Actual Cardboard Box Tutorial

This is my cardboard box from the liquor store and some extra pieces of cardboard I found in the library trash. My mat knife or carpet cutter. My ruler, marking pen and painter's tape is somewhere on the floor along with my hot glue gun. Ready? My box is 14 inches wide, 10 inches deep and 12 inches tall.

I used one of the extra pieces of cardboard to cut a center piece with peak. My box isn't as tall as I would have wanted--but we're working with what we've got here. I hot glued the center piece to the box. I marked and cut some of the window openings and now have to double cut the front center panels.

Here's the box after about 20 to 30 minutes (honest) of work. I have a little door that I later remove. The flaps are down. I remembered that this was the way I had done the roof--not the other way. Forgive me! These flaps are too long and will cover the windows so I had to trim about 1.5 to 2 inches off the edge of each flap all the way around. See how I removed a section of flap for the center of the roof?

In order for the roof to stick out from the sides of the house--I added hinges (hot glue) that I made from the cut off flaps. Fold in half, glue and stick onto the under side of the flaps. Then comes the hard part. Adding a line of glue at the crease, folding the flap down and HOLDING the flap down till the glue hardens. I am NOT good at WAITING. So I taped the flaps after awhile. A short while.

Here's my house. Taped and waiting for the next steps. I cut more windows in the bottom by the door and cut two windows in each side of the box--one over the other--level with the ones on the front.

Tomorrow I will decide if the house gets spray painted black or sponge painted Gingerbread Brown. I will also go purchase some black FunFoam to cut into shingles. If the local 5 & Dime has some Halloween items--I may get some "decor".

I'm going to have to figure out how to get the roof flaps to all connect. Right now the corners are open. Got to "sleep on it". It was good to actually make a house. I found some of my tutorial was way off base. But my box is looking way cute.

Spooky House Tutorial

Here's the finished product--you'll be refering back to this as we go along.

We're going with the October 10th tutorial on most of this. So I deleted a bunch of stuff and will continue to delete from this tutorial as the other one is completed.

This is a drawing of a rectangular sheet of black "FunFoam". About the size of typing paper. (Joann's or Michaels) When I made my house years ago, I cut all the roof shingles with scissors. But "FunFoam" cuts easily with a rotary cutter and ruler--so do it the easy way. Then you only have to trim the curved edges with scissors. Fun to do this while watching television. Again the size here is for a 18 each wide box. So cut the foam sheets across into 3 inch wide strips and then cut the strips into 1 1/2 inch rectangles. You'll need about 10 sheets of foam. You can always return any uncut sheets. Or use black construction paper but it won't have the "dimensional" look.

Start shingling your roof. Do one side completely and then do the next. I did the front, back and then the sides. Overlap the joints as you work from the bottom edge to the top. Just barely cover the previous row of shingles with the next row---that way you won't be making foam shingles forever. But do cover all the cardboard. Use a glue gun. When all four sides are done, finish off the seam edges with another layer of shingles. Or use black gimp braid.

Now from the inside of the box, glue orange or yellow tissue paper to the inside of the windows to give the house a "glow" when we light it up. Oh, yeah! We're going to add a little light to this house. A night light. So glue your tissue paper to all the windows and if you want to add some spooky cutouts or skeletons to the inside of the windows--do it now. I used Shiny Black Dimensional Paint (Joann's) to draw the window dividers onto the front of the tissue paper in the windows. Lay the box on it's side to make it easier to draw and paint. OR use little twigs from the yard to make the window frames and dividers. Looks real cute. Cut them with your garden clippers and hot glue down.

Now you get to decorate the house. I didn't put any windows on the back of my house. Instead I glued two strips of dress gimp (black braid) down the back of the house and filled in the center strip ( about 5 inches wide) with glitter. I used glitter on the front also. You can glue gimp anywhere on the house that you think will look cute.

I added a string of orange and black beads to the edge of the roof in a scallop. I made the string of beads. Just be very careful not to burn your fingers with the hot glue--use a chopstick. I glued spiders and bats on the roof. I glued real sunflower seeds to the house originally as a very attractive design element. The mice in my attic loved the tasty seeds. So I finally made fake seeds out of black and white swirled Sculpty clay, shaped the clay into seeds about the size of my pinky fingernail and baked the fake seeds. I then glued them to the house. Refer to finished house picture--in fact use it as a guide to "seed" placement. You can also use big beads.

I added spiders, a bat on the roof peak, a giant tarantula and the plastic skeletons. I even glued a skeleton in the doorway (to the tissue paper from the inside). When the light shines "just so" the lucky children "see" the skelton in the doorway and scream! I found a lifesize crow and attached him (or her) to the roof.

This house is about 6 to 8 years old and has been on display in the public library or a school library every Halloween (usually the entire month of October). The condition of the house is as good or better than the month it took me to make it. Whenever I find a "cool" item that would look good on the house, I glue it on. I made the house with only a small photo from the Martha Stewart catalog as a guide. I had no measurements. No idea if it would work. I just tried my best. And worked out the design elements as I went along. I've done the hard work. Your house will go together faster. If you need help--I'm here. Just blog me.

Sunday, Sunday

We got absolutely NOTHING done yesterday and it looks like more of the same today. Patty says "come over and pick peaches" so we may do just that. Made biscuits, bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast--no grits. The remainder of the tomatoes will become fresh salsa later today and we will scoop it up with chips. Oh, I do love the fresh taste of tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and lime. Maybe a margarita to go with. I can drink if I don't take the anti inflamatory drugs. You can see what my priorities are can't you?

I have two cardboard boxes for the Spooky House tutorial and need to do some drawings and snap some pictures. I hope the Moms out there will give it a go--your kids will go crazy over it. Writing a tutorial is very intensive. You have to remember every step and pitfall.

I went to Marden's and spent only $13--can you BELIEVE IT??? I bought 3 1/2 yards of 60" natural cotton twill for $4.35 and washed it with bleach when I got home--- there were mildew stains on one edge. Well, the mildew is gone and now I have WHITE cotton twill. What I wanted in the first place. I selected and PUT BACK several bolts of fabric. I am ever so proud of myself for NOT buying anymore printed commercial fabric. I also bought spray adhesive for the Spooky House demo. And G bought personal size packages of candy "for his lunchbox".

Now G is out pulling up the tomato plants, dill and perhaps the celery. Then we have to dig up the dahlia tubers and let them dry up before storing them in the basement (cellar in Maine speak). The dahlias had a terrific season in the good garden soil and got huge. That makes me think my regular flower bed soil is in need of inmprovements.

Got to go. See you soon!

What A Day!

This is the second time I've used this title. Don't remember the other day, but this one was a doozie. Sunspots, full moon whatever--no computer service and the library is still open for business. We were scanning everything into Microsoft Notes and sometime this weekend we'll have to type the numbers into people's records. Unless, of course, they don't fix it and then we'll be doing it on Tuesday--after the Monday holiday. God, I hate Tuesday's at work after a long weekend or Monday closed.

Tomorrow I'll work on my Spooky House tutorial for those Happy Halloween crafters out there. Get your cardboard cartons ready!

The Spooky House and Other Stuff

This morning the Spooky House got picked up and transported to Hawthorne School for the month of October. Last October the house was the guest of the Curtis Library. The kids just love the skeletons, spiders and bats that decorate the house. The windows are decorated with Sculpty "sunflower" seeds I made last year. I swirled black and white clay together and then made small-- findernail size-- seed shapes and baked them. Click to see larger.

Last night I had "plans" for showing and telling how to make your own Spooky House. If there is interest I will do it. If not. Not. It's really just a cardboard box all jazzed up. And it has lasted far longer than I anticipated. Those of you who read Martha Stewart Living will recognize the house--Martha had a much smaller one for sale in her catalog. Well, I like bigger so I made my own.

Another Subject. That Hand, Foot, Mouth virus I had in late June/early July is still causing problems. Now my fingernails are showing a "bubble" that must have started with the virus and is now causing the nail to crumble and peel. My beloved long, red, gel nails had to be removed. After years (we think nearly nine or ten) I have short nails and am typing with the pad of my finger--which feels really weird. Looking at my plain, not so pretty nails isn't pleasant either. They don't hurt, but the nail is thin and I could hurt myself if not careful.

