In The Raw

Scraps, just scraps.
I've got a big stack of plastic tubs filled with my scraps. The bits and pieces of quilt production. It is like a memory or scrapbook digging through these scraps. I can remember what project each teeny tiny piece of fabric is from. I can almost remember what music I was listening to when I made it also. Is that strange? Perhaps. Just like I can remember who gave us each and every wedding gift (from 17 years ago!). I can't remember why I just walked upstairs though. hmmm. Would I trade one type of memory prowess for the other?

Anyways these four smallish assemblages were put together during the nail-biting fourth quarter of the Cal football game last Saturday. I couldn't stop pacing, my stomach was roiling, and since it was only available to me on the radio, I decided I could at least make something while I fretted over the game. Turns out that these quilts are the best thing to come out of that time as Cal lost quite tragically and spectacularly. Oh well, onto next week, right?!


They haven't been quilted or trimmed or anything yet, but I thought it was worth showing you what this step in the process looks like. These scraps took up about 1/3 of a shoe box sized plastic tub. My goal is to not have to use any more bins to keep scraps, I've run out of room for scrap storage, and the way for me to use 'em up is to make stuff like this! Unless anyone has any other suggestions that is....

Gone Bananas

More thoughts on my relationship with foods for Self Portrait Challenge.


Another fruit today, not so exotic or unusual as my first two. The very mundane banana. We take it for granted that they are always available in our stores here in the US, but we don't really ever think about where or how they are grown, or how very far they travel to us. In college I took a lot of political economy and sociology classes, especially about Central America, and learned about the origin of the phraase Banana Republic (no, not the chain of stores!). Let's just say, we're lucky to have the banana available, and we ought to examine Fair Trade vs. Free Trade in relation to the lowly banana.





Do you remember this cheer from High School?

Go! Bananas!

B A N A N A S

Go! Bananas!

B A N A N A S

I guess I just have bananas on my mind.


I will admit this actually felt really good, go ahead try it, you know you wanna. The comforting weight of the bananas and the coolness of their sking and the shape conforming to your head so nicely. Perhaps it would be a good home remedy for headaches?













I've always marveled at how much like a human hand bananas look. The 5 bananas you get at the store is actually called a "hand". These pictures just highlight that for me.













The best banana I ever ate was picked right off the tree in Jamaica. When we peeled it open it was so very very yellow inside, and the taste just about knocked me over. It was like eating five bananas all at once, really intense. I guess the way the banana trade works, the banana farmers in warmer climes pick the bunches absolutely green, and they ripen up a little bit in transit to our stores here, just not the same as fresh. Like any other fruit or vegie really, just think homegrown vs. store bought tomatoes.


As I was holding this bunch of bananas I realized the curve really fits well against the human body. Plus this is a good background, my vegie flannel nightshirt.

Blog Action Day

Well, today is it, Blog Action Day. I've been thinking about what I would write today to take part in this effort and came up with the following.

Feeling small and powerless about what is happening to our physical world home is normal. We are small, compared to the physical world. But we are power-full, not powerless. Each part of this whole has an effect. Whatever you do personally will ripple out through the rest of the whole of humanity causing change. Is that change that you are personally responsible for a positive change or a negative change? That is the really basic question we must continually ask ourselves.
For example: When I once again, forget my cloth reusable shopping bags and have to pick paper or plastic, there is an actual effect. Even if it is minute, there still is one. There is the actual physical production and transport of the disposable bag that I have to use to bring my groceries home. And the bagger who may have some thought about having to use yet another disposable bag and being bummed about that. The store manager may choose not to sell reusable bags based on how many disposables their store consumes. It all adds up you see? A cumulative effect results out of every single choice we individually make all day every day.
Pshew.
That is exhausting to think about, but it is important that more of us are conscious of this. I try not to get overwhelmed with taking on this responsibility, it is ok though. We are all powerful, every human being is tremendously powerful. The choices we make, the thoughts we think and the words we say do count for something. It all adds up in the end, for all time. What we each choose to do with this information is important, and may well determine whether or not humanity will continue for a long time in the future or not.

So start slow, and small. You don't have to do this all at once. But keep it in mind all the time.
This is what I've done so far, that has had a positive affect on the whole global environmental picture.

Consider changes you can make in what you purchase. Think of how and where you spend your money as voting. Every purchase is a vote. Supporting local farmers by buying their produce has a tremendous impact. Or shopping at a small bookstore instead of a chain. Just think, gigantic Walmart is now going to offer organic products in their stores, because the customers voted for it, individual choices aggregated to the whole cause behemoth businesses to change how they operate.

