Kaleidoscope Workshop with Paula Nadelstern"

                  "In the Middle of difficulty lies opportunity."  Albert Einstein

Paula with her fabulous snowflake quilt...each snowflake is made up of many small pieces to make the "kaleidoscope" effect.

     Today was the Paula Nadelstern all day workshop held at the "Quilt Among Friends" quilt shop in Arlington, TX.  What a great experience!!  I had purchased fabric earlier in the week that met the criteria of being bilateral (meaning when sliced up, would create a mirror image of itself).  But once I got there and saw what we were doing, I wanted fabric that was much more vibrant and rich...I bought some there and was really pleased with it.  I will still use my Pink and Lime Green, and am curious to see it put together using her techniques...

The workshop was titled "Simple Symmetry" and this is Paula's example of what we were going to be doing.  Each row consists of three finished symmetrical blocks...using very ornate and colorful fabric, cut up and sewn back together to get the kaleidoscope affect.  Each single block is made up of eight triangles which have been cut from identical repeated patterns in the fabric.  Several workshop students had the same fabric, some in different colors, and it was amazing to see the different patterns that emerged just from the selected areas that were put together.

This is one of my blocks, not sewn together yet, but will become my first row after doing two more exactly like this one.  And when the three blocks go together, you get a secondary design where each meets.

And here is the class with Paula showing off our blocks; you can see we were getting a little goofy by the end of the day!!  Great fun had by all!!

A Correction

In telling of my trip to Chicago, I had said it had been over 45 years since I had been there..not true!  In the 70's, the Field Museum had one of three showings of King Tut, very similiar to the exhibit that was shown  in Dallas last year.  My two daughters, my sister, two of her kids, and our mom traveled to Chicago to see the exhibit.  We had a great time.....we stayed in a motel in the suburbs and took the kids in on a commuter train early in the morning...they were all very excited to be on a train for one and just going to the "city".  It was pretty funny to see all the commuters...doing that same trip day in and day out...reading their newspapaers, drinking their coffee, not making eye contact with  anyone...compared to our kids who were so excited!  Oh, they were well behaved...we didn't allow them to be too loud or disturbing, but their joy was somewhat infectuous as there were some who asked them what they were planning to do in Chicago!

Random Ramblings

" Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?"  Anon.

Sunday On La Grande Jatte-1884 by Georges Seurat

Such a thrill to see this painting at the Chicago Art Institute last week...when I was a kid, I did see it but after having taught art for 32 years, I had a much greater appreciation for it...knowing something of the artist and the history of the period.  My mom was also very fond of this particular work of art and had a print of it hung in her living room as long as I can remember. (I wonder what happened to that picture?)  I also really enjoyed the musical "Sunday with George"...I haven't seen it live but many years ago, PBS filmed a production of it with Mandy Pankin in the starring role. 

North Crowley Spring Band Concert

Somewhere on that stage is my granddaughter, playing the French horn.  NC held their spring concert last Saturday. The middle schools that feed into NC had their concerts first...then the high school.  I am always amazed at how wonderfully those kids, from 7th grade on up can play!!  And kudos to their band directors!!  They have to have great patience to work with all that noise...then to make it into something beautiful...what a feat!!

My guild has a members only challenge quilt each year in conjunction with our quilt show which is in September.  This year the theme is a scrappy quilt, using 50 or more fabrics.  It can be any size, any pattern, with a minimum of applique and embellishments.  Coming up with 50 fabrics is no problem...I have started on what I think will be my entry...and that may be the only thing I actually get done to enter the show this year!

Our speaker at our meeting this week is Paula Nadelstern, who creates kaliedescope quilts...she is having her workshop on Saturday...I have signed up for it and am very excited to attend and see how she makes the magic happen!!  I am working with fabric which is totally out of my comfort zone....Pink and lime greens!!!  But I hear it is good to break away into something totally different once in awhile!!  We'll see!

