I feel quite silly posting about such blather as Rock Star INXS in the midst of such devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. I was in tears at the gym where I was bombarded with all the news channels that I normally avoid at home. An enormous tragedy. My prayers to those suffering and those helping.
I don't think I enjoyed the show much last night. I think it's dragging on too long. (I may have been distracted by the beading I was doing on a wonderful little quilt collage piece. More on that later.) The song choices were ok. But none seemed like show stoppers. Even Bohemian Rapsody, which everyone seems to love, seems a bit like a circus to me.
You know, bottom line, any of them would be great. I think INXS would mold any of them into a great part of their band. Of course, my brother-in-law Matt, wonders why INXS is looking for a new lead singer in the first place. He says, "Move on, gentlemen." But that's another topic.
But, here are my brief thoughts.
Jordis: lacks range, too young, doesn't have a vision
JD: Ok... I'm ready to extinguish my torch for JD. Too cocky, too unpredicatable in voice, performance and personality.
MiG: Sarah says he's too soft. I think she might be right. (Check out her post about the show and her new blog!)
Ty: For some reason he's not a fan favorite. I'm not ready to see him go.
Suzie: I can't believe how far she has come. She came in totally "goody two shoes." And now I think she is a strong front runner. She's definetely turned up the personality.
Marty: I think it's his to loose. He needs to widen his horizens a bit and could use some refining, but it might be a match.
I predict Marty will get the encore (only because they gave it to Suzie last week.) Ty, MiG and JD will be in the bottom 3. Depending on the performances, I think it's a toss up between Ty and MiG. Maybe they'll cut both. Twist my arm? It's JD's last night. (He's going to be pissed.)
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Monday, August 29, 2005
Free Motion Quilting Style, Baby!
Since Sonji just got a slick new machine and is about to dive into some serious quilting -- through the back even! -- and she has been musing about how the quilting line can add to the design of the quilt, I thought I'd share a conversation with you all that the Frayed Edges had while on our trip to Manchester. (A very long convoluted poorly written sentence. My apologies.)
Kate is working on an amazing quilt that was commissioned by someone who wants a fabric rendition of the topographical map of her area. Kate showed us the stunning piece in progress. Eight values of brown for the land elevations. More greens and I think some blue for the bay. The client wants to have the place names incorporated into the quilt. Kate also wondered how she would quilt it.
Sarah said she would write the names with Pigma pen and quilt the contours of each elevation shape. Echo style. This would accentuate the shapes and show off the work of the design.
Kathy said she would machine quilt the names right onto the quilt. She is great at free motioning words.
I said I would rubber stamp the place names and use my all-over-pattern quilting which would make the different shades blend together more. (And keep down any stray edges that wanted to peel up.)
I'm not sure what she has decided to do. But, isn't it interesting how we all had such immediate different ideas? It made me think that even if I feel like I don't have a personally recognizable style, it must be developing.
Kate is working on an amazing quilt that was commissioned by someone who wants a fabric rendition of the topographical map of her area. Kate showed us the stunning piece in progress. Eight values of brown for the land elevations. More greens and I think some blue for the bay. The client wants to have the place names incorporated into the quilt. Kate also wondered how she would quilt it.
Sarah said she would write the names with Pigma pen and quilt the contours of each elevation shape. Echo style. This would accentuate the shapes and show off the work of the design.
Kathy said she would machine quilt the names right onto the quilt. She is great at free motioning words.
I said I would rubber stamp the place names and use my all-over-pattern quilting which would make the different shades blend together more. (And keep down any stray edges that wanted to peel up.)
I'm not sure what she has decided to do. But, isn't it interesting how we all had such immediate different ideas? It made me think that even if I feel like I don't have a personally recognizable style, it must be developing.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Fun in New Hampshire
Have you been waiting to hear about my trip to the World Quilt Expo in Manchester? The Frayed Edges and I had such fun. I'm just going to jump into posting a bunch of pictures. Wonderful eye candy and inspiration, plus a few comments from me.
This is my very favorite piece of the whole show. Christine Restall's The Red Clay Road. I just adore it. Beautiful juxaposed piecing, stamping, leaves, leaves, leaves, metallics, wonderful quilting including three quilted archways that invite you to imaging ducking right under and into this stunning composition. I must track Christine down and tell her GREAT JOB!
Here's another favorite: Jan Clark's Coleopetera VIII Beetle Wing. Of course, I always love the grid layout. This is a stunning variation. And then the mix of translucents and metallics and quilting... and the one wonderful beetle chop-like image at the top right. Love it.
Kathy and I especially love Elaine Bernard's The Gift of Friendship. Talk about embellishment. Wow. Here's a close up. I'm defintely inspired to do a larger piece with lots of hand embroidery.
I love the lettering with just one strand of thread and made with long straight lines. I sometimes worry about taking stitches that are too long. I guess I should put that out of my mind. And all thoses x's and French knots in the border. They just dance. Each figure has the same skin tone and red lips, and the blocks cross the color spectrum. We did think the fibery ribbons and hang tags distracted, but still stunning.
Speaking of large pieces with lots of hand embroidery. Check this out. Merete Nybro Berg's Summer Morning. Don't you just love that one curvy line? My detail shots just don't do it justice, so you'll have to take my word for it. Again with the grid. Brilliant.
Ah, Pamela Allen. Gull Girl. Oh, that we all looked this bodacious in our underwear. And tht birds came to roost on our arms and heads. Her other quilt, Two Sisters: One Tall, One Short won third place for Best Innovative. I like Gull Girl Better.
We were all impressed by this huge tryptic landscape. I'm sorry I don't have notes about who the author is. Could it be River Barge by Beth Miller of Australia?
Isn't this a clever and effective use of quilting. It's actually part of a three piece tryptic... all diferent birds with just those pops of color for feet and beaks.
Love love love Carol Taylor.
I think this piece is quite remarkable. I wish I would have studied it more. It's called Cascade, by Linda Schmidt. You can't really appreciate the shape here, it's cut out on the side and hung from bits of ribbon. Lots of interesting materials incorporated here to give a sense of texture and movement.
Oh my goodness. Can you imagine the design, planning and construction of this piece? Ann Harwell's A Tree Falls in Yosemite. Of coure, if you've seen Church in the Wildwood, you'll recognize the style. Impressive.
Are you tired of looking at quilts yet? This one is Laura Fogg's To This Place God Gave Everything. Apparently these three little stone saints are sitting in her yard and have become over grown with vines and the life of the earth. It made me a bit sad that I won't be able to create little vistas like this in our Maine yard. Oh well, we'll have a new yard in Dallas.
