I'm backK

From down the rabbit hole of travel/teaching and 9 days, 24/7 with Miss Emma.  Three year olds are not for the faint of heart or for old people -- at least, not for more than a few days. - LOL.  I have finally recovered.  Here, a snippet from one of the more endearing conversations.  

And then, the (all-too-rare) nap.

She refused to sleep under anything but my rescued/repaired 1930's feedsack quilt.

During this past recovery week I have been getting my work ready for my exhibit in North Carolina, opening next Sunday, May 5.  Uh - I still have one piece to finish, which I hope to get done today. 
Driving down on Thursday, hanging the show on Saturday.  If you're in driving distance of Chapel HIll, here is the info.

In Retrospect...

Solo Exhibit by Rayna Gillman

5 - June 23, 2013

Community Church of Chapel Hill Unitarian Universalist

106 Purefoy Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina  27514

Phone No. 919-942-2050 

 Free-Form Quilt Class

When I go back in June to take down the show, I'm teaching a two-day class in Washington, NC before I hit Chapel HIll.  If you didn't get a newsletter e-update

here's the info: $115 for the two days and space is limited to 20 people.  Registration opens on Saturday, May 4 and you should contact  Katherine McNeese to register.

Back to cleaning up and finishing this final quilt!

The joys of travel

It ' s not that I didn't love every minute in Atlanta and Athens; I had a wonderful time and two terrific classes. I met my cousin, made new friends, and enjoyed southern hospitality. I should have been home by now. But I am still sitting in the Atlanta airport.

I have been here since 8:am for a 10:00 flight that was, along with two earlier and two subsequent flights CANCELLED due to weather. Weather? Uh huh. The usual suspect. I managed to get the last seat on the last flight out of Atlanta to EWR--at 5:39(supposedly) tonight.

With that, hot-footed it over to the United club lounge, where I am spending the day with a hundred other souls who are In the same boat. Well, maybe not 100--but multitudinous (is there such a word?) numerous. Many. Lots.tons. The bartender is having a good day.

Happily, the amenities here include free snacks: liquid and otherwise.

And I have a big fat detective book by Elizabeth George to keep me occupied. I am on standby for a slightly earlier flight but at this point it does not matter.

I have to say that the United agent at this club is such a sweetheart that it is almost enough to make me switch from hating United to merely disliking them:-/.
More after the commercial.

New friends, new family

Here I am with my cousin Reba from Atlanta. We hit it off right away and seem to have a lot in common, although we still haven't figured out where the connection began. We think it was in our great-great grandparents' generation, but have not been able to prove it yet. Meantime, we are enjoying ourselves. Here we are at the barbecue place for lunch.

Over the weekend, fun class: strips and squares:infinite design variations. I was so happy to see Judy Carpenter. We met years ago when I taught at John C. Campbell and she took my surface design class. Here she is with a pile of slice/diced/sewn together units the first day.

And here is what she was creating and took home to finish by the end of day two! It will be a quilt for her granddaughter. Judy was so excited! Http://judyinthe dyes.blogspot.com

Gretchen had never made a quilt in her life and was delighted to discover she could make one without worrying about matching seams. Here is hers.

Today I am in Athens,eating branch outdoors and it is lovely. This afternoon I start another class and tonight, lecture at the guild meeting. Stay tuned.

junk food

Not something I eat a lot of but yesterday's activities drove me to it.  I went to the studio to put in a day of printing the last 8 or 10 scarves I need for my college reunion next month.  Had not been there in a couple of months because of traveling and LIFE and when I got there, I realized I had brought a bunch of scarves home to dye and had left them there. Duh. 

So...I gathered up my screens, made some print paste in the studio blender, grabbed some dyes, a portable print thingie made of pink insulation foam, and headed home.  Long story short --set the print board on the island, got two done and a third started before I quit for the day.  Fortunately, I had carted home an old wooden drying rack from my mother's apartment some months ago (why??).  Here's what  my formerly pristine kitchen looked like yesterday.

It is just as well I have everything at home because the day after I return from Georgia I have to go to Brooklyn, take Tommy to the airport, and bring Miss Emma home with me for a week.  She can amuse herself safely at home doing collage while I print. 

So, off to the airport shortly where I will see my friend Judy Carpenter (yay!), meet my distant cousin Reba (our ancestors were related, we think), and have a fun time teaching. 

Will catch up with you soon.

yawn...

Did much of my packing and then this afternoon into this evening, stitched the 3rd in my Totem series.  Not finished yet, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Tomorrow I wrap up the odds and ends of packing and do a few things for myself before I leave home.  If I can get my iPad to cooperate, I will blog from the Sunny South (at least I hope it's sunny!).

When I get home, I will have Emma here for "girls' week with Nanny" while her parents take a much-needed vacation.  After that, guess who will need one?

                

                                                             

surfaces

This is the state of my sewing room.  The blue suitcase has still not been unpacked from when I got home 10 or 12 days ago.  It is full of fabrics I have to unload and then decide whether I will repack it or try and squeeze the fabrics and my clothing into one large bag. The red thing in front is my carry-on bag, probably partly empty. What a mess!

This is the state of my dining table.  I cleaned it off after last Monday's seder and hen had to load it up again with quilts to be sorted, tagged, and labeled for my exhbit in North Carolina.  It doesn't look organized, but I know exactly what is in each pile and what needs to be done. Some of these will go to Georgia with me on Friday for my program in Athens.

Lest you think I am a complete disaster, I will show you that there is one surface in this house which is so clear of STUFF that my weekend visitors nearly fainted when they walked into the kitchen.

 

 So there you have it.  True, it hasn't looked like this since 2008 -- but one out of three ain't bad.

Cheers!

R.