It's That Day Again

Goodness, I'm looking at the 26th anniversary of my husband's death, now gone for longer than we were married. Hmmm . . . while other widows may have moved on, finding another to fill the husband shoes, for one reason or another I have not. I once thought maybe I would but no longer feel that way. So far, no second Mr. Right has appeared, am happy on my own with my special memories.

Here's something about Allen I don't think I've ever shared with you. He enjoyed working on his motorcycle and even puttering around with our 4-wheeled vehicles. He definitely liked challenges (as do I), and I think some of this was done with the idea he was saving money (ditto for me). I wasn't always so sure of that, looking at the tools he accumulate over the years. But who am I to talk, owner of so many tools of MY trades of quilting, bookmaking, dyeing, etc. etc.?

So when I finally convinced him that there was something amiss with my old Saab that kept it from accelerating up inclines, the diagnosis was that it needed an engine rebuild. This far exceeded his capabilities, but he DID figure out a way to save some money by removing the engine, transporting it to a shop for the rebuild, and then putting it back in the car. Boy, what a difference when I made the first test run. Boy, just a little irritated that I'd been complaining about this since driving the car from Idaho to Wisconsin over several passes when we made the big move in 1993 and continued to complain for the next four. That seemed to be my fate when it came to issues with the car - this was far from the only problem I reported that he blew off until he could ignore me no more. Why he never believed me until he drove my car himself and experienced what I'd been complaining about I'll never understand.

Be that as it may, he always eventually took proper care of my vehicle, and I kinda miss having an in-house mechanic to call on. I also very much miss having someone that gases up my car, checks the vitals and runs it through the car wash for me. He definitely spoiled me on that count. 💖

Not Much To Share

I think my body has finally adjusted to the time change, yet I don't seem to be getting into the studio to get going on anything. I realized I still have threads to bury and a label to make and attach to the Joy Banner, but I'm sure any of you who quilt in a way that requires burying threads would understand why I'm still putting this off. There are also a handful of what I think of as 10 to 15 minute projects in there like mending some socks that although I could get them done relatively quickly, I keep passing them by - an old and apparently unbreakable habit. Mainly though, I also realized that I needed to get serious about finishing my taxes, so creative time has instead been used to work on those taxes (not to be confused with working on those taxes creatively). Federal taxes are done and I've downloaded what I need to do the state taxes so those should go quickly.

Fortunately, work on the socks always takes place while watching certain TV programs. I'm ready for the first increase to "grow" the leg to fit over the calf. They are the beauty rippling through my life right now while still waiting for traditional signs of spring. The lawn maintenance crew have been out this week, blowing dead leaves away from foundations and off the lawns and running something over them that aerates the ground I think. And I'm beginning to see tiny leaves pushing out on some of the trees. Still didn't spot any bulbs blooming the several places I stopped at in town, but they must be somewhere . . . Has spring sprung in your part of the world?

Wrapping Up, On To 2026

I made one last push of completing something before December was over and finished knitting the replacement sleeve for the eyelet cardigan. However, I couldn't quite make myself actually remove the offending sleeve and stitch in the new one before New Year's day. When I did get around to it, it was much more difficult to remove the whip stitching than I anticipated and a lot of picking and tugging managed to make my thumb joints cry out in rebellion. I had to take several days off to rest them before adding on the new sleeve, and then another few days before I fixed the places along the side seam where I hadn't caught enough of the knitted edge in to hide a run of knit stitches. But that's all done now, the sweater soaked, blocked and drying. I'd tried it on before wetting it and was a little disappointed in how it looked on me - not as long in the sleeves or body as I'd anticipated, not the slouchy casual sweater I saw hanging behind the counter at the yarn store. But as I was laying it out to dry and taking some measurements, I realized it had grown quite a bit, measurements in all directions more like I was expecting. The blocking is suppose to relax things, soften them up and this really needed that. Hoping it will be more the sweater I envisioned once dry.

Pushing me along to finish the cardigan was my antsy-ness to start on another pair of socks. I bought this yarn the same day as I saw that cardigan and got the pattern for it, and have worked on the cardigan for the better part of the year, even though I'd wanted to dive into this luscious blue yarn with hints of purple and teal. But while I'm ok with having more than one quilting project going at a time, I've always worked on just one knitting project at a time, so there was much incentive to finish the cardigan so I could start these. I'm using the same pattern as I used for the grey wool socks and hoping there is enough yarn that I can make these knee high. I've rolled it into two balls so I can knit on each sock until its ball runs out, and checked the gauge last evening. It's a thinner yarn than the grey of the other socks and I'm experimenting with increasing the size of the needles so as to match the gauge. Gotta tell ya, going from heavy worsted yarn worked on average size 8 needles to fine fingering yarn on needles the size of bamboo skewers is quite the transition. But at least, off and running in the new year!

Speaking of things knitted, I've had a lovely warm lambswool cardigan bought a very long time ago that I pull out to wear around the house with a turtleneck or flannel shirt once the weather gets wintry. And the last time I went to put it on, sometime before Christmas, I noticed to my surprise and dismay, that I'd worn some holes in the elbow regions. But I can mend that fairly seamlessly I think, and have searched my yarns and crewel threads for one that is a close match to the deep cranberry of the sweater. I believe I was wearing this when I was still working at a paying job, which would make it at least 35 years old, so I guess it has actually held up pretty well. No way I am going to ditch it now - mending on the way!

