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Archive for April, 2007

Thursday This and That

Thursday, April 5th, 2007

What a gorgeous day it was. Sunny, breezy and my nose was runny, sneezy! Have you heard that the pollen in our air is increasing due to global warming. In some areas like, Atlanta, the pollen count has been 26 times normal. Thank goodness for modern day remedies.

Today, STASH (Some Thursday at Someones House), was here. We had a great show and tell and a wonderful discussion of Twyla Tharp’s book on creativity. We are only on chapter 2. It was Terry’s birthday. Here she is with her new polka dot piece and other red adornments. Can you tell that she loves any shade of red? It looks great on her, don’t you think? You can get a sneak peak at the polka dot piece.

terryinred.jpg

Beth had to leave early, but the rest of us went to Papa Haydn’s for lunch, to celebrate birthdays, because they have the best dessert menu — a list of about 20 delectable treats. I ordered the Boccone Dolce — Swiss meringues drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate, layered with fresh fruit and chantilly cream.

Here are Reva, Linda, Gale and Terry, with empty dessert plates. I forgot to get photos of the desserts. You can see that we dined al fresco.

ladieswholunch.jpg

Tonight, Mr C and I attended the Cathedral Maundy Thursday Agape meal and the very moving service after. The meal was Mediterranean — lentils, couscous, humus, pita, feta veggie salad and Baklava.

Doing My Martha Thang

Wednesday, April 4th, 2007

I saw this method for decorating Easter eggs on Martha’s show this week. I had to try it. So I tootled off to the Goodwill to find some cheap silk ties. I brought them home and threw them in the wash. I then cut squares large enough to wrap around an egg. I also used some silks from my stash.

silktiefabric.jpg

After wrapping the egg in silk, you must wrap it again in a cotton cloth, such as an old sheet. I used muslin.  Use a twist tie to hold the fabric around the egg. Put them in an enamel or glass pan, cover with water, add white vinegar, bring to a boil and simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Here is the luscious result:

silktieeggs.jpg

And a close up.

silktieeggscloseup.jpg

You can apparently reuse the fabric to do another batch. Here is a link to the directions. 

Tomorrow, my STASH group is coming for our monthly meeting, followed by lunch out to celebrate Terry’s and Linda’s birthdays. So Mr C and I did some much needed spring cleaning. I even tried to straighten up the studio. We are also expecting spectacular weather.

Tuesday in the Studio

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

Tuesday is usually my best day for working in the studio. I have a class on Monday night, and I usually do my homework during the day. So by Tuesday, I am fired up to get to work.

The piece with the circles and lines now has a name – Pathways. I found a design configuration that appealed to me. Since the edges would be uneven, I decided the best way to assemble it was to fuse it and do a pillowcase backing.

So, I fused all the pieces. I must say that this pile of fabrics makes me happy – love the color combination.

pathwaysfusedfabrics.jpg

After I finished fusing the fabrics to batting, I was ready to do the pillowcase finish and decided instead to do Charlotte Yde’s zigzag finish to the edges. She uses Pelon Tear Away Stabilizer between the batting and the backing which allows you to do a really neat zig zagged edge.

So, here is the fused Pathways.

pathwaysfused.jpg

I started quilting it. I am using a simple motif of lines that mimic the discharged and screen printed lines.II

pathwaysquilting.jpg

am at the point with this piece that I often get to — you know — where you wonder why you spent so much time. Usually, I come to like it in the long run.

My daughters have both made big blogging changes this week. Stephanie has announced that she is leaving blog land. She will continue to do 3191, the photo blog. Lisa has started a new blog and is only going to post once a week. I guess I will just have to get on the phone and bug them so that I know what is going on in their lives. I’ll go back to being the old-fashioned mom who leaves crazy messages on the answering machine.

I am so excited to be heading to California next week. More about that later.