Check out the orchids and butterflies on our Ecuador blog ...

Little booklet

Our little group that went to the beach last weekend existed for many years without a name. Finally at last year's retreat we decided we needed to get serious and after much discussion, and with the help of a couple bottles of wine, settled on "The Grateful Thread". We also liked S.T.A.S.H. ( Second Tuesday at Somebody's House) but agreed that non-quilters have a different association for the word "stash" which might lead to some embarrassment.

Every year I make a little booklet for each member that lists the dates and locations of our meetings and the names, addresses, phone and e-mail of each of the members. I got a PageMaker template for these clever little folded booklets years ago from the Adobe web site. It isn't there any more, but you can find the instructions on how to fold the booklet from a single sheet of paper here. Scroll down the page to the booklet called "Half cut book". That's the one.

It's a tiny little booklet that fits handily in your purse or even your wallet -- 2 3/4" x 4 1/4". It is all printed on a single sheet of letter-sized paper. I created a Publisher template to share. If you want a copy, e-mail me and I will send you one.

This is what it looks like before you fold it into booklet form.

Beach, sewing, coffee and friends

This is the view from Kathie's deck in Cannon Beach. It was rainy much of the weekend, but out in the distance you can see the Pacific Ocean and Haystack Rock. We were cozy inside and set up our projects in the community room.








Gale was working on a heron which was coming together nicely.





This is a very unflattering picture of Terri, but you can see the beautiful piece she was working on.







I put together two small tops. The first one was a crow and books. The second was a teapot and oranges.

We listened to music, talked, soaked in the hot tub and stitched. We ate well--cooking some meals in and eating some out. We took a break and went to the Quilt Shop and downtown and stopped for coffee at a little espresso shop with the most beautiful bathroom we have ever seen!

We played Pictionary after dinner and cracked each other up with our drawings. We saw a quilt exhibit at the History Center and were offered a show there several months from now. Wow. That was pretty exciting and we are going to do it.

Here we are: Terri, Linda, Kathie, Gale, and in front, me and Beth.

I can't say enough good things about being part of a group like this. We support each other, we encourage each other and our once or twice yearly retreats give us all a chance to work together in an environment where we can get input and suggestions from one another. We all come home inspired and recharged.

Going to the beach

So, you think going to the beach in January in Oregon doesn't sound like a lot of fun? Well, you'd be wrong if that's what you think. My small art quilt group tries to head out of town for a weekend every winter. This year we are going to the beach. One of our members has a condo in Cannon Beach. Six of us will stay at her condo and the guest rooms at the complex and use the community room to sew. We will sew, read, walk into the pretty little town of Cannon Beach, shop, maybe take a walk on the beach, eat out, eat in, play Pictionary, drink wine, laugh--probably a lot, and enjoy each other's company.

We have been a group for nearly 10 years. We have seen each other through good times and bad. I feel very lucky to have found these women.

The pile of stuff you see in the picture, accumulating in my upstairs hallway, is stuff to take to the beach--and that's just the sewing supplies. There are also my clothes and the food I'm taking--I'm in charge of lunch on Saturday. You would think we were going for a month. Nope, just two days. I'll be back on Sunday with pictures--if I remember to take any.

A bit of color for a dreary day

The art quilt group I belong to is putting together a CD of images to submit to venues for possible shows. I needed to decide on a couple of images to go on the CD.

I made this quilt about a year ago, but it has just been hanging around. I'm still not sure I really like it. I have never shown it or submitted it for anything, but I decided to photograph it today for the CD. I think one of the things that made it look good to me today was the color. It has been raining steadily here for weeks and it is gray and dreary and dark. During a break in the rain, I took the quilt outside and hung it on the side of the house--my usual spot for photographing quilts--and it just seemed to glow in contrast to the grey surroundings.

So after I got it photo'ed I had to come up with a name for it. This is so hard for me. I almost never have a name in mind as I am working on a piece. This one has some altered photographs of Ecuador worked into it. It also reminds me of the way the stones at the Inca ruins fit together, so I called it "Inca Stones". Now that it's done I think that's kind of a dumb name, but I still can't think of anything better.

The heart will never rest...

Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King

and recognize that there are ties between us,

all men and women living on the Earth.

Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood,

that we are bound together

in our desire to see the world become a place

in which our children can grow free and strong.

We are bound together

by the task that stands before us

and the road that lies ahead.

We are bound and we are bound.

There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist

There is a hunger in the center of the chest

There is a passage through the darkness and the mist

And though the body sleeps the heart will never rest

-James Taylor

This is pretty funny

I came upon this web site that will render a web site, or even just text, into dialects, such as "redneck", "Cockney", "moron". Just for fun I had it render my blog in "Cockney" dialect. Here is the result: http://rinkworks.com/dialect/dialectp.cgi?dialect=cockney&url=http%3A%2F%2Fandsewitgoes.blogspot.com

Check out the latest entries on our family's Ecuador blog. Today's entry is about making chocolate--yum!

Unexpected gift

Dreary morning here. It was still raining and I was worrying about more water in our basement as I walked down to the end of our block where our mailbox is to get the mail. My neighbor, Mary Ellen, came out of her house, with a book in her hand, and said, "I was hoping I'd see you. I was going through some things and found this and thought you might like it." Mary Ellen and her husband, Jeff lived in Japan for a time and the book was obviously something she had brought back. It is all in Japanese, except for an introduction that is written in English. It seems to be the quilts of a Japanese quilter named Reiko Yamaguchi. The book was copyrighted in 1990. It has page after page of color photos of beautiful quilts made from beautiful Japanese fabrics. I am really enchanted with this book. Unlike a lot of the recent Japanese quilts that are winning all the prizes at the big quilt shows lately, these quilts seem simpler, more elegant and much more Japanese in aesthetic. The fabrics are just lovely.



I was curious about Reiko Yamaguchi, so I googled her. First of all I found that there is a Japanese porn star with a huge web presence who is also named Reiko Yamaguchi--yikes! But I also found one web page about the quiltmaker. Her studio is in an old sake brewery and she uses old traditional Japanese fabrics.

What a nice surprise on a dreary, rainy day.

Books

Long plane trips have really become uncomfortable for me. The lack of leg room is claustrophobic and it seems like the seats have become shallower (probably so it doesn't look like the leg room is so tight) and the edge of the seat hits the back of my legs just right to press on a nerve or something. Anyway, I get the twitching heebie-jeebies before very long. The only effective escape I have been able to figure out is a really good book, so I stock up when I am flying any distance.

On our recent trip to Ecuador I read three books that I liked a lot.

The first was "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith. This is something of a modern classic, but I had never read it. It was written in 1948 and has the feel of that era--gentle and a little whimsical. It is written as the diary of 17-year-old Cassandra, who wants to be a writer. Her family lives in a ruined castle in England and is interesting and unconventional to say the least. I think I would have adored this book when I was about 12 and I actually liked it quite a lot now.

Next I read "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World" by Tracy Kidder. I have liked other non-fiction by Tracy Kidder, especially "House". He has a great ability to make ordinary people and events fascinating, with plain-spoken writing that focuses on the odd detail and the little things that define an individual. The story of Paul Farmer and his medical work, in Haiti mostly, and his successful efforts in treating drug-resistant strains of TB, under the most adverse conditions, is inspiring and humbling. The character studies of Farmer and his associates and his patients, and the life story of Dr. Farmer himself are as involving and riveting as any work of fiction. This is a VERY good book.

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini got me through the flight home, which included a long delay in the Miami airport and two babies that cried almost non-stop between Dallas and Portland. It is a story that takes place in Afghanistan and while it is about Afghanistan and the Taliban, it is first and foremost a really good story, well-told. It is about two boys, growing up together in Afghanistan--one the son of a wealthy businessman and one the son of their servant. Without going into detail, a shocking event changes the course of both lives and becomes a story of guilt and atonement. I found this book hard to put down. It is one of those kind of stories. While the plot depends on a couple of rather unlikely coincidences, it is, on the whole, so well told that I was able to suspend disbelief. When the plane landed, I was still engrossed in the book and finally made myself close it up and stow it in my backpack. As I was getting ready to get off the plane a young man across the aisle leaned over and said, "what do you think of that book, you're reading?" I told him I was really liking it, so far. He said, "I couldn't put it down. It's the best book I've read in a long time." It was pretty good, all right. Really good.

