Friday, April 30, 2010

Sanskrit Gibberish Scarf

Soy Batik Silk Scarf

I can't write in sanskrit, so I just scribbled something that I thought seemed a little bit like sanskrit when I was doing the soy wax batik resist for this scarf.  Here's sort of a how-to:  Start with a silk scarf and prewash it.  I like to give mine a strong scrub in the washer, but avoid soap or detergent.  Let it dry flat or hanging.  Then it is ready for the resist.  "Resist" is a term used for making part of the fabric where it won't soak up any color.  You melt soy wax and apply it to the scarf.  Where ever the wax soaks in, it will keep the fibers from taking any color.  Next, apply alum.  I keep a batch of alum made up for this purpose and made mine a year ago, so I don't recall the recipe.  It can be looked-up online.  Allow your article to dry in the air.  You can see already that this process takes several days.  The next day, place your scarf in the dyepot.  For Rose Madder as in this one, I made up a dye batch several days ago.  I happened to leave it under the roof dripline and it got some rainwater in it.  Every item and every dyebath is different, so there is always a huge range of possibilities .... all of which are uncontrollable.... when you do this.  You can gently and slowly heat Rose Madder Root dye bath, but don't let it boil.  It should steam and simmer but not boil.  Boiling is very bad for silk.  When you've achieved the color you like, turn off the heat.  Next day it will have cooled, and you can squeeze the dye out of the scarf and hang up the scarf some place on a towel where it can get bone-dry.
  
By now, you're going to start seeing clumps of soy wax flaking off, but that is OK.  Now, for the ethical question:  Do you wash it in the washer in a lingerie bag, or hand wash it in the sink?  Either way, use hot water of about 140 degrees to melt the wax.  Choose to do this in the drain you would like to stopp upp.  I like to alternate, hoping that there's enough routine family traffic in those drains to avoid a bad plugging.  Allow your silk scarf to dry completely.  There are two alternative methods for the step of ironing away the remaining soy wax.  You could place the scarf between layers of tissue paper (white.... not purple) and iron on the silk setting.  Or you could gum up your iron anyway by not using paper to absorb the wax.  I use the latter method (having taken a vow of ironinglessness many years ago which I have faithfully kept).  But if you actually use your iron like an ironing person, then don't be like me.  Otherwise your spouse will have strange blobs of what only you know is soy wax on his shirt, and you'll feel remoreseful but never admit you done it.  This code of silence can damage even the strongest love----  I know.  Four husbands and I am still making mistakes.

Now your scarf should be colorfast, clean and ready to wear for some quirky adventure..... geocaching?  Time travel?  Visiting a client in jail?  Probably best not to wear such a scarf to jail, as it would make a fine hostage leash if things went badly.
This scarf is for sale, $18 and can be purchased by emailing ktibbits@lrec.org .  It will probably be available thru Oklahoma Food Cooperative and on etsy soon, so you might look for it in one of my shops by clicking on one of the images in the righthand margin of this blog page.





Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cedar Apple Rust Fungus Scarf

 


Cedar Apple Rust Fungus Scarf

For some reason, this picture refuses to permit itself to be centered.  Maybe it is because the scarf comes from way off in left field.  I mentioned to The Oklahoma Forage Ahead Yahoo Group that I was using natural dyes, and moderator (and forage guru) Jackie Dill wondered if it would be possible to use those bright neon orange "starballs" of cedar-apple rust fungus for dyeing.  I'd never considered it, although I have a funny story about hunting for dyeing mushrooms.... so I'll digress:
One day Dennis and I were going to split the yard-mowing chore.  He did his half and turned the mower over to me.  I had only made one sweep of mowing down the hill when I ran across some interesting-looking mushrooms under the peach tree, so I stopped mowing and started getting them ready to see if they were dye mushrooms.  It turns out that they yielded a pale golden dye when extracted with 100-proof  grain alcohol.  I got so distracted that at the end of that day, my mower was still down in the far end of the yard and I never went back to it.  He now kids me about that.

