Rejected Journal Quilt

This is my journal quilt that got rejected but is now in an online show called Braving the Elements with the other rejectees. I know mine needs some work but it is not talking to me. It is called Survivor. We live in an area that is prone to wild fires and this represents the hope that some vegetation escapes the ravages of the fires. The other quilts in this "show" are well worth the visit.

We've come a long way, baby

Last night we made history. We finally put away our bigotry and bias and joined together to elect the best person for the job of steering our great country out of the mess of the last 8 years. Congratulations, America. We have grown up. We are now on the road to being able to hold our heads up high and proud in the rest of the world, again. We have proven that we can come together for the greater good of the whole. Maybe this will be a road map other nations can follow. When people pull together everyone profits. When people are fractured, everyone suffers.
There are going to be tough times ahead for many but the future is looking less bleak. The founding fathers of our country had it right... We are all created equal. Biases due to race, religion, or gender only hold us down. We all have something to offer. Dare to dream and may all your dreams come true.

Trip to Baltimore

Ned and I spent several days in Baltimore last week. One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the Baltimore aquarium. It is a very interesting place as it is not just a bunch of fishies. They have a permanent exhibit housing some of the diversity of Australia and a wonderful exhibit of frogs... we liked that one best! Of course we got to see the dolphins and the sharks as well as the feeding of the sting rays. I also went to Fort McHenry were Frances Scott Key wrote the national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner.

Black and White.

We have been given permission to post photos of the black and white challenge we entered. All the quilts will be in special exhibits in 2009. I am not sure yet exactly where they will be, but have been told that the quilts will tour for 2 years. In a way I will not be upset to see this one gone.. it gave me lots of headaches! Maybe someone will fall in love with it and have a burning desire to own it!

I am off to Baltimore for the next 5 days. I will try to take some nice pictures.

Dancing again

I am doing the happy dance again! Two of my pieces and a third for backup were just juried into another show. This one is a gallery so I hope some of them will sell as well. The pieces that got in are Through Rose Colored Glasses and Ball Game. Back up piece, if they have room to hang it, is Arizona Sunset. Yaaaaaaaaaaay. Now I have to put sleeves on them as they need them by Monday.

Textured

I have signed up for an online class called "Textured Surfaces". So far it is a fun class and I expect to learn all sorts of interesting stuff. It remains to be seen how I am going to incorporate these new techniques into my own style. So far we have painted several types of background materials with white household latex primer. I used white muslin, white duck cloth, Timtex, and a stretched canvas. To these I added Molding paste which I stamped or stenciled. On some other samples I glued on scrim (cheesecloth) and pieces of torn textured paper. We were suppose to use wallpaper samples but I could not find any. Another sample is a sandwich of Timtex and fabric to which textured yarns were added and couched and then expandable paint was applied. I had never used the expandable paint so I was very cautious in its application. I used a heat gun to puff it up. It is fun and the bonus was that some of the yarn fibers did funky things. I really liked the effect from the scrim.

Mulberry jeans

I had a busy day today. I started my online class "Textured Surfaces" which looks like it is going to be oodles of fun. I also performed surgery on my laptop. In hopes of getting 2 more years out of it, I put in 2 Gig of memory. Patient is alive and well.
In between all this I decided to dye a pair of white jeans purple. I picked out a color from the new sky colors we got from Carol and held my breath. The color matches the swatch!! I picked out a dusty mulberry color and I am pleased with the results. The downside is that the stitching is obviously not cotton. I still have to hem them so the rest I can live with. I have another pair to do but I haven't decided on a color yet.

Osage Oranges

While up at Nancy Crow's Barn I acquired some Osage Oranges, aka Hedge Apples. I had never seen these before. I finally got around to taking some photos before they rotted. Please excuse the lack of staging. I loved the texture on these.

Fun, fun, fun

I am back home, exhausted but happy from Nancy Crow's Barn taking Carol Soderlund's class, Color Mixing for Dyer's part 2. I had a blast! I learned all sorts of neat stuff that included monoprinting, silk screen printing, deconstructed silk screen printing, and dye painting both regular and thickened. We did printing and overpainting experiments, multiple color overdying, printing using a variety of resists, over rolling, under rolling, and stamping using thickened dyes. We even got a chance to do a shibori piece. Everyone in the class was just having a great time playing and we have a new color family to add to our "bible".

My next fun class will be an online class exploring textured surfaces.

