Lan Su Chinese Garden and Rose Parade

It’s been a couple years since I last visited the Chinese Garden.  Out of town guests prompted me to renew my membership. As is my usual custom, we did the tour (I always learn something new) and sipped tea in the tea room.

I’ve always appreciated the carved panels. Previous guides have mentioned that each of the four represented historic philosophers’ gardens in China.

This guide pointed out that this panel showed the garden that the design of Lan Su was mostly based upon, noting the tea room (top), pagoda, and zigzag bridge. And here is the bridge in the garden.

Previously I’d heard the lore that the zigzag made it more difficult for evil spirits to cross; this time the explanation was more mundane.  It delayed passage, slowing people down, giving the experience of a larger garden. For a real philosopher’s garden would also be a small space in a busy city, made to look/represent large. As in the “mountain” and waterfall.

Sometimes the idea is all that is needed.

Then to the tea room.

This time we were seated upstairs where we got an overview of the garden.

And tea.

Each kind of tea has its own kind of pot and cup. I especially liked this delicate flowerlike cup for the Black tea with rose petals (timely because of the rose parade).

Here is the Lan Su float for the rose parade.

Yes, I was a wimp and viewed from inside on a chair! But floats were on the street later for close-up looks.

 

I have more float photos; maybe another day.

 

 

 

 

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Tahoe Quilts Finished at Last

ETA: Linking with Clever Chameleon since color decisions were involved.  Satisfactorily in the binding of the pink one, less so in the addition of green (opposite color scheme) as accent.

The retreat was in the summer of 2015. I finished the tops fairly quickly (post about retreat with tops finished here); quilting took longer (red one here but I think I had decided not to post the quilting on the pink one till it was bound) and the second binding longer yet.

40 x 60

It’s been washed, so it has that crinkly look.

And here you can see the leaf pattern, an idea I got from Christina Carmelli. And here is the second one quilted and bound.

The quilting is a simple meander, done a couple months ago.  One thing holding back the binding is that I’d planned to match the blue of the pinwheel in the middle. But the back said, No.

Finally I finished a project that the rust batik had been held for (here–those trees had been intended for a large quilt), so it was released for other uses. And it worked well for both sides.

These blocks were contributed by many members of the Sunshine online guild (now on MeWe more than on Yahoo); whether from scraps or yardage, the end result is a scrappy quilt.

Since this is almost the 15th, check out Scrap Happy for what others have done with scraps.

Vanport Mosaic: Memory Activism

The short version: During World War II there was an urgent need for ships; Kaiser Shipyards needed workers to supply that need, and they came from all over the country.  Kaiser, working with the federal government, built homes on a flood plain that became Vanport (between Vancouver, WA (Van) and Portland, OR (Port)), homes meant to be temporary. Although the need for ships dwindled after the war, about 4000 people remained. Vanport was Oregon’s largest city and the nation’s largest public housing, a thriving community until May 30, 1948 when the flooding Columbia River demolished it in 45 minutes.  For the long version, see this OPB hour long program.

In 2014, recognizing that the place and the flood were fading from the collective memory, Laura Lo Forti began interviewing and videotaping Vanport residents still alive. In 2016 Co-Directors Laura Lo Forti and Damaris Webb (with the help of many) presented the first Vanport Mosaic Festival.  I attended that first one and learned the history, missed the second, then attended the greatly expanded version this year.

The bus tour took us around today’s golf course and race track to show us where buildings had been. The guide for the tour I traveled with had lived in Vanport as a 6-10 year old; he had many stories to tell.

The only tangible remnant of Vanport is the foundation of the theatre.

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Besides the tour guide, there was another passenger who had been a resident. They searched a school photo to find themselves.

The tour started from the Expo Center; inside were impressive exhibits created by middle school students. First the Vanport sequence.

Several students pointed out that the school was integrated, but the living assignments were segregated.

Two  other middle school projects concerned the Japanese incarceration during WWII. This is related to Vanport in that some Japanese people returning –whose homes had been either destroyed or occupied by others–moved into Vanport homes vacated by ship workers whose work was over. And so they were dispossessed twice: by the internment and by the flood.

One project dealt with peoples’ experiences, each student summarizing, illustrating, and reflecting on one person. Here is one sample, Jack’s history:

And the student reflection:

Another told of a Japanese-Peruvian man, an aspect new to me. For a fee (I think it was 2 million dollars) U. S, housed Japanese-Peruvians in the centers. At the war’s end, U. S didn’t want them, Peru didn’t want them back, so they were sent “back” to a Japan they had not known.

The other project explored the various concentration camps.

It included a description of the temporary holding center, here at Expo Center, where people were held until the internment centers could be constructed.

