Donation to SAQA Auction

Today I put my donation for the annual SAQA Benefit Auction in the mail. It's a continuation of my Scribble series, now up to 18. The background fabric looks like it's monoprinted on a gelatin plate with the impressions of a furnace filter (the turquoise blue circles) and a thermofax screen taken from a picture of a fence done with curlicues. Not totally sure about the monoprinting, it may be screen printed with thickened dye.

The Benefit Auction is the main money raiser for SAQA and I have donated every year that they have had it. That gets me a bunch of stars on the listing page. This year they are putting all the quilts on a pinterest page, I guess so that people can repin them to their own pinterest pages. I have a pinterest page, but I don't think there is anything on it. Occasionally I get a notice that someone is "following" me, and all I can think is that they are going to be pretty bored because I have not gotten into the pinterest thing.

I have been spending lots of time in my garden. In previous years, my garden was not very interesting since it was in deep shade. I grew lots of impatiens, hosta, and ferns. Last year all my impatiens died, due to a fungus, and so I had no color at all in the shade. (This year the garden shop is not even selling impatiens.) A few weeks ago we decided to take out the maple tree that was shading the deck and garden. It was a very messy tree and dripped sap and all kinds of other junk all summer long. The huge up side of taking this tree out is that my former deep shade garden is now a full sun garden. Yippee! There are so many more interesting plants available for a sun garden and I want them all! And because I had an electrical outlet put on the outside of the new garage, I was finally able to put in a water feature - this little fountain. I bought a fountain kit online, but it would be easy to construct this just by buying the parts locally. The only semi-difficult part would be drilling a hole for the tube though the rocks. The water drips over the rocks and down into a 5 gallon bucket buried underneath the stones. 

It makes the most pleasing water dribbling sound and I love it. I decided I needed a second water feature, but didn't have another available outlet that I could use. Guess what - they make immersible pumps powered by solar panels. Of course, this means the pump only works when there is sun shining, but I found one that has a battery that will store energy. I installed it yesterday, and even though it was a mostly cloudy day, the pump ran for the rest of the day and even after dark. It was still running at 10pm, so that's pretty cool. I hope to gets lots of bird visitors.

What I Found

In all the cleaning out and moving, I found lots of old stuff that I had forgotten about. In particular, many old quilts. Some of them weren't worth saving, so they are gone now. But then I came across a piece that I made when I turned 50. As I remember, it was a pretty traumatic event. Now, as I am about to turn 65, I would much rather be turning 50 instead. This piece is titled Oh No! 50! A little bit of editing with paint and now it more accurately reflects the times.

The signature required an amendment also.

This makes me wonder where I will be and what will I be doing in 15 more years. Sort of a scary thought.

The Last Three

Here are the last 3 12" squares. These are great to make because they go together so fast. I've made 17 altogether. Since I donated one to the SAQA auction, I have 16 to put into the 2 shows I have coming up in June. Not making any more for the time being, since I only bought 16 stretched canvases.

Scribble 15

©2012

Scribble 16

©2012

Scribble 17

©2012

I'm working on bigger pieces in a style similar to these scribbles, except I'm thinking of them more as graffiti.

And it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do in my class at QSDS. It's a master class with David Hornung. He hasn't given us any pre-class assignments, at least not yet. I hope he doesn't wait until the last minute, I hate feeling rushed. I bought the book he wrote about color and it's in the pile of books on my shelf. I'm hoping I will absorb the information via osmosis but it's not working yet.

Destroying the Evidence

Sometimes there is just too much stuff. My studio, in particular my work table, accumulates stuff. And not all of it is related to quilting. Today I've been putting stuff in its proper place and I'm hoping I will be able to work without that claustrophobic feeling that results from too much stuff. I would like to be able to work in more than 2 square feet.

That brings up the question of what to do with pieces that just aren't quite up to standards. These are pieces that might have been experiments, trying out some new design or technique, or maybe finished pieces that should never see the light of day. I don't even want to give them away because I don't want them out in the world with my name on them. Today I took 5 small pieces that fit into this category and sliced them up with my rotary cutter.

Now some industrious people might do this and then attempt to make a silk purse out of these sows' ears by putting them back together. Maybe if I thought I could redeem these strips I would try that, but then I think why should I use up Valuable Quilting Time trying to fix something that really should just be thrown out. So out they will go. I have too many other things I would rather be doing than working with materials I already don't like.

