Hello from Linda the other half of Piece O’ Cake!!!

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We recently made a driving trip from Grand Junction Colorado to San Clemente Calif. Our son Jerry and his wife Viviana live there.

It was an interesting drive. The scenery between Grand Junction and San Clemente is very diverse. On the drive you see snow capped mountains and desert together. As you drive toward Utah it changes to red rock formations. Which can make you say OOH! a lot.
The best part of the trip was when we left the Mojave Desert and drove into Southern California. In this first picture the hills were alive with color.  
What a sight after a few years of the hills being brown from the drought. I love the yellow mixed with the different shades of green. It made me want to make a quilt colored like early spring. With touches of purple, red, and orange from the flower colors.  
I always want to visit the quilt shops when I am traveling. In the second picture is Material Possessions in Lake Forest California. This is one of my favorite shops. I can always do some serious fabric buying here. I wish I had the time to visit all the shops in the area and along the way on our drive. Maybe next trip.
I will be at Becky’s in Sherman Texas next. Let you know what’s happening there in the next post.
Linda

My Husband in a Kilt for Breast Cancer Research

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I’m home from California and unpacked. Linda is here! We’re working on projects to be made with our newest collection of fabric. More on that later. But today my husband wore a kilt to work! 

Steve is Dean of the Sciences and a full professor of biology at Austin College in Sherman, TX. Several of his colleagues have had breast cancer. When they formed a group to raise money for research he was happy to join them. As he says, some of his favorite people have breasts!
Seven people volunteered to be “fools” on April 1st to raise money. The vice president for academic affairs was the Easter bunny. Another professor, Steve Stell, in the religion department was a prom queen (definitely a sight to behold!) In that context, Steve looks downright manly, don’t you think? 
There are other activities that we are taking part in to raise funds. If you would like to donate to the cause (and it’s a very good cause) click here to go to the American Cancer Society’s donation page.

Becky’s Coffee Cup Quilt

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I finished it! Well, almost. I think I’m going to add a bottom border. Surely I have the perfect fabric (or fabrics) for that. It will have to be quilted and bound and then it will really be done. I very much enjoyed taking a class from Ruth McDowell. It was good to be a student again.

My Coffee Cup

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Here are a couple of pictures of the quilt I am making in Ruth’s class in it’s early stages. I stayed late last night so I’m actually a little further along than it shows here. The quilt is 24″ wide (or so) without borders. I’m loving it!

I’m A Student!

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Today in Ruth McDowell’s class, I cut and sewed and managed to piece about a 7″ x 7″ square unit. I took a couple of photos but, alas, the camera is not with me! I will upload (soon/tomorrow) some photos showing you all a progression of what I accomplish in my 5 days of class.

I’m finding that years of applique have left me well-suited to the kind of piecing that Ruth does. (Click here to go to Ruth’s site for more about her.) 
I’m used to working with lots of different, small pieces of fabric. I am also used to not making a quilt top in a day. Good thing because the pieces I drew inside my pattern are small. If I have this thing together before I pack up on Friday it will be a miracle.
But I’m learning a lot. Ruth is an excellent teacher. It’s nice to play!

Nepenthe @ Big Sur, CA

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I spent yesterday with Caryl Bryer Fallert on the California coast. We drove down Highway 1 from Asilomar to a restaurant/gift shop called Nepenthe in Big Sur. Caryl had been there before in the late 60s. She says she thinks it hasn’t changed much. 

The view from the restaurant is amazing! We ate outside and enjoyed both the view and the weather—and the food! Then we went to the gift shop (it’s called Phoenix). I had way too much luck finding all sorts of things. I’m going to have to quit shopping soon.
The owner is a painter and he adorned the restrooms with the most amazing paintings. That’s me posing in the ladies room. A very helpful man working in the store is the one who made sure we visited the “paintings”. He even made sure the men’s room was empty and then let us look in there. Should have taken a picture of it too but wasn’t thinking.

Happy Easter to you all. I start my class with Ruth McDowell today. I think I’m ready. I guess I’ll find out soon if I really am ready.