I failed 8th grade math

No kidding. I didn't have to take the math quiz on Debra R's blog to know that. I managed to guess 3 out of 10, but don't have a clue about the other 7 questions and ran screaming from the room. Words & images, dears. Not numbers. Not ever. In real life, I had to be tutored through 8th grade algebra, 9th grade algebra, and 10th grade geometry. Fortunately, that fulfilled my h.s. math requirements. And double thanks that Mount Holyoke College did not require a math course to graduate. I'd still be there. I am serious. Bad enough that you had to pass a swimming test to get a college diploma; I flunked floating and had to take the test again. Enough tales of woe for this evening.

American Beauty

American Beauty is the brand name of this gorgeous item I bought on Friday. Now, you may think that this is a boring subject, but when I notice how much time is spent on the QuiltArt list talking about the virtues of various brands of irons, it seems to be very important to a lot of people. When all the best brands are mentioned, this one is noticeably absent.On a whim, I stopped at an estate sale looking expressly for an old non-steam iron to use for discharge and ironing wax. There it was, in the kitchen pantry, winking up at me. Well, not quite -- it was pretty grubby and so was everything else in this ramshackle house whose ceilings were falling down. Someone will buy it for $800,000 and put half again as much into the place and they will have a fabulous abode. Apparently, two old women who were sisters, lived here forever and never did anything to the house, which was built aroud the turn of the last century. Here is a little history of American Beauty Electric Irons, just in case you are interested. This factory is now abandoned. The American Electrical Heater Company of Detroit, Michigan was established in 1894 and manufactured household and commercial irons, as well as soldering irons, until going out of business in the early 1990s. This company manufactured a variety of electric irons over the years but their American Beauty line was an American favorite! Its emblazoned name became the inspiration for German film maker Dieter Marcello's award winning film American Beauty. You turn the dial on top from off to maximum heat (or anyplace in between) and watch the needle below it go all the way up to linen. Let me tell you, this iron is hotter at the minimum setting than my current irons are at the hottest! And because it is not only HOT but heavy (it weighs 4.5 lbs) it takes the wrinkles out without steam. The downside is, of course, that not only does it not shut off by itself, you had better unplug it every time you are finished using it because it takes about an hour to cool down. Look at this gorgeous lucite handle! Apparently their translucent amber and ruby Lucite handle irons were so beautifully designed that they were once featured in an exhibit titled Masterpieces of American Design held at the Baltimore Museum of Art. This one was manufactured in 1947. Now that I know how special it is, I can't bear to use this little beauty with discharge paste: I may use it instead to iron my hand-embroidered linen tablecloths.

good news

I was happy to get notification in this morning's e-mail that two of my pieces have been accepted into SPUN: Small Art Quilts -- and to my surprise, one of my pieces is on the postcard. What fun! List of participants and exhibit info if you follow the link. If you're within driving distance of Katonah, NY, please take a ride and come to the opening on Sat, April 29 from 5-7 pm. Back to the sewing machine...

pot luck

Last night I buried the pot in which I steam my fabrics. I suppose that it wouldn't have rusted right through the bottom if I had emptied the water every time I finished using it. But then again, it was a cheap stockpot - what can you expect from the supermarket for $8.99? It doesn't owe me anything, but this meant going out to buy another one. It still means that because I came home empty-handed this morning. First stop, K-Mart. They had a lovely Martha Stewart graniteware pot with a steamer thingie included, but it was only 7 qt. Too small. The Shop-Rite, where I had bought the original one, was out of them. But I did get some pretty good looking strawberries, 2 for $5. And two packages of Cafe Bustelo for $1.99 each, which I bought because the supermarket was out of the Melita French Roast beans they normally carry. "WHAT," you may ask, "is THAT THING?" Well, it is actually TWO things: part of my haul from Amazing Savings, my third stop: a sort of imitation Dollar Store, where alll the prices all seem to end in .99, mostly preceded by another digit. These are ART SUPPLIES, of course. 6 foil pans for gelatin plate printing (19 cents each - an exception to the rule since they couldn't make them .99 each. They could have made them .09, though).

2 pairs of scissors (I am always running out of scissors for some reason) for $1.99

1 calculator (cheaper to buy a new one than to find a battery) for .99

2 (count 'em) 12-1/2" square FISKARS plexi rulers with BIG numbers. A size & shape I rarely use, but how could I leave them there for .99 each??

1 package of six magnetic clips for .99, one of which is attached to the .99 thingie that calls itself a whipit whisk. The thingie is for - you guessed it -- printing. It's metal, so it can go into the wax. And the magnetic clips, o clever moi, are for lifting things OUT of the wax without burning my little fingers. I hope. Maybe.

