Research & Pretzels

Spent the morning in the gorgeous Library of Congress again today. I'm working on three biographical essays for Harvard U. as part of the African American National Biography Project. It will be published by Oxford University Press and I'm pretty excited about it. Mine are on artist Varnette Honeywood, photographer (and wife of the late Arthur Ashe) Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and Diana Fletcher, a Black/Native American woman who lived among the Kiowa in the 1800s.

Spent the evening at a Nationals baseball game with my husband. I had a lot of fun. Had my pretzel and a Guinness. Yum. Cheered for home runs. I had a really great day.

Good Fortune

Every day has been a giddy happy countdown lately. Why?

I am going overseas for 3 weeks next month. My boss has approved a leave of absence for me to do this and I'm grateful for that. Madrid & Salamanca, London & Paris! My husband and two of our friends are going to see the sights and live out dreams. Ever since I was little and saw it on TV I've wanted to people watch at a cafe in Paris. I get to visit some of the best museums in the world between the Prado, British Museum, and of course, the Louvre. The Eiffel Tower! Paella! Big Ben! Pubs! History, culture and getting a chance to use my Spanish & French with a Southern accent. I love to travel. Man, oh man!!

We're actually going to participate in a English language immersion program for Spanish execs called Englishtown. We figured since we were already over there, we might as well see more of the continent. I can't wait!

Origins of Ol' Singer

Why is my machine named "Ol' Singer"?

Because just like the dog, she's always this close to being put down!

No really, I love O.S.. My grandmother bought her for me to take to FIT in NYC (during my quick stint there) so that I could do my homework. She's a solid, steady 10-year old workhorse of a machine that I keep all prettied up with stickers & pictures & stuff. No frills, no fancy perks to her at all. Recently, one of the more big-time quilters in my guild asked me if I could do a musical note or something else like that on my quilt w/my machine. I almost fell out of my chair I was laughing so hard. O.S. has exactly 2 stitches. Count 'em: Two! Straight and zigzag. That's it, that's all. Everything's such an experimental crapshoot with her to the point I keep a long piece of sandwiched fabric with notations just so that I know how to set the dials, LOL!

It's not stopping me though. I bought her a free-motion foot and I haven't looked back. Hey, maybe someday I'll get myself an "OOO!"-factor machine, but as long as O.S. keeps churning out cool stuff, I'm happy.

I Dunno...

Thanks so much for the compliments on the jazz quilt.

Many of you asked me about my techniques--esp. the dyed background--and I can only say: "I dunno." LOL. Really. I measured where her head would be on the background and used that as the center point for the folding since I knew I wanted the color to radiate from around her. I picked it up by that point and cross folded just the section around her head and fanfolded the entire thing. I had no clue whatsoever as to what the heck I was doing. Got ahold of some Dye Na Flow, mixed the colors up in some squirt and spray bottles, crossed my fingers and got lucky! Now that I know what I'm really getting into, next time I'll spring for Procion MX.

As for the figure etc.? Straightforward. I blew up the photo and traced it onto freezer paper for the shapes. Then I used my coffee table "lightbox" to trace the pic onto fusible-backed fabric. Cut it out and voila!

I treated it like I would my paper-based artwork--quilt like I'm sketching, cut out shapes the way I'd paint and hope it works. Glad you like it.

Jazz Quilt--DONE!!

I don't understand rules that preclude you from showing your quilt on your own website if you're entering them into shows and I'm hoping that posting this one won't affect it for the future, but here's "My Fabulous Cousin Jo Sings Jazz".

Children & Fools

You know the saying about how God loves children and fools, because I sure did run around like a raving lunatic today. If only you knew what I went through to get those slides off for Jazz Quilt. You'd be surprised at the lack of quick slide turnarounds anymore.

1. Bought a cheapo 35mm film camera which promptly auto-rewound my slide film @ 3am.
2. Ran to the pro-photo shop in the morning to buy 2 more (in case the camera got hungry again)
3. Took photos of quilt to give slides to hubby to run to a Georgetown photo lab
4. Clutch cable on car broke on hubby en route to me @ work downtown
   
5. Hubby's best friend is in vicinity of my office and takes slides to G'town for me instead
   
6. I go to company picnic
7. Hubby, after car in to auto shop, picks me up and we pick up slides
8. We go to FedEx. Bye bye slides!

Whew! What a load off!

Japanese Tie-Dyeing (Shibori)

Sometimes I like to throw in a little something for our dye folks on the list. I can't say I'm not a bit fascinated myself.

I think that shibori is such an interesting technique. I never knew it was so time consuming, but the outcome is always so beautiful. There are Japanese pieces that took months just to tie! You can find out more about the history of shibori tie-dyeing at the Arimatsu-Narumi Museum of Tie-Dyeing in Japan. This site has a nice overview of the different styles. Very cool site.

Still stitching and embellishing away on the jazz quilt...

Shows and Standards

OK...I understand the whole thing about volunteers, non-profit, file formats, etc., but why why why do most shows & exhibits still insist on slides?

The turnaround time and expense for digital-to-slide is still a pain when you need them done last minute. I haven't owned a 35mm in 4 years and everyone I know either uses digital like I do or those inexpensive disposable types, so I don't know anyone with a 35mm with zoom.

It's almost hilarious really, but being the procrastinator that I am, I have a quilt to shoot and get slides FedExed to IL by August 1st. That's right--August 1st and it's the 26 of July. Yeah, I know. Procrastination's a bad thing. A very bad thing...but darn it, when you're pressed for time, trying to hunt down a dang 35mm with zoom is even worse!

