Late post- tie dyed Easter Eggs,

My friend Kathy called me today, & she wanted me to post a picture of the Easter eggs I dyed using Silk from old ties. She had seen it on Martha Stewart, & told me about it, so I went on line looked it up, & did the eggs.

Fun Saturday

Today we're having our friends the Meyns over. Mindy & John have 3 great girls. Lindsey, the oldest is graduating from UAJ this spring, & she sent her graduation announcement, a self portrait, which I think is wonderful. The whole family is very creative. Mindy does stained glass & fused glass. John is a carpenter. All 3 girls love to create things, & have been my quilting buddies since they were big enough to reach the pedal (in Hope's case I put it on a stack of thick books & started her out on my little Singer Featherweight, she was 4). We will be having Curried Halibut with spinach & coconut rice (a favorite dish from a Weight watcher cook book), & our favorite Pear salad. My mouth is watering thinking about it..
I made the "Bee Creative" Quard for Lindsey, she won't be here today, she's still in Juneau, but I wanted to play on something small before I start dinner, so this is what I did.

Postquard For Baghdad

My friend Maria is a nurse in the National Guard & much to our dismay has been sent to Baghdad. We really miss her at the hospital & are hoping & praying she returns safely to us. I've made this little postquard to send her a little breath of coolness, where she is now melting in the heat.

I am also very pleased to say thanks to Suze, I now know how to add links to my side bar! Thanks again Suze!

Postquard

Here is a postquard I made for an exchange with Sandysue, a blogger in WI. It's my 2 favorite seasons in Alaska, summer & quilting season. Also known here as "Alaska's 2 seasons, winter & road construction".

The Fireweed is my favorite wildflower.

What do you do with painted fusible web?

Well here's what I do with painted fusible web. I add bits of color & texture to small wall hangings like these, & to ATC's . As far as the dryer sheets are concerned, I fuse bits of them into pieces like this one with the coral & sea shells, & I use them for fiber bits in my thread painted fabrics, & bowls or lampshades.

This was in answer to Michelle on my last post.

Playtime

Here's what I played with last night. I did a little thread play, made a flower with a little mirror in the center, & I painted dryer sheets & fusible web with lumiere paints. Just fun!

April Journal Page

Like my Winter page for February, I did April for Springtime. Writing about the changes that happen this time of year, then weaving the fabric together with a piece of hand painted fabric. I made the eggs & Robin from Sculpy clay, & the pussywillow branches from threads. I also used Whisper on the background. I plan to do a Summer & Autumn page in this style too.

Am I thinking too deep?

I went to Barnes & Noble a couple of days ago, & bought these books. The View From the Studio Door was the reason I went looking. I'd seen several references to it on other artist blog's & thought it sounded interesting. I also decided I had to get Art & Fear, as the same author co-authored on that one, & I always like to read books in the order that they were written. I've started on that one, & so far find pretty interesting.

The Arts & Craft book was on the bargain table & cost almost nothing. It's a beautiful little book, full of wonderful photos of designs by people like William Morris , his daughter May Morris,& Frank Lloyd Wright & many more from the Arts & Crafts movement. I love these types of designs. I frequently refer to designs like these when I'm looking for inspiration for a quilting design. I will take a design I like & start doodling with my pencil, doing continuous line drawings, until I get a design I like that I can translate to a free-motion quilting design. Not a direct copy, but inspired-by. Now is inspired-by Derivative? I worry about being derivative.

In Honor of Kathy's 50th Birthday!

You didn't honestly think I would let such a momentous occaision as a 50th birthday slip by without making a little something to honor it did you?

Welcome to the age of Red Hats!!!& many many more my friend.

Thanks To All

Thanks to all who have offered your opinions on my dilemma below. I think I'll withdraw from teaching classes, & run with my ideas for a new design, & spend my time & energy producing a better & more upscale design. I've always said I had too little time & too many ideas .