How's that for an eclectic reading list? Anybody have any other recommendations? I have another flight coming up in a few weeks.

More about "that" red

I replaced the picture of the shawl in the last entry. It now looks more like the real color. When I read Mary's comment about "flamingo feathers" I knew just how horribly off it was. Becky's and Elle's comparisons to chili powder and cayenne pepper were spot on. I am assuming that the commenting "Becky" is my sister, Becky, and I am so happy you responded positively--one of those yummy scarves was purchased with you in mind. Once I can stop looking at and caressing them, I will send yours off to you and hope you will love it.

I am still swamped with catch up work, having been gone for two plus weeks, but with that red color haunting me, I took a few minutes last night to pull some fabrics and fiddle with them.

I think this is going to become something. I don't know what yet.

The other thing I have been doing is setting up a blog about our Ecuador trip. Everyone in the family is contributing and it will go on for awhile--lots of memories and lots of pictures. If you despise seeing pictures and hearing stories of other peoples' vacations feel free to pass. If you are interested in seeing what we did and what we saw, go to: http://www.noqinecuador.blogspot.com/ We will try to keep it interesting. You can also see pictures of my beautiful children and son-in-law as well as my handsome husband.

Oh, that color

I have talked about the color red. It has always been my favorite color. There is a particular shade of red that just seems to be my favorite, favorite right now. As I was unpacking my purchases made in Ecuador this time I realized that this color was just inserting itself into everything I seem to be attracted to. I bought these scarves to give as gifts (maybe saving at least one for myself) in similar but not identical color schemes.

Then I found this chenille shawl and couldn't resist the color. (Replaced that bad picture--this is more like it. Not at all like flamingo feathers, Mary!)

Next came a hand-woven tablecloth, that is probably going to become a shower curtain.

This spicy, warm, orange-y, paprika-y red keeps speaking to me. I keep looking at those scarves and thinking I need to do some small color studies based on those colors. It will be a miracle if I can get into my fabric this week, but I see this color when I close my eyes and I have been dreaming about it.

Goodbye to the old year

I am home from Ecuador. I had thought I might be able to keep up the blog from there, but slow, and hard-to-find, internet connections made it more frustrating than it was worth. There is so much to talk about and we took so many pictures that I think we will set up a separate blog about our trip.

We ended one year and started another on another continent, in another hemisphere. I like the way they do it in Ecuador.

On New Year's Eve each family gathers and they have made or bought an "ano viejo" which is a life-size doll that represents the old year. Some are made of paper mache, some are created by stuffing old clothes with sawdust. Paper mache masks, many of political figures, are sold to finish off the dolls. On New Years Eve day we saw them all over Cuenca, where we were visiting my son-in-law's family. Taxis had dolls tied onto their roofs, stores had them displayed on the sidewalks, homes displayed them in doorways or on balconies.

At the Molina home the figure was a dapper fellow, made of paper mache, with the face of a popular singer, who I think they had heard perhaps a little too much of in the past year. Many of the figures we saw around town had the face of Lucio Gutierrez, the past president of Ecuador that was forced out of office and sent packing earlier last year.

Just before midnight, we carried him out into the street where he was lighted on fire.

As the "old year" burned, fireworks were going off, loud music playing and folks were drinking, dancing and celebrating up and down the streets. At one point several children came running by carrying suitcases. The tradition says that if you wish to travel in the coming year, you pack a suitcase and run around the block with it as the New Year arrives. As the "old year" burns away, you can be sure to leave all that it represents behind by jumping over the burning "body".

And so you start the new year fresh, having destroyed the memory all the bad things that happened in the old year. I don't imagine that little bonfires up and down the streets and neighborhoods of American cities would be tolerated, but I have to tell you it was pretty cathartic.

