The Trip, The Food and the Gift

Dave's choice for the day was a trip to Hebron IL and the Royal Oak Orchard, a pick your own place named for this gigantic burr oak. Hebron is just inches away from the IL -WI state line.

The apple trees were loaded with Jonagoreds, Libertys, and Galas, with a few Yellow and Red Delicious thrown in for the purists. There were also peach trees, long ago picked clean.

Row after row of perfectly tended apple trees.

There were also plenty of squash

and gourds of many kinds

and especially some that induced fantasies.

There was a petting zoo with chickens, bunnies, lambs, cows and this adorable alpaca.

Despite it being a school day there were busloads of first and second graders and their moms in mini-vans. Only a fraction of the minivans in that parking lot.


We decided not to pick apples since we have an uneaten bag in the refrigerator at home, so we returned to our own kitchen for the birthday feast.

We prefer to feast at home rather than a restaurant, since the couch is so much closer, after a cocktail or two such as these. Giada DeLaurentiis from the Food Network suggested this concoction the other day. Half champagne and half fruit nectar. I couldn't decide which nectar to use, so I got both. I figured this would stretch out the champagne, making the meal completion possible (since I imbibe while cooking).

A nice Lamb Rib Roast was the main attraction



I liberally covered it with Jim Beam Bourbon Mustard, black pepper and bread crumbs.

Roasted at 425 until golden brown and deglazed with a bit of merlot. Heavenly.

Other menu items included pan roasted sweet corn, cut fresh from the cob and sauteed with chopped garlic, hot salsa and finished with butter and cream. Green beans almondine, of course also graced our plates.

And then instead of a birthday cake, I went to the Italian bakery section of our international food store and got individual pastry treats.



Eclairs, Napoleans, Cheesecakes, Cannolis etc etc. More variety and less cost than a boring old cake.

A slice off each one and then seconds. Coffee helped wash this down, and then the drooping eyelids confirmed it was nap time.

When we woke up it was time to open Dave's gift.


I got him an mp3 player that shows pictures and has FM radio besides all the tunes we have on three computers. It is smaller and weighs less than mine and I am way jealous...how can I justify getting one for myself?

They Say It's Your Birthday...

The birthday boy is 52 today.

I have lots of celebratory things planned for this occasion. Pictures will record most of the events. The rest you don't want to see.

Birthday Greetings can be sent here.

Our Neighbor's Ginko Tree

We are enjoying perfect Autumn weather here in Cary Illinois. So much so that I have been having a mini-vacation, getting dressed late, not working, and watching movies in the afternoon, in bed. I am trying to see what it would feel like to be retired. Three. Days. Without. Working.

OK!

So we got outta bed and went for a bike ride and fed the local ducks and saw a few leaves turning, and I recalled the one Ginko tree in the next block. I wanted to do another leaf collection quilt, especially after teaching this workshop in Janesville last week. The quilters made fabulous pieces (bad blogger, no pictures) and not to be leftout (Competitive, moi?) I had been thinking about doing another.

My Ginko quilt had been sold several years ago when I taught at Art Quilt Tahoe. I needed to make another one.

In my workshop, the participants pick one piece of Special Edition cotton or silk and make their leaves first by tracing around actual leaves. Then they position them on whatever fabric remains after they cut out the leaves. I thought that challenge was a good way to begin for me too.

Ginko Collection #2

18x21"

Cotton and Silk, fused, hand and machine quilted


I included one silk leaf, since it was in my scraps pile and seemed the perfect color to go with the backgrounds I cut.

I am using my hand dyed pearl cotton for the hand work, and marking the circles with a shot glass and juice glass.

This leaf is outlined by machine stitching.

I cut many more leaves than I used, and there is more fabric left from the original piece. I may make a second one...

Making this quilt was like butter. I let the fabric do all the hard work.

It's that time of year

Time to get something going on the needles. This sweater from Knitting Pure and Simple is just that. A really fast and easy sweater with no seaming at all. When you finish the bottom edge, you are finished and ready to walk out wearing the sweater. I loved making this. I started it before I went to Tommy's last week and then knit all day watching those Project Runway episodes. The body after the shoulder increases is straight stockinette, really brainless knitting.

