Ahava's Quilting Sweatshop

east highway 67

2012-01-24T06:20:00.000-08:00

four black commas
feather topknots
a quad of quails
ran before my car's trail
into the scrub and under the live oaks.

my silver station wagon,
trunk filled with sterile gauze and foleys,
took me downhill
after seeing a patient
and his family.

two redhawks
sat on black wire
on my right side
as i drive uphill - same day.

my gray carpet has
red granite crystals
from the mountaintop driveway
from the first trip.

in a room filled with family,
with neighbors, i enter.
the vigil now a wake.
i sip ice tea and listen.

long day at work, i say later.
emergency call, i explain.
everything ok, i hope? a friend asks.
he knows i'm a hospice nurse.

likely my ok is different from his.
but i hope the answer is

yes.

Hope

2012-01-11T09:37:00.000-08:00

our second opinion vet suggested a very expensive test. she said it was "a last ditch effort". so we spent more money than i am comfortable saying on an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy - for a cat.

it was the 'Hail Mary' pass that worked. the test results suggested that Max has a severe but (hopefully) treatable major GI infection. he's on broad spectrum antibiotics and has gained 0.2 lbs.

generally, i feel it's pretty strange to spend that kind of money on one cat. but my husband and Honey are closely bonded to him. initially both my husband and i were thinking that we were spending money on a test to make us feel better when we inevitably put Max to sleep. this unexpected hope is great.

Max is well enough to get into mischief. i came home from work and saw Max on a quilt on my husband's lap. it was a cozy domestic scene. so, money well spent...

Life for now - but maybe Lymphoma

2011-12-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

I took this photo today 12/22/11. Max grooms Honey.

Max and Honey are the first pair of cats that I have had who are bonded. Max was all of 4 lbs when we adopted him as a kitten. Honey immediately took to him. Smokey hissed at Honey (something new) as well as Max. We thought that he was angry at Honey for betraying him by bonding with Max.

Max has been losing weight for two years. He's been being treated for a presumed diagnosis. The other day I came home from my work as a hospice nurse and realized: he looks like one of my patients.

We got a second opinion: lymphoma versus a congenital malformation. Either sound pretty terminal to me. And so we await a very expensive test on Tuesday to tell me what I believe I already know: he looks like one of my patients.

Even the second opinion vet said "this is a last ditch effort". But I know. We are spending money to confirm that we have done everything possible to diagnosis and treat our young 3 1/2-year old cat. A worthy cat. With beautiful blue eyes. He wraps himself around the shoulders of my husband. He sleeps between my husband's legs underneath a quilt as my husband reads in his study. He skitters and dances with toys. He licks up food with gusto. And yet, still he loses weight.

This is the mystery of life: how we can live with vitality and yet have the seed of death unwinding within us.

Thank you, Max, for everything.

Study Partners

2011-12-02T14:27:00.001-08:00

Studying is always more relaxing with fur!

Unlearning the ICU

2011-11-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

I have just started my career as hospice nurse following a 2 1/2-year stint in a medical intensive care unit (MICU).

I owe it mostly to a young patient. He was brave and sweet in the face of some terrible disease. He reached his hand out to me on what would become the last day of his life. His skin was soft and warm and I could feel the connection, trust, and faith he had in me. I am profoundly grateful that I did not have to betray that trust. He died peacefully.

Peaceful deaths are not usually the norm in the ICU. Code Blue deaths are violent: ribs are broken, patients are shocked with electricity. As a society we debate if it is humane for convicted felons to be shocked to death. Yet we shock our dying grandmothers and grandfathers every day. And they die anyway.

This is why I wanted to become a hospice nurse.

I want to help provide a humane, dignified, and peaceful death to the terminally ill.

So I've "drunk the koolaid". But as I had suspected, I have much to unlearn in becoming a fluent hospice nurse. My impulse to immediate action must be calmed. I must learn to become a community home-based nurse. I must stop talking in "ICU-speak".

People have asked me if hospice nursing is depressing, "because there is a 100% mortality rate". Well, life has a 100% mortality rate. Our society is great at denying that. In ICU I learned also, that there are worst things than dying.

Even on worst day at work, I remember my patient who reached out to hold my hand in the ICU, and I remember why I'm doing this. This one's for you, [patient's name].

Sweet Dreams

2011-08-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

here is the quartersawn oak, mission style bed frame my husband made me. the quilt on the bed is "Hot Cocoa". Honey makes a good model I think. Sweet dreams

artistic growth

2011-05-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

to make a living, like most artists, i have needed a "day job". for me, though, it has been more than that. i have been trying/failing to run two careers simultaenously. first it was software engineer and artist. that combination didn't work. overtime and stress took over my life and like kudzu strangled art.

then it became nursing and art. and what realm of nursing did i gravitate to: first oncology and then ICU nursing. once again: stress. and with my graduate school on top of fulltime work - it is virtual overtime (without pay).

at times this makes me sad. once again art is made to be the red-headed step child.

but look at what else i am doing. i am giving chai tea to the relatives of the dying and being present, quietly explaining the process of death and it's own grace: like a flower curling into itself.

it seems to me that this intense human experience in nursing isn't really robbing me of art time. there are these transcendent moments of peace and unity. when i take the pulse of patient, my gloved fingers lightly touching his wrist below the arch of the thumb; the patient is sedated with our medications, colored like milk, dripping through the IV lines, and at that moment of touch: i connect to my sleeping patient as a human being.

perhaps the lines between art and other things is arbitrary. the silent vigil at a patient's bedside and my quiet meditation at my studio bench both stem from the same deep place in my soul. and these years that the number of works of art is virtually nil are not empty - the fields are fallow. but because of nursing my soul is growing. i sculpt with my soul.

Kitten Fever!

2011-04-27T18:00:00.001-07:00

I received an email attachment from a nursing student I was helping to teach with a photo of these amazing babies who were looking for a home.

I almost sucumbed to kiten fever! I posted a photo in my facebook account asking if someone was looking for a kittens. I received a call back from a friend who had been looking for a pair of siamese kittens who were littermates. bingo! instant cat kharma. here they are lolling about in their new home.

here's a recent picture of Honey; reason why I must always have a Persian or Himi in my life. also reason why I don't *need* a pair of kittens. I have great cat coverage at home already.

bless these lovely beings!

Art Happens

2011-02-18T09:36:00.001-08:00

I am happy to report that despite being in graduate school parttime and working as a nurse fulltime I am still doing art this semester.

I am focusing on doing metalsmithing. I find that one 60 minute podcast while I work on a wax or silver piece is a satisfying way to start my study day. When the podcast is off, it's time to start my studies. [Art "methodone maintenance" for a busy person.]

cheers!

Remembering Smokey: Quilt Inspector Emeritus

2011-02-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

Smokey, aka Smokey Joe Boy, lost his battle against liver failure (presumed to be related to cancer) yesterday.

Here's a picture of him, doing what he did so well - inspecting quilts.

I feel so blessed that I had this gentle, loving cat in my life. Smokey was a momma's boy and followed me room to room. Smokey was an "up cat" as our vet called him: he would sit on the highest upper kitchen cabinets under a heating vent with his tall ears grazing the ceiling.

We adopted him when he was "three" according to his paperwork from a shelter - but who knows? Amongst his adoption paperwork was an assessment from one of his vet nurses, "Nice cat!". And indeed he was.

His accomplishments include: breaking out of the house by pushing out the screen windows, bird watching the nesting birds, homeland security of his sacred yard from other neighborhood cats, and - as pictured - beta testing all quilts prior to release in the world.

He lived to be 11-ish.

He is survived by his mom and dad, and his siblings: Honey and Max.

RIP good gray boy, we will miss you! Thank you for blessing our lives.

red eye

2010-11-15T21:18:00.000-08:00

- red eye -

the I5 is foggy
as you fly out
and i drive away.

reminds me of
the I5 airport ride
when my sister
bought me a fine wool fedora
after my mother's suicide.
some kind of
expensive consolation.

hunger helps us eat.
loss pain
helps us love.

my grandma's vintage
Chinese silks
will go to you.

i am consoled.

[in honor of my dear friend Irene]

my best friend, Irene

2010-11-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

i interviewed for nursing school and Irene sat next to me in lunch during the full day of interviews. she was in my group interview too. that was my lucky day.

we survived an accelerated nursing school program together. it was made better by her homemade banana bread, Chinese New Year 7-course feast, and margaritas with tacos on Taco Tuesday in Old Town.

Irene finished the Nurse Practitioner program with a specialty in geriatrics. she is now preparing to move from the city we share to a new adventure back east. over sushi i got to hear about how the facility she will be serving is shaping itself to be a community residence complete with a cat, a resident dog, and homelike departments. (how civilized. so much better than a "nursing home".) there will be a hospice unit facing a lake. the leaves were falling and dancing around the entrance of her employer and her new life.

those are some lucky little old men and women getting Irene's care.

she is an admirable person. she seeks to serve her patients. she is a nurse.

and she will continue to be one of my best friends. biscotti ships very well.

queen of hearts

2010-08-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

- queen of hearts -

i count the coins
of past loves
collected by death tax.

my red iron soul -
not quenched.

my lioness heart
calls across the electronic plain
to my pride -
here -
there is room for you all.