So here it is, the new year, so I was surprised by a late Christmas package arriving on Saturday and delighted by its contents: a "bento box" of specialty teas and these Amy Tan books. Oh my goodness, the Chronicles has such beautiful drawings on every spread, and Amy's writing about her nature excursions and observations in her backyard strike a chord. The journal is just blank pages with room to note day, time, location, weather so that you can draw your own bird observations, and is prefaced with Amy's suggestions for supplies and procedures. Not sure how much I'll use that as in MY backyard, the birds flit so fast among the trees I often can't figure out what they are and I'm not interested in putting up feeders. I do have the occasional humming bird dip into my deck flowers but they too are so swift that I can't even get a photo of one. We'll see . . . 

And now it's time to announce my yearly Resolution Word, one that came to me as I worked on the Joy Banner: Realign. Day after day, I was surprised at how smoothly that project went because I'd been away from that kind of sewing for so long and my memory reminded me of how rusty and fumble fingered I'd been on the last few. Not so now, no hesitation as I moved through the process from one step and skill to the next. At some point I felt a subtle shift inside, hard to explain but basically a feeling that if this was going so well, I should keep going, get back to doing this kind of work. Thus the idea of "realign", and upon checking the definition, I found this one that captures my feeling: To put back into proper order. I have no lack of sewing projects waiting in the wings but they partially wait because I've expanded my interests to include so many other types of crafts and art. I enjoy them all but I can't shake that feeling that the proper order of my time spent needs to move the sewing/quilting up the ranks. And after a year of feeling so low on energy, so many draggy days and a real effort to get things done in spite of my good and helpful resolution word(s) of last year (see below), I'm experiencing a drive and energy going into January that's been missing for awhile. I surely hope it lasts. Happy New Year!

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Previous Resolution Word Posts:

• 2008 - Freedom
  2009 - Calm
  2010 - Focus
  2011 - Refocus
  2012 - Balance & Harmony
  2013 - Perseverance
  2014 - Explore
  2015 - Fearless
  2016 - Light
  2017 - Endure 
  2018 - Refresh
  
  2019 - Wing It!  
  2020 - Go! 
  2021 - Finish 
  2022 - More 
  2023 - Continue
  2024 - Organize  
  2025 - Resist Less/Fear Less 

 

A Little Uplifting Please

I have to admit that the craziness we are living through is starting to wear me down. I don't have Democratic representation which makes it even worse and don't have much faith that my e-mails will break through the Trump loyalty that does represent me. But we persevere, and it was rather helpful to run across the above a few days ago. Helen Hallows who is in the UK included it in her recent substack post on Slow Growth, not referencing anything political but her own energy drain as a business owner and artist and subsequent creative block, saying "I’m accepting that maybe encouragement isn’t always a ‘you can do it’ pep talk. Perhaps like me you’re not in your best place right now. Perhaps the encouragement is to stay small and curled up for a while longer." Yeah, that's the point I have reached in general, and a death in the family is also contributing to the feeling this past week so this was just the kind of encouragement I needed. I think this link will get you to the free part of her post.

However, there's the cardigan sweater waiting for me during various parts of the day when I take a seat and watch a little TV. I've nearly used up the first skein of yarn as I've knit about 8 inches up the back. It's a good distraction. And I've been organizing and straightening things up here and there, post tax preparation and post last studio project. Still thinking about those orphan blocks and have just about talked myself into making a really big tote bag with those two blue and muslin blocks. The many skeins of yarn needed for that sweater are hanging out in the brown paper bag I brought them home in. As pieces of the sweater are finished, they'll need to wait somewhere and I don't like the idea of them going back in that bag, yet all my cloth totes are actually a little small to hold them. Looks like I have a project to attend to.

What To Do With Orphan Blocks

Today I fired up the sewing machine and completed piecing a block I'd used for demonstration in a class I taught when I still lived in Wisconsin. This was not just to show the sequence of sewing pieces into sections but also which way to press seams for an easier and flatter joining of those sections into the finished block. I think I've put off sewing the block together because I really didn't know what to do with it. The quilt itself that was the sample for the class is done and on my bed. I don't need another patchwork pillow, which is a popular way to use up single blocks, not to mention the color doesn't fit any room decor except maybe the bedroom, but I no longer can wedge a chair into that room on which for it to sit. I'm not into table runners either, another way one sees lonely blocks fleshed out into something usable. I've added a single block onto a ready-made tote and also have a tote a friend made from a block I'd appliqued but didn't care for but suddenly looked good on that tote, but I have so many totes, I hardly need to make another. So what to do with this orphan block? I do have a printed panel (to the right of the block) that I bought from Angela Walters which I plan to use to practice her quilting designs (true confession - I was taken with the color as well as the design and also purchased a coordinating print) that is close in color but it doesn't feel quite right to pair them up into a wall hanging, for that is what it would be. I do have quite a bit of paisley and other fabrics leftover from making the top; surely I could come up with something. Any suggestions?

