto Vallarta. In the foreground is the fruit of the blue agave. They cook it in the brick oven for 8 hours, then process and ferment it. The pulp tastes a bit like sweet potatoes. Wonderful tequila (bought two bottles), gorgeous setting, colors and . . .

yummy tacos too!

Our third and final port was Mazatlan. Beautiful beaches and a fantastic outdoor sculpture collection. Yes, these are aliens climbing a ladder, and there are more aliens on the ground!

These are the famous (and crazy, IMHO) cliff divers. What a gorgeous dive. They have to time the waves perfectly in order to survive, the water is only 7 feet deep.

Hope you enjoyed the short tour of Mexico.

Wonky 9-Patch Finished

Can it be true? I actually finished some old projects. First, was the log cabin that now resides with my son in Topanga Canyon. Next in line were a couple of small wall quilts which I forgot to photograph, and the latest is this wonky 9-patch baby sized quilt.

I really like the cheerful colors in this one.

Here's a close up showing the wonky quilting. It feels great to finally get this finished.

And here is the next pile of quilts I'll be working on. I backed all of them with batting and added a ton of safety pins. A couple of years ago, I started quilting through the top and batting only. No backing. I do a fair amount of quilting and like the stability that the batting provides. When I finish all the stitching, I sew all the layers together, all the way around, with no opening. I cut an X through the backing layer and flip the whole thing inside out through the X. I quilt around some of the major areas, cover the X with a label or with the hanging sleeve and it's done. I'm not sure how long I'll continue to use this method, but for now, it suites me just fine.

Does anyone else out there quilt through two layers? I'm sure I can't be the only one!

Where Has the Time Gone?

So much has happened since I last posted. Here are a few highlights: the Santa Barbara quilt show, an exhibit with Fibervision, a trip to PIQF and the most exciting news, even though it's not quilt related: my husband won a 7 day Blues Cruise to Mexico.

Imagine 90 concerts in 7 days and three ports to explore. Here's part of the lineup: Johnny and Edgar Winter, Los Lobos, The Lowrider Bank, Elvin Bishop, Cafe R & B, Kelly Hunt, Tommy Castro, Elvin Bishop, etc.

I've never considered myself much of a portrait photographer, but it looks as if the tables have turned. I really got some great shots of the performers on this cruise.

Edgar Winter

Johnny Winter

This is the first time that the Winter brothers performed together.

Roach from Cafe R & B

Howard Scott from The Lowrider Band (formerly known as War)

Tommy Castro

Many Thanks to Tommy Castro for pulling my husband's winning ticket at a local performance. The cruise was a fantastic experience! In fact, we enjoyed it so much, we signed up for next year.

Which Background Do You Like Best?

If you're like me, you pull a zillion fabrics out of your stash, and one by one, you put them on your design wall, and by the time you get to #30, you can't remember what any of them look like. Sound familiar?

If I think there is any possibility of a fabric working, I take a photo. For some reason, looking at the choices on the computer really helps in the decision process. Does it takes the emotion out of the decision? I'm not sure, but it works for me.

Here are some backgrounds that I chose for the "Hormones" piece I showed previously. I would love to hear your opinion, good or bad. Maybe you hate them all.

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Number 4

All of the backgrounds are either hand-painted or hand-dyed by me.

Summer Distractions

Summer doesn't seem to be the most productive time for me. Too many fun distractions going on. We have a lot of festivals in Santa Barbara. In the past month or so, we've been to the French Festival, the Greek Festival and Fiesta. Here are some of the dancers at the opening of Fiesta (La Fiesta Pequena) that was held at the Santa Barbara Mission.

I took a whole series of photos of the Mission as the sun went down. The evening was very colorful and energetic.

Last weekend we travelled up the coast to Cambria. On the way, we stopped to explore a small town called Los Alamos. We ate lunch and visited a nice gallery. Here's a couple of photos from the historic downtown area.

It was a great way to begin a very relaxing weekend.

One Thing Leads to Another

Sometimes, inspiration comes from unexpected things. The piece below is proof.

A simple piece of fabric with cut out circles. It didn't really look too exciting, but the possibilities were endless. You've probably noticed that one of my favorite symbols is the circle. I shouldn't have been surprised at my reaction to all these circles!The first step was to get it off the cutting board and onto piece of painted silk. Hmmm . . . Nice!
The negative circles are exciting, however, the positive rectangle is just too plain and boring. The first step was to paint the surface with some diluted Setacolor. By the time the paint dried, I had an a pretty good idea that I was going "Cellular".
The rectangular piece was cut into an organic shape and placed onto yet another painted background. Nice, but still not enough. Cells are incredibly colorful and the mellow yellow fabric was NOT going to make it.
Let the layering begin!

Here's a closeup of the new and improved cellular structure of "Hormones". It now has many colorful layers and interesting texture and is a worthy focal point. The next step is to audition more backgrounds; then onto the quilting stage.

Just a little glimpse inside my head and my thought process. Did you enjoy the journey?

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

Transitions

The bright lights are behind us. We spend our final days on Cape Cod and at Norwich Lake with parents, aunts, grandparents, siblings, nieces, cousins. This is the best part of all, the most relaxing part.

Photography is the only creative outlet I've had during our trip.

A close up of one of my favorite trees at the boat dock (above). The boat dock at dusk (below). The scene was so peaceful and calm. Our vacation was winding down.I brought a few small projects to work on, but was never in the right frame of mind. One would think that I would be anxious to get back into my studio. Unfortunately, the transition wasn't that smooth.