8/28/10

Art In Situ

2010-08-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

it is fun to see one of my sculptures living "in situ". the piece is called "Walter's Altar Ego" and is one of a series of Walter's altars that i did. here it is in the arts and crafts house that Walter owned since the 1960s and that Caroline finished renovating after Walter's death. gotta love that inglenook.

here's a close-up. the "phone receivers" are made of aluminum. each phone receiver is stamped with a self-contained memory of conversations i had with Walter. this piece was made some time in the early 1990s. it was made after "Ahava's Altar".

like many people the majority of my relationship with my uncle occurred via the telephone. he was almost always accessible by phone. not always present in person. but he always looked out for me and was the one person i could count on [prior to getting married].

here it is closed.

the green is a nod to Marcel Duchamp's "the Green Box". it is pretty cool to have this sculpture hanging out in the house that Walter lived in when he curated Marcel Duchamp's first American retrospective.

Biscotti Uber Alles World Domination

2010-08-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

a beautiful morning in my studio. a cup of coffee and a homemade biscotti [my own recipe called mayan chip with cayenne pepper] and a maple studio bench. sigh. just add cats.

Arts and Crafts Heaven

2010-08-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

i just saw a beautiful show at the Huntington Library

Charles Rohlfs. his arts and crafts furniture was amazing. all of the pieces are beautifully carved. i loved his overall unique vision. it is not unusual to find Greene and Greene, Stickley [choose your favorite brothers here], or Frank Lloyd Wright shows. but this show is unusual. and really incredible. i recommend a visit to anyone in the area. i recommend the purchase of the catalog for anyone who loves arts and crafts furniture.

Ahava's Altar

2010-08-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

this work is a seminal piece for me in many ways. for one thing it represents a bridge between the art book series, such as monoprint and the more sculptural broken hearts series. in terms of my artistic timeline it's a bridge also. the artists books came first, followed by this piece, and then the broken hearts in bronze and other nonferrous metals. i think it's a highly technically and artistically successful piece.

it is made in copper, brass, silver, found objects, oil paint, silverpoint on copper, patina, feather and human hair [mine]. when it is enclosed it is a box. when you take off the lid, you can unhook the latches and it will fold out on piano hinges [i am the Goddess of handmade piano hinges]. some elements include a music box that has had it's song "John Cage-ized" by filing off some of the metal spikes that strike the notes. there's a '"A" is for Ahava' text. the fuses are items that i love. stamped near them are the words "now these are crystals". my uncle, Walter Hopps, saw the piece and tucked the feather next to the fuses. adding to both the personal and artistic history of the piece.

Ahava's Altar fully reflects my major influences: Jackson Pollock [think, Guardians of the Secret], Duchamp, Cornell, Rauschenberg, and African art [especially sub-Saharan, Kota and Kongo]. really this is a post-modern, neo-expressionist nkisi nkondi. i have a series of altars and reliquaries that are nkisi nkondi. the broken heart series is either a subset of this spirit or a close cousin to it.

on a personal note, it is also highly significant. i was working on this piece, pulling the sides from the acidic pickle when i received the news that my mother had committed suicide. it was on this day that i received the call from the coroner. it wasn't a pretty call. trust me. i've had a period of time that i have been focusing on quilting with very little time focused on sculpture. i have wondered for years if my sculpture had an artistic block related to that event. i now believe that to be the case. but i healed now. so i have one thing to say:

i'm back!

Dream Ponies

2010-08-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

one of the series i am currently working on is my "dream ponies" series. the work shown to the left is a bronze from that series. it's titled "August Moon". it's size is approximately - 6-7" high more or less. i was made approximately 11 years ago.

it was nice taking a look at this piece again. it still holds up, in my opinion.

gonna keep it on my bench as a i work on my latest dream pony; the wax i am currently working on.

peace

monoprint

2010-08-04T11:36:00.000-07:00

i have had requests from friends who want to see more of my art. this is a reasonable request - especially since this is a blog about my art for the most part. the challenge is that i never show works-in-progress. however, i am comfortable with sharing some older works.

this is a piece called "monoprint". it's in copper, brass, and nickle. it's etched, reticulated, stamped, and roller textured. the poem is written by me. i produced it when i was in art school at San Francisco State University. when i showed my uncle, Walter Hopps, this piece he said it was good and to "make 5-6 like these as quick as you can". like a suite, he said. so i did. when you get art advice from Walter Hopps - it's good to take it. [smile]

this snapshot is shown on my new beloved solid maple metalsmithing bench. in the background is a beautiful quartersawn oak tool chest that my husband bought me for my birthday (without me asking). he just saw me looking at these chests in antique stores and bought me one as a surprise. (i'm such a lucky woman.)

this piece resonates greatly with me today. for one thing, my nonferrous metal sculpture is currently exploding. i will pick up today from my goldsmith the casting of the finest metal sculpture that i believe i have done to date. and i sit this morning with coffee and biscotti and carve the next one. life is sweet. bright blessings to all.

here's the text of the poem

- monoprint -

each psyche, each person

is an inked zinc plate

ready to become

a monoprint.

first impression is a

print. second impression

is a ghost.

i looked down and saw

the ghost

of your impression

upon my psyche

before i met you.

we are changing

and every morning-

after-rumpled-sheet

impresses something new

upon us.

but you and i

scratch/curious

about the eachother

we see in ourselves.

Remembering Mom

2010-08-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

my mother on December 14, 1989 died by her own hand after a bitter, painful, futile fight against bipolar disorder. she was beautiful, intelligent, and deadly. she taught me to sew at age 4, to paint watercolors with sable brushes, and to survive.

as a gift to my mother i shall not lie about what killed her: untreated bipolar illness, ignorance, and prejudice against mental illness.

as a critical care nurse i care for patients with both unsuccessful and successful suicide attempts. i say, bring them on, assign them to me. i will be their nurse with all the kindness i can provide. i will take them in a wheelchair outside and let the sun warm their skin and the wind stir their hair. i believe that these patients have healed me from my mother's loss.

i offer a prayer of healing to all who suffer from mental illness and their families.

i offer a plea: get help, comply with medical treatment, grow old, and attend your daughter's wedding. don't become a coroner's call to your loved ones and a drop of blood on your bathroom wall.

Suzanne Hopps

August 3, 1939 - December 14, 1989

i love you forever

A New Poem

2010-08-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

- the world-famous san diego wild animal park -

your thumb
draws a circle
on my thigh.

the condor God -
pink head
against blue sky.

sagebrush's breath.
all my prayers
today answered.

[written and experienced 8/1/2010]

the other side of the table

2010-07-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

was it really just 48 hours ago that my husband asked me, "can you listen to me with your stethoscope"?

i asked what was going on and he described symptoms consistent with an acute myocardial infarction [heart attack]. OK, one for you and one for me, my dear.

i jumped into medical/cardiac ICU nurse mode. getting vital signs, documenting w/ time and date symptoms, history, giving him an aspirin to chew, and denying him food and water and whisking him to the ED.

then there's the moment of pure terror right after admission when i see an abnormal rhythm and a too fast heart rate [140]. and i'm thinking, oh my god, he had a heart attack and now his damaged heart is putting out an abnormal rhythm.

and so follows 24 hours of the scariest time of my life as my husband is in the hospital awaiting a procedure in the cardiac cath lab scheduled for the next day.

this story has a happy ending - of all the terrible, perfectly possible bad things that could have been going on none of them were. medication changes and lifestyle changes. a new MD, a cardiologist, to follow him.

during the 24 hours of fear and little sleep, it was prayer, meditation, and the support of friends that gave me comfort. small kindness from two of his nurses were HUGE to me.

as a nurse, i have always tried to be kind, gentle, and informative to my patient's families. but i will endeavor to do this even more so: the other side of the assessment table - it's a scary place to be.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Dennis Hopper

2010-06-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

Dennis Hopper was a friend of my uncle, Walter Hopps. I have a memory of him at Walter's funeral. It was a beautiful sunny day in Lone Pine, a valley surrounded by snow capped mountains. My father, brother, and I were standing on a small turf of green grass in the middle of our motel's courtyard. Mr. Hopper came striding up to us, stated "I'm Dennis Hopper" and shook our hands.

At the funeral reception the waiters and waitresses were asking Caroline, his widow, for his autograph. There were whispers about "who was this guy who died?" Little did they know that in black leather jackets was a selection of some of the bright lights in American visual arts also attending. I was bereaved at my uncle's death. But I had some comfort in how beautiful the sunflower arrangements were on his coffin and at the reception. I also baked 200 biscottis, four flavors (cappucino, chocolate, ginger, cranberry lemon) and it was neat to see the guests munching on them.

Later on, we saw a number of motorcycle choppers cruising in Lone Pine and laughed and said "if they only knew".

Walter, a museum curator, said that Mr. Hopper was a very talented photographer in his own right in addition to his acting talents. Dennis Hopper was a part of my uncle's world. So was Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Marcel Duchamp, amongst many other greats.

I honor Dennis Hopper and his epic talents.

The world is a better place for the artists like Mr. Hopper, it's more textured, fascinating, and richer for their contribution to our society.

Rest in peace.

Happy Chinese New Year

2010-02-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

More than food. Friends. Family of sorts - I claim my friend, Irene, as my sister.

