Ok.. Diane's question..and other things...

Diane over at Going to Pieces asked what magazines we subscribe to. Like Liz, it's only one at the moment: Quilting Arts. I let my subscription to QNM lapse about 10 years ago. There just wasn't enough useful content in it for me at the time. I used to subscribe to THREADS, but I don't do enough "real" sewing. And too many magazines regurgitate the same stuff for me to want to keep it.

I guess I don't subscribe to many magazines because if I didn't want to keep a lot of the content, I can find some of the useful content online.. without wasting the paper.

Now onto other things...

As much as I hated Joan Rivers doing the Red Carpet thing... Star Jones is so much worse!! Sycophantic and self-absorbed at the same time! I couldn't watch.. and dishing Red Carpet fashion is usually so much fun.

But I liked the Emmy's last night... Felicity Huffman, James Spader, and S. Ephata Merkison (I'm sure I have her name wrong) gave charming acceptance speeches... But Patricia Arquette's stylist should be SHOT.

And I woke up Sunday singing Marty Casey's song... TREES... and still can't get it out of the head. Guess I will have be doing some downloading soon...

I Would Have Guessed SF, but...

You Belong in London A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well. What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)

Songs from '70.

OK. Saw this over at BeanCounters.. though I'm not sure what I'm supposed to DO with this list...but LORD this gets harder when it's been so long ago. I'm don't even remember some of these song!! And can you believe it?? Bobby Sherman had songs in the Top 100?? Bobby Sherman???

Ok, I'll BOLD my favorites, and color the ones I don't recall. And FYI: if is says Jackson 5.. I didn't like it. To find your own list, go to this site and enter your graduation year in their search box.


1. Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel
2. (They Long To Be) Close To You, Carpenters
3. American Woman / No Sugar Tonight, The Guess Who
4. Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head, B.J. Thomas
5. War, Edwin Starr
6. Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Diana Ross
7. I'll Be There, Jackson 5
8. Get Ready, Rare Earth
9. Let It Be, The Beatles
10. Band Of Gold, Freda Payne
11. Mama Told Me (Not To Come), Three Dog Night
12. Everything Is Beautiful, Ray Stevens
13. Make It With You, Bread
14. Hitchin' A Ride, Vanity Fair
15. ABC, Jackson 5
16. The Love You Save / I Found That Girl, Jackson 5
17. Cracklin' Rose, Neil Diamond
18. Candida, Dawn
19. Thank You (Fallettin Me Be Mice Elf Again) / Everybody Is A Star, Sly and The Family Stone
20. Spill The Wine, Eric Burdon and War
21. O-o-h Child / Dear Prudence, Five Stairsteps and Cubie
22. Spirit In The Sky, Norman Greenbaum
23. Lay Down (Candles In The Rain), Melanie and The Edwin Hawkins Singers
24. Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World Is Today), Temptations
25. Love On A Two Way Street, Moments
27. Which Way You Goin' Billy?, Poppy Family
28. All Right Now, Free
29. Julie, Do Ya Love Me, Bobby Sherman
30. Green-eyed Lady, Sugarloaf
31. Signed Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours), Stevie Wonder
32. Ride Captain Ride, Blues Image
33. Venus, Shocking Blue
34. Instant Karma (We All Shine On), John Ono Lennon
35. Patches, Clarence Carter
36. Lookin' Out My Back Door / Long As I Can See The Light, Creedence Clearwater Revival
37. Rainy Night In Georgia, Brook Benton
38. Something's Burning, Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
39. Give Me Just A Little More Time, Chairmen Of The Board
40. Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes), Edison Lighthouse
41. The Long And Winding Road / For You Blue, The Beatles
42. Snowbird, Anne Murray
43. Reflections Of My Life, Marmalade
44. Hey There Lonely Girl, Eddie Holman
45. The Rapper, Jaggerz
46. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, Hollies
47. Tighter, Tighter, Alive and Kicking
48. Come And Get It, Badfinger
49. Cecelia, Simon and Garfunkel
50. Love Land, Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
51. Turn Back The Hands Of Time, Tyrone Davis
52. Lola, Kinks
53. In The Summertime, Mungo Jerry
54. Indiana Wants Me, R. Dean Taylor
55. (I Know) I'm Losing You, Rare Earth
56. Easy Come, Easy Go, Bobby Sherman
57. Express Yourself, Charles Wright and The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
58. Still Water (Love), Four Tops
59. Make Me Smile, Chicago
60. House Of The Rising Sun , Frijid Pink
61. 25 Or 6 To 4, Chicago
62. My Baby Loves Lovin', White Plains
63. Love Or Let Me Be Lonely, Friends Of Distinction
64. United We Stand, Brotherhood Of Man
65. We've Only Just Begun, Carpenters
66. Arizona, Mark Lindsay
67. Fire And Rain, James Taylor
68. Groovy Situation, Gene Chandler
69. Evil Ways, Santana
70. No Time, The Guess Who
71. Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time), Delfonics
72. The Wonder Of You / Mama Liked The Roses, Elvis Presley
73. Up Around The Bend / Run Through The Jungle, Creedence Clearwater Revival
74. (If You Let Me Make Love To You Then) Why Can't I Touch You, Ronnie Dyson
75. I Just Can't Help Believing, B.J. Thomas
76. It's A Shame, Spinners
77. For The Love Of Him, Bobbi Martin
78. Mississippi Queen, Mountain
79. I Want To Take You Higher, Ike and Tina Turner
80. The Letter, Joe Cocker
81. Ma Belle Amie, Tee Set
82. The Bells, Originals
83. Yellow River, Christie
84. Somebody's Been Sleeping, 100 Proof and Aged In Soul
85. Vehicle, Ides Of March
86. Gimme Dat Ding, Pipkins
87. Lay A Little Lovin' On Me, Robin Mcnamara
88. Up The Ladder To The Roof, Supremes
89. Travelin' Band / Who'll Stop The Rain, Creedence Clearwater Revival
90. Come Saturday Morning, Sandpipers
91. Psychedelic Shack, Temptations
92. Without Love (There Is Nothing), Tom Jones
93. Are You Ready?, Pacific Gas and Electric
94. Woodstock, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
95. I'll Never Fall In Love Again, Dionne Warwick
96. Look What They've Done To My Song Ma, New Seekers
97. Walk A Mile In My Shoes, Joe South
98. The Thrill Is Gone, B.B. King
99. It's Only Make Believe, Glen Campbell
100. Call Me, Aretha Franklin

I've made a bloggy discovery...

A couple months ago, totally fed up with BlogRoll, and looking for an RSS aggregator, I subscribed to BLOGLINES.

The blogroll that shows up on my blog comes from BlogLines. And I've found a really new feature.

Now for those who don't know... an aggregator keeps a list of blogs, groups and such that you want to follow (like BlogRoll does). I have a website that shows all items I've subscribed to and when they are new, so I don't have to keep going back to my blog. I click on an updated blog, and it shows up on the same page that my roll is on. (is this all too confusing for you?)..wish I could get a screenprint to work...

Anyway, the cool thing I just learned how to play with?...

When I am reading a blog, sometimes I want to remember a particular article to think more about... or to consider more.

And with Bloglines there is a CLIP option... that saves the blog to a file for me...

So I KNOW that today's LAYER OF MEANING is something that I want to keep, to remember, to thing about. So while I was reading, I clicked on CLIP THIS, and I have the link saved for later this weekend, when I can consider it more, and maybe write my reaction to what she writes as blog on my site.

Cool, huh??

Nobody Likes Me..

Let's all sing...

Nobody likes me,
Everybody hates me,
Guess I'll eat some worms...

Two comments in a week??

Thursday Done.. and The hardest battle...

First... the GREAT news: Eucalyptus I has been accepted into PIQF.