I saw lots of wonderful quilts from artists in our blog ring. Melody's Matchstick Moons #2 is fantabulous. Tommy's With this Ring is wonderful. Liz Berg had two wonderful pieces in the Carpe Diem Exhibition. Anne Lullie had Fiesta Florabunda II -- oh the quiling, it's stunning! Forgive me if I forgot you.
Oh, I did some shopping too. I'll tell you about that later.
This is my very favorite piece of the whole show. Christine Restall's The Red Clay Road. I just adore it. Beautiful juxaposed piecing, stamping, leaves, leaves, leaves, metallics, wonderful quilting including three quilted archways that invite you to imaging ducking right under and into this stunning composition. I must track Christine down and tell her GREAT JOB!
Here's another favorite: Jan Clark's Coleopetera VIII Beetle Wing. Of course, I always love the grid layout. This is a stunning variation. And then the mix of translucents and metallics and quilting... and the one wonderful beetle chop-like image at the top right. Love it.
Kathy and I especially love Elaine Bernard's The Gift of Friendship. Talk about embellishment. Wow. Here's a close up. I'm defintely inspired to do a larger piece with lots of hand embroidery.
I love the lettering with just one strand of thread and made with long straight lines. I sometimes worry about taking stitches that are too long. I guess I should put that out of my mind. And all thoses x's and French knots in the border. They just dance. Each figure has the same skin tone and red lips, and the blocks cross the color spectrum. We did think the fibery ribbons and hang tags distracted, but still stunning.
Speaking of large pieces with lots of hand embroidery. Check this out. Merete Nybro Berg's Summer Morning. Don't you just love that one curvy line? My detail shots just don't do it justice, so you'll have to take my word for it. Again with the grid. Brilliant.
Ah, Pamela Allen. Gull Girl. Oh, that we all looked this bodacious in our underwear. And tht birds came to roost on our arms and heads. Her other quilt, Two Sisters: One Tall, One Short won third place for Best Innovative. I like Gull Girl Better.
We were all impressed by this huge tryptic landscape. I'm sorry I don't have notes about who the author is. Could it be River Barge by Beth Miller of Australia?
Isn't this a clever and effective use of quilting. It's actually part of a three piece tryptic... all diferent birds with just those pops of color for feet and beaks.
Love love love Carol Taylor.
I think this piece is quite remarkable. I wish I would have studied it more. It's called Cascade, by Linda Schmidt. You can't really appreciate the shape here, it's cut out on the side and hung from bits of ribbon. Lots of interesting materials incorporated here to give a sense of texture and movement.
Oh my goodness. Can you imagine the design, planning and construction of this piece? Ann Harwell's A Tree Falls in Yosemite. Of coure, if you've seen Church in the Wildwood, you'll recognize the style. Impressive.
Are you tired of looking at quilts yet? This one is Laura Fogg's To This Place God Gave Everything. Apparently these three little stone saints are sitting in her yard and have become over grown with vines and the life of the earth. It made me a bit sad that I won't be able to create little vistas like this in our Maine yard. Oh well, we'll have a new yard in Dallas.I saw lots of wonderful quilts from artists in our blog ring. Melody's Matchstick Moons #2 is fantabulous. Tommy's With this Ring is wonderful. Liz Berg had two wonderful pieces in the Carpe Diem Exhibition. Anne Lullie had Fiesta Florabunda II -- oh the quiling, it's stunning! Forgive me if I forgot you.
Oh, I did some shopping too. I'll tell you about that later.
Friday, August 26, 2005
That movie list.
Well, since everyone else (at least a few on the Artful Quilters Ring) is doing it... and since I was shocked by how many you all have seen...
(The list of the top 100 American Film Institute's movies, with the ones I have seen in bold. and some comments.)
1. "Citizen Kane," 1941
2. "Casablanca," 1942
3. "The Godfather," 1972
4. "Gone With the Wind," 1939
5. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962
6. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939 The new muppet version came out on video last week. I'm eager to see it too.
7. "The Graduate," 1967 It would be interesting to come up with a whole list of good older woman/younger man movies. That seems to be a constant theme. (Or older man/younger woman.)
8. "On the Waterfront," 1954
9. "Schindler's List," 1993
10. "Singin' in the Rain," 1952
11. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946 Can you believe I've avoided this one on tv all through December for all these years?
12. "Sunset Boulevard," 1950
13. "The Bridge on the River Kwai," 1957
14. "Some Like it Hot," 1959
15. "Star Wars," 1977
16. "All About Eve," 1950
17. "The African Queen," 1951 Charming.
18. "Psycho," 1960
19. "Chinatown," 1974
20. "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," 1975
21. "The Grapes of Wrath," 1940
22. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968
23. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941
24. "Raging Bull," 1980
25. "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial," 1982 Probably about time to introduce this one to the kids.
26. "Dr. Strangelove," 1964
27. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967
28. "Apocalypse Now," 1979
29. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," 1939 I would like to see "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," though. Pitt and Jolie = HOT.
30. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948
31. "Annie Hall," 1977
32. "The Godfather Part II," 1974
33. "High Noon," 1952
34. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962
35. "It Happened One Night," 1934
36. "Midnight Cowboy," 1969
37. "The Best Years of Our Lives," 1946
38. "Double Indemnity," 1944
39. "Doctor Zhivago," 1965
40. "North by Northwest," 1959
41. "West Side Story," 1961
42. "Rear Window," 1954
43. "King Kong," 1933
44. "The Birth of a Nation," 1915
45. "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951
46. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971
47. "Taxi Driver," 1976
48. "Jaws," 1975
49. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937
50. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969
51. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940 I have seen the Tom Hank in "Philadelphia." Does that count?
52. "From Here to Eternity," 1953
53. "Amadeus," 1984 Tom Hulce used to call my college Dean's office when I worked there. I was rubbing ear lobes with fame.
54. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930
55. "The Sound of Music," 1965 Claire loves this movie. I've seen it many many times. My favorite song is the rarely appreciated, "I Have Confidence in Me!"
56. "M*A*S*H," 1970
57. "The Third Man," 1949
58. "Fantasia," 1940 My parents tell me this was my first movie. Just for historical context, Claire's first movie was "Monsters Inc." and Benjamin's first movie was that awful barnyard movie where Roseann Barr played the voice of a cow.
59. "Rebel Without a Cause," 1955
60. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1981 Another one that will be fun to introduce to the kids.
61. "Vertigo," 1958
62. "Tootsie," 1982
63. "Stagecoach," 1939
64. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 1977
65. "The Silence of the Lambs," 1991 Despicable. (Only "Seven" is worse.)