I need to go through my closet galleries and pull out some really old work and see if it needs the same treatment. I know there are some pieces like that, but there are also some pieces that could be sold or donated. I might not like them any more, but that would be because I'm not working in that style now. 

I got a new camera

Testing out my new camera on a walk in my neighborhood.

Making Lemonade

You know that old saying - when you have lemons, make lemonade. I was working on a quilt that had lots of yellow with some inset bands of dark blue, all hand dyed by me. Following the procedure that I have been doing lately, after quilting the piece, I sprayed it with water to soak through to the batt, then threw it into the dryer. This makes a really cool puckery effect that takes on a whole new dimension when it's painted since the paint only hits the high points. Anyhow, I was dismayed to discover that the blue dye ran. Somebody didn't rinse the dyes out well enough, probably ought to fire her. I put the entire piece into cold water with Synthrapol and ran it through another cycle. This removed most of the blue dye except for right up close to the blue fabric. Not good.

The yellow parts looked pretty good so I decided to cut the piece up. There will be a SAQA Auction piece (12" x 12"), 4 small 8"x8" pieces, 7 4"x5" pieces, and a few ACEOs, those 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch pieces. Some of these are going to be mounted on stretcher bars just to make sure nobody thinks they're potholders or drink coasters.

A while back there was a discussion on the SAQA list about the "skinny envelope", the reply from the juried show that comes in the mail in an envelope that's only thick enough to contain the rejection letter. I've been waiting for the response from the National Fiber Directions show in Wichita and it arrived yesterday. The envelope was so skinny that there wasn't even a full size sheet of paper in it. I didn't want to open it, but you never know. The envelope contained the juror notification card, the part of the entry form that gets torn off and returned with the results on it. And hooray! one of my pieces was accepted.

Choices

©2010

Sunflowers

I love growing sunflowers. Last year I had 2 and I promised myself I would grow more this year. Trying to get a head start, I planted a dozen seeds in little pots and put them in a sunny window. They sprouted almost immediately, but then didn't do much else for several weeks, except get stringy. I planted them outside and visited them every day. Much to my chagrin, the seedlings were eaten and nothing was left but a little stalk. So I planted a dozen more seeds directly in the ground. They also sprouted immediately, and also were eaten by the birds and/or squirrels. Argh! Next I bought a bunch of plastic cups to use as collars and planted a dozen more seeds. Success! The cups could stay protecting the cups until the true leaves came in, which must not be as tasty as the first set.

Sunflowers are amazing. In just a short time span they grow to 10 feet tall and then produce a magnificent bloom.


Here is the long view and you can see how tall they are. The blooms are in various stages - some have not yet opened, some are in the process, and one (nearly hidden) is bent over with the weight of the developing seeds.

It is fascinating to watch the process. The little blossoms open first on the outside rim, then work their way towards the center. The bees and the butterflies love them!

You can see here the outside blossoms have been fertilized and are growing seeds. The next band is the pistils that have just been fertilized. The next band is waiting for the bees to do their job, and the very center has not yet begun the process.

As the blossoms get fertilized and the seeds begin to develop, the head of the flower goes from flat to bowl shaped, and gets heavier and heavier.

This head has been entirely fertilized and is so heavy that the stalk has bent over and the flower is facing the ground. It will take several weeks for the seeds to develop. Once that is done, I can leave the head on the plant and let the birds eat the seeds from there. Or I can cut the head and hang it to dry, and then harvest the seeds. Last year I cut the heads off but I think that this year I will leave them out and watch the birds go after them.

The Sketchbook Project

I joined the Sketchbook Project and received my book last week. The way it works is that each artist gets a Moleskin sketchbook and has to fill it with something. The dimensions have to remain the same and the books will become part of a touring exhibit and will be cataloged into the Brooklyn Art Library System. Each artist must select a theme. I chose "Inside/Outside". So far I have no entries into my sketchbook and as usual, when called upon to make something that fits a theme, my mind goes totally blank. Looking at some of the samples of previous entries, it seems that many people only loosely follow their theme. So I probably will just go ahead and do something and let the viewers figure out how it relates.

