The Alzheimer's Project, and Auction

I understand there will be an important series about Alzheimer's coming up on HBO. It's called "The Alzheimer's Project," and it begins this Sunday. I'll be watching. They interviewed Maria Shriver on Good Morning America this morning. She has something to do with the series, and her father has Alzheimer's. She calls herself "a child of Alzheimer's," and so guess that makes me one, too.

In the meantime, there is an auction to raise money for a cure for Alzheimer's. There's still time to make a bid on 26 small quilts. The auction ends on Mother's Day at 10pm EST. It's all for a great cause.

Here's the link: http://www.alzquilts.org/quiltauction.html

Life's Little Detours

I just learned that my "Foot Square" auction piece is up on the SAQA website. It's called "Life's Little Detours." The auction isn't until September, so I'm one of the early birds.

http://www.saqa.com/newsebulletins/Squares09_2.aspx

Stamping away

At the last Cut-Loose meeting, we made stamps with Fun Foam. I'd made rubber stamps before, but I loved how easy the Fun Foam is to use - easy to cut, comes with adhesive on one side. Then we stamped on fabric - it was a lot of fun. I'm attaching a photo of what I came up with - Matilda couldn't resist getting in the picture.

Later, I stamped on old fabric to make it look new. I want to do a lot more of this!

I even stamped paint onto an old white jewelry box - I'd bought it on sale at Target a few years, always meaning to paint it. Some stamps were mine, others were purchased. I took strips of tissue paper and painted layers of it onto the box with thinned gel medium. At least it's not a boring white box anymore. I may add more to it. Colored pencil, or?

Sights of San Francisco

Can't show you photographs of my quilts these days, so how about a couple of photographs from our recent trip to San Francisco? The first one would have been better if that darned car hadn't blocked the view of the front cable car! The second photo is better, and there's a lot crammed into it: you can see our hotel, the Argonaut, on the right. It's part of the old Cannery building - Del Monte used to can peaches and whatnot there. You can also see the throngs of tourists that were swarming in the Fisherman's Wharf area, with the wharf and fishing boats in the background. Beyond that is the San Francisco Bay, complete with a little fog in the distance, plus a peek at Alcatraz Island.

I'm excited about a Rayna Gillman workshop at Fullerton College that I signed up for. It's in June. I already had a lot of the needed supplies; I ordered the rest from Dick Blick and they arrived today. I have taken a few screenprinting classes before, but Rayna has some new techniques that I am eager to learn.

An Artful Tour of Atlanta

We went to Atlanta recently to visit my daughter and her husband and, of course, their adorable dachshund Ginger. Our son was there, too, and I won't bore you with the family photos I took. Here are a few Atlanta photos on the artsy side. (I know, it's not a proper artful tour of Atlanta without the High Museum, but we didn't go there this time)

The Aquarium in Atlanta is awesome, and the see-through tunnel through the giant fish tank inspired lots of photo snapping. Maybe a fish themed quilt will come of them?

My daugher and husband live in the Cabbagetown neighborhood of Atlanta. The original residents were workers in the nearby textile mill. Times have changed and the neighborhood has evolved, but it is still charming. The textile mill is now condos. Nearby is an area the graffiti artists can't resist. Here's an example (sorry, it's a little blurry).

I can't believe I didn't think to take a photo of any of the beautiful blossoming trees in Atlanta! Cherry, dogwood, peach, and more. So here's a photo of a bush in our front yard here in Irvine, California. The name of the bush is "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow." I think the dark purple blossoms are yesterday, the lavender ones are today, and the white ones are tomorrow. Pretty, huh?

two pincushions

I made a pin cushion for my daughter, to give to her along with my old sewing machine. It's similar to one I made recently for myself, and both are pictured here. (Hers is on the right.) They were inspired by Michele Muska's adorable pin cushion in the last Quilting Arts Gifts, although they really aren't that similar to hers. I recycled an old wool sweater for the black felt in both pin cushions. They're fun to make. Useful, too!

Edges etc.

Yikes, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted! It's been a busy time. I found out recently that my quilt "Fifteen Selvedges" got accepted into "Edges." That's a special exhibit that will be seen this July at the Long Beach Quilt Festival. Unlike some exhibits, we are encouraged to put our entries online, so it's okay to post it here. Tada.

I sent off two quilts to Woodland, California for an exhibit in their county administrative building. The exhibit is called "Fire and Fiber," and we (California Fiber Artists) will apparently be sharing the space with glass blowers. Should be a great show. Unfortunately it's up in Yolo County, so I probably won't make it up there. I'll put more info up once it begins.

We're going to Atlanta this weekend to visit our daughter and husband. Our son is coming,too, so it should be a great reunion. I'm giving Martine my old Bernina Activa and am fretting about how to get it there in one piece. My current plan is to pack it in my suitcase. I'm also making her an arty pin cushion, similar to one I made for myself. I'll post those next time.