View thru a Kaleidoscope

I have long been a fan of San Diego Public Art along the seawall near downtown San Diego. Artists create this art for display on the sidewalk along Harbor Drive for all to see. It never fails to capivate me. The pieces are spread about 25 yards apart so you can stroll along the seawall and enjoy the each artists work. The pieces change out periodically which keeps the views fresh. I carpool with my husband but he is sometimes a few minutes late so I sit in this metered parking along Harbor Drive and admire the art while waiting for his phone call.

This kaleidoscope has always struck me as enchanting. When I first saw it, there were a couple of tourist families surrounding it. It is a favorite with visitors. I found it empty one day and decided to check it out. The end of the tube that you look through is big enough to hold a camera so I decided to try getting a few shots.
There are 3 different wheels that you can adjust to move the mirrors inside and to change or rotate the colored panels on the outside of the scope.

Here is a link to some history about the kaleidoscope

Here are some of the photos I took. You really have to look closely to see the changes that took place when I spun the mirrors.

Strip Twist Superbowl Party"

Bonnie Hunter is having a "Strip Twist Superbowl Party". I heard this from Michelle (2L) Wyman over on MQResource. You can read all about this fun day over on Bonnie's blog. And you can get Bonnie Hunter's pattern online at her web-site.

I have never been a football fan so you won't find me watching the game. I'm not even sure who is playing. Well, it is not the San Diego Chargers because the whole city of San Diego have been moping around since the Chargers got beaten by Pittsburgh. Hmm, maybe I do know something aobut football, I know who beat our hometwon team. Oh well, back to more important things than football...quilting.

I am going to do a strip quilt this week-end. I have a Pineapple class on Saturday. I'll get maybe 2 or 3 of those blocks done in class and stick it in a box for later. The class is 10 - 3 on Saturday. We are getting new carpet installed in the second master bedroom as I write this. It was my studio until my son and his family moved in with us for a few months. Then we had apple juice, pizza and who knows what else spilled on the builder's white/gray freize (pronounced free-zay) carpet. I never liked that carpet anyway.

So the new (latte brown) carpet goes in today and then tomorrow, while I am at class my husband and my son will move my machine back to that 2nd master. I will miss all the grunts, curses and sweat, thank goodness. I have no doubt that the scratched molding and gouged walls will be there waiting for me when I get home from class, though. Yeah, this is not the first time we have moved this machine. We plan to paint before the new wood floors get installed in the public areas anyway. But that is another very long story.

So this week-end, why not grab a jelly roll of fabric and join the fun (from you own home) and make a Strip Twist quilt.

Name That Tune Quilt for a Guild Challenge

OK, our guild is doing a challenge next month. Make a quilt which will be recognized as a title to a song. Wanna guess what song my quilt is named for?

It was composed in 1946 and first sung by Nat King Cole.


A close-up. I just did wavy lines in the pieced piano key border. Then I tried a new freemotion that I heard about on Machine Quilter's Resource. I will find out who designed it and update this post. The stitchout is called 3's and E's. Cool, Huh. I used Quilter's Dream cotton batting and PermaCore in Coronado color. Binding will be either blue of red.