home
about the artist
gallery
blog
links
contact

Archive for the ‘My Brilliant Daughters’ Category

Good Mail Day

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Wright

This is Fault Lines by Diane Wright who lives in Connecticut. I purchased it in the SAQA auction. I was so excited to get this piece. No photo does it justice. The fabric is raw silk. It is beautifully pieced, stitched and beaded. Mr C has given it his stamp of approval.

The other night, I went shopping in the Etsy shops of some Face Book friends. From Carol Dean Sharpe, an avid beader, I ordered a pendant. I opened the package to find this pretty box.

tealbox

Inside was this pendant. Since I do not like chokers, she added the lovely crocheted ribbon. It also has a copper wire, if I want a different look.

beadednecklace

From Shibori Girl, Glennis Dolce, I ordered a bag of shibori scraps. What a deal. there was a whole scarf in the bag. You can see a closeup under the pendant.

shiboriscraps

Mr C survived his surgery. It was a long and arduous procedure to pulverize the two large stones in his bladder. Then they did a rotorooter of his prostate. It is usually 2 hours, but it was a little longer than 3 hours. He spent one night in the hospital and came home today.

Scooter was having some tummy problems, but seems to be getting better. I have decided that Scooter and I are good at making messes and Mr C cleans up after us. I make my mess in the kitchen. Scooters messes will not be spoken of.

I really need another good night’s sleep. I need to spend the week-end getting green flash done and I also need to get the next 12 X 12 piece done by Wednesday. If I have no interruptions, I think I can do it.

Steph left tonight for Portland, ME. She and Maria will be signing their new book and shipping them to those who have preordered. The new book is a Year of Evenings. You can see details here. Jack will be able to take care of M & M since she will be back on Monday night.

3191Evenings_main

That is it for tonight!!

Bouncing Back

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

metallicorganza

I am feeling so good today. I think the combination of a day and a half of clear liquids and  breathing pure oxygen yesterday has been very therapeutic. Lisa and I went to Fabric Depot to look for linen for a curtain for her bathroom. She did not find what she wanted, but I found this luscious metallic silk organza on sale. I love this stuff and haven’t worked with it in a while. Here is one way that  I use it which I learned in a workshop with Charlotte Yde.

cutwork

This is a close up from one of my art quilts. You can only use metallic silk organza for this kind of cut-work.

This morning I worked in the garden, pulling out the lettuce that has gone to seed and picked quite a crop of tomatoes.

todaystomatos

For dinner, we had fresh tomato sauce and whole wheat penne, sauteed Japanese eggplant and Walla Walla onions on arugula with Gorgonzola cheese. Yum!!

I set up a table for Lisa to work in my studio.

lisaatwork

The blur is Scooter chasing Wilfredo. He is obsessed with him. Poor Wilfredo is not very happy with all the attention.

Tonight, we are having a lovely, gentle and warm summer rain. I think the garden will be very happy. I know that I am!!

The Indigo Blues

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

auditionfusingtable

I have been selecting and fusing some of my indigo fabrics for an Aspen themed landscape. In addition to the indigo blues, I am using some of the colors of Aspen leaves. Here is the palette, so far. I love how those golds and oranges look with the indigo.

aspenlandscapefabrics

I have been struggling this week, but not because of the bad sinus headache, that is gone. On Monday, I had my physical with my doctor. I had all good reports — my blood pressure was 114/68. I was given 2 vaccinations — pneumonia booster and shingles. Well, I have had a very bad reaction to the shingles vaccination. Yesterday, I could barely do a thing. I had a temp of 101 and finally went to bed quite early. I managed to start fusing some fabrics, but really didn’t get much done. Today, I finally felt better, but still have a hot, painful rash on my arm where I got the shot. Argh!

Tomorrow, I am taking care of M and M for Steph as she is updating her shop with some adorable new animals on Friday. How cute are these? You can find them here, on Friday.

plaid+party

Tomorrow, it will be in the 90s, so I think some water play will be in order!

I tried to take some photos of Scooter with my iPhone at the end of our walk today. He has grown quite a bit. We love him so much. He is gentle and funny and a wonderful addition to our life.

scooterJuly

scooterjuly2

Girl’s Night Out

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

miaandhermom

Tonight, Mia, Steph and I had a girl’s night out. The guys went out for wings and then off to see a model train exhibit. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant in the Pearl and then off to the Contemporary Craft Museum to see the North West premiere of Handmade Nation, a film produced by Lisa’s good friend, Faythe Levine. Faythe was there for a Q and A after the film. Many of the crafters who were in the film were present at the screening. The film was loads of fun as it was done with a great sense of humor. I recommend the film, if you get a chance to view it. Mia realised that she was the only kid there, but she said she thought most kids her age would not enjoy it as much as she did. A bonus was a swag bag containing all kinds of goodies, including postcards with work by Lisa Congdon.

Speaking of Lisa, she and Wilfredo are now gracing the cover of a book.

lisabookcover

This Japanese book company has published books of photos of kitchens all across the world. The latest is San Francisco. Lisa’s is featured and she and Wilfredo were chosen for the cover.

Not to be outdone, Stephanie and Maria are being interviewed about their book, A Year of Mornings, by the BBC at 3:30 am Pacific Time. I don’t know when it is actually airing. Apparently, a couple of London newspapers have featured the book and so they are getting some good press over there.

And, I have not been idle. I am well into the spring cleaning of my studio. I finished the kitchen/dye room this morning. We assembled my new stainless steel table. It is just the right size for my little room.

newdyetable

I reorganized and cleaned up about one third of the main studio room. I also received about 25 registrations in the mail and by phone yesterday, so you know I will be back at the computer. But, what a beautiful day it was and we are promised more this week-end. Love the sunshine.

Pizza with My Peeps

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Steph’s birthday is on Monday and since I will be down at the Eugene Textile Center up to my elbows in dye, we went out to celebrate tonight. I just want to say that I have the greatest grandchildren. It is such a treat to go out with them. Mia babbles on and on about things and Miles, the quiet one, takes every thing in and analyzes it, very quietly.

We went to Tastebud, which has a wood fired oven.

tastebud

Here are my peeps:

steph

mymile

mymia

Mia has a cold and sounded a bit like Katherine Hepburn!!

The pizza was great. The kids had cheese pizza. The adults had woodfired clams and focaccia, wild mushroom, caramelized onions and Oregonzola cheese and sausage, ricotta and mozzarella.

cheesepizza

mushroompizza

Have I mentioned that pink season is starting in Portland?

pinkseasonstarts

pinkseasonstarts2

My supplies are packed; I’m packed. I am leaving at 7:30 am to get there in time for class. I am really looking forward to 3 days in the dye studio. I will be blogging from Eugene. I get to meet Connie Rose in person and I am staying with Karen Miller — can’t wait to see her studio.