New Mexico

Due to a series of miscommunications and interesting events, we were able to finally take a vacation over Christmas. Last time we took a vacation to Arkansas, there were deadly floods in that state. This time, we went to New Mexico, which just happened to get hit with a freak blizzard. I’m not even going to try to analyze that.

Anyway, here are some pics from our lovely vacation:

Roswell, and our 14-yr. old dog Maxine. She loved the snow several years ago in Colorado, and she loved it even more this time. She was like a puppy again!



The grandson making his first snow angel (coming from Central Texas, we don't see much snow):



Santa Fe Plaza on Christmas Eve:



Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis Assisi:



The grandson caught making a snowball:




Embroidered boots spied while window-shopping (I know y’all will appreciate these!):



 My son & grandson ready for snowboarding:

And finally, a walk through the neighborhood near our motel:



I feel refreshed & recharged, and ready for great things in 2012!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday and that 2012 will be a wonderful year for you.

Fruits of Spring

A couple of weekends ago we took the grandbaby (ok, he's 11, so the babyhood has passed; maybe I should refer to him as our lovely grandadolescent) to Sweet Berry Farm to pick strawberries. Here's our haul:

We ate quite a few of these luscious berries and froze most of them. Last night, I finally had time to can some strawberry preserves:

And now, I'm off to toast some bread . . .

Namaste

I’ve been super busy. My mom invited me months ago to a yoga retreat at the Hindu temple and ashram, Barsana Dham, just outside of Austin, and the date crept up on me before I realized it. I considered bowing out, but I’m SO glad I didn’t. It was incredibly restful and energizing, and reminded me of why and how much I love yoga (not just as a physical exercise, but as a spiritual practice).
Here is the temple at Barsana Dham:



And a close-up of the temple’s beautiful gold doors:



This is my 80-something mother (still going strong, no doubt due in some part to her regular yoga practice):



And a less humble resident of Barsana Dham. This fellow sits on a picnic table for most of the day, looking at his reflection in the windows and preening and fluffing himself:



We started with early morning yoga sessions, but most of the retreat activities were talks and workshops. It was a wonderful experience, and I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with my mom.
Btw, if you are interested in reading more about yoga and meditation, this is a great site: http://www.swamij.com/index.htm

So Long, Arkansas!

Our vacation is almost over, and we’re driving home tomorrow. I’m already thinking about “home” things and making mental to-do lists and losing the peaceful feeling that has settled over me. So before that feeling is gone completely, I’ll share some of our vacation memories from the past week.
The little cabin that we stayed at in Eureka Springs was charming and cozy:


We had a lovely view of the lake, both from the cabin and during our walks:



We met a sweet cat named Luke who walked with us, and posed for pictures:


We grilled steaks and fresh vegetables we bought at the farmer’s market; our little dog Maxine was particularly thrilled about the leftovers:

I was surprised by the number of interesting wildflowers we encountered; in Texas, our wildflowers are mostly weeds. I have no idea what these are, except for the coneflower, which I only know because I’ve seen one in a quilt:



 


I may be over the limit in pictures for one post, so I’ll continue them in the next post.

Catching Up

I’ve had a burst of energy after a rather draggy February. Fortunately, I know that around January/February my creativity tends to hibernate, so I’ve learned to be patient with it, confident that I can benefit from the creative “downtime.”

But the weather has turned all spring-like: warm, sunny days that make me want to tackle all those projects I’ve been thinking about but haven’t gotten around to. Of course, the problem is that the more time I spend working on projects, the less time I have to document or share them. And when I have lots of time to write blog posts, it means I’m not getting any work done, so there’s nothing to share (this is a corollary of that money/time conundrum; when there’s money for art, there’s no time, and when there’s time that usually means there’s no money).

Anyway, here are some of the things I’ve been creating/working on:

I finally got around to creating a portrait quilt, which has been on my wish list for a while. I’m using Maria Elkins’ technique here, which is a lot of fun and not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I’m not particularly thrilled with how this turned out, but I learned a lot about both fabric and portraits that work, and those that don’t:



Btw, this is my lovely daughter, Amanda. I’ll be making more of these. I think I may make one for every member of my family, then stitch them all together.

