Life's Good Questions

I read The Empress of Dirt blog and these questions were featured on her blog, which allowed the reader to provide her own answers. I always think it's a good idea to know what you believe, feel or think. What would you answer? These are mine.

1. What's your favourite virtue?

Dependability

2. What's vice do you most despise?

Dishonesty

3. What are you most willing to forgive?

Infidelity

4. What's your most marked characteristic?

Industry, but I am working on sloth

5. What are you most afraid of?

Losing my cognitive abilities

6. What quality do you most like in a man?

Courtesy

7. What's the quality do you most like in a woman?

Good humor

8. What do you most value about your friends?

Honest intimacy

9. What's your principal defect?

Impatience

10. What's your favourite occupation?

Painting

11. What's your dream of happiness?

I am living it.

Dorkiness

My new shoes, the dorkiest pair ever purchased by me, are a result of shopping with my sister and niece Glory yesterday. Brooke had to introduce me to Ross, which seems like a relative of TJMaxx or Marshall's, and I am all for those kind of stores. Both girls convinced me that these were so cute and I should buy them. My feet said YES! We likey, so I did.

The homemade shortie socks just make the ensemble, no?

When we get together it is usually a mix of shopping and eating with the Rumdum high on the list of important stops. But this time we had stuff to unload at the Rumdum and did not venture forth inside. Since Brooke recently received the rest of her household goods from Singapore, and has been weeding through them, I got to look over them first, before donating them. It is amazing how much alike we are. Since I am 18 years older than her and in our whole lives we have only lived together a few months, one wonders how much like sisters we could possibly be?

A lot.

Little plastic containers? Can't resist them. So now I have hers. Knives, in multiples? Yes. Not to mention multiple pairs of scissors and rotary cutters. Eek.

At the stores we visited, we both spent a long time in the bed aisle. What is it about women and bedding? Brooke says it's nesting. Well, I guess. But I must say we have the nesting instinct in spades. More bedspreads, quilts, comforters, pillows and sheets than necessary by a long shot.
I came home with a set of pink sheets, donated by Glory who is so over pink.

Con Brio

Con Brio

Hand dyed and commercial cottons, fused, hand and machine quilted. 14.5x15" $250 Email me.

Con Brio is defined as "with liveliness or spirit" which I thought was about right for this piece.

For a long time I couldn't use browns in my work, but recently I started thinking of the color as dark orange. I love orange and that changed everything. Ha!

Just so you know, sometimes I get lost and forget what it is I do. Honestly, I get stopped dead in my tracks and forget how to make this stuff. So I go to the archives and review past works. Here's the group of photos that reminds me what my works looks like.

Question:
Approachable Art said... I wish I had even the first clue how you get such beautiful stitch lines along your fused pieces without any fraying at all... I lovelovelove this piece!

Answer: I may have said this before, but I suppose it bears repeating...fraying is not an issue BECAUSE I remove the paper after I have fused my fabrics. Then I cut the fabric and fuse it to another piece which then ends the possibility of it getting messy. And I am using 95% hand dyeds in my work, and only about 5% commercial prints. The hand dyed base fabric is a finely woven cotton which stays nicely together. See this post for step by step pictures.

Then the stitching part: On this piece and many others I am not using free motion quilting. I am using feed dogs up, with my regular presser foot (not a walking foot) and just stitching large stitches next to but NOT on top of the edges of the shapes. However I have loosened the pressure on the presser foot, down to zero, so it glides along on the three layers without pulling the fabrics. And of course everything is fused so nothing moves either...

Fusing makes all the difference in the final product. And yesterday I noticed that the amount of teachers teaching fusing is increasing by leaps and bounds. Could it be that people are taking fusing seriously at last? One can only hope.

Allegro

Allegro Hand dyed cottons, fused, hand and machine quilted. 14.5x15" $250 Email me

Details

It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do. I had fused the beautiful fabrics and they were all ready to cut into, but where to start? Essentially, I had to take a slice from each one, about 6" by the length of each piece. Then I had good sized chunks of a usable size. I tried to decide on a color scheme, but the quilt took it right out of my hands.

