I'm Flossy

The last of the hip hop word theme quilts. "Flossy" means flashy or showy. I did enjoy working with all of the various fonts in my computer. Even Fergie is "flossy, flossy"....

Earth Hour

We participated in Earth Hour on Saturday, like many others, including my sister and her boyfriend, who took this picture of her.
We cleaned up the house in the dark with candles, and got us thinking about what people did after it got dark outside, especially if you had hobbies, like sewing. I tried my hand quilting, but it was too hard to see with 2 candles, and by the time I considered more, Earth Hour was over. I've been on a "green" kick lately, including switching to fluorescent lightbulbs, and "greener" cleaners. So maybe my April quilt theme will be "recycled materials"?
photo (C) Tom Gawczynski 2008

Mothra Stewart

Every day, on my lunch break, I watch a DVR'd episode of Martha, the live audience vehicle for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Every day, Mothra.. I mean Martha, tells us what she did in her fabulous expensive lifestyle. She often speaks of her fresian horses, the various homes she owns, and her extravagant trips for some award or vacation. I actually don't like this gloating. In fact, I don't like it so much I considered making a new blog called "Martha Brags" in which I would describe the little comments she throws out there. But... I do like the show quite a bit for the crafter appearances, and some of the best in the craft world have been on her show: Betz White, Emily Martin, and many many others. If she dumps the craft portion, I'm dropping Mothra like a hot potato. I have other uses for the DVR space.
But, in regards to quilting, during this lunch break, I have started HAND QUILTING! And not just hand quilting, hand quilting my very first quilt top I ever made! And boy, let me tell you, it's very traditional. A sampler quilt, no less! What could have possessed me? The fact that it's been folded up in the craft room for over 10 years, and I was asked about my first quilt recently. Yikes. I am a terrible hand quilter, but I will complete it, someday...

Return from Vegas

I did not win any "guap" in Vegas. Ah well... Sorry for this rambling post.

This week's hip hop word was a no-brainer. Hey shorty, it's your birthday...

It's a ton of birthdays in March and April for us.

There are 5 weekends in March, so one more week of the "words" theme. What theme should I do next?

My artwork in local show

You are all invited to visit the Naperville Art League on April 5th and 6th where this work, Portrait in Blue, is on display. Below are the details:

“Close-Up” Exhibit & Reception: All entries submitted to the Naperville Art League’s 4th annual public art competition will be on display in the Naperville Fine Art Center & Gallery, 508 N. Center Street, Naperville during the Gallery Tour weekend of April 5 and 6.Saturday, April 5, 2008: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.Sunday, April 6, 2008: 12:00 to 4:00Bring your friends and family and join us for the “Close-Up” reception on Sunday, April 6 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. with award winning entries to be announced at 3:30. Refreshments will be served.

If you attend, please leave a comment! I am very excited to show my work in public, another goal for this year has been achieved.

Radio in hand, snacks by feet!

"Guap" is money, a lot of it, according to www.UrbanDictionary.com (not safe for work or kids). I like this quilt, with it's faux leopard spot/camo look, "Spray on Military" style font, and some hand stitched bling. Green for St. Patrick's Day too.
I don't consider myself really "with it", but I do listen to B-96 (96.3 FM) which is Chicago's Hit's and Hip Hop station. I have been listening to this station since the late 70's. I even won tickets to see a concert when I was calling to request a song. The concert? Lionel Ritchie's Dancing on the Ceiling Tour. The song I was calling to request? Run DMC's "You Be Illin'". So it's listening to this station that I have heard all of these words. Thank you hip-hop station, and sister's 6th grade class, that helps weed out the words that are too dirty...

Resolutions update

As an update to my New Year's resolutions, here's how I'm doing.

1. Continue the weekly quilt series. This time, each month will have a theme.
**Going well!

2. Start a new monthly series where the works are larger, 8.5 x 11 inches, vertical orientation.
**Also going well, theme is "personal shrines".

3. Enter my quilts into competitions. (3 quilts are started for entry into shows)
**One entered, and did not jury in. Second one going into an open show later this week!

4. "use it up!" I buy so much personal care products that I have too much. This year, I am not allowed to buy more until I use up all of what I have on hand. Except fabric and art supplies... I can never have too much.
*** I haven't bought shampoo in months, nor bars of soap. I have been using up my ample supply of hotel shampoos and soaps after I ran out of the regular large sizes back at the end of January.

5. Write more letters. Keep in touch with distant friends and family. Who doesn't love to get a letter?
*** I have been writing, no one has written back yet. In order to get mail, I have been using "Postcrossing" which has resulted in postcards from overseas!

6. See the bottom of the blog for the obligatory weight loss one...
***This one has sucked. Despite working out occasionally at the local community gym, DH and I have not been eating right. Must fix this soon.

7. Blog more!
***and thus the post on my resolutions! :)

For real this time...

I have been travelling for work, so I apologize for being away from my blog. I was in Orlando at MegaCon, a really neat comic book convention, in which I met a bunch of cool creators and artists, and tried to sell the heck out of the program my company wrote.

This is the paper quilt entry I submitted to Quilting Arts/Cloth Paper Scissors for their "true colors" challenge. It was not accepted for either the magazine or the show in Chicago. I was a bit disappointed, because I used a paper technique I learned from Patricia "Pokey" Bolton herself at last year's show, but in the end, I know what is wrong with the piece. It will go proudly on my wall and be entered into other shows. More pomegranates.

Next up, this month's theme. After checking my schedule for this show in Orlando, I knew I would not have much time at all for myself. So I picked the easiest of themes, with the help of those who voted on my poll. I chose "words", but not just any words... hip hop words.

If you need help defining these lovely words, I would suggest http://www.urbandictionary.com/. However, this site is not child or work friendly, so be warned! (NSFW) My sister works with 6th graders, who have added to her vocabulary, and now mine. I am surprised that 6th graders know what "crunk" is, but I'm apparently out of touch with the younger set.

As for how they were done... I used a technique I learned from Ann Lullie called "The Escape Hatch", where after stitching all around turn right side out using a cut hole in the backing which you then fuse closed. This made great finished edge pieces for me to quilt using hand stitching. The "bling" quilt is done using what I call "rice" embroidery, and "crunk" is done using good old French knots. The words themselves were designed with Microsoft Publisher's word art tool, and fussy cut and fused.