Year End 2011

It is that time again.  An ending of a year and the beginning of a new one.  Time to set new or extend existing goals.  

2011 has been full of achievements and firsts for me.

CJ playing the game of Sorry!

I want to Play too!!

We were blessed with our first grandson,  Cayden James (better known as CJ).  We have been able to spend time with him almost every other weekend.  My son, Courtney has made it a priority that we see and spend time with CJ.  We had our first Christmas with CJ and of course he is only 5 months old but a bundle of JOY!!  Next Christmas will be different because by then he will be walking and we will need to child proof the house.

I ran and completed six  5K runs this year.    I think this was the hardest thing that I have accomplished.  Running required that I push myself to complete the run.  My last run was on Thanksgiving morning.  It was the Evanston First Turkey Run.  For some reason it was not a good day mentally for me.  Half way through the run I wanted to quit and go to my car and return home.  In the back of my mind I was thinking no one would know that I did not finish.  I stopped and sat down on a cold concrete bench.  I walker came by and said  to me " are you waiting for someone"  I said no.  She said " Oh, you can't sit on that cold bench,  you need to help me finish the race".  I immediately go up and walked and talked with her for about 5 minutes.  I explained to her that I needed to finish the run and left her.  I did complete the run and saw her after the race .and thanked her.  She had her daughter take a picture of us. I came home and told my family that I had an Angel watching over me.  The sad thing is that I did not even get her name.  I have found that at these  runs the people are friendly and offer encouragement to others.

I need to extend my goals for completing all my quilting projects that I started.  This will be an ongoing objective, because I can't help but start a new project/technique.

Capital Jazz Cruise

Jim and I attended for the second year the Capital Jazz Cruise.  When I tell you that once you attend this cruise you will not want to go on any other cruise,  that is if your like to party, dance and hear/see great entertainment.  This cruise is like going to a non stop party.  Each night there are two main concerts and then there are other concerts in smaller venues.  This year we attended the Jam sessions after the main shows,  WOW it was such great entertainment.  Artist just came on stage and performed unscripted.  It was unbelievable.!! The Jam sessions became so popular that they had to move the sessions to a larger venue so everyone could attend.  All of the people were friendly.   the first thing that people asked you was "where are you from".  There were brothers and sisters from all over the country.  We visited with people that we met last year and made new acquaintances.

Nick Corleone

Phil Perry

George Duke

Ken Ford

Patty Austin

Sinbad

I am now trying to figure out how to create a collage of all the photos that I took of performers and the the beaches.

It Is A Family Affair

This past weekend had truely been a Family Affair.   Saturday morning we drove to St. Louis and went to visit my Stepfather who informed us that there was a 40th Birthday party for my cousin Regina.  Little did I know that I would see all of my aunts, uncles and cousins that I had not seen for 25-30 years.  OMG what a shocker.  Needless to say I took pictures of everyone,  knowing that my mother would say "Who was there!" 

Sunday we attended an annual family picnic on my birth father's side of the family.  Another good time.    This is a group of 80 year olds partying like rock stars.  I want to look and act like this group when I am 80.  This group should be the Poster Children for 80 year olds. 

Dorothy, Earl, Goldie
Sisters and Brother

It's Official My Mother Is A Great-Grandmother

"It is official my mother is a Great-Grandmother"  this is my answer to everyone who says that you are now a Grandmother.  But all kidding aside,  we have been blessed with a new addition to our family.  A beautiful grandson,  named Cayden James Kent.  He arrived on Monday,  July 11th.

Cayden James Kent being held by his Great-Grandmother Della
the day of his birth

With this electronic age we now live in,  we knew all about our new grandson before he was born.  My son runs into my house saying "Hey Mom where are my baby pictures,  I want to see if Cayden looks like me when I was a baby" as he puts a  DVD into the player to show us an ultra sound in color and 3D of  Cayden.  

I have now joined the ranks of the crazy grandmothers who run around showing pictures of their grandchildren.  I am trying not to be too obnoxious about it,  but it is really hard,  because you think your grandchild is beautiful and everyone else is suppose to think so.  