I found this little piece folded in the stack of that leftover fabric. This isn't exactly an orphan block but another result of a class I taught showing how to use ruler templates to cut pieces for Drunkard's Path blocks, then how to sew those curved seams. When arranging blocks, I was intrigued by this arrangement that looked a bit like Indian architecture. I did add a narrow border around the outside, thinking I could make a small wall hanging but it obviously has never happened. And look at how the blue fabric has faded. It must have happened when it was up in the shop where I taught - I had a sample quilt's back totally fade out where it was hung against wood paneling - or it might have been displayed in the shop's window. At any rate, it's hard to get excited about finishing it. What to do? 

This all got me thinking more about the orphan blocks I have stored away in a drawer, knowing that there were two problems with finding a way to finish them off (besides what I've mentioned above): 1) some are quite large, and 2) they are too diverse to be worked into a single quilt (although I do have a memory of making a rather wild charity quilt from different sizes of leftover blocks). The one above is one of the larger ones that if memory serves was from a block exchange where I ended up winning the blocks. Again, quilt made not needing this block, but I still really love it.

Now we're getting way back into my "origins" of quilting. I had a limited amount of the blue fabric but it reminded me of a shade of blue I'd seen in antique quilts and I made up these two blocks. No recollection of why I chose these patterns, but I'm pretty sure if I'd had more of that blue, I would have made more blocks to make a sampler quilt. Now that I have them out again, maybe I should reconsider making them into a tote bag for my knitting. Hmmmm . . . 

Nearing the end of single blocks, here are two that again, I have little recollection of. I used to cut up leftover scraps into what I then considered usable sizes and saved off-cut triangles as well. I'm pretty sure these were just me playing around with leftovers.

This one though is a real treasure in my book. After we moved to Wisconsin and I wasn't working anymore, I'd gotten serious about learning how to quilt. Quilting magazines at that time ran ads in the back for quilt shows and block contests you could enter. I got very into making blocks for various contests, even winning a few awards. This one came out so well that I took them up on the option to have it returned. It's a state block (Michigan Star) and I soon found myself dreaming of making a quilt with a block for every state in it. I went so far as to start researching and printing out patterns for state blocks (which is how I ran across my signature Idaho Beauty block) and collecting fabric in this same green, rust and peach palette, squirreling it away with this block in that same drawer where I started keeping the various orphan blocks. I find the palette a bit outdated now and I've lost interest in making a full state block quilt but I still love this block. And again, what to do with it?

This last one isn't exactly an orphan block but it IS a single small block that needs a home. I got the chance to see a lot of Hmong textile art when I lived in Wisconsin, so intricate and finely made that I knew I could never replicate it. So I bought a few small zippered bags with different types of applique and embroidery work on them and then this one 5 x 5 inch block. I'd totally forgotten about it, buried so deep in that drawer. It needs someplace special for sure. But I have no idea where that might be.

So help, my good friends! Any ideas?

End of Year Journal Prompts

I thought I'd share the journal prompts that helped me assess 2024 and settle on my resolution word. They were presented in December by Ali Manning of my Handmade Book Club, partly because so many members are at a loss as to what to use their newly-made blank books for. I was still in a mood when she first posted them and brushed them off as something I didn't want to do, but by the third time they crossed my path, I found myself pouring out answers on a scrap of paper. I know we are well into January, but perhaps you'd be interested in considering them:

• What surprised you this year?
• What habits or routines improved your life?
• What risks did you take and how did they turn out?
• What would you like to leave behind this year?
• What are your top priorities for next year?
  

As you might guess, a lot of my answers were quite negative, but it's good to get that out of your system. And it was pretty clear what I wanted to leave behind and make priorities for 2025.

I usually scan over the year's blog posts before choosing my resolution word and writing that post, but this year I did not. In retrospect, I think I left the impression that the year had been a wash, so easy to concentrate on the negative, but surely that was not true. So now I've made that scan and can say it wasn't all bad, by any means. I made quite a few beautiful books, many for gifts. I got back into knitting more often, completing a pair of socks and nearly finishing a sweater. I worked to improve my art journaling skills with several completed spreads and some small mixed media pieces. I added more Zentangles to my sketchbook, learning some new ones. I pried myself out of the house to do some urban sketching once the weather got nice. And organizing efforts throughout the year did make me feel better about my work spaces and a bit more in control.

Of course, I couldn't help feeling my crowning achievement was making that baby quilt for my goddaughter's baby, then following it up with the pillowcases and trinket bowls. And of course, even more trinket bowls! But I needn't overlook all the rest I accomplished, the year certainly not a wash. I'm disappointed that I couldn't convince myself to get out on a trail hike but I'm hopeful that what kept me home or on my secure daily walking routes will no longer be an issue. And I'm hopeful that my issues with my hands will be less of an issue with the help of compression gloves to wear while doing handwork and these fancier ones with heat and vibrations! In this clip they are charging up, the blinking red lights looking a bit like Christmas, don't you think?