Anyway, on Saturday it happened to be perfect weather for gathering cedar-apple rust fungus, and I had plenty on some little cedar trees that had popped up in my former garden spot, so I made up a batch of dye and this interesting scarf is the result.  It has a parchment or marbled look, and is made of sheer habotai silk.

It was set with alum and heat, so I think the color will be permanent... but it is my first such experiment thus I can't guarantee it to be color fast after extended periods in bright light or harsh detergent.  Best to just hand wash gently and dry it on a towel.  (It was machine washed thoroughly to remove any traces of the original material--- although I'm sure the vodka did its magic in sterilizing it, also.  

This scarf will be listed for purchase with Oklahoma Food Co-op in the May order cycle, $18.  If you'd like to buy it for Mother's Day, email ktibbits@lrec.org and I'll take it off listing and send it to you.

















Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Stormy Winter Ocean

Stormy Winter Seascape

Before it is too late into Summer I wanted to share this nice winter seascape, painted by my husband Dennis Tibbits.  Dennis is a Speech Pathologist.  He has a rehabilitation business for things like speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy.  He operates practica at some of the schools in Adair County, helping children learn to overcome speech disabilities.  He supervises NSU speech students in training children.  He works for several hospitals when they need assessments of patients.  He's been a professional musician.  And did I say he's a talented artist and cartoonist?  Enough bragging.  The horizon in this one looks real as a photograph.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Cowboy Skirt Canvas

Cowboy Skirt Canvas
I just got this cool setup of stuff that lets me put a design on canvas.  I found spoonflower.com which is custom-printed fabric, so for a few days I've been working on a design for a yard of the (expensive) fabric for a skirt.  I don't know if I'll ever actually buy the fabric--- it would be about $50 just for the material.  But the thought of  wearing a skirt from my own graphics is thrilling!

So here is my first canvas project.  Would you wear a skirt of this fabric?  Here are some of the design elements:  swirl from a tiedye shirt; Easter picture of our grandson, Kai, digitally altered; pics of Elvis (an art card I made), my mother with a feather headdress, and an art card with Frieda Kahlo and Dia De Los Muertos images (which doubles as a $45 train ticket and reminds the ticketee not to leave their coat on the train); stretched tiedye and some photophop stripes; Cherokee Language Exam study sheet repurposed as a collage background with a tiedye dinner nap medallion.  Voila!  Pop it into a frame and you've got a wonderfully wierd piece of lil art, 8x10 inches.

The canvas process lends itself to more conventional (and more useful) applications.  Send me your biggest version of your fave pic and let me put it on canvas so you can frame it and put it on the wall.  My services:  $18 plus shipping (and this includes optimizing and balancing the image).  Now I want to put all my old antique pictures of ancestors and family groupings on canvas!




Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Fisherman's Thought

The Fisherman's Thought

While there is time before Father's Day, I've been thinking about what men think about.  I can ask Friedrick at any time, "What song are you singing in your head?"  And he'll come back with an instant answer.  It might be Seven Bridges Road, Amy, Beautiful Tonight, Rock and Roll Heart, St. James Infirmary, Faded Memory, or just about anything.  When you open your mind to a little mental picture of going fishing, do you see a lunker trout rise up out of the misty water to take your hand-tied fly?

I have the coolest Brother-In-Law.  He's the guy who saved the Air Force hundreds of thousands of dollars by coming up with a better way to de-ice the wings of airplanes.  That was when he was a chemist.  Now he's a CPA.  Maybe I relate to him because he's kinda like me... a nerd about many things, with a curious mind and (perhaps unlike me..) the knowledge to 'go there.'

For him, tax season is like a marathon race.  By April 16th, he's overworked and ready for about a week of healing at fishing camp on Lake Tenkiller or someplace else.  So, knowing that he hasn't been playing the scenario of a big lunker trout nearly often enough these days, I made him this little window into a thought about trout fishing.  And pheasants.  It is made of 1/8 inch pine with copper trim, Bombay mahogany finish and lots of little tinkering parts from watches or something.  It is about eight inches tall at the arch, and just a tad smaller between the windows than a business card. 