Consider not buying new. Are there used, vintage, op-shops that you can shop in before buying new clothing, furniture, or household stuff? Can you repair or transform what you already own, so that it seems new? (Wardrobe Refashion)
Can you borrow what you need from someone?
Pass on what you no longer need (Freecycle! or Craigs list).
Also, use your local library! Movies, music, magazines and books all there for you to use, for free. My library can order stuff from other library systems, all online too. Check yours out. We consume media so blithely, and they take up so much space and resources when only used once or twice. Think of how much of your home is devoted to storing this stuff, maybe you don't need to move to a bigger house?!
Communicate about what you are doing differently. Tell people (like I'm doing here!), talk about it at the stores you go to, in the produce section, at the checkout, to your friends and acquaintences. Get that ripple action going through the circles of people you encounter. Chance comments from strangers have changed my thinking on lots of subjects, so it is worth the small effort it takes. Write letters or emails or phone your elected representatives about the issues you are concerned about. They really do keep track about the communications they receive from voters, so if we all do this, eventually more of them will listen to us instead of to the industries funding their campaigns.
Be informed about local and global environmental issues. The more you know, the more you can participate in making positive changes. Goodness, there are so many resources on the web to do that but I really like reading NRDC, and environmental coverage on Alternet, listening to the global climate change coverage on NPR, watching inspiring speakers on environmental issues at TED,

I'll wrap this up with this final thought: What you and I do today, right now is important. Thinking positively about the changes we can make is worthwhile.

Beginnings of Bravery

For those who were curious about yesterday's pomegranate, here is a photo of it without filters, fingers or faces. Weird huh?! It had been a year since I'd eaten a pomegranate so I forgot they weren't supposed to look like that inside, and didn't think it too remarkable...


Thanks to Melba I found out about a really cool idea for the month of October.



Jessie over at Diary of a Self Portrait is challenging us to Be Brave Everyday. How???

By doing one brave thing that scares the hell out of us everyday. It is all inspired by a wonderful quote by Eleanor Roosevelt:

Do

one

thing

every

day

that

scares

you.

From what I understand of this challenge it is Not just to be blindly scaring yourself, but more in a challenging yourself from that deep dark chewy center we all have, where we keep our limits set in stone, telling ourselves:

Oh No,

I can't go there,

do this,

say that,

try this...

So I had to go look it up in the dictionary.

BRAVE–adjective
1.possessing or exhibiting courage or courageous endurance.
2.making a fine appearance.
3.Archaic. excellent; fine; admirable.

—Synonyms 1. bold, intrepid, daring, dauntless, heroic. Brave, courageous, valiant, fearless, gallant refer to confident bearing in the face of difficulties or dangers. Brave is the most comprehensive: it is especially used of that confident fortitude or daring that actively faces and endures anything threatening. Courageous implies a higher or nobler kind of bravery, esp. as resulting from an inborn quality of mind or spirit that faces or endures perils or difficulties without fear and even with enthusiasm. Valiant implies a correspondence between an inner courageousness and external deeds, particularly of physical strength or endurance. Fearless implies unflinching spirit and coolness in the face of danger. Gallant implies a chivalrous, impetuous, or dashing bravery.
—Antonyms 1. cowardly.

adjective
1. possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching; "Familiarity with danger makes a brave man braver but less daring"- Herman Melville; "a frank courageous heart...triumphed over pain"- William Wordsworth; "set a courageous example by leading them safely into and out of enemy-held territory" [ant: cowardly]
2. invulnerable to fear or intimidation; "audacious explorers"; "fearless reporters and photographers"; "intrepid pioneers" [syn: audacious]
3. brightly colored and showy; "girls decked out in brave new dresses"; "brave banners flying"; "'braw' is a Scottish word"; "a dress a bit too gay for her years"; "birds with gay plumage"

I feel good about jumping in and participating in this project as it fits in well with my new motto of the year: DO IT ANYWAYS. See bold in definition just above.

Brave thing #1: Yesterday I made phone calls. Several of which were to doctors that I'd been putting off making all summer. One of which mean I'll have surgery in a month.

Brave Thing #2: Today I mailed a letter. Doesn't seem too brave huh? Well, it is to the friend and neighbor whose dog attacked and nearly killed ours. Gulp. Fingers crossed that it is received in a generous manner.

