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Hey Matt&Sarah,

I will eventually get the head phones so I can talk to with you in Vietnam. I’ve been hassling with lots of stuff over the past several days; dr appointments, chest xray, blood test, water-softener repairman, and a new handy man. The final closing of the Stow house has launched a whole string of projects. But of course, I slept in late, as I’m getting use to doing. Then it takes awhile for the brain fog to lift. I think it’s lifting.

I’m having a hard time dieting. I’ve not fallen far, but need to boot myself, for I joined Curves. That’s three times a week. So far it’s a real pain, but combining Curves with a stable diet should help me loose a few pounds and gain some stamina. Pray for me.

I’m having a hard time getting to work on a quilt. Since I have several started I really shouldn’t have that problem. I want to get back to the Arc of the Covenant. I may have to ask for help when it comes time to square it up, but that’s a long way off. I don’t know which church it will hang in, but that’s even farther away, for I Hope to enter this quilt in a few shows before it finds a home.

I found a new quilt store in Kent yesterday, and blew a hundred dollars with ease. I specifically looked for lights and then threw in a few must-haves. I like the hominess of the new place and the storeowner. She’s not as ripped as the perky mover and a shaker out at the bright “Spun Bizarre Sweets”.  (Names have been changed to protect the innocent)

I missed another quilt guild meeting. Guess I’m just not interested in what they do. I will tap the shop for some of the wild bright fabrics, for quilters frequent more than a few shops to keep up their palette/stash.

I already had most of the fabric for the Arc so I really should get on with it. I turned on a web based classical music radio station this morn, instead of Folk Alley (folk music). It’s really neat having two web radio stations with such diverse music to work by.

I will eventually get the head phones, but my camera is breaking down. I’d thought about getting Tim to build me a new computer, but now I’m wondering if I really need a new one . . . at the moment. Even though I’m way behind in Corel upgrades, I can design so easily with #9. It may not really matter that Corel is past #15 and into X3. I can try it, but then I’d have to devote the month to learning it. You know, they allow you to have it for a period of 30 days or so, and then you have to pay for it, or it self destructs.

So you see, life is full  . . . oh yea, I’m taking Sally’s watercolor class Tuesday afternoons. I need the companionship of artists far more than I need a quilt guild that makes cute change purses and lively book covers. I should’a known better.  It would be good to take an occasional quilt class to learn sewing techniques, but the specific community I require is my art society.

I think, for now, I’ll work on the Arc, get the head phones, and look for a new digital camera. Everything else can wait, except Todd, the new handy man. He’ll be working on something from the list, every Wednesday.

    I need to take Mondays off !
                Your Frazzled Happy Mum,
                             Ma Sahr
 

Dear Friends,
   This sixth year of the new millennium is coming to a pleasant end. I’m settled in my little ranch house with it’s great room and window wall. The house suits me. It only took six months for the former house to sell, which isn’t so very long, except when you’re waiting. Of course I put off many remodeling projects that I’ll now be able to get to after the new year.
   Big news; Matt & Sarah are coming home for Christmas. They moved from Korea to South Vietnam a few months ago and have already had the adventure of living through a typhoon. I haven’t seen them for about 18 months, so I’m quite excited. It’s stacking up tobe the clasic whirlwind visit, but we catch-up quickly, especially since we’ve kept up with emails and phone calls. I can’t wait to lay my eyes upon them.
   This body of 63 yrs is aging faster than some of my peers. I’d thought about resubmitting the book. You know, trying to get it published one last time, but I’m too tired, with the asthma adding to the general mailaise. That’s the worst of if though. Church and choir are great. I joined the The Streetboror Methodist Church and choir this past August, and have been very comfortable there. 
  I finished my first quilt; put the sandwich together and completed the actual quilting stitches. Many tops are stored in a vareity of gift bags awaiting my attentions I’ve several more up in my head. It’s nice to say that one is done.
   Even after six months in my new home, there are at least a hundred boxes yet to go through. They must be full of junk, because I’m getting by quite well without whatever is in them . . ho ho ho ! On the positive side of the problem, I’ve found Patty, a cleaning woman. We’ve been whittling our way through the boxes during her monthly visits. It’s actually kind of fun opening up all those old boxes to discover what I put away over three years ago. A couple more workdays and all the boxes will be done. I’m also pleased to have Patty’s objective view point, “Jane, are sure you need to keep this?” And she’s great at organizing what I do keep. It’s going to be very easy to stay here.
   December has been one long banquet, which I’ve managed to miss some of. Too much food, but each meal represents a group of people I enjoy knowing and sharing experiences with. Choir had a spaghetti dinner to raise money for new chairs. I helped set up but skipped the chow down. We’ve ordered the chairs. I also skipped the quilter’s night out and the church ladies banquet. However, I made it to the art society’s banquet, the Silver Lake Tea Party Ladies, a special tea for friends from a former church, and tonight the theatre ladies are meeting for a holiday meal. You must be wondering when I have time to sit home alone ? But that’s December.
   I don’t want to rush Christmas, but I must admit that I’m looking forward to some uninterrupted hours spent working on my projects. Oh yea, I gotta get a sad light. I need it, the studio needs it and I’ll be able to work through the evenings.
   I had a most interesting experience ordering a how-to quilt book. When I first found that “Ghost Layers & Color Washes” was out of print I came upon a collector’s edition for $200. Of course I kept looking. I found an Amazon-dot-com service whereby I offered what I was willing to pay ($35) for a used copy, in any condition, and they offered to look around for 3 weeks. It completely surprised me when two weeks later something popped up. I received a soft cover book in good condition, and have completely devoured the innards. (Wouldn’t you know I’d couch it in eatable terms.) I almost can’t wait to get to work. My new church is very old, but it doesn’t have any large banners decorating the sanctuary. The church does have a lovely tradition of giving people, just out of the hospital, small lap quilts. I hope to contribute to that service eventually.
   As you may have noticed, I don’t spend much energy looking back, but always seem to think of what’s coming next. Over this past year I struggled with trying to write my memoirs but found it simply too painful to hash through all the hard times. I either cried or fumed with anger the whole time I tried to write about the past. It’s not worth it. Sorry gang, but maybe nobody wants to hear about all my lumps and bumps anyway. There’s a chance I will look back at the good things that carried me into all the various arts. My art has kept me going through anything life could throw at me.
   Right now all I want to do is make art quilts . . .  after a joyous Christmas with my family. Like many families, the holiday celebration is spread over the whole week between Christmas and New Years. We’ll have the feasts at Tim&Michelle’s. Matt&Sarah will be here the 24^th through about the 27^th and then Chris and his family, from North Carolina, will arrive towards the end of the week. We hope that C&A + M&S will cross paths at some designated rest stop in their travels. Many a holiday comes complete with these tactical problems.
   Puppies: I just took a few minutes to re-stuff an overly loved toy dog that Missy enjoys carrying around. They, Charlie and Missy, had finally broken through a seam and were pulling the stuffing out as fast as they could . . “What fun ! “  I couldn’t scold the dogs, for it was their toy, but I made a big deal about gathering it’s guts, sewing it back together and then soothing it’s ruffled scar before returning “Scruffy” to her playmates. The dogs four months apart, Charlie turning 2 in Sept and Missy in Jan. They fill muy house with warm fussies . . . in multiple ways. I’ll try to write some dog stories this coming year.  

   I trtied out  the directions  in the Ghost Layer book and came up with this fish design. I don’t think I’ll make a quilt out of it, but it’s good to see how Corel Draw can help design without going through the whole process of making a quilt.
   Merry merry to one and all, and please do keep in touch. I wonder if anyone is reading and enjoying my meanderings. 

This graphpic is a possible title page for the book and obviously displays one of the quilts I hope to make. 

As I woke this morning, I was mentally rearranging the furniture in my great room, but I had also reverted to watercolor painting. Thank goodness, the Simply Quilt’s program had two lively fabric artists on the show. Strip piecing 2” strips into larger sections of “new fabric,” or crazy quilting conglomerates of odd pieces to make larger chunks of fabric, are both skillful strategies to imbue depth and variety.

I’ve got to purchase the SAD light soon, so I’ll be able to sew through the dark of the year. I don’t want to miss Christmas. I mustn’t miss visiting with Matt, Sarah and Sheila, but I’m also looking forward to working on the wonderful quilts that are blooming in my head. I may just have to put off the writing projects again. I know how I waffle back and forth between all my mediums; writing, watercolor and fabric. Nevertheless, I hear my small inner voice saying all I really want to do is make color filled quilts and keep up my blog. That’s all !

So how do I let my writer friends down ?  So many of them really do multi task. I guess I only had one book in me. I’ve known for some time that I could spend the rest of my life illustrating the Wishwood. I truly believe that wildly colorful fabrics capture the magic of the Dragon Isles. “The Tree of Life” is the first of many quilted compositions to spring from this magical place.

By the way dear friends, I just received an offer on the other house. If all goes well it will close right after Christmas, so it will be all tied up by the end of the year. Thank goodness.

Speaking of “Goodness”, He once told me that the book would be published, “When it’s finished.” I keep asking Him if it’s finished after I complete another series of illustrations or a complete writing revision. A professional quilting magazine said that one should have ten quilts before approaching a gallery . . . purhaps the same will be true of publishers.

