And the rain came... 01-25-08

Stormy weather is with us at least through the weekend. Oddly, it seems to be raining mostly at night, with occasional showers during the day. The clouds are fabulous sometimes, but most of the time they are flat grey as in this picture. Silhouetted is a Sweet Gum (Liquidambar) tree with a few leaves still clinging, remarkable considering the winds we have endured. We now have had more rain than we did during the entire year last year - that is the rainfall year which runs from the first of July to the end of June.

One year ago 01-24-08

A year ago about this time I was preparing for an exhibit at Back Porch Quilt Shop in Pacific Grove, CA. It was an interesting experience which I enjoyed immensely, once I had the quilts ready to go! My good friend Mary helped me out by hand finishing some bindings. Thanks again, Mary. Not all of the quilts were for sale, I don't remember - maybe half? And quite a few of them sold, but not the ones that I thought would. I've heard this from other quilt makers who have done exhibits with quilts for sale. I don't actually make quilts with selling on my mind, but I have begun to run out of space. So, I was happy to see some of my work find new homes. If you would like to see the quilts and the gallery go to:
http://tinyurl.com/2stetd

More tentmaker panel 01-23-08

When I posted about the tentmaker panel on January 21, I didn't tell you the size and several people have asked. Hossam Farouk, the maker, is a man. Only men do this work and all belong to a sort of guild of tentmakers. They sit all day working on the applique and reportedly work very fast. Almost all of their work is traditional Arabic designs. This piece is made of cotton fabric, measures about 46" square and was the smallest one Jenny had with her. I just liked the color in this one.

Jade plant 01-23-08

I wonder if everyone knows that Jade plants bloom. This is the time of year and here is largest one in my yard. It is about eight feet high, fitting between a sidewalk along the garage and the neighbor's retaining wall.

This picture was taken from his driveway toward my garage. The main trunk is about ten inches in diameter.

The white flowers w/pink centers are about the size of my little fingernail and grow in clusters.

The black spots on the petals are the dark ends of the anthers.

This picture looks right down into the center of the flower. Again you can see the dark ends if the five anthers.

Dried Out! 01-22-08

All of my life I have been ... well, juicy. Shampoo for oily hair, face cream for oily skin, double deodorant for moist oxters, etc. Nobody told me that when I got old (or mature as my doctor says) I would dry up and require everything for dry skin! At Road I worked with fabric, which absorbs the oil in my hands, and washed my hands many times a day with cold water, because that was all that was available, and soap that I carry with me. Now I have dried up, rough, chapped, red, uncomfortable hands. Above are most of the 'treatments' I have on hand, along with Bag Balm, Udder Cream and Zack's Crack Cream. The jar in front with the violet lid and also the box in front are from France. In the box is a tube of Au Ver a Soie, a hand cream that is sold in the USA at embroidery/needlepoint shops - it is the most expensive item in my 'arsenal' - and it is supposed to lead to hands smooth enough to work with fine silk embroidery threads. I am trying every possible combination and hope that I will have soft, lovely, smooth hands soon. But I am not holding my breath! Guess being dried up is one of the perils of ageing.

Cairo Tentmaker hanging 01-21-08

Appliqued panel by Tentmaker Hossam Farouk, Cairo, Egypt

This is the piece I purchased from Jenny Bowker yesterday. She had brought three of these panels from Egypt to show the wonderful work of the Cairo tentmakers. There are three layers - top w/applique, a heavy canvas and a solid fabric backing - but they are not quilted together. The applique stitches go through the applique, the background and pick up just a tiny thread in the canvas. The dark blue backing is attached only at the edges.

This detail shows the workmanship which is amazing, but not perfect enough for a quilt show judge! Considering all this handwork the panels are incredibly inexpensive. I chose this one because of the three it has a greatest range of colors. The pictures are not great and the color is dull, because this has been a dreary grey day w/periodic showers. But I wanted to share this fabulous work of textile art and couldn't wait for a sunny day.

Class w/Jenny Bowker Cont'd 01-20-08

I have been reading Jenny's blog since early 2006 http://jennybowker.blogspot.com/ , so I know something about her family, her quilt making and her experiences in Cairo. Which, on some level, makes it seem that I know her, but, of course, I don't. That gave me a feeling of disconnect when I met her on Friday. It was almost like meeting a fictional character from a book I enjoyed reading. Jenny is friendly and sharing and interesting, but I was disconnected from the Jenny I know on her blog. Interesting feeling.

I had never seen a picture of her and she didn't match my unconscious image. Does it ever work that way? Here she is with one of her most recent quilts which depicts her Cairo friend Hashim. See her blog post for 10-01-07.

Jenny is not a teacher who gives you a assignment and then checks to see that you are doing it correctly. On Friday she had us do some design exercises which helped me get my mind into what she was teaching and also gave me some ideas on what to work on in class. This is the yet to be sewn background for my triptych which will be divided vertically into three panels and will also have some horizontal sections inserted. The tree in the picture in yesterday's blog will be enlarged and applied over this background, so parts of it will appear in adjacent sections. Jenny kept an eye on what each student was doing, but didn't interrupt with suggestions and ideas unless the student asked her to do so. The comments she made were not to impose her ideas, rather to guide the student in finding her own 'voice'. I enjoyed the class immensely and will take another class with her if I ever have a chance.

I spend very little time looking at the quilts in the show and even less looking at the vendor's wares. After class I looked up those vendors I know, just to say hello. By then the crowds had gone home, so there was lots of room to walk around and stand around without being buffeted around. I was simply exhausted by the time I got home, so I emptied my class stuff from the van and crawled into bed for a long nap - four hours! It was heavenly uninterrupted sleep.