I love rayon, it flows like no other fabric, and these days, it’s machine washable. So a month ago at Michael Levine’s, I found a Cotton and Steel rayon, it was the end of the bold, 4 yards, on sale.
I got out some finery and set up my tripod in front of the neighbors’ house. the slightest breeze and the skirt just flows.
I’ve had the hat for years, I need to wear it more often, it is cute!
More breeze.
Rayon is just so comfy.
My beef with this fabric? It’s one directional, so I used up 3.5 yards on this simple sleeveless dress. The skirt is made of six gores, had I been able to flip the pattern pieces, I would have been able to make something for my daughter in law as well. I know, these days this is the way people design fabric, it means that we need to buy more fabric – which is probably one of the reasons for doing it this way. I can assure you, fabrics made for the wholesale market aren’t one directional.
I have some fitting issue on the back, not just this dress. I’d like to figure out a fix that doesn’t require redrafting. These days I want to take a pattern, maybe make some moderate changes and just sew. I’ve made some couture, not worth the effort for me.
And yet, I just love the flirtiness of the fabric. There really isn’t enough rayon in the Over the Counter fabrics. That is what the industry calls fabrics that are sold to home sewers, so I take what I can get. I do love the color and the print, and of course the way the fabric just flows.
I’ve been wanting to make a red and white quilt, turns out I’m making a red, white and black quilt. All the patterns use the mini quick curve ruler, which is based on a nine-inch circle. This gives many options, it also makes matching a little harder. I did OK with these birds, but then I tried to help my friend and it was one big hot mess.
Next came the skinny arrows, ugh! They look so simple and yet I struggled mightily!
Part of me really likes perfection, another part is constantly reminding me to just let it go. No one will every be studying every tiny detail and the overall quilt will be lovely.
Not only have I been collecting red and white fabrics, I won the fat quarter exchange at the guild last month, and the colors were red white and black!
They were, but…. since I’ve made these they have tweaked this pattern to be more accurate. No, I’m not going back, I realize that as fun as these patterns are – they aren’t accurate and that is that. I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads right now trying to figure out what I am complaining about. It’s nothing really, it’s an 1/8 of an inch here or there, it’s a tip that will get cut off when the blocks are assembled. These are the things we quilters see as we work closely with the patterns, but are never seen on the finished quilt- regardless of the size.
Since many of these blocks have mirror image piecing – it is doing wonders for my concentration. That is a nice way of saying, a lot of cursing and resewing is going on here.
Soon the back of the blocks will be buried forever inside the quilt, so I enjoy showing it. 
I’m a few weeks ahead, once I start I project I like to move forward. That became an issue with the Splendid Sampler where I had to wait each week for the new blocks. At least here, I have the whole pattern on hand.
In the book there are three options for layout, I chose the largest option. In the QAL we haven’t gotten to the houses yet, but I finished them early on since, in my layout, the trees are part of this section.
Since I’m playing around with different backgrounds, I wanted to make sure these two share the same one. 
This isn’t the layout, it’s just give an idea of how the blocks and colors work. I am very happy with my color choice. Being monochormatic pulls everything together.
This is stitched in the ditch, so it doesn’t look like much has changed.
Adding background quilting.
Which means, I didn’t enjoy quilting this as much as I normally do. I decide on the quilting patterns as I go along. After finished the main section of the background, I decided that anywhere that has this background fabric, I would fill with the same quilting pattern.
There is some ruler work here, not much because my machine hates the ruler. 
I like the idea of leaving the thin diamond border un-quilted, helps it pop and reinforce the overall border design.
Love the textures!
Bound and done.
Years ago I bought this Noah’s ark fabric on sale, I knew it would be great for the back of a baby quilt and it is! The quilt is 41″ wide so I didn’t even need to seam anything. My label iin place, just waiting for some more pertinent information. Like the name, the birth date….
I’m way ahead of the game, two quilts finished long before the babies arrive.
Nothing more lovely than a pile of quilts, even if it’s just a pile of two.
Final shot, after being washed and dried. Yup, it is crinklier and the quilting is more pronounced. Softer and cozier for the baby.
At Spring quilt market someone made and adorable Teddy Bear as a baby quilt. This pattern isn’t out yet but you can see it 
It is fun to show you what the paper looks like on the back. A few pieces have fallen off. The final large pieces were cut very accurately, I didn’t sew in with paper.
When the back looks as good as the front.
Next up I decided to include these wonderful owls from 
My idea is just to add a border with the owls in the corners and the bear inTthe middle. I want it to be a rectangle, even though the bear block is a square.
On Instagram, there is a group doing a quilt along with the patterns from the Quilters Planner. This block caught my eye, I spend time with fabric and rulers getting to fit the corner blocks.
Building up the corners.
Figuring out the layout. 
I love how the corner fits into the border. I immediately started quilting, I’ll share the final project soon.
The Koigu shawl is finished! 
I ran out of the red yarn, who cares! Just use up the gray instead.
These days my dress form gets more use to display items than to actually use for fitting. 
Looks better tied like this.
Since it is wool, it will keep my back and shoulders nice and warm.
I think it came out very pretty. Will I make it again? No, although it was good mindless knitting.
I dug through my stash, I don’t remember buying this, so I must have gotten it in an exchange. I thought I’d start a pair of socks, then I realized I don’t feel like knitting socks right now.
