San Diego - Day 3 PM

Fooled you, didn't I!  You thought you'd finished with Day 3 yesterday, but I was being kind.  In the afternoon of that day, we went to Balboa Park so we could visit both the rose garden and the cactus garden - and things in between, too.  Lots and lots of photos, but I will try not to overload your senses!

The rose garden first. It had been cool in San Diego so the roses weren't as far along as we hoped.  Also because it was breezy, the fragrance of the blossoms eluded us.  But here are my three favorites.

Such a beautiful dusty pink that opened to a very unusual color.

A glorious yellow that reminds me of the sun.  

Finally, a red with just a few streaks of white.

Now three from the koi pond.

This is a photo I really like: colors, shapes, textures.  They all came together in this one.

My koi photos surprised me a lot.  When I took the pictures of these fish in somewhat murky water, I expected little to nothing.  But a quick click on a Picasa button, and the water cleared to magically reveal these fish.

The colors of these fish are remarkable, and I can't wait to use them in a painting.  Wonder if  I'll have to "murk" up the water I paint?

The cactus garden was my favorite of the areas in Balboa Park we visited that day.  The sculptural quality of cactus plants is always amazing and sometimes even bizarre.

This cactus looks like wired ribbon with fuzzy buttons on the edges to me.  It's quite tall, and as you can probably tell, impressive against the blue, blue sky.

When I said "bizarre" this plant's flower illustrates what I mean.  But I have to admit that I not sure if it's technically a cactus.  It's an agave which I think is its own family, but I didn't check that out.  Sorry.

Its flower looks so soft and fluffy, doesn't it?  I behaved myself and didn't touch it so I can't tell you if it is or not.

Cactus adrift in a sea of flowers.

These little guys look like pouting hedgehogs to me.  But they're not that little and they're quite spiney so I will behave when around them!  The yellow blossoms were just beginning to open when we were there.

We can't forget the trees!

The eucalyptus trees have a very distinctive profile and bark.  Great for sketches!

Lovely ornamental tree against that California blue sky!

A very unique shape on this tree, and I should know what it is, but I can't remember it.  Can you make out the red blooms?  Like a magnolia, this tree appears to flower before the leaves appear.

And here's the blossom.

Back to the cactus garden for a moment to view my favorite photo - the seed head of a plant silhouetted against some gray agave leaves.

San Diego - Day 3

On our third full day in southern California, the sun came out and lit up the sky (and our spirits!).  this becomes obvious as you view the best photographs I took that day.  You will also see some of the reasons we are so enthusiastic about this part of our country.  Do other places have sun, sea, and sky?  Yes, but to my mind no place with which I am familiar has as a topography as gorgeous, plant life as beautiful, or wildlife as interesting.  However, and here is the caveat I have to keep in mind whenever I start speaking in superlatives about anything;  my experience is limited.  

Knowing that, and knowing that my readers have very different experiences and different tastes, I will show you some photographs that explain why, in my estimation, southern California rates so highly.

The third day all four of us walked up to the Torrey Pines Preserve where, even though the air wasn't crystal clear, the sunshine on the plants, ocean, and rocks, made for a memorable time together.  

If you look at the first two pictures, you will realize they were taken from almost the same spot.  I find the second one a more interesting picture because of the yucca plant spiky against the yellow flowers in the foreground, the bushy mounds in the mid-ground, the dark hill and then the ocean in the distance.

In this one, the distant hill is now in the middle distance, and the waves draw one's attention.

But again, this one is better and is on my "to paint, maybe" list. 

You know I don't usually do this, but here are my companions from that day.  E, my very dear sister-in-law, BD my middle brother and good friend, and D, my love.

Can't resist a bird who's willing to sit for a portrait!

The flowering plants give us all such a lift at this time of year!

This cactus may not be flowering, but it certainly has it's own beauty.  And don't you just love that little white flower snuggling up to its more formidable neighbor?

Painters viewed from above as they work en plein air looking toward the north

And isn't this a lovely plant to end the day with!

Even though each one of my readers has her or his own special "most beautiful, special place on earth" perhaps each one can see why I respond so positively to this one.