We are in the midst of a horrible heat wave. We had a 10 day stretch at the end of June where the temperature was in the 90s everyday, and hit 100 at least once. A few days of some cool weather that was wonderful, but now we are back into the 90s and above. Yesterday the official high was 105 degrees. It hasn't rained since June 16 and the grass is brown and crunchy. I've been hauling water and using the soaker hoses in a desperate attempt to keep plants and shrubs alive. And now even the trees are showing stress. No significant rain is in the forecast. We could use about 3 days of gentle rain but what will probably happen is a thunderstorm with a downpour. The ground is so hard that any deluge like that will just run off and not soak in. Wonder which will be more outrageous - our electric bill or our water bill.

Not art

I have been at my sewing machine every day for the past month, but not making art. We have two chairs that are probably 35 years old, and the upholstery was wearing out. Especially where I had scrubbed it because of animal accidents. Yet the chairs were still in good condition and very comfortable. They sort of swivel and rock. So I thought I would make slipcovers for them. How hard could it be? Talk about famous last words....

Now I know why it costs so much to have these made. Being a novice at this, I went to the library and checked out several books on making slipcovers. Read them thoroughly. Only one of the three actually gave explicit instructions. The other two pretty much left out the steps getting from "Buy your fabric" to "Put it on the chair."

I started out by making a muslin cover so I could figure out where the difficult parts would be and learn how to handle them. Well, I figured out where the difficult parts would be but didn't solve how to handle them, at least not very well. When I got the slipcover fabric I bravely set off. The book said to make the seat cushions first, just for a psychological benefit. So I did. But the first cushion turned out way too big, and then I decided I should buy new cushions since why go to all this effort and use old cushions? I'll save the cushion cover til later.

Anyhow, after a lot of bad language, ripping out, frustration, and hair pulling, I finished one slipcover. I took it to chair #2 to put it on. I had used chair #1 as my model. That's when I discovered that the chairs were fraternal twins, and not identical twins. More bad language, but no more ripping out. On to the second slipcover. Which wasn't any easier, and even developed its own new problems.

But finally they're done. They're not perfect but they are pretty good. Slipcovers can't fit as well as upholstery, so I can live with the wrinkles. They look much better than they used to.



After I was about 75% finished with the second slipcover I discovered a website of a guy who sells step-by-step instructions of how to make slipcovers, geared towards the beginner. I was particularly interested in the "tips for first-timers". He suggested to not try to tackle a chair with an attached back cushion, wings, or curved arms. Check, check, and check, my chairs have all three. Probably better I didn't know that up front.



And here is Rosie, now 8 months old. She supervised from her comfortable perch, or helped by chewing the tape measure, pulling out pins, and knocking stuff off the table.

And now gotta get back to doing some art. The snow has melted and Spring is starting. Hooray!

It's time

Christmas is over. It's time to get back to art. It's time to stop using all the Christmas prep as an excuse to avoid the studio. Of course, those were legitimate excuses: design Christmas cards, order cards, mail them out; purchase or make and ship presents for out of town family; purchase presents for intown family and friends and wrap them; make treats, lots of cookies and candies (short interruption for trip to ER to sew up thumb due to misuse of kitchen equipment); decorate tree, prepare meals, yada yada yada. I did spend some time in the studio but it was to sew labels and sleeves on finished quilts and make the storage bags. I'm on the last one and when I finish that there will be no more tasks that I can use to procrastinate. I will have to make some art.

At the moment I'm sort of devoid of inspiration and need a kickstart. Doing some surface design on fabrics always helps in that direction. Maybe some monoprinting with gelatin plates, or some soy wax batik (haven't done that in a very long time). Wish I had a foolproof method for getting up to speed....

What do you do?

Keeping Busy

This is not a creative time of year for me. The days are dark and often gloomy, the trees are bare, and everything feels gray. I can't seem to get in the art mode, but I want to be in the studio. So what better time to clean the place up? I wish the horizontal surfaces weren't such magnets for stuff: magazines, fabric scraps, paperwork, stalled projects, yadda yadda. If I'm not diligent in putting that stuff away my work surface contracts into about 2 square feet. So I spent a day or so putting things away and dealing with paperwork. And I have several pieces that need the finishing touches - sleeves, labels, bags, slats. Boring work, but I can listen to audio books and the time passes quickly.

