Tuscany's Blues

It's been how long?

2010-12-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's been almost two years since I wrote in my blog. That will change now that I'm doing the Sketchbook Challenge.

HELP ME!!!! ADVICE WANTED!

2009-03-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

I need advice for this 11" x 11" piece of quilting to be attached to a quilted background. My problem: I attached the photo transfer image of my Grandmother to a lace handkerchief and a piece of wool felt. When I did the Kantha stitch on the surrounding hankie, the wool felt puckered and made the image buckle. If it weren't for the bead border, I would just make a new image that would fit the space. I don't want to do that, so if anyone has any suggestions for how to remedy this problem, I would be eternally grateful.

Bought on eBay

2009-02-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

Here are three of six items I bought on eBay to use on my Grandmother Art Quilts. The Lot of Madeira embroidered napkins I had to fight for with another bidder. I won during the last 15 seconds of the auction!

Two Postcards for Grandmother Art Quilts

2009-02-18T17:56:00.000-08:00

These postcards originated in Valparaiso, Chile. The first is a Happy New Year's card. The back shows the card was sent to my grandfather, Alexander Burt.

This second card I thought interesting. The title is Floret Chilean, which I take to mean Chilean Flowers.

I guess I forgot to mention that my mother and grandmother were born in Valparaiso, Chile. After Alexander Burt abandoned her during WWI, my grandmother came to California bringing six-year-old, Alexandrina with her.

Grandmother Art Quilts

2009-02-15T09:36:00.000-08:00

After my visit to Columbia, South Carolina, and seeing the fiber art of Ellen Kochansky and Susan Lenz, I wanted to do some art quilts about my grandmother. I went to our local thrift shop and found one doily and four lacey handkerchiefs. At this point I'm still thinking. Will post more when I have some ideas or start to work on the quilts.

How I Plan to Use my Silk Yarn

2009-01-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

I took three different silk yarn colorways and used the Embellisher to "felt" them to a piece of 100% wool felt. The fuzzy part on the left was achieved by felting on the back side which pushes the felt fibers to the top. I hope to use this method for embellishing a series of small art quilts honoring my grandmother.

More Goodies to Play with on my Embellisher

2009-01-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

I came home from South Carolina so excited about creating more fiber art, I spent more money than I should have on this wonderful 100% silk yarn at 50% off! I plan to pull off the thread that is wound around the silk fibers and use it for felting. I'll post an example when I make a piece. Shamefully, I ordered eight skeins in all. I have in mind an art quilt based on artifacts, postcards, and letters belonging to my grandmother. Doesn't this silk yarn look scrumptious?

My Visit to Cyber Fyber in Columbia, South Carolina

2009-01-21T06:53:00.000-08:00

I returned last night from two days in Columbia, South Carolina, visiting the Cyber Fyber exhibit and enjoying the gracious hospitality of Susan Lenz, Fiber Artist and coordinator of the Cyber Fyber Exhibit, and her husband, Steve Dingman. My visit was beyond expectations. I truly enjoyed every single moment I was in Columbia: meeting Susan, meeting other fiber artists, dining on the Southern cuisine, staying in an historic downtown hotel, the friendliness of everyone I encountered. Awesome!!!

One little anecdote: I was returning from having dinner at the Blue Marlin, heading for the Gervais Street entrance to the hotel, walking with my cane, all bundled up for the freezing weather, when a black man in his 40's (also bundled up from the cold) riding his bike up the sidewalk, said to me with a smile as he passed, "You almost there, Mama."

I will tell more about my visit further on in this blog, but I believe in serendipity. The day I left Columbia was January 20, the day of the Inauguration. The moment President Obama was sworn in I was sitting in an "English Pub" at Washington, D.C.'s Dulles airport, dining on Fish and Chips and a cup of English Breakfast tea.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

Susan and I pose in front of some of the postcards. (I never can smile for the camera!)

Susan is soooo enthusiastic about explaining the exhibit to show visitors.

Working on one of her Decision Series art quilts.

