Nothing but prep…

I was prepping this week, prepping for everything: my Open House, sending off “Stipa Gigantea” to Art=Quilt=Art, my son’s wedding and teaching.

After intense, all-day work for 4 days straight, the Open House went well. This was primarily for Hubby’s golfing friends and we planned for 50. I have NO experience with that kind of entertaining so this was a huge challenge for me.

I did not even have the basics-so off to Cost Plus World Market for 48 plates and all kinds of serving spoons, cheese knives, serving dishes, etc.

And buying food I would never eat myself-I actually went through 10 cream cheese packs! I made all of the food and apparently I made enough food for 100…

which made for interesting breakfasts with Caprese Skewers with balsamic reduction and Chili-Lime Shrimp! And no, I did not get tired of either and I’m going on the fifth day of this for breakfast.

It’s the fluffing and puffing that gets me. I can cook, yeah, but the decorating part? Whole Foods  mini-bouquets upon a cake stand with some moss is as good as I can do.

And I got up and taught the next morning, “Fearless Curves ‘n Feathers” to a great class. Barney had taken my Intro class and came with his custom machine cover, inspired by the intro class sample. Wish I’d taken a better photo. His wife Beverly (?) does beautiful embroidery and added her touch. They have their machines set up in the same room and quilt together. Isn’t that adorable? Everybody give Barney and Beverly a hand for this cool machine cover!

Couldn’t resist-another side of the cover.

Okay, so this is not prep, but I had to show more student work. Peggy Martin, yes the paper-piecing Diva and author of 3 paper-piecing books, was a student in my “Daisy Fill Table Topper” class and she completed her topper-isn’t this fabulous? She added her own touch and I love her fabric and thread choices.

And here it is in place already, hanging out with one of her gorgeous quilts!

So then it was on to prep for the last few colors of acid dye silk organza, bringing my total to 37. And I tried some Radiance too which makes me want to try some Procion. Am I getting in deep? I do go in there and fondle them.

And then on to prepping “Stipa Gigantea” to ship off to Art=Quilts=Art next week. Every time I show this quilt I have to strip it of its previous hanging method and attach a new one. If it hangs double-sided it has the tabs. If it hangs single-sided I tear off the tabs and add a sleeve.

And add a label of course. I do long skinny labels-I’m not one for showy labels. I like an unobtrusive approach.

And there are two classes to prep for in the next 4 days…

not to mention my oldest son’s upcoming wedding in Chicago. Once I had my entire outfit chosen, I could get excited about the trip-the hard part is done!

Which left me with a wee bit of time to see two new landmarks in Sacramento. The Barn is a new “indoor/outdoor destination culinary and events venue” in the up-and-coming Bridge-area of Sac. I was a little underwhelmed by its size-thought it would be bigger, but the architecture is cool.

And then there was the “Bright Underbelly” I’d read so much about, described on its website:
“The city’s signature piece of public art, one of its most beautiful attractions for residents and visitors, is literally underneath a freeway… The mural, and the process to create it, represents proof of what’s possible for young people who want to leave a much-needed creative mark on the city.”

I’ve tried twice before to find this place and I finally found it. It is indeed underneath the freeway. I was a little disappointed in this one too. Bright? Um no. Interesting, yes. I couldn’t get a great photo because if I took a wide view it just simply looked like a splotchy, worn, blue-painted freeway belly. The birds were beautifully rendered and appropriate for our area. Kinda cool but didn’t live up to its hype. Maybe I’m missing something. Locals?

I’ll be doing some travel-no telling what next week’s post will bring. Linky party at Nina-Marie’s Off the Wall Friday here!