Sunday Geoff (DH), Lori (studio associate), and I went to an ice sculpture exhibit and contest in a nearby town.

What fun! It was only 15 degrees and I can’t imagine how the artists could stand being out in the cold for hours on end, but the work was captivating.





Having never seen anyone sculpt ice, I was surprised to see chain saws, power sanders, and blow torches (really). Who knew?

When the cuts were made with the chain saw, the ice was frosty white, but the addition of a coat of water or the application of a blow torch caused the surface to melt slightly and the ice turned glassy.

Not a scrap of thread was visible, but it sure was fun to see and appreciate the artwork—however temporary it may be.

Have you discovered this new cookbook yet? It is absolutely amazing!

I love to cook and bake, especially bread. However, the time it takes to make a loaf of bread by conventional methods is prohibitive. Who is at home long enough to time and watch two or three rising times? And my results have been disappointing, to say the least (my water was too hot and killed the yeast).

This new book uses a revolutionary technique that significantly reduces kneading and rising time. You mix enough dough for four loaves at a time and refrigerate it until needed. Then, cut a chunk off, let it rest, and pop in the oven.

The loaf above looks like a loaf from a bakery, doesn’t it? A pizza baking stone and a pan of water on the shelf below it makes all the difference.

Yum! My husband’s favorite: crusty on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside. I love a winter dinner of a bowl of soup and a piece of home baked bread.

Friday I made a batch of pecan sticky rolls, but they didn’t last long enough for me to take a photo! Monday will be a rustic loaf with rosemary. Who knows what it will be on Tuesday!

Winter Hush

Well, this isn’t part of the series, but it is an experiment. I’m fascinated by Wen Redmond’s work with transparent overlays and have wanted to try one myself for more than a year.

This first one is a swap with an online artist buddy, whom I’ve never met in person. We tried to make connections at Quilt Festival in Houston last October, but were never in the booth at the same time. We can’t even coordinate a phone call!

It’s only 8" x 10" but is just the right size to convey the hushed sound right after a heavy snowfall. I love that sound (or quality of hushed sound) and remember dragging a college friend from Florida onto the porch of our New York dorm during the first snowfall to experience that peaceful hush. She probably thought I had a screw or two loose, but she indulged me.

Come to think of it, she didn’t mind when I introduced her to the joys of building a snowman, either. She was sick in bed, but I carried several garbage bags of snow into the bathroom and we built a mini snowman in the bathtub.

What wonderful memories! Last I heard from her Donna and her family were missionaries in Mali, where there is definitely no snow. :-)

Straight Stitch Series

Have you ever worked in a series? Series work of other quilters and quilt artists used to fascinate me, but I never quite understood. Now I understand.

The Straight Stitch Series began on a whim with the goal of donating the pieces to Collage Mania. Here is the link http://www.virginiaspiegel.com. These are small pieces, each 8" x 10", each made with rust-dyed fabric and free-motion straight stitches, exploring the power of the simplest unit quilters have.



The photos above are numbers 4 and 5 in the series, but many more have been sketched. They take less than a day to create and use small pieces or scraps of rust-dyed fabrics from other projects.

The small format makes it easy to try a new technique, motion combination, proportion—or compare the effect of a change in one of these in two small pieces. It’s also an honor to contribute to Virginia Spiegel’s wonderful project to raise funds for the American Cancer Society. Most of us have been touched by cancer, in one way or another. This makes me feel a little less powerless.

Registration is open for classes on Quilters Keep Learning. The next sessions begin February 13 and March 27. Stop by http://www.quilterskeeplearning.com to read class descriptions and see samples. The photo above shows the sample project from my Altered Photo Artistry (4-week class).

On another note, I completed a beautiful Threadography for a dancer in California last week. It’s such an honor and responsibility to translate someone’s idea or image into a stitched piece. Thank you Nancy for the opportunity to work with you!

Watch tomorrow for photos of new pieces in the Straight Stitch Series!

Whacky Weather!

What a difference a day or so makes! Just a few hours ago we were enduring subzero temperatures and ice storms. Today it is 60 degrees F!! The snow and ice are gone, but melting snow has choked the storm drains and we are expecting floods. Cheez!


My cousin Carolyn’s birthday is new year’s day and I made a Threadography for her. Normally, I only make one of any given image, but she really loves this one—and it’s the cover of my book. So, for her, I’m making a “limited edition.”

The stitching is complete and it will go to the framer on Monday.

I’m frustrated by a bulge in one section, though. I rarely have bulges from heavy stitching and don’t understand what happened. The piece was stabilized with Pelon Thermolam, although it’s a thinner variety than I usually use. Thread tension was fine. There was a lot of stitching in curves, which may have contributed to the abberation, but I’d love to hear your suggestions for preventing this!

Give-away winner!

And the winner is … Terri Head Moose!!
Terri, please contact me with your snail-mail address so I can send the rust-dyed purse to you.

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner, but we were without electricity and Internet service until yesterday evening. There is another storm coming in, so who knows how long we’ll be warm and able to communicate!


The trees are all coated with ice and they make an odd sound when the strong winds blow through, causing the branches to collide. Service crews are working 16-hour shifts to restore power to as many of the 160,000+ households as possible in our area without electricity. The power company is bringing crew members from Kentucky and Tennessee to help.

The Memorial Coliseum and assorted churches in town have opened their doors to anyone without power. I can’t imagine the angst parents are experiencing with children going through withdrawal from computer and video games!

Predictions are for yet another storm mid week, making plans for holiday travel and family dinners tenuous at best. We’ll all get through this and it will make for amusing family stories in the future. But it really isn’t much fun in the here and now!