Ellen Kochansky and Susan check Cyber Fyber email. (The weird abstract wall of postcards was adjusted in Photoshop to cut down on the contrast.)

Susan allowed me to photograph her studio. These are a few of the photos I took of her work.

The Blues Series

The Doors Series

Quilt-in-progress: "Crazy Blues." The person portrayed in the quilt is Mamie Smith, the first African American to record a blues song (1920) titled "Crazy Blues."

Two of the Embroidered "Architecture" Series (I may have the title of the series wrong.)

Susan's stash for making art on the Embellisher.

TO SEE THE COMPLETE CYBER FYBER EXHIBIT GO TO THESE URLs

To see the Invitational Art go here:
http://cyberfyberexhibitioninvitationalart.blogspot.com/

To see the Postcards go here:
http://cyberfyberonlinepostcards.blogspot.com/

To see the ATCs go here:
http://cyberfyberonlineatcs.blogspot.com/

Catch Up Time

2009-01-07T09:08:00.000-08:00

I haven't been posting for awhile because on December 3, 2008, I had a complete knee replacement. It's now January 7, and I'm am glad to say my rehabilitation has been most successful. I can walk without a cane (except outdoors where there are more hazards for falling) and can go up and down stairs. I've yet to try driving my car so my daughter has been a wonderful help in buying me groceries. On January 3, I had my 80th birthday. I took my daughter, granddaughter, grandson, and great granddaughter to lunch for a celebration. The event turned out to be more tiring than I had expected. We should have stayed in Sonoma instead of driving all the way to Corte Madera (about 50 miles roundtrip).

I may fly to Columbia, South Carolina, to see the Cyber Fyber exhibition coordinated by Susan Lenz. I am most excited about seeing all the wonderful fiber art on display. I may also meet up with Susan Sorrell (who lives in Greenville, SC) for a chat and a cuppa tea. I won't see my surgeon until January 16 (I plan to fly the next day) and hope he will okay my trip. The only difficult part would be having to sit so long on each leg of the trip (a stop in Dallas) so I'm going to try to get an aisle seat on the port side so I can straighten out my leg when necessary. If I go, I'll take lots of photos to post on my blog.

Our Cruise Ship, the MS Ryndam and the Explorer's Cafe - Post # 5

2008-11-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

The MS Ryndam is one of Holland America's smaller ships suitable for
cruising the Sea of Cortez.

I spent many pleasant hours in the Exploration Cafe sitting in comfortable leather sofas, drinking lattes, listening to my iPod, and knitting. Oh, and also using the computer.

We had a luxurious Deluxe Verandah Suite. More about this later.

Macyn and Nancy in the Lido pool Post #4

2008-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Grandma Nancy teaching Macyn to love the water.

More coming soon! Post #3

2008-11-03T08:18:00.000-08:00

I will keep posting photos and information. Please notice that the posts are in reverse chronilogical order. Go to the first post and work your way up.

Lifeboat Drill Post #2

2008-11-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

As you can see, Macyn refused to put on her life jacket. I'm the only one who wasn't pissed at having to go through the drill.

Mexico Cruise Aboard the MS Ryndam Post #1

2008-11-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

We began our cruise in San Diego. I brought my daughter, my granddaughter, and my great granddaughter along on the cruise. We started out with the airlines losing Macyn's stroller. They gave us a loaner to take with us on the cruise. Because of my arthritic knee, I had a wheelchair at the airports in Oakland and in San Diego. We all got to go through security ahead of the waiting line. We also pre-boarded the plane because of my being in a wheelchair.

Flickr Flash

2008-07-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

www.flickr.com

Go to freeflyinglady's photostream

Colors for April TIF Challenge

2008-04-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

I found this image of an Aboriginal painting that has a brighter version of the April colors. I think I will go with this palette instead of the dark and gloomy palette Sharon posted for the April TIF Challenge

March Tif Challenge

2008-03-02T15:04:00.001-08:00

I needed to do something fast so I made my piece for March on the Embellisher. There's a bit of magenta fabric paint on the yellow pieces (to tone them down a little), but otherwise the whole thing was put together using my Embellisher. I may still attach it to a larger piece of black felt with running stitches around the edge.