Off to see the wizard

I am leaving tomorrow for Columbus, Ohio and Nancy Crow's Barn to take part 2 of Carol Soderlund's Color Mixing for Dyers class. I am jazzed. Of course I am not packed yet, but that is nothing new. I have a hefty schedule for the next 2 months when I return. I signed up for 2 online classes... Monoprinting with Susan Sorrell, and Textured Surfaces through Fiber and Form. At the end of November, I got lucky and got a spot in Jan Meyer-Newbury's Shibori class at the Newark Museum. I also get to see my daughter that trip... YAY! I am also taking a local workshop in Cyanotype. Not sure it is where I want to go but I always like to learn. In betweeen its back to focusing on new work. This is the year I have promised myself I need to get out there. I have some pieces I am going to enter into various places and I just have to hope I get some fat envelopes back.

Wedding photos are trickling in

Robin and Brett
These are still not the official photos... we only have proofs of those and of course they all have a watermark on them :-(.
Me and Ned (hubby to be)

By George I've got it!

This is not the best of photos... I did not use tripod and light was wrong BUT surgery was a success and the patient survived with the exception of one small spot. It will have to suffice. I just have to bind the quilt and it is done. Yay! Hopefully I turned a very bad blooper into a design opportunity.... right.

It pays to read other peoples blogs...

in this case the blog in question is Rayna Gillman's.
I have been wanting to take a shibori class from Jan Meyers-Newbury but had a hard time finding a schedule for her. Thanks to Rayna's posting I am now signed up for Jan's class at the Newark Museum in November. This sort of killed 2 birds... I get to go back and visit my daughter and I needed to use up some airline miles that were set to expire.
The good news sort of cancels out the crappy days I have been having. THIS PART IS LONG WINDED. I am working on a black and white quilt and was ready to start the quilting on Saturday. This piece is larger than I like to work with on my regular machine. I have a Mega Quilter with original frame ( really want to sell it) and just had it in for service in May, but had not used it since. I did some practice stitching and all worked ok so I set the quilt up on the frame. After about 20 stitches the top thread kept breaking! So I spent the next 2 hours on the sample piece which I had left on there changing threads, bobbins, needles, tension.. the works. It looked like something I had done worked so back to the quilt. I got a section of about 4" square done before the thread started breaking again! Grrrr. I now called the dealer and spoke to the tech. I hate when they assume you are an idiot. We first went through... maybe the frame is not set up right.... I have the frame set up permanantly and had not changed a bloody thing since I last used it successfuly in May. He now suggested I take the machine off the frame and set it up on a table to see if the same thing happens. (He still did not believe me and was convinced it was the frame). Taking the machine off is a pain in the butt, but I did it. Set it up on the table and guess what???? the thread kept breaking. Did I mention that I need to have this quilt finished by Thursday before I go out of town? Dealer is not open on Sunday and I have to bring the machine in. Owner of shop is out of town and while she would normally give me a loaner for a few days, her help do not have that authority. They said they would call her. In the meantime on Monday morning I took the machine and the quilt into the shop. Of course the tech had to try it out and commented... the thread keeps breaking. DUH! The good part is that I got a loaner. I took it home and set it up and of course tried it on the sample piece and it worked like a charm. Now I have to reload a quilt that already has quilting on it. I thought I had it straight and tight.... Sigh. I finished the quilting this morning and removed it from the frame only to find out I had a bloody bubble in the center. *&^%$#E. What to do, what to do? Ah, the light bulb went off. I could applique something to the back... I can cut out some fabric and replace it with something else. Stay tuned... I will see if it works. If not, I can relegate all this work to the trash bin.

Autumn is coming

I can tell the seasons are starting to change here in Scottsdale... not by the leaves turning colors though but because the night time temperatures are dropping. We are still having days in the 90's but at night it has been a lovely 70's. I can open the windows and turn off the a/c. My roses are going to put on a spectacular show again and maybe this time I will take a picture.
I have been working on my b/w challenge piece and I am getting tired of it so I decided I needed some color to perk me up. I used some scraps and stamps to turn out this block. It is going to be used in a quilt for someone else. My part is finished.

Happy dance!

My JQ was the first piece I ever entered into a juried competition and with probable good cause it was rejected. However, I was NOT daunted and so with some trepidation, I sent off my piece Dance! to be juried into PIQF . I got the FAT envelope back today! Whoot, whoot! I am dancing! I had been thinking of doing some others along this line and now I am pretty sure I will. I know it is not Houston or Paducah, but it is a nice start for me. I was not planning on attending so if anyone goes and sees it, please take a picture for me.

PIQF is Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, CA.

