Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

Computer Problems

Sunday, June 5th, 2016

I have been without access to the internet (except for my iPhone) for a week. Yesterday a technician came out and got it fixed for me, so now I will try to get used to my newly upgraded system and get caught up on a week’s worth of work! Some of my old programs no longer work with the upgrade so I have to find solutions.

Progress has been made on the quilting of the Flint Hills piece, it is well over half finished now and looking good!

Chicago is old news now but I will go ahead and show just a few more photos. The skyline from Lake Michigan at the start of the Architectural River Cruise, it was chilly, an overcast day, but luckily no rain.

Skyline

The skyscrapers,Trump is everywhere!

ChiRiverCruise

the tallest building, Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) 103 stories, (we went to the top. Cars below looked like Matchbox toys and the people like ants. I did not step out onto the glass platform – looking out the windows was bad enough!

TallestBldg

And the Cloud Gate sculpture in Millennium Park near the art museum. By the end of the week the skies had cleared and the weather was perfect!

CloudGate

More Chicago

Thursday, May 26th, 2016

Some other paintings I enjoyed at the Art Institute of Chicago last week were Claude Monet’s “Wheatstacks(End of Summer)”

MonetHaystackmonetBrushwork

Camille Pissarro’s ” Haymaking at Eragny”

 

HaymakingAtEragniand Mary Cassatt’s “La Toilet” and “Woman Reading in a Garden”.Cassatt2Cassatt

I couldn’t get photos of everything I liked at the Art Institute, there were SO many!  The paintings, the antiquities, the furnishings, the sculpture!!
EndTrailIntoSun
Too much to fit into one visit, if I lived there I would be a member for sure, and spend a day or more at a time in each exhibit!

Chicago

Monday, May 23rd, 2016

We spent last week in Chicago and I only had my phone so didn’t even try to post. I decided that it would be a good time to put my laptop in for a tuneup while we were gone, and it does seem to be running faster.

One day we went to the Art Institute of Chicago. There were no quilts, but I found an appliqued Samuri vest

AppliqueSamuriVest

and a weaving which could inspire a half-square triangle quilt.

weavingWeaving2

It was fun to see the original paintings of some of the works we studied in Art History, such as Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jette”. It’s huge! 7×10′;

Seurat

one of Vincent van Gogh’s “Self Portrait”s (wonderful brushwork),

vanGoghvanGoghBrushwork

Paul Gauguin’s Mahana Aucun Atua Finland”.

Gauguin

I’ll show you more later!

A Hint Of Springtime

Sunday, February 28th, 2016

Yesterday we had a hint of springtime, as the temperature was a perfect 75 degrees and I spent an hour or so weeding in the perennial beds. Just those little weed seedlings that are so easy to get rid of this time of the year before they really dig in deep. My snowdrops are blooming right now and I am sure they would prefer it to be more seasonably colder. They always remind me of my wonderful trip to England and Wales which inspired me to plant them. Of course they will never be as lush here in KS as they were there!  Once again all of the buds on the Hellebores have been eaten by some varmint because I forgot again to put the wire cages around them last fall, and judging by the mass of chewed off stems, they would have been really nice this year. The catalogs all say they are deer resistant, but somebody loves them!

So far no dandelions, but it won’t be long!

JustDandy450

My ultimate springtime quilt is “Just Dandy” which I made for IQF Celebrate Spring in 2008. It contains some lovely hand dyes.  It was juried in and traveled with that exhibit to several major venues. Then it went to other shows where it won several first place awards and a Viewer’s Choice. It is 41 x 41″ square and is for sale at $2750.00. I should get it out and hang it  to brighten things up and bring the spring inside.

Cahokia

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

Ever since we learned about it a few years ago, we have wanted to visit Cahokia and last weekend, we finally did! It was really quite fascinating.

It is near St Louis in Collinsville, Il. Quote from the book City of The Sun: “By nearly all criteria, ancient Cahokia was a true civilization – a society marked by social, political and cultural complexity and advanced development in the arts and sciences. Cahokia had an enormous population, diverse art forms, specialized labor forces, controlled surpluses, long distance trade, social stratification, organized government, monumental public works and a knowledge of scientific principles necessary for site planning, design of a sun calendar and mound construction.”

Lasting from 700 to 1500, with a population of 20,000 at its peak it was the greatest civilization north of Mexico, and I don’t know why it isn’t more well known. It became a World Heritage site in 1982 and the Cahokia Mounds Interpretive Center is worth a visit!

CahokiaHenge

This photo shows Woodhenge, like Stonehenge in England, it marks the solstices, here you can see the central pole and one of the marked poles that would line up with the sun to mark a solstice. In the background you can see one of the mounds the largest of which, covers 14 acres and is 100 feet high! All that dirt was carried in baskets!

This fertility figure is sculpted from a soft red stone and shows The Earth Mother hoeing into the back of a cat faced snake (they both represent fertility)

CahokiaEarthMother

The snake splits and you can see the squash vine and fruit growing up her back. Among other things they were an agricultural society. Specialization allowed for very sophisticated products.

BeaverCahokiaThis bowl shows a beaver chewing on a stick that it is holding ; the beaver was considered special because it lives in two worlds, water and land.

ToolsWeapons

Beautiful workmanship in these tools and weapons.

There was so much to see and learn about their day to day lives, much more than we expected!

Officially Retired!

Friday, September 11th, 2015

My trip to the Greater Kansas City Quilt Guild was perfect!  It was supposed to rain, but it didn’t, so that was good. The equipment worked and the audience was appreciative and very supportive.  I even got to touch base with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I know I am going to miss those aspects of traveling to do presentations and workshops for guilds, but the hardships of travel and the extensive prep time has won out and I am officially retired! It feels good.