66. "Network," 1976
67. "The Manchurian Candidate," 1962
68. "An American in Paris," 1951
69. "Shane," 1953
70. "The French Connection," 1971
71. "Forrest Gump," 1994 "I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."
72. "Ben-Hur," 1959
73. "Wuthering Heights," 1939
74. "The Gold Rush," 1925
75. "Dances With Wolves," 1990 Speaking of Kevin Costern, don't be tempted to rent "The Upside of Anger."
76. "City Lights," 1931
77. "American Graffiti," 1973
78. "Rocky," 1976
79. "The Deer Hunter," 1978
80. "The Wild Bunch," 1969
81. "Modern Times," 1936
82. "Giant," 1956
83. "Platoon," 1986 After that I swore off war movies.
84. "Fargo," 1996 After that I swore off dark comedies.
85. "Duck Soup," 1933
86. "Mutiny on the Bounty," 1935
87. "Frankenstein," 1931
88. "Easy Rider," 1969
89. "Patton," 1970
90. "The Jazz Singer," 1927
91. "My Fair Lady," 1964
92. "A Place in the Sun," 1951
93. "The Apartment," 1960
94. "Goodfellas," 1990
95. "Pulp Fiction," 1994 Some parts of it I liked, some parts I hated.
96. "The Searchers," 1956
97. "Bringing Up Baby," 1938
98. "Unforgiven," 1992
99. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," 1967 Though I did see "Guess Who" with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kucher and loved it.
100. "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942
That's right, I've only seen 31 of them.
Some of my favorites that aren't on the list... just off the top of my head...
Shrek, Shrek 2, The Rock, Shawshank Redemption, Finding Forester, When Harry Met Sally, Say Anything
I promise to put something quilt related, or at least of some substance, on my blog soon.
(The list of the top 100 American Film Institute's movies, with the ones I have seen in bold. and some comments.)
1. "Citizen Kane," 1941
2. "Casablanca," 1942
3. "The Godfather," 1972
4. "Gone With the Wind," 1939
5. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962
6. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939 The new muppet version came out on video last week. I'm eager to see it too.
7. "The Graduate," 1967 It would be interesting to come up with a whole list of good older woman/younger man movies. That seems to be a constant theme. (Or older man/younger woman.)
8. "On the Waterfront," 1954
9. "Schindler's List," 1993
10. "Singin' in the Rain," 1952
11. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946 Can you believe I've avoided this one on tv all through December for all these years?
12. "Sunset Boulevard," 1950
13. "The Bridge on the River Kwai," 1957
14. "Some Like it Hot," 1959
15. "Star Wars," 1977
16. "All About Eve," 1950
17. "The African Queen," 1951 Charming.
18. "Psycho," 1960
19. "Chinatown," 1974
20. "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," 1975
21. "The Grapes of Wrath," 1940
22. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968
23. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941
24. "Raging Bull," 1980
25. "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial," 1982 Probably about time to introduce this one to the kids.
26. "Dr. Strangelove," 1964
27. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967
28. "Apocalypse Now," 1979
29. "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," 1939 I would like to see "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," though. Pitt and Jolie = HOT.
30. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948
31. "Annie Hall," 1977
32. "The Godfather Part II," 1974
33. "High Noon," 1952
34. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962
35. "It Happened One Night," 1934
36. "Midnight Cowboy," 1969
37. "The Best Years of Our Lives," 1946
38. "Double Indemnity," 1944
39. "Doctor Zhivago," 1965
40. "North by Northwest," 1959
41. "West Side Story," 1961
42. "Rear Window," 1954
43. "King Kong," 1933
44. "The Birth of a Nation," 1915
45. "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951
46. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971
47. "Taxi Driver," 1976
48. "Jaws," 1975
49. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937
50. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969
51. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940 I have seen the Tom Hank in "Philadelphia." Does that count?
52. "From Here to Eternity," 1953
53. "Amadeus," 1984 Tom Hulce used to call my college Dean's office when I worked there. I was rubbing ear lobes with fame.
54. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930
55. "The Sound of Music," 1965 Claire loves this movie. I've seen it many many times. My favorite song is the rarely appreciated, "I Have Confidence in Me!"
56. "M*A*S*H," 1970
57. "The Third Man," 1949
58. "Fantasia," 1940 My parents tell me this was my first movie. Just for historical context, Claire's first movie was "Monsters Inc." and Benjamin's first movie was that awful barnyard movie where Roseann Barr played the voice of a cow.
59. "Rebel Without a Cause," 1955
60. "Raiders of the Lost Ark," 1981 Another one that will be fun to introduce to the kids.
61. "Vertigo," 1958
62. "Tootsie," 1982
63. "Stagecoach," 1939
64. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," 1977
65. "The Silence of the Lambs," 1991 Despicable. (Only "Seven" is worse.)
66. "Network," 1976
67. "The Manchurian Candidate," 1962
68. "An American in Paris," 1951
69. "Shane," 1953
70. "The French Connection," 1971
71. "Forrest Gump," 1994 "I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is."
72. "Ben-Hur," 1959
73. "Wuthering Heights," 1939
74. "The Gold Rush," 1925
75. "Dances With Wolves," 1990 Speaking of Kevin Costern, don't be tempted to rent "The Upside of Anger."
76. "City Lights," 1931
77. "American Graffiti," 1973
78. "Rocky," 1976
79. "The Deer Hunter," 1978
80. "The Wild Bunch," 1969
81. "Modern Times," 1936
82. "Giant," 1956
83. "Platoon," 1986 After that I swore off war movies.
84. "Fargo," 1996 After that I swore off dark comedies.
85. "Duck Soup," 1933
86. "Mutiny on the Bounty," 1935
87. "Frankenstein," 1931
88. "Easy Rider," 1969
89. "Patton," 1970
90. "The Jazz Singer," 1927
91. "My Fair Lady," 1964
92. "A Place in the Sun," 1951
93. "The Apartment," 1960
94. "Goodfellas," 1990
95. "Pulp Fiction," 1994 Some parts of it I liked, some parts I hated.
96. "The Searchers," 1956
97. "Bringing Up Baby," 1938
98. "Unforgiven," 1992
99. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," 1967 Though I did see "Guess Who" with Bernie Mac and Ashton Kucher and loved it.
100. "Yankee Doodle Dandy," 1942
That's right, I've only seen 31 of them.
Some of my favorites that aren't on the list... just off the top of my head...
Shrek, Shrek 2, The Rock, Shawshank Redemption, Finding Forester, When Harry Met Sally, Say Anything
I promise to put something quilt related, or at least of some substance, on my blog soon.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Rock Star
I'm still loving Rock Star: INXS. But I can't believe it's going on for several more weeks. Please, isn't that a bit in excess?
