What a Day!

This has been quite a fine day for me!

Unfortunately, it is late and I couldn't take daylight pics to share with you (I'll rectify that detail tomorrow!) but I'm so excited that I had to share the wonderful news!

First off, somehow my buddy Jeannie found out that I have a special day coming up later this month, and she sent me the most incredible box of goodies! I am totally blown away by her generosity and the beautiful fabrics that she sent my way! You will see what I mean tomorrow!!! Thank you so much Jeannie!

Secondly, I received my second piece of Fiber Art for a Cause....a gloriously happy and most colorful piece by Jamie Fingal, entitled "Make Time For Art "! Such inspiration.

Thirdly, my piece "Grace on Tenth" was juried into the summer show at our local Quinlan Visual Arts Center. WooHoo! This is a first for me, and it really, really feels good! Thanks to all of you for your helpful suggestions, especially in regard to choosing the correct jpeg to submit.


I'm still playing with "Reflecting on Grace":cutting and sealing the wonderful rusted piece of tin upon which it will be mounted, and deciding on an appropriate finish for the edges of the quilt. It will hang in our Foyer......but I won't hesitate to enter it in a show or two!

The painters continue to perform their magic in our house. I cannot believe the difference and I truly love the new color! The popcorn has been totally removed from the ceilings in our living and dining rooms, and the new ceiling surface is lovely! C, Barker and I ran off to the city for a couple of days, escaping the dust and wet paint (Barker is like a bull in a china shop where wet paint is concerned!) The change was amazing when we arrived home. They will return on Monday to remove the popcorn on my office ceiling and in the foyer and hallway....and then, and only then, will they finish the painting! The dust is incredible (and these guys are very, very tidy!) and I will have my hands full for weeks to come, trying to get things squared away....but that is OK!

Hope you've had a great day too!

GRACE TO YOU!

A Little Fiber Art

I told you I'd get around to sharing a bit of fiber art with you, but I had hoped it would be sooner! We went off to the condo for a couple of days and I left my camera cord at home, so couldn't upload the latest batch of pics! ARGH!!!!

But here goes! I was surprised and really quite delighted when a blog reader emailed me and asked me to make a cardigan for her! Actually, I was quite honored, as I often read her blog and am quite blown away by her work. Life has sort of gotten in the way, over the past few weeks, but here it is, finally!



I made a few changes from mine, and I really like hers better. I've noticed that the style now has the midline a bit off center, so I did that with this one. I've also used a bead closure at the top, and I lettuce finished the edges, including the cuffs. The other difference between mine and hers is that I rushed a piece of jersey to add as a flower:

The rushed flower is attached with a snap, so it can be removed before laundering. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and I hope she will be as well.

I made this short sleeved tee for myself, while I was at it:

I've created a Thermofax screen using an old letter in Swedish that my cousin Eva sent me. The letter was written from my Great Uncle Carl to my Grandmother Augusta. I love his handwriting.

I am participating in two round robins through the Complex Cloth group right now. This is, I believe, the last piece from the 2009 "Round Robin 1" group. It is lovely silk habotai and belongs to Marea in Australia. I will be putting it in the mail to her tomorrow. I added a series of celtic knots, using thickened Procion MX dyes and a Thermofax screen.

I'm also doing a t-shirt swap. This tee came to me in blue and white with the red motifs stamped on it. Since the t-shirt owner is a red head, I decided it needed a bit of green:
I batiked vines on the tee, but I don't think that they are too apparent in this pic.

And, non fiber related (well, I guess plant material does qualify as fiber, doesn't it?) here are a couple of pics of the clematis blooming in my yard right now:

For some horrible reason, the snails think that the white clematis is a delicacy, and they promptly chew holes in the lovely petals.........so it is a challenge to snap a pic before they do their dirty little deed!

Here is the one at my mailbox:
I feared that I would lose it in last summer's drought, but it seems to have survived just fine!

OH, AND ONE MORE THING: I'm entering a local juried show and must submit a cd with one picture of my entry. Grace on Tenth is my piece. I'm all new at this, so I'm very nervous about entering, etc. PLEASE tell me which pic you think is the best:

CHEERS!

Grace

a word of explanation before we get started: I apologize if I've been negligent in reading and commenting on your blog! I am reorganizing my life: no computer time until after dinner (and sometimes dinner is LATE!). I am enjoying my mornings by being more creative and not feeling chained to the internet. Thanks for understanding!

Grace on Tenth:

Remember the cute little piece of copper that C found for me on 10th St in Atlanta a couple of weekends ago? Here is what I've done with it:

It was a lot of fun! I printed the Grace verdigris steeple and the 1st and last verses of Amazing Grace on a scrap piece of hand dyed silk charmeuse, then I quilted it using copper metallic thread. Some copper foil was added, after which I bound the edges with the blanket stitch, using metallic thread and an assortment of glass beads. I've added a few more beads on the surface. It's firmly attached to the copper using some hand-dyed perle cotton and a few more beads.




More Grace?:

I am grappling with another form of Grace this evening! Our daughter and son-in-law's home was broken into for a second time today. It's been almost two years since the first break in. I was initially extremely upset when K called to tell me, and then of course I grew angry, but now I am trying to think of ways in which this type of craziness can be stopped. While I find it very sad that our kids are working so hard to achieve and have what they have, I also find it extemely sad that others don't have what ours do, and have to resort to breaking down doors and windows in order to have these things which they crave. Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if all of us could receive equal educations, that all were inspired and loved like ours, so that we all would want to achieve and not thieve. Like I said, I'm grappling. I'm thankful that nobody got hurt and nothing irreplaceable was taken. I hate the inconvenience it has caused our kids, but I am so thankful that they are OK. Things are just that: things.

PEACE