No Lightning Bolt and a Happy Ending!

My day seemed suck-y: went to the dentist and had some work done (ow), locked my keys in the ignition of my car and had to wait 3 hours for them to pop it (boo), and the postcard thing (ow).

Then I got a great email from Virginia that totally made up for the rest of the day. When she actually received the postcard, she found it to be way prettier than the scanned pic of it. (Oops. Lesson learned about the power of your pictures). Turns out there was a patron who had wanted to participate and had missed it. She thought it was beautiful too and bought it. Yay! Happy ending for all and I'm glad I was able to contribute after all.

This is the first time I have ever sold anything quilt-related and I'm so glad that it was for such a good cause!

Lightning Bolt's a Comin'

I don't know whether to be embarrassed or what...

I submitted "Los Girasoles" into the Fiber Art for a Cause ACS fundraiser and it was posted Friday. Yay in that regard as I was glad to be a part of it, but as of yesterday, it was still unsold although everyone else's around mine sold. Today one of my family members told me they couldn't find it on the site at all and they were right--it wasn't there anymore. I contacted Virginia and it turns out that she did take it down when refreshing the page with new pieces. Now my piece is going to be returned to me. She said my work was beautiful, but I am so very sad about this. It's just a postcard right?

I feel a little wrong for even saying anything about this.

Where's that lightning bolt, because I need to get out of its way.

Fun Fun Fun

I've been experimenting with Dye Na Flow. "Experimenting" meaning "I have no idea what I'm doing." Thought I might do something bold and bright for the background of Jazz Quilt. That center spot is where her head will be. I tried to make it so that the colors would go around her. I wanted nice purples and blues and green and this is what I came up with. My husband walked into the room where it's hanging and said, "Ohmigod, it's beautiful!" Hubbies are so cool. It kind of reminds me of the hand-dyed dress I brought back from Senegal. Next time I'll try not to have so much white in it. Oops. Live and learn.

Dyeing With Laughter

Well, my attempts at coloring fabric were interesting--to say the least. I fanfolded one, scrunched up another and baggie-immersed another one. I was working with smaller pieces to get a feel for it. I have found that I make a mess. A big mess along the scale of home-dyeing my hair big. I got really acquainted with Clorox Clean-Up last night and I gave myself a green thumb.

Literally.

If anything, I now know that turquoise-y color isn't right for the quilt and I'll go a deeper green and deep blues and purples.

Somebody Say Fabric Paint???

Now that I have all that QA mess out of my system (relax relate release), I can focus again, LOL.

I have some Dye-Na-Flow and it's about to get realllllllly interesting down here in the basement. Consider it a starter introductory first-time thing. Next time I'll upgrade my dyestuff.

I'll let you know how it goes as I've never applied paint or dye to fabric in my life (not counting the pastels).

Have colors, will go for it...Wish me luck!

To Blog or Not to Blog

There are reasons you shouldn't be in a craft supply store when you have time to kill...I ended up walking out of it with fabric paints, brushes, and this cool fabric kind of yarn. I rationalized it all as necessary for the jazz quilt.

The QuiltArt listserv recently had a big huge long debate about blogging and how it'll change the list blahblahblah. QA is an email listserv discussion. Blogs are personal/working journals. There is a difference. I'm not posting the minutiae of my life on a listserv, but I might just tell you about my day in my blog. The first point of contention was about how the list would be clogged with "see my blog"s. What do you think happens when so many people respond? Geesh. Scan the topics and hit delete already. QA can be so caustic that sometimes you don't want to actually post anything anyway. If it wasn't for the nuggets of real info like contests, etc., I wouldn't be subscribing.

The second point was about blogging's relevance. I figure it like this. You don't have to read or check them out if you don't want to. Free will's a wonderful thing. Personally, I enjoy checkng out other folk's blogs and links. I've found out about many other wonderful fiber artists and techniques and wow--I can actually see their work and thought processes. I know blogs help me keep track of mine.

The last one is the one that really gets me. The whole "I don't have time to blog because I'm so busy doing my work." That's B.S. and cry me a river. I work full-time, have a published book and another coming out in '06, I'm doing a writing project for Harvard U, webmaster, blog, and I still quilt--just check out my blog to see the proof. It's called scheduling and time management. I'm rolling my eyes right now. As if blogging takes an hour to do!

You all know I almost never rant in my postings. I'm usually pretty darn perky on here. They just really got under my skin.

Jazz Quilt Underway!

I'm a woman on a mission...

After missing out on the European Patchwork exhibit with Tish Groove, I am determined not to miss another deadline. I used the wax pastels to "paint" her and I'm going the Mrs. Mel route and fusing my little heart out with the Jazz Quilt. Here's what it's looking like so far and also a pic of my rigging the coffee table into a makeshift lightbox for making freezer paper templates.

Finally!

I know that a lot of you in the AQ ring are going to relate to this:

After 3--count 'em--three months, I FINALLY got the Artful Quilters logo button to appear in the sidebar! Turns out I accidentally deleted a part of the code when I dropped it into my template.

I just had to share that, lol.

Fiberart for a Cause Postcard: "Los Girasoles"

I thought that I would make postcard pieces to contribute to Virginia Spiegel's Fiber Art for a Cause fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. (See below for current info on the project!)

I have lost persons who were close to me to the disease, yet I also have friends and family who are survivors. They inspire me.

When I was little I grew sunflowers in my grandparents' backyard. My granddad thought it was pretty odd, but helped me maintain them. In a way, it was odd, those sunflowers growing in an urban backyard in that really rough neighborhood. Yet they made me very happy, watching them grow strong and tall.

