A Quilt 20 Years in the Making

I’m extremely proud that a little quilt I started at least 20 years ago has been finished.

Until about a month ago, only the center, with the grey and the blue and pink flying geese was almost completed. (It’s my own design, for what it’s worth.) The unfinished quilt top sat in my stash of fabric for years. Once in a while, I’d take it out and look at it longingly, wondering if I’d ever complete it.



What happened? Why didn’t I finish it? It wasn't that big. Quite simply, I never made space for myself to sew (although I thought I had), I never knew how to put on the binding (this was true), and I never had any real motive to finish it (this was also true).

Why did I finish it? Several reasons. About seven years ago, I joined a fiber art group that meets once a month. Meeting once a month encourages you to complete things to show off, so I knitted, for which I have developed a passion. I completed a large “quilt” and an advertising banner. I knit three sweaters. I knit a pillow top. But, I never finished my little quilt.

One day, a wonderful member of our group named ellen edith called me up and said, “Come on over, I’ll show you how to do the binding.” You bet I took her up on it. She made a sample for me to take home to refer to. I made a “cheater” quilt of fabric I recently designed. I made a set of placemats. I made another set of placemats and some napkins (also 20-year-old projects!).  I still knit.

ellen edith passed away. The threat of mortality struck me. I decided it was time to finish all the projects I have hanging around.

I had only one more excuse. No space. I had a room, it was just poorly arranged with the wrong equipment. I bought a new sewing table. What a present to myself! Why didn’t I do it years earlier? Forget the cost. Look at the reward!

So, now I have no excuse to finish the rest of my 20- and 15- and even 25-year-old sewing projects. It feels so good!

Thank you ellen, thank you CCTA, thank you my dear, sweet husband, thank you everyone who’s given me encouragement through the years.

You, too, can finish things, all you procrastinators. Just be persistent. And be very kind and giving to your fiber friends. Actually, be kind and giving to all your friends. You never know...

Weaving in New Mexico

The Artist and I recently returned from a vacation in New Mexico. Since I promised several followers a report, I submit it herewith, even if a little late.

After I told The Artist that next time we went to New Mexico, I wanted to go in the summer, he suggested that we go in late June, so that I could also attend the Poisoned Pen Mystery Book Conference in Phoenix. That was it! Count me in.

We took two days getting to Santa Fe in my trusty little Mini. Outside Needles, CA, the temperature hit 104.

By the time we reached Phoenix, it was 111.

We stayed in a B&B for three nights in Santa Fe, having encountered a dust storm in Grants. This was the same wind that fed the recent large fire in Los Alamos, if I’m not mistaken.

I just love the sky in New Mexico. So blue, so clear. The flowers stand out so crisply.

For a couple days, we window shopped around Santa Fe, visited Canyon Road, chatted with other visitors in the B&B and developed a new eating pattern: eat a big breakfast, a sturdy, late lunch at a great restaurant and skip dinner. This produced a a wonderful, relaxing time.

Then, it was on to Taos and Chimayo and weaving. I was determined to visit several places on the New Mexico Fiber Tour. In the past, we had only been to Taos in the heart of winter, so it was a real treat to visit in the summer. We took the low road up from Santa Fe and unexpectedly visited the Taos Pueblo, an interesting and very peaceful place, populated for about 1,000 years. Then on to elk burgers and lunch at a very good restaurant on the main street, a two-lane main highway which goes right through town. As we ate, loads of cattle, tractor trailers and piles of hay went right past the large windows. It felt like we were in a small town in the West, which we were. What a throwback in time!

Right next door was Weaving Southwest. The front gallery had very colorful, interesting tapestry weavings, but as I turned around, and my eyes caught the floor-to-ceiling bins of brightly colored yarns, I nearly fell over. In the rear were probably 20 looms, including little inkle looms, upright Navajo looms and big, traditional New Mexican looms handed down from Spanish ancestors.



While The Artist examined the construction of the looms, I had a very interesting conversation with the owner, whose grandmother started the business and and mother does the dyeing. She indicated that since water is do scarce in New Mexico, they use the dyepot over and over until the dye batch is exhausted and the water comes out clear. I bought some yarn and moved on to La Lana Yarns, a natural dyeing store down the street, where I picked up some madder and naturally dyed yarn.