I would love to do a custom piece for you to give for a Father's Day present.  Email me ( ktibbits@lrec.org ) if you have a special guy who'd like a window expressing his favorite things--- sports or nascar, guitars or fighting roosters, his family and favorite book, or just something extremely avante garde and wierd.  Heck, I can come up with the ideas if you're at a loss for something really kampy and cool.



Saturday, April 24, 2010

Spanish Courtyard

Spanish Courtyard
By Dennis Tibbits

I never have known if this is a Spanish Courtyard, or Portuguese.  There are architectural elements common in those places... or it might be Italy.  I've always wanted to visit this part of Europe because if its diverse history throughout the centuries.  In this painting, I like the light.


Friday, April 23, 2010

Venice Gondola

Venice Gondola

Dennis Tibbits painted this wonderful canal scene of  Venice, probably from a picture because we have never been there.  Last year, our daughter Katy Winbray Brinkley and her new husband Josh Brinkley went to Italy on a Mediterranean Cruise for their honeymoon-- our wedding gift to them.  As Winter fades into memory, we're less antsy to travel, but each winter we get the wanderlust to visit new or familiar exotic places.  Venice is one city keenly conerned about climate change because the prediction of rising oceans is anticipated to have a devastating cost in infrastructure for this city built on expectations about the water.  Where did I hear that the Lombards in centuries past devised steadfast architecture to seat buildings on swampy soft land, thus starting the tradition of this city so comfortable in a culture built around the water?  Maybe it was on History Channel. 



Thursday, April 22, 2010

Thank You, Musicians for STIR

I'm posting this word of thanks in my own absence while I'm still at the Fun-Raiser Earth Day event.  Every year we have given out buttons to the performing musicians at the Jam, and always before these were colorful tiedyes in the background.  This year the background is a February pic of the slime in the bar ditch on Scenic Highway Ten between Tahlequah and Jay.  Thanks musicians for your River-saving songs.

Earth Day 2010

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Golden Waterscapes II

Golden Mountain Sunset
Dennis Tibbits painted this companion to the ocean painting.  Here the pond is nestled high in mountains near the treeline and reflects a golden sunset... or perhaps a sunrise since the water is so calm. 

Golden Waterscapes

Golden Pier Sunset
Dennis Tibbits, my husband, painted this oil many years ago.  I treasure it because it has a rustic and choppy quality, just like the wind and waves.  I grew up spending a lot of my time when young on Lake Tenkiller, and I could imagine such a scene at sunset on Elk Creek back then when docks were roughly-made.






Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Old Home Place

Tibbits Old Home Place
For his father, Dennis painted this view of the old Tibbits home place.  You can see where it stood on the highway between Evansville and Van Buren in Arkansas, but the house fell into disrepair and eventually burned.  With a scad of siblings, Jim Tibbits still remembers stories about his childhood.  Recently at breakfast he told about one early spring day when the onions were coming up green and he and his brother went along and nipped the tops off of every onion, getting a fresh first taste of the garden's bounty before it was really ready.  His dad said, "I have never known rabbits to eat onions like that."  That was before they got their spankings.  In times when everyone was pretty much independent for growing the family's food and there was much less of a commercial backup plan for buying food, it must have been a serious offense to interrupt the garden.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Jolora's Yellow Roses


We don't think it ever had a name, but this painting I'm calling Jolora's Yellow Roses.  It was painted by Dennis' mother, Jolora Price Tibbits in 1975 and hangs in our dining room.  I love the color blending at the infinity line (or whatever you'd call the back corner) and the sweet shades.  Dennis has his mom's painting talent, and I'll be featuring a few of his oils.