Through Rose Colored Glasses

So far I have been able to stick with my resolution to spend at least a few hours a day working. We will see how long I can keep this up! I have finished a piece I started in Pamela's class... this is a landscape using 2 colors. I have called it Through Rose Colored Glasses. I did (for me) lots of hand stitching... so its now a toss up which I detest most... hand stitching or machine quilting! Comments are always welcome.
I have also been working on my b/w challenge piece. Working in b/w is much more difficult than working in color. I have had to come up with other ways to create the punch. While I am not thrilled with the piece, I may grow to like it with more work. If nothing else, it is a learning experience.

I got the whip out

I admit, I have problems making myself just sit and work on my art every day. I get distracted so easily. I have promised myself to try harder and since Monday it has been working. I have been sitting 2-3 hours every morning and getting projects worked on (ok, so I am taking a break!). I am making progress. The first piece I have gotten done was one that was started when I was playing with coffee filters. This is a pretty small piece and I did not quite know what to do with it. There was a discussion on the QA list about mounting small pieces on canvas so after inquiring as to how this was done I took the plunge. I painted up a canvas (a painter I will never be), finished off the piece and mounted it. It came out OK. I have called this Arizona Sunset. We get the greatest colors here.

I am also making good progress on a piece that I started in Pamela's class. I am doing lots of hand (UGH) work on this one and while I find it tedious, it has added something to it. Besides, that is less quilting I will have to do! No photo yet. I am also trying to finish up my B&W challenge piece. I think this one needs some help at the moment. I have a whole bunch of other ideas churning in my head but I really need to finish this stuff first or I will still have too many UFO's. Of course I will probably forget half of them when I finally am ready for them. Oh well.
Back to work for me.

Still waiting on wedding photos, sigh.

Perfecting the slug

I think I have gotten the slug act down pat. I have done almost nothing this summer. I do have a valid excuse for most of it though! I was getting ready for DD's wedding. Of course I got sick and have been recovering ever since. To make matters worse, this has been the worst summer since I moved here 11 years ago. I feel like I am back in New Jersey. The monsoon season here has broken every record in rainfall and I think damage as well. With normal summer temperatures up in the 100's , humidity has been way up there as well. Not a good combo for me. I do not mind the heat. I cannot stand the humidity. Oh well... only a month to go.

I have started to get back to some art stuff. I am working on a black and white challenge piece that of course I am winging my way through. Sneak peak photo. I also did some mad scientist dyeing with some leftover concentrates that have been sitting in my refrigerator for 2 months. I was going to use them for dye painting but I did not have the energy. The colors came out a lot better than I expected. While I probably cannot duplicate any of them, I am pleased with the results. I have used my "bible" from Carol's class successfully for something else I needed and was thrilled that it all worked! I signed up for part 2 in October at Nancy Crow's Barn. Watch out Carol.... there are 5 of us returning! Dyeing in a bucket is definitely a group project. Now I just need to find some like minded friends who want to spend some time at it with me.

I am also finally getting back to working on some of the pieces I started in Pamelala's online class last winter. The UFO's are piling up. I need to reduce that pile.

This is the year I am going to stick my neck out and enter some stuff for shows. I may be getting lots of thin envelopes back but I need to start sometime.

What we do for our kids

This post is based on Alex Anderson's blog "My Dress" that was posted today on The Quilt Show blog. I had to chuckle. When my daughter set a date for her wedding, the hunt for a mother of the bride dress started in earnest. My only restriction was that it couldn't be too bright. The affair was to be black tie in the evening. This should be easy right? WRONG. I knew what type of dress I wanted. It had to be silk chiffon with some layering. I spent months looking and was getting frustrated. Forward to wedding dress shopping with DD. We arrived at store in NY at appointed time (yes, you need to make an appointment) and they were having several trunk shows that day. One was for several designers of wedding gowns, and the other for mother of the bride/groom dresses. My DD found the perfect dress so we all trouped over to see the trunk show for the MOB dresses. I figured what the heck, I haven't had any luck so far. The dresses were gorgeous and the price tags matched. A bit out of the range I had in mind (understatement). My DD said I should pick out a few and try them on anyway so keeping in the spirit of the morning, I complied. OK, I fell in love with one of them and so did everyone else (yes, we had a group)however, I almost fell over in a swoon at the price. I will admit the dress was drop dead gorgeous and made me look good. I got my arm twisted (you all know the argument.... only one child, only one wedding, blah, blah). After the initial shock I let them take measurements. These dresses need to be ordered and they are made to size. I only had to put down half the amount and had 6 months to pay the rest!!! They know how to get you. I had my first fitting 6 weeks before the wedding... they forgot to bill me for the rest after 6 months so I got an additional 2 months before my credit card went into cardiac arrest.

