The tree is up and baking goodies is on my mind. I love to make handmade things and goodies for the holidays. When I was growing up baking treats was always a Christmas tradition. My father was an elementary school principal and his teachers and students, actually, usually the mothers of the students, would give him some of the best treats for Christmas. Lucky for us, we also typically got the recipes, too.

But it really all started with Grandpa and Grandma Hopkins, as far as I can remember. Grandpa Hopkins owned Hopkins and Son grocery store in Decatur, Illinois. He served as a cook in WWII on the ship Dakota and when he came home from the war became a pastor. His best job was being Grandpa. He spoiled us when we spent the night. Breakfast was always his homemade doughnuts. He made us french fries and hamburgers for lunch. It was heaven to be at his house. Grandma taught me how to crochet and they where always doing crafts.
So when Grandpa and Grandma Hopkins came for the holidays they would bring treats. One of their best was their date bars, which I am making tomorrow.

But today was all about the stollen. This is a German bread made at the holidays. I was first turned on to the recipe by, no, not Julia, but my other favorite diva, Martha. This was way back when I was just married about 6 -7 years. She demonstrated it on her show and I had to make it. This would truly impress my inlaws who had never really taken me into the fold. Don't be sad; they didn't even take they own son into the fold, either. Well, anyway, I made the stollen and to my surprise the Bula family loved it. What?!? They hate everything I do. Well, to find out years later, Joe's dad was Polish even thought he told me early in our marriage that they were Italian and, of course, I believed them. Why would he lie? Joe said he didn't know what his ethnicity was. so, as always, I believed.
Well, years later, like 2008, while doing a little genealogy, I found out that Joe is German and Polish and stollen is a traditional holiday bread. Aaarrrgh! All after becoming the best Italian cook around! So, today I made the famous stollen. Joe's parents are no longer with us but I make it in honor of finally finding out what the heritage of my only child and the man I love is.
By the way, the date bars I thought Grandpa Hopkins made that we all loved were Grandma's doing all along.

Julia Child On a Rainy Day

Today is a rainy, cold and miserable day. It snowed 4 inches last Sunday night and today, Friday, the snow finally melted with the new rain that should last 5 more days. Get ready east coast, more snow is coming. It's not supposed to snow here in California, at least not at our elevation. It's like every 7 years we get a freak snow fall that melts by morning. But this one lasted for a week. Its really cool for the first 2 days but then you realize your home is not very insulated, the pool pump is running constantly to fight off the freezing temps, the gas bill is going to be off the charts which will send Joe over the edge and I have nothing warm to wear. It starting to get depressing. I think I might have seasonal depression disorder which we can add to the long list of my other disorders. I don't know how most of you make it through the cold winter without killing someone.

Now that I have depressed you, all is not lost.

I deiced to watch a movie and do a little cross stitch pattern that I bought at the Houston show, hoping there is a good movie out there. I love my On Demand and it was my lucky day. I have been dieing to see Julie & Julia. Getting my husband to the movies is an art form in itself, especially if it's a chick flick.

So I got a diet coke, caffeine free of course, that is for my other disorder and sat down to watch a good movie and stitch. I started right away feeling guilty as the credits started to run.
What for? I can take a day off and just doing something mindless once in awhile. One of the problems with being self employed and doing what you love, is you sometimes forget to take days off. Another disorder, if you are keeping track.

Well, the movie was great. I was in heaven. This is just what the doctor ordered. A good dose of Julia Child and Meryl Streep is always good for the soul and perfect for any rainy or snowy day. Julia's passion for food is like my passion for color.

This movie brought back a lot of good memories of living in San Francisco for many years as a flight attendant. I had many roommates over the years (that is another story) but for a period of time I was roommate-less. My best friend became all the cooking shows on PBS and Julia Child's was at the top of the list. I never missed an episode and loved all the reruns. So this movie brought back a lot of good memories. As the movie was rolling I ran and got my first Julia Child cookbook and laid it next to me on the sofa. I thumbed through it and smiled at all the grease stained pages and remembered making that for Joe many years ago. Just like in the movie, I too learned to cook with Julia Child, and I am so grateful and so is my family.

They recreated her kitchen right down to the last little spoon. The set designer for the movie had to recreate Julia's kitchen exactly and found most of the antiques on Craigslist so that every thing was authentic. Julia's husband, Paul, picked the color of the cabinets, which I love. Kind of a robin's egg blue green. I don't think she cooked robin's eggs but if she did it would have been fitting.

Cooking, and cooking good, is just another form of creativity and having the right color to be creative in, is a must. It's the doing of the dishes after the meal that gets in the way.
So, the rainy day off turned out really good. I had a little trouble seeing my tiny cross stitch. That's a whole other malady I am dealing with. But thank God you don't really need great eyesight for cooking or eating. By the way, we are having leftovers for dinner. BON APPÉTIT!

Turky Day Adventures!

Well, it never fails to amaze me how quickly Thanksgiving comes and goes. I love Thanksgiving but, in my family, there is always some crazy adventure disguised as a mishap that takes place on this holiday.

One year my sister Jacqui and her daughter and granddaughter where visiting from southern California. It’s an 8 hour drive from NorCal to SoCal, so it might as well be visiting another state. I was excited for their visit and planned for weeks. I bought the best turkey with all the trimmings. I decorated the table with my hand painted turkey bowls that I made years ago in my Martha Steward phase. I was set to be the hostess with the mostest on this Turkey Day morning. We leisurely had breakfast as I got my large beautiful bird out of the frig and started to prep it for the big dinner of the day. As I removed the wrapper, I noticed a strong smell coming from the turkey. That couldn't be. I kept talking to my sister as I washed it and realized this smell was not going away. I very calmly asked my sis to take a whiff of the bird and tell me what she thought. The look on her face was all I needed to know: we had a rotten old bird. Tom was past his prime. Way past.

What do we do now? After we got done laughing, I had an idea. What would the pilgrims do? We would just go and find another turkey. So we triple wrapped Tommy and threw him in the back of the car. I was not about to put old stinky in my trash can.

Our first job was to get rid of the evidence. So my niece, Kara, and I went back to the store where I first laid eyes on this bad bird. Maybe they would be open and we could exchange him. Of course, the store was closed so we properly deposited Tom in the large dumpster behind the store.

He hit the bottom of the dumpster with a loud thud. I jumped back into the car and raced away with my tires squealing. I felt like we had just dumped a dead body and where peeling out in the getaway car. We laughed and laughed.

Then I realized we had nothing for dinner. We had to find a store open and see what we could find. Maybe a deli counter and we could at least get some sliced turkey breast.

Finally, we found a Safeway store open. Hooray!! We hurried to the turkey case to find all the turkeys frozen hard as rocks. I was not going to let this mishap defeat me. Plus, I had the adoring eyes of my 18 year old niece watching me. OK, to the deli counter we went. As we perused the cold cuts, I saw what looked to me like a large turkey breast and promptly told the counter girl to wrap it up. She informed me it was $35. We took the whole thing. I was thinking this is going to be great. I will slice it up and pour my homemade gravy over it.

Yes, this is turning out great. Aunt Mindy has saved the day again!

When we got home, to the cheer of my family, I was feeling a lot better.

We prepared the rest of the side dishes and watched a little football, all waiting for our delicious meal. I sliced the meat and laid it on my beautiful handpained turkey platter and placed it on my Martha Stewart tablescape with a wonderful smile beaming from my face.

We said grace and dug in.

The room was quiet as we eat our first bites. Something wasn't right but I didn't know what it was. Everyone was eating but still quiet. What was it? I commented that it just isn't the same as having a turkey cooking in the oven. Jacqui agreed. But my sweet husband spoke up, saying "This tastes like HAM!" OMG, you are right. I bought a turkey ham instead of a turkey breast and NO amount of gravy was going to make this ham a turkey. We busted into laughter and my sis called it Thanksgiving Ham-urky.

This has now become a big family joke. It seem that whoever comes to my house on Thanksgiving is sure to have a surprise. While the last couple of years have been uneventful, this year did not disappoint.

This year just my mom and dad where coming. This will be great, I thought. I have been working a lot this year and it will be great to be with my mom and dad alone. They are getting older and the time I have with them is so special and I cherish every moment. Dad wants to come up early on Tuesday to beat the holiday traffic and that way we can do some sightseeing. They are all excited because Matthew will also be home on Wednesday. You know your parents are getting older when, on a road they have driven all their life (75 years), they take a wrong turn. It took them 12 hours to get to my house instead of 7 but they finally arrived. Oh, by the way, Dad left his new GPS on his dresser at home.

