Book

Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is fantastic. She and her family left Tucson as they became increasingly aware of how the expanding city was taking a toll on the land. They moved to a farm in rural southern Virginia with the goal of feeding themselves from their own land. The book covers some of the same territory as The Omnivore's Dilemma, but I'm enjoying it more because it's scattered with anecdotes about their family's adjustment and what they learned along the way.

She describes the limitations and advantages of local, seasonal eating, touches on the Slow Food movement, explores the science behind farming and the many things farmers have to know and do, notes that many heirloom varieties of plants and stock are vanishing due to large-scale agriculture... the book is packed with interesting information. Her husband wrote short essays about environmental and ethical issues and her daughter wrote about what the experience was like for her, and included recipes they came up with to use seasonal produce.

I'm only halfway through the book but I highly recommend it.

Copperfish

The other morning I made this little guy. He's made out of embossed copper. I'm thrilled to be getting back to that after several years, and an order of copper just arrived today in the mail so I'm all set!

This goldfish will be going onto a quilt picture with art nouveau-inspired touches. Or at least that's the plan now.

Old quilts

I was on Quilt.com reading people's preferences for baby quilts, and the following comments touched me:

From: Colleen

My favorite "baby" quilt was made by by Grandma and I have had it ever since I can remeber. It is made out of scrap squares of heavy late 60's, early 70's polyester fabric (blue with white ploka dots, red, blue/white mix, blue with stripes, and yellow with very ugly red and blu geometric flowers). She knotted it on the corners and quilted it diagonally. the top and bottom of the quilt is dso thick and heavy it needed no batting. It may be ugly but I could not sleepo one night with out the security of that heavy quilt. When I graduated from high school she gave me another similarly made quilt, though out of pastel plaids (like mens shirts are made from). Now I have one to sleep under at my parents home and one at mine. It is amaxing how attached you can get to something out of your childhood.

Another interestin thing about my grandmother was the source of her materials. My Grandfather was the manager of a small department store so brought home tons of fabric swatches. Usually the fabric was not top of the line and thin, but you could get about a fat quarter in one pattern in many colors. My Grandma's quilts were never very artistic. She would sew together odd pieces or squares of old blankets and sheets to make every day coverings for bed. She whould also use what ever old threadbare sheet or blanket that was handy for the inside 'bating'. When we were cleaning out her house in April (she has Altzheimers and lives in a nursing home) I liked looking at these odd quilts. One I like was a reall mish mash and even used old ties. As I was examining it closer I noticed a hole and saw the name of some ancester embroidered. My practical Grandma had used an old family quilt (from before she was born) inside on of her every day quilts. The family was amazed and my mother saisd she had remembered seeing it as a child. Unfortunatley one of my older aunts grabbed it when no one was looking so I do not know if I will ever get to see the whole quilt.

From: Curt

Your story of your grandmother's quilt brought to mind the ones my grandmother made. She also used whatever she had at hand for the fillers. We had quilts made with men's wool work socks. When the socks wore out, she cut them to lie flat and sewed them together into a "bat". The quilts were quite warm but incredibly heavy to sleep under. The tops were scap quilts from leftovers or parts of old clothes. They weren't fancy but she did have a good sense of design.

____________________________________________

Stories like those are part of what makes me love quilting. First, I'm fascinated by the resourcefulness that can find a way to give new life to old clothes (even socks!), and then create an art form
out of scraps. In books about quilt history, people always say they remember sleeping under their grandmother's or mother's simple quilts as children. The fact that a little bit of each family member goes into every one in the form of worn-out clothing makes these humble works even more special.

Busy week

I've been hard at work on a series of pink and brown quilt pictures that I really love. Yesterday I framed them in fabric, so I just need to add backing and finishing touches and they'll be ready to go.

Most of my work lately has been prototypes and experiments. I have so many different ideas that I spend a lot of time testing things out. Half the time they don't work, which is frustrating but all part of the process. And when they do work, it's exciting.

I'm now looking into working with photo transfers in a new way. I've been researching techniques, as my transfers have sometimes bubbled in the past. Maybe the iron was too hot. I have a new one now, a very basic, Black and Decker Classic that works great. My old iron was slowly dying but there are so many different kinds used by quilters, I was putting off investigating all the types. As soon as I saw the retro style of the Classic, that decision was made. :-) I'm pretty sure this is the same style we had when I was a kid.



With the ironing board always set up in the studio, that thing gets a lot of use.

I wish I had more to report. Feels like I'm working all the time, between learning about art history, doing hand sewing, coming up with new designs, and reading info about setting up shop on Etsy. I'd love to have enough inventory by September 1 to start setting up the store there, so I'll see if I can make it happen.

Valentine

In honor of our anniversary this weekend, here's a photo of the Valentine I made for my husband last year. It's about 14" by 18", with a pieced heart on a pieced background, embellished with glass beads.




My pictures are still coming out a little dark. I'm not sure why. Need to do more experimenting with camera settings and Photoshop.

Quote

"An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one."

Interestingly, the quotation came from a sociologist, Charles Horton Cooley, not an artist. Maybe he had artist-envy.

I like the quote because these days I'm feeling incredibly lucky to have my own studio space and be able to indulge my creativity.