Last night Irene made another of her splendid Chinese feasts for Chinese New Year's Eve. It was wonderful. We had:

sweet and sour soup
homemade eggrolls
green onion pancakes
steamed chicken with a great fresh ginger sauce
roast duck
roast pork
steamed red snapper
sticky rice
shrimp fried rice
two kinds of sauteed Asian greens
strudel with pastry cream and fruit for dessert
tea

and I may be leaving something out.

The hosts had a lovely home with glowing hardwood floors and a knockout kitchen. We were all rolling egg rolls for frying. It was a festive night with good people.

Thanks, Irene!!!

A Weekend in LA

2010-02-02T08:45:00.000-08:00

"We lived that photo." - Caroline

Going to LA is the nearest thing I have to going to a hometown. I lived in Pasadena in my uncle's house for a while. When I lived there it was a beautiful wreck. Now, under the artful and refined taste of Caroline the house is emerging from mists and dreams to be the Arts and Crafts homestead it should be. Watching this house be reborn is like witnessing an awaking of a loved one from a coma.

We went to a recreation, only for this last weekend, of the Ferus gallery my uncle Walter and Edward Kienholz founded. The exterior sign had been recreated perfectly. A collection of artists' work from the period was installed. It was moving to see how prescient my uncle was. I loved being there, walking though the gallery space on the concrete floors with the tall white ceilings. If felt like touching history - connecting to my my late uncle and knowing him a little better - to be in the space he walked through, envisioned, and the artists he supported.

Then we went to an art opening of Joe Goode at Bergamot Station, one of my favorite places to see gallery art in LA. My favorite piece at Goode's show was a misty night photograph of green lights with a full moon in the upper left side. I spoke to the artist and he said the green light means "Go!" and he said it with optimism and enthusiasm. The night of the opening was a wolf full moon - the moon closest to earth all year. And there was mist. As Caroline said - we lived that photo that night.

Remembering Glo Bier

2009-10-27T17:17:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-law was born on the Fourth of July, Glory Ann Farmer Bier. She went by Glo.

On July 3, 2008 we celebrated what we all new to be Glo's last birthday. She had been diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer and was no longer responding to oral chemotherapy. Glo declined IV chemotherapy and decided she would have hospice "when the time came".

Friends arriving

Another friend

Another friend and neighbor who kindly kept an eye on Glo for us

Glo holding court (German potato salad)

Glo's favorite old garden rose, a once-blooming rose, that bloomed every year just at her birthday time.

Tom's glorious beer can chicken with Cajun spice rub

Tom carving

It was a bittersweet dinner. Glo was unwell and was unable to remain with us the entire meal. I was glad she supervised the making of the tart, with samples at each step of the way. The next morning we ate tart and iced coffee in a peaceful silence. That was the last time I ever saw Glo.

Glo was a fiesty, salt-of-earth matriarch. She raised two fine, intelligent sons. She had been a volunteer at the local library and was reading to the end of her days. Rest sweetly, Glo Bier.

Mount Hood, OR Sculpture

2009-10-13T09:47:00.001-07:00

This public sculpture was made by a stonemason's guild in Mount Hood, OR. The guild made it as a gift and it resides outside of the public library. It reminds me of one of my favorite artists, Andy Goldsworthy. It also evokes the beautiful stone works of the neolithic period in Europe. Lovely.

Oregon Beauties

2009-10-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

Bridal Veil Falls

Multnomah Falls

Pictures from our trip to Oregon for our ten year wedding anniversary.
Green, green, green...

Cats of Summer's End

2009-09-28T22:21:00.001-07:00

The joys of summer: snuffing and hunting bugs

Honey and Max are bonded: Honey grooms Max. Even Smokey grooms Max.

(shown on a utility quilt in my study)

Late Night Research

2009-09-25T04:28:00.000-07:00

It is 4 am and I've been researching stress and populating my own EndNotes database. Stress research? Maybe I'll learn something.

My Zune has spun the following songs (in order):

"Let it Die" - Foo Fighters
"The Other Side" - David Gray
"Amphetamine" - Everclear
"Sheena Is a Punk Rocker" - The Ramones

Sometimes the queen of random gets it just right... (*smile*)

Multisystem Shock: Graduate School in Nursing

2009-09-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

I did it to myself.

That's what I get to tell myself. In physiology humans go into shock when there is not enough blood to perfuse organs. This results, if uncorrected, into multisystem organ failure. Then, the humans come to see us in an ICU.

My multisystem shock is a lack of time to perfuse my vital life activities. I have enrolled in graduate school in Nursing and am also employed full time as a night medical ICU nurse. Nights makes it's own time demands: I'm nocturnal. So it takes me two days off to run the errands that would otherwise take me one day off. Early morning is 2 pm for me.

Quilting is one activity that is going to suffer. So is my metalsmithing. So is relaxed time with husband. So is blogging. So is socializing.

It's time to prune my life and make lists. Not everything on the list is going to get done. As a perfectionist, that will bother me.

My goals until the program is done: work, sleep, and school. That's about it.

Xeriscape - not Zeroscape

2009-03-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

Southern California faces an acute water shortage. I am expecting mandatory water conservation this summer. I have also been wishing for plants that are more self-sufficient and happy in our climate. This follows my goal of making my life "a machine for art creation".

I still want pretty plants. So here's what I'm doing:

The "ground cover" roses by the Crepe Myrtle trees are going to go.
The white "Iceberg" roses in the front garden are going to go too. (They've been plagued with powdery mildew anyway.)
Replace Iceberg with 3 large growing lavender bushes. I can buy $2 pots that will become shrubs. I'm thinking "Goodwin Creek" lavender if I can find it.
Reduce the number of roses in the back rose patch to essentials.
Move the dwarf fig tree to the rose patch: consolidating higher water needs together.
Replace the side bed with Westringia and Pomegranate trees (cultivar "Wonderful").
Consider a few trailing rosemary plants for the slope as a ground cover. $2 pots become large pretty plants.

Eventually I'd love to hire a professional xeriscape landscaper for the back yard. Until then, small changes will make for a happier, more drought tolerate yard. And a lot can be done just with small, affordable herb pots.

Heart of Gold

2009-02-05T10:02:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's goal was to produce a gold heart locket, "Heart of Gold". I have wanted to make this for some time. I have tried several attempts. I want it to be as anatomically correct as I can make a miniature heart, including atria and ventricles on the interior of the locket.

The wax is done. I'm looking into getting it cast.

Unfortunately, the cost of gold has gone up. Generally speaking I love silver. I do not like gold 500 times more than silver. But this piece has to be gold for the tongue-in-cheek title to work. Also I envision it in high karat gold, 18 karat, if I can afford it. It's time to get it done and I'll just have to deal with the cost.

Art is like that for me sometimes. It's like the birthing/labor process. At some point the piece is "crowning" and it is forcing itself out one way or another.

Working on this wax has brought me joy. It is probably the finest wax I have ever produced.

Next stop: a wax for one of the bronzes in my Broken Hearts series.

Life is short. Do art now.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all.

Previously I had mused on the mortal quilt challenge. The point was for me to challenge myself that if this was going to be my last quilt - to attempt to produce an exceptional work. In practice I was not thrilled with my result. But I like the concept of choosing and working on a piece that I think would be memorable.

Last year (yesterday) I drove down from San Francisco in a long road trip. I spoke with my significant other about what we each wanted in the new year.

I want to make significant art: a significant quilt top, many significant bronzes.

I want to become settled in my new field of nursing: critical care nursing.

I want to streamline our home including: change to xeriscaping except for roses in spots, donating and selling items we are not using.

This year I want to do more bronze sculptures. I want to do a gold locket in lost-wax casting. I want to organize my studios: both the "clean" studio (the quilt and drawing studio) and the "messy" studio (the woodworking and sculpture studio).

2008 was a good year. It was about about transitions. I want 2009 to be about focus.

More art. Less stuff. More fun!

Muir Woods: A Walk in the Magical Forrest

2008-12-31T18:28:00.001-08:00

I am sharing this walk through Muir Woods from my recent visit to San Francisco, CA.

It is grace that envelops me in these amazing places of creation. It is a great blessing to be present in the hush of these lovely old trees. The mosses and the lichen decorate this forest.

Best of all was to be present in this cathedral of creation with people who are special to me.

Wishing all a new year filled with the grace of nature, the warmth of loved ones, and the peace of the trees growing.

Greene Brothers: Arts and Crafts Masters

2008-12-15T10:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw an exhibition of Greene and Greene exhibition at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. The show included furniture, drawings, stained glass, and photographs of the houses they designed. Anyone who loves architecture and/or the arts and crafts movement would love this show. It's best seen in person but I've included a link to the online show here.

Ebony and Teak Bench from the Blacker House designed by Greene & Greene and made by Peter and John Hall

I do appreciate Wright. But I definitely prefer Greene & Greene. One of their masterpieces is the Gamble House.

I love having and living with beautifully made hand crafted objects. I think that's what makes me a quilter. I must admit that I find Greene & Greene a little too beautiful for me to live with in comfort. (I think about all those little scratches left by cat claws as they walk around.)

I also enjoyed my LA visit for the great artists I got to see. I came back completely inspired. I want to do some bronzes now. So I imagine that I'll be "booting up" my waxer and getting to it. I have something to say and sculpture is the only way I can say some of these things. It's my vision. My life experience. I want to leave an artifact of it in my art.