The next day I was going to take them to the wine country in Plymouth and antiquing in Sutter Creek. It’s only 30 minutes from my home so it will be an easy day trip.

The weather couldn't have been better as we are driving on this beautiful road, the leaves are changing colors and the mountains are studded with oaks trees. It’s just a great day. This is an old, historic road from the gold mining days. We drive over this bridge and the colors are amazing. I ask my mom if she would like to take a short walk down to the river and see the water up close. I see a paved turn out and swing my Tahoe onto the path. We see a no trespassing sign and a lot of barbed wire so maybe this is not such a good idea. The thought of my mom in her cute Chico's outfit climbing over a barbed wire fence was not a pretty picture, so we decided to continue on our outing. I put the car in reverse and start to back up onto this old 2 lane road. Cars are speeding by, so I wait to get a good view of the road before I merge in. That is when I feel the truck’s wheel on the left side slip off the road. I try to drive forward and the other back wheel slips off the road and the car starts to tip (and I mean tips) over on its side into a 4 foot ravine or, as my husband corrected me, ditch. My front left wheel is off the ground about 2 feet and the passenger side of the car is getting really close to the ground. I scream "NOBODY MOVE!" My dad very calmly tries to get out of the car to assess the situation but forgot he was still in his seat belt. My sweet mother is in the backseat whimpering "Oh, my God" and I am starting to have another hot flash. Great!

I reach for my phone but we have no coverage. I can't get out of the car because the car starts to tip each time we move. Mom and I are trying to use our weight to keep the car from going over all the way. Yes, this is making the hamurky story look really good, isn't it?

Then I remember I have ONSTAR. I press the little button that I thought I would never have to use. I explain our situation to the polite young man on the other end. "We are in a ditch and need a tow truck - really just a tow truck" I said. The very conscientious young man says that he has contacted ONSTAR’s emergency team and they will be responding to our situation. He asks if we want him to stay on the line until they reach us. No, we will be fine, I answer. You didn't call the fire department, did you? I ask. Ma’am, the first responder with handle this for you he says. Oh no, I bet they called the fire department. Within 6 minutes we hear a siren. Mom is holding on for dear life in the back of the tipping SUV. I am trying to keep her calm as my father, who weights about 125 pounds is standing on the running board to help balance the truck and, in reality, to help keep my mom calm. Here they come. 2 fire trucks, an ambulance, the highway patrol, a sheriff’s car and, just for good measure, the captain of the fire department. The first 2 very cute fire persons come over to us and ask how this happened, shaking their heads at me like this was the first time they saw a person back off of a perfectly wide driveway into a ditch. I smiled and told them my pitiful story, how I was showing my parents the sights of our beautiful town and slipped off the road. Remember, mom and I are still clinging to dear life in the tipping car. The fire girl opens our doors and tells us to "evacuate the vehicle". We quickly jump out of the car and I am sure it will roll over. But it didn't, it just teetered there. Now I feel REALLY dumb.

They have called a tow truck for us and everyone checks over the car. It looks like I haven't damaged anything (thank God) other than my pride. It’s one thing to have 2 fire persons shake their heads at you but to have the whole county rescue force drive up and give you the same look can give you a complex.

Then Big Roy's Towing service arrives to save the day. He jumps in the car and immediately the car drops to the ground under Roy's 300+ pounds. He puts the Tahoe in 4 wheel drive and out of the ditch he goes. Of course - 4 wheel drive! Why didn't I think of that about 4 fire trucks, 2 cops and an ambulance ago?

We all get back in the Tahoe. I thank Big Roy and the officers and they drive away.

I ask mom and dad if they are worn out from this adventure and would like to go home.

Dad says heck no and mom informs me that this is so much better than the hamurky Thanksgiving that you had with Jacqui and Kara.

So another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Mom and Dad just left for home and said it was the best Thanksgiving they can remember.

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have to go now and take a nap - we still have Christmas to do!

23 Greens

Well, I finally have caught up on my sleep after coming home from a great retreat in upstate New York at the Hudson River Valley Quilt Art Retreat. I added some photos but it can't do it justice - the scenery was beautiful and the weather crisp but the best part was the amazing women in my class. There is something very special about these retreats. The locations are always in beautiful places but the personalities and gifts these woman bring is unreal. It is a thrill to be able to teach them and by the end of class they have taught me so much more about life than and the soul of a woman that I could ever have thought.
Some nights, over a glass of wine, we would stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning talking. I didn't want to go to bed fearing I would miss something precious. We became The Gang of 10 and bonded like a family in ways. Helping each other, laughing and teasing and there where a few tears, but not many. Just the process of releasing your creativity to the surface makes you a little raw and vulnerable. Welcome to my world. I try always to make it a safe place for my students, so they can feel free to be themselves and push out their creativity. Then the fun starts to happen.

Connie, our story teller, would start to tell a story and we would move closer
to hear. Her stories of Marvin the Mechanic who is, in reality, Mark, her husband, made us laugh so hard we would wipe tears form our eyes. They would tease me about being from California and I teased them back about them being from the East Coast. By the way, did you know that they had Slip and Slide and watched Soupy Sales on the East Coast, too? Who knew!
There where 3 doctors, 2 nurses, a CPA, a retired quilt shop owner, an owner of a kitchen design business and an art teacher/comedian. So we where covered for anything should a disaster strike.


One day we needed more fabric (of course) so we all went into Woodstock about 30 minutes away. Cute shop there called Woodstock Quilting. As we are walking down the street to have lunch with our heavy bags of fabric, one of the girls, Wendy, a beautiful soft spoken blond leans over to me and says "You know, I went to Woodstock when I was 17." Wow! I know someone who went to Woodstock! Are you impressed yet?
There was a little problem with my supply list (of course). I don't know where this list came from, or what year i wrote it, but the supply list said to bring 23 green fabrics to make a small pansy. Oops! I guess I forgot the hyphen in between the 2 and 3. But really, you can never have too many greens when making flowers. OK, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Now for their flowers:

Here are students work. They are not done but you can see how close they are to completing.

Susan's orchids - she has only been quilting 6 months.

Carol's tulip. Wow!

Kathy's subject matter is from a picture she took on a family trip to the Galapagos Islands. It looks prehistoric.

Carolyn's sunflowers. She started with the picture then did her own interpretation. Fabulous.

Lori's water lily.
Her background fabric looks like ripples in the water.

Kathy's passion flower. which is perfect for the very passionate woman.

Wendy's fuchsia. This is her second background fabric and we all squealed when she pulled it out. Wendy very carefully chose her fabrics and had a lot of unique fabrics in her Clown Car she kept pulling amazing fabrics from. I want a car like that.
Sharon's lotus and lily pads. She has not yet added the detail to her petals but her choice of base petal fabrics made this flower.

Connie's sunflower. This flower bloomed before our eyes . She started with a picture her son took and then took it from there. I love the way she added her leaves that make the flower swirl.

Can't wait to go back in November, 2011. The East Coast girls ROCK! Hey, I think that's a song!

While getting ready for my up coming trip to Greenville New York.
I though I would run by the grocery store to stock up in travel size necessities. It like the toy store in the beauty isle. The whole purpose of buying these small goodies is so your bags will have more room for shoes. But again I over bought these miniature produces. There goes my new purple shoes.
As I was making my way to the check out isle. I walked passed the Halloween candy display and notices Christmas decoration all ready up. Halloween was in 2 days. What's with this!

When I got home I had and email from a shop on the east coast that wanted to do a trunk show of my Candy Cane Lane Book. Heirloom Sewing Center in Queensbury ,NY. OK, maybe its not to early to think about Christmas. I am now a manufacture, an author and Christmas dose effect you differently on this side. This is a lot different than just being a freaked out mom trying to make Christmas happen for your family on pennies and a prayer.
So here are some projects that can help get you in the Christmas spirit, that are easy and fun.
My plan is to make these stocking for the little kids in my family and fill them with goodies. They are made out of wool felt. I fusible them in place and did a straight or button hole stitch around all the shapes. Then I sewed or glued, (i like Glue) buttons, beads, rickrack and used a lot of hot fix crystals for Bling.
I made these 3 stocking for the book, in one day.



Now I have some more Christmas ideas that i will be sharing with you. Some where cut from the book because I had to many ideas.
So stay tune for more Christmas fun.

The Gift of Teaching.

