Visit to the Quilt Store

Nonie and I went into Arlington today, mostly to hit the grocery store and to have lunch at our favorite old-timey eatery, The Blue Bird Cafe. and then Nonie spotted the quilt store and suggested we go take a look. What a great shop it turned out to be! Wonderful shelves of riotous color and pattern. It truly made me want to buy about sixty gazillion yards of fabric and start making quilts or sewing something. The only problem with that is....I can't sew! I hate sewing. I see a sewing machine and I break out in a cold sweat and my hands shake and I get all wrought up. It is not pretty. I have learned to avoid sewing. It's better for everyone.

I have discovered that a quilt store is a wonderful place to take photos. That I can do! I did buy some great black and white fabrics that I can only describe as architectural. I think I might be able to cover some book boards to make a journal with them. I loved the patterns and the whimsy of the designs. I had to have it. (Gee, I hear that from a lot of my fiber and fabric friends....the ones with rooms full of yardage. I am beginning to understand their compulsion!)




All photos were taken at The Qultmaker's Shoppe on North Olympic Avenue, Arlington, Washington, with permission. It's a great store and the owner is friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. Stop in if you get a chance!

Dawn's Journal

I have been working on Dawn's Sensual Journal. Deb Denton started this round robin journal group last year. Each participant created their own journal with a theme of their choice and then it was sent off to the first person on our list. Deb designed this exchange to be a real challenge as we are required to somehow incorporate four of the five senses! (Hearing, sight, touch, taste and smell.) By the middle of this summer we should each receive our own journals back and each of our journals will have been worked in by six other artists. (I am very eager to see mine!)

To create my background I used a Golden product I had not used before---fiber gel. It created a look on the page that reminds me of Venetian plaster. I colored the gel with fluid acrylics and I used three layers on each page. I applied the product with a old credit card and a palette knife. Both of the tools worked well, it just depended on the look you were going for. The finished texture is interesting and I like the look and feel. I will use this product again for other backgrounds.

Dawn's journal is beautiful and the theme she picked is "Blue". I had some trouble settling on my theme as I had several ideas in mind. I finally decided on Once in a Blue Moon. I really enjoyed doing the maid in the moon . I haven't done much with watercolors lately and it was fun to get back into that medium. I made a CD with songs, all titled Once in a Blue Moon to include. (Dawn included a CD in the journal with music to create by....it's was a great compilation disk and I played it a lot.) I'm fairly happy with my entries into Dawn's journal. I hope she is as happy with my work!

Snuzz Update

NEWS FLASH!!!

This just in from Southern California.....the corner of the blanket nearest the tag is the Yellow Snuzz! (No, the tag is not yellow...) I don't know. I do not know why the tag corner is known as the yellow snuzz. It just is.

Inquiring minds want to know!

And for those Dear Readers who are enraptured by creatures of the sea, as I am, please check the latest issue of National Geographic. There is a fascinating, photo-filled article on nudibranchs. They are incredibly beautiful (in a sluggy sort of way) and the colors are eye popping.

O Happy Day

I'm going to toot my own horn a little as I received an juried gallery entry letter from the Edmonds Arts Festival yesterday. They have accepted two of three entries and I am delighted. It's very affirming to have been accepted into the juried show in photography as this now makes me three for three! I have entered three times, three different years and have been accepted in three different areas. In 2004 I entered one of my pottery baskets and it was displayed in Artisan's Works. Last year I entered a miniature oil painting that was hung in the Painting and Prints room. This year, two of my photographs will be hung in the Photography gallery. Sigh. This makes me oh, so very happy! For those of you who know I am on the board of this very arts festival, please let me assure you that our jurying process is totally blind and that we hire jurors each year. No one knew who had submitted. I did not receive special treatment. (I wouldn't want it!)

Tug Boat Races

Connie and I got to spend the better part of the day aboard the Crowley Marine tug boat Hunter. I won our trip by bidding for it on the Market Foundation online auction earlier in the spring. We boarded just before noon, after having been treated to espresso and pastries and then spent several hours cruising Elliot Bay and taking part in the Maritime Festival. The high point of the afternoon was the Class A race for the unlimited tugs, and the Hunter was the winner again this year. Number two was another Crowley tug, the Valiant and the third place went to a Foss tub, the America. It was great fun to be aboard and I loved every second of the day! Any day were I get to be on board a boat is a great day. I love messing about on boats.

Willingly Tagged

Jen was tagged by her friend Rick to write a six word memoir and post it on her blog. The rules are:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post
4. Tag other folks with links
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play

Jen didn't want to actually tag anyone but suggested that she would invite others to play if they wished. I wish!

My memoir:

hear color, see passion, paint joy

Anyone else wish to play?

The beautiful flowers pictured above are my Mother's Day gift from Jen. They are gorgeous, they smell like heaven and they are amost as beautiful as my amazing daughter.

Pink Snow

It Was Some Glad Morning

One day, something very old
happened again. The green
came back to the branches,
settling like leafy birds
on the highest twigs;
the ground broke open
as dark as coffee beans.

The clouds took up their
positions in the deep stadium
of the sky, gloving the
bright orb of the sun
before they pitched it
over the horizon.

It was good as ever:
the air was filled
with the scent of lilacs

and cherry blossoms
sounded their long
whistle down the track
It was some glad morning.

by Joyce Sutphen from Naming the Stars (Holy Cow Press)