Food Issues #2

Second time around for Self Portrait Challenge this month, all about Food Issues.
I don't have nearly as many food issues as I used to. Thankfully there aren't as many "don't" foods for me anymore.
Back when I used to diet, there were a lot of forbidden foods, which led to all manner of sneakiness, and bingeing. What a huge waste of time and energy! I'm so thankful that I have matured enough to realize that what I eat is important to how my body and mind function. That I'm not "getting away with something" when I eat junk food. I'm in charge of what I put into my mouth, no one is force feeding me or making me choose certain foods. If I have a craving for something, I figure it is my body telling me I need something that is contained in that food.
It is all a manner of balance and proportion now. When I have too much of one thing I don't feel well, so I try to eat a wide variety. And I also am able to not overeat, a hard thing in this land of plenty and bounty.
This picture shows me enjoying a pomegranate (yes I know to eat just the seeds, this was just for picture taking purposes). I Loved how this looked like a starfish, or pentacle (eating wealth!) or sand dollar. This brightness filter really made it stand out more than the original picture.

Using Scraps Again

While cleaning up the tabletop once again, I found a stash of scraps that was just begging to be put together into one piece.
Here is what I came up with after a little bit of fiddly cutting and sewing. It is about 15"w x 20"long. Eventually I'll have so many of these that I can sew them altogether into one giant scrappy quilt top.... or something.

Two New Tarot Cards

Here are two new tarot cards that I created for a recent collaborative tarot deck put together by RedDog, you can see some more of the majors at the Capolan website.



Temperance #14

The blending and balancing of opposites is the goal in one’s life. Make a conscious and unconscious effort to achieve harmony between the emotions and the intellect. An emphasis on using your creativity, welcoming transformation, practicing meditation, and achieving moderation, all in moderation.

A woman pours the gold into the silver(conscious and unconscious), all four elements are represented, the water(image of water, the earth(the stone woman), the air(growing lotuses) and the fire (sunlight on flowers).








Four of Cups

Cups represent water, emotions, relationships.
The four of cups means: Disregarding offered gifts from the divine. Being stuck in your own emotions. Solitude, introspection, a time of contemplation, the beginnings of self-awareness. Also, world-weariness, discontent with materialism.
Emotional energy turned inward to search for self-understanding.

The blue represents the watery basis of the card, four divine hands offering gifts, a watery, misty background, and a man deep in thought and contemplation.

A Julie By Any Other Name

Thanks to DebR, you will now know my many secret names and identities....

A Julie by Any Other Name Would Be…

Rockstar name: (first pet + current car) Velvet Tribute


Gangsta name: (favorite ice-cream + favorite cookie) Rocky Road Shortbread


Fly Girl/Guy name: (first initial of first name + first 2 - 4 letters of last name) J-Stil


Detective name: (name of street you lived on as a kid that you remember + last name of your favorite mystery writer) Riordan Christie


StarWars name: (first 3 letters of pet’s name + first 2 letters of your first name) ZelJu or ZipJu

Super Hero name: (”The” + favorite color + favorite alcoholic beverage) The Purple G n' T

Nascar name: (the first names of your grandfathers) John Salvatore


Stripper name: (favorite scent + favorite candy) Rose Nerd Rope no, wait, that doesn't work. Rose PopRocks, errrr, how about Rose 3Musketeers, hmmm guess it needs to be more generic to work, how about Rose Chewy?

Soap Opera Name: (middle name + a city or town you’ve lived in) Ann Saratoga, or Ann Berkeley those are the two best I have to choose from.


Weather Anchor name: (your 5th grade teacher’s last name + major city that starts with same letter) Robledo Rochester


Drag Queen name: (favorite flower + favorite weather element) Rose Sprinkles


Your Rock Star Tour Name: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Quilting Sprinkles Tour


Hippy name: (your typical breakfast + favorite tree) Cereal Willow


Cartoon Character name: (favorite fruit + article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) Grapeshort


Cowboy name: (weapon or ammunition + natural disaster) Pistol Quake

Spy Name: (your favorite season/holiday + flower) Autumn Rose

SpongeBob SquarePants name: (favorite water critter + your one syllable nickname + one of your favorite adjectives + “pants”) RayJul Awesome Pants

Masquerade

Here is a collage card (3"w x 5"h) that I recently created for another collaborative deck hosted by RedDog Scott. This was a great deck, and had all kinds of cool interpretations of the theme of Masquerade. Here is what I wrote to accompany the image.

Masquerade
I’m most interested in the
Reasons for masking the self,
Becoming another, and pulling
Others into your chosen mystery.
My image shows a transvestite
Who is dressed as a native spirit
And is accepting money from
Worshippers who hope to appease
The spirit he/she represents.

I also include a quote from
Louis Armstrong which sums up
The idea of masquerade for me-
“What we play is life.”
I also used this image as a background to the text, isn't it beautiful? It reminds me of the hall in Vienna where I learned to waltz with my high school concert band when we went to Europe on a trip in 1979. It didn't have the balconies, but it had very high ceilings, chandeliers, and all the ornate details. Made me feel like a princess in Beauty and the Beast or something!

