I’ve almost finished the shawl!
I’m playing yarn chicken with the bind-off praying there will be enough.
And then my daughter in law informs me that she is having a baby lunch for the new baby – I guess it’s a shower. She wants the center piece to be the knitted fox I showed her.
Adorable isn’t he? I thought I had more time, so the shawl will wait.
This is a new construction for me. It is going quickly, so I’ll be back to the shawl soon.
Well since the fox is moving along quickly, I decided it’s ok to finish the shawl.
Bound off and ends woven in. I knit the ends in as I add the new crescents, but I then go back and weave them in again in the opposite direction – just to be on the safe side.
Here is it on the blocking surface, before I washed it and pinned it down. When I washed it in Soak, the colors did crock, but they didn’t bleed into one another so I feel all is good. 
And here it is blocking. The friend who gave me the yarn stretched hers out long and narrow. I figure that that will happen naturally while wearing, so I tried to block it as more of a triangle. We’ll see what it looks like when I remove it from the blocks. Right now it has a long way to go to dry out, so the final reveal will have to be another post.
I’m stash busting, and was thinking of green, orange purple. Sort of.
I figured out very quickly that making 6.5″ blocks is quite a challenge. Yes I’m a very good quilter, but working that small isn’t easy and it’s forcing me to stop, work slower and really pay attention. I’m not very happy with the way this block looks, not the colors, they are fine, but the piecing isn’t to my liking.
Neither is this one, the piecing is a little shoddy and going scrappy is one thing, but that row with the same fabrics twice – not good. More about how I solved that in another post. And contrast between the squares. Some will be light and some will be dark.
There is the square with both appliqué and embroidery.
It’s been fun paying attention to the smallest detail, even if in the long run they can’t be seen.
7 blocks done.
Then there is one that is only embroidery. Designed by my friend
My efforts are paying off, the points meet, the colors are offering enough of a contrast. 6.5″ isn’t a lot, look at the little eraser next to this block.
A friend recommended the 
I even went back and made the first practice block they released before the official quilt along started
So far this is the box I’m using for storage, it had some holiday gift in it, it is 7″ square so it’s the perfect size, I don’t think it will hold 100 blocks, so at some point I’ll have to find a new solution but for now it works.
This cat seemed a little surprised to see a large group of people walking outside his window. I love looking at details, here it’s the dried old putty that holds the glass in the frame.
This is the front of the building, industrial Art Deco. Notice the symbol of work/live art space.
We walked into Big Yard Art Lab, also an artist space. Big Yard makes the big installations for events like Cochella or the old Lallapallooza. We never think about who or where things are made. Clearly Los Angeles is the place and these old industrial yards are perfect. This mural was painted by the duo 
I like how one figure is dancing on the wires.
Another figure on the corner of the buildings, don’t know who painted this.
We crossed the Los Angeles River, at this point Steve Grody was our guide. He has written a book about graffiti in Los Angeles, for me it was a little overkill on all the details. But that is often the fun when walking with an expert.
Interesting city lights on the bridge. Facing different directions changes the exposure on my camera! I’m not good enough to know how to compensate, and there is only so much I can correct later. I found this very interesting that this memorial is to an officer who was killed in 1942, the LAPD must replace these memorial signs from time to time.
There was quite an explanation about this graffiti, about the lettering, the style. Either the owner of the building doesn’t care, or it is empty. We went on to the Naud Graffiti yard, which today is fenced in and at one point had vicious guard dogs, the whole area is completely tagged. Clearly the owner had enough, sold the land and the new owners have other plans for the place. 
We are at the very northern edge of Chinatown and property is gaining in value again. We saw new businesses, since many of the buildings are massive warehouses, the owners are commissioning artists to paint. Actually, I don’t know if they are paying them or just giving them the walls. I know the likes of 
This has to be a very old street. While others are looking at the walls, I’m looking down at the ground, some of the original brick road is still visible.