Neckdown Pullover for Women

This is the picture of the actual design with no ribbing and no garter at the yoke. That is a little too plain for me. I have to have something of interest and I like a nice garter rib to help keep track of the increase rows.

It takes a lot of needles to make this sweater. Circulars in sizes 9 and 6 and lengths of 24 and 16, plus double pointed needles for the lower part of the sleeves.
I used Berrocco Foliage for this denim looking knit. About 8 balls for a 40" chest measurement. Next time I will make it for a 42 inch chest and then Dave will have a new sweater.

I musta been wearing this sign...

A series of fortunate events has befallen me.


First, Juanita Yeager blogged about taking a toe-up sock class and learning how to make sox with two circular needles, which meant to her that her collection of dps became redundant. She was planning to toss them out! I stepped in and casually remarked, "I'll take them!"

She sent them in this nifty blue case, which I had first seen in my workshop in Janesville just last week (used to hold a rotary cutter) and decided it was a must have accessory. Now I have one!

Juanita loathes packing peanuts so to make the box full she packed it with these!!!

Four skeins of fabu sock yarn! What an amazing treat! Can I write without exclamation points?

For her largesse, I am returning the box or a reasonable facsimile with an appropriate amount of hand dyed fabric goodies. Just you wait Juanita. Good deeds like this will not go unrewarded.

And then, my husband who has been miffed at me for a misdeed that I did two years ago decided to forgive me and to prove his grace, he suggested I take a spin in his prize possession.

I have never ever asked to have this honor, but his magnanimity knows no bounds. Or his good sense. I had a blast. It drives like a rocket ship, fairly lifting one off the ground in spurts of acceleration. Very heady experience. We arrived home safely and I followed Rule Number One and Number Two.

1# Don't scratch the car. #2 See rule number one.

But wait that's not all...Diane our lovely blog mistress posted her blocks for this lovely quilt.

I caught the fever!
A bed quilt that would actually be fun for me to make. But I have not one speck of quilt fabric, so I assumed I would start this baby with hand dyes, resulting in a totally different look, which could be good...or not...But Diane, in her seductive way suggested that we swap--her printed scraps for my fused scraps. O happy day! More goodies in the mail. I am actually going to piece a functional quilt. First one in years and years.

But wait that's not all...I got an email asking about this quilt from my website.


Orbs and Crosses #1

The enquirer wanted to know if it was possible to purchase this piece on approval. Since I take Visa and Mastercard, I agreed to send this to her in exchange for her credit card number. I sent her the quilt and yesterday received confirmation that she is keeping it!

O Happy Day!

Another Fine Mess: IKEA

Dave needed window treatments in his room and I have been longing to have a place to put these interestingly designed sliding panels SOMEWHERE, so I talked him into a trip to IKEA.

We hung them all day Saturday. First you have to fit the fabric into the clamping rails for the top and the bottom. Everything slips in so easily, and slips out even easier. Then one tightens the miniscule screws with an Allen wrench. We have such a collection of Allen wrenches from the many items we have assembled over the years.

Here is the semi-closed version. Looks simple and elegant doesn't it? If you should ever decide to buy these, let me know so I can dissuade you of the notion. What I liked was that the wands will slide all three panels on the one side over together, and back again. Getting them to do that was maddening. The instructions are pictorial, and of absolutely no help.

Finally fiddling with it all for an hour or so, I did the manly thing and forced things into place. That worked! I was up and down ladders and sweating like a pig, which BTW don't sweat, but really this was miserable work. Now I see that they are too long and I will eventually have to cut them shorter so the propped up pillows don't interfere.

What I liked about this idea, is that you can use your own fabric. We just bought this sheer stuff because it was made for the gliders. But if I were designing this room with coordinating fabrics, I would use my own fabric for the panels. Doesn't that appeal to the fabric person in you?

It was three o'clock by the time we had put away all the step stools and tools, so I went to the library and got 5 dvds for the weekend. Sigh, a day of rest follows.

