tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53257687488911532432024-03-12T18:45:49.168-07:00Michigoose's gander at quilts & lifeLisa Quintana's Quilts, art quilts, gardens and observations of the world...not necessarily in that order.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.comBlogger592125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-68142721852363643702014-01-02T14:15:00.002-08:002014-01-02T14:15:22.260-08:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dear Friends and Followers of Lisa’s blog,<o:p></o:p></div>
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As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there haven’t been any recent
posts to Lisa’s blogs, Michigoose’s Gander at Quilts & Life and Long Time
Living: Living with Breast Cancer. Lisa
spent a week in the hospital at the start of October and entered hospice on
October 5<sup>th</sup>. Sadly, she lost
her battle with cancer the following day.
Lisa’s family and close friends were with her and her release from pain
was peaceful. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had texted Lisa as soon as I learned she was in
hospice. Lisa’s husband, Carlos, found
time to call me and let me speak with Lisa.
Though she was unresponsive at the time, I’m certain Lisa heard me, and
understood me, as I told her she was widely respected, admired, and loved. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Like many of you, I met Lisa over the internet. I’m not sure how I came across her blog, or
how she came across mine, but I’m so thankful we connected. Our friendship started as simple blog comments
on art and life. We soon discovered we both had daughters who seemed to be injury-prone
and I understood what it meant to have a mother battle breast cancer while I
looked on as a teen. Soon our exchanges
became more personal. Lisa and I talked on the phone at length, and even
managed to meet up at a quilt art conference.
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Through our conversations, I got to know more about this
incredible woman who shared so much with so many. She was a voice of reason and
restraint when it came to debates and lively discussions on quilting group
forums. She was a tireless volunteer,
pitching in to work at quilting booths and organizing local art groups. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of plant
life and a tremendous green thumb. Even when she couldn’t garden as much as she
wanted to due to the painful side effects of her cancer treatment she still thought
of others, dividing over-reaching plants and sending the extras to liven up new
homes. And Lisa never failed to share her knowledge
and experience of living with cancer.
She offered endless advice on treatments, managing insurance red tape,
and the emotional side effects of living with cancer. She understood hope – and believed strongly
in the will to survive. Lisa believed
strongly that late stage cancer victims needed as much help as those who
benefitted from early detection. Lisa
didn’t believe in panic; she believed in gathering facts and facing a situation
head-on, armed with as positive an attitude as possible and a strong spirit of
personal advocacy. Yes, she shared
privately how her fingers numbed and wouldn’t cooperate, how her bones ached
and her body was weary, but I don’t recall that Lisa ever let that stop her
from doing what she set out to do; instead, I watched her implement creative
solutions<o:p></o:p></div>
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I know Lisa hoped to be with us longer; there were many
things she still wanted to do. However, I
also believe that she left us knowing that she fought the good fight longer
than anyone ever expected she would. I
also know she was thankful for all her experiences and friends. I hope she can
take a measure of satisfaction now in knowing how wide a net she cast with her
words of wisdom and her friendships.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I miss Lisa terribly, as I’m sure you do as well. I miss our talks, her little quips, her
photos of her garden, and her incredible sincerity and empathy as she shared
stories of her life. I am eternally
thankful to have met her and my life was enriched because of our friendship. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #2a303e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Lisa’s ashes were spread in her beloved Michigan
and I’m confident she’s happy to be at rest there. For those who weren’t able to attend her
service in Ohio, there will be a memorial on May 17, 2013 at the Keeney
Memorial Cultural Center in Wethersfield, Connecticut. The time and details
have yet to be determined. It is our hope that we’ll be able to arrange a plant
and/or bulb exchange among the attendees to celebrate Lisa’s spirit of sharing
and giving. </span> Please <span style="color: #2a303e; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">offer your thoughts and
ideas on Lisa’s Facebook page; Lisa’s family and friends will be checking her
page periodically. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">Promise me you'll always remember: you're braver
than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
</span></i><span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">-- <i>A. A. Milne</i> – a quote that inspired Lisa during her last battle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">This message provided by Vivien. Thank you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-64627597921884038472013-09-16T18:58:00.000-07:002013-09-17T09:04:48.320-07:00Aullwood: Vita Marie Lovett <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vita Marie Lovett "South Window" <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small; text-align: -webkit-left;">12 2/3" x 9 3/4</span></td></tr>
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Vita Marie Lovett is another "regular" artist at Aullwood's art quilt show. I wrote about her work in <a href="http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/2012/08/aullwood-wonders-of-vita-marie-lovett.html" target="_blank">2010</a> and in <a href="http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/2009/08/thread-painting-at-its-best-aullwood.html" target="_blank">2009</a>. I am drawn to her work for many reasons, her fondness for old architecture (especially barns), antiques, and detail. I appreciate this piece for several reasons: In the early spring, I can't wait to harvest some forsythia to bring in and have their luscious yellow chase the winter doldrums away.<br />
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I also love the long rays of light which one finds in the early morning and late afternoon. I imagine that this time is fleeting for her as she lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. One of the things I missed the most when I moved to Connecticut from Michigan was the long periods of this "long light" . Because the area of Michigan I lived in was fairly flat, just gentle hills, and the area of Ohio where I live now is flat as a pancake thanks to the hard work of the glaciers, I have longer periods of this light. Connecticut was just too hilly! But there are many things I do miss about living in New England.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vita Marie Lovett "South Window", detail.</td></tr>
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Vita Marie drew this image from the south window in her cabin. I appreciate her work because she does not print a photograph on fabric then stitch over it, but paints a background the color reflected in what she sees, then draws with thread on top of it..often many, many layers to do the detail. Her work is rich and sparkles...and lays flat as a pancake, I think partly because she uses canvas as her back ground. That strong fabric is less likely to be distorted from all the work she does.<br />
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Look at the bottle.....it really seems to be transparent. Her complex thread work gives it depth and dimension while imparting the impression that it is clear.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vita Marie Lovett,"South Window" detail.</td></tr>
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If you haven't looked at Vita Marie's website, you owe it to yourself to take a visit. You can see it<a href="http://www.vitamarielovett.com/" target="_blank"> here.</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-43929480718198327442013-09-13T17:28:00.004-07:002013-09-13T17:30:45.525-07:00Aullwood 2013: Bits and Pieces, the work of Barbara Bruser and Pam Geisel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm back from Montana and a little worse for the wear. I am finishing up the pieces which were exhibited at the Aullwood Nature Center's 2013 art Quilt show. Tonight, you will get to see the work of two fellow Ohioans, Barbara Bruser and Pam Geisel.<br />
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Barbara's work entitled "Mandala" is personal. A mandala is a spiritual symbol used in Hinduism and Budhism. One of the purposes of a mandala is to set out spiritual space, another is to represent the universe, and to aid in meditation.<br />
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Barbara has been studying to obtain her masters in Socialwork. In doing so, she studied <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erikson's_stages_of_psychosocial_development" target="_blank">Erikson's Psychological stages of life</a> which describe elements from infancy to old age. Barbara tells us "I envisoned this as a mandala,expanding concentric circles for each stag, all striving for the unity of one's total self." Barbara used <br />
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fabric and beaded embellishment to illustrate her personal travel. She intends to add to it as time goes on.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bruser, "Mandala" detail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7G3ZutUg9R8/UjOqQxKneJI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/82STAjZi1o0/s1600/X_Seasons+4+Across_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7G3ZutUg9R8/UjOqQxKneJI/AAAAAAAAGQQ/82STAjZi1o0/s1600/X_Seasons+4+Across_web.jpg" height="172" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pam Geisel, "Seasons" NFS.<br />
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You've seen Pam Geisel's work here before. Pam is a fellow member of the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network here in Ohio. Pam arranges little piecers of fabric together ona background cloth and puts netting over it and stitches it down. Pam let borrow her photo as these pieces are framed in 5" x 7" frames and the pieces themselves only measure 2.5" x 2.5" Given the lighting at Aullwood, my photographs were less than to be desired.<br />
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Although this shot leaves a lot to be desired for many reasons, I think you can get the idea. Each of the little mosaics shows a tree in each different season.You can see more of Pam's work on her website: <a href="http://www.forquiltssake.com/" target="_blank">http://www.forquiltssake.com/</a><br />
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Once again, I am participating in Nina-Marie's Off-the-wall Fabric Fridays. For more art quilts make sure to go to her website. <a href="http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/">http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-44432505344482846022013-09-05T20:02:00.000-07:002013-09-05T20:10:06.319-07:00Harvest once again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Once again, I am in Montana. This time I didn't come out to help with harvest, but to see my mom and dad....at least I didn't THINK I was coming out to help. <br />
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A little more than a week ago my mom blacked out and fell, breaking three ribs. In reality, I originally came out to see my dad whose heart is weakening. I arranged it between chemo treatments....<br />
