First and importantly to all my readers, known and unknown: you are the best! I mean it. This community has sustained me for years and now, as the U.S. administration spirals out of control into what I’m calling a “Fox shitstorm”, you matter more than ever. Period. Thank you.
I’ve been pulling work out of the basement to air before the show here at my house. It’s “go time” with only two weekends left to prepare.
I have never been so pleased to be in possession of crappy powers of memory. Opening my plastic bags of inventory has been like Christmas! How much I forgot about! And, given how much my style and standards have changed over time, I’m pleased and surprised by how much of it I still really like.
There are at least six quilts from the Global Warming series (example above). More on that another time.
Many pretty baby blankets, this one machine pieced and hand quilted. This week, in light of time pressures, I bought a big spool of bias tape for edging. Usually I cut my own. (#amazonslut).
I’m heartened to see a number of pieces that just need edging. K and I plan also to experiment with wooden frames, where dimensions allow (there’s no time to build frames). To my mind, there’s something violative to the qualities of quilted cloth when you put it under glass or stretch it like a canvas, but I want to be flexible. I want to see how people respond. There remains a certain –ahem — lack of imagination among some buyers about what properly belongs on walls. Frames might overcome that to some degree.
Notes to self:
- Stowing finished quilts with lavender sachets is a really good idea
- Stowing quilts leaving price tags pinned on risks rust
- Wouldn’t it be cool to try a quilt version of the #theunreadshelfproject?
- Give yourself a little more credit
- Resume practice of inserting inventory lists in stow-bags
We barely got touched by the last nor’easter but K travels to China again soon, which imposes its own set of (somewhat stressful) conditions.
And can I just say, for those of you following a certain drama in Colorado, my brother has acted the fairy godfather this week. Bless him!
Such bright colors blasting through the whiteness of the snow is stunning. I would love to be your neighbor 🙂 I also love the house w//moon piece. (photo 7) Good luck with your show!
The colors are enlivening against the snow, aren’t they? The moon / house quilt you refer to is one of the newer ones. Thanks for the good wishes. I hope after the show to post items online one way or another for sale.
I can’t wait to see your work at Newton Open Studios, Dee! Your exquisite quilt hangs in our front hall (sans frame). A friend has convinced me to frame your accompanying narrative for hanging alongside. We’ll see when I get around to that!
I’m glad it’s still hung there. That was one of my all time favorite commissions! Look forward to seeing you.
Would love to see all your pieces up close … the house with moon piece … makes my heart sing. As for your opening comment … We are all ripples in the same body of water … all having heartfelt gratitude for this beautiful circle of phenomenal artistic generous women.
Hi Tina. You seem especially able to open the glad heart of community. Thank you for
That. I’ll be posting more pix of these pieces. Esp because I hope a few of them will sell and I’ll want a record.
LOTS OF VERY FINE WORKS! My gratitude for the slow pan of the clothesline…time to look!
Lavender sachet in bags is great. YES give yourself much more credit. Practice being easier.
Yay for the brother who got wings. Yay for all your colorful visions. Worry less, Laugh more.
Nothing lasts forever. In terms of horrendously terrible politics, that’s very good news. So too
in terms of all imperfections. “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. Love
without reservation or regret. Now, I’ll shut up and turn to a master:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/BCS_MwkWzes?rel=0“
Thanks Michelle. Need go no further than the comment section here for wisdom. Have a nice weekend! It is suddenly much much warmer here. I’m hoping it melts the snow in a jiffy.
Btw, I was just sitting down on my exercise bike when I opened your comment. The (great!) Leonard Cohen song is 6:09. My current commitment is to cycle for six minutes. So I listened. And cycled. And thought about how the world doesn’t need perfection. It needs our battered willingness to show up.
