Where in the World?

visited 24 states (48%)
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How cool!

This is where I've been in the US in my life!
...and here's where I've been in the world.


visited 8 states (3.55%)
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Knit and Sew

At long last, I have a work that combines knitting and sewing.

Above, a pillow cover that I knitted: sari silk yarn, cotton crochet yarn, rayon and wool yarn, chenille yarn and some special yarn from a shop in San Francisco.

What you can’t see is the cover itself, a royal purple silk and cotton blend, and the invisible zipper. The hardest part? Not the knitting. Learning the new crochet stitches to do six rows of crochet for the flange was a challenge.

But doing the last part, making the full pillow undercover and back cover itself, was probably the most challenging… Not that I can’t sew. It was just that in my mind, the pillow was done and making the case was just cleanup work. Silk. It slid. I had to baste. I had to sew. I had to remove the basting. I had to resew a couple parts.

But, it was worth it. It looks gorgeous. And what a great stash buster!

And the Artist? He’s busy getting ready for the annual Open Studios event. Be sure to see his museum show if you’re in the area. It has received rave reviews.

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...

Incredibly Busy Time for The Artist and Me

The Artist and I have been so busy we can barely remember what’s coming next! For The Artist, his museum show, Studio Made: The Santa Cruz Woodworkers, at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, has been up for two weekends and is showing to huge groups of people and rave reviews. Before he can take a breath and pat himself on the back, it’s off to the American Craft Council Show this weekend, August 12,13 and 14 at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

This is the only large out-of-town show he is doing this year and since some of his work is in the museum show, he’s been madly trying to finish up some new work for the ACC show.

I, of course, am at the start of a new accounting year and all its new spreadsheets with updated budgets, our time compromised by our yearly audit, with its batch of fresh, young auditors, never quite seeming to understand our business like we do. We pay to train them so that they can sign off that our books are clean. What an interesting concept.

But - the interesting stuff. Let’s see some shots of the museum show!

The Artist showing off his work, the Medieval installation, work of other woodworkers:

The Artist receives a thank you from his fellow woodworkers for his time and effort in creating the graphic and media material. As one of "the guys" said, "How ironic that the guy who makes reproductions of ancient instruments is our go-to guy for the latest technology."

Rather tired after First Friday, where a record number of people passed through the exhibit.

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...

Rain. Heavy Rain. In June. It’s Just Not Right.

Take my word. You Easterners don’t need a photo. Just remember, it’s not supposed to rain in California in the summertime. Oh, well. Every time it rains, I don’t have to water my garden, but I’m beginning to think Al Gore was right.



But on the bright side, last weekend I made Cherry Chutney. Memorial Day weekend is the perfect time to do it. Long weekend, cherries abundant. It will be ready for Thanksgiving. I saved the cherry pits, boiled up the juice and this weekend, am planning to make wool dyed with the cherry juice. My cotton straining cloth came out green, so I’m very anxious to see  what color the wool ends up.


After I tried weaving with it, I decided that the integrity of my earlier red onion skin wool was destroyed because the fibers were so weakened, and I have to make some more, heating it at a lower temperature. I asked for the sloughed off dried skins at the local grocery and I think they emptied the bin for me. I had to divide the reds and yellows, but that’s OK. Two big tubs!


The big show at the local museum is getting closer for the artist, and he’s finished the hanging light.

I love the angles in this. Note the little carved bee in the center of the flower. It's made of zebrawood, Kingwood, and lacewood. The hallway is the only place we have the height to hang the the light, but we can’t illuminate it because there is no outlet.


It’s a good weekend for soup. At the Farmers’ Market this AM, several farmers had a very worried look. Cherries will split if it rains, strawberries will mold. They thanked me for coming out. It’s more like February than June.


Last night was the anniversary event for my 20th year at my place of work. Amazing. I started with a one month temporary job there over 21 years ago. It’s been a good 20 years. Never boring, always interesting. My thanks to those who made it possible.

Cooking up Pink Geraniums for Dyeing

Yesterday’s experiment in natural dyeing was truly extraordinary. Last week, I boiled up some fresh pink geranium flowers. Once the broth had cooled, I strained the mixture and put it in the fridge, being careful not to mistake the carton for my yogurt during the week. (This is a joke, folks.) I decided that there was less risk of mold if I kept it carefully labeled in the fridge.

 

Start

Yesterday, I heated the liquid in my trusty ex-fondue pot, added some stannous chloride (tin mordant), which fizzed up a little, then cream of tartar, and watched the mixture turn from clear light pink to opaque. How strange! Unless you kept stirring it, the mixture formed a couple layers of sediment, which can be seen below. (I wish I could remember the technical term for this from my high school chemistry class, but I may have been too interested in my lab partner that year.)

 

Process

Once I rinsed it, the wool was a gorgeous yellow! Deep, dark, gorgeous yellow.

Finished Product

This whole experiment of mine this spring has truly made me more interested in chemistry (other than food preparation) than I have been in ages.  Just fascinating.

The tin worked this time, so I think that the time I used it on the red onion skins and it turned out so badly was because the temperature was too high.

On another note…

Each year The Artist and I give a Craft Award for the High School Show at out local Art League. This year we gave it for wearable art made of homework folded into airplanes:

Flying Homework Wedding Dress

Closeup of Woven Bodice

Our goal is to encourage young people in Fine Craft.