San Diego - Day 2

Day two in San Diego saw all of us walking on the beach.  It was when what is called "Maritime Mist" (do I have this right, E?) had yet to burn off.  Surprisingly enough, I found the almost monochromatic and one value photographs very seductive.  It's surprising because I tend to paint and quilt with strong, bright colors.  Anyway, let me show you the pictures that call to me.

Having said what I did about the monochromatic, value static pictures, the first two you see are two that underwent some considerable saturation enhancement at my hands.  I forgot about changing them back to their original grayer look.  They were enhanced so I could actually see (for painting purposes) both the clouds and the rock surfaces.

The sky in this photo is really lovely, and the colors and texture of the cliff surface is highly visible and would be a pleasure to work on.  The fact that directly ahead of E and me are BD and D is super as well as the spots of color in the clothing of the others on the beach.  Even if I chose to render this in a more subdued palette this one would be fun.

While I don't think (at this point) that I would paint this pelican, I couldn't resist sharing this photo with you.  See what I mean about the colors and values?  But there is texture in those wonderful waves.  Makes a fun photo though.

And this fisherman absolutely has to be in a painting someday - that plaid shirt, those shadows, and the waves (note the ones far out?) . . . oh my.

Here he is again.  For a painting, I would probably combine these two pictures.  I love the way the fisherman is standing and how he is looking out to sea (probably really looking up at the top of his pole, but I'd alter the angle of his head if need be) in the first photo.  In the second one, I'd probably omit the second pole on the right as an unnecessary distraction from the distant cliff.  

You didn't get to see pretty, pretty pictures today, but I hope reading about how I think about the pictures I take was interesting.  You know I will show you some lovely views from San Diego later in the week.

San Diego 1

It has been a month since I wrote last; that's a first for me and not something about which I am very proud.  We traveled three out of the four weeks of March, but I made no attempt to get caught up on those few days we were home.  Well, I am back and have lots and lots of photos to share (several of which are being kept in my "Paint Worthy" folder as possible future subjects.  Others are in reference folders for times when I need to check exactly what a bobcat or a great horned owl or a tree with Spanish moss looks like.

Our photo tour will begin with San Diego where we stayed with brother D and his wife E.  Actually we were in Del Mar just across a few roads - but within sight of - both the ocean and Torrey Pines Preserve.  (I recommend that you click on the first photograph and scroll through all of them to get a better look at these pictures).

Almost every day, husband D and I joined brother D (hence forth referred to as BD) on his daily walk.  That was a pleasure as BD is both very knowledgeable about this area and its flora and fauna and a lot of fun to be with.

The first day we walked on the beach for a bit.  These are two photographs of the waves and the local pigeons. The composition of first one pleases me.  It's a bit stark, but the action of the waves, the spit of land with gulls in a social group, the inlet where the ocean water flows into a marshy area, and the simple palette all appeal to me.  Paint worthy?  Probably not, but I like it anyway.

Here is a close up of those gulls above; it's a reference photo.  I hope to paint an ocean-side scene, and if I want seagulls, well, here they are.

You may notice in the days that follow that I was enamored of anything green that was in bloom.  No wonder given what the weather was like where we live!  This is not only a photo of the yucca in bloom, but it is also a view from Torrey Pines (only about half-way up the road) looking back towards the beach and the hillside where BD and E were staying.  

I should apologize for this photo as it isn't much to look at, but there is a reason I took it.  This is an example of a Torrey pine and is a decent reference photo.  You can see how the wind (which is a nearly constant force where these trees live) has shaped the tree.  You'll be seeing more of them in subsequent photos.  Unfortunately, like many other trees, these are in trouble.  There is a serious problem with the bark beetle that is causing serious damage to trees that are weakened by the changing climate.  I may not have this exactly correct, but if you are interested, I suggest you check this site:

 http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-08/local/me-294_1_torrey-pine 

for a more accurate description of what is occurring.

"Should we go left or right?"

 The caption on this picture of BD and D says it all.

This is an opuntia, aka, prickly pear, which is getting ready to bloom.  Later in the San Diego series, you will see one with open blossoms.  

Here is a hummingbird perching on a palm frond.