I am on my way to New York to teach for a week at a beautiful retreat, in the Hudson River Valley Art Workshop. I bet it is beautiful in November. There are still some spaces available and I would love to have you there. This is an quilt art workshop which I love to do because I have the time in a retreat to help students to develop there own ideas.
I would never of thought that I would end up teaching and loving it. Its amazing thing to share your ideas with some one and watch how they use it.
My father is a teacher and a teacher teacher. So why wouldn't I think of teaching. Maybe because I had the idea you have to get good grades in school. Which I had a little trouble with because of my dyslexia. I always understood very well what was going on. i just couldn't put it into the written word correctly. I still can't as you have probably notices if you read my blog regularly.
Thank you God for my computer.
So i am getting ready for my up coming retreat and was just asked to teaching on a cruise to Hawaii. I know Hawaii! I can't wait. So this teaching thing is starting to work out.
I have been working on 3 new patterns for this next year and a 2 new book ideas.
Here are some pictures of my students work from Houston. Hope to see you in the future at one of these events.
P.S. Thanks for wanting to take my classes and teaching me so much.

Houston Quilts

This is my friend Alice and her beautiful daughter. I always see them every year in Houston even though Alice lives near me in Sacramento. This time they introduced me to their friend that just happened to win First Place for Roses of Shenandoah - RITA VERROCA of WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA . You will be seeing a lot more of Rita. Her designs are great and she is a really nice person.

The 3 quilts above are from Prize winning quilts from International Quilt Week Yokohama 2008. They where fantastic. I wish I had taken more pictures.
This pear was really cool. I still can't figure out how she did it.
These are just some of the different quilts that caught my eye in Houston at the IQA show.
I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted because I bought the new CD that had all the quilts on it. Well, not all of the quilts, it only had the winners. That was disappointing because we will get our fill of them over the next year including my own but I wanted to see all the other quilts on the CD.
Oh well, here are some that I really liked and was wise enough to take a picture of with my phone. Love the iPhone.
I loved the installation piece from the German guild that lives in the Black Forest. It represents a fabric forest.
Then there was this Baltimore Quilt all done by hand. It just happens to be the same one I am doing. In fact, on the bottom row is a vase with a flower. That is the same block I put on my Baltimore Album Vase quilt. Mine doesn't look anything like hers. She was a lovely lady and she had done this all by hand. Wow, is right. Can't wait to get mine done. Only I will be machine quilting mine.
I loved this whimsical quilt. I don't know the maker or the name but those birds are so cute.

Houston and the Shuttle Bus!

How do I explain the experience of being in Houston? It's an overwhelming experience that has so many fun and interesting turns.
So I will start at the beginning. For those of you who have gone, you know, but for those of you that have never been I will try to paint a picture of the Worlds Largest Quilt Festival.
My journey started with a flight at 0 dark hundred Sacramento time. (I now speak in all military lingo since the kid is a Marine). You go to bed the night before knowing that the morning is going to come too soon. Thinking you could actually get any sleep is a joke. You just lay there in despair. One year I slept with my clothes on. It didn't help - I woke up tired AND wrinkled. The Sac airport had some familair faces but I was so tired I just wanted to get on my flight.

When I arrived in Houston my eyes were somewhat open and now the excitement hits as I wait for my very oversized and now expensive, due to being overweight, bags. I look around and see what I think are other quilters. I don't know any of them. They just look like quilters. 6 of us jump into a shuttle bus that takes us to our hotels. We introduced ourselves. I was right, they where here for the show. One was from corporate Bernina, 2 where setting up the Quilts of Valor exhibit and one looked very familiar. I think she was an editor of a quilting magazine. I am in some very nice company.
As we drive through the airport we stop at another airline to pick up 3 more people. This slim well dressed lady opens the van door and hesitates to get in the van. She not sure she wanted to be squished in between this group of strangers. I didn't blame her, but her husband said "get in" and we said, "we promises not to bite". So she got in.
I can tell right away as they begin to talk , they are probably from New York. We quilters start talking and laughing and soon she become more relaxed. She asked us what we are in Houston for. We excitedly explained about the International Quilt Festival. She had no idea about this quilting thing. I guess knitting is the big thing in New York, but quilting? she says. I explain that quilting is a $4 billion industry. She is blown away. We ask her why she is here in Houston? She is giving a lecture to the Cancer Society. WOW!
We all stopped, looked at each other, then all at once we share that the quilting industry raises big bucks for Susan G Komen breast cancer research. She is blown away again. She also raises funds for their cancer group and never thought about quilting as a fund raiser. I tell her about the quilt auction and how big it is in Northern California. I think I saw a light bulb go off above her head.
While this is all going on in the front seat, in the back seat with her husband, are the operation officers for the National Quilts of Valor project. They are explaining about their project to honor every wounded veteran returning home from war with a quilt. She then tells her husband, "we have to see this show." I handed her an extra program that I just happened to have. Then we start up again laughing and telling stories. We are just a bunch of stranger in a minivan.
Then the van stops at a hotel and to our surprise, out of the very back of the minivan, is this lone man that has been with us the whole time. We didn't even see him there, poor guy.
I was starting to think this wasn't a shuttle bus at all, but more like a circus clown car. Who else is back there?
We finally arrived at our hotel and all the quilters got out. The once reluctant New Yorkers gave us all big hugs and promised to see the show. I have no doubt in my mind that they did.
In that short 20 minute bus ride from the airport to downtown Houston, 8 strangers and a mystery man became bonded by quilting, war and cancer.
And to think, its just little bits of fabric and thread (and the clown car) that brought us all together. More adventures to come.

Fried Chicken with Asparagus

Its been a week of hand dying and painting on fabric. i am getting ready for my classes I will teach in Houston.

The pictures are of some of the fun things I have been playing with and the big mess i have also made. Last night for dinner it was fried chicken with asparagus and chartreuse green fabric on the side. I think Joe is getting use to dying while dinning.

Yesterday I received an Emil from a girl in Ireland asking me about why so many artist are working in fabric now.

The funny thing is that woman have always worked in fabric. If you look in the Bible, the Proverbs woman was a creative woman (Prob 31:10-31) wearing purple cloth (my kind of babe) and made cloths and fine coverings to keep her family warm. She was a quilter.

I explained that the principle of color and design are the same in whatever field of art you work in.

As I lecture and teach around the country I tell my students that no matter what kind of quilting you are doing it is all art and should be approached in the same way to create a beautiful quilt. Some people don’t like to hear that in the quilting world, but it’s true. You can’t tell me that a beautiful Baltimore Album quilt is not art.

I am painting a painting when I create my quilts. I even say, I will be up in the studio painting”. I am using my scissors instead of a paint brush and my fabrics and thread are my paints.

I shared with her that I have been working with fabric and sewing my art, since I was a little girl. I studied art in collage and worked at a fabric store at the same time. I would take trash (which was never trash to me) and make my art pieces at school with the things I found in the trash can at the fabric store. I was doing conceptual art at the time. Most of my piece had a sewing theme. I was also making my first traditional quilt at that same time, all by hand.

I have also been playing around this week with paint sticks. They are so much fun and so messy. part of my job.

But as I am dyeing i find other things are catching my creative eye. The string balls I get out of the dyers are full of color. what can i do with them? And the paper towels i use to wipe up my counter. Ahhhh! so full of color.

The art of quilting can take so many forms.

To me the best part of working and creating with fabric as my medium of choice, is that it drapes when it is hangs. It can blow in the wind, can be warped around a child and can wipe away a tear. It can keep you warm and protect you from the sun. It can be shown in a famous museum and hang on the wall in a well appointed dinning room admired by a prestigious crowd. You can't do that with Metal!

Start The Bidding Now !

This quilt is called Small Aloha. It was inspired by the sweet years I was able to lived in Hawaii. I am a beach girls and no matter how old I get that will never change. Someday I will go back there to live but for now I have to be content with my memory's and making quilts of the things I love like flowers, beaches and bouquets. I made this quilt for the SAQA auction that started this week. Each artist made a 12"x 12"sq. quilt to be auction off to raise money for the Studio Art Quilts Association. This is the first time I have entered a piece. There are some amazing work up for auction. I never have had the time before. Still don't. But I made time. Its very exciting to be on the same web page with some of my favorite quilt artist. They will start the bidding for my quilt on Sept 24, @ $750. Then each day after that, the price go down from there. You can see an up close picture of my quilt with all its thread work if you go to the web link above and click page 3b. that is where you will find me. I seam to always on the last page or last in line. I guess I am learning how to be patient. So if you would like a Small Aloha from me. Here is your chance. Happy Bidding.