Hello Dee! So enjoyed stepping into the video; the peacefulness of it, the quiet joy of the children’s hollering coming lightly in the background… the fabrics and the story in the moon houses resonate with me even as my fingers hurt thinking of the hand stitching. I don’t do cloth, wish i had the uncomplaining tolerance for it. it does give me joy to see the creativity and juxtapositions of fabrics you manage to imagine to reality. and the little gal with the green velveteen chest and button ‘heart’, what’s her story – or is she an escaped March Madness player, many have some highly creative head coverings!
Dang, I get tongue tied by all the creativity i see. words and pictures! Insecurity, in general, is head-strong. It’s questions will try to haunt me all day. However today, i will also give myself credit for trying. do you see why i fail to comment even though visiting here is a pleasure?
BTW/ am presenting reading an old Brene Brown book, “I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn’t),” yup am seeing we all live with nagging Insecurity and the bully of Shame. Actually that’s why i am here today, commenting for the 1st time. it seems to me having a blog could make one feel terribly lonely! Big love to you, Dee!
ML — you are a doll to comment and to comment at such length! You coulda fooled me about being tongue-tied. 😉. I really appreciate it. Unexpected bounty. The doll is one of my floppy faceless ones. I put her out because I decided She needs a face. Do you work in another medium? And lastly, thank you for reminding me of Brené Brown. Her wisdom about vulnerability is inspiring. Must go listen to one of her TED talks this week!!!
Isn’t Brene the best?!!
Yes! I need to listen to her more. Maybe as a practice?
‘presenting’ crappy auto correct… for ‘presently’
love the Cloth line…the wind….
Hi Grace. You and the wind go together. Is there much in California?
not usually, they tell me. Nor are there electrical storms, usually. But this “winter”, there
is Thunder, Lightning, and…Wind. The trees on this Hill are over 150 ft. tall…the Live Oak and
pine…they sway.
The trees sound magnificent. Ancient.
Wow, that’s a lot of work, love it pinned to the clothes line! For gallery exhibitions I frame embroidered cloth even though I prefer it naked in my own home.
Oh that’s good to hear. Plus for some reason I have a gazillion frames downstairs.
Talk about magic: the video of the dance of your cloths, outdoors on the line, filled with color, filled with vision, filled with such artistry and heart, swaying in the wind, is spreading joy there, here, and soon, at your show. No matter what is swirling around each of us in our lives or in this country of ours, Dee looking at your works is lis like being given a tonic of color and joy.. Your cloths are exhilarating yet at the same time soothing and viewing them makes me feel refreshed and ready to carry on…Wow, imagine how people will feel to see them up close and personal…
Such affirming words, Marti. A tonic of color and joy! Who me?
But of course…! Yes, you.
I would love to be close enough to you to come to this show of creativity and burst of delightful color!!
Me too. It would be nice to meet. Where are you PS. When I look at your pix sts I think New England and sts Midwest and sts Pacific Northwest. Covers a lot of ground.
Oh man Dee!!! I am blown away by the burst of CoLoR against the snow, them movement in the wind and the sheer amount of wonderful work you’ve created! Just Wow!!
I will be pinning up at least four clothes line’s worth of quilts to air them out. That IS a lot of work!
Like everyone, I just love all that color! I especially like the pillows. Wool felt I’m guessing. 🙂
Yes wool disks and wool cover for the pillow. Wool is so dreamy to stitch.
Gorgeous all together in the snow! What a wealth of work. Love the video. Will look forward to seeing photos of them in the show.
Thanks Hazel. Many more to come.
lovely to see you so organized and energized, and what grace said
Thanks, Jude. Spring and a deadline coinciding has been a good thing
Joining the chorus here to thank you for the show preview. I wish I could come.
Me too! Imagine if we could all teleport one to the other and meet person to person, work to work.
oh wow yes, would love that, who knows one day
You and your family have an open invitation. You know that, I hope. Your sister and her family, too.
boy you have been productive! great to see so much of your stuff all lined up; I know the feeling all too well of forgetting what I’ve made, makes for a nice surprise though
good luck with the exhibition, I even googled the location to kind of get an idea of where it’s all heading
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