I started on the piece for the " simple Still Life" first I thought I would use this silk for the backround ...but when I got it out it just didn't do it!! so while I was in beaverton on Friday I stopped at a quilt store and stumbled across another piece that I think will work better 

so this is the beginning of the simple still life 

I also made this bag for my co-worker Ann.....she had a birthday....she drives one of these cute cars...a model A roadster... 

My nephew, Ty, and his wife Cara, are having a baby in about 6 weeks I think.....so I thought I would make some baby junk......they don't know the gender...so hopefully it is generic enough....makes me a great-aunt...jeez... 

made this little 81/2 x 11 inch piece today for a yahoo group project....there was a good tutorial written for us by Tina...I already do alot of fusing but really found the shadow directions helpful...anyway it is a bit of fun...and that is how my legs would look (red) if I let them see sun for any length of time!!!! 

Here's Tobie... technically our youngest son's dog...but you know how that goes...the son is not home but the dog??? well we love her she is a good dog...we are going for a walk right now!! 

Tobie hunting for moles in our field. 

detail shot of the upper left corner 

recent quilt effort called ' I'll Fly Away ' it is some black heavy wieght cotton that has been discharged and over painted. Then an old hanky of my Grandmothers torn into rough shapes and fme'd .....minimal overall quilting as it seemed to stand on it's own. 

I have been playing with resists lately here are some of the results...this is a piece of white cotton that I stamped on with white glue on a spiral stamp...then painted the fabric with watered down dyna flow.....got too wet and the resist areas are only partial resists...still cool...see below for more experiments.... 

white glue straight from the bottle let dry and painted over...the paint didn't stick very well to this when I ran it through the washer but I think that is because of the fabric which is an outdoor fabric... 

white glue mixed with pink dynaflow paint then painted over 

equal parts flour and water on an old linen napkin ...let dry and crackled before painting over 

the flour paste again but squirted on the fabric with a baster and let dry ..then painted over 

this is a piece of cotton poly that I applied a paste of equal parts water and white flour mixed to a paste and let dry ...then cracked the dried paste and painted over with fabric paint...you have to be careful with this not to let the paint seep under the paste too much.... 

This is blue denim that was coated with instant potato flakes and water mixed to a thick paste and let dry...then I brushed on bleach with my broom. 

Stepin up out of the wallow and into boot camp!!

Well I have to get off the pot ( pity pot ) and get busy being an artist who no longer has children living at home...that has to have a positive side right?? I have decided that I can improve my attitude and have some empathy with Conrad if I have myself a little " boot camp " so.....I am eating well...that means low carb for me...my body likes protein and veges....and I have walked more times this week ...not every day but more...so I get some of those good exercise induced creative lightbulbs and hopefully skinnier too!! And I did a bit of a reorganization of the fabric ( always good for the soul ) and I went to church and did the kids message ...we talked about the word " welcome " they always have such wonderful responses that you can't help but decided that wallowing in the pit of misery just isn't going to work anyway ....onward!!

here she is in working order!!! got a new belt and rubber thingy for winding the bobbins and off she goes...I have named her " theodora " ...the treadle part is interesting you think when you first start that the needle will go up and down with your foot...funny ...that isn't how it works... 

she sews so well we are working on a new quilt called " the face of mercy" 

happy birthday Alex!!! He was 5lbs 6 oz when he was born 6 weeks early 26 years ago WOW  

The shadow knows

This is how I have felt for the last week since we left our son to start his journey to Marine boot camp. It is such an abrupt departure and with limited communication it is hard to feel like you know he is OK. And he is the last of our kids to leave our house so further making the departure sad. My husband and I have barely spoken all week as we deal with our respective grief at this change in our family, but we are coming up for air this weekend and trying to reinvent our selves. We don't know what it is like to be married with out children as I had had an immaculate conception before I met my husband. He married us both and we went on to have 3 more kids. We were both good at kids and I think we are not quite sure what to do with ourselves. Dara had a wonderful post about looking inward and that is what I am doing, concentrating on creating other things besides kids.

"who am I " 

This is the Marine now..it was a very difficult thing to do...leave him with the recruiter....I am quite liberal in my politics and I generally disagree with force as an option...I don't think it ever really solves any problems ...and the situation now...well...I don't belive it is just...but Conrad has an overdeveloped and 18 year old ( and male ) sense of justice and he thinks he is part of an effort to help correct the evils in the world...no amount of parental persuasion could change his convictions...so I support his choice to start his life and pray that he is not so spiritually and emotionally wounded that he will not be the wonderful and idealistic young man he is now...he thinks we are afraid that he will die...and although I cannot imagine how we would go on..that is not my worst fear for him...I love hime so much ...he has been by far the easiest and most enjoyable of my children to raise.. ( I love all four the same but ) and I miss him  

This is my Mom at the send off party...we had a housefull ...I was surprised how many people came! 

Needs more but good color start. 

I rather like this one and think I will just quilt as is. 

I tried to combine rit dye and wallpaper paste but the dye does not sink into the cloth enough