Quilt Gallery

Monday, December 23, 2019

Phoenix, Arizona

Back in the days when I worked for Motorola's semiconductor business, I made a number of trips to Phoenix. And in all that time never saw anything other than the inside of the airport, air-conditioned cars, and air-conditioned offices. This time I was lucky enough to have a few days to explore, along with unseasonably wet and cool weather to make it comfortable. We started with an alfresco lunch at the Phoenix Biltmore, after which we strolled in the gardens and through the public areas of the hotel.


Opened in 1929, it was designed by Albert Chase McArthur, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. The blocks and other elements of which the hotel is constructed all have a geometric design that struck me as something that would lend itself to quilt blocks.


Interestingly, the blocks are called "textile blocks" because of how they are held together with lengths of rebar in two directions, like the warp and weft of a woven fabric.

After a day spent attending meetings and lectures indoors, Steve was eager to get outdoors, so we set an early alarm and drove to Phoenix Mountain Preserve, arriving at the trailhead to Piestewa Peak before dawn. Lingering clouds from the previous night's rainstorm made for interesting views. 


The trail is short but steep, gaining more than 1,000 feet in just over a mile, but it is well marked and in most places the footing is good due to carefully built stone steps.


Still, it is rated as "extremely difficult." I suspect the Phoenix climate may contribute to that. The weather was comfortable for our hike, but Phoenix summers would make for a brutal outing.


Having started before sunrise, by the time we finished our hike, and found some coffee and breakfast, we still had most of the day ahead of us. Next stop was the Desert Botanical Garden, 140 acres dedicated to preserving and showcasing an enormous variety of desert plants.


I liked the playfulness of these Chihuly glass sculptures at the entrance.


It is truly a wonderland of texture,




color,



and shape.




I highly recommend a visit, though definitely go early if the day promises to be warm. In addition to wandering paths through several themed areas (Sonoran Desert, wild flowers, etc.), you can have a drink or lunch at the cafe, browse the shop, and participate in special events.

Our final stop was completely serendipitous. We happened to see a sign for it, and being curious about fire fighting because our daughter has worked the past three summers as a wildland firefighter, decided to make a visit.


It is quite an amazing place, filled with thousands of fire-related items spanning several centuries. As you might expect, there is a lot of red and gold. Firefighters have clearly taken great pride in their equipment for a very long time!




In addition to these older pieces, there is a tribute to 9/11 first-responders and videos of current practices in wildland firefighting.

Naturally I also had to visit a local quilt shop, so I chose Modern Quilting. I picked up a few pieces of fabric, with the intention of participating in Denyse Schmidt's Free-Wheeling Single Girl sew-along.


I guess most participants are finished by now and I haven't completed even one square yet, though I do have a few pieces started. I've been doing this by hand, and without Denyse's templates so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.





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