Color Color Color

I have been dyeing fabric like a mad women for the last 3 days. I have always known that it could over take my world someday. When one of your only gifts is picking colors, there isn't a lot of jobs out there for the artist except maybe arranging the scarves at Nordstrom. I've been they're and done that.
So to mix, plan and try to control color is so thrilling and making me very happy, even though my feet hurt from standing on hard tile for 3 days and my back and hands are sore from wringing out and ironing 90 yards of fabric. It is so worth it to get just the color and to be surprised by the color accidents that happen. It's always a surprise. Remember, you have to suffer for your art, but being up to my elbows in color is hardly suffering.
I am working on making hand dyed fabric packs for the classes I will be teaching at the IQA this October in Houston. I thought it would be fun to give my students something special for their flower class. Each hand dye fabric packs are a little bit different and they will have a choice of fabric packs. I can't wait to see what they do.
On Tuesday when I was up to my neck in color, beautiful color, I got a phone call. I saw it was from Houston and my heart jumped. When I heard it was the International Quilt Festival I started breathing fast. Then I heard the words that my Baltimore Album Bouquet quilt won something at the upcoming Houston show and would I be attending the awards presentation? That is when my feet floated off the ground. I can't believe it. It is really hard to win in Houston. Just being accepted in the show is a big deal. This show represents the best of the best in the world.
Of course I will be at the awards presentation, but what will I wear?
I have included the quilt and the original silk flower bouquet that I made for this idea. All quilts start with a picture. I had been trying to make this quilt for 2 years but it just wouldn't come out. Then one day when my girl friends Dawn and Peggy and I where on a flower outing, I had the idea. I saw these perfect red roses with large pink peonies. When I added the turquoise pot, and it had to be the perfect turquoise fabric (Hoffman California) with the red and pink it was magic! Then I just needed the sweet time. How precious time has become and how hard recently it has been to find.
When creating this quilt I wanted to see if I could replicate a lacy table cloth all in fabric and thread. As I was staring at the quilt one day doing a little hand work on my real Baltimore quilt I realized that the block in my hand went perfectly with the quilt on the design wall. Light bulb! So I pinned my applique block on the my quilt and knew they belonged together. It hangs 3rd dimensionally on the quilt with raw edges and all. It's like it is waiting for the lady of the house to come back and finish it. I made a spool of pink thread with a needle and a pair of scissors laying on the table along side. I thought I was so tricky, I even giggled out loud.
The only problem with this brilliant idea is that now my Baltimore album quilt is missing its block.
You can't see it in the picture, but the stack of books the cat named Scrambles is sitting on are all named after real quilt books that I own. Including my own Cutting Garden Quilts and, of course, the queen of Baltimore, Elly Sienkiewicz.
The funniest thing is that there are no hand dyed fabrics in this quilt.

I Will Never Forget This Day.

When you see your son for the first time as a United States Marine it is the most overwhelming feeling in the world. Standing before us were 350 dedicated young men that wanted to be Marines. They were not drafted or forced but there is something inside them that drove them to serve our country. Some wanted to get out of the house, maybe away from a bad situation and start a new life, but most where there to serve and protect. You don't become a Marine to work an office job!
At our graduation there were young Marines representing 15 different countries. Wow! That amazed me. They had immigrated to the U.S., become Americans and now where going to fight for her. There was one young man from Nairobi and when asked what he did their in Nairobi he replied "just tried to survive." Then I really understood what America is all about. It's our freedom that others want. Some have risked it all to come to America. The dream to be free and pursue a life of prosperity, to raise their family in safety and practice their religion freely. Most who come here want to be American and their sons and daughters were raised to also love this country and be willing to fight for it. Too bad you don't see that on the news.
Then the Sargent said that 99% of the new Marines had graduated high school and 2 were college graduates, one of those being my son. That made me cry and give thanks. I am so proud (and short about $70 grand) but it was worth it.

Then there are what I will call the spoiled Americans. I saw a lot of them at graduation. Not in the Marines but in their family members, the rude and disrespectful who where born here. Some where even second generation Americans and how quickly they forgot what their grandparents had sacrificed. That made me cry also.

I saw 3 young Hispanic men acting tough and stepping on the parade ground which is sacred. The Marines keep that ground sacred in respect for all the men and women that have lost their lives serving our country and walked on that ground. They are our grandfathers, fathers, sons and neighbors. So you don't step on it, especially if you are a civilian. But these punks were playing a game of Look, I can do anything I want including disrespecting the parade grounds and breaking rules on a very important day. It made me mad. So in typical Melinda fashion, which drives my husband crazy but he wasn't there, I said to them, "Hey, I thought the parade ground was sacred!" to which this lowlife replied "Hey, I did my time," showing me his tattoo that appeared to be done in crayon. So I said. "Then why don't you show it?" At each corner of the parade ground a Marine was stationed and as we walked past the young man I said "Watch these guys - they are disrespecting the parade grounds" to which he said, politely "Ma'am, there are a lot of them here today." My heart sank and again I wanted to cry.
Not every one there had the same emotions I was feeling about their son, husband or brother. But I still saw the best of America standing before us on that sacred parade ground. We are the land of the free and the brave because Americans from many countries have given the lives for her throughout our 233 year history. It's just more precious to some than others.

Starting A New Project.........

I am starting a new quilt in honor of my son, the soon to be Marine. I have been going through pictures on the web studying what a Marine is, and stands for, to get design inspiration for the quilt. Getting some background will help. Plus, I wanted to use my new hand dyes. I had no idea how awesome the Marines are. I have been avoiding the subject because i was afraid I would lose it.
I first had to get over the shock of my only child wanting to give his life for our country (and all the assholes that are running it). Sorry, did I say that?
But I am so proud of theses Marines.
When I was 10 or 12 the Viet Nam war was going strong. I knew nothing of war or politics, only what I heard on TV. If it wasn't about Barbie, the Flintstones or the Beatles, I had no idea.
I thought all Marines were jar heads and I still don't know why. We lived close to the El Toro Marine base. It's closed now. My Uncle Donny was a Drill Sargent at Camp Pendelton after his time in Nam. I had no idea as a kid what my uncle did. I just knew he was a jar head and that wasn't as cool as the Flintstones. I was a deep and thoughtful kid.
I have a whole new respect for Uncle Don. I think of him a lot now that my son will soon be a jar head. Its funny how life turns. Let's just say God is Good!

Today, I have trouble watching the news because its either all fluff or all lies. Have you noticed that they never talk about what is really going on in the middle east in any detail? It's like it doesn't exist any more. Denial is a wonderful thing! America has a lot of it right now.
I want it all over more than anyone. August 21st would be great!
OK, if you have made it this far in my rambling, bless you.
Here is my baby. You put your son or daughter here in the pictures.
Take the time and read up on the History of the Unites States Marines and voice your opinion! That is what they are fighting for: freedom. It will make you so proud to be American.
And thank you, Uncle Donny for what you did for our country. OohRah!

To Dye or Not To Dye

I have try with all my power not to go there. I have always known it would be trouble. "Stay Away", I would say to myself. "You might get addicted. That's the last thing you need,"would go through my head.
Well, it happened 2 days ago while I was cooking dinner at the same time. ( I like to multi task) We where having pasta of course. It started with, I will just tack this fabric over the stretcher bars and see what happens.
I let my guard down only for a minute and the next thing I know, I was up to my elbow in the most beautiful color you have ever seen. Paint and dye were flying. I was in true artist heaven. Yes i said it. I am now painting fabric. OK, fine. I truly can't stop. Then I hear Joe say, "is dinner ready yet?" which brought me back to reality.
The feel of the paint brush in my hand, watching the color flow across the fabric was the best. Even the washing and ironing, was all a thrill. That's when you know you are in big trouble.
Now what do I do? I have been the queen of commercial fabrics. All my art quilts have been made with store bought fabric or I have bought from other hand dyers.
But I haven't been able to find just the right colors for my color palate. So the only way to get just the right colors is to do it myself. Which has been dangerous in the passed. That is how I started a wallpaper and fabric design business 15 years ago.
So now I can't wait until my next bolt of white fabric comes in. How fast you go through 12 yards of fabric while making pasta, is amazing.
Last night Joe asked me if i saw the patio chairs on the deck? That is where I was painting.
Can you believe that somebody got green paint on them. Oops!


