A Self-Guided Tour of the Wild, Wild West…

The location for the quilt show we went to this past Saturday, Old Town Temecula, is such a fun area to visit! Full of old western buildings, lots of brickwork, and the trees! I miss trees…

It was nice to get out of our hometown for a day and just revel in another city for a change, and lucky you I took my camera and captured scenes like these:

All the quilts layered over the railings and under the eaves of the buildings really made it feel like a neighborhood walk. And all those yummy plants everywhere! Not just trees, but lots of herbs and flowers everywhere, too.  You can learn a lot about a place by the amount of plants they have in their public spaces…

I love looking at the architecture of the buildings around me wherever I go- it’s so nice to be reminded that there are more than just square boxes to live in. Modern buildings today are generally geometrical shapes covered in stucco, so it’s nice when I find evidence of a skilled architect in the landscape around me:

There are just a few buildings taller than two stories in the downtown area, making it easy to enjoy the mountains surrounding the area.

 

 

 

  This is a close-up sample of some of the brickwork we found- gorgeous isn’t it? They even broke up the dense feel of brick by throwing in a pattern over the step area!

 

The really funny part was this whole are was only about four blocks long! We were really starting to feel like we were in a old western town that collided with a modern city for a few minutes, until we came to the Starbuck’s at the end of the block…

Iced coffee anyone? Hmm, that reminds me of a recipe I wanted to try…

Wash Day at the Quilt Show…

The quilt show was so much fun this year! It’s always nice when you get to share your interest with likeminded people, isn’t it? And for one whole day, Temecula turns its Main Street into a quilty goodness Festival, chock full of people who just love quilts! It’s over, sadly- but through the wonders of time travel and photography, I can take you there with me! Want to go? C’mon, the portal is just over this way:

As we turn into the parking lot at the end of Main Street, I can already sense the excitement in the air! This is a beautiful part of the city, with all its wood and brick buildings evoking the Wild, Wild West. Then we turn that first corner and see all the people! And all the quilts! They really are hung everywhere, all around outside on every building:

That’s “The Coop”, a really nice quilt store that is full of wonderful fabrics, quilt samples, patterns and books. I just love how the entire building is swathed in quilts- on the outside and on the inside! An interesting thing about this quilt show is that it lasts for only one day- that way the quilts don’t sit outside in the wet, nor do they get damp from the morning dew. But it’s fun to imagine it’s wash-day in the early 1800’s, and the whole town has hung their quilts out to dry in the early October morning sun. Okay, okay, yes- I’m in the middle of rereading the “Little House” series- how did you know?

One thing I didn’t know about before this year was that they also have a great Farmers Market every Saturday full of good things to eat, crafts and jewelry stalls, organic foods and even a few garden plants for sale. Oh! I am wishing I had gotten some of the small lavender plants that were out- they were so yummy looking! My hummingbirds could use a few more of those now that winter is on the way.

Hmm…all those quilts up there are giving me some ideas. Where’s that rotary cutter gotten to …

Faerie horses spotted at the San Diego Quilt Show

Yup. Faerie Horses were spotted at the quilt show this year. Don't tell the Faeries- they will be measuring for a barn in the back of the dollhouse faster than you can say "spit". Wanna see?

Three of them no less! I love this quilt. The colors are very eighties but with a nice pop from the orangy-pink on the left. I love how the colors all mix together from the background into the horse bodies and the borders. All that swirly quilting is perfect for the fantasy aspect, too. And those feet! swoon. Those slender and delicate legs ending in the donut-bun feet. I want to make one of these, but give the herd unicorn horns...

Here's another one, this time one of my husband's favorites. He was really into all the purple quilts this year-

Beautiful! Very geometrically balanced- it took me awhile to figure out the butterflies are log cabin halves. I know, I know- I'm new to quilting, what can I say? Just looking at them, trying to figure out how they're made is the best part of the show for me. Oh! And those tiny little body squares are just perfect. We liked how the contrast of the green with the purple wakes it up and breaks it out of cutesy land.

Ok. Ready for one last quilt?

I tried to bring this one home, but it wouldn't fit in my purse...the fairies were taking up too much room and wouldn't shove over. They were having fun hanging out in my zippered pocket, eating popcorn and critiquing the quilts. Oh, and stealing quilting rulers from every sales booth we passed. I told them to knock it off and just make some out of popsicle sticks. They got this glazed look in their eyes and demanded to be taken home immediately. I haven't seen them since we got home last saturday, but I keep hearing tiny microscopic buzzsaws whenever I pass by the workroom...

September- new month, new year

Temcula Quilt show 2009

September for us is the start of our year. The end of summer, falling leaves and the chill bite of Autumn's arrival are all so yummy! We view it as the turning of the year, and embrace it. Autumn is my favorite time of year, and the start of my husband's work year. I am putting summer away this morning, and thinking about how I want to welcome the fall. How soon can I smuggle pumpkins into the house? When do the blankets come out of the closets? Research begins as I search for soup and stew recipes both old and new. Thanksgiving must be planned out, Christmas lists begun. I love it, but my husband chuckles when he spies me camped out on the sofa with my cookbooks spread out across every table in the house. Yes, it's that time of year again!

September is also the start of the quilting season for me. I have just found my love of quilting these past few years. I had an injury that kept me from a semester of school a few years back, so my husband offered to take me to the local quilt show- and we were hooked. I was surprised that he was so fascinated with them also, but he thinks they are beautiful works of art, and likes to investigate new sources as much as I do. So this fall we have plans to attend two of them, the San Diego Quilt Convention  and the Temecula Old Town Quilt show in October. And I even discovered a new quilt shop here in town, the Cozy Quilt Shop over in La Mesa. It's so perfect! I want to move right in. It's in an old 20's cottage, complete with wood floors and dark wood trim. Bliss. Can't wait to get back there, they even have quilting and rug hooking classes...hmmm, I wonder if the Faeries will go for a Country Primitve decorating scheme for christmas...