Family Fun!

Even though the winter storm seige was fun to watch, it was a little crazy making as we had a little family reunion slated for last weekend. 

Despite some squeekers with airline connections, everyone arrived as expected--woo-hoo!--& the great thaw commenced. The Seattle twenty-somethings weren't all here at the same time--kind of like a progressive gathering. 

Aren't we a fun bunch?!

I so appreciate everyone making the effort to get here--we had the easy end of the celebration. 

Thanks, you guys! It was too brief!

PS Amy posted some great pictures, too--check it out!

Wednesday on Whidbey

a wonderful sunrise to go with all of those great sunsets recently

Happy New Year--Again!

Today (or yesterday depending on where you reside!) is Chinese New Year--the Year of the Dragon. It may be 2012 to us, but on the Chinese calendar it's 4709. New Years is twelve days ahead of Spring, when the new 'sign' actually takes affect (as in your birth sign).
This is a water dragon year--and water's color is black, so it's the black dragon year, too. (that's about the sum total of my understanding!).

There's so much mythology & legend around the dragon: the dragon is unpredictable, untouchable & we cannot see the head & tail of the dragon at the same time. Some might translate that to an unpredictable year ahead (can we say: understatement?!).

Anyway--new years wishes!

The "Mushroom Trees" UFO

Here's a long-term UnFinishedObject that's finally filtered to the top--and then the 'finished' column. *whew*
It's had several stops & starts along the way, & I'm very sorry not to have true 'before' & 'after' pictures. Started out when I was fortunate enough to take a Joan Colvin class many moons ago (sad to say, she passed away in 2007; here's a link to her final book).  The class was great--learned a lot--and got a good start on two projects. One--an attempt at Ebey's Landing--ended up getting reduced down & was added as the center picture in Devin's graduation quilt (give you a clue as to how long my UFO's been in limbo?!).

Anyway--the other, bigger item languished--and then went into a box, out of sight when Dev pegged it the 'mushroom trees' picture. (unfortunately, he was right...& I couldn't stop seeing mushrooms when I looked at it!) Honestly forgot all about it when I put together my first list of UFO's so it wasn't even on the radar screen until a couple a years later.
I finally got after it on one of my day-outings to my friend's long arm studio. She's a great art-quilter herself & has done some amazing items with organza & a soldering iron.
Yup--that's right! The plumbing tool turned quilter's friend. The trick for this approach is being with the long arm & all the aforementioned items at the same time. Get the project loaded on the long-arm & then overlay the organza of choice (in this example it's a nice golden orange).

 Using cotton (only) thread, stitch all the way around the perimeter of the area you want covered--don't do the final quilting yet. Then, using a very hot soldering iron with a nice pointed tip--work your way around the edge that's just been stitched. (Like in the photo below--& the little bit of 'tree trunk' in the lower left above.)

This picture (above) shows what's left after the first cut. All of the varied golds, yellows & oranges blend together so much more subtly--it's a cool (& fast!) fix.One key thing when using the soldering iron: what ever is being cut away needs to be synthetic & the under pieces & thread need to be cotton.
The next layer--which unfortunately I don't have a photo of--was a nice, rich, purple toule (which is just a very fine net). The color mutes pieces beneath, but not as much as you would think--and adds a wonderful depth. (You can compare the difference between the uncovered areas above & the final view below.)
So the purple cover went over the whole piece--and was then cut away at the border with the background.
Now I can quilt! Lots of fun thread play to add texture & color variations...
The next challenge: how to finish it? There are many Joan Colvin ideas I've used since her class, but one approach that I will not do again: she has you start with the back, with batting on top, right on your working wall. All the top (design) pieces are pin basted so you end up with a very complicated, prickly sandwich ready to quilt. Not a bad concept--but my fatal error was a back & bat that didn't quite measure up. Had to do some Houdini work to make it look planned--which it was not.

click on the pix for a bigger view...

So here's the final product--it measures about 32" x 36". The hanging rod (which needs to be a little shorter) is some great black bamboo from a friend's yard. (They were just gonna toss it on the trash pile!!) In the end, I think this was a UFO worth salvaging...

An Urban Discovery

We made a day-trip to Seattle over the holiday break, & among other things went to a late afternoon matinee of the new Sherlock Holmes (and yes, I liked it very much! How can you not just love Robert Downing & Jude Law?! I'm thinking a lot about urban camouflage since that movie...)
Anyway I digress--we ended up parking on a little street corner next to a playground with a great sculpture!

you may recognize this one...

I did a little sleuthing after we got home--turns out it was done by the same artist who did Waiting for the Interurban, a famous Seattle landmark. (It's so lovable--it gets dressed up for many occasions...it is in Fremont after all!)

What a treat to find out more about Richard Beyer & contributions he's made around the sound & beyond.

...but not likely this one!

Here's what was written about this sculpture:
the University Playground in Seattle was created after hundreds of small family homes were demolished to create a new freeway in the late 1950's. When asked to produce a sculpture for the park, Beyer decided to memorialize the displaced families. A large female Sasquatch is pushing over a "house"  made of 8" beams to resemble a falling down house & still be safe for children at play. 
Only in the northwest--a Sasquatch! (I thought it was a gorilla!)
You go girl! And thanks Richard!           

Time Out for a Rant...

This has literally been the 'perfect storm' week.
I've been housebound with four days of snow, Martin Luther King Day was Monday--with school snow days all week following--and it's been the South Carolina lead-up week.
I'm usually a news hound, but I got an even heavier dose this week--including two GOP debates. I've resisted commenting on the shenanigans of the GOP primary (aka 'weeding-out') process but I just gotta make a brief rant.