Today I will be cleaning up my mess with bleach. But after that, I am going to the studio to make my coneflower and sunflowers with my NEW hand dyed and painted fabrics.
My motto has always been, "If you can't find it. make IT!"

Is thread really that important?

I received a wonderful email today. It really touched my heart. I thought I would share.
This girl just heard one of my lectures recently and was moved to write me. She periodically loses her eyesight for long periods of time so she can't quilt. She said she tries but sometimes she can't even get the fabric under the presser foot. This last bout was hard and when she got her sight back she just couldn't go in and quilt. Even her friends didn't know how hard she was struggling with this. Something I said in my lecture encouraged her and when she got home she started to quilt. I am so happy for her.
You know quilting is more that just being in love with fabric?
Being creative, making something with your hands even if your hands don't work that well any more. You can't give up.
Creativity is finding another way to work. Being dyslexic means that I have always had to figure out another way to do the same thing that everyone else was doing. There is always more than one way to do something. We run into problems when we compare ourself to others. We all have one challenge everyday. Some people just have a hard time admitting it.

Two of my favorite artists are Monet and Matisse. Both men lived until their late 80's and continued to be creative even though they where going blind and crippled. Monet just got bigger and bigger canvases and could only see the color blue, which isn't such a bad color to see. He had to read the names on the paint tubes and remember what the colors looked like when he was painting.

Matisse created from his bed or a wheel chair. They would push his bed facing the window so the light would be coming towards him. He could then hold up brightly colored paper and cut out wonderful shapes. These works in their later years are some of the most beautiful art works in the world. All done by men who could not see. They just couldn't stop being creative no matter what their bodies were doing or not doing.

So what are you battling right now? Just know you are not alone. Sometime we need to ask for help, support each other, and once in while get a kick in the pants.

Today I was getting very panicky and worried about thread. Yes, I said thread.
I am trying to finish my Houston quilt. The clock is ticking and I ran out of brown thread, not even blue thread but brown. I spent all day online, then driving to my quilt stores, with no luck so now I have to be creative with what I have.

So I am writing this to kick myself in the pants and learn to take my own advise. It's only fabric and thread. It's not my eyes!

The Sweetest Things in Life

The sweetest things in life are sometimes the simplest of times. Like coming home after a long 2 weeks away. It was like I couldn't drive fast enough to get back to my beautiful home, husband and of course "the dog". Every time I arrive back after a trip, I fall more in love with this funny yellow house. Yes, there where some hard times keeping this old house. But I think all the fighting and controversy we went through to keep it yellow has made our love greater. It is truly a magical place, where love, creative and safety abide. I have always known this house was a gift from God!
This is not a perfect house by any means. The neighborhood could be better. The house across the street is abandoned with weeds to my knees, no, make that my shoulders. We call it, @4200 sq feet, The Hotel .

The siding on this yellow girl is falling off and the roof leaks when it rains. In the winter we can't seem to keep the house warm enough although all summer it's good and toasty. The stairs creak and it all needs a good painting. But don't we all. But I am now home and it feels so good.I painted a saying on the walls of my kitchen when we first moved in 11 years ago. It's an old Shaker song that Matt came home singing (off key, of course) when he was in kindergarten.

'Tis a gift to be simple,
'tis a gift to be free,
'tis a gift to come down to where you ought to be,
and when you find yourself in the place just right,
you'll be in the Valley of Love and Delight!"

I will never paint over that verse, it is what my home is to me.
I hope your home is that to you, also.

The Quilt Show and Me

Well, it's finally here. The Quilt Show is now showing a slide presentation of my episode (#501) that will start airing on July 6th. Why I can't seam to keep my hands from waving in the air I don't know. I'm not Italian. Maybe my Native America ancestors were very animated. I do know some where preachers on that side, so maybe that's it, I'm leading the church choir. I have a funny felling that my life is about to change big time.

It all started about 13 years ago when Joe, Matt and I moved to Sacramento. I didn't want to move there. We where living by the beach in Aptos, which I loved. I love the sand, the water, even the fog.

The economy was like it is today (crappy) and we had to go for financial reasons to find a cheaper place to live and for Californians there aren't many choices. Back then a starter home at the beach was $350,000 for 900 square feet of fixer upper, which meant it was missing some windows and doors and maybe part of the roof (AWESOME, it has a skylight!) So Sacramento, here we come. I cried all the way. When we arrived it was a wonderful 108 degrees in May. I had no friends or family close by and had just given up my fabric and wallpaper design business. Plus it was just too hot. You couldn't go for a walk until 9:00 at night. I was a little depressed to say the least.

One hot and steamy day I was clicking the remote and stumbled on a new TV show called Simply Quilts. The host was cute and bubbly and she was making quilts. I liked to make quilts. She was even incorporating art into her quilts. Maybe I could make a quilt to keep myself busy until the weather changed. Off to WalMart I went to buy fabric. I didn't even know there were such things as quilt shops. I made 5 quilts in about 2 months. I was obsessed.
So it is very appropriate that I have found myself on The Quilt Show today.
Who new that years after I thought my life was over and I had given up the job I loved and had to change everything in my life that I would be doing my passion and sitting next to Alex and Ricky in La Veta, Colorado. Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy the show and check out my cute shoes. Sorry for all the arm waving.

Summer In My Backyard!

It has been really hot this week. That is when the summertime heat reaches 100+ and our backyard becomes a cooling place to be and enjoy the outside. I have been holed up in the house because of the heat and because of printing patterns for my upcoming 2 week gig in Southern California. I am doing 5 quilt guilds in 14 days. What was I thinking?
For a diversion and to pretend that I am not as wimpy about the heat as I am, Joe and I like to spend the afternoons around the shady pool throwing the ball for our dog, Cosmo. I dip my feet in the cold water and always ask, "When are we getting solar for the icy pool?" To which Joe consistently replies, " *@$#%!!#^#^*!!!!, it's 100 #@!$@! degrees." In a nice way, of course.
I have turned into quite the Princess and the Pea in my older years. And I WILL get solar.
Yesterday as we set around the pool, and I actually went in, we read my first copy of CANDY CANE LANE! I now have 2 books, to which Joe is quick to add, "2 books, exactly one more than you have READ." It will be out in the stores in August. You can already preorder it on Amazon right now. If you would like a signed copy you can order if from my web site melindabula.com at the end of August.

Summer time is the perfect time to start thing about Christmas. So what that it's 100 degrees. Even the cool backyard colors go with this Christmas book. Just remember to keep your feet in the pool while you stitch.

Tahoe Blue!

How many colors of blue can you see in one day?
If you ever get the chance to visit Lake Tahoe, do it. It is a color filled vacation that pushes the envelope in experiencing the colors of blue. I have lived in Hawaii and that is also a breathtaking color feast. But right in my own back yard is the most beautiful lake in the world. Now I know why all the Prius owners in northern California have Keep Tahoe Blue bumper stickers plastered on their cars.

I just taught at a 5 day retreat at "the lake" called Flowers On the Lake. Our classroom had a wonderful view of the lake. It was quite distracting. I found myself and most of the students exclaiming at different times "look outside. I need a picture of that," and out the door they went, camera in hand. I know there is a Tahoe quilt in there some where. My girls did some beautiful work. There was a wide range of skill levels in the class, like there always is. Which I like. It's thrilling to help the artistic see something in a new way. But the best is when a new, never quilted before babe has the guts to try something totally out of her box. So in walks B.A. (I will call her that for now.) She has Master's Degree in chemistry and owns a winery in the valley. Love her already! And now she is mine for 5 days. I can't wait to see what she does. They are all precious to me and I love the challenge of pushing out their creativity. We all have creativity, just some of us don't want to do the hard work to access it and it is painful most times. Haven't you ever heard of suffering for your art? That is my job and I love the challenge. So B.A. was struggling. At one point on day 3 there was a tear or 2. Then, the next morning, she took me aside and said "I Get It! Last night I started to see the colors." What a thrilling moment for both of us. We giggled and hugged. I love my job.
So here is B.A. combining some of her hand-dyed fabrics.
I am so proud of these girls. Thanks to all of them, it was a wonderful time.

Can't wait to start planning another Flowers On the Lake for next year.

Fathers of Mine!

