Published!

Now now, don't get too excited. I'm referring to the beautiful book Sacred Threads has published which includes all the quilts in this year's exhibit. Still, this is the first time I've been included, or rather my quilts, in any kind of book. And I do know artists who choose exhibits to enter based on whether or not they publish an exhibit catalog. It's something they want to be able to put on their resume. Me - not so much. But it's still a thrill.

And I couldn't be more pleased. Look! There's Bubble Prayers featured on the leading page to the section on Grief.

And my quilts are the first one's in that section. It takes away some of my disappointment in not being included in the traveling exhibit. The layout is pleasing and the photos I supplied printed true to color and in focus. I was really sweating that.  It tells me I can trust I'm seeing the rest of the quilts in this book just as they were in the exhibit. And at over 300 pages, I have hours of enjoyment ahead of me as I take in the variety of expressions and read their accompanying stories. If you are interested in purchasing your own copy, just follow this link.

I also sprung for a thumbdrive of the audio tour - why not? I'd recorded a little extra myself and am curious to hear the other artists' voices and the additional things they wanted to share. However, I was really puzzled when I pulled what looked like a credit or gift card from the box. Wondering if my lack of smart phone would mean I'd have no way to play it. I certainly couldn't think of anything I had on hand that might work.

It took me forever to realize that the little black rectangle on the back actually rotates out to be inserted into an SD card drive. Whew! I'm not as technically out of it as I thought.

Thank you letter & picture of antique quilt on my repro version

Although this is my first time to be published in a book, I have been published in a magazine a long time ago. This was back when I was making traditional and repro quilts and collecting antique ones. I was commissioned to make a copy of an antique Forbidden Fruit Tree quilt for an historic building in Wisconsin. Their budget only covered materials; good cause or not, I was not willing to donate all of my time for such a labor-intensive project. It was with great reluctance that the owner of the quilt with whom I was negotiating agreed to let me have the antique quilt as partial payment. Its value was not equal to my labor costs but it meant a great deal to me to add it to my collection. And my name and info about the reproduction got posted along with the quilt.

This really was a major undertaking, figuring out how the original quilt was constructed and making my own pattern sized to their specifications. The block itself is a complicated one and it was a challenge to convert the hand quilted design to machine quilting. I wanted to share all this so I submitted pictures and my story to Traditional Quiltworks magazine, thinking it might make it into the Letters from Readers section. Instead, they wanted to feature it and me along with a pattern. I'm still pretty pleased and proud about that. Look! The antique quilt made it on the cover.

And look again! Both antique and reproduction are shown with the pattern (you better believe it's a three thimble difficulty rating) and a small photo of me! My 15 minutes of fame... Click on the pic and any others for a larger view.

You can't see it in these photos, but looking at this diagram from the magazine pattern instructions, I am reminded of one of the things that made me want to own this quilt and that made reproducing it a challenge: as the magazine states "an extraordinary setting." I'm so happy that this antique quilt also got its 15 minutes of fame. Wonder how many quilters actually gave this a go or at least made a single block as those brave enough to sign up for my class did? It makes a lovely pillow cover - one I still get out each Christmas.

Thanks for suffering through my sharing of my several experiences of 15 minutes of fame. How about you? What brief rise to prominence have you had in you quilting career that makes you beam with pride?

Play Day In The Park

Lake Pend Oreille - Farragut State Park Shoreline Trail

Goodness, I've let the week get away from me. I partially blame it on the sudden change in weather from cool 50's and rain to high 70's and mostly clear skies. Feels like summer has returned and I'm taking advantage of being out in it when I can. As I studied the forecast for the week, Wednesday looked an excellent day to get out hiking on a new trail. Yes, along my beautiful Lake Pend Oreille again.

Top arrow shows my hiking route near home, bottom arrow shows this day's route

But this time, I'm exploring the opposite end of where I live and walk along it, another gem in Northern Idaho - Farragut State Park - a 35 mile drive away. Yes, this lake is huge...and deep as well. Click on the picture for the details. Originally the site of a Naval training base during World War II, it now provides civilian recreation in the form of a museum, camping, numerous hiking trails, beaches and boat launches.

