Epiphany 01-06-24

I was surprised to run across this image online.  Seems odd to me to use Happy and Epiphany in this juxtaposition. Is Epiphany something to be happy about?  I'm completely out of the loop on this, but for some strange reason the word has come up more frequently this season, this year.

The temperature has gotten more like winter this past week and morning temps are in the 40F range. I try to  wait until it gets to 50F, but KoKo needs to go out.

Our pastel sunset tonight. It looked like rain but the clouds moved on,

We have had a bit of rain, but mostly at night. One morning last week we got soaked on our morning walk, so I just put KoKo in the sink  and gave him a bath since he was very wet and a bit muddy.

If we lived in Tucson, Arizona this is the sunsets they have been having!

Photo by Sherrie Spanger -Tucson, Arizona

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A New Year - no resolutions!

I left resolutions behind many years ago.  I never kept them and it seems self defeating to beat myself up over it.  Now I just go day by day and do the best I can.  I can't even settle on a word for the year ahead as some people do.  I suppose two words would be okay - "Keep Going".  The last three years have aged me and I have some physical problems. But I try to keep walking, keep getting out, keep working at something.  I haven't been all that successful, but I keep moving ahead.  It is the best I can do right now.  

I had hoped to go to the Madeline Island workshops in Tucson again, but still not well enough to do it this year, maybe next.  I went in January 2018 for a 5-day Sue Benner landscape class.  It is a beautiful desert setting and the weather was perfect.  Of course I took a lot of pictures   And Sue  had us interpret a photo we had taken there to create a small quilt top.  

The Saguaro cactus are so amazing, no matter how many times I see them. 

This agave grows behind one of the residence buildings with a palo verde behind it.   Such an interesting palette. 

The picture I took is on the left with some additions at the top where the picture was cut off.  It is always a challenge to find good fabrics among the boxes we take along to the class.  Sometimes one must compromise.  I think the sky fabric is too strong, but that is what I had with me.  This remains in the "might complete it some day" pile, which is very, very tall!   

Hope I can go back one day, maybe next January?

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Surviving the Virus 04-20-20

Well, I am surviving the isolation, but it is a struggle.  The last few days have been big time isolationitis.  I just wrote a long explanation and Blogger erased it!  All you received was the title of the post. So, I am trying to recreate it.   Today I had several contacts with other humans and it cheered me greatly.  First I visited with a neighbor who I sometimes see when KoKo and I are walking.  She had workmen to fix a wall in her backyard so she was out on the sidewalk when we came by.  We stood ten feet apart and had a nice visit.  Then I had a call from a friend in SDiego to talk about quilt making and our dogs - KoKo and CoCo.  CoCo is new to their family so they are still making adjustments to each other.  Then I received an e-mail from Floyd's niece Traci who lives with her family in Florida.  She is a substitute teacher so is currently unemployed.  It was great to hear about her family.  I haven't seen her for about 33 years and have never met her husband and kids.  One day I may drive that way and stop for a visit.  

So, my day was full of interaction and maybe that is what I need to keep me going.  So, if you receive a call from me, just chat for a bit - human to human. 

Here is a picture from Facebook of a sunset in Tucson, AZ, taken recently.  The caption said it is not Photoshopped, and I believe it.  The desert sunsets in that area are astounding. 

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"Marsh #22" quilt by Sue Benner 09-22-19

This is one of the newer quilts in the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.  I bought it from Sue last year after she showed it unfinished to her class at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, AZ.   I thought I had already posted it here, but cannot find it anywhere. 

It is part of her series "Marsh" and joins "Marsh #11" which I added to the Collection in 2001.  Odd that I should have both #11 and #22.  Guess I'll have to watch for #33!

"Marsh #22" Sue Benner - Texas  2018  46"W x 15"L

Hand painted fabrics by the artist, fused, cotton batting, machine quilted. 

The color in these pictures is brighter than the actual quilt, but I can't seem to adjust it very much; it is more misty and mysterious.  I have enjoyed having it hanging on the wall in the family room where I see it off and on all day.  And I see different things in it at different times.  Sometimes it does indeed resemble marshes, but also cities on water, sunset or sunrise on the ocean, views in the mesas and valleys of the desert....  I find it very peaceful, very calming.  

Detail of left side.

Detail of right side.

Title and signature on back.  Always in gold paint. 

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On the east edge of Tucson 01-09-18 Posted 02-12-18

The desert around Tucson is very different than the Mojave which I have seen a lot of driving through to Lake Havasu City and across both I-40 and I-15.  Most of the plantings around the ranch are native to the area.  I expected to see more birds, but though they sang in the early morning I only saw the usual "suspects" - English sparrows, blackbirds, crows, dove, and ravens.  Of course, I wasn't out there at the crack of dawn with my binoculars, mostly I was in bed until 7:30am or so and then had to rush to breakfast and be in the classroom at 9am.  Next time I make a trip to Tucson, and I imagine I will some day, I will plan on some bird searching. 

Palo Verde trees have this very green bark and really stand out against the drab desert.  An ocotillo grows on the left of the image. 

