It's Thursday

How did it get to be this far along in the week? I know, but I'm not going to tell. I have a brisket in the oven, my husband is at a holiday party somewhere, and I am here with martini (and calamata olive) in hand, feet up, de-toxifying from the horrible week which I won't go into here. Have just come home from a day of BEAUTY??? - haircut after I went in looking like an overgrown tree (a short tree, which is worse). Then, new color. I made the mistake of telling the new colorist that I needed a little drama in my life (as IF I don't have enough) and, hello, Gabrielle - RED highlights. Aarrgggh - not what I expected, since the highlights have been various shades of light-brown to blonde for quite a few years. But, what the hell. If I really hate it I can change it. Right? What I really want to talk about is Karoda's new piece. The fabric is so fabulous! I cannot wait to see it finished. She and I were discussing quilting (you know, that thing you do that puts stitches in the piece) and wondering how you decide what to do when you love the piece so much before stitching. I suppose you become a painter on canvas or something. I really agonize abut putting the piece under the needle -- I never can decide whether the stitches will help or hinder, or how I am going to do them. But for some people, it's their favorite part - or at least a piece of cake. It is the part I hate and fear and put off when I am working. Right now, I have a relatively simple piece (my "gates" piece) sitting here since last February because I can't deal with quilting it . Is that nuts, or what? So, a propos of Karoda's and my conversation -- Do the stitches make the piece (was there a book by that title??) or break it? Have you ever sat and picked out umpteen bazillion little stitches that looked crappy? I have. So, I have stitching neurosis. How do the rest of you deal with it? How do you decide whether to do an allover pattern or change the pattern depending on what's on the fabric? What about the color of the thread? So many variables - so little time. On another topic, I spent the other night soy wax batik'ing a piece of fabric. I am pleased with it. But I can't seem to upload the jpg of the whole piece, so here is a smidge.

I'm teaching soy wax batik (with paints, not dyes) at the Arts Guild of Rahway (NJ) on Feb.11. The class is already almost half-full and the catalog still hasn't gone out. So I'm pleased about that.

I'm posting early tonight to make up for all the evenings I haven't posted. If anything exciting comes up, I'll post again tonight. But the most exciting thing predicted here is the S-N-O-W.