15 minutes of fame

Andy Warhol is credited with this statement, "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes."  I am not sure that is a true statement.  However, "Thistles" and I did have a few minutes of  fame in the world of quilting.  She was awarded 2nd place  in the "Made by Machine" category at the American Quilter's Society show and contest in Knoxville, TN.  It was such an honor to walk into the show and see her hanging there with a big red ribbon.  And when other viewers noticed that my friends were taking my photograph with her, they wanted to snap a few pictures as well.  WOW - not too sure how to handle that, makes me a bit self conscious since I don't like to have my picture taken.  But, I tried to be very gracious and humble as I received many, many wonderful compliments.  Alex Anderson of  "Simply Quilts" show fame and the co-anchor of the The Quilt Show,  even said to me that she,  "really, really, no I am serious, I mean really, really, really love your quilt."  Those were her exact words.  After I got myself up from a dead faint on the floor, I blushed considerably and thanked her graciously.  I was so flustered that I am sure that I did not compliment her, but quickly fled the scene.  She was even rumored to have been seen taking photos of the quilt up close and personal.  I am quite sure that "Thistles" was blushing, too.  Of course, with all that pink, fuchsia, and purple it would be difficult to tell if you didn't know her as well as I.  Don't get me wrong, we are not complaining, but living my life in the background makes for a huge adjustment on my part.  Oh, well, maybe I could learn to adjust . . . . .   I want to thank my husband, my children, my mom and dad, my friends, the AQS . . . . .  .  is that how the typical acceptance speech goes?  
All jokes aside, it is a thrill and one that I won't forget.  Receiving such recognition encourages me to continue to do what I love to do.  Play with fabrics and my sewing machines.  Ah, life is certainly good.

Progress

Some days, when I am thinking that I have not accomplished a thing lately, I make myself look around the house.   I've got "Fractured Honeysuckles" hanging on a wall in my house now.  Picture driving along a country road and glimpsing wild tangles of vines with an illusion of white blurbs here and there.  To further illustrate my thoughts of this idea, here are some her beginnings as she appeared from my mind to the design wall.

I'm thinking that it might well be a good piece to redesign one day. I'll just put that on the list and see if the spirit moves me to actually do another one.

"Shirts & Skirts" is also finished. Once washed and dried, it is ever-so soft and cuddly.  Not sure if it is the woven plaids and stripes, the linen, or the wool batting, but I am sure it will be a favorite for snuggling under on my sofa while watching a movie on a cold, winter evening. 

 

Click here and  here  if you would like to see the befores.  I had intended to do minimal quilting on it, in the vein of  "Fresh Modern" , but decided that it would be a good chance to practice my free motion quilting.  I don't think that I will ever learn to stay focused long enough to do a "quilt police approval" job on my quilting.  I have heard many folks comment about the process of quilting, whether it be by hand or machine, being so soothing, calming, but I just have yet to discover that nirvana.  Doesn't mean that I will stop trying.  Some things just seem to take longer to get my head and hands around than others.



In the mean time, I'm still quilting along on my grandpuppy - just about to get her ready for show.  And also thinking about using these blocks and/or some of my hand dyes for the backing on the other Shirts top.   I was inspired by Tonya R at Lazy Gal Quilting and her "challenge" class.   Sometimes the picture just doesn't say it all and a few words are necessary.  And oh, what fun it was to create the words.  I didn't take the time to read her tutorial about her process of creating her letters, but jumped right into it with my pencil and notebook paper, and filled up my page.  It may have gone a bit more quickly for me had I actually taken the time to read first, but now that I have, I see that it was to be all about the fun.  And since I'm not the teacher type, you can see all the great ideas that Tonya has taken the time to share for us all in this link.  I used more of my plaids and linens for the words of John Lennon.  I'm thinking John would approve of the tie dyes.

