Flowers + Colored pencils Oct 04,2007

I've been thinking how much I enjoyed using the colored pencil on photos printed on fabric. I am going to experiment with several flower photos that I pulled from my files. The first is Jacaranda tree blossoms, something I have long thought of using as a design source for a quilt. The color is true in this picture, but if it is printed out it turns to the red-violet range. I am told this is a factor of the colors of ink. Being standard there isn't much I can do about that with my simple Epson printer, but maybe color pencil will correct that problem.

I am also going to work on this lovely peony picture. We don't grow peonies here, but I remember them fondly from my growing up years in Portland, Oregon, and sometimes in the Spring I buy a few at the florist, or Trader Joe's, to enjoy. The pink on this one was very subtle, but pinker than the picture. I will see what I can do to enhance the color with pencils.

When I have success I will post some pictures, if not... well,

maybe I'll try again!

Pushing a deadline Sep 22, 2007

I've been using my new box of pencils today. They are very nice, but I miss the stand-up 'easel' type box of the old set. And I discovered there is no grey included! I may have to run out tomorrow to find a couple greys. The pressure is on for the Sep 28 deadline for the Journal Quilt challenge from the Quilt Art online group. I've tried three different designs with no success and this one must be the final one and I must get it done so I can ship it to arrive by Sep 28, Friday! One of the rules is that the quilts cannot be shared until after they appear at the enormous Houston Quilt Festival. And that isn't until the end of October! Maybe I will finish one of the rejects and post it.

While I worked this evening I watched/listened to the first installment of Ken Burn's "The War" on PBS. I was only seven when WWII ended, but I do remember some things about it and they aren't pleasant memories. I wonder how these surviving servicemen can dredge up their horrific memories and not have nightmares. Maybe they do. I was seventeen when I worked behind the scenes in a library and saw books with pictures of the victims of Nazism and they still give me nightmares sometimes. I imagine that as long as there are egomaniacs in positions of power there will always be the threat of war.

I still hope to drive up the east side of the Sierra on Hwy 395 sometime soon, at least to Bishop. Here is a photo taken at Bishop Park campground in October 1989 showing how magnificent it can be when the aspen are in full color.

New tools Sep 22, 2007

As I pile on the years I find I spend more and more time looking for things that I have put away. Apparently in the wrong place because sometimes I cannot find what I am looking for. Not an unusual situation, I know many people who have this affliction. Twice in the last year I have misplaced my colored pencils - the first time I ultimately found them, the second time NOT! So, today I bought a new set of 48 pencils. (Do you know that Prismacolor has 120 colors?) Tomorrow I will probably find the first set which is verrrry old, I believe I bought them around 1975. Obviously, I have not had the great need for them that I had yesterday. Surely in the future I will be able to find one set or the other. Just in case, I am posting this picture, so if I call and ask you what they look like you can tell me! Might help, can't hurt.

Rather pleasant to have something so bright and new to share. Eventually I will post a photo to show why my need was so desperate.

Showers off and on today and everything is so sparkly clean in the periodic sunshine that it hurts my eyes. The bluest of skies, the whitest piles of clouds and that lovely clean smell in the air. Leaves are starting to turn, even though the temp has only been down to about 50F. Hope we have a cold snap before they all turn brown and drop. Later I'll make a trip over the to gorgeous Ginkgo lined street in Fullerton to take some pictures. One of these days I will make a Ginkgo quilt. I have lots of yellow fabric!