My garden is being "put to bed" for the winter and in a few weeks G and I will be shredding garbage cans full of leaves to blanket the raised beds. I need to buy lime for the garden to sweeten the soil over the winter. I also need to call and get replacement raspberry bushes. Five of the 12 didn't survive. I just hope G's weekend off coincides with dry leaf time. He works one weekend and is off the next. I'm not liking this aspect of the job.

I covered each of my trash formations with tulle or net and I'm just going to stitch a grid pattern over the top. The tulle will hold all the bits down (I'll need to press it with the iron and put in a few pins to hold everything together, but this is easier than using glue). And with the condition of my nails--glue is out for a while. I used lavender, pink and navy tulle.

I have to admit that yesterday I stood in front of my fabric closet and looked at the absolutely FULL shelves and felt defeated. How on earth can I ever use all of it to make wonderful things? There is just too much. And lately, the pieces I've been working on, use so little. I start with a small pile of fabric and scraps--make a piece and it seems like the pile I started with is the same size--or possibly bigger. You would think the pile would disappear.

The only real way to use up large amounts of fabric is to make bed size quilts. UGH! I can't even begin to describe the agony that would be for me. I love the finished product but the tedious, repetitive work---oh, I just can't do it. I will have to drag each piece of fabric out and cut a strip or two from them for my trashy pieces. So many of the fabrics are so cute. All those cheerful dots.

I've also been thinking about this blog--as my Blog-o-Versary is on October 14th. I'm thinking I should be more serious. You know--indepth stuff, how to's with pictures, philosophic discussions on aging, art and society. Right.

Finally, Some ART!

I received a very nice package of scraps from "Studio in the Woods" a few weeks ago and used a good deal of it in this *Trash Formation*. They have been ironed but not sewn so strips get attached to the sleeve of my flannel robe and you can see evidence of that in the lower left corner.

This was created from my own scraps. I wanted to make a lighter, more feminine scrap piece but then wasn't satisfied with the monotone so had to de-create the piece and add some darker tones. Still in progress. These pieces are all twelve inches square.

This piece deviates from the "strip" method and I used bigger blocks of fabric. It's harder to get the mass of texture and color that the strips give a piece this small but this piece has a strength the others don't have. The top stitching and quilting should help unify everything. At least I hope it does.

Before my husband left for work this afternoon he cut these beautiful dahlias from the garden. The orange, red and touch of yellow and white are so autumnal and give my clean kitchen a nice "decorated" look. We must really have had "magic" dirt this year as everyone who gardens--including the Portland newspaper gardener--is complaining of a bad year. We had an abundance of everything. I even took a gallon bag of late cucumbers with me to my Dad's along with dill heads and made him Refrigerator Pickles. He was delighted.

I'm really trying to keep the kitchen as clean as I found it when I returned from my Dad's. G really cleaned everything. I've been making all his favorite dinners as a way of saying "thank you".

On today's list: Banana Bread from the dead bananas in the fridge. Apple Chutney. (both items left over from the week before I went away). Perhaps some Mexican Rice for burritos tonight (I like them, G does not, but he has homemade Chicken Noodle Soup). I'd like to start sewing those three trashy squares. I have tons of TiVo to watch-- stuff it recorded while I was away.

I managed to get the Sculpty sunflower seeds glued to the Spooky House yesterday. It's going to Hawthorn School Library for the month of October. I should go take a picture of it for you.

I saw an ad in the local paper asking for people to come work 10 hours a week: cutting, frosting and decorating Divine Brownies. Do you think they pay you to do that or do you pay them?

I'm Back!

I am exhausted! I think emotional stress is far more wearing on a person than physical stress. And living with an 84 year old for a week--- well, it's different.

I now know that I may be a good cook in general, but I am a lousey cook for someone with dentures.

I have to wean myself from watching television with the volume cranked up to maximum. I also have to stop myself from calling everyone on televison or the news "that asshole" as my Dad does about a bazillion times a day. Each and every day I would call my husband to report the "daily expletive" and some of them were quite creative.

I now know the two dogs are named Buddy and Punky and not "you assholes". My Dad had a stroke a few years ago and he still has trouble with his speech. When in doubt he goes with the word he can always say. Interesting isn't it?

I will forever remember the absolute JOY on my father's face when the doctor told him he could mow the grass again. On his riding mower. And then I sat on the front and back porch to watch--just in case-- and, well, I hope I have something in MY life that makes me that happy when I am 84.

I read a book. I made four applique (by hand) borders using dull scissors to cut the fabric for reverse applique. I listened to my Dad talk about the things he wanted to talk about. I drove the car (and Dad) to the store and doctor. I had a very nice time and I am happy I went.

When I returned to my own little house, I found it very clean. My husband had spent his three days off cleaning, vacuuming, and putting stuff away. He even did laundry. Everything looks fabulous. This sort of made up for the letter from the IRS.

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Life

After a 24 hour, "post party" depression, I am now my regular old self. Even have clean teeth thanks to my dental professionals. I also have a letter for my oral surgeon-- removal of two teeth. I don't have a time limit on when to do that. One wiggles and one is slowly falling apart. Hey, that sounds like other parts of me as well.

Sorry for the blurry picture. My husband attached my little digital camera to this honking big tripod and I haven't been able to dis-attach it so I can take pictures. The tripod is supposed to limit the blurry-ness caused by pressing your finger down on the "take this picture" button. I think I need a tiny tripod.

Tomorrow I leave for Ohio and a week with my Dad. I spoke to him yesterday and he sounded so good. He did have two of my brother's friends over--cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. At least I'll have clean bedding. I know I'll be cooking all his favorites while I'm there. I just hope the aluminum foil on his television antenna picks up CBS. Survivor, CSI and Shark are all on on the night I arrive. He loves cable tv when he visits me but will not "buy" tv for himself. Since you can get it "free" with enough wire, aluminum foil and creative pinning and clipping of said wire and foil to the window curtains. I just love how the shapes and ghosts float in and out of the picture. Not! Sometimes, it's like you're watching three channels at once. And when cars go by the house--well, that's real special.

He's going to the doctor today. To complain about his brand new pacemaker/defibrillator. My Dad changes doctors like some people change clothes. If they tell him something he doesn't want to hear--well, they are a**holes and he's off to find a new doctor. Now he's complaining that they have to replace the battery in the brand new pacemaker in two years. See, my dad has a drawer in the fridge full of dead batteries. Somehow, the cold and moist air in the fridge is going to bring them back to life. He probably thinks he can goose that pacemaker battery into a third or fourth year of service by sitting on the sunporch during the winter.

This is a guy who pressed a doorbell installed on his dash in the car--- to wash the car windows. The doorbell was 37 cents and the VW replacement part was $49.

This is also a guy who reads this blog-- Hi, Dad! Love You.

I can't really say too much. After all-- I make my best art quilts from stuff in my wastebasket. My father's daughter.

It's My Birthday!

I've got the pot roast in the crockpot (my favorite dinner) and my birthday cake is in the oven and I've already called work to say I may be late because of the cake.

I'm 60 today. Don't feel like it.

Didn't plan ahead to have a jazzy photo at the top--maybe later today. So if you read my blog-- and I know that 24 people a day read me-- leave a comment today. Introduce yourself. I'd love to hear from you. Especially today.

It's My Birthday! And I just love everyone today. The sun is shining. I'm going to drive with the top down. And I'm just a happy gal today. Hope you are too.

The Good Wife of 1955

I got this as an email and laughed so hard. Could the 1950's woman have read this with a straight face. It's very "Pleasantville".

1. Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before. This is a way to let him know that you have been thinking of him and his needs. ( see #3)

2. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest and you'll be refreshed when he arrives. ( I'd prepare myself but not by resting-- I'm thinking Tequila)

3. Don't complain if he's late coming home for dinner or even stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he may have gone through during the day. (I'd count this as a good reason to change the locks)

4. Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash their faces and hands. Change their clothes and keep them quiet. (drugs or duct tape?)

5. Be happy to see him. ( Now why would you be happy? This guy is not contributing to your happiness on little bit. )

6. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him. (LOL, if my husband had been greeted by a warm smile during those "bumpy" times, he would have run, screaming from the house.)

7. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but let him talk first. Remember his topics of conversation are more important than yours.
( No comment. Nothing I have to say is important)

8. Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead try to understand his world of strain and pressure. ( are you thinking "lap dance"?)

9. Have a cool drink ready for him. (!)

10. Arrange his pillow and take off his shoes. ( how many of you are arranging that pillow over his face?)

11. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember he is the master of the house and as such will always exercize his will with fairness and truthfulness.

12. A good wife always knows her place.

I think I'll just revert to the "Pirate's Code of Conduct" on this one. Savvy?

I've Got Mail

This is my polka dot mailbox. Where I get MAIL. And I am usually delighted to find something other than bills and junk mail in the box. Today I got another PACKAGE!

This is blurry but it is ME. 100%. Thank you Deborah for "knowing" who I am. That means the world to me. And I love my second postcard. Kathy sent me one a week or so ago and now I have two. A third one and I'll have a "collection". The hand painted fabric with your fabulous hand written words. I just LOVE it. Today is turning out to be a fabulous day.

Today is the 38th anniversary of the day I married the man who is everything to me. Husband. Friend. Provider. Handyman. Gardener. First Responder to my injuries. He takes very good care of me. I hope he can say the same of me.

We got married by a justice of the peace in a small town hall. Had a quiet dinner with both sets of parents and my grandmother. No siblings. I still don't know why they weren't there. And after a slice of cake, we got into the car and drove to our college--school was starting-- and our life together was starting also.

We had a VERY bumpy first 10 years. Yes, ten years. Well, actually it may have been more like a bumpy 20 years. I know that today's young marrieds would have given up in those 10 (20) years and gone about the business of finding a new husband or wife. We didn't. We took care of each other even when we weren't speaking to each other. Sounds weird. But we are both very stubborn, difficult, opinionated, creative, hard working and dependable people. And the last 18 years have made all the "toil and trouble" of the first 20 worth while. Anne Tyler writes about this kind of marriage.

I don't recommend my marriage to the faint of heart. Our two children have failed to commit to marriage and family and I think being witnesses to our marriage may be the reason. Though they may not have found a worthy adversary yet.

SuperNova Runway

I was saying that Lukas was going to win SuperNova Rockstar from the beginning and everyone said I was nuts. I never said Lukas was GOOD. I said he'd win. Big difference.

Kayne FINALLY went auf. And Vincent and Angela got DOUBLE Auffed!!

Life is good.

Survivor Tonight! We'll see which ethnic groups can swim/make fire/stay dry at night/find food. My money is on the Asian/American group. And I'm not Asian.

And for anyone who cares: Big Brother was great this season. Who doesn't love Will and Boogie? and the always lovely Barbie. Oh, I meant Janelle.

Whistle While You Work

In other words-- enjoy what you do.

This quote from my "Painter's Keys" letter for today on tips on getting the most out of your work day.

"Work doggedly, one thing after the other.
Begin work early, finish many things each day.
Work on what comes to hand, what demands attention.
Have rough plans--work them daily.
Rest from the work--look at the water."

I read this and reflected on my most productive and least productive work periods. When I had a deadline and allocated a certain amount of work to each day--I got a tremendous amount of work--and truly GOOD work done. When I just sit and say " oh, I have so much to get done" I rarely get anything done.

I work best from a very specific list of tasks to do. Broken down into segments. If I am working on a raw edge applique piece then making/cutting pieces might be one segment. The next the gluing down of these loose pieces. Then the zigzag topstitching with invisible thread with a stabilizer of doctor's examination table paper underneath. This part takes the longest and a good book on tape or loud, operatic music helps move me along.

The next part is my least favorite--always a disaster-- squaring up and evening all the sides. This is where I go astray. Wander off. Procrastinate. Then my second least favorite part. Backing (choosing) and batting. I don't like this because I don't have a large surface, free and clean, to work on. I think the surface is also the reason I don't do well on the squaring up. What usually happens is that I spend so much time cleaning the house looking for a good "spot" to work that I never get anything backed and batted.

Once a piece has backing (finally!), then the work segments are quilting and choosing and making the binding. I think of binding as "jewelry" for the piece and I spend quite a bit of time auditioning all manner of fabric until I find "the one" that makes the piece sing. I think the binding should "represent and repeat" the themes in the quilt body.

Quilting. I let the piece tell me what it needs or doesn't need as quilting. My biggest criticism of pieces in quilt shows is the quilting. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Too much of the wrong stuff can destroy a good design. And that's all I'm going to say.

So while writing this post, I have also blanched and peeled and seeded all the tomatoes on my counter and will now pack them in freezer bags. I also made a big pot of fresh tomato and basil soup for my husband's supper. I have fresh salsa to make (tomato, red onion, jalapeno and lime juice) and then a shower and to work at the library. Where I am always very happy. I hope you are too.

You Are What You Eat

How do you like your eggs? Over Easy.

How do you take your coffee/tea? Coffee has to be weak, decaffinated with sugar and lots of cream. Tea is my drink of choice. Decaf with sugar. I love sweet tea when I'm south of the Mason-Dixon and usually ask for it "half and half". Half sweet, half unsweetened, lots of ice.

Favorite breakfast foods: Old fashioned Oatmeal in the microwave with sugar and a splash of 1 percent milk. Rye toast, double toasted with some carbon on it and butter.

Peanut butter: smooth or crunchy? Extra Crunchy Jif. No jelly. Ever!

What kind of dressing on your salad? EVOO, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Or peppercorn ranch with extra pepper on a Greek Salad.

Coke or Pepsi? Diet Decaf Coke with lots of ice and a wedge of lime squeezed over it. I also let the full cup sit for at least 30 minutes before drinking it. I like it "watery".

You're feeling lazy. What do you make? Kraft Mac and Cheese. And I make it soupy and eat ALL of it. The boxed set from Target is good ( when it's cheaper)

You're feeling really lazy. What kind of pizza do you order? Pepperoni, the spicy kind and lots of full fat cheese on a nice chewy, but not thin, crust. Carbs and FAT.

You feel like cooking. What do you make? Pan sauteed pork steaks, baked potatoes, green beans and homemade applesauce. Roast pork, sauerkraut and potato dumplings. Fried chicken, fried yellow squash and onions, rice and sliced tomatoes. Fried, breaded eggplant. Jamie Oliver's Wild Mushrooms with Pasta.

Do any foods bring back good memories? Most of my memories of good food involve my grandmother. Dumplings, rye bread, strudel, green bean soup. Gram could make anything and it was divine.

Do any foods bring back bad memories? Anything my mother cooked. The worst was small diced bits of liver in some kind of sauce served with mashed potatoes. It was like eating erasers. And fish. Ick!

Do any foods remind you of someone? Cheese Pierogi= my daughter. Chicken Potstickers and Goulash = my son. Pork Steaks = my husband.

Is there a food you refuse to eat? I prefer to never eat fish but if I'm a guest at dinner and fish is served I will eat it and not make a fuss and ruin the cook's evening.

What was your favorite food as a child? Oh, I loved this. A slow cooked Hungarian stew of veal and pork with tomatoes and vegetables over bread dumplings. Gram made it for me. Especially for me.

Is there a food that you hated as a child but now love? No.

Is there a food that you loved as a child but now hate? Chicken Gizzards.

Favorite fruit & vegetable: All of them.

Favorite junk food: Salt. and I don't care too much what it's attached to--I just want, crave, salt.

Favorite between meal snack: If it's between meals and I'm hungry-well, truth be told--I eat. Saltines with butter. Saltines with cheese. A peanut butter sandwich.

Do you have any weird food habits? Weird? I've never had someone say to me--"are you really going to eat that?" so I guess not.

You're on a diet. What food(s) do you fill up on? Everything. If you or I say I'm on a diet, then I'm eating everything in sight. Never even think about a diet around me.

You're off your diet. Now what would you like? Ready? Salad. Veggie sandwiches. Indian food.

How spicy do you order Indian/Thai? I ask for medium heat and when I get my food I always wish they had added more heat.

May I get you a drink? Margarita, on the rocks, salt with extra "squeeze" on the side. Gin and tonic with crushed ice--so it's REALLY COLD and a wedge of lime. Ice water with lemon.

Red wine or white? Red. A Pinot Noir or Merlot. Spanish or California. Dark, rich, chewy.

