Saturday, February 2, 2008

Food and Quilts

Hi Mary,
I went to a quilt show with my friend Anne. It was all 'art' quilts and the theme was the Mississippi River. Very interesting. Before we went we had lunch at an Asian Fusion restaurant.
It was yummy!
What I could taste of it anyway. They had the rice in three little hills. Sort of like they molded it in a little Chinese tea cup and turned it upside down. Then they put different sauces on each one. My favorite was the coconut one. I passed on the peanut sauce because peanuts taste icky to me. The other one was steamed shallots which was OK. I had chicken (you could have tofu instead) in a sweet and sour sauce. It wasn't the thick jelly-like sauce you get in most Chinese restaurants. It was light and tart and a little sweet and just a tiny bit hot. Not so it felt hot, but more like it dreamed of hotness. They had the sauce in a tiny bowl and you could put as much on as you wanted. I used it ALL up. It also had a nice lettuce salad with a very interesting dressing. I couldn't describe it but it was perfect. I would go there again. And it only cost $10.00.
I had never heard of this restaurant but it is only about 8 blocks away from my parents. It is called Rice Paper. Cute name.
Ah the joys of the city.
The quilt show was fun too. It was in an old building up North on the Mississippi. It is now on the historical register. It used to be a bar and a post office and a family house. It has all sorts of additions going out every which way. There are two stairways up to the second story and you have to go around in funny ways to see it all. Some of the rooms on the upper level are higher than other rooms too.
It is on a hill over looking the river. Unfortunately now there is a 4 lane highway between the river and the house but it must have been a wonderful site when it was Indian Territory still.
The quilt show was all the kinds of quilts that my friend Karen gets so annoyed with at the Fargo Show. Lots of machine quilting, lots of beading and tulle and embroidery and painting on fabric. I should have taken my camera. It was just the right size show. About 25 quilts. Enough to be interesting but not so many you got bored.
It is nice here today. Warmer and no wind. I will take it.
Love,
Nancy

4 comments:

  1. What was the name of the show? Can you see any quilts like that online? I'm curious about what kind of quilts drive your friend crazy. Is she a "quilt purist" or a "quilt isolationist" or something like that? No avant-garde quilting allowed? Is that not "real" quilting, and why not? Is there a political correctness faction in quilting? Hmmmmmmmm.

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  2. Maybe I can write a treatise on the social implications of quilting politics in rural as opposed to urban areas. And how this affects the children of thread-spool makers in a styrofoam factory in Italy. Or maybe I can shut up and do my homework.

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  3. http://www.banfill-locke.org/

    OK,
    I had to call my friend Anne and get the name of the place and the link. With picture. The quilt pictured is shown sideways. It was hung with the eagle flying on the left side and the clouds on the top and right sides.
    It is one of the more representational works in the show. Many were quite abstract and none were done with a pattern, or blocks, all were designed by the quilter.
    Karen always uses a pattern and gets her knickers in a twist when someone with marginal sewing ability wins a ribbon with an 'art quilt'. She claims not to be able to do or to judge 'art'. She couldn't figure out why something original would win out over something that is essentially a copy of someone else's work, if the copy has better quilt technique. After all it is a quilt show, right?
    We have been discussing the idea and she is coming around to the idea of original work having a value that makes it better. Maybe, and if the quilter is a 'good' quilter.
    However there was no judging and no boring 'block' quilts to compare with so she would have enjoyed the show though it would have challenged her.

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  4. Thank you for following up with that. I feel like I understand a lot more. I like that quilt's point of view, from the sky above the birds.

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