Cayden James Kent (CJ) One Week Old

Because my son lives an hour away,  his daily responsibility is to send me a picture each day of CJ.  My Daughter is to take pictures when she visits also and to come directly to my house so that I can transfer the photos to my collection.   Warnings to all who read my Blog,  there are bound to be more photos of CJ.

Race Against Hate - 5K

It is Father's day and we are off to the Race Against Hate.  It is beautiful morning the the weather is great.  One of my goals for 2011 was to be able to run a 5K.  My daughter, Annette,  has been my trainer and biggest supporter.  Setting goals is easy,  but achieving them requires a commitment and focus.  Sometimes you may not reach the goal when you planned but if you continue to add it to your list each year you will eventually accomplish it.  I think we sometime have a goal and if we do not accomplish it when we say we will we push it to the side and think that no one will know.

In addition to setting the goal you also need to make it public,  so that others can remind you of your goal when you get off track.  Believe me,  people will help keep you on track and they want to share in your accomplishment as well.  Over this past year I have had many coaches,  even if they don't think they are,  but when someone tells me they are going to call my daughter if they see me eating something that I should not.

I am taking this quote from Annette's post on Facebook,  because it really expresses my sentiment "
Most times, standing still is the easy choice in life. But I've never seen anyone fly with both feet on the ground. And I've never seen greatness come from doing what's "easy". If I've learned anything thus far in life... it's knowing when to leap..."

Well I LEAPED and finshed the race.  This was a major accomplishment for me.  When I started I could not run for one minute without huffing and puffing. 

I also finished my inspirational quilt for my 5K.  Now onto the next adventure and journey.

My daughter and I signed up for another race on July 17 we will be in the Mother and Daughter group.

Robots Gone Wild

Robots Gone Wild Quilt

I will soon be a grandmother.  My Courtney and Vanessa are having a child.  Of course you know that a quilt was in the the making.  I had this creative idea that I wanted words on the quilt and wanted it to be simple.  I had the top completed and  waiting to be quilted.   I had the quilt motif ready and then walked into a new store  called  Notice and found the a baby bowl,  fork,  spoon and sippy cup with a robot theme.  It just so happened that I had fabric that was a perfect match.  I bought the items and rushed home and made a whole cloth baby quilt.   You would think that using "cheater fabric" would be quick and easy but it took more time than I thought because I stitched around each robot.    However,  it turned out great and now have  a really cool baby shower gift.  Oh by the way I did not tell you that the Baby Shower is today.  Wow completed just in time. 

My Robots TGone Wild Baby Bowl, Sippy Cup, and Quilt

 I also tracked down a Boppy  pillow form and covered it with the Robot fabric.   Now you ask what is a Boppy pillow,  which is the samething I asked when I saw it on the registry list at Baby's RUS.    It is probably better to show you.  After I made it I did not like how the fabric laid and I took it apart.  Could not restructure in time for the baby shower so I will just keep it in my house for when the baby comes to visit.




Boppy Pillow


I will still complete my other quilt  hopefully before the baby is born in July.

International Quilt Festival

Last week I traveled to Cincinnati for the International Quilt Festival. 
I have been really spoiled,  because for the past years this festival has been in Chicago.  Even though I traveled by myself I never felt alone.  The people were extremely friendly and at dinner time I met new people.   We talked about the classes that we took that day or the classes that we were looking forward to taking over the next couple of days.  Walking down the street people greeted you because they knew you were a fellow quilter. 

I was also fortunate enough to attend the Play "Gee's Bend".  I highly recommend if you have an opportunity to see this production.

I took two classes:  Digital Collage for Mixed Media taught by Beth Wheeler and Illustrative Quilting taught by Pam Holland. 

In Beth's class we selected a background and a cutout photo that were supplied by Beth which she printed on fabric for each student. When then embellished our printout with paint and stencils.  We also learned how to print on twill tape.  We quilted and then bind.  I still need to bind my project.

