Fiber Postcards 09-18-10

I was unable to post this last evening due to my computer problems. However, today the computer guru returned my new Dell laptop with all the viruses and Trojan Horses removed. Seems that I transferred them from the old laptop to the new. I have more security checks now - hope that takes care of all future problems. Del

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maybe fiber postcards are the prod to get me back to making quilts. I haven't made a single quilt since early last spring. I suppose my old age ailments have been part of the problem - pain can be debilitating - and another part could be overload. I cannot do as much as I once could and tend to get befuddled when I try to do too much. However, postcards are in my past and in my future, so I have been working on them. These are all from four or five years ago and all are sold or contributed or given away. But I have the images to inspire me.

Nipsy, the cat appeared in a few, he always finds the world interesting.

These fine leaves are very time consuming, but careful cutting can yield both a negative and a positive version.

This is reverse applique with the background made from the 'cut away' of the one above.

Abstracts are always challenging. It seems I can only do them in bright colors.

I have posted fiber postcards in the past, including two of the above. Click on Fiber Postcards in the list of labels in the right sidebar.

The flower I posted yesterday was Coxcomb, a form of celosia.

These pictures are from my trip to San Juan Bautista in June and show galls on oak trees. I've always thought they are rather beautiful - the round (mostly) creamy galls among the shiny green leaves of the oak.

The galls are formed by certain wasps that penetrate the bark and lay eggs. When the eggs hatch the larvae produce a chemical that creates the gall.

The larvae feed on the inside of the gall, they don't eat the tree, so there is little harm. The galls I have felt have been hollow, like a gourd.

Here is the URL for an article about the man who wrote the field guide to galls!

http://www.redding.com/news/2007/sep/08/natures-oddballs-oak-tree-galls-are-strangely-intr/

Wordless Wednesday 09-15-10

No post tonight 09-13-10

I know you won't believe this - I'm not sure I do! My new Dell is a no-op again! The computer guru has it on his work bench to test it out and will return it to me later this week. Or whenever it is working correctly. Whichever comes first! I'm just the kiss of death to computers it seems. I am working on my old Dell laptop which I have had for four or five years. But the screen is not dependable and sometimes won't light up, so I have to have an auxiliary screen which is inconvenient to haul around. And this old Dell has not been updated since a year ago July and has no current photos or anything else that happened after July 2009. Tomorrow is Surfside Quilters Guild and I will take this old Dell, and the aux. screen, so I can upload photos after the meeting. Woe is I!

Valerie Goodwin quilt in TCQC 09-12-10

I first saw this quilt in September 2002 when Valerie Goodwin posted to the Quilt Art list giving her new website where she also showed work by her students. She is an architect and teaches at Florida A&M University's School of Architecture. Valerie was preparing for an exhibit of her work and didn't want to sell this quilt until after the exhibit. But, true to her word, she contacted me when the exhibit was taken down and I was able to buy the quilt. It is very unlike the work she is doing now, but it still "speaks" to me. I have been tempted by her more recent work, but I have yet to add another of her quilts to the TCQC. I was pleased to meet her two years ago when she had a quilt in the Visions Exhibit. See her current work at www.quiltsbyvalerie.com

"Rotational Displacement" Valerie Goodwin 2002 24"W x 48"L

Cotton fabrics, machine pieced, hand appliqued, hand quilted.

There are two pieces of this fabric printed with words - just the kind of detail that draws me in.

This quilt has a plain back and you will notice that the matching sleeve makes it a horizontal quilt, but I have added a black sleeve on one end to hang it vertical. I much prefer it that way. If you want to see it in the artist's orientation - the bottom of the quilt is the grey border with the red inserts. The label is on the original sleeve - the white label on the lower left is the TCQC label.