Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Color Fulfills The Soul.............................................

What is your art medium?  Do you work with Styrofoam, plaster or paper mache, clay, acrylic paint, wax or maybe watercolors?  Do you fashion dolls?  Make felt?  Create landscapes?

Whatever your media, everyone has the same thing in common
COLOR!

I love to collect those wonderful catalogs found in tourist areas--the ones that advertise the fancy shops in the region.  I also like the slick publicity ones that feature upcoming exhibits.
COLOR!

Work by Rebecca Brady
Work by Jenn Ashton
COLOR!
And the world opens up with this website!
Have a Colorful Day!







Monday, September 28, 2015

Texas Quilt Museum Exhibits



Autumn in Ohio by Noriko Endo 
Contemporary Quilt Art from
the Marbaum Collection.
This exhibit will feature 41 studio art quilts, dating 1984-2008, from the
private collection of Hilary and Marvin Fletcher.
These quilts were acquired from entries in the Quilt National
Competition, where Hilary served as project
director from 1982-2006.
Gallery II will feature 10 quilts from Texas quilter Cynthia Collier.

Cynthia will give a free gallery talk on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m., with Museum admission free beginning at 2 p.m.

Teresa Wong will give a free lecture on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 PM on the history of Japanese
Quilt.  

 The lecture and PowerPoint presentation will highlight the fascinating story from her new book, Japanese Contemporary Quilters and Quilts: The Story of an American Import. Museum admission is free beginning at 2 p.m.

Forty years ago, Japanese quiltmakers were heavily influenced by American quilts and quilters. Today, there are two to three million quilters in Japan, making it the second largest concentration of quilters outside the U.S. Wong’s lecture will take visitors through this remarkable transformation and explain how it took place.

In 2014, Wong was named the first Faith P. and Charles L. Bybee Foundation Scholar by the Bybee Foundation and the Texas Museum. The honor was awarded in recognition of her research on Japanese quilts in conjunction with her Master of Liberal Studies degree at Rice University.


Sunday, September 27, 2015

Spinzilla!

On your mark!  Get Ready!  Spin!  Here is your chance to jump on the spinning wheel and create that perfect yarn--During the week of October 5-11, there will be an opportunity to join in this giant spinning challenge!   Hand Spinning News is one of the sponsor.










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Saturday, September 26, 2015

Shetland Wool Week

Oh, to be in the Shetland Isles September 26-October 4!  You know why?  Here's why.....................Shetland Wool Week
Shetland Wool Week is a world renowned celebration of Britain’s most northerly native sheep, the Shetland textile industry and the rural farming community on these islands. Shetland wool is a world class natural fiber, with a long standing reputation for quality, strength and excellence from the fleece to the textile products. Shetland knitwear has a deserved respect gained from many generations of hard working knitters and crofters producing some of the finest lace and Fair Isle knitwear. There will be classes in knitting, spinning, weaving as well as lectures and tours!  What excitement!  And as an added bonus, you can receive this free knitting pattern from their website. Baa-Ble Hat - designed by Donna Smith.





And
f Britain's most northerly native sheep, the Shetland textile industry and the rural farming community on these islands.d textile industry and the rural farming community on these islands.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Texas Book Festival--Poster!

This is the official 20th Anniversary Texas Book Festival poster, which features the work of artist Fatima Ronquillo. Ronquillo is a self-taught painter whose classical imagery is inspired by literature, theater, and opera, evoking a world of serenity and charm. Her intimate works play with the style of European old masters coupled with a magical realism rooted in folk and colonial Latin American traditions. The Festival poster image, a boy with a goldfinch perched on his hand, suggests an inner world where art history meets with nostalgia and imagined storybook characters.


The Festival   . The festival is on the weekend of October 17 and 18 at the Texas State Capitol in Austin and benefits Texas public libraries.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Need A Hat--Of Course!

Okay--I'm knitting that cardigan but I need a hat--maybe, one that will coordinate!  Let's have a matching outer wear ensemble!  Woop!  Woop!  I found the perfect way to do that--through Knit Designs by Tian 

Knitting begins October 2nd!


The concept for the Design-A-Long is similar to a "choose your own adventure" where for each section of the hat, you decide. For each section of the pattern, I will send out to newsletter subscribers 2 or 3 stitch patterns and you, the knitter, get to choose which option you want to make. 
Here's how it will work:  
Each Friday for 4-weeks, starting October 2nd, I will send out to subscribers-only instructions containing stitch options. 

Week 1: Cast On stitch amount for multiple sizes along with brim stitch options.
Week 2: Body of the hat
Week 3: Crown decrease options
Week 4: Finishing and Project page update.


At the end of the Designs-A-Long, you will have a completed hat, or 2, 3. Based on the number of stitch patterns, you will be able to easily make 3 different hats. 

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Fall Senses........................................

About this time of year, every year, we take a short drive to get our system infused with FALL!  Those colors, sights, sounds, smells--all mean cooler weather is on the way!
Pumpkins everywhere--PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) at Starbucks!  Pies, cakes, muffins, BBQ sauce, cheesecake--you name it, we'll fill it with pumpkin!

Colorful Mums!

Ornamental cabbages line decorative boxes 

And the smells--chilies roasting!  and we're eating fresh chilies in our dishes--yummy!

Fresh roasted corn on the grill...................life can't get any better!

Vast sunflowers dot the landscape--all is well when the weather takes that cooler turn; we hear the elk bulging during rutting season--see the mountains clear and bright
Even the sunsets take on those fall colors!
Yes, we take that short drive to go 'leaf peeking'

Aspens heading into their winter nap.................
ah, Fall.............................



Oh! Pancakes!

 Yes!  Pancakes and peppered bacon!  Perfect breakfast!  On the Patio!  Pancakes can be for morning meal in your P Js or evening dinner in y...