I mean that starting with one piece, I looked for the color that would set it off and that lead to either coordinating or contrasting colors. No matter what I thought I had planned, it all happily went by the wayside. It matters not how many sketches, or hours lying awake, the way to make this kind of work is to just start and let it happen.
Now I have many more chunks that didn't get used in this piece, and will be available for the next one. I think I can keep this up for several more pieces.

The Toad Motel

When we bought this place we found that there was a deep plastic 'pond' with water in it, surrounded by these flat stones. It was pretty much hidden by the bushes and ivy planted around it. Upon investigating we saw that the water held a bunch of small toads/frogs, whatever. So we named it the Toad Motel. These are different amphibians than the ones in the big pond, which have green heads and brownish bodies. These guys are all mud colored and never really roam very far from this pool.
This Spring after the ice melted, and things were greening up, I took another look under the bushes and found that there were great big frog bodies, belly up and stinking, and so I quickly left the area. Eeeoouuww.
Yesterday Dave cut back the foliage and brought a little sunshine to the Motel. I noticed we have a full house of happy basking critters. Eight to be exact. Click to see them better.

I am so happy to have them in view again.

This was shot after I tried to get closer, losing one of them to the water...

A Nip in the Air

Sweatshirt, long pants and wool sox started the day. And a big bonfire. I had gotten up early and prepared the bread dough from Saturday and popped the loaves in the oven while we watched the fire. Invigorating. This must be just a brief preview of autumn, with warm weather returning for another few months. But who knows? This summer was unusually rainy and then of course humid, and I am not complaining, but it was joyously dry and windy all weekend, making everything infused with lovely oxygen.

We enjoyed a Big Breakfast (scrambled eggs, fried potatoes with peppers from the garden) and HMB with real butter. We had some very thick orange juice which we watered down with champagne, and celebrated Sunday.

If it's gonna be cool, I am gonna fuse fabric.Which I did for hours.

I dug out loads of earthy tones, which I found in my garage stash and began ironing. I took my sweet time, enjoying seeing really, really old fabrics that I dyed maybe ten years ago. Some pieces were very small scraps and others were huge yardage. I will find a use for it all in the coming weeks. That dirty green of Stacked Boxes instigated a need for more mud, dirt and clay colors. Sometimes those hues are just what is in season.

Since You Asked...
What new books have grabbed your attention?
OK, what book are you reading that took you away from your 'art work'? Just curious!

Give me MURRRDDDDERRRR!

I love a good police proceedural and courtroom thriller. I just finished all of Sheldon Siegel's books, and can't wait til he brings out a new one. I love his characters. In fact I think it is the characters that get me returning to read the whole series, if there is a continuing character. Love Harry Bosch from Michael Connelly and his Lincoln Lawyer Mickey Haller which returns again in the Brass Verdict. The Jesse Stone novels by Robert B. Parker are just super with most of them turning in tv movies starring Tom Selleck. I also love the Sunny Randall series by Parker.

For the longest time I couldn't find a time to read. I felt that I should be doing my work was first, and then there's the garden, cooking, housestuff...when could I read? But recently I decided to work in the morning and then get my book and footstool out to the porch and let the afternoon breezes flow over me while I get engrossed in murder. Since not much is worth watching on TV in the summer, I have kept on reading in bed until the words start dissolving and I have to close my eyes.

I wish I could say that I am reading literature, and working my way through the Great Books, but really, if there's no who done it?, I really don't care.

Stacked Boxes

Stacked Boxes

Hand dyed cottons, fused and machine quilted 29.5 x 24” $500

Originally inspired by the Bon Bon series, I wanted to work in other color ways that don’t relate as much to sweetness. I went for that end of the spectrum where colors are warm but veer away from full intensity and I included some very light tints, down to dark textured greens. To contrast with the warmth I used blues and violets.

I used a few slivers of printed cottons for texture, but tried to keep them to a minimum. The 'dirty' greens in the background are some that I dyed this year, and I just HAD to use them.

Ms. Mess

This is an appalling mess. But I have finished the quilt top I was making and will reorganize it all as soon as I have quilted the new piece.

I had to drag my machine out of the closet where it has been for months. I never did set it up after the studio was finished. The idea was that I would be able to watch mindless TV while I quilted away, but in this arrangement my back is to the TV. Hmmm. Furniture rearranging is in my future. One doesn't always get it right the first time.

And my pinup wall is behind the door, and of no use to me when I work, so I fashioned a quick replacement. I must decide if this is a gallery or a working studio? At the rate I made this new piece, methinks it is a dawdling studio. I started it Monday and got all involved in my new books, giving only an hour or two to the making of parts before I returned to the breezy porch to read. Most of the parts, the ones on the design wall here, were not used, and it was only Wednesday that I determined that my original idea of a green quilt was the way to go. So I spent a few hours fusing green, making it available to finish the piece yesterday morning. Sigh. I hope to have it quilted later today...stay tuned.

Commissions

I was recently asked by two different parties if I would do a commission piece. One I rejected on the spot and the other I agreed to do.
Mostly I say I never do commissions, but that turns out to be untrue. I did this 16 piece painting commission last year and loved every minute of doing it. But mostly I loathe them. Here's the deal.
When a person says 'I have an idea for what I want' and then tries to describe what is in their head, I know I this is going to be a disaster. Nothing I will do will meet up with their imaginings, and since I am a lousy mind reader, I know failure looms large. So I avoid all that disappointment right from the start.

On the other hand, when a person says 'I love what you are doing and I want one', only bigger or more of them or something like that, I feel confident that we are on the same page, and I agree.
For example: Here are three pieces that the other party thought were super duper and loved the colors and the designs and only wanted something like them but bigger.


I happen to LOVE the kind of work in these pieces. They are my fave kind of designs, so I think this person is a genius for agreeing with me. The only problem/challenge is trying to figure out how to do the same kind of thing in a 30x50" horizontal format. And what colors would be involved. In the meantime the person that asked me to do this has been incommunicado of late and I am having that sinking feeling that nothing is going to come of this. Drat.

Harvest

I was putting bills in the mailbox and decided since I was already down by the road I would take a look at our orchard. Or our weeds, really. Surprise, surprise, we have blueberries. And these are actually tasty, compared to the ones we picked in previous summers here. I guess it was all the rain, or the coddling of the surrounding overgrowth that allowed these to plump up and sweeten.

Lots and lots of ripe berries were within easy reach so I returned to the house for my camera and a bowl. Luckily for me I am not allergic to ragweed and not adverse to swatting away a few spiders to get at the fruit. Before long I had two pints, by my estimation.

Walking along to rest of the orchard, I visited the few trees that are still alive. The majority of the others died after being continually uprooted by Spring flooding. There is no soil worth growing fruit here, other than that brought in by the previous owner, which wasn't enough to sustain the shallow roots for long. Still we have a few hardy specimens including this Hosui Asian Pear. For some wonderful reason the pests aren't interested and we get edible, juicy fruit.

One of our trees has two apples on it!

Amazing, since it is growing in the back row, mostly out of direct sun for most of the day. Didn't anyone notice the huge hill loaded with shade providing trees behind this site when they planted here?

One looks good enough to eat, or paint first and then eat.

My Sister lives in Chattanooga

And now that she does I am learning so much more about the town. I have a reason to go there more often and she has already taught me how to use the interstate to my advantage. What used to take me one hour and twenty minutes has now been cut down to one hour and five.

Before I got to her apartment I needed to visit McKay Used Book store which is an amazingly wonderful place. I learned how to stay on the interstate until I came to the just the right exit and was there in a twinkling, compared to winding down always congested roads. McKay’s has a great set-up, kinda like a library. One can buy books, read them at leisure and return them for a reduced refund. I got a bunch last week, read them and returned them and got a bunch more. Like 15! Some were as little as 50 cents and others as much as $5. I found a new writer (John Lescroart) to collect and got his whole series, minus three, but certainly enough to distract me from housework and art making for a long time.

Brooke lives right smack dab in the best shopping area, and right behind her is the on ramp to the interstate which of course takes us everywhere in town and also to Knoxville and Atlanta. Yesterday we planned to go to the evening Choo Choo quilters meeting after a brief foray to TJMaxx, so I could replace my frying pan with a new one and maybe get some new sandals. She and her husband were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary, and shopping was primo with them too, so off we went. She knows a backdoor shortcut, which means never having to drive on the busiest streets…Fantastic! I got what I wanted and she got her hoped for ottoman/coffee table. We were both way happy.