In the past I've made labels using t-shirt transfer paper. I've never been very successful with that stuff, and I think the papers have gotten old, because I was even less successful this time. I couldn't get a good transfer no matter how many times I tried. I had the idea to get them printed at Spoonflower, and created a jpg of the label with my name and address information on it, and uploaded it. I'm getting a yard of labels, which I think works out to more than 50. That should last for a long while. The title of the piece and its measurements will have to be added to each piece, and I could either write it out by hand or stitch it by machine using the built-in alphabet. Or I could even freehand write it out.

On one of my email lists there has been a thread about rejections. I've hit the trifecta this season with 3 (or maybe 4, is that a quadfecta?) rejections, all in a row. I'm not sure of that last one because I'm not 100% sure I even entered. It wasn't a show, so I didn't have to put it in the schedule, and I don't have a copy of the entry form. I intended to enter, but maybe I didn't carry through. I was never notified either way, and since I'm not on the list of people who did get in, obviously I didn't. Sheesh, I hate this CRS (can't remember s*^%).

Winter time is knitting season for me, and I searched for a sweater pattern that had more interest than a plain stockinette stitch. I found one with an intricate cabling pattern and I really liked it. Knitted up a test swatch and tried to follow the pattern. Yikes - too complicated. I would never be able to get it right and would constantly be tearing out rows. So I've found another pattern that's not quite so complicated (I hope). Ordered more cotton yarn from DharmaTrading and dyed it the other night. For this sweater, I thought the yarn should be all one color and so I used three skeins and immersion dyed them. I know why variegated colors are so popular - they're so easy to do. Even coloration is very difficult, and I have the results to prove it. You have to stir the yarn in the dye bath to distribute the color, but the more you stir the more likely the yarn is to tangle. So I have different shades of the golden brown I tried to get. The skeins have been hanging on the line for 36 hours now and they're still not dry. Then I will have the task of winding them into balls, which will have the added difficulty of keeping the yarn away from Rosie, the kitten, who thinks everything is a toy. Once I knit the sweater, if the variation in color is too obvious or doesn't look good, I can always over dye.

But the news is not all gloomy - yesterday I shipped High Noon off to its new owners in California. They are celebrating an anniversary and decided to treat themselves to the purchase of my quilt. I think that is an excellent way to celebrate an anniversary.

High Noon ©2005

We will be celebrating our Thanksgiving on Saturday again this year, since my daughter goes to her in-laws on the official T-day. It always feels weird to be cooking the turkey dinner when everybody else is still recovering from their celebration, or out shopping. So, whenever you celebrate Thanksgiving, have a great day!

One last thing. John Hopper, author of The Textile Blog, wrote a very complimentary article about my work last month. He writes about the entire gamut of textiles - quilts, tapestries, knitting, carpets, embroidery, and more. There are some very interesting articles on his blog (in addition to the one about me, of course).

The End of March

This month has gone by in a blur. And I'm glad to see it nearly over because April is such a wonderful time in Baltimore. Every day something new is blooming. While I was in Chicago over the weekend (where it had the audacity to snow) my daffodils began blooming. I can see blooms on the new hydrangea bush I bought last year, day lilies are poking up, and buds are swelling on all the trees. Another winter has bit the dust. Hooray!

I've been doing something I haven't done in a very long time - sewing clothes. I want to wear something arty to the Quilt National opening so I thought that a shirt made out of some hand painted fabrics would be perfect. But since I haven't sewn for myself in so long, it would be a good idea to test out the pattern (and my garment sewing skills) on some not-so-precious fabric first. In my stash was some batik fish fabric that I bought years ago and would be perfect and with only a little bit of searching I found it. There was more than enough to make a shirt so I pinned, cut, and sewed and finished it in only a few hours. Originally it was not going to have buttons because I've never been very good at doing buttonholes, but at my retreat in mid-March I learned how to use the automatic buttonhole maker on my Janome. OMG it's so easy, why didn't I try it out before? So the shirt has buttonholes. And cute little fish buttons that you can't see in this picture.


