Monday Report

My friend Lotus and I made a quick trip to California the end of February, leaving behind biter cold temperatures in Boulder to enjoy beautiful mid-70's weather in lovely San Diego.  

We went specifically to see the an exhibit of art quilts at the Visions Art Museum: Contemporary Quilts + Textiles.  Entitled "A Better World: Heroes Working for the Greater Good," it featured thirty-two pieces, each 30" x 50", which were "designed to inspire and educate viewers about heroes --both anonymous and well known-- who have worked to improve our world."   While the subject of the exhibit was interesting, I primarily wanted to see the artworks themselves up close to study and admire their details.   

As an example, here is a piece by Lyric Montgomery Kinard entitled The Light Keepers. It shows Carolina Nunez, a law professor who talked with people at the immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas in 2018, hearing their stories and aiding them in their legal process.  Her efforts inspired other lawyers to visit and assist detainees. 

courtesy of Visions Art Museum 

The artist stated that her work was made using several techniques;  painting, screen printing, handwriting, and stitching.  I think maybe the portrait itself and the gold words were painted ... 

...and the images of the immigrant detainees were screen printed.  The red is hand stitched embroidery and the background text was hand written.   It was very interesting to see the works and analyze the various ways they were made, and I was really glad I had the chance to see them before the exhibit closes in early April.     

I got back to Boulder just in time to see Mrs. D., my old chum from when I worked at Paul's school library in Maryland.  She was the band teacher and I was very lucky to have the band room right across the hall from the library.  Not only did I like hearing the kids play throughout the day, but Mrs. D.  shared her knowledge of teaching with me, which was a huge help.  And she was lots of fun!  The art room was also next to the library, so I really did luck out.  Of course we had to see her while she was in Denver.... 

 ...as did Paul.  Mrs. D. was his first music teacher, not only teaching him band at school but teaching him flute in private lessons.  

 

We all agreed that it was too bad that she couldn't make her trip the next weekend when Paul's band, The Fists of the Proletariat, played at the Fox Theater.  She would have enjoyed hearing them and seeing Paul in action.  Ben and I were able to go, and snapped a few shots. 

   

After Mrs. D.'s visit I turned my attention to getting ready to serve as a judge for  the preliminary rounds of Colorado's National History Day competition.  I had seen a notice in the local paper for experienced teachers, librarians, and historians to volunteer to guide students doing research for their History Day projects and to judge their work, and I put my name forward.  I spent an afternoon advising several students on their searches and was looking forward to being a judge. This year's theme is Debate and Diplomacy in History and it turned out to be a fair amount of work to review and rank eight student websites on topics such as "The Troubles: How the Debate Over Northern Ireland's Independence Led to Years of Conflicts."    It was stimulating job and I learned a lot!  Next time, I'll plan on spending more time on the work.   

The background hum of my days is the new concern about the invasion of Ukraine.  As if we didn't already have enough to worry about -- Covid, January 6th and its related political issues, the upcoming mid-terms, global warming --we now have a major war. 

Dave Whamond, PoliticalCartoons.com 

I'm finding that being outside is a big stress-reducer.  Not only does exercise help, but nature itself, as Anne Frank wrote, "...offers solace in all things." 

I thought of that yesterday as we took a six-mile hike on the newly opened Anemone Trail, which sits on the edge of downtown adjacent to the beautiful Red Rocks in the People's Crossing park.    

Of course there was a lot of "up" and it was a long trek, but the exercise was refreshing and the beauty was soothing.     

Part of the hike passed through the area that was burned a few years ago, bringing back memories of how scary it was to have a wildfire start so close to town.     

As we worked our way up to the summitt we were rewarded with great views west to the Indian Peaks.     

I always love to find the "end of the trail" sign.  It's all downhill from here.     

Note to myself:  Spend more time outside and less time reading the news! 

Around Here

Around here... 

...I had to laugh at the weather forecast published in today's paper, with its terse prediction of "Hot" and  "Not so hot."  Expecially funny when I remember that this time last year we were having our first snow and our first freeze. 

So glad that's not happening this year since we have a good crop of tomatoes and are eagerly watching for our cucumbers to get big enough to pick. 

Around here...

Despite our current high temperatures, autumn is definitely in the air.  One sign is the abundance of ripening fruit on the trees in our neighborhood.  Apples are plentiful and we've already made the first apple crisp of the season from the bountiful tree across the street.  No one has offered me any plums yet, but I see them on my daily walks and would love to try making something from them.  

Around here...

Paul got a commision to paint a door with his signature spray-painted planets, creating a piece of garden art to decorate a friend's fence.  I think it looks pretty cool and may ask him to make one for us.   