The weather started getting dark and stormy looking and I decided that going to the quilt meeting in a possible storm and then getting back home late in the dark and rain was suddenly unappealing, so I bid them adieu and got back on the interstate and zipped right home. We’ll try again next month.

One other thing…I never call anyone, being phone-averse, but I now have my sister’s number on redial on all my phones, and just hit one button to summon her. It doesn’t need to be anything important, but just to be able to so easily hear her voice is wonderful. Again, way happy.

The Easiest Party I Ever Gave

You know I love to cook, and try out new stuff on unsuspecting guests. But I can get so involved that I wear myself out and can hardly taste the food when I serve it. There's something wrong with that.

Dave invited his baseball pal and wife out to our place for Sunday lunch and for this event I decided to just grill burgers. Unheard of!

Of course I had to grind my own beef, but that was it. Slice some onions, tomatoes, pickles, open a container of cole slaw and pop some beans from a can into the oven.

For french fries I sliced up potatoes and baked them in olive oil and spices. Easy peasy.

Dessert was fresh peach crumble with vanilla ice cream.

Our guests brought a nice bottle of red and a lemon meringue pie. Woowoo!

So I learned something important with this experience. It was good food, simple and all done ahead, and we ate it with great conversation and laughter.

That's what really counts.

Fruit Fly-atosis

I hesitated showing you this, first thing in the morning, but then I thought this Death Trap would act as a public service.

It all began innocently enough, with a loaf of bread straight from the store. It was loaded with fruit flies, unbeknownst to me, and I didn't even unwrap the loaf when I noticed these crawly things inside the plastic wrapper. The loaf went straight into the garbage, but obviously the little buggers escaped and started reproducing immediately. They loved the bananas.

Soon I had swarms. Drat. I sprayed to no avail, and put away all the fruit, food and stuff, but that didn't last because I had a house full of people for two weeks and we were eating and cooking all the time.

So in desperation I went online and Googled fruit flies and came up with this easy trap. It is a small bowl of raspberry vinegar (any flavor will do) and that is wrapped in cling wrap, with a few small holes poked into the wrap for them to crawl in and DIE. Mwahahaha!

I couldn't believe how many of them I had, as I watched them surround the bowl and find the little holes and enter the death chamber. Overnight they finally drowned but during the death watch I noticed them swimming in the vinegar.

There are still a few lingering stalwarts, but I will make another trap and get those buggers too.

Good luck with yours.

Making Parts

My studio is not air conditioned, and for most things I never noticed it getting hot. But I am usually an early starter, and just getting all the fabric and tables arranged to get back into a quilting mode took longer than the cool morning lasted. I got this far and decided to return either later tonight (not a chance!) or earlier tomorrow.

I cut a strip of everything in a range from light yellow to dark green, with some oranges and blues/turq/purple. Honestly I am trying to limit my palette. But when I started assembling things, my green idea got very orange instead. How does that happen?

My inspiration came from a slide show I did in January of 2008. See it here. I plan some things but am open to whatever looks good as I construct them. More parts will be made than will work into one composition, which turns out to be how this series gets made.

OK I admit I am watching tv while I am doing this. Decorating shows and Food TV.

I love Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) and Candice Olson (Divine Design).

Revisiting FAVE Quilts

The Bon Bon Series
January 19-February 12, 2008

This series was so enjoyable to make and since I have two of them hanging in my bedroom, I see them everyday and smile. And because I have a new gallery that wants both my paintings and quilts, I looked around for inspiration and it didn't take long for the ol' lightbulb to turn on.

What worked with these quilts was that I could make parts and more parts and then decide on a layout. Simple? Yes. But besides that, they could incorporate tons of similar colors which made me ever so happy. I finally got it about working in a series too. Another serendipity.

Now the challenge is to make them smaller, like 15", not necessarily miniature versions, but essentially the same, only simpler. Whatever that means. And each one could have a color theme, like lime green, orange, turquoise, pink, etc.

O goodie!

Second Try: I hope these are all visible...