Baby blanket

A new grandson is arriving in May and he needs a knitted blanket, a quilt and some kind of stuffed animal. So far I’ve been working on the blanket and collecting fabric for the quilt.P1130046I love multiple color blankets and this one fits the bill. I’m using Sidrar Snuggly, 100% acrylic yarn, but one that is oh so soft and comes in really nice colors.  Items for babies have to be easily washed and dried.P1130047A few months ago a friend mentioned the book Cast on Cast off was available for $3 on Kindle. Of course I grabbed a copy and I have used it when trying out different methods.  This pattern called for a provisional cast-0n, as a reminder, I checked this book and found a gem of advice. Cast on over a circular needle, so when you go back to pick up those stitches, they are already on a needles. Sure it was a little confusing for the first few inches, and yes, I used the ‘wrong’ needle a few time. All in all I like this method and will use it again.P1130048Here you can see the lovely yarn colors, not too harsh and glaring.  P1130080Love the look, love how cozy and soft it is to knit. Which means it will be lovely for the baby.P1130468It looks like a big hot mess right now, I’ve used two circulars to knit the border.  I’m almost there, almost done.P1130482And here it is! The blanket is finished.  I did block it with steam, even though it is acrylic, it helped open up the pattern some.P1130483Another artistic view.  I don’t enjoy knitting blankets very much, even baby blankets. My grandkids are worth it though!  Of course there should be a few more in the future – God willing, I’m not sure I’ll remake this pattern, simply because I’m always looking for something new. That is not to say that I wouldn’t recommend this, I think it’s a great pattern.P1130484The winning shot.

 

Quilty stuff

The holidays are over, we have traveled some and have some more coming up soon. I’m still finding time to be creative and both knit and quilt. I’m also sewing a dress right now, crazy!  I feel like I need to finish the dress before I start quilting my New York Beauty.  Sure, it’s different machines, it’s just me, finish certain projects. Don’t let everything pile up, although a lot is piling up.

So I went to Road to California quilt conference in Ontario CA.  Since I volunteered last year I got first choice in registering for a class. Trying to squeeze in a class and see the show in one day is a little overwhelming.P1130451I even almost lost my camera at one of the booths, luckily, they found me a few minutes later. Yeah, I was rushed and frazzled. Not a lot of pictures, these are miniatures, which is extremely impressive to me. I am planning on some sort of Bethlehem star for my newest grandson, so I’m looking at layouts, even though – no way would I do something this small.P1130460Or this crazy op art!  I get dizzy just looking at the photo! I am intrigued by this, one of the things I love about quilting is the engineering – no improve for me! P1130454In the modern section I snapped this picture, and there you have some improv within a grid of sorts.  I cropped this photo of course and find that as an overall composition – it grabs my attention.P1130455This one is straight out of Victoria Findlay Wolfe’s book Double Wedding Ring Quilts. At first I thought it was one of hers, but no, someone made this using the book. I intend on making a deconstructed double wedding ring one of these days, I hope mine has my personal stamp on it. So someone can recognize my inspiration but not feel that it is an exact copy.P1130459On my wish list is an Hawaiian quilt, I even found some 16″ patterns. So I was intrigued by this style of needle turn appliqué as well as impressed by the workmanship.P1130461Not my style or my colors but once again, the ability to see incredible quilts with impeccable workmanship is a big reason for me to go to a show. P1130466The class I took was this pattern for this quilt, Chic Kisses with Jenny Pedigo. I have used her ingenious invention, the curved piecing ruler. So it was fun to meet her and take her class. I bought a different pattern from her, since I’m not crazy about this one. I do like the color choices here.IMG_4179I brought scraps, and boy am I glad I did. Things didn’t go great, probably cuz I was cramming in show and full day class. Of course there was the drive out to Ontario and back, so it was a frenetic day. I made mistakes, it was great seeing how Jenny tried to resolve my issues – that is what having a class with the teacher right there, is for.P1130470I got this far and no further. Jenny kept encouraging me to finish the block, but no, I’m not interested. For me that will be a waste of time. I may repeat this pattern with new fabrics, with the knowledge I learned in class and from my mistakes. I learned long ago, not everything must be finished. So much that is learned in a class is useful for the future, not for the project being made then and there.

Quiltcon is coming up in less than a month and that too will be a very busy time. Luckily it’s only in Pasadena, I’ll be going home every night and am only taking one class. So with a 4 day show I’m sure to be more relaxed .  Next year I probably won’t take any classes at Road and will simply enjoy the show and the vendors of course!