I wrote most of the following after the Tuesday night performance show. My comments in green are written today after the elimination show.
Suzy pulled out all the stops and it paid off. I used to think Jordis was the only real female contender. Not tonight. I predicted she would get the encore and was correct. I think it was more of a nod to "most improved" rather than the absolute best performance of the night.
JD... I'll admit, he's an ass. He's immature, manipulative, unpredictable and cocky. But, I thought Cold as Ice was awesome. He's a bit entracing. Actually, I voted for the first time -- two votes for JD.
Deanna. Did she get a paper cut on that left hand? Or a burn? She's always shaking it about like she's in pain. And must she stick her bum out so much? And the skirt? Yikes. The song was ok and her witty banter with the band after the critique was quite good. The better of the two original songs. Sorry to see her go. But she wasn't ultimately going to make it to the end. It really is going to continue to get very difficult to elimate any of these great talents. Makes for good drama.
Ty gave a predictable, but great redition of Proud Mary. Really. What can you expect? He gives the most consistendly good performances of the group. But may lack the "it" factor. He's quite emotional, isn't he? I think I may need to cast some votes his way. He needs to stick around a bit longer and doesn't really belong in the bottom three.
Mig, what was up with the zebra striped crotch? (I looked for a picture to link, no luck.) And please get that hair out of your face. There were parts of the song that I liked, but "castle in the sky" isn't a very rock and roll image.
Marty belongs in a Tim Burton cartoon. Too intense. I love that song, but he just creeps me out a bit. Ok, all that stuff about INXS testing him was very interesting, but what does it really mean? His version of "Don't Change" was awesome. He is clearly a front runner. (Though still a bit freaky.)
Jordis. Oh dear, honey. That was terrible. You couldn't pull that hat any further down over your face while listening to the critique. Let's hope that one strike doesn't knock you out because I really love you most of the time. (Though ultimately, you're just not right for the band, INXS.) She looked completely humiliated not to be in the bottom three. I guess the public vote is unpredictable.
I wrote most of the following after the Tuesday night performance show. My comments in green are written today after the elimination show.
Suzy pulled out all the stops and it paid off. I used to think Jordis was the only real female contender. Not tonight. I predicted she would get the encore and was correct. I think it was more of a nod to "most improved" rather than the absolute best performance of the night.
JD... I'll admit, he's an ass. He's immature, manipulative, unpredictable and cocky. But, I thought Cold as Ice was awesome. He's a bit entracing. Actually, I voted for the first time -- two votes for JD.
Deanna. Did she get a paper cut on that left hand? Or a burn? She's always shaking it about like she's in pain. And must she stick her bum out so much? And the skirt? Yikes. The song was ok and her witty banter with the band after the critique was quite good. The better of the two original songs. Sorry to see her go. But she wasn't ultimately going to make it to the end. It really is going to continue to get very difficult to elimate any of these great talents. Makes for good drama.
Ty gave a predictable, but great redition of Proud Mary. Really. What can you expect? He gives the most consistendly good performances of the group. But may lack the "it" factor. He's quite emotional, isn't he? I think I may need to cast some votes his way. He needs to stick around a bit longer and doesn't really belong in the bottom three.
Mig, what was up with the zebra striped crotch? (I looked for a picture to link, no luck.) And please get that hair out of your face. There were parts of the song that I liked, but "castle in the sky" isn't a very rock and roll image.
Marty belongs in a Tim Burton cartoon. Too intense. I love that song, but he just creeps me out a bit. Ok, all that stuff about INXS testing him was very interesting, but what does it really mean? His version of "Don't Change" was awesome. He is clearly a front runner. (Though still a bit freaky.)
Jordis. Oh dear, honey. That was terrible. You couldn't pull that hat any further down over your face while listening to the critique. Let's hope that one strike doesn't knock you out because I really love you most of the time. (Though ultimately, you're just not right for the band, INXS.) She looked completely humiliated not to be in the bottom three. I guess the public vote is unpredictable.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
More about the anniversary dinner.
I swear I'm still thinking about what a delightful evening we had at Tony's in
I wore the earthy skirt I ordered from Target and a crisp green camp shirt. Not as formal as I would have dressed if we'd be at home and had a closet to choose from, but we were living out of the suitcase, so you go with what you have. Jeff wore his snappy khaki pants and a great blue button down business shirt.
"Ah, Mr. Boschert, we've been expecting you," the Maitre D said. And then... "Would you mind if I loaned you one of our coats while you dine with us?" Ouch. I suppose this is the kind of moment that a young man dreads if he is trying to woo his love, but when you've already been wooed, this just becomes a comedic part of the whole experience. They gave him a 46 R. Hmmm check back through my blog and see if you think that was the right size. Not. He's trim and athletic. Oh well.
We started with an eggplant tampande, complimentary of the chef. We spread it on crusty bread and it was sweet, fresh and delicious.
Jeff was impressed by the beautiful square glass chargers that were set at each place. The eggplant arrived in a tiny ramekin, on top of a fancy china plate and that sat on top of the charger. Of course, all this was whisked away when we were done.
The menu had about seven courses all listed separately. Goodness, where to start? We decided to order just appetizers and salad and decide on the entree later. I ordered Cold Chicken Curry Soup -- topped with a dollop of something that amazingly creamy and rich. Crème frach? Curried Butter? Not sure, no matter... delectable! Oh, and any hesitation I had about the concept of cold soup is completely banished.
Jeff ordered snails on an Artichoke Bottom in a garlic butter sauce. I tasted one slice of the artichoke. Yum.
For salad I ordered spinach with avocado and Roquefort cheese. The waiter prepared the whole salad tableside and it was delightful. I always feel so virtuous eating spinach salad. It's so much better for you than plain Jane lettuce. That Roquefort is pungent. Not for everyday eating.
Jeff ordered tomatoes with gorgonzola and balsamic vinegar. He said it was good. It looked lovely.
Are you wondering what we drank? Just water with lemon. I'm not a big wine drinker and again with the feeling of virtuosity whilst drinking the water. Our glasses, of course, were always being filled by one of the many waiters.
Silverware was whisked in and out depending on our orders also.
Then the waiter brought back the menus so we could again peruse the entree options. Jeff chose Three Kinds of Veal. (Not three separate plates, but three small pieces of veal served different ways all on one plate. The waiter said that they had all been on the menu separately and that people had so much trouble choosing that they put them all together. Great idea.) There was Veal Marsala, Veal with Lemon and Capers and Veal with Garlic Sauce and Topped with bits of Artichoke. I ordered Pan Roasted Salmon and Roasted Vegetables. We never cook fish at home, but I like salmon and am always pleased when I order it at a restaurant. It was served with a Dill Cream Sauce.