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While here, have either been doing harvest meals n my own (twice) or acting as sous chef for my sister (lots of chopping). This year has been a little nuts as we don't know if we are going to have seven to feed in the field or 12. ....and they eat lots. <br />
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Yesterday, I made Bott Boi (a.k.a. "Pot Pie") a German dish which is made by the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Amish and the Germans around my area of Ohio. It is wonderful home-made egg noodles traditionally cut in squares, with chicken....basically chicken and noodles....but then...at least back home, the whole ooey gooey mixture (which is more like gravy from the noodles than broth) is served over mashed potatoes (or in some areas, but not mine, chunks of potatoes). I love it...So.....I made the broth and stripped the chicken and yesterday made the egg noodles. I used my sister-in-law's Atlas pasta machine as the last time I made it my noodles were tough....I couldn't get them thin enough and the dough is soft so I had to keep on adding flour to keep it off the rolling pin. <br />
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I was in a panic as I didn't know how much the recipe would actually make..the one I used said it would make 6 servings...but I remembered that the last time I made it I fed the ladies of my quilting group as well as saving some for home and freezing a lot since it feels good on my chemo ravaged tummy. So.....I made a second batch of noodle dough to hold in reserve.<br />
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I sort of cheated as I usually slip in veggies to make it more wholesome than just pure starch. Celery, peas and carrots found their way into my pot. It tasted heavenly....and made a huge stock pot full. I fed the field (that day 9 men), saved out half cup servings for my mom, dad, sister and me, and there was still enough left to put in containers for my brother to eat for breakfast. I wondered if they guys in the field had ever had home-made egg noodles. Mom made them rarely, but I loved them. As I worked on this she kept on saying "why bother? I just buy the dried egg noodles." Nope. Not good enough, and actually noodles aren't that hard to make. This website is basically the recipe I used, and the noodle recipe is the best. I didn't put it over mashed potatoes as I have always thought that was overkill...and we have from 2 - 4 diabetics working for us.<br />
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<a href="http://chezpim.com/cook/pennsylvania-du">http://chezpim.com/cook/pennsylvania-du</a><br />
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This lovely photo is wheat harvest in Spokane, in 1926. Thank goodness I didn't have to feed horses too!<br />
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I'm leaving soon...I wish I could stay longer, but my ribs are saying "are you nuts??" from all the standing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-23789945767826740962013-08-27T20:06:00.000-07:002013-09-18T12:30:31.753-07:00Aullwood: More Jean Liittschwager<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Liittschwager "Sand Castles", 35" x x 47" H.</td></tr>
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As promised, tonight we are lookng at Jean Liitschwager's two remaining pieces in the Aullwood show. These are much earlier than the Salmon Spawning, which was completed this year, but in one of the styles that she often uses....take a look at her gallery to see her geometric abstracts, but you can certainly see where she was headed in these two pieces.<br />
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"Sand Castles" captures a fleeting moment in the lives of her grandchildren. At dusk, they are looking at the dream of the sand castle they planned in the smaller work which they have completed. As Jean put it, "The incoming tide may wash their castles away, but the memories of this happy childhood time will last throughout their lives.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Liittschwager, Sand Castles, detail.</td></tr>
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Jean used both machine and handwork in this piece and employed sparkly thread once again to add some reality to her elements.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Liittschwager, "Sand Castles" detail.</td></tr>
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I particularly like the use of her fancy stitches done free-motion here which gives more texture.<br />
"Sand Castles" was completed in 2002.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Liittschwager, "Gray May Day", 28" x 34.5" $500<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jean Liittschwager, "Gray May Day" detal.</td></tr>
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This is "Gray May Day" and is far more abstract that the two previous pieces I have shown you. I love how she uses commercial fabrics in her work. Jean lives in Oregon and her house overlooks the McKenzie River. This is the view out her kitchen window,showing her garden, the banks of the river and the mountain vistas beyond. As she puts it "April showers bring May flowers but in Oregon it just keeps raining." She noted that this year, the rains hardly ever came indicating that climate change has arrived in her corner of the world.<br />
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Here you can clearly see the variety of prints she used, and the streaks of metallic thread. She also used dimensional paint I think on the little blips on the bottom of the rain. Jean often uses bright colors such as these in her work.<br />
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"Gray May Day" was completed in 2003.<br />
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Please do go to her website and take a look at her scrollable gallery<a href="http://www.jeanliittschwager.com/gallery.html" target="_blank"> here</a> . I'm sure you will enjoy it and be impressed by some of her works. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-9083289939049440372013-08-26T19:39:00.000-07:002013-08-26T19:39:45.150-07:00Aullwood 2013: Jean Liittschwager<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2pNpcTRfpQ/UhwLvhaGP2I/AAAAAAAAGNc/s2hLCtJhWLw/s1600/Litt-salmon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H2pNpcTRfpQ/UhwLvhaGP2I/AAAAAAAAGNc/s2hLCtJhWLw/s320/Litt-salmon.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Spawning Salmon" 29" x 36" Jean Liittschwager $750.00</td></tr>
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One of the first quilts as you entered the Aullwood Nature Center's 2013 art quilt show is "Salmon Spawning" by Jean Liitschwager. Jean is no newcomer to the Aullwood show, but often exhibits her work at this venue.<br />
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I laughed when I saw this piece.....Jean is a 5th generation Oregonian...in a state full of transplants and relative newcomers. Most of Jean's quilts do not follow this style, but one thing which is very much her style, Jean draws inspiration from her surroundings. This particular piece is inspired by the Chilkat blankets (or robes) and dance aprons made by the Pacific North West tribes (Haida, Tlingit, Salishan, Tshimshian-Nishga, and Nuu-chah-nulth (Nootka). I think almost every quilter who is exposed to these pieces feels inspired to do pieces along the lines, I know I have succumbed to the pull after seeing them in Washington state.<br />
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Here, you see the stylized rendition of a salmon spawning, the eggs are the dots emerging from the bottom of the fish, and the sperm ( and bubbles from the stream) are around it to fertilize the eggs. The pebbly bottom of the stream is there to receive the eggs. The sole purpose of a salmon is to reproduce, and once it does so, it dies. Thus, this is the perfect selection for the show's theme: Season of life. Jean combined elements from the Tlingit and Haida cultures.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s_ex-sPeZUk/UhwLzJB9nWI/AAAAAAAAGNs/vvO5W5FlfhM/s1600/DSC09811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s_ex-sPeZUk/UhwLzJB9nWI/AAAAAAAAGNs/vvO5W5FlfhM/s320/DSC09811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Originally, these pieces were made from "cloth" woven from cedar bark, cattail leaves and colored grasses. Upper classes would have furs as well. After contact with the Europeans, wool was introduced and used heavily in the robes and aprons.<br />
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Jean took the palette from the cedar/cattail/grass combo for the background of her piece. The dance aprons and robes often had fringe to add to the texture and movement and Jean's choice here in the fringe and the fabric are close to perfect.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGX2-dFvJMM/UhwL4WdJVDI/AAAAAAAAGN0/tNIVlL76Rrk/s1600/Litt-salmon-spawning-det-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zGX2-dFvJMM/UhwL4WdJVDI/AAAAAAAAGN0/tNIVlL76Rrk/s320/Litt-salmon-spawning-det-3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
She used suede cloth, cotton and wool with machine and hand stitching. The pebbles here almost feel like you could reach to them and let them run through your fingers.<br />
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Here you can see some of her hand stitching.<br />
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Jean has a website where you can see more of her work <a href="http://www.jeanliittschwager.com/index.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I was going to include her two other works...but I realized this is getting a little wordy....so, come back tomorrow to see two more of her pieces!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-22108367164532689802013-08-24T18:26:00.000-07:002013-08-24T18:26:26.442-07:00Aullwood 2013: Suzanne Mouton Riggio<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Mouton Riggio, "August Moon"</td></tr>
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Suzanne Mouton Riggio is another of the "regulars" in the Aullwood Show. You can see work from other years<a href="http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/2010/08/aullwood-suzanne-mouton-riggio-lesson.html" target="_blank"> here</a>,<br />
<a href="http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/2012/08/aullwood-center-art-quilt-show-suzanne.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and <a href="http://michigoose-life-quilts.blogspot.com/2011/07/aullwood-2011-debra-bentley-and-fran.html" target="_blank"> here</a>,. Suzanne's submissions are often small, and these three little gems all measure 11" x 8.5". I do think of them as little gems. Several of Suzanne's pieces include telephone poles, partly because this is what she sees and she often is inspired by scenes she sees around her house and neighborhood.<br />
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This particular piece tickles my fancy as I have never seen bats do this, usually I see maybe 4 or 5 at a time, but I do like bats, or rather I like what they do....consume vast quantities of bugs which often cause harm to people. I feel that they are maligned little things. I also enjoy this piece because of the mysterious quality she has captured, and it brings back days when I was a child on the farm and would sit on the back stoop watching lightening bugs, bats, the sky, and stars. Since I live in suburbia or close enough, there is too much light pollution to enjoy the sights, and I often escaped our un-air-conditioned home in the country at night by going outside.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Mouton Riggio "August Moon", detail.</td></tr>
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I also enjoy this piece because she included the glitter of lightening bugs...those are the little circles. <br />