Remembering Simple

I didn't have the opportunity to go to kindergarten, so all the things that I should have learned there, I am still trying to figure out.  Living a in rural community in the 1950's, I began my education in a two room school.  It was an old two story brick building with wide steps on both sides of the front, with huge double doors.  They opened into a spacious hallway that had hooks on the wall for coat hangers.  My classroom was on the first floor directly opposite one of the entry doors.  I shared that room with perhaps 25 or 30 other first through fourth grade students. First graders were in the first row next to the tall, triple hung windows.  If I remember correctly, there were about 6 or 8 of us.  How did the teacher manage to educate 4 separate grade levels in that one room, I often wonder?  Perhaps we all sat in our seats, did as we were instructed and had respect for the teacher as well as the other classmates.  I remember at times, having completed my assignments, I would try to do what the older kids were doing.  I remember that I was able to learn cursive writing by the end of first grade.  And my teacher allowed me to continue writing in that manner rather than printing, as was the custom to do until you were well into your third grade year.  I remember often being the one selected to lead the class in a song at the end of the day.  Favorites such as "Davy Crockett", "She'll be Comin' 'Round the Mountain", "Shoo-Fly", were at the top of my repertoire,  along with "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "The Bear Went Over the Mountain".  I guess I've always enjoyed writing and singing.  After school, I would usually walk home with my older brother and cousin, about a mile of dusty, graveled road.  I never minded doing so, it was just a part of life. Plus it was always fun to pick the berries or wild flowers along the roadside.

 Probably never met more than one or two cars on the walk home.  Sometimes we would make a short stop at the country store and visit with other folks, or share a 5 cent RC Cola, if my brother was feeling generous.  Simple, quiet times.  Never thought about being too hot or too cold, whether I had the latest in clothing or home decor, or even what was happening in the rest of the world.  Life was good.  Guess that's what I learned in first grade.  Enjoy life's quiet, simple times. Continue to enjoy writing and singing.  Take every opportunity that presents itself to learn as much as you can.  Just remembering those times makes me feel quiet inside.  

Picture this

When catching up with my very talented designer daughter the other day, after returning from taking classes with Carol Taylor at NQA in Columbus, OH, I was trying to describe what I had done in the class.  We all know that I have a bit of trouble expressing myself verbally, so I finally just said, I'll have to show you some pictures.  Normally I tend to be overwhelmed in class/workshop situations.  Too much going on, getting distracted/intimidated by all the other participant's projects, and in this case, a pretty fast pace and very little workspace, I was happy to return home.  I quickly settled down in my studio with the partially completed projects and happily stitched away.  So without further ado, here are some photos of the progress.  This one is from the "Arc-I-Textures" class.  It is 16" x 16" inches and I still am trying to decide if I should make it into a pillow or a wall hanging.  Or is it ready for that?

This is from the Sensuous Lines and Curves class.  Wasn't too crazy about the sample design (sorry Carol), so I'm making changes with mine. Still in progress, still making changes.  Absolutely love doing the very, thin curvy lines, as well as the little rectangles and square shapes.  I am using some of my hand dyes for the little squiggles.

Speaking of  hand dyes, after making dozens of solids and slightly mottled fat quarters, following step by step the color recipes, I had a grand time playing it fast and loose.  These are a few pieces that pleased me as a result of not following any given instructions.

Note the strip cut from the top of the piece on the right, below.  I used it as a stripe in the sensuous line/curve piece.  Makes for sensationally sensuously striped strips - say that 3 times fast. 

By the way, "Thistles" was not awarded a ribbon, but did receive very complimentary judges comments.  Of course she was hanging right next to a big ribbon winner who made her recede into the background.  However, she kept her thorns to herself and returned home with me, to be shipped off immediately to be judged for the AQS Knoxville show.  Much to my delight I did find  that she was awarded a very nice "Losers" recognition in a blog that I enjoy following.  Thanks Barb and Mary.  I still say we are all winners!
So there! 

Girls just wanna have fun

Before I forget (yeah, like I could forget) - two of my pretty girls have been enjoying some unexpected yet extremely welcome accolades.  So, without further ado, the big Orange Hibiscus has been published in August-September issue of  Quilt magazine, which is on the news stands now.  I won't be boring with all the details, but suffice it to just say that Debra Hearn, editor in chief of Quilt, saw her hanging in a quilt show, liked her and tracked me down to ask permission to publish her photo.  Each issue of the magazine has a feature on the inside back cover called "The Last Stitch" which showcases a specific quilt artist.  Needless to say, after I recovered from the initial shock, I was thrilled beyond words when Deb asked permission to publish a picture of Orange.  Just goes to show, you never know who may be watching you. 