Several people have commented that the presentation must have been wonderful. Well... yes... but... not in the way of creating some exotic structure with fresh herbs, or squiggling some sauce on the plates, or stenciling some design with dusted chili... in fact, the actual presenting of the meal was the presentation. Not just the salad was prepared tableside, almost everything was. The kitchen sent out all the components of the meal, the waiter brought his little burner cart around and put it all together while heating it up right next to us, then spooned it directly onto our plates.
Now back to my entree. The salmon was great. The roasted vegetables were stunning. I was completely shocked. I am so not a vegetable lover. I ate every bit of the asparagus (white and green) red pepper, potato, and squash. This is so unlike me. I can't say what made them so spectacular. They were dry, meaning they did not seem to be marinated in anything or coated in olive oil (EVOO for my Rachel Ray fans). They were charred in some spots -- which was perfect. Might they have been grilled? Cooked under the broiler? Tossed in a hot pan? I must know. Please give me your advice. I'll be buying vegetables at the next farmers' market. (Sonji, aren't you so proud of me?)
And then of course there was dessert. Jeff ordered crème Brule which he (and everyone else on the face of the earth) loves and I do not. I did try a bite. Still don't love it. I ordered a Cafe Mocha. I didn't get what I expected there, but it was still lovely. I expected more milk and some froth or whipped cream on top. It was darker and naked on the top. And we shared flaming bananas over ice cream. Can you even believe I didn't order chocolate? Not to worry, there was a tiny plate of chocolates and itty bitty cookies compliments of the chef. I ate all of those.
We enjoyed a bit of small talk with the waiter. It was his last night working there. He was off to become the wine director at a country club. There is definitely a whole culture in the restaraunt world.
I also enjoyed our dinner companions, meaning the folks I was eaves dropping on. A family with two little girls, maybe 8 and 11.
I'll be 57 when we celebrate our 35th anniversary. I'm feeling so thankful and eager for our future together. Lots more wonderful dinners at fancy places, and at our dining room table, and in front of the TV, and at McDonalds and in the park and...
Thursday, August 18, 2005
I'm Back
We returned yesterday from a great trip to Belleville, IL (near St. Louis across the river) to visit family. Kids traveled great. Fun was had by all. Here is a brief synopsis. (Very brief... we have way more wonderful pictures and memories than will be posted on this blog.)
The whole posse met us at the airport. Cousins Benjamin and Zach, who are only 4 months apart, were instant buds. I can't express how much I wish that we all lived closer together...
The kids (and Grandpa) had a super time playing in the backyard!
Of course a trip to the world class St. Louis Zoo. I especially loved the Conservation Carousel. Every animal is endangered and is spectacularly designed and painted. After much debate, Claire chose the cheetah.
Benjamin chose the frog. Obviously.
This is where you should see a picture of Zach riding the... I can't even remember. Nor do I know why the picture didn't upload.
We love Ted Drewes Custard. Never can go wrong with ice cream.
Jeff and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary while we were away. Grandma and Grandpa were gracious enough to provide care for the kids while we spent a night in St. Louis. We stayed at the same hotel we did on our wedding night overlooking the Mississippi river and the arch. We also had a super fantastic, very fancy, luxerous, delicious meal at Tony's. Jeff gave me this beautiful diamond and sapphire bracelet. You can also see the stunning diamond and sapphire ring wrap he gave me for our tenth anniversary. They are a beautiful match. Just like us! (Cheesy. But, honestly, I am enormously blessed to share my life with Jeff. He is everything to me.)
And to top it all off, I bought new shoes tonight. I had been thinking I needed (well... not really "needed") some sporty sandals. We were at Bean tonight (that's what us Mainers call the LLBean flagship store in Freeport.) buying new parts for our bike rake for our impeding trip to New York. (Yes, I'll be away from the blog again.) I found this spunky set on sale. And then I painted my toe nails to match.
I could say so much more about our wonderful family, the delicious anniversary meal, my richly blessed marriage, Rock Star INXS, a Ted Drewes retrospecitive, and even a bit of fiber art... another time.
The whole posse met us at the airport. Cousins Benjamin and Zach, who are only 4 months apart, were instant buds. I can't express how much I wish that we all lived closer together...
The kids (and Grandpa) had a super time playing in the backyard!
Of course a trip to the world class St. Louis Zoo. I especially loved the Conservation Carousel. Every animal is endangered and is spectacularly designed and painted. After much debate, Claire chose the cheetah.
Benjamin chose the frog. Obviously.
This is where you should see a picture of Zach riding the... I can't even remember. Nor do I know why the picture didn't upload.
We love Ted Drewes Custard. Never can go wrong with ice cream.
Jeff and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary while we were away. Grandma and Grandpa were gracious enough to provide care for the kids while we spent a night in St. Louis. We stayed at the same hotel we did on our wedding night overlooking the Mississippi river and the arch. We also had a super fantastic, very fancy, luxerous, delicious meal at Tony's. Jeff gave me this beautiful diamond and sapphire bracelet. You can also see the stunning diamond and sapphire ring wrap he gave me for our tenth anniversary. They are a beautiful match. Just like us! (Cheesy. But, honestly, I am enormously blessed to share my life with Jeff. He is everything to me.)
And to top it all off, I bought new shoes tonight. I had been thinking I needed (well... not really "needed") some sporty sandals. We were at Bean tonight (that's what us Mainers call the LLBean flagship store in Freeport.) buying new parts for our bike rake for our impeding trip to New York. (Yes, I'll be away from the blog again.) I found this spunky set on sale. And then I painted my toe nails to match.
I could say so much more about our wonderful family, the delicious anniversary meal, my richly blessed marriage, Rock Star INXS, a Ted Drewes retrospecitive, and even a bit of fiber art... another time.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Spunky Summer Skirt
Deb is making a new skirt. (Not me, Deb... and not DebR and not DebRoby... Deb Spincic.) You can read about her thrifty creative goodness here. So, of course, this has reminded me of my own personal skirt saga.
I saw this article in Threads magazine at the library several weeks ago. Quick, go look at the link then come back to read the rest of the post. Go ahead, I'll wait.
I know!!!! Isn't it cutest thing? I am so in love with it. In fact, when I was at the library, I wrote down all the directions in my little journal. (I didn't think it would be right to make copies. You know the whole copy right question. Plus I didn't have change and didn't want to drag my kids to the copy room anyway.)
