Happy 4th. of July!

"None who have always been free can understand the terrible fascinating power of the hope of freedom to those who are not free"
Pearl S. Buck

vā-ˈkā-shən

Main Entry: 1va·ca·tion
Pronunciation: \vā-ˈkā-shən, və-\

Etymology: Middle English vacacioun, from Anglo-French vacacion, from Latin vacation-, vacatio freedom, exemption, from vacare
Date: 14th century
1: a respite or a time of respite from something : intermission
2 a: a scheduled period during which activity (as of a court or school) is suspended b: a period of exemption from work granted to an employee
3: a period spent away from home or business in travel or recreation

Well, I'm home again after a whirlwind week of traveling. This trip turned out more hectic than I thought.
We visited friends, family, historical places, museums, the beach, the city, the country side, the quilting store, etc.....
While in Doyelstown, Pa. at the James Michener museum, I saw a fantastic exhibit called "Pulp Function". The items included a suit made with diapers, many abstract pieces made with phone books, books or maps and a dress made with MaryJane candy wrappers. Unfortunately photography was not allowed :(
The museum also had an exhibit of furniture and items made by George Nakashima, a longtime resident of Bucks County. His pieces are so beautiful it is hard to describe them. Photography was allowed in that section of the museum, also in the paintings area. Go figure!
We stopped in Intercouse, Pa., Amish country, where I replenished my batik stash . When I'm on vacation I usually don't visit quilting stores but out of curiosity I went to the Old Country Store. I had been in there many times before while living in Philadelphia and the place looks the same, except for a much better selection of fabrics. The price of batiks was amazingly low and I picked a few yards in 1/4 yard pieces and a roll of 2 inch strips. I can't wait to use them.
I also picked up a little business while on my trip. My friend in Chambersburg, Pa. liked the Virgen of Guadalupe I made for her daughter Julia so much that she commissioned me to make another piece with a Mexican theme. Thank you Betty!!
We had a wonderful week, PT is now enjoying her summer camp in Greece and I will have a few weeks of quiet time to concentrate once again in my quilting.
I took tons of photos (of course!) I'm posting a few of my favorites.
Enjoy


Painting at the James Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pa.

George Nakashima exhibit- Woodworkers

Brigantine, N.J.

Blue Crabs, one of my favorites when we visit Brigantine

PT in Brigantine Beach

The best subs and hoagies in Phila. No kidding!

Beautiful Art Deco building

A must when in the city, Independence Hall...

When I lived in Phila this was my favorite street view, still is...

Better than Graffiti

Amish Country

Another mural

PT and I outside The Old Country Store

Batiks stash from the Old Country Store in Intercourse, Pa.

Going for a ride

Friday Night Exhibit

A "Kathy's bag"


Rooster II-Martha Tsihlas


"If Wishes Were Fishes" Janis Hooker

"Sunflower" Linda Miles

"Cone Flower" Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert

"Sonia" Pam Farley

"Squash Flower blossom necklace" Mary Macauly

"Elliptical Illusion" Barb Forrister

"Sun Salution" Diana Ramirez

"Hawaiian Poinsettia" Dee Merrell



I had a fabulous time last night at the Wesley Gallery, it was worth being stuck in traffic for an hour and fifteen minutes. I live in the Northwest area of Austin so going to Dripping Springs, at that time of the day, believe me, it is not fun. But.... I just took my time driving relaxed while listening to some good music and before I knew it I was there. I actually arrived before the reception started so I was able to take photos without people in the way.
I visited with friends, looked at the fiber art, had a glass of wine (or two) and just had a great time.

I took my new bag to the exhibit. I'm now the proud owner of a "Kathy's Bag" and it was a big hit. People wanted to know who had made it, who sells them, etc. I told them Kathy H makes them and no, she does not sells them..

Let me tell you about Kathy. Kathy is a member of my quilting bee and besides being a quilter she knits and felts beautiful handbags. As far as I know there are only 2 ways to get one of her bags.

1. Have her draw your name for the Christmas Party gift exchange or....
2. Bartering to custom quilt some of her beautiful quilts in exchange for the bag.

Since #1 had a slim chance, #2 was my option. Here I'm with my bag


.....I hope I didn't pressure her too much, nagging her all night about the bag. I just knew it was my only chance to get one. Now I'm really looking forward to quilting her quilts. She makes beautiful quilts that I will post with her permission later on.
So now you know how it went Thursday night at quilting Bee

Wesley Gallery Show

I just finished my entry for the Wesley Gallery Show in Dripping Springs, TX. The show runs from June 19 to June 21st.

As much as I enjoy doing what I'm doing, I'm taking a very short break from fabrics and threads and patterns and deadlines, and so forth.
My head is full of ideas but they are just making it to the sketch book, at least for a while. I just recently realized that being creative uses a lot of energy. Some nights I have dinner and then I go and work for a couple of hours in my studio and suddenly I'm starving again. Someone told me that using your brain requires huge amounts of energy. This is all I need to know. Please pass the chocolate ice cream.

One of my 2 pieces for the gallery, has a rooster. I'm showing just a section.
In this art quilt I used batiks and commercial fabric, the rooster is a cutout from a commercial fabric and appliqueed (a cheater I would call it) .... Hey, I read that if a fabric inspires you to create something it has served its purpose. I rest my case.

I love birds and I just bought a book to learn how to draw all kind of birds. One of my goals, among many other things planned for this summer, is to learn how to draw feathered creatures....
As for now, you will have to be happy with my colorful rooster....

A little bit of this, a little bit of that ......

Just a few of the fiber art pieces from the TMFA exhibit:

"The girl in a Cactus Formal" by Bettie Ward

"Yarn Car" by Tim M. Klein

"Texas Drought" by Diana Ramirez

"Needles in a Haystack" by Beth Bartley

"Points to consider" by Margaret Humpries

May has been such a crazy month. Busy with quilting projects, attending school ceremonies, a couple of Fiber Art exhibits and just making sure things run smoothly at home made May go very fast.
The exhibit from the Texas Museum of Fiber Arts went really well. I had fun visiting in the Capitol with other fiber artists and friends that came by. After that event I had to continue working on a couple of commissions that were delivered yesterday.

After another busy week, I was happy to go to a Greek Festival here in Austin at the Laguna Gloria Museum. We had some good food and the music was great, my husband sure got his work out on the dancing floor. As for me, I was just happy to be sitting down and watching people dance. I'm not much of a dancer.
I took a couple of pics of a group of Greek Dancers that came from Houston. I love the bright colors and detail of their dance costumes.
It was a beautiful night, my family and I had a great time.