So while I may be focusing on resisting less, I think I am right in thinking I need to resist being sucked in by free classes like that Year of Light one. Even though there are a few lessons I still plan to try, I realized that almost all posts from people doing them were direct copies of the instructor's example. And while copying is one of the best ways to learn, I thought more than once that no, I did not want to just copy, but use my own sketch or idea to practice a particular technique or style. That may be partly out of confidence or partly out of recognition of time marching on and I need to make better use of it. In truth, even in the learning stages of quilting, I was always thinking of little ways I could change things up to make it more my own. I will try to keep that in mind, that making things more my own, as I continue into the new year and keep creating.

2025 Resolution Word(s)

Are you a resolution maker or use the shortened version of choosing a resolution word? I've settled into the latter and often have my next year's word chosen a month or two before it goes into effect. Not this year. It was well into December before I settled on my choice for 2025, actually two sets of two words. They mirror how I felt 2024 had gone and how I didn't want 2025 to go. I'll reveal them in a bit but first, here is the last of the trinket bowls, made hastily on New Year's Day because I'd be seeing the recipient the following day for my regular cut and style. I had plenty of time to make it, but kept putting it off as I so often do with tasks until I was nearly out of time.

My stylist is always interested in my creative ventures, so at my previous appointment, I'd told her about the trinket bowls I'd been making and found it a little difficult to explain what they were and my process. Right then and there I decided I should make her one. She is an avid hunter, her husband hunts too but is also a game taxidermist, and they've even gone on safari in Africa. So I pulled out some leopard and tiger fabric that had come from friend Judi's stash to make this. She immediately said, "This will be perfect for all my rings!" then sent me a photo of it in use. She added that most of them had been gifted to her by another crafty client who makes them. I feel like she herself is quite the hair artist, mine being no trick to keep in check and her personality draws people to her. I'm not surprised that clients often gift her their work as I have.

But I digress. I realized that I'd spent a lot of last year in this same cycle of putting off getting to things or finishing things I'd started, even things that I wanted to do or had gotten excited about. My mental state was one of resisting, and if I could just get past the "I don't want to . . ." quarrel going on in my head, I was fine and getting things done. But I often didn't win.

Sleeves set in but still dragging my feet about sewing up the sides

So why was I resisting so much? To be honest, it may have started with tipping over into my seventh decade, which believe me I wanted to resist. I think I spent much of the year in a funk over it, coupled with a long slog getting my thyroid back in balance which eventually vanquished side effects of anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping and fatigue. I started having more issues focusing my eyes which is due to dry eye syndrome which started up a few years back, part of my on-going auto-immune syndrome. The pain in my thumb-joints and cramping fingers worsened, making me think twice about picking up knitting needles or needle and thread to sew the pieces of this wool sweater together. I stare at it each evening when I settle in to watch tv, but fear gripping that needle will set off the cramping and the pain keeps me from picking it up. (However, I'm experimenting with compression gloves of two varieties and they may be helping.) Frankly, I grew tired of the constant monitoring of my various ailments and the daily/weekly routines and medication necessary to keep everything in check. Moody and biligerant about these things I could not ignore but wished I could.

That's the other thing I've realized in looking back over my behavior last year. A lot of the resistance was also driven by fear: fear of pain, or not having the stamina to make a longer drive or hike a trail longer than my daily walk, even still lingering pandemic fear of participating in anything involving crowds.  And too much of it driven by the whine of that petulant child in my head. I knew all this fear and resistance was making my world smaller and was having a hard time caring.

But hey! Something reversed after Thanksgiving. I suddenly started feeling physically much better which may be why my attitude uplifted, became brighter. I suddenly did not dread the coming year as another marker of my waning time on this earth but felt I'd have the energy to do more and see more, and really want to. I would take up my resolution word more as a mantra:

RESIST LESS/FEAR LESS

I think this will serve me well, and I pray this looking-forward-to-the-new-year optimism and better health stays with me! This quotation from Rilke is a perfect reminder of what a new year can mean:

“And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done, full of tasks, claims, and demands; and let us see that we learn to take it without letting fall too much of what it has to bestow upon those who demand of it necessary, serious, and great things.”

As for last year's word - organize - It didn't help as much as I had hoped in getting me more productive, what with all this resistance in the background. Initially it was good to get the decks cleared and a lot of stuff organized and put away. But organizing is a lot like housework: it is never one and done but something you have to keep doing as new items enter the studio and projects leave messes in their wake. Plus there's always that issue of organizing so well that you suddenly can't find something you know you have somewhere, if you could only retrace your logic to find it. Plus, my muse apparently took off with both boxes of Posca Pens which I realized a few months ago were nowhere in sight, my last memory of one set on the work table and the other on the floor next to some paint I'd been journaling with.. She must be holding them hostage until I get back to my art journaling . . .

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Previous Resolution Word Posts:

• 2008 - Freedom
  2009 - Calm
  2010 - Focus
  2011 - Refocus
  2012 - Balance & Harmony
  2013 - Perseverance
  2014 - Explore
  2015 - Fearless
  2016 - Light
  2017 - Endure 
  2018 - Refresh
  
  2019 - Wing It!  
  2020 - Go! 
  2021 - Finish 
  2022 - More 
  2023 - Continue
  2024 - Organize 
  

 

 

Helpful Tip

Finally tackling the dreaded finishing touches to my sweater, getting those shoulder seams whip stitched together so I can knit the collar. I've never liked picking up stitches at the neckline, always feeling that it is a guessing game to get the right number so stitches evenly distributed. It's been a long time since I've done this and thought to check a reference book I have on hand to see if I was doing it right (I wasn't). And that is where I found the helpful tip for distributing the stitches - use stitch markers to break up the neckline evenly! Almost a "duh" moment. I did some math and came up with a breakdown of 7 sections of 15 stitches each. I'd bought a packet of safety pin-like markers back when I was knitting socks, didn't even know they existed until they were used in a PBS knit & crochet show I'd started watching. They worked like a charm. Onward!