In this opening graphic I’ve safety-pin-basted the back-ground, and stuck on the rocks of the wall and the falling leaves with straight pins. Eventually they will be affixed with small dots of “hook’n loops.”

A SMALL BLURB on functioning as a partially computer literate being. Lets make up a name for this category =  parcomlit, parcompulit, parcompulator . . . got it ! 

Parcompulator; the scientific term meaning a partially computer literate individual. Okay, now I need a nick name; a handle  - a parcom . . nay!   A pal,   . . .  aaahhh yes.

I am a PAL. This is a very important assessment to arrive at. I enjoy writing and I enjoy creating with my hands. When combining these two attributes I find I want to share my creations. The WorldWideWeb is the PR mode of this new millennium. To nail down a “DOT” com and to exploit this digitized tool is the goal. But I’m only a lowly PAL.

Thank goodness for the computer literate younger generation that put the WWW on tap.  I went through this long winded explanation to encourage other senior citizens, other PALS, to step up and try it. You might just enjoy where a wee bit of local adult education might take you. Or you might have a generous relative or young friend who will set you up with your own blog and plenty of encouragement. So we need a little help. That’s okay.

Yes, yes, I’m still a little anxious about putting my words and images out there for the world to pick on, but even before I knew anything about blogs, I wanted to share my creative life. I don’t win any prizes, but I have my fan club of friends and family. It turns out that these feelings of exhibitionism are totally human, and so I add my blog to cyberspace and wonder if anybody out there is listening or watching.

THE INFANCY OF JANE’S ART QUILTS ERA

The last few images show the birth of my first art quilt; the first seen through to it’s finish. I have made so many mistakes. I’ve learned never to make a square design. That should be interesting. The quilting stitches (machine) are my first and are quite tentative and wobbly in many places. I made the decision near the beginning of the construction process that I wasn’t going to tear out or redo much of anything. Way back in my juvenile sewing days I remember terribly frustrating times tearing seams apart, picking at over sewn stitches and tearing the fabric, all while weeping uncontrollably. I can learn from my mistakes without all that drama. I’ll proudly display my first efforts. I like the ideas I came up with and will be able to use them again in future endeavors.
Tally Ho . . .

I apologize to myself and any who may have initially checked out my blog in hopes that I’d not be one of those who ignored the site for months on end. It surprised me that I did just that, but I think I have a handle on it now. I participate in two writer’s groups, and feared launching any non- critically assessed piece. However, both groups have encouraged me saying that personal journals are not usually critiqued. The nature of these writings is to show the individual’s voice and sentiments; me, keeper of the blog. On one hand I feared making gramitical and spelling mistakes, but I want a discourse with other creators and/or appreciators. So I step out onto the soft sandy soil of the world wide web, make my marks and invite others to walk with me.

This photo shows my workspace. It’s a good time to comment on creating one’s life. There are many outside (people) and inside (health) forces that come to bear on any one’s plans, but keeping a clear view of one’s passions is essential. Occasionally my sight blurs and I’m forced to reassess.

I resigned from the Kent Chorus. I’m relieved, but sad that I’m in such poor health that it was too much for me. We were required to stand, when signing, in an over heated windowless room for 2½ hours. The room was big enough so I don’t think I suffered from the mild claustrophobia that can effect me. And we could sit if the directore was talking. I use to make myself go through extensive trials in unpleasant situations before I gave up. This time I decided I didn’t need to do that. The situation wasn’t going to get any better.

I backed out. Maybe the windowless room did impinge on me.

On the day I quit the chorus, two Quilting Arts publications came in the mail. I’m still reading them. Ah yes, I do want to make wonderful quilts. It amazes me, but the silly Black&White+PinkAllOver small wall hanging in progress, is actually in my style. I have spent some time looking at several quilt artist’s work through the Studio Arts Quilts Association website (http://www.saqa.com/ ). I came to the conclusion that even with a lighthearted project, the work reflected my artistic style. I can hear my readers saying, “Duh !”

I had thought since I was being blithe, and trying to get this project out of the way, that it didn’t really reflect the true me. But it does. On the other hand, I have a dark and somber side that is strongly showing in the design and fabric choices for a quilt design of a Ark of the Covenant. I may not get back to that project for some time. There is so much of interest developing to experiment with in this new medium.

This last picture shows the pieces and parts waiting to come together in the B&W+Pink quilt. The first picture in today’s post is the design I put together in Corel Draw. I do hope to have the small quilt done before the mid Oct weekend workshop and retreat I’m going to with the Cotton Candy Quilt Shoppe Guild.