What do you say when the news is bad?

I have to let our friends know that on July 22, Linda and Paul’s son Jerry passed away. He has gone home to be with God.

His wife Viviana, that he loved with all his heart, and his family and friends will hold his memory always in their hearts.

Jerry spent thousands of hours working with the LA Rescue Mission. It was his passion to help rehabilitate the lost and homeless. In lieu of flowers the family would like donations to the Mission in Jerry’s name. We will send another email out with the donation information in a few days when the Scholarship fund is set up.

Visiting the Hill Country…

Last Friday, Steve drove me to the Texas Hill Country to visit the Veriens Quilt Guild in Fredericksburg, the Hill Country Quilt Guild in Kerrville, and the Highland Lakes Quilt Guild in Marble Falls. The Hill Country is about 6 hours south of Sherman, sort of in the middle of Texas. (Texas is a big state.)

Here are the members of the Veriens QG waving hello to you at my lecture on Saturday.

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The lecture was followed by the first half of a 6 hour class, which then carried over to Sunday. Steve and I had half the day Sunday to toodle around Fredericksburg where I found this wonderful tile floor in the kitchen store that is in the building that used to be the local hospital. It would make a nice applique quilt!

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As we drove around town, I noticed something I don’t remember seeing before: road signs with interesting designs printed on the back. Here’s the front of one sign:

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And here’s the back:

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There are many of these signs around Fredericksburg and they sport different designs on their backsides. It’s a lovely attention to detail!

After 2 days with the Veriens QG, I lectured at the Hill Country Quilt Guild in Kerrville. I forgot to take a waving-hello picture, but I know those ladies would have happily waved to you.

After the lecture and lunch, Mary to me to an amazing quilt shop — Creations. I was too busy shopping to take pictures. If you had been with me, you would not have stopped for pictures either. I left with a big ziplock bag full of fat quarters and some interesting thread. You can only see part of what’s in my bag. What’s below is equally as interesting.

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Creations puts purchases in ziplock bags. I’ve never seen this before but I’d love to encounter it again. It’s so very functional!

Steve has been busy carrying my bags and getting me where I need to be on time, fulfilling his job as sherpa. He’s also been hiking and visiting various sites. The Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg was something he didn’t know he’d enjoy, but he really has. He’s going back tomorrow while I teach. After class we head to Marble Falls for 2 more days.

The Texas Hill Country is beautiful, full of friendly people and interesting things to do and see. If you get the chance to visit, you should!

A Stars in the Garden raffle quilt…

The Valley Heritage Quilt Guild in King City, California is selling donation tickets for this “Stars in the Garden” quilt to raise money for programs, workshops and comfort quilts.

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The quilt measures 86″ x 86″. Holly Casey, who made this lovely quilt, used a different, and unique, border than the one I used in the pattern. I like this a lot!

For more information, contact Holly Casey 45335 Vista Place, King City, CA 93930.

Show and tell…

Susan S. sent me this photo of her first Vintage Gone Modern block, from Wool Applique the Piece O’ Cake Way. I really like her fabric selections and I’m surprised at how much I like the black stems. I don’t usually like stems this dark but they are very well-balanced by the other fabrics.

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She wrote:

Thought I would send you a photo of the first completed block of Vintage Gone Modern.  I love the combination of cotton with felted wool.  The colors are rich; the texture added by the wool is luscious.  It has added a tactile facet to applique. This is my third Piece ‘O Cake project; each is more enjoyable than the last!

I love getting this kind of email :-).

Street/random people photos…

People are interesting to look at. I don’t need to know the people to find them interesting. So when I’m out and about with my camera, I take pictures of people.

You don’t have to know these three people to have an idea about what they are doing, and what they might be thinking and feeling. I wonder if the fellow on the right is with the couple on the left?

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I thought this couple looked nice together as they took their time walking uphill, and down.

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This couple, admiring the view at an overlook, looked so peaceful against the blue sky.

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And then they were joined by a man ready to catch some rays…

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One of the things I like so much about the culture in Germany is an apparent lack of inhibition about their bodies. That might true of the men, more than the women… I don’t know and I don’t have a good way of finding out. But I find it refreshing. I wish we in the US were a lot less hung up on the way we look.

Sometimes people are pensive, or sad, in public. We can empathize with them from afar.

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He was looking at little bunnies…

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At Andechs, waiting for the wedding to begin… The guests were arriving as we left, many in traditional Bavarian clothing.

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I like taking pictures of people who are posing for a photo :-).

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Don’t they look happy!

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And, rarely, people will stop me to say ‘take my picture!’ so I do.

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Jeff asked me why I take pictures of these random people. I explained that when I look at photographs in museums or other spaces, I am drawn to pictures of people. I don’t know them, the photographer may not have known them, but the best of these pictures draw me in. My photos are not museum-worthy but they won’t ever get better unless I practice taking them.

And, lastly, a photo from an actual street. I love manhole covers and this one, featuring Munich’s coat of arms, is a very pretty one. And it has a person on it!

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Selfies…

I have never been much for selfies. My arms aren’t long enough and my nose always looks too big!  But I decided to go for it on this trip and Steve went with me…

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I’ve decided that the key is to get over yourself. No one has long enough arms.

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Also, it takes some manual dexterity to take a selfie with one hand. I’m not always successful, but I’m better than Steve who was not remotely interested in taking them.

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I also decided that you only need so many selfies. We did not overdo it.

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Jeff surprised us all by coming prepared with a telescoping selfie stick. He acknowledged that if that had been my idea, he would never have gone along but we were all glad he had it. You can fit 4 people and scenery into the frame if you can move the phone far enough away :-).

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