In a way they just seemed right for this piece...

Fiber Art for a Cause is now an international fundraising effort for the American Cancer Society through the donation and sale of fiber art postcards. It has raised over $33,000 in less than a year! Karey Bresenham, FFAC's honorary chair and Dir. of the Int'l Quilt Festival is donating space again for FFAC to sell postcards at IQF Chicago.

To participate, purchase cards, or contribute, please click on the link above!!

Tish Liberation

Ahhhhh...I can breathe easier. I trimmed that wide border off of "Tish Groove" and I am so much happier with it now. Problem solved. That border's been like an "Uh-Oh of the Month" for me it rankled me so much. I know now that it just didn't fit my original vision of the piece.

Quilt and learn.

Arrrrgh: "Tish Groove"

Have you ever had one of those moments where you look at a piece and you're like, What have I done? Well, I'm having one right now looking at Tish Groove. I'm thinking twice about that really wide border. Maybe it's the photo. Maybe it needs something more. Maybe when I put the binding on it'll all come together. It's just something about it that I'm just not feeling today.

What Kind of Blogger Am I?

Cathy (and Gabrielle) made it so I couldn't resist! I now know what kind of blogger I am:

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What kind of blogger are you?

Books, Beauty, and Binding

I had an opportunity to get some research done at the Library of Congress today. I was in the main reading room of the Jefferson Building--which is the older building--and it is gorgeous. You're scribbling your notes under this beautiful 160-foot high dome with gildwork, mural paintings and statues everywhere. The only thing was the process. Definitely not your local library. You turn in a slip and 45 mins. later (or less) the book is brought to your desk. Voila! Great thing is, there's literally (no pun intended) just about every book you can think of. I finally got a chance to read African American quilt historian and scholar Cuesta Benberry's Always There: The African American Presence in American Quilts. Since it's out of print, it was a real treat.

As for quilts, my copy of my cousin's CD came today and I can see her photograph clearer. I'm ready to start the Jazz Quilt now.

As for "Tish Groove", I have to finish the beading on it and bind it. Oooooooo...

Tish Groove...Hmmm...

OK...This is "Tish Groove" so far. It's almost done. I have to add the binding to it. I have this great African fabric that I'm going to use. Almost...there...Can't quite see the stitches in the wide border in this photo.

Starbirth: Lagoon & Swan Nebulas--Done!

Well, here are two of my "Starbirth" series quiltlets. They're only about 8 x 16-17". I'm really pleased with how Lagoon turned out.

Nebula Clouds postcard

Since I had some of the wax pastel fabric left over, I put together a quick little postcard-sized one and named it "Nebula Clouds".

Fun!

Thoughts...

My thoughts are with the citizens of London. Living in D.C., I know that feeling afterwards when something terrible like this has occurred in your home. My prayers are with the victims and their families.

Too...Many...Threads...

Given that "Tish Groove" is my first time doing any extensive machine quliting on a larger piece, I realized when I was done quilting that I have what looks like 50 million threads on the back now! Dear God. Remember...I've always handquilted so there are fewer thread ends to contend with. I turned to my husband and said, "What the heck am I supposed to do with all of these? Bury them in the batting? It'll take forever." He looked at all the threads and just said, "Wow."

With the "Starbirth" pieces, I'll admit that I clipped and knotted them, then pillowcased it for faced edges and fused the "external" backing fabric over it all. I can't say that I care if I can see the stitches on the back. All I know is that looking at the back of TG I'm prepared to do the same thing all over again!

Yikes...all those threads, LOL!

Grrrrrrrrrrreat!

Between all of the exhibits and Ethiopian food and doing nothing all day today (which was wonderful!), my husband and I went to a surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday for a friend of ours. He was genuinely surprised (his fiancee's ruse being that there was a bug she needed him to get from the room). He was really happy to see us, as he hadn't seen my husband since we all shared a room together in a haunted castle in Ireland (a-HA! Now there's a whole other story to tell!) back in November. That made us instant friends for certain.

As everyone else was leaving, our friends asked us to stay and we ended up talking and laughing for hours and hours and had dinner together. They had recently moved into their very pretty home, which became theirs through sheer serendipity. What a great time we had! It's always nice when you realize you have made friends that you genuinely like and enjoy their company, isn't it?

Had My High Fiber Today!

Today I headed over to the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery to see the "High Fiber" exhibit. It featured fiber art that included tapestries, woven pieces, quilts and more from the museum's collection. I finally got a chance to see a Nancy Crow quilt up close.

My husband reluctantly went (he wanted to do nothing at all today), but I convinced him and a cousin to go after a great lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant in Adams-Morgan--a really lively, multiethnic neighborhood in NW. D.C. has the largest population of Ethiopians outside of Ethiopia itself. My husband and cousin were both genuinely surprised by the pieces that they saw.

This piece is by Carolyn Mazloomi, a noted African-American quilter and founder of the Women of Color Quilters Network. She was the co-curator of the landmark exhibit "Spirits of the Cloth", which was one of the first exhibits featuring contemporary quilts by African American quilters. I hope to be in one of her exhibits one day.

Victorians

Washington, D.C. has a lot of beautiful brick Victorian homes with bay windows, such as these in Capitol Hill. Although the traditional colors for them are red brick, many homeowners like to paint their houses (which drives the historic preservation folks crazy). Many of the houses still have their original cast-iron front stairs (like the house on the right) and wooden doors.

