Unexpected Playtime

Younger Son was signed up for a Sunday afternoon class with local potter Becky Zee.

Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling great yesterday so he sent me in his place with just under 45 minutes notice.

This was the room at the Botanic Gardens when I arrived.

 

One of the instructor's example pieces.

The "model" for this particular class - his name is Squeegee.

Another example for a future class - the baby sister of Squeegee named MoMo.

We started with the feet.  Toes are harder to make than it might appear.

Next we created what Becky calls "French fry" hair and let it sit while the eight of us made our critters' bodies, arms, noses, and eyes before finally adding the hair.

Painting - we had our option of close to 20 colors.  I went with purple for the body, a sage green for the tie and toenails, and a shockingly bright yellow for the hair.  

Once fired, I'm hoping the colors are smoother than they looked when I left the classroom. 

And I most especially hope my critter doesn't lose too many strands of hair in the kiln.

For my very first experience at hand-building with clay, I'm not at all unhappy with the results.  Becky is an excellent instructor and leads a well-paced class with lots of understated side comments that add insight and a wealth of how-to-hints.

After family dinner was over, I showed the photos to Young Man and asked him to name my critter.  He pondered for a bit and then very seriously proclaimed "Spikey" which totally works for me.

The finished version Spikey will be ready in a couple of weeks and yes, I'll share "after" photos (unless he ends up bald).

* * *

P.S.  When I shared my sketched plan for Dragon Fyre with Young Man, he enthusiastically gave two-thumbs-up approval.  With the backing fabric finally here (bad weather delays), I'm ready to get going on the project. (and Younger Son is feeling much better today, thankfully)

Quiltdivajulie

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"Art is an experience, not an object."

Robert Motherwell

Playing with Rocks

Several weeks ago, 

Little Man was here for a weekend visit.

He and Uncle A and yours truly painted rocks.

(from the garden section of the big box store -

 not special flat crafting rocks)

Little Man's are in the foreground, 

Uncle A's are to the upper right

and mine are at the upper left.

Once dry, Little Man wrote his name on each of his rocks

using a Sharpie marker before we added 

a sealer coat and he took his rocks home.

He was SO proud of his work.

(he put them all in their front flower beds)

Last week Uncle A and I sat down with our rocks and paint markers.

Once the designs were dry, we added the coat of sealer.

Another overnight dry and it was time to enjoy the results.

These are Uncle A's - there are companion designs on the reverse

of each of these (i.e., sun/moon, all/nothing)

I have three rocks that now live in my sewing room.

This is the first one.

This is the second  -  top view.

The second rock's bottom side.

(this is a recurring theme for me - "be YOU, not them")

And this is the third studio rock.

Side one.

Side two.

Sides three and four.

Side five.

I've wanted to do something with my four words

(liberated, scrappy, eclectic, colorful) 

for a long time - now I can cross it off my list.

This was the largest of my rocks.

And these are the others.

* * *

There are an equal number of naked rocks 

stored in a bucket for another session.

Uncle A and I learned a lot - the next time around

there are several things we'll do differently.

No clue when that will happen, but that's okay.

Quiltdivajulie

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“What makes things memorable is that they are meaningful, significant, colorful.”

Joshua Foer

Epicenter - The Quilt

Instead of a binding for Epicenter,

I chose to add a facing -

the first one I've ever done.

I used the excellent tutorial by 

Victoria Gertenbach at The Silly Boo Dilly.

But why a facing for this particular quilt?

Well . . . 

There's a story behind the decision 

and I'm going to share it with you here.

I'll break it up with photos of the finished quilt

taken before I delivered it to the quilt shop.

In 1996, one of my mentors wrote her original version 

of this testimonial for Mertie Buckman (now deceased), 

one of our area’s great philanthropists.  

In 1999, I learned Beth intended to share 

the following version at a high-level luncheon 

for the college's womens' philanthropy group.

I was the admin assistant helping to coordinate

all aspects of the luncheon and I shared my idea

for what I thought needed to be done

with my two bosses --

and they agreed with great enthusiasm.

That weekend, I went out and found several hundred 

unassuming rocks and wrapped each one in 

clear cellophane tied with red/black grosgrain ribbon.  

(red and black = the college colors)

As the guests arrived for the luncheon, 

they found a wrapped rock at each place setting.  

Despite some initial confusion

(thinking the rock was some sort of candy) 

when the event was over, 

not one of the rocks was left behind.  

Mine still sits beside my computer monitor.

Here is what my mentor Beth shared with the group

as she dedicated the luncheon gathering to Miss Mertie:

". . . It's such a tiny, inconsequential gift 

that I'm going to tell you what it is.  