Suzanne highlighted the clouds in the sky, the moon and other areas with silver Sliver thread, which is notoriously difficult to work with. The highlighting really give the effect of the moon's light on all that it hits.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Mouton Riggio "August Moon", detail</td></tr>
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Suzanne often, or dare I say usually, uses commercially printed cottons.In the case of "July Family" she actually printed a little of her own. Suzanne was aware that she had a hawk family nesting near her house, but she had never been able to see all of them, but hear them calling to each other . One day her daughter happened to have her digital camera with her and saw them preening n the telephone pole...the same one as seen above.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Mouton Riggio, "July Family"</td></tr>
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She Photoshopped them and printed out the hawks on fabric. She made the rainbow by using oil-paint sticks on tulle, then pressing the arcs out between paper toweling to remove the excess pigment. She used milkweed down to make the little blips in the sky. Beads composed the bits and pieces of equipment on the pole.<br />
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I can really relate as there is a pair of red tailed hawks which nest near me, and I hear them calling, see them spiraling in the sky, but in the eight years I have lived here, I have yet to see their young.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Riggio, "July Family" Detail</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Mouton Riggio "June Flowers."<br /><br /></td></tr>
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I can't help but think of the old song "June is Bustin' Out all over" from the old musical "Carousel" (if you aren't familiar with it, I will include it at the end). This really shows Suzanne's penchant for using commercial cottons, and she often cuts out elements to combine to make her images. The title of this piece is "June Flowers" (so she's covered June, July and August!). <br />
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Here's what Suzanne had to say about it in her description:<br />
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<span class="yiv5161419983Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377379555601_24401">When June arrived, the whole place burst out in flowers. Roses climbed trellises. Flowering vines made it up the pole. And butterflies arrived en masse.</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377379555601_24404" style="font-family: Helvetica;">To enhance that blossomy feeling, I used floral calicoes to fashion the house, roof, and gutter. The binding also has that floral feel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Suzanne lives in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Unfortunately, she does not have a web page, but many of her quilts are on the web from other shows and it is worth a google image search.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne Mouton Riggio, "June Flowers" detail ©2013<br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/0I-790dGx-o" target="_blank">June is Bustin out all over</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Once again, I am also participating in Nina-Marie Sayre's "Off the wall Fiber Friday.......even if it is Saturday!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">You can see other participants here: </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/">http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/</a></div>
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Have fun!</div>
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Oh yeah..the last day for the Aullwood show it Sunday, August 25....in other words TOMORROW! so if you haven't been and are from the area, tomorrow is the last day.....although I will be working my way through the rest of the quilts here for a couple of days.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-77688621388509702362013-08-20T20:21:00.000-07:002013-08-22T16:40:42.161-07:00Aullwood 2013: Ruth Powers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruth Powers, "Longhorn Splashdown", 47.5" x 33.5"</td></tr>
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Ruth Powers of Carbondale, Kansas is one of the regulars at the Aullwood show....and rightly so as many of her pieces are nature related and fit right in.<br />
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I know I have made it very clear in the past how much I enjoy Ruth's work and am in awe of her ability to transform organic shapes into pieced quilts.....I particularly love the movement and the successful capture of one small moment in time in this piece she called "Longhorn Splashdown." <br />
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Ruth was inspired to make this piece from a sight she saw while driving in Arkansas. She looked to the side of the road in time to see a longhorn plunge into water trying to get relief from a hot day and doubtless flies. She didn't have a camera at hand to capture it, but since it as in action, she wouldn't have been able to shoot it in the fleeting moments. Instead, she drew it from memory.<br />
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I know many folk are so drawn to the blaze on this bovine face that they want to pet it. <br />
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Ruth uses commercial cottons which makes this all the more remarkable as many art quilters resort primarily to hand dyed fabrics to meet their needs.<br />
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You can see more of Ruth's work and learn more about her on her website:<br />
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<a href="http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com/">http://www.ruthpowersartquilts.com</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-48722481874302118792013-08-12T19:08:00.001-07:002013-08-12T19:08:37.668-07:00Aullwood Art Quilt Show 2013 Ann Diller<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ann Diller, Yellowstone Hotspot, 20.5 x 39" NFS</td></tr>
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Tonight I fear, I am going to have to keep this a little short....I'm a little bushed after working too hard in the garden! So while I intended to cover more than one artist, tonight you are just going to have to settle for one, and come back tomorrow for more!<br />
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Ann Diller is another fellow Miami Valley Art Quilt Network member who lives just south of Dayton, OH. This last winter she went on a ski trip in Yellowstone and this is one of the scenes she saw....not only humans seeking the geothermal area, but bison (buffalo) foraging where they might be able to find grass under the snow cover.<br />
Ann called this piece "Yellowstone Hot Spot" which just tickles me for the play on words...hot spot becuase of the geyser, and hot spot for the mammals..human and otherwise.<br />
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Ann really handled getting the atmosphere down well, and this is not something I would say she has a lot of experience with....Ann tends to do a lot of flora, so this wonderful play of mists/gases/ etc. is a step beyond....at least from what I have seen of her work, and to be fair, I haven't seen a lot lately as I have been missing meetings.<br />
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Just look at how the geyser shimmers. She used layers of sheers. Her trees were done with perle cotton with bobbin drawing (putting the perle cotton on the bobbin and working upside down---from the back so that the perle cotton lays on the front), and paint. <br />
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The trees are called "bobby sock trees" and I had to look that one up. The lodge pole pines have shallow root systems and take up a lot of the minerals which then stay under the bark. As the pines die, the bark at the bottom peels away revealing the minerals which have deposited right under the bark, looking white, as if the tree were wearing bobby socks. Apparently, the National Park Service doesn't use this term anymore, but it is still really fun.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-2495237307146458272013-08-11T19:01:00.002-07:002013-08-11T19:01:34.548-07:00Aullwood Art Quilt Show 2013 "Seasons of Life" Deb Bentley<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If you have been following my blog, you know that every year I share the art quilt show at Aullwood Audubon Center in Englewood, Ohio. It was started quite a while ago by some of the founders of the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network, a Dayton, Ohio area art quilting group to which I belong. Fiber artists from across the country submit pieces and it is usually a pretty strong little show.<br />
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This year, the theme was "Seasons of Life." Unlike past years, it is a smaller show. I think I counted 27 pieces, but most were small....in fact Pam Geisel's series of 4 matted in 5" x 7" frames, the fiber part only measured 2.5" x 2.5". Here's the shot down the gallery.<br />
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As usual, I'm going to start with the local people, largely because it is easier to get permission to share them....I often wait quite a long time to get permission from other artists.<br />
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First up tonight is Debra Bentley. Deb has two pieces in the show, "Spicebush" and "Grandpa's Farm."<br />
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A couple of years ago, Deb bought a spice bush to plant in her yard and while doing so, she discovered a spicebush butterfly caterpillar. She captured it and raised it through it's life cycle to butterfly in her house, and released it. She now has many species of butterfly in her yard, but she chose to represent the life-cycle of the Spice bush butterfly here.<br />
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Deb used a lot of hand-dyed and batik fabrics in order to make her quilt. It is also highly dimensional.<br />
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Here you see the egg on a leaf (the pearl). <br />
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Next comes the caterpillar shown here wound into a leaf. Deb stuffed and hand colored the caterpillar to make it realistic. The leaves and flowers are made separately and applied in order to give it more dimension. The first stage is a small brown caterpillar,<br />
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Which then grows into a larger yellow and green version.<br />
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It then forms a chrysalis.<br />
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From the chrysalis emerges the wonderful black and blue spice bush butterflies. The flowers and the butterfly are heavily thread painted. <br />
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Deb does a lot of volunteer work at area nature centers. She also spent a lot of time observing nature as a child and it has stayed with her. I laughed as she said that she thinks of this as cute, and that she doesn't usually do cute. My amusement comes from the fact that "I don't do cute." is a common comment I make....just ask any of my friends from the Wallingford, CT Quilting group, The Heritage Quilters. <br />
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"Grandpa's Farm" uses a photograph of Deb's grandfather and a neighbor working on his farm in Fletcher, Ohio, and anyone who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s on a farm in the Midwest can relate. She combined it with fabics on which she employed a variety of surface design techniques. She uses both commercial batiks and printed fabics as well as materials she has dyed and manipulated. <br />