Original (altered) Image

2008-02-28T11:52:00.001-08:00

This is the original image I started with after squaring it up with Photoshop. The background will remain the color of the felt (green), the heavy black lines will be black embroidery, and the rest of the spaces will be embroidered with colored silk thread. (See former post)

Colors for the Primitive Embroidery Piece

2008-02-28T11:44:00.001-08:00

Vero, in answer to your question, these are the colors of silk thread that I've chosen to use on my Primitive piece. I will leave the green background as is and fill in the design spaces with the colors. I may do a "mock up" on paper, first, to see which way I want to go. The lines will be heavily embroidered over with black silk thread. As you can see, the thread is Splendor's 12 ply silk. The thread easily separates into 4 ply strands which is how I use the silk. I love the feel of pulling silk thread through wool felt - very satisfying.

Primitive without Embroidery Paper

2008-02-28T11:41:00.001-08:00

I tore off the embroidery paper, and because I hadn't knotted the thread, some of the treads pulled out. If I were to do this again, I would use a thinner paper such as tissue paper. I would also use only one strand of thread instead of three as I intend to embroider over the outlines.

New Project

2008-02-27T20:43:00.001-08:00

My new project is an embroidery on light green felt. The design is from a book on primitive art. I attached a piece of embroidery paper to freezer paper and ran it through my printer to come up with a design I could outline on my piece of felt. Now, I'll tear away the embroidery paper and begin the actual embroidery.

February TIF Challenge Finished

2008-02-23T14:28:00.001-08:00

I've finished the stitching on my TIF February Challenge piece. I hand stitched the running stitch around all the pieces. I'm not happy with the way it looks -it needs something more, but I don't know what. I might try images printed on organza to add on. I'll see how it goes.

February TIF Challenge Ready for Stitching

2008-02-18T12:39:00.001-08:00

I've pinned my fabric together and it's ready for stitching. This little quilt is for the Take It Further Challenge for February. The concept is "What am I old enough to remember." I chose metal roller skates. The piece measures about ten inches square. I will use batting and another fabric to make this a "real" quilt. I will also leave raw edges on all the pieces. Scroll down to see my "Thoughts on Roller Skating" post.

Quilting Arts Magazine "Go Green" Challenge

2008-02-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

The challenge was to recycle materials to make a mini-quilt five inches square. I use a piece of raw canvas for the drying cloth to place just-painted Lutradur monoprints on. The paint is usually quite thick and a lot soaks through to the canvas. I cut out a 5" piece of this canvas, embellished it with beads, silk floss, and other threads leftover from finished projects. I used a scrap of white wool felt instead of regular batting and backed the quilt with a scrap piece of gold lame'. If the editor of the magazine likes my quilt, it might end up in the magazine (with others, of course)!

Fabrics for February TIFC

2008-02-02T10:51:00.001-08:00

I'm going to make a mini-art quilt for the February Challenge. These are the fabrics/colors I will start out with. From top to bottom the blue stripes are upholstery fabric, the next two are batiks, the next red is cotton, the dark blue on left is a Japanese cotton, and the bottom light blue is Japanese rayon chirimen crepe. I still have to figure out how to create the roller skate. I'm thinking appliqué.

Thoughts on Roller Skating

2008-02-01T10:30:00.001-08:00

I wonder how many pairs of shoes I ruined with my roller skates. The skates had these clamps that tightened onto the sole of the shoe. We used our skate key (which we carried on a ribbon around our necks) to tighten the clamps. The sidewalks where I grew up (the Mission District of San Francisco) were rough concrete; the asphalt streets were smoother, so we skated out in the street. A few blocks from my house was a small industrial area with train tracks, trains, and large buildings for businesses selling all kinds of large equipment. The brand new sidewalks in front of the buildings were smooth - almost as smooth as glass. This area was our favorite place to skate. We didn't have need pads or wear helmets then, so I had many scrapes on my knees and elbows. I still have a skate key in with my mementos. I like to think it is the same one I had as a youngster growing up on the streets and sidewalks of San Francisco.