We only have beer: Corona. On the rocks, salted rim and big wedge of lime.

Favorite dessert? Banana Pudding. The one at Red, Hot and Blue in Maryland is my all time favorite. The one at Sonny's BBQ is damn fine also. The chocolate cake with warm ganache and whipped cream at Macaroni Grill.

The perfect nightcap? TiVo.

On Being Positive

The days are going by.... and I'm not sleeping all day, eating cheese sandwiches all day or crying, so things are looking up.

Been working at the library. Those three day holidays are a killer. We are still trying to dig out from under the huge piles of returned books, movies and audio books. Looks like everyone did a pre-school clean up over the weekend and brought back all the library materials they had. On Friday I shelved two carts of non-fiction after my 4 hour "standing on my feet" shift in circulation. That may not have been my best plan ever. But we needed empty carts for the "holiday returns". I was going to shelve a third cart (there were FIVE), when my daughter showed up looking for company to eat dinner with. And I was hungry.

I also have been dropping things, knocking things over etc. Glass. So I have a through floor washing in my future to make sure I've gotten all the glass bits up.

Working till 6 pm today and then my committee meeting from 7 to 9. Still trying to save the old high school building (1936) from the wrecking ball. I have learned something. I don't like committees. We've been meeting for 9 weeks and have accomplished exactly--NOTHING!

I volunteered for a sub-committee and the three of us have accomplished everything. The RFQ, the interviews, the consultant choice. I even got the timeline revision going last week by suggesting a timeline no one liked. That will get them going like wildfire. And then they felt sorry for me-- because my timeline was so terrible. I love manipulating people. Especially when they are clueless.

My oatmeal is ready. Time for breakfast.

Just Another Rainy Day

I started the day in a better mood. And I've been watching the TNT marathon of the "Closer" one of my favorite shows on television. Tonight is the season finale. I think Brenda and the chief are relieved of duty. In disgrace. Brenda shouldn't have thrown those pictures into the trash at work. She should have burned or shred them.

I've been drawing up draft designs of some of the quilt ideas swimming around in my head. I had a quilt hanging at the library last month--one that I "drew" on paper first. It really was much better than the ones I make sort of "freehand". More like cutting as I go. The above drawing has a few of the red dahlias from my garden. They are finally blooming. Deep, dark and very red. If there is some sunshine tomorrow I'll try and get a photo. Yummy. Especially the lime green centers.

I also made a tray of green beans-- oven roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bobby Flay tossed on some garlic and shallot when he made his. 425 degrees for 30 minutes till wrinkled and browning. I ate them all for lunch. Delicious.

Pizza and beer for dinner tonight when G gets home from work. He's working the "mid-shift" today. 10 am to 6:30. Saw a beer cocktail on the Food channel. Tall glass, ice, tequila, beer and a wedge of lime. They called it a "Cowboy Cocktail". Bet it will taste good with pepperoni pizza.

I Am SO Depressed!

I'm posting cheerful pictures to try and pretend I'm cheerful. You wouldn't want to see pictures of a deep, dark hole in the ground would you? This is one of my three monkeys. They have costumes and hang off the bookcase to cheer me on when I'm working. This one is the "party" monkey. The one with her paws over her eyes--- that's the one I most resemble right now.

Wow! Aren't these great fabrics? I've been seeing numbered fabric in some items being posted from Portland, OR and I was lusting after them. At the World Quilts show last month a vendor had these cuties for sale. The swirls came in like a gazillion colors and I wanted ALL of them. But we're on a budget now, so I got the two I couldn't live without and left the others behind. Maybe that's why I'm so sad????

Yesterday I watched a creepy movie in the afternoon and tried to read a book. Nothing worked for me. So I made soup ( fresh tomato and basil) for G and made Patty's Brown Rice for myself. Sauteed onion, celery and garlic in butter and oil and then sauteed the rice ( 3 cups brown Lundberg) with it and added 1 T chili powder and some cayenne and 6 cups of veggie stock and let it simmer for an hour. Creamy, spicy, chewy. Had some cucumbers and radishes with it. Next time I'll reheat it with some cheese and sour cream. Really, I can have it for every dinner. The little black dress of vegetarian meals that you can dress up or down with whatever else you have in the fridge or garden.

Sonji had these great melted beads on her blog. Now I want to make some. Also Sonji had a link to Alma Stoller and I read her tutorials on these funny stuffed beads she makes. Want to make those also. And I read about tar gel and a heat press in J Pettit's blog (linked to Deborah's Journal) where she painted and tar gelled tissue and paper to canvas and plans to sew it all to a tote bag. I REALLY want to do that. I need a GROUP! People who DO Things! I need to have some artistic, in person, stimulation. I'm MELTING!!!!!! Into a puddle of depression.

I've got laundry to do. Clean out the fridge. Make supper. Match socks. Fold. Cry.

Morning Glory

Is there anything prettier? I love the blue flowers that open in the sunshine. And finally we have sunshine. It was cold and rainy for about a week and it's August. So bummed. But this morning the sun was out and it was 78 degrees and I drove with the top down on my car and the radio worked. A GOOD day. A SUMMER day!

When I get home from work I see that my husband has been in the garden. There's usually a big pail full of beans, another one of cherry tomatoes and some more zucchini. There are people telling me they haven't gotten any veggies out of their gardens. I must have magic dirt. G keeps bringing in un-ripe tomatoes. I like them to be very, very red before I pick them. (and eat them in tomato sandwiches) He picks them pink. So my center island is a tomato ripening "spot". They eventually get red but they don't have that "red" taste.

Bobby Flay made oven roasted green beans on his show. Got to try it. We had cherry tomato pasta again today and fresh tomato soup yesterday. I am getting SO GOOD at this cooking stuff. I even made stuffed baked tomatoes and they were excellent. I may even make zucchini "crab" cakes. They had a recipe on the net for this. Swear it's just like crab. I'll try anything once--the worst? Just throw it away.

Nineteen days till my birthday! I'm so excited.

Just Enough. Not Too Much

As soon as I can get Slambo over here to change the marigold picture in my sidebar--this is what you'll see if I make comments. This is what I look like while I'm blogging-- reading or writing. It took for ever to get one sort of okay picture. Too funny.

I wish I could take charming pictures like "posey gets cozy" and "little birds" but I guess not. Most of the time the house is too bright for a good picture and then it's too dark. I feel like Goldilocks.

My car is back home. The radio doesn't work. The door locks do. The red "radio card" is still missing. BMW/Westbrook is still not helping. They can't be bothered to look the number up in their files. I sincerely hate BMW/Westbrook. At times I would love to trade my roadster in for a 3 or 5 series sedan but that would mean having to take it to BMW/Westbrook for warranty service and I just won't do that. Bruce of Atlantic Motorcar is a trillion times nicer. If only he had the radio code in his files. Oh, and it didn't cost a fortune to fix my car. It was just enough.

A long, long time ago, I had my palm read. Just after the reader had read my husband's palm. She, the palm reader, was very perplexed as both our palms said approximately the same thing. We would always have enough. No more. No less.

During the Great Ice Storm about 9 years ago, we were without power for 6 days. No heat, no light, no hot water, no nothing. On the night of the 6th day, I walked up to the end of our street and looked at the pole where the switch that brings, light, heat, and water to take a shower and wash your hair, was blown. Houses on the next street had golden light shining from their windows. Not our street. Well, I looked at that switch and I said "I've had enough". Next day the power truck came to our corner and flipped the switch. And there was hot water.

So whenever things are going good or not so good--I wonder. Do I have enough? Have I had enough? Can I take more? Last week I had had enough by Friday afternoon and I just wanted my little car back. I had had enough of asking friends for rides to work.

As for the zucchini in the garden. I have definitely had "enough". And I would like people to stop trying to give me theirs.

Project Runway *Plus* Size

This was a difficult episode to watch. As a *plus* size person on the outside and a person like everyone else on the inside, I felt for all the larger women chosen last. That was very cruel. And the clothes made, yes, one day is not enough time to make a perfect outfit, but a nice fitting and even stylish outfit? Was it too much to ask? Why is Uli the only one who will try a print? I am tired and angry and very sad to see women in plus sizes placed in tent like sacks. Or draped with tunics, scarves or swags of fabric. Were any of the *plus* women smiling???