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She wrote: "I enjoyed visiting them and feeding the the chickens and geese, and gathering eggs. My grandpa took me to feed corn to the cows and I helped my grandma sow and gather seeds. I was too young to understand why they had to eventually give up their farm. Farmers are at the mercy of nature and although they have bad years, they also have very good ones This quilt portrays the ups and downs of farming. There are good harvests and failed crops, drought and rain flooded fields. This quilt celebrates the Ohio farmer's persistence and perseverance in the face of natures extremes.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nOHs0U6ux18/Ugg6KKaTJPI/AAAAAAAAGKk/-WKZKKsRnDs/s1600/Bentley-farm-detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nOHs0U6ux18/Ugg6KKaTJPI/AAAAAAAAGKk/-WKZKKsRnDs/s1600/Bentley-farm-detail.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a>My art begins with my love of nature. I marvel at the tenacity with which the cycle of life continues through every adversity. I try to capture in fabric and thread the colors and textures, the lights and shadows, the joys and sorrows of life. The common thread in my work is the delicate balance between humanity and nature and the sense of renewal that oneness brings.<br />
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Once again, I am participating in Nina-Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Fridays....even if I am so off the wall, I'm posting on Sunday instead. This is the first of several posts on Aullwood's art quilts, so please do come on back <br />
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Go over to Nina-Marie's and catch more work by other fiber artists.<br />
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<a href="http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/">http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-71467994877320636492013-08-09T14:57:00.001-07:002013-08-09T14:57:01.713-07:00Between a Rock and a Hard Spot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Wow. Things have been really up in the air at Casa Quintana. Heart issues have always been a source of problems on both sides of my family. My paternal great grandmother died of a heart attack at age 51. My paternal grandfather died of a heart attack at 68. My father had his first of three heart attacks at 50. He's now failing quickly and my brother says to get out to Montana soon......only I have several problems...the biggest is that I am currently in chemo and am trying to swing it. I took a little break (one cycle) and while at first, the markers dropped 10 points, this last one (the first after the first cycle back on) went up 30. You want numbers to go down. Usually, you look at trends, but if I mess up the schedule, then I'm not sure how accurate the numbers will be (I get two weeks of treatment then one off).<br />
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The second issue is how to get out there...I'm hoping we can use frequent flyer miles, but my daughter is afraid I will pick up something on the plane since my white blood cells will be at their lowest.<br />
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And then there's all the other wonderful things..COBRA ran out, and while I have private insurance at $883 per month (just for me), I'm having trouble finding insurance for my husband and daughter....just because of an odd series of things which have happened...all rectified, but in my husband's case, unprovable.<br />
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So....you've seen the top one before, a small piece I was doing "for fun" and the bottom shot is me at Jerusalem Rocks in Montana several years ago (I have lost a lot of weight since then)....so...life continues on the fast track here....no jobs, no insurance and other fun things. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-10813740450783962712013-07-29T17:36:00.001-07:002013-07-29T17:36:32.032-07:00Some things just speak to me.....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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and sometimes I wish they could speak. Some of you are probably aware that in my professional life I was a museum curator. Things speak to me...they have stories to tell and are objects with which to teach history. Sometimes their histories are mysteries.<br />
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It isn't surprising that as a "material culturist" I like things. I used to go to auctions regularly with friends in Connecticut. In the late 1980s, I found this luster decorated teapot dumped somewhat sadly which a much nicer piece, an English white salt glaze stoneware teapot dating to about 1790. It was a slow night at the auction, and I bought the box lot for $35.00. I was after the saltglaze....but this one intrigued me. <br />
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Its shape is a little unusual. I haven't seen many like it. It is English and dates to about 1830. But that isn't why I am interested in it. You can see the chunk out of the bottom portion (I have the piece) but this fell out later. It is one beaten up piece.<br />
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In the 19th century, broken pieces of pottery were sometimes mended if the pieces had sentimental value. They could never really be used again as the mend was....well....not like superglue. You can see the crack lines in this photo, but look more carefully and you'll see an odd line next to the floral sprig at lower left, another perpendicular to the pink line at lower right, another at the right of the photo near the raised rim near the lid just above the handle.<br />
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Here's a closer look at the mend. Yep, these are staples. The mender (maybe a a tinker who mended all sorts of things) drilled small holes, then put a metal staple in to hold the pieces together. Then, the mender painted the staples so that they would blend in. The white has yellowed now, but the green matches the green on the rim and on the side perfectly. You can miss it if you aren't looking for it. The amazing thing is with all the breaks in it, the handle and spout are in perfect shape. Maybe water which was too hot was put into a cold pot? <br />
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Why was this pot so special? Why was it saved? Was it a gift and it was mended to remember the giver? Was it a husband or child who put too much hot water into a cold pot and then felt so much remorse that they had it mended?<br />
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If only pots could talk!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-68061699813430167452013-07-25T19:41:00.001-07:002013-07-25T19:41:05.104-07:00Metropark Daylilies Sketch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am often overwhelmed.....It's been that way. Too much to do in the house and the garden along with the regular living often renders me incapable of doing anything.<br />
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Once again, I have vowed to keep on chipping away at things.....working a little bit every day in the garden (trying to get the weeds under control) and in the various parts of the house which are....a disaster.<br />
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The sewing room I fear has once again been the recipient of dumped projects and materials waiting for me to get in there and properly put things away. It is so bad that I can't bear to be in there. <br />
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You'll recall this photo from a couple of weeks ago. It is my basis for entry into the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network's Dayton Metro Park show. I intended to get right at it and do my drawing. But it didn't happen...largely because I couldn't bear the thought of going into the pigsty which is my sewing room/studio.<br />
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Today was my usual quilting group. While I have been chipping away at a queen sized traditional quilt, I also brought along the supplies to get the drawing done. The sketch above is what I intend....although I will fill in the front with more day lilies and the trees still need some tweaking. I was merely roughing in some shapes which would be interpreted by stitching and various bits of cloth....but in looking at it, I think it still needs some tweaking.<br />
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I often have a problem. I often am slavishly devoted in absolutely re-creating what I see, regardless of whether or not the composition could be improved. Thus, I am adding in more skyline on this to bring some blue in to contrast with the orange day lilies and give more flow, and more day lilies as I think it will make it more interesting. I'm also moving some Queen Anne's Lace from the middle of the field (where it was growing because it got more sun) to the foreground to add some more interest and contrast in shape and texture. <br />
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I will probably do two of these, one a complete abstract, another less so. My friend Chris reminded me that this isn't due until February.....but I know me....and I don't want to be last minute Lisa. Besides, who knows what curve balls life with throw me in the ensuing months?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-76057765249856682172013-07-23T18:40:00.001-07:002013-07-23T18:40:49.983-07:00A Wonderful Saturday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I wasn't able to go to the opening of Sacred Threads on July 13th, but Debra Bentley, a local art quilter and friend who also had a piece in the show did get to go and she graciously offered to pick up a copy of the catalog for me. Much to my surprise, I felt well enough to go to the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network meeting where I was able to get my copy from Deb.<br />
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An even greater treat was that Maria Elkins was the program. She did a slide show (well...OK, power point show) of her quilts and talked about her quilting journey, then showed us her quilts in real life...I really had to laugh as many of the pieces I previously saw on her website or in other photos were MUCH smaller than I thought they were. Here's what Maria had to say about the meeting:<br />
<a href="http://mariaelkins.com/index.php/2013/07/miami-valley-art-quilt-network/">http://mariaelkins.com/index.php/2013/07/miami-valley-art-quilt-network/</a><br />
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It is always a treat to see Maria. You'd think that since we don't live that far away, 30 minutes approximately, I'd see her more often, but our paths cross more frequently on-line I fear now than in real life. <br />
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Once again, Maria showed her piece "Surrender" about her daughter's baby, Amalya, who was discovered to have a birth defect at the end of the first trimester. Although her daughter knew that Amalya would only survive briefly after birth, she carried the baby through the complete pregnancy. Amalya lived only a little more than an hour, but his birth was not without purpose. Tissue from the baby was given for study, and Maria's daughter started a website to provide information for other parents whose baby's lives are similarly cut short. Although the website primarily discusses steps for donation of tissue, organs for transplant and study, it goes well beyond that. You can find the website here: <a href="http://purposefulgift.com/" target="_blank">http://purposefulgift.com/</a> <br />