Then later in the day I rushed straight to Joann's to buy fabric to make this skirt. And I totally struck out. Not surprisingly really, I mean... it's Joann's. They had all their fall stuff out. (Because when it's still in the 90's I want to make a woven blazer? Not. Actually, I don't ever want to make a woven blazer.) Not a single piece of interesting, flouncy, drapey fabric in the whole place. And certainly not several pieces that I could have coordinated to make the skirt.
So I'm stuck with the same old one summer skirt that I bought back in April and have worn for every "dress up" occasion since then. You may remember it from the whole Meet The Artists fashion show.
I do think this is pretty cute. And cheap.
And it would be fun to have something new to wear when Jeff and I go out for our big 13th anniversary date, but there isn't really time to order... and I'd have to have it delivered to Grandma's house since we're on our way there. Blah blah blah...
Really what I want is to make the cute Threads skirt. Boo Hoo.
I saw this article in Threads magazine at the library several weeks ago. Quick, go look at the link then come back to read the rest of the post. Go ahead, I'll wait.
I know!!!! Isn't it cutest thing? I am so in love with it. In fact, when I was at the library, I wrote down all the directions in my little journal. (I didn't think it would be right to make copies. You know the whole copy right question. Plus I didn't have change and didn't want to drag my kids to the copy room anyway.)
Then later in the day I rushed straight to Joann's to buy fabric to make this skirt. And I totally struck out. Not surprisingly really, I mean... it's Joann's. They had all their fall stuff out. (Because when it's still in the 90's I want to make a woven blazer? Not. Actually, I don't ever want to make a woven blazer.) Not a single piece of interesting, flouncy, drapey fabric in the whole place. And certainly not several pieces that I could have coordinated to make the skirt.
So I'm stuck with the same old one summer skirt that I bought back in April and have worn for every "dress up" occasion since then. You may remember it from the whole Meet The Artists fashion show.
I do think this is pretty cute. And cheap.
And it would be fun to have something new to wear when Jeff and I go out for our big 13th anniversary date, but there isn't really time to order... and I'd have to have it delivered to Grandma's house since we're on our way there. Blah blah blah...
Really what I want is to make the cute Threads skirt. Boo Hoo.
Good morning.
Are you tired of looking at the picture of JD? I'm sorry I haven't posted in a few days. There may be another lull coming. We're leaving tomorrow to spend eight days with family in the St. Louis area. Then we come back for just two days -- one of those days will be spent going to the World Quilt Expo in Manchester, NH with the Frayed Edges, Yippee!! -- then we're going to spend four days with my parents in western New York. Then only one week later, school starts. (Yippee!!)
So, speaking of traveling... remember when we went to New Hampshire in July? We had a great time. The kids loved Story Land. (Jeff and I loved it too... but mostly because the kids loved it.)
It is the most rinky dink, tired "amusement park" we've ever been to. Really just a souped up country fair. But's that ok. Who doesn't love rides, cheesy shows and mist tents?
Of course, we had ice cream. We are totally an ice cream family. In fact, we can hardly wait to get custard in St. Louis. But, in NH we found a "make your own sundae" place. Just like a salad bar, except with all kinds of toppings. Decadent... and very pricey.
We did four or five letter boxes in New Hampshire. Great fun. Diana's Baths in North Conway of the White Mountains was awesome. Really, I'm searching for more appropriate words to describe it. It was just amazing. Basically it was a series of small waterfalls that you could hike right through. Swimming, sun bathing, frollicking.
The area held an old grist mill, so there are several old brick basins and carved out sections. There were tons of people there and you could stand near the bottom of the falls and look up to see families, couples, teenagers, old dudes with no shirts on -- all at different levels up into the river and the woods. I wish I would have gotten a better wide shot.
Here's Benjamin doing a little waterfall dance.
And isn't this a lovely picture? Moss and ivy squeezing out through the layers of rock right new a waterfall.
A couple of side thoughts. What happened to my Rock Stars on Monday nights? I'm all about the INXS three nights in a row. Where are they?
I used the new blogger photo commands for this post. Not very friendly. I had to cut and paste to get them where I wanted them.
In the studio? I started to make a little handbag, but was frustrated by my sad lack of large pieces of fabric. Hardly anything bigger than a fat quarter. So I made more post cards. A landscape series this time. Lots of embroidery happening now. Can I bring a crewel needle on the airplane?
So, speaking of traveling... remember when we went to New Hampshire in July? We had a great time. The kids loved Story Land. (Jeff and I loved it too... but mostly because the kids loved it.)It is the most rinky dink, tired "amusement park" we've ever been to. Really just a souped up country fair. But's that ok. Who doesn't love rides, cheesy shows and mist tents?
Of course, we had ice cream. We are totally an ice cream family. In fact, we can hardly wait to get custard in St. Louis. But, in NH we found a "make your own sundae" place. Just like a salad bar, except with all kinds of toppings. Decadent... and very pricey.
We did four or five letter boxes in New Hampshire. Great fun. Diana's Baths in North Conway of the White Mountains was awesome. Really, I'm searching for more appropriate words to describe it. It was just amazing. Basically it was a series of small waterfalls that you could hike right through. Swimming, sun bathing, frollicking.The area held an old grist mill, so there are several old brick basins and carved out sections. There were tons of people there and you could stand near the bottom of the falls and look up to see families, couples, teenagers, old dudes with no shirts on -- all at different levels up into the river and the woods. I wish I would have gotten a better wide shot.
Here's Benjamin doing a little waterfall dance.
And isn't this a lovely picture? Moss and ivy squeezing out through the layers of rock right new a waterfall.A couple of side thoughts. What happened to my Rock Stars on Monday nights? I'm all about the INXS three nights in a row. Where are they?
I used the new blogger photo commands for this post. Not very friendly. I had to cut and paste to get them where I wanted them.
In the studio? I started to make a little handbag, but was frustrated by my sad lack of large pieces of fabric. Hardly anything bigger than a fat quarter. So I made more post cards. A landscape series this time. Lots of embroidery happening now. Can I bring a crewel needle on the airplane?
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Brief Random Snippets
I swear I may even consider downloading JD's version of The Letter from Rock Star on Tuesday night. I thought it was awesome. Yes, he's immature. Cocky. A bit unpredictable. Conniving. But... damn, he totally draws me in. I'm also all about Marty and Jordis. And Ty's moved onto my B list, but he's still a player.
I think it was Deb Lacativa and I who briefly discussed how it would be clever to do a series of postcards with song lyrics about mail. So, JD's "my baby she wrote me a letter" is so totally on my list. (I've also added James Taylor to my list. "She gets a long letter, sends back a post card. Times are hard.")