Free Zelda

Hooray! After two weeks, Zelda is free of the cone e-collar!!!

The backs of my knees are still recovering from being run into by an excited 90 pound cone-wearing lab. She isn't sighing as dramatically as before (you had to hear it to believe it), guess she is really feeling better now. Plus her shaved leg and belly hair is regrowing quickly. One thing labs never lack is excess hair!

I'm just glad that I can bring her in the car easily once more. I like driving around with her and really missed it, which surprised me.

And it is also great to be able to look at her and not get so sad and upset with the reminder of that horrible day when she was attacked.

I'm also more glad than I can say that the very vicious dog attack doesn't seem to have daunted her sparkly spirit much at all. I'm still having trouble with it, but she seems to have moved on. sigh.....Apparently, I can always learn something from my dog.

Food Issues

October in Self Portrait Challenge-land is all about food, food issues, how we relate to it, what and how we consume , and what secrets we keep surrounding it, etc.

My first impulse is to disclose that I love eating weird fruits and vegetables. So, when I saw this thing labeled dragonfruit at the store, I snatched one up immediately. The checker said "oh it is so beautiful, but ummmm, you know this is going to ring up at $10, right?" Gulp, sure. I guess so. We can just eat apples from our tree this week...

So the first thing I notice is that it is about hand sized, and seems weighty for its size. The leaves (or are they petals?) look like they could suddenly open up and reveal a Seymour type of carnivorous mouth. The colors don't look real, they look more like a plastic toy fruit to my eye. The outside of the fruit smells slightly sweet.


Next I realize I don't instinctively know whether or not the entire thing is meant to be eaten! This is not a silly question! After a quick google, we have the information that you're supposed to chill, then scoop out the fleshy center, seeds and all.

Everyone in the family gathers around as I cut it in half. Ooooh, aahhh, wow! Look at the crazy color!



We each got a quarter to enjoy, some of us liked it more than others. It wasn't as exciting tasting as it was looking at it. Very subtle flavor, the texture very kiwi like. And wouldn't that be an excellent looking salad?! Dragonfruit + Kiwifruit....hmmmm.

This is what the fruit really looks like with the flash on. If you try one, let me know what you thought!

Strength of Frida

I'd like to show you what I've been wearing around my neck lately! I recently purchased a new rosary from Lunaea, which is titled "The Strength of Frida".

Isn't it gorgeous??!! The Swarovski crystals and the interesting blown glass big bead are so colourful and beautiful, very hard to capture in a photo.

Lunaea says that she's got a few more Frida's to purchase if you are interested, go see 'em.

State of My Studio

I've been working on organizing lately, combining sorting, keeping/tossing, using, redistributing. General stuff shuffling. I think of it as shuffling my creative deck to get myself going on a creative track again. A good way to mark time until I feel well enough to actually dive in and make something.

This first picture shows the room I'm still using as a studio (it is meant to be the media room/guest room, once the downstairs remodel is finished!). Right now I've got a recliner and a rattan couch/ottoman in addition to my studio stuff. The room is large enough to have this comfy furniture, and I find I actually use it. I like to be able to get out of the chair by my sewing machine/table and flop on the couch to sort magazine images, or bead (great light by the big window). It is also nice to have this room when other family members join me while I'm working in here. Homework can be done, books can be read in the recliner, etc.
The only thing I'm missing having is a design wall, but I don't want to muck up my newly painted walls with tack holes. Maybe I'll have to make one of those flannel covered homosote boards to use. hmmmmm.


This is a view over to the closet while sitting on the rattan couch which is under the window. You can see the recliner on the right. The closet doesn't have the trim or a door yet. But it is filled to bursting with my boxes of fabric and supplies.
The larger tubs have batting, upholstery fabric and larger items, including all the decorative stuff I like to have hanging up in my studio. It is weird to be in a room with all my stuff, but to not have anything up on the walls but one calendar. I feel like if I start hanging things up, then I'll never be moving into the "real" studio room downstairs. But it has been awhile now!

This is how the recovering Zelda the Wonder Dog looks with her cone on (still). She still has some wounds healing, but no more stitches at least. I have to make sure to scratch her head since she can't do it herself (poor ol' girl)

Here is the wall o' stuff and ironing board across from the rattan couch. This is actually really organized now . I know it looks higgeldy/piggeldy, but compared to "before" it really is (at least to me!).

This concludes the studio tour...Back to work now!