I was sorry that Robert went home for making exactly what the client wanted. She would have worn the outfit quite often. I can't say that about the other things. Laura keeps making the same things over and over--made very well, but just as boring. Cruise wear is usually flamboyant--- not what you would wear at home. Didn't Laura make the same outfit for her Katherine Hepburn Icon?

Jeffery could have made something young and fresh --lose the collar-- with asymetrical lines for Angela's mom-- he hadn't sewn anything yet-but instead he responded to her comments with his own ENORMOUS insecurities and acted terribly. His own mother should have kicked his ass into the room where Angela's mom was crying and made him apologize (she didn't and that's where he learned it). It's on television. Everyone out there has a mom-- even rock stars. Do they really want to do business with this guy? I don't give a rat's ass whether he was a crack addict or belongs to AA. No sympathy from me.

Now, I'm in a really crappy mood anyway. My car was "fooled" with in the parking lot at work on Monday and the security alarm went off and the battery shut down and the car went into security mode and shut itself down so it couldn't be driven. We had to have it towed twice. And the mechanics have been working on it since Tuesday morning. It's now Thursday, late afternoon. I am so damned pissed. This is going to cost a fortune. They can't get the radio to work. There maybe a problem with the door locks also. And of course, it needed a brand new battery. The kind that goes inside the car, not in the engine. The kind that costs a lot and isn't sold at Wal*Mart. I wish Jeffery was here in my house right now. I'd like to kick his ass around--make me feel better.

No Picture Monday

I finished the binding on Plantetary Motion 2 and now that it's done--I can stop thinking about it, having it on the design wall, or working on it any more. No pictures either. It stinks.

I have two more things that are progressing *oh, so slowly* to the You Stink pile. I don't think it's the *now* me that's making them stink--I think they were just bad ideas from the start that I have been wasting time trying to SAVE. That's me. The EMT of bad quilts.

I am sad and anxious. G is driving 38 miles one way (5 days a week) to a very physically tiring job. I am constantly worried that he will be in a car accident. Crazy. But I can't stop doing it. If you remember, we almost died in a car accident that for some reason didn't happen at the last second when we were on vacation. Now every time we or just G, gets in the car and goes any distance--well, I'm getting in touch with the grim reaper. I may need therapy.

I bought a whole bag of ProChem stuff in New Hampshire at the World Quilt show. Stuff used to thicken bleach, potato resist, Chlor Stop, soy wax and probably something else I have forgotten. I keep reading and seeing stuff made with these things--so I got some. Now I'll have to find out how to use them as the products have little or no instructions. I still haven't made an order for Lutrador. Need to try painting that also.

I did heat set some painted fabric and then I washed it. No runoff. Woo Hoo! Last time I washed it too soon and all the paint filler came out and dulled everything down. So unhappy. But it's nice to know that any future owner of this stuff can wash it.

I saw a fused quilt in the World Show in NH. Fused hand dyed fabric. And the little squares were all loose and fluttering in the AC breeze. No stitching to hold them down. The quilting went all around them but not over the little squares. I have a feeling that by the time the quilt gets back home, some of the squares will be gone. Bad WU?

The Really Long Date

I thought this double expresso and the ride home from New Hampshire to Maine was going to be the end of the "really long date" but I was completely wrong. My husband then took me "shopping" at the Kittery outlets. This guy knows how to make a date memorable.

The World Quilt and Textile Show was disappointing. Last year it was fantastic. This year there were some very interesting pieces and nice, new vendors but--well, maybe it was me. I remember last year, standing and studying pieces--learning. Didn't happen this time. I did have some lovely chats with two or three vendors though and got a lovely early birthday gift ( I bought it) from Betsy of Quiltessentials. A handmade tote--but really it's a basket.

Maybe there were too many traditional quilts. I always look forward to seeing the wild and wacky world of the art quilt at these World Quilt shows. The only photo I have to show--because I can't give you the maker's names on the others--is by my favorite quilter, Pamela Allen from Canada.

This is a detail. The quilt is about having "hot flashes" and the quilting depicts little fire engines racing to the fire, which is the lady in the piece. The fire dog is lovely.

Now, as I stood and enjoyed this quilt, three women walked up behind me and expressed their distaste for this quilt. If you don't like it, dears, move on--move away-- let me enjoy it without your running commentary. I think they were trying to let me know that my opinion was somehow "wrong". I was tempted to follow them to the next traditional quilt they all admired and poo poo it. But I appreciate all the time and work that goes into traditional quilting. And I apologize for the blurry picture. There was a large spotlight just above and to the right of this quilt and it did terrible things to my digital camera. This was the best G and I could do.

As to the shopping, I got little glass bowls with lids at Crate & Barrel along with 8 yards of Marimekko fabric (regular price $32 a yard) for $4 a yard ( generous yards!). And I went to the Old Navy outlet--I really do not like Old Navy. It's such a sloppy, warehouse place and I don't like the merchandise. Why did I go???? Well, a patron at the library had on a wonderful white V-neck tee (and everyone who know me, knows there are two things I love. White linen shirts and white v-neck tees) and I asked where she got it. Old Navy. Ick. But I went, I tried on, I purchased. White V- neck perfection. I also thought the 6 foot 3- 350 pound black bouncer dude over by the dressing rooms was a thoughtful choice. Mainers will understand.

I did not have Deborah's recommended Chocolate Sogno at Carrabbas. I just could not eat a warm fudge brownie topped with chocolate mousse and fudge sauce. I just could not. Next time, I'll skip the dinner and go right to the dessert. The mussels were divine.

Trash-Formation

Not my own personally created word--but it is what I like to do, best of all. Make things from trash. Now to me, trash is anything I would throw away, you would throw away or something that another person gives to me, so they don't have to throw it away. This slightly blurry picture is of a piece I made out of stuff a friend gave me. She's moving and didn't want to take these scraps with her. I have enough to make another companion piece.

Three trash- formations. All quilted and ready for binding. Or I might try that "facing" thing that Tommy the Material Girl described on her blog. The black and cream was quilted without a backing fabric and will get an "escape hatch" ending. The batting is fusible so it wil be okay to do it this way.

Painted fabric. I won't show you the shirt and tee shirt that got painted along with this piece when I leaned over to paint a stripe. This isn't all that exciting but I needed a striped co-ordinating fabric to border a wacky log cabin. My daughter likes the color and it is her birthday on Wednesday so I thought it would be nice to finish it for her. Maybe to hang on her bedroom wall. I'm going to applique something very important to her in the center. She reads this --so no more info. Can I get it done by Wednesday? I work best against a deadline.

I'm going to give away my last pile of zucchini. I don't want to make any more pickles. And now we are starting to get a pile (small) of tomatoes. Pretty ones. Not all that tasty but fresh, warm from the sun tomatoes. Need BACON!

I roasted one of the butternut squash from the garden. Pale gold and not much taste. I adored the ones from last year. Deep saturated russet orange and so sweet. I ate them as soon as they came out of the oven. Yum. G says there are small orange ones out there--just babies. I'll have to wait. Got to get back to the cutting board and cut border strips for that quilt and do the "special" thing and then fuse batting to it and a back and quilt it tomorrow. So much work, so little time.

Time & Patience

I'm having "one of those" days. No direction, too much sugar. I got a lot done yesterday--not what I had planned to get done--- but a lot of other stuff. I made a real dinner. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and steamed broccoli. I got the expected "arrival home time" for my husband wrong, so I made his plate and flew out the door to a meeting. Hello/Goodbye.

I am supposed to be 1. machine quilting or 2. reading RFQ's for my committee. We got seven. Lots of reading to be done by Sunday. Instead, I am sort of wandering around, looking out the windows, watering plants, making a coffee cake for dessert tonight and looking for new blogs to read. I even paid some bills and called my cable provider to complain that Bravo is missing. I was sort of hoping to speak to someone in India, like last time I called, but got Nicole ( she told me her name at least four times) and she said Bravo was experiencing network problems.

We are "housetraining" our new TiVo. It still thinks we like "Walker, Texas Ranger" and everything now playing on the country music channel. My husband gave everything "3" thumbs down last night. Teach that TiVo a lesson! The day before we got Sex In The City and lots of stuff off the MTV channel. We're almost 60 years old! My son says it takes time and patience to train the TiVo to only select/record things you really like.