As well as a beautiful old building on Broadway.
This is just a small section of the mural, this is a mural, not graffiti, even if it celebrates graffiti.
What happens when the muralist gets tagged? Notice on the low wall someone tagged the image, at just the right angle it would have blended in with the larger image on the wall. Art school students, who else could figure out these perspectives?
Having the people in for scale.
This building is a huge warehouse made of cinderblocks. 
Unlike this old building that is made of bricks. Probably a large warehouse in it’s day. The textures here are great, the brick, the plywood, the roofline, the weeds and yes, even the mural.
This old bus gets the mural treatment as well.
Looking towards the Broadway bridge over the river, looks like they are working on retrofitting it, something they couldn’t do with the 6th St. bridge. This is once again graffiti. I do like the surprise of the reflection in the puddle. Ah what rain does for us.
This wall was the interior wall of some kind of building that was torn down.
The old railroad ties and debris that are used to shore up the railroad. Yes, this one is very much in use today. Union Station is just down the road.
Walking back to my car, a very different kind of mural – one that advertises the San Antonio winery 2 blocks down.
The front is much lovelier, more industrial Art Deco.
Years ago I visited here, it is an artist colony. So when the opportunity came to visit again, I jumped at the opportunity.
About 30 years ago the owners of the abandoned complex turned it into artists lofts, and it has been one of the largest thriving artist complexes every since. 
This emblem on the building signifies that this is a multiuse building, artists both live and work in here. Of course this symbol is on all the buildings in the brewery and throught the Arts District where it originated. 
The catwalk connects two parts of the actual brewery.
While crossing from one studio to another, I captured this image. The tree top, the shadows.
As we entered the next building, the old stencils remain. The walls of this building are very thick.
The first loft we visited was the artist 
Of the four artists we saw, I loved Dave’s work the most. There is my neighbor, the clown from Circus Liquor. Dave works in a very interesting technique of linocut printing. The fact that he achieves from 7 to 10 or 11 colors from one block in amazing. He also mentioned how most people think of neon as a night time kind of art, but he just loves how the shadows are reflected during the day.
I love the artwork and the mirror on the wall that just reflected the people and the other wall back at me, as well as the old fashioned kind of selfie.
Close up of machinery! You should know by now how much I love this. This is a letterpress, not very useful for Dave’s work, but he just purchased a whole case of movable type, so we’ll see how that informs his art.
This is the actual press he uses, with some of the linoleum blocks on it. I am fascinated by the techinque and his work, who knows, maybe on the spring Artwalk I’ll pay a longer visit to the studio.
I did get these from the artists, so the Girl with the chain saw is Kelly’s art and the wonderful painting that uses the Eastern Columbia building is by the next artist we visited.
Next to the cowboy there is an emormous tire- probably from some massive landcover. For me this image is about all the textures, even if they got somewhat washed out in the bright light.
She has a little outdoor patio and has created her own chandelier tree, which needless to say, I love.
A few years ago, when I got my serger I made a set of 12. It felt better to use these cotton napkins that what ever I had bought, which clearly wasn’t cotton. Also wasn’t a print, just red napkins.
My impetus to get cutting and sewing was having friends over for dinner. It sure feels good to dive into my stash and throw together such luscious fabrics, not in a quilt but as mitered corner napkins.
I’ll admit, I was getting very bored with my old serged ones. In talking to Dede and Kay, they told me their story, how they started making napkins, first as gifts and then, people would ask to buy them. At one point they opened a store in downtown SLO and started selling the wonderful modern quilting fabrics many of us love. They never have a problem with leftovers – because what doesn’t sell off the bolt is made into napkins.
They now are Elna sewing machine dealers, they offer all kinds of wonderful classes. They sell independent sewing patterns as well. I will certainly have to make a trip up north to visit their shop. For those who don’t sew or aren’t in the central coast of California – of course they ship anywhere.