The house in the center belongs to the mother of my husband's best friend. She has recently painted it since this photo so now it is a pale golden-yellow with cream trim. I'll post more for everyone as I see them because with all of the revitalization going on, many of them have been restored now. I think they're gorgeous...

Alison's Exhibit @ the Australian Embassy

Today, on its last day, I had the chance to visit the Australian Embassy here in D.C. to see Alison's exhibit "Ebb and Flow".

Let me just say that the pictures that all of you see on her blog and website do not do her pieces justice! In person, they are truly drop-dead gorgeous. The metallic threads in them shimmer as you pass and the wavy curves within the pieces make you feel as if they are undulating.

My personal favorites were "Ancient Expressions IX", "Bushfire 4", "Grey Landscape" and "Desert Wind". I spent a few minutes just standing there admiring it. Of course the Ebb & Flow series and wow, the wedding quilt.

The gallery space itself was beautiful and they really did do a nice job of hanging the pieces. I was by myself, so I really had a chance to get up close and enjoy the stitches (I loved the large sashiko-like stitches in some of them!) and the colors. I'm really glad that I had the chance to experience it and in such a nice setting too!

Sooooooo Excited!

OK...Although I have lived in Washington, D.C. all of my life I have never been to an embassy for anything before. I mean, we even have a section of town called Embassy Row. Then again, there are plenty of Washingtonians who have never been to the top of the Washington Monument--I know my husband hasn't, lol. It just seems wrong, doesn't it?

Since it's only a block away from my job and I'm getting out early for the holiday, my husband and I will be going over to the Australian Embassy to see fellow AQ member Alison Schwabe's exhibit in their gallery!

I am really looking forward to it!

Stitchin' Away

Well,

I finished both "Starbirth: Lagoon Nebula" & "Starbirth: Swan Nebula" and tossed in a postcard one called "Nebula Clouds" for good measure. I've started working on "Tish Groove" again--adding the wide borders (which my husband called "party lights"), which I used the wax pastels on. I quilted the central figure down and I'm happy with it because God knows I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most careful of stitchers--especially when doing free-motion.

I was originally going to enter it into the European Patchwork show, but the slides are due July 9th. Um, it's June 29. I dunno, y'all. It's not even so much my finishing it as getting the darn digital files into slides and back and off to France in time. Darn! It would've been perfect for the "rhythm & blues" theme. Dang. Whoa...that's a lot of "dang" and "darns" in this, LOL. Next time huh?

Inspirations of the Week:

1. NASA Hubble telescope astronomical photos
2. Victorian rowhomes here in D.C.
3. the beautiful hot weather we're having right now
   

Starbirth: Lagoon Nebula piece--Painted!

Well, in a fit of creativity, I sat on my front stoop "painting" with the wax pastels for #2 of the "Starbirth" series. I'm understanding the medium a little more. It had been a long time since I've sat outside painting--which is always interesting in an urban neighborhood because everyone's passing by looking at you like "What the heck is she doing?"

This one is called "Lagoon Nebula" for the Hubble telescope photo below. Emari, my 5-year old cousin, came outside and sat with me while I painted. "You do art? I didn't know you did art," she said. "I like it!" We had a great discussion about drawing and painting and space and stars and how she was so sleepy in the car that she wouldn't get up and missed out on the fabric store! She giggled and said that her daycare had a party and she had fun dancing and that's why she was tired.

I'm going to stitch this up and post it when it's done. They're only about 13" x 17". I'm having so much fun with this.

Lagoon Nebula space photo

This is the Lagoon Nebula, which is the basis for #2 of my "Starbirth" series. I love the concept that a newborn star could create these massive, twisting space "tornados". I thought this NASA photo was so beautiful with the starlight lighting these whirling clouds of gas.

Hubby's Quilting Quote

My husband loves Slurpees from 7-11. We're getting out of the car and I'm asking him to hurry up and drink down the rest of it. His answer?

"C'mon now! It's like quilting--you just can't rush it!"

Couldn't argue with that, LOL.

Keisha Roberts

I saw a posting on the QuiltArt listserv today and discovered a new fiber artist named Keisha Roberts.

Drawing from her African American heritage, she has created some beautiful pieces. Check out her site and see for yourself!

And Sonji...she has BUNDLES! A fiber artist after your own heart. Look at her piece "A Wish, A Dream, and A Prayer Second."

All I Want to Say...

...Is that I had a wonderful day!

Fabulous weather, work being a breeze, yummy cake, seeing friends and fireflies coming out as I finally arrived home? It's been great.

Simple Things

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I am going to face "Starbirth: Swan Nebula" so there's no binding. I enjoyed this piece with its ease and flowy stitches so much that I'm going to do a "Starbirth" series of them, all based upon different nebulas involving newborn stars. So there will be Carina, Lagoon, and 30 Doradus.

I would prefer to use black batting on "Tish Groove", but darn it, I don't have any. I suppose white will have to do...

Oh! What's up with the Hershey's bar?

A girl's got to have a little chocolate at the end of the day, you know? And I was so happy to find this unexpected surprise in my fridge. Sometimes it's the little things.

Starbirth--Free Motion Experimenting...

Well, here's "Starbirth." I've been having a good time working on this. I'm going to add some clear sparkly beads over the little white spots--which are baby stars in the photo--and embroider their colored points of light around them.

I got a little happy with the free motion stitching. This is the first time I've ever done it all over like this. So much fun! I'm going to put a binding on it--as I stitched through before I could "pillowcase it. Darn. I would've liked the look of no binding. Any suggestions? And, what about hanging sleeves if I pillowcase? How do you attach them then?