Thistles also received  treasured honors.  The wonderful folks who attended the Smoky Moutain Quilters Show choose her to receive the Viewer's Choice show award and the show judge awarded her a 2nd place ribbon in her category.  She's now on her way to hang in the  NQA show in Columbus, OH, June 16 through 19.  Then rush home, only to ship out to for judging in the AQS show  in Knoxville, TN July 14 -17.  Yup, my girls have been mighty busy lately.  It is such an honor to have them accepted to be shown in prestigious shows and appreciated by others. 

Changing tunes here, a new Ramsey will be arriving soon, so he'll be receiving a quilt from his great-auntie M.  With input from his Dad and Mom, using a few bits of fabric from window treatment in his nursery, I came up with this design for the top of the quilt.  The nursery theme is blue, cocoa, chocolate stripes and dots.

And for the back of the quilt, here's a partial shot - another modern twist for the young parents and sweet babe.  I forgot to snap a shot of the finished quilt before I gave it to the parents.  As soon as I get a picture of the completed quilt, I'll post it up. 

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho it's off to work I go . . . . . 

I dyed today

I haven't had this much fun in a long time.  I dyed today.  Fabric that is.  It is something that I've always thought about doing but, just didn't want to open another can of worms, so to speak. Having finally cleaned up my house, and my studio, gotten everything organized so I could bear to enter the room, I thought why not.  Things have been rather hectic once again on the home front, I haven't expressed my angst through my blog, and what better way to add a bit of cheer?  My friend, Laura, has long been expressing a desire to dye as well, so she brought all her supplies to my garage and we went at it, full  throttle.  As we began to mix the colors, we were also challenged to find new adjectives to describe each variation and shade.  "Oh, how pretty", just was not adequate.  And as we mixed and stirred, mushed and dabbed, spritzed and dribbled, we became more and more excited.  Although we did want to experiment, one of my goals was to have 12 basic solid colors.  Thank goodness Laura was here to remind me to wash my rubber gloves as we changed from color to color, or there would be no solids. 

Having a touch of OCD, to say that I was anxious about jumping into this new endeavor, would be an understatement.  A horrible nightmare woke me at 5AM, the whole dyeing experience was a complete disaster, there were ghostly, skeletal people constantly cropping up to ruin the results, I had dye all over the garage, and my hair was a unflattering shade of orange.  Maybe it's the word dye that had my subconscious in such a turmoil.   But now that we've gotten yards of fabric gloriously colored, I think that I will sleep very soundly tonight.  Dreaming of all the tints and shades and brilliantly colored fabric. And thanks to some wonderful books and blogs for reference, I think this might become another obsession, as I'm already itchin' to do some batiking a la'  rOssie and Malka.

C'est la vie

Paducah 2010.  What more can I say.  If you haven't ever been to the "big mother of all quilt shows", think about treating yourself one day.  It is another world.  As expected, I didn't win a ribbon, but that's OK, cuz I am honored just to see my big  Orange Hibiscus hanging there.  That's not all I am gonna say about it though.  Does anyone ever get a "kick" out of the judges comments?  It never fails to amuse me when I read their critiques.  Just to show you what I mean, I'm going to write these down for all to see.  Here goes:

Best Feature(s):
1.  Flow from light to dark
2.  Variety in scale of fabric prints

Area(s) to Improve:
1. Flowers get lost on busy background
2:  Machine tension

Okay, some of this is really confusing to me.  The judges liked the variety in scale of fabric prints, but seemed to think that the flowers were lost.  Maybe because I created this thing,  I have no trouble seeing the flowers or the blooms or the buds or the leaves.  Tension, yeah, I got lots of that.
C'est la vie.

As an unexpected treat, my friends and I had the good fortune of enjoying a delightful dinner at a table next to Kaffe Fassett  and Liza Lucy right before Kaffe's lecture.  Now there is an interesting fellow.  Jolly good and all that.

They were both very cordial to us and as much as I was tempted to bombard him with adoration, I thought it best to only take a few discreet snapshots.  Loved the purple shirt, purple slacks, and his bag of knitting yarns. (assumption on my part regarding the bag.)  And check out those socks..  I really had to restrain myself from asking him where I could buy a pair like those.  Loved his lecture.  All about color and design.  Duh, one of the masters of color and design in the quilting world.  And, to top it off, he has no problem in stating his opinion.  In answering questions from the audience he stated that he left America for England to get away from all the rednecks.  I didn't know that his stomping grounds, Big Sur area and NYC,  was so full of rednecks.  I always thought that those areas were full of hippies back in the sixties.  I shall assume that he has acquired that dry British tongue and cheek attitude.
 