Blue sky, sea, and sand.  What more could north-easterners want in March?

Oh, right, maybe a shrub in bloom.

Progress on an Art Quilt

Today I spent a lot of time working on the art quilt that I'm making for the upstairs bathroom.  I know that putting a quilt in a bathroom may sound strange, but the upstairs bathrooms were updated and are now very, very white.  That was deliberate because I wanted to be able to change colors whenever the mood strikes.  Paintings won't be happy in such an environment, but quilts rotated from time to time should be okay (which gives me an excuse to make several quilts for each bathroom!).

The last time I put a photo of this quilt in the blog I had just re-done the checkerboard road.  Did I mention at that time that no matter how hard I tried that road kept on showing up smack dab in the middle of the quilt?  I think it's trying to tell me something.  Today I pinned (and re-pinned, and re-pinned over and over) the trees that are another part of the background.  They aren't sewed down yet so you'll be able to see little yellow dots all over the place.  Those dots are the heads of the pins. Here's how it looks now:

As I look at it now in the photos, there are a few things I wonder about.  My original intention was to have the trees growing from the highest "hill" down to one of the lower levels.  Today I seem to have forgotten that completely, but it only looks way.  The "birch" trees will be pulled down and some other lighter colored trees and saplings will be there too.  Guess I should do that before I sew any trees down.  This, with only some of the pieces in place, isn't as helpful as I had hoped

This photo is different only in that I cropped the left-hand side to see if I could "move" the checkerboard road that way.  Don't know that it works very well.  Does it still seem to be in the middle or is that because the lower right-hand side ends abruptly?  I do know that the trees closest to the road aren't happy.  Originally there was only one, but it was too big so I cut it in half.  The severely straight side on each tree is awful.  Well, that's easily fixed.

Tomorrow I meet with the art quilt group, and I'll see what they have to say.

Knitting News

Today's news flash about the lace scarf:  The following will not surprise most of you.  Every time I have undertaken a lace pattern, I have had to tear it out three times before I was able to knit the entire item.  And I had a cat who liked to sit by me and play with my knitting needles - or at least that cat was with us during one or two lace projects.  NOT that I am blaming the cat; I can mess up very thoroughly all by myself, but he was more fun to watch than the knitting chart!

Today I tore out the knitting on the current lace pattern for the second time.

Overwhelmed with the Number of Unfinished Projects? Take Heart . . .

Today I had a wonderful time learning how to knit 8 very, very short rows of lace.  The lace will be the edging of a lovely spidery looking neck scarf. Knowing how things go with me, tonight I decided to knit another 8 rows to cement the new knowledge and create muscle memory. The first row went very well so I merrily started another, and as so often happens to all crafters, I made a mistake.  I thought I had corrected it so I knit on.  By the fourth row, I knew I had not corrected anything; instead I had simply made it worse and far more obvious.

I stared at it for while; there was no "gift" except the experience in knitting and the experience I will gain by re-knitting everything.  Ah well,so things go.  Tomorrow is a new day, albeit a busy one, and I will start this project again.

Which brings up another point.  How many projects do I now have "in progress"?  I don't even know.  At least I can count the number of knitting projects I've started (I will include the one I tore out completely today) - a grand total of 2 sweaters, one pair of mittens, and a lace scarf.

The number of quilts I have started that I do plan to finish?  I have no idea.  Suffice it to say, a lot.

Then there are the paintings.  Those are probably quantifiable, but I'm not sure of the number.  Let's just say 7 more or less.

And you know what?  It doesn't bother me.  Oh maybe a little when I look around and feel momentarily overwhelmed, but it doesn't last.  This is one of those things with which I have an made an uneasy truce.  My explanation is that creativity isn't static; it keeps moving, searching, growing.  We are all constantly enticed by new ideas, new ways to do things, a new technique to master, a new craft to be mastered, a new representation of the pictures in our minds, and so much more.

It's the way it is, it's the way I am.

Using the "Gift" (aka What happened after the Mistake)

Yesterday I wrote about the mistake I made with the black batik, water, and the iron (aka the "checkerboard color bleed issue") . Then I realized that there was a good side to what could have (at least seemed like) disaster, and I made a new checkerboard.