TIF Challenge for February

2008-02-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Sharon has posted a wonderful challenge for February. The concept is "What are we old enough to remember." There are so many things I remember: Shirley Temple dolls and paper dolls, my Schwinn bicycle, coloring books and Crayola crayons, my grandmother's summer cottage on the Pacific coast just south of San Francisco, driving there in my grandfather's Buick - passing the pig farms while holding our noses, reading fairy tales and the Book of Knowledge, street cars, and finally, the item I've chosen to work with: roller skates.

Photos are the Challenge colors.

Fourth Piece for Take It Further Challenge

2008-01-27T20:36:00.001-08:00

Finally, I have finished my fourth piece for the Challenge. The challenge was to pick someone we admire to inspire our piece. I chose Jean Littlejohn and her piece in which she uses the Embellisher. I did the first piece so quickly, I felt guilty and made a second piece. Then Sharon posted a link to some vintage samplers. I saw one I wanted to copy and ended up doing two more. Now I think I can make a wall hanging of the four pieces. Not sure how yet, but I'm thinking of a large piece of black felt for the background. I hope to get to that before the February challenge starts.

Well, here's the finished quilt. I just have to add another layer of black felt, embroider the edges together, and hang it. I'm going to miss working on this piece.

TIF Challenge 3rd Piece Finished

2008-01-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

I finished my third piece with the Kantha stitch background in two colors. The stitches should have been more random, but I didn't start out that way and had to finish the whole piece in nice neat lines. I'm not sure I'll use the Kantha stitch again. Now to do the fourth piece. I'm going to use the periwinkle felt but don't know yet how I will approach it.

Working on the Background with the Kantha Stitch

2008-01-15T10:11:00.000-08:00

I switched to Firefox browser and am now able to upload my latest in-progress TIF challenge image. See my Flickr site for more description.

(I couldn't upload an image this morning so I put all the description on my Flickr page.)

What To Do Now?????

2008-01-13T10:36:00.001-08:00

I've reached a crossroads. What to do? I'm almost down to doing the background stitching. At this point I don't feel very creative. Following the piece of vintage embroidery I found on the Internet has been interesting; trying to stick to the colors and design has been challenging. However, doing the Kantha running stitch on the background will result in a piece not like the other two I've completed. I'm considering embellishing yarn onto the background. I started out emulating one of Jean Littlejohn's embellishment pieces for my "inspiration" in the TIF Challenge. With this piece I totally took off on a tangent not inspired by Jean at all. What it comes down to I think is that I don't feel I'm being creative. I'm choosing colors not by intuition but by solving the puzzle of which colors go where. I'll need to take off these handcuffs for my fourth piece.

A Little More Progress

2008-01-11T10:59:00.001-08:00

Please click on the link for my Flickr site for a description of my process.

Third Piece in Progress

2008-01-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

After doing two pieces on the Embellisher, I was craving some hand embroidery. Ahhhhhh! So satisfying. I'm keeping to the same colors and the spiral.

Sharon, in her blog, showed this museum sample which I also noticed on the website she gave us. (This kind of running-stitch embroidery is called "kantha." I looked it up on the web.) The piece inspired me to use this technique for my third creation in the First Challenge. I will end up with four felt pieces and then have to decide how to join them together in a wall hanging.

2008-01-07T12:27:00.000-08:00

These are photos of my second piece for the first TIF Challenge. I've used silk ties, as you see in the top photo, to embellish felt circles.

The bottom photo is a detail of one of the silk-tie-embellished circles. The rambling yarn is also embellished to the felt background. Some circles are completely covered with silk and some are covered only in the center. The fuzzy circles are felt that has been embellished from the back side.

My third piece in this series will use the same felt colors and circles, but I haven't decided how to "embellish" them. I may try hand embroidery.