Ironwork in NOLA

Thanks to the 40 years that Spain controlled New Orleans, we have amazing ironwork through out the French quarter.  A long Spanish tradition that was easy to import to the NOLA because of that river and port.P1130219Last month when I visited the Banning Mansion in Wilmington CA I was impressed by the incredible cast iron fence. Then I discovered that the hotel we were staying at, The Cornstalk Fence Hotel is named for their fence. Same fence, manufactured in Pensylvania, here they painted the corn yellow, it is New Orleans after all.P1130218IMG_4159They even found this ear of corn to put up in the doorway.P1130312In the garden district there is a very large historic home that has a massive fence manufactured by the same Philadelphia foundry.P1130314They have an interesting corner piece that I hadn’t seen elsewhere.  At the hotel they mentioned that they had a guest from Pennsylvania who has seen the same fence in his neck of the woods.  The Wilmington fence was news to them.

These fences are cast iron, a mold was made, the iron is cast, and you get the same intricate motifs over and over again.P1130251This is also cast iron, and serves to deter people from entering the balcony from the roof. P1130252Famous street view, the lower section is called a gallery, it being street level and held up by post.  Next door, in blue you can see a balcony, this one sits on top of a gallery, but others are supported by beams in the structure itself. Many will have wonderful plants that thrive in the wet damp weather.P1130273More decorative measure to prevent break-ins.  This is wrought iron, an easier method of manipulating the iron. Twisting, pounding to sharp points, welding together. P1130245Flanking both sides of Jackson square are the Pontabla apartments. The oldest existing apartment buildings in America. Built in 1850 by an amazing woman, Baroness Micaela Pontalba, she made sure that her monogram was repeated throughout the cast iron railings. Another example of a remarkable woman. The ground floor has high end retail and to this day the apartments are quite expensive.P1130278 protective device on the gallery poles are these sharp spikes.  Cast iron, not wrought iron.P1130404The old houses all have these grates,  probably to deal with flooding issues.P1130332The original chain link fence, made of wrought iron of course. This fence surrounds the old home of Anne Rice, so of course people see skull in the ornaments, even though they are supposed to be Fleur de Lis with rosebuds.P1130320A wonderful gate in the garden district.

Although most of the ironwork was imported, it flourishes on many of the old buildings and gives New Orleans it’s very distinctive character.

New Orleans, overview

P1130264Joel celebrated a big birthday so we went for a long weekend to NOLA, wow! What a city. This is just the overview, I’ll be sharing more in depth photos and observations.  First day, having lunch on Bourbon street. Taking pictures of the roof tops.  Worst meal of the trip, least favorite street, but it is a must to go see.P1130229All the  wrought iron, cast-iron railings, balconies and fences!  Incredible iron work, none of which was made in NOLA.  When you are a busy port city, it’s easy to bring in whatever you want. This is a legacy of the Spanish control of the city but of course has become a symbol of the French quarter.  Notice the beads hanging on the side?IMG_4140Little did we know that Mardi Gras season starts right after Epiphany and ratchets up to Fat Tuesday that will be early February this year. So there we were on Bourbon Street at night and music trucks rolled in. Noisy, happy, fun. Yes we got a haul of beads, glad to have experienced this without the complete mayhem of the season.P1130367Mardi Gras decorations are all over!  Christmas comes down and these go up. Our guide mentioned that the color combination of green, gold and purple is awful, but it does make Mardi Gras very recognizable and is the one time a year where the fashion challenged are the norm.

We heard great music on Frenchmen’s Street as well as the street musicians, so many styles of music. This is one of the things that make the French quarter so much fun.

P1130436Taking the ferry, I looked back and got this great photo of St. Louis Cathedral with Jackson Square in the foreground.P1130243Here he is on his horse, saluting the crowds below him.P1130274I bet traffic was always bad here, today it’s cars, but in the 18 and 19th centuries it would have been horses.  P1130261The mighty Mississippi is running very high, even flooding up north. New Orleans are worried as they should be. Hopefully the river will subside. P1130285The cemeteries are a big tourist draw, cities of the dead.P1130308Food is extremely important here. Yes, friends recommended Commador’s Palace. We didn’t make reservations long enough in advance and we didn’t bring fancy clothes. So this is it, a view from outside.IMG_4138We ate extremely well, so no complaints here. Obligatory beignets at Cafe du Monde.IMG_4144It was cold!!  I’m glad I brought my warm coat, what I forgot was a hat for the sun. So we popped into one of the many souvenir shops, Joel got a real souvenir hat, me, I found this great red hat that will be very useful here in LA. People even commented about it on the street.