Studio Cats

2008-12-04T15:09:00.001-08:00

Ah, my studio assistants hard at work...

...depositing cat hair on fabric.

Max has really grown into cathood. You can see a comparison of his size from August to now.

Max posing on my ironing board, showing off his blue eyes. On it is my hand quilting project about 1/3 of the way done. It's a queen sized quilt so it will take a while still.

We are rich in cats and happiness.

Art that Illuminates the Dark Spaces

2008-11-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

I was listening to To the Best of Our Knowledge's podcast on sadness.

I was struck by the beauty of the art of Michael Nye. He photographed people with mental illness and also documented their words - a part of their stories. I think this work is some of the most moving art work that I have seen recently. The photos are formally elegant and sometimes elegiac. The subjects' words are unforgettable.

Michael Nye's art is holding a candle in some of humanity's dark rooms. He illuminates. He invites us to join with our fellow people. He invites us to witness. To honor.

I believe that work like his illustrates the true transformational power of art.

Snake Infested Log Cabin

2008-11-20T08:14:00.001-08:00

My bro-in-law sent me this photo from an artist in Asheville, NC. Unfortuately, I do not know the artist's name or title of the piece. (I tried to enlarge the label on the right - but it's just dots.) I think it's just too cool.

Cheap Thrills - Placemats

2008-11-13T12:03:00.001-08:00

Ahhh, instant gratification - placemats.

This is me playing with fabric and color. It's playtime!

I got these cool batik fabrics as a gift. They "matured" in my stash until just the perfect time. We redid the kitchen in blue and white. So, guess what, my old quilted placemats didn't go (bye, bye Kaffe Fassette). But these jumped out of my stash and said "pick me, choose me!" And so I did.

The quilting is mostly just lines from a french curve. Sometimes picking up the flow of the fabric. Sometimes not.

There's a small stack still of more of these in progress that I haven't shown. Thought I'd post a few of these now, 'though.

...still quilting....

What Would Ed Kienholz Do?

2008-11-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

My uncle, Walter Hopps, would tell me in our innumerable phone conversations
"Don't forget about your art, Ahava."

The tone of voice was what I imagine to be like the pronouncement of God talking to Moses. But lovingly. But definitely a commandment.

I often had excuses:

I didn't have a studio table
I didn't have a separate room to work w/ messy sculpture stuff
I was broke
I didn't have a torch currently

I was not excused by Walter. He would tell me that Ed Kienholz moved frequently and could have a studio up "in no time".

I recently had a friend over for tea and a studio visit. I had a moment (well, many moments) of concerns about the state of my studio. You know, there's probably about 20 yards of fabric in a hodge podge on the floor right now. Not to mention the other pieces piled on every available horizontal surface.

Then I had an idea:
What would Ed Kienholz do?

I really can't imagine this fabulous sculptor giving a rat's *** if his studio was "picked up enough" for a visit.

Maybe this is a girl thing that we have. I love the idea of
A Room of Her Own

But it's best if I start examining the barriers to doing my art. Time to demolish the barriers. Time to give a rodent's glute about the little stuff.

My own recent idea was that I needed to make my life:
A machine made for quilting and sculpture.

I work my amazing "day job" as an oncology nurse and help my patients & families. But when I'm done. I'm done. I belong to art (and my family, of course).

I loved the inspiration of seeing Ed Kienholz and my uncle doing all the crazy, genius things they did in the recent documentary, The Cool School.

O.K. Walter, I'm not forgetting about my art!!!

Snoozling Cats

2008-10-27T09:50:00.001-07:00

It's thinking about being fall. We get cool days followed by 80-90 degree days caused by the warm Santa Anna winds. I want it to be cool already. I'm ready for sweaters and soup for dinner.

The cats are enjoying snuggling on quilts. Max is a teenager kitten now. But he's really grown long!

Smokey

Max

Honey

Hand Quilting

2008-10-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

I am working on quilting, really I am. I am in the process of handquilting a feathered star quilt - queen sized. And since I decided to quilt-in-the-ditch around all of the 1/2 inch feathers I will be quilting on it a while. Like I have 1/2 the quilt done and expect to hand quilt for another year.

My dilemma is that I love to do hand quilting. I prefer the delicate dotted texture of hand quilting over machine quilting. Of course, I love high-quality machine quilting. I just can't do it. And even if I could I love the quiet meditative time of laying down a perfect-ish line of stitches.

The problem is that I work queen sized and that means it takes 1-2 years to hand quilt my quilts. That means a very slow production line.

For now, I have no answers. The problem is then I have a large backlog of projects in my head.

And there's nothing new to post on my blog.

Are there any other hand quilters out there? Any at all?

Max Update

2008-10-05T16:07:00.001-07:00

Max is purring here. I took a photo with my hand to show how much he has grown.

Here he is again showing off his blue eyes and minky coat. He's looking more like a ragdoll mix these days. When we adopted him he looked more like a siamese mix. Max is not telling. We get to find out just how long his fur will grow. It's growing.

What a joy and luxury it is to have a baby kitten and watch him grow. These crazy days of financial turmoil are stressful. I find comfort in friends and cats with some good food and a cozy house. I have tended to live simply so I'm already in this habit. It's coming in handy now.

Daughter-in-Law to the Dying

2008-09-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law, Glory Ann Bier, was diagnosed with metastatic cancer a while ago.

It was a revelation to be on the other end of the stethoscope, so to speak. It was strange for me as an oncology nurse to observe the dynamics of patients and their families from the inside. To some extent it was like watching a movie when the scary music starts playing: the audience knows what's coming but the characters do not. Knowing what comes next didn't really help me. I tried to use my knowledge to benefit my family. I think I was helpful. Family members told me I was.

Glo wished to live independently forever. Her New England farmhouse still had pencil marks on a door frame showing the heights and names of her boys - now middle-aged men. I came to understand how if you have lived in one place in time familiarity makes even old coffee mugs into friends.

We lived on the other end of the US continent. I feared greatly that I would hear a call from an official, "Well... we found your mother-in-law in her home, I'm afraid that she is dead..."

It wasn't that I feared that she would die. We all die. Really. We all do.

I feared how she would die.

Unfortunately, as an RN I had my mind full of all the terrible ways an elderly oncology patient can die. I had a little too much information. Images would flash in my head.

Glo died peacefully and quickly in the presence of a family member. It was about as good as these things can get.

My husband and I had seen her recently and celebrated her birthday. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday cake. A tart. Not just any tart. The strawberries had to come from such-and-such a farm stand, the tart shell had to come from Julia Child's cookbook, and the custard - a mascarpone cheese custard - from yet another cookbook.

It was my first ever tart. And we were expecting guests. My first attempt at the custard failed miserably. I was cursing and stressed out. My second attempt succeeded. It was marvelous! I ran back to Glo's sitting room and gave her a spoonful to taste. I will always remember her glee in choosing her special tart. She poured through all of her cookbooks.

Glo divied up many of her belongings while she was starting to fail. After she died, they told me that she wanted me to have the cookbook with the tart recipe. I requested and received her tart pan. This to me is what treasure and inheritance is.

Mascarpone Custard

2008-09-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

for use in a fruit tart

4 large egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 8 ounce container of mascarpone cheese

In a double boiler mix egg yolks and sugar. Cook until temperature reaches 160 degrees and custard coats the back of a spoon. Let cool. Add vanilla and mascarpone cheese. Beat until light.

Smooth custard over a baked tart shell. Place fresh fruit such as strawberries and raspberries on top and chill until serving.

Irene Berry

2008-09-09T07:57:00.001-07:00

"Oh! The Places You'll Go: Africa to Allentown" by Irene Berry

This quilt was on the cover of the Long Beach International Quilt Show's brochure. It's a zinger! I think this quilt is an excellent example that an artist's personality shines through "traditional" quilting. One more example of why I eschew the term "art quilt". I think all quilts are "art quilts". E.G., we don't say "art painting" or "art sculpture". Why? Because it is assumed that painting and sculture are art. I dislike any connotation that all quilts are not art.

Mickey Lawler: Sky Dyes Queen

2008-09-01T07:46:00.001-07:00

Mickey Lawler was the featured artist at the most recent San Diego Quilt Show. She did a number of free demonstrations during the show. Here's a picture of her mixing up some paints.

I greatly enjoyed her talk a picked up a number of tips that I wanted to share.

Use seta color fabric paints for cotton or silk. She was using the transparent series. These paints do not make the fabric too stiff. She hand quilts fabric that has these paints. These paints will keep for years once mixed up as long as they are stored in a reasonably cool environment.

Use insulation board covered with contact paper in a 4' x 8' sheet. It is lightweight and easy to store. She places them outside on saw horses and paints. She lets any paint that soaks through the fabric dry on the board. It will not transfer onto new fabric the next time you use it.

Use natural sponges to make clouds and dappled dye. The best place to get these are at automotive stores. The art store prices are inflated.

Mickey uses cotton broadcloth from Testfabrics. She says that with fabric paints you want a more dense weave so that the paint does not soak through the fabric and become more faint.

I bought Mickey's book, Sky Dyes. Many of my friends have loved her yardage for years. It is beautiful stuff. Perhaps at some point I will play with fabric paints again. I took a fabric dyeing class at Otis Parsons in the 1990s. We used procion fiber-reactive dyes. Unfortunately, these are carcinogenic. Mickey and I talked about this. She said that these seta fabric paints are completely non-toxic. Looks like the way to go.