Think I'll have a sandwich and go down to the quilt room and fool around getting the walking foot on the old Bernina--- always need time and patience for that--- then maybe thread the machine. I may even sew. I am certainly NOT reading the RFQ's today. Could check on the Bravo situation on the televison again. Here I go.

Tuesday, TiVo & Tomato

I saw this image in a magazine while waiting to get my nails done. Don't we all have moments when the sewing machine is a "crime scene"? I'm going to frame this and hang it on the wall near my machine---to keep things in perspective and add a laugh to the tears.

It's tomato time! I've been picking my favorite cherry tomato- Sun Gold- but on Sunday my husband brought in this beauty. We ate all the other examples already. Now that the woodchuck who was calling our garden his personal grocery has gone to "woodchuck heaven", our produce is thriving. Almost time for green beans. Other gardeners are having trouble with tomato wilt because of all the rain and humidity but my garden is only in it's second year. Still beginner's luck here.

We finally got TiVo. There was a special $150 rebate. My son says that's because a new edition, number 3, is coming out and TiVo wants to sell all the old models. Well, old is good enough for us. So far----- we can turn it on and off. We did manage to use the "pause" feature to stop the program we were watching while we made coffee and pie for snack, and then start the program where we left off and that was fascinating. Now when people call during our favorite shows, we can "pause" and not miss anything. We can also go back if we didn't hear some of the dialog. We selected about five things for TiVo to record. And TiVo is already picking "other" stuff and recording that also. We are deleting everything TiVo selects hoping to "teach" it to not do that.

I got new tires on my car. Last year I replaced two tires and had planned to get the other two this summer. Discontinued. Michelin didn't have anything with compatible tread. So I was faced with buying four new tires and having two used tires with only 1000 miles on them. Michelin and my husband worked out a great compromise. Thank You! Now I have new tires, all the same, and I didn't spend more than the cost of two tires. I also got "all season" instead of "performance". The ride is a bit bumpy. The performance tires were soft and good on turns. But these new tires may actually be drivable in a little, tiny bit of snow. Wouldn't that be interesting? A four season car. Even rain could sometimes be a driving (sliding) adventure with the wide performance tires. Steer straight. Go sideways. Yikes!!!

Work today and tomorrow and then sewing machine day on Thursday. Quilting the two pieces needing quilting and some top stitching on number three. Gotta get some product done in 2006. I also have no fresh ideas for anything after that. Maybe another vase of flowers. I'm all out of "original".

Order, Service, Management

We received this advertisement in the mail this week. Laundry service, cleaning, outdoor maintainance--- lightbulb changing?--- and transportation to medical and other appointments and places. Shangrila? Nope. A retirement village. I'm starting to think this is a super fantastic idea for artistic types. No worries. Meals, clean undies and sheets, vacuumed floors, trash taken out, medication delivered. Sign me up!

Yesterday I went on an artistic adventure. Open studio and farm day (weekend) organized by Fiber Arts. My friend and I started out at 10 am and visited a well known fiber artist and were given five star treatment. Absolutely gorgeous studio, art quilts (one is being entered into Quilt National) and gardens. We learned about discharging with bleach, a seaweed additive that is not effected by bleach, lye shibori, and just had the best time. Our next visit was to a published and well known quilter down the road. She was teaching in Boston this weekend so the tour director duties went to her 8 year old son. "This is where we cut and glue the design fabrics: this is where we sew: and this is where we embellish". He has spent so much time in the studio with his mom--- it really is "we". And I had to admire his carefully made magnets and his artistic rocks. He went to art camp and made the rocks. Heated them in a toaster oven and then rubbed crayons over. The crayon wax melted and art was made.

Then on down the road to the next town and a lovely, new post and beam studio owned by an artist working in oil on linen and dyes on silk. I was enchanted by the paintings. And the artist. We had both led the corporate life of multiple moves including foreign lands. She begins each day with her journal, a few drawings (4") and a walk. Not in any specific order. We talked about how the writing, drawing and meditation of the walk prepares the "artist" within to work. There were lovely hand painted and sewn pillows and scarves for sale. I made a few sketches of a woven oil painting.

Next an in town studio of a friend of mine. She is a painter just beginning to work in fabric and it was wonderful to see her work space. She told us that this spring the roof of her studio had caved in and she had had to rescue all her work and supplies and carry them into the main house. She had just-- within a day-- finished painting the new roof (inside) and walls. We had had a wonderful time with her. And saw more discharged black fabric.

Our final stop was at Fiber Arts. Christine Macchi was the creator of this farm and studio day and made the wonderful maps etc. Delightful. Upstairs was an artist who works on paper and canvas. I spent a fascinating 30 minutes up in her studio where she shared her art with me. Especially the papered/painted boxes I had seen in a local restaurant. I mentioned to the artist that I had spent more time looking at and admiring her boxes than I had spent on my dinner.

If you are wondering about the lack of names and photos--well, it seemed impolite to ask to take pictures and blog them and well, it also seems impolite to mention a few and not all the very talented artists in the area and on the map.

I have emerged from my art adventure renewed and refreshed. Now that I have given up on politics (or politics has given up on me), I can devote myself to ART. First journal pages in the morning, then a walk and then a few drawings or small fabric collages. Operatic music (and Rolling Stones) on the CD player and watermelon chunks to sustain me. See you later! Oh, and I must get slides of my quilt work. Christine says I must have slides. Pronto!

Really.....I am working!

My giant bag of fabric from a friend's garage give-away is sitting on my sewing chair. So much good stuff. What will it become? B's fabric choices are so different from mine. Batiks mostly and I have about have a box myself. So we'll see.

The Marigold is backed, batted and basted. I added some blue polka doted fabric around the edges---you can see the ripples in the unattached fabric. One side covered to the petals, the other not. the color is off so don't be too taken with that. It can all be easily removed if I don't like it after a while. The piece was too small for any show--but do I really want it in a show???

My latest "trash formation" out of the wastebasket. Some of the new batik made it onto the top--it was "just right" for the crossed stripes on top. Love when that happens. I also really love making stuff out of the wastebasket. Whole pieces of fabric are just too much "decision" for me. I like digging around in a pile of chopped up fabric looking for something that might "work" rather than starting with some matchy collection of yardage and making a great big mess out of it. I always hate what I make when I have it all planned out. I am such a failure at that. That's kind of where the Marigold is going right now---- too much matchy-ness and not enough "whimsey". I've been told that is what people love about my work--the whimsey.

I try to be a happy, delightful, charming person--somewhat eccentric but in a nice way. I guess when that comes out in the "work" it's a good thing. Need more of that in my life.

Bought 6 pint jars of Fig Preserves (TJMaxx) for my husband. He really loves the fig preserves my friend Kay's mom makes. But the homemade stuff is gone and this is almost as good. Comes from Arkansas. I told Kay about this on the phone last night and now she is going to find some fig trees for her Mom to plant---so we'll have Future Figs.

Yesterday, I had a "meeting" regarding my running for Town Office. Seems someone else wants to run and they can't say no to her. And the incumbent could win a three-way race quite easily. In others words, they "threw me under the bus". My short and very interesting political career is now officially ovah! It hurts to get thrown under the bus.

Driven

I have spent more time in the car than at home this month. Well. Not really. I have been driving to work a lot more than usual. Working 3 and sometimes 4 days each week. Last summer I worked one day a week. So this is like--- 200% more. And I have meetings. I was appointed to a Town Committee and we are having weekly meetings. Every Thursday from 7 to 9. I was expecting one meeting a month or something. WRONG! We did decide to take Thanksgiving Thursday OFF. What about Christmas??? It's like the Scrooge of committees.

And I decided to run for Town Council in my district. ( I must have some serious Karma adjustments to make) I have a nomination petiton that needs 25 to 50 signatures of registered voters. Everyone is on vacation. So I have been walking around knocking on doors. This must be a "pre-test" to see if you're tough enough for the actual election campaign. I'm wondering.

I went to my friend's house this morning and got two large bags of fabric. She is moving and tried to sell the stuff at a garage sale and is now just giving it away. Nice batiks, prints and shibori. And silks. I tried to pay but she said "just get it out of here". So I did.