Around here...

...I'm excitedly awaiting the delivery of a Bernina Q20 machine which is made just for doing free-motion quilting.  It's a "mid-arm" quilting machine, coming to me without automation and with a table instead of a frame.  Both automation and a frame can be added at some future point if I want them, but for now I didn't want the learning curve it would take to figure out how to work the automated program and to load a quilt on a frame. The mid-arm style allows me to continue moving the quilt under the needle, as I'm used to.  It will just be much easier and faster using this machine and large table than the sewing machine I use for constructing quilt tops.  This table is powered so I can raise it up and stand to quilt if I want to, or use the table as a counter-height surface to work on.   I'm pretty excited and am happy that I realized there was space for a Q20 in our newly decorated basement once we got rid of a couple pieces of superfluous furniture.      

Around here...

I took Turbo to a new place to walk this morning, the Cottonwood Trail,  a flat 2.4 mile out-and-back walk through old farmland on the northern outskirts of the city.  Can you see the mountains in the background of this picture?  Maybe not, as the smoke from various out-of-state fires continues to cause a great deal of haze over the front range.   

Most of the trail was shaded by big cottonwood trees, but at the end there was a large open field full of prairie dogs.  Turbo was extremely interested in them! If you look where Turbo is looking you'll see one of the hundreds that were out there this morning, all energetically chirping out their warnings as Turbo approached.  Of course I wasn't going to let Turbo run after them, but they didn't know that! 

Just in case you don't usually see a prairie dog, here's a close up of one who has popped up out of its burrow.  I find them quite interesting and even cute, but they aren't well regarded in the agricultural areas around here as they make big holes in the ground, perfect for tripping horses, and generally making farming very difficult.  

The prairie dogs weren't the only thing that Turbo noticed on his walk today.  This glove on a fence post was very unusual, so of course he had to growl at it!

And speaking of Turbo, I can't help but include this cute photo of him happily hanging out in the backyard with one of his many balls.  

Around here...

..While waiting for my new machine I've been putzing around the studio cleaning up and finding old uncompleted projects along the way.  One was this small 8x10" layered piece of silver and black fabrics that I had long ago fused together with a soldering iron.  I also used that tool to cut through the layers to reveal the black fabric on the bottom.  I decided it was worth finishing up so I mounted it on some yellow linen/cotton fabric I bought when I was in Ohio, and fused a nice silver binding on the edges.  It was okay, but needed something else.  

 How about making the top right circle silver and making the lines on the right more visible?  Yep, that's better.   

Around here....

....We're back to wearing masks again whenever we're indoors in a public space.  I don't quite get this, since we're at a 4% positivity rate and are 80% vaccinated, and I do find it annoying to be taking a step backwards.  But I'm not arguing; I just do my part so things don't get worse.  Already some of the in-person events (like in-person quilt group meetings) are retreating back to Zoom sessions.  And I see that Maui has again curtailed the capacity numbers for its restaurants and tourist excursions. (We're watching developments in Hawaii as we have a trip to Maui planned for January.)  Hoping for the best!

Well, let's end with a pretty picture!  

Around here....

....I'm enjoying our lovely dahlias which are in the height of their blooming period.  With any luck our first hard frost will hold out for a while so we can fully enjoy their splendor.  

More April Snows!

We've had two good sized snows since I last posted last.  Last Thursday night we got about six inches and then on Monday night about ten inches.  Yesterday dawned bright and crisp, such a difference from Monday's dark gloom and perfect for a pup who loves the snow.  Turbo and I hiked up to the park where we found a few other hikers, some sledders, and several dogs who played with Turbo, running back and forth like crazy dogs.  

I loved how the sun made shadows on the deep snow. 

Ben had gone rock climbing in the gym  --yes, the fellows are back to their regular indoor rock climbing sessions! -- and missed the morning romp in the park.  So later in the afternoon he suggested we ride up Flagstaff Mountain and do the beginning of the West Ridge Trail which leads up to Green Mountain.  We enjoyed the scenic ride up the mountain and managed to park our car on the snowy shoulder.  The trail runs along the edge of a hillside and provides fantastic views towards the northwest.   Good thing it was so pretty as it was slow going walking in the uneven and deep snow and Turbo had to stay on leash, which is never easy on a narrow trail.  We ran into a few people on snow shoes and thanked them for breaking the trail.  

It's snowing again today but it's not sticking, and our nine inches melted down to about four or five in yesterday's sunshine.  We're keeping the snow shovels handy; many a Mother's Day has seen a late snowfall!