Nice Surprise!!

             When we got home from our trip, I had the nicest surprise in the mail...one of my blog buddies, Libby, had sent me a book...Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" and one of her wonderful postcards along with some packets of wild flower seeds.  She and I had "discussed" books and I had said that was one I was wanting to read....what a generous person she is!!!!!!

Life is Good!!

"The most potent muse of all is our Inner Child!" Stephen Nachmanovitch

One of the many theaters in Chicago.

Every five years since we turned 50, several of my girlfriends from High School get together in various places to celebrate.  This year (our fifth time to get together...figure it out!) we traveled from around the country to meet in Chicago.  Because he had never been there before, my husband traveled with us.  There were to be a couple other guys, but as it turned out, he was the only guy...with 12 females to usher around.  I think he secretly loved it!!  Actually, much of the time, he and I would take out on our own...then all get together for breakfast and dinner.

The Art Institute of Chicago

 This is one of my favorite places to visit.  I hadn't been to Chicago in about 45 years, and the Art Institute has about doubled in size.  When we went there this time, we had planned to visit in the morning then go somewhere else, but it was so huge, my husband and I spent the day there!!

Here we all are at the Art Institute after lunch.  Most of the other gals went on to other things when Dick and I decided to stay.  He came in real handy as our designated photographer!

Chicago Skyline over Lake Michigan

Six of us decided to take a Grayline Bus tour...we did the four hour version then Dick and I also took the tour of the John Hancock Tower with wonderful aerial views of the city...not as tall as the Sears Building but better viewing from their observation deck.

One view from the John Hancock Building

Looking the opposite way, Lakeshore Drive and Lake Michigan

We were so lucky the whole trip...it had been rainy and it was cold but when we were out, the rain held off.  And the sun came out when were up in the Hancock Building.

A View from our Hotel Window at Night

We stayed at the Hampton Inn in the Majestic Theater Building...I highly recommend it if anyone is traveling to Chicago.  Not only was it really well located, (we could walk to Millienium Park and the Art Institute, etc.) the staff were just great...very friendly and accommodating...and the rooms were very nice.

After the great Chicago experience, we also had a wonderful time seeing family in Illinois and in Missouri.

And as always when traveling...it is great to get home to one's own bed and shower...routine is a good thing!!

A Celebration and a Cause

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." Vincent Van Gogh

Last night we attended the Cook Children's Volunteer Dinner with part of our family. Dick was one of the volunteers being honored for his service.  A very nice evening...dinner a the TCU Student Union Center..we got to meet some of the people he works with on his floor.  These are the ladies who nominated him for the award.  Of course, I had to tease him about making a speech...being a more than reticent person, he was adamant that he would not have to give one!!  There was a video presentation about the volunteers.  It was really inspiring to see many of the things they do at Cook... to hear their stories...and the gratitude of the Cook people for the volunteers.

And the second part of my blog is the "CAUSE"!  I don't usually listen to Oprah, but I do often watch "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" which came on right before Oprah.  So today, after the Millionaire, before I turned the tv off, Oprah's show came on...I was intrigued by the topic...to sign a pledge to not use cell phones or text while driving.  That happens to be a subject I am very concerned about...as they say, texting/talking while driving is as dangerous as driving drunk!  So after the show, I went to her website and have signed the pledge (although I am not one who does that anyway; I hardly ever even have my phone on!) but I do want to encourage everyone I know to sign the pledge and to really live by what you have pledged!!

Busy Week!

"Atheism is a Non-prophet organization!"

Our "studioQ" group met at Heather's Monday, this is Pam showing us an old book with some neat embroidery/embellishments from the '70's, but very much like some of the things we are doing today....the old adage.."what goes around, comes around"..proven true again!  Then Bethany had a beautiful baby quilt she is doing for a friend.

Beth showed a small quilt top she is doing with scraps and Susan had made her "Yin/Yang" purse with some fabric she had gotten at the Bear Creek Quilt Show.

