Wednesday - not wordless

But I do have a few pictures.  I had a lovely surprise today when Del sent me a phoo of her and her friend Mary, both wearing Rayna scarves.  How nice!  Del always looks so elegant - and wears hats so well!  Thanks, Del - it's nice to see the scarves actually being worn.

While the sun was out today, I was in for most of the day except for banks, bagel store, and CVS. Tomorrow, I MUST go take a bunch of stuff to the studio and bring back artwork for a show that my art group has next month at a NJ gallery.

Cleaning up this sewing room is an endless chore because we have to get new carpeting and have it painted (in the wrong order, of course).  Gary the Carpet Man thought I should put office carpeting down on the floor in here but as you know, I am barefoot at all times indoors and that stuff is just not comfy on my tootsies.  So, nice gray carpeting.  The basement gets the office carpeting.

Anyway, cleaning out has its benefits.  I found a trove (I won't say treasure because these are butt ugly) of 1940's to early 50's Propeller blocks: 25 or 26 of them.  Why on earth would I have bought these?

At any rate, since I am teaching Reinventing the UFO in March, I thought I would make a class sample or two to show the class that all things are possible. So that was my evening's activity.  It is actually pretty addictive but I stopped after one because I really need to go to bed.  Here is the original block.  The photo makes it look yellower than it really is -believe me, it is ug.

 Here it is after the first round of slice/dice/add.

 and here it is after I'm done with it.  I have two more of these identical blocks, so I will have to think about where I can use them. 

  Just to see them side-by-side is a good before/after reminder.  For me, it's a permutation of therapy sewing.  No thinking, just doing - and it turns out how it turns out. Isn't it nice not to have to take responsibility? It can't be worse than it started and if it isn't great, it is still better than the original.

Maybe I'll put it into Emma's quilt so she will have a really vintage block.  But not tonight.

ugh yecch ick

If this sounds like a complaint, it is.  Not enough that we had freezing rain and ice this morning; we have it coming tomorrow morning, too.  In fact, it is still raining.  I cleaned 6" of ice off my car today in the rain and came in with frozen hair.

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy. A chance of freezing rain and rain in the morning...then a slight chance of rain in the afternoon. Highs around 40. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 30%. 

Spent the rest of the a.m. with bills and paperwork and didn't even go to the mailbox, which is in a cluster a few houses up the street. No thanks.  It would have been a perfect day to stay in bed and sleep all day; I wish I could have.

One more deer-in-the-headlights photo I forgot to post from last night at dusk: just look at those eyes! This is the one who just stood and stared at me, daring me to come closer.

On another topic: when I am working, I document every stage and permutation as I go along, with photos.  Well, maybe not every one but those worth considering.  While I was cleaning out my photo files (which continues a little bit every day) I came across some in-process pix from 2009.

 In the end, I took them all down and I'm not sure how many of those fabrics I still have.  At any rate, I dug out the two I had started with (I happened to have them in my sewing room at home, amazingly) and put them up on the wall. I'm not sure I want to add anything.

I'm not sure whether it is done - but I am done.

à demain,

Horoscope on target again!

You may be feeling jittery, yet increasing your physical activity doesn't seem to do anything to settle your nerves. Unfortunately, you won't be able to work off your excess energy. 

(Not that I was planning on exercising today, anyway but it's good to know it would have been a waste of time).

Instead, you may be better off by pursuing self-expression through creative endeavors now. Rather than trying to prove yourself by being productive, focus on something that brings you pleasure. You can always pick up your work tomorrow where you left off today.

Strangely enough, I have been doing mostly nothing and I am working on Emma's quilt which brings me pleasure.  Besides, the carpet installers are here and my sister-in-law Irene is coming over this afternoon. I was not planning on doing any work-work today, in any case.

Later...   
This was actually yesterday.  I was making dinner and the bambis were out in force. This is the first time we've seen them since that Christmas blizzard.  This guy in the first picture just stood there and had a staring contest with me. He was not the least bit rattled by my camera.  There were a whole bunch of them.  One behind him and one behind the tree in this shot.

                                         They were faster than my camera lens.

                                        The one on the right looks almost wolf-like.  I guess they finally got hungry enough to come out and forage. Not much on those bushes, which they dine on all year 'round.

There was lots of commotion here today but now the stairs are carpeted in lovely gray instead of disgusting white with gray shmutz.  Next week, I hope, the basement.  My sewing room is another story. Where am I going to put all this stuff::::????

Last night my computer told me the startup drive was full, so I started deleting some of the thousands of photos in iPhoto.  Along the way, I found this picture, which I must have taken  last year in Fla. Obviously a carpet in some public space. Very cool; I wonder whether it is an original design for this particular carpet...  One does become cynical.