Copycats & Moral Dilemmas

Here are 2 of my reversible purses. I have several different styles, & have been teaching the "Reverse-A-Purse Class" for 3 years now. Recently I stumbled upon one of my former students at our Alaska Fiber Festival selling these purses. She also informed me she was selling at the Anchorage Museum too, which is something I had planned on doing this year. I was upset to say the least. I felt as if she had stolen from me.

I consulted a lawyer, who advised that I write to this woman & tell her how I felt, & what I thought she should do to make it right. I also let the museum know that this is my design not hers as she had claimed on her purses, calling them "P--'s Originals". How can she call them original? I decided, to compensate me she should pay an annual fee in exchange for a certificate that says I'll let her make & sell my designs. I thought a fee of $100.00 per year paid to a local charity in my name, & the receipt sent to me, was more than fair. It's not about the money for me, it's about right & wrong. She has phoned me (several times), & at first she thought this was a good idea. Then she talked to her friend, & then said she laid awake listening to her conscience. Apparently she & it told her this would be wrong, validating my claim (regardless of the fact that it's the truth), & now she thinks this would somehow take away from her own"work" which just happens to be a pale somewhat lifeless copy of mine. So I told her I think she is probably going to be hurting herself more than it will me. We have a small community here, & I have some good friends in our art community.

I have been wondering if I should withdraw from teaching though. If this sort of thing is going to happen, & I'm going to feel so bad about it, maybe I shouldn't waste my time teaching. Maybe I should spend that time producing my own work, & getting out there to sell it. I don't know what I want to do now. I'm torn.

Easter Bunny Visit & ATC

I caught the Easter Bunny sneaking through my yard yesterday. I snapped his picture through my bedroom window.

Today I got this nice little prize in the mail. My ATC from Dale Anne. Isn't it lovely?

I also actually found a lawyer today who would discuss copyright issues, & she gave me some free advice, & told me what I had already determined that I wanted to do was more than fair, & if the lady doesn't agree, & settle how I say, then I can call her back & she will help me. Nice lady, & I think an artist herself.

What I am asking for is an annual fee to be paid for both 2005 & 2006, to reproduce my pattern & sell, in exchange I'll give her permission in writing that can be displayed with the purses, giving me credit for the original design. I've written & mailed the letter, & feel so much better now!

Oh & the other nice thing that happened today, I weighed in at WW, & I'm down 5.2 pounds! :~)

In The Company of Women

Today was my Calendar Girls meeting. We get together once a month, just to chat & laugh, & share our passion for quilting. I love being with this group of women. I'm the baby of the group, at almost 52. Today I learned some new things about some of them. Things I never knew about them.
One talked about her son, who had died at the age of 35, from AIDS. I never even knew she had another son before. He had grown up being pushed into playing football, & being macho, & getting married, then at the age of 30, he left his wife & child, & told the world he was gay. 5 years later he was dead.
Another talked about a 1st husband she'd never mentioned before. How he made a habit of cheating, then one day he went to another country for his job, & while there went out with another woman, only to find out once he got intimate with her that she wasn't a girl at all! He was quite surprised.
We also talked about copyrights, quilting, & health issues & moving away, & friendship. I love these women.
The quilt I'm posting today, is the one I made for the APNQ, Wish You Were Here Exhibit. It was the 2nd one I made, as the 1st was stolen from a mailbox in Seattle. It will be up for auction in August. I made it in memory of my sister-in-law Peggy, who died from breast cancer. It is made in 2 parts, to be hung separate or together. It's name is Mizpah! The butterfly was made with my free motion thread play, it was NOT digitized.

My Hand Dyed Stamped fabrics

Here are a couple of the fabrics I made recently. The honey-combed looking piece was done from a stamp I made from a floor mat impression into a piece of memory foam. The bee I carved a piece of rubber stamp for rubber stamping.

The mostly orange piece, I just rollered the dyes on with a regular 3 inch paint roller after I scrunched the fabric in folds (very loose & irregular pleats).