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Although I know the story and the quilt well, every time I see it, I am moved to tears and grateful for the wonderful faith and support this family has. So many positive things have come from this occurrence, even though it is such a sad story. Please take a look at Maria's quilt<a href="http://mariaelkins.com/index.php/quilts/surrender/" target="_blank"> here</a><br />
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If you are able to get to Sacred Threads 2013, take a look at Deb's quilt "Finding the Color of My Soul" which shows a labyrinth and indicates the four elements written in Irish runes. <a href="http://www.sacredthreadsquilts.com/default.htm" target="_blank">Sacred Threads</a> will be open just a little longer, it closes July 28. 40 pieces, mine included, will travel to Omaha, Nebraska and be on exhibit at the Sunderland Gallery from September 15 through November 10, 2013. Details are<a href="http://www.sacredthreadsquilts.com/omaha/index.htm" target="_blank"> here</a>.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-53347587454040756772013-07-17T17:09:00.002-07:002013-07-17T17:09:36.931-07:00Yellow Medley a wordy Wednesday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5kP5FtoOaU/UecwlaFEvgI/AAAAAAAAGHs/B-_sZRIHMug/s1600/yellow-medly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Z5kP5FtoOaU/UecwlaFEvgI/AAAAAAAAGHs/B-_sZRIHMug/s400/yellow-medly.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Vivien said that her day lilies get eaten by deer. Since I have a fairly high fence and the deer have plenty of other places to go, I don't have a problem...now husbands who get overly rambunctious with roundup and splash some on the plants....that's a whole other story.<br />
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The day lilies in the center, which you can barely see because of the the annual black-eyed Susans (a rudebekia species which I can't remember which) are a wonderful orange called "Mauna Loa" the throats are splashed with a darker orange which looks like someone painted it. The yellow daisy looking things are marsh sunflowers, and the far back has yellow tiger lilies (Lilium superbum) .. Pokey looking bally thingies are Echinops Ritro. and yes....there's some golden rod and misc. other weeds growing in there too.<br />
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It's so hot, I haven't been able to go out and shoot the close ups of the day lilies I intended to...the chemo I'm on makes me really susceptible to heat and sun. So....this cheerie little melange will just have to do for today.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-9561241704928020472013-07-16T19:36:00.002-07:002013-07-16T19:36:41.687-07:00Sacred Threads Exhibition 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On July 10, the 2013 exhibition of Sacred Threads opened at the Floris United Methodist Church in Herndon, VA. Here's the details:<br />
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<strong>Location:</strong> Floris United Methodist Church, 13600 Frying Pan Road, Herndon, VA 20171 (near Dulles Airport).</div>
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<strong>Exhibit Dates: </strong>July 10-28, 2013</div>
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<strong>Show Hours:</strong> 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm</div>
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<strong>Admission:</strong> $5</div>
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I attended the show in 2009 when it was last here in Reynoldsburg, OH, but it has moved to Herndon, VA. I wasn't able to go in 2011, and although I had a quilt accepted this year (first time I entered) I wasn't able to attend the opening reception this last Saturday. I was really bummed when I realized that my body would just not co-operate. I had looked forward to seeing it in it's new location and to see all the quilts as the first show I saw was really good. Over 231 quilts were chosen from over 400 entries. One good thing is that my friend and fellow artist, Debra Bentley was accepted again this year (she had a piece in 2011) and attended, and got a copy of the catalog for me and had people sign it. Lots of friends have pieces in and attended the opening....some I have met in person and some I only have online relationships with (so far). <br />
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Debra told me it was really neat, and was set up in a labyrinth.....that is really cool, and especially so for Deb as her quilt shows a labyrinth!<br />
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I mentioned in an earlier post that "View from the Abyss" was accepted. On thing I never really thought about when making it is.....what it would look like on a black drape (the most common color used in shows. Nina-Marie Sayre was kind enough to take this shot and send it. I'm not sure....while it blends in with the backgound, maybe it makes it more mysterious and draws people in to look more closely. Debra's husband noticed that the people who spent the most time looking at it were men.....Hmm.<br />
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Eleanor Levie posed the question on her<a href="http://www.eleanorlevie.com/quilting-blog/" target="_blank"> blog</a> and on the Quiltart message board do quilter's resemble their quilts? For me....I think it is a resounding NO.<br />
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The photo below was one of the last ones taken with my real hair.<br />
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This photo is one taken with my current wig. I like color, never wear black. While often rumpled, I am not stringy or heavily textured. So....I don't think I look like my quilts at all....especially not the most recent....but even my earlier ones, although they use a lot of color.....I don't think I resemble them at all. </div>
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But.....if you get a chance, go to the Sacred Threads show. They are also having some classes and special activities in conjunction to the show and have made available a catalog and a CD of the quilts on exhibition for purchase. For more information, go to the website <a href="http://www.sacredthreadsquilts.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8UUJ8GZ7uY/UWyv95n9MSI/AAAAAAAAF9k/RFo2SP5OrDo/s1600/me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8UUJ8GZ7uY/UWyv95n9MSI/AAAAAAAAF9k/RFo2SP5OrDo/s1600/me.jpg" height="246" width="320" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-27301084011234490442013-07-15T20:13:00.000-07:002013-07-15T20:15:19.435-07:00Getting ready to approach a Dayton Metropark Quilt..the wonders of Daylilies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Do you ever get focused on something an become sort of obsessed with it? Well for several weeks I was going to write about my last failed class, but I wanted to work it through on line....and could I find the drawings? Noooooo. <br />
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So, here I am. Bear with me...my fingers are numb and it is very hard to type..I make all sorts of typos and I hope I catch them all. <br />
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The Miami Valley Art Quilt Network is getting ready for it's third series of art quilts inspired by the Miami Valley. This time, we will be doing quilts inspired by the rather extensive Dayton Metro Parks. There are many....but I have been to only a few. Since it is sort of hard for me to get around, especially on uneven ground, I decided to go with a shot I already had. This is a meadow Englewood Metropark, right across from the Aullwood Nature Center. I took it a couple o of years ago when i still walk well. My daughter was out running, and I went along to shoot photos. <br />
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These are common day lilies, Hemerocallis fulva, usally called "ditch lilies" in the Midwest. They are escapees, originating from Asia, but they were brought over by the early colonists. Bright and cheery, they are not true lilies at all, but take their name from the lily shaped flowers which last only for a day. They have tubers, not bulbs, and the tubers, as well as the flowers are edible. I've eaten them...not exactly one of my 'must haves" although I suspect deep frying the buds would probably taste pretty good as I have not much much that deep frying doesn't make something more edible. <br />
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This shot sort of makes me think. I think it needs a few more lilies, although I like the wild grape and other 'weeds" growing along the edge. I will do some drawings..<br />
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While they are invasive species, they are easily killed by round-up, or by digging so you get all the tubers...if you are patient, not terribly difficult...and by no means as hard to do in as Japanese honeysuckle or Japanese Bittersweet....or kudzu ...or a variety of other nasties.<br />
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Here, you can see them growing in a ditch not far from me on Nashville Rd. I think this is the most significant patch I have ever seen, and I wonder if it wan't given a little "help" from the owner. The ditch is a drainage ditch. The tall stuff behind the one with the barn in it is elderberries.<br />
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I find these very cheery, and when you find a patch with some chicory blooming in front...it is just spectacular...the soft blue of the chicory and the orange of the day lily is just fantastic!<br />
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Of course, I have lots of day lilies in my own garden, and in the spring when I am giving divisions away, and can't remember what I have planted where....I usually shrug and say well, it is probably a dark maroon one, or an orangy one.....but mine are not your run of the mill orangy ones....<br />
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I'll be sharing a few with you as it is day lily time....although day lilies bloom in my garden from late May through the end of September. Even though my friend Martha pooh-poohs them because they get scruffy looking after they bloom (you need to pull the dying vegetation on them), I just love them. They do so well in my hot, clay, full sun kissed beds....and while they are in bloom..well. they just delight me...dark ones with green eyes, orange ones which are practically fluorescent, watermarked ones, ones with toothed edges, pink ones with shaded maroon centers.....what fun!<br />
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Lots to cover in the next weeks.....and I hope to show you this as I work, along with Aullwood's show, the MVAQN Redux and a bunch of other things....<br />
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Bear with me....I will disappear for days as the drugs wipe me out three days after chemo, but I will be back....and forgive the slip of the fingers.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-67973320989397221022013-06-27T18:57:00.000-07:002013-06-27T18:57:36.851-07:00Sometimes I Feel Like the Fox From "The Fox and the Grapes."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I was a child, the farm I grew up on from when I was about 4 until I was 12 had an old cherry tree. I loved climbing it, but more importantly, I loved the pies my mom made from it. It was a red, sour cherry,of unknown type...as the farm was established in the 1870s and we lived there in the 1960s and 1970s.<br />
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One horrible spring, a tornado came through and although it missed the house and barns, and the sheep we raised, it claimed the cherry.<br />
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I've always loved cherries of all types, sneaking spoonfuls of frozen bing cherries from the 25 pound tins stored in our freezer. When we moved to Troy, I planted a dwarf Northstar cherry as red sour cherries are hard to come by. In theory, the tree will only grow to 10 feet tall,but I think it will be taller. <br />