Starbirth Wax Pastels fabric

As you can see, the colors aren't as bright as I thought. I wasn't too heavy with the wax pastels. Now I know...

And my answer was...

My cousin Tish (of "Tish Groove" fame--yup, she's real) came over last night. Looking at my newest piece and "Tish Groove", she said, "You are so awesome. Hey, how many quilts are you going to make?!"

My answer, "As many quilts as I have ideas and can possibly physically create."

I know that so many of you can relate to that feeling where the idea and the creation of it finally sync up. You can almost feel it all the way down into your bones because you are seeing it so clearly. It makes me so happy to see it become reality and the response it elicits in others.

For everyone out there making beauty and thought-provokers, "Keep on creating."

Clarification

I realize there may have been a misunderstanding!

The photo is of the nebula itself, not of my piece.

My colors, as I said in my earlier post, are not as brilliant. I will end up doing it again to try to get closer to the photo now that I understand the nature of the wax pastels better.

"Starbirth" Inspiration

I've decided to call the piece "Starbirth" (based upon the above photo of the Swan Nebula). Using the wax pastels worked out pretty well for me. I wasn't certain how much to use, so the colors are more muted than the photo. OK, they're pretty darn pale actually. I did go ahead and treat it kind of like a wholecloth piece to give myself a chance to practice freemotion. I got a little happy with the quilting, but I think the stitches enhanced the colors and the flowy feel of the colored gases more. I'll post the pic when I'm a little more "done."

Shhh!!!

Went to a "secret bee" with some of the ladies from my quilt guild and three other quilters. The host had a gorgeous home with this dream quilt studio in the basement. I had a great time talking, sewing and eating. I actually felt productive. I also had a chance to try out someone's Bernina Aurora 440QE w/the stitch regulator. I was surprised and tickled by how easy it made free motion quilting--with no foot pedal! I went reallllly fast and I went reallllly slow and it made no difference! Amazing! Technology! That's what I'm talkin' about.

Last night I tried that wax pastel technique from Quilting Arts magazine and made a pretty fabric based upon the Swan Nebula--a star nursery. I'll quilt it like wholecloth and call it "Starbirth." Making the fabric was a lot of fun. I felt like I was watercoloring (which is my painting medium) and it was pretty easy to do. I was really happy with the results. I'll post a pic of it soon.

Cute Artsy Chairs!

This pretty little school chair ("Stained Glass Chair") was painted by my 5-year old goddaughter/cousin Starr and her kindergarten classmates for their "Reclaimed Chair Silent Auction." One chair was being bid on for $235 last time we checked the clipboard! If you look closely "Van Gogh Chair" is to the right and has "his" sunflowers on it.

Aren't they great?

Oooo!

Ooooo...got my copy of Quilting Arts and now I know how I want to do the jazz-themed quilt. The possibilities are so clear now! I went to the art store right after work and got some Caran d'Ache Neocolor II water soluble wax pastels. This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!!

1st Try at Free Motion Quilting

OK, I'm a little shaky handed, but that just means practice, practice, practice, right? I was so tickled. I'm a hand quilter, so this is new territory for me. The four squares were given to me during my guild's "Back 2 Basics" Day so I didn't have a choice about the designs, but I liked it. I decided that I was going to take them home and really finish it and practice on it. You can't really see it here, but I did an acorn and leaves on the lower rt. square. I had lots of fun painting the copper leaf on the lower left. It's unfinished (you can still see my marking and there's no binding yet), but this was a lot of fun and Ol' Singer seemed up to it. I can't wait to do more things now!

Crack! BOOOM!

Last night I hung out again with the ladies of the New Moon Gathering--young, female, African-American artists and creative types. We joke that it's our very own support group for those who refuse to think inside the box. We had a great time talking, singing, reciting poetry, sharing artwork, eating healthy good-for-you vegan dishes (I'm not vegan, but it was so good.) It's so inspiring to be surrounded by 6 other artistic, creative sistafriends like that. You can't help but to be inspired by them and hope you do the same in turn. I showed them the top for "Tish Groove" and they thought it was great.

Only thing is, it was thunderstorming like CRAZY outside. I mean, wrath of God lightning coming down left and right with torrential rain and loud thunder to match. We thought it would be quick, but noooo...we're talking at least 3 hours and it was still going when I got home. I put a plastic bag over my hair and made a run for my car. I was terrified driving home and I don't get like that! Trees fall down all the time during storms here and that lightning! I mean the skies were bright and it was touching down everywhere. While I was on one of our highways, a really nice driver in front of me--and there weren't that many on the roads--put on their hazards so that I could see since the lights were knocked out. I was so relieved when I made it in the door I didn't know what to do.

Tish Groove--Ready to Quilt!

Here's a detail of "Tish Groove". All the outlines are done and couched. By hand. Good Lord, I must be insane because that took forever, but I like the effect and the texture it gives it.

Now I'm ready to quilt! I've never machine quilted before and I can't say I am the most confident about doing so on this particular piece. Deep breath Elle, breathe. My husband's like "Go for it!" I'm like, "Yiiiiiiiiiikes!" because I'm scared I might mess it all up! LOL. Does anyone else get like that sometimes?

Whooo...OK...needle to fabric...let's go! Wish me luck to not have an "Uh-Oh of the Day"! LOL.

How Did They Know?