Snow & Sew

We had another good ten-inch snowfall on the night of the 24th.  The next day I had a mammogram appointment and after I was done being squished I waked through the hospital's outside courtyard to  admire the lovely view of Mount Sanitas.        

The courtyard has several sculptures which were fun to see, and I especially was taken by this one.   

The joy of these two dancers reflected the surge of joy I've been feeling this week as we watch Colorado's vaccine numbers increase and the rates of hospitalizations decrease.  Our Governor has made the optimistic projection that everyone who wants a vaccine can have one by early summer, which is a joyous thing to hope for.   More immediately, Ben and I are really looking forward to seeing close friends inside without masks, which should happen by the end of April.   We're beginning to joke about how we'll have to move the "office" off the dining room table. 

Thinking about the state of the house led me to seriously consider how to fit an ironing station in my sewing studio, something that I've wanted ever since I moved in.   I have a small wool pad and iron next to my machine and it is convenient for ironing seams as I create blocks and other small units, but I have to haul the big ironing board out of the closet and set it up in the hall when I need to iron anything larger than about 8x10".   So I thought and thought and finally realized that the old sewing cabinet/table I used with my first sewing machine would have to go.   I just use that machine as a backup and I was using the table basically as a desk, which was not a priority for my sewing space.  

You can see it here, jammed up next to my very useful floor to ceiling built-in bookcase.   The desk blocked access to the bottom shelves and took up a lot of space, but it has sentimental value since Ben bought it for me way back in the 80's,  when money was tight and a special sewing table was a big treat.    

I finally had the idea to move it down to the basement.  Maybe in a few months I'll sell it, but meanwhile it can sit down there out of the way.  We had a rolling butcher-block topped cart that we'd used in our kitchen before it was remodeled and I realized it was the perfect height and size for an ironing station.  It's been in the office but wasn't really need there, so I topped it with a pressing board Ben and I made using Leah Day's excellent instructions and it works perfectly for ironing and holding ironing supplies.  I love having it, I love the pretty blue of the cover, and I love how I can fully use the bookshelves. 

Here's how it sits to the right of my machine.  This shows the two little pressing mats I used for a day or two before we made the new pressing board. 

As I worked in the room I was struck by how shabby my daybed looked.  It was covered with several fleece blankets to protect the upholstery,  a bed sheet and pillow for sleeping, and stacks of fabrics and quilts.  In short, it looked a mess!  I didn't need to protect the sofa as Turbo never hangs out on there; for some reason he stays clear of my studio which is really a good thing.   I don't sleep there anymore since I've cured my insomnia with "sleep aids,"  and I hate having stacks of fabric around.  So I cleared everything off  and it looks soothing and appealing now.   

So what have I been doing in this studio?  Making things from scraps.  I have too many small pieces of fabric and decided to get rid of some by making a few scrap quilts.  

This batik strip piece top is underway.  Not sure how big it will get and what will happen to it; most likely will end up given to "charity."  I think my next step will be to add a piano key border using the same type of scraps.   

And I finished this small top, also for charity.   This one used half square triangles, which I haven't sewn in a million years, so it was kind of fun to figure out how to make them.  The border wasn't exactly a scrap, but I'd had it a while and liked how it gave the top a more modern feel. 

I've had this piece of flannel for a few years and decided to put it on the back.  This quilt needed some "kid like" fabric, and this fit the bill while also using it up.   And how about those thread colors?  Yummy.  They are heavier than what I usually use, so that will be interesting. 

Well, let me end by just saying that snow, cold, and sewing don't stop walking and hiking around here.  

On Friday the wind was howling but we did a four-mile hike anyway, up the Homestead trail, one of my favorites.  This photo of Ben gives you no idea of how gusty and strong the wind was as we started out.  I would have turned back but Ben was really excited about the hike, saying the wind was "exhilarating."  Whatever.  I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck and continued we up, up, up and finally rounded a bend and we were out of the brunt of the raging, howling, gusts.  Then I got my reward with a very pleasant descent back down to the trailhead.   Turbo was a trooper and never complained about the wind, instead busying himself with digging little snow tunnels with his nose whenever I paused for a quick rest.  

 Yesterday there was very little wind and I had a hiking date with my friend Sara.  We ended up doing five miles up and around through the park.   I love hiking with her because we stop and look at things, which is both interesting and gives me a chance to catch my breath.  Here's Sara looking so colorful against the snow. 

And here's one of the interesting things we saw.  It's the Maize Bear, one of the fifteen artist-decorated bear statues now on display in the park for Winterfest.   I hear the bears will be auctioned off this spring and think he'd look great in my yard!

Photo by Sara Tollefson-King