The more colorful the table the better. I like the idea of a simple table cloth and bright shots of color with flowers and napkins. We all enjoyed the festive meal.
This masked angel greeted me daily, I always have fond warm feelings when I see her.
This was exciting, our friend’s daughter got five of her costumes in the show!
I didn’t see the movie, to be honest I don’t think I saw any of the movies. I do like Courtney’s designs. Of course I love the big hand knit scarf, the detail on the vest is wonderful as well. She is very good at creating costumes for that dusty, 1930’s look.
Since I really don’t know the movies, I won’t be mentioning the names. This is the first time that photography has been allowed, I guess they just gave up trying to prevent it with all the phones around Here is another scarf, can’t tell if it’s hand knit or crocheted. I like the trim on the collar of the shirt, these are the small details I find intriguing.
You can see it in the background of this dress. I found the stepsisters dresses much more interesting. The lace detail on the collar as well as on the sleeves. 
The overlay fabric is painted, not embroidered. On Screen I’m sure it read as lovely embroidery. There was another dress that was very clearly painted as well. Years ago I remember seeing many costumes like that, poor construction, paint, puffy paint, big plastic gems. And then slowly that faded away as higher definition cameras came into use, the costumes would be impeccably made – even if those watching the movie could never tell the difference.
Another lovely detail is in the reticule – or purse and of course the gloves.
The iconic images from Star Wars, it would have been so much fun had they been able to procure the original costumes, I’m sure these are much better made.
So I looked for details. I’m glad to see that period pieces still are very elaborate. For me, to see the inset ruched ribbon on the bodice continue down the front of the dress as a free flowing ribbon – is exciting.
Along side the movie costumes, FIDM always displays historic costumes from their permanent collection. The idea being – look to the past to inform the present. It is clear to see from this dress how the designer of the previous one created their own interest on what is a red dress. Not copying, simply being inspired.
That inspiration follows through in a modern movie. There is detail in this simple little dress that probably wasn’t dictated by the story. The little waist band and the placement of the wonderful large border. This is what I’m looking for when I come to this exhibit, to see those little touches that go unnoticed by most movie goers – but help build a more complex and fulfilling picture.
Another period piece, oh my! Look at the placement of the stripes! The attention to detail is exciting! 
Or these little wings on this suit. That takes a lot of planning as well as time and effort to create that effect. Of course I also notice the impeccable buttonholes and self fabric covered buttons.
Sometimes the detail is in the shoes. I’m not sure if when the costumes are loaned to FIDM that they come with all the accessories or if FIDM has to use their own. They have a vast collection, so that is not a problem. Although I don’t wear very high heels anymore – I would love to find shoes like these!
Most mens costumes are boring, sorry a suit is a suit. I’m pretty sure these shoes came with the ensemble because the shirt was the exact color of teal. I know Hush Puppies made two tone shoes for a while. Not sure they are fashionable anymore, but these are fancy dress shoes! Something else I’d love to see out in the world.
I have been wearing this scarf non-stop. It is knit from a fine alpaca, so is nice and warm, while not being overwhelming because it is such a delicate lace.
It is very long, I’m still amazed at the amount of work that Yuki put into it.
A close up of the fibers, see how many colors come together to create this lovely green.
I’ve been knitting away on my shawl, I’m on the final row!
Love the scallops, they will look even better when I block them.
This has been a fun project to knit!
I thought I’d mostly be showing the backs in this post, but I still have a few fronts to share. This is the mirror image and reverse placement of the quilt Luke and I are standing in front of. The one I started the previous post with.
Log Condo with a stronger use of red.
I think I see old fashioned TV screens.
And now for the backs, as you can see here, bright big patches made out of old sheets.
Yoch and Leah were thrilled to find 
If you are buying old sheets, it is no surprise that many of them reference kids shows. I wish I could find this one, my new Grandson will have a space themed room, this would be perfect.