Tomorrow, back to working on my article and a bunch of other business details. Snow & ice in the forecast again so crit group was rescheduled. It looks like this will be our winter - nonstop!

untitled post

Spent a delightful couple of hours this morning hearing Jack Walsh talk about his quilts and showing slides of some I hadn't seen before.  He also brought a couple of pieces with him, including one of Pauline Burbidge's that I would happily have grabbed and run out with.

Jack is such a delight - his lectures are always funny and full of anecdotes and charming - and always different.  I have heard him speak so many times about his collection, but I never get tired of hearing him.
So that was a good way to start the day.  I was home before 1:00 and got organized for dinner, which was a reply of the awesome mussels I made last week.  Our friends made it tonight because there was no snow. Yay. it was lovely and relaxed; there's nothing like good friends, good food, good drinks!

I couldn't tell you how I found this blog tonight but here is a post you simply must read. Funny and pathetically sad at the same time.

As you know, I have been cleaning up my sewing room. Sporadically.  The other day, I was playing with fabric combinations as I went through the stuff and was sorting.  Couldn't resist seeing what worked with what before I put it away.

 

Need beauty sleep for my trek to Brooklyn tomorrow morning. VBG.

'nite.

winter wonderland

Yet again.  Coming down nicely out there tonight; didn't start till maybe an hour ago. redux redux redux. 3rd bliz since day after Xmas. I hear the plows outside my window - it is due to snow all day tomorrow and they are forecasting a foot.  Only a foot?? Doesn't sound right to me.

Bad night -went to bed at 2 and woke up at 4 - finally came downstairs at 5:30 a.m. Ridiculous. 
Made soup this morning and meatballs tonight - enuff for tomorrow night's dinner. Comfort food.  The  Meatball recipe came out of my Cucina Ebraica - one of my Italian Jewish cookbooks.(they are not mutually exclusive).  Ground beef, mint, nutmeg-garlic -basil, tomato sauce, lemon peel: a really lovely flavor. Fortunately, I have a pot of fresh mint I am nurturing in my front window.

So here's what happens when you clean up: you find things.  I now have 4 or 5 seam rippers safely in a coffee can on my ironing table.  Where they will go next, nobody knows.  In any case, either I am losing my mind or evil aliens are coming in at night and stealing things I KNOW I had.  Which is the more likely scenario?

See this fabric?  I don't buy commercial fabric but I saw it when I was teaching at Shiisa Quilts in Bloomington, IN last year and had to have it.  It just spoke to me.  Now I know why.

 I found this tonight when I was sorting through a bin of hand-printed stuff.  Gelatin printed with rubber bands, done well before I spotted that fabric above. No wonder it looked as though it belonged here! How weird is that?

I have spent much time on the phone since yesterday with the people at AMazon - no wonder I am so tired.  Marty's Kindle was misbehaving, so they sent another one overnight mail.  I have to send the not-working one back.  It is already a replacement for the original.  What else is new? In any case, at least it came quickly.  More than I can say for Jessica Kleiman & Meryl Weinsaft Cooper's book, which I pre ordered.  Too tired for the long story but it didn't arrive and the whole rest of the world - STRANGERS -- received their copies.  But the mother of the author?   Anyway, fter I carried on with Amazon they sent me out another one, gratis. Then the original one I ordered arrived. So now I can give one as a gift. I'm so proud of my kid!

 So now, to bed.  Maybe I can get more than two hours of sleep tonight.  I am perfectly happy to be snowed in tomorrow.  I made a bagel run this morning so Marty will have something to eat for breakfast.

no blogging tonight

I have spent the entire day cleaning up my sewing room and while I am still not finished, I'm getting there. Of course, now that it is - ahem - organized - I have started to do some therapy sewing so I can get rid of the boxes and boxes and boxes of scraps and strips and smidgens and bits.  And maybe when I am all done with these random things there will be enough for a joyful quilt for my girl. Or more.

We shall see what tomorrow brings with the snow: plenty of time for sewing? THAT would be nice.

Great News!!

Stampington's gorgeous publication, Art Quilting Studio, which ceased publication after the Spring 2010 issue, is coming back!!  The first new issue will be out in June 2011 and it will be published twice a year with big, fat, beautiful issues.

Two of my favorite artist-bloggers were featured in their premiere issue in 2009: Jude Hill  and Patricia Gaignat.

I was in the last issue and felt personally responsible when I heard they were closing the magazine.  But Amanda Crabtree, Senior Managing Editor, assures me it was not my fault. LOL.
If you have any questions or suggestions about what you'd like to see in the magazine, Amanda will be happy to hear from you. Here is her e-mail address.