Wendy had a top she made from a class she recently took and Heather had several pieces that she had hand-dyed using techinques for blocking out color from a workshop she had taken.  This was one of my favorites!

It was a beautiful day at Heather's so we ate lunch outside.  They have a beautiful yard! And this was the anniversary of our third year to be organized so we had to celebrate with a little of the bubbly!

Monday evening was my granddauthter, Kathleen's Confirmation and I very was proud to be her sponser!  There were 63 of the kids being confirmed, but it moved along pretty smoothly and we were home by 9:00.

Can you guess what Kathleen is saying to me????

Then tomorrow night we are going to the Cook Hospital Volunteer Appreciation Dinner and Saturday off with friends to Waco to see woodwork and have lunch.

Great Weekend!!

" Sometimes I feel like I am diagonally parked in a parallel universe!"

Race for the Cure 2010 Fort Worth, Texas

Both my daughters and the mother-in-law of one and I did the Race for the Cure yesterday...a 5K in and around Fort Worth....beautiful day and much fun had by all!  This is the 14 or 15th time I have done the race; I'll have to count my t-shirts to make sure of the number!

Have you ever seen a pink tractor before?  Pink was the color of the day!!

The crowd in front of us didn't come close to  the number of people behind us.  I think I heard there were over 18,000 people doing the race!

And... the finish is in sight!!! The race is won...of course, for us, it was more of a "Walk for the Cure", but we did out number the runners by a long shot!!

After the race one of my daughter's and I went to an exhibit at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame; a realatively new museum in Fort Worth.  The exhibit was "In the Faraway Place", paintings and photographs by and about Georgia O'Keeffe and the actual camp equipment used by her on her treks into New Mexico.

Then this morning we went to the other daughter's house for brunch with everyone...celebrating a birthday and granddaughter's confirmation which is tomorrow night.  The above mini quilt is for my daughter's birthday....she just bought a new house and frequently calls it "Casa Abba" (which is in reference to her blog).

Whoops!!!

"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong!" Joseph Chilton Pearce

 I have two daughters...both very bright, beautiful...inside and out..and very observant!  One of my daughters just commented on my yesterday's blog about my picture posted of the cemetary...I did not notice the name on the gravestone...I was concentrating on the angel above!  The daughter who noticed the name is the sister of the one whose name appears!!

This is really the year for blooming things...my irises have never looked better...and I can never think of the name of this little pink thing, but it too is glorious this year!

I am about to finish Barbara Kingsolver's "The Lacuna".  It is one of those books once started, needs to be finished.  The subject matter is great....a period of time I find interesting...right before WWII and into the McCarthyism era...compelling characters, fiction and non-fiction..Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Trotsky...and a fictional boy/growing up to be an author...but there were several times I really wanted to just put it down and be done with it...then I would read a little more and become curious to see what came next.  This is the first book I have read of hers...I had thought I would want to read "The Poisonwood Bible" but know I'm not sure...anyone out there who has read it?  Recommendations?

It's been a long time!

"Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose"...Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

And I have been "silent" way too long!!  We have been out of town, then when we returned our computer access was out.  The road leading to our house is being reworked.  What started out to be repair of potholes has turned into a major project.  We know that eventually it will be really good, but in the meantime, we are dealing either with mucho dust or slimy mud!!  And the reason our DSL service was out is that somehow the road crew had cut our line!!  That only took three days to get fixed!!

Bluebonnets in our yard...this is what we really love about spring in Texas!

Last week we went down to the Texas Hill country...we had heard that the bluebonnets were really impressive this year.  And what we heard was right!!  This is the view of an old German cemetary in Fredricksburg.  The bluebonnets are so thick it has created a place of beauty in what could be a rather gruesome place...actually I have seen many cemetaries which are very beautiful...some really great works of art.  This picture is taken in an area set aside for children's gravesites. Some of the older graves have the tombstones written in German.