We took the beautiful High Road back to Chimayo and stayed at a very quiet, very peaceful B&B  even using the hot tub. Sleep  came very easily as we were extremely relaxed. Next day, we visited several local weavers: Rose Vigil (Living Traditions), Trujillo Weaving, Lisa and Irvin Trujillo (Centinela) and then drove back up to Truchas, where we met Harry Cordova in his small shop. I learned so much about weaving from each of the weavers. I also learned about churro sheep, which has stiff hair as well as fur. I’m sorry to admit that I did not take photos of the shops. I was just too interested in the weaving. I guess that’s a reason for going again.

Somehow, we managed to find time to eat lunch at Rancho Chimayo, which served the best chile rellenos I’ve ever had.

On to Phoenix. The Artist visited MIM, the new Museum of Musical Instruments (and took over 200 photos). I attended the book conference with my long-time book lover friend and got a couple more mysteries.

We had a great time and The Artist now wants to make me an upright Navajo loom.

I'm ready to return already, but The Artist has a museum show coming up...

Life in the Fiber Lane

Fiber art, fiber art. The past weeked I dyed. I really love dying, but it can be so messy and involved. The Artist agreed to let me have my half of the garage for a day to use for the weekend, minus my tiny auto. (He tends to take over the garage and make a lot of sawdust.)

Avoiding the phrase “I don’t have time...”, will soon help you to realize that you do have the time needed for just about anything you choose to accomplish in life.
~ Bo Bennett (whoever he is...) A juicy Thought for the Day from work.

Fire and Fiber

'Tis still the season

Big fire started early Thursday AM in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I didn't go for my usual walk, but on my way to work noticed huge, brownish fog rolling in. Very heavy fog and very localized? No. It was smoke billowing from a huge fire started on the Santa Clara side. Very heavy winds all day from the mountains, not the usual direction, spread the fire down the Santa Cruz side near Corralitos. Ten homes lost. Warm day did not help. Overnight, the wind changed direction and the weather reverted to real fog. It still was not contained.

I've been working on my fiber art piece. I'm doing Plan B. Satin stitch. It looks good. I still like it, even tho I've been looking at it for several months. To me, that's a test. Unfortunately, my shoulders and back are very sore from using muscles I don't normally use.

I had to run out for thread today because I got navy instead of black earlier. (I think someone put it back in the wrong place.) As I was coming out of the fabric shop, a kid on a skateboard ran into me! He was very sorry and kept asking me if I was all right. Good thing I'm in top physical condition, or something like that.

Trip to Aptos this AM to the BIG Farmer's Market, primarily for cherries. Got some 50 cents a pound peaches. I don't care for early peaches, but at 50 cents? Since they are bruised, you have to prepare them immediately; they are good macerated for yogurt. I also made rhubarb crisp. Got dates. Skirt steak to grill.

I took Friday off, so I have a four day weekend. Also, I'll have one next weekend. Kind of nice. But I'll be working on my piece the entire time.

The Artist is going to be on Community Television in San Jose Wednesday as part of a show on the Baulines Craft Guild.

Ah, Sweet Peas

I can just smell them now, can't you? The wonderful thing about sweet peas is that you have to cut them, or else they go to seed and stop producing. So you let them bloom, cut them, bring them inside, put them in a vase and sit around sniffing them. Ah, Heaven! Then, they bloom again in a couple days!







I used to plant sweet peas with my father when I was little. Every April (as I recall; maybe it was March) we'd plant in front of his shop. He'd dig up the cold ground, pound in the sweet pea double-staked wooden trellis foundation with protruding little nails heads in a row and I'd unroll the string, winding it around the nails, up and down, stand and squat, and plant the big, round seeds, one inch apart.


Nice weekend. Very warm on Saturday. It was a great day to have a neighborhood yard sale and sit around the driveway in my shorts and a V-neck T shirt getting a red chest. I also trimmed the lemon verbena, which should have been done last winter. I have a hard time just sitting still, sometimes. Bought a book from my neighbor and finished it this morning. The Artist and I made $17 and change. What's left is going to Goodwill, not to the attic.


The Artist and I used our new shower for the first time last night. It's great! It works! It's big and unclaustrophobic! The Artist is playing a tune on one of his dulcimers right now - Pack Up Your Sorrows.


Today I worked on my Fiber Art piece. The Artist worked on a birdhouse to enter in a show. It's so creative! So him.


We're both tired. Don't know if we can watch that movie or not!