Depression Era Wall Quilt, Framed


I made this textile piece for Salina Clinic, and it is framed by NDN Art Gallery in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  Remember those wonderful aprons you might have seen your grandmother wearing when she was haning out clothes on the clothesline?  My grandmother, Lizzie Carter, had one that had big pickets and contrasting piping, and it had a bib front with a button or sash in the back.  Some of those were made from flour sacks.  Back then, in the days before carry-out food, women cooked every meal at home and men would sometimes carry a lunch pail or come home for lunch.  People mostly lived on garden goods which they grew themselves.  My grandmother lived near the peddler man whose house was on Lee Street.  He would come around in a cart drawn by a horse or horses, with a load of produce on the back in a cart, and right there at your home you could pick out some great food grown fresh, to fix for the next few meals.  My memories are from the 1960s in Tahlequah Oklahoma, but my father Gene Carter remembers earlier days.  Women would buy bulk flour and sugar in big sacks about the size of a pillowcase, and they'd rip the seam open, to make a yard of material.  At the store you could choose which fabric sack you wanted, and women would save them up for sewing a dress, apron, shirt or quilt.  Flour sack quilts and yard goods in the 1930s were bright and colorful--- social historians say that folks wanted bright colors because the economy made their lives drab.  But I don't think life was that drab.  Earlier colors were, though--- the dark and sad shades of the nineteen twenties and teens gave way to these bright colors, about when new dyestuffs and chemistry were being innovated.  An earlier blog featured "Trip Around The World" variation quilt--- one in my collection of antique quilts.  This little quilt is a miniature abstract variation on that vintage quilt, and it features authentic reproduction fabrics documented for that same time period.  Not all of these designs were flour or feed sack or cornmeal sacks.  Some were yard goods of the time.  Back then, bolts were usually 28 inches wide in cotton, and printed using a roller method on one side of the fabric.

This mini was made by stripping reproduction fabrics then turning the "stripes" sideways and making each one into a square... or often a rectangle.  Then I used black to pair the postagestamp blocks into one-inch blocks (approximately) and pieced them like a log cabin, only in reverse.  The resulting optical effect is a spiral moving from the center, outward, clockwise like the passage of time.  In the middle is a Cherokee Star.  That's a golf ball at the bottom.  It was phtographed behind a golf ball, sort of by accident.


This peice is spoken-for and will be acquired by Cherokee Nation Entertainment.  Cherokee Nation passed a law allocating a percentage of each building's construction budget for the purchase of original Cherokee art for the building decor.  That's a wonderful law because it keeps artists fed, and keeps the arts communital in vitality.  Thanks to Cherokee Nation and CNE for buying this textile art.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Come To Earth Day Songwriter's Jam 2010


Almost every year, Dennis & I have thrown a big Earth Day Jam for local songwriters, so they can premier songs they have arranged about the Illinois River.  We think it is important to preserve the culture of the Illinois River, and besides it is a fun get-together which raises money for the bigger project of producing Illinois River music.  Our last album was the brainchild of Rickey Ray, who did a super job of recording, editing and mixing the songs.  Our part in it was to be the financial backer for everything that we couldn't raise with the Jam door receipts, plus do anything necessary to help Rickey Ray in his creative endeavor.  Nancy Garber has been our teamie on making financial decisions and promoting the project.  She comes to us with years of experience at NSU and is a fun pal for the musical project.

3 years ago at Kooter Brown's we held a 3-day marathon running 2 stages day and night with scads of sets by boucoups of bands and musicians.  It included a poker run and bikers helped a lot.  Last year it was a one-day event running all day Saturday and all night Saturday night.  During the day, childrens events included a geocahcing treasure hunt and Artist Dana Tiger of Legacy Cultural Learning Community who facilitated childrens Environmental Art Show and Sale.

This year, the forum is Scooter's Music Tavern situated at State Highway 51 West and Tahlequah Bypass.  Entry thru the body shop parking lot, because Scooter's is easy to see but hard to figure out how to get to.  Rick Holderbee and Friends will be performing, along with Oklahoma Wildlife, Dena Coleman, Joel Sherrill, Rickey Ray, Dennis Tibbits and others.  If you are a musician and would like to perform, call me at 918 797 5016 to schedule a slot... or just show up and sign up at the door for a time slot.  We do *try* to stay on time but.... hey!  These are musicians and it *never* stays on time. 