The pattern has a collar but that got left out. So now I'm ready to paint fabric and make the shirt again. I have an end cut of fabric that I got from a shirt factory and decided this would be perfect for making a shirt. Painted several yards with yellow/peach/orange paint over some soy wax batik designs. Then screened a spiral shape with gold metallic paint. I was so impatient that I couldn't wait long enough for the paint to cure and washed it. Well, bad move, most of the metallic paint rubbed off. I had heat set it but really didn't give it enough time to cure. And I think the shirt fabric might have some kind of finish on it. Pulled out more fabric and paint and did it again, along with the metallic gold. Except I went ahead and made the shirt without washing the fabric and I've let it cure for 10 days now. This is the shirt before it's been washed. I'm going to wash it by hand and hope that the gold metallic paint stays put.

There is a carrier for a belt and I have a twisted fabric belt that Elizabeth helped me make while on our retreat. Not sure what I'm going to do if all the gold washes off again. Maybe I'll go with the antique look.

SAQA Auction 2009

I shipped off my donation to the SAQA Benefit Auction for 2009 the other day. I'm hoping it's one of the early bird donations and will be displayed at the IQF show in Chicago next month. The first 32 will have that honor and on the SAQA Auction page, mine is number 29, so chances are pretty good, I think.

Ventanas #17 ©2009

I am really taken by how the thread color can change the color of the fabric beneath it and have been playing with that on this one and the other 5 I did.

And I've been painting some cotton duck fabric to make purses these past few days and it's not quite as successful as I would have liked. First off, the paint on the duck is resulting in some very stiff fabric, which I don't like. Also, the pattern I used turns out to have a shape that isn't pleasing to me - it's too wide for its length. Picky, I know, but purses are very personal. I'll finish the stitching on the first one and then wash it to see if it softens up some. Then I might take some tucks in the side to decrease the width. It needs a big button for the closure and I'm thinking I'll get out the Fimo clay and make one.

Skunked

By the weather, that is. I'm looking out the window at 6-8 inches of snow that as far as I'm concerned, has no business being here. It can't melt fast enough for me.

But I have finished dyeing my sweater and here it is. This is pretty much what I had in mind, so I'm happy with the result. The colors are a little more intense in real life, but not too much.

This is the back.

And this is the front.


I spent at least an hour last night and this morning looking for some instructions for knitting childrens' sweaters that I have. I know where they are - they're with the size 8 double pointed needles that I was looking for in January. And there is probably a pair of size 6 double pointed needles along with them. After I finished knitting the kids' sweaters, I must not have put the stuff away and it's been shuffled around and is now at the bottom of something or has fallen behind something. My heirs will probably find it when they dismantle my studio.

UPDATE: Bingo! I found them. The stuff was in a basket that was in my bedroom. I've moved that basket around a gazillion times but never bothered to look inside it. Not only were the instructions and the needles there but also some scissors, a tape measure, and a pen and paper. And in the searching process I found a ton of stuff that I should toss. I would have a whole lot more room if I got rid of this stuff. Of course, the day after it gets hauled away, I will realize that I need it.

Goodbye February

I can hardly believe February is almost over. It has really flown by and I'm not the least bit unhappy about that. I spent all last week putting together a "puzzle" as it were. I'm in charge of devising the hanging plan for my local guild's biennial quilt show. I did it 2 years ago and the whole process of hanging the show was completed in record time with a minimal amount of anguish. It was a major accomplishment of organization, if I do say so myself. Of course, the problem with being really good at something is that you get persuaded into doing it again. So I ended up with a database of 270 quilts, pictures of 270 quilts, and a layout of the gym. The rate limiting factor is the number of hanging rods and standards. I tried to group things so that logical groups hung together and was mostly successful. So now what's left is to print up the plan, complete with what's hanging where, labels, etc, etc. The show is next month and I'm very happy that the difficult part of the project is finished and I can return to art.

In the winter I always get the urge to knit. Several years ago I saw a sweater that looked like it had been dyed after it was totally knitted and that has been on my mind every since. I order yarn from DharmaTrading and used a top down method to knit a sweater (I hate sewing up the seams). Here is the sweater:



The plan was to dye the whole thing a golden yellow, then add in some blue, and finally a bit of red, which results in a gold-green-brown combination. So here is the golden yellow. I used the parfait technique that Ann Johnston describes in her book, except that she's stuffing fabric into tall containers. So the sweater soaked in the golden yellow for about 10 minutes, then I added soda ash.