Today I am a happy camper.  I accepted my mistake, realized it had a positive side, accepted that challenge, and moved ahead with my art quilt.  Is that a sign of maturity (I know; it's about time!)?  I am not the one who can answer that.  But I do know that it led to today's fun.

Here is a picture of the completed background:

Looks odd, doesn't it, and maybe even not very attractive?  Keep in mind, it's the background which in a finished work is rarely noticed.  And here is the new checkerboard.  

Even without the context, I imagine you can tell why the original checkerboard with the one-inch squares wouldn't work.

Now if I could be sure to find more time to work on this . . . 

Quilting Mistake Can Be a Gift

It almost seemed as though the making of a Japanese scroll just wore me out.  Actually, it's not far from the truth.  D finally managed to share one of his colds with me, and I went down for the count.  Yesterday I started feeling better so I decided to go back to working on my current art quilt project.

The first thing I needed to do was set the background so I went about getting those background pieces together.  One of those pieces was a checkerboard made of one-inch squares.  As I was pressing it, I forgot one of the basic tenets of working with batiks - especially dark ones.  Beware of water.  Yup, I spritzed that checkerboard, applied heat, and watched the dye spread from the charcoal batik square into the white square.  Showing it to D I said I thought I could cover the resulting ugly brownish stain with something or . . . He stopped me and said, "You'll do it over."

He was right.  Today, I decided that the ugly brown stain was a gift.  I hadn't been thrilled with that checkerboard though I still loved the idea.  Something had to be changed.  Today I spent all my time remaking that checkerboard.  It was the scale that didn't work for me so I changed the size.  Now that checkerboard is made up of half-inch squares.

It took all day because, as I discovered, that's no easy task.  Those tiny little pieces just skitter all over the place!  Okay, that's an exaggeration because one doesn't sew separate squares; one sews strips and prays that one is seeing the quarter-inch seam allowance accurately.  The new checkerboard is finished, and although not perfect, it is much better.

My next sewing day on this project will see me sewing the background to the batting and backing.  Then the fun of adding the details will begin!  So what started as a mistake turned out to be a gift.  

Making a Japanese Scroll

Now this was an extraordinary experience.  I had an inkling that making a scroll would be far more complex than one would think because I saw some bonsai friends working on making scrolls during a bonsai show a few years ago.  But it's one of those things - until one tries for oneself, one has no idea how many steps it takes to construct this kind thing.  Below is an example of one; the dark brown with the rods at top and bottom is an example of what we worked on today.  The light colored paper with a wonderful illustration was not a part of today's work.

Don't worry; I don't plan to try to explain it all.  Since I was involved in the project, I don't even have a thorough set of photographs to share, but I'll try to write down enough to give you a glimmer of what it was like.

All the pieces (the silk and all the layers of paper of which there were many)  had been cut for us, all the different glues had been prepared, the rods were cut and others were stained, the cords purchased, and odd or usual tools were ready for us.  Our teachers are good friends who had been through this themselves.

After marking and gluing the seam allowances on the sides, making the holes for the elastic cord that holds the piece of art, inserting the cord, more gluing, adding pieces to the seams, tops, and bottoms, another layer of paper on the back, we were ready to move on to the most unusual steps of all.

We took our glue-soaked scrolls to stick on a board and allow to dry face down!  Then to hasten the drying time, we used four hair dryers.

That wound up creating a possibly terminal problem.  The board was too rough and the glued scroll was almost permanently attached to it.  A razor blade and some steady hands managed to unstick the scrolls.  You can see the paper still adhered to the board below.

Eventually, after adding the rods, the eyelets on the top rod, the decorative cording to hide the eyelets, and the cording with which to hang the scroll, all was finished.  Below is one of the scrolls made today with a lovely piece of art.

And here is the group, each one with his or her scroll with or without art work included. Our talented and very patient teachers at at the head of the table; it wouldn't have been possible without them!

