Mexican Art Class - scroll down after the picture, blog is acting out today......

Amate is what they call it, I know it as Bark Cloth.  Whatever it is, I love the stuff.  I can see all kinds of possibilities for using it in my fiber art pieces.  I am excited and the teacher is really excited that I am loving her stuff.

I just had to take the class when it was offered through OLLI.  That is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through LSU.  And Frank wanted to take it as well, even though he is convinced he is no good at "art" stuff.

The teacher is Sandra Ziad and is an amazing artist in a few other forms as well.

She introduced us to the art by showing some YouTube videos of real Atami painters from Honduras.

The picture above is what we are aiming at.

Below is what we have so far.  Mine is on the top and Frank's is on the bottom.  Not bad.  We spent some time in the last class practicing how to use the liner brushes to manipulate the ink for the outlines.  Next week we will jump right into the inking.

Then COLOR!

You will probably have to click on the photos and make them larger to really see the line drawings.  My zentangle work has really helped me with the filling of the space I had on the bark paper.

I find it interesting that most people in the class are really scraed of making a mistake.  Oh, yeah, they should live in THIS world with me!  I make quilting mistakes all the time.  I want to yell at them, put your big girl panties on and hike them up, ladies!

 

Birds Before the Storm

It is fixing to storm here.

And the birds are gorging themselves at the feeders while McGee hides in his hidey hole in the laundry room.

I was going to go to the grocery store and grab some Windex and

Ice Cream (seems I am out of both) but I have to baby sit the scaredy cat boy for a while yet,  I guess.

The other feeder has 4 perches and is upright.  there was a waiting line for the feeders as the storm got closer.

















I lost all the bird books in the flood so I can't identify all the different species but they are most likely house wrens of various sorts.





The chickadees are usually here in force but I don't see them today.



You can make any of the photos larger by clicking on them.

The cardinals were trying to keep the squirrels from getting the sunflower seeds that the little birds were kicking to the ground.   When the cardinals would fly away, the squirrels would come back.  I wonder why my HUNTING DOGS don't help the cardinals take care of the squirrels.

When I had Swissys we had NO SQUIRRELS.



 So while I was waiting. I threw some blue fabric on the long arm and did some play quilting.  I should be cleaning up the house since I have this huge party this weekend.

Anything to do FUN Stuff and not CLEANING stuff.  You know.

I did get into the Long Arm Room and straighten up and organize a lot.  You may not think I did anything but I really did a lot of cleaning and organizing.

Quilting the Birds

Ok, so I wussed out.

As much as I want do custom work in each bird block and all around the borders, it would sit for years before I would have time.

I decided to go with a panto on the birds.  I chose SoHo from Urban Elementz so I could get it done.  I kept thinking about having 31 birds, and how many I had to do each day.    And it was getting overwhelming.  My life is so hectic right now as it is, I don't want to add more to it.  I would just go mad insane and run screaming into the woods or something.

So I chose the panto.  It kinda looks birdlike even. 

Even that didn't go down easily. 

I got the panto all lined up and everything and did the first motif.  Man, that sucker looked yellow.  I forgot to take out that yellow bobbin!  Rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, rip, rip.  Bobbin change!

Then I had tension issues.  But I got them resolved.

Then the dogs wanted out.  Got that resolved.

Then the computer went out and Frank had a report to send out.  And when he was on the phone with Cox   ........   he couldn't figure out what was the modem and what wasn't.

Got that figured out.  They are now appropriately labeled in large print with color coded labels.

Then the dogs wanted out again.  How did they get in again?

Then I got confused on which way I was going on the panto and went backwards......geez, rip, rip, rip, et, al. 

So I just stopped and let the dogs out again  and made dinner.

Tomorrow is another day.

Birthday Eve

Birthday Eve!  And it is appropriately cold and freezing for a January birthday.  Today he brought me a card and a bunch of bright colored flowers.  Yesterday he brought me an ugly bracelet.  The many cannot pick out jewelry.  Although he did OK with the silver bracelet I directed him to look for the day before.  And Sunday he gave me a coat hanger thingy with circles on which to hang scarves and belts. Tomorrow is the culmination of the Birthday Week Festivities.  So sad to see it end!