My final stop was at the garden center, which did not have urea. But hey, you can't have everything. And I may have to convert my 40-year old aluminum spaghetti pot into a steamer for fabric and treat myself to a new spaghetti pot. We'll see.

lists

Debra had a thing about lists on her blog and somewhere, mentioned listing 10 things you'd do if you won the lottery. Not sure I can think of ten, but if we are being shamelessly self-indulgent here, let me see...not in any particular order... 1) redo the kitchen (considering how little I cook, this might sound rather silly, but - hey) 2) buy a real espresso machine and have an endless supply of Italian beans delivered to my door every week. 3) buy an apartment in Manhattan 4) buy an apartment in Paris 5) buy ART 6) fly first class, always 7) buy a big old factory building and renovate it for dirt cheap artists' studios and a gorgeous visual arts center 8) donate money to a variety of arts organizations 9) donate money to build a stem cell research center 10) pay off all existing mortgages in the family What would YOU do? Here's another list for you: 10 things you could do without. Here are 5 of mine... 1) standing in line at the post office 2) standing in line at the supermarket 3) waiting outside the shower for the water to get hot enough 4) the question "how are you today?" from a salesperson 5) the phrase "have a nice day."

blah blah blah

This picture doesn't really convey the color accurately, but it does show the additional layers I achieved this afternoon on the original fabric (see earlier post). So has it been saved? Not yet, but it's getting there. The colors are still too cool for my taste: I am a warm color person and am on an especially warm color binge this week. After I worked with the above salvage project, I went to work with my new tjap on a piece of light blue fabric I had dyed the other day. I can see that the Bali batikers have nothing to fear from me. I really like this tjap, though, and will have to see what else I can do with it. This will show you what I mean about being on a warm color binge. Here is what is on my wall tonight. I already have a name for whatever this will become. Watch this space. Goodness, it is already midnight. How did that happen? Beauty sleep awaits.

the blahs

I just sent Gerrie Congdon a note telling her I'd be getting her package of fabrics from Handloom Batik out to her a couple of days late because I am fighting some sort of blah-producing bug which had me fall into bed at 4 yesterday afternoon and not get up till 9 this morning. Feeling better this afternoon (eating won ton soup and bagels - what a combination) and hoping to be more energetic after dinner. BUT HARK!! I am suddenly feeling miraculously better!! Two packages have just been delivered as I write this, and have perked me up considerably! Tjaps! Perhaps they can work some magic on this candidate for the "Can this Fabric Be Saved?" program. The problem with this fabric is that the first layer is paint. I think it was a demo piece of muslin for Printing with Found Objects. (bubble wrap, radiator grid, etc). Afterwards, I threw it into some leftover dyes. (pinkish color) You probably know that paint is a resist and the dyes will not change the paint. So -- I need to experiment with this piece to see if I can improve it or if It should be added to the dropcloth pile. Stay tuned while I brew a cup of tea and go downstairs to see what happens.

opening day

Today was the opening reception of Beyond the Stitch II, the fiber show at the Ocean County Arts Guild (NJ) that Joanie SanChirico curated, organized, and hung. Rachel Cochran and I drove down the shore to the opening, admired the art, and enjoyed talking to several of the artists about their work. Joanie has posted the exhibit, and her pictures are so great that I did not even bother taking any...except this one of Rachel and Joanie, who hadn't seen each other since at least last summer, maybe even longer.

All of the work is finally up on the Beyond the Stitch website, so if you can't get there in person, go take a look. There were some interesting pieces - one in particular, Rachel and I discussed buying together and having joint custody - 6 months at my house, 6 months at hers. Harry Bowers is the artist and his work is always innovative and absolutely delightful. Fiber artist Nisha Drinkard had work in the show, as did Deb Schwartzman, so you can see the variety from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Joanie has done a fantastic job of curating over the years, and one of her best is the most recent mini show , aka Miniature International Textile Invitational that will be exhibited at the Quilt Guild of Dallas show, March 17-19. These works are all for sale and there is already a waiting list for many of the works if they are not grabbed up in Dallas. The people at the Dallas show get first choice, so the rest of us have to wait in line till the show is over. I've already reserved the piece I want if it is not sold - and Joanie's keeping a list - so if you see anything you love, I would suggest you e-mail Joanie and let her know, now.