We watched Kevin Kline in My Life as a House, and it was a good tearjerker, with lots of house construction involved. Musta been the theme of the day.

ArtSpeak:Less Silly, More Serious

=

One of my grandiose ideas when I started this blog was to provide the truth behind the work I would post. In grad school art history classes we were told what the artist did (true or not?) and occasionally we would read what the artist said in response to the critics, historian, columnists, etc. I was struck by the descriptions of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings, that they were all about sexuality. Flowers=sex. She disputed this notion, but the written word has strength and once published, turns to 'fact'. I wanted to have my say about my work, in case anyone wanted to look it up later. Gotta give those art history majors some work to do.

The world puts artists in a separate class, sometimes on a pedestal as tho we were from outer space. I hear so many people say, "I am no artist, I just like to make stuff".

What do you think an artist is, for heaven's sake? If you like to make things, that does make you different in a way from those that don't make things, but it isn't magic, what we do, it is learned behavior not unlike athletics, or anything one focuses on with tenacity.

Some are better at it than others. Some are better at math than others too. So?

Being an artist doesn't mean being a great artist, or even a good artist, it means trying to make stuff that pleases the inner self. Eventually with practice and some direction, one finds one's art is improving and when it clicks it seems like magic.

If you can find an audience it is even more magical. We have all seen artists that have a huge audience however, but that does not make their art better, it may just mean that they are better at public relations than others. I am thinking of Thomas Kinkade as an example.

Syrupy and maudlin, his art sells in the millions, but that doesn't make him or his art great. That whole greatness aspect is what gets into our brains and results in paralysis.

David Walker says that art is primarily for the benefit of the artist. It makes us feel good when we make it and when we show it and it is well received. Even if we make art and never show it, the thought of it being discovered one day, and judged to be brilliant, may be the motivating force behind what we do.

Or we just have to do it, and can't even face answering the why?

Judging by the comments you left here yesterday, I am thinking we all are in the same insecure life raft, out on a sea of uncertainty. Where's the shore, and will we ever get there? Ha! The cruise is really all there is. Even if you get to the place where you are lauded, you still will want to be out there testing the waters. That is the artist in you.

Stacks Q&A

The first Stack quilt

Dear Melody,

I have been reading your blog and have really enjoyed it. I love your work - the dyed fabrics and great designs make me have chills all over (in a good way!). I have been looking at the things you have posted in your "stacks" series and I was just wondering what you had in mind when you create them. I mean, do you having anything in mind at all?

Sometime you read these blurbs that artists put on their work and they'll say something like " the line symbolizes the ocean and the dot signifies the earth mother and the small square is God" or something equally deep andI think, well, it's pretty but I'm not getting it.

I guess what I am trying to ask is, when you make a stack and it is abstract and not obviously a flower or whatever, are you just putting fabric together until it pleases you or are you thinking deep thoughts? I personally don't ever think deep thoughts and I feel bad about it - sometimes I just make things I like and am happy about that, but thenI think maybe I'm not a "Real" artist because I don't have a vision. What about you? (whatever you're doing, keep it up - it's all yummy)

Dear Not a Real Artist,

What is this vision thing you reference? Never heard of it...

Stack #13 August 15,2006
17"x17" Fused Cotton and Silk. Machine Quilted

This Stack business is all about just stacking up fabrics until they form a nice pile. Then I have a cleaned-off table and can do something really artistic. In the meantime while I am waiting for that art to magically appear, I busy myself with fusing the pile of fabric into a quilt. I call it a Stack so as not to confuse the viewer into thinking that it is designed or anything.

I don't have a plan, other than to lay one piece on top of another. If that is a vision, you couldda fooled me.

Artists who have that grand vision and have to tell you what it is because it is not obvious in the art are full of whooey and need a blog desperately. Don't be taken in by them. If you have to explain the vision, it ain't there in the art.

Stack #12 August 11,2006
Hand dyed cottons, fused, hand and machine quilted. 24.5x25"

Catalog description: Here we have another pile of fabric by Melody Johnson, same as the previous piles, only in different colors. She manages to combine these fabrics in such a way as to make them look random. Genius! And with such deft skill that they actually look two dimensional. If it weren't for the texture of the quilting one would think they were photos of fabric.