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With the numbness in my feet from the chemotherapy, I cannot go on ladders as I would fall. So, I picked what I could. I asked my husband to help.....but he doesn't like cherries....he says they are too gushy and reminds him of cough syrup...of course he says the same thing about blueberries as well.<br />
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I picked and finally he took pity on me and came out with the ladder and helped, but with him almost 6 feet tall and being on a 4 foot ladder, he still couldn't reach the top. I had to teach him about avoiding bird pecked and wormy cherries (I don't spray). At least we got enough for a couple more pies, but in reality, they will probably be turned into cherry crisp or cherry sauce for me and my daughter....who inherited this love. One pie was made and shared with our friend Bob who came out from Connecticut last week to help with my garden. Bob grew up in Michigan's cherry country....and like me, considers sour cherry pie to be the tops. Birds will get the rest now, and I will start spraying a fungicide to alleviate the cherry leaf drop which plagues me here as the springs can be damp and conducive to it. Of course this is also the first year in three is has born cherries as late frosts got the blossoms the last two years.<br />
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And I hear, sour cherries are good cancer fighters.<br />
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If you don't know the Aesop's fable about the fox and the grapes..it's here. Not the version I was looking for ( a folk song my brother used to sing in the late 1960s in his local group "The Brotherhood.").<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-35784757162383690062013-06-11T14:50:00.000-07:002013-06-11T14:50:12.203-07:00Benefits of being a Member of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not too long ago I wrote about being at the Quilt National (QN) Opening. I was there because of an opportunity made available through<a href="http://www.saqa.com/" target="_blank"> Studio Art Quilt Associates. </a> As I can't say or explain it better, here is the information directly from their website:</span><br />
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<span class="subheadorange" style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, helvetica; font-size: 12pt;">Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA)</span> is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications.<br /><br />Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now boasts over 2,900 members: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors.</div>
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SAQA defines an art quilt as<em> "a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure."</em></div>
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SAQA's goals include: </div>
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<li>Publish a newsletter and e.Bulletin addressing the professional needs of the working quilt artist.</li>
<li>Publicize information about the art quilt through a web site, Professional Artist Member portfolios, and referrals to teachers and speakers for workshops and symposia.</li>
<li>Educate through a series of conferences and lectures.</li>
<li>Create a network of collectors, dealers and artists.</li>
<li>Produce quality exhibitions, with documentary catalogues and critical reviews.</li>
<li>Encourage critical writing, research and publication of articles about art quilts in the art press, popular press and scholarly journals.</li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, Swiss, SunSans-Regular;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I have been a member for four years....and I have to say, I really enjoy it. The symposium offered in conjunction with Quilt National was just wonderful. For $20, SAQA member participants were able to attend the opening, attend a continental breakfast on Saturday morning after the opening where all of the artists whose work was in the show were able to speak about their work, listen to a presentation from the jurors how they chose the pieces and exactly what the process was, and a panel discussion from several of the artists whose work was chosen and in closing, a presentation of incoming President, Kris Sazaki talking about where SAQA is today and the plans for tho next several years.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, Swiss, SunSans-Regular;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">In addition, for an extra fee, we could join in a pizza party with the QN artists. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, Swiss, SunSans-Regular;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">I can't say enough about how much fun I had. I was able to meet a lot of people with whom I had "met" on he internet and emailed back and forth with, but never gotten to meet face to face. I also was able to see SAQA friends I had met at the Philadelphia conference last year, regional SAQA shows and Ohio regional "parlor meetings." </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, Swiss, SunSans-Regular;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Parlor meetings are meeting held by groups in a particular area. At the very least, they are pot lucks with a show and tell element. Or, it can be more structured...for instance at the parlor meeting I hosted we talked about artist statements and bios, as well as points in choosing a long-arm or other set ups (such as a frame with movable tracks, the George, HQ-16, etc.) . Not all areas have Parlor meetings (and they vary in what they are called) as they are up to the membership in an area to take the bull by the horns and plan them. I have attended parlor meetings in homes, churches, libraries and the one that I hosted was in my husband's workplace. No matter where they are held, I've enjoyed them and welcomed the opportunity to meet and talk with kindred souls.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, Swiss, SunSans-Regular;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">Other extremely useful programs include webinars on various topic which are saved so even if you can't be there at the time the program originally runs, you can pick it up later The Visioning Project is another useful program which helps you achieve your goals in a years time . </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, Helvetica, Swiss, SunSans-Regular;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">SAQA is open to all levels of interest, professional to those just getting started . Quite few members are collectors and we have several appraisers as well. Go on over to the SAQA website and join...just tell them Lisa Quintana sent you. ;_)</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-20631926979848225322013-05-29T21:34:00.000-07:002013-06-02T18:10:05.467-07:00Quilt National 2013: The Oscars for the Art Quilting World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VCHRQYF10XY/UabC69YZMMI/AAAAAAAAGEE/09AlXDt5oiM/s1600/quilt-national-opening.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VCHRQYF10XY/UabC69YZMMI/AAAAAAAAGEE/09AlXDt5oiM/s1600/quilt-national-opening.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Quilt National 2013 opening, Dairy Barn, Athens, OH</td></tr>
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I have been planning to go to the opening of Quilt National 2013 for quite some time. I have had it on my calendar for ages. While I have been to every Quilt National since I moved to Ohio, I've never been to the opening. Someone who is not a quilter asked me what it was, and the best I could come up with was that it is the Oscars of the Art Quilting world...only it is held every other year and there are only three judges rather than being judged by all your peers.<br />
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The quilts are judged from digital images submitted by the artists, but they are chosen blind. The jurors are given the name of the work, a detail, dimensions, the artist statement and materials. No names, although for some artists, their style is so remarkable you would have had to have had your head stuck in a paper bag not to recognize their work. You cannot have shown the quilt anywhere, an it must not have been published anywhere---online, in blogs or on Facebook. Even if someone from a guild or something has seen it and taken a photo without the artist knowing and put it up on the web, it can be disqualified. 851 quilts were submitted from artists in 44 states, five Canadian provinces and 16 foreign countries. Only 85 were chosen. It is not unusual to try for years to get in. Quilt National is one of the oldest art quilt venues and these rules keep the show fresh and exciting.<br />
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I was especially excited to go as I was going to meet Brooke Atherton and Del Thomas there for the first time, even though we have corresponded for quite some time. <br />
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This year's show was visually spectacular. I found myself looking intently at each quilt, close up and from a distance, even though close up at the opening was often difficult for the number of people present. Line, color and form rang out and spoke to you. I honestly felt that this is the best show Quilt National has put together of the ones I have been able to attend.<br />
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In general, I felt the show to be well balanced. I did not find any quilt that my reaction was "What WERE they THINKING????" The jurors were <a href="http://www.lindacolsh.com/" target="_blank">Linda Colsh</a>, <a href="http://jsauergallery.com/sagemoon/artistPages/JContent.html" target="_blank">Judith Content</a>, and Penny McMorris (who does not have a website other than Electric Quilt which she started, but is well known in the quilting field for having hosted and early PBS show on quilting as well as authored several books). I was interested when someone (Martha Seilman?) suggested that the trends represented included a strong emphasis on neutrals, graphics and the utilization of digital photography in the works. I don't remember anyone saying it, but I would also add mixed media in the works. I really was puzzled by the "neutrals" comment because while I recognized the graphic quality of the works....my reaction was the wonderful richness of color and texture in the show.<br />
When I went back and tallied the pieces (as best I could) neutrals DID out number the brightly colored pieces. <br />
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Abstracts (both pure abstract and abstract realism) were strongly represented, outnumbering the more realistic works by quite a bit. However, we don't know what was submitted, and I think this tends to be over emphasized. Strong pieces, works with great merit, whether they are realistic or abstract are what should be in the show, and that is precisely what I saw.<br />
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When I entered the show, I turned to the right, and I was about 10 quilts shy of the beginning when I ran into Brooke. She told me that she won an award and was having a hard time keeping still while she took at class at Nancy Crow's Barn. I had not yet seen her piece, and shortly thereafter, they started announcing the awards...I had to restrain myself from hollering when they announced that Brooke won Best of Show for "Springfield." <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N5Er7TTUAwI/UabC95pe0zI/AAAAAAAAGEM/MELrKfKfAeg/s1600/Brooke-Detail-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-N5Er7TTUAwI/UabC95pe0zI/AAAAAAAAGEM/MELrKfKfAeg/s1600/Brooke-Detail-3.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail, Brooke Atherrton, "Springfield," Quilt National 2</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FlTLNoHbyNU/UabC-vE_YtI/AAAAAAAAGEg/CW-zYRubqCk/s1600/Brooke-closeup-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FlTLNoHbyNU/UabC-vE_YtI/AAAAAAAAGEg/CW-zYRubqCk/s1600/Brooke-closeup-1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooke Atherton, Detail, "Springfield," Quilt National 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9SCJMuAcQT4/UabC-tpbTlI/AAAAAAAAGEo/aGA8jrmZeck/s1600/brooke-detail-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9SCJMuAcQT4/UabC-tpbTlI/AAAAAAAAGEo/aGA8jrmZeck/s1600/brooke-detail-2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brooke Atherton, detail, "Springfield," Quilt National 2013</td></tr>