So
So I’m walking the neighborhood much more and expanding the distances I go. Sure these kind of garden sculptures capture my interest.
The gazing ball craze has been over for years, so has this one been sitting here for years? The rusty pedestal seems to support that idea.
Then I came across this house, a supurb example of 1920’s architeture in LA, part of the Storybook fad. As I was taking this picture, the owner bounded out and we started talking. He was impressed that I guessed the age of the house, I did admit that being a guide with the LA conservancy, I am always learning new things about the city. We talked for about 20 minutes. No, we never exchanged names, I may never see him again, so what? Friendly, casual interactions between strangers are fine just being that – friendly and short. 
This was the only remaining corbel with a face. Since the house is 90 years old and probably was only the carriage house of a larger home, a lot has changed. He and his wife just purchased the home, in hopes of moving up here in a few years from Orange County. This is quite a change from the tract home they live in now. He was busy getting the place fixed up so they can rent it out. So if someone wants a cute house, on Fairway Ave, right above Ventura Blvd, go take a look.
You’d think this gate is part of the same home, but no, someone else is into the ‘Gothic look’.
Later on the walk I came across this fellow. No we didn’t meet in person, I couldn’t pet him, but he is real. All I could think of is the old song from my youth – How much is that Doggie in the Window?
The gardens are full of flowers, I’m loving them all.
I’ve never seen a gladiola like this. They only bloom for a few weeks, boy is this a great one to have in the garden!
I went through my stash and found all kinds of pink. I can’t imagine making them out of anything but pink.
I’d love to say that this is an easy pattern, it isn’t. There are quite a few mirror image blocks. So I messed up, a lot.
I love te colors of this one.
Right now I see imperfections, that is the problem of working in such detail. But once quilted, I’m sure I won’t notice anything anymore.
I tried to play with more orange on this bird. that one stripe is just jarring. But it too will remain.
These are big birds!
Using up most of the leftover fabric I put on borders.
Like this round box for my friend. This is the second time I’ve used this pattern as well as Annies soft and stable.
Roberta likes pink.
Whats not to like?
I am in a little bit of a funk with my knitting. I’ve been very slowly knitting away on a shawl of no particular pattern. So if it is very successful, it will still be a one of a kind. I’m using up the last of the Koigu yarn I bought many, many years ago. 
I’m not thrilled with the color combinatibn, but hey, I’m using up old yarn. How old? At least 10 years and it has some breaks in it to prove it’s brittleness.
Finishing it off with some lace. If I run out of the red, I will switch to the grey. This really is just a haphazard project. I also won’t know how well it functions until it is off the needles. For all I know it will be a very awkard shape.
Still sewing clothes. Now that the weather is hot, I’ll be making some more summer clothes I can wear right away.
It really wasn’t very large. Mostly antiques with a very big emphasis on Bower Pottery. I was immediately informed that what I’ve been buying is a new iteration, new owners, even if many of the designs are similar.
I’m not a collector, so although I enjoyed looking, I wasn’t buying.
I’m glad I can share a picture of this rabbit with my friend. She does the rabbit-rabbit thing at the beginning of each month. At $600, a picture will suffice.
For me, an owl, I’m wondering if that deep green turquoise is one of the glazes that is too toxic to make today?
How about this crude unglazed owl?
There were a few contemporary artists, I would have loved to buy this totem pole.
Instead, all I could afford was a nice new coffee mug.
Although it was 90 degrees, all the cyclists were out, Green street was blocked to traffic, clearly, some people came prepared.
I’m amazed that I caught this shot.
Oh, and inside the convention center, there was a girls’ dancecompetitionn. On the convention center floor, where I’m used to seeing vendor booth there was a stage and lights. It was fun seeing the girls in their shiny costumes.
There was construction on Sunset Blvd. so we couldn’t go up Kenter Ave, we went up Mandeville Canyon instead and entered the fire road from here.
Very helpful people on this trail.
Three miles up and we are looking over at the 
Ok, I was using my telephoto lens in the previous picture. It’s not that close. But one of these days it would be worthwhile to hike from the valley to the city and Uber back. The reason I’d go that direction is because it is downhill most of the way.
Here I am, going up Sunswept St. The hills have turned golden, it looks like I’m far from the city.
I’m right above Carney’s on busy Ventura Blvd.
I often wonder if the city would allow these steep winding streets to be built today, probably not. It is fun to see the funky creativity up here.
The more modern gates I see, the less creativity. 
Some carpenter had a lot of fun here.
There were quite a few trucks up here, people are refurbishing their homes. Well not everyone. A doorway to an empty lot.
I always stop for arrested decay, I think this may have been part of a gate mechanism.
Here you can see the slope of the street. I guess you can call this recycling, patching together a car from many parts.
A few days later, I was off to the Northwestern part of the valley. A large lovely park, O’Melveney Park. What used to be a private ranch with a lot of old fruit trees. Many people out hiking and enjoying this park which was gifted to the city years ago.
It’s not quite June, but we are getting the marine inversion layer already. 
An old crabapple tree.
A thistle. A lot of plants are blooming and the poison oak is out in force. That probably has to do with the rains we’ve had.
This is what I call very good design! Water that is reachable by adults, people in wheelchairs, children and dogs!