So this is Tuesday, the holiday yesterday really messed me up.  I need to get my driver's license renewed and all the state offices were shut down.  And today they THINK it MIGHT snow again, so the city and state are shut down as well.  I wonder if they will give me two extra days to get my renewal?  Probably not.

I also needed a CAAWS document notarized and there was not an attorney in the city working.  I ended up at the accountant's office and he had one of their lawyers notarize my document for free, so I made money on the deal anyway.  I used to be a notary years ago, it probably would be a good idea to re-certify, although I have no desire to take the classes again, or the test.

I was early to the meeting so I walked around his building twice for a total of just over a mile. 



So what's a girl to do?  SEW!  And I did.

I was able to get the last two sections of  birds together and the whole thing somewhat squared.

I  declared it finished just about the time I decided it needed to have four white border strips added for when I quilted it.  I can trim down to whatever size I want, but I  will have the extra fabric as much as I want showing. 

Of course there were a number of plaes where the abutting fabrics were not square.  In other words MOST of the places required figuring out how to sew the darned things. And it was not always easy to get the fabric to sit flat.

In fact, I am somewhat of a genius in getting it flat at all.  Lynne must be a super genius ......  or maybe she is a better quilter in the block stage, making sure they are of equal or compatible sizes when she makes them.

But I got it worked out.

Took me a whole day.

Better Idea:  Next time I will just send the birds to Lynne to put together.

 
 It has been so very cold in Southern Louisiana.  Here is my fish pond with icicles!  LOL.......lordy, lordy!

Dd you see me and my brother in the last post?  Do we look alike?  He looks like my dad and I look like my Aunt Edie, dad's sister.

I will have to ask cousin Karen for a picture of the three of them.  They are the children of my father's brother, who we never thought looked like the other two.  As he got older he did, though.

But boy did Uncle Angelo's kids look like the Graci side!   The Graci Men in two generations have one face between them!


I am finished quilting the Zig Zag quilt and I added the binding.  It still needs to be hand sewn down.  I am very optimistic that this OMG finish will be a success!


So I need to look to the future projects.  I have so many of them.  And they all shifted places in the last few weeks since I found Kathy Doughty and Material Obsession's books Mixing Quilt Elements and Adding Layers.  I have two quilts I want to work on first.

What do you think of these colors together?  The background is a golden, although it is not solid.  I thought it was solid but when I got it down it had a swirl pattern.  I can use it on the back side but and you will see a faint pattern up close.  It won't really matter either side.

Do I need to mix it up more?  Do I needa different fabric in place on one?  This is the scary part for me. 

The rust color palate will be fan blades radiating out from the center (which will be a melon shaped center).  The two blacks will be cornerstones.

These will be large.  So there will be 4 of them on the quilt which will be 88 x 88.  Like I said, large.

You know, I wanted to make some sofa pillows.  I might as well make those first.  they should be quick (she says as it takes 10 days to make two pillows.....) LOL. You know that is going to happen.

I also have the pieces that Judy gave me at the last Fiber meeting.  I really want to play with that one!   Not Judy's thing, but definitely MY thing.

And I have another one with trees and dancing ladies and wild things hanging in the trees.   Also from Kathy Doughty/Material Obsession.

Of course, there are about 257 UFOs I can pick from as well............but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?

An Accident in the Quilt Room

 So there was a near fatal accident in the quilt room today.




I  was vacuuming so I could mop up after the love  birds made such a mess on the floor. 




The vacuum blew a couple of birds off the design wall, and before I could do anything.....gobbled up the batik bird.  Surgery was required.  I had to replace a corner of the  HSTs.




For a while I worked on putting  my birds together, but I took a bit of a detour.  I remembered that Judy was going to choose a number from a list of 12 we prepared in December.  I must have missed that totally. 

She chose number 10 -  my Zig Zag quilt.  It needs to have a back  made and get quilted. 

The blocks were made at a retreat a couple of years ago.  From Sujata Shah's book Cultural Fusion Quilts.  One of my favorite books. 





 I pulled  some short lengths  of fabric to make a pieced back.  Even though the fabrics are more  traditional, it looks  like  a modern backing.