Fast forward to 3 days before wedding and final fitting. My fitter, who was a dream, says to me..... "What are you going to do about panty lines?" Huh?? I never even thought about it. This dress draped and hugged and I had to admit, you could see lines. She told me that there was a Victoria's Secret around the corner and I should get a thong!!! Oh yeah, right. I am 58 years old and I am going to start wearing thongs???? Hello. After the initial shock I figured, OK, it was only for one night, I could handle this. Now came the final blow. This is a strapless gown and they managed to give me cleavage, ha ha. She says to me... " The dress looks terrific but it would look even better if you had a tan". I am very light skinned and never go out in the sun and I do admit I am rather pale looking. This one I was not succumbing to so easily. Back to the dress. Being naive about transporting gowns, I assumed they would put it in a bag and I could take it with me... with cab and ferry back to where I was staying in New Jersey before checking into hotel in Manhattan. She sort of looked at me like I had two heads and said I would not be able to carry it, I needed a car or taxi. I had a car to use so I said I would pick it up the next morning before we checked into hotel. Turns out they stuff this out so much that there seems to actually be another body inside.

In the meantime, I went underwear shopping (women's underwear is priced inversely proportional to the amount of fabric it contains)and met my daughter for lunch who also pushed for the tan. I had visions of turning orange or yellow or other such horrors and was not happy about this. Mom, says my daughter (you all know that tone of voice), they are professionals. They do all the stars for the Tony's etc and they have a reputation they have to maintain. No one is coming out looking bad. Sigh, OK, with much trepidation I make an appointment for the next day. I arrive at the place and have to fill out a questionnaire about what kind of tan I wanted. Then they have you go into a booth where you undress and have the choice of fully nude or they give you a paper thong to put on along with a shower cap to cover your hair. Since I haven't gone the nudist beach route quite yet, I opted for the sparse covering. They spray the tan on in several sweeps. The positions you need to maintain resemble something out of a mime show. At some point she stops and asks if I like the color. Surprise! It looks really good. I opted for one more coating. The tan lasts 5-6 days.

The dress, with added "accessories" indeed looked better. Kudos to my fitter.

Photo is of view of Brooklyn bridge with one of the waterfalls taken from our balcony. Still waiting on wedding photos....patience.

I forgot to mention that I have a wonderful new son-in-law and his equally great family.

Back home

... and happy to be sleeping in my own bed again. We have had a whirlwind month for sure but things seem to be quieting down for a bit.
Wedding was awesome... waiting on photos. Of course in all the excitement I managed to leave my camera in the hotel room. Probably just as well. I am betting the professional photos will be far better than mine. My daughter looked gorgeous (even if I am biased).
Shoes came out perfect so I stressed for nothing. Everything went off without a hitch. The food was delicious and the band incredible. They had almost everyone on the dance floor most of the night... all 185 of us. I have never seen that before.
Pre-wedding was a hive of activity as well. My daughter's friend owns a spa in Manhattan and treated the wedding party to manicures and pedicures. After downing 2 glasses of wine, I was able to let someone touch my feet. It actually felt very nice and I will have to try it more often....with wine of course or reflex action will be whacking someone in the face. Rehearsal dinner was hosted by the groom's family at a wonderful family style Italian restaurant. I couldn't eat too much for fear of not fitting into my dress. Day of wedding preparations started early.... just after noon. Family friends did everyone's makeup and photographers started early. I must confess, I downed several very nice glasses of good champagne during the afternoon. Since I am usually a cheap date... one glass is usually my limit, I was pretty surprised. Guess stress does strange things. Wedding ceremony actually started on time! I think that must be a first. It was held outside with the weather cooperating. The sunset was gorgeous and the background was the Brooklyn Bridge with the waterfalls as backdrop. This whole affair was very well orchestrated. They even took the bride and groom aside and fed them while everyone else was enjoying cocktail hour for fear they would never get a chance to sit down to eat. Very wise decision as it turned out. I think I danced all night... with everyone! I missed my piece of wedding cake (like I needed it) but got my midnight snack goodie bag with my favorite gummy bears in it.
Next morning we hosted a brunch for all the out of towners and those staying in the hotel. Nap was in order for the afternoon. Evening cocktails and appetizers were supplied on the roof terraces by the groom's parents. Ned and I went for Sushi across the street for dinner. Most of the other revelers headed for one of the bars. By morning most of the guests had departed, happy, I think. Those of us who were left went for brunch. The bride and groom went home to pack for their honeymoon in the Greek Islands and Paris. They are having a blast.

I am finally back in my studio but had so much other stuff to take care of after being away from home for 3 weeks, that it was not till this weekend that I was able to start to think of working on my projects. I am still not fully focused but at least I am doing something for a short period every day. I hope to be able to get back to dyeing next week.

Will post photos when I get them