Today, I visited the Member's Only show at the RAC today. (heck, I had to check out my piece and the others)...

My piece was nicely hung... but even I was more drawn to other works in the gallery.

One was a creative quilt called "Quilt for the Birds". A grid of twigs held the whole things together.. and pockets of home-made paper held small bundles of seedheads, fruits and fluffy nesting matter. Between each of the pockets were small bundles of other goodies. This could be hung outside in a protected area and really feed the birds. It was artistically beautiful.

There were also these beautifully lacquered twigs ... real twigs... with sayings wrapped around them (under the lacquer). The creator was inspired by art she'd seen elsewhere... of "walking sticks for life". Imagine that these small twigs are similar to fortune cookies... small things you can stick in your pocket, hang from your desk..etc. and each one has saying to inspire you. I LOVED these.

There were wonderfully organic shapes that made me want to come home and sketch (which I've started...)... and wonderful fiber piece where she used a sheer fabric as a roll-up "curtain' to show/hide the view behind...

And the exhibit in one of the main halls is an interactive show DRESS: CLOTHING AS ART. NOT what you're thinking...

And finally, a fabulous quote:

“To be nobody but yourself — in a world that is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — is to fight the hardest battle any human being can fight and never stop fighting.” E.E. Cummings

working away... (and INXS)

So Wednesday afternoon I took some of the freshly painted fabrics I have and placed them up on the wall... looking for inspiration. They are still hanging there in rectangles about fat quarter size or larger. The sketch I thought I wanted to do isn't doing it for me. Back into the sketch book.

However, I also painted up my second experimental piece. (photo to follow). The potato resist didn't work/didn't work completely with the wet sloppy paint I like to use. So I'm reading through the Dharma catalog for a more "uumphy" resist. Maybe even gutta. First I've got to let this one cure a bit, and quilt these two projects up. Actually, the oil pastel one is ready to go.

When I'm comfortable with the bobbin play, I think I'll use that as a method to put in the sketch lines. (or maybe not... there may be odd stops and starts).

------------
Obligatory INXS comments ... won't you all be happy when this madness ends next week?

First, although everyone is talking about this being a long term deal... the winner actually only wins: a contract for one record and one world tour. That is... in about a year they can cut the cord. (could we see another INXS next year? Rotating lead singers? Who knows...) I'm seriously considering downloading Marty's more acoustic version of Trees...

I'm over JD even though he has been performing well lately. But he STILL makes me think of an Elvis impersonator whenever I see him. Suzie just ROCKS, and I hope she finds something worthwhile on her own. Mig is talented but he's just not right for INXS. At this point, I think Marty will be the new lead singer of INXS. Ofcourse, that's probably the kiss of death for him.

Why???

Gabrielle queried:

why are you working in fiber? What drives you to create....to make art...to show your inner self or just play?

I've been thinking about this for almost a full day now... not enough to give a complete and reasoned answered, but enough to come up with something.

Why work with fiber? First, it's the tactile nature of the medium. The slide of silk, the crispness of a great cotton... and sometimes trying to determine fiber content from touch alone ... (oh wait, this is why I shop at thrift stores!! well, same thing...).

but it's also a medium with specific demands. Knowing about weft and warp and bias, then determining how to manipulate these elements to my advantage. (or atleast keep things from being screwed up by these).

And it's about texture. The illusion of texture in hand painted fabric that dries with a crinkled appearance... the actual texture of the stitching...

Why do I create art?

It's about using color to convey meaning. (like Noise), or create a sense of place (Eucalyptus).

It's taking real world objects and simplifying them. Then combining them to make something new.

It's seeing the world my unique way.. and sharing that with the world.

ToDo Tuesday

Last night we watched Ricky Tim's DVD on machine quilting... it is a VERY GOOD DVD. It inspired several of us to work on stitching today. And I got lucky. My friend Karen received duplicate Creative Bobbins from Pfaff, so she gave me one!! These are for bobbin work; the only difference between this and my regular bobbin case is that it has gold on it to easily distinguish this case from the every day one.

So today:

Get some errands and phonecalls done early, then set up the machine and practice some fun bobbin work for a while. Now to remember where I wanted to finally use this.

Bundle-dipped fabrics

More EyeCandy. The weather lately has been gray, though the sun finally came out this weekend. I waited as long as I could.. but they still aren't as exciting as they could be. Still, eye candy is eye candy.
This is a gorgeous triple bundle-dipped piece. Rich and yummy. First I folded it into a tight square package and dipped one edge in blue and one in orange. After it was dry to the touch, folded the opposite way and dipped into the pink and purple. Lastly, folded it back originally and redipped it in the orange/blue (because the first time was too tight to get much absorption).






Even the back of the bundle dipped piece looks cool.. but I'm not sure why it's missing all the lines of the front.











This bundle-dipped piece was first tied in a spiral and dipped into orange. After this dried, it was folded and bundle-dipped into the purple. Then hung on the line to dry, forcing the colors to run and blend. This will be a great member of the supporting cast. Sorry for the wierd perspective in this piece.

Which Classic Leading Lady Are You???

Time for Sunday's frivilous quiz...

I knew it! But.. I am too gritty!! (just look in my bathtub). Oh.. that's part of my witty charm...

Katharine Hepburn You scored 16% grit, 23% wit, 47% flair, and 23% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 0% on grit You scored higher than 57% on wit You scored higher than 14% on flair You scored higher than 42% on class

More Pictures...

This half yard piece was painted with Golden acrylics.. It feels very southwesty to me.. the swirly shapes are coppery. It's a bit stiff, but will be a "star" in a piece.
And this fat quarter piece was stamped with potato resist before being painted.. the stamps were the spirals.. I think this will end in a supporting role.

Want to know your helping?

KatrinaBlog
This is a grass-roots movement to get supplies DIRECTLY to the shelters in Mississippi. And its simple: load 1 type of item only in a box. Mail it directly to a shelter. This blog has lists of shelter needs, lists of helper needs, and lists of shelters. It will be updated frequently.

Use this and spread the word.

A moment of levity...

There are days when I think I need to scan some of the patterns I have and send them off to weirdbabe...

When you want a laugh/trip down memory lane, visit the TreadBared blog.

Pictures!! Of work, even!!

I know.. It's been ages since I posted any photos.. so I will try to be better...



This is that oil pastel experiment I mentioned the other day. It smelled strongly like crayons for atleast a day. Then I heatset it (it still smelled), and finally washed it. It didn't smell anymore, but some of the color washed out.

This might be an OK technique to add to a piece, but I don't think I would use it for an entire piece like this. Now to decide if I should quilt it up or just let it go...

For a warm fuzzy feeling...

Check out Will Reed's comment on the Technology For All blog..

They Have Beads... We Have CowBells.

And, another warm fuzzy story... Will Reed mentioned a couple days ago that many of the people in the AstroDome lost (and needed) reading glasses. I posted that information on the QuiltArt mailing list so people could add reading glasses to packages they were assemblying for shelters.

One member contacted the manufacturer of Peepers, and they are shipping glasses to theTechnology For All peeps.

community_building
technology for all

A silly quiz, a horoscope and RockStar

Blame this on Valeri and Gabrielle...


Congratulations, you're an old soul! You've lived
so many times, that you have experienced much
more than the rest of us. It's not certain what
you were in your last life, but you have
probably lived a life of them all. In your
present life, you are wise and knowledgeable,
very creative, and attract people to your
shining soul. Enjoy this life, who knows what
wonderous place you'll go to when it's ended.

My alternate responses (I couldn't decide between answers on a couple) said I had been a person in power. Just like DebR. (is it a name thing?)