Mardi Gras King Cake

Like many people I receive promotional emails, and like many people I usually opt out.  However, every so often, I succumb as I did with King Arthur Flour. Being a decent cook is not the same as being a trained chef, but I am the former especially when it comes to baking.  So when I opened the email that featured Mardi Gras King Cake, well, I fell.  Hard.

It may be too late for Mardi Gras, but yesterday I made King Cake which is really a sweet bread with a cream cheese filling like cheese danishes.  It includes eggs, melted butter, and flavoring (fiori di sicilia which is my recommendation or regular vanilla flavoring).  The filling is cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and flavoring (the same as before).  The dough is made, spread into a shape suitable for the filling, and made into a ring.  Here is what mine looked like after baking:

As you can see, the filling did not stay neatly put inside the bread.  Fortunately, not all of it escaped, and the way it did kept the filling with the bread instead of all over the baking sheet.   When I make this again, I think I will make an egg white wash to brush on before pinching the sides of the dough and be more careful not to open any of those pinches when joining the two ends.

Today the loaf was cool and the glaze/frosting and colored sugars could be applied. and so I did.  I really need some more practice!

Here's a few more hints-from-experience.  The recipe for the "frosting" is two to four times more than is necessary.  Next time, I'll cut it in half  and drizzle rather than frost.  Made with all the topping, the bread is overwhelmingly sweet.  It also doesn't need as much decorator's sugar as I used, but that was because I didn't have a good way to sprinkle in the narrow lines I wanted (and as shown in the picture).

All that being said, it was fun to make and even more fun to eat!

Now I just need to find 10 people to help finish it . . .

Wednesday Studio

Usually I have my studio class on Tuesday, but this week I opted to have breakfast with K and ME followed by an afternoon of laughter and stitching.  It was a great time, and being with friends was important.

Fortunately, Sharon now has class on Wednesday for a group of newer students and is able to offer it as a make-up if anyone in the Tuesday group has to miss and vice-versa.  Today I wanted to start a new piece, but I also wanted some advice on still other pending works.  How many of them will actually be painted, I don't know, but they are all whispering to me.  

What I actually worked on is another that D likes from our England trip:

My plan right now, at any rate, is to do this in black and white except for the call box.  Basically it will start out as an ink drawing.  Having said that, what I did today is a pencil drawing.

You will notice there are some elements missing.  That's deliberate.  I was playing with the composition.  In the photo, the building behind the call box and the parking lot don't add a lot of interest.   After talking with Sharon and receiving more help than I should have needed, I am now making very sketchy plans that play more with the composition and less with the details.

I have to get over thinking everything I do has to be this thorough and pay more attention to basics.

And this is really in the town of Painswick!

Another Voice on an Artist's Fears

Isn't it interesting how things, like ideas, seem to cluster independently among people?  Think about periods of truly great writing and thinking.  Take, for example, the New England Transcendentalists and their intellectual offspring: Alcott, Thoreau, and Emerson, Mary Baker Eddy, and Margaret Fuller.  All those great minds active in reaction originally to Unitarianism in about the same time and place form a "cluster" that I find truly amazing, and this is only one example.

The reason I bring this up is that this weekend I finally got around to reading the February/March 2015 issue of Quilting Arts.  Indeed, it was what I was doing last night (before SNL, of course) when I should have been writing an entry.  The article that caught my attention is "Unbound Thoughts on Making" by Jane Dunnewold on page 22.  It's only four pages long and very well worth the reading for anyone who practices any craft or art.  Why?

If you read my entry on February 4, 2015, "Art Quilt Challenge", you know I had been dealing with my reluctance? inability? to get down to work.  Through writing about it, I realized that fear is my greatest obstacle, and that is exactly what Jane Dunnewold wrote about - both the obstacles we put between ourselves and our art (whatever that might be) and how to overcome them.  

Did I agree with everything she said?  No, but when one doesn't agree with something, one is closer to identifying one's own beliefs.  First, she encourages us all to identify and understand our obstacles.  Second, she tells to accept that we are deserving of our time in the studio and to make it a regular part of our schedule (hmmm, I try to get into my studio every day and am usually successful - just don't ask if I've given myself a minimum time there!).  Third, she encourages us to contemplate the "rules" that govern our chosen art as well as our own and to get rid of those that aren't helpful (she calls this getting "rebellious").  Finally, she tells us to write!!! and one of the reasons for writing is because we don't remember all of our ideas (who me? forget???  HA).  There are other equally important reasons such as my belief that we should "write to learn".  

