Quilt Market Houston & Embellishment Village

Now this was a rewarding moment.  A friend of mine went to Quilt Market in Houston.  When she came home she emailed this photograph to me.  The booth is "Embellishment Village" http://www.embellishmentvillage.com/ .  My friend Hennie was pleased to get her permission to photograph the booth display because both my book, "Embellishing with Everything" and our friend Pippa Moore's samples were on display in the same booth.  Pippa designs these very colorful quilts and another friend of mine, Joan Darling, does all the embellishing on them. 

My book, "Embellishing with Anything" shown here in this picture, is published through C&T Publishing and has been out for about 1 1/2 years now.  It's been a wonderful experience to do a book like this, C&T are a wonderful publisher to work with,  and I am planning another!   My thanks to Hennie for thinking of recording this International exposure!  It sure made me feel good!  I hope to be there one day myself!  Doesn't every quilter? 

A Beautiful November 7th Walk

Our first day on Pacific Standard Time http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/c.htmland I woke up earlier than usual!  WHAT is that all about?  However, not to complain, because I woke to an incredibly beautiful, sunny, warm November 7^th.  What to do with such a special day?  First of all I played with some silk rods (more on that later0, but couldn’t stay inside.  It was too beautiful.  So the dog and I went for a walk on the beach.  It was stunningly beautiful, lots of people with lots of dogs, all of them friendly and in just as good a mood as I was. 

I had my camera with me and was happy about that because there was an eagle sitting on a piling in the middle of the bay, with possibly 500 seagulls on the gravel bank behind him, and behind that the water, the mountains, the clouds and the sky…..all brilliantly colored.  I took several shots of this scene, thinking I could crop and paste and manipulate and add some text so that I could post a beautiful picture of what November 7^th looked like where I live. 

It was not to be.  When I got home I somehow messed up a task I’ve done hundreds of times before and I lost the pictures of my silk rod project and worst of all, the picture of the eagle.  The silk rods I can do again but that scene won’t be duplicated just because I want it to when I go back to the beach!  So here’s a post with a totally unrelated picture!  At least it’s the same dog!!! 

LOOK UP!!!!

Looking UP is something I forget to do. When walking about and especially in a quilt shop, I am so intent on the displays in the window, the people passing by, the litter that may be a piece of art,the fabric and notions on display..... I often forget to look above my eye level.

This past weekend was a perfect example of that. I had the pleasure of travelling to Victoria, BC with my very good friend. The trip was a gift from her sweetie, who sent us away together to shop and find upholstery fabric! I think there may be a message in there somewhere, but that’s not what this is about!

We went to Munro’s books, where a quilt artist described to us by the clerk in a nearby clothing store had quilts on display. They are mounted on the wall space between the top bookshelf and the ceiling.  This building is a heritage one so you can imagine how high they are! I’d never have noticed them if I’d been there without the advice of the sales clerk!  I would have been absorbed in the books on display at eye level!

You can see great photos of the entire display  here at this link. http://munrobooks.com/about/ These quilts are described in the lower paragraph and are quite stunning and amazing to see in person. So “look up” if you go to Munro’s! The artist is Carol Sabistan.  The one to the right is one of a series of 4, my personal favorite, but they are all amazing works of art.  And huge! 

After our sojourn into the book store, we decided we needed to eat something. A restaurant named “Mo:Le” was recommended to us. We walk everywhere we go, and often get distracted (I bet you’d never have guessed that!) by something we pass. We had the address of the restaurant in hand, but we walked by this building. I had to stop and take a picture of this piece of impromptu art mounted on the wall, at eye level, of the deserted building. I thought it was beautiful in the fact that an unidentified artist had chosen that spot to display it.

 

This somewhat derelict building is in the Chinatown area of Victoria,  and this painting is done on the column next to the wall where the mixed media art was mounted.  You can just see the edge of it on the left side of the picture.

And then Ang pointed out the roofline of the building. I looked up to see that the building was actually just the front wall and portions of the side, but the windows were gone and the sky was showing through! No roof, no windows and no back. How intriquing is that? I was quite fascinated.

After our little photo shoot we continued our walk to Mo:Le. We were walking along looking at street numbers on the doors and buildings and unable to find the one we wanted…..554 Pandora. Since I am "directionally challenged", we decided to use the map application on my phone to get a map from where we stood to the address we were looking for. There we are in the street, typing in the address and waiting for the data to download. Aha! We have two dots….start walking and see if they get closer together or further apart……they got closer together.

FIVE steps later they merged!! We stopped in our tracks and looked around not seeing anything that indicated a 554 or a “Mo:Le”. And then we looked around and UP! There, hanging above the street visible to people down the block, was the restaurant sign. Go to this link and check the menu selections: http://www.molerestaurant.ca/ The food was absolutely fabulous….we were eating from the breakfast menu. Everything made right there: salsa, tortillas, hot sauce, the works. It was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten and when I say that it really means something because I don't enjoy cooking, but travel with a food oriented person most of the time! I will certainly be revisiting this one! 