On a personal note, I was really taken with the beauty of the local quilt show. I've loved Houston for the big show experience. But there's something special about your hometown quilt show. It's a community. You see your friends. There are local charity fundraisers. The local quilt guilds are there. Now that Houston has a big Long Beach, CA show one month before the San Diego show I am concerned about the survival of this all-volunteer local show. (Long Beach and San Diego are 2 hours away from each other.) I volunteered this year at the San Diego show. I will try to contribute next year as well.

Solar Magic

2008-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Solar Magic" by Caryl Schuetz

Another one from Long Beach International Quilt Festival.

Cat Quilts by Johansen and Curran

2008-08-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

More quilts from Long Beach International Quilt Festival

"January 2006 Chellie Bee" by Marie E. Johansen

This was part of the journal quilt series. I really loved the entire series. Marie Johansen had a series of really great cat quilts. I'm sorry that I malfunctioned (I won't blame it on my camera because it was probably something that I did) and was only able to get a photo of this one.

"Fatal Attraction" by Sandy Curran

In Memory of Glory Ann Bier

2008-08-11T09:05:00.001-07:00

Glory Ann Bier, my late mother-in-law, was a tireless volunteer in her community at her church and her local library. She participated in fundraising for each through bread bake sales, book sales, and Christmas craft fairs.

At her memorial service yesterday family and friends universally shared "she was a good woman". Glo was caring, opinionated, and passionate. One of her friends said "Glo was right", sharing that if you wanted to know how to grow xyz, ask Glo, she'd know, and she'd be right.

Glo was active in her church for over 40 years. The devoted wife to the late George Bier. A mother to two fine men. She was a devoted reader to the end of her days.

She will be missed.

Mardal and Hougs Quilt

2008-08-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

This beauty was shown at the recent Long Beach Quilt festival. I have also previously seen this quilt at one of the Houstons.

It is a beauty. I believe that its a hand painted whole cloth quilt.

"Juggling with the Flowers"
by Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs

Back detail: notice the little larvae on the "undersides" of the leaves on the back of the quilt. These were appliqued on after the piece was quilted. I love this humor!

I also really enjoy the extensive machine quilting. I myself am a hand quilter. I love the little puckered lines of hand quilting on my quilts. However, this is a great use of machine quilting. You could never hand quilt this densely. I think the rhythmic lines of machine quilting add a nice texture like the veins on leaves.

Maybe some day I will get a machine that helps me machine quilt. I don't think my Pfaff Quilt Expression 2044 is that machine. It doesn't do good machine quilting for me. A friend of my who does fantastic machine quilting has the same machine and is unsatisfied with the machine quilting this model does. One of my instructors at Long Beach gave us the tip that the Bernina BSR was not all that it was cracked up to be. She also said that the number one thing that helped her quilting was a large quilt table with the machine mounted flush.

Best Friends

2008-08-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

A view from my quilting sweatshop. The boys are hanging out by my Pfaff, aka: "Pfaffie". Note the pile of scraps from previous projects: Chocolat fabric from my two quilts, Amy Butler Nigella fabric from my placemats. I will organize (some day). But in the meantime the boys think it makes a dandy place to nap and snuggle.

Max Update

2008-07-29T10:01:00.001-07:00

It's fun to see how much Max has grown compared to his size on June 26th.

Red Devilsfood Cake and Honey

2008-07-28T08:54:00.000-07:00

This is a quilt I made called "Red Devilsfood Cake" with Honey modeling it. The quilt is made from Chocolat fabric by Three Sisters for Moda. (Yummy fabric) And I'm enjoying the in-joke of naming the quilt a type of chocolate dessert. Judy Sample provided wonderful machine quilting. (I'm strictly a hand quilter. At least for now.)

Earlier I blogged about a quilt "too good" for the sofa. This is that quilt.

Long Beach International Quilt Festival

2008-07-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

Some images from Long Beach International Quilt Festival:

"Red Spirals" by Connie Watkins

"Oh! The Places You'll Go: Africa to Allentown" by Irene Berry

"Baltimore Star" c. 1865 unknown artist

"The Underground Railroad" by Beth Gilbert

Some thoughts about Long Beach International Quilt Festival:
I just got back home after the Long Beach show. The best part of my experience was connecting with old friends and making new ones. This is the magic of these shows for me.

I was able to purchase some great, unique fabrics at the vendors.

I found the show itself to be a reprise of last year's Houston International Quilt Festival. A friend and I were able to walk the quilts in the show in 45 minutes, something impossible to do at Houston. Maybe Long Beach just needs time to "grow up". So I'll give it that time. That being said I was personally disappointed that I did not see new works from our current known masters and new works from our previously unknown masters.

Off to Long Beach...

2008-07-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

...maybe I'll see you there.

Integration Success!

2008-07-14T18:27:00.001-07:00

I walked in on this today:

Smokey has finally accepted the "Interloper". Here he is sharing his favorite chair with a quilt with the baby. Max has tripled his weight since he came home. His fur is getting more plush and silky. It will be fun to see if it grows as long as his mom's hair.

God bless us all in these tough economic times.

Integration

2008-07-06T20:09:00.001-07:00

Max is making himself at home.

Honey is a good big brother. Honey and Max are friends. They like to play tag together.

Lazing on a summer afternoon...in the summertime...

My three sons...all in one frame.

Unfortunately, Smokey is still objecting to the "interloper" with hisses, growls, and complaints. There's no aggression towards Max, though. Just verbal harassment which Max totally ignores.

Max is a happy little tyke.

Summertime

2008-07-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

Ah, grace.

- iced coffee with Glo -

kirsch in cream.
cream in cold coffee.
two women smile.
(7/5/08)

Max the Conqueror

2008-06-26T17:20:00.000-07:00

I know what this is for....

O.K. now what?

Max has finished his medicine. Now we're working on cat integration. Little supervised visits. Much hissing and growling from the big boys. Max is nonplussed. This is good. It may take a while.

More Max

2008-06-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

More baby photos. Max is so tiny! He's a good purrer and lap cat. But first you have to exhaust him.

Trying to exhaust Max...Look, mom, no paws!

Max Update

2008-06-12T20:38:00.001-07:00

A friend gave me this bed. I thought Max didn't like it until today. He was chasing his own tail around in it and batting at the ball. Thanks, YY, for the Max bed.

Unfortunately, he will be in isolation from the other boys for a while. He tested positive for the protozoan coccidia. So while his medication works he hangs out in my quilt studio. This makes quilting really impossible. Gosh when I said my Persian, Honey, was still like a kitten I was wrong. I forgot how crazy kittens really are. Or maybe it's just that I've never had one this young (about 8 weeks).

He's called Max, from the children's book Where the Wild Things Are. As in the book, my Max is the wildest of the wild things. He is the king of the wild things. (He's already got my husband and me wrapped around his tiny paws.)

It's a Boy

2008-06-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

I blogged earlier about placing a deposit on a kitten - 0r as my husband likes to call it "placing a kitten on layaway". Max was too little to be separated from mom when we met him. He gained weight but is still tiny at 1 lb. 3 ounces. But at 9 weeks he's old enough to come home.

Thanks to the dedicated volunteers and director of the Rosebud Society, a local rescue group. Max's mom was abandoned, pregnant, and starving. The kind people at Rosebud nurtured Max's mom and his siblings. Mom was too underfed to produce good milk for her kittens, so they added supplemental feedings. Max was very frail and almost didn't make it. But now is a playful joyous kitten. (He's on my lap as I type this now.)

He came home yesterday.

Max yesterday with his mom for one last feeding.

Max and one of his siblings and mom.

Max at home. Already establishing his credentials as a quilter's cat.

Max is a lap cat. Here he is asleep with his poppa.

What a joy it is to have this tiny bundle of zest! It will be a pleasure to watch him grow.

The Gamble House

2008-06-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

The Gamble House is worth touring if you are in Pasadena, CA and like architecture. It is on the same walk of Greene and Green houses I posted earlier. So if you are in the area be sure to walk to Arroyo and Orange Grove Avenue and find all the other Greene and Greene treasures.

The beautiful green ceramic tiles show up in other Greene and Greene houses.

This photo doesn't do the stained glass justice. It's best seen from the inside. The tree glows.

This was the original garage (must have been some happy cars). It is now the bookstore and gift shop.

Why I love arts and crafts architecture: the details! (God is in the details.)

Greene-er

2008-06-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

More images from my Greene walk.

My favorite Greene & Greene:

This corner is Orange Grove and Arroyo in Pasadena, CA.

And at the end of my walk, there was Mr. Duck.

Greene and Greene Houses

2008-06-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

These are not green houses. These are Greene and Greene houses.

Here's a walk I took last weekend in Pasadena, CA. Architects Charles and Henry Greene are justly known for their Gamble house. They were contemporaries of Frank Lloyd Wright. I greatly prefer Greene and Greene houses over Wright architecture. I previously toured Taliesin West. I have also seen some nice Usonian houses by Wright. Wright is a genius. However, I prefer the asian influence of these Greene and Greene houses. I also suspect that they are more comfortable to live in than the Wright houses.

