White as a Full Moon

Highland Park this evening offered star magnolias that equaled the full moon's color. And the fragrance was heady. But the moon is just over my shoulder tonight as I write. Some things better captured in the scent of a magnolia.

Folly in Toronto

At the Toronto Textile Museum is a show of Jane Kidd's work. A detail of her tapestry "Folly" from 2016 shows the beauty of the forms and line that Jane weaves. They are gems woven with care, precision, and a reverence for the natural world. Happy to see it Friday.

Toronto Kimonos

A day trip to Toronto yesterday was to see the exhibition by the Japanese artist Itchiku Kubota. Breathtakingly complex, they are hand dyed and painted kimonos, often in a series that presents a panoramic landscape. It will be in Utica this summer, and I'll return. If you can, visit.  See mwpai.org for more information.

Celebration Times 2,500

I started this blog to as a challenge to do one thing every day, day after day. So, each day I post. Just a photo and a few sentences. And I've learned two things: I can do that, and I can write. So, here's to more.Today marks the 2,500th post.

Tonight's Special

A get together with friends (of the arts persuasion) had us marveling at Katherine's bottle of wine. It was her poster painted for the Lilac Festival, made into a wine label, that made this cool. She's special, too, but we already knew that.

Cookin'

While I've got one work under the needle, getting quilted, I've another on the design wall. The parts are still jumping, and when they settle down, I'll piece it together. Talk about pieces and resistance!

Form Follows Line

Adding the quilted stitch is always a joy when it's my fabric, my line, my piecing to follow. I've got a great two pieces of fabric with drawn line, shmooshed areas, and blobs. Just right to run my quilted line around and around.

Measure for Measure

To get ready for "Glorious Prints", a class in May at Pro Chemical and Dye, I'm measuring out yards (plus a bit extra) to take. I've mentioned this before, but since my counter is 36" high, I let the fabric hit the floor, nick it with a scissors, and tear off the piece.

Improv for Sudbury Massachusetts

I'll be teaching "The Play's the Thing: Improv Sketches" in Sudbury Massachusetts on May 5 for the Wayside Quilters. A one day class, it's a great chance to try improvisational quilting, bag a dozen tips, and spend a day with me :) Contact me and I'll send you contact info. Patpaulyart@gmail.com

More Anxiety

Mary Giehl's work "The Question is Why" at the Schweinfurth's exhibition Made in New York is made of 250 crocheted flowers, each representing 1000 people. There are 250,000 people killed each year from the AK47. Her strong statement was awarded second place.

Once in a Blue Moon Crowd

The Schweinfurth's exhibition "Made in New York" opened tonight and my work "Once in a Blue Moon" is getting noticed. A splendid show of diverse media, I was in good company. A lovely meal afterward with friends, a quiet ride home, and now to bed.

Take Two Class

I rented a lodge till 9:00 at night, which meant there was plenty of time to construct a "Take Two" piece. It was a great group, we worked incredibly hard, and many went home with a complete top. Many thanks for a very gratifying day.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow

I live for that next thing. That tomorrow. So, tomorrow is my Take Two class. I've packed, ironed, organized. And needed to start an example to work on tomorrow. So, here's my start on tomorrow

Stacked to Set

When I print, I try to keep my printed fabric flat. I've got styrofoam that sets on dowels. Works. And I get to stack prints. If I wait overnight, it seems that they batch fine. 

Printing by Me (or By You)

I'll be traveling this spring and summer, and each place I'll take along my printed fabric. Some we'll use in the class, some I'll sell as a vendor, like at QBL. Or, I'll teach you how to do this, just find me a suitable dye studio and a couple of days. Pro Chem is in May (all filled) and Studio Schweinfurth is in September (still room).

Two Bucket Night

I've piles of printed fabrics to wash, so tonight I tackled a dozen. After several rinses in warm soapy water, I've cranked up the water heater to max and will let them sit overnight in that hot water. Tomorrow I'll do again. Factory work!

Square Love

Studio Art Quilts Associates asks for a donation for their annual fundraising. This is my 12 x 12 piece, without a title for now. I'll mail it out, happily, on Monday. Bidding starts September 14 on the SAQA site.

Working Small

I don't regret the time and care it takes to make these small 6 x 6 works for the annual Rochester Contemporary show. It's a gift to RoCo, but for me, a chance to experiment, to slow down a bit, to see how a very small work can be a stand in for something grand.

Eat Your Veggies

Chris Wickert brought this gem of a quilt to the Genesee Valley Quilt Club today. What I love is the perfect bow that ties the beets (or radishes?) together. All is perfect here, placement, color, quilting. Her quilts are ones that are the benchmark for fantastic quilting.

Break Time

The  legendary Joe Beard was playing acoustic blues guitar tonight, so with a few other friends I took in the concert. Best blues I've heard, ever.

Off They Go

The Memorial Art Gallery sells my pillows, and since they are all sold out (!!) there needs to be more. So, tomorrow these screened, printed, and dye painted pillows head down the street to live in the Gallery Store.

Piles of Fabric

Now with room in the suitcases, these fabrics, made this past winter, will get packed for my visit Tuesday night for a lecture with the Candlelight Quilt Guild near Syracuse. Just in case someone doesn't have enough in their stash.

What Goes In Must Come Out

It takes time to pack, and time to unpack. I'll keep these out for Tuesday's my lecture at the Candlelight Quilt Guild in Baldwinsville, New York. Hey, if you are around, I'm sure they'll let you visit that evening. It is at the Baldwinsville Public Library. Tell them I sent you!

Inside It Was Spring

Yes, a blanket of snow for the Salem Quilt Guild's Spring Tea was outside. Inside was a lovely lunch, and then I got to speak about quilting's challenges. Lovely group of people, and lovely day regardless of the weather.

Warming Leaf

The New Big Leaf was the project du jour. Mary and Peggy had sympatico fabric choices, and brought warmth to this Ohio town. Tonight we've been blanketed with snow, April teasing Spring.

Life's a Cherry Bowl

It's not just a bowl of cherries. You can wait for that to happen, those cherries to ripen, make it 's way to market. But sometimes you get snow (in April!) and it's best to just have that cherry bowl on hand.

Packin It In

Most of my day was spent typing class proposals, hours of it, and not so glamorous. So, I'll spare you that graphic, and instead leave you with what I've got blocking the door. Tomorrow's journey to Ohio, with hopes that this wicked wind dies down by morning.

This is Only a Test

In June I'll be at the Saskatchewan Stitches Conference. I've a workshop that calls for using fabric that hasn't been treated with soda ash. So, here is the left half without and the right half with. It's different, but not by much.

Shedding in Place

Being in mid-air seems an odd place, but mid-tree to crawl out of your skin seems odd, too. Perhaps this was the shady, safe place to be. Which is what I like about my dye studio -- perfect spot for shedding, and away from interference.

Egg Day

Monoprinting yields results hard to get any other way. I've made a bunch of red and white pieces, and this one made me think of those egg hunts we did for the kids long ago. Each kid was assigned a color, and off they went. Red is my favorite.