Recipe for a Good Time

Sharon, Jan, Kristin and I discovered the perfect recipe for a good time. Here is the supply list:

Friends
Tequila
Triple Sec
Limeade
Designated Driver
Art Quilt Show in neighboring State

We poured all of this together into Sharon's new car and headed West to Anniston, Alabama to see Virginia Greaves' fiber art show at The Buckner Center. Hanging alongside Virginia's fiber art, were her mother's oil paintings and watercolors. Virginia was quite surprised when we introduced ourselves and a bit stunned to learn that we drove all the way from Atlanta to see her show.

Kristin Rodriquez, Sharon Ahmed-Serrano,
Virginia Greaves, me, and Janell Girod.

In the best of circumstances, it takes about 2 hours to get to Anniston from Atlanta. During Friday afternoon peak traffic, about 3-3 1/2 hours. But with Sharon at the wheel of her new car, drinking a Diet Coke, the rest of us were carefully (and safely) enjoying margaritas -- how many I'm not going to say.

It's important to have written directions to where you are going.
However, it's best to read them when the car is stopped!
Look out!

After the show we had a great dinner at the Terra Cotta Cafe at The Buckner Center, and then began the long drive back. At midnight we encountered road construction which brought traffic to a dead stop -- that's Atlanta for you. Then it started to rain. Sharon managed to get us home safely.

All in all it was a good time. And it was satisfying to support a fellow fiber artist at her first show. Ginny emailed me the other day to tell me she sold her piece at the show. Which one did you sell Ginny?

Guess Who!

Shoulder Shoulder Hurrah!

Here's a piece I just finished for my mom. She had shoulder reconstruction about 10 days ago. Only a few days after surgery she was able to move her arm in ways she hasn't for several years! Go Mom!


I attached an old pair of my glasses, which look just like my mom's new glasses. When you pull a bead attached to the end of the blue ribbon, the arm moves and the sign goes up and down.

Love you Mom! Now get back to sewing!

Prehistoric Cell Phone!

We took the girls to the Chattahoochee Nature Center for their Flying Colors Butterfly Festival. They release hundreds of Monarch butterflies every couple of hours. They have arts and crafts, beautiful flowers and a nature reserve. You can see a nice selection of rescued animals and learn about their habitats. The Chattahoochee Nature Center is an awesome place for families and children.

Sarah and Sophia each held a caterpillar at one of the many hands-on learning exhibits.

On a Saturday morning, when you with your family, and husband (who presumably has been working all week), at a festival with tons of stuff to do, WHY WOULD YOU BE TALKING ON THE PHONE? I never understood this compulsion to talk on the phone. Not the kind of talking that might be understandable -- "Hey we're lost, we're standing under the 100 year old Live Oak tree, where are you?" But the "Yea, we're at the Nature Center for the Butterfly Festival, I'm with the kids and it's so much fun. So what are you doing. . . .. . really?"

About two hours into our adventure here, both Joel and I noticed an overwhelming number of women (who were with their families) talking on the phone. It became a joke and so when we visited the Discovery Center, I picked up this shell and started talking on the phone. What you can't see, is the woman to my right whom I cropped out of the picture -- she was talking on her phone!


One of my favorite artists, Pamela Rubert has created a quilt which addresses this issue -- it's called Towers of Babel, check it out!

And next time you're with your family, unless someone is lost, or you are bleeding and calling an ambulance, try leaving the phone in the car. NOTHING is that important.

Lost at the Aquarium

This is the underwater tunnel of the Ocean Voyager Exhibit. If you've been to the aquarium, you will see just how empty this space is. I think this was at about 8:30 a.m. We had the entire place to ourselves.

This week was Sarah's birthday. On her birthday, we woke up and hit the road at the crack of dawn.. We were the first to arrive at the Atlanta Aquarium. It is an incredible place. We were able to see everything at our leisure until about 11:00, when the crowds began to appear. We took a break for an early lunch and

BAM the place was packed. Wall to wall people. We squeezed through the two last exhibits and then headed to the Georgia Explorer exhibit, which is geared towards children with several petting pools, a playscape and a large slide.

One of the petting pools is located on a replica of a shrimp boat. There we stood trying to pet shrimp when I noticed Sophia was gone. I jumped off the platform, found an employee and said: "My three year old is missing." He immediately left his post and led us to another nearby employee who worked near the entrance to the playscape.

Then, I heard her, screaming her head off. Holding her hand was another Mommy who said: "I saw her crying and knew must be lost from her mommy." Sarah and I leaned down to give Sophia a hug. "I was worried, I'm glad you are okay." She pushed me away and wailed: "They won't let me in, I'm too small."

