Resurfacing

I probably should not have tried starting a blog in the fall, which is typically the busiest time of the year for me at my day job and especially as the Northwest days get shorter, the time when I have the least amount of energy and stick-to-it capacity. Since my last post it feels as though all I've done is work, and more work, and yet more work.

But I did get a chance to do some traveling that involved quilts and fiber. In October, I made my annual trip to California to visit Jaye and go to PIQF. I think it was a pretty good show this year, although I have to admit that there is no quilt in particular that has really stuck in my mind as some have in previous years. The fiber viewing highlight of that trip was the visit I made to the deYoung museum to see the exhibit titled To Dye For: A World Saturated in Color. The exhibit is about paste-resist dye techniques around the world -- everything from Japanese shibori to Indonesian batik to Ghanaian adinkra to Peruvian and Mongolian textiles. I was enthralled with the sense of richness achieved with the various techniques, all so very different from what I am seeing in the quilt world at the moment. The only thing I didn't like about the exhibit was the lack of a catalog! Unlike other museums I've visited recently, the deYoung does not allow photography in the textiles gallery, so I have pages and pages in my journal full of sketches from the exhibit, but black pen on white paper doesn't really evoke the depth of color I was seeing. The exhibit is only on through next weekend; if you have a chance, you should most definitely go and see it.

Last month I traveled to the East Coast to conduct a training, and then spent a few days in New York City. I had a chance to see friends that I hadn't seen in awhile, but also had time to myself, during which I made visits to Purl Soho and ABC Carpet and Home -- more for inspiration than to purchase anything -- and also visited the Whitney, the Metropolitan Museum, and both branches of the American Folk Art Museum. The AFAM is celebrating the Year of the Quilt, during which they will be displaying numerous quilts from their collection. Some of the masterpiece quilts are currently on display at the 53rd Street branch, and there is an exhibit of star quilts at the Lincoln Center branch. I assumed they would not allow photography, so I didn't even try to take pictures, but Rita over at Red Pepper Quilts was there shortly after I was and was able to build a nice set of photos which you can see on her Flickr site. I came back from the museums itching to get back into the studio. All around my office people have tacked up that "Keep calm and carry on" poster, but I'm more in the mood for the Matt Jones' "Get excited and make things" version.

So, I'm actually looking forward to the next couple of months when it is still too cold and wet to be in the garden - time to get back to playing with fabric. Wheeeee!!!!!