On the other hand, I was also amused by his statement regarding all the little folks in their white gloves who wouldn't allow you to touch the quilts on display.  He seems to think that quilts are for all to enjoy, to caress, to explore.  He and Liza don't like quilts to be overly quilted to the point of feeling like cardboard.  Yippee!  so now I am once again justified by a famous one.  I agree with Kaffe - it's all about the color and design. The quilting, whether hand or machine, is secondary.  Sorry, I know I have just insulted a zillion quilters out there.  But that is my joie de'vie.

Back home from my 6 day trip with the girls, I am back to work on grandpuppy.  I must say, she's lookin' good.  I have begun the sewing process and it is always a thrill to see it come together. And, as always, I welcome input from anyone who sees any faux pas that I have made in the color and design.  Still agonizing over the "water".   Any suggestions before I continue to sew? 

Friendly Relations

Although i have constantly sought friendship, in fact i am very much a loner.  I was quite submissive, mousey mary, as an old childhood friend once described me, unsure of the rest of the world out there.  She was, and still is, i am quite sure, a tall, lithe beauty who never met a stranger.  Always seemingly self confident with a constant entourage of followers.  I was always in her shadow, readily accepted whatever she dished out to me.   I always enjoyed being in her shadow.  Life was always so much more interesting with her.  I realize it is the interaction with persons who are obviously far more intelligent and talented than myself that i seek.  I know  (or think i know) what is going on inside myself, but other folks - they are much more fun to watch. Since i never had the nerve to show what i am on the inside to that outside world, i just needed to find someone to follow.  Maybe i'm just lazy - let others do all that for me??????

Being a loner, it takes time for me to be able to establish relationships with others.  It's relatively easy on "paper" or the written word.  I normally sit back and wait until someone approaches me.  Nowadays, I'm trying to learn to be the initiator.  My mind is constantly rambling and whirling as i socialize with people.  Just like it does when i try to cipher what it is that i want to create.  Acutally a bit like this quilt that I created several years ago inspired by a pattern in a book by Jan Krentz,  "Lone Star Quilts and Beyond".

To pull out what is within the tornado like turmoil constantly blowing around in my head.  If i could totally detach myself from external influences, i can soar so much further. OK maudlin, you say. perhaps so.  A bit of braggart you say. To think that i would place myself in that stratosphere. I'm told that more than a bit of bravado is needed to succeed.  As if those artists i might come into contact with, might actually accept me into their world.  You've just got to try, get out there,  i keep telling myself.  There i go again, back and forth, back and forth  . . . .   sorry  . . .  those tornados are really whipping up the dust today.   

I may have mentioned that one of my interests is in photography. If you haven't noticed, my photography is lacking a great deal of skill and talent. Blurry/fuzzy is not what i intend to show you. I want to post pictures on my blog for you to see.  I'll keep working on it.  Just so you know, it is the photography of others over which i drool. That's another of my wanna-bees, maybe one day i'll sign up for photography classes.  A girl can dream on her own blog can't she?  And while i'm dreaming, how about a private concert by the likes of Van Morrison or Eric Clapton.  And while we're dreaming, let's go all the way, how about being able to sing like Eva Cassidy, Diana Krall or Joni Mitchell, just to name a few.  I digress, sorry.

Back on task,  i guess i should finish up by telling you this:  believe it or not, the same childhood friend who used to call me mousey mary, went to camp one summer and told everyone that her name was Mary. Unfortunately, she became ill right after she arrived and the camp counselor had to phone her mom to let her know that "Mary" was very sick.  Her mother responded that she didn't have a daughter named Mary. After much confusion, the situation was finally resolved, my friend recovered quickly from the "bug",  and her mother laughingly related  the episode to everyone. Turns out her mother had always kept saying to her as she was growing up, "why can't you be more like Mary?"  So she went to camp and tried to become Mary.  Years later, this friend confided to me that she always thought that i would become a famous songstress or artist.  I was stunned. I always thought that she would become the famous one, she was one with brains, the talent and the beauty.  And then I hear that she acutally thought I could be something.  As if i could ever become as wonderful as she was.  Dang, she was in the same boat as all the other females growing up in the 1950's south. She was just bluffing her way through it much better than i.  Neither of us have yet to become famous.  Content is good enough for me so far.