First Week Progress

2008-01-02T21:37:00.001-08:00

I'm amazed! I finished this piece in less than two hours. Now what do I do for the rest of the month? I don't feel the piece needs anything more done to it. Perhaps I should do a series of these. Hmmmmm? That sounds like a challenge.

The entire piece, except for the wandering yarn, is made from 100% wool felt. The circles have been attached to the background felt using my Embellisher. The yarn also was embellished to the felt background. The photo on the top right shows the piece from an angle to show the way the circles stand out from the background felt.

Felt Colors for the Take It Further Challenge

2008-01-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

These are the colors of wool felt I have chosen to use for my embellishment. I haven't decided yet which color to use for the background. The Littlejohn piece I am using for inspiration is monotone. I plan to make a design using six colors. I don't usually make a sketch of a design; I let the creative process work out the design.

Take It Further Design Challenge

2008-01-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Jean Littlejohn is a fiber artist I admire. I am going to use this embellishment piece of Jean's for inspiration. I have a lot of 100% wool felt that I plan to use. I will do embellishment with my Baby Lock Embellisher, plus some thread embellishment and hand embroidery. The colors I have in the felt stash will determine my color scheme. The two photos are of the piece by Jane Littlejohn that I took on Quilting Arts Magazine Alaska Cruise in July 2007.

Another Sampler

2007-12-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

The left upper stitches are three layers of cretan stitch. Upper right is layered fly stitch. The top middle is varied density buttonhole stitch. The rows at the bottom are the herringbone stitch using various threads.

Previous Sampler

2007-12-22T09:41:00.001-08:00

I used a purchased hand painted linen and experimented with stitches, line, shapes, & color. I like the effect these colors have on the pink linen.

Previous Sampler

2007-12-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

These are a variety of practice stitches. The linen was lightly hand painted. This sampler didn't scan too well: the colors are prettier than it shows.

Embroidery Sampler for Lesson 5

2007-12-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy trying to get an appliqued tee shirt finished for my great-granddaughter, Macyn.
This sampler is an experiment in painting my own linen. I used fabric pens, one of which turned out to be a neon color. So, the piece is pretty wild. I'd like to go on to do Lesson 6, but Christmas activities are in the way. Maybe I'll attempt the challenge next year.

I'm having my 79th birthday on January 3! Yikes! I'm almost 80!!! I sure don't feel that old. I want to take a watercolor workshop in the south of France next summer. I feel I need to get into shape for that. After the first of the year, I will definitely start doing Pilates again.

2007-12-06T08:44:00.000-08:00

I think I'm finished. I could go on until there is no longer any felt visible, but I want to start Lesson 4 - density. These embroidery pieces are addictive. I have several other projects I need to be working on for Xmas, two of which are for my great-granddaughter, Macyn. I can't stay away from the samplers, tho. Must practice discipline!

Curious?

2007-12-04T12:29:00.002-08:00

If you're curious about what thread and what stitches I used, here it is. For a much larger version, click on the image.

Progress on Sampler

2007-12-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

Here is more progress on my Lesson 3 sampler. I'm wondering if I am getting carried away with my color selections. I probably won't be able to tell until I'm almost finished. I love working on 100% wool felt. I recently ordered a whole bunch more in lovely colors.

PLOS Project Lesson 3

2007-12-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

I chose blue 100% wool felt to do my Lesson 3 sampler: using line as the design element. I'm playing with colors again, of course! See next post for a progress report.

The Story of Santuario de Chimaya

2007-11-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

The day before we went to Ghost Ranch, our group went to Chimayo to have lunch at their famous restaurant and to visit the Sanctuary. I was strolling through the church and the "annex" with Carol DuChamp, our group leader. We came to a tiny room off the sanctuary which had a small, shallow pit (called "el posito," or Little Healing Well) in the center of the room.

The sancuary is called the Lourdes of America. Like that French shrine, the Santuario has become known as a place of healing. Legend has it that because the church was expressly built on land where a crucifix mysteriously appeared nearly 200 years ago, its dirt is sacred. Ever since, people have believed that touching this dirt, rubbing it on a wound or an affliction, could bring about a cure.