I wonder, as Father's Day passes us by, why there were not any shows honoring Father's Day? Mother's Day is a big business and the advertisers and media milk the day, weeks and months in advance. But what has happened to the Fathers? As my brilliant husband is watching the stupid Simpsons show as I write this piece, I wonder how different life would be if we spent a little more time reflecting on the fathers in our lives that really are Fathers Day worthy. Some of these men worked overtime so their family could live in a safe neighborhood. Some worked 2 and 3 jobs so his little girl could have that pretty dress to wear at Easter and later it became a fancy prom dress. Some sacrificed their own desires to keep the family together. Some worked so hard in terrible jobs day after day so their wife could stay home with there child. When they walked through the door after a hard day at work, they would drop everything to spend a little time playing with their children. I know not every person has a wonderful man in there life that they can called father and my heart grieves for them. I was blessed, and I give thanks to the 2 men in my life that stayed when they could have left and persevered above and beyond. I proudly give you the title of Father of the Year! Dads of a Life Time. To you two, HAPPY FATHERS DAY !!!!
Now I have to try and move one of those men away from his riveting cartoon show.

music

Christmas in June?

Last week I was at the Citrus Belt Quilt Guild in Redlands and The Night Owl quilt Guild in Ontario. These towns are full of the historic charm of old California. It just has that old Hollywood feel that I love. I guess I watch to many old movies.
The Citrus Belt girls took me to lunch after my lecture on Friday, to old town Redlands. It was very quaint. And wouldn't you know that right in the middle of this beautiful historic town known for its old fruit box labels. Was the best Brighton store I have ever experienced. it is called Mozart's. Of course I had to go in. The building was divine and the sparkles and beautiful colors where calling to me. Of course my students didn't try and stop me as walked through the door. In fact I think I felt a push from Jeta, one of the girls. Thanks a lot! They carry a line of one of a kind purse covered in silk, ribbons, flowers and beads. They took my breath away. These are true works of art. The shop was also filled with floral bouquet. And you know how I love bouquet. Then I heard a crash. My new Brighton purse just knocked over a display. My hands where too full of goodies. It felt like Christmas.
When I got home there was a big box waiting for me, from my publisher Martingale/Patchwork Place. It was full of all my quilt samples and projects for my up coming book called Candy Cane Lane. It should be out in August.
This morning as I walked down the stairs and viewed my living room. It really did looked like Christmas had arrived in June. This is way to early for me. I just took down the garland over my mirror in March. Well, really Joe took it down because I was out of town. He has a thing about, all decoration need to come down the day after Christmas. But I like to saver the mood for awhile at least until January 2.

I had so much fun thinking of all the project I could do to go with this quilt. In fact, the publisher said I had to many ideas and cut some great stuff from the book. (the more pages the more the book cost.) So I will be offering some cool companion patterns for this quilt book in in the future.
So I guess it's not to early for Christmas. Christmas can be at any time and any where. It really is a state of mind. So Merry Christmas to you in June!

I only had him YESTERDAY.......

When you give birth, you have no idea about what is ahead of you in this life. The longing for that child and the overwhelming love hits you like a load of bricks. I never knew that love could go so deep. You go through all the stages with your child. You worry and cry for them. You laugh with them and at times laugh at them and what they say. At each step in their life and yours is something new for both of you.

Then the day arrives when all your hard work as mother comes to the final steps. When they graduate from college, which you have worked so hard to prepare them for.
I remember when he was 1 year old we dedicated him at Baby Dedication Sunday at our church in Santa Cruz. For Protestants it is like a christening where you acknowledge that this gift you have been given from God is just passing through your hands and that God has a purpose for this child's life and that you will raise him to know God. Joe and I walked up with the other new parents holding their little ones that Sunday except all the parents where holding newborns, the oldest being 3 months old and we stood there holding our bigger than his age 1 year old who was carrying a piece of lace in his chubby hands. I noticed that the other parents all had family members in the crowd that were taking pictures and waving but we where alone, just the 3 of us. It's always been that way.

I knew then that God had made this little man I held in my arms for some sweet reason. Maybe it was for future grandchildren to cuddle and love or it was to be a doctor or a teacher that would help others. We had no idea. But every night I have prayed for God's will in my child's life. That baby dedication was 21 years ago. So today is the day that I realized as a mother that I have one more big event to challenge me as a parent. Something that I never envisioned. Last Saturday Matt received his degree in Mathematics and today, on Memorial Day, I watched my only child leave for boot camp to become a United States Marine.

The joy on his face made me realize that this is what God had made him for. After boot camp he will spend 2 years at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey to become a linguist and from then on, who knows?

So he won't be the dentist down the street or sit in an office crunching numbers and making tons of $$$$$ . But he will be doing what God has gifted him for. So my prayers have been answered, just not in the way I wanted God to answer me. God has bigger plans than a mommy can imagine. I do have tears today but they are tears of deep pride and thanksgiving. I know my child is doing what he was made to do.

My blog is a little heavy today but filled with great pride.Who knows what the future will hold for this man and his mom, but just maybe someday we might have a Bula in the White House.

I was woundering if they have ever thought about painting it yellow?

Summer Nesting

I don't know what got into me this week, but I have had an overwhelming desire to nest. Maybe because my only son is graduating college on Saturday and I am feeling a little melancholy.
For the last 4 to 5 years in the spring I put white/cream slipcovers over my family room sofas. Kinda my version of Shabby Chic. I am trying to pretend that I am at my beach house in Santa Cruz spending the summer. Which is really a dream (I will go back one day.)
Those slip covers always looked messy after teenagers and my husband got done lounging. I was always tucking and straightening. What a pain.
So yesterday I had a great idea and finally the time to do it. Instead of just canvas slip covers that didn't fit the sofasI made custom fit slipcovers that look so much better. Its a great sofa in the winter at Christmas time, being green. But in the summer I need a lighter color to survive the hot days here in the foothills outside Sacramento.
I found some cream quilted cotton throws at Marshalls for $ 39 each. I bought 6 of them and one soft green for accent color. While in line with my shopping cart full of quilts, I was mistaken for a employee and asked "Who is going to help you make all those beds?" I thought that guy was flirting with me then when I saw his girlfriend/wife give him a dirty look. Maybe he was.I must have looked a little weird. So anyways last night and this morning I have been busy in my studio working like a mad woman. Ah !!!! They are done and so comfortable and I love the soft look they bring to the room. I need a few more pillows but that's for another day. But I now have a new problem. I don't want anyone to sit on my new white sofas. If my husband even looks in that direction, I quickly throw a quilt over the sofas before he can sit. He just looks at me and shakes his head. What a patient man.

Today has been a mad rush to get 2 of my quilts into IQA Houston show. Of course am last minute Susie and I had to pay extra for next day. The applications are due tomorrow. I have been so busy lecturing/teaching and traveling, that I now have to schedule my creative time by blocking out weeks on my calender. Here is a picture of my digital quilt and the original picture I started with. This is the first time I have enter a quilt using a different technique. It's kind of scary. But if i don't try I will never know. Art is about pushing your talent to the Max's. One of my students commented recently, "that you don't have to compete with others, because you are too busy competing with yourself." She is so right. I think entering my quilt art into quilt shows has made me a better artist. Try it some time and see what happens. I'll let you know if I get in.

I have a new fetish, Vintage cookie jars. Here is my newest purchase from eBay. I still have my Barbie addiction, still obsessed with old linens, buttons and salt and pepper shakers. But I never thought I would go cookie jar crazy. Whats a girl to do? I need some serious help!

Quilters Escape in the California Redwoods

Have you every driven your car through a giant redwood tree that is 10,000 years old?
Have you ever seen the sun set over blue mountains framed in a purple fog?
Have you ever created a masterpiece at the foot a winding turquoise river? Well then, you need to get out more.
And have you ever seen Big Foot?

I am teaching in a
historic logging town of Fortuna, way up north by Eureka, California at a wonderful retreat called Quilters Escape . this is big foot country.
This big foot thing is no joke. He really has been spotted here for years.

I'm sorry I digressed.

My classroom is full of light, with a river view that is undescribable. There are rolling green hills and a barn in the distance. Today I could see a herd of golden brown cows up against the rickety fence feeding on fresh grass that made me think it was good to eat. All organic, of course.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of something moving. It was bigger than a cow and standing upright like a man. Just as I was demonstrating how to use Steam a Seam, I gasped and tried to stay calm. That was not a cow on the side of the hill, or was it?
Using my calm voice, I tried to keep my cool. I knew what it was. but i didn't want to alarm the class.
I later borrowed a flashlight from the maintenance man and walked the outside perimeter of the classroom. Just as I had suspected, I found footprints as big as my Omnigrid 24" ruler. Oh my G!

