Church St Flowers

I was walking the wrong way down Church Street trying to find a shop I had never visited. I happened upon this little flower shop and was charmed. The display is wonderful!

Church Street Cabbages

I am pretty sure (not being a plant person and all) that these are cabbages. They look like roses and I love them.

Boulette's Larder Wall

Boulette’s Larder is a restaurant in the building where I work. One vendor in particular really likes it, so we frequently meet there for meetings. I love this wall of jars and surreptitiously took a photo the other day.

Boulette is the restaurant’s Hungarian sheepdog, whom I saw sleeping under the table when I was there. She has Rastafarian type ringlets and you cannot tell which end is her head. Very cute!

ColorBlock Design

I keep walking by the RK Kona Challenge as it languishes over my bannister. As I did this, an idea formed in my head and that idea is in the photo.

My idea was to cut 1.5″ squares from scraps and using them to sew these blocks. It seems like it would be a good leaders and enders type project.

I had so many photos (60 or 70??) that I couldn’t process them all for posting. I may use them for other posts in the future. If you want to go on a tour and see this beauty for yourself, check out the public tour information and sign up. Go and visit. Totally worth your time.

I know you are thinking “WTF? Has she lost her mind posting all these photos of things that aren’t quilts?”

No, I am not, at least for this reason.

You need inspiration to make quilts and the floors at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Building in San Francisco provide enough inspiration to last a lifetime. The thing I like about mosaic and tilework is that both translate well into quilts. The place was a museum of tile and mosaics, and a hidden gem. The intricacy of the designs rival Christine Porter and Judy Mathieson’s designs. I didn’t think there would be anything to photograph. (I don’t know why I ever think that, except that, perhaps, tiredness and laziness drive me to it.)  Fortunately, I had my new phone with me, which actually took some ok photos. I ran the battery down to the bone (lousy battery), but I got enough photos to keep most people happy.

Enjoy.

Castro Street Mosaic

There was an electrical fire in the building where my hairdresser has his chair. The shop is completely destroyed, but the fire alarm was called shortly after the fire started so it was contained. Nobody was injured. He was able get his appointment book and his scissors out, but lost his clippers, blow dryer, color, shampoo, etc.

As a result of this excitement, he is working from a temporary location. As I walked up the street I saw this mosaic tile art in the doorway of a Victorian. Hopefully, it will inspire you and your hexagons.

BAMQG Show and Tell -Adrianne’s Hexagons March 2011

Originally uploaded by Little Bluebell

This is one of the tops/pieces that inspired my hexagons…..well sent me over the edge, really, because I had been drooling over TFQ’s for quite a while.

These will not be quilt related prizes, but creativity related prizes.

Don’t wait until the last minute. Do your response NOW and post the link in the appropriate comments section.

FabMo.org booth

A very kind person gave us tickets to the Maker Faire. It is something that I have heard lots of good things about, but never visited. Friend Julie loves it. Maureen and Amy from the Creative Mom podcast also rave about it. We finally got a chance to go and I have to say that the best thing about it was being inspired. I saw lots of this and that which had a nice line or good texture or something else that struck my imagination. It made it worth it to give up a day of sewing for that inspiration.

One of the things I really liked and did not photograph was the Steampunk costumes and fantastical vehicles. The ingenuity and creativity was amazing and oozing all over the place.

Back of Coat

I don’t know this woman. I have no idea if she knew I was photographing the back of her coat. I really liked the back of her coat. It looked very tailored, yet easy to wear.

Embroidered Buttons

I have an embroidery module on my sewing machine. Lately I keep hearing about or needing to deal with buttons. This display gave me the idea of making my own buttons from embroidered designs I can do using my embroidery module. Cool, eh?

Bathroom Quilt Idea

Every year for the past few years, I have talked about the quilt I want to make and put in one or both of my bathrooms. I saw this display and it is the same idea. I probably would make mine 4×5 rather than 3 x 12 or whatever it was. I like the idea of slipping things in and taking them out.

FabMo.org Dresden Plate

I don’t know anything about the above Dresden Plate,but the fact that it is in the FabMo booth makes me think the maker used FabMo fabrics. Isn’t it GREAT?

Inspiration Foot

In a sea of black, denim and asphalt was this kid wearing red Chuck Taylors. I couldn’t stop looking at this foot dangling off of the dad who held him for the entire 20 minutes of the Mentos/Coke Zero show. He didn’t wiggle or talk really, his dad didn’t complain about holding him and the whole time his foot dangled down waiting for me to photograph it. The socks are an added bonus. This is definitely a photo I want to draw.

Capitol Floor

Notice the Sawtooth Stars?

Capitol Floor Border

Nice border for a quilt.

Capitol Floor Wedge

This section is around the dome.

Purse Flower

Purse Flower Detail

Yes, more from my sad shoe shopping experience. At least I found something for you.

I think that the flower could easily be reproduced in fabric – ‘easily’ meaning not quick, but the picture makes it look relatively painless and straightforward, if a bit fiddly.

I do feel like I haven’t had much time to sew, which, further, means I have nothing to show. Perhaps tomorrow.

Have a Happy Mother’s Day!

Sunset 2011 #1

Then a minute or so later, a new view:

Sunset 2011 #2

The camera had a hard time with the screen and most of what you can see of my neighborhood is my chimney cap. Still, the color is beautiful.

Sacramento Street Tile

Love the border.

Cabbage

I took the young Man and his friends to laser tag for an outing after Thanksgiving. While they were shooting each other with little beams of light, Mom and I wandered around trying to get away from the noise of the place. There was a Starbuck’s nearby, so we headed there on one of our forays. On the way there we saw a bed planted with these cabbages. I thought they were very pretty. I have never seen anything like this except at Disneyland and thought it was very enterprising of the owner or the gardening company or whomever thought to do it. Wouldn’t it be nice if they grew the cabbages and then gave them to a food pantry?