I'm not very religious, but I felt I needed to rub some of the dirt on me. I couldn't bend down so Carol gathered up a handful of dirt for me. I rubbed the dirt on my jeans and rubbed my hands together. I started to tell Carol my story about falling. It seems that when I take a fall, I relax and just go with it. It may be my experience as a skier that has taught me not to tense up when I fall. Because I instinctively relax, I've never broken a bone. Plus, it doesn't hurt that I have a high bone density.

When I took my "leap" off the path to the petroglyphs, I know I didn't stiffen up. I just rolled down the embankment clutching my camera and my sketch book. I landed with them still in my grip. I believe to this day that the "dirt" from the Santuario de Chimayo kept me safe from serious injury.

Santuario de Chimayo

2007-11-04T08:39:00.000-08:00

Watch this post for more info about what happened to me at the Santuary of Chimayo. It's the prequel to my fall.

My Fall - How I Got the Name, Freeflyinglady

2007-11-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

In September of 2006, I went to Santa Fe for a Watercolor Self Expression workshop. On the third day we visited Ghost Ranch where Georgia O'Keefe had done many of her paintings. We painted the surrounding landscape, sat though a thunder storm, and then left for the day. On the way home it was suggested that we take a detour to see some petroglyphs. It was necessay to climb a steep trail to see the carvings. On the way up, I stepped a little to the left to avoid a large cactus. The soil was soft from the rain. When I place my foot down, the earth gave way, and I went tumbling down the 200 foot embankment. I rolled over and over and just before I landed in a drainage ditch, my back landed on a huge rock. As I lay in the wet ditch, I was sure I had broken my back. I just lay there face down trying to catch my breath. Several of the ladies in our group rushed over to me. I just lay still, but after awhile I was able to get myself to a sitting position. My shoulder was killing me as well as my lower rib cage. My instuctor and my friend, Sue, drove me to the ER in Santa Fe. After x-rays were taken, the doctor determined that nothing was broken - just painful contusions. He gave me a prescription for a pain killer and a mild sleeping pill.

There's more to the story which I will relate at another time. The next morning at breakfast, we all decided that Freeflyinglady would be my new nickname. Oh, the painting is my emotional interpretation to my fall.

Petroglyphs Sketched by Carol Duchamp

2007-11-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

My copies of Carol Duchamp's sketches.

Petroglyphs

2007-11-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sketches of some of the petroglyphs Carol Duchamp climbed a steep hill to see.

More Titmouse-in-Progress

2007-10-31T15:14:00.000-07:00

I scanned my titmouse quilt into Photoshop to try to improve the upper right area. I came up with this version. Now to try to duplicate it with fabric. Only problem is I covered everything but the bird with light blue tulle. These extra leaves will be brighter than the others unless I can figure out how to cover them as well.

More Progress on Titmouse Quilt

2007-10-30T14:40:00.000-07:00

I've added more blocks of color under the bird and added a background fabric. Jane suggested I make the pink shape above the bird smaller so it doesn't compete with the bird. Also, the titmouse got anxious and hopped off the branch. I'll have to put him back where he belongs before I start to stitch and quilt.

Beginnings of Titmouse Bird Quilt

2007-10-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

I've laid out the fabric pieces for my quilt. I need to add some color to the lower left to balance the upper right. About a year ago I bought some upholstery fabric remnants at Britex in S.F. I was into making purses at the time. I thought these fabrics would make terrific tote bags. Never got around to it. I decided to make my bird quilt using the upholstery fabrics. I pulled out the colors I thought would work together, added a piece of periwinkle cotton and a piece of sheer metallic, and found a colorful jaquard batik for the accent color. I fused the pieces of my titmouse, but the rest is not even pinned down, yet. I also thought I'd try doing a quilt with raw edges on the fabric pieces. I like the way the quilt is going right now. Check back soon for further developments.