When we go to the Hill country, we like to visit Enchanted Rock, a state park which was an area held sacred by the Indians. (see my profile picture..background)  We have climbed to the top many times, but this time we just did the 2 1/2 mile loop around the base...There we saw a lot of bluebonnets and clariet cup, a member of the cactus family.

It is blooming now also.  I am amazed at the ability of flowers or any growing thing to come up out of sheer rock!

While in Fredricksburg, we visited the Museum of the Pacific...Admiral Niminz who was the commander of the Pacific Operation, is from Fredricksburg and there has been a museum about him there for quite a long time.  Then this museum, sponsered by George Bush the first, was built and just opened up last December 7.  It is a very impressive building and artifacts...extremely well done...is comprable to any museum we have seen in Washington, DC.  Any war buff or anyone with an interest in WWII should not miss it!

I am sewing on a gift for my daughter for her birthday which was Friday.  She just moved into a new home and I am making her a gift to go with it!!  I can't show it because she reads my blog, so I will wait until next week after we get together.  She, my other daughter and granddaughter as well as some friends are doing the Susan Koman Race for the Cure/5K...for me it is the "walk" for the cure!!  This will be probably our 15th or more time to do it.

Musings on a windy day!

" I intend to live forever...so far, so good!"  Anonymous

The weather is very mild, but the wind will just blow you down!  It rattles the windows and blows all the patio furniture around.  At least it is not a wet or cold wind so I am really not complaining, just stating the facts!

I was too impatient to wait for the mountain laurel to come in to full bloom before taking a picture so here is close up of one bloom.  The flower is very sweet smelling too!  The first time we saw mountain laurel was in the Hill country of Texas.  There is a state park down there..."Lost Maples"...which has a lot of it growing wild.  So we got a plant at the nursery which was about two feet tall...now our plant is over six foot, but had never bloomed in the eight or nine years we have had it until now!  I guess they are just "late bloomers"!!

Now, I am not one to read the obituaries regularly, but the other morning one caught my eye as I was scanning to see if I knew anyone. (That is what happens when you reach the golden age!!)  Anyway, you know how people will ask for memorials for certain things (charities, hospitals, churches, etc.) in lieu of flowers...this one that caught my eye was requesting monetary memorials to be made to members of the immediate family!  Somehow, that just struck me as wrong!

And yesterday, coming home from the "Y", I was at a stoplight by a utility van which had a commercial sign advertising its place of business.  It was the "Canine Fitness Camp"...below the title it said they had accommadations, workouts, healthy meals, hikes, swimming, etc....for your DOG!  Kind of made me laugh out loud...or...LOL!!!

One last thought...my hummingbirds finally got here!!  They are running about three weeks late; smart little guys...they knew it was just too cold to come here!  And..does anyone have any ideas on how to keep the grackles from the feeders?  I hate to be mean, but they are not a very pretty bird, nor have a pretty song...and their presence kind of keeps the cardinals and wrens, etc. away.

Happy Easter!

"Chance favors only the prepared mind." Louis Pasteur

Happy Easter to all!!  I am not an overly religious person, but Easter is one of my favorite days because it is such a time of renewal...an awakening..springtime..and has been celebrated internationally  well before the advent of Christianity.

We had the family out for dinner...our usual Easter egg hunt, games, etc. Great times had by all!   We were missing Andrea who is out of town.  She will have to get her "Easter goodies" when she returns. 

Dick and I went to the Amon Carter again on Friday. The exhibit there now is "American Works on Paper" from the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art by many artists are not necessarily known for their watercolors/pastels/charcoals, etc.  I think my favorite for this exhibit was Edward Hopper...he had some fabulous watercolors there.

I could visit the galleries of Fort Worth every day...just love them!

Let the fresh air in!!!

