2004 Journal Quilts

January - After almost a year and a half of under/unemployment, my husband found a job. All I could think of was how relieved I was, how beautiful everything seemed, as if a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I could breathe in beauty, once again. I began to play again, to take time to experiment with fibers and fabrics; here, I started playing with Puff Paint (mountains); Angelina and Tintzl fibers (sunset); Shiva iridescent paint sticks, and hand dyes

February - I began experimenting with different ways to portray the “essence” of earth, wind, fire and water, as I developed a new class forwww.QuiltUniversity.com (Elements in Fabric). By the way, QuiltUniversity.Com is no more; it thas been taken over by Ruth Blanchet and is now called www.AcademyofQuilting.com http://www.academyofquilting.com. Oddly enough, the first thing most people comment on how cool the “cheater” forest fabric is, and the peacefulness of the scene, not on all the work I put into the water effect. Go figure.

March - While working on a commission quilt, I became still more enthralled with making water in motion, experimenting with iridescent cracked ice and painted melted cellophane with iridescent glitter. The rocks are Puff Paint, then puffed and painted with Setacolors, iridescent Shiva paint sticks, and metallic paint powders. You can never have too much STUFF!

May - Flying back from the North Carolina Quilt Symposium, I flew through a huge thunderstorm, and actually wondered if the plane was going to make it back. It was a very strange scene - huge, billowing thunderheads with sun shining on them from the top, but if you looked down, you could see very dark clouds and lightning flashes. The photo this was taken from is courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Department of Commerce.

April - Our son, Mike, and his wife gave us tickets on the Wine Train as a Christmas present this year. We finally got to use them on a rainy April day, and really did have a lovely time traveling through the wine country, eating a delicious dinner in a train reminiscent of the glory days of the railroads.

June - My husband went to San Diego and took this picture in Balboa Park of a reflecting pool with water lilies. I still haven't got it right - I still need to make the building more clear so you really don't know which way is up. I've tried 3 times, and this is the best one so far. Ah, well...does that mean I've finally made a SERIES?

July - Still experimenting with the possibilities of Puff Paint, I discovered you can make very cool trees and rocks out of it, especially if you make the leaves with Fiber Etch and Steam a Seam II Lite, and add mica bits to the rocks, and color it with Shiva paint sticks. How cool is that?

August - The Fire Season is here in California, and many parts of the state are burning. Some of my friends have had to evacuate from their houses, and I can only image the fear and trauma they are going through. Even fire, though, can be beautiful, so here's a tribute to all of the people who suffered through those fires, and the ones to come.

September - More Puff Paint experimentation – this time, it’s a whole castle wall, vines crawling up it, then more Fiber Etched, painted, and Steam a Seam II Lite leaves; all offset by a lovely embossed copper shim door, embellished with metal flakes, opening onto my secret garden. I painted the little girl, who has been hanging around here looking for a home for quite some time. Next time, I’ll make two doors – the lady or the tiger?