Pam Holland Designs and Productions

Empty spools Asilomar. day 3.

 

The trees surrounding the village are  tall and majestic. Closer to the ocean they take on a contorted shape in defiance of the cold winds that sweep off the ocean.

Some are bent as if elderly citizens.

Others appear to defy gravity with branches topped at alarming angles.

All are home to squirrels, birds and a wonderful  shelter for the deer.

 

 

The morning mist plays tricks with your eyes and I tried to get down on the beach early to capture the mystery.

It was freezing  this morning but I was determined to get photos before the sun disappeared. The Ocean was black and roaring in anger and the birds skimmed along the shallows despite the waves rolling in.

Foam tossed by the waves skimmed along the surface of the water.

I walked into breakfast with frozen hands and I had to hold my coffee for 5 minutes to warm them.

I've eaten too much, laughed a lot, shared stories and  had a wonderful time. Its inspiring to see the work of the students and teachers.

The workshop pace has worked well and I say thanks to everyone for your kindness and patience.

Tonight after dinner I came across this scene.

I stood quietly and watched them in wonder for a long time. I would love to share the experience with our little people. (the Grandies)

But how lucky am I.

My trusty Nano tells me I've walked 11 kms today and listened to an entire album of Haydn. But no more frivolity, I've got work to catch up on, video to edit and the bed looks soooo inviting.

I have an open fire in my bedroom with wood in a little bag that you set light to... a real novelty.

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Empty spools Asilomar.

Empty spools Asilomar.

Oh my goodness, I'm so far behind with the blog, but I hope I make up for it with todays whispers.

I have some time off this evening so I'm going to write about my experiences here at Asilomar.

I've wanted to come to this retreat for years... and I have to pinch myself that I'm actually here right now.

As I write to you now, I'm privileged to watch a deer and her two babies standing just feet from my window. The animal pictured below was giving birth to her baby outside our class window yesterday.

Enveloped by tall pines the grounds are immense and date back the 1920's. My room has an open fireplace and is very spacious, a little spartan by some standards but comfy. There is no TV, no phones and there is a sense of peace and respect for the nature that surrounds us.

200 ladies are enjoying the 5 day quilting extravaganza and its been a wonderful experience. I'll be sad to see it end... but I have been invited back. !!!

There is a sense of camaraderie that is linked to a group of like minded creative people. The show and tell of quilts from previous years has been outstanding.

Just a short walk from the dining hall is the ocean. Dark, brooding and cold but on the other hand its spectacular and inevitably exciting in its changing hues.

Asilomar is a short drive to Pebble Beach and the town of Monterey which hosts the famous Cannery Row. It was the setting of John Steinbeck's novels Cannery Row (1945)and I managed to get a copy of the book from our local thrift shop recently. The book gives an altogether different perspective to the area than is present now.

I'll have more time to take photos tomorrow. Stay tuned

Sorry folks for the lack of a blog post.... I've just finished an event, its 9.30 and  have lots of writing to do and I need to sleep before another long day.... but trust me I have lots to share. I should have more time tomorrow.

What can two gals do in 40 hours.

Waiting in the Airport... 5.00 am.

 

No 10.   10.00 am  we made our way to Chicos,  Anthropologie, J Jill and Pottery Barn

love this chair from Anthropologie

11. Trader Joes for vitamin E.    We missed the apple store to resist temptation...

12. Located the Fiber Arts Expo. The highlights for me were the wonderful fabrics and embroideries from India, Nepal, China.

I Dribbled on the yarn and Chinese appliques fabric.... Oh just delicious.

Checked out the threads?..

 

whoops got a go.

What can two gals do in 40 hours.

What can two gals do in 40 hours?

Well we covered two States. Does that mean state of confusion, state of denial, or  state of perpetual motion?
Well maybe, but it was NM and Texas all in one day.

1. I did a book signing and trunk show.

2. Lunch with friends and then a 4 hour drive to to Albuquerque. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful, we talked all the way and listened to music.

