I've adopted a tiny

fellow named Bert, who made his way into my heart. His picture is posted on my book blog, and he is quite a special little guy. Check him out and come back and tell me what you think. (Nina, you will love this! And I will send you that recipe.)

Fast Fusing Fabric

I'm afraid Halloween may be a wash-out here. Rain is predicted. Right now the humidity is at 94 per cent and the high will be around 80. After the front moves through, we will have cooler temperatures again. I do hope the rain will either come early or hold off until late so the little ones will be able to Trick or Treat.

Yesterday, I messed up my newly straightened room to fuse some fabric. Last night, I cleaned up much of it again, but today, I think I'm going to fuse some more.

Unlike some quilters who fuse all or most of their fabrics, I enjoy piecing, so don't want to fuse it all. Just when it seems the end is in sight, another piece of fabric says, "I'm just a scrap, fuse me!" The resulting mess of fused and unfused, organizing decisions, and clean up sometimes takes longer than I expect. Have been re-reading Fusing Fun! by Laura Wasilowski (of the Chicago School of Fusing :) and realizing how much easier I could have made things if I'd remembered to incorporate all of her ideas and techniques. She has a lot of tips on creating fused art quilts that I've not been using. Also found some little fused items and small pieces from months ago that need to be in the "fused section."

On to the fusing fun!

Getting Busy

I owe Rhonda, Nancy, Rissa, Shelina, ACey, and Kim...something for the Art Meme. Hope to have them in the mail within two weeks, but that is a hope, not a guarantee. Rhonda, Nancy, and Rissa have already emailed their addresses by going to my profile.

I've been trying to think about what I want to do and have a few things in mind, but will also see what develops in the next two weeks or so. A couple of good things about this project - I really have to get my sewing room back in order and this is a good excuse to get out those sketches of projects that I have considered doing at various times.

For some reason, I've been suffering from high anxiety for the last two days which makes concentrating on anything difficult. This is the worst I've had it for a while, and I'm hoping it will go away soon. Maybe another change in the weather is coming... For some reason, everything about my body chemistry alters when this happens, and unfortunately, as much as I love fall, it is usually more frequent and severe at this time of year. Instead of getting busy and getting things done, I flit from room to room; I go to the store, and don't remember what I needed to get (you know what I mean, you get two ingredients for a recipe and even though the third is on your list, you manage to overlook it); I pick up a book and in 15 minutes, don't remember what I read.

I'm hoping that I will get involved in sewing as this usually calms me down...if I can manage to get started! I've started organizing my fabric and gotten distracted!

Sunday Musings

K.K. and Jonathan's wedding was beautiful. They were married in St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral, so the setting could hardly have been more grand or any lovelier. K.K. looked beautiful, as did all of the bridesmaids, and of course, the groom and groomsmen were all handsome. The theme was black and white, and all of the bridesmaids wore black dresses, but each was different. I liked the variety and the fact that no one was stuck with a totally unsuitable style. Amelia was a bridesmaid so Chris sat with us.


Fee and I had different activities most of the day, but tonight we watched Capote, and he made something that was not quite jambalaya and not quite gumbo, but full of chicken and sausage and entirely delicious! A very low-key anniversary, but then, there have been so many of them, and we used last night as an excuse to celebrate.


I've spent an hour or so catching up with emails and blog comments on both blogs and still need to catch up on blog reading, but I'm going to go settle in for some reading time. I have my books-in-progress, my library books, and an Amazon order (although some are children's books). Two more Amazon orders on the way and one of them contains a quilting book - Diane Hire's Quilter's Playtime: Games with Fabric!

Lovely Weather, "5 little pieces" & update Arty Meme

Today is going to be one of those "off and running" days; in fact, I'm already behind.

It is a gorgeous day. Crisp and cool with a predicted high of 74. Yesterday was much cooler, but we have yet to get a frost and the garden, although on its last legs, is still colorful and blooming in spots. All of my 5 varieties of salvia are still going strong. I love this pink one, not showy and much smaller than all of the others, but when you get up close, its delicate color is charming. Salvias are such great plants- endure the drought and heat with a patient smile, then given cooler temperatures and a bit of rain - they get almost frisky.

I think I'll do very small pieces for the "Arty Meme" - maybe ATCs, but probably postcards, or 5 x 7 pieces. I noticed when back tracking on Kim's blog, the originator of the meme was probably a paper artist. Haven't done any paper collage in a long time, but think I will use fabric and quilting. Or a combination. At first, I was worried about having to produce 5 pieces, but since only Delta has signed up, that won't be a problem. And since I've decided to do small pieces, I'm going to go ahead and make 5 just in case. This is exactly what I needed to get me moving again.

Sunday Update- Taking the lead from another Meme participant, I'll send something to the next three (Delta and Nancy are already getting one) who comment! If you are hesitating because of the posting on your blog, we will skip that part. Just get a freebie...if ya' want one. :)

Arty Meme

I saw this on Kim's blog and I wanted a piece of her work so badly, I decided to play.

The first five people to respond to this post (via the comments section) will get some form of art made by me. It will be original, but it may not be immediate, as I will have to get busy next week to get some things made.

There is a catch, of course, the way this works is that if you sign up, you have to blog this as well and continue sharing.

October Summary

Went to my Tai Chi class last night; we did some Qi Gong that immediately made me feel better and learned a new move for the straight sword. I've been really trying to get back into both class and park lately, although so many things tend to interfere. Today I'm planning to get to the park.

I finished the R.I.P Challenge and read 3 bonus books. I'm also waiting on 3 (three!) separate Amazon orders and have some excellent library books on tap. The Book Thief and Atwood's Alias Grace are in the mix.

Spent most of yesterday, catching up on housework and laundry, so I'm feeling better about this weekend --which is pretty much packed.

I finally got one doll completed. Only have two left, after nearly two years of the heads staring at me.

One thing that is not happening is any quilting. I look at other blogs and admire what they are doing and think, "I've sketched out this project, why don't I get busy and do something about it?" Then I get distracted and don't think about it again.

Also in the negative column, I've just realized that my archives are not on this new page. Another problem to tackle...and I still don't have my Ring stuff back on.

So...although I'm pleased with the progress I've made in some areas, I am not happy about the lack of progress in the quilting arena or my blog page problems. Poor Debra, she's beating her head up against a brick wall trying to help me.

B-B-BETA

Kids are counting down the days until Halloween. Hope Erin and Eric will take lots of pictures of the Mila and Max in costume and send them. Fee and I will be attending KK and Jonathan's wedding on Saturday night. We will also briefly attend the reception, before going home early and leaving the young people to whoop it up. I love watching them, and all of the couples are so cute AND YOUNG. Our own anniversary is Sunday.


Switching to Beta didn't cause any problems, but (as you can see) I decided to customize my blog, and in doing so, lost my various Ring logos and links. Debra has tried to help me, but so far I've been unable to retrieve them.

Miscellaneous This and That

Nice rainy day here. Skipping the Tai Chi in the park even though we usually practice under the large gazebo and could avoid the rain.

On Calico Daydreams' site, there is a link to some Bizarre American Holidays. My birthday celebrates National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day - missed Dunce Day by just one day.

I do have some things I have to do, but then I'm settling in for some good reading.

Back to Work

Erin's time as a Stay-at-home Mom is almost at an end. She starts work Monday as an assistant AG in the Louisiana Attorney General's Office. Although she has had a wonderful year with Mila and baby Max, I guess it is time to get her career back on track. Being back in Baton Rouge with people she knows and being able to work in a court system with which she is familiar makes going back to work a little easier. Fortunately, Mila is back in the same day care center she was in before, and Erin feels good about getting Max in as well.

This article has me thinking: Enough Apologies. I've had two conversations in the last two days dealing with this topic. Makes me nervous to even mention it, but it is certainly something we need to be thinking about, not ignoring, as I often prefer to do with upsetting situations. Having just read the biographical Wild Swans and seeing what happens when free thought, as well as free speech, is stifled, I'm even more concerned.

Inspirational and Institutional Quilting

The arts have long been a way of getting through to troubled teens. Dance, theater, fine art, etc. have all been used to help break down barriers and to inspire kids to achievement. Recently NPR had a program about a succesful theater program in a prison. The recidivism rate went down drastically for those who participated.

Now, I find that quilting and sewing programs have had success in prisons.. Here is a shop featuring items made by inmates. And these lovely quilts!! Today's whip up has an excellent article about another program: Handmade in Prison. These programs are in the UK, and I certainly admire the people who organized and promoted the programs themselves-- as well as those who volunteer to teach.

I did a little research and discovered that Alex Anderson of Simply Quilts has done an episode with Lani Longshore about quilting in a women's prison. And yet another article on the topic. Obviously, my head has been buried in the sand; I thought this was a new and rare idea.

Well, it may be in wider practice than I thought, but it still a wonderful idea!

Thanks!

Thanks to all of you who have replied with info on quilt retreats! I'm eager for more so if anyone else has information, anecdotes, lists, or suggestions...please contribute.

This weekend was pretty busy with driving Laddie:

• Friday afternoon - all over the country. We did see one coyote, but no deer or turkeys. Catfish dinner at Murrell's to finish the day.
• Saturday - when I finished with the Tai Chi class and got to Laddie's, he was preparing to go to Minden to see Aunt Mary. He'd failed to inform me, but off we went. Went to Country Tavern for his baby back ribs when we finally got back to town.
• Sunday - Fee changed out the shower head in Laddie's shower, and since Laddie-boy was with my brother, Fee and I went to lunch, then to Lowes for paint possibilities. We were pretty much in tune here, thank goodness. Sometimes our visions on color are not in sync. Haven't reached final decisions on which colors for which rooms.

Finished Wild Swans and Falling in Love with Natassia, but haven't gotten around to reviewing them on the book blog. In general, a resounding YES to Wild Swans and NOT REALLY on Natassia. Erik Larson's new novel Thunderstruck has been added to my lengthly "to be read" list.

Tonight: Studio 60 :)

Do Tell !!

First, Congratulations and celebratory expressions are in order for Karoda at Seamless Skin. Check it out!



Kim over at Quilting Peach has had several posts about her approaching quilt retreat. Her first. Never having been on a quilting retreat myself , I found her questions about what to take very interesting.



How many of you have been on quilting retreats? I would love to do this one day (especially if I could meet some of my online quilting community) and am calling on your collective wisdom and experience.

• What do you usually take with you? What would you consider absolutely essential and what would be nice to have if you have room?


• How far do you travel?


• What are typical accommodations?


• Price?


• Who sponsors the retreats you attend?


• How long do they typically last?


• What is a kind of overview of a typical retreat? Or your favorite retreat? (activities, time, number of people, etc.)


• What kind of experiences have you had? Difficulties? Pleasures? Surprises?


• How useful have retreats been to you? How? Why?


• Do you attend alone or with a friend?


• Do you have any Retreat Tips?

I would really appreciate hearing about your experiences. If you decide to post about this, please leave me a link so I can visit and glean information. :)

Offensive Commercial

Second post today!

Kay posted an entry about the latest Burger King ad. Obviously, a number of people found it offense. What are some of the television ads that you like or find offensive. Some leap to mind immediately, others I'll have to think about a bit. I love the ones that are funny and creative, hate those that seem exploitive, manipulative, or stupid (and assume that I am stupid).

I'm also tired of ads that depict Americans as sex-obsessed, crude, obnoxious, etc. No doubt, many of us are, but ads often hold these traits up as admirable. No wonder so many people feel comfortable with offensive behavior.

Here I Go Again...

I'm going to clean up my sewing room. Yes. Wish one of those television organizers would appear and help, but adherence to an organized life would probably not last very long. Since I'm on my own, maybe just clearing off my cutting table (read: location of all miscellaneous fabric, tools, books, etc. that have not been put away) is a good place to begin. Not only is the normal pile of fabrics there, but items collected from other places in the house where I've littered (brushes from the kitchen sink where I cleaned them and instead of putting them back where they belonged, dropped them here; the plastic cross stitch kit I bought for Mila, but failed to interest her, etc.)

Just last week all was in order; not wonderful or well-organized, but clean and cleared. Even my desk was orderly -- all papers filed, no coffee rings, pens and pencils put away, dusted. Some people never learn to make cleaning after themselves a habit...no matter how many attempts have been made, how many resolutions posted, how many oaths pledged.

The one thing I can do is get it done when the realization of just how bad it is finally becomes apparent. So rather than clean up after myself each day, I'm reduced to a weekly horror show.

Canine Quarterly???

Second post today, but I did finish and took Brutus out on location for a photo shoot.


Looks pleased with himself, doesn't he? Styling out by the pond, the good fellow may have forgotten his origins. I'm just sayin' -- he was a head without a body for over a year and a half, and now he thinks he's a model? "Too sexy for his shirt?" Guess I encouraged him

I like the tie made from some silk Karoda sent. His shirt is raw silk (that I was going to dye last year) pants and coat from cheap fat quarters.


Glad to have him finished, though. Think it will be a while before I make anything to go with the other heads.


I'm going to do some more hand quilting today. If getting out from under projects that have been postponed or delayed, time and again, is possible, I will have a clean slate soon. I really like having more than one thing going, but projects that repeatedly get moved to the back of the que, eventually begin to bother me. And not only did I get Brutus out of the way, I got some quilt labels done for the the Halloween quilts. Yes, yes--they should have been on the quilts when the binding was applied, but they weren't.

Almost completed doll WIP...

In August 2005, I posted this picture of doll heads made in February 2005. Last week, I actually "saw" them again (although I see them every day because they are stuck in my colored pencil container on my desk) and decided to make a doll to go with the dog's head.

I'd forgotten how tedious doll making can be and because I'm lazy and wasn't terribly involved with it, I made a crummy body...and now regret it. No armature. No real joints. Of any kind. The clothes are the worst and mostly have to be sewn by hand, but have come out nicely. I used a piece of lovely pink silk Karoda sent me to make his tie. I wish, now, I'd done a better job with the body. Will finish the last shoe and a detail or two and post his picture later.

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Last night, I watched Heroes and Studio 60 and hand quilted. Love Monday night. Fee watches football in the living room, and I quilt and watch my two favorite shows in the sewing room.

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Reading: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China and Falling in Love with Natassia. On deck: the new Robin Hobbs. Waiting for: my Amazon order. More about books and reading on my book blog.

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All of a sudden, my separate paragraphs are being run together. What's up with that? I don't like them all run together!

Slow Weekend

This old fireplace facing came from a shop in New Roads, LA a couple of years ago and moves around garden:
one year in this bed, one year in that. The poor thing still hasn't found a permanent home. Propped against the stone bench where I put it in July--and promptly forgot about it--the little orphan looks quite neglected. The kind of thing you look at without seeing. Maybe next year, it will find the perfect spot in the garden.





Stink bug season.


Saturday, Laddie and I took another slow country crawl. We drive in normal fashion down to Raft Bayou, then proceed at 5 mph, stopping occasionally and getting out and walking around, but mostly with our eyes on the woods, looking for deer or other critter activity. No luck in the deer department. We look at birds, butterflies, a random squirrel, a huge hollow log, wild flowers, fields planted with winter wheat, newly harvested cotton fields... On the way back into Bossier, the sides of the highway are littered with white from the cotton that escaped transport. As usual, I forgot my camera.

Saturday night, I did some hand quilting while watching Neverland; Sunday was reading, yard work, and allergies.

Ooo, la, la Bernina! and Red River Revel

This has to be the most interesting Bernina advertisement I've ever seen! Mine was not delivered this way. Found the poster on Life's a Quilt where this recipe for Cranberry Tea Cake also appears.

Fee and I took Laddie to the Revel last night. The weather was great, the Natchitoches Meat Pies delicious, the beer cold, the people-watching great, the art booths fun and interesting.

Laddie bought a picture for Maggie, and the artist was so sweet to him, I thought we might have to go back and let him buy something else. Her works were of children, horses, and Western themes. Laddie really liked all of them and finally decided on this small, framed piece. This is a good picture of Laddie and Gloria Shanahan, the artist. She is from Kansas City.

I asked a few other artists if I could take pictures, but most of them declined. This gentleman obliged...and I wish you could see the detail in these works. They are created by threading silk threads side by side. The entire "paintings" are silk threads. His card reads: ABISSA HANDCRAFTS, Home of SaM's Handwoven Silk Threads Mosaic Art, Baton Rouge, LA. They were quite expensive, and deservedly so. Individual silk threads! But, not woven (inspite of his card) or stitched. Just placed next to each other, each one lustrous and distinct. Click to enlarge, wait, then click the icon in the bottom left corner, and you'll get a better idea.

My favorite booth was that of Jean Yao of Ft. Lauderdale. She agreed to let me take a picture, but when I asked her if it was OK to post it on my blog, she seemed reluctant. I googled "Jean Yao and baskets" and found that she has been juried in to some excellent arts festivals and won "Best of Show" in many (and their cash prizes are in the thousands), but found no pictures of her baskets, and believe me, they are works of art. So, unfortunately, no pictures of her wonderful work.

Maybe it really is fall

Pictures from the garden.




It was 25 degrees cooler yesterday than the day before. Almost everyone around here was delighted with that feeling of fall; Fee would have loved to be squirrel hunting, but had to go to work. The weather made me want to stay home, read, and sew. I was inspired to make banana bread yesterday morning. Then last night: eggplant soup. With a dash of curry. Delicious.


This afternoon, Fee and I are going to take Laddie to the Red River Revel. I haven't been at all this year, but look forward to the food, the art, the shopping, the various stages of bands, singers, performers. I can't wait to get me a Natchitoches Meat Pie! Mmmmm. The Greek Orthodox Church always has delicious food, too. Stop. Why is food taking precedence here? I must be trying to store up enough fat to survive an entire winter.


If I remember to take my camera, I will get some pictures.

Photograph Retrospective

A slideshow of black-and-white photographs taken between 1938-1955. The photographs are on exhibit at the the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Photographers include Helen Levitt who took the photo on the right and Walker Evans.

Red sky at morning--

Early this morning, I located my camera to take pictures of the sunrise. Thinking of the old sailor's maxim: "Red sky at morning/Sailors take warning." It does feel like rain right now, but rain or not, this was a spectacular way to begin the day.

Yesterday, I took Laddie to see Aunt Mary in Minden. She was feeling well and looked great. We had a nice visit and a delicious lunch (that included excellent greens and hot water corn bread) at a nearby locally owned restaurant.

Then we went by to visit Aunt Janice, and Laddie gave her a picture of Uncle Max (her husband, Laddie's brother) in his WWII uniform, and I gave her a picture of her grand-nephew Max, the newest member of the family.

I found this link through a QA Digest post and, for anyone who might be interested, am including it here-- Hattiesburg Quilt Show video.

October Celebrations and links

Congratulations are in order for Omega of Threading Thoughts! Her quilt Persuasion made Quilt National 2007. I love Omega's work and have linked to her before, but this is a real honor.

Emmy over at Cramzy had two of her art quilts on display at the la Bourboule Festival. Emmy does beautiful and colorful felted work.

I'm not keeping up to well with new additions to the AQ Ring, but in the last week or two, I've visited a couple of new members whose work was fun and inspiring: Jan's Art and Quilting and A Stitch in Time.

Sunday Miscellany: Harvest Moon, Memory, Quilting

Has anyone else been watching the Harvest Moon? So beautiful, so huge! It was still there this morning well after dawn, like a memory.

And speaking of memory, when Erin and the kids came and I straightened up, I put my "memory pad" (where my childhood memories were being recorded) somewhere and now can't find it. What does that say? I'm going to go cut some rosemary from the garden and keep it close. "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance, pray you, love, remember."

One of the WIP projects that I've been putting off for a couple of months is now in progress again. Had no idea how to quilt it, but went ahead several weeks ago and made the sandwich for machine stitching. Then yesterday, decided to hand quilt it -- partly because I couldn't decide what to do and had already pinned it together and couldn't go back and mark it without taking out all of the pins and partly so I'd have hand work for watching television or movies at night. (I joined Netflix and need something to do while watching).

Here is my improvised quilting frame. I took what used to be a laundry hamper with mesh bags added the "snap caps" from a QSnap tiny hand frame, and whaddaya know?

Then I tried a tip about threading several needles onto the spool, to be cut as needed.

Now, I'm set for a while!

Alpha, Beta, Beta, Beta...

How many of you have switched to Beta? And what do you think?

I've heard some people have lost posts or pictures and am reluctant to switch. My book blog has a "switch your blog today" message. Has had for several days, and I keep ignoring it.

So what is your opinion, those of you who have switched over? What do you like? What are some of the problems?

Ooops! Now this one has the message.

Finally!

I finished this 3rd Halloween quilt. How long has it taken? A long, long time because I just didn't enjoy working on it much. It is only 17 1/4" x 15", and has taken FOREVER! The post for Sept. 2 was the completed woven background. I'd look at it and think, I'll get to work on that right away"; right away" is such a relative phrase. But now it is done! Whew!

Men and messages (2nd attempt) and Free Hugs

This little cartoon is the one my sister-in-law emailed me. It showed up on my browser, then disappeared, so I'm trying again.

I found this inspiring link to Free Hugs while visiting Bemused's blog, and I'm still smiling. She found it through Blackbird, who found it on Corey's Tongue in Cheek site. I love this video! Oh, I love YouTube!

Got a shadow box frame at Michael's for 1/2 price to frame Queen Mila and the Monster Family. You can see the reflection of my arm in the glass.

Watched Bend It Like Beckham and The Lavender Ladies (with Maggie Smith and Judi Dench) tonight while working on the 3rd Halloween quilt.

Monster Family

Mila wants to be Queen of the Monsters when she grows up. What can I say? Do you sense the Halloween influence at work here? Since I found the idea an engaging one, I sketched, then embroidered my version of her goal. I used some diluted acrylic paint and lots of coffee to age it, then a Pigma micron pen for the "Queen of the Monsters." Think a mat and frame should finish this fun project. When I showed it to Miss Mila while I was working on it, she thought it was her family: Papa, Mama, Mila, and Max.

Now, I've got to make myself finish that last Halloween quilt which for various reasons has failed to call me to work on it.

men & messages; freaky coincidence

My sister-in-law is responsible for the cartoon on men and messages. I love it.

Is this a freaky coincidence or what? I love Freakonomics and discovered this post that will have me looking more closely at the names of those accused/convicted a certain crimes.

The Grands

Well, my darlin's left Friday to return to Baton Rouge. Fee and I miss them, but should see them again before too long. Blogger has finally allowed me to load some photos. I have had more difficulty with pictures in the last 2 weeks than I've had in the last year. And Shelina, I still have no idea if they show up on other browsers...you commented that some didn't work for you.