Within two blocks of the Gamble house is a whole collection of delicious Greene and Greene houses. The photos that follow are showing the houses on my walk in order.

This is my favorite Greene and Greene. It is high and like the prow of a ship. One of the brothers designed this for his house (sorry I don't remember which one).

Here's the garage for my favorite Greene and Greene.

My second favorite Greene and Greene.

A detail from the second favorite house:

The garden gate on my second favorite house:

The ultimate driveway:

Art is eternal.

"As long as we're doing this..."

2008-05-29T09:50:00.001-07:00

The road to hell (in home improvement) starts with the following phase, "as long as we're doing ___, why don't we do ____?"

Project inflation.

Very little quilting in my world because the kitchen has taken over my life. It all started simply enough with vinyl sheet flooring that had become tattered and needed (really) replacement.

So we replaced it ourselves with blue and white commercial tile from H*** Despot. We had to add subfloor where it really didn't exist (really). We liked how it came out. Of course now that I had blue flooring, my kitchen chairs needed new fabric.

So how could I resist Amy Butler's home dec fabric? It matched and was cool to boot. Here's Honey nicely modeling the new chair fabric.

Also note: the walls are painted blue now. As in "as long as we're adding new flooring why don't we paint the walls?"

Then I said the fateful words "as long as we're painting the walls why don't we add wainscotting, new baseboards and a chair rail? It will be cute."

Of course, being both perfectionists we wanted real wood wainscotting (versus the panels) so here we are priming both side of wainscotting.

Then DH said, "as long as we're adding wainscotting, why don't we get rid of these arched doorways that the previous owner added?" Note: these are not original to this simple ranch house. And the entire house is rectangular. After living with the house a while, we both felt that the house "wanted" these doorways to be returned to their original format.

Here's the before:

So DH demo-ed and fitted new clear pine facing in the doorway. Ten pounds of plaster later I had gotten the doorways ready for their final painting and trimming.

The doorways really do feel more spacious and nice. And best of all, you can now get appliances (e.g., a fridge) into kitchen.

Worst of all, DH has said, "as long as we're putting in new baseboards in the kitchen, we should put in new baseboards in the living room and hallway."

It's all taking 3x as much money, and probably 10x as much time as we thought it would. But I have to say I'm pleased with the result. We're still working on the wainscotting and trim work. However, when you don't see new quilting posts (because I'm not doing much quilting these days) or even any new posts (because I'm painting, spackling, scraping, etc.) you'll know why.

Everyday Granola

2008-05-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon sea salt
8 cups rolled oats (note: not quick oats)
1 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven 275 degrees. Line two jelly pan sheets (baking sheets) with parchment paper.

In a large pyrex 4 cup measuring cup mix salt water and sugar. Microwave in 1-2 minute increments until completely dissolved. Add vanilla extract when done.

Mix all remaining ingredients. Bake 1 hour (plus or minus) until lightly brown on underside and crunchy.

Biscotti Recipes!

2008-05-15T09:12:00.000-07:00

I had a friend, Nicole, who was an amazing cook and baker. One Christmas Nicole made batches of cappucino biscotti as presents to her friends. This was the start of my biscotti recipe collecting. I have tried numerous recipes. But it is the one that the majority of my friends say is the best. She was kind enough to share the recipe. I've lost touch with Nicole but am glad I had the chance to know her. Thanks, Nicole, that was some Christmas gift.

Here's my three most favorite biscotti recipes.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

2008-05-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

My variation: I don't use walnuts, I substitue sliced almonds. I also add 1 teaspoon almond extract. This is the best chocolate biscotti recipe I've found to date.

from: Gourmet December 1994

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/10994

Dried Cranberry and White Chocolate Biscotti

2008-05-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

These are amazing. They are really elegant with drizzled white chocolate over them.

The best variation I made of these was to omit the white chocolate drizzle and add a couple of tablespoons of grated lemon zest. The lemon and cranberry was great.

from: Bon Appétit December 1998

from Epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/5817

Nicole's Cappucino Biscotti

2008-05-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur's)
1 cup (scant) sugar (sometimes it may be closer to 3/4 c for me)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon (scant) ground clove
1/4 cup cooled brewed espresso
1- 2 tablespoons milk - see comments in recipe
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 c. chopped toasted almonds (or 3/4 cup sliced almonds)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees -
1. Blend dry ingredient in large bowl. Add nuts and chips.
2. Blend 1 tablespoon milk, yolk, vanilla, espresso together in small bowl
3. Add wet to dry ingredients to form sticky dough. If too dry add up to 1 more tablespoon of milk.
4. Knead sticky dough on board. (Use flour on hands)
5. Prepare cookie sheet w/ parchment paper.
6. Form a long log and place on parchment paper. Press so log is not more than 1 1/2 inches thick.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 35 minutes. Test w/ toothpick for crumbs. It should still be somewhat moist but still fully cooked.
8. Remove and cool for 15 - 30 minutes.
9. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.
10. Slice log into 1 inch slices.
11. Place upright on cookie sheet w/ air circulation around each slice. Bake 8 - 12 minutes until dry on the sliced surface. Biscottis will continue to get a little more crisp as they cool.

They're supposed to be crisp but not rock hard. Good for dipping in morning coffee.

Just Add Whipped Cream

2008-05-05T16:02:00.001-07:00

The top "Hot Cocoa", the sofa quilt, is done. Here's Honey modeling it.

Compulsive Kitten Fever (CKF)

2008-05-05T10:35:00.000-07:00

O.K. I confess I have succumbed to compulsive kitten fever. We have placed a deposit on a KITTEN. He is currently in Kitten Intensive Care Unit (KICU) by some really cool people from the Rosebud Society, a 501 (c) (3) charity.

Here's my progression of this contagious disease (so you can be forewarned):

Compulsively viewing cat adoption web sites online every time I log-in the computer.

Dragging best friend to a shelter and transmitting kitten fever to her (and becoming godmom of her kittens).

Posting more blog entries about my cats than my long-suffering spouse (LSS).

Find amusement in cat scratches on the hardwood floors I paid to have redone.

Making a quilt called "Hot Cocoa" for the sofa so the cats have a softer, warmer sleep spot than the leather sofa.

Dragging LSS to cat shelters instead of working on finishing the kitchen project.

Dragging LSS to view oh-my-God kittens at a kind foster mom's house.

And then the sign of full-blown fever: adopting a 1 lb. bundle of fun.

I will have to wait a month for "Max", short for Maximilian, to graduate from KICU.

Meanwhile the kind foster mom is doing frequent supplemental feedings because Max's mom was undernourished. The society is helping mom rehabilitate also. Once her kittens are weaned I'm sure she will blossom into quite the elegant lady. She's pretty right now even after all that she has been through. It is cool to see her cooing to her kittens to call them and then nursing them while purring to them.

Max is a long-haired, blue-eyed, blue-point Siamese mix. Silly me, I didn't take my digital camera. So no photos yet. I am afraid that this blog will become Max's "baby book" once he gets home. He is fearless!

It's kitten season. I'd love to hear if any of this blog's readers have also succumbed to CKF. Let's see photos. ;-)

More Garden Picts

2008-05-03T07:38:00.001-07:00

The red leafed shrub is a baby crepe mytle tree, cultivar "White Chocolate". New leaves come in dark bronze/brown and have a lot of red to them. The flowers are white. At it's feet is white Meilland ground cover rose.

O.k., o.k., I confess my white flower garden has a non-white flower in it. This is one of my two pommegranite trees, cultivar "Wonderful", in full bloom. It makes yummy pommegranites in the fall.

Rosa cultivar "New Dawn" does it's magic beautifying a chain link fence in the back yard.

May Flowers

2008-05-02T09:10:00.001-07:00

Scenes from my white flower garden. It's a modest front yard garden.

"Iceberg" roses with Santa Barbara daisies as ground cover.

I have a "double" (actually more like a triple) Amaryllis too. "Thalia" narcissus and cuphea next to it.

These double white columbine have finally become a colony, with much coaxing from me. I've never been able to get the single white columbines to colonize despite numerous attempts. But I'm happy with these guys.

A close-up of the double columbines. I really love how these start life as limey green.

Other friends in this garden are: white irises, white lilac shrub, white wisteria, double shasta daisies, two white camelia bushes, white Cistus bushes, white westrigia, white star jasmine, and other friends.

More Cocoa

2008-04-19T09:49:00.001-07:00

Here's the progress of my new "utility" quilt: Hot Cocoa. It uses primarily Chocolat fabric from Moda. There's also a smattering of William Morris fabric, Moda's Nell's Flower Garden, and other odds and ends. Smokey provides ongoing quality assurance, as usual.

White Wisteria

2008-04-18T18:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my newest garden baby: a white wisteria. Doesn't it look ready to become a gorgeous garden diva? I can't wait - but I'll have to. It's a Japanese wisteria. As such it blooms before leafing out - so next year I'll have blooms. But I'm not sorry. I can't wait to see it.

I bought it to replace another white wisteria I killed. I mentioned that to the garden expert so that I can avoid repeating mistakes. He said, "they're hard to kill". OK that's me - the wisteria murderer able to accomplish hard garden gristly tasks.

This baby is in my white front garden. It's few feet from my other new baby: a white low-chill lilac. (Which I will also have to wait for blooms...)