Titmouse for Next Art Quilt

2007-10-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

Our next art quilt in Jane's class is a "Bird" quilt. I chose this saucy little crested titmouse to use for my bird image. I have titmice in my garden. They are such cute little guys! I will face him the other way for design's sake.

My garden also attracts scrub jays, goldfinch, junkos, hummingbirds, robins, and house finch. I've seen red-tailed hawk in the area. One came into my garden once and sat on the back of a garden chair waiting for a bird to fly down to my bird feeder. I've since removed THAT bird feeder! At first I thought it was a sea gull it was so huge. When I realized it was a hawk, I almost freaked out. He hasn't been back since I removed the bird feeder, at least not that I know of.

2007-10-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

I've finished Freddie except for the edge binding. I machine stitched around the shapes, hand stitched around Freddie and around the edge of the canvas, and I hand quilted the red fabric using red thread. It doesn't show up in the photo.

I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

Freddie Ready to Stitch/Quilt

2007-10-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

My paints were supposed to be transparent, but I had to use opaque to achieve the lighter colors. I do like the way Freddie turned out so now I'll get him ready for the sewing machine.

Freddie "painted" in Photoshop

2007-10-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

I "cheated" and painted my canvas in Photoshop to see how to go about painting the actual canvas. I'm not so sure about the large green shape below the scarf. Maybe if I put a green shape somewhere in the lower left section it might be less obvious. Any suggestions?

More Food

2007-10-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

One Station in the Lido Cafe

2007-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

Alaska Cruise-July 2007

2007-10-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

Quilting Arts Magazine sponsored a seven day cruise to Alaska aboard the MS Zuiderdam of Holland America Cruise lines. It was my first ever cruise. I had never desired to take a cruise, but I couldn't pass up the chance to take the workshops put on by Quilting Arts Magazine. Well, I didn't know what I had been missing all these years! I loved the cruise and can't wait to take another one. The photo is the view as we cruised away from Glacier Bay. I have oodles of pictures of the trip that I will post another time.

Pastel Painting of Cypress in Italy

2007-10-18T19:20:00.000-07:00

I tried to uplaod this image to the "header" but it wouldn't upload. I was staying at the Villa Vignamaggio, the villa where they shot the movie "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

The Dutch Banded Cow

2007-10-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

On my drive to Napa this morning, I saw the herd of Dutch Banded Cows out in the pasture on their farm. I couldn't believe these cows the first time I saw them (except I had seen them on a calendar). Since I moved to Sonoma, I love to drive the back roads to see the different kinds of cows that live here in Sonoma County. Why do cows all face in the same direction when they are grazing? Anyway, one day when I had my camera with me, I stopped and took quite a few pictures of the Dutch Banded Cows. I thought I might use the image in an embroidery. This photo is one of the best views of how the white band encircles the cow's belly.

Funny Story

2007-10-16T12:29:00.001-07:00

Want to hear a good one? The other day I found a spot in my sewing room where it looked like Freddie had peed. It had been there a few days because it was starting to mold and the mold was growing. The mold was all these pastel colors. I couldn't figure out when he had done it. I put off cleaning the spot until today, although I looked at it several times. I took everything off the bookcase in order to move it. I wanted to clean under the leg of the bookcase, too. I shook the can of cleaner and bent over to spray the spot. The mold had grown higher, I thought. (Weird, eh?) I decided I'd better wipe up the mold then spray the spot. As I bent closer, I realized it wasn't colored mold. . . . . . it was a piece of pastel colored tulle that had fallen on the floor. I couldn't believe I had been so mistaken about the moldy monster growing on my new carpet, especially when it was these pretty pastel colors. I felt pretty stupid. But, I was glad it wasn't Freddie's pee after all.

Badwater, Death Valley at sunrise.

2007-10-16T10:03:00.000-07:00

I just figured out how to upload a photo! I took this photo in Death Valley with a Hassleblad. I've since sold the camera and switched to digital. Look for more photos in the future. I'm just learning all this blog stuff.