And thanks to DebR... my HorroScope for September:

I like to rhyme with little Cancers, but all they want are some straight answers. Here's a hint, you fellow crabs.... don't mix your stripes with your plaids. Eat your fruits and grains and greens and don't get mad, just get mean. Toughen up that little shell and sometimes say "What the hell..." Take a chance, a risk, a wager and start living now instead of later. My last advice for you to take is to give yourself a worry-break. Oh-- and I promise I'm all through with silly, stinky rhymes for you. Heh. No, really, I am! (Green eggs and ham.) Whoops.

Gotta love someone who rhymes crabs and plaids!!

OK.. RockStar.

JD: I'm just tired of him. Or was just tired of the exercises I doing while he sang? My arms and shoulders should be firming up nicely. JD's position with the band shouldn't be.

Suzie: Had a couple small mistakes during "I Can't Make YOu Love Me..."but is still a strong vocalist. (sigh I am so old)... I liked her original and the fact that she dedicated it to my guy, Ty.

Mig: Lots of energy, but his voice sounded thin.

Jordis: Queen...Flaws in her voice, but good overall. And an original song that might be INXS. I liked her performance, but she's losing her fire.

Marty: Best performance of the night. Yeah.. his original was cool.

I only knew the songs that Suzie and Jordis sang.. so this was like a nearly original week for me.

The Menu Exchange...

This is NOT a recipe exchange (I hope).. just ideas for fast suppers. In my case, it's primarily aimed at the two adult house.. but it might be occasionally adaptable for other kinds of houses.

So this week:

Monday: Romaine salad with raspberries and Newman's raspberry/walnut dressing(yum) Whole wheat pasta, Prego spaghetti sauce and 6 frozen meatballs each cooked in the sauce. Total cooking time: about 25 minutes.

Tuesday: Fresh garden greens with Orange/poppyseed dressing and slivered almonds. A grilled polish sausage (steve's with mustard) with green veggies (brussel sprouts for me, lima beans for steve) and fresh fruit for dessert. Total cooking time: about 20 minutes.

Wednesday will be grilled chicken (with extra pieces to be used for luncheon salads later this week)...a salad and some kind of veggie.

(are we sensing a trend here?? Yep. I cook most of my suppers in less than a half hour. And most of them are grilled meat, a salad and a veggie with some fruit for dessert).

Back to normal...

Tuesday... Steve is back to work and so am I. After running a couple errands this morning and walking the dogs, I'm getting back down to work.

I'm doing some experimenting with surface design work.. and I've sketched out a couple designs for quilts I want to start. First I need to do some organizing in the sewing room... sorting through fabrics for charity quilts has created a mess... and I still haven't found backs!!

Found this quote from my very blog almost a year ago. Now that a couple people actually read it, thought I'd share it again.

Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
Cecil Beaton

Blogger-Aid for Katrina...

Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Day

Now is the time to remember the lost and lonely pets.


Now we know I'm all about my dogs. And there are so many pets who will need rescuing and kennelling in the next few months (if your owner is in a shelter.. where is doggy/kitty sleeping?). So I'm suggesting the charities for animals below.

Humane Society of the United States
Donation Link: Click here.
Relief focus: Dispatching Disaster Animal Response Teams (DARTs) to rescue animals and assist their caregivers.

ASPCA
Donation Link: Click here and choose the type of giving you prefer.
Relief focus: Although they do not yet have anything specific to Katrina up on their site, the ASPCA sends emergency relief to animal shelters when natural disasters occur.

hurricane katrina
flood aid

I am renewed.

I am renewed.

--I spent Friday evening with some friends... sitting around the table noshing and visiting.. laughing and sharing.

--I made a small piece for Laura's fundraiser.. and found a few journal quilt pieces that I will enter, too. If they sell, all good... if they don't they go back on the shelf where they were. Others that I don't feel are quite worthy of her prices will be put up for sale on my alternate blogsite this week for $30 each, with proceeds going to the Humane Society.

--The piece I envisioned the other night needs more mental construction before I can get it out into the world... It will be a before/after piece.. but I want it more abstract than that sounds.

--I'm getting obsessive about the American League Wild Card race. If you don't have an emotional attachment here, please pull my Indians.

--Made breakfast one morning. I mean.. not just eat cereal or leftovers... I made French Toast, bacon and sprinkled some fresh raspberries over it. Even brought out the real Maple Syrup. Pretty. Later, I made vanilla pudding with soymilk to enjoy with more of those raspberries.

--Watched a few mindless movies.

--Did some work in the garden.

--Walked the dogs. Or they walked me. Accurately we walked together.

--Napped.

--Watched TV, yes. US Open Tennis.

I'm Sorry..

but ROBERTS FOR CHIEF JUSTICE???!!!

Please, God, stop this effort.

As I get older, I begin to think.. these lifetime appointments are not a good thing. And Roberts is just too young to be given a lifetime appointment.

Quilters in Northern California...

DATELINE: California Quilters Comfort America

Carquinez Strait Stitchers guild is helping to coordinate this effort with the Valero Refinery. Valero has agreed to PAY for the shipping costs of quilts from Northern California to those evacuees

You can have any Bay Area Friends start drop shipping or dropping off quilts, new or almost new sheets and blankets at the Refinery. PARK OUT FRONT, I repeat PARK and then go to the Receptionist during business hours 7:30-4:30 or to the Main Gate guard for the rest of the hours. We are a 24/7 operation and want to give back to our friends in need. I've promised security that we won't give them a heart attack and they have promised to help us get the quilts to shipping!

Valero Benicia Refinery

3400 East Second Street

Benicia, CA 94510

I'm taking the weekend off from blogging

I'm sad and depressed and need to work this out.

Yep, I work out stress by cleaning and sewing. Wednesday night I fell asleep with a clear idea of small quilt about katrina ... So when I'm not dusting and scrubbing, I'll be working on this and the charity quilts to ship out.

I'm torn, though. I could send a couple quilts to IQA to be distributed, but my husband works for Chevron... and they will be setting up a tent village for over 1000 employee/families who work the gulf region. Part of me really wants to support "our family" instead, but I'm not sure there is a way to do so.

And my friend Del suggested that I make a small wearable (ala the sweatshirt jackets) with some of the left over eucalyptus fabrics (including leaves) to wear to the shows at which it will be displayed. (see me? see my quilt...). We'll see...

Attention my non-quilting readers.

I know there several of you out there!!

There are over 25,000 people heading to the AstroDome to live for atleast the next 3 months. And one of the Queens in the Quilting world lives in Houston. She has volunteered to be a distribution point for quilts for these people.

Now I know, you don't quilt. But I do!

Two posts below in the blogger-aid post I recommend donations to the animal rescue societies for this disaster. (if you are living in a stadium in another state.. where is your dog/cat living? How about all the stray dogs/cats/rabbits/gerbils, etcs. they find in the coming weeks?)

So here's the deal. If you let me know that you have donated atleast $100 to one of these charities, I will make a twin sized quilt to send to the survivors being housed in the AstroDome. I will even send you a photo of your quilt (or post it on this blog). If you live in the bay area and would like to help.. I can use it. Let me know.

Update: Ok. ANY $100 donation to any hurricane relief fund from a non-quilter gets a quilt. The first 5 are going to Houston, the rest will go to Paducah where they will be distributed to individuals when they begin to rebuild their lives.

Come on people!! Make my Pfaffie work!!

Now excuse me, I am so confident in you that I must go start sewing.

hurricane katrina
flood aid

I have figured out my bad kharma...

I have figured out my bad kharma these past few days.

On Sunday last I found a brilliant blog where a guy was supporting the Kansas State Board of Education's stand on Intelligent Design. He also asked the board to support his hypothosis that the world was created by a giant space spaghetti monster. It's was his theory of Intelligent Design.. and one ID theory should be as good as another, right?? (someone please help me find his blog...)