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I apologize, my photos are few, for one, you are only allowed to take shots at the opening...and I have been having such problems with my hands, that I opted to use my "point and shoot" for fear I would drop my DSLR, and I didn't notice that when I hit the "macro" button, I accidentally turned off the flash...so things were blurry and like Brooke's piece here, yellow from the interior lighting,<br />
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Brooke is known for using all sorts of bits and pieces as well as for torturing things by burning and melting. She uses found objects and in this case she used paper maps, text (including something which looks like it is Welsh or at least written in Middle or Old English ( a college text perhaps?). <br />
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Some of her found pieces are trapped under organza, or wrapped in little packages. She stitches things down by both hand and machine. You'll recognize the metal "sheath" from the top of a wine bottle in the top photo. Below you can see bamboo, and bits of annular ware, pottery from the late-18th and first half of the 19th century, her pieces seem to be abraded, either showing water damage or that it has passed though fire. I also found bits of Native American pottery sewn down...a treasure trove for the material culturist.<br />
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On her statement, Brooke wrote<br />
"The hills are shadows, and they flow<br />
From form to form, and nothing stands.<br />
They melt like mist, the solid lands,<br />
Like clouds, they shape themselves and go."<br />
--Tennyson<br />
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"A little stitching madness to hold an elusive memory"<br />
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Not only does Brook's piece have flow, texture, and all the other elements of design, but it starts a conversation with the viewer. Which Springfield? It could be any one of the 38 places in the U.S. with this moniker, or the ones in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Ireland or New Zealand (USA holds the largest number). Why did she choose to include the fragments she did? Certainly the Tennyson poem really DOES describe the piece....and what does it say about us? How do we relate to the land? What bits of our souls reverberate and intertwine with the land and memory?<br />
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You can see more of Brooke's work at <a href="http://www.brookeathertonart.com/">http://www.brookeathertonart.com/</a> , and of course I've written about her pieces several other times here. Just put a search up for Brooke Atherton in the blog search engine at right and you'll find earlier posts showing her work. "Springfield" measures 32" h x 97" w.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pxiyojj2e-c/UabC-KjTKLI/AAAAAAAAGEQ/ZPN5c7Rb9Vg/s1600/Adams-Tracings-overall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pxiyojj2e-c/UabC-KjTKLI/AAAAAAAAGEQ/ZPN5c7Rb9Vg/s1600/Adams-Tracings-overall.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deidre Adams, "Tracings III, Quilt National 2013.60" h x 60" w.</td></tr>
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I always cringe when people ask me what my favorite piece is....In fact in this show, I prefer NOT to say...I enjoy and appreciate so many pieces for so many different reasons, often the subject matter calls to me, or the message or political statement resonates with me. I admit, however, I am a color and texture junkie....and this is really the show for that! Line, oh, that scrumptious foundation....<br />
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However, Deidre Adams piece "Tracings, III" grabbed me because it shimmered....glowed...and as Natalya Aiken said "pulsated." Oh...ok, so it happens to also be in colors that I love and...it's all about texture and surface design. Deidre's website is <a href="http://deidreadams.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e9Ijo8xN6rE/UabC-f986zI/AAAAAAAAGEY/Hh8YJI-4ljk/s1600/Adams-detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e9Ijo8xN6rE/UabC-f986zI/AAAAAAAAGEY/Hh8YJI-4ljk/s1600/Adams-detail.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deidre Adams, detail, "Tracings III, Quilt National 2013</td></tr>
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One thing about the show which tickled me was that when I saw several quilts from across the room, I assumed I knew who the artist was because I thought I recognized their style..only to be surprised an found out it was someone else. Likewise, I was often surprised to see pieces by other artist whose work I knew, but these pieces were a departure from the previous works I saw.<br />
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One which didn't fool me was another wonderful piece by Dianne Firth entitled "Storm"...like the piece I spoke about at Art Quilt Elements at the Wayne Art Center last March. This one is another fantastic piece where the shadow composes part of the quilt.....Dianne won the McCarthy Memorial award.<br />
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You can see the other award winners <a href="http://www.dairybarn.org/quilt/index.php?section=226&page=382" target="_blank">here</a>. One of my favorites is the Hillary Fletcher (the first director) "Persistence Pays" Award which is given to the person who tried the most number to tries to get in, and finally was chosen this year.<br />
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So many quilts spoke to me, too many to list....well....I could, but your eyes would be bleary. I suggest that you go and see the show if you can and if you can't, at least buy the catalog. I'll be reviewing that at a later date.<br />
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<a href="http://dairybarn.org/events/?section=211&display=single&item=291" target="_blank">Quilt National </a>runs roughly from now until September 2, 2013 at the <a href="http://dairybarn.org/about/index.php?section=209&page=" target="_blank">Dairy Barn Art Center, Dairy Lane, Athens, OH.</a><br />
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I am participating in Nina Marie Sayre's off the wall Fiber Fridays blog tour, take a look at the other blogs here:<br />
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<a href="http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/">http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-1111266851063195762013-05-27T14:47:00.001-07:002013-05-27T14:47:50.338-07:00Memorial Day 2013 Purple Hearts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Every Memorial Day, I usually get out my uncle Dave's purple heart and take a look. I didn't today because I am having a mental moment and can't remember where I put it for safe keeping.<br />
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Yesterday, on the way home from Quilt National in Athens, Ohio, I heard an NPR piece about the backlog that the VA has for returning vets who need help. You can read the article <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/05/26/186710926/americas-vets-returning-home-to-a-broken-system" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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I haven't liked what I heard about the VA "system" for years.....but I have to say, I was going on the description of a neighbor who used the VA for his health care, and for a friend who was a nurse and who tried to help her father through the system. This was LONG before Gulf War I, much less Gulf War II and Afghanistan (or is that included?). I was appalled when my friend said that her father never saw the same doctor twice and would spend the whole day waiting for his appointment as there wasn't really an appointment....he was assigned a number. All I could think about was<a href="http://youtu.be/Fj_inlzsDhQ" target="_blank"> the waiting room from Beetlejuice</a><br />
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Since so much more pressure has been put on the system from returning vets who have injuries, lost limbs, and PTSD, it is so much worse. Vets are committing suicide at a horrific rate.<br />
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This is not how we should treat our military.<br />
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They are enticed to the best care in the quickest way. I feel this is just another proof that we got into this war without understanding the costs. And cost it does.....and funds MUST be raised to take care of this...if the people allowed us to get into this, then we need to provide for those who paid the physical and mental cost.<br />
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My uncle paid the supreme cost...these young men and women are living with the constant reminder.<br />
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Thus, I would like to ask that you consider giving to the<a href="http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/#" target="_blank"> Wounded Warrior Project</a>, a private not-for-profit which is doing its darndest to help our wounded warriors....whether from physical or mental injuries....NOW not waiting....While money is tight for me right now, I am giving today in honor of my father, who suffered from PTSD from World War II, and in memory of Sgt. David J Broberg who died on Okinawa. I can't go to Athens, MI right now to lay flowers on Dave's grave, but this is the next best thing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-75640019238242971072013-05-22T18:43:00.000-07:002013-05-22T18:43:37.403-07:00Healing Hands and the Marianist Environment Education Center<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I've been in a mad dash....not surprising, aren't I always? But this time, I really thought I had it under control...ooopsie! Every year, I try to participate in a local art show held by the Marianist Environmental Education Center at Gallery St. John, (Bergamo) in Dayton. They hold a mixed media show which is themed every spring. They have reclaimed land and are restoring it to its natural state after being used as a gravel quarry and farmland and being sort of a holding area while I-675 was being made. <br />
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The education center works hard to teach people how to be kind to the land.<br />
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This year's theme is "Touching Earth". The show will run from June 5 through June 30, 2013. You can read more about it<a href="http://meec.udayton.edu/GalleryStJohn.asp" target="_blank"> here</a>. <br />
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I had intended to make two submittals, but was only able to get one done in time. This is "Healing Hand Touches the Earth". I blew up a tracing of my hand, and took a copyright free photo (provided by the U.S. Government. :) ) and placed it in the palm of the hand. I then did a foiled healing spiral over the earth.<br />
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The concept of the "healing hand" is one which is derived from a Native American design found in pictographs and other artifacts from the southeastern United States. We don't really know what the hand symbolizes, but Reiki practitioners have taken it for their own and named it the healing hand. <br />