After about 10 minutes I added the blue dye, let it soak for a short bit, then added the soda ash. I wanted the green to only cover the bottom half of the sweater so I tilted the pan to keep the blue dye at that end.


Lastly I added the very dilute red dye, waited a bit, then added the soda ash. I forgot to take a picture. After letting it batch for several hours next to the hot air heating duct I rinsed out the dye. For some reason all the blue dye went down the drain. (It might have something to do with the fact that it's pretty old). So I mixed up a different blue, poured it on, and it's batching again. We'll see what happens.

I've also finished 6 more 12" squares but haven't photographed them yet. Tomorrow I'm planning on going to the American Craft Council's Show in Baltimore. It's an amazing display of very high end crafts and I could easily spend big bucks there. My favorite crafter is the man who upholsters chairs with different pieces of colorful upholstery fabric. They are just beautiful and I know if I bought one it would immediately be christened with a hairball from my cat.

The Lull

The week between Christmas and New Year's has always been a time to relax. If it hasn't been done for Christmas, it's too late now. We can just kick back, sit in front of the fire and work crossword puzzles. Of course, now it's time to get back into the art mode, and it's not easy. I just finished a piece and was not very happy with it. Took it to one of my groups, and they were quite underwhelmed by it also (although it was expressed much more nicely than that.) So the question is, what to do with it? I might try adding some paint to lighten it up. Or maybe cut it into pieces and have a bunch of small works. In any case, I've put it aside and started on something else.

Yesterday was the first day of the Studio Sale on The Artful Home. Somebody was shopping early because I've already sold a piece.



This is titled 'Ode to a Stove' and is one of my favorites, even though it's sort of old. I made it in honor of my old Jenn-Aire stove that worked for 15 years before it gave up. I stood on the counter top with a camera and aimed it straight down at the stove to take a picture that I could use as a template. I used the curved seam technique I learned in a Nancy Crow class and abstracted the stove image. I entered it into the Quilter's Heritage Celebration show one year in the Pictorial Category (even though it was a real stretch to classify it as pictorial, at least by that show's standards.) Not only did it not win anything, but I received several scathing remarks from the judges: "Not pictorial enough for category" and "wavy edges." The wavy edges comment really made me laugh because the edges are supposed to be wavy. She is a very traditional judge and obviously didn't get it.

So that makes a nice start to the new year. And let's hope for more sales!

Phelps Phans

First - thanks for all the congratulations. I'm really thrilled to be in Quilt National and I appreciate everybody's thoughts. They send an awful lot of paperwork to be filled out, which I spent the weekend doing. Yesterday I shipped my piece to the Dairy Barn for the photography session. I also shipped a piece to the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn, NY for the Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibit. I haven't entered that show in a while, but Bruce Hoffman from Snyderman-Works in Philadelphia was one of the jurors and it can't hurt to have someone like him see my work. He selected Downtown for their exhibit, which starts in early November and goes through January.


Downtown ©2006

Last Saturday was the Michael Phelps Parade of Gold. Actually, there were 2 events - the parade in our town and the parade downtown in Baltimore City at Fort McHenry. We only went to the local parade and it was really fun. Led by Fire Engine No. 8 (for 8 gold medals), and followed by people from the schools and other places that were part of Michael's life, it was a real down home kind of event.



These kids are members of the swim club where Michael trained for years, and still will. I'm sure there is another future Olympian in that crowd; NBAC has sent swimmers to the Olympics for many years.



There was a whole crowd of people from Pete's Grill (sorry, no picture). This is where Michael would go for breakfast after his morning workout. Now they serve up the same food he ate as a Phelps Special. It's about 7,000 calories. On him it looks good. Here he is, riding in a Maryland National Guard Hummer that is almost as wide as the road.



This vehicle followed right behind the Hummer. The only reason we could think of as to why it was in the parade is that it was there to haul all his money.

Sunday was the opening of my show at the Glenview Mansion in Rockville, MD. This was the first time I was able to see my too-big-for-QN piece hung as a unit. I think it looks pretty cool and would be perfect for a large office space.

We Are Proud!