Pam's class required us to trace a drawing on fabric.  We painted the drawing with pigment inks. I added words to my drawing.  We then quilted the drawing with smoke monofilament thread.  I had such a difficult time with the monofilament thread,  it kept winding about the thread spool and breaking.  I finally completed the outline quilting of the tree.  Still need to quilt the background of the quilt.  Pam also talked about the properties of  types of thread and needles.

I highly recommend taking classes when you attend the Quilt Festival.

I Have Really Lost My Mind This Time



The Miracle is not that I finished.  The Miracle is that I had the courage to start.

 I have really lost my mind this time.  I have signed up to run a 5K in June.  I have never run a long distance in my life.  I have tried playing recreational sports in my younger days.  Now I wait until now and decide to run a race.  I have secretly wanted to run in a race and finish.  My biggest fear is that I will not be able to complete the race but I am going to try. 

I have been on a weight loss journey now for the past two years.  I have been working out religiously now for 15 months.  Now I am working on being able to run the a 5K.  There is an application for the iphone call "Couch To 5K" I and using this in addition to my workouts to get me ready for this adventure. 

I have also created a quilt to keep me inspired.   I have completed the top and now I need to quilt and bind.  I will hang this quilt in my office at work so I will know that I need to stay strong when the temptation to eat something that I know will not help my dieting.

The Quote that I will stitch in the border:  "The Miracle is not that I finished.  The Miracle is that I had the courage to start"

Quilts of Gee's Bend

Generations of African-American women living in a poor, isolated rural community in the Deep South make quilts to keep their families warm and to brighten their homes. Their quilts were “discovered,” collected, and displayed as major works of art in a traveling exhibition that took the country by storm.

The remote rural community known as Gee’s Bend occupies an area of land some five miles across and seven miles deep inside a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Alabama River. Geography has defined life in Gee’s Bend over several generations. The first African Americans to settle in the area were the slaves of John Gee, for whom the Bend is named. Cut off on three sides from the outside world by the Alabama River, a ferry operated sporadically until the 1960s. Much like an island, the community remained insulated in large measure from the forces of change. The descendants of the first people in Gee’s Bend continued on as small farmers who did well in the early 1900s when cotton prices were high. They suffered as cotton prices declined in the 1920s and fell on very hard times during the Great Depression. What nature created at the Bend, history has reinforced. Isolation is only half the story of Gee’s Bend; the other half is tradition. Because the inhabitants of Gee’s Bend were left largely to themselves for nearly 100 years after the end of the Civil War in 1865, many of the community’s traditions and folkways survived virtually unchanged well into the 20th century. Quilting is one of the most important of these traditions.

The quilts in the exhibition represent four generations of artists who took fabric from their everyday lives—corduroy, denim, cotton sheets, and well-worn clothing—and fashioned them into compositions that more closely resemble modernist abstract paintings than familiar quilt patterns. The women learned the craft from their mothers or grandmothers but the emphasis was always on individuality and innovation. Quilters made the tops by themselves and occasionally got together for the quilting. Most of the quilts in the exhibition are of the type known as piece, strip, or patchwork. As Mensie Lee Pettway, a Gee’s Bend quilter says about tradition of quilt-making, “A lot of people make quilts just for your bed, for to keep you warm, but a quilt is more. It represents safekeeping, it represents beauty, and you could say it represents family history.”

As a result of the exhibition of these quilts,  there were quilt kits sold that provided patterns for these quilts. I was given these kits as gifts.  I finally completed my first one.  The colors are not as bright as I would have liked,  but I am satisfied with the completed project.  I plan to complete the other three quilt kits this year.  I have also collected the stamps that were sold and have plans to use them a small mini quilt.  I will be attending the International Quilt festival in Cincinnati and I have bought a ticket to attend the play "Gee's Bend" while I am there next month.

Cancun

My husband and I took a trip to Cancun in February.  We had a great time.  The beaches were beautiful and the water extremely blue and the food great.   We we spent a day visiting Chichen Itza which was very enlightening.  All of the walkways at the park were covered with Indians selling  their wares.  I was looking for fabrics and was really disappointed because I did not want a tee shirt.  However,  I found two batik panels,  which I will use in wall hangings.