The weather is bearable, though still not warm. But I was encouraged to see this when I got home and pulled into my driveway. The last blob of snow in my front yard, and the first stirrings of green. Hope springs eternal. Tomorrow, play day - although not at the museum. I have soda ash'd and dyed some fabric so I have a base to work on. Now I have to go and iron it all.

my day at the quilt show

So here is Usha. I got to the show about 11 this morning. I was only going to stay for an hour, but ended up staying for 3 hours. Big surprise,huh? My first stop was Handloom Batik, where I hung out far too long.Usha was helping a customer, but posed when I clicked the camera. Her booth was so crowded that I hardly was able to get a picture, and didn't get a shot of the yummy fabrics spread out like a technicolor dreamcoat on the table under her hands. We were soooo happy to see each other. On the table behind her, she had a bunch of wood stamps and all kinds of new goodies she hasn't had before. I did get one shot of one shelf of fabric, but it doesn't really do justice to what is packed into the booth, which isn't that big. Liza Lucy came by and bought some fabulous Indian embellishments. Last time I saw here was on the exhibit floor in Houston when we were both too harried to say more than "hello." I went shopping for Gerrie Congdon but didn't buy anything for myself, although I must admit I was sorely tempted. But by the time I finished making all those decisions for Gerrie, I was too tired to think. If I change my mind, Usha is vending at Brownstone Quilters show in Northern NJ on March 17-19. The really great news (Karoda, are you listening??) is that Handloom Batik will be vending in Paducah during the show. I forget where she will be, but I'll let you know. Between Helene Davis' Hand Dyes and Handloom Batik's batiks - LOL - you won't need any other fabric but your own. Speaking of Karoda (ha - now I know what the ro stands for, but I'm not telling) - what do you think I saw in a spot right near the entrance to the exhibit hall? This beauty...

My photo doesn't really do it justice and my camera was acting up today - I think the battery is tired. But here is a detail of the beading. Delicious. I ended up looking at the art quilts, all of which were in special exhibits but were, IMO, marred by the pipe part of pipe and drape. The smaller the quilt, the bigger the distortion. Ick. And I Ioitered around, going up and down the aisles looking for the lovely and talented Mary Manahan who finally found me at Usha's booth. I didn't want to leave till I saw Mary, so I gave her a hug and went home.

Usha told me that people who see my spontaneous strip quilt (the one with the black around it) in her booth, ask if she sells a kit for that. A KIT?

There were 60 other things in my head but I was up till 3:am last night doing batik with found objects. Haven't got anything to show you yet with the tjap but Monday is play day at Judy Langille's house, so I might use it then. We'll see.

gifts in the mail

This gorgeous tjap, about 6"x6" which I purchased on ebay for a huge bargain price, arrived today. It was so inexpensive that I consider it a gift. I was unexpectedly taken with its beauty -- it is so unlike me: traditionally pretty rather than the quirky, more abstract pieces I usually prefer. I just love it - and just need to find the time to use it. I have to get busy to catch up with Cathy, who has been busy printing beautiful fabric, too. Speaking of fabric, I will be putting my art cloth up on my website and some of it will be available for purchase. (No, Mary, not THAT one.) So, tonight I have to measure and see how much I have of what. Yes, it snowed today. Not a huge amount, but sleety and sloppy, so I did not go to the Mancuso show. Tomorrow. Marty closed the office and came home by lunchtime to work on our taxes. I was happy that I had done my own work at the computer this morning because it was somewhat inconvenient this afternoon to print remotely from my laptop. Not only that, i couldn't be downstairs working with dyes because it is in the same space as the computer and I can't work while Marty is swearing at the computer.

what I love

A day in the studio (or in today's case, the studio office) when I can accomplish something that has been on my to-do list for about a year. Mostly done! It's been cold and I haven't even gone out for the mail in 2 days. My resident weather-geek came into my studio to report that it is supposed to snow tomorrow either at 1:pm or at 4.Great. I was planning on going to see my friend Usha of Handloom Batik, who is vending at the NJ Mancuso show. If I could only guarantee it wouldn't snow till 4:00 I would go. But who knows? If you don't know Usha and her fabrics, you must visit her when she comes to a show near you. She vends at Lancaster (across the street with the renegades), at Fort Washington, at the Vermont Quilt Festival, and other places. Her family prints these batiks in India and they are divine. Her booth was always crowded, but the trad quilters didn't quite know what to do with such exotic fabrics. So, I offered to make a quilt for her booth if she gave me fabric. I loved it so much that I kept it and made her another similar one. Her sales SOARED as soon as she hung the quilt, and I was delighted that I had been able to help. Last year, I decided she needed another piece for her booth, so she gave me fabric and I made this one. Totally different feel - and I enjoyed making it because I just sewed random strips, cut' em up, and pieced them any old way. I still have a lot of fabric left over and keep meaning to make another one - but never quite get to it. It's a great way to work and it makes a good workshop for people who want to just sew without having to plan everything out. Those leftover strips have made their way into many of my pieces in the last year.

You get the idea. They combine beautifully with my own fabric scraps but I have a whole bin full, so I will probably be using them for the rest of my life. Well, if it snows tomorrow I will just go see her on Friday. And I'll bring some of the batiks I've printed to show her.