She was screaming, not because she was lost, but because she didn't meet the height requirement to enter the playscape. I couldn't help but chuckle. And Sarah did too.

At that moment, I realized how fast my girls are growing up. Now Sarah is 6, and is smart enough to have gotten the joke. And Sophie, TOO YOUNG to be wandering the aquarium on her own, but independent enough to have gone straight to the playscape.


We saw many interesting species today. Sarah's favorite was the whale shark. Sophie liked the hammerhead shark.

Me? I liked them all. But especially the California species -- the kelp bed, otters and sea lions.

I remember, as a teenager, floating on a surfboard off the California coast and waiting for the right wave to appear. We would watch the wildlife swim by. I suppose youth and the undeniable desire to catch the wave kept us in the water with goodness knows what creeping below. It was the same as Sophia's journey today, regardless of the danger, she just wanted to have a fun ride.

Tea with Betty Pillsbury

Betty Pillsbury, me and Margaret Betz. Margaret is an incredible artist and will be leading the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Arts Alliance workshop on Bead Embroidery this week.

There has been much discussion on Quiltart.com the past few days about art, good design, and embellishment. One member and her friend had visited a joint exhibit of contemporary quilts and traditional quilts. Her friend was unfamiliar with "art quilts" and was generally disappointed in them. Too much embellishment for the sake of embellishment, and not enough thought about design.

I read this after having put about 40 hours into sewing beads on Sally Sells Sea Shells, with at least 40 more to go. If you read Quiltart, you will know that the comments were flying (and still are, though the discussion has now evolved into the oft discussed topic of what is "art"). In the end, good design is what matters. Embellishment will not make up for, or hide a lack of good composition and design. Is Sally well designed? Heck, I don't know. But I like it, I am enjoying the process of making it, and, you know what? That's what really counts most.

Crazy Quilters are the queens of embellishing. Embellishment is one of the most important aspects of a crazy quilt. And Saturday, in the studio of Fiber on a Whim, Betty Pillsbury engaged in an informal lecture and presentation of her work. She has won many awards for her work. As I listened to her talk about her work, her techniques, and words of inspiration and encouragement to others, I could clearly hear her desire to help others achieve a higher level of skill.

For those of us who are still reaching for mastery of our medium, hearing those encouraging words from artists whom we admire, and who have "made" it, is invaluable. It feeds the part of our muse that sometimes feels discouraged. Betty Pillsbury and other masters who generously share encouragement are the stewards of the budding-artist community.

That's why I love the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Arts Alliance so much and the people who are come to share, learn, and advance their skills. With egos checked at the door, we gather together, learn something new, have fun and enjoy the process.

Sharon Ahmed and others take a closer look at Betty Pillsbury's workmanship. It is superb.

Betty's husband ducked out of sight to enjoy his book.

Here are two prospective new CQFAA members taking acloser look at our upcoming calendar! Come on ya'll are welcome!

4th of July

Yesterday and today our family celebrated the 4th of July. We went to two very different fireworks shows. The first was held yesterday at a local church. The people there were very nice. They had an orchestra playing big band music and accompanied the fireworks, which were spectacular. While we watched the fireworks, the girls enjoyed Italian Ices as we sat in our chairs amongst the (nearly) all-white crowd.

Today, we held true to our tradition of watching fireworks from the steps of the main branch of the public library.

While we waited for the fireworks to begin, the girls danced and twirled around, searched for fairies in the landscaping, and played ball with other children. We each had an ice cream cone made from ice cream I had stashed in the cooler.

Then the show began. We all oooooo'd and ahhhhh'd at the beautiful array of colorful fireworks, each commenting on a favorite hue or design.

Tonight, as I watched the fireworks, I heard an orchestra of voices around us. I noticed Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and of course, English. I reflected on a shocking anti-immigration banner I read in our town's 4th of July earlier in the day. We are all immigrants, or descendants of immigrants. The only true natives were the American Indians.

At the moment of that thought, a wave of relief came over me. For months I have struggled with fear. Fear that I have somehow made a bad decision about staying in our school district which has a very diversified student body, and not much money for the extra programs the (nearly) all-white rich schools have.

While watching the fireworks, and listening to those around us, I reached a level of comfort and satisfaction about our decision to expose our children to people of all races and walks of life. This is an important part of their education. We are pretty smart cookies, my hubbie and I, and our girls will get plenty of extra education enrichment from us, alongside their regular school curriculum.

Tonight, our girls laughed, and played with children of all color. There was no hesitation, no fear, no prejudice in their faces. They were completely comfortable with the important commonality between them -- they were children watching the coolest 4th of July fireworks show in town.