The first day was spent unwinding thread from old spools. The thread will be re-purposed and the spools will be great for stamping. Then I purchased new storage units and completely rearranged my supplies.

Finally, I began to sew. I pulled out a log cabin quilt that I made 12 years ago and finished the quilting.Then I cut lots of circles. I backed them with interfacing, stitch and flip them right side out and use them for labels. This is the type of sewing I do when I feel uninspired. Useful but boring. yawn

Then I look down at the leftovers from my circle cutting spree. Out of nowhere . . . Inspiration strikes! The leftovers become the focus of my next microscopic piece. It will be called Inside Out: Hormones.

Stay tuned . . . Next post will show how the leftovers begin to develop.

The Freedom Trail

Boston is the last of our large city visits. Our guided Freedom Trail walking tour began in Boston Common.

History has never been one of my favorite subjects, but this tour guide really made the experience more enjoyable and educational.

Don't you love his costume? You could tell that he loved history and really enjoyed giving these tours. This is the Granary Burial Grounds and the guide is standing next to the Paul Revere's headstone. Over 5,000 bodies are buried in a tiny space, with up to 20 bodies per hole. We wound our way through the city and learned a lot of interesting facts about Boston that we wouldn't have known on our own. Lots of great architecture, a real mix of old and new.Here's the calm before the storm. It poured for a half hour, then we continued on to Quincy Square for food and entertainment (acrobatics on an extension ladder).

Each time we visit Boston, we have a different experience. In the past, we've done the duck boat tour, art museum, science museum and we even went to see the Blue Man Group. My only disappointment with this visit was Chinatown. All I can say is, don't waste your time.

Boston is a fun city, but it's really easy to get lost and end up in the wrong place with no easy way to return. Make sure you bring your GPS!

AQS Show in Knoxville, TN

Are any of my blog followers going to the AQS show in TN?

If so, could you keep an eye out for my quilts in the special exhibit "Becoming Art at the Seams"? It would be great to receive a photo or two of the exhibit!

AQS contacted the Ventura Museum and asked if the artists would like to participate in the AQS show. For me, it was a no brainer, all three of my quilts will be in the show. Some pieces couldn't be included because they were mounted on stretcher bars or canvas, some had a previous commitment, however, most of the art is included in the TN show.

Two of my quilts have been on exhibit for approximately 7 months. Three months at the Elverhoj Museum, 3 months at the Ventura Museum and a few weeks at the AQS show. I'm really happy to have such wonderful opportunities to show my art.

Don't you love quilt shows? They are so inspirational! I'll be going to the IQF in Long Beach next week. Sensory overload coming my way!

No Place Like Manhattan

I'm sure you've heard NYC described as "The city that never sleeps". I never realized how true it was until our recent visit. There is a constant buzz everywhere around you. If feels like every bit of space and oxygen is being used. Although I really enjoyed our visit, life in Manhattan can be a bit overwhelming!

Our visit began with a 3 hour wait in the baggage claim area. One of the engines on my son's plane encountered a flock of birds. Lets just say, there were no winners. The plane had to make an emergency landing. Once everyone was safe and accounted for, we headed to the hotel, dropped off our bags and started our NYC adventure.

We walked through Central Park which is around 2-1/2 miles long. It is a great park with a lot of activity happening. Concerts, performers, biking, boating, you name it we saw it.

I encountered this sign at the far end of the park. I don't think I ever heard of a No honking law, but I can understand why they would have one here.
We took a boat tour around the entire island. It was a great way to get a feeling for what the whole area is like. We went under 19 bridges and through one bridge that opens sideways. Needless to say, bridges are their lifeline. It's such a fabulous skyline, but it's impossible to tell what it really looks like when you are in the middle of it. Once you get out on the boat, it looks so much different.We didn't have enough time to visit Lady Liberty, but we did get pretty close.

Here's an odd sign on the side of a building "A bare knuckled bucket of does". Huh?? What the heck does that mean? If anyone knows, please share.

Other highlights were the Empire State Building at night. The view was absolutely breathtaking. We went to Peter Lik's gallery in SoHo. His photography is fabulous. If I were alone, I would have spent all day there.

We rented a car, managed to make it out of Manhattan without hitting any pedestrians (no easy feat), and headed to Massachusetts for our next adventure.

Family Vacation

We just got back from a fantastic vacation with our family. The first stop was IL for my daughter's graduation from Northwestern University. Every time I visit Chicago, I like it more. They have great galleries, restaurants, entertainment, friendly people and public transportation. Usually, we stay in Evanston, but this time we stayed in the River North area of Chicago. Here's the view from my hotel.

Can you see the giant frog sitting on the building across the street? It just about gave me a heart attack the first time I looked out the window. Freaky!This giant stainless steel sculpture is located in Millennium Park and is called Cloud Gate or the Bean. The way it reflects everything around it is fantastic, but the best part (IMHO) is inside the bean.Here it is. I'm underneath the bean looking up! How cool is that? Every person turns into an abstracted shape and is reflected many times. I took quite a few photos in here.There are two of these giant towers (40-50 feet) in the park. Each has a different face projected on it and the facial expressions constantly change. You stand there watching it, and the next thing you know, the mouth opens and water comes streaming out. It was a hot day, and the kids were having a great time playing in the water.

Two of my favorite art visits were to Vale Craft Gallery and Chiaroscuro. Everything is handcrafted and gorgeous. Definitely worth visiting.

My next post will feature NYC. Stay tuned!