Your Birthdate: May 31

Your birthday suggests that you are a good organizer and manager, an energetic and dependable worker; attributes often showing success in the business world. Serious and sincere, you have the patience and determination necessary to accomplish a great deal. Your approach can be original, but often rigid and stubborn. Sensitivity may be present, but feelings are likely to be repressed. You are good with detail and insist on accuracy, but at times scatter energies. You're a practical thinker, but not without imagination. You love travel and don't like to live alone. You should probably marry early, for responsibility is necessary for your stability.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

My Knight Won! Woo-hoo!

We had a GREAT night at Medieval Times! We laughed and yelled and had so much fun the entire show that I was giddily happy. We downed our tankards of Pepsi and tea, and ate with our hands. My brother managed to get ahold of 3 desserts. How does he stay so thin? We called each other "Lady" and "Lord" with the occasional "wench" for good measure.

To top it all off, my knight won the whole thing!!! YAY!!! Isn't he a cutie?

Figuring Out...

I looked through my African Textiles book and got inspired. I started cutting fabric and arranging it design-wise. I think that I'll do a few small ones and work my way up. Right now I have a little piece going that's black and gray. Hmm...it won't be in the end. It needs some color. Some pizazz. Some snap. I'm not in a black and gray mood.

Tonight is Medieval Times for my birthday (and my cousin's), which is actually next Tuesday. Hers was this Tuesday. Why am I sooooo excited?! Yay!

Revved Up Ol' Singer

Well, I prepped Ol' Singer and sat down to get something done. I thought I'd practice a little free motion stitching. I operate my pedal barefooted as I feel I don't slide as much or push down as hard when I have on shoes. I think I might work on a few smaller pieces and wrap up "Tish Groove". I've also been really intrigued by Procion MX dyes and dyeing in the washing machine. It seems like fun (not to mention economical), but I'm not quite sure where to start.

Dyers, which methods seem to work best for you?

I'm still super-tired though. I've been going to bed earlier, but it's not making a difference. Maybe it's the weather.

Jazz Quilt Sketch

There's a call for entries for a jazz-themed show so this will probably be my next quilt. I hope that it can be finished in time for slides in August. This is a rough, rough sketch based upon the CD cover below.

When I thought of jazz I thought of my cousin Jo Thompson, who is a Detroit-based jazz singer and shared the stage with luminaries such as Lena Horne in the 1950s as she sang in famous nightspots all over the world. She recently came out with her first CD. She is a glamorous elegant woman, really "fabulous" as she'd call herself, and I couldn't think of anyone else better to represent when I thought of jazz on a personal level to me.

CD Cover

Her CD

Star Wars & Life...

I will admit that I love Star Wars. I'm no superfan, but I love it. The story of one man's fall and redemption. I saw the last one yesterday and there's no spoiler here...you know how it all has to end, but it's so heartbreaking to see it happen.

It makes you wonder about life in general. What happens to a person that acts as that trigger to make them turn and become bad? Or how, in an effort to protect our our egos, our pride or arrogance makes us do questionable things.

I know it's just a movie. It really is, after all, but its themes are pretty timeless and relevant, aren't they?

Inspirations for the Week

1. The sunny blue skies and fluffy white clouds of a beautiful spring day
2. Starlings flying home in the evening
3. Being around my family and remembering who loves me
   

Yawwwwn

Worked on "Tish Groove" some more today. It's coming along nicely. I can't say the same for myself. I just don't have any energy or something. Maybe I need to take more vitamins or go to bed earlier. I've just been lacking in get-up-and-go motivation lately.

Artistic Scheduling?

I don't know if this seems very uncreative of me, but I need to be on a schedule or something. Really! I mean, does anyone else feel that way about their creative work? I get distracted so easily that maybe I need to have designated hours or days to do certain things. It's getting bad. I don't want to miss deadlines and I want to actually finish a project already!

I'm going to have to schedule my quilting and writing or neither will get done! Yikes!

Wrong, Just WRONG

I sat down to start a new piece and realized I just didn't have the types of fabric I wanted at all. I thought I had more patterned African fabric than what I did. Darn.

But you know what that means? A shopping trip to the fabric store! YAY!

First Quilt from 2000

My very first quilt was a simple one of squares of hand dyed fabric in blues and greens. Thinking of a beautiful beach I went to in Curacao, I named it "Lagun." I recently took it out to look at it and while I think it's still a pretty piece, I realized I should've quilted it more. It was tied only in the squares' corners, so it bunched in places and has a few wrinkles from the way I stored it...yikes. I think I should go ahead and work on it a little to tweak it.

Lagun 

Grand Boubou from Senegal

Some people collect shot glasses when they travel. Me? I collect clothing. This is my custom made grand boubou from Senegal in West Africa that I bought 4 years ago. For you dyers, the bazin (cotton damask) fabric is hand dyed, as well as the light blue underskirt and headwrap hanging behind it. To the left, is a hand painted chiffon shawl that I haggled for to go with it. The "wheels" embroidered neckline is also handmade as well. I think it was embroidered onto a background and then cut out. Enjoy!

Inspirations for the Week

1. Views of the Hudson River and cliffs en route to Westchester County, NY
2. The marshlands near the Delaware Bridge
3. Crossing the Susquehanna River Bridge
   

Stork Scissors

I hope you all won't laugh, but I just bought one of those little pairs of embroidery scissors shaped like a stork. I am so tickled about it because I have always always wanted a pair. I don't know what took me so long to get them!

Egungun

This is an Egungun costume from Nigeria. I took this photo at the Smithsonian a few years ago, but I thought you would all enjoy its design. Egungun are the ancestor spirits of the Yoruba people and dancers wear these costumes during ceremonies to honor them. As they move, the strips fly out and away from them. You can check out this site for more info about it!