Everyone asks “What are you going to do now?” Well for sure, I am going to sew and continue to make quilts for sale and competition. I hope to do more traveling just for the fun of it. Maybe there will be enough time to keep things neater around here and in the garden. I’m quite sure I will be plenty busy!

Now that I am not traveling to do trunk shows, I do not need all of the sample quilts, especially now that I am winding down the pattern business. My plan is to sell out the inventory I have, but not to design new ones or reprint the existing ones. And since I no longer need all of those samples I will be offering them for sale at reasonable prices.

Maybe I will even do a better job of keeping up this blog!

With that in mind I think I will institute “Focus Friday” where I will feature an INNOVATIONS pattern and it’s sample. Today is Sept 11, so I am focusing on “From The Ashes”, my tribute to 9/11.

FROM THE ASHES

approximately 38 x 39″  pattern: $8.00.   To purchase, click on “Patterns” in the sidebar.

fromtheashes

From the ashes of the World Trade Center, America will rise, stronger than ever.  Lady Liberty stands proud in the harbor as she has done since 1886, with her message of freedom.

Pieced Tumbling Blocks done in shades of gray represent the destruction, but they morph into golden stars of hope as America will recover. Add hand or machine applique and a message – either the one included in the pattern – or your own sentiment or memorial.

ashescloseupSample quilt approximately  37 x 38 , $200.00.  To purchase, email me.

Machine pieced, machine appliqued and free motion machine quilted with cotton and metallic threads.

 

Shipping

Monday, September 7th, 2015

At lunch on Friday, I mentioned that I needed to ship to three different shows on Monday, and my husband reminded me that Monday is Labor Day. I checked my info and discovered that for one of them Tuesday would be too late, so I hustled and got that one ready to go on Friday.  Alas, due to the holiday, Friday was even too late so I had to pay $22 extra for 3 day select to get it there on Thursday – that’s almost a week!!  Oh, the logistics of it all, but thank goodness I learned about it on Friday and not Tuesday morning when I need to be on the road early to KC.

So no holiday today for me!  I’ll be laboring to get the quilts organized, packed and ready for an early departure tomorrow, and packing the quilts for the remaining two shows, so they can go out tomorrow, too.

 

August

Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

August has been  busy month! My last multiple day engagement for Guild programs/workshop in Oklahoma happened and it was a fun trip with lovely ladies.  Even fitted in some fabric shopping, though we did not find the one I was looking for.  One more trip – next week to Kansas City, then I will be officially retired!!

We went to Wichita over the weekend for the Opening Reception of the Wichita National All Media Craft Exhibit where “Snow Buddies” is being exhibited. It has a great spot , well lighted where you see it as you enter the gallery; looks good!

WCFTA-SnowBuddies

While we were in Wichita we visited the Botanic Gardens, The Indian Museum and the Zoo.  The weather was near perfect and I was exhausted by the time we got back home! But it was fun!

Since coming back I have finished the Heron top using some of the fabrics that I found that looked like they might have possibilities.  I un-sewed some of the previous work to insert the new fabrics and I think it is going to be OK. HeronTop

Yesterday I squared it up and selected a backing fabric but have not yet layered it for quilting.  I think another deadline has squeezed in that will need my attention first!

News came that all four of my entries to the Visions of the Flint Hills Art Benefit and Sale at the Buttonwood Gallery in Kansas City were accepted.  “Harrier Hunting”, “Prairie Power”, “Drifted”, and “Grasslands” will be there.  This is an art exhibit so it is always gratifying when my quilts are recognized as art! The opening reception is on Oct 2 and the show runs through Nov 27.  Sales benefit the Friends of Konza Prairie.  Be sure and check it out if you are nearby.

HarrierHunting

Sold two quilts!

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

Things are going well here in Des Moines; what a nice group! Now the weather, that has not been so great. VERY heavy rains have caused some flooding in the area and some drenching of quilters but luckily it was not raining for the unloading of the quilts. The rest of the week looks like it will be clear and cooler.

The brand new “Beneficial Burn” quilt sold after the first lecture, as well as the “Bluebird” sample quilt. I had announced my impending retirement and the fact that all of the sample quilts would no longer be needed and were now for sale. I have not even posted that to my website, but hope to get to it after I get home.

Today is the “Coneflowers” class and tomorrow we will work with foundation paper piecing the “Third Weekend” and “New Leaves” quilts. It’s been a fun trip so far with lots of pattern sales, and I’m looking forward to the workshops.

HOT!

Monday, July 20th, 2015

With the return of hot weather, I have mostly stayed inside and am working on the beading of the last prairie fire piece. It’s a slow process, hopefully worth it for the spark effect.  The Heron is still on hold; I’m still hoping to find the fabric I need on my travels later this summer.  I have trips planned for Des Moines, Oklahoma City and Kansas City for guild programs. In case any of you visit a quilt shop keep an eye out for this fabric, and please let me know if you find it!

Batik

 “Seasonal Palette” containing my “December Dawn” continues to travel and a new venue has been added. It will be going to the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, MI from  July 1, 2016 through August 31, 2016.It has been one of SAQA’s most successful exhibitions ever.  When it finishes its travel it will have been viewed by over 100,000 people at 11 venues on 3 continents including 5 museums.
DecDawn450It is currently showing at the New England Quilt Museum til July 26, then will be going on to show at Texas A&M University.  I’m so lucky to be a part of this SAQA exhibit!