OK, that's out of my system, let's get back to reality.  Just to keep you updated on the progress of my grandpuppy's portrait,  here's the current status, pins and all.  She is to be totally pieced - no applique this time.  I'm also still thinking about incorporating a/some appropriate traditional quilt blocks somewhere in there.  Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.  A perfect marriage. 

 

Hiatus Land

Hiatus - I don't think that I ever completely understood what that word meant.  Vacation, holiday, getaway, I understand.  I'm thinking that hiatus must have approximately the same connotation. So just to be certain, I looked up the definition:   hi·a·tus (h-ts)n. pl. hi·a·tus·es or hiatus  1. A gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity; a break.  I don't feel that I am on vacation, it isn't a holiday, and I am not really getting away.  And since I am not in my studio at home, doing what I feel obssessed to do, then it must be that I am in Hiatus Land.  I really miss my newly begun project as well as all of the UFO's, calling for me.  Scratch that, screaming my name.  I am assuming that I will only be granted a limited amount of time in this life to get all the projects done (or at least started, since I'm not too good at the completion part).  Time's awastin', I can't wait to get back and get busy.

However, in the mean time, I do have internet access in Hiatus Land, and boy howdy - have my eyes ever been bugging out.  All the quilt bloggers and quilt websites have just overwhelmed me.  There is so much amazing talent out there, my feeble mind is just soooooo bogggggleeeddd.  I have enjoyed all the "youngsters" or even maybe not so young, who are doing their interpretations of  Gee's Bend Quilts.  And the colors, the fabrics, the designs, just never seem to end.  My daughter introduced me to Gee's Bend in 2003 by means of the most delightful Christmas gift.  A first edition copy of  "Gee's Bend:  The Women and Their Quilts".   I have read it cover to cover several times.  I often refer to this book for inspiration, as well as a reality check.  To top it off, while in San Francisco a couple of years later, I had the pleasure of viewing many of these quilts on display at the de Young Museum. There are no adequate words to describe those works of art or my emotions as I walked through the exhibit.

So now is where I must admit I have attempted a few semi-inspired versions for the backs of a few of my quilts.  Good thing they were the backs, cuz my pieces don't quite make the mark.  I have very few solids in my fabric stash, and loving the riots of color and design from Kaffe Fassett, among others, I tend to gravitate to fabrics of that style.  Using all the leftovers from a quilt top I randomly stitched them together for the back.  So all that being said, guess I should show you a picture of one such back.

Now for the front of the quilt.  And to explain, further, my quilt guild sponsored a workshop by Billie Lauder, in which I felt obliged to participate.   One of the projects was her quick and easy pansy quilt. In case you didn't know this, I am not a fan of quick and easy.  Of course, to keep my interest peaked in the class, I had to make it more complicated, so here's the result.  A bit busy you think?  Oh, well, it keeps me warm at night and I can drool over all the lovely fabrics as I drift off to sleep in Hiatus Land.

There is also another reason to leave Hiatus Land and get back into the studio.  Begin new projects using my own hand dyes which I will learn to do with the aid of two newly purchased books and a wonderful website I recently discovered:   Malka Dubrawsky has written a wonderful book on batiking and dyeing,  "Color Your Cloth" ;   Frieda Anderson's new book,  "Fabric to Dye For";  Melody Johnson's energetic blog , which never ceases to amaze me.    All those, not neccessarily in that order, are fantastic instructional aids, as well as delightful reads.  Drooling, drooling all the way home . . . . . .

People say the darn-dest things

Okay folks,  here is  "Shirts" in it's current state.  I discovered some lovely Kaffe Fassett shot cotton, which has an almost irridescent sheen.  It is woven with orange and teal threads but the fabric reads as a grey.  When the sunlight hits it just right you see just a bit of shimmering. Thought it was a nice contrast to the plaids and strips.  Now to the next step.  Should I add more to him, perhaps a border of another color; or plaid; or just leave him be and quilt on?  Think I'll let him hang around for a few more days and see what he has to say for himself.   Hm-m, I also had another thought.  Since I've done "Shirts and Blouses" and "Shirts", I should  try and come up with an idea for "Skins".  Hey I might have a real series thing going on here. Not. . . . . .  .