At 8:am tomorrow (as it starts to snow) the plumber and the carpet guy will arrive.  'nite.
 

studio time

I went to the studio today and I hope I left my camera there because I can't find it.  I dont remember taking it out of my bag; can't think what I was going to take a picture of.  But oh well, I'll look tomorrow.

Because I have to  empty this room at home to get new carpeting and then have it painted, I have to get all my STUFF out of here and into the studio.  So I decided today while I was there to reorganize. I spent most of my time putting labels on the tops of dye jars and paint jars, moving the dyes to one shelf, and sorting fabric. I even through out some nearly empty paint jars that were gunky. Big step! Now the place is a worse mess than it was when I walked in, but it always gets worse before it gets better.

Last night I sewed -therapy sewing -- trust me, it works -- just making random blocks and throwing them into a plastic box.  We'll see what develops.

Tonight, I made an example for a class I'm going to teach: Cinderella Quilts: Reinventing the UFO.
I have to send it to the guild so they can show it to their members and they'll get the point of the class.  Of course, this is not a sample that anybody can possible copy - but it is just an example (I should use that word instead of sample) of what can be done.  I'm still on this ugly block kick and am having fun with it.
Here's what I did tonight.

I will admit it's a big nerve-wracking to play around and at the same time worry about whether other people (aka prospective students) will like what I did with something.  But I'm pretty happy with this transformation.  Tomorrow, it goes in the mail.  I love teaching this class!

Uh, this is yesterday's horrorscope which was still valid when I started to post this entry.

Slow down and take life as it comes today, or you could take on more than you can handle. You could also miss a chance to win somebody over. So concentrate on what is happening in the here and now, instead of trying to conquer new horizons. You will have ample opportunity, and sooner than you think, to spread your wings. Meanwhile, what you need may well lie close at hand.

Boy - did I slow down! Here's how it came today: Got up and turned on the shower to discover there was no hot water. Sure enough, the 8  year old water heater (guaranteed for 6 years)was leaking like mad all over the basement floor.  Why does this never happen in the warm weather? We replaced the original water heater in 2002 --  (they built the place in 1989 - so water heaters lasted longer then: shocker!) and I remember the plumber saying, as he pointed to the new tank,  " Here's your new fur coat."

Well, its replacement arrived today.

Of course, several things had to be brought up to code.  And then there was the water filter faucet that has been leaking since last week: a new one is on its way and I imagine that the plumber's bill for installing it will be worth at least a pair of mink-lined boots.

 What did I do to offend the water gods??  

By now- which is already today -- I have given up on writing more.  I thought that once we had hot water the rest of the day would be fascinating enough to write about.  Wrong again.  I did paperwork all afternoon and tonight I really did sew!  Therapy sewing - just doing, not thinking. And then I finished the book I was reading. And now I am going to bed and look forward to a HOT shower tomorrow morning.

miso soup

 In case you missed this when I posted it last year, this is easy and delicious and perfect winter food. I am going to make some right now.  There are lots of recipes out there, but I like this one.

Miso soup ingredients

• 2 teaspoons dashi granules
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons miso paste
• 1 (8 ounce) package silken tofu, diced
• 2 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine dashi granules and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and whisk in the miso paste. Stir in tofu. Separate the layers of the green onions, and add them to the soup. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.

2011

As I began this post, it was eleven minutes into the new year.  For the past two years I remember that I was happy to see them gone and just knew things would be better in the new year ahead. I will not make that prediction for 2011 -- although there are some good things on the horizon.

I have work in 5 exhibits between now and April, 2011- and happily, nobody wanted the same pieces as anybody else.  Form not Function at the Carnegie Center opens on Friday, Jan 7 and I wish I could be there. It is the only entry deadline I made last year and my piece, Broken Dreams will be in the show.

The other four are curated and/or invitationals and all are listed in my sidebar. There is one more in the works that I can't list yet.

More good things coming:

Jessica's book, Be Your Own Best Publicist, is being released January 20. 

This is a perfect gift for job-hunters (I have pre-ordered one for the daughter of a friend of mine), anybody who is in his/her own business, or anybody who wants to be promoted or get a raise.

Miss Miracle Baby will be one year old on February 18.

I will be in Paducah from March 6-13 and will probably teach a class or two while I am there.

At this moment, the plan is for Monoprinting with a Gelatin Plate and Layering with Thermofax Screens.
Both classes are terrific for artists who work on paper as well as those who work on fabric.   Let me know if you want details.

The mountains of snow are starting to melt, although you wouldn't know it from this photo I took yesterday with my iPhone.  Fuzzy but you get the idea.  This man is almost six feet tall.

It is New Year's Day. The sun is out, my sewing room is relatively neat, and I am off to the kitchen to treat myself to an omelette and a good pot of coffee.  Happy New Year to all of you - my wishes for a healthy, happy, productive year ahead.