ATC & Springtime Has come to Alaska

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was winter, today is warm sunny spring. Snow is gone along the highway & cleanup crews are picking up the winter trash that has landed along the road from trucks without covers on the back.

I have the window open & can hear chickadees & a woodpecker.
I'm hearing the news, sounds like the south is getting hit with bad weather again. I'm glad I live in Alaska.

Here is the ATC that I've just sent off to Dale Anne in Canada, Thanks for trading!

White Morning

This morning I woke up to a fresh white world again. Old Man Winter is trying to hang on for dear life. The roads are mucky & cars are dirty, & Spring break-up is in full swing. This is the time of year I should go on vacation. The photos are my front driveway, & my Mama's boy, Broccoli cat, who wanted my attention when I was trying to check e-mails.

Woo Hoo! I'm wearing my black jeans again! Less than a week back on Weight Watchers, & my pants fit again! Hallelujah!! I gained a few pounds during the Fiber Festival. My skinny friend Kathy, who came to visit said, "one week on my diet & you'll lose weight". Well, one week on her diet, & I couldn't button my jeans anymore. Not all diets are equal, & So-Beach is not for me.
I went to quilt guild today, showed my journal pages, & ATCs from Larkin Van Horn & Kathy Jolman. They had the best looking snacks (cream puffs & a dreamy looking cake that a new gal Irynia made). I passed as it's only my 1st week on WW & didn't want to blow all my points on a snack.

Down to the Studio to work on Dori's quilt. She is my client! I've just started taking on clients & Dori is my 1st one, & this is the 2nd quilt that I'm doing for her. #1 is here. I'll post this one when I get done quilting it. I'll work on the Barn next.

Aussie Challenge Details

I said once I got my Aussie challenge quilt "Why?" back, I would show some details. So here they are. The peachy background is actually "Warm & Natural" batting that I've hand dyed.

I named it Why? because sometimes when I look at art quilts I wonder why the artist chose to make it. I figured people would wonder the same thing if they looked at this piece because of the amount of stitching & beading in it. My answer was I just wanted to have some fun!

A New Me

Warren, my DH didn't like the old self portrait in red satin, said I had a goofy expression, so here's a different goofy expression to look at for a while!

Details on the Barn Quilt

Here I thought it might rain yesterday, & when I went to pour my morning cup of coffee, the was a good 5 or 6" of new snow! Welcome to Springtime in Alaska!
I spent a few minutes trying to get some detail shots of the quilting I'm trying to do on this BARN quilt. I really hate stitching in the ditch, as it seems like such a hard thing to do really well (I am a perfectionist & have been labeled such since 1st grade). I really don't like it when a stitch goes astray & jumps the ditch, when I am trying to stitch in the ditch! I teach free motion quilting, & I hate marking on my quilts. That's something else I do very little of.

April Fools Day

After 2 weeks,several showers, & a couple of soaks in the hot tub, my feet are finally back to their normal color. The picture is me rolling blue dye on to the bottoms of my feet to make my foot prints on to a piece of scrap fabric that I intend to make a banner for my studio out of with my "Cold Feet Quilter" title on it.
I woke up early this morning, the sky out over the Cook Inlet is dark & brooding looking. Maybe it'll bring rain to wash away the snow. We still have a good foot here in the yard, but we're at about 1800 ft, there's quite a bit less down at the bottom of the hill. We had Chinook winds 2 nights ago. Last night was quiet.
Warren & I went & saw the new 'Ice Age, the Meltdown' movie. I loved it. It was very cute, funnier I think even than the 1st one. It had a bad review in the paper yesterday, & I told Warren that probably will mean that we'll love it, & we did. There was one particularly corny scene that reminded me of an old Hollywood choreographed dance number that I found very tounge in cheeky, that the critic probably didn't like, but I'm an old synchronized swimmer, so I love that kind of stuff.
I changed the calendar pages this morning, took down the winter quilts from the walls, & Warren's Santa pictures finally. Time to decorate for Spring!& go back to Weight Watchers. I need to shed a few winter pounds!