Anyway, I sent members of the board additional notes supporting this theory. And all hell broke loose in my personal life. Either God is a Kansan... or she's for ID.

Anyway, to redeem my bad kharma, I worked on charity quilts today.

Sorry for the fuzzy picture. I took this from the top of the steps. It looked clear in the viewfinder. Bad kharma is so evil!!

This is the finished BLANKIE FOR GROWNUP quilt. It was fun... you piece large 9 patch blocks, cut them up and repiece them to make this.


Now this brings up another problem... I am occasionally a terrible piecer. Really. Ask my friends... they'll probably agree with me in the comments if they're brave.

Bad enough that if the quilt police ever located me, they would shoot my sewing machine to put it out it's misery for having to piece for me. (my god, it's a Pfaff with built in even feed! Can you imagine it's shame when it goes into the shop? "Your owner sews like you're a new Singer!")

See? I can be a horrible piecer. This spot is supposed to match up and it's off by atleast 1/4"!!

However, this quilt will be given to a woman starting chemo therapy (most likely for breast cancer). Do you think she'll complain? Will she throw it off her lap in total disgust? I think not.

So onward to the obligatory RockStar comments from Wednesday night. Interesting that they expanded it to an hour (again?). Question for those who watch this show....Who else wants to copy the images on the back wall and somehow use them in fiber? as stamps or screens or appliques?

JD is not showing well.. still singing OK, but the interpersonal dynamics are showing frayed edges. And Jordis didn't answer her "what will you bring" question very well. I just can't believe that they sent Ty home. Was the voting really racist?? I hope not.

I'm wondering if we've seen the 3 finalists (marty, mig and suzie) and the next ones to go home...

bad days have good payoff...

Yeah, I've had a couple of not-so-great days... but each day, with a night sleep separating me from the drama... seems not as bad. And today it finally resulted in a good thing:

it drove me into the sewing room to do some mindless sewing. So I layered up a charity quilt I made a couple weeks ago, and I'm busy quilting it up for BLANKIES FOR GROWNUPS. I'm also mulling over the next steps in my Eucalyptus series, so I can work on that soon.

Peace and calm are beginning to return to me...when I'm not becoming so angry at little nothings that I'm ready to punch something.

Not such a good day...

Well, as good as the mail was Monday; that's how bad the day was Tuesday.

Remember that telecon I was looking forward to participating in? I was late signing in because... well that will follow... but I was 20 minutes late. Then, 10 minutes later my cordless phone battery died. Bumping me out of the call. The part I participated in was interesting, but I got really short changed. Fortunately someone wiki'ed the whole thing.

So why was I late? I had to go to BigO and get a tire fixed. While I was in the parking lot earlier today, I must have driven over a BIG SCREW (gee... we shall later how appropriate this is).. that embedded itself in my left rear tire. So as I drove, it kept going Klick, Clack, clickity, clickity. The kid next door told me it was safe to drive down to get it fixed.. but not to wait the 2 hours I would have waited if I stayed home for the whole call. (which I wouldn't have been able to stay through as it turns out. That durned battery).

Driving down to Big O, a guy down the street backed out of his garage and straight into the street without looking. I laid on the horn and swore at him.. and he missed T-boning me about about 6".

Not that that will keep from calling my insurance company.

When I took the dogs for their walk, I stopped near the post office and mailed in my entry to PIQF. We crossed the street to the park and walked around. Besides the screw-in-the-tire present... I found this surprise on my bumper:




It looks like a large truck of some kind backed into me and (ofcourse) didn't leave any information about the accident. sigh.

Fortunately the back gate still works.. the dogs are happy... But I've got to talk to the police and the insurance company.. and deal with all this.

When I got home, I swore nothing short of a disaster would drive me out of the house again today...

So if an earthquake strikes the SF East bay tonight.. you know who to blame...

Some perspective on Katrina...

I am a weather-news junky. Don't give a hoot about all the political stuff... but give me a good storm and I'm glued to the tv and surfing the net for feeds. I also spent some time (20 some years ago) as a Red Cross disaster volunteer.

So here is some of my perspective on the aftermath from Hurricane Katrina.

1. Many parts of the region have building standing apparently undamaged, but massive vegetation damage according to one report on CNN. Broken trees are slow to clean up, and the ONLY people with large enough chain saws are normally Forest fire fighters and some National Guard units. Expect requests from all around the country for Guardsmen to head to the gulf area to assist with cleanup.

THIS IS GOING TO TAKE MONTHS. AND MANPOWER. AND WHERE WILL THEY PUT ALL THIS DEBRIS?

2. A friend wrote: I am thinking of what its going to take just to get the water plants re-started as well as the wastewater plants. On the Water side, every
water line and every fire line is going to have to be flushed and
chlorinated and samples will have to be taken from every line flushed
and taken to the lab for analysis. There there are all of the electric
motors that are going to have to be dried before they can be started.
Then there is all of the silt and sand that will be plugging the storm
drains not to mention all of the manholes which have been blown off.
The Mississippi will be highly turbid so there will have to be
extensive filtering at the Water treatment plants...the magnitude is
almost beyond comphrehension.

THIS IS GOING TO TAKE MONTHS. AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

I can't imagine where all these people are going to live during this time. And the peak of hurricane season is still 3 weeks away... with hurricanes possible for what?? another 6 to 8 weeks??

With the impact nationwide on supplies and oil prices.. this is going to be a major hit on our economy.

Now the RED CROSS holds with a philosophy that
a) people who have lost everything deserve more than other people's hand-offs, so they give victims money to buy new things (like underwear, shoes and clothing).

b) local communities devastated by disaster can recover more quickly if money is poured back into the local community.

That's why ARC asks for cash donations instead of used clothing and such.

If you are sleeping in your home tonight, with more than the clothes on your back... please DONATE HERE.

GOOD MAIL DAY!!

So Monday was a good mail day... Dick Blick catalog and these two little gems...
Maybe this is the start of a trend??

This postcard thank you was from Virginia Spiegel.

And THIS one was from Guess Who???

Community of the Path

This is an explanation why I wanted to join the Us/Them discussion tomorrow.

I started with an honest but painful explanation. I edited it three times and still felt tortured reading it. And I didn't want to torture you while offering some insight (and no photos. What is wrong with you, Debra Ann?? don't you know we crave eye candy? I hear you all thinking...)

Anyway, I went for a walk with the dogs.

And thought about the "community of the path" while we were out.

There is a walking path along Refugio Valley Rd. in Hercules that runs the length of the street (about 2.5 miles). It is used daily.. and all day long. The elder Chinese who practice TaiChi every morning in the park, finish with a walk. Mothers with strollers head out from about 9 am. to noon. The Firemen stationed nearby get there walks/runs in there. We walk our dogs and catch up with friends. I would guess that an average 200 people step along this strip of blacktop daily (not counting the students coming and going from the highschool/middle school). Your typical community path.

BUT, most of the travelers practice a uniquely charming habit that has never been formalized. It's a variation on the standard practice of nodding when you pass someone on a path.

The first time you approach a fellow traveler on Refugio, you
1. make eye contact, then
2. say "good morning/afternoon/evening".

and here's the really unique part:
because most of us walk part way up the path, then turn around and return to our cars, we often pass some of the same people a second time. and the common practice here changes:

1. make eye contact again...
2. say "have a good day, now".

It's a very subtle way of acknowledging all around that "I see you, and though I've seen you and greeted you earlier today, I will likely not see you again today."

Simple. But a whole lot of sub-text exists in these phrases. And a lot of respect.

Now all but the dullest reader will see that travelling a path is an easy allegory for moving through life... How many different ways do we pass by each other?

In real life... driving on the freeways, standing in line at a store, sitting at nearby tables in the coffeeshop. Online, we might be reading blogs, making comments, reading the same mailing list. We interact in casual ways in all these situations.

All fraught with chances for misunderstandings... or ripe for finding commonality.

How can we as a SOCIETY develop habits/guidelines/methods of interaction that acknowledge each person in an inclusive way? How can we build a "community of the path" on every path in life?

It's gotta start somewhere. And I'm hoping the conversation tomorrow will be my start.

Then, tomorrow, I promise.. pictures!! (What? those sunsets didn't satisfy you? ) And since ROCKSTAR is Tuesday night.. we know that coming soon is the mindless babbling...Who ROCKS?? Who blew it badly??


community_indicators

idontknow

Some Eye Candy...

This sunset photo was taken on the 11th. Bay area fog is high and bouncing the light. I love watching sunsets from our backyard.

Same night, slightly different angle.

Taken a few days later. The fog is close overhead... and almost obscuring the sunset.

The REVEAL: SIMPLE STILL LIFE

I decided to use this photo as the inspiration for one of my design journals. I make these from watercolor paper, painted up, torn and folded back together. The "complete" picture was placed on one side (altered somewhat because I couldn't draw the shoe). On the other side I did 8 quick "gestural sketches" (atleast I think that's what my teacher called them). Hello will not upload the photo of the sketches.

Then I painted them. This is "closer to real" painting of the still life.


These are the 8 quick sketches painted up.


I folded it, and tore 3/4 of the ways up the center. Then folded it up. This is one "cover" of the book. It's from the irregularities on the glass ball in the photo.



This is the other side. The candlestick with leaves behind it.


Each small section of this "book" can be used as the inspiration for a piece. Inspiration either in color or line. I like this one. (it's upside down... but I like it this way). (the jinglebell on the shoe).


This one isn't fabulous... but there are parts I could take from this...


Something about this reminds me of Gabrielle Swain's work. Is it the leaves or the lined background??


This is part of the "complete" painting folded as an individual piece. All good... all fine... great outcome from the experiment.

An "adult" funny...

I was just rolling through the cable channels looking for something to listen to while I work this afternoon, and I stopped for a second on INKED. The part I saw showed a guy who wanted a tattoo to cover the head of penis (it hurts ME to think about this... sorry for any guys reading this).
And... the guy tried to dick-er about the price!!

Giggle, giggle...

Getting beyond Us/Them dialogues

Tuesday, I am taking part in a telecom about moving beyond the all-too-prevelant "us/them" thinking in dialogue. It was started after thoughts brought up at BlogHer, and brought to fruition by Nancy White and Bill Anderson.

While "us/them" is oh-so-obvious in political diatribe currently ... (I cannot easily consider instances where I could honestly call what I experience dialogue or discussion), the same thinking extends beyond this to almost everything we deal as parts of our lives. Knowledge, understanding, perspective and age all inform who we are as individuals, yet we often project those experiences onto everyone we interact with, assuming that our lives are a common experience. And those projections separate us along lines of understanding.

So we will talking about ways to encourage discourse without discord; conversations with combativeness. I'm approaching this conversation with the rather simple concept of beginning by remembering THE GOLDEN RULE: Treat others as you want to be treated.

Seeing the list of participants, I think I will be representing the "little bloggers"... those of us who don't do this as an adjunct to a paying job or do this as a job. Those who share hobbies and the daily travails of life... who preface our political commentary with the warning: RANT... so the readers are warned and can choose to slide on by...

In this role, if there are points you wish me to bring up, please leave me a comment and I'll try to represent.

community_indicators

idontknow

I've mentioned that I hate making phonecalls...

Because of that, I'm having a major problem getting the pictures taken of the Eucalyptus quilt (and more).

I am now giving all your permission to either;

1. call a photographer and make an appointment for me. (Ok, I can dream...).

Gerrie is going to shame me into doing this.. She actually asked for names of the guys I need to call!!
or

2. (much more likely) bug me regularly until I report that the appointment is made.

Off to do some painting and sunprinting...(photos to follow)

The AFI Movie meme

So today I have jury duty. Got there at 8:30 am, am home at lunch at noon. So far I filled out a one page vo-wa-dear form and watched a 10 minute video about the importance of juries. All that in 3 hours before they released us for lunch. I don't mind doing my civic duty and showing up for jury duty... but MY GOD BE EFFICIENT. When you have 150 people sitting around waiting to DO something... USE THEM OR LET THEM GO HOME.

Anyway, nothing creative to write about today, so I've borrowed the meme from Sela's blog and invite you to have fun, too.

The rules are simple. Copy the AFI top 100 movie list, and highlight in BOLD the movies you've seen. All I've got to say about this is, maybe it's my age... maybe it's movie rentals and NetFlix... but the movies on this list that I haven't seen... I have usually chosen NOT to see. (lots of violence that I'm not interested in seeing). Of the 33 or so movies that are not IN BOLD, I think I've seen parts of many of them.

The Complete List:

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) I know I've seen parts, but I couldn't "get into" it...

2. CASABLANCA (1942)

3. THE GODFATHER (1972)

4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) I'm glad I saw this my spouse who studies military history for fun.

6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) I so do not like this movie.

7. THE GRADUATE (1967)

8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) A great film.

9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) Too hard to watch more than once.

10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)

11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) Hokey.. but a holiday tradition.

12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)

13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) whistles Col. Bogey March...

14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) Watched this last year.. not as good as I remembered.

15. STAR WARS (1977) The only one worth watching again.

16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)

17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)

18. PSYCHO (1960)

19. CHINATOWN (1974) Not a Jack fan...

20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) Still not a Jack fan...

21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)

22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) I know I've seen parts, but all of it??

23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

24. RAGING BULL (1980)

25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)

26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) Strange and dark. Hubby likes it more than I.

27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)

28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)

30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) I think so... but not sure.

31. ANNIE HALL (1977) Don't get all the fuss about this.

32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974) Part one was violent enough for me.

33. HIGH NOON (1952) Proof that a score can make a movie.

34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) One of the few movies as good as the book.

35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) Another one that I just recently saw again and didn't enjoy as much as I remembered.

36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)

37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)

40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)

42. REAR WINDOW (1954) I think my favorite Hitchcock.

43. KING KONG (1933)

44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)

45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)

46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)Weirdly violent..

47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)

48. JAWS (1975)

49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) One of those magical pairings. None of the current attempts come close to this one or Lemmon/Mathou.

51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) My favorite Hepburn.

52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)

53. AMADEUS (1984)

54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)

55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) My mother said I had no soul because I didn't cry at the end of this movie.

56. M*A*S*H (1970)

57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)

58. FANTASIA (1940) If you're not high, what's the point??

59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)

60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)

61. VERTIGO (1958)

62. TOOTSIE (1982)

63. STAGECOACH (1939)

64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)

65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)So scared watching this, I took my dog and checked every door and window in the house.

66. NETWORK (1976)

67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)

68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)

69. SHANE (1953)

70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971) By far the best chase scene ever.

71. FORREST GUMP (1994) Ok, but not worth all the fuss.

72. BEN-HUR (1959) The movie to compare every "Roman" movie to.

73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)

74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)

75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) "director plays with camera". Did you realize that there is no single shot in thROCKY e movie that lasts longer than 7 seconds?? In the entire friggin movie.

