Near Misses and Follow-Up

Near Misses

The problem with photographing wildlife is that they don't always want to sit still and pose. I was outside last night when I was surprised to see two cedar waxwings land on a tree nearby. Surprised because we rarely see them this time of year - they are usually fall visitors. By the time I ran inside to get the camera they had moved to a ground wire on the roof of the garage. My only photo is of a pair of beautiful birds in a not-so-beautiful setting!

 Near miss #2 happened this morning. I looked out the window to see two mule deer bucks posing perfectly in the light of the rising sun. By the time I got in position there was one buck left and he was standing in the shade.  At least he waited in the middle of some blooming yucca!

Follow Up


A couple days ago I asked if anyone could help identify this bird I observed near Bondurant. It was driving me crazy so last night I pulled out the Roger Tory Peterson book of western birds for another go. By chance (??) when I set the book down it fell open to the page on Buntings. Eureka! Meet Mrs. Lazuli Bunting. Not to be sexist but I wish I could have also seen her strikingly colorful mate!

Follow-up #2
I said I would post a photo that better depicts the 3-D nature of my challenge quilt "Seven Billion and Counting". So here it is.

NQA Show

 Today I am posting just a few photos from the NQA Annual Show in Columbus, Ohio. I look forward all year to attending this event. Great quilts, wonderful friends, inspiring classes and fun-filled events: what's not to love?

One of my favorite events of the show each year is the Little Quilt Auction. Several hundred people donate quilts that are auctioned off either in the daily silent auctions or in the rowdier Friday night live auction.  I have participated by donating a quilt for the last two years and purchasing quilts for the last three. I was delighted when my entry - "Shooting Stars" - went for more than $200 this year. And I was even more excited to bring home the beautiful piece above, "Cabins and Roses" by the very talented Fran Kordek.  

 I could not resist signing up for a class by Esterita Austin on adding depth to your quilt. Esterita provided the pattern and guided us on using our fabrics to emphasize light and shadow. I was especially pleased to use my own snow-dyed fabric, along with a small piece of batik, to create the still life above. A small amount of paint was added to bring out the high and low lights of the fabric patterning.

Another highlight of the show was winning a ribbon for the second year in a row in the Sew Batik Challenge. There were about 70 entries this year. This is a terrible photo of my entry. Terrible because I took it face on and the whole thing with this piece is that it is 3-D. The theme was log-cabin and I created 49 houses 2.5" x 2.5" x 3.5" high. The sides are all log cabin blocks and the base of each building is Timtex. I think I can honestly say that this "quilt" generated more interest than any I have made. Every time I went by there was a crowd gathered discussing how it was constructed. I don't think anyone thought it was a beautiful piece - they were just enthralled by the "how" of the creation! Once "Seven Billion and Counting" makes its way home I will post another photo from the side showing the 3-D nature of the piece.

The last photo for today is a shot of the entire length of 21 quilts in the "Sky-Lines" exhibit. These are quilts created by members of TAGY out of Cody, Wyoming and WAV based in Billings, Montana. One of the advantages of helping to hang the show is that I was able to get a shot of the exhibit with no people around and before the name tags were hung. I received lots of good feedback from viewers about this exhibit which will now go on to show at Quilt Wyoming before finally making its way back to the artists.

Cheeper Peeper

"Cheeper Peeper" is my contribution to the exhibit "Sky-Lines". The show has been traveling but returned yesterday from Denver National Quilt Festival. Next stop for the 21 pieces from 19 artists is the NQA Annual Quilt Show in Columbus, Ohio in mid-June.

Each person received the same sky fabric and then made a quilt in a theme of their choice, with a few rules regarding size. When shown the quilts are all lined up side by side at the horizon or skyline.  The end result is 35' of unique imagery!

Sunrise and Sacred Threads

What a beautiful sunrise we had this morning! 

I was thrilled to learn earlier this week that both my submissions to the biennial exhibit "Sacred Threads" were juried into the show. This is one of my favorite exhibits and I always feel honored to be a part of it.

Both my pieces are small. The one on the right is "Harvest Moon" and the left is "Weeping Willow". The exhibit will be in July in D.C. I urge you to see it if you have the chance; it is truly a moving experience! 

Soy Wax

Today is the monthly WAV meeting (textile artists) in Billings. I am scheduled to give the presentation and I will be doing so on how to use soy wax in your work.  The two images I have posted here were both created in the past few days using soy wax but with very different techniques. The reddish egret was painted with Dye-na-flow paints, using the wax as a typical resist. There were numerous steps of applying wax, painting, removing the wax, reapplying wax elsewhere and so on and so on. The geometric piece below was created more in the way of a typical batik, applying wax, dyeing with procion dyes, applying more wax, dyeing with a darker color of dye and so on. Both methods are easy, fun and a great way to produce one-of-a-kind fabric!