Proceeds from the $5 admission donation will be used to help with production costs for the next CD or donated to STIR.  (And the profits from the CDs are donated to STIR... over $1,000 has already been donated to date).  A fun new event this year will be an auction of a select few of the very weirdest things you could imagine.  (And some needful things also). 

Its hard when Earth Day is on a week day.  And every year Earth Day is on the birthday of  my beautiful daughter, Katy Winbray Brinkley.  This event will kick off at 6 so come early and bring potluck (and perhaps a designated driver).  Thanks to Scooter's for hosting the 2010 Earth Day Songwriter's Jam for Musicians for STIR.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Adventures in Natural Dye Methods - Rose Madder Scarf

Silk Charmeuse Scarf
Soy Wax Resist Batik,
Hand-Dyed in Natural Rose Madder

Oklahoma Food Coop is full of fun people, and this month among my co-op orders was a request for natural-dyed bamboo socks.  I've dyed bamboo, and it is my favorite type of sock because these socks wick better than acrylic but have the same level of softness.  Like cotton, only better.  So, I was up for the challenge to create hand-dyed socks using Madder Roots.  Trouble is, every fiber takes dye differently, and with natural dyes the results vary from wildly unpredictable to extremely unpredictable.  The socks made from the same batch of madder roots were a softer pinky salmon in final colour.  I had hoped to list this scarf earlier during co-op's order cycle, but with taxes and all I just tossed it into the Madder Root for an experiment.

Silk scarves are tough for a couple of reasons.  Long skinny things don't wash by machine very easily.  Um, silk hardly is machine washable at all because silk is delicate.  It must not get too hot in the natural dye batch, which has to simmer but not boil over 2 hours in a process that takes about 24 hours from start to finish.  Add batik wax, and that's not only slow and likely to give a resist failure... but also clog the plumbing with wax.

Those are just some of the reasons that I was so pleased to produce this first natural dyed scarf from madder root and soy wax.  It has a delightfully uneven shadowy color tone, and the wax held up fine.  (No comment on the plumbing.  I'm the plumber these days my own self.)

This gorgeous silk scarf will be for sale in time for Mother's Day on Island Retreat... click any item in the Island Retreat Etsy gallery to see everything there.  It will be posted in a few days, or call me for direct purchase 918 797 5016, about $18. 

Madder Root is a natural plant root.  It doesn't seem to be indigenous as a Cherokee dye plant... Cherokees used a different root which is rare and sacred with a beautiful flower.  I don't dye with the Cherokee red plant because it is reputed to be a cancer remedy and I think it should be preserved in the wild for this more important purpose.  Dyeing clothing and accessories takes plenty of roots, unlike dyeing basket reed which takes far less wild flower medicine plant roots.  I like Madder because they say you can twist the shade depending upon what you add to the roots.  And I've heard it does not require a mordant.  I use Alum to presoak and Cream of Tartar to balance the PH so the molecules form a chemical bond.  You may have Madder Root in your paintbox, for it is the precursor to Alizarin Crimson... my favorite red in oils.

Today, Madder isn't used because analine dyes have taken the place of these older colors.  I love it because I know it is a part of the color rainbow of centuries past.  Its use dates back to the Pakistan area B.C. and is common widely around the world as recently as the 1900s.  How nice to know that women in Chinese silk wore this color for more than a thousand years!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Steampunk Time Travelling Machine

Steampunk Time Travelling Machine

Habitat for Humanity hosts an annual bird house auction to raise money for building homes. The bird houses are decorated by area artists.  This year my donation is this fun Steampunk Time Travelling Machine, created from radio gauges and watch parts with glass tiles and brass or copper other bits.  It is edged in copper flashing.  My collaborator for this project was Gene Carter, who helped me drill and set the gauges.  If one were to go about creating a time travelling machine, what would be the essential parts?  Plenty of dials so as to calibrate the dates and measure the travel, plus interesting-looking whirlygigs that could move fast.  There are few moving parts to this little endeavour, but it does look strangely wonderfully gadgety.  It will be available at the Habitat auction in May in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  If you'd like to make an offer on purchasing it, call me at 918 797 5016 and I will relay your bid to the auction coordinators.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Green Nana Quilt Topper

Green Bed Topper Quilt from Nana's Fabric

Here's the latest small "bed topper" quilt in the series I have been making from fabrics saved from Nana's sewing closet.  When she passed away in February, I brought home a box of her fabrics and have been making quilt tops for her grandchildren.  Gracie Piddlewhiskers is a good helper when I quilt, because she chases the threads and models quilt tops as soon as she sees me laying them out for a view.