The top of the Palo Verde against the oh-so-blue-sky. 

This is a stock photo of a Palo Verde tree in bloom - just to show how spendiforous they are. 

This is the view from my front patio showing the density of the Saguaros. 

This Raven was very taken with me and followed me for a while from tree to tree. 

Screeching all the way, of course.

When we were out looking for landscapes we thought we could create from our own picture, I took half a dozen pictures of this agave from different angles.  It is beautiful. 

But in the end, I decided on the more complex image I chose for my 30-minute project.   Might try this view some day.   Love the soft colors. 

In all the public buildings there were wreaths and swags and arrangements using native desert "finds".  I had to ask what this wreath was made from.  They are the mud nests that birds make in holes in the Saguaro cactus.

And a close-up view. 

The night sky was amazing with all the trillions of stars and planets.  I couldn't get a picture of them, but like this stormy evening view.  The lighted kiosk is info for guests, especially about the spa treatments.  Too steep for my pocketbook. 

Sometimes I take a picture of myself just to prove I was there!  This one was with the lamplight in the room and myself reflected in the large mirror. 

 

There are a few none rustic views.  This is the main lawn, around which the classrooms, pub, dining hall, and other public buildings are located.  See the horse corral on the far right and the building directly in the middle is the classroom building. 

Don't how how old these two might be, but they are magnificent towering maybe 50 feet up in that blue, blue sky. 

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Sue Benner class in AZ Page #4 02-11-18

I see that I don't have pictures of work by every member of the class.  I took most of them the last day and some ladies had to leave early that day to make flights home.  If anyone sends me pictures I will post them on a later blog. 

Julie Hallquist made a lovely name tag for her design board. 

The top two, I believe, are Julie's 6"x9" studies.

And here is the third one.  

Debbie Geistweidt worked hard on her large project.  The tree was fused piece by piece onto release paper and then carefully lifted onto the background. 

One of her 6"x9" studies.

And another 6"x9". 

I'm not sure what the inspiration was for this, but she has good color going and nice strip shapes.  

Debbie finished her work after she was home and sent us all this image of the completed quilt. 

I don't know the names of the artists who did the following works.  Perhaps they will let me know so I can put their names on the correct images.  As far as I know, I don't have pictures of the work by Sonja Winter, unless some of these are hers. 

This must be a husband fly fishing in the autumn. 

I think this is a 30-min project, but don't know whose.  Good color in her interpretation.

This is one from the board below and was done by Sonja Winter. 

And here is her board.  I'd love to add her name to these. 

This design board is Sonja Winter's. 

We had one classmate, Jan Sealover, who came down sick the day after she arrived in Tucson and spent the entire week in her room.  She came to dinner on Thursday night and to class in the afternoon on Friday.  Wish she could have joined us for this terrific class. 

More tomorrow night about the trip and the premises. 

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Sue Benner class in AZ Page #3 02-10-18

Here are some more photos of design boards from the Sue Benner Class in Tucson, AZ, Jan 7 - 12, 2018.

I missed this one of Nancy Robins pieces yesterday.  This is her 30-min project. 

Del Thomas first of three 6"x9" studies.  One has to "interpret" depending on what fabrics are available.  The white fluff at the edge of the surf is ravelings from white fabric. 

Del Thomas second of three studies. 

Del Thomas third of three studies, based on the two pictures on the left.  

I didn't do a large piece.  Instead I tried out some things I had been thinking about.  In "Blue Trees" I fused all the trees and then added the brown ground by cutting small pieces to fit the bottoms of the trees.  Rather fussy, but it worked well. 

This is my 30-min project.  I must admit that I pulled some fabrics before I got the picture back, knowing what I would need - generally, anyway.   I was looking for a picture that would use different shapes, so I included linear, round, spiky, and lacy (which the hanging branch will be after quilting).  I'm not happy with the sky, but everyone else seems to like it. 

My table with KoKo watching over me while I work. 

Most of the students work in a mess, just like I do. 

I brought my existing flat boxes of fused scraps sorted by color, but, of course, didn't have what I needed and had to go begging.   It is a bit of a drive to a fabric shop or a 2nd hand store.  

Andrea Bacal's design board.  She has a wonderful sense of whimsy and I wish I could develop one of my own.

See what I mean?  Andrea took this staid picture and turned it into a fantasy. 

And whimsical flowers representing those on the left. 

On top is one of Andrea's 6"X9" studies and on the bottom her 30-min project.  She had the right idea - keep it simple. 

And this is her large project.  Wonderful dark stormy clouds over the tents of a traveling show.   I think this and Karen's Half Dome are the top of the class.  But maybe I am biased.

One of Karen Crossland's  6"x9" studies.  

And here are two more, though I didn't get a shot of the red/purple original picture.  And at the bottom is her 30-min project.  

Karen was working on this at the end of the class - didn't photograph the photo she was working from. 

And this image of Yosemite's Half Dome is her masterpiece.  Sooo wonderful. 

It is late and I will continue this tomorrow.  

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