"I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges." Anonymous

What a beautiful spring day!! I have opened up the house to let the wonderful fresh air in!!  These are the days that make winter bearable!  Here is a picture of the redbud trees blooming on the lot next door.  It has never been built on and we keep hoping it will never be!  And some of the crape myrtles are budding out, the blue bonnets in our yard are getting ready to burst into bloom, and for the first time since we planted it  nine years ago, our mountain laurel is blooming...just barely so I will wait a couple of days to get a picture of it!

I have finished both of my mini quilt swaps...one is my winter one which is very late getting out and the other is a subsitute for fall to someone in the swap group who never recieved one.  When I signed up for these seasonal swaps, I didn't get a  spring one sent to me, but the moderator of this group has set up what she calls her "quilt angels" who volunteer to make quilts for those who do not get one. (Some people who sign up do not fulfill their committments for some reason or another.)  So I did get a spring quilt made by someone other than the person who was supposed to make me one.  Therefore, I signed up to be a quilt angel too, and that is why I am making a second fall quilt.  It is just 18" square...kind of fun to try a new (for me) technique.

We have been eating out much more than we usually do...we went to dinner and a concert with some friends last Saturday.  Wednesday, we got together with our poker bunch, ate out and played cards...very sad for us...we lost big time!! (Not really; we just play for quarters)  Then yesterday we met a couple for lunch whom we hadn't seen for awhile.  Then tomorrow is Easter and, although we are staying home, we are having dinner here and will probably have more to eat than we would normally have.  Thursday I am meeting a couple of friends for lunch whom I used to work with and haven't seen for awhile; then Friday going to the Bear Creek quilt show which will probably mean eating somewhere!!!  So...about time to hit the ol' salad trail!!

My next project is to make a quilt for my best friend from grade school who celebrated her 50th wedding anniversay this year..I want to give it to her when I see her in Chicago later on in the spring.  We are getting together for a celebration of our 70th birthday year....about 15 of us have gotten together somewhere for significant birthdays several times.  Good times!!

Finally, It is Spring!

" A Day without sunshine is like....Night!"

I found a bunch of "quotes" in the Senior News that I found pretty funny so a few of those will be my quotes for awhile.

The weather has finally decided to be nice..today was in the 70's...all the trees are really budding out and getting green.  We planted geraniums yesterday and hope they will not become deer fodder. Dick has his tomato crop going, and the plants have actually survived a couple of mild frosts.

Saturday we went out with friends to dinner and to a concert at the Bass.  The concert was "Route 66: A Medley of Songs Honoring the first four lane hiway from Chicago to Los Angeles".  Very fun and I love the architecture of the Bass...just one more reason why Fort Worth is such a special city.  We don't go "downtown" very often, being out here in the country, so it was really nice to se so much activity...people enjoying themselves every where!

I finally got all of the Donation Quilt 2010 finished and off to the quilter.  Here is a pic of the back on my living room floor!  I tried to use up a lot of the left over donated fabric; all left for me now is to make the label and sleeve to be able to hang it for display.  I will use the leftover blocks to make a smaller top to give away to those who donated time and fabric...but that won' have to be ready until next fall....last year we had the drawing at the Christmas party and that was kind of fun.

Today, the last Monday of the month, was the meeting of my art bee...studioQ.  Nine of the thirteen met here at my house.  Our activity this time was to bring something to share...an idea, a technique, an article from a magazine or book, etc.  We first had our Show and Tell...our recipe ingredient this time was polka dots or something mysterious.  I didn't get mine done except for the drawing of it, but several did.  I don't know how many more ingredients we have yet to do because the person who has the remaining ideas wasn't here today, so we don't yet know what we will be doing for next time.  Here are a few of the quilt tops shown today.

This is Susan's recipe quilt.

Sue showed the start of a free motion thread embellishing.

Nancy showed her latest blocks and flowers.

Heather had gone to a class on working with various elements.

Now that I am through with the Donation Quilt, I am going to get busy on doing stuff for ME!  I have nothing started for the show as yet...time's awastin'!