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It is similar to the Hamsa, or the Hand of Fatima, but it is different because this middle eastern hand never carries the spiral.<br />
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I took down a boatload of other nature related pieces when I found they were light on entries. Wouldn't you know, just as I pulled into the parking lot, the clutch pedal refused to come back up......so, that meant a tow to Troy. I was grateful I was in a safe place and that nothing untoward happened and that no one was inconvenienced...in fact, I was able to do some paperwork for the show for Sister Leanne while waiting for the tow truck.<br />
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But...I discovered I had accidentally left my bag of sketches for Elizabeth Barton's class over in New Lebanon when I went for stitching day on Thursday....and when I got home from MEEC (after an interesting ride in the tow truck), the chemotherapy hit me hard....and I was in bed for three days sleeping. I am only now sort of among the living. And I am woefully behind in Elizabeth's class...in fact, I haven't even posted anything...I hope that I'm not kicked out!<br />
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The best laid plans of mice and men.......</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-24820894345670031342013-05-12T11:13:00.000-07:002013-07-05T15:23:41.625-07:00Mother's Day Weekend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The other day, someone said something to me about May being Breast Cancer Awareness month.....to which I responded that it isn't....October is. The person I was speaking with wondered then, why there was so much emphasis on breast cancer events in May....The reason? Mother's Day. <br />
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For years, my daughter, my husband and I participated in the Susan G. Komen run in New Britain, Connecticut, and then also soon thereafter, the Relay for Life in Meriden, Connecticut. In 1998, I was sort of the poster child for these events.....someone who could string two sentences together, didn't mind speaking with people, who was young (only 38) and who had an adorable daughter...yep....just the right fodder to pull out the hankies and get people interested.<br />
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Those years are long gone. I don't participate in Komen anymore...I can't run and I can barely walk...and I feel that we should be aware already, and it is time to tackle the harder aspect of finding something that works for all of us who are stage IV.....as Komen pretty much sweeps us under the rug.<br />
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Today, that little girl above is now 20 and is in Barcelona. Just before this picture was taken, I miscarried twins.....and given the way I have felt all weekend, I don't know how I could have handled a pair of 15 year olds. I can barely function on my own. Halaven (eribulin) has knocked my red blood cells so low that I have been doing little other than sleep. <br />
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It makes me a little sad as I am having a hard time keeping up with my regular chores and it leaves no energy left for blogging or for quiilting. Sticking a spade in the soil leaves me heaving for breath.<br />
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But I'm still drawing breath, and my tumor markers, the proteins which cancer expresses, are dropping...which is a good thing. Hopefully, I will be able to get my energy back....<br />
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I post this and think how lucky I am to have a daughter, even one with whom I butt heads. She is a delight. Hopefully, she will avoid the horrors I have lived through in fighting this disease, but I also know that she will have her own struggles....I know few people who are able to get through their lives without some trauma. <br />
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I hope that somehow we will better fund the NIH and provide research into all the horrible diseases and make strides in at least making them more easy to handle and not ones which bankrupt us...I am always embarrassed that so much has been raised for breast cancer while other areas, such as ovarian and pancreatic cancers are stuck and make no progress forward. And that doesn't even bring into play diseases such as ALS, MS and Parkinson's.....and the myriad others.<br />
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So while you are celebrating your mothers, or your motherhood, I suggest that perhaps you donate even just $10 to any of the foundations of your choice...and help families stay together....and thrive...and defeat disease or what other horror someone you know or who is close to you faces...and if you're lucky enough not to know anyone with any problems..just make a donation at random. Enough little donations will make a huge impact.<br />
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If you can't do that...well, then just practice a random act of kindness....it will come back on your many fold.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-75193304477958735162013-05-06T14:23:00.002-07:002013-05-06T14:23:54.418-07:00Commitment<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rGDBF8szZrE/UYgbXh3HWXI/AAAAAAAAGA8/Q9n4PnrgKQs/s1600/angel+blood+pressue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rGDBF8szZrE/UYgbXh3HWXI/AAAAAAAAGA8/Q9n4PnrgKQs/s320/angel+blood+pressue.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
This is Angel. Angel is a 13 year old female (altered) domestic short haired cat we got in 2001. Ostensibly, she is my daughter's cat. Just like the black one who is a year older than she is. However, like most family pets, she's my cat. I'm the one who takes care of her.<br />
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Angel was dumped when she was about 6 months old, and pregnant. She was picked up by a Connecticut rescue group called "Protectors of the Animals." She was the second cat I got through that group, and Meg picked her out. She is gorgeous....and she has the softest fur of any adult cat I have ever felt. A man "fostered" her until she had her kittens and then they placed the kittens and Angel.....then known as "Sunshine" as she has a "sun" on her shoulders....although Meg and I have always thought it looked more like a spider. <br />
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Angel is short. She gives the appearance of being fat, but she weighs 9 pounds, right about where she should. she has the nickname around here of "Princess Pudge." She sort of rules the roost and is top kitty. She's also a talker and if it weren't for her very round head, I would think she's part Siamese.....she certainly ISN'T the Egyptian Mau that they tried to pass her off as. <br />
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I had to take her to the vet again today....an every two week occurrence of late. You see, back in January, I noticed that her eyes were dialated and she was walking into walls....a sign of a number of things which aren't too good for cats, and in Angel's case, she has high blood pressure and renal issues...but it is unclear if the renal issues are caused by the high blood pressure or vice versa. We've been giving her blood pressure medication, just like humans use, in fact obtained at the human pharmacy ever since....and we've finally been able to get it into the normal range. So now, rather than weekly, or every two weeks, we get to back it off to every 6 - 8 weeks that I have to take her in to have her blood pressure checked. <br />
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It's pretty amusing. They have a Doppler that is hooked up to a little electrode which is placed on a shaved rear paw. Then a little blood pressure cuff is wrapped around it and it is inflated. You can see the little white "band aid" looking thingy which is the cuff, and the pressure do-hikey in the left hand of the tech. <br />
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I'm grateful for the reprieve. Each time I went in to get her blood pressure checked, it is $40. At this point, since my husband still h as no job after a year, my daughter is in college, and I am sucking down money left and right because of my chemo treatments (we have a $5,000 deductible) we're having a great deal of fun. <br />
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But....when you get an animal, you make a commitment to take care of it...just like it is a member of the family. I've never had a pet with a chronic problem....so this is new for me....but I'm not going to let her stroke out because we have an issue at present. I recognize that this may get a little difficult....but I firmly believe that if I had accepted this responsibility, we need to fulfill that commitment. <br />
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I never in a million years would have dreamed that we would be in this situation....I admit, I begin to wonder if it isn't partly discrimination against Hispanics...I have no idea. But if you would have told me it would take more than 18 months for a mechanical engineer with 30 years experience in medical/aviation industry, who is bilingual, good at sourcing, fixing production issues, has three patents to his name, and is excellent at design and reverse engineering, and who developed a new product line and the production for a local company...I would have told you it was absurd. Certainly being 52 doesn't help...by my oh my! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15140675211931598431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325768748891153243.post-60913525661681702262013-05-05T16:48:00.000-07:002013-05-05T16:48:23.699-07:00A Winner and Wisconsin...well....Racine and Milwaukee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So...in my last post....which was quite a while ago really....I hosted a give-away for a package of Mistyfuse ultra-violet. I noticed that somehow something hiccuped and some people had multiple comments saying the same thing put in at the same time....and some were deleted by the author...but I also noticed that those spaces were "counted" by blogger into the total....so I dutifully wrote down each person who commented's name and put their corresponding number on it. I then had a random number generator online give me the random number chosen between the two integers ( I just wanted to use that word as it isn't one which I get to use often. :) ). The number it chose was 26, which corrresponds to Juanita Yaeger. So....Juanita, email me and I'll put your package in the mail tomorrow!<br />
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I've been away since Thursday, which meant that I didn't get much of anything done besides giving away plants from my garden....hence the long silence. I've been in Racine, Wisconsin. I have only been to Rhinelander before, so this was a new experience. I flew into Milwaukee, and was happy to find this used book store in the terminal... WAY COOL even if it is a little expensive. I was driven to the Marriott in Racine where I was speaking and recording a DVD to be shown to newly diagnosed MBC/advanced cancer patients. Because Racine (pop. 80,000) doesn't have a taxi service, I was a little limited. I did get downtown and saw the Racine Art Museum, a small but wonderful place. Unfortunately, my bag is a teardrop shaped Ameribag which was taken from me and I didn't take my camera out before hand...nor my sketchbook...nor my iPad ahead of time...so, I don't have any pictures of that....nor notes...although I don't know if I could have taken pictures anyway.<br />
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But, don't you love the Kewpee Hamburger shop and the great architecture in the two (albeit drizzly) shots above?</div>
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