P.S. Before I left I created my Christmas greeting and saved it as a draft to be published at just the right time. What I didn't realize is that when I published it, it would not appear at the top of the page, but in the order below, that it was first written, so you probably didn't see it. Sarah did see it and commented on the photo. My Dad took the photo of me on my first Christmas. I love the picture. I still have the doll.

From near the equator

We arrived in Ecuador nearly a week ago. It was just about midnight on Saturday. We saw daughter Emily and son-in-law Cayo waving from the overhead balcony as we got off the plane. It took forever to get through the passport check and collect luggage, then we were swept out into the moist Quito night and two waiting cabs. At over 9000 ft. the altitude in Quito is always an adjustment. The first day I usually have a slight headache and woozy head and feel a little out of it. Walking quickly, especially up stairs or uphill wipes me out. But it was great to be here. The next morning we had breakfast at a favorite restaurant, The Magic Bean, in the touristy part of the city known as Mariscal or "Gringolandia". Looking out across the rooftops to the Andes soaring above the city, shrouded in clouds was pleasant deja vu and brought back memories of past trips.

Emily and Cayo had to work for the first part of the week, so husband, Ray, son, Andy and I went to a resort in the Rain Forest called Arasha. On the bus, we passed the monument to the equator and our route crossed and recrossed the equator on our way. I wondered whether the equator exerts an influence on one--does your blood flow differently as you move between hemispheres? I am yet to be convinced that water goes down the drain in opposite directions north and south of the equator. But it seems somehow significant to cross that divide.

Arasha was luxurious and very beautiful. It is not the kind of place we usually go, but a special treat and our Christmas present to one another. I will post pictures later.

Back in Quito, we were able to visit the school where Emily teaches briefly. It always makes me very proud of her to see how she interacts with her students. The school is Colegio Americano, The American School, in Quito. Her students are mostly children of well-to-do Ecuadoreans who are being educated using the American system in English. These children will most likely grow up to be part of Ecuador´s power structure and one hopes they are learning well, but on that day they were like all squirrelly teenagers on the last day before Christmas break. Yesterday we fought the crowds at the mall and the superstore and today will prepare for Christmas.

Christmas Quilt

Because of our trip I didn't do much decorating for Christmas this year. No tree, no stockings on the fireplace, or reindeer on the table--none of the boxed up stuff came out. I did pull my Christmas quilt out of the closet and toss it over the arm of the sofa. Instant Christmas cheer!

Thirteen years ago we moved from Ashland, Oregon to Portland. In December, 1992 I went to my last meeting of Mountain Stars Quilt Guild and I won the Christmas tree blocks everyone had made. After I moved to Portland I decided to put them together using some nice red and white homespun I had saved when I closed my shop. It comes out every Christmas. It is very cozy for wrapping up in on Christmas morning and makes the sofa a great spot for a winter afternoon nap.

Each block is different fabric, made by a different member of the guild. Some of the fabrics are strange old fabrics, but altogether it is a charming quilt. I especially like this block that defied the rules--"plain muslin background fabric" by using a fabric printed with toys under the tree.

I quilted it with intentionally big, fat stitches, using a big needle and crochet thread. I was working on it at a guild work day here in Portland and an elderly member of the guild looked over my shoulder. She patted my shoulder comfortingly and said, "don't worry Honey. You just keep at it and your stitches will get smaller."

Had I not won those blocks I would never had made a quilt like this. I am always so happy that I have it every year when I get it out again.

Have a wonderful Christmas

Christmas Morning, 1946

Dulces

I think that is the correct Spanish word for "candy". This is a busy week. We leave for Ecuador on Saturday before dawn. I am finishing up a newsletter job and other work. I am trying to get my clothes together and my Christmas shopping done and today I finished up my big candy project. Above you see the filling of tins and containers. I ended up with rum balls, peanut butter balls, sugared walnuts and cranberry candy. The cranberry candy was problematic, but very tasty.

I am trying to maintain a Christmas-y spirit even though I am feeling a little panick-y at this point. I got email from my daughter today. I think she is getting excited to see us. She proposes that Sunday we help her and a friend/coworker put together gift baskets for their domestic help and some poor families. She is making arrangements for transportation and entertainment for us. I am looking forward to all that, but most of all I am looking forward to spending time with my daughter. I am thinking about speaking Spanish (poorly!) and taking pictures and eating Ecuadorean foods that I love and gasping and wheezing at that high altitude and browsing the markets. This is going to be great. Feliz navidad!

Simple Still Life: December's:Capture the Light

Simple Still Life: December's:Capture the Light

I decided to do this again this month. I liked the theme for December of "Capture the Light". It reminded me of a quote I have always liked and so I decided my entry would illustrate those words.

I took these pictures to start with:

I liked the second better than the first, but I liked the branches seen out the window in the first picture. I liked the second picture, but wasn't crazy about the reflection of the lamp in the window. I replaced the reflection with some of the branches from the first picture. I also loved the purple-y blue color of the outdoor view, so I intensified it a bit for the final version, then added the quote at the right side.

I copied this quote into a notebook many, many years ago, and I don't know who first said it or what it is from, but it seems perfect for this time of year.

Winter evening in Portland, Oregon. This will serve as my Christmas greeting to all of you. May your lives be filled with light even on the darkest days.

Small is beautiful (sometimes)

Today Gabrielle was talking about small fiber works on her blog. She was talking about a current trend among art quilters to make small quilts, even postcard size quilts, and wondering about the relative value of small work, which she put in the category of "studies" and "play". She believes "at some point we need to move onto developing some larger pieces incorporating all we have learned from this play."

I had a strong immediate response, which was that a small format is every bit as legitimate as a large format. The two are different things. Small pieces require their own approach and are not simply miniaturized versions of something that should be large--at least when thoughtfully executed. I offer, as an example, this piece that I bought from Rosemary Claus Gray.

This piece is about 5" square. I love it and can't imagine it in any other size. It is the soul of simplicity, yet perfectly balanced with complex color and the beautiful layering of sheer fabrics.

On the other hand, I have to agree with Gabrielle that much of what is being done has no real composition, no real design. It looks like a swatch cut from a larger piece or a sample of multiple techniques. The fabric postcard craze is just that, though some lovely pieces are being made. Still a lot are the "swatch" variety or a hodgepodge of stamped and collaged images without much originality. I participated in one of the first rounds of fabric postcard exchange. I have to admit it was a lot of fun, but not something I wanted to do again. Making the postcards did not feel like doing "real art" and I approached it more as a design exercise.

Many people made one of a kind postcards for each person. I came up with one design and repeated it. When I was finished I was ready to go back to doing something more challenging.

Ironically, a portion of my day today was spent preparing and mailing off my Fine Focus entry. This exhibit consists of pieces that are all 12" or less on any given side. That may be one reason that Gabriells' discussion pushed my buttons the way it did!

Foggy morning

This morning it was not raining, but it was crispy cold and foggy. Beth and I went on our morning walk and enjoyed the dry, cold weather and the eery whiteness.

I liked the graphic quality of these bare branches with the nest high in the top.

We haven't seen the "dachshund ladies" for awhile. They are fair weather walkers. They say the dogs get too muddy when it is rainy and wet out. But they were out today and the dogs seemed to be happy to be walking again. We always stop to chat and pet the dogs. The black one, Sabrina, knows us and if she sees us coming up behind them she stops dead in her tracks and refuses to move until we have caught up and given her a proper greeting and pats and cooing. The other two are Renee and Fritzi. The three ladies look more alike than the dogs do.

I love this part of the path where the trees form a solid arch overhead. That is Beth at the side of the path. The two walkers up ahead are "regulars". They nod pleasantly when they pass, but aren't as friendly as Beth and I are. We have been walking for nearly three years now and we know a few of the people by name and most of the dogs by name.

The walk ends at Starbucks. We usually sit outside, even in chilly weather. Everyone asks us about our earmuffs. They are "Ear Bags". They have no band. They each have a plastic form inside that pops open so you can fit your ear inside, then pops back to fit snugly. They are nice and warm. Mine are black, Beth's are red. I think REI owes us a commission, we have sent so many people out there to buy them.