After a most delicious meal, we walked to Chintz & Company, to buy the upholstery fabric. http://chintz.com/t-victoria.aspx  Ang has a lovely funky old chair that was her Grandma’s, and we are going to recover it with fresh fabric. I’ve done a chair before so have promised to help. That should be another interesting adventure….only we’ll be looking down!

Weddings, Windstorms and Melancholy

Today was a day of weddings.  My middle son and his wife are visiting because she is a bridesmaid today.  Wearing the dress I altered!  My youngest son, his partner and I were invited to the wedding of a friend's daughter, whom he grew up next door to and went to school with. 

Last night everyone was here for dinner before the celebrations today.  Five adults, and 2 children and this little house was warmed with children's voices, laughter, sarcasm, teasing, good food and best of all, family love.  But that much fun is exhausting I must say!

Today the bridesmaid and family took off to attend their wedding, and we other three went to our wedding.  It was alarming for me to be at a reception with all these adults, who turned out to be what I remembered as little people, all of whom have stayed in touch since heading out to their adult lives!  It was incredibly heart warming to see the number of people who just accepted my son and his partner with no reservations.  And hilarious to see the number of people who had gone to school with him and approached with funny memories and anecdotes! 

It was a horrendous wind storm last night, and today was terribly rainy so both celebrations had to take place inside.  But with so much happiness in the room, the weather didn't dampen anyone's spirits.  The couple in the wedding I attended actually got married last summer in the groom's homeland, Israel.  This reception was for those friends who couldn't travel that far.  It was very well done, with a slide show playing at the front of the room with pictures of the actual wedding ceremony where it was held.  They were spectacular and I found myself going to my friend, the mother of the bride and asking if I could please come over and look at all these pictures individually.....there was some fabulous quilt inspiration in there.  She seemed to think that was a great idea so I can't wait till she's recovered from the stress of planning and preparing and we can do that.  Two projects are percolating in my mind already. 

What about those unfinished projects you ask?  I know I know.....I'll try to apply myself to them while I wait for the photos and permission to use them! 

 

After the reception, I came home to walk the dog and Josh and Gil went to town to visit friends they haven't seen in quite a while.  My walk is normally in the forest but in heavy winds that isn't wise so we went to the beach....always my preference anyway!  It was a perfectly wonderful winter beach day.  Crashing waves, lots of wind and rain (I was soaked when I got home), and birds dipping and floating on the updrafts.  I couldn't help feeling a little melancholy at all these young people growing up and starting new things while I grow old and finish a career, but they are so happy it didn't last long.  And finding some super special rocks and some beach glass fixed my mood instantly! 

Re-Living City Quilter, Scott, Mussels and my Hostel!

4:00 at City Quilter. Met Scott there and some other nice quilters.....all so friendly. Picked up goodies I had on hold from an email conversation with them. And two books....It was fun.

On the way home I stopped at Macy’s looking for housecoat. (besides it’s air conditioned so even if you only cut through, it’s a nice break! )  as for housecoats....only short ones....too expensive and not my style....I’ll have to make my own.

Charles, another student from QBL, who was the teacher of the class at the City Quilter, recommended that I stop at the Ginger Jar (or was it Pot), on my way home. It supposedly makes delicious Chinese and Thai food, spicy and with a little curry. However, besides being able to get Chinese food which is good at home, and the fact that I don’t care for curry, I decided to walk on and see what else there was. I went in Red Lobster but it was going to be a 40 minute wait. Nothing else was appealing, so I once again headed towards restaurant row. I read the menus posted out front to see if anything struck my fancy. Lo and behold, on a corner with tables outside on the sidewalk, was a restaurant tat served mussels and chips. So I sat down, ordered mussels, escargot and a glass of wine. Truly delicious meal. I enjoyed it so much I had to ask the waitress for a spoon so I could finish up the “soup” they were steamed in.....milk, peppers, onions, carrots, and some parsley. Yum Yum.

Another day of lots of walking so it was ok.....I knew I’d already walked it off.....? The scales will be interesting when I get home! Again I went to my room, luxuriated in the air conditioning for a while, sorting out my bits and pieces that I’d purchased at The City Quilter, and stroking my fabrics, dreaming of what I’ll do with it. It’s all their special line of New York Designs so it will be cut big and be my own New York Quilt. I think I have enough to make Angie one too! Now there’s that resolution to spend this coming winter finishing my UFO’s.......trouble is something else always comes along that I want to do first!