Guess I'll just sit around and sniff sweet peas.

An Unfortunate Scene with a Gopher

First Sweet Pea

I started out to the garden this chilly, foggy morning to take a sniff of my newly blossoming sweet peas. As I got half way thru the sliding glass door, something caught my eye, running along side the house at my feet, under the door plate. I, a rather voracious reader of Medieval novels, immediately assumed it was a large rat carrying the bubonic plague. The giveaway was the lack of a long tail. Not a rat, but a fat gopher. We have often seen them running around the neighborhood this year, probably because of all the building. (In this year of real estate doom and gloom, there are about 4 new houses going up and several remodels. Some people are optimistic, or else have lots of cash and want to live by the ocean.)

Anyway, this confused gopher was not going to get in the house on MY watch! I slammed the door and caught him against the side of the house with my be-slippered foot and screamed for The Artist, who was a few feet away in his shop creating a wonderful new rote with six double-faced keys. My Hero. The gopher was shortly sent to the garden as fertilizer. We checked gopher central, out in the alley, and among all the gopher mounds was a patient little kitty, waiting to pounce on his next treat. Poor kitty missed this lucious one. (All I could think of was that old children's song, which starts out, "Gobs...".)

Worked on my fiber art piece all this weekend. I have to get it done in order to get slides made for a show deadline. It was going really well until I ironed some glue without the parchment. Whoops. Time to pull the plug, cool the iron, and do something else. I'm really pleased with my accomplishments this weekend. I've learned so much about fiber art in the past three years, thanks to so many people in my fiber art group.

I decided to celebrate and made myself some hot chocolate. The way I make it always makes me think of breakfast in France.

Nap time.

I'm in love

Another view of Cecile

I counted 17 Cecile Brunners on my way home through the West Side this evening, and that didn't include the one at our old house or the one in our backyard. This is the week for these wonderful, little roses!

The Artist and I went out gallery-hopping tonight on this, the first Friday of the month. Lots of many different kinds of artwork. (But none like his. None that even came close.) The exhibit we each liked best was the clay show. Maybe it's because we're used to seeing craft. It was also very well presented. Funny, the different people at each of the shows. Some we knew, many we didn't.

I had a very good time, but very few goodies were left to eat at the galleries. For something very unusual, I drove. (I think because we're trying to save on gas and took my little car. Too late to ride our bikes.) We counted Cecile Brunners in the dark on the way back home, the same route that I took this afternoon. The bushes are so distinguished - big and so full of roses - that the huge mounds glitter, giving themselves away under the street lights. We counted about eleven, so we must have missed a few small bushes. I didn't drive onto the curb.

A Day off Work ... So I Can Work

Cecile Brunner climbing rose

A Friday off has been one of my goals this year. Well, not just one Friday off, but many Fridays off. It's just for me. No "Life with the Artist" - (bookkeeping, marketing, publicity), no computer stuff, no shopping, no housecleaning. Just fiber art, reading, maybe yardwork. Lots of thinking. Relaxing. Walking. List making. Picture taking. I'm tired already.

More later.

Easter Sunday

Beautiful day. This is the earliest Easter in over 100 years. Our house is a mess, since we are redoing the guest bath. So, no Easter dinner. I just can't handle it. But, like my husband the artist said, "This is what you wanted." I know, I know. Only about two more weeks. Then, full Spring housecleaning.

Ranunculus in the Garden

In the meantime, we have cases of musical instruments all over the house, chairs in the wrong places, guitars in the bedroom. The office is 1/3 blocked with plastic tarp, the gallery is full of contractor's tools, my office/art studio has piles of junk. I know that this, too, will pass, but I feel like the only sane place is sitting on the couch knitting or reading, facing out the front window. It's still a little chilly to sit outside.

A month ago, my husband the artist/luthier/craftman and I went to NYC for vacation and to see friends and then on to Baltimore to participate in The American Craft Show, the annual fine craft show sponsored by the American Craft Council. Such a great show. Wearables, glass, ceramics, metal, wood, fiber. Incredible artists. Wonderful experience, probably our best ever at a show. We try to make that feeling last. I wish we had started doing this years ago. We took a class on blogging at the show, which is the impetus for creating this journal.

I'm working on a fiber art entry for a local show with my fiber art group. Each of us is doing an individual piece and then we'll put them together to show as one. I had such a hard time getting going, but I think I've started now.