For this maiden adventure, I settled on hiking a portion of Shoreline Trail, because you know how I like my water views, it is rated easy and can be accessed from several different spots. Didn't feel like I could commit to the full 5.6 mile round trip hike but by starting near Beaver Bay Beach, I could keep it to about 3 miles. I headed what felt like north but actually more northeast according to the map, pleased to find the trail actually does hug the shoreline and provides the uneven ground and gentle inclines to give my legs some exercise.

Another reason I picked this trail is because it is one included in the book On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods by Bruce Bjornstad & Eugene Kiver. The guide tells you what features to look for along the way that ties in with the Ice Age activities in this area. I had an excellent junior high school geology teacher who really sparked my interest in the subject, and I always like to know and understand what I am looking at if I can. For instance, the book tells me that these rocks were probably brought here from a nearby limestone quarry to use as riprap to control erosion and are "composed of unusual, zebra-like-striped rocks of Cambrian-age limestone." They certainly caught my eye and would still be puzzling me without my handy guidebook.

Can you say "Shibori" ? That was my first thought!

This is a huge boulder easily 4 ft high, which the book refers to as "granitic glacial erratic." In this shaded spot it is covered with pale bluish-green lichen.

No help in identifying these much smaller rocks. One looking sheered off to expose many lines going every which way like quilting stitches in an abstract piece, the other having a strong lavender hue and a single horizontal white vein - quartz perhaps?

Too late in one season, too early in the next for a great deal of flora excitement. However, I did spot these daisy-like flowers - just these two and no others along the trail - notable for those deep reddish orange centers. There were also a few asters here and there but not much else flowering.

And then there were these big and bright rose hips trying to steal the show!

But then the reminder that autumn will soon arrive in a blaze of a different color.

After about an hour of walking, picture taking and absorbing the peace and beauty of this section of the trail, I arrived at a boat launch. The trail continues out of the frame to the left, I later discovered only another half mile to it's northern trail-head. Had I known I was that close, I might have continued! Instead, I took a break and watched the loading and unloading of a few boats before turning back. Across the way, you can see how steep the mountain is, and along the craggier spots, one might be lucky enough to spot some mountain goats of this variety. Note to self: remember to bring some binoculars next time.

I would have liked a different return route, but then again, you always see something a little different looking the other way. There were several huh-I-didn't-notice-that moments. This is looking back toward the end of the lake and Buttonhook Bay, the mountains losing their steep cragginess.

Near to where I parked and started my trek is a walk-in picnic area, the perfect spot to have a bit of lunch, enjoy the view and read just a bit. Ahhh - so peaceful...

Then rather than return on the upper trail to the parking lot, I followed the Shoreline trail as it skirts below it and around to Beaver Bay Beach. I'm unclear as to whether this is a natural little bay or man-made one, but whichever, its greenish waters were a surprise - like a lagoon on a desert island.

This is a swimming spot, although the beachgoers I'd seen upon my earlier arrival were now gone. I'm not sure I'd want to swim in there though. What's making it so green? Swim they must though, if the building with large changing room, showers and toilets is any indication.

So a little sandy beach on the right and a more substantial thumb of land surrounding the swimming area on the left where big pines gave shade, a lovely wooden bench beckoned, and beyond that point of land just left of center - Buttonhook Bay and the farthest southern reaches of the lake. On my way up to the parking lot, I passed a sign where the Shoreline Trail continued saying it was only half a mile to the bay, a mile to an observation point. It was tempting...but I decided to save it for another day.

Instead, I got back in the car to check out the rest of the park. I saw several groups of deer feeding along the way, none of them the least bit worried about me encroaching on their space. They have learned there is safety from man within the boundaries of the park.

And finally, the last item on my list, to drive out to this observation point for a panoramic view.

And also to see for myself the damage from a forest fire earlier in the summer that threatened the small resort town of Bayview (also site of a US Naval Acoustic Research Detachment where large-scale submarine models are tested) and prompted evacuations of the park. Indeed - I could now see just how close it had come, Bayview being more or less behind and below those trees on the left and at the base of the mostly charred hillside. That hillside is also the site of the aforementioned limestone quarry.