Moving on, why is it that I remember inane statements made by strangers? Case in point, when buying fabric at a quilt shop sale, the sales lady cutting my fabric asked what I was planning to do with these gorgeous batiks. I replied that I was going to incorporate them into a portrait of my grand puppy. She turned sharply to the sales lady next to her and pointing to me, made the statement that I really need some grandchildren in my life. What? Huh? I had to laugh. Certainly she did not mean to imply that I was wasting my time designing and making a quilt portrait of a dog. This happened a couple of years ago and I have yet to make this quilt. I didn't think that I was subconsciously affected by this lady's comment at that time. 

I had long ago promised my son, proud "pappa" of a lovely chocolate lab, that I would be delighted to immortilize his best friend in fabrics. I have finally gotten into the right frame of mind to jump into it, get the design and the pattern drawn and get it done. Having gotten that part completed, I began choosing the fabrics. When I came across the fabrics that I bought that day, that comment crossed my mind. This unimportant, totally insignificant, off hand comment popped into my thought process. I, again, began thinking "where did that come from?" Why did I remember this comment when I picked up these certain pieces of fabric.  And are we not complete because our children have not produced any children? Did this lady not like dogs?  Just why did she feel compelled to say that?  All sorts of questions followed me around that day.  My son is not married, nor does he need children at this point in his life. He is quite content with his dog, his cat and his fish. So why should she, a total stranger, think that I need grandchildren?  People can say the darnest things. And perhaps even more ridiculously enough, I remember the darn dest things.  Can't remember to turn off the iron, but sure did remember that comment.  Perhaps I relate certains fabrics to where and when I purchased them and what was going on all around me at that time. Sorta like relating a certain favorite song to a time and place. Am I warped or what?

In the meantime, I am having so much fun working on my grand puppy's portrait.  She makes me smile. I will keep you posted on her progress. Here is one of the reference photos that I am using for the design.  Isn't she beautiful.

Sibling Rivalry

Growing up I was always so jealous of my little sister. You see, I was my parents' one and only precious, little girl, born 5 years after my brother. Evidently brother was quite a challenge to my mother, and perhaps I was the baby doll that she didn't have as a child growing up in the Depression years. She always dressed and groomed me meticulously, much to my dismay. I was determined to spit on and wrinkle up all those perfectly starched lace collars and continuously tugged and scratched the crinolines. Hey, all those frills were itchy in the hot and humid south. I was just trying to soften them up a bit. Looking back, perhaps I was not the little girlie girl that my Mother thought I should be.



Remember in those days when pregnancy was not a word anyone said out loud. I can remember Mother answering my questions regarding her growing mid section by shushing me and saying that it was a secret. HUH? What's the big deal? Not letting it cause me any concern, I tore off my pretty little dress and pulling on a pair of shorts (no shirt because it was HOT in August), off I would run to tag along after my older brother and cousin, riding on the back of the hay wagons coming in from the fields.

Fast forward, Christmas 1954, Mother was in the hospital and came home the day after Christmas with the ultimate gift. A sweet little baby sister. Now just what was she thinking? I didn't want that thing. Sibling rivalry at it's best had reared it's ugly head. For six and a half years I had been the queen bee. On the other hand, Mother was too busy to starch all that lace and crinoline petticoats anymore, thank goodness, and I had to learn to be more independent. I had to make my own doll clothes. That opened a door that has led me to one of the greatest of life's pleasures. Mother even let me use her Singer on occasion. I can remember being SO proud of my accomplishments. Although Mother never seemed to notice how beautiful they were, I thought I was hot stuff. I found some of those doll clothes a few years ago, YIKES what was I thinking. I guess they were probably not too bad for a 7 year old girl. Today, the thrill continues. I love to play with fabric, to design with fabric, to sew pieces of fabric together, not even for a specific purpose, but just to enjoy the process and the thrill of the colors.