(I am yawning already).

This initial series piece is obviously paying homage to the Amish tradition, one in which Ms. Johnson must have deep regard, as she has translated it into her version of the classic Stack. (urp)

Each color chosen with symbolic meaning: the green of the deep forests left behind in the old world, the blood of the slain oxen, the deep blue of the night in which the sect retreats from worldly behaviors. And the tantalizing turquoise which hints at the wild yearnings of the heart.

Stacked Series #1 Completed May 23, 2006
Hand dyed Cottons, fused and machine quilted.
30" at the top by 34" long.

O Please!

Janesville WI

I am in Janesville WI today, and I will be teaching Leaf Collections. This is a perfect time of year to do this workshop, since the colors are about to change and we can use all sorts of colors to express autumn.

The lecture was fun for me, and the room was SRO which is not because of me, I am sure, but I pretended it was.

There is a nip in the air this morning, and I am thinking about sweaters, and knitting and cocooning already....and of all things, BED QUILTS. When you visit guilds like I do, I get to see a lot of great bed quilts at show and tell. Hmmmm. I'm thinking.

Studio 60

At last something worth watching!

I am so over the moon that this show has begun, and I am not alone. I love Aaron Sorkin and his two previous shows, Sports Night and of course West Wing. Now I am instantly hooked on Studio 60 and its rapid fire diaglog, complex characters and arresting issues. Something to engage the brain.
This may be the one night where I swear off my glass of wine, in order to remain conscious long enough to follow the plot. And O what plots there will be! Woowoo! If you missed the premiere it can be watched online here.

On the sitcom front, I also managed to catch The Class on CBS. Since Jim Burrows is the creator I had high expectations and again, woowoo! I was sated! Several laff out loud moments, interesting characters and at the end, Dave said, 'it's over already? That was fast' always a good sign.

Someone mentioned there was also Monday Night Football. So?

When I got back into knitting this was the first project that I dove into. What was I thinking? I musta been nuts. OK. I am still nuts. But it was Lotsa Colors Close Together which (I may have mentioned this previously) I am wild about.
I bought the yarn at Houston's International Quilt Festival (why not?) and began this project with abandon, which is another way of saying, I neglected to read the instructions. I got overwhelmed in no time and put the whole thing away.
Later the following year, I learned the correct method to produce this type of modular knitting and then looked at my false start and decided to unravel it all.
That didn't work either, because one inch knitted squares result in very short lengths of yarn.
O my. What a mess and what a waste of expensive yarn. I packed it all away again.

Then in my big clean out and get rid of junk day I looked again at this project and decided to cut my losses and make pillows. I still have lots of yarn left from this kit, and will work it into something new, and correctly knit.

Koigu Pillows

At last a use for my failed Koigu coat knitting. I decided to make the leftover pieces into pillows, even though I swore I wouldn't for a long time. Since we have the uber-shedding cat Popeye, I was afraid that knitted pillows would only look good for minutes and then be a cat hair magnet.
But these days, the overweight and farsighted Pops pauses in front of the couch, and then decides he will save that athletic feat for another day.

Still there may come a day when these pillows will need a bath, so when it came to sewing them up, I bypassed the standard mattress stitch, of which I am no fan, and chose instead to single crochet the edges together. Now when I want to wash the covers, I can merely undo the single crochet from one edge and pop out the pillow forms.

The single crocheted edge.

Weekend Work

9 Leaves

15x19"

Cotton, fused, hand and machine quilted and embroidered

Detail
I will be teaching Leaf Collections in Janesville WI this week, and it's always nice to have a new version to bring along.

Then I decided it was time to repair the weaknesses in Stardust. I removed the too-light stars.

Pile of ripped off stars

They were removed from this neighborhood on Stardust. The contrast was too low, and it was right in the middle of the quilt, so it looked vacant.

The before view.

...vacant and wanting more oomph.

The new and improved center with darker stars. I left a few lighter ones on the one orb, since it was fading nicely off the left edge.



The completed Stardust. I think it will hang horizontally. Click for a larger image.