Monday was filled with lots of historical media coverage as homage to MLK--most of which I love. Our local NPR station replayed most of the Massey guest lectureships he did after winning the Nobel Peace Prize--so poignant & as timely today as they were almost 45 years ago. Interspersed were the on-the-street news interviews during the zenith of the civil-rights movement. Even after witnessing that daily on the nightly news, the vehemence & violence of the hate-speech is truly shocking.
Fast forward to this week in South Carolina. Although more veiled in double-speak language, the blatant racism & prejudice is truly stunning. And it just keeps coming (...and not just from the Newt.).
I really do live in a thin blue sliver of the country I guess. It's been many months of entertainment but it feels like the humor is abating & the true horror is setting in...and the depression.
Recognition of Mitt as one of "the 1% of the 1%" seems to be a surprise to many as he announced he probably pays 'in the 15% range' of income tax--seriously, you're surprised?!
Rick S. (I still can't utter the last name--he will forever-after be the graphic descriptor pasted on him by Dan Savage) has now been 'given' the Iowa 'win' ('draw' still seems a better term...) & by the way: except for the debates, have you seen him out of his lucky-sweater-vest since Iowa?!

The other Rick--always a great source of comic relief--has finally bowed out & together with the Rogue-Girl, her cape flying, has thrown his (light) weight behind the Newt.
The Newt. Wow.
A standing ovation for his comments on 'you shoot your enemy' & taking on Juan Williams for trying to dig deeper & challenge him on his racist remarks. (Juan-the-amazing-conservative-Williams!!).
Who are those South Carolinians?!
What's happening to us?
All four Republican front-runners have signed on to the 'Personhood' campaign. (Yes, that includes Mitt.) You remember, don't you? The initiative in Mississippi in November that even that very red state couldn't even endorse? Really?! better start hoarding those BCP's just in case...
The fear language is staggering. The 501(c)(4) expenditures are staggering. Spending all that money assaulting each other in the GOP run-up has made for some amusement--but as the dollars start skyrocketing, it's turning mean, & you know by the time it starts aiming across the isle in the summer it will become lethal.
I'm of the mind that the majority-voting Supreme Court justices that passed the Citizens United finding--who then mockingly shook their heads at the President when he said 'shame on you'--should be made to watch every ad that will be run by the super-PACs all year long (I have this vision of Clockwork Orange's approach to 'required' movie watching...).

There have been some little, important flakes of positivity falling though, they just get lost in the roar:

This week Wisconsin voters submitted an over-the-top number of petition signatures to get the Recall Scott Walker campaign started, well before their required deadline.
(Run, Scott, Run!)

The ongoing, hilarious Colbert/Stewart satire on super-PACs has finally reached the mainstream, as Colbert makes a bid for the 'President of the United States of South Carolina'--by having voters vote for Herman Cain (as his name is on the ballot & Colbert's is not!).

The unemployment numbers have continued to show a positive upturn--in tiny increments; the aircraft carrier may be turning. Stay tuned...

Bill Moyers is back with his new series; Moyers & Company.

His interview with Hacker & Pierson should be required watching for every single voter before November (that means you, too!)  It isn't just the 1% vs the 99%.  The 1% income has increased over 250% since the Reagan administration while the 90%  income has actually gone down. The elite of the 1% (like Mitt) are now receiving 1 in every 8 dollars of US income. This is not the effect of global financial issues--this is personal. This belongs to us. Financially, we are much more like Egypt & Mexico & much less like Canada. And the Newt wants to make an issue of such a large number of citizens on food stamps now...
Watch it. Please.
And thanks, Bill! Welcome back!
Okay--rant over....for the time being, at least.

Folding Can be Fun!

I haven't said much about what my round-robin group is doing this year, but thought this month's project was worth a post.
To have a year of 'less stress' we've each picked a 'book of blocks' that travels with a box of fabrics for each person. We make a few blocks for the person & hand it on.
My pal Lynn chose "3 D Folded Blocks" by Baron & Vermeer and once you catch on to the instructions, it's a blast!

 The only stitching is around the outer edge of each block. The rest is cutting & folding with a nice hot iron! The blocks can get pretty bulky as there may be up to eight or nine layers (of folded fabric). It'll be fun to see what she does with the pile of blocks that will be heading back to her--she wanted a black & white theme with some brights to add some pizazz!

These were my additions--aren't they cool?
Click on the pix to look closer..

Wednesday on Whidbey

It's a wonderland alright! (look at those big, fat, juicy flakes!)

Snow Day!

It's been trying to snow for three days--you know, frizzers flying for awhile; then some hail, then more frizzers.  It's been enough to play havoc with Seattle traffic--ice, non-veteran drivers & steep hills are just a bad combination!

But early this morning Mother Nature decided to really get after it--these were the early morning views from my deck.  There's quite a bit more on the way...how beautiful!

the Pussy Willows under the snow...

the park lays waiting for the snow angels & snow men--they'll be coming!

Somewhere out there 'in the gray' is Penn Cove...

Wednesday on Whidbey

sunset from the 'back' of my building on campus

Wednesday on Whidbey

Oops!! I was so excited to be ready--I posted a day early! 

Call it vacation confusion--I start school tomorrow!

One of our local munchkins stopping at our 

front step for a taste treat. 

She seems 'school-aged', don't ya think? 

So it's fitting being how it's the first day of the new quarter today...here we go!

Happy New Year!

This is so much more artful than my original idea: the absolutely empty toothpaste tube next to the new unopened tube.
Okay kinda weird I know, but I ask you: how often do you get to start a new tube on New Year's Day?! Huh? How many?  8-)   This might be a first for me...

Hugs & misses and may all of your resolutions be realized...