Fast forward, November 1977, and I have this perfect little baby girl of my own. And so the mother and daughter saga begins the seasonal repeats. Jumping right on, I must tell you that she is now a beautiful, talented, and intelligent young, married woman. No matter that the momma in me shall never forget that precious, sweet babe. This quilt is based on a snapshot from a 1978 July Fourth family picnic. She was struggling to stay awake til the last hurrah. A very serious toddler, strong and independent, always seeming to be so old for her age. I always treasured that picture that her Daddy took. So I was compelled to use it as my first attempt at a quilted portrait of a child.
Oh yes, I cannot end without telling you this. I named my daughter after my sister. Yup, the sister that brought out that green-eyed monster in me. I love her with all my heart, just as I love my daughter. My sister died a few years ago, far too young, of ovarian cancer. She, too, was a strong, independent, beautiful woman, loved by all who ever met her. I encourage all women to be strong and independent and take charge of their lives. Always remember this, "Ovarian cancer whispers, so listen." If you have the slightest feeling that there is something not quite right with your health, demand attention. If you have questions, go to this website and read. Take care of yourself.

Simple or Complicated?

Now that things are a bit settled around here, I am back to business as usual. Once I've done all the "shirts and blouses" blocks (refer to my blog back on March 4) that I can bear to do, I realized that I was in a pretty dark spot. Do you think that your life is reflected in what you might be trying to create at the time? As I look back on my home decor, my clothing and my quilts, I can definitely see a trend there. I spent most of my life trying to follow the rules. Be a good daughter, wife, mother and do what is expected of a proper, southern lady. I tried that through out my high school and college years, on into adulthood and beyond. A few years ago, I heard a life altering phrase, "out of the box". I realized that I was never a muted person on the inside. Not that I am a radical rebel, but all those rules just wear me out. A friend of mine has this quote following her signature on her e-mails.
"I can't understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I'm frightened by old ones" ...John Cage
That is saying something. It has also been said that there is nothing original in the world, or something to that effect. I am far from original in my ideas, but it is so liberating to stop listening to some of those rules and structures that I thought I must always follow. Now I am learning to just say HA to the quilt police. Doesn't it feel good to give yourself permission to be just yourself?

Back to the muted plaids and stripes blocks - I just knew it needed help, but it wouldn't do to overpower all those busy blocks with my favorite bright colors and prints. So I had to compromise: a few wonky blocks here and there with a greyed/brownish linen that I found buried in my stash. And lots of Kaffe fat quarters strung together for the backing. It is looking better already. Here is the top in it's current form. Now to get it sandwiched and quilted.

Before I end for the day, I might as well admit right now that I didn't stop with the shirts and blouses, but went on to delve into just the "shirts". Here's the idea. Not sure what will happen with these blocks, but I am just about tired of making them, so we'll see what happens next. Oh but wait! Here's another thought, make just a few more of these blocks and cut them into rounds or ovals. . . . I just have to get back to those things that my right brain really enjoys, as in "why make it simple when you make it complicated."

Validation

My world seems to have skidded to a stop after just viewing the movie, Precious. "Lausie mercy", as we used to say. (That was as close to cursing as a young southern girl ever got). Here I am, the waspy whimp, whining about my privileged life, forgetting to stop and consider what many of the world's population must be forced to deal with. Especially the female population. The very next time anyone reads about my pitiful woes, just remind me with a slight smack up side of my head. I highly recommend to everyone who has the opportunity, do not miss seeing this film. Beware to some who might be offended by the adult language, however that ain't nuthin compared to the story. A story that children, who may be living just around the corner from you, may be living. Don't let me discourage you because, on the other hand, it is an uplifting story, inspiring and hopeful in oh, so many ways. It is a Can Do tale, that leaves you exhausted but ready to take on the world.


I had just began writing a draft the other day about my creative ideas being validated. It began with these words, "why is it that I seem to need my creative thoughts validated? I have these "brilliant" ideas, begin the process, then decide that it is not worth pursuing. Months later, I buy a quilting book with the same brilliant idea that I had. Suddenly my thought was worth pursuing after all. Has this ever happened to you? Or am I the only one with such a lack of self confidence? After all, there seems to be nothing new under this sun". Why should I attempt this new project. I'll never get it finished anyway. I have just been reminded of a valuable lesson from a fictional 16 year old, African American girl. And yes, I realize that it was a film, based on a novel. All the same, it is a lesson for all of us. Get yourself up, stop the wondering and searching for approval. Appreciate that you have so much more and have so many advantages and opportunities. Don't just sit there and think about it, go after them. Just like Precious. Just like Gabourey Sidibe, the young unknown actress who portrayed the lead character, nominated for an academy award for acting. It starts with one small step, a bit of effort, and deep breath and a new sun is shining.