The author did have more to say on all these points, and I highly recommend you get a hold of the magazine and read it!

Inch by Inch

Busy day after a fashion.  I managed to get something cut out, worked on the house plaque, and took out the canyon quilt and fabrics.  Again.  This time, I checked the fabric colors I have stashed away rather carefully.  I think I have everything I need though once I get started there's bound to be something additional - or seem like there's something additional needed.  Then I turned my attention back to the drawing.  I will need to add some details but that can easily be done.  Now that I've checked everything 47 times, I guess I'll have to actually get to work on it. 

Then I decided to draw the quilt for the upstairs bathroom - another one of those things making noise in my head.  It will need more work but the lady driving the bathtub and the gentleman helping out by pushing the tub are started.  There will be some birds, deer, and maybe a monkey or two.  Now all I have to do is figure out where to put the umbrella.  

Tomorrow is another day.  

Special Mittens

This may not have been the best of ideas, but these mittens and their name lured me into the knitting trap.  First, the name "Thrummed* Mittens".  That word seemed familiar, and it tickled the bag of my brain until I remembered.  I had purchased a second-hand book by J.M. Barrie (remember?  Peter Pan? Crock of Gold?) that I didn't get around to reading, and I think I may have put it in the library sale box.  Anyway, the name of the book was Window on Thrums.  Having been a student of 19th century English Lit, I know many and have a vague knowledge of more British vocabulary.  I thought the word "thrum" had something to do with weaving, looked it up, and found I was partially right.

Below is a picture of the start of my mittens.  Notice that every few rows, there is a stitch that is larger and sort of blobby looking?  That's the thrummed stitch.  Not too intriguing?

Look at the second picture.

Those are the thrums.  So who want to have a mitten full of soft pieces of wool?  People who want to have warm hands while outdoors in the winter; that's who.  When I looked at them in the shop, I thought how cold my hands get when we walk, when I take the compostery or garbage out, or when I start driving on cold winter mornings.  I've managed to make do with gloves covered with my sister-in-law's wonderful wool mittens, but . . .  

No reason to make my own.  These mittens are unique, and a challenge so I'm making them.  It's slow going; I wish I knew how to knit with the "Magic Loop", but I don't.  

There's another class I need to take!

*thrum²

noun

1.one of the ends of the warp threads in a loom, left unwoven andremaining attached to the loom when the web is cut off.

2.thrums, the row or fringe of such threads.

3.any short piece of waste thread or yarn; tuft, tassel, or fringe ofthreads, as at the edge of a piece of cloth.

4.Often, thrums. Nautical. short bits of rope yarn used for making mats.

verb (used with object), thrummed, thrumming.

5.Nautical. to insert short pieces of rope yarn through (canvas) and thusgive it a rough surface, as for wrapping about a part to prevent chafing.

6.to furnish or cover with thrums, ends of thread, or tufts.

Bump in the Road

Despite the snow, class was on for the day, and I spent my time in the humbling exercise Chinese brush painting.  It could take years to do well and years to become so-so and even years to do poorly.  Do you get the feeling it's difficult?  That's not even a sixteenth of it.  But the up side of class was having Sharon agree with my assessment that the most recent watercolor is finished.  I signed "Painswick Rococo" and took it to the framer after class.  

Many errands later I was back home where I finished the quilt I thought would be finished a few days ago.  That should have left me open to begin the first of the "Canyon Suite", but D asked me when I would start on a project he asked me to do quite a few months ago.  He was right.  I had forgotten.  And since I had promised to do it, I took out my acrylic paints and started to work on another representation of our home.  I had painted one years and years ago, and it hung in our kitchen ever since then.  D wanted me to do a new one with the new outline of the house as it is now to add to the empty spot in the kitchen.  "Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to work I went . . . ."

