Threads

On the first day after winter
when the temperatures hit the 70’s
the knitting needles get put away and I get the urge to quilt.

With my first of the season bursts of insatiable creative energy
it is usually much more interesting and exciting to begin a new project
than to pick up where I left off at the end of last year.
I am absolutely driven to design and positively horrible at the tediously repetitive parts.

This explains the bags, and bags, and more bags of unfinished quilts that live next to the …
well bags and more bags of unfinished sweaters, socks
and yes, even spoons in our tiny log cabin home.

So, when I decided it was time to work on the quilters tea painting
that has been roaming around in my sketchbooks for a few years
it was loads of fun to get out the quilting bags and sort through the old projects
some of which I confess to having completely forgotten about and was pleased to see again.

Like the baby quilt I started for my god-daughter Emily …who is now …twenty some ?
Anyway, the one I chose to use is a log cabin pattern that I think I started about 7 or 8 years ago
I loved piecing that one together and, since my sewing machine was worthless, I did it all by hand.
A simple and peaceful meditation.
In keeping with my quirky fiber habits…I got it almost finished
and was called to some higher task and it has been waiting in its bag for this painting I guess.

I had sent Pat out early in March to find a pair of those bird scissors.
No luck. She searched every store that sold new sewing items and together we browsed antique shops.
Nothing. So I went back to old reliable Ebay, got the scissors and hunted around for an old sewing machine.
Too pricey for my diminished props budget so the quilting bags and the new old scissors
were shoved into a corner of the studio to make way for another painting that had all its parts in order.

Then I got an email from friend Susan who was moving from one side of her lake to the other
…and back again…and she wanted to show me a photo of a family heirloom the perfect old machine.
She said sure I could borrow it for the painting as long as I stored it until she was in her new house.
Susan is one of my most reliable muses.

The teacup is Imy’s and one that hasn’t yet made it into a composition.
The wild rose just seemed to fit with all the bold patterns and colors.
When I set it all up in the studio and played with the composition
I intended to have a dark blank background.
The flag was hanging on the wall behind the still life
and quietly waiting
for me to see the connection
the thread that binds.