…And it’s done! Very happy with the result. Although white on white quilting – you really can’t see what kind of design I was trying to achieve, but hey, it looks great.
Another issue I had was the orange fabric on the left-hand flamingo. It really stood out like a sore thumb. Solution? Make sure to have plenty of that fabric in the border as well as use it for the binding. Doesn’t feel so out of place anymore.
I washed and machine dried this one as well. Good thing, since somehow, the white background got a little dirty – and that was before any baby got hold of it. The washing machine did it’s job, and I will tell the new parents that it is their best friend. Better to use the quilt and wash often then hide it away.
Quilting on busy fabric means you can’t really see the quilting, it’s there, it’s holding everything together. I could have used colored thread on the background and my design would have been apparent, but I wanted the whiteness.
My clouds look more like flowers, oh well.
If you look closely you can see my favorite pattern of all, the feather.
Flamingos are a thing right now. I’m seeing them all over. As is JoAnn’s, which is where I got this great backing fabric.
Knowing me, I can’t sit still, so I immediately jumped into a new project. Pineapple blocks with Deb Tucker’s ruler. 
I LOVE the accuracy I got with this ruler. Not crazy about the scrappiness. I think I’ll find a tighter, more cohesive color story. 
Here is an idea for a color story.
Here is another way to go.
Here is a variation on the first. I did have fun finally sipping and painting. No, I wasn’t sipping out of the painted glass at the time. I had to admit to the instructor that yes, I do know how to paint, but it’s still a fun activity.
Leah
I’m glad they are emphatic about the no pets rule. It’s amazing to me how people take their pets everywhere, especially to places they shouldn’t be. 
One of the old gates into the cemetery. The official website says that the cross and bones is a symbol of a cemetery for the Franciscan order. Look at images online, there ae many examples.
Wikipedia says it was put there by Disney in 1957 when they filmed the Zoro movie here. Ah, Wikipedia, so dangerous to take you at face value.
The cemetery is very peaceful, with many different sections. Today anyone can be buried here, for a price of course. Unlike San Fernando where one must be Catholic. 
It was touching to see the grave of a soldier from WWI. I wonder if he was really buried here, or if his family erected a tombstone in his honor. Most people who died ‘over there’ were buried there. All America has asked for when it fought wars over seas was for land to bury their dead – they didn’t conquer and stay. Today the bodies are brought home, transportation is very different.
A simple family plot? 1872, 1943, written in very crude letters. 
The McCrory family has a mausoleum, it too is rather simple.
24 years old, or rather young. In those days death was much more common at any age, not just the very old.
Multiple burials in a well are very common these days, less room, less cost. 
And yet no one is skimping on decorations and mementos, even on the wall.
I can’t help but wonder what happened here. There were a number of crosses in a row, this one was knocked down. I didn’t see any name. Maybe it will be repaired soon, the whole area is so well cared for, this was jarring.
On a mission to see all the California missions. An often overlooked mission is in Oceanside, Mission San Luis Rey.
Once again, we have on of Mrs. Forbes mission bells outside. 
This building was completed in 1815 and has gone through some more modern renovations. A nice bell tower, it was a little hard to see the actual bell.
This is a Franciscan monk, with a robe and rope belt, but what is the guitar doing here? It certainly looks like a modern addition.
This Church is the largest of all the CA missions, it is also quite active, people were praying during my visit. It has the traditional brightly painted decorations.
The wonderful wood beams were brought down from what is today the Cleveland National Forrest. 
Many unique features in this church, a wooden dome. I love how the rays of the sun are coming through.
As well as a wooden cupola.
After looking up, it was worth looking down at the smooth polished Mexican tiles. 200 years gives them so much warmth.
The main altar.
This Church also has two side altars, one dedicated to St. Francis.
Clearly an active Church, a lot of candles being lit.
As well as a Madonna Chapel. I think of this image as the Madonna of Guadalupe, but she isn’t, no roses around her, she is simply the Madonna. Although the style she is painted in is the same as many of the Guadalupes.
More votives in her chapel.
An interesting motif above the window, a small star of David. I doubt it has any Jewish significance here, I think the motif fits in with the design. There are also two Shamrocks, and not too many Irish were here at the time.