It's a very simple little rock that I picked 

by the side of a lake in Arkansas 

where I spent many happy times this summer 

with my young grandsons throwing rocks into the water.  

We loved watching the rocks splash 

and make ripples which spread out and out on the lake.  

We would wonder where the ripples - 

"circles" they called them - might end up.  

On one of those occasions my mind was racing ahead 

to this day and I was wondering what I might ever say to you. 

Suddenly those ripples took on new meaning.  

I could see them as the ripples of kindness 

set in motion by your gracious acts of generosity.  

I could envision the countless numbers of people 

whose lives would be touched - 

people whom you will never see or know - 

people who will find hope and encouragement 

and opportunity they might never have imagined.  

Those of us who have been fortunate enough 

to stand close by you on the shore have seen 

the enormous splash and the resounding waves 

produced by your generosity - 

even though your gifts have been given so quietly 

and with such modest grace.  

We can imagine those waves becoming 'circles'

spreading out and touching lives for years and years to come.

There is no way to measure the effect of your generosity 

and kindness in the lives of others. 

What we can know is the effect in our own lives.  

I have seen so well what it has meant to have your help 

in shaping the purpose and the plans for this organization. 

Your wise counsel and your presence - and most of all, 

your example - are clearly reflected in what we hope 

to accomplish as we encourage others to become 

more deeply committed as leaders and benefactors.

Of all the gifts you have given, none, I think, 

is as important as the gift of your example.

  

Behind those bright blue eyes there is a spirit 

of kindness and grace that reaches deep into our hearts.  

You show us what it is to live believing in the future 

and believing in the potential of others. 

You show us a life lived with faith 

and compassion and selflessness.  

And most of all, you show us what we might become.

And so I give you this simple little rock, 

in the hope that it will remind you always 

of my deep affection and admiration and 

of my gratitude for having stood in your presence.  

God bless you and keep you."

* * *

So now you can understand

why I didn't want standard quilt binding

on this particular quilt.

Quiltdivajulie

What a Class!!

Wow -- what an awesome group of bird makers!!

(Kathy had to leave early so she isn't in this group photo)

Be sure to double click these photos

to see just some of the fabulous fabrics

were chosen for bird legs!!

These ladies definitely got the memo to go colorful.

Regina made her birds in related pairs

for a table runner she's planning to make.

And as the ladies made their second and third

(or fourth and even fifth) birds,

I pretty much ran out of adjectives

to describe how innovative 

and wonderful their color choices were.

Stylish, sophisticated, elegant . . . 

. . . bold and dynamic . . .

. . . striking and exotic . . . 

. . . unique and flamboyant . . . 

And like me, some bird makers

just HAD to go their own way

and make birds with a non-white background

and one with these gorgeous tail feathers!

(all photos should supersize if double clicked)

And there were many, many more birds beyond these -

so many that we all lost count after about 2:00.

It was indeed a marvelous class.

Many thanks to the Thimble and Thread Guild

of Kirkwood, MO for hosting this fun

and so-very-colorful workshop.

Many thanks to Glen for sharing her Bird A Day quilt (L)

and to Lynne for sharing her Flight of Fancy (R).

Lynne also loaned me her Extras quilt (left)

and I took my own Just Wing It quilt (right)

for even more inspiration.

The students LOVED them!

Have you made a liberated bird?

If not, you can get Lynne's most excellent tutorial

by visiting her Etsy shop 

Happy birding to all!!

Quiltdivajulie

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"What seems mundane and trivial is the very stuff that discovery is made of. The only difference is our perspective, our readiness to put the pieces together in an entirely different way, and to see patterns where only shadows appeared just a moment before."
Edward B. Lindaman

Fine Feathered Friends

This past week

Victoria at Bumble Beans posted about her quilt dreams

Carla at Feathered Fibers posted Creative Exercises

Magpie Sue posted about entering her liberated quilts in the county fair

and

Lynne has been off playing with daft zebras.

Me?

Aside from working on Stars Over Leehaven

I've been sketching ideas

to add to the notebook

for my week with Mary Lou Weidman.

Here's a rough sketch for

what could easily become

a Hoochy Mama bird quilt

(and yes, I really did buy myself

a brand new box of crayons!!)

These three quirky characters below 

are the inspiration behind my idea

(along with the 3 word rocks

I keep at the base of
my office computer monitor) ~

Imagine.

Laugh.

Dream.

~ ~ ~

The class is called Plaid to Meet You.

Maybe there will be

plaid Hoochy Mama birdhouses

in the border blocks.

Who knows . . .

Time will tell.

Need to go play

with several other random ideas

that have presented themselves

this week.

Be back Monday!

Quiltdivajulie

p.s.  The first hanging sleeve for Spirit Song is stitched in place!  On to #2 . . .