That’s it for now,  I have so many pictures and stories, I’ll be spreading it out over time.

Quilt Stores in the southland

This past month I have visited quite a few local quilt stores. Of course Sew Modern where the LAMQG meets monthly.  P1130090I buy a lot of fabric here, usually from the sales bins or shelves. Yes, I’m still interested in woodland creatures.

Then there is Quilt Emporium in Woodland Hills.  I used to go there many years ago.P1130091I bought this fabric about 18 years ago, just as before I went on my quilting hiatus. This and a few other Arts and Crafts inspired fabrics. I was going to make a quilt, so I bought about 3 yards, I used up the other fabric long ago, this one has lasted a long time.PicMonkey CollageLast year I made this bag for a friend from the fabric.P1090839This summer I ‘rediscovered’ the shop, new owner, but still a great place to find more traditional fabric as well as Civil War reproductions.  I made this hat and our new ValleyMQG had it’s first meeting here. We are too big to meet in the store, so we had to move out.

Then there is Candy’s Quiltworks, despite not having a web presence this store is doing very well. They have the largest batik selection anywhere.  They also have a very impressive  selection of fabric by theme, which is very helpful to me, since my son informed me that the newest grandson will have a space themed room.P1130082

I found all of these at Candy’s, other stores simply aren’t carrying any space themed fabric.  I should have started here! The two fabrics in the upper right corner are from the sale section and yes, I have a fabric addiction.

While visiting my friend in Orange County we stopped into Flying Geese Fabric in Tustin. P1130085What can I say, lately I’m drawn to the reproduction fabrics, maybe because my instagram feed is is inundated with all the new modern lines, my eye wants something different.

And finally, I was in Torrance and visited the amazing Momen+ fabric store, with many Japanese fabric. Yeah, you could say I went overboard.  I’m taking a class at Road to California, so I bought some lovely fabric.P1130083I will need to add from my stash, which is great, since I don’t like a quilt to only represent one style of fabric.

P1130084And then I bought fabric for garments. The red will become a summer shirt and I couldn’t resist the rayon Crepe. This fabric is soooo hard to find anywhere. The Jobbers never sell it to the downtown stores since the small manufactures grab it instantly!  Lucky for me I like this print, so this too will become a summer dress.

I really need to get up to Ventura to visit Super Buzzy.

 

Sewing with wool

I have a hard time accepting a gift of fabric and then not using some of it right away.  Remember all that wool?  Not to mention that now is the season for wool – brief as it may be here in Los Angeles.
P1130189I made a skirt from the blue plaid,  it is a faux wrap around and looks very cute with boots.P1130182Because it is a narrow skirt it has a long kick pleat, or vent, not sure what the official name is.

P1130199Matching the plaid at the seams is what makes the garment look professional. These days most store bought plaids don’t pay attention to this detail.  Sure the plaid ‘matches’ but not really.

P1130196Another sign of a well made wool skirt – the lining. Helps it hang better as well as makes it more comfortable.

P1130203And a close up without the belt.  I hope to get a lot of use out of this, we are having a cold wet winter.

I’m also still loving sewing with knits, I’m so happy with my first Wren that I made another.P1130163I’m even trying to come up with new poses.  This version has the narrower skirt. The fabric is from JoAnn’s and I must say I am very pleased with it.  JoAnn’s is pretty good at keeping up with trends, just two years ago their knit section was very meager, a few stripes and solids. Today they are offering some very cute knits. I love how bright and colorful this is.P1130141Another change I made was to cut the back with less of an opening at the neck line. Looking at this photo it still looks quite exposed. This will be fine for a summer dress – yes I will be using this pattern often- but I need my neck warm.  Aging isn’t fun,  a lot of warmth escapes from my neck and shoulders now, which means I get to wear many of my shawls, but that includes when I wear this cute dress!

P1130168Side view.

P1130179The number of photos I take is pretty large, first run through is looking at the pictures in the camera and eliminating the real failures, then I download and go through a couple of weeding out sessions. Then it’s on to the editing program, I use PicMonkey. So the final result is a good grouping of photos.

 

Another visit to the South Bay

I met a blog reader, someone I haven’t known before. So it was back to the South Bay for another visit. There is so much history in this city, sure, most of it is only about 100 to 150 years old, but I know too many people who have no clue what happened 20 years ago, so it’s not the age that matters.

