And why is this important information for quilters, you might ask?
My friend Linda called me and asked if I would help her spend money on some new fabric. What do you think I said?? Ok — so there’s a new quilt shop, Family Threads in nearby San Juan Bautista, that Linda hadn’t visited yet. (I love being an enabler ; )
Thinking about where we were going to meet, I thought, “hmmm, how can I tie this in with quilting and a new blog post?” So here you go …
Do you know where
Alfred Hitchcock’s
was filmed? Well, in California, of course!
Not exactly in my backyard, but close enough. San Francisco, at Fort Point, Monterey and Carmel, and San Juan Bautista — actually, the mission at San Juan Bautista!
Please indulge me while I share some pictures that I took there yesterday:
San Juan Bautista is well known for its’
who use the crosswalks in the town…
but best known for its’
Mission San Juan Bautista, one of 21 Missions in California. They span from San Diego to Sonoma. Many have played key roles in Hitchcock’s films. All of the kids you will see in these pictures are here on school field trips. In California, fourth graders study the missions of California history. There must have been several hundred kids there…
Here is what is directly behind me…
The Stable, from the infamous “stable scene”…
and here are Kim Novak and James Stewart inside the Stable.
After that, she runs into the church. Hitch filmed it so it looked like such a long run and struggle. It’s actually about 50 yards from the doors of the Stable to the doors of the church. Here’s another view point…
inside the archway in front of the church doors. (The church doors were locked)
Here is the door that leads to those set of wood stairs (gives ME vertigo and sweaty palms every time I see the movie, especially because I know the ending…)
There’s a padlock on those doors for a reason. Seems everyone wants to climb them…
To recreate this famous scene:
only there’s no way to recreate it, becuase…
…there is NO tower… yep, look closely. There are the bells but there’s no tower inside the bells. Hitch used a set for this scene — the magic of the big screen.
And Now, behind the scenes of the Mission…
Just 10 yards outside the church doors, is this look-out point:
Have you ever heard of or driven the El Camino Real? It means the avenue of the King, basically. And it stretches from San Diego to Sonoma, snaking it’s way from mission to mission, connecting them from town to town.
From this viewpoint, is another important point. Look closer…
closer still…
In a gulley, just in between the bushes at the top of the walking path and the palm trees is… the San Andreas Fault… if you’re thinking Earthquakes, you’d be right!
Here’s some other interesting info at the mission, (not regarding any movies made there)
Uh huh…
on the premises, people!
And yet, they have these:
guarding the place, so it’s safe to visit ; )
And of course, while I was walking around the mission grounds, I found some quilts. For real!
On the property, there is a building that has been at times City Office buildings, a Hotel, and a family residence since it’s been built. They have it furnished now with original pieces from the last resident who made it their family home. Two quilts in the first bedroom, both antiques in pretty good shape. The furniture in this house is unbelievably gorgeous and probably weighs a ton a piece.
A close-up of this beauty. I have to find out what the applique pattern is.
The Nursery, where the kids slept and played. I love the victorian pieced quilt.
Another bedroom with another beauty.
Victorian throw for an elderly woman of the family, on a cane wheel chair. I don’t know which I find more fascinating, the throw or the wheelchair!
And here’s the “reese’s pieces” of the whole house:
this baby is O-L-D !!
I also found inspiration for quilts, back in the church. (I find in everywhere ; )
Ideas for applique:
and…
one of the stations of the cross, and…
detail in the piano (sorry it’s blurry, it’s the only one I took)
See– you can find inspiration for quilts every where, not just in quilt shops…
But there is plenty of that at Family Threads in San Juan Bautista!
just look!
and..
and…
if these look familiar, it might be because these patterns were designed by my friend, Holly..
who is cutting fabric for Linda, because Holly is the shop manager! So say hi when you go to visit! She really is sweet ; )
I bought some fabric at the shop for me, (I couldn’t resist) and I bought some fabric for YOU.