I'm having a hard time adapting my routine to the time change that brings darkness so early to the day. I am so used to walking between 4:30 and 5:00 or so when I know my mail will be waiting for me as I pass the mail locker on my way by, but now it is almost dark by 4:00, so an earlier walk it is and a second trip to the mail locker after dark. Any change in routine leaves me floundering for awhile and wanting to resist it but I'm trying to be more positive this time. For instance, I'm meeting different people walking their dogs at this earlier time. Still, I'm getting caught out by the switching around and not getting into the studio as I want. The day just magically disappears even faster it seems. How are you coping with the time change?

And do you have plans for Thanksgiving? If you are traveling, may it be safe and delay free. If you are hosting, may all conversation be light and loving, and all food comfort for the soul.

Creativity and Cottonwoods

As I've journeyed through my quilting career, I've soaked in so many bits of advice to the point that I rarely run across anything new to me and frankly have even stopped clicking into most of them. But I couldn't resist checking out this one due to the title: "I've studied creative people for 40 years: They share these 6 habits." Hmm - I think of myself as a creative person. How do I stand up? Well, I don't quite have them all but most, and especially the outdoor habit. I hardly miss a daily walk where there are many opportunities to study trees. Read the article here and let me know if you have all six habits.

So with a cold front due to move in with rain the next day, I needed to get out somewhere in the great outdoors before it arrived, but I decided not to make the 45 or so minute drive to that new trail I discovered. Instead, I headed into town to check out how the leaves were turning and had a choice between City Beach or the Bay Trail. I didn't think I was up for the Bay Trail so settled for enjoying the lake front from city beach. Lake draw down has started and most boats have been pulled from the docks, but it isn't down all that much, still beautiful views. From the spit I could look across at the Bay Trail which is lined with cottonwood trees, now showing their colors. I wasn't sure if they would be, but gazing across I was almost sorry I didn't take that trail. It's lovely walking beneath that golden canopy.

I spotted some rather scraggly flowers next to the walkway, but pretty all the same.

The cottonwoods have finally amped up their color, and the birch trees are following suit. I took these pictures along the service road next to the dog park.

They are at their best when the sun hits them.  

And they are sooooo tall!

I don't have pictures but have noticed some trees that have turned color in what seems an odd way. At least I don't remember noticing before how some trees have both yellow and orange leaves in different parts of the tree. And one tree at City Beach had yellow leaves close to the trunk while the outer leaves were orange red. You really had to look closely to see those yellow leaves hiding underneath. And while many trees are at peak, others have leaves that are stubbornly staying green. What are you observing in your neck of the woods?

Thoughts on Creativity

Leaves seem reluctant to change their colors in my part of the world, that is, save for a group of maples in a park I frequent.

They are a rich red which draws me over for a closer look.

The cottonwood trees, though, can't seem to muster their usual bright golden yellow I love, if they are turning at all. Their hearts don't seem in it, any more than my heart has been into what waits in my studio this year. Oh, there have been splashes of interest, bursts like those maples, but the interest and drive I once had waxes and wanes. Age? Health? Shift of priorities? I don't even take as many inspiration photos as I used to. And yet, I still study clouds on my walks and couldn't help but try to capture some stunning ones yesterday, having no idea how I might work them into a textile piece - clouds are really hard to capture in fabric and thread! Not even easy with paint!

I went on a bit of a rant in my last post, and confessed I'd managed to confuse myself looking at all the videos previewed during a taster offering.Why am I looking at all these painting sessions? Why am I not working with textiles? And then found this quotation in a recent e-mail from Laly Mille, one of the teachers and someone I've been following and taking free lessons from for awhile:

“You will enrich your life immeasurably if you approach it with a sense of wonder and discovery, and always challenge yourself to try new things.”

– Nate Berkus –

Well, I did allude during my rant that I do like a challenge of mastering something new and this quotation reminded me of that. Some of my earliest memories involve needle and thread, fabric and yarn, constantly challenging myself to learn a new stitch or make something slightly beyond my abilities. And this need to learn has never been limited to any one thing. That's why now I joke that I have too many interests, I can't keep up!

Ah well, I suppose there are worse problems to have. I can't disagree with the above statement. Back to work . . .

Lighthearted Musings

Photo by George Sanker

July is nearly over, and I think I will miss this calendar photo of the American Purple Gallinule. Look at those feet! You'd think they'd be an encumbrance but in fact, they are purpose built for walking on floating vegetation and clinging to plant stems. Laugh if you will but their huge clawed feet are their specialty for survival.

If that doesn't make you smile, perhaps this video will. I had saved it thinking it would be much longer than it is but worth watching when I had more time. Who among us has not faced "creative anxiety and procrastination", the theme of author Fredrik Backman's talk? You won't believe what he has to say in such a short amount of time!