Maybe tomorrow for the next quilt.  Today the idea for the second quilt occurred to me so now all three are there in my head complete with their names.  I do know that important things will intrude, and I will be sidetracked from time to time, but I have a plan.  Keep all three in sight (i.e., in my minds eye), and they'll have to be made real.

Sherlock Holmes

More progress today; quilt binding on now only the sleeve to be completed by hand.  A bit of organizing and tidying in the studio (have decided that doing a little each day I am in there will get more done in the long run than saying I'll do it all in one day and not doing it at all) and laundry done - neither as exciting as sewing or painting but necessary.  

Also, I came to a decision about the canyon quilt.  It won't do for the quilt I now have in mind, but since I still really like the original design I am going to make it.  But . . . it is going to be the first of a series of canyon quilts!  Now that that decision has been made I am really excited about getting it started.  The first and the third are clear; it's the second that is the mystery and the biggest experiment.

Tomorrow is a painting day, and I have decided to take my painting things so I can do whatever Sharon thinks is necessary for the Painswick painting.  However, I am also going to take my supplies for Chinese brush painting.  That's what I hope to spend the bulk of my time on - practicing and practicing with the brushes - the way to hold them and the strokes that are made . . .

Then I will come home, tidy, finish the sleeve, and start the first canyon quilt!  

I feel like Sherlock Holmes, "The game's afoot, Watson, the game's afoot!"

List Lost? Forge Ahead

Writing a list really helps me get things done. Except when I lose the list!  

Ah well, here's a new list, but this one is of progress made on sundry fronts:

• quilt that was nearly finished now has binding sewn on
• it needs to have binding ends attached, binding turned to other side, and sewn
• art quilt - the Canyon one - drawing has been unearthed, bin of fabrics taken down:
• decisions have to be made if the original drawing will do or if another one needs to be made to fit with the "new" vision I have of it
• knitting: mittens are progressing but it's too attention consuming to carry and work on while out in public
• new "top down" cardigan has been started to fulfill that need
• black cardigan has been worn (I'm wearing it now), and I like the buttons a lot!

• hand sewing: I found the missing "ring" so I now have all five again.
• spent time sewing  - I'd like to have all blocks made by March, but that may not be possible with all my other activities
• painting:  I "finished" the painting I started last Tuesday (quotation marks because Sharon may find some tweaks that need to be made - let's hope they're tweaks only!).  Here's the photo I used:

Painswick, England May 2014

and the painting:

At one point I was disgusted with the painting and was ready to throw in the towel.  I felt I had been too tentative, done too much "dabbing" and that it looked nothing like the photo.  Then I thought "what the heck!"  It needs to be tossed so if I slapdash at it, what does it matter?  And I thought, this is my painting so it doesn't have to be identical to my photograph.  I kept on going, I had fun, and I like what I did.  So there, Noel!

And that's about it.

Decisions Made, I Think

Okay, so I procrastinate because I'm afraid.  So what do I do with that information?  Get on with it, woman!

Today I finished quilting (badly) a quilt that I am making (for those who follow FaceBook it's the one Sue Pritt took a picture of me holding).  Tomorrow I will machine stitch the binding, and that quilt will be finished.  

And then?  Then I will take out the southwest quilt I designed the second year after I retired.  Do I have other more recent quilt designs to work on?  Yes, but this one is really calling, crying out to me and has been for a while now.  It started out as a very simple landscape that has over the past year become something far more. My last quilt, the hexagonal one, is responsible for some of that, and my brain for the rest of it.  

While I work on this new quilt, I will continue to paint and knit.  I will live my life as usual except with a bit more focus.  I've always done better when I have a list of things to do each day, and I may begin this project the same way.  It helps me juggle activities, keeps my "eye on the prize", and makes me happy each time I cross something off.

Now I know about that fear, I will face it and deal with it as well as I can.

Art Quilt Challenge

Today a friend asked me to join a challenge posted on FaceBook for the members of an Art Quilt Group.  The challenge is to post three photographs of one's quilts each day for a week.  I accepted the challenge even though I cannot complete it, and my inability to complete it is because I don't have enough "art" quilts for 7 days . . . not even enough for 3 days!

So why did I accept a challenge I cannot fulfill?  