Torrance was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.  in 1912 and was named for the developer. So the old part of town has a wonderful old time feel to it. Most of the city developed after WWII and like much of the South Bay falls into the post war mid century Modern city.
P1130054The Depot Restaurant occupies the Old PE depot. One way to get people to move to this new city is to have a trolly line come here. The city gave PE the land for the depot and Irving Gil, who is considered one of the first local modernist architects designed the building. The Dome used to be gold, it isn’t anymore, but it did survive that many years that the building was just used for storage.

Today Torrance is home to the second largest Japanese population in America. Honolulu holds the distinction of being the largest. Many Japanese companies are headquartered here – like Honda. Many are leaving, like Toyota and Nissan, the business climate has changed in California and companies are leaving for Texas and Tennessee.  This is a very American phenomenon, when things don’t work anymore – move.P1130057The tiles on the clock just don’t look like they are from the 1910’s.  On the photos of the original building there was a clock, by the 1970s’ it is no longer there, so this must be a new clock placed where the original used to be.P1130067The interior is lovely! P1130069The locals frequent the restaurant. Even if those of us farther afield had no clue that Torrance is more than a large oil refinery and Japanese companies.  Yes, oil is a very very big business here in the Southland.  P1130063Part of the original Park was renamed a few years ago in honor of the Centennial of the city.P1130060My guess is this building may have been one of the original. It has a simplified Beaux Art feel. The brick was a common building material back then. The 1932 Long Beach earthquake would put an end to brick in LA. Notice the Pilaster between the large windows, a nod to a classic pillar. The  rounded cornice,  the use of two toned brick. Now, this isn’t downtown LA where no expense is spared in decorating the buildings, but even with a less expensive design, it is Beaux Arts.P1130059I wonder if what stood here originally fell in the earthquake, this is definitely Art Deco. Since the city was built in 1912, my guess is this replaced another building after the quake.P1130061Loving the simple Art Deco both is the terra cotta and the paint. So many buildings all over the area are lovely simple Art Deco, I hope this one survives.P1130062This blade advertising could be from the 30s’ or maybe the 50s.

P1130064Buffy’s lasted for 50 years but is no more.  A nod to what would be filmed here in this next photo.P1130076Torrance High School was built in 1917, This was the original building, many others were added through the years. You may recognize this as the Sunnydale High school from Buffy the Vampire slayer, or as Beverly Hills 90210 – the original series.P1130078Beaux Art, perfect for a School,  they don’t build them this way anymore.

Campo de Cahuenga

Every year on the Sunday closest to January 13 a reenactment of  the signing of the 1847 Articles of Capitulation takes place at Campo de Cahuenga.P1130106Unfortunately history is something that people have to work at in order to remember.  The signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga between the United States and the Californios was an epic history changing event –  one that no one really knows or cares about.

P1130102Of course history isn’t history until many years have passed and by then, it is often forgotten. This modern concept of what the old ‘assestancia’ or satellite mission of Mission San Fernando may have looked like. This structure was built in 1951 an managed to survive Lankershim Blvd, Universal City and the building of the redline Subway station.

P1130099The Campo de Cahuenga Historical Memorial association was started by an incredible woman names Mrs. A.S.C Forbes, no I can’t find her first name. She ran a foundry – she did, not her husband.  This is one thing that I have noticed, women weren’t helpless before feminism showed up in the 1960s, there have always been strong powerful women who never needed feminism to find their voice.  One thing that Mrs. Forbes did was design the original Mission Bells as well as the Camino Real Bells. Anyone who has driven along the 101 has seen these bells along the freeway. This is one of the first bells cast, it is indoors now to protect it, California Bell company is still producing them today.

P1130103When excavating for the Subway the real remnants of the Abobe Farm building were found. Nothing here is real except the footprint. The adobe is reproduced, and is slowly melting, adobe homes always had impressive roofs (over covered with local tar- La Brea) that kept the water from melting the bricks.

P1130094This glass case hold the remains of the floor tiles, since these are clearly Spanish, the satellite farm was probably built around the time the actual mission was.

PicMonkey CollageIt turns out this was quite a large structure, went all the way into the middle of Lankershim Blvd.  As an homage to the old adobe, the footprint is continued into the pavement of the street,  no-one driving over this has any clue. They are building a bridge to connect Universal Studios with the Subway station, so maybe they will put a sign up so as people cross the bridge they might learn something.

P1130111As the program itself started a boy scout troupe raised the flag, this  howitzer was fired. There were speeches by local politicians, they have to be heard at some point.