Taken from my front steps - look closely for the faint line of the mountain in the center left

Also from my front steps looking more or less north

The smoke from this fire and the many others in Washington and northern Idaho in August filled our valley with smoke for several weeks, even though the closest fires were not even in range. It became so thick as to register in the extremely hazardous to all people range - particle readings as high as Beijing on its worst day. We'd had some smoky days last year when I was shocked to see how much it was obscuring the mountains near my house. But this year was worse, lasted much longer and gave a feeling of apocalypse. On the worst days the sun shown blood red through the pall. People were warned to stay inside and going on a hike of any kind was totally out of the question. So you can understand my added appreciation for a day like Wednesday and my eagerness to take advantage of it, because of all those terrible smoke-filled days of August.

Not the moon but the sun sinking behind the heavy layer of not clouds but smoke

 

 

Carrots

1 podcast interview and two audiobooks later...

It's a sad state of affairs when I find myself resorting to carrots in order to progress on this beading. Not edible carrots, mind you, but the sort of carrot dangled in front of the recalcitrant donkey to get it to move forward with its load. I'm still unsure why a task once enjoyable to me feels like such a burden to get rolling and one for which I haven't the patience to stick with once I sit down at it. Where did the me go who could get lost for hours in the quiet meditative embrace of handwork?

But that is my reality at the moment so I am looking beyond my usual tricks which fail to work right now. In a moment of equal impatience for sitting through a lengthy podcast (I have things to do besides sit here!), I decided to try combining a session of beading with a session of podcast listening. I wasn't sure it would work as I've noted, to my dismay, that I can no longer do two things at once; I either lose the train of what I am listening to if my hands are engaged or find my hands have stopped moving as I concentrate on what I am listening to. But maybe since the beading did not require decision-making or even close attention, this could work. After all, it is one of the reasons I purchased a laptop to use in the studio, so that I could listen to music or the radio or possibly audio books while working.

It worked amazingly well, the interview being a sort of distraction while the beading making me feel productive. However, I don't have a line-up of podcasts waiting to be listened to (I'm more apt to have short videos to be watched). I thought about audio books, as I have a good friend who does a lot of her sewing while "reading" with her ears. But I wondered if I could truly follow the plot of my usual character heavy and convoluted plotline books without finding that my hands had stopped moving. Or that when I put in the next disc a day or two later, I'd have lost the train of the story line, no way to "flip back" to review.

At this same time, I'd started another book series quite by accident. I did not realize that the free books I'd snagged at the library were the first in a series of five. Wasn't even sure if they would appeal but they looked promising. The first one turned out to be a quick read with an uncomplicated plot and interesting characters I could relate to. Thought provoking but not overly so. And leaving me anxious to continue the story in the next book. Yes, in many ways I'd rather be reading these days than plying my needle. As I checked my library for the 3rd book in the series, the first thing to pop up was an audio version. Hmm - might this be the perfect book to listen to while beading? Five cds, each an hour in length, of a story I couldn't wait to continue - but could only access in the studio when I beaded - yes, it was the carrot I needed to settle me down and keep me beading beyond a few minutes. In fact, there have been times I've beaded beyond the minimum 1 hour cd, if I couldn't wait for the next installment. Or beaded slightly longer after a cd went silent in order to finish a section.

I'm hoping I won't always need a carrot like this, but for the moment, it is doing the trick and killing two birds with one stone. I'm finally making good progress, seeing my vision taking shape. Also breathing a sigh of relief as I finish up the areas those trade beads were earmarked for. I came a little too close for comfort to running out!

All that's left of the 4 strands of trade beads

 

 

A Quick Sketch

For all my good intentions, my sketching keeps getting pushed to the back burner. On days when I'm out and about and thinking I will stop and sketch that architectural feature today, well, I find reasons not to, including the lame one of just not feeling like it. I have found it an excellent idea to keep my architecture sketchbook and pencil case in the car to eliminate at least one of those excuses - I forgot to grab my sketchbook.

So yesterday, there I was in the semi-big city for a doctor's appointment, nothing else to take advantage of there, except the fact that it has a Dairy Queen and my little home town does not. I'd had a craving for a Blizzard for several weeks so decided this was my chance to treat myself. I'd tossed in my other sketchbook where I've been sketching comfort food, thinking to do a quick sketch of my Blizzard cup that I could finish with color once I got home. I did and I will, but as I then enjoyed my treat, sitting in the car in the DQ back parking lot, thinking this was not the best of views, I spotted a spindly black spire atop a church steeple beyond the vacant lot.