Kai Visits Zion

Kai Thomas Brinkley, almost 4 months old
I'm falling behind in a few projects, because every chance I get, I keep Darling Baby Kai who came to our cottage at Zion for the first time last week.  Here he is, checking out Friedrick's sumptuous vibrating rocker recliner for an afternoon nappie.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Gracie Models Green Topper Quilt

Green Topper Quilt

Gracie Piddlewishkers, aka The Vanna White of Zion Community, is here modelling a green topper quilt, one of several in a series of quilt tops for the descendants of Bertie Carter.  Gracie is not only an attractive model but also a sewing helper extraordinaire.  She's wanting to snuggle because it is late and I am preparing this blog ahead of time.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Nickel Silver and Brass Lightning Bolt Light Fixture

Art Deco Lightning Bolt Fixture

Eureka Springs was one of the earliest cities to get electricity, but by the 1920s electricity was common in many cities, although it had not yet come to rural Cherokee County, Oklahoma.  While in Eureka Springs, AR last weekend, I photographed this wonderful light fixture because I love the design elements.  It was $465 at an antique store by the Spring near 1881 Crescent Guest House, lovingly restored.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Cyrus Conrail, Railroad Tycoon Murder Solved


I was just in Eureka Springs because as railroad company nurse, my duties require that I travel where the railroad needs me.  I'm Nurse Saidie Ratchet.  Pictured here with me is Old Roger, after he came into a rather sizeable settlement for injuries incurred while working on the line to Eureka Springs.  We settled into 1881 Crescent Cottage B&B for a Murder Mystery weekend on Friday evening.  Old Roger cleans up purty nice.  When he arrived at the celebratory dinner gala on Friday, he was attired in his dowdy, stinky usual duds, but I took him shopping.
We hobbled all over Eureka Springs looking for clues to solve the murder of Cyrus Conrail, stopping to quench our dehydration at a little underground pub called Jack's.  I implored Old Roger to sing karaoke, to which he finally resigned himself.  Its kinda funny to see a 1908 railroad laborer performing Carlos Santana's "Smooth" with a cane for playing air guitar.  It reminded me of one of the Soggy Bottom Boys from the movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' 

It was our first time to stay at a B&B.  And Old Roger solved the mystery!  He also won "Best Male Characterization" for his character portrayal.  Old Roger was part Slingblade, part Joker from Dark Knight, and 100% outsider smart aleck.  I, nurse Saidie, was worried that I had treated Mr. Conrail too rough with my whips and chains 'alternative' therapy a few days before his untimely denoument, but was glad I happened to have my handcuffs with me because they came in handy.  

We loved Eureka Springs, and it happened to be Diversity Week, so there was a wonderfully eclectic crowd in town-- bikers and gays, not the least of which.  I'd love to live among so many artists in a community with so much community spirit.  No place else has so much public arts and aesthetics infrastructure.  We tried a delicious meal at Garden Bistro, a cafe specializing in local food.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Cherokee Green & Orange Bed Topper Quilt

This fun quilt top is one of a series of several I'm doing for the grandchildren of my parents.  The central panel is made largely from fabric of my mom, and I've added at the bottom (in orange) a hand-dyed panel with the Cherokee letter for Wv.  It sounds like Wuh, only a bit more nasal, and it kinda looks like a 6 in numerals.

This one is edged in black and white stripes, giving it punch and impact.  Its just a top and will be quilted soon when I finish them all and have a day to visit the machine quilting studio to quilt it myself.