And then there's this post from Ellen Anne Eddy: Repetition:The Nervous Person's Friend. Ellen is always so open and honest in her posts and this one is no exception as she muses about the breakdown of the body as we arrive in our seventies (I'm with you on that one, Ellen). But I also agree with what she has to say about this art form we embrace that is so full of doing the same thing over and over. Here's a sample but do check out the entire post.

"Part of it is that repetitious actions put us in a different mode and zone. It’s been called right brain thinking, but I think it needs the reinforcement of physical action, particularly action that doesn’t take a lot of thought...Thank God for repetition. For mindless tasks that eventually build art. They also bring quiet, piece, peace and courage. On the other side, enough blue, purple, orange and yellow is an excellent color therapy. Color really is an antidepressant."

I also came across a couple of John O'Donohue quotations this week which I found surprisingly fitting for the artist in me rather than just the spiritual which is his milieu. They really uplifted me, and if you need uplifting in any way, perhaps they will resonate with you as well.

"May you have the wisdom to enter generously into your own unease to discover the new direction your longing wants you to take."

"May I have the courage today to live the life that I would love, to postpone my dream no longer but do at last what I came here for and waste my heart on fear no more" 

And may you have an astounding and fearless and lighthearted week!

Not Much To Share

It's been hot. There was motorcycle racing to watch. I had to drive to the semi-big city yesterday in 100 degree heat. I've gotten hooked on the Smithsonian channel's Air Disaster series, newly discovered by me but in its 20th season so lots of catching up. My lassitude feels typically summer so not too worried as long as it doesn't continue into fall! I think my deck flowers feel the same as they struggle to maintain blooms in this heat. I've finally started on the first sleeve of the sweater knitting project while watching tv that doesn't require full attention; otherwise, creativity a bit stalled. Hand me my iced coffee as I relax with a good book . . .

Helen Wells sent out a video addressing this very thing, how a change in season shifts our energy and can make one want a change in approach. She lists a lot of things she'd like to do in this time, "carving out" a little more space for them in this time when she wants to retreat a bit: "A time to retreat into creativity, a time to replenish, a time to be more introspective...."  She has keyed in on 4 things to consider in how she wants to spend these summer days. 

• What do I want to START doing?

• What do I want to STOP doing?

• What do I want to do LESS of?

• What do I want to do MORE of?

 I realized that this is what I've been doing for awhile now as I've felt a need to adjust a routine I've fallen into but want to get out of or at least modify. I just haven't written it down in list form as she suggests. There are things I know I want to stop but why is it so difficult to do that? Reading and knitting definitely fall in the do more of, and I have. Am trying to do less on the computer starting with not reading every single thing I come across, doing a better job of "curating" what's important and what doesn't really apply to me or is not new info, letting quick scans gather up what I need to know, passing up things I don't. As for what do I want to start? I'll have to give that more thought. I have so much going on, so many interests I'm already pursuing, I can't imagine starting something new. Then again, maybe I'm looking at that the wrong way. More thought!

You can watch the video here or read the transcript version below it. Let me know what you think. Does any of this resonate with you?

More Collage

I had started a spread in my big art journal before I was tapped to make the Scrappy Journal, which ironically would also include collaging. Although I was eager to work on my journal page, I thought of it as good practice, a trial run before I got to that part in my art journal. The theme for the page is my resolution word: organize. Laly Mille who I'd taken a class from, was art journaling her resolution word, and in running across a picture of a clock, I thought of my wish to organize my time and was inspired to do the same. Art journaling has two worthwhile components in my book. The page can be a place to experiment with new media, tools and techniques, and in the process of composing the collage it can unlock feelings, emotions and more, just like writing in a journal can, only here you are exploring visually. Laly often does written journaling on the page in pencil before anything else which I find helpful in focusing my mind on what it is I want to accomplish with this page or maybe just what I'm feeling at the moment. With that done, time to start covering the page. I started with laying down some watercolor paint with nothing particular in mind.

I started with watercolor because I wanted to conduct an experiment. I knew what happens when you scatter salt over fabric or paper that is wet with dye or paint. The salt sucks the color to it and you can get some interesting patterning. I'd read that you could do the same with what's in those packets that come in some many things to keep things dry. One of my medications comes with a rather large packet so I have quite a few saved waiting for the experiment. I was surprised to find that they are actually filled with tiny balls. Look closely at the above photo and you should be able to spot some that haven't drawn up any color. The "dots" are ones that definitely have.

And when brushed off, they do leave a bit of patterning on the paper, not as much as I'd hoped but there just the same. Now I know.

With the Scrappy Journal done, I could pull out this spread again, along with the things I'd set aside to collage on it. I'm finally dipping more into my stash of security envelops and chose blue ones as I want to keep this spread light and positive. Was so excited when I ran across large text reading "Getting Organized" which I amended to "Get Organized". "New Year" and the colorful strips of balls and stars are from a New Year's card I received after Christmas (some people just admit they will not get their greetings out before Christmas!). The lined memo paper needs me to add those things I want to get organized but other than not, not sure what the next step should be. I'm pretty happy with it right now, but just like in quilting when I hesitate to add the final step of quilting for fear of ruining what I've already done, I'm hesitant to try blending with paint or other things even though I know it needs something to make it even better and bring the whole thing together. It can sit while I ponder and do some more straightening and organizing in the studio.

