On the edge of my seat

The next set of Twelve by Twelve art quilts will start to appear online on 1 February (US time). In the meantime, here is an exploratory quilt that I made along the way - Twelve Chairs:

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All subscribers that sign up on or before 14 February will go into a draw for a selection of three original Serendipity Patchwork & Quilting designs.

Silver Lining

This blog has barely hinted at the havoc wreaked by a two minute thunderstorm, although I know if could have been much, much worse. This interlude has highlighted how integral technology and connectivity is to our seachange life. It’s also reinforced that sharing some computer resources with the Laundry King isn’t optimal for either of us. So this afternoon when the insurance company allocated a higher value to my old PC than I was expecting, this morning’s purchase of an ASUS Eee PC 1000H seemed totally vindicated. Excuse me, I have yet another manual to read…

Feeling shirty

To everyone who has expressed surprise at the colour of my last shirt, I clearly don’t subscribe to the absolutist view that redheads cannot wear red. I actually have several red items in my wardrobe including a great sweater that I only seem to get to wear in Pittsburgh at Christmas; red shoes (aren’t they mandatory?) and some tank tops. In summer, I live in my swimsuit and in shorts and tank tops. Not exactly suitable teaching attire for the Australasian Quilt Convention next month so I picked up another linen shirt in the sales:

Red Dot Sale

if you look at my quilt galleries, and my stash generally, you will see that the powerful hue of RED does not feature very prominently. Yet lately I have been drawn to reds again and again which is why I went back into the Laundry King’s workshop to do some more scarlet dyework. And how did the blender work in combating red-speckitis? Let’s just say that a crack appeared in the plastic casing upon first use and the pristine workshop temporarily resembled a scene out of the Texas chainsaw massacre (sssshhh, don’t tell David). Maybe that’s why I picked up this shirt today is the sales:

Australian Days

On this national day, and as I approach my 20th anniversary of living in Australia, it seems appropriate to remind you that the MY PLACE travelling exhibition of art quilts will be on display at the Australasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne from 26 February to 1 March 2009. Here’s a snapshot of the thirty Australian entries:

My quilt Tudibaring was inspired by the water and headlands where I live. Around this time, I was experimenting with shibori dyeing for the Twelve by Twelve challenge theme - water. In the end, my 12×12 piece (Coriolis) did not incorporate any shibori but I went on to use my shibori water fabric in several quilts.

Similarly, fellow Twelve Deborah Boshert was inspired to further explore the theme of illumination following the Twelve by Twelve challenge on the same theme. You can read more about Deborah’s art quilts quilts based on sacred texts, and incorporating elements inspired by illuminated manuscripts, in the February/March issue of Quilting Arts magazine. Deborah has also posted some images on her blog.

The next Twelve by Twelve challenge quilts exploring the theme of chairs, are due to be unveiled on blog on 1 February (US time). I’m on the edge of my seat in anticipation!

Mise en place?

In professional kitchens, and those ubiquitous TV cooking shows, the concept of “mise en place” (everything in place) is paramount. In deference to invading the Laundry King’s orderly workshop, I try to apply the same approach when I am dyeing. I pre-cut and number the fabric pieces before soaking them in soda ash solution; I then wring them out and scrunch them into numbered plastic containers; and I have my selected primary dye powders and mixing implements ready to go. Generally I keep mess to a minimum. Alas yesterday, I doubled the amount of yardage but didn’t double the amount of dye powder used so the resulting fabrics are more gelato-toned than these photos would suggest.

Manual Labour

Well hopefully I am back online again. The wireless router is still waiting at the door for collection by the manufacturer but, with the long weekend coming up, we took the precaution of arranging our own replacement which seem to be working OK thanks to my tech-savvy brother who purchased it, configured it for our home network and posted it to us overnight.

Between purchasing a new computer and other replacement electronic items; trying to get the most out of existing computer software programs and digital cameras; and familiarising myself with a new sewing machine that I have on trial, I seem to have spent a great deal of 2009 with my nose in a manual of one sort or another. Some manuals are very vexing or at least perplexing. Do you think I can work out how to use the needle threader on the trial machine? Nope. And can I get birthdays from my Contacts to show up in my calendar in Outlook 2007? not yet.

I think my brain is suffering from overuse which is partly why public holidays were invented. This weekend is a long weekend to celebrate Australia Day. With temperatures forecast to be extreme, I fully propose to spend the weekend cooling off down at the beach. Then again, it’s ideal conditions for dyeing…I wonder what the manual is like for the new blender that I bought for smashing red dye particles…

Slow blogging

Our technology woes continue here are Casa da Praia causing great consternation. The repaired Personal Video Recorder curled up its toes and is making its way back to the manufacturer for diagnosis and further repair. And the brand new router, that worked perfectly fine for two weeks, is packaged up waiting for the courier to collect it and deliver a replacement. Meanwhile, online access is limited to one machine (alas not mine!) and we have a long weekend coming up so I expect blogging to slow down somewhat and I have enabled comment moderation.

While my blogging slowdown is precipitated by other factors, the Slow Blog Manifesto has much to recommend it and includes this gem:

“Slow Blogging is a rejection of immediacy. It is an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly, and that many thoughts are best served after being fully baked and worded in an even temperament.”

Magic is…

Magic is watching an enormous pod of dolphins frolic in the bay for hours and finding out that Dreamlines #1 (aka Magic Carpet) has been accepted as a finalist in the AP&Q AQC Challenge that will be judged and exhibited at the Australasian Quilt Convention 2009. Here’s a sneak peek:

(Unhappiness is discovering that the new wireless router is not working properly and will have to be replaced. Sigh.)

Kuler Colour

Thanks to Di for leaving a comment about Adobe’s Kuler Palette Generator. With this online tool, you can generate a palette from an image or from a colour. You can also customise the output. For comparison purposes with yesterday’s efforts, here are the Kuler-generated palettes for Dreamline#2 and Binary Notes #2: