Memorial Day and Giveaways...

 What a really busy day...Memorial Day is to recognize those who served and lost their lives...I've written a lot on this in the past...and so there's little wonder that I put up the photograph of my Dad and his twin brother.  I never met my uncle....as he was killed on Okinawa.

And...it's Troy's graduation....so here's my dad and his twin at their high school graduation from Pontiac High School, I think..in Michigan in 1940.


So...who won the Sew Embellished! giveaway? Well, the random number generator pulled #2!  So...Cedar Ridge Studio (Mary Ann Van Soest) won....please contact me with your mailing info so I can put it in the mail.

Not to worry if you didn't win with me...the following bloggers will be posting give-aways for the book:

May 28 Margarita www.margascrafts.blogspot.com

June 4 That Patchwork Place http://blog.shopmartingale.com/.

June 11 Debbie www.debbiesfiberwork.blogspot.com

June 18 Diane www.yarngoddess.wordpress.com

June 25 Kathy Loomis www.artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/

July 5 Darlene www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

July 9 Karen Musgrave www.connectionsbyKaren.blogspot.com

July 16 Cheryl Sleboda www.muppin.com

The Toadlets have Metamorphed!

Yep..."toadlet" is the correct name.  They have started to try to crawl out of the pond.  You can sort of see on the one which is a little out of focus on the right that he still has the remains of his tail.  Some do, and some don't.  I worry about the little guys, but I don't know if I should help them out of the pond at this stage, or if they need a couple of days near the water source.  I do know that it is in the 90s here and that black rubber is very hot without the water to cool it.

They are about 1/4" - 1/2" long. It is so hot, the goldfish are very active and I'm afraid of them eating the little guys...and then there's the green frog and the darned bullfrog.

Back from the Dead

This is Lazaro...one of my many goldfish.  Isn't he spectacular?  He's not outside with his friends and relatives yet....He has a rather interesting story.  Lazaro is Spanish for "Lazarus"  and I think Lazaro sounds better than Lazarus.  It rolls off the tongue nicely.

Lazaro seems to have a predilection for getting fungus infections.  The first time I didn't notice until it was really touch and go.  I didn't think I could save him the infection was so bad.  But I did.

Then, last year, he was injured when he dove into the bottom drain along with a bullfrog and a couple other fish rather than allow me to catch him in order to clean the pond.  It was so crowded, the bullfrog scratched him pretty good...and he got an infection.

Then this December, I looked into the pond again and noticed that once again, he had a prodigious fungal infection combined with hepticemia.

He's doing fine right now, but I noticed that he has banged his nose on the filter too many times and now I have to dose him again...You see, Lazaro is probably about 6" long in the body and he's in a 10 gallon hospital tank.

I've been among the missing, and probably will post sporadically as I am trying to finish quilts, and am waiting for my grad school room-mate and her husband to arrive from Virginia any minute now.....But I did want to share the glorious color of this "simple" calico (shubunkin) goldfish.

Review and Give-Away: Sew Embellished by Cheryl Lynch

Mondays....back to the old grind...but not today on my blog!  Today you'll get a chance to win a copy of Cheryl Lynch's Sew Embellished!  artistic little quilts, personalized with easy techniques  (Martingale, 2012, ISBN:  978-1-60468-1475, 80 pages.).  Cheryl graciously gave me a signed copy to review and to give away here.

This is a fun little romp through the world of art quilts.  While it is primarily geared toward the beginning art quilter or person who wants to make embellished bits out of fabric, I found myself referring to it last night as I hurry to complete a quilt for a show.  I must admit, I am French knot challenged....and I found Cheryl's directions clear and easy to follow....even for my right-brained mind.

The book covers various types of embellishments and how to use them, followed with project directions.  Beads, buttons, found objects, Polymer-clay embellishments, thread, stamps, various ways of putting lettering on pieces, and edge treatments are covered, not as in-depth as you would find in other volumes, but this isn't meant to be a book on beading.  Following her descriptions and discussions of what you can do, Cheryl adds a project "How To" Section with 9 different projects.  Also included is a gallery of her works, and a list of resources all of which are websites of established places, and best of all, THEY WORK! (a pet peeve of mine).  Since they are internet sources, all are available for international purchases.

One of the things I like the best about the book is that it opens the door to irregularly shaped pieces and interesting edge treatments.  In addition, the pieces aren't just "quilts" but she includes information on making fabric "jewelry", and fold out sort of three dimensional piece called "From the Bottom of My Heart."

So...leave a comment and I'll use a random number generator to pick a number NEXT MONDAY night (May 28)...hey, it gives you something to do if your Memorial Day picnic is rained out....So, get your comment in prior to 10:00 EST...one comment to a person (i.e. you get ONE chance per person) please.

Rest assured, if you don't win it here..you get other chances.  Here are the other participants in the blog hop:

May 28 Margarita www.margascrafts.blogspot.com

June 4 That Patchwork Place http://blog.shopmartingale.com/.

June 11 Debbie www.debbiesfiberwork.blogspot.com

June 18 Diane www.yarngoddess.wordpress.com

June 25 Kathy Loomis www.artwithaneedle.blogspot.com/

July 5 Darlene www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

July 9 Karen Musgrave www.connectionsbyKaren.blogspot.com

July 16 Cheryl Sleboda www.muppin.com

You might have heard of Cheryl with her other book,  !Quilt Fiesta! 

You can also find her here:

www.CherylLynchQuilts.com
www.CherylLynchQuilt.blogspot.com


Good luck!

