Day Two at Asilomar - Empty Spools Conference

Day Two and I can tell you that "This is a fabulous experience"!  This morning we thought we had our alarm set for 6 a.m. to get up and go for a walk on the beach before breakfast.  It went off at 5 a.m.!  YIKES!  My room mate got up and did her morning preparations....when she came out of the washroom she said "Aren't you getting up to go for a walk?"  I said "it's only 5:00...it's still dark out" and buried myself in my bed covers again!  She looked out the window and promptly got back into bed as well.  The clock alarm went off again in 15 minutes....Don't you just hate "snooze" when you don't expect it?!  The alarm on my phone, which is the one we had set, finally went off at the prescribed 6 a.m. and we got up and headed out to the beach. It was wonderful to watch the sunrise, the birds, the waves.....and then we got to quilt all day!!!

 There are so many great teachers here and so many friendly people.  I'm not surprised actually, every quilting conference I've ever gone to is like that.  Everyone is welcoming, lots of teasing about being from Canada, and the teachers mingle with the students at meals and spare time.  The program is incredibly well organized, keeping us busy and entertained every minute of the day!  Check this out:  Empty Spools, Asilomar, California.

The first class you see listed is the one I'm taking.  Portraits with Esterita Austin.  She is a delightful teacher, great sense of humour, really knows her stuff, and is very enouraging.  Today we sketched our photographs into patterns, had them enlarged and got started cutting fabric.  I have a feeling I may be re-cutting tomorrow, but here's a look at what I've started. 

The photos I brought were not considered acceptable as they didn't have the right amount of light/dark exposure or shadows so Esterita took my photo herself, ran it through photoshop last night, and this morning we all got started working up our designs.  Great things are expected for tomorrow....like sleeping IN!

Empty Spools Conference

I've died and gone to heaven! Yesterday I got a ride with my friend Karrie and her husband to Nanaimo, where we caught a plane to Vancouver, then from Vancouver to San Francisco where we stayed for the night in the San Francisco Westin Airport Hotel. It was a fabulous place to stay, seconds from the airport and had a pretty fountain with PALM TREES that were healthy and tall and beautiful! My camera didn't capture their beauty in the dark. Karrie and I had arranged to meet at the place where the shuttles for the hotel take off......unfortunately we didn't know there was four of them. Of course I did not end up at the one Karrie did, but she found me....Good idea to travel with someone younger than me....!

This morning we got up at some ungodly hour in order to catch the last flight of our journey. A 20 minute flight from San Francisco to Monterey, California. But it was worth it. Upon arriving here.....here being the Asilomar Conference Center. The Asilomar Conference Center where the "Empty Spools Quilting Seminar" is being held. I'm taking a week long class here! What a wonderful and unexpected break from my daily routine!
Once settled in our room we went for a tea and then a walk on the beach. It is so fabulous I want to live here! We walked for almost two hours and I didn't want to go back!

Now, later in the day, all the other participants in the Quilt Conference are arriving and the "Meet and Greet" is happening in a few minutes. Off I go!

The "Up Side" of a West Coast Storm

We've officially reached autumn, my favorite season.  But it has come in like spring.....srain, rain and more rain!  Strangely warm temperatures, but strong winds and the sound of the rain on the skylight is constant patter, with the odd interruption when someone up there dumps a whole bucket right over the house!  Or at least that's what it seems like! 

However, remember the back yard that was all dirt in my last post?  It's since been hydro-seeded.  We watered for three days and the rains came.  We haven't had to water since and the yard is such a lush brilliant green everywhere!  How lucky is that!!  Here is a photo where you can see the green if you look past the carpenter's saw on the deck!  He was busy putting trim in the addition as I was going around catching up on my "progress" pictures. 



But we had a break in the rain and our dog needed a long walk.  Without his exercise, he turns into a bad dog.....or should I say a worse dog!  He makes the cat's life hell wanting to play with her and she's a cranky old lady so it's all bad.  Off we go to the beach.  What a delight it was to be there on this post-storm afternoon with the sun shining! 

First of all, I really do prefer the beach during or just after a storm.  It is so much more interesting and beautiful.  This walk was no exception.  As we walked down the path, there in the field were a group of Canada Geese.  They were just standing there and I stood there and watched them.  I wished I had a better camera for this picture, but I took this one with my phone, and then just stood and admired them.  Even the dog snuffling around didn't bother them.  And my error, I was so entranced just watching the geese that my picture completely cut off the mountain range in the background!


When Tuffy and I emerged from the park trails and came out onto the beach it was absolutely breathtaking.  The sky was whipped clouds with feathers on them, the water had all kinds of whitecaps, the sound was delightful......water lapping on sand, mixed bird calls, wind in the trees.....just generally a stunning day at the beach.  My favorite birds are the sandpipers.  They dart about so quickly and usually if you move they pick up and fly off in a cloud of feathers all together, travel 5 feet and settle on a new piece of sand until they feel the need to flit away again.  But this day was not calm enough for them to be darting around on sand and they were playing in the updrafts at the edge of the water.  My walking there and them squeaking and enjoying their play allowed me to be closer to them than I've ever managed, but of course no picture as they are just too fast for me to capture.  The sandbar a few feet out from the beach, actually at the mouth of the river, was literally white with seagulls just sitting on it!  Usually they are up and floating and diving in the wind too.  Here is the view from where I was walking along the trail at one point. 

Even tho I haven't had a chance to be creative in my sewing room for quite a while, I'm still able to appreciate the beauty in our corner of the world.  But I have to admit to looking forward to getting back behind my sewing machine!  

A Great Evening Walk

Yesterday evening was the first pleasant one in about five days. Rain Rain Go Away has been our theme song for about two weeks now! After work I had every intention of finishing the job of sorting in my studio, but it was just too nice and hadn’t been for so long that I decided to take the dog for an extra long walk.

I’m in a new neighborhood and don’t know all the routes yet, but decided I didn’t want to do the “evening circle” that we have been doing. My husband had already fallen asleep in his chair after eating dinner, and I just thought some fresh air would be more satisfying than listening to him breathing heavily (he insists he doesn’t snore)! I’m sure anybody who might be reading this knows exactly the feeling I’m describing!

So off I go. Put on my great walking shoes purchased in NYC last year (which are unfortunately wearing out and need replacing), and I headed off to see how long it would take to walk to the beach. Now you have to understand how spoiled this dog is. This is HIS walk and my husband expects him to be allowed to stop and sniff and leave pee-mail every chance he gets. So it’s not a quick walk, it’s downright dawdling. Somewhat like it was when I walked down the sidewalk with a baby doing his first big walk!

We got to the beach in TWENTY minutes! The walk took us down a residential street that is across from a farm field all planted in very tidy rows, through a park which rivals Cathedral Grove in its beauty of big, tall, standing and fallen trees, and moss covered stumps.http://www.vancouverisland.com/trails/?id=12

I foolishly had left my camera behind.

The beach was stunning with water lapping just strongly enough to make that rhythmic noise, the sky with beautiful clouds in it and the mountains glistening in the background. I couldn’t resist taking this picture with my phone and sending it to my son in the prairies!! Slightly sadistic since it was snowing in Calgary at the time!

But the best was yet to come! Here is the view down our street as I ambled back home. And this photo does NOT do it justice at all. All in all, a great evening!