76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)

77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)

78. ROCKY (1976)

79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)

80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)

81. MODERN TIMES (1936) While substitute teaching in a film study class. saw this 3 times in 2 days.

82. GIANT (1956) Rock Hudson, right? was he an architect??

83. PLATOON (1986) Once was enough.

84. FARGO (1996)

85. DUCK SOUP (1933)

86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)

87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)

88. EASY RIDER (1969)

89. PATTON (1970)

90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)

91. MY FAIR LADY (1964) Have I mentioned that I don't like most musicals?? This one is no exception.

92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)

93. THE APARTMENT (1960)

94. GOODFELLAS (1990)

95. PULP FICTION (1994)

96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)

97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938) Hepburn and Grant. Happy, happy me.

98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)

99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)

100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

RockStar INXS

Don't read this if haven't seen the show yet. Enough warning. I'm bloggin this real time as I'm watching the show... how geeky is that??

1. Susie. Start Me UP...I like that she went up with her fellow contestants and sang with them. I thought she started a bit slow... but she finished strong.

2. JD. COLD AS ICE. I really can't take his ego and don't know that he's a "band" person, but I can see that you young chickie-poos would think he's hot. He had energy in his performance and I can't really fault it. Too bad. But I think he'd be better served as a solo performer with a backup band.

3. Deanna. MY TRUTH. THAT GIRL ROCKED!!! What else can I say???

4. Ty. PROUD MARY. I would say he's the hottest guy left in the competition...And what can say about his performance?? I jumped up and danced.. and felt completely energized afterward.
So far.. the two best performances of the night.

5. Mig. DO OR DIE. Not the energy of the other performances. Adequate, but not spectacular.

6. Marty. I ALONE. I'm not familiar with the song.. and I didn't particularly like the performance... but he had plenty of energy. I wasn't fond of the yelling instead of singing during the chorus, and it sounds like INXS feels the same way. But

7. Jordis. DREAM ON. Just dreadful. 'nuff said.

Tuesday ToDos

Oh joy and excitement...

I get to wake up at 4 am. and drive the spouser to the airport, then turn around and head home (the air-porters don't begin to run until 6 am.. and that's the flight time). Eat some breakfast, and set up for a "play day" with some friends at 11 am. We're going to work with the paperclay brooches from the Autumn, 2003, Belle Armoire.

We are basically going to play a bit with UTEE and the melting pots that turn it into a liquid. I have dipped polymer clay beads in this, and they look like glass. I'm eager to see what it does with paper beads and fabric beads.

When my friends leave, I'M TAKING A NAP. Then setting things up for fabric painting later this week. I may take myself out to supper. And this evening I have to call the courts because Wednesday...

I report for Jury Duty.

Our county has a one day/one trial policy. When I call tonight, they will tell me when to show up. I may make it into a courtroom, or not... into a trial or not.. and nothing is known for sure until that day. So I can't plan the rest of the week.

Monday ToDos...

Ok, this is late because I forgot to write it last night.

1. Mix up potato flake resist for fabric painting later this week. Done

2. Vacuum up the dog fur. done

3. Prep fabrics for fabric painting. done

4. Make a couple phone calls. Yuck.

5. Weed the garden.

Remember that I"m getting up at 4 am tomorrow... so hit the hay early.

I went a step further today... and treated several pieces of fabric with vegetal resists hoping they would be ready for some painting techniques maybe later tomorrow. Treated them, laid them out on a piece of freezer paper and set them down on the floor in my studio to dry.

Now let's see how long it takes you, brilliant reader, to see the flaw in my plan.

waits...

ah, yes.... you're getting the picture...

remember, I have a lab. And Katy's main reason to wake up in the morning is to eat. And this was mashed potato resist on the floor. Yep, she walked in there and licked the top piece clean before I caught her.

So much for my planning...

Personality tests.. It must be Sunday...

Stability results were moderately high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.

Yep.. secure and optimistic. That's me.

Orderliness results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun.

See?? There is a reason I clean when I'm stressed!!

Extraversion results were medium which suggests you are moderately talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting.

This is a change as I've gotten older. Used to be a true introvert... but I'm changing.

trait snapshot

clean, organized, regular, self reliant, tough, positive, high self control, very good at saving money, dislikes chaos, resolute, realist, trusting, hard working, dislikes unpredictability, prefers a technical specialized career, not worrying, respects authority, enjoys leadership, finisher, normal, optimistic, controlling, prudent, modest, adventurous, does not like to be alone, intellectual, likes the unknown, very practical, high self esteem, assertive, perfectionist, busy, altruistic.

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Ladies who lunch, part deux...

Before I forget. (I'm a little sleep deprived.. the first thing that goes is my memory. The second thing is my good judgement. I'm between these now, so I'd better get writing fast. Note to myself: what happens in Sacto stays in Sacto.)

Thursday evening I firmed up my plans to drive to Sacto and visit the fabulous Gabrielle. Woke Friday morning, checked emails, forced the dogs through a 2 mile super-fast walk "if you need to piddle, you better do while walking", then home for a quick shower, throw on the pre-chosen outfit and head out.

Oh... prechosen outfit: a cotton dress from Dharma, hand dyed in a greens, no jewelry (forgot), and my hand painted boots. ( note to DebR. I thought I had a link to the photo of my shoes, but it's gone. I'll take another one, promise). Cool and quirky and oh-so "artsy"...

I hit the road a little late... but it's OK. Traffic is 4 lanes most of the way up there... every single lane going 70 MPH. I just slipped into a spot and felt like I was on a ride... the music was collection of oldies chosen for the energy and carefree spirit: meatloaf, jimmy buffet, beach boys. you get the idea.

Got to the motel without a single extra turn!! Mapquest actually didn't suck this time. Ofcourse it helped that the exit was one beyond the state fair park, and I've driven up there most of the past 7 years. Gabrielle was standing outside the front door desperately searching for me. Thank goodness I told her about the green dress. And she, remembering my fondness for Thai food, had a map.

Not, as it turns out, the best map in the world. It was open to lots of female interpretation, but a map that eventually got us to lunch. Good food. Gabrielle eats things HOT, and apprently loves the snot-generating capacity of all those peppers.

We yammered about art, about blogs and the artful quilt blogring... wow over 90 now. Will we reach the century mark in less than a year?? Exercise and spouses and great fun stuff. A fruitless stop at the B&N... one of the largest ones I've seen... then back to her room for some show and tell.

Unfortunately, neither of us remembered our cameras. So the day is memorialized in our memories and these blogs.

Gabrielle, THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL DAY.

Total fun. If any member of this blogring happens to mention that they will be anywhere in your neck of the woods... try to clear some time and get a chance to meet them. Don't limit too much here... I've visited Gerrie and Gabrielle both drives over an hour each way. And it's been worth it.

Be just a little careful. Gabrielle is encouraging me to do a much larger series with the Eucalyptus quilts. Something about working more with the positive/negative space... and juxtaposition of the geometric and organic shapes....

I think I need another nap...

Zappo marketing.

Carol wrote about the Zappos marketing technique and wondered about using this for marketing quiltmaking/surface design.

The first thing would require of us would be the development of an active database of former clients.

For the maker, who purchased the piece, it's size, it's theme and it's color palette, photo of work.

For the teacher, the sponsor of a workshop, the class taught, the students in attendance, photos of the work.

Then, when something similar is available an email is sent..

Example for the teacher:

You attended my workshop (former date) where we (did this) {ideally insert a photo of something from that class HERE.} On (upcoming date), I will teaching a related workshop at (new location).

Insert information about the new workshop...

If you enjoyed the past experience and would like to expand your skills in this area, please join us.

--------------

This kind of marketing is important because it feeds off an already existing client base. It also makes the recipient feel considered by you. So they may WANT to attend the function. It's worded more as an invitation than a "sales tools".

An important feature of this, however, would be letting the first experience age a bit. Do not send an email any more frequently than perhaps 6 months or a year...

What other ideas can generate that feed this type of marketing?

Ladies Who Lunch.