Jeff accepted a job offer to be a Lead Engineer/Test Pilot for a company in Dallas. He'll do several weeks of training in various locations beginning in September, then we'll all move to Dallas in January or February. This is going to be a great fit for our family. I'm very proud of my smart and talented husband. Ok, fellow bloggers, I'm ready to hear all about what you love about Texas.
I cleaned my studio last week. I mean purged! I also took an inventory of supplies and works-in-progess. My list of WIPS includes 27 items. Too many.
I even bought a new dry erase/bulletin board and made of list of said projects. And those four items listed on the right are the new projects I'd like to start. Hmmm. Which list do you think I should tackle first? Clearly several of the 27 are not destined for completion. That's ok. But, I was surprised to pull some out and feel a bit inspired.There's some velvet coloring by Claire and a post card from Natasha Kempers-Cullen and another from Virginia Spiegle and Janet Ghio. All inspiring bits of art.
Big lumps of time this week have been spent doing my real job. I work about 30 hours a month, all from home, doing the design, layout and editing of a monthly newsletter. This month it's 24 pages. In fact, that's what I should be doing now.
Monday, August 01, 2005
And then there was the shopping...
Remember I said I tell you about my purchases at Maine Quilts this weekend? Stay tuned.
First, I must apologize for my last post. Did I sound crabby? I didn't mean to. And it's not that I don't think criticism has it's place, but I would just hate to think anyone would be hurt by my less than enthusiastic comments about our show. I must say the show is outstanding. Perfectly organized. Beautifully decorated. Wonderfully welcoming. Creatively developing new ideas and formats. Simply straight forward in it's purpose. I had a great day!
Overall, I'll just say I was more inspired by the vendors than by the quilts.
Speaking of vendors...
I bought three pieces of Kaffe Fasset from Alewives Fabric, Gifts and Gallery. Apparently, they are right here in Nobleboro, Maine. But I haven't explored up that way. Maybe now I will. The mother/daughter team were so helpful. We gushed about the wonderful fruit and vegetable prints and what I might do with them. (??? no idea ???) I will say this is about as close as I prefer to get to vegetables.
I also bought two bag patterns from them. I debated which to choose and told myself that I didn't really need a pattern, I could wing it, but in the end I decided to buy both. Bags are so hot right now.
And then I went back to Elin Noble's booth. I was stunned the first time I walked through. I mean lots of folks are selling hand dyed stuff, but not like this. Holy Moly. Get out your credit card. We'd had a lovely conversation about how dying might not be the best project to take up while 6 and 3 year olds are running underfoot. And then when I went back we discussed bobbin drawing and the whole "lefty loosey, righty tighty" details of the bobbin cage. And I bought a piece of her clamp dyed fabric. It's on the left in the above picture. Stunning. I adore it! I don't think I can cut it up. I may make fancy beaded clutch. (For all those formal events I attend.) Or maybe a really wonderful cover for a large size sketch book. For now it's pinned on the wall in my studio.
The best thing about Elin's fabric is that when I showed it to my friend, Caragh, she said it totally looked like me! And Jeff liked it too. Clearly a good purchase.
Please notice that I also threw in my new Liz Berg postcard when I snapped this picture. Of course, this is the one I received with my donation to the American Cancer Society via Virginia Speigle's fundraiser. I love it. It has way more texture and dimension than it had on the monitor and I'm thrilled to hang it in my studio. (Mine is signed, dated and numbered on the back. DebR mentioned the one she received from Liz was unsigned.)
Ok, here's the funny kicker about my purchases. While I was chatting with the vendors and pulling out my credit card, I was horrified and embarrassed by my old, frayed, worn, flowery, red wallet. It is so no longer me! I went out the next day and bought a new wallet. Both are pictured below. I'm sure you'll agreed it is an improvement. Because, you know, orange is the new yellow.
First, I must apologize for my last post. Did I sound crabby? I didn't mean to. And it's not that I don't think criticism has it's place, but I would just hate to think anyone would be hurt by my less than enthusiastic comments about our show. I must say the show is outstanding. Perfectly organized. Beautifully decorated. Wonderfully welcoming. Creatively developing new ideas and formats. Simply straight forward in it's purpose. I had a great day!
Overall, I'll just say I was more inspired by the vendors than by the quilts.
Speaking of vendors...
I bought three pieces of Kaffe Fasset from Alewives Fabric, Gifts and Gallery. Apparently, they are right here in Nobleboro, Maine. But I haven't explored up that way. Maybe now I will. The mother/daughter team were so helpful. We gushed about the wonderful fruit and vegetable prints and what I might do with them. (??? no idea ???) I will say this is about as close as I prefer to get to vegetables.
I also bought two bag patterns from them. I debated which to choose and told myself that I didn't really need a pattern, I could wing it, but in the end I decided to buy both. Bags are so hot right now.
And then I went back to Elin Noble's booth. I was stunned the first time I walked through. I mean lots of folks are selling hand dyed stuff, but not like this. Holy Moly. Get out your credit card. We'd had a lovely conversation about how dying might not be the best project to take up while 6 and 3 year olds are running underfoot. And then when I went back we discussed bobbin drawing and the whole "lefty loosey, righty tighty" details of the bobbin cage. And I bought a piece of her clamp dyed fabric. It's on the left in the above picture. Stunning. I adore it! I don't think I can cut it up. I may make fancy beaded clutch. (For all those formal events I attend.) Or maybe a really wonderful cover for a large size sketch book. For now it's pinned on the wall in my studio.
The best thing about Elin's fabric is that when I showed it to my friend, Caragh, she said it totally looked like me! And Jeff liked it too. Clearly a good purchase.
Please notice that I also threw in my new Liz Berg postcard when I snapped this picture. Of course, this is the one I received with my donation to the American Cancer Society via Virginia Speigle's fundraiser. I love it. It has way more texture and dimension than it had on the monitor and I'm thrilled to hang it in my studio. (Mine is signed, dated and numbered on the back. DebR mentioned the one she received from Liz was unsigned.)
Ok, here's the funny kicker about my purchases. While I was chatting with the vendors and pulling out my credit card, I was horrified and embarrassed by my old, frayed, worn, flowery, red wallet. It is so no longer me! I went out the next day and bought a new wallet. Both are pictured below. I'm sure you'll agreed it is an improvement. Because, you know, orange is the new yellow.
Maine Quilts
I had a great trip the the Maine state quilt show on Saturday. It's almost an hour to Augusta and I got to listen to NPR all the way. Delightful. Some interesting stories on Weekend Edition about fight clubs (inconceivable) and a new documentary being made about Timothy Treadwell (also inconceivable though for completely different reasons). And then just a few minutes of Click and Clack. (What would you do if you found $3200 dollars in small bills under the carpet of the used car you just bought?)