Sewing in the Works

Not quilting, but sewing nonetheless! I can't show you the quilt I made this week for the final Journal Quilt exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Show, rules and such. But I promise to post it when we're allowed to. I'm really happy with how it turned out, and am pleased with myself for getting and keeping my act together just enough to complete it.

Anyways! I made a cover for the futon that my son is keeping in his room as a flopping couch. It used to be his mattress, but now he has a real one from Sleep Number (quite pricey, but he sleeps much better now). He chose the fabrics from the great cheap fabric.com website, arranging them on the comparison page they have. I have just enough left over pieces to make some pillows to go with. He really is into blue these days, and these fabrics go very nicely in his blue-walled room. And then we are working on converting a queen sized couch/bed frame we no longer use, down to a twin size that will fit the mattress and his room. He's rather excited about chopping up furniture!! Something about using a chainsaw possibly...


And finally, I've got a coat in process for the challenge/contest on my QuiltMav friend Diane Harmon-Hoog's business Quilter's Threads. It is the Baltimore Coat from Purrfection, I'm making it in a brown lightweight ultra-suede type fabric, it is shiny and smooth on the wrong side, so it will be unlined. I don't really need a super warm long coat here in California. The contrast is the same fabric, but in green, my plan is to machine embroider before assembling the coat.. The race is on to see if I can finish it by Sunday!

Soft Light

Here is another bathroom self portrait for Self Portrait Challenge, last one of this months' challenge. I'm always interested in reflections of a flame, and there is something in the lighting of candles that changes the image.

I also thought the reflections in my glasses and on my camera were effective in this shot.

Note: A dirty mirror works better for this type of photo to give "extra texture". This is the other bathroom in the house, not the one I used last weeek with the glass cleaner!

Collage in Space

Well, as you can see, I've been doing a lot of collage work lately. Which is good, I love doing it, and participating in these collaborative themed journals for the last year has been great for keeping me doing creative stuff even when I don't want to...But I am missing the quilting, so I better get myself back on track with that!

This journal's theme was Outer Space.
I found a great image of a rocket as well as a poem that went perfectly with the idea of shrugging off the terrestrial bonds.

I make a lot of pockets and then insert cards, I like how this changes the look of the page when the card is removed. When you take this card with the moon and stamped words/DNA, you see a depression in the water where the world is falling (or coming out of) into.

This page has a hologram at the bottom (it says 2001). Also included is an astrological correspondences card, a poem about space and some outer planets photos in the background.

As Seen In the Powder Room

For self portrait challenge this month, we're supposed to shoot our self portraits in the bathroom. This was the first idea I came up with.

And now my mirror is clean!

Julie, Lately

Whatever have I been doing this past week that I've abandoned my poor ol' blog???

Dealing with the savage attack of our neighbor dog on my dearest Zelda the Wonderdog. She is healing up now. But it wasn't/ isn't pretty and neither was all the self-inflicted drama and angst. pshew! Very hard to recover from!

Washing fabrics and cutting charm squares for my tumbler quilt:

Oh and Wow is this ever addictive: Blogger Play it shows the photos being uploaded in Blogger, real time, just streaming by, really gives a picture of the worldwide usage of Blogger. Cool! I just leave it up and glance at it every now and then, and bam, you're around the world in Israel, or Chile or Japan or Alaska, etc...

Hmmm, buying more patterns! Guess I ought to make up some of these, right? I think I'm reaching critical mass on the pattern stash. One is for cool pincushions (thought they'd make good gifts). And yet another skirt pattern, called the Taos Skirt, it has really cool options for the hemline that I'd never thought of, or seen before.... Both from Diane Ericson's ReVisions.

Taking Alex to his first TaeKwanDo lesson. He's so excited that he broke a board with his bare hand his first day. He is absolutely focused and fierce during class. Having a big brother who is bulking up due to the physicality of football practice requires some self defense skills...

Watching my son Zach at freshman football games. This is our first away game at St. Ignatius up in San Francisco on Saturday. This is a great sport for him because he is so fast (he ran track last year), needs something really active to keep him focused on school, and a good way to make new friends at high school. Also, he is the third tallest on the team, but he is kinda skinny compared to a lot of the other guys on defense, so he's learning how to play mentally first, technique is so important when you don't have the body mass to just blunder around.

My Garden Journal

Last September (wow, a year ago!), I made this journal for a year-long collaboration with other artists from the Traveler's Hart group. Each person created a journal based on a theme of their choice, and then sent it out for travelling from artist to artist, gathering art on every stop.
It has been such a joy to see the journals come through every month, as they fill up with all this evidence of artistic inspiration and enthusiasm.

My theme was The Healing Garden. I can't wait to see what everyone has done with my journal!!