I thought it would help me figure out why I have so few.  So the following will be my usual thinking-while-writing, my not quite stream of consciousness approach to problem solving.  If I can stay out of my way, I might have some answers at the end of this entry.

First, in no particular order, some things I know about myself and quilting:

• I am not a fast worker
• ideas may come immediately upon inspiration 
• ideas may come slowly
• the time between idea and completion of a quilt can be weeks or years
• I work well with a specific date - deadlines
• I know each quilt will require a lot of thought and hours of work
• I question my ability to put my ideas into fabric - can I sew well enough?
• I question whether my idea is worth the time and effort - and money! involved
• One idea I have delayed a very long time over because the pattern requires real experience and facility in stitching and because the fabric is so special
• I am good at excuses; there are always other, easier projects that "need" to be done
• I am afraid

Some other things that have an impact:

• my painting takes a good deal of my free time
• my painting is subject to some of the same issues listed above
• family, friends, and home deserve my attention
• daily chores demand time
• I am good at excuses; there are always other, "necessary" things to be done

Doing something like this certainly isn't easy, and it certainly isn't always pleasant.  However, two things worked their way to prominence during this exercise that have an aura of truth.  

First, I make excuses.  Second, and harder to admit, I am afraid.  Now that I know perhaps I can begin to deal.

Snow Day

Today was painting day.  By leaving home early and driving slowly and cautiously, I managed to get safely to class.  Quite early.  Hm mm.  

Half of the class was spent in a brief introduction to the art of Chinese painting in which I have an interest and now have the materials with which to attempt it.  The other half of class was spent in laying down the initial washes on the English landscape.

I haven't taken any pictures.

After painting, I ran quite a few errands of both my own and D's.  Due to the snowstorm, there were more errands than usual - or at least there seemed to be more.

No pictures were taken.

Home again, home again to make soup, bake cookies, knit mittens, cut out material, craft a quilt, fold and put away laundry.  I did knit a bit, make a few preparations for soup, and watch a lot of "taped" Public Television programs.  

The camera remained on its tripod in a corner.

Perhaps getting up at five a.m. had something to do with it.  Perhaps the frigid weather froze me into a state of inertia. 

Perhaps, but I don't think so.  I think I just took the day off. I took a . . . 

SNOW DAY!

Quiet, Snowy Day

What a snowy day!  D went out to get our newspaper before breakfast, but of course, it wasn't there.  Why we thought it would be at that hour, I don't know.  Anyway, D realized in that short walk that not only could we not get to the Post Office, we would probably not leave the house all day (except to shovel the snow).  

Knowing that, I decided that I would put the Vermont Quilt Festival entry in our mailbox.  I was amazed at how early our mailman came!  Who knows whether it will be there early enough for my quilt to be accepted, but as I said yesterday, my life and/or happiness does not hinge on that.  I did what I could, and if it isn't selected, there will be other quilt shows.

As we expected, we weren't able to get out so we had a quiet day and were able to get some things done that had been hanging fire for a while.  We weren't the only ones who stayed in.  As far as I know none of our neighbors went anywhere either, or if they did, they were gone long before we woke up and came back after it was dark.  Snowplows both town and private were the only vehicles we saw.

What a day!

Vermont Quilt Festival Entry Forms

This snowstorm, if it materializes and I suspect it will, poses a problem for all those within its radius.  Tomorrow, February 2, 2015, is the first day quilters can submit their entry forms for the Vermont Quilt Festival.  That show is a non-juried show and entries are selected by the date stamped by the Post Office on the envelopes contained their entry forms.  It's a first come, first serve basis.

I plan to enter this year and had discussed the time I wanted to be up and out to the Post Office with D.  Now I don't know if I'll be able to get there safely tomorrow at all.  It isn't worth risking life and limb - or at least it isn't to me.  I will be disappointed if my work isn't selected due to an act of nature, but far worse things could befall me.

To my friends who also plan to enter, I wish you good luck and, as Wordsworth said, " . . . years that bring the philosophic mind."  If our quilts aren't accepted, so be it.  There will be more quilts and more years, and I would rather have the pleasure of your company than lose you to a road accident.

Be safe and warm and happy!