Twinge-y Wrist

I was working on "Tish Groove" and got a familiar twinge in my right wrist. Crap.

I was diagnosed with mild carpal tunnel a few years ago and I fear it might be returning from my doing repetitive handwork. I've tried the wrist-ease thingy and I have even worn a brace before. I might try to wrap it well with an Ace bandage to see if that helps. I don't want to give up sewing by hand. Any suggestions?

I think I'm going to have to switch to machine work just because of this. Sigh.

Nope, Not Today

No quilting today. Hung out with my grandmom instead and had a pretty good time talking to her for hours.

Inspirations for the Week

1. Shooting stars over a West Virginia mountain ridge
2. Water rippling over and around rocks
3. Theoretical physics and the "theory of everything"
   

How Tired Was I?

So tired that when I came home from work I started to work on "Tish Groove" and was barely able to move it aside before putting my head down on the worktable and going to sleep.

Ooo-la-la!

I am still working on "Tish Groove" couching variegated thread on the outlines. My cousin Tish--its namesake--stopped through tonight while I was working on it. "That's really pretty, you know?" she said. "Are you going to give it to me (as a housewarming present)?" I told her I'd think about it because I'd like to possibly enter it in some things this year if it turns out well.

I am really liking how it is turning out. It gives it texture and a 3-D feel/depth to it. You know how it is when you try something new and you're unsure of the outcome? Well, I'm really tickled with mine. Since it's by hand, it's a little slow going, but I am SO enjoying the process.

Sonji & Fabric Dyeing/Painting

OK...Sonji looks like she could be my sister or cousin or something. We've joked about it before, but she does look a lot like my youngest sister (I have 2) in this photo. They have the same smile.

I was going back and reading her earlier posts and I just wanted to say how much I love the colors of her painted fabrics and pieces. I haven't gotten into dyeing and painting my own fabrics yet, although I am really intrigued. I love the unique results that so many folks have achieved. I have some Lumiere copper and gold paints just waiting for me, but a piece hasn't cried out for it to me yet.

Texture Detail

U asked for it, U got it!!

You can see the detail of the texture on that Bahamas statue better in this shot...

Chillin' in Our Shades!

This is my goddaughter and little cousin Starr. I took this of her in my sunglasses and handed the camera over to her so that she could...

Snapped!

...Snap a photo of me.

She then got happy and then took pics of her dad, the curtains, you name it! Who knows? Maybe that'll be one of her artsy talents one day.

Inspirations for the Week

1. The pastel colors, blue skies and blue waters of the Bahamas
2. A neon sign "graveyard" in Las Vegas
3. Clouds moving slowly across the sky
   

Whew!

Between my vacation and allergies from hell, I haven't had a chance to get crackin' on "Tish Groove" again yet. I hope to have needle to fabric again tomorrow. I found out that the Guild challenge was for something I won't be participating in, so I won't be as limited size-wise. Hmmm...that opens possibilities for the borders, etc.

My Inner European...

Well, I stopped through Dijanne's blog and found a fun quiz called "What Is Your Inner European?" Well...

Your Inner European is Italian!

Passionate and colorful. You show the world what culture really is.

Who's Your Inner European?

Bahamas Photos!

I thought I'd post a few vacation photos!

A gorgeous sunset from the ship...

the beach...

Out & About

Bonfire party

I'm Ba-aack!

Back from fun-in-the-sun in the Bahamas! The cruise was fun (Dramamine's GREAT! No motion sickness!) and we had a nice time in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island. Who knew conch fritters were so yummy? We spent our day in Fort Lauderdale hopping on/off their water taxi ($5 for an all day pass) seeing the sights. I'll post pics for you all ASAP!

Grandmom: 1, G'Daughter: 0

OK...I have already packed my bags and I'm not even leaving until Wednesday for my Bahamas vacation! What does that say? I am ready to go! I'm taking a cruise, even though I'm terrified of open (deep) water and being on a boat (yeah, I know, cruise ship) on said open (deep) water. The very thought of cruising has had me on edge since my husband surprised me with this a while back. Too many years of The Poseidon Adventure and Titanic. It didn't help that my grandmother called me tonight:

Gamey (as in "gammy"): "Did you hear about that cruise ship coming from the Bahamas?"
Elle: "W-h-a-t cruise ship? Are...you...kidding...with...me?"
Gamey: "It ran into this bad storm and a 70-foot wave..."
Elle: "Oh Lord...don't go any further with this one. Ugggghh...I don't feel so good."
Gamey: "Oh my! I shouldn't have told you all that! Oh dear, I'm sorry!"

Relax. Relate. Release. Everyone was safe and OK. You can read more about the incident here. Thanks Gamey.

Still doing couching on "Tish Groove". I'm trying to do as many of the outlines as I can before I roll out.

Giant Pieced "Appliques" in Tibet (thangkas)

In Tibet, giant pieced, spiritual pieces called gochen thangkas are created out of antique silks and brocades that are displayed by monasteries for worship. Imagine an art quilt covering an entire hillside and that's how large they are. I mean, huge! They have backing fabric, borders and a special protective layer that is pulled away before they are shown for 4 hours on special days of the Tibetan year. One thangka can use as much as 1500 m (about 1600 yards)! They also have a special leather bag and it can take 70 monks to take it to the hillside. This site has great photos from the process of reconstructing two whose originals were destroyed during the cultural revolution. These are incredible.