Made 5 more jars of pickled zucchini. Pints this time and I did the water bath thing again. I figured a pint of tasty pickles is a mighty nice holiday gift. Tomorrow I'm making Refrigerator Pickles. No water bath or salting or soaking. Just scrub the cucumbers, pack into a jar with garlic and dill, vinegar and water and that's it. I think there may be some salt and sugar in with the vinegar. Real tasty with a sandwich. I might ask Patty for a few grape leaves. My Mom always put few in each jar for some reason.

I sliced my right pinkie finger along with the zucchini on the Japanese slicer. Ouch! No stitches. But I got a car ride and an ice cream cone just the same. And I just got a diet Coke on ice with a lime. Wonder what my husband wants? A Tivo?

Today is my son's 35th birthday. How did that happen? I loved him completely the very first time I held him and it's been like that ever since. He grew up to be a very good person. My daughter says I like him so much because he lives all the way across the country and I see him infrequently and he doesn't ask me for favors--like feeding cats for a week, cutting the grass or emptying the hot water heater. Could be. Just wish we could be having dinner and birthday cake with him right now. Happy Birthday! Love You!

Pickles, Presents and Kitchens

The garden is producing zucchini. Therefore, I am producing zucchini pickles. I made these on Monday. I even did the "water bath" thing. Zucchini, onions, red bell pepper, jalapeno, vinegar and 5 cups of sugar. The stove was sticky with sugar and vinegar as was everything else I touched. Good thing my husband likes to clean up after me.

Present! Painted fabric from the famous Sonji. As thrilled as I was with the present--- I had to leave for work just moments after opening the package. I just wanted to stay home and look at the wonderful colors and textures. I really have a long way to go on this "painted fabric". sonji has such depth in her painting. The more you look, the more you see. Wow!

This was too much of a coincidence. After talking about how much I loved the little playhouse in kindergarten as a five year old --- I get the Pottery Barn Kids catalog and there is my dream kitchen circa 1951. Look at the little knobs on the stove. The little sink. And that chubby, retro fridge. There's even a doll baby! I WANT IT! but where to put it? I guess I'll have to do the next, best thing. Make it into a quilt.

Posie Gets Cozy is working on the second round of the Club Little House project. Twelve people make 12 identical doll house items and then send them to one location where 12 boxes are packed with one of each item and then sent back out. Where was I when this was being organized???? I have a very large Saltbox dollhouse in my living room. With lights in the windows. I love all things tiny and my dollhouse is full of furniture, dolls etc. The tiny beds have pillows and little duvets. I guess I'll just have to make my own stuff. Sniff :( It would have been fun to make stuff with eleven other crafty dollhousers.

Educating Me

Never one to leave well enough alone, I got myself appointed to a Town committee. The one where we try to save the old high school from demolition and then find a re use for it. My first attended meeting was last Thursday (I missed the first meeting) and I have been on the learning curve since then.

My first mailing was an inch thick package of information. To read. To memorize? So it goes without saying that I was the quietest member of the committee on Thursday evening. I was just trying to figure things out. And the meetings are on television. Ick!

I wanted to be a "team player" so I volunteered for the first sub committee to be formed. We are drafting an RFQ. Request For Qualification. We need an expert or team of them to prepare items for the RFP. Request For Proposal. So I've been googling and trying to get information on what a great RFP proposal looks like so I know what kind of RFQ we need to help build it. I am SO out of my element!!!

Now you know why I haven't been posting or making art or anything. I did make bread yesterday afternoon just so I could knead the dough and vent some frustration. Made half into a tasty focaccia and the other half is in the fridge waiting to be pizza. I think onion and olive to go with a salad of romaine lettuce coming out of my garden. We had zucchini for lunch and more is now sitting on my counter top. Oy!

I'm going to see if I can find a Greek Mousaka recipe. When I visited Greece we had many different varieties of this dish. Made with potatoes, eggplant and I think squash. I loved them all. YES! Found one and it calls for three and a half pounds of zucchini.

Now I have to get down on the floor and clean out some space in the "refrigerator from hell". Jennair. Never buy one! The only time it looks spacious is when it's empty. I even have one of the shelves removed so items taller than 5 inches can go in. Wine bottle? No. Gallons of milk? No. Watermelon? Well, I have one in there right now and things are very crowded. Eggs? The only place they can go--well, it's so secluded, you forget you have eggs. We lost the applesauce and had to remove everything from two shelves before we caught a glimpse of the jar and dug it out.

I want an LG French Door Fridge with Freezer on the bottom. I want to be able to STAND and find food. I am SO tired of kneeling on the floor searching for things. If anyone from LG is out there reading this---- give me a fridge and I will blog about it endlessly until everyone wants one. Please! RFR. Request For Refrigerator.

Who Am I Now?

I was sorting through my "ripped out of magazines" pages and images yesterday and came across a stack of photo copies of a school photo of myself. I layered a couple of images to get the picture you see at the top of this post. I can see, you may not be able to, the (my) fingers pinching the folds of the dress. I'm happy to be the center of attention. My mother is taking the picture (always tension there), I'm in school where I felt safe and all I had to do to get through the day was "do the work". A relative "calm" period of my life.

I have been struggling to come up with an idea for Quilt National. The deadline for entry is September 19th. The day after I turn 60. This seems like an event in my life I should make into a piece of art. So.... who am I now? Do I feel safe? Am I just getting through the day?

The only "for sure" things I know--- I like being the center of attention. Quietly. I like the public and having friends but I like solitude better. I love my job at the library. I like to help people and teach them the things I love to do ( sewing, decorating, gardening). I'm generally happy.... for no good reason. My opinions on some topics can make people defensive. I like to be "right". I don't like "stupid", "mean", or "hurtful" things or people. I still like to "play house" like I did in kindergarten. Little dishes, furniture and the small contained areas were heaven on earth to me when I was five. Now I rearrange furniture, make slipcovers and pillows and set up little vignettes to please the eye. I love being home.

But I have always felt that I hadn't accomplished what I needed to in this lifetime. My karma. I have often felt like a boat drifting away from it's mooring. I paddle back to the dock. Then start drifting again.

I can entertain myself 24/7 without running out of things to do-- or not do. Inquisitive, clever, charming, amusing, hard working, stubborn, deceptive, critical, wobbly on decisions
( wondering if I made the right one), emotional, good health, good bones, healthy appetite and wide hips. Lots of art material here if I pay attention.

Who Knew?

It's getting hot and humid here in Maine. I've been snacking on watermelon cubes even though the 99 cents a pound for watermelon seems crazy. Especially for July! It still gets down to the high 60's at night, so we are still able to sleep but that should be coming to an end soon. The weather map for the US is all orange for the coming week. HOT!

I have broken down completely and been strip piecing. Now my fabric strip cutting is not as accurate as it once was (back in the "day") so the strips aren't all the same width. And now that I have made a bunch and cut and trimmed them---well, I can't seem to think what to do with them. I know I have to make more. And really, that's what I don't like about piecing. You make some great little block and then you have to make like a 1000 more to get anywhere. Tedious.


I'm going back down to the studio, turn on the tv, cut more accurate strips ( I need more) and work on this. I only have a skimpy half yard of the best fabric--so this won't take long. And I've got some sort of bobbin tension problem to solve and a needle that needs replacing. Probably should replace the rotary blade also. That takes up nearly an hour cause I NEVER know how to put the thing back together. And my husband has gone out to meet with the unemployment people to discuss his claim--so he can't do it for me. Oh, bother!

I will edit this post later with a picture of these "adorable" strips. Perhaps I will even have made something out of them by then? Stranger things have happened. This will not be a bed quilt. Not even a baby quilt. This will be SMALL. Perhaps a potholder.

Baking

We are having another farewell potluck at the library today. So I was "baking" yesterday. Literally. I made the Barefoot Contessa Cheesecake. I used my big mixer and timed everything. If the recipe said "mix for 5 minutes", I set the timer and let the Kitchen Aid do it's thing. Five packages of cream cheese, 7 eggs, zest of two lemons, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. And then the baking. Well, it's summer and we have no AC so the cake was baking--- 2 hours total--- and I was baking. I still have to work on my farewell gift and make the raspberry topping. I will go out to get the raspberries in a while and then mix them with warm red currant jelly just before serving. Yummy! and it looks just like the cookbook picture. I may bake more often!