At the Expo Center there is a permanent memorial, several torii with metal tags for each person imprisoned here and on the poles, embossed replicas of various news articles related to their forced leaving.

Memory Activism: Remembering in order to honor and to act differently.

Quilt Show Finale

Considering there were over 300 quilts in the show, I have very few photos.  Sometimes I am so into looking I don’t think of pulling out the camera.

First “two” (you can see one is a group) Japanese influenced quilts by Helene Knotts.

Japanese Postcards

Helene said the “postcards” were inspired by 19 Century Japanese nature prints; from them she made a pattern series.  Some of the scenes are of real places and others imaginary. Next a sampler inspired by  Japanese indigo quilts.

Sekura, Helene Knotts

And a detail

And for more applique:

Streams of Life, Yuki Suglyama

This one got a first place in hand quilting; here is a closer view:

The description mentioned that fabrics are from kimonos.  Delicate applique is hard enough, but add in the slippery nature of silk? Impressive.

Another postcard inspired quilt.

Greetings From Oregon, Carrie Perkins

This brought back memories of my childhood travels with family and the postcards we bought and sent. Its award was for art quilt: pictorial. The “treasure hunt clue” refers to a gimmick to keep younger viewer interested. They get a paper listing  items to find among the quilts and a small prize for finding them.

Next a member donated award: this one for curved piecing. Members (for a small fee) could invent an award, and then they got to choose the quilt that won it. There are plenty of curves to qualify this one.

A Rose Grows in the City, Michele Nichols

Her description mentions paint drops, graffiti, a chain link fence and a red rose.Its second place ribbon is for modern quilt.

The next one is named Ruthie’s Quilt.

Ruthie’s Quilt, Nancy Neff

Nancy made this one as a block of the month–lots more than 12 blocks here! I’m drawn to the long narrow points. Wonder if I’ll ever manage to make blocks like that . . .

Believe in Yourself–Chase Your Dreams, Nancy Tubbs

Nancy challenged herself to quilt a different design in each arc. And for her effort she got a first in domestic machine quilting.

These colors caught my eye. And the flying geese. And the setting.

Desert Beauty, Karen Nelson

It strikes me as a modern quilt made from traditional blocks. There is no doubt that the next one is modern.

Abloom, Camille Ainsworth

And the ribbon is for the modern category.

One more modern quilt:

Intersection, Linda Becker

The quilt, a wedding present, captures the intersection of personalities in the intersecting design. The colors are the wedding colors.

I think I have matched titles and photos and ribbon categories. Once again, if you spot a misattribution, do comment.

Until the next show . . .

 

 

Quilt Show–Second Installment

I’ve been slow; it is more tedious when the text and quilt are not together in my files. But here are a few more I have matched quilt to description. Starting with first place large quilt–pieced.

Turquoise to Teal

It is easy to see why this one got the award for piecing! And though it got second place for hand quilting, I neglected to get a detailed photo. Janis Pearson said she used 225 shades of turquoise/teal, overdying some to get the desired shade.

Here’s another with intricate piecing.

Journey through the Cosmos, Betty Dodge

Can’t help but wonder why this one didn’t get a prize too–other than that there are more quilts than prizes.  I am drawn to all those narrow points.

Here is one from the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.

Parliament

The online challenge  has been going for several years. Each month a color is assigned and quilters make up one or more blocks with scraps of that color. Some make a quilt of each color, others, like Sally Trude, combine them.  There is a monthly linky party for people to show what they have accomplished.  I might play once I sort my scraps. Sally  created this block design herself.

The next quilt comes from a math instructor.

Rows of Squares in Diamonds

Irena Swanson sometimes tells how many pieces (964 here) and always how many seams (109 here–sometimes it is dramatically fewer). She has a website (here) and several YouTube videos instructing in her method. Here is a link to one of the videos, Half Square Triangles,Part I.

I entered Dreaming of Cool, Clear, Abundant Water in Art Quilts—Abstract and got a third place this year. (More were entered, so more competition.) Here are the first and second.

First place went to Anton Haas, Jr. for Polygon Paradise. I think the second place piece is Rain in the Glen by Evelyn Eason. (My photo of the description has no  bit of quilt or mention of category to go by–if you know that I am right or wrong, please comment.)

And you have seen mine before, but here it is hanging straight.

Here is an impressive 3D effect.

Where Do We Go from Here, Gail Planck

Gail says it has 2277 triangle pieces! Here is a detail

The ribbon is for Kazumi Peterson’s long arm quilting.

This is only a sample of the 300+ quilts in the show–as you can see, it was a very good show.

Contradance Finished

From idea to finished product in one day (however, the HSTs were premade). A record.  (I should mention that it is only 8-inches square.)