Saturday, April 10, 2010

Pink and Blue Floral Topper Quilt

Number Two in the series of quilt toppers made from Nana's scraps is this pink and blue topper.  Woops!  I see a mistake that I never noticed before.  See how in the middle the pink rectangles are on the outside corners?  All but one?  And the one that is in the upper righthand corner of the lower righthand corner should be in the corner also.  Apparently, I sewed the gold-looking print border on the wrong side and it caused me to sew the whole square in sideways.  If you don't quilt, it might be a year or two before someone would finally notice and wonder why that wasn't symmetrical.

The Nana Quilt Topper series involves a lot of florals and prints with easter bunnies and eggs.  There were plenty of fabrics I could not use because they were voile dotted swiss or some other shirtweight fabric that isn't strong enough to withstand the rigors of quilt life.

This one will go to one of Nana's four beautiful granddaughters--- some of the most gorgeous young women in the Cherokee Nation.  Smartest, too.

Murder Mystery Weekend

Dennis and I are headed to Eureka Springs for a Murder Mystery at an 18th century bed & breakfast cottage this weekend.  I forget why I dread leaving home--- I was taught that one should always clean house before going.  So I've swabbed the toilets in case the cats knock over both water bowls, vacuumed in case we need to send someone into the house while we are gone, done up the dishes to deter pests, washed all laundry, put away Winter quilts, packed clothes and Edwardian costumes, and carried out the trash.  Well, OK, I am going to carry out the trash next.  Changed the litter box, put out food for all the critters, watered the plants and erased excess email.  Now I'm so tired that I'll welcome to adventure with no regrets!  Hope to have some cool pics to post when home, about Monday.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Family Topper Quilt for a Man

I'm working on a series of five quilts for the grandchildren of my mother, Bertie Carter.  We ended up with a huge stack of odd fabrics, so I've brought them to my house and blended them with a few pieces I already had.  My inspiration was a quilt Dennis owns, made by his grandmother in the 1960s or 1970s, with a Log Cabin variation called Sunshine and Shadows where the lights are all on one half and the darks are all on the other half of a block built with strips "going around". 

So, Nana had five grandchildren-- My sister's three girls and my girl and boy.  So we needed one quilt that would look a bit more masculine.  And this is it.  It has darker colors, less floral print, and more geometrics. 

These quilts will be toppers--- quilts just the right size to lay on top of a full bed, adding color and weight.  Any more size than that, and I wouldn't have had the tenacity to make a set of 5 quilts that are all similar.  I'd be too bored.  This is just a top and it has not yet been quilted.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Ziggy's Looking Dreamy

Zigmund Cadbury Snugglesworth
British Shorthair Cat

I caught darling Ziggy sleeping on the sofa in wonderful lighting and took this pic to share.  He's a Chocolate Smoke British Shorthair.  Don't you love those brass-colored eyes?  He's got gently defined agouti markings.  With his coloring and Gracie's they might have a chocolate Selkirk Rex, which is rare indeed.  Ziggy was born 9/15/2009 and he's a bit over six months old.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Gracie's Easter Picture


Gracie Piddlewhiskers
Selkirk Rex
This photo ws taken by Katy Winbray Brinkley, who is Gracie's big sister and a real human.    


I am amazed at how different breeds have different characteristics.  Some cats come from an ancient history of catching their prey around the watering holes of Asia and Africa, and these cats are not shy of water.  We know a lot about Gracie Piddlewhiskers because we have her family history back twenty plus years.  And there are no Servals or Asian Leopard Cats in there.  Yet, she is a water-tolerant cat.  Today, I gave her a shower.  And she comes running if she thinks there is an opportunity to watch the bathroom sink faucet running or.. even better... to watch the toilet flush.  After she has a shower, she licks her curly fur all over.  I thought that was about the sandalwood perfumed soap I had used on her last time, so today I only held her in my arms under the water (all but her head) and didn't use anything for fear that she might ingest soap that would upset her tummy.  But she licked her fur down anyway.  Afterward, she seemed pleased to be so curly and all primped up.  She spent a lovey morning on