The Olympics are over but we're not forgetting our local stars. In particular, we are anticipating the return of Michael Phelps of Rodgers Forge (renamed Rodgers Phorge), a neighborhood of row houses and big old trees. He has purchased a condo in the Fells Point (Phells Point) area of Baltimore so he won't be living nearby but his mother still is. You can see hand lettered signs all around the Forge with congratulatory words, but this one is my favorite.



It's hung over the entry way to the funeral home located at one end of the street on which Michael grew up. Thank heavens it doesn't say "Welcome".

Famous Last Words

I thought I had it under control; I thought I was ready to send in my Quilt National entry. Then I went to a crit group meeting and took along a piece I had started at QSDS in the Master Class and finished at home. It was still just a top. The consensus of the group was that it should be quilted and entered into QN. After thinking about it I decided that it would make a better fit into a 'body of work' than the other piece I had planned to enter. After dedicating the next few days to quilting it, it was ready to be photographed. I sent off the entry yesterday, getting it to the Post Office just in time to be picked up for the last Saturday pickup. Even with the holiday weekend it should easily make it to Ohio by the September 5 deadline (are these the Famous Last Words?) At the same time I posted an entry to Materials Hard & Soft in Texas, and ready to mail out on Tuesday is an entry to CraftForms.

And now I can turn my attention to coming events. What is this person doing? This is my husband spraying bug repellent on our clothes in preparation for an African Safari. We are leaving next weekend for Tanzania, 2 weeks in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti Plain. I've gotten shots for hepatitis B and C, yellow fever, and typhoid, I have malaria pills to take while I'm there and also after we return home. We have multitudinous instructions on what not to eat or drink: unpeeled fruits and vegetables, any water that is not contained in a sealed bottle that I have opened myself. We have a first aid kit that would make a Boy Scout envious. I will be spending the next few days testing out what I have to pack since we have a weight limit of 33 lbs on one leg of the trip. Thank heavens there are clothes washing facilities available so I only need about 3-4 days worth of clothes. Not looking forward to the 16 hours on a plane to get there, nor the resulting jet lag, but I'm sure it will be worth it.



While out spraying clothese I caught a hummingbird at the feeder. They are great entertainment - the male hummers are very territorial and will chase any perceived intruder away. That includes humans and the goldfinches that go for the water in the ant trap.

Have you been watching?

The Olympics, that is. Specifically, the Michael Phelps Olympics. Last night was the most exciting race I have ever seen. Not only was it close - 1/100 of a second - Michael tied Mark Spitz' record of 7 golds in one Olympics. We here in Baltimore are avid fans of Phelps since this is his home. Actually, he lives about 1/2 mile from my daughter's house in Rodgers Forge. Other newspapers write about 'Michael Phelps of Baltimore'; here it's 'Michael Phelps of Rodgers Forge'. Tonight is his last race and he is going for an unprecedented 8th gold medal. I hope he wins and I hope he wears all of them in his upcoming parade up York Road. There was a parade after the 2004 Olympics and I went and tried to take pictures except my camera battery died just as he came by. That won't happen this time - I'll be prepared.

This article in the Baltimore Sun has the story of the race and lots of photos.

On the art scene front I have nearly finished my Quilt National entry. The quilting is finished and I plan to add some more paint. And that will be it, done in plenty of time to photograph it and get the entry form off by the September 5 deadline.

Last weekend I was in Sun Valley, Idaho teaching surface design techniques to 2 new friends I met at QSDS in June. Both are award winning quilters but neither had really done much with stuff like thermofax printing or deconstructed screen printing. We spent 4 days in the inspiring surroundings of the Sawtooth National Forest playing with paints and dyes. Here is the view from the living room, where we worked after removing most of the furniture and covering the rest with plastic.



Last Fall there were forest fires in the area. We took a hike through one stand of aspens that had been burned. It was amazing to see how quickly the area has recovered with new growth.


But the most memorable event for me was the evening that we went to a concert in the new Pavilion where the Sun Valley Orchestra accompanied the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a program of opera (along with Denyce Graves, the mezzo soprano) and popular music. I know I wasn't the only one in the audience with chills running up and down my spine. And if that wasn't exciting enough, we then watched an ice skating show on the outdoor skating rink that featured local skaters along with world class performers.