Garden News:
My tomato plants are now nearly six feet tall. And covered with tiny yellow tomato blossoms. Zucchini is coming along. The cucumber plants are climbing the trellis and are two feet tall. The red cabbage looks nice, the butternut squash are growing and I have volunteer potatoes and tomatoes growing in the compost heap. All the beans are up. My husband planted blue petunias and morning glory out by the mailbox and the morning glory is climbing the post and winding around the mailbox. Nice. Out back he planted double pink petunias in a big planter and they aren't nearly as nice as the single blue petunias. The back bed is full of dahlias and they are all coming up nicely. Red with lime green centers. My friend and I got a box of tubers from a gardener moving into assisted living. Got to keep them going for him. The blueberries are growing--but it'll be years before we get any berries. The raspberry bushes--well, they aren't doing very well and I may have to write or call the nursery they came from and get some advice or a refund.

My husband just got back from picking up houseplants from a neighbor. She is going away for a month and lending her house to a visiting family here to perform at the Bowdoin Music Festival. I volunteered to care for her plants. So I'll have "guests" on the sunporch. I think I'll go greet them.

Fiercely Independent

Rayna @ Studio 78 has a link to this Jackson Pollack site. Took me a while to figure out the blank screen. You have to just begin moving the mouse. I made a really nice floral one but in my exuberance I deleted it before snapping a picture. I intend to try this on a very large scale with paint and white fabric.

The second one. Just happens to be in this colorway. You have no control over the colors that come up when you click. And when you see the next picture you will see why this particular scribble has me so "gob-smaked".

My latest work. See all the squiggly lines? Now I wish they were darker and more blobby. This is old (50's) white blanket wool, batik commercial cotton and beige needlepoint canvas layered, stitched, buttoned, tied. Tactile. Zen. I don't know if it's done yet. I may want to splatter India ink over it. The piece is small, probably not even 18 inches square.

The title above came to me as I was thinking about my 84 year old father. Who would rather be dead than give up his independence. I understand. I am my father's daughter.

On a different subject, my husband has been without employment for a month now. He is driving me to work longer hours away from home. I may even look for another part time job. Every time I turn around, he is there. I feel like I'm trapped. And of course, when backed to the wall, I lash out. There are lots of hurt feelings on his part.

He has had two of a possible three interviews with Target for a cashier's job (?). They have interviewed him like crazy but no one has yet even mentioned "the job" he might be hired to do, the hours, the pay. Nothing. They are smart enough to know he is WAY, WAY over-qualified for the job --whatever it is- in fact he taught a "cashier's class" for his last employer when he worked for them. A recruiter has called about a training job in Illinois but the employer doesn't really want to relocate someone. He continues taking his internet "transition" program that the company is providing. This is where you train for jobs that don't exist. A friend of mine is giving him aptitude tests to see if he could work as an independent consultant. And basically he is drifting. Does he just want a "regular joe" job or does he want a corporate job. How hard does he want to work for the next 7 years. I have even mentioned selling this big house and moving to something much smaller. He isn't liking that.

Me? I just wanted to work less and make more art. Now I'm working more and never seeing the inside of my workroom. Life. It just happens sometimes.

My Blog My Opinion

See, that's how this works. I don't agree with everything on everyone else's blog. So you don't have to agree with stuff on my blog either. We could generate some interesting conversation though.

Now about FRAMES. The thing about framing art is that it is always very personality specific. The artist, the framer or the owner will pick the framing for a picture, watercolor, oil etc. The important factor here--the frame can be removed. Leaving the art as is.

Hand Quilting. The hand and eye of the quilter influences the stitching. Give identical quilts to five hand quilters with specific, detailed instructions and you will have five very different results. That's why several different quilters have quilted for a certain artist. Each has a specific way of working. A specific "look" or result. The quilter has added their personality and artistry to the piece.

Photography. When I was in school, the photography majors developed their own film. I know because I was often invited to the darkroom to "help". Professionals take hundreds of rolls of film at one time and do send these rolls to a lab to be processed. Photographers do however print their own pictures because it is the printing, enlarging, focus, value which expresses the artist's view. Even digitally.

Commercial Fabric. Hey, now. This is really going to be a topic for conversation in the next ten years. With more and more artists coming into the quilt world, there will be more emphasis on "make your own" fabric. And as a painter myself, I am always frustrated by not having the right color, texture or value in my stash for a specific purpose. I don't dye. What I have decided to do - and I have bolts of white waiting ---is paint what I need as I need it.

Eventually, I will have to choose -- to use the commercial polka dotted fabric I adore-- or to sell it and just move on to 100% "painted by me" fabric. The financial and emotional value of the stash in the closet weighs heavily. But in the past year, very little fabric has gone into the closet or come out into my work. I have even considered using my ultra favorites to make pillowcases. Geez!

The Nancy Crow book is going to my library as a donation to the collection. It will settle in quite nicely with the Gee's Bend Quilts and I hope get checked out as often.

I'm Just Saying....

In the past few days I have lowered the "oh for cripes sake" quota for my rant. Because, I realize the book is titled "NANCY CROW" for a reason.

There are a bazillion quilt pictures in this book. All of them look pretty much the same. Same colors, same techniques and same patterns. And each and every photo has the same little identity paragraph. "100% cotton fabrics hand-dyed by Nancy Crow. Fabrics cut into directly and machine pieced by Nancy Crow. Hand quilted by___varies_____ with pattern denoted by Nancy Crow." Sometimes the direct cutting into the fabric is done 'improvisationally".

I've checked with my Quilt National books and Visions and no other artist mentions their own name as often as Nancy does.

And, I don't know about any of you but everytime I cut into fabric---I do it directly. And as to the improvisational aspect--- I rarely have any idea how things are going to turn out. And then I have to improvise. Don't we all?

Dare I even approach the hand quilting by another person? Doesn't this make it a "group quilt"? The quilting pattern that Nancy denotes on a scrap of journal page----well, it really needs the hand of a true quilting genius. And the quilting really makes these quilts sing. And Nancy didn't quilt them.

Anyway, Nancy is "really sad" about the rest of us. We are not "raising the bar" and trying for our "best of the best" work like she is. And we are fusing with soluble glue.

I don't fuse with WU but I don't criticize anyone who does. I personally glue improvisationally with Crayola School Glue after cutting directly into my fabric. Nancy would really be SUPER SAD about ME! Just like I'm super sad I bought this book.

Pictures

I reworked the borders on Planetary Motion II. Taking off the ones that were too light or the wrong color. I've started the topstitiching and need to get this layered with batting and backing. I always hate that part. And I use fusible batting. So I have to find a large, clean spot on the carpeted floor, somewhere in this house and lay it all down and iron it. Finding the clean spot. Could take most of today.

I've gotten this far on the Marigold. Blue rick rack sewn down and blue polka dot fused. I think I will do a satin stitch in orange around some of the petals and I found a very close match to the blue and white polka dot fabric at Marden's last week--- so I'm thinking I might make this wider and longer so I can make the minimum number of inches to enter this in a Mancuso show. Because of the book sale I missed sending in the entry form for World Quilts. And the piece was short on inches to qualify.

I pieced the background and then fused the flowers on. This one is layered with backing and batting already. Small. Just needed to clear off the ironing board. It's cute. My "warm-up" exercise before working on the other two. I always have to warm up or I make horrid mistakes on the big ones. Happen to you???

In a day or two, or maybe later today I have a "rant" regarding the Nancy Crow book and some of Nancy's thoughts on quilting. I will not be complimentary.

Pictures Tomorrow

Just an update. My hands and feet have stopped itching and the tiny red spots are almost gone. My mouth still hurts as I have a large canker sore on my tongue. I'm getting very sick of yogurt. I will not be taking anymore Benadryl for the itching, so I should be less dopey. One hopes!

I ventured into my sewing room yesterday-- to look for something. But of course the Benadryl made it virtually impossible to remember what I wanted to find. So I took a nap instead. I'm going back in there today. World Cup Soccer has become my new love. So I will be "fooling" around with fabric, the sewing machine and the television. "G" will be golfing with our daughter.

I will do "Show and Tell" tomorrow. Oh, the performance pressure.