P1130128

It was mentioned that this was the original table that the treat way signed on.  At the Time American soldiers were in  Monterey, but this wasn’t even an American territory. California was enjoying a very brief period of being an independent country although the Californios tended to side with Mexico.  So the treaty wasn’t between nations, rather between warring armies. John C. Fremont represented the United States and General Andres Pico, brother to Governor Pio Pico, represented the Californios.   This ended the military hostilities in California and opened the way for Manifest Destiny, a transcontinental United States.
P1130130Our presenter looked like a Charles Dickens character, which makes sense, because this is when he was writing.  Fremont and Pico meet.P1130133Reading the treaty, which pardoned prisoners from both sides and gave Calfironios the same rights of American citizens.  General Stockton wasn’t pleased, although he came to see this as a very good treaty. All this happened a  year before the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war and the southwest officially became part of the US. And then in 1949 gold was discovered at Sutter Mill and by 1850 we  were already a state.P1130135Signing.    Of course you need more than just the reenactment, so why not have some traditional dances.IMG_0024P1130124With an adorable little girl showing off her finery. Shira is probably older than her, but no way could she just stand there so quietly.

Although today this is a very busy intersection, it has a very important place in not only the history of Los Angeles but California, the west and the United States as a whole.  Very glad it’s right in my neighborhood.

Mount Wilson Observatory

I was going through my pictures, just deleting. It is so easy to accumulate, every so often I delete. I came across these from the summer and realized I had never shared them here.P1110328P1110319A little history, Mount Wilson is named for Benjamin Davis Wilson, owner of Rancho San Pascual as well as the grandfather of General Patton. In the mid 19th century he created a trail up to the peak, which became a weekend hiking adventure for many in the Pasadena area.

What came first? The rock or the trees?
What came first? The rock or the trees?

Through the years a toll road, the Mount Lowe railroad made their way up the mountain. The railway never made it to Mount Wilson, but enough people were coming up here. A hotel was built, but it succumbed to fire.  Attempts to build and observatory here were started in the late 19th century, but it was only in 1903 when George Ellery Hale got the ball rolling in earnest.

P1110321
Solar Telescope

Hale helped build many of the telescopes here as well as bring aboard Edwin Hubble.  Albert Einstein visited here as well. P1110323We didn’t take a tour, although one of these days I feel like I should, I find science and exploration fascinating.P1110326As well as the buildings that house the telescopes.P1110324The Carnegie Institute held the lease for 90 years and in 1984 they wanted to dismantle many of the telescopes and move their operations to Chili, to an area with much less light pollution.  In 1986 the Mount Wilson Institute was formed and the observatories were saved and are still in use today.P1110316On a clear day you can see across the whole basin out to Catalina Island. Mid summer is never very clear. A combination of  fog, haze and good old pollution led to this almost mystical view.  As long as you don’t strain to see the city below, this could be a Japanese print of mountains in the haze.P1110338The other thing that Mount Wilson is known for it’s it’s sea of Radio, Television and microwave relay towers.  The first was installed in 1947 for KTLA Channel 5, the station famous for garnering most viewers for the commercial free coverage of the Rose Parade.P1110305P1110339The sea of transmitters can be easily seen from Pasadena, I did take a picture  but in my purge I must have deleted it. Oh well, the better view is close up.

Paper piecing progress

I have been doing a lot of paper piecing lately.  My New York Beauty quilt top is finished.P1130028I had thought that this would become a king size quilt for my bed. That turned out to be an insane idea.

Each block is 8.5″ and all that paper piecing is both time consuming and uses a lot of fabric – heavy cotton fabric. So this will remain another lovely  quilt to use in the living room.

P1130027View from the opposite side. I bought 3 yards of the background grey. I did purchase some more, not at the same location – and the dye lots were slightly different. I was prepared to use it, but I managed to put on all the borders with just scraps of fabric left over. (not yet seen in these photos).

P1130008Valley MQG had a small meeting in December. It was thrilling to share the quilt. I don’t feel any need to send my quilts to shows, on the other hand – I do like it very much when my fellow guild members are so full of compliments.

P1120987A different kind of paper piecing,  this is much more difficult, the pieces are so arbitrary. I think I ripped out every single seam.  Of course as soon as I finished, I found some very good advice on how to deal with these irregular shapes as well as sharp angles. P1120989I love these 1/4″ borders. I am also improving on my feathers with every project. Not sure why I’m so interested in quilted feathers, I think because they are such a cornerstone of quilting.

P1120994This is my December challenge for Valley MQG, we were asked to use the 5″ square we received in November. I used mine in the feather and on the back, with my label.

P1120991I call this a mug rug, not quite a quilt, not a placemat or a coaster.  You can put your mug and plate with cookies on it.

Sharing with the guild.