One of the fun things was peeking through the backs of the quilts to the fronts on the other side.
Or through the fronts to this wonderful Disney Sheet, one Aytan and Shira would love to have.
The backs with plain sheets yielded some very interesting information. All the light quilting lines are vertical and the dark ones are horizontal.
This would be a quilt with very few dark stripes.
I had fun with this one trying to find the hearths, since they were always left un-quilted.
The daylight streaming through gives the quilts an etherial look. Luke isn’t known for ironing, one can see the wonky seams inside, so what? 
And here we have a sheet that actually had holes in it, he still used it in a quilt.
It is the backing of the quilt he made in honor of all the people who worked on the project – using their leftover blocks.
Luke has made quilts with his name writ large on the surface. Accuquilt made him this die and using only plaids, he made quite a signature quilt.
Two things, I like how they are affixed on top of the quilting. I also really like how here and there the lines aren’t straight. Even working on a long-arm machine, it is a human who is doing the work, not a robot. Also nice to see the human hand. Did the phone ring, did she get distracted somehow and only notice later? Either way, I love this.
Aside from the works themselves, Luke is a delightful young man. He was more than happy to talk about the quilts, he also has great fashion sense – note those shoes!!! Only to be found in DTLA, perfect for the ensemble.
Let’s start with a traditional basic log cabin quilt. This layout is called Courthouse steps. If you look in the lower left corner, you will see the standard log cabin block. Starting with a red square – signifying the center hearth of the home, strips of fabric of equal width are built around it, two sides light, two sides dark. Then you play with the layout of these blocks and here is one version.
Side by side, on the left another very traditional layout of the log cabin block. I probably did this myself on my first log cabin quilt. On the right, Op Art! Those four large blocks are built the same way, but the width and layout of the colors has changed, and so has the effect of the quilt.
Here he has taken that idea to one large block. This is a close up, because the strips get so long and wonky, the quilt won’t lie flat – that is the nature of this one. A word about the fabric, Luke buys old clothes and sheets by the pound at Goodwill and uses as much as he can. I love how the pocket remains from this shirt. This isn’t an original idea, but it’s fun to see whenever a quilt maker veers away from traditional quilting cottons. Also, as the strips get longer, each one is composed of many fabrics pieced together.
Here we have the Richard Serra affect, creating a spiral of hanging quilts to walk through. First you see the fronts, then go around again looking at the backs. 
The hearth is centered, the strips are of equal width, but he has played with the placement of darks and lights.
I know this block well – Log Condo, this is what he taught us at Quiltcon. We used these dimensions, in a later post I’ll share that block. I love how the red is playing a more dominant part in these quilts.
Instead of the block being a square, how about changing it to a rectangle?
There is a lot of play where the light and dark strips are very different proportions. As well as using the Courthouse steps layout or simply stacking the blocks.
The other other Leah is studying a quilt. A nice thing about this show, Luke had no problem with us touching them – which is something every quilter wants to do! The fabrics have already been through a lot – it’s not like we’ll destroy them. Although these are displayed as art, they are quilts that Luke sleeps under. I get frustrated when the art world treats ephemeral art like an Old Master. Sorry, some things need to be preserved and others, not so much. 
Log Condo again, this time the darks and lights do not switch places. The block with the narrow light and wide dark was used in the previous quilt – to a very different affect. Luke is also an architect – it certainly shows!
That’s it for the first installment. Another post tomorrow.
I bought this lovely Japanese fabric at 
I need to style myself better from the back when I take pictures. It does have a pocket which is very nice.
I like the fact that these days I can insert a collar professionally.
As well as insert a sleeve. For years I didn’t understand that easing fabric wasn’t gathering fabric. I had to take a private lesson to learn that.
Aren’t these buttons adorable??? I don’t remember where I bought them, but they are so perfect for this dress.
Yes, I can sit comfortably – which is very important in a dress.