The girls had no idea the next morning as I walked calmly into class, but I was on the lookout all day today for you know who!

Messy Room

Today it stopped raining enough to pick some roses and enjoy the spring colors. This pot started out as a fairy garden but now is just a succulents garden in fabulous greens, that looked just perfect on my broken dish table. I know there is a fancy name for broken dish art, but i haven't had enough coffee to remember what that is.
This is my Aunt Mindy's Flower Basket pattern done in all blue's. The border reminds me of the broken dish table. I used Alex Anderson fabric by P&B. Which is the perfect color of blue.
The pattern has 10 embroider blocks. I just did 4 blocks for a mini quilt that hang over my blue denim sofa.
My studio is so messy right now because i am finishing up my quilt to enter into Houston. At the same time working on new designs and packing for my up coming retreat at Quilters Escape. Today I hope to have time to clean it up so I can start another project i have in mind. Its a doll.

Its funny, but my mess (work in progress) on my table, caught my eye. The colors and composition reminded me of the succulent garden on the broken dish table.
You can find beauty every wear, even in a messy studio if you are looking closely.
Don't miss these moments.
O.K. my moment is over, now back to cleaning up this messy room.

My Kind of Town!

So there we are in Chicago, "Our Kind of Town" stuck at a Quilt show. I'm in heaven because these are my people. But my sweet husband has had enough of me winning awards and looking at quilts. So on Saturday we ditched and went into the City. Joe figured out our route with the hotel's concierge and off we walked to the Metro, taking the blue line. As we approached the platform to wait for the train, I hear a "Melinda!". Oh, no, we've been caught ditching the show. No, it was just my friend, Mary Kerry, from California, another quilt artist. The last time we ran into each other was in Morro Bay at a quilt shop.
Mary and Joe on the Metro. Is he holding my purse again?


We walked to the Navy Pier. You can't leave Chicago without having a hot dog. We stopped at this place called Billy Goat Grill for a dog and by chance it just happens to be the place made famous by John Belushi and Dan Aykryod on Saturday Night Live. "Cheezborger, cheezborger, chips, chips, no Coke - Pepsi."
Then we where on the search for Bob Newhart's apartment. Joe informed we have now been to all of Bob Newhart's television home towns. How exciting for us.

This sculpture is at Millennium Park. What a beautiful park. Its called the Bean. Can you find us in the reflection?

Spring Has Sprung!

Today is the first day that I really feel that spring has arrived in Northern California. Beside all the sneezing that is going on in my house. My roses are full of blooms and the pollen is falling by the bucket load.
Today I am working on a new floral bouquet quilt. I hope to enter it in Houston this fall. I was taking picture of it and realized that this would make a beautiful new header for my blog. So welcome to the new look.
There is a new magazine or should I say it is really like a book. It's called the Artful Blogger. It's really cool with great ideas and writing from other blogger. The one I liked the best was an artist that said " I'm not much of a writer so here are my pictures." I can relate to that. I love to write. It's just time consuming because I can't spell. I have to re check the words about 10 times before I post and still I get it wrong. The other day I was writing up a flyer for my up coming retreat in Tahoe and put down lesion instead of lessons. So for that retreat you can have 4 days of Lesions for only $600. Such a deal!!!



I have this little pillow on my bed. I made it about 7 years ago. It's my design but somebody gave me this anonymous saying. I turned it into a cross stitch pillow so I would never forget these very true words. Here they are:

Dear Lord,
So far today I have done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy,nasty, selfish or over indulgence. I am very Thankful of that. But Lord in a few minute I going to get out of bed and from then on I'm going to need a lot of help!

Splendor In the Grass truly is splendid!

I just bought the most beautiful purple rose on a recent trip to Southern California. The girls, my mom sister and nieces’, went on an outing to Rogers Garden in Newport Beach last month. The roses where all blooming and there she was, the most perfect color of purple rose I have ever seen. Thanks god that I had driven down this time, because I was not leaving without that rose. I picked the bush that had lots of little buds ready to bloom. When I got home this Sunday from IQA Chicago Show, they were all in bloom. I have never seen a rose this color. I know she will have to be a quilt someday, just like I knew that Splendor in the Grass needed to be created. It’s funny to see your creation (quilts) win awards. When I was making Splendor in the Grass, I never thought about what will happen after it was done. It just had to be created in cloth. I get a little artistically obsessed.

I took a picture of 3 red day lilies at Bushnell’s garden center in Granite Bay. They have a beautiful day lily farm in the back. I always miss the blooming season but this day I hit gold! And I just happened to have my camera with me. For 3 months I longed to make this quilt but I was on a dead line to finish my first book, Cutting Garden Quilts. I place the picture up on my computer and starred at that picture of 3 months. Every day I longed to be up in the studio. But, I was learning how to be creative with words instead. When I would hit a blank wall with the book writing, I would look at my beautiful lilies picture, get inspired and continue the writing process. My reward for completing the book was that I could finely make the quilt.

So the day I put my last word on the page, sealed the envelope and return from the UPS store. I grabbed my scissors and started this quilt. I work on it nonstop for about 8-9 hours a day. Joe brought home a lot of take out. i finished the quilt top in 7 days. The thread work took another 5 days. Then I was done. I was overwhelmed and I fell on my knees and cried. I knew it did not come from me but from God. It just flew out of me. Like a exploding volcano. My finger tips where on fire. I knew then that I had had one of those rare artist moments that may never happen again. It still makes me cry. But it happened, that is why it is so sweet to have won “Best of Show” with this quilt. Not because I had any intention on winning anything, but that this quilt was meant to be in the world. It’s also nice to know that I am not the only person that thought it was special.

Summer Rose

I am working on a new pattern. Just in time for spring. Its called Summer Rose and I am in the process of adding beads that look like dew drops and other fun embellishments.
This is going to be a great quilt class to teach. It comes with a color chart, of course. And I am pretty sure you can turn it into what every color of rose you like.
I have just been asked to teach at Road to California in January 2010. It looks like it will be 2 classes, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. One class will be this new Rose. I will also be doing a luncheon Fashion Show which will be fun. I may even have some new outfits to show.
Summer Rose will be available soon, So keep checking my web site shop.
www.melindabula.com

Visiting the Old West in La Veta, Colorado

I wake up most days and can’t believe I do this for a living. No, not misspelling words on my blog but being able to create every day. Although the business of creating is an art form in itself, I think its called marketing out in the real world.
I find it almost as challenging and fulfilling as painting with colorful fabrics and threads, but not really.
This month has been filled with new adventures that started off with a trip to beautiful Santa Barbara, Ca. I drove down in one day, did my lecture that night. The next day it was an all day class. The girls made beautiful flowers. After class at 3:30 I drove home. “Why the rush?”, you say. I was flying out the next day to La Veta, Colorado via Denver. I rented a car and again drove 3 hours south of Denver to La Veta, almost to the New Mexico border.
You see so much from the front seat of your car.if you are looking. The mountains where full of snow and the landscapes color palate was so beautiful in shades of blue, taupe, sage with hints of pink and lavender.
Again, I started taking pictures from the car.

I pulled into La Veta about 2:00 pm. The town was more than small. If you blinked you'd drive right past it. It was like driving into the old west. Only my trusty steed was a Nissan. Where were Gary Cooper and John Wayne?
And there it was, the Ricky Tims Studio in the middle of town. I parked the car (Lightning) and followed 2 of the local town folk through the front door of the studio. I had no idea what I was doing.

It was surreal. I went from the old west to The Quilt Show out on the prairie in the blink of an eye.
They were just starting to shoot the next show. The audience was in place, about 50 people and I could see Ricky and Alex through the all the lights, cables and cameramen.
Someone said "Hello, Melinda” and it was Judith Baker Montano. WOW.
They got me a seat in a section called the "Queen's Box". Which I loved.
I looked around and there was Esterita Austin getting ready to shot her segment. Carol Doaks had just finished. And there was Joanie Zeire Poole, award winning heirloom quilter. They where interviewing Jan Krentz via satellite. I couldn’t believe I was there. Somebody pinch me.
If you are not a member of The Quilt Show you need to join. This is just the beginning of exciting things happening on Web TV. Plus you get to see my segment in a few months. So stay tuned - there is more to come.

