Hearts 4" x 6" 2012

One of the reasons I love making postcards is that I can justify saving all those little bits from previous projects that seem too precious to toss.  Here I layered a wispy paper napkin with hearts cut from foiled organza, painted cellophane, and crumpled silks.  My mailman says he and our local postmistress enjoy having my creations pass through our post office.

Prayer

Mt. Rainier (in situ) 16"x64"

Yes, that's a trash can on the far right to give this display a sense of scale.  My son and his wife loved the quilt enough to hang it in their bedroom, which is in the attic.  Hence the sloping ceiling.  Anyone taller than 4 feet must stoop over for close inspection.  (That's one way to hide some wayward stitches.)

"Better living through chemistry" has helped my son regain enough of his health to resume care of his darling- now 1 year old- daughter, other household obligations, and even enjoy skiing the slopes of the Cascades.  Wrenching as it was to leave them, my husband and I felt it was time to go home to California.  He is eager to work on the many many images he photographed during our sojourn up north, and I have raw emotions to push under the needle.

Heal 4"x6"

Recently a friend had cancer surgery and is now struggling through painful rehab.  One day last week I was wondering about whether she'd gone home yet, and so I decided to make her a postcard.  The very next day I received an e-mail from her saying she was home but that everything was very hard.

The message I wrote on the back was that no one fights alone....she has many hearts with her.  These are sentiments I've received during these months with my son, and they never fail to comfort.

Birthstones 5"x7"

These two quilts are small by request.  It's time to start a new year of birthday quilts in my artist group Loose Threads, and since we seem to have played out the strips concept last year, the January birthday girl asked for small pieces specific to months.  I drew the months of March and May and chose birthstones as my themes.  The stone for March is aquamarine and for May is the emerald.  Not having the wherewithal to purchase the actual gems to stitch, I painted some fusible web with Lumiere paints and added some machine stitching, French knots, and beads.  Now I have to hope she's too busy moving into a new home to check my blog before she gets these next week.  Don't look, A.K.!

Resolution 2012

One day in October I was complaining to a friend that I thought I had lost my "mojo" as an art quilter.
That evening my son called to tell me he has cancer.  Talk about a game changer!  In these last months of 2011 I have come to realize that there is nothing more precious than living in the moment.  I am learning to appreciate the blessings of the path rather than to fret about where it leads.

My resolution for 2012 is to treasure every hour I am fortunate to play/work in my studio and to never again whine about something as empty and fatuous as "mojo."  As the last minutes of 2011 tick away, my son is winning against his cancer.  Whatever I can create with my talents is just icing on the cake.

Tacoma Christmas 2011

So many blessings lighting up the lives in this house.  My son's health continues to improve!!!  Little Bridget has mastered "4 wheel drive" (so nothing below 24 inches is sacred:-)  Lots of family trekking up by road and air to fill the extra rooms.  We won't care that it's supposed to rain all next week.

My temporary studio in the basement has been packed up and stashed under the ping pong table to make even more room for merriment.  But my knitting bag is always nearby to keep my creative juices simmering.

May all the world enjoy a peaceful respite during this special time.