This past weekend the weather was so gorgeous that I had to get outside. That always makes me think of dyeing/painting fabric for some reason, even though I typically end up doing it in the house. But I ended up creating some screens for deconstructed screen printing and then setting them in the sun to dry. Here is the result of my first deconstructed screen printing project:



I’m really happy with this and loved the process. I’ll be doing more of this, as well.
While I had thickened dyes mixed up, I decided to paint on some fabric:



I’m not sure what I’ll do with this yet; I may cut it up and reassemble it.
And, I finally got around to ordering some Citra Solv (and some magnesium, which my body is always low on, while I was at it) so that I could try a technique for creating cool art papers. This is a messy process and the Citra Solv has a strong odor, so it’s best done outside. Plus, a sunny day helps the papers dry quickly. Essentially, I started with a National Geographic magazine and brushed concentrated Citra Solv on the pages, then closed up the magazine and let it sit for a while. I squeezed out the extra liquid/ink, then tore out the pages and laid them out to dry (this technique was in a recent issue of, I think, Cloth, Paper, Scissors). Here are the results:



Aren’t these scrumptious?

I’m almost finished with this small (about 8x10) piece I started a very long time ago. This is silk that I painted after applying a resist. I stitched it with wonderful 30wt. Trilobal poly thread, and added a dyed silk border. I’m still debating on whether to add a binding, create an envelope finish, or stitch around the edges:



Here’s a sneak peak of a wall quilt I’m working on; you’ll just have to wait to see the whole thing when it’s finished:



Let’s see, what else? Oh, here’s a wall quilt I finished a month or so ago, but I don’t think I’ve posted it yet. This is reverse appliqué made from batik-fabric charm squares. I added some beads and hand-stitching for embellishment, but it’s hard to see them in the photos:



And a close-up:



And finally, here’s my 6x6” weekly journal square, #50:



#51 is from Valentine’s week; it’s finished, but I haven’t taken pics yet. #52 is from my birthday week, and I haven’t finished it yet. And that brings me full circle—a FULL YEAR of weekly 6x6” journal quilts! I’m excited to stitch them all together. Stay tuned for the final results of that year-long project!
And don’t forget to check out my other blog, A Year of Pleasures, to see my latest fascination with cotton yarn.

I hope the weather where you are is showing some lovely promises of Spring, as it is here in Central Texas!

Vacation! Woo Hoo!

I've been on vacation for the first time in 3 years, and has it ever been fun! We've been in West Palm Beach, Florida, and the weather was unseasonably warm--90s during the day. The weather turned cool yesterday (high in the 70s), so I guess the timing is perfect, since we’re flying home today.

We got in some beach time, some pool time, and some snorkeling. Plus, we visited Butterfly World, where we saw lots of gorgeous butterflies, flowers, and birds.

It's going to take a while to sort through and edit all my photos, but I have a few to post now. These are butterflies and moths from Butterfly World:

And some plants & a waterfall:

And a cute little guy who was hanging out at Sailfish Marina:

I took a waterproof camera snorkeling, but unfortunately, the water was murky and I don’t know whether the pics can be photoshopped. After we took a break for a lunch then went back to snorkeling, the water had cleared up and we saw some beautiful parrotfish, trumpet fish, and lots of other lovely sea creatures. Of course, I had used up all my film :-(

After a full week of sleeping late, lazing by the ocean, and mingling with nature, I’m not looking forward to the routines of home, but I sure do miss my pups and my bed!

On the Town

My sister recently moved to The Domain in Austin, one of those mixed-usage urban areas that includes retail stores like Macy’s, Borders, and Starbucks, along with apartments. She has invited us to dinner several times, but we don’t get out much since I’ve been sick. We were finally able to make it last night, and I actually had a very nice time.

In a sort of crass, commercial way, The Domain is like living in a small town. Everything is within walking distance (including a new Whole Foods that will be finished in the next year or so).

Here’s the view from her apartment:

And, of course, Betsey Johnson:

And, in the other direction, the courtyard in front of Starbuck’s, complete with a fire-pit and jazz ensemble that we listened to as we ate the dinner she cooked for us (rosemary skewered-chicken and veggies with brown rice: yum!).

Afterwards, we strolled down to Sur La Table (a kitchen store)

for over-priced but irresistible flavored bamboo skewers and an olive oil mister, then further down to Viva Chocolato

for very expensive but exquisite truffles:

That little chocolate buttercream cake had our name on it, and it was perfect with coffee and cream.

On the stroll back we window-shopped for a painting to go over Leslie’s sofa

snapped pictures of interesting things

and just enjoyed the beautiful evening.

I couldn’t live at The Domain because I would weigh 300 lbs. and quickly go bankrupt, but it’s a lovely place to visit.