Gardens and time

 I've been working hard trying to juggle three balls: the garden, the quilting, and getting the house straightened out in preparation for some visitors.  The only way I have decided to do this is to work in the garden for 2 - 4 hours, then chip away at the various problem areas in the house (while going to the doctors, the dentist, etc.), and then quilt at night.
I must admit, sometimes I am just to tired out to write.

But today, I thought I would share some things.  The first picture is a serendipitous "red, white and blue" patch in my garden.  The white are fragrant peonies, good old "Festiva maxima" which I don't think can be beat for fragrance and for longevity.  The "blue" is Siberian Iris "Caesar's Brother" and the red....well...believe it or not is is a "yellow frost free."  Well, it wasn't so "frost free" as the rose died and this is the rootstock rose which came up instead of the yellow.  I am going to dig out the rose as I'm trying to make this bed smaller..and some of the iris went home with a friend today.

Meanwhile, back in the pond, the toad tadpoles are getting bigger.  They eat a prodigious amount of algae.  They are getting the color of toads....I'm not sure who is eating them...I think there are fewer than I started out with...but there are two green frogs and of course the fish....all of whom could be snacking on the tadpoles.  There are still hundreds however.

This is the smaller of the two green frogs living in the pond at present...They're a bit hard to catch although I may have a go at it tomorrow morning as it will be cooler and they will be more sluggish.  This  little guy is about 3 - 4" long....the other one is much larger.  See the ridge by his eye? That ridge extends down the frogs back.  With a bullfrog, it only curves around the tympanum (the disk-like space behind the eye which is actually the frog's ear).

When Less is More

I have been trying for the past several weeks to downsize my garden.  Correction....I've been trying to do this for the last two years.  To that end, I have sent out posts on FB, emails to the various quilting groups I belong to, and posted on Freecycle.

This year alone, I have sent away four carloads of plants.  Today, Chris Landis came with a friend and I completely filled her van.  It hasn't even made a dent.  I still have things I need to divide.  I still am trying to move some stuff out and move the other things I want to keep from beds I must destroy.

One of the odd things about this is that often people don't come.  While I have some "common" things such as bearded iris, I have a lot of other stuff which isn't quite so common.

One of the common things I have, which although it has been in cultivation for years is still not often found in gardens is Baptisia, or false indigo.  I have three separate varieties, but this one is the one I like best.

With my hip, and my hands...and my fatigue, I simply can't do this anymore.  I'm trying to downsize in other areas in my life too.

One thing which makes me happy about this is that as I pass the divisions and sometimes the entire plant out to people, I will continue to live on in other people's gardens...Some of the material won't make it.  Some people just don't have the understanding that plants need.  Some, because they have gotten these plants for free will let them languish.

In the meantime, the miracle of a perennial garden is that usually the more you divide it, the happier everyone, including the plant is.

This is only my back yard...and the bag and the bucket you see here is full of weeds.  I am struggling to take care of it, catch up on the things in the house and meet other deadlines.

The front gardens are almost as full and many as the ones in the rear...and you haven't even seen the weedy vegetable gardens.  All in all, we have slightly less than an acre and I am paying for my exuberance in gardening and in the old habit of finding an unusual plant and buying it..thinking "I can surely find a place to put it."

Hopefully, preen and more plant removal...and maybe some more mulch and I'll be able to spend a little less time weeding and a little more time enjoying.

Dayton Art Institute: Changing Landscapes: Contemporary Chinese Fiber Art

The Dayton Art Institute is another one of those Midwestern gems.  I remember when I lived in Connecticut, I tried to explain to people how in the Midwest, smaller cities had surprisingly good art resources because it pulled in people from the area, whereas in Connecticut, so much was focused on Boston and New York that sometimes smaller cities were not as rich as their Midwestern counterparts.

I realize that this a broad generalization and there are exceptions, some smaller cities in New England have great art resources and some smaller cities in the Midwest are devoid of the arts.

The permanent collection at DAI is great....The traveling shows are often jaw dropping.  I stopped in on this last Sunday to pass off some PFD fabric to a fellow MVAQNer, and while I was waiting, I saw "Changing Landscapes: Contemporary Chinese Fiber Art" and "Maya Lin: Flow".  I have to admit, from the materials I saw advertising the show didn't make me want to drop everything and see it.  A friend recommended it, but still, I was a bit underwhelmed. I'm not sure why....maybe it was the cover on the member magazine advertising it...

However, the show was knock your socks off.  This is the last stopping point before the show returns to China and if you are in the Dayton area, you must not miss it.  48 artists were chosen from the past 5 international Fiber Art Biennials which have been held in China since 2000.  The show includes pieces which were woven, put on armatures, free standing pieces, figurative as well as abstract, some inspired by ancient Chinese art forms, others as modern as can be.  Natural materials as well as synthetic filaments and steel rods are included in the pieces..

I think the member's magazine says it best:   "Changing Landscapes provides a snapshot of how three generations of artists have used fiber as an expressive media to respond to economic, political, and social changes that have transformed the Chinese landscape over the past decade. " (page 2).

The exhibition runs through June 17, and on Sunday, May 20, at 2:00 pm Lisa Morrisette, guest curator for "Changing Landscapes" will present a lecture entitled "Art vs. Craft.When is Fiber Art "Art"?.  In her talk, she will "explore some of the difficult issues around this seemingly impassable divide."


If you are in the Dayton area, or can manage to come to Dayton, this show is definitely worth seeing. 


Of course, you're probably wondering what the piece of glass work is...Since they don't allow photographs of traveling exhibitions, I shot this wonderful glass sculpture from the permanent collection.  DAI has a strong collection of glasswork which is shown on a rotating basis in the gallery just before the changing galleries.  I adore the colors and the whimsy in this piece.