I'm off to Sacremento for lunch with Gabrielle!!

Let's see if I'm ready:

Cute outfit? Check
Cute shoes? Check
show and tell? Check
tunes for the road? Check
Control my excitement. NOT IN CHECK.

Thursday's smashing fun!!

Ok, My general straightening up the house yesterday was quite successful, but phone calls about the house purchase in Illinois cut into my work time. So my studio needs a major de-cluttering today.

But first... my annual mammo this morning.

So I think I'll clear out the room (kind of) before I leave. Then when I come home, sort and file and put away stuff. I'll find several pieces that I started last year and need to finish... something that I've completely forgotten about... and more pencils and pens (I'm sure). By 3 pm. I'll be ready to start WORKING in there... and able to move around and actually get some work done.

oh yeah.. there are still a couple phone calls to make.

chicken for supper (how shall I cook it?) and possibly a concert in the park tonight.

Wednesday To Do, and Tuesday INXS...

Well, I had plans for today, but it turns out they are really for Friday. Lately I've had trouble concentrating and sticking with things. I think the clutter in my environment is distracting, so I'm going to spend today cleaning everything up. A place for everything... and get it there.

I also have a number of phonecalls to make. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE MAKING PHONECALLS?? But a couple are because I NEED good pictures of a couple quilts to start entering shows. And there isnt' a photographer just going to email and ask if he/she can take pictures for me...

Update: When parts of my life seem out of control, I "comfort" myself by controlling my environment. And I supposed that's really what I'm doing today... controlling what I can, so I can deal with those things I can't control. It seems to be working; I've worked through a couple issued while straigtening things up. And, BONUS... I've found 12 pencils and 17 pens that can be returned to writing places... and 2 bills that are due this week.

The studio needs a good cleaning up too, so that will be part of the deal, too. I'm getting psyched to do some fabric painting next week... and those new pieces need a place to live...

Now to the REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF...

If you haven't seen this yet and care... just stop reading now.


Rockstar Tuesday night:

The bottom three performances (IMHO), were Ty, Deanna, and JD.

Jordis was the ultimate chanteuse... Fabulous!!

Experimenting with Nori Paste

On the sunset fabric shown a couple days ago, I experimented with NORI rice paste as a resist with acrylic paints.

In my watercolor on fabric class, I used a thinned out NORI (about equal parts paste and water) to paint lines onto 8 mome habotai silk. The pigments flowed into the resist, but did not flow much further than that. So the yellow in one segment and the red in the next would flow into an orange where the resist was... but not much further than that.

On cotton sheeting, the thinned resist was not successful. The full strength paste needed to be scrubbed fully into the fabric to work well. Where there are holes in the suns below, the paste was not fully scrubbed in.

In Sue Beever's book, OFF THE SHELF FABRIC PAINTING, she gives two recipes for making one's own rice paste. Her's she claims is quite resistent and good for stenciling and leaf printing.

She also says that a thin paint will breach the resist more quickly... and that be part of the problem I had. My paint was quite thin and watery.

I need to do some new painting and see what different effects I can get by using this stuff. And maybe make up my own rice paste to compare the differences.

DRESS BOUTIQUE: GONE WITH THE WIND REDUX

For Suzette:

Few people know that Margaret Mitchell did try to write a second novel following the success of GONE WITH THE WIND. This book was to deal with Scarlett's second cousin up in Richmond.. VIOLET O'HARA. Violet was born in the 1880s, and the novel followed her life through to first world war.

Although the book was never finished, evidence has surfaced that a movie was in the works. What else could explain the several gown displayed here?

Violet married on Christmas Day, with The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies as her processional theme. This dress was designed just for the occasion. Doesn't every girl pick the music first, and then the dress to match?


Violet's husband was shipped off to fight with Teddy Roosevelt. Sadly, he was injured during the charge up San Juan Hill, never to be the same man again (if you get my drift). Violet chose to wear this dress when she met his boat, convinced that it would confort him that he wasn't really missing anything...

That third dress?? That was planned for the husband's funeral. A girl has to let the world know she's back on the market.

So though the movie was never made... we can enjoy the highlights of that defunct effort, and don't even have to queue it at NetFlix.

Top Ten Songs..

The blogger Cpt. Picard Journal asked the question a few weekends ago:

What are your top ten all time favourite songs and by whom? Can you say why?

In no particular order (and without a whole lot of thought) I would say:

1. Sultans of Swing. It's my strongest earworm. Even thinking of the song sets it playing in my head for weeks. (oh, damn!! there it goes again).

2. American Pie, Donny McLean. It's a great song to sing out loud.. and the reference to my musical history of the late fifties and sixties.. makes it more wonderful. But, truth be told, I have held this song in high esteem since it premiered.

3. Locomotive Breath, Jethro Tull. That guitar/keyboard riff in the beginning...

4. Shine a Little Light, James Taylor. Another earworm. Interesting rhythm and harmonies.

5. Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The EVA CASSIDY version. Haunting and beautiful.

6. Every Breath You Take. Sting.

7. Brown-Eyed Girl. Want to feel like young again? It's summer, it's energizing.

8. Road to Moscow. Al Stewart. History and fabulous music.

9. The Last Waltz. (was that englebert humperdink??) When I was a cute, single thing.. a musician sang that to me as we danced around an empty dancefloor after his gig. How romantic.

10. My Girl. Similar story... different musician. The band would sing this song each gig.. with musician singing part to his own girlfriend. "She got so much honey the bees envy me." (sigh... oh, to be 20 again...).

If you're like me, you prowl home dec catalogs for inspirational designs. And one design that many of us like is Andy Warhol's Sunset. It's often seen as a throw rug like this:

So I painted a bunch of yellow suns the other day, and covered them with a rice paste resist (with varying results as it appears). Then today I painted the rest of the pieces. These I tore into their individual pieces (so I could play a bit) while they cure. After a couple days, I'll heat set it with iron, scrub off the resist and wash the pieces. Then on to the next step, which will be piecing these back together in a different configuration. (looks like I may be repainted some of those suns, too).

Testing

Ok, I'm trying to set up my comments with HaloScan... and while I'm playing around with this, it might be difficult to leave a comment on my page. Then again... it might not. We'll see.

So don't be surprised if you see "test" comments from me.... or little in the way of artistic content. (except I have a photo to upload soon)...

Altogether now...

Help me check my comments.

Tuesday (so far)

It's mid afternoon. I've accomplished a lot of what I had planned for today.

The dogs and I got a 2+mile walk (with hills) that had the heart rate up and the sweat running freely. I got both pairs of glasses adjusted, and mailed off some legal paperwork.

Creatively, I'm working out how to encorporate this summer watercolor class into my own work. I don't think I will stay with this Createx Pigments mixed with water all the time. I think adding some type of medium to this will make it work better on cotton (on habotai silk it's fine). I may go back to Golden Fluid paints... but we'll see.

So the paint on fabric isn't it.

But we've spent about the half the time in the class making little "booklets" with watercolor paints. The idea behind these techniques is finding designs in designs. And after working through several of these exercises I DO see a potential for using the technique as a method for journalling future design ideas.

It's getting me excited. I can see a potential workshop coming out of this ... now how to market that idea?

Don't suggest my quilt guild. They announced their workshop schedule for this, their entire program this year is aimed at the beginner quilter. It's so boring and uninspired that I'm seriously considering quitting the guild.

Learning more...

powerbloghers

Ok, I'm trying to educate myself more about blogging and the technology. In doing so, I wrote Alexandra Samuel for a little guidance:

I found your blog because of BlogHer, and I've been reading through it thoroughly enjoying your writing style and you fabulous knowledge of this medium.

I am HOPING to find a path to learning more about making blogging work. I've picked up a few things from your blog that I had earlier learned on my own (WTF is RSS and why do I want it?).