3. Checked into the hotel where they were obviously filming something important

4. We got reacquainted with Boris, (the man in our GPS who speaks so nicely)

5. Toured old town.

6. Dinner on the verandah of the restaurant and enjoyed the concert in the plaza.

 

7. Photographed old town.... Designed quilts, collaborated and people watched.

8. Worked on the computer for a few hours and chatted to family back home.

9. Up early working on the computer

10. Breakfast at range cafe.

 

 

11. got to write the rest tomorrow. Its 11.pm and I have to be up at 4.00 am/

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traveling

traveling

I'm traveling right now.

I had a presentation this morning in Alamogordo and this afternoon we drove through huge vistas to Albuquerque. The sky is so blue. Of course we are traveling at 4000 feet above sea level (that's the height our planes fly) The light is so different to home.

 
The orange cup wobbled on the dashboard. Its part of the merchandizing for our event.

Orange cups, I'm impressed.

We decided to go into 'Old Town' and have dinner.

Historic Old Town has been the heart of Albuquerque since the city was founded here in 1706. Today, historic Old Town Albuquerque is the city's cultural center. The settlers organized their new town in the traditional Spanish colonial way, with a central plaza anchored by a church. When the original adobe church collapsed after the long, rainy summer of 1792, they rebuilt, and in 1793 San Felipe de Neri church was completed. Today, this adobe church with walls five feet thick is the oldest in Albuquerque and its white towers mark Old Town from a distance.

When we arrived this evening the square was buzzing.

 

The church spires in the evening light.

 

 

dancers in the square.

The music was wonderful and people were dancing with a passion.

We had a wonderful view as we sat on a verandah and overlooked the festivities as we ate the most amazing meal.

a sampler platter.

Lisa and I will attend the Textile Art Festival tomorrow.... I hope I can take photos.

 

 

 

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It shouldn't be happening in this day and age.

Collars and cuffs.

In the 19th and 20th centuries the collar industry of Troy NY provided the chief blue collar employment for women.

These industries were dominated by female employees. The collar industry workers, at least 85 percent female, assembled, stitched, finished, washed, starched, laundered, and ironed millions of collars during the nearly century-long history of the industry.

I purchased this box of collars at an antique mall yesterday.

They are fine linen. The stitching is superb and they are art pieces in their own right.

Most of the employees in the collar industry were Irish and often passed jobs down from mother to daughter so that whole families were employed either at the same time or for overlapping periods of time.



These collar laundry women had created the first strong women's labor union in the United States in 1864. With over 600 members at its peak, the union consisted largely of Irish women and was begun by ironers, who held the highest status job in the laundry trade. Since most of these laundresses worked at least some time during their lives, or intermittently, and were part of a complex network of community, family, and ethnic relationships, they were aware of the need to make a decent living wage. Because they had skills which could not be easily replaced and worked in an area where there was little competition with men, they could strike and withhold their labor successfully for wage increases.

The union was successful throughout the Civil War era until 1869 when the collar laundry owners and collar manufacturers worked together against a major strike. The owners offered a wage increase if the women left the union. So many quit that the union was dissolved in September, 1869. The laundry workers and collar workers formed other organizations before the end of the century and carried on successful strikes for increased benefits. The textile industry in Cohoes was made up predominantly of unskilled female workers and they worked for a paternalistic company, the Harmony Mills, which controlled much of their personal and working lives. These women workers were largely unskilled, Irish, unmarried and young; most quit full-time work after they married. By the eighties, French-Canadian women had come to dominate the trade as that immigrant group came to Cohoes by the thousands.

I went back to the mall today to buy the cuffs that I had left behind.

These are cuffs are German. Leinen, Linen. The fabric is beautiful I've been trying to research the origin of the them but I can't find anything on the web.

Why did the men wear such uncomfortable apparel.

The Linen on the outside of the cuffs has a polished effect.

So why did I buy collars and cuffs...... I need them for a quilt..  Of course.

