Wow… I’ve certainly been AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave)!   That’s what happens when I get busy.  Between Eli’s wrestling, daily life, and working on a quilt for Joshua, I was appalled to see it has been over a week since I posted.  So I thought I’d share some photos from Houston’s Quilt Festival.  Though it was a while ago, I haven’t shared yet, and it is still good eye candy!

Since I’m thinking about beginning this coming year’s entry for the Dinner@8 exhibit, let’s focus on this year’s exhibit which was themed “An Exquisite Moment.”  I struggled to come up with a theme for Rituals, but so many ideas came for this theme:  childbirth, nursing, Eli peeking at me from under the highbush blueberry bush, munching away, the peaceful comfort of a cup of tea and a good book.  But when I remembered the night we heard the orcas sing, and because all four of us remembered that night, that had to be the quilt for me.

It always thrills me when someone likes what I have made enough that they take a picture. The blue quilt is my “Listen to the Song in the Night,” which I blogged about here.

I was doing much the same thing with several of the other pieces!  One of my favorites is by my friend Diane Perin Hock.  The feeling of tranquility and peace is palpable:

Diane Perin Hock’s “Serenity,” a portrait of the Adirondack chair under the tree at a quilt retreat fill me with calm. The colors, the calm…I love this!

And the same quilt in its “neighborhood.” The quilt to the immediate right is Fear of Flying by Judy Coates Perez. The next one over (turning on the ignition) is Speed by Cheryl Sleboda, while the passion flowers to the left of Diane’s are by  Frances Alford.

Two more friends: Deborah Boschert’s red branch is in the center and Rachel Parris’s feeding the chickens on the right.  I first met Rachel at a dinner of the artists (those who were at Festival) one year, and she is the most wonderful woman.  On the left is Jayne Larson’s Rainbow: A moment of reflection.  This year it was so much fun… I Facebooked my propped up feet at the airport on my way home, and Rachel promptly messaged me:  she was in the same terminal, so we got to have coffee together before we split to the corners of America!

I’m bummed that this photo isn’t in sharp focus, but I love Deborah’s quilt so much that I’m including it anyway. It is quintessentially “Deborah,” with her signature handwriting (this time on super-scale), branches, surface designs stamped and stenciled, but the colors are a-typical, giving it a wonderful freshness.

Rachel Parris grows as an artist every year. I totally adore this piece, “Ordinary Day.” It makes me think of our grandmothers’ time and lives, and love how Rachel used the writing on the apron.

Cynthia St. Charles dyes and does a lot of surface design.  For Winter Walk II, she has carved blocks for stamping as well as using thermofax screens.

Cynthia St. Charles, detail: Even in this photo it is hard to realize that she has stamped on many fabrics, collaged them, printed onto sheers, layered them…the piece is mesmerizing and is reinforcing my thnking that I really need to take more time to play, to dye fabric, to print and stamp and come up with my own cloth in addition to my signature tone-on-tone batiks.

I’ll close with a neighborhood shot of my quilt on one side of the Dinner at 8 display. I am so inspired by these women, and so pleased to be included in their company.

For more about the Dinner at 8 artists and exhibits, visit the Dinner@8 blog.  If you’d like a show catalog, you can purchase one here, printed by Blurb.  Thank you to Loris Bogue for taking the time to put this together again this year!

Well, I don’t know about for the state of Maine, but for us personally this is definitely the coldest weather we’ve ever been in!   Last night when I went to bed about 10, this is what the weather station showed!

At bedtime last night. Wind chill went down to -34, but thankfully not down to the -40 predicted! I can hardly believe I just typed that…this is Minnesota weather, not Maine!

It was a little less wind chill when I walked the dog at 9 pm, and I tell you it was seriously Nanook-ette of the North in terms of clothes.  Dog wanted to come back in ASAP, but once he got the idea that he was **not** going back in until he peed, he got to it right quick.   This morning, Paul decided he needed to shovel the walk before taking the dog out (I just waded out in top-of-knee-deep snow and the dog sorta swam out).  In half an hour the path will be blown full of snow again, but this will give you an idea of depth and drifts:

Why am I reminded of Sysiphus? All that snow hubby is shoveling will get blown uphill toward our neighbors, and more will fill in the trench!

So what do you do when snow, wrestling meets and what not are cancelled?  Why finish up on a much-delayed postcard swap:

My cropped version of Henri Matisse’s Purple Robe with Anemones

I’m on a small group called Postmark’d Art (site here), and every several months we swap and can pick our theme for the trade from several choices.  I immediately wanted to do Matisse and the cutouts, but I was slow and the other four did cutout type cards, so I opted to paint.  I learned that my fabric paintbrushes stink for details (sigh).  I also learned that the next time I decide to do a postcard swap and individually paint four cards someone needs to smack me upside the head.   Seriously…I spent three full days on these… nuts! Well, at least a large part of several days.   I’m just glad they are done, apologize for the bumbling faces, and hope some new brushes (THANK YOU Susan Brubaker Knapp!) will help when they arrive.

And if you ever want a laugh, watch a dog in winter booties.  Can you read the expression:

Seriously, Mom, you DID this to ME? Your beloved pug-love? ME? WHY? I am beyond humiliated…..I feel so betrayed……

And then: Ha HA! I’m not as much of a walnut-brain as you think I am, Mom! I can deal with Velcro. Well, at least until you come wrap it tighter and I can’t get the end seeing as I don’t have a snout!

With that, I’m going downstairs (hoping the power lasts…looking good so far) and working on the back of Joshua’s quilt and maybe even putting in some miles on the exercise bike!

So every year or thereabouts, the QuiltArt list has a discussion as we approach and dive into the new year.  What will your word be for the coming new year?   I could remember my word for 2011—-the worst of the years from hell:  breathe, and a more apt word I never picked!   But I couldn’t remember what word I chose for 2013.  It appears I forgot to pick one.  So here’s what I wrote to the QA list:

for 2010:  simplify
for 2011:  breathe
for 2012:  refresh
for 2013:  I missed it this year!
for 2014:  hmmmmm….

(and it’s a good thing I keep emails and can use the search function on my laptop…the only one I remembered was “breathe” for the year Mom died, our oldest hit the bottom of his pit–luckily not a deep one–and other insanity.)

Actually, maybe “hmmmm” **should** be my word for the year.   Musing.  I’ve been thinking things like “re-assess,”  “re-evaluate,” and so on.   New avenues?  or Pathways?  Meanderings?  Explorations isn’t quite right.  Walking (not in the literal sense).  Trails?  Review isn’t quite right either.  

Maybe I should just toss my cares to the wind and say “fudge” (yes, the chocolate, edible kind!)!  Oh, why limit myself, how about “Dessert!”   I think I need some whimsy!  Command decision made:  Dessert it is!  

I’ll close with a favorite t-shirt quote: 

Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first!

Cheers, Sarah

PS:  yes, art can be the dessert!

So there you go:  Dessert if my word for 2014!  Makes me giggle!  WOOT!

And in that vein, I’m planning on (decaf) Kahlua Coffee with whipped cream for tonight (since we have Kahlua and no Irish Mist), so here is one last song for the year:  James Taylor singing For Auld Lang Syne–love this!  The older I get, the more the song brings tears to my eyes as I remember those whom I have loved and are gone, those whom I love now, one of whom I fear may not be with us this time next year (send her healing power to southern Texas that she be among the three percent that survives this cancer), and the beauty of life.  Indeed,

“so here’s a hand my trusted friend
and give me a hand o’ thine,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet
for auld lang syne.”

Thank you for visiting me here in 2013.  Here’s to a healthy, loving, joyful, artful 2014 for all of us.  Hugs, Sarah

The power is back on (though it went out every day since Monday!), the house is warm, Christmas was glorious, and Maine continues to be beautiful in even the most wicked weather.  MAJOR KUDOS to the electric crews, not just from CMP (Central Maine Power) but from neighboring states; they gave up their Christmases at home to restore our power!

The river birch is a goner. Sigh. When we cut it down in spring (well, when Max cuts it down) I’m going to see if I can harvest some of the bark to keep and use for mixed media. So beautiful…..

News stations are saying this is the worst ice storm to hit Maine since ’98.  Outages covered from the midcoast to central Maine, with 87,000 without power–that’s about 7 percent of the state population!  Our electricity went out Monday at about 2 pm and stayed out until about 6:30 pm Tuesday (Christmas eve).  It stayed on several hours during which we all quickly took showers, washed dishes etc. (need elec. to run the water pump).  As soon as we went to bed, though, it went out again.  At 9 a.m. Christmas morning, though, the power came back on a full day before they expected!

The lowest portion of our drive way this morning while on dog-walkies. Notice the trees bent into upside down “U” shapes on the left.  Those are not “weeping” trees; they are totally bent over trees.   Chances are good, though, that once the ice (under last night’s snow) comes off, they will straighten back up (more or less).

Additional freezing rain led to significantly more damage on our property.  The gloriously lacy and beautiful river birch (above) bit the dust, splitting completely down to about 6 feet.   The big, robust maple also had significant damage, and at least a dozen trees on the edges of the woods surrounding us have broken-off tops.

The maple at the top of the driveway took a bit hit, too. The leader (main trunk, at the top) broke off about 20 feet down and fell uphill. More branches are bent, and many broken.

Paul and Eli pulled downed branches and Eli even climbed up a little ways into the tree to saw down some small, easily-reached branches so they wouldn’t break more branches and also to get them out of the place where Alex needs to plow the snow-heap!

A day or two ago (they are running together already!) Paul and Eli (the latter in jammy pants, flannel shirt, new heavy boots and Elmer Fudd hat) moved broken branches so Alex’s plow won’t have trouble.  We’ll deal with cutting up and tossing the branches (kindling?) in spring!

Morning walkies, as usual, offered great photo ops:

Tree bent over! Temps are supposed to go above freezing (a little) this weekend, so maybe some of the ice will melt.

Looking towards Appleton Ridge over the neighbor’s house:

From the top of the drive. On the far left are two trees next to an arbor that allows passage from the downhill meadow to the large meadow. We think the top of the second (rear) tree broke off, but snow is too icy to try to get over there right now.

Remember those chopped off willows I shared a short while ago…another photo, thinking Thermofax screen!

Looking up the driveway. The maple is right at the top of the drive, the birch just to the right (between the drive and hour).  Good news:  house doesn’t need painting.  Bad news:  house is hulkering brown.  When it DOES need painting it will be gray with white trim like the garage!

And the river birch (SOB), looking uphill with the house behind it. Got a good close up photo of the tangled branches that may also become a thermofax screen.

After shoveling the walk and sweeping the deck, found Pigwidgeon footprints on the deck…love this!

And then the sun came out:  can you say GLORIOUS MAINE?

From the living room porch, with deck roof and icicles overhead, shadow of house in the foreground.

Next post:  Christmas!

Then

A new (well, compared to what I’ve been posting) song, this time from Faith Hill. Any parent can relate to this lovely song:

Enjoy and bask in the day. Celebrate the birth of those you hold dear and keep the spirit of the season with you and in your heart all the year.