Empty Spools at Last

Empty Spools began over thirty years ago and I've been hoping to attend almost that long. With young children, tight budget and half a continent of distance it was a pipe dream. Secretly I promised to attend when the children were grown. Not only have they been grown {for quite a while} but we now live in California part of the year. And I still didn't attend.

Gayle mentioned that Valerie Goodwin's class, The Complex Composition, still had openings. Valerie visited our guild two years ago and neither of us could believe her class wasn't full. It was a sign to sign up immediately. We packed machines and fabric and off we went.

Julia Morgan designed the first buildings in the California Arts and Crafts style using local wood and stone. Fireplaces are the centerpiece of almost every structure. We checked in at reception in the Phoebe Hearst Center (Julia was Phoebe's protege.)

Phoebe Hearst Social Hall, Asilomar

and found our rooms at The Lodge.

The Lodge (photo by Asilomar Conference Center)

This building was constructed after important visitors from New York found the tent buildings too primitive for their tastes. My room was simply furnished: single bed, small bathroom with shower, desk and dresser but faced the ocean. I left the windows open nightly to enjoy the sounds of the waves.

Simply furnished single room at The Lodge

Empty Spools centered on Merrill Hall and our class was held in an anteroom. From there we could see the ocean through the trees.

View of the Pacific Ocean from our classroom

Late one afternoon, we took a walk along the shore for a closer look.

Monterey Peninsula shoreline

Caterpillars covered the grounds. We had to step carefully to avoid crushing them. I'm not sure the species but another site suggests they might be tiger moths.

One of the many caterpillars on the grounds

Valerie led us through individual samples and a group project before we started on our own maps. Since she had a tremendous amount of detailed information to impart, they were important precursors.

Technique sample from Valerie Goodwin's class

Here's my initial draft, overlaying topographic maps and photographs of San Francisco.

Initial draft combining topographic maps and photographs

Enjoy the day, Ann

"If silence seems to give approval, then remaining silent is cowardly." Eleanor Roosevelt

Pi Day 2017

3.14. It's Pi Day! This painting hangs at the Cantor Arts Museum at Stanford University.

Maxon's Island by Frank Stella

I had three circle quilt finishes in the past year. One was the Polka Dot quilt from Freddy Dot Com class.

Polka Dot quilt from Freddy Dot Com class

The other was a Crafted Applique pillow using Lara Buccella's method for raw edge applique.

Crafted Applique pillow

Part of the magic of Kaleidoscopes is the optical illusion of circles.

Kaleidoscope quilt

My family always refers to the time before a child was born as "when you were just a twinkle in your father's eye." Here's the quilts that are still just a twinkle in my eye.

Quilty365 blocks are still stacked ready to create a top.

A month of Quilty365 blocks.

New York Beauty was set aside with plans to finish this top this year. We'll see how that goes.

New York Beauty blocks

Spiderweb is almost a circle plus it's almost done.

Spiderweb quilt top

Progress! The stars are finished and I moved to the inner border. There's already so much applique that I simply  meandered around while outlining the leaves and birds. Here's the front

Meander quilting on the applique border

and the back to date.

Spiderweb border quilting from the back

I would be further along but... a friend called. There were two last minute openings at Empty Spools for The Complex Composition with Valerie Goodwin. On two days' notice, we loaded the car with fabric, machines and ideas and off we went.

Valerie is an extremely talented architect, professor, and quilter from Florida. She layers maps, architectural perspective drawings and images to create cohesive compositions. Quilters came from across the country and overseas to participate in this challenging class. We all wish we had another week or two with Valerie.

Empty Spools is held at Asilomar which is now part of the California Park System but originally constructed by the YWCA in the 1910s. Julia Morgan, architect of Hearst Castle  designed many of these buildings in the California Arts and Crafts style.

Much more later. I just need to settle back in.

Enjoy the day, Ann

"What after all has maintained the human race on this old globe despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities and courage to advocate them." - Jane Addams