Another Mini Quilt

Wow,  it is March.  The first two months of the year have gone by so quickly.  Time really flies when you are having fun.  If you have been reading my blog,  I have been trying to stick to my goal of posting each week.  I have fallen a little behind,  but I am back. 

I mailed my Mini Quilt to Swap Partner.  She posted that she liked it and that was a relief.  When you enter these types of swaps you are not sure whether in other person will like your work or the theme.  I am now waiting for my mini quilt from another partner.  The deadline was yesterday for mailing and the most annoying part about being in the Swap is that people do not deliver within the timeframe that is established.  Oh, well!!

While completing the mini quilt for the swap  completed another mini quilt from the artwork of my daughter.  It is fun finding treasures from your childrens work that can be used in your hobby.  I am pleased with how this one turned out.  I screenprinted the drawing on the fabric. 

While I working on one project I am also thinking about another project and tearing up my workspace with fabrics, buttons and books.  It looks like a tornado hit.  I have been trying to get my workspace organized but it is a slow process because I would rather work on a project,  but the clutter  causes me to procrastinate.  But this year I am trying to complete the projects that I start and I have to say that I am making progress.

PERSISTANCE

I subscribed to Lesley Riley's newlsetter and the other day she published  an article on being Persistant.   I wanted to post a version of her newsletter because it gets right to the heart of being successful at achieving goals. 

Are You Where You Want to Be?

We are made to persist. That's how we find out who we are.
~ Tobias Wolff

If you're not where you want to be, it is because you gave up too soon. It's that simple. Persistence wins out over talent every time. Do you ever look at someone else's art and say, "I could do that." I bet you've also had an idea for something and then seen it in print or online.....created by someone else. It happens to us all at one time or another.

I know that you are capable of doing whatever you set your mind to. You were born with an innate talent. Some artists appear to have been born with a silver pen, pencil, needle or paintbrush in their hand. Others, like you and me, need to work at it, to persist in finding and developing that innate talent.

At an early age, so many people assume that if something doesn't come easily for them, then they are just not cut out for it. 95% of them will give up on a dream way too soon after a few unsuccessful attempts. The other 5% will persist and go on to fulfill their dreams and ambitions.

Persistence means no excuses. You know the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." You need to be tough to get going on your dreams, tough enough to take a no excuses approach. That means calling yourself out on all those reasons you have for not taking action on your dreams. 99% of the time your reasons are excuses. Do you know where excuses come from? Excuses arise from fear.

Persistence requires a thick skin. Rejection, set-backs and disappointment are all a part of any success story because success requires risk. Risk means going out on a limb and limbs can break. Success requires being uncomfortable. It requires stretching outside of your comfort zone, time and time again, in order to achieve the kind of artist success you desire. It means feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

Persistence requires never taking NO for an answer.
Persistence is what makes things happen. History is full of examples of men and women who persisted through and against incredible odds and circumstances to change how we live, think and act - Christopher Columbus, Martin Luther King, Thomas Edison, Rosa Parks, Oprah Winfrey to name a few.

Surely you can muster up the persistence required to make your art dreams come true. It can be as simple as getting up each morning and saying, "Today I am going to_______," and then doing it. That's all it really takes.

Here's what another wise Riley had to say, James Whitcomb Riley -

The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitably come.

I must say I agree. How about you?

Published newsletter by Lesley Riley, The Artist Success Expert, is the founder of Artist Success, Solutions for the Struggling Artist. To receive her bi-weekly articles on creating your own success as an artist, visit www.ArtistSuccess.com.

Quilting Swap

I am behind in my posting.  My goal is to post once a week.  However,  I just read a piece in the Sunday paper that addresses resolutions.  I should celebrate the small achievements and not beat myself up over the misses,  so there I am Celebrating that this is my first miss and I have been updating my blog.