How does someone who is just learning about something choose who to sign with?? And you discuss items I've read about but still not to the point that I DO understand.

Tagging. why should I care? and how do I do it?

Social bookmarking. same question.

Setting up a wiki?? Where, why and most importantly how??

I have yet to find simple discussions about these items that use English (instead of Geek). Maybe I need to mine deeper in your blog and links, but at the moment I still like that kid accidently scheduled in Latin III instead Latin I.

Her reply:

can I suggest this would be a great topic for a "bloggespondence"? i.e. turn your email into a blog post --

it's a great post as-is -- and just make sure to hyperlink your post

to a post in my blog -- for example one of the tagging-related or

Blogher-related posts. That way your blog post will ping my blog, and

I can respond to you in my blog, and then other people can join in.

And if you include this code:powerbloghers"

then our correspondence will pop up at Advanced Tools.

how does that sound?

---------------
Me again... So I'm trying this. Don't know if I put the hyperlink in the right place.... or how this will work from here... but I'll try something once.

Good News...all you attending AQT.... and greens...

Just asked Judy and got the reply:

The Resort at Squaw Valley is supposed to have free WiFi access when we get there in November!!

We can all blog our fun!! Melody and Gabrielle teaching... Gerrie and Liz?? and me and ... any others??? as attendees...

Now I'm not saying I'm getting a bit excited about this... but can we possibly plan an artful quilt blogring get together one evening? I know Gerrie will bring the wine.. I'll bring the stout...

I am coming a day early (so I'll be there for the first session's goodbye dinner).. and staying through the second session.

On a totally different note: this was the 2nd day this week that I didn't have fresh greens/veggies for lunch. And I missed it. (hmm.. me missing veggies?? I'd never believe it). Maybe Sonji's line that you crave what you eat really is true???

Two Thai day!!

Friday was not highly creative (I've got a few ideas seeping, but not ready to jump out onto fabric yet)... but it was busy.

Grocery shopping and housing cleaning filled up spots, but the key points:

I ate 2 meals in Thai restaurants!! talk about heaven.

Clara came over at lunch so I could show her the WonThai, my local super Thai restaurant. When we walked in the door and sat down, Mark, the owner, looked at me. "Where's Steve?" It's nice to have a local place where people know who you are. (except that they only Steve's name as that's the one on the credit card most often when we dine there).

And, knowing Steve and I normally order the Tom Ka Gai, they gave not only the lunch menu, but the full dinner menu too. Both Clara and I order chose to order from the lunch menu... having delicious meals and Thai Ice Tea. Then we went to Fabric Depot in Pinole so she could pick up some fabric.

Later, Steve called because the Honda dealer had let his oil change slip. Dropped the car off at 7 am, and it wasn't done when he was done with work at 4 pm!! I drove down to Point Richmond to rescue him and we ate supper down there. And where did he choose? Another Thai restaurant!! What a lucky gal I am.

This time we had their house salad... a standard American style salad with a great peanut sauce dressing. Then pumpkin curry with brown rice (fabulous)... and pad thai.

So not a lot of work done (but, hey my sinks have a certain shine about them...) but my tummy is happy-happy.

Talking blogging and shopping therapy

Wednesday morning I headed to my dentist's to get a couple small cavities filled. So while I was lying there, his hands in my mouth, the front of face numb, we started talking about blogging.

Him: Bloggin...yada yada yada..

Me: grpouskjlurkuepswpoeifhisopdhforoweioif.

Him: Yes, I think I see your point! But... yada, yada, yada...

(I gave Dr. Warren my blog site... so give a shout out to him everyone!!) I decided it was weird enough that I had to blog about it.

( Welcome to Blogger's Anonymous. Who is present today?
My name's Debra. I'm a blogging addict.
Hello Debra. Can we link back to your blog??)

After being tortured for all of about 40 minutes, I decided some retail therapy would be the only thing to help me recover. (note to self: exercise might have been more productive.). I stopped at JoAnnes.. and gathered a couple potential items. Then checked the coupon in my purse. Expired. Nothing yelled to me: I'm already on sale, buy me! Or I'm worth full price. so I walked out without buying anything.

Well, poo.

On to Ross.

Now the British What Not To Wear ladies wrote a book that told us what to wear to look our best. They pretty much dismissed sleeveless if you're over 25... but I can't stand the feel of most sleeves... so forget that. What they did strongly suggest however, was a lower neckline... ideally V, and a "wrap" look in a top. For me. (narrow shoulders, big boobs, no waist).

Ross had a whole lot of cute v-neck tops in a pseudo-wrap style... in sizes S and M. As soon as I got to the sizes that admitted... gee, she has boobs... the wrap style disappeared. completely. I'll pretend that others who read the book got there first, and took all the cute tops.

I did find 5 cute tops. Sleeveless, stretchy thing all from the same manufacturer. All the same size. Two fit perfect. Three didn't. If someone can explain this, I'd love to know how!

A look at skirts was painful and fruitless. And dresses. Too dressy.. or too strange. But I did find one cute sundress.

Now home to work a bit around the house, and head to my guild meeting this evening. I've got to admit, I've outgrown this guild and really need to quit it. But I'm the rep from the guild to the regional quilt council and I like that position. So I will probably just skip attending most of the meetings.

Eucalyptus II, finished.

This small quilt is finished. It measures 16x24-1/4. I think there is maybe a third quilt in this series, maybe more (I still have fabric left), but I don't know what else I want to do with this series. Sorry, I didn't get a close up of the quilting.

My Weather Pixie..

Is she visible to you? (cause she's AWOL to me).

I wonder why she feels the need to disappear for a week or so at a time most months? It is a bandwidth problem for the site owner?? or...

Does Pixie feel bloated and crampy? And doesn't even want to think about slipping into those flippy little outfits she wears? I'd take her showing up sweats and eating chocolate if she would just show up...

Darn and Tarnation

In my head today was the only day this week without anything planned. A full day for working around the house for a couple hours, then working in the studio the rest of the day. My reward day.

Then I remembered to actually turn the calendar to the correct page. There is something scheduled today: the regional SAQA meeting.

sigh.

I like the SAQA meetings, but I'm blowing it off this time.

I feel better now.

Mixed greens, and baby spinach. Beets for roasting on the grill, summer squash, ripe tomatoes, and a burgundy heirloom, plus some Trader Joe's marinated mozzerella.

Out of sorts...

I woke up too early this morning, feeling tense and out of sorts. I'm alternating between an urge to cry and a desire to punch something. Hard.

I'm feeling stressed. I'm sure it has to do with the whole moving my MIL into her house (going there to help with the move; getting the loans and paperwork in order, all that STUFF... and so far from home), and my husband's suggestion that we move into that same house when he retire. That's NOT going to happen.

Stress. I need to deal with this.

I need to eat carefully the next few days... resist the temptation for sugars, and MOVE. Walking hard and fast... getting that heart rate up there. Do some serious weight work. And get work done that makes me feel like I've accomplished something worthwhile.

So this morning I walked "around the block".. alone (I was yelling too much at the dogs; a sure sign I needed exercise away). It's 1.5 miles, half downhill/ half up (well, DUH!) and about 1.5 miles long. I completed in 20 minutes. That's (codger, codger, codger)..FAST.

I'm heading at a farmer's market for some good veggies --oh, please have the organic mixed salad greens I love and maybe some ripe tomatoes. A successful find of tomatoes will mean acquiring some fresh mozzarella, I have basil in the garden. Dinner will be planned at the market.

Home to take the dogs to the dog park for a play. It's offleash, and shaded.

Then finish quilting Eucalyptus II and head off for a evening of play in my watercolor class tonight.