I am sad to report that I am not sure of this rose's name. It is thriving despite neglect from me. (You see the "quilt sweatshop" is actually an accurate description.) It smells divine. Ah, spring in San Diego.

Chocolat: Hot Cocoa

2008-04-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

I was late to collecting the Chocolat line of fabric by Three Sisters for Moda. But I did manage to come on board.

I made a "utility quilt" for my sofa using Chocolat fabric. When it came back from the machine quilter I realized it was "too good" to be a utility quilt. So I'm making a second Chocolat Moda quilt and I'm calling it "Hot Cocoa". I'm trying not to make it "too good" so I can have a cozy quilt for my cold leather sofa. It will be a shaded nine patch.

I've enjoyed seeing how different quilters organize their stash. I have an Ikea tower with lots of little drawers. This is the perfect place to stash left over components from various quilt projects. When I make a lot of half-square triangles and don't end up using all of them them it's great to have a place to find them. They end up in future projects and provide additional "scrappiness" to projects. I like scrappy quilts.

It's also nice when I'm working on a project to stack components in these little drawers.

Quilting is such as nice way to create wholeness out of chaos. Mostly my quilt studio is in a state of chaos. I'm so excited to start the next project lately. So I haven't spent the time organizing. Organizing my fabric is one of the things on my "to-do" list for this spring/summer.

And now back to the joy of mixing patterns and colors. And the quiet pleasure of handling fine, soft cotton fabric. Ah, those mushy Modas....

Happy Spring: "Cross Pollination 1"

2008-03-27T10:28:00.001-07:00

So I was having a quilt camp day with one of my buddies. I was trying to use up batik fabric. She was sewing with some Kaffe Fassett fabric. She threw down some Kaffe on my batiks and it was, of course, wonderful. I told her, “you’re cross contaminating my quilt!” At the same time we said “cross pollination”!

So this is Cross Pollination 1 because I’m in the process of making three batik baby quilts from the Stargazey butterfly blocks. The detail shows a half-view butterfly that I designed. I love how it’s hovering over the batik sunflower about to snag some pollen.

It is a perfect antidote to my job. It also captures the joy of a new spring that I’m feeling.

Remembering Walter

2008-03-20T09:17:00.000-07:00

On March 20, 2005 my uncle Walter died. I honor his memory today.

Walter loved artists. He had the most wonderful stories about artists. He also had some advice that has helped me as an artist.

When I was an impoverished art school graduate he encouraged me to do art. He told me that even if I was broke I should buy the finest paper that I could afford and draw on my kitchen table. He also told me I should draw every day. I don't actually draw every day. However, on the days I don't work my 13 hour days, I invariable do art every day.

Walter told me that when Giacometti was poor he walked around sculpting a tiny wax in a match box. He said that later when Giacometti had money he was able to get these waxes cast and that they were just as monumental as the larger sculptures he did in later years.

Walter told me of his friend Edward Kienholz who could assemble a sculpture studio "in no time". Walter wanted me not to delay making art. We talked often on the phone. No conversation was complete without his admonition "Don't forget about your art, Ahava". I haven't, Walter.

In one conversation I told Walter that I sometimes felt isolated and lonely since I lost contact with art school friends. I spoke about how this sometimes made it difficult to do art. Sometimes I felt that there was no point. Walter instructed me to frame a photograph of my favorite artist and hang it in my studio. He told me to direct my art making towards this artist; to have a "conversation" with this artist.

After Walter died I placed his photo and my favorite Walter quote to me on my studio door. It was after I had done this that I realized I had finally taken Walter's advice. But the person I most wanted to dialog about art with was him.

We buried Walter in the most beautiful cemetery in the mountains he so loved with a marker carved from local granite. I have some local granite from that site in the mountains from the weekend of his funeral. I surrounded it with bulbs.

Today I celebrate that this marvelous, intelligent, brilliant, passionate, perfectionist, idiosyncratic, and caring man was my uncle and in my life. I still miss him. But when I play jazz late at night, it is almost as if he is present like incense hanging in the air.

Little Bitty Triangles

2008-03-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned my own obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) when it comes to quilting. It manifests in little bitty triangles. Like how can I add more triangles to a pickle dish. Like it doesn’t have enough already. How? Well how about I draft in Adobe Illustrator a squared off mariner’s compass to be the square components of this pickle dish? Well I did it. Also notice that I added a delectable mountain border – see, it didn’t have enough triangles yet! Notice the finished quilt: yet more triangles.

This picture also gives you a typical view of my house. One quilt on the coffee table (with Smoke in a hoop – which he insists on) and another being hand-quilted on the sofa. It took two years to quilt this baby (the pickle dish). Maybe I’ll actually try to show it sometime. (Something I haven’t done to date. Thus wacky wonky butterflies are very different from my usual OCD style of drafting in computer and then paper piecing. Variety is good for the soul.

Thanks to all the visitors and the nice comments.

Stash - Cat bunk beds

2008-03-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

About half of my stash is piled into Ikea Billy shelving. Honey appropriates any available space as a kitty bunk bed.

Scrap-eater: Stargazey Butterfliez

2008-03-11T14:38:00.001-07:00

I have been inspired by spring: spring cleaning, soft, moist spring air, spring flowers, and organizing scraps. Also, I really love giving away baby quilts. It occurred to me that the Stargazey Butterfliez pattern was an admirable project to eat up various scraps while making a cute baby quilt. I’m actually making three at once. It’s always good to have one in the bag when it’s needed.

I am grateful to Jan Mullen for her loose and fun patterns. They give me an antidote to my usual obsessive-compulsive disorder method of quilting. (I.E., how many ¾” half-square triangles can I fit on this feathered star…”)

I am trying to eat up batiks because I decided never to hand quilt another batik quilt. Baby quilts – little ones! – are all that I’m competent to machine quilt. (Diane Gaudynski will never face any competition from me!)

Although Smokey is my quilt inspector general, Honey plays a role in quilting. Honey particularly delights in tearing through a layout of blocks on the living room floor and sending them flying. He’s a deconstructivist. Here’s Honey looking innocent on some blocks I’m playing with.

It is so benign and peaceful to piece colorful, playful baby quilts – the perfect remedy after a shift of oncology quilting. I had a tough day yesterday. I have a tough but beautiful job.

Mortal Quilt Project Update

2008-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here’s the state of the project I started in the “Mortal Quilt Update”. I think it is ugly. It’s an interesting ugly case study. I either like or love all of the fabrics. I love the central William Morris medallion in the center of the star. I love Mariner’s Compass variations. I like the idea of combining hard-edge piecing of little triangles with the appliqué. The hand appliqué was done competently.

So why is it ugly? I think that there is not enough contrast. This is an ongoing design challenge I have with my beloved William Morris fabrics. Most of them tend to be a medium value. I have few, if any, light or dark values in my Morris collection.

I think also that the goal of making a definitive quilt is a very high bar, indeed. This certainly falls way short.

I am a “finisher”, in general. There are very, very few UFOs (unfinished objects) in my closet. I think this piece has a future as a reasonable wall quilt with some more work. But I need some time to think about it. So it will “cure” or mature in the closet for now.

Regarding this piece, if I had done a traditional Mariner’s Compass I’m sure I could have delivered a knock-out blow. I’ve done a very nice Mariner’s Compass quilt. It was my wedding quilt. I am glad that I experimented, though.

I’m interested in any design suggestions regarding this piece.

Be Weird

2008-02-28T14:59:00.000-08:00

One day I’d like to be able to be a full-time artist and a part-time nurse. Of course, now it’s the reverse; economic necessity, of course.

But I have a dream of making this happen some day. Imagine the freedom – choose to work, how much to work. This has been a dream since graduating from art school And I think the good news is that it is possible.

What helps me towards this goal are books such as The Overworked American and Voluntary Simplicity. Also I really enjoy the thoughts of financial guru, Dave Ramsey. I listen to his show while I sew. I especially like his phase – Be Weird. Seems that everyone is in debt – be different, be weird. We’re on track w/ Dave’s plan towards independence. We have no debts except the house. We’re weird!

William Morris fabric is on the left. It’s a part of the design for my Mortal Quilt Challenge.

Hope Springs Lilacs

2008-02-27T14:26:00.000-08:00

I grew up in Wisconsin. I live in San Diego. Lilacs usually don’t bloom in San Diego. There’s no chill.

A coworker said she had a low-chill lilac that actually blooms for her. She said it took a few years. I’ve been skeptical if these really bloom. But apparently they do. For some people.

So I’m being a spring fool today and making a long-term bet that I might strike a jackpot. I bought and planted Syringa vulgaris ‘Angel White’, shown in this photo.

Ironing Board Confession

2008-02-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Libby's blog had a great post-your-ironing-board-photo challenge. So I confess this is the state of my ironing board and studio.

Here's Smokey, quilt inspector general, supervising me in his usual spot. He's always ready to do spot Quality Assurance checks on my work and provides ad hoc fur enhancements. What a guy!

My ironing board is an extra large Michael Graves board from Target. Since it's non-standard, I bought two extra covers when I bought the board. This is it's second cover. Behind Smokey you'll note a random pile of fabric that's stuffed behind my Phaff Quilt Expression 2044 (better known as "Phaffie").