Back when I was organizing scraps (somewhat) I gathered all my bonus triangles and HSTs together.  This is just one bagful:

“Bonus” means they come from rectangle pieces stitched together on the diagonal to make blocks like the Flying Geese bock. Once cut off I keep them, stitch them as leaders-enders, then when the fancy strikes move them along. These are all stitched; some need to be pressed, some are pressed already. All need to be trimmed.

The motivation this time came when our guild was demonstrating quilting at the Gathering of the Guilds.  I figured I could get a fair amount of trimming completed in a couple hours there. And I did.

One batch was a group of HSTs that had gotten separated from the original batch. That batch has long been a quilt (here).  I had enough to make four blocks and I had yet to make a little quilt for the small quilt raffle at the guild show. So I started arranging.

I could have made five of that corner block, but it didn’t make a logical center for a 9-patch, so I substituted the pinwheel and the few extras will go with other random left overs. And I did fix the pinwheel before I started to sew. You can see the resemblance to the Bear Paw, though the larger HSTs would have to be squares and the pinwheel a smaller square for it to really be a Bear Paw.  Someday I’ll browse to see if such a block already is identified in Barbara Brackman’s encyclopedia.

So I started in the morning and finished in the early afternoon. Actually I was surprised it took so long. And here is the finish:

Binding took forever because there were mostly corners. None of those long seams to make time on!

For once a Scrap Happy quilt that has scraps even for the background and backing and binding. I usually fudge on at least one of those items. Visit Kate’s Tall Tales from Chiconia to see more scrappy posts. (I’ll update with specific link later.)

There were 46-47 quilts in the small quilt raffle.  I haven’t gotten any phone calls, so apparently I didn’t win any that I put chances on.

ETA: Today (5/14/18) at guild meeting they announced the small quilt raffle brought in a little over $600.00.

 

Quilt Show–First Installment

A new challenge.  I purposely take photos of the labels before the quilt so I can remember title and maker. Usually it works well.  This time, doing nothing differently than usual, I downloaded photos and all the labels grouped first and then the quilts–and those not in the order they were taken. There goes my system. So this installment will show you the ones I can reunite enough to attribute! I’ll work harder and do a post with the rest later.

ETA: I did do one thing differently. I selected all (because I wanted to deselect two–which I couldn’t). Doesn’t make sense, but maybe that is what shuffled them????

A wall of quilts greeted me as I looked right

A small group had decided to each make the same pattern. They said that a couple fabrics ran through the series. I could not identify which it was, but it was fun to see the color variations.

And though you have seen my Water is Life quilt before, here it is hanging for a better view than draped on the couch.

I didn’t have time to hang around to see if anyone stopped long enough to find the word ‘LIFE,’ but in the short time I watched, people passed by quickly. (History of the quilt in reverse here )

Next a quilt I recognized by Barbara Stanbro.

Snips and Snails

I’d planned to look for her quilt, but she didn’t remember which category she had put it in. Nor did I remember which quilt she had entered. So I was tickled to recognize it from having watched it grow on her Cat Patches blog. (Her blog here) And more tickled to see it had a second place ribbon for the category of Art Quilt Pictorial. I knew from her blog that she had designed it from a photograph of her brother in a class with Ruth McDowell.

Another quilt I recognized from watching it progress at a guild retreat is Tam Gardner’s Blue Stars with Orange.

After making the blue star quilt, she decided it needed orange. What a great result!

And for some more orange, the first-place miniature quilt.

Orange Feathers, Barbara Schulenberg

You are wondering how small those triangles, aren’t you? Here is my finger for perspective.

On the subject of color, here is the winner of the In Memory of Fran: Best Use of Lime Green award, given to a 3-D quilt. The back story of the award: Fran attended retreats regularly and was quite a jokester. One day she mentioned not liking lime green, so fellow retreat goers all started to sew with lime green. And she was awarded a box of lime green fabric at the final awards section of the retreat. After making a quilt with the pieces, she said she was beginning to like lime green.  She is greatly missed.

Though they doesn’t show as lime green, the leaves at the top are.  And the 3-D shows much better in the detail views.

Here are three of the ancient four elements: air, fire, and water.  Alas, earth is missing, though I was sure I had taken its photo.  Later I remembered that my batteries had died on the earth photo. So after changing batteries, I must have forgotten to go back. And the label for this one is also missing, though I was sure I had seen it earlier. I did see another label that mentions 3D, so maybe I confused them. So I don’t remember the exact title or the maker. If you know, please put information in the comments!

I’ll share some more from the show after I’ve matched text and quilt photos.

Edited to solve the mystery of the missing photos.