The church itself was somewhat obscured by trees but from what I could see, it didn't strike me as the style one would expect to see a spire rising from. The steeple must be a bell tower - the black x's actual openings in its side. That slender BLACK spire was striking against the cloudy sky. I could not resist.

I'm still pondering whether to add a bit of color - the walls were a light sand - just a value lighter than the toned paper - and I'm tempted to fill in the trees with green. But perhaps I'll just leave it alone.

Paying Attention

With my last post, you know that part of my my being AWOL on the blog has been due to company. Not just the lovely time spent while they were here, but also the not so lovely time picking up my messes and cleaning. The guest room is also my office, where I have spread out all the family photo albums and letters and documents for scanning and researching. So I hurriedly scanned a few more things before gathering everything to be stowed temporarily in a closet. It is also the room where I do my taxes. I still had a box with a year's worth of bills and receipts to shred. It's a mindless but time-consuming task so I had put it off. Now I was prodded into action.

Not long ago, I picked up a book new to my library, The Little Book of Book Making by Charlotte Rivers and was totally mesmerized by the handmade books it included from so many artists that make this form their preferred outlet. One using the insides of security envelops particularly caught my eye. Could there really be that many patterns out there I wondered? I was pretty sure the security envelops coming my way had only a couple of relatively boring patterns on them. I made a mental note to pay more attention to the ones showing up in my mailbox. And then I promptly forgot.

That is, until I started pulling bills to shred from their envelops and sorting for recycling the envelops with plastic windows from the ones that were all paper. Oh wait. I was going to look at the security patterns, wasn't I? What I found in that year's worth of envelops quite surprised me. What a haul of envelops I had once I was done. And because that's just the way I roll, I decided to carefully release where they were glued so they would lie flat exposing the patterns, and then sort the patterns into piles.

These were by far the most common pattern - I think they reflect the credit companies I do business with.  The printing was often uneven across the paper and the saturation varied from envelop to envelop. And most of the envelops were designed this way - basically rectangles with narrow extensions to close up the sides.

These were one-offs. You may need to click on the pictures for a larger view to see the patterns.

Most were printed with black or grey ink, but a few were blue like this one. My camera really didn't like figuring out what to focus on with some of these patterns.

One lone envelop was not the usual business envelop size but a nearly square one which will give larger pieces to work with.

Here's a close-up of that stripe. Eye's going batty yet?

Some return envelops had windows but some did not. These will give me the larger areas to work with too. There's that crosshatch again but the ones on either side are different from the rest.

Then I ran into envelops constructed in what I consider the more classic manner - set on point before folding in the bottom, sides and flap. Yet another pattern.

And two more patterns in blue from that style of envelop.

I've saved the best for last, or so I think. Yes, it looks like another crosshatch but this version has some interesting patterning going on within the crosshatch.

I'd be curious to know why this is as one really wouldn't notice it unless opening the envelop flat.

I guess that's the thing about humans and design - we just can't help doing more than is necessary or even seen.

Some of the patterning continued onto the flaps. These can be trimmed to narrow strips. Oh, and above the torn-off flaps, there are small pieces that I cut from an envelop that had a snowflake and lines on it. Definitely art journaling fodder.

I envision using these envelops in my book making as well as art journaling. I've been puzzling over what to line my recycled box covers with and this might be it. While it is exciting to find a use for these envelops, I fear I may have triggered an unstoppable obsession. Where once I could toss that envelop into the recycling bin, now I am hesitating and tossing it into my art journaling supplies. I'm paying attention!

 

Reverberations Has A New Home

Me with my goddaughter and her husband - garden wedding 2013

I had a visit this week from my goddaughter and her husband. When they were married almost two years ago (yes, they are barefoot in the picture), I offered as my wedding present their choice of one of my art quilts. Their plans for visiting last summer fell through but not to worry; that just gave them more art to choose from when they finally arrived!

I probably would not have offered this if I hadn't known in advance that they liked my work. (The goddaughter's parents have several of my works in their collection and she informed me that she blog stalks!) In fact, they mentioned hoping someday to be able to afford to purchase a piece. Not to worry - you've just solved my gift giving dilemma!

Still, I work in so many different styles, themes and colors, and know so little about their own preferences that it made sense to let them pick and choose. I was very curious to see what would appeal to them. Over the course of their stay, they narrowed it down to three apparently, with "Reverberations" being their top choice. I couldn't be more pleased, in fact found myself hoping that perhaps it would be the one. It's a favorite of mine, but not so much so that I wouldn't be able to part with it. It's such a good feeling to know it will be enjoyed beyond my own walls, in the home of a couple so special to me. 