I Like Linen and Linen Likes Me

2008-02-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

So a friend of mine gives me these bits of Mario Fortuny patterned fabric ($200/yard yummies). It's the yellow fabric w/ pale silkscreen cream pattern. I feel that a thank you card is not enough. I was in one of my favorite stores and saw this 100% linen in cream and aqua. Ahhh! How could I resist? I think you can see why I think she'll like them. She gives fabulous brunch parties on vintage family china. Real linen linens is just what her parties need!

I'm going to make simple linen placemats with this linen as my thank you. Sometimes with fabric this wonderful nothing more is needed.

Older Work: Fabricated Copper Sculpture

2008-02-19T09:58:00.001-08:00

A friend asked about my metal sculpture. So I’m showing work from 1990. I was in art school at the time. This piece is called “Joseph, Joseph” and is a tribute to Joseph Beuys. I wrote the poem. I etched the words and brush strokes in copper panels. I created piano hinges by hard soldering (silver soldering) brass tubes to the edges of the copper. I pierced a window with a jeweler’s saw and riveted a Xerox on acetate of Beuys from his performance of “I Like America and America Like Me”. Patina, oil paint, real sterling silver leaf, and Damar varnish completed the piece. Cool note: Damar varnish protects metal patina for 17 years without yellowing. I’ll use it again.

This piece is a great example of a series of books I did at the time. I did one and my uncle Walter, an art curator, said that it was great and told me to do as many as I could as fast as I could. This was one of the pieces from that series.

My sculpture professor hated them. In my final art critique with my fellow students he said “I hope you know they will be considered craft”. Please understand that in art-school-speak “craft” = “crap”. Gee, how come women’s art is called craft and men’s art is called art?

When I turned 40 I felt more librated from this conflict. I decided to just do whatever art I felt called to do. When I die I will leave behind a cache of objects I created that give witness to my spirit, my living, my soul. That’s good enough for me.

Be - Cambria

2008-02-13T09:04:00.001-08:00

This is why we drive seven hours north to Cambria, CA. Good morning, Cambria.

We drive. We park at our favorite B&B, the Olallieberry Inn. Then we walk everywhere for the rest of our stay. A three hour stroll through Cambria to the ocean and back. We have an impeccable lunch at Indigo Moon.

In the morning, an egret gives us a great memory.

Be. Eat. Walk. Breathe. Less doing. More being.

Happy Chinese Near Year!

2008-02-08T07:17:00.000-08:00

Here are the remnants of a Happy Chinese New Year feast. One of my closest friends, Irene, came complete with a butane burner to make a traditional chinese hot pot meal. It was the first time that I've had it. She made homemade broth which bubbled on the table on the burner. In went shrimp balls, lobster balls, Napa cabbage, noodles, clams, shrimp, and steak. She called it "Chinese fondue". We drank Champagne and toasted Irene's upcoming graduation as a geriatric nurse practitioner.

It was finished with tea and my Mississippi mud cake (from one of the Moosewood cookbooks). It was fun to have the mixture of both our families there - both in cuisine and traditions. I brought out my grandmother's sterling which were set next to the chopsticks. The placemats are made from Kaffe Fassett fabrics that I quilted (my family tradition). She brought me a hello Kitty Chinese New Year decoration (see, she's a really good friend!) And she shared a traditional family favorite entree. The stories were great too - Irene's memories of the Chinese lion dancers in New York city.

Sigh. Good food, good friendship. A perfect night.

Guadelupe Quilt - March 2005

2008-02-01T09:40:00.000-08:00

In March 2005 I took a printmaking class. I loved printing etchings on Rives BFK. When it came to linoleum printing, of course, I wanted to print on fabric. So here's my sketch, my version, of a Lady of Guadelupe. What follows is a print on fabric and then made up into a small quilt and hand quilted.

I took a class in printing on fabric at Houston IQF in 2007. Something to explore further...

Thought I'd post an older work while I'm working on my mortal quilt challenge.

The Mortal Quilt Challenge

2008-01-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

I've been an oncology nurse for over a year now. I work with in patients in a hospital - that means that they are very ill. Our patients usually have stays of weeks - sometimes for months. We become close to our patients and families. We celebrate with them when they are discharged and in remission. And one of the saddest things to hear is "so-and-so is back". We mourn.

Every week we can lose a patient. Sometimes we have known the family and patient for years. We all agree that it's the worse part of our jobs. We have known some very fine people. That's the privilege/burden of my job.

Facing mortality on a daily basis at work challenges my complacency. So I've challenged myself with my next quilt project:

If you knew this next quilt was going to be your very last one, what would you do?

When it's done I'll post the picture in this blog.

William Morris Fabric

2008-01-23T10:54:00.001-08:00

Here's the new William Morris fabric that I talked about in a previous post. I had planned to dive into my Dutch fabrics now that my quilt repair job is done. But now, I don't know. These fabrics look like they want to be in a beautiful quilt...

Quilt Restoration

2008-01-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

It's been another typical "Ahava's Quilting Sweatshop" project.

This quilt had an unfortunate encounter with a dog. This is the "before" restoration photo. I restored it. I was in a hurry to do so, because I can't wait to dive into my Dutch chintz fabrics from Houston. I'm one of those [weird] OCD [obsessive complusive disorder] "finishers". There are very few UFOs [unfinished objects] hanging around my quilt studio.

This is the after picture.

This is a picture of how I did it. In case anyone else has a similiar project, here's my tips.

The first step is to find replacement fabrics. The unbleached muslin was easy - already in my stash. The maroon fabric was also in my stash. I checked a local quilt store and could not find a better replacement fabric. Older replacement fabrics can be found by checking out thrift stores for any hand sewn dresses and shirts. Also yard sales are good places to find older fabric. You can find true antique fabric at Quilt Festivals but you'll probably pay dearly for it. When I worked at an antique quilt gallery, the Wild Goose Chase Quilt Gallery, they kept a collection of old fabrics for restoration projects. I had to bleach some navy fabric to match the darker, French blue, of the squares because no fabric even matched close. It came out o.k. - a little splotchy but the color is a decent match.

Next I drafted templates for the pattern. I did not remove any old fabric unless it was so shredded as to be impossible to leave in. I appliqued over the damaged areas. I attempted to save as much of the original quilt as possible. I choose to patch only small areas. Larger and missing areas needed whole replacements. I then cut and sistered-in quilt batting. I applied new muslin for the holes in the back. Then I quilted areas patched and replaced and bound it.

Of course, the final step is quality assurance testing by Smokey, quilt inspector general. (He was hurt that I mostly kept him off this quilt. It puzzled him.) Then ship it back to its owners!

Resources: here's a great article on quilt restoration by Ann Wasserman.

More Bungalow Love

2008-01-13T18:27:00.001-08:00

Another walk through bungalow land in South Park yesterday.

This house has it all: Jacaranda tree in the front yard complete with swing, leaded glass windows, good lines, and a nice paint job. This house could definitely be a fantasy house for me.

A cute Spanish style bungalow with a pair of ficus trees

This charmer needs a little work but it's still cute.

Look at all the work and creativity put into this arbor. The blue you see here near the pot are blue ceramic tiles. This arbor really added a lot to this front yard. Note the poinsettia in the pot. Poinsettias got their big start and promoters just north of San Diego in Encinitas. They will grow into small trees in our yards and show their colors around Christmastime.

Winter Pomegranates

2008-01-12T14:03:00.001-08:00

It was 75 degrees yesterday when I took this photo of my pomegranate tree. This pome is up high. I left some pomegrantes on the tree for the birds. I loved how this split open. On a higher resolution of this photo you can see the pomegrante seeds like translucent garnet beads. I love pomegranate trees. I love their flashy red-orange flowers (not a usual favorite color of mine) in spring. I especially love them in fall around Thanksgiving when fat, red globes of pomegrantes bend the branches. And now in "winter" in San Diego I get to enjoy a deciduous tree, the light grey bark. It helps me feel that I have some sense of "seasons" in this endless summerland.

This is not to complain of our weather. Just having grown up in Wisconsin I still feel vaguely disoriented. I have to think - oh, it's January so that means it's winter. 75 degrees just doesn't match up with winter even though I've been in California 20 years.

The same day I had purchased new William Morris fabric! It was a triple play: William Morris fabric, as designed by Barbara Brackman, for Moda. I've collected William Morris for the past 10 years and was thrilled to find a new line to add to my stash. I've made three quilts with a lot of William Morris. (One of them is Caroline's quilt already posted in this blog).

There's a connection here between the love for William Morris and pomegranates. I have in the back of my head the desire to do a quilt homage to my beloved pomegranates. It is mulling around in my head for now.

BTW: for any William Morris fans. I got my fabric from a local quilt shop Cozy Quilts. They were very pleasant; shopping should be fun and it was. I bought four cuts because they had four bolts that I liked. Then I wondered if there was MORE. You know the whole quilt-addiction, "fabric tolerance" thing - need more fabric for the same buzz. So I found more of the new line online at Quilt Basket.

It's a (Quilter's) Cat's Life

2008-01-07T13:12:00.001-08:00

It's another typical day at Ahava's Quilting Sweatshop. Here's Honey sleeping on a stack of yet-to-be-washed Amy Butler fabrics. That's an older quilt of mine on the back of a velvet armchair. My next life I want to be a spoiled house cat.