I have been following one of my fellow quilter's blog and the topic of her post last week was "Why I Don't Do Swaps".  Really a topic near and dear to me.  If you are not a quilter I will explain what a SWAP involves.  There are many versions,  but the basic is that you complete a project and send it to another member in the swap group and they complete a project and send it to you.  There is usually a theme to the SWAP.  I belong to a yahoo group of African American Quilters,  who at this time of the year have an Black History Month swap and a Mini Quilt Swap going on.  I am participating in the Mini Quilt Swap and I have just completed my project and need to get it into the mail by the deadline.

The positives of participating in a swap are that it pushes you to do your best because you are sending this project to one of your peers.  You get to see how others use thier creativity.   There is a sharing of techniques and ideas that you could incorporate into your knowledge base.  Not to mention,  IT IS FUN GETTING ART IN THE MAIL. 

I am always hesistant in participating because I am always concerned that my work will not meet up to the standards of some of my peers.  I feel that I am still practicing and some of my stitching may not be straight or my measurements might be a little off.   Then I have to think that this should be fun and not stressful.   As I make this statement I hope that my Mini Quilt partner likes my quilt and is not too critical.

Creating - JUST DO IT!!

On Tuesday I had oral surgery and took the next day to recover.  While taking my antibiotics and advil,  I start thinking about the project that I needed to complete for a mini quilt swap.  I have been working with a cartoon drawing that my son created and gave to me as a gift.  I have made this drawing my logo for my quilt labels,  but I have been trying to use the drawing in a mini quilt. 

I started a project that I have been working on off and on.  But on Wednesday,  something just hit me and I started pulling out fabrics and created two other mini quilts with the drawing. 

I also follow the website of Pam Holland,  and this morning she talked about creating and "Just do it".  This was so right on,  you JUST HAVE TO DO IT!! 

I also have an account on Etsy and they send daily emails about marketing your store,  yesterday there was an e-mail about tips on selling your products on-line and the advice was "Just Do It"

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you just start.  As I started the ideas just starting flowing.  I now need to write it down,  because when you decide that you are just going to do it , energy and good vibes are all around you.

Presentation Is Everything

I am always looking for unique/different ways to display my quilts. I am always asked, where did you find that quilt hanger. This time I tried a different process that I saw in one of the many craft/quilting books that I own. I used wood molding to create a quilt wall hanger for two of my memory quilts.

I used wooden molding from Home Depot. I measured my quilt and added an each on each side. I then cut the molding using that measurement. The molding will have lip on the back side which will allow quilt to lay flat against the molding.

I covered one of the moldings with fabric and painted the other. Once the molding is dry, I added a picture hanger to the back. I then glued my quilt to the lip of the molding back or you can use velcro. This process allows you to decorate your hanger with fabric of your choice, embellish or paint.

New Years Day

What a lazy day. For the past 3 years there has been snow on January 1. This year it rained and washed all the snow away. It was really a dreary cold day. I made a big pot of chili, a pan of cornbread and listened to an audiobook. I also put up pegboards in my sewing craft area as I try to get organized.

The New Year is the time that we all make ridiculous goals and at the end of the year we are upset that we did not accomplish them. As I discuss this process with my daughter, she told me to make a few goals in increments. Weekly, monthly, six months and then 12 months. So this year in 2011 I will follow this process. She made me get a small journal and we have begun.

One of my goals for 2011 is to update my blog weekly.

So here goes: I work intermittently on projects, not completing anyone project. I have been trying to complete a wall hanging for my office, but my daughter keeps showing up to determine if her wall hanging has been completed. I am pondering on how to quilt the border, which is the finishing touch to this colorful project. I scanned the fabrics into EQ7 and designed the layout. From the layout I was able to printout small quilts 8 x 10, but the colors were not vibrant enough for me. I will need to work with my software to determine how to obtain the true color of what I see on the screen. My thought for the small quilts is to embellish with colorful thread and practice my free motion quilting. I will post pictures of the finished wall hanging once I quilt the borders. The cool thing about EQ7 is that you can playaround with the layout and try different borders.