Yet another adventure.

To me this chosen profession has the reputation of being honest, respectful and I like to think of myself as a team player. (At least I try to be) I share my ideas on quilting with students because I love what I do and I have a passion that keeps bubbling to the surface. I have little or no control over the creative ideas that are always there under the surface and they often burst out with a sense of the ridiculous.

I’m a textile artist, and the best way to learn is to study the art of others.

Let me just say that studying the work of others is about reverse-engineering. It’s like taking something apart to see how it works. It gives me a better understanding of how I can do things.

Take a walk with me to the Denver Art Museum and share two amazing textile stories.

In Denver people were asked to donate a blanket with a small story attached to it. The Artist Marie Watt’s work is centered around community, particularly through her use of wool blankets. As with many of her projects, she looks for blankets that hold meanings and memories. The blankets donated are folded and stacked to create a blanket sculpture. As part of donating a blanket to this project, there is a tag attached to the blanket documenting the particular story.

Walking in Denver.

Its been a busy trip, LA, Nepal, Alamagordo, Chicago, Asilomar and now Denver. I actually have the next 3 days free and today I took it easy and walked out with the camera… not my fancy one but the shots came out quite well I think.

Empty Spools Quilt Event. – sheer pleasure.

Its 6.41 pm on Friday and I’ve not had time to write a blog for over a week.  My heart and hands just wouldn’t cooperate or should I say coordinate. I’ve had a limit on the time I’ve had for leisure and luxury and that’s what I need to be able to write the blog. Having…

Craft Tours Quilt Cocoon

Kaye England overheard one of the students mention that she was a Vietnam vet.

The wheels sprang into motion and in just a few hours a Quilt of Valor was on its way with Rita Pennington, who is the Land of Lincoln coordinator for Quilts of Valor here in Illinois.
Rosemary Dawes was the recipient and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house as she was surprised during one of our evening events. I made a small video and I’m happy for you to share it with other vets and indeed your quilting community.

The secret to becoming a better quilter or Textile Artist.

My personal view is that every person that creates something is an artist. An Artist is a collector of imaginings and experiences. They are selective and only collect the things they enjoy the most and it really depends where you put yourself to receive those things… you’re not necessarily going to get the experience or be influenced if you are home on the couch.

The sewer.

He doesn’t have a fancy studio, he doesn’t have electricity or even a roof over his head but he sits day by day on the side of a busy road in the dust and the smog of continuous stream of traffic spewing black smoke into the atmosphere as it passes by.

Its amazing what a small gift can do.

Just outside the temple gates were two little boys playing. Their faces were dirty, their clothes in rags, but they had the biggest smiles. They followed us for a short time. The other ladies had gone into the temple, but friend Pam pulled the two books out of the bag and gave one to each of the boys. The looks on their faces were just priceless. They couldn’t believe it.

They took off running as if afraid that we would take them back again.

Telling the story through textiles.

On our last day in Kathmandu we had some free time so friends Ginger and Rose and I took a walk around the area of our hotel.
Just a few doors from the hotel we came across an amazing compound. I brought forth the most amazing surprise.