Nice

ETSY was mentioned today in the Home and Garden section of the Oregonian. They have a new column called Media Center where they review websites, blogs, tv shows, etc.

Since it's a small item, I'll spare you the trouble of looking it up and just post the text here.

Under "Check These Out!" it says:

"www.etsy.com This is a fun, wonderful marketplace of creative, handmade goods you can buy for the home or body. Where else can you obtain a Nightmare Snatcher journal and a Plastic Fantastic raspberry-colored club chair? The offerings are so, well, Portland."

The August All-Africa Film Festival

Africa has been drawing a lot of attention over the past few years. Movies like Sahara, The Constant Gardener, and Blood Diamond hit theaters. Angelina Jolie and Madonn adopted children. Vanity Fair's July issue is devoted to Africa and it's fantastic. Celebrities, politicians and writers are trying to change public perception of Africa as a hopeless, poverty-stricken, chaotic continent and focus instead on solutions. Stories of optimism, adventure and incredible courage shine out of the pages of the magazine and make Africa seem like a place where anything--good or bad--is possible.

Alexander McCall Smith's wonderful, lowkey series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, which is set in Botswana, offers a more peaceful view. I enjoyed the books' competent, wise, no-nonsense heroine.

Recently I've been looking at photos of exotic animals for quilt designs. A lot of them were taken on safaris, and that stirred my interest even more. I remember when Survivor was set in Africa, and how amazing it was that lions and elephants would pass close to the camp.

Over the weekend my husband and I watched Blood Diamond, an intense, sometimes painful movie that left us both wanting to know more. We decided to make this the month of the All-Africa Film Festival and I put several titles on hold at the library.

So over the next few weeks we'll be watching Out of Africa, Hotel Rwanda, Cry Freedom (which I saw years ago but can hardly remember) and The Last King of Scotland.

I'm looking forward to it!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

We've had some cooler days recently and the air already has that soft feel of fall. It's making me want to bake. The other day I even had an urge to drink hot chocolate! Noooo. It's too soon, I have to savor fresh produce and running through sprinklers and get in at least one trip to the beach this summer.



I did make Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins, though. These are pretty healthy but the chocolate makes them taste like a treat.

The recipe:

2/3 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 c rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 egg
3/4 c milk
1/4 c canola oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 c brown sugar

2/3 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. Mix the wet ingredients and stir them into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips. Bake in 12 greased or lined muffin cups for 14-17 minutes. Cool on wire rack and remove from pan after five minutes.

Still strawberries

Another lovely trip to the farmers' market yesterday. There was live music, kids played in the fountain, and I found out it's not too late for strawberries after all. I only bought a couple of flats earlier in the summer so I was afraid I missed my chance to make jam. But no, the berries now are better and sweeter.

Bast from the Past

The other day I took a picture of the first little art quilt I made, about seven years ago. My husband likes Egyptian mythology, as well as cats, so I sewed a Bast silhouette for him. The cat is raw edge applique. I added beads around the edges and a tiny earring for the statue. The dimensions are about 10" by 12".



Bast was a fierce goddess who was often depicted as a lioness. She was the protector of the god Ra and of the pharaoh, and later in her worship she was viewed as the patron deity of cats.

A Short Post about Shorts

I've been meaning to post a picture of the little shorts I made (size 3T) from a pair of gently used pj pants. I didn't use a pattern so I'm proud that they turned out well. They're completely hand sewn. It was windy when I took the picture, so they got bunched up and it's hard to see the shape, but I'm going to post the photo anyway.

Evening Market

There's a Tuesday night market near us that's just the right size. We went tonight. There was live blues music in the cool evening air, families sitting on the grass on blankets, handmade jewelry, cheerleaders selling ice cream as a fundraiser, teriyaki chicken skewers, kids with balloon animals, massage booths, flats of freshly picked berries, and crunchy-sweet kettle corn. It was perfect.

I bought a flat of blueberries, broccoli and lettuce and green onions, small yellow potatoes, sweet corn and cilantro, which I love.

Next summer I'll probably rent a booth there for at least a few weeks. I can't think of a better atmosphere for vending. Seeing people out with their babies and their dogs, stopping to chat to friends or dancing with toddlers on the lawn, reminds me of 1920s movies when families would bring a picnic dinner to the park and listen to music from the bandstand.

O Fortuna

Finishing the little elephant quilt feels like a real achievement with Carl Orff's Carmina Burana playing in the background.

I deserved that dramatic soundtrack. Yesterday I worked on a couple of chapters of the current novel and got a lot done in the studio.

Here's a live version of O Fortuna, introduced in French. I've always loved this magnificent piece, and it's even better watching the violinists plucking at their strings, the guy banging the huge drum, and the choir stretching their mouths around the notes.

Mmmmm...lavender days.

I ordered some lavender from Provence and it arrived a few days ago. The plump package made all the mail in the mailbox smell great. I put the bag into the bottom drawer of the dresser in the studio and every time I open the door I get a big whiff of lavender. That scent is growing on me more and more. I plan to use it to make sachets for storing my finished projects. I may also sell some. This potent stuff should be spread around.