The Pink House is not visible (above), but it is there. Adding moons — or are they? They could be suns. Or clocks. Or just circles.
Fall brings reflection. More cleaning out around here. College applications. Soups and roasted vegetables.
One of the reasons I like to machine stitch some of the seams on bigger quilts is so that I can cycle through variations and ideas faster. The many phases of a design get lost along the way, and I’ve always thought that was kind of a shame (especially when the ‘best’ version is say, #7, while the finished version is #14!).
If I captured even a fraction of the process it would become clear why a quilt can take so many months to create. And, the hope is that a process that is inherently frustrating will be less so if there is a visual record. What would I learn? We shall see.
Lately I’ve begun to think that I just want to ARRANGE fabric, TAKE A PICTURE, and call it a day. That’s the other extreme… but what IF the product were purely digital?!
In the meantime, here is ‘White House of Privilege’ morphing into something else. The White House has flown elsewhere. To be continued.
I will count this first stab at creating a slide show as a major victory on a day where the computer crashed and my photo uploading developed (new! interesting!) problems.
This small landscape was simple and now is less so. Adding black sheer along the horizon to suggest hills, but they look like roof tops as well. Another two houses crept in on the left, but since those structures share fabric with the hillside behind them, they are a little ambiguous.
And this was the White House of Privilege (in response to the Zimmerman acquittal), then it became three other houses, and now it’s looking like it’ll be just be a pair (neither the original ‘White House’). Vines have crept in.
The vines were inspired by fiber artist Kit Lang who made two Trayvon Martin quilts, one of which she titled, “Strange Fruit” after the famous Billy Holiday song about lynching. Kit’s comments and questions to me about using fiber art to express outrage and grief were provocative, and I appreciated her feedback and willingness to go a little deeper with me on the topic of race and privilege.
And this piece of garbage caught my eye walking home from the periodontist this morning. As blogging continues to be a challenge (ongoing tech-glitches and other obligations — nothing new or out of the ordinary), I shall use this found heart to wish you all a peaceful, uplifting week.
It was farm share week. The peas were consumed on the car ride home . . . a secret, selfish treat.
Jack and I are spending time together by the couch. Last night we shared a chicken breast… a treat with no strings attached. . . completely free of worries about fat or long-term health.
I have been quilting the Global Warming piece from the bottom up. Each stitching session adds wonderful texture, bringing disparate elements into unity. . . the pleasure of making.
Dinner included carrots and basil from the farm – very healthy treats. All the taped episodes of “Nashville” that I’m cranking through while eating my healthy dinner? A guilty pleasure.
Jack has perked up a little on day two of prednisone. But really? I think it’s all the treats he’s getting. We are going to keep him comfortable as best we can.
Jack looking dashing back in April
Jack today
kitty made of recycle pant material – frayed too much!
doorknob makes for feeling of welcome
Scratch disks are full, or I might have cropped out the shadow of my head (above).
But such things are minor in light of a visit (the fourth in three weeks) to the vet with Jack. I will know just how bad the news is tomorrow or the next day, but it appears that he has cancer.