Tish Groove "Soundtrack"

I'm glad everyone's enjoying this piece! I've gotten questions about what they could possibly be grooving to. If "Tish Groove" had a soundtrack, this is it (at least in my mind):

1. Kool & the Gang--"Get Down On It"
2. Parliament--"Flashlight"
3. Amerie--"1 Thing"
4. Beyonce'--"Crazy In Love"
5. 50 Cent--"In Da Club"

Songs that make ya bounce!

"Tish Groove"--Getting There...

Here is "Tish Groove". This is by hand, so I'm getting there progress-wise. All figures are in place. The central one needs her mouth and jacket fringe. I decided to make her wear pants instead. I also found that due to the dimensions changing, the quilt version of the illo is wider, which meant I needed to add the pale green guy dancing. I dunno, it looks like they're having a really good time, huh?

"Tish Groove"--Detail

I kind of got slightly frayed edges with my removing the Wonder Under, so I'm couching on variegated perle cotton to outline the figures (like on the pink dancer's "left" leg).

Guilty Pleasures

Diane, Queen of our Artful Quilters ring, asked us all a simple question: "What is your guilty pleasure?"

Well...

Plain Hershey's chocolate bars, rice & gravy, America's Next Top Model, Japanese animation, non-Japanese animation, comic books, the Simpsons, chili cheeseburgers from Checkers, tiramisu, string cheese, Nong Shim noodle bowls (picante!), kung fu movies, caramel apple ciders from Starbucks, my Playstation 2 (great for stress!), karaoke singing, Project Runway, fashion mags, tuna melts, Nabisco fruit snacks, and peach yogurt.

Inspirations for the Week

1. The cherry blossoms here in Washington, D.C.
2. The encouragement I received from 4 talented friends on Friday.
3. How lionesses (sisters, mothers and daughters) living in prideland territories have bloodlines extending back for hundreds of years.
   

New Moon Circle

Last night I got together with four other artistic sistafriends to enjoy a night of talking and commiserating. We sat in a circle around some yummies and talked and talked for hours like old friends. Before we knew it, it was 3 am! One was my best friend from college and three are now new friends that can hold me accountable for achieving my goals in life. We were shocked at how much we all had in common and two women found out they even shared the same birthday!

One of our main discussions was that as multitalented, educated, well-traveled, independent, out-of-the-box thinkers, we often felt alone in a world that just didn't get how we ticked. That being creative doesn't always fit in and why would we want to? We talked about how financial need and being our own worst critic sets us back, as well as the "little voice" that kicks in to distract us. We determined that the way to do things was to team up with one another and set small goals for ourselves to accomplish things. Baby steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

I had a wonderful time and next Sunday we're getting together for a clutter purge. In other words, show up w/a bin of your clutter and let your unbiased sistafriend help you purge it. I am looking forward to meeting with them again next month.

Thread Frenzy

Went to my favorite fabric shop and ran into two guild members who had a table full of fabric, trying to decide upon some solids needed for a workshop Sat.

After buying some super-cool hand dyes, more solid black, and some tan, I found myself standing in front of a mind-boggling array of thread. I wasn't quite sure what to pick. I vaguely remember tossing in some Sulky and Mettler into my bag and some great sparkly dark blue metallic yarn kind of thread by YLI. Hmm... I also got a great lesson on needle types from one of the saleswomen. I honestly learned a lot from her.

Got mad when I got home and realized my purple thread was off. It was more dark purple than the brighter grape of the figure. I think it'll work, but that's what I get for switching purses and leaving my swatches in the other one. I was tickled at matching the other three though.

Salvaged from the Fusing Fiasco!

Well, got my digicam reader. Yay!

Here's the beginning of "Tish Groove". I think I was able to salvage it from my fusing fiasco the other day. Right now it's just the background dancers. With it being reversed it threw me off, so I might add another figure next to the pink one or alter the main figure's dancing position (yet to be added). The background's such a pretty indigo to me, but it's not showing up as well in this pic. I want a whole "at the club" kinda vibe.

Escapism

Today has just been an awful awful day at work. It was so incredibly beautiful outside, why did it have to be so very ugly inside? I just had to stop and sit and breathe and collect myself because I had been made to feel so nothing.

I found myself zoning out and remembering driving this past summer from L.A. to Vegas w/my husband in 112-degree heat through the Mojave Desert. Being from and living on the East Coast, the West has such an alien landscape to me with its rugged, rocky, craggy mountains and barren desert plains. I loved the small canyons and the way there was nothing there at all but desert, mountain and sky. The clouds would pass over, casting these large shadows over the ground. I had never seen anything like it before.

Beautiful.

Gosh Darn It!

BIG Uh-Oh of the Day:

Thought I'd try fusing and I forgot to reverse my design. Arrrrrrrrrrrrgh! Crap!

Enough said today.

Inspirations for the Week

1. Boudiccae--Celtic Queen of the Iceni in Britain. Her people were threatened by the Romans, her daughters raped...she did what any angry mom would do in her situation--gather an army and sack cities.
2. The beauty of St. Peter's in Vatican City. I'm not Catholic, but I have to note the passing of the Pope and the splendor that surrounded his position.

First of April! Yay!

I've finished all the quilts on my idea list in record time, learned to embellish like a champ in 2 days, my stash is at maximum capacity, I finally got my dream machine of all dream machines (no more Ol' Singer for me!) and my machine quilting skills are so fabulous that I want to kiss myself. I've gotten up to 20 stitches an inch hand-quilting and can turn out a perfect quilt in 3 hours. Only 3 hours! I mean, the only thing I can say right now is: Happy April Fool's Day!