I zipped through the show for my first run in just about an hour seeing all the quilts and vendors. Then I went back and considered the quilts much more carefully. Over all: uninspiring. I hate to say that, because in truth, I believe every quilt that someone makes and loves is super fantastic! And that they put it out there to be seen and shared: even more super fantastic. But, on the whole I saw very little that I thought showed a real spark of creativity. It's not so much that I even mind predictable patterns or traditional colors, it just all seemed to lack oomph. Ok, not all. Some were great. None knocked my socks off.
Our quilt show has a unique judging system in that there are three judges, they each judge every quilt on a 100 point scale, the three scores are averaged and if the quilt falls into a certain range, it's awarded a ribbon for that number value. Yes, every quilt in the catagory could win first place. Or no ribbons at all. This system has pros and cons which I will not bore you with.
I was glad to see more first place ribbons this year. Good work, Maine Quilters! Or maybe I should, thanks for taking your heads out of your butts, Judges.
I am thrilled to say that Sarah Smith of the Frayed Edges won an Exceptional Merit ribbon for her Bijagos Warrior. Exceptional Merit is for quilts with an average score above 97! There were only three in the whole show. Way to go Sarah!
The Best of Show was by Nancy Prince. Here's a picture from her website. She was teaching at the show this weekend. Frankly, her work appears to be technically flawless and her design sense is charming is a Thomas Kinkade sort of way, but I'm not a huge fan. (ohh I hesitate to even write that... I hate the idea of making anyone feel badly... it's not that there is anything wrong with it. It's just not my thing. )
Pat LaPierre McAfee won the third Exceptional Merit ribbon. It's called Alphabetically Speaking.
She also made this quilt which won Best of Show last year and has made some rounds on the circuit. Boy, she's got that free motion thing down. I also loved chatting with her at her booth where she sells the "easy slider" a sheet of teflon to put on top of your machine that helps the fabric move easy under the needle.
Speaking of chatting with vendors... it is such a delight to be greeted enthusiastically when I come into a booth! In my quick first round, a few things caught my eye. But I ended up buying stuff from only two vendors. They were both so engaging, supportive, helpful, interested and fun. I was thrilled to spit out my cash. In fact, I probably spent more than I would have if we hadn't "built a relationship." I'll write more about those purchases and post a picture tomorrow.
There was also a special exhibit of loon quilts. Fun -- all kinds of quilts, some original, some from patterns, small, big...
I was pleased to show "Day at the Lake." My mom did the applique and construction and I did the quilting. She lives on Lake Ontario and it was a delightful project to do together.
Then there was the Art Quilts Maine Self Portrait Challenge. Eleven of our members showed quilts. Here's mine. You can look through my March archives for the progress of this. I'm pleased with it. It was fun to make. I learned a lot about what I like to do and what is tiresome.
Here's Kathy's portrait. (She's in my small group, Frayed Edges.) The coat opens up to reveal tons of creative energy and spirit! And the face is a beautiful likeness.
Here is another self portrait from our group. This is Julie Weaver. I think the technique and execution is fantastic. She told us how she did it at our last guild meeting. I'm not sure I remember.
Remember I said not much else struck my fancy? Here are three that did.
Day Lilies by Johann Chellis (also a member of Art Quilts Maine)
Something wonderful and traditional in the Green and the Purple.
Also wonderful and traditional.
I zipped through the show for my first run in just about an hour seeing all the quilts and vendors. Then I went back and considered the quilts much more carefully. Over all: uninspiring. I hate to say that, because in truth, I believe every quilt that someone makes and loves is super fantastic! And that they put it out there to be seen and shared: even more super fantastic. But, on the whole I saw very little that I thought showed a real spark of creativity. It's not so much that I even mind predictable patterns or traditional colors, it just all seemed to lack oomph. Ok, not all. Some were great. None knocked my socks off.
Our quilt show has a unique judging system in that there are three judges, they each judge every quilt on a 100 point scale, the three scores are averaged and if the quilt falls into a certain range, it's awarded a ribbon for that number value. Yes, every quilt in the catagory could win first place. Or no ribbons at all. This system has pros and cons which I will not bore you with.
I was glad to see more first place ribbons this year. Good work, Maine Quilters! Or maybe I should, thanks for taking your heads out of your butts, Judges.
I am thrilled to say that Sarah Smith of the Frayed Edges won an Exceptional Merit ribbon for her Bijagos Warrior. Exceptional Merit is for quilts with an average score above 97! There were only three in the whole show. Way to go Sarah!
The Best of Show was by Nancy Prince. Here's a picture from her website. She was teaching at the show this weekend. Frankly, her work appears to be technically flawless and her design sense is charming is a Thomas Kinkade sort of way, but I'm not a huge fan. (ohh I hesitate to even write that... I hate the idea of making anyone feel badly... it's not that there is anything wrong with it. It's just not my thing. )
Pat LaPierre McAfee won the third Exceptional Merit ribbon. It's called Alphabetically Speaking.
She also made this quilt which won Best of Show last year and has made some rounds on the circuit. Boy, she's got that free motion thing down. I also loved chatting with her at her booth where she sells the "easy slider" a sheet of teflon to put on top of your machine that helps the fabric move easy under the needle.
Speaking of chatting with vendors... it is such a delight to be greeted enthusiastically when I come into a booth! In my quick first round, a few things caught my eye. But I ended up buying stuff from only two vendors. They were both so engaging, supportive, helpful, interested and fun. I was thrilled to spit out my cash. In fact, I probably spent more than I would have if we hadn't "built a relationship." I'll write more about those purchases and post a picture tomorrow.
There was also a special exhibit of loon quilts. Fun -- all kinds of quilts, some original, some from patterns, small, big...
I was pleased to show "Day at the Lake." My mom did the applique and construction and I did the quilting. She lives on Lake Ontario and it was a delightful project to do together.
Then there was the Art Quilts Maine Self Portrait Challenge. Eleven of our members showed quilts. Here's mine. You can look through my March archives for the progress of this. I'm pleased with it. It was fun to make. I learned a lot about what I like to do and what is tiresome.
Here's Kathy's portrait. (She's in my small group, Frayed Edges.) The coat opens up to reveal tons of creative energy and spirit! And the face is a beautiful likeness.
Here is another self portrait from our group. This is Julie Weaver. I think the technique and execution is fantastic. She told us how she did it at our last guild meeting. I'm not sure I remember.
Remember I said not much else struck my fancy? Here are three that did.
Day Lilies by Johann Chellis (also a member of Art Quilts Maine)
Something wonderful and traditional in the Green and the Purple.
Also wonderful and traditional.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)