Stormy Seas

Winter at the beach is so mysterious. I love it. My beach experiences have always been on the Pacific Coast or Hawaii. I don't really know the east coast shoreline but I hope to visit someday. I just spent the last 5 days teaching in Pacific Grove, CA at Empty Spools Seminars. Wow, what a place. It’s held at the Asilomar conference grounds right next to Pebble Beach.
During this stay a rainy storm blew in and dampened the grounds and all of us. That doesn’t stop quilters one bit. In fact, it made the smells stronger and sweeter and the colors where brighter. In my class I am trying to get the students to look closely at colors and values in just one flower petal at a time. It can be very challenging. So the rain was an added blessing. The waves at the beach where breaking at least 6 feet high at times. Then the sun would peek through the storm clouds and let a little ray of light shine onto the front of a breaking wave as it crested. The wave would glow with a deep turquoise blue green, edged in white froth. I couldn't wait to plant my bare feet in the cool wet sand and squish it between my toes. Which I did while taking pictures of the stormy sea. I see a wave quilt in my future.
My room was so sweet - it even had a romantic fireplace. Too bad I was alone. But I was there to teach and encourage although I was having a secret romantic interlude with the ocean. Don't tell my husband!
With each teaching venue I try to push up the ante for myself in developing my teaching style. This time I became the “Queen of the PowerPoint.” Each day I could show the students visually what I was talking about. The first day was finding your inspirational photo. Second day was how to paint with fabric. On the third day, I taught how to use color and value to create realism. The fourth day they got a break. My girls did tease me about "where is our PowerPoint?" But that night I had a surprise for them. It was my turn to do a short presentation to a very artsy crowd of about 300. They had 3-4 teachers present each night and I was the last to present. By the last day, I knew the crowd was getting very wary of one more presentation. I seem to always be last and I wanted to do something that reflected me and my art. It had to be dramatic and memorable but short, no more than 9 minutes. So, in true Melinda style a great idea came 3 days before I left for the retreat. I had a dream about this PowerPoint presentation. Even the song I used was in the dream. I was very nervous about the timing but my friend, Dawn, helped me along the way. I have found out that I like working with this new computer techno stuff. It’s just a new art medium. So I have put up the presentation on YouTube for you to view and enjoy.

Next time I do this I will try and dream up my PowerPoint at least a week before I leave. NOT

Folsom Quilt and Fiber Show

This weekend is the Folsom Quilt Show in Folsom, California. It just happens to be my home guild and, yes, it is near the prison that Johnny Cash wrote and sang about. But this is one of the best local quilt shows I have ever been to and I am not just saying that because I am a member. There is so much talent in this group it is amazing. It is a funny and encouraging group of women and you just can't help but have fun there.
Here are some of the wonderful award winning quilts.
This first one is by is Judy Danes . Watch for her in the future as she will have a new book out in March on her thread painting that is to die for.
The second quilt is by Patty Berghamp who is a fabulous appliquer. This quilt is so perfectly stitched and would look wonderful in my studio.
The third quilt took my breath away the minute I saw it. WOW! It was made by Dee .
The last picture is of our fearless leader, Karla Delner, who found a friend who was being smuggled in the back of a baby stroller to see the quilts. You can see she has a firm hand when showing him the door.
Got to go now and take more picture today. Stay tuned for more.

Phoenix

Phoenix is so beautiful this time of year. Not only is the sky a perfect blue but the temperature is just right at 70 degrees. I was invited to teach at Quilting In The Desert in Phoenix. Right away I noticed, I do not have any idea how to travel with piles quilts and supplies. You would think that all those years as a fight attendant would have taught me something more than just how to serve drinks in turbulence. But I was there with my designer luggage, a stylish leopard print that I thought at the time was the cutest luggage ever. My traveling life has differently changed from a sweet week in Hawaii to down and dirty, business travel. Its hard for me think of these teaching trips as business because I love to do this so much. So I am now in search for the biggest, toughest and lightest(tired of paying for the extra weight) suit cases I can find. Not only did the handle break off my bags but the side's ripped.
As I watched the other very seasoned teachers fly into town. It was pretty obvious that I was the new girl on the circuit.
Paula Nadelstern was sporting 2 large vessels that she got in New York's garment district. Katie P M was wheeling in some well seasoned hard sided red and blue monsters. Pam Holland was quite chic with her red hard sided carry on with red patten leather Birkenstocks and a matching red purse. I see that this packing thing is an art form all on it's own.

I did met some wonderful people at this retreat. Very creative and sweet. We laughed a lot. I have been invited back for next January which I look forward to. Next time I fly to Phoenix I will take the right luggage and spend more time in the airport because they have one of the best art exhibit in a airport that I have seen so far. Even there freeway art is fabulous. So if you are ever going to Phoenix take the right luggage and spend time looking around, it's quilt a treat.

The picture is of my favorite airport art “Samson” by Artist Brian Goggin. Its here at the Sacramento airport down at Southwests baggage claim. Which is really not that comforting while waiting for your bags to arrive.

January Baby

I don’t know why I hate the cold so much. I was born in January, I am supposedly a winter baby. But I do dislike the cold.
Yesterday I called my mom to wish her a happy birthday. It was 80 degrees in Southern Cal. They had all the windows open and were trying to let the breeze in. I instantly had a childhood memory and remembered the smell of that warm southern California air in winter. The skies are really blue and you can see the snow capped mountains up at Big Bear. If you stood on the roof of their house I bet you could see to the beach that is only 10 miles away. I remember as a teenager we would ditch school on days like this and go down to the beach. No one would be there and for miles you would see nothing but white sand. In the summer these same beaches were so full with sweaty bodies you couldn’t find a place to lay your beach towel.

I just got a call from The Quilt Show's producer, Angel. I’m going to be on their show later this year. I am doing my taping for the show in March. First thing she asked me was "what is the temperature there?" I said “what?” she said it was 14 degrees in Chicago and snowing. She needed to live vicariously through me for just a moment. Aren’t you in California? What a baby I am. It will warm up to a nice 60 degrees today here in Northern California. Maybe even 63. So OK! I may be a winter baby, my birthday is coming soon, which I would like to forget. And I hate the cold. I still can’t figure that one out. I’m pretty sure the lesson here is about learning to be content with where you are who you are and at how old you are going to be.
I have added some pictures of my January garden and the colors are quite beautiful. You couldn’t get these colors if it was hot. And I wouldn’t have the wisdom I have if I weren’t another year older.

It’s a New Year!

It’s a New Year. I am so grateful for the chance to live another year doing what I love. To create.
2009 is going to be a year of travel, teaching and trying new techniques. I am off to Phoenix at the end of the month for Quilting In the Desert. Then back to Asilomar in February for Empty Spools Seminars.

I truly love to teach and the art of teaching is everchanging and constantly pushing me in new directions. I recently had a student not sure she wanted to take my class. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do flowers or raw edge appliqué and she wants to work in black and white. I know, why is she taking my class? It made me think. As an artist why do we take classes? Ask yourself that. Why did Mary Cassette hang out with Monet? Why did Van Gogh hang with Gauguin? Think about it!

Could it be to learn?

How can you learn when you come to a class wanting to do your own thing? How can you grow as an artist if you don’t want to glean something from the teacher and those around you? I don’t get it. When you stop learning you might as well just die. You know it all. How sad it that?

Art is a never ending process. It’s not who finishes what or what awards you receive. Creativity is playing, making mistakes, trying new ways and solving the problems. It is never about finishing. Because there is always something new to figure out. Completing a project is your reward for solving the creative problems. Then you take what you learn from that project and move on to the next, one hopefully more challenging and difficult.

I have been playing around with computer art for the last few months, trying digital fabric printing and manipulation. It has been great fun and challenging. I love my computer, it is such a great artist’s tool. My husband had no idea what he was doing when he taught me how to work the computer years ago and now I am just as nerdy as him, except when it crashes. Then my sweet man gets the frantic wife call from me at work. Picture him sitting in his PG&E truck working in the hood, giving me tech support over the phone. He is still the top nerd.
Here is my first computer art piece. It’s called “A Boy and His Yace”.

My son’s security blanket was a lace placemat we had gotten as a wedding present. He went through all 4 placemats before the age of 4. That’s one a year. I added the last bits of the lace I had saved to the quilt. He is 3 in this picture and very serious. The beads around his body are little sayings that he said as a child. The numbers in the background represent his love of numbers at an early age (he was doing math at 3). The butterflies are him leaving the nest and spreading his wings.

So this year let’s try to learn from those around us and try new things and see what happens along the way.

God bless you in the New Year.