Speaking of which, my goddaughter asked the other day how the organizing was going and I have to admit it's going slowly, still dragging my feet about where things should go if not on the floor. Bits and pieces are finding either a new home and where they should have gone in the first place. I'm trying to be more disciplined about putting things away as soon as I am done with them rather than my usual habit of leaving them on the worktable pushed aside for "later". It really is a helpful habit to get into. But I am making some disturbing finds, like the silk tie fabric from one floor stack that I really can't remember why I wanted to leave it out. Or more disturbing, while rearranging the small stacking bins I keep under the worktable and looking through the quilting magazines on one, I uncovered two books I don't remember buying, and neither have anything to do with quilting, so why are they there? What other mysteries will I uncover?

Worse still perhaps is that I know I have to clear off the ironing board, those stacks still a bit mysterious, because I am about ready to embark on the baby quilt for my goddaughter's latest baby. Not willing to attend to that as my excitement in finding a pattern and material for the quilt is driving me to get started, I began searching through my stash for the pinks I think I want to use. Well, you have to audition those pinks against what you just bought and with nowhere else to do it, I started working on top of the pile on the ironing board. Mired, I am absolutely mired in a mess and confused as to what direction to go with these fabrics. So I'm thinking today the ironing board must be liberated, the fabric auditioning set aside until I have space on the worktable again. I want to start cutting!!!! That should be incentive enough, wouldn't you think?

Into A New Year

Time once again to reveal my resolution word for the new year. I often have ideas pop into my head in advance of the end of one year and beginning of the next, but this year I was drawing a blank, no inspiration hitting me. But at last I had a thought, and the thought became something I warmed to. And I decided, this is it: my resolution word for 2024 will be "ORGANIZE". I'm generally quite the organizer but I've fallen off the wagon for too long. One look in my studio will tell you how badly I need to get that space organized again, but it is not the only space in my house needing attention. Also, my computer, full of photos that need sorting and/or deleting, saves to read later, things to print out. I need to get back to making lists too, short term and long term things and projects to complete, and I know that will help me stay more organized. I think I have a big job ahead of me but I am very ready to have a less clutter space everywhere, with organizing keeping me on track. Because you know, I still have so much to finish and no end to new things I want to try.

Speaking of new things, I have a confession to make. I've definitely been bitten by the knitting bug again, and have been spending a lot of time poring over patterns I have and downloading new free patterns to print out. I'd gotten out my stash of yarns, thinking to match what I had to patterns at hand, so that once that pair of socks is done, I can dive into the next project and start using up yarn. As I went through the bags, I was reminded of the mill end wool yarns I used to get at a yarn shop in town and wondering if they still carried them now that the shop had changed hands. The owner must have ESP because shortly after that, she posted that they had just gotten in a new shipment and showed a picture of them hanging on the wall. It was too much for me to resist, although I kept telling myself I did NOT need more yarn. But yarn is like quilting fabric, and one buys it even if one doesn't need it, because it is beautiful, and in this case quite a deal - just $4.50 per 190 yd skein. Be still my heart, as I focused on a lavender one. Against my better judgement, I stopped by, and not only bought all of the lavender yarn, but also the beautiful blue yarn right next to it. So there is my big bag of yarn, with enough there for a couple of sweaters. I already have it paired with patterns and am way too excited about getting started on them.

So that's how I'm starting off 2024 - with high hopes to get organized and way too much yarn for evening knitting! How about you? Have you done any reflecting on how 2023 went for you? Any plans or resolutions for the new year? Calm has a Facebook page where they post meditative and well, calming things, and I thought this offering might be good to work through; maybe you will too. Let's have a great New Year!

 

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For previous year's resolution words, see these posts:

2008 - Freedom

2009 - Calm

2010 - Focus

2011 - Refocus

2012 - Balance & Harmony

2013 - Perseverance

2014 - Explore

2015 - Fearless

2016 - Light

2017 - Endure 

2018 - Refresh

2019 - Wing It!  

2020 - Go! 

2021 - Finish 

2022 - More 

2023 - Continue

 

Revisiting Pink

True confession: I have not gotten back to my pink abstract challenge piece. But the last few times I was in the studio and took a glance at them, I was suddenly excited rather than puzzled or frustrated with what I saw. Sometimes you need to give yourself longer time away from a project you feel stuck over than you might think. I'm ready to start gluing down pieces and finishing these up. In the meantime, I've gotten curious about my past use of pink in quilts so thought it might be fun to take a look through my journey with it, starting with its obvious use in baby quilts. The quilt above was made for a nephew's baby, with the mother showing how she was decorating the nursery in pink and green. Green? Not only would I never think to use this color scheme for a nursery, for some reason pairing pink with green was a different concept for me, especially in a baby quilt. But nature obviously pairs pink and green so I embraced the idea and quite like the way this one turned out. You can read more about this quilt and its construction here.