Reverberations by Sheila Mahanke Barnes ©2014

Auditioning Beads

Look at all those dishes of beads!

I fear I haven't made much progress on adding beads to Masks. There have been distractions aplenty, and some days when I just didn't have it in me to decide on the next steps and methodically start sewing. But there have been days as well when I stood and stared, tried to envision, scattered a few beads here and there, consulted my beading books for ideas, tried to think my way to proper solutions. The mask on the right is starting to look like it is receding to me - standing just a little back from the one on the left and I like this, want to capitalize on that. I also thought to pick up the bit of green in the fabric by using green beads to outline what I see as the hat at the top of the mask. And don't forget, there may be a need to pull a few red beads up into this area too for overall balance.

When you merely scatter beads, particularly over a quilted surface, you really can't get the feel of what those same beads will look like stitched down. I finally admitted I must start "stringing" beads, trying various combinations and repeat sequences. In this case, I stacked the beads on a long glass-head pin. These will probably outline the "chin" area on each mask.

The hats have an oval "center" that calls out for a bigger decorative element. Could only find one such thing in my stash - an antler button with a turquoise center bead that I originally bought to add to a tote flap but now want to use on the forward mask. It is the perfect size and stylistic feel. Was not originally planning on giving that mask a green hat, but going blue seemed like too much since the rest of the mask will be outlined in a blue trade bead. Also thinking I don't want a solid line of green so am considering breaking up the line with an off-white bead as you see with these beads stacked on a long straw needle.

The upper receding mask was becoming a puzzling problem, suddenly solved when it occurred to me to try mixing in red beads instead of off-white. Was interesting to feel my whole body spontaneously relax when viewing how this new thought looked in place. (One of my meditation classes had us focusing on how different emotions make our bodies feel physically - otherwise, I might not have noticed the connection between satisfied in my mind and my body backing that up.) And I may be able to "build" a bigger decorative object for this hat with an old yellowed button that reminds me of aged ivory (or I suppose it could be bone as it comes out of my grandmother's button box). It has unusually large holes for attaching which emphasizes the effect of looking like a face. I think I will secure it with a red bead over each hole and add more red beads around it, perhaps creating a slightly oval shape. I'm also considering dangles along the front edge of the hats, but again - which colors, which sequence? I'll probably have them copy what I do in outlining the hats. The rest of the outlining of the mask on this one will probably be what you see strung on some thread on the left, an alternating of small groups of the blue and off-white trade beads. I did a quick estimate of how many it will take to go around that section and there aren't enough of either color so mixing is my only option. Don't really want to buy more beads even if they are still available.

I feel the most sure about those green and red beads to outline the hat, so that is where I'm going to start, this very minute. Yes I am...

Options...

...like I need more of them. Actually, I was looking for something else when I found myself standing in front of a display of various decorative elastics and thought two things: 1) I can make my own elastic band for my sketchbook rather than wasting more time trying to track down one for a small instead of full-size notebook (that would be the package in the middle), and 2) now here's a thought for a padfolio or journal closure (that would be the faux suede cord package on the right).

And as I was looking at the other kinds of elastic, I was reminded that my friend Michele told me she uses elastic hair bands for her journals where one sewn into the edging on the back cover can loop over a decorative button on the front cover - much simpler than the way I've been doing it. But I never remember to go over to that department to pick up a package. But now I have (that would be the package on the left).

The irony of this is that as I made that last batch of padfolios, I asked myself if this was really how I wanted to be spending my time right now, and had pretty much decided no. The padfolios were going to the bottom of the priority list. And I'd had the same thought about making more journals. And yet, when I recently ran across a sale on the junior legal pads I include in the padfolios, I automatically picked some up because I had noted my supply was running low. And then, here I was, contemplating new and possibly better closure options for both, the subconscious apparently continuing to refine my product whether I like it or not. One could rightfully ask if I know my own mind, and I would rightfully answer, are you kidding? Of course I don't! I guess I'll let myself be comforted by this observation by Carl Jung: "The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." And these days, I appear to love a lot of different objects whether I consciously realize it or not!