To Learn or Not to Learn

We have a trellis at the front of our house on which we grow climbing roses, clematis and passion flowers. The roses are beginning to bloom. Isn't this one a little beauty?


I've been pondering the ways we humans learn things. For me, it seems like the only way I can learn is by experience. Often, I make mistakes that I can (hopefully) correct, and if all goes as it should, I don't make the same mistake again. But I seem to require making the mistake to really learn the lesson. Maybe I'm just a dim girl.

I finished my degree as an adult, and will always be grateful that I was able to finish after I had some life experience. I think I was a better student, and I retained much more of what I learned.

I've taken several quilting classes from Nancy Crow, and some from local teachers. I've learned much from them, but I'm feeling now like I just need to work, experiment, and goof up on my own. Not to say there isn't lots more I could learn from teachers, but I somehow think I'd be better off teaching myself in the studio for now.

I wonder how long this stance will last.

Memorial Day Tribute

Happy Memorial Day!

I try not to watch the sad ceremonies for recently lost service personnel, so I decided to find out who I could commemorate from the past by doing some reading online. I discovered a woman who died in the line of duty many years before I thought women even served in the military in America.

Easter Posey was the first American service woman killed in the line of duty. This plaque honors her by naming a recreation area in the South after her.
Easter Posey and her older sister Stacey began working for the Army Chemical Warfare Service at Huntsville Arsenal on March 16, 1942. The following month, Easter was killed during an explosion at one of the arsenal's incendiary bomb manufacturing lines. Her sister was badly injured, but lived.

The women of Redstone Arsenal were (and still are) a crucial part of the arsenal's development since the U.S. Army established the complex in 1941.



Easter Posey, here's to you. And thanks for serving your country.

Today, I remember you.

Ain't Life Grand?

In anticipation of my soon-to-be-born only grandchild, I decided to buy this rocking chair for future cuddling on the deck. It's made entirely of willow branches by a fellow who lives not far from us, and it's surprisingly comfortable.

Here's my husband (Jim) trying it out.
















We have a rhododendron that just started blooming a couple of days ago. Get a load of the size of the blooms! That's Jim's hand giving the photo a sense of scale.










Here's what I'm working on in my studio. This is a big one...maybe 50" x 50" or so.

I'm working to refine my compositions when using fabrics that I've strip-pieced together. It's a technique I learned in Nancy Crow's class, and it sounds easier than it is. I find it difficult to make a bunch of strip-pieced fabrics and then use them in my next composition. I wind up using some of them, but having to make many more as the quilt evolves.

A Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood

Today was a full day and I'm pooped.

My husband and I did our usual four mile walk.

I planted five beautiful tomato plants and two basil plants that our good friend Frank gave me...(thanks, Frank!) And I did about two hours worth of gardening.

Then I went to the studio and finished my latest creation. Here's a photo. It measures 37" x 37".

I've been trying a technique making my designs in black, dark gray, light gray and white paper first. When I get something I like in those four values, I duplicate the design in color.

On this piece, I made blocks with circles, using the same block over and over, but each with a slight twist...either a different placement of the circle or a slightly different placement of values. It was neat to watch shapes develop, depending on where I placed each color of fabric.

Here's the same quilt photoshopped (is there such a word?) into black and white. It'll give you a better idea of what I did.

Click on Photos to Get a Better Look

Paradise Regained

Our little piece of paradise is almost in full bloom. I love this time of year, but it doesn't last very long. I guess that makes it all the more special though.

Here are some photos around our house that I took just this morning. You can see the rhododendrons and azalias are in bloom and wildly colorful. They bloom in stages, so the beauty lasts about four weeks.



















This is our backyard. I tilled up the soil and planted grass seeds several weeks ago. They've just begun to germinate and sprout hair-like green stuff.






I did some garden work yesterday, and evidently a spider bit me on my face when I wasn't looking. Today, I have a big red swollen place that itches so much it hurts. Arg. Whine...whine. Poor me.

And here's the only dog we'll probably ever own. Jim and I are cat people. But Little Nipper sits in our living room window, and is on guard at all times.

He's a good dog...no barking...no pooping...no hole digging...no chewing socks!

Hard at Work

Wow! It's been over a week since I posted to my blog. Maybe you think it's because I ordinarily live such an uneventful life, but no...it's because I've been working in my studio, my garden, seeding grass in the backyard, and emptying and cleaning the hot tub so we don't have to soak in gunge this summer.

I'll post some photos of what I've completed in the way of studio quilts.

This one was done using a few pieces I had sewn together at Nancy Crow's workshop, but mostly it was all done here at home. It's not big...probably around 40" x 36".



This one is my final piece from Nancy's workshop. I didn't change it at all. I just put it together and machine quilted it.




Now I'm working on a new piece that I'll post here when I finish it. It's completely different from either of these two, in that I'm using curves instead of straight pieces. So far I like it quite a bit, but who knows that the final piece will look like. It keeps evolving.

Spring Has Sprung

What a beautiful day we've had. I spent a few hours this morning in the studio, and this afternoon, we went to the Oregon Garden in Silverton with my son, Josh, and daughter-in-law, Lori.

Here are some photos from the garden:




This is me, surrounded by clematis flowers and bees!
Yikes!






Here's the rest of the gang: Josh, Lori and Jim.




This is the gate leading in to the children's garden. I love it! It's made from all sorts of found objects.

The palm prints are from kids whose parents bought a tile as a donation when the garden was first starting. The prints and names were fired onto the tiles, so they'll be there a long time.





Turtle stepping stones through the garden.













The Weird Plants Garden truly lives up to its name.


What a fine time! Blue sky. Warm sun. Family. It just doesn't get any better than that.

For the Love of Books

Today, I meet with my book club. We meet once a month, rotating to each other's houses for lunch and a discussion of the month's book. It's been eye-opening because I've discovered some books I've loved, and a few...not so much, that I probably wouldn't have chosen had I not been in this group of bookie women.

Here's a brief list of some of my favorite books (most not from the book club):
The Djinn in the Nightengale's Eye
by A.S. Byatt
Possession
by A.S. Byatt

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
by Mark Haddon

The year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion
Mr. White's Confession
by Robert Clark

Tortilla Curtain
by T.C. Boyle

Magic Mountain
by Thomas Mann
Music for Torching
by A. M. Homes

Housekeeping
by Marilynne Robinson

... just to name a few.

And here's a link to a really great, unbiased magazine full of reviews of newly published and older books, divided by genre:

Bookmarks Magazine

How Much is Enough?

First, some photos of my studio. As you can see, I have threads in tons of colors. I have bins full of fabric. I have boo-coo books.

And I love and appreciate all that I have.

So why does it often seem like it's not quite enough? Like one more addition would make it better?




























I inevitably perk up when I hear about a great fabric sale or get a new thread brochure from Superior Threads.

And books? Wow! Do I ever love books! Lately, there's been a discussion on the Quilt Art list about books on design and color theory. I have to go to Amazon each time and take a look at people's suggestions. And I want every one...really...all of them.

Today, I've been giving a lot of thought to "what is enough?" Can't I be satisfied with what I have? Why am I so drawn to things that might be only slightly different from what I already have? I think we're conditioned by advertising and television and movies and magazines to want things without giving them much thought.

From now on (let's see how long this lasts!), I plan to try appreciate the beauty or usefulness of things, without feeling that I need to own them.