Saturday, April 26, 2014

Field Trip, Play Day and….

Our Guild Field Trips have been so much fun! We have been out and about for 3 so far and they have all been so different. This month we went to The National Museum of Women in the Arts to see the “Workt by Hand” Exhibit. No pictures of the quilts in the exhibit, as photography -with or without flash was prohibited. Not much in the way of other information to take with us… so I can only tell you what we saw. Mostly old quilts (about 100 to 200 years old) of not particularly of the finest workmanship, but in remarkably good condition, no holes or faded reds and greens. The silks were beginning to shatter/blow… in the crazy quilts, but otherwise great condition. I think one of the most disappointing aspects of the exhibit was the Docent that walked us through. Her information, was a bit flawed or incorrect… I don’t know if it was her assumptions or information that came with the quilts. She attributed one quilt to a wealthy maker, because it was made of silk… (A Broken Star/Texas Star), it was made from scraps of silk, not yardage, so it was most likely created from a Dressmakers cuttings or scraps. There were many other errors, but this one bothered me the most. I pretty much quit listening to her… after this and looked at the quilts.

p-coyne-sculpture-#781Before we toured with the Docent we went up to the Art Exhibits… where paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc. were on display and we cold take photos (no flash)…. I like this one the best!

Untitled #781 (1994)       Petah Coyne

Oklahoma City, OK

wax, plastic, cloth and steel

ventilation-screen-

On the way to the bathroom I found this.

It is a ventilation screen. I would like something like this for my house too. Does it bother anyone else that builders use those ugly ventilation covers (huge cold air returns) in the homes they build. Can’t they think a little more creatively? Or the heating / cooling companies…. start to include something a little less ‘ugly’ in the design specifications. REALLY for a few pennies more????

Also on the first Wednesday of April… I had a little Machine Quilting Play Day/Coaching session for several members of our guild, (sorry forgot to take a picture). They had all taken a class or 4… on machine quilting, but you know how it is…. at home… it’s a whole other ballgame. I think it was successful… I am considering more Play Days… in the future.

I also have several more Rwandan fabrics. The DH was invited to return to Rwanda for a conference and 20 year Commemoration and Conference on the Rwandan Genocide carried out in 1994. The reunification of the country between the 2 factions is quite remarkable! If you are interested in more information on the Rwandan Genocide, go here.

Rwandan-fabs-2014-

That all for now…

More Later! Beth

Friday, April 11, 2014

I Think it’s HERE!

What is here? Why Spring of course. A bit late… but who cares?

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A Cardinal

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Vinca

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Snowdrops- I suppose these are the true harbingers…but the cardinal was so red against the green…

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A Daffodil… I’ve not ever seen one grow straight up, there were several in this naturalized bed.

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An old old truck that I found while out looking for blooms.

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Pastoral… country setting

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Tree blooms, so small that the generally go unnoticed, but the pollen is noticed by many!!!

More Later-Beth