This is  where I am with the birds right now.  I have put together three sections.  Of course, not making the birds all the same equal sizes, I am having to create piecing maps and get very creative about getting them together.

I am adding white spacers where I need them.  I hope this will make it large enough just to need a small white border around the whole thing.


Frank watched the new X-Files while i watched the Aurora Borealis in Iceland.

That is where we  will be on this year's vacation!

Day 1 Year 2018

Did you know the Gregorian Calendar, the one we use today, was set up in 1582. But not all countries used it as their civil calendar until 1923.  Took them a long time to get with the program.  The big difference from the


previously popular Julian calendar was the length of a day.  The Gregorian year equals 365.2425 days where the Julian Calendar Year was 365.25 days.

If you subscribe to the Buddhist Year the date would be 2562.  And the female Tibetan Fire Rooster Calendar is 2144.

So Happy Gregorian New Year to you all.

It was in the teens last night and today the highest number on the thermometer outside my back door only went to 27.  Last year we were in the camper from Hell with no heat.  It does get very cold in South Louisiana, doesn’t it.


I spent the day in my sewing room putting the HSTs on the birds.  I am thinking in either need it make some additional birds or to use some sort of alternative block.

I was thinking that the branch block from the Modern Guild might be an interesting thing.  The birds could appear to sit on the branches and sing their hearts out all day long.

I am listening to The Last Tudor by Phillipa Gregory.  She writes amazing biographical stories about the women in the 1400s and 1500s in Old England.  Lady Jane Grey, War of the Roses, The White Queen, the Red Queen.   The Seymores and the Stewarts.  If you like historical reads, definitely look her up in your library.




DiNozzo oversaw the replenishing of the Dog Bone Inventory.  We go through a ton of Milkbones every week. 

Here is the wine jelly I made from the leftover wine at the CAAWS Volunteer Party. It is absolutely wonderful.    Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio.  And edible flowers from Whole Foods.

And that is my new pig plate.  

And I am making vodka and scotch vanilla extract.  It needs to sit for 8 weeks before you use it.

I am going to be ready for the year 2144.......or 2562.........whichever is your preference.

Daily Bird #30 and Me and the Italian Stud On the Beach.....

Crossing the hump........from the 20s to the 30s.

This bright bird is all batik-y and happy.  He flew in and showed me his wings which were every color of the rainbow.  I had a hard time trying to find an appropriate chest for him.

I tried several colors but it was the yellow that made him sing!

He didn't tell me his name, but flew out quickly.  Out the window.

Well, he would have if my windows opened!  I actually had to let him out the door with the dogs.  But flying out the window sounds so much more fun.......and he is.....after all.......a FUN guy.

Last night I was playing around with a new technique that has been a year and a half in the making.

The box of NeoColors was the very last thing I ordered and received before the flood.  It was such an ordinary thing to do, order art supplies from the internet and get it delivered.  That was in August 2016.  It is amazing to me that I would remember such an ordinary thing.  But it is as clear in my memory today as it was that day.

And at some point I uncovered it in a box as I was unpacking to put the Quilt Studio back together.  And here they are.

 So, for art's sake, I plagiarized a  poster from an internet site.

It was the first time using anything like those colors.  This is so cool.  Now I have to learn to control the water disbursement.  I figure a few more purloined posters and I will be an expert!

See Frank and I on that island overlooking the ocean cay.  That must be Vesuvius if that is Naples, Italy. We were there years ago and I remember the bus ride along the coast to see Pompeii.  We dined in Naples in an ocean side cafe under an arbor of grapes.  Frank was so sick from bus ride he just sat there with his head on the table and moaned. 




Our traveling companion, Janice, took him down the street to a pharmacy where she pantomimed throwing up.  They gave him some medicinal concoction that instantly relieved him. 

So that must be me with some Italian stud sitting there on the beach.  Frank doesn't play guitar, either.

28 Birds on Dec 28th --- Finally

I think for the most part of this month I have been caught up.  Just when I am not caught up it seems to be BIG.

I did work in the sewing room all day.  Except when I had to go outside and retrieve one of the dogs, sometimes two together and once all three.  The day was so frigid I didn't want them outside for lengths of time.  Damn, it was cold picking up doggy do do.