Radio and Tea

Up in the wee hours, the air was cool and crisp and we had stunning views of the mountains as we drove to the radio station.

The Guys at KPSA Alamogordo do a wonderful job advertising our event and its always fun being on air for an hour or so.

We also recorded a few public service announcements for advertising. They'll be played daily while I'm away in Ireland.

I love having breakfast at the country restaurants here, its so different to the fancy breakfasts we pay a fortune for in the art based cafes at home.

Mums Country Kitchen was  bustling even at 9.00 am. There were tables of customers who come daily. In another room there was a  group men called the  'Romeos' who looked to be in their late grandpa years.

There were young men in cowboy boots and hats, older men in the same attire and then there are the bikers adorned with tattoos and dramatic  attire.  We sampled the daily special of tacos and hash browns for $4.00 accompanied by  strong coffee   Yum.

Certainly different from home.

Next event was a presentation at a morning tea for the ladies who make care quilts and I also got to meet the directors of the programs to be funded this year.

Lisa's Dr took my last  stitches out. I'm left with just one so I think I can take that out myself in a day or so. I'm sure glad that's over. Now it just has to heal.

So things are moving along quite well with our promotion.. I have 4 more days here, a bit more promo to do and then its off to California.

I'm donating my time so I hope you can share in this event with us.

 

It shouldn't be happening in this day and age.

The temperature rose to almost 100 degrees today and I was in heaven. The sky was "as blue as a sailors uniform" as my Mum would say. The birds are telling us its almost summer and the breeze curled down from the mountains and kissed the plains.

I love this weather. I love the scenery, I love the mountains and I love this place.

But we had a job to do to day so I had to view it as we traveled.

Las Cruses is about 80 miles from Alamogordo and Rainee and I had lots of time to chat as we drove to our first event.

We talked about our program coming up at the end of June and she explained that this year some of the money we raise will go to providing children in difficult circumstances with a back pack of food for the weekend. It has to be food that can be accessed easily and some families don't have electricity so the food needs to be suitable  to be eaten cold.

My heart just skipped a beat.

I want you to imagine your grandchild (or child) leaving school on a weekend with a backpack of food instead of electronic games, books, games and a promise of a trip out to eat at Mac Donalds                                                   

It shouldn't be happening in this day and age. Poverty and homelessness are insidious and at times almost impossible to climb out of.

Some of the money will also go to a support group of Mothers in Crisis.

You know, Quilting and you wonderful people are making a difference in this community.

You  get to spend some time learning and having a fun time at the event. The money donated goes to the community and helps 1000's of young people and their families in this community.

We've raised around $45000 in the past three years and this year we need you to help us add to that total.

Thank you to the ladies in Las Cruses who added to  our funds today by a collection on the day. You made a difference.

Quilters are always doing something for someone... at our event you get to do something awesome for someone and learn a new quilting for yourself. I flows two ways. !!!!!

Join us for this event. I will add flyers tomorrow.

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Some people tell me I have a happy knack of finding myself in a 'situation'

Some people tell me I have a happy knack of finding myself in a 'situation'

Because of my own forgetfulness,  I found myself with that problem once again today.

I forgot to bring my drivers license !!!! and I had paid for a hire car. It is always stays in my American  purse but I had to use it for something recently and somehow I sort of forgot about it.

I needed it on Thursday when I went to have my stitches out I searched for it... but it wasn't where it should be.!!

A quick conversation with Keith and he decided to look for it and send me a  photo copy. He signed it as a Justice to try and give me a little more hope...!!!! NO.

"I found it in the 3rd layer of your bags" he said smugly.

But the hire car company would have none of it.

So poor Lisa had to travel for 2 hours to get me.  I worked on the computer and had lunch of Tortilla soup to pass the time.

I have a busy schedule for the next week, radio, media, presentations and luncheons.... so if you live anywhere near Las Cruces tomorrow I'll be visiting the quilt group  it would be great to meet as many people as possible.

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