Again, I had a quick shower (one doesn’t need moisturizer in New York in August. It is so muggy that you are moist most of the time. And washrooms aren’t as much of an issue as some places because your body is using the fluid in other ways. ) After my shower I again went out and wandered around people-watching in Times Square and then back to the hostel to sit in the common room for a while to check and send emails. The connection there was slow, but free. Other hotels charge up to $15.00 a day for High Speed WiFi. Another part of the hostel that I enjoyed. Spending time in the common room with the students from everywhere. But they were all truly gracious to an old lady in their midst, and I felt comfortable with them....perhaps because they were all so nice or perhaps because I work at a school, but either way, I enjoyed the young people. There were other people my age staying there, but they kept pretty much to themselves. I got a chuckle out of the common room each morning and evening. There were anywhere between 3 to 7 people in the tiny room, sharing little round bar tables, and all of us clicking away on computers or I phones. Nobody turned on the TV. It was all very quiet until someone laughed or read their email out to someone.....usually in German or Japanese. When one young man exclaimed “F**@” I looked up and he shame faced lookd at me and said “Deutsch?” I replied “No, but apparently that word and email are a universal language! His eyes popped and he clapped his hand over his mouth and said “So Sorry!” I laughed and said “Just don’t say it to your mother....” His girlfriend started laughing. She explained to me that they were short of money to pay for their last night at the hostel and had emailed his mother to get it sent to them. They were waiting anxiously to see if it came in time. I told them I’d lend it to them rather than see them doing dishes or something and they laughed. I said I meant it and they could email it to me when they got home....if they didn’t it would be another life lesson. They were amazed. About an hour later they came looking for me and told me with great relief that they had received their money and would be fine but wanted to thank me for being so kind. I was just happy to know they could get home and wished them a safe and enjoyable trip.

Liquitex Playtime sort of a Tutorial!

My publisher, C&T Pulishing, has designeated me, amongst many others, to be an "Author Ambassador".  That means I'm willing to accept gifts of new products and provide them with samples done with the products. 

About two weeks ago I came home from work and as I came down my road, noticed a Purolator delivery truck cruising the neighborhood.  I pulled into my driveway and got out of the vehicle to open the gate.  By then the Purolator truck had turned at the dead end and was on the way back.  As he pulled up behind my vehicle he said "You live here?"  I said "Yes."  he said "Got a parcel for you."  I wondered what it could be as I couldn't remember ordering anything (but that doesn't always mean anything!!).  I signed for the package and came in the house to open it and discover a package of 12 Liquitex Inks and one bottle of medium to use with them.  Woo Hoo....such fun! 

So, for a couple of weeks, things have been percolating.  This is particularly important because since moving I've done nothing but unpack, organize, renovate, paint, purge, sort some more.....going from a big house to one half the size isn't easy!  The price paid is that I didn't have a creative bone left in my body, unless it had to do with finishing the outside of the house!  Here's what we accomplished this summer.....doesn't look like as much work as it was!

But after some thought and some puttering around I've tried two techniques with the Liquitex inks.  They work beautifully.  And I am grateful for the creativity spurt they brought on.  

The first technique I tried was stamping on fabric.  I painted the rubber stamp with straight ink and stamped on fabric.  The results weren't thrilling because the ink dried too fast.  Then I tried mixing the ink with the medium, painting the rubber stamp, and I got these results.  I was happy with this for a start.

Then I decided to try a paintbrush with the inks and a teeny bit of water, and painted in the design of the stamp.  It worked!

Once the stamped portion of the ink dried, any new ink added didn't make it bleed or spread.  I did try wetting a portion of one stamp when it was fresh and it did bleed, but a couple of days later it is dry and did not spread or bleed with the addition of new wet ink or ink and water.  Nice!  Here is the second step. 

Then I decided to try monoprinting.  I got out a big ceramic tile kept for such experiments, and spread a smooth coating of the medium over the entire surface of the tile.  Next I placed drops of Liquitex Ink in rows down the tile.  I used White, Blue, Yellow, Blue, and Red.  Then I added a bit of iridescents in between.  Like the picture to the right. 

You have to work quickly with just ink, but with the addition of the medium, it gave some plotting time!  I used several different brushes to spread these inks and mix them.  I forgot to take a picture of the tile with the inks spread on it, but when I was happy with the mix, I placed a piece of dry fabric over it all and used a brayer to press it into the ink. 

The fabric was lifted off the inks immediately and here are the results.  This will be a fun piece to work with.  It may get rotated to the right and it may get cut up a bit!

But there was still ink left on the tile.  I couldn't resist poking my finger into it and making a squiggle.  It was still moist, thanks to the medium, so I decided to lay another piece of fabric over it and brayer that too.  The results were lighter, and I had brushes that still had ink and medium loaded in them.  So I put that second piece of fabric on a surface to dry, and then decided to scrunch it up to see if it would make ridges in the color the way fabric paint does.  So it's now sitting drying in this position: 

More tomorrow.....I've had fun and am beginning to think of millions of ways to use these inks. 

Imagine, Create, Discover....all those things.

Not a great picture (I'm not a good photographer).  And on top of this, I managed to change my camera to a different setting than usual, and couldn't get it changed back again. How?  I'll never know.... I'm actually lucky that I got pictures at all!  But all that aside, I liked what this said and asked permission to take a picture of it so that I could remember it!  This was in the entrance at the King Tut Exhibition in New York City.