Future Bird

 When I started this bird thing, I intended to do a couple of birds to get the hang of the technique then put it aside to plan a quilt after I finished several other  things.  Like my OMG stuff.
Nicole said, December and all the holiday stuff is so difficult to control.  She was right.

I want to do a grey background with black and white birds.  The beaks would be the pop of color. I have been collecting greys and, of course, black and whites.  Making this guy made that ides resurface.  So I guess he is Future Bird!

Peachie Margarita

I found the Parakeets!   They just happened in this afternoon, probably taking shelter from the cold rain outside.  It seems tat most of the birds in here are boy birds.   This girl is definitely a lady.  She knew Apple the Brown Betty Bird had come by and she came to visit bringing her  friend with her.

They sampled the various margarita mixes and decided to stay!

ZeLima Margarita

Peachie Margarita and ZeLima Margarita travel together often.  They sometimes hang out in Luau Paloma Bars, gaily twittering about in the canopy of leaves above the customers heads.

They look best on a bright sunny day when they can spread their wings and flitter about in splendid color!

Yes, Peachie and ZeLima Margaritas are the best!

Plus 2 Makes 25

          My Blue Period!






I must be sitting here in my sewing room on Dec 28 and longing for spring and bluebirds.

I did make a third bird but he turned out to be the Poster Child for New Year's Eve.   So he won't be coming out for a few days.  He is sleeping in.

This makes 25 birdies.  I will have ALL DAY to be in my sewing room.  No obligations, no babysitting, no appointments, no grocery shopping.  All day to myself. 

Yesterday I had an appointment for traction and dry needling on my lower back.  I am in a pretty high level of pain this morning.  Picking up the baby is excruciating.  It will be so much better for me when he can walk or at least crawl.

I can see why people get hooked on these prescription meds.  I just usually deal with the pain, but there are days when I would prefer not to. 

Like today.  Instead I will just sew and ignore it.

Daily Bird Becomes a Doorway Project

I did not make a bird today but I did go to my fiber group and ate at a cool lunch restaurant.  Fig and Prosciutto crepes with cardamom latte coffee.  I wanted to live there and have them cook for me forever!

I had my hair redded and got Frank's Christmas present installed into his truck.  A CD player that included a whole new radio, phone interface, Sirius connection and a new face plate to hold it in the dashboard.

So basically the $400 radio turned into a $1000 project.   But he has a CD player in his truck and he is happy.  Did you know they are no longer putting CD players into vehicles.......I  guess all the millennials are getting their music through Pandora and their phones and iPods.

So......no bird so far.  Maybe later tonight.  and I guess I need to make 3 or 4.

But I do have a set of modern quilt books I picked up the at the library, where Judy dropped me off to meet Frank when I realized I had left my phone in the car he took home. 

At Fiber Group I showed my doorways.

Did I show you these before?  I can't remember.

I did them using a new technique I found.  Print through the ink jet printer using freezer paper and burnishing the print on to fabric.

I m still working on the technique and the possibilities.

Here is one I printed in color.  Group members made some suggestions for the next steps.

I have wax crayons I can test to enhance the colors.  Judy gave me some tips on how to use them. 

I can use markers to darken lines and make them more distinct.

Use digital grounds to prepare the fabric prior to the burnishing.

here is a black and white doorway.

Love the lines and the possibilities here.

Can't wait to get some time to work on these.

I have Sawyer for the next two days.  Maybe I can catch some doorway/bird time during nap time....NOT......I need to make extra birds for sure.

Design Wall Monday At Small Quilts

A quick note to join in with Design Wall Monday.

I am working on that Hot Hot Hot Love Bird Pair.

I have committed myself to do a Bird-A-Day in December and give them stories to  tell.  This weekend was so busy that I am now behind at 14 finished, but the two Hot Hot Hot Love Birds will help catch up quickly.

This is a tutorial from Lynne Tyler tht you can find at her Etsy shop.

Be careful, they are so addicting, I only wanted to do two for  a pillow.

You can see other Design Walls from my cohorts if you click on

Design Wall Monday

Thanks Judy, or putting this together for us this year!