Today there is an active Franthean School of Theology on the premises, actively training professional ministers for the Church. I think this is one of the things I love about these missions. Each has a long history and yet each one has found an important purpose in the present day. These missions are very much alive and thriving.
Then, I paid a visit to the cemetery, which warrents it’s own post.
I mentioned a while back that I would be knitting a shawl out of this linen. Well, I did and I never took one picture while I was knitting. I started with a pattern, modified the body of the shawl with short rows, so it wouldn’t be so thin and narrow. The lace edging was complicated, so I used the lace from a different pattern.
Washing linen softens and relaxes the fibers. Here it is, out of the dryer. Looking good, I got the shape I wanted. I was a little concerned that the lace would pull in on the body of the shawl. It might have, had I used any fiber but linen.Then I took it to the ironing board, blasted it with steam and ironed away.
Looking at these two pictures it doesn’t look all that different, does it?
Here is a close up of the before ironing.
Here is the after, I stretched out the points and pulled on the lace a little more. Give it time, it will relax back. So the ironing may not have been necessary. 
It’s hot out! I didn’t want to pull out my tripod. So onto the dress form, it goes. You are probably noticing how each stage the yarn presents a different color. I’m wondering is it the location of where I am taking the pictures, or is my camera beginning to lose its’ ability to be accurate with colors. Of course, some of the color came out in the wash, which is interesting, since not all linen fades like that in the washing machine.
I do like the size and shape, I have a number of shawls that are so long, they are more like scarves. Others are minis and they just don’t keep my back warm.
I’m one of those who as I have aged, I am cold most of the time. A little something to keep my shoulders warm and all is good. On a summer evening, a linen shawl is perfect, wool would just be too much.
My latest linen shawl with the first one I knit about 5 years ago.
It is very safe t say that purple is a color I love.
Tried to go out early, but it wasn’t early enough. Our goal was the Nike Station that I shared from afar a few months ago. So up to the top of Reseda Blvd we went, here stopping and looking back down into the valley.
I don’t know when this became a state park, or if it always was, when they put up this fancy sign. 
Our walk took us east on dirt Mulholland. Mulholland Drive starts in the Hollywood Hills and goes all the way to the ocean. Well part of it does, the part called Mulholland Highway. For 8.5 miles from Encino to Woodland Hills the road isn’t paved – hence dirt MulhollandT. Which makes it perfect for hikers and mountain bikers alike.
The morning June haze was still visible over the valley, it quickly burned off as the day got hot. By the time we finished our hike it was 88 degrees and we felt every single one of them. We weren’t the only crazy people out there, a lot of hardy folk were on foot and bike.
Here, looking southwest towards the city and the ocean. It’s a good 12-mile hike, my son has done it, not sure if it’s on my bucket list. Certainly not when the weather is this hot.
We didn’t make it all the way to the Nike site, did I mention it was hot? Our whole hike was five miles, in two hours. Not bad, when the weather is cooler adding another two miles to get to the Nike site and back will be very doable. As it was, we stopped at any shady place we could, and there weren’t many.
I took this picture because it was on a hillside opposite us and Joel wanted to know what that shiny thing was. I was right, I said it’s probably some escaped milar balloons.
There are now a number of You Tube videos as well as blog posts about using pool noodles to spray baste a quilt.
I had tried something similar with 2×4 boards, can I just say, this is so much easier.
Can you see how nice and smooth everything is! I try and use as little of the spray glue as possible. I do find that the residue does build up on the needle.
The whole process took maybe half an hour. For a larger quilt, it will take longer, I will need to bring out two tables as well as combine two noodles together. That probably means a trip to the hardware store to get some plumbing connectors.
I was very nervous when I started quilting. Initially, the thread broke. It was Isacord, which many people swear by. I was also using a Superior Threads Top Stitch needle. So that one came out and I replaced the needle with a Schmetz, and the thread with aurifil. Ahhhh, it’s working!
I don’t plan out my quilting ahead of time. Once I did some basic quilting on the birds, I decided to make it appear as if they are standing in grass, with a few feathers and large flowers. I really love quilting feathers.
The real question is, since I’m quilting white on white, will anyone even see the design?