This baby quilt was for one of my godson's little boys, and yes, I really do struggle with breaking out of the blue is for boys, pink is for girls thing, to the point that I worried about my use of pink here. But it was so obvious to use it with the blue fabric I'd chosen. No complaints from the parents, and I was told years later that the little boy was still taking this quilt with him to pre-school. Read more about it here.

One more, made for the baby of a friend who worked with my late husband and was so much help to me after he died. As in the previous quilts, I often use the excuse of a baby quilt to try out techniques and patterns and this one is no exception. It is actually based on an antique quilt so I dived into my stash of reproduction fabrics for this one, and I had plenty of a soft pink for the borders and sashings. Really enjoyed working on this one and love how it came out. Pre-blogging so no post I can send you to for details.

Ok, so verified that pink has always been a go-to when planning a baby quilt (although I was surprised at how many times I chose bright non-pink colors), and since I rarely bought fabric specifically for any of them, it's obvious I had a lot of pink in my stash. Not afraid of buying it, and in the case of reproduction pinks in particular, they are often subdued, muted, pale, and pair well with browns, as many of the reproduction prints of the late 1800s show with their pink florals on brown backgrounds. Here's a case in point, my I turned fifty Crow's Feet quilt. Look at all that pink and brown, at least 4 different prints, so soothing to my eye. I've made more than one antique reproduction quilt with these sorts of pinks. See more about it here.

But there is one I've made with a very strong pink solid bought specifically for it. I wanted to make an Amish-style quilt for one of my brothers, using Quilt In A Day Roman Stripes pattern. It's not clear to me at the moment why I chose this color scheme of pinks, purple and blues, but I suspect I'd seen a real Amish quilt with those colors. At any rate, the fabrics were pick from Hancock's of Paducah's large range of Kona cotton solids on my first trip to the AQS show. Another pre-blogging quilt, but I can tell you it was queen size and hand quilted and took me about 5 years to complete, during which we moved twice, once while the quilt was on the frame. And a bit of an outlier when compared to most of my quilts.

Pink slipped into some of my early smaller projects, like what became a combination applique and pieced table runner. If it weren't for the pink in the green print, I doubt I would have chosen pink for one of the heart rings. I later found a big pink teapot with 3 pink mugs in an antique store that matched the pink in this and couldn't resist buying it.

And this original design wall quilt ended up with pink as a background color, playing off the navy floral print with pink in it and pairing with burgundy. It was definitely the desire to use the blue with pink prints driving my pink background fabric choice, not the other way around. And to be honest, all that pink always has made me a bit uncomfortable in a quilt like this.

As I think about why so much pink in art quilts, I think it is because when one first starts dyeing fabric, Fuchsia is one of "primary" colors you work with. So there it is, so much pink everywhere. And as I started buying fabric paints in sets, the same was true; if not fuchsia, then magenta always included. So as I experimented, I just kept reaching for that color and ending up with more pink fabric to work with. In it went and afterwards I was not entirely happy. But I couldn't help using it and wasn't far enough along on my journey to know how to successfully alter it. Above are three such early examples as I tiptoed my way into making art quilts. The background of the first one was from an experiment Judi wanted to try where we painted dyes on fabric and batched them rather than the immersion dyeing method. I honestly didn't know what to do so just did a bit of spattering. This post tells how I attached those squares of foil. The second one's background was an experiment with paint but I used squares cut from a batik that had a mix of blue and pink in it (more here). The last one I think was paint, at least the green over the pink was paint. I was playing with doing a grid series based on nine patches. A fourth one got made using another pinkish painted background (see here and here.), 

And here's one last one from the painting experiments - a paint and twist and let dry technique which allows for the paint  to migrate to the folds. I could see a tree and an owl as I pressed it and so that is what I did with it, quilting to accentuate what was clear to me, mounting it on burgundy crushed velvet from clothes I made for my mother and me back in the 70's and framed (see here). For posts on some of the paint experimenting, see here and here. So much pink . . .

But, as I continued my art quilt journey, I think I became more sophisticated with my use of pink. The quilt above was on the vierge of being purchased by the young man who would later become my optomotrist, but he eventually backed away and said, "People think I'm crazy enough as it is to live in a house painted purple. I CAN'T add a pink quilt on a wall inside!" Here's where it began, with a kaleidoscope manipulation of a photo of a geranium and a piece of fabric that had been folded before going into the dye bath.

But one pink art quilt I make no apologies for is this one, the background being a surprise when pulled from the bottom of a bin where it had been soaking up dye dripping down through a rack of fabric being snow dyed. It became the "rose wine" to the "burgundy wine" in a pair inspired by Homer's reference to "sailing the wine dark seas" (see here). The squiggles are based on photos I took of sailboat masts reflected in the rippling water. I will never sell this one, and the pair hang over my computer so I enjoy them every day.

As I was scrolling through my photo files, I did run across a few padfolios done with handdyes leaning toward pink (scroll to the bottom of this post) but that's more like accessories in that a little pink or burgundy (or this lovely old rose) is really ok. In general though, my quilts have leaned mostly towards fall colors, a lot of rusts and browns and rich reds as well as ones with more blue and some golds. I've done pink, but again, pink does feel less appropriate for serious art unless used in moderation or to a specific theme. That must be the conclusion I came to, after all that painted and dyed pink!