Here is the Give-Away for today:
one-yard yard of yummy fabrics with chocolates on it, and two bags of yummy chocolates! Earthquakes to be exact… (Oh, ok — you get it now, right? Hitchcock – earthquakes – chocolate, yeah!)
Because, I love visiting here when I go to the quilt shop:
DeBrito Chocolate Factory in Hollister, CA.
For years, I saw the sign on the highway and just kept driving to my sister’s house … unaware of the chocolatey goodness that awaited me here.
Is THIS any indication of what I’d been missing??!!
Then what about THIS…
or THIS…
well, how about this…
Gourmet dessert apples that have been served on Oprah’s table, featured on Martha Stewart’s radio show, to name a few.
BUT! You’ll be able to see them up close and personal on The Food Network, May 9th, on a episode of Kid in a Candy Store! Yep, cutie Adam Gertler spent two days at DeBrito and I can’t wait to see it! I’m so happy for them.
Now, about the Earthquakes — the chocolate kind: They are wonderful little chocolates that are filled with rice krispy treat, caramel, peanut butter and peanuts, covered in milk chocolate and drizzled with a white chocolate earthquake jolt. The BEST chocolates, ever. And DeBrito ships… everything.
so…. here’s the deal: leave a comment about Alfred Hitchcock movies, earthquakes, or how chocolate inspires you to make loverly quilts and I’ll put you in the drawing.
Now — About Those Drawings…
The Deadline is midnight PACIFIC time, not your time, if you don’t live in California ; ) So enter, will ya?? And don’t forget that the posts go up a little later in the day because of my time difference.
Now, there’s one last picture that I want to share with you that I see every day as I drive around the two-lane highway roads where I live:
thousands of acres of Mustard plant. The yellow is vibrant, it almost hurts your eyes to look at it — but it’s so beautiful. The mustard grows wild, like a weed, and sterilizes the ground when it’s plowed under to make furrows for…
Oh yes, it’s that time again. So here is my favorite recipe:
Cream-filled Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
one-half flat -or- 6 baskets of strawberries (if you do a whole flat, you’ll be able to feed an army)
1 8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese
vanilla and powdered sugar to sweeten cream cheese to taste
12 oz. bag of Milk chocolate chips, melt in a double boiler
Wash off all of the strawberries just before you fill and dip. Strawberries should be dry and at room temperature* when you’re ready to work with them.
Remove the top greens of the strawberry, making sure the the strawberry is hollow on the inside.
Mix cream cheese with vanilla and powdered sugar to sweeten to taste — and just firm enough for spreading.
Fill a piping bag or a kitchen syringe (1/4″ opening) with the cream cheese mixture.
Fill the cavity of the strawberry with cream cheese, then dip the top of the berry in the chocolate to seal in the cream.
Place on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet and allow chocolate to harden.
Repeat until all of the berries are filled and dipped.
These strawberries are so lovely and decadent and great for gift giving. One year, for Mother’s Day, we filled and dipped an entire flat of strawberries. We had so many, that we drove around and delivered strawberries to my Mom and mommy friends. A warning: if you eat these as you make them (heavenly!!), you can lose track of how many you eat until you are in a bliss of a chocolate coma.
*Did you know that you should not put strawberries in the refrigerator, nor wash them until you are ready to eat them? It’s true! Strawberries will begin to rot when they are wet and when kept in the refrigerator, they lose their taste and pick up the odors in the fridge. I had strawberries at a restaurant that were served with whipped cream and hot fudge to dip them in. Great idea — except the strawberries tasted like onions that were dipped in fudge and cream instead… kinda gross.
So how do you keep strawberries before they go bad? The answer is, thanks to the strawberry growers that I buy from: keep them on the counter covered with a brown bag. And only buy as many strawberries as you’re going to use/consume. They’re best fresh and they really don’t keep.
Well, quilters — ENJOY!! And leave a comment!
©2011 Annie Smith All Rights Reserved
Congratulations, Darlene! (email your mailing address to me!)