I changed direction for the top, trying to make it look like clouds in the sky. So the long lines are now horizontal instead of vertical.
We shall see, once I wash this I might just end up with a textured background.
I followed the instructions for the largest size quilt. I had to adjust the background so it wouldn’t be too large. Yup, a lot of math was done.
I should have waited until later in the day to take this photo. The white is blinding and the shadows are dark. You get the idea what this top looks like.
My
I am totally in love with this needle turn applique. Sometimes I follow the the designs…
… sometimes I embellish, like here, where I did some more cut-outs in the center as well as applique a contrasting circle on top.
My points are getting sharper and neater. 
My stitches are really becoming invisible.
Some of the blocks are more muted.
The pineapple motif shows up often.
Now I am wondering if I want to combine the small blocks in with the appliqué or just go traditional and make the whole quilt out of the appliqué blocks. We’ll see, I’ll continue to make more blocks and then I’ll make up my mind. I don’t like to quit, and not using the Splendid Sampler blocks feels like quitting. Luckily, I don’t have to decide yet.
Recently I made a red T-shirt, so now it’s time to the green linen I bought at the same time.
Also, it’s fun to be a stylist and accessorize my photo shoots.
Found this rayon knit at JoAnn’s. Once again I used 
Of all the independent pattern companies out there a big shout out to Colette. Their patterns are simple, good for beginners as well as good for sewing knits. What I really love are their 
The bodice is lined, Threads magazine has a tutorial on how to sew the lining to the fashion fabric. So does Colette, and I have to say, they came up with a new method that works beautifully. Another issue is the gaping armhole, once again, Colette offers a very good solution.
It worked! My armhole is comfortable but not gaping at all.
Then there is the hat. I had this hat made many years ago when my oldest son was Bar Mitzvah. I don’t have many opportunities to wear it, so why not use it in a photo shoot. 
See these flowers, feathers and glass beads? They are all vintage, I bought them downtown at a millinery shop that no longer exists. It was on Broadway, upstairs in one of the office buildings. What a selection they had! I wonder if 
I had the pleasure of getting inside the Southwest Museum in Highland Park! This is the first museum to ever open in Los Angeles, it has been closed for years. The building needed to be retrofitted, there was no money. So the Autry museum acquired it, and they don’t have the money to do all the repairs, so they have concentrated on trying to save many of the incredible Indian artifacts, textiles, pottery and other amazing items that Charles Lummis collected.
I am most often on the freeway, (the further bridge) zooming by the Colorado Ave. Bridge. A few months ago I got off and was able to view the bridges from beneath.
Ahh, the Art Deco elements work so well on a bridge!
The Aroyo Seco is a dry river bed, which means in the rainy season, it isn’t dry. The water now runs through a dedicated channel, houses and streets were build as well as our first Freeway. Many of the paintings represented that.
My photo is from the south side of the bridge, this painting is from the north.
A view towards the Green Castle apartments. I love the photo realism of this painter. I also recognize that he edited out what he didn’t want to see.
An owl! Yay! Once I saw this bird I just went on snapping pictures of their birds.
This isn’t an art lesson or even a history lesson. I don’t know who made these or when. Some are very old, some are newer. I find that often I want to leave with an impression, not with an education of dates and names.
It isn’t surprising that birds are prominent in art, they surround us everywhere. 
Like when we went down to La Fuente restaurant on Figueroa Ave and saw 
I don’t know what I’m doing ‘wrong’, mine come out wonky. Then I see someone else post, and their feathers are straight, they have a large portion of quill showing. Oh well, I guess that when working with curves the results will differ greatly.
At least I’m having fun.
Some things got easier with practice, like the mirror imaging on the pineapples.
Look! I put butterflies on the butterfly! Two small and…
… and one large.
The poppies got all wonky, but then when do two flowers ever looks exactly alike?
Finally the antlers.
It’s that small detail that will set my quilt apart. Now comes the hard part, by doing so I have changed the size of the blocks. I don’t want to use the dimensions of the background as given. The quilt will be too large. I also don’t want to just shrink the background down to fit the original size. So I have to work it out as I go.
The bottom row has the most pieces, so I started there. Looks like the quilt will only be a few inches wider than the original plan.