Meet My Friend...

...Sharon.

Today they ran an article in the Colorado Springs Gazette about my friend Sharon Schlotzhauer. The start of our friendship is a fun story: we met in the Denver airport, on the way home from Paducah. She and her husband were in the front of our plane; my friends, my husband and I were in the way-back. I saw her quilt in her arms as we boarded, but by the time we disembarked, the couple and the quilt were long gone.

We took advantage of our layover to grab a bite of lunch. Who should walk past our table but the mystery couple with the quilt. "Hey Quiltie Lady!!" The rest is history. We've been good friends for several years.

Anyway, I'd love to introduce her to the rest of you, so click here, if you're interested. She is an amazingly gifted quilter, whose work you have probably seen. In fact, if you were at Road to CA this weekend, you saw the quilt that is featured in shown in the article.

Good job Sharon!!! I hope I didn't embarrass you too much!!! :)

Beautiful Boxes And Such

Oh, come on Blogger! WHY are you upending my photo?!! I think, perhaps, you are jealous. It is MY quilt box, and I'm not going to share.

I've been trying to sort and organize and make things look nice (story of my life) and today's efforts uncovered this beautiful end table. It was used in the living room of our last house, but shortly after we moved here (15 years ago) it was pushed into our bedroom. There, it held STACKS of things that I didn't put away. (I know. I'm not supposed to air my dirty laundry in public. But I just did. I'm a packrat. That's just the way it is. I'm trying to deal with it.)

Anyway, today was the day I pulled the quilt box out to the living room. It is filled primarily with quilts made by my friends. It has 2 or 3 that I made, but for the most part? It's filled with friendship.

Speaking of friendship, I have another beautiful box. This one has not been with me for years on end, this one is new. This one arrived at Christmas. Made by Mel Bell, Carpenter Extraordinaire, I've finally put it on display, right here, on top of my box of friendship quilts. Isn't it beautiful?

Here it is from another angle. ooh, baby, I like your lines!

In the quilting realm, I spent a few hours yesterday working on my pattern for my 2010 Hoffman. I'm going to ENJOY working on this year's quilt. I am NOT going to stress like I have in the past. This is a quilt I want to make, because I love the topic. It won't bother me in the least if no one else loves it. Okay, so maybe it will bother me, but I already love it, so it's fine. I want this year's quiltmaking to be making quilts I WANT to be making. Goals are good and all that.

When I put aside the pattern, I pondered what to work on.

I worked on a quilt back in October, at the Hartland Quilt Retreat, that turned into a warped mess of a mess. arg. I reworked it twice, then shoved it in the closet.

Yesterday I pulled it out of the closet, cut off the offending warpiness, and set to making it right. The top is now perfectly flat. I can't say that I am 100% pleased with the composition - it was better when the pine tree batik traveled the width of the quilt - but I'm 90% pleased. Quilting will improve it tremendously.

"Fish Dance" - unquilted top
Suzanne Kistler 2010

I'm trying to get back into "show mode," and "Fish Dance" will be my submission to the West Coast Wonders Exhibit in Long Beach in July. Goals are good, doncha know?

Finally, I've got a half-way decent image of my 2008 Hoffman to submit to M-AQF. Finally, finally! If you've never tried to photograph a black quilt, you have no idea how difficult it is to get the colors to come out accurately. I took this photo outside. I threw white sheets over the fence and put the quilt on a stand in front of the sheets. The sun had been shining, but just as I was ready to shoot, clouds came in. They actually helped with the color accuracy. Finally. Now I just have to fill out the form and send it in. It isn't really warped at the bottom. A breeze kicked up. of course.

"Window of Tradition"
2008 Hoffman Challenge
Suzanne Kistler

And that's all for today, folks. Next week we are predicted to get a frightening amount of rain. 6-8" is frightening, when 8" is your yearly average. We've also made plans to completely redo our backyard, utilizing the skills of a professional landscaper. If I don't blog much next week, I'm either under water or freaking out about the yard...or blissfully sewing away in the Studio, oblivious to the chaos swirling around me...Goals are good...

Another Foggy Day in Paradise...

I don't need to add anything, do I? Except to say that the Foggy Day Cow quilt was finished and delivered to its new owner, and the weather cooperated perfectly. Can you see her eyes smiling?

Now that this is finished, what's next? How about some 2010 Hoffman Challenge? It's on the wall and I'm thinking...

LOVE this quilt

Good morning!

I don't have much to share today, there's nothing exciting about stitching on binding. I have one side left on the Foggy Day Cows. They should be finished before guild this morning.

In the meantime, I'll send you here. Take a look at the two most recent quilts by the Silly Boodilly. I LOVE these quilts, particularly the green one. I think I'm mad about the texture. To my mind, this is the most successful integration of machine and hand quilting that I've ever seen. I just want to reach out and touch it.

What do you think? Do you like it?

Zoom, Zoom

Well, Blogland, I missed a day with you, but wow. I have to say that I had a great time. There's nothing better than being a fly on the wall in a judging arena, especially if you are NOT in the competition. It's a chance to hear the judges think out loud, and see (and touch - with gloves) some amazing quilts. I cannot believe how blessed I am to have had the opportunity!!!

Where did I go? Well...

I got behind the wheel of my car and headed south..

This is the view to the west, as we approach the Grapevine. It was very clear in the valley, which is unusual for January. We enjoyed every minute of it.

We checked into the hotel and spent the night. The next morning, before 7am, this was the view out of our window. Everything is so clear. Where is the fog? I almost felt uncomfortable...isn't this supposed to be January? By the end of the day, it was almost 80!!

This is where we spent Tuesday. We weren't outside, we were inside, hidden behind a door of the building where magical mysteries were taking place.

Have you guessed yet? We were here. I can't tell you what I saw, but if you head to Ontario tomorrow, you can see for yourself. Wonders of wonders will be on display from Th-Sun, January 14-17. Enjoy!!! I keep toying with the idea of trying to squeeze in one more trip (4 hours, one way) on Friday. A girl can dream!

As I was leaving, I had to take this picture. Why would anyone live in Southern California? They don't have winter.

That must be it. They live there BECAUSE they don't have winter. (I was born in Santa Monica and spent the first 17 years of my life in Escondido.) The trees in the foreground may be pretending that it's January, but I didn't believe them. They were NOT cold.

As we drove back and headed back down into the valley, we wondered, "Will there or won't there be fog?" It was getting dark. It was 4pm. Was it the shadow of the mountains? Or the presence of lurking fog?

It was the mountains! You can see in the far distance that the sun is SHINING and visibility is excellent. There must be a storm on the way...

Finally, I asked my trip photographer to grab my camera and get a shot of the cropduster. We just missed having him fly over us. Can you see him? On the left, just above the green? He was coming right at us and had to clear the wires before flying over the freeway. My heart jumps in my throat every time I see them. They are fabulous. (For a bigger image, click on the picture.)

So. There you go. I've had a taste of this weekend's Road to CA show, and I want more.

Many thanks to Dyanne, for being a good sport and scrambling for my camera every time I said, "Oh! I need a picture of that!!" See, Barbara, I don't ALWAYS photograph while I'm driving. (There's a difference between 25 in the fog and 70 on the freeway!!!)

P.S. I took the pictures of Ontario. Dyanne took the rest.

P.S.

Deborah asked about the tails of the Foggy Day Cows. I used 6 strands of DMC perle cotton, which I've braided and knotted at the end. I should have made the tails a bit fatter, but hindsight is 20/20. haha, I crack myself up! Cow tails/hind sight...yeah, I should have been a comedienne.

I Want Sunshine...

Well! I just wanted to post a quickie before I head out of Fogville and look for a day of sunshine. Suddenly, I see the date, and take note: Two years ago tomorrow my blog went online and the first entry posted. wow. 475 entries over the past two years, this one makes #476. But who's counting, right? (Blogger counts, I don't.)

It might be nice to do something to commemorate my blog-a-versary. If you think that's a good idea, maybe you can leave me a comment. When I return to Fogville, I will see what I can come up with.

In the meantime, I leave you with this BRIGHT image of "Do You See Spots. It is machine-pieced and hand-quilted and can be found in the pages of Lone Star Quilts & Beyond, by Jan Krentz.

"Do You See Spots?"
Suzanne Kistler, 2000

Now I'm off to seek some sunshine. TTFN!!!

A Few Pictures

This is why I couldn't find my cable to my card reader. When I returned this afternoon, the cable was back where it belonged. yay!

Earlier this week I blocked my 2008 Hoffman Challenge. As you can see, I'm going to have my own personal challenge getting an image of this quilt that shows ANY detail.

I've been quilting the Foggy Day Cows. Even though our Tule fog doesn't swirl, I thought it would be fun to pretend that does. (And yes, the brick border moves in and out on the outer edge. It's nice and straight on the inside. I did it on purpose.)

Here is the fog quilting that I put over the cows. I think it's surprisingly effective.

It took me the longest time to figure out what happened to this cow. Where's her head? I finally realized that the head was supposed to be a different color than her body. I've decided that it is different - you just can't tell because the fog is so thick. ;)

Last night I started adding tails. I'm not sure if they add or detract, but they're fun so they stay.

And that's it for today, folks. I have a few more tails to tie, some bricks to quilt, and a quilt to bind. Goals are good!

A Quick Note

arg! No pictures! I can't find the cable to my card reader. I have my suspicions as to where it might be and who might have borrowed it, but the suspect is still asleep. I have places to go and people to see, so you'll just have to wait.

It's been a busy week. I'm almost done with the foggy day cow quilt. I need to finish some tails, do a bit more quilting and bind it. A few hours of TLC and I'll be able to cross it off my list.

I joined a new (to me) quilt guild on Thursday, out in Hanford. Common Threads has been around for years, but I'm not much for evening meetings. I'll try it for a year and see. On Thursday, Roberta Horton was the speaker. In February, I'm taking a class with Thom Atkins. Expect to see more beading in my future. :)

But for the most part, I've been working on Best of the Valley. type type type and type some more. Lots to do before show time, and no time like the present to get it done.

Well, I'm off and running to visit a guild in Dinuba. Enjoy your Saturday. Hopefully I'll find my cable and give you pictures soon!

No Quilting, But I Can Feel It

Yesterday was spent driving around in this:

and this:


and this:

It wasn't too bad, actually. Bad enough to delay school for some, but not bad enough to keep me home. See? In second photo? You can almost see 4 dashes on the road ahead. Not too bad at all (she says with a smirk to those who have never seen Tule Fog.)

On the way home I stopped here, so it was worth it. ahhh...

I trust today will have some stitching in it, won't it? But first I must do my computer chores and meet with a landscaper. I can hardly wait. Welcome, welcome, 2010!!!

January Starts With a Bang!

I'm off to a great start this year! Let's hope I don't get tired before I even round the first bend. It's not really a race, it's definitely not a sprint...but I'm off and running and trying to make progress.

That's my focus at this time: To make progress.

I didn't do so well with the 12-Step program, and, as you can see, I've erased it from my sidebar. Time for a start-over. yay!! I liked the concept: to name a Step that I'm stuck on, and work my way through it. It was a great idea, but life happens in the interim. Goals were set and never reached. I ended up discouraged.

I've been visiting various blogs, checking to see how others are facing the new year. I like Deborah's post here. She chooses a word to help her focus for the year. I'm choosing an action. I'm choosing progress. I do hope I make some!!

If the first two days of January are anything to judge by, I might have a productive year.

The foggy day cow quilt top is not only together, it's basted. Quilting will take place next week.

I used some of the leftover strippy scraps to make this basket.

It begins with grey, and works its way through various maroons and blacks. It's quite striking, made in colors I would never have chosen. (That's the back of the basted quilt, in the background.)

Here's more progress. Pete went up on the roof, to take down the Christmas lights. I'm certain he wants to retire. Why else would he be dancing on the roof in the wintertime? If he falls off and breaks something, it would be most difficult to report to work in the morning.

Finally, I just have to show you this picture of Edgar. He looks REGAL. He's grown a fantastic mane this winter, all the better to keep him warm, doncha know? :) (It's almost twice as big as he is!)

And there you go. It's January, it's 2010, and I'm making progress. Yay!!

January 1, 2010

Happy New Year! I ended 2009 in my usual manner, swinging by the inventory reduction sale at Thimble Towne. I did my part to reduce their inventory. big smile. The downside of that is the expansion of my personal stash. I have no place to put my new treasures.

I'll deal with that later. For today, I'll show you what caught my eye. First, here is my overall selection from my 12/31 shopping. See? I was good. I didn't add any greens. :)

Okay, so maybe I bought one green. But I didn't have any pine needle fabric and I NEEDED it! Doesn't everyone?

I've had my eye on these lovely Asian-inspired pieces. At 50% off, I was out of excuses.

The piece on top of this pile is my second favorite. There's just something about those cats that make me smile.

These fabrics might be useful for a project I have in mind...

I brought these home, because they are so happy and cheerful. I don't often do polka dots. I think I'm being influenced by my peers.

This piece intrigued me. Now that I've got it home, I see all kinds of potential. I should have gotten more yardage than I did.

Finally, I showed my husband what his Christmas gift certificate had been turned into. This was his favorite. He says he doesn't know why. My guess is that it reminds him of Ralston Purina and being a kid. ;)

oops. There was one more. This red poinsettia fabric had fallen on the floor unnoticed. Red and poinsettias are always useful.

Yesterday I went shopping; today I've stayed home and done some sewing. Today's project is this UFO, gifted to me by Jan several years ago. I pulled it out a few times last month, and pieced a few more cows.


I haven't known what to do with it, primarily because the colors just don't inspire me. The arrival of fog finally brought it together for me. Rather than fight the grey, I'm wallowing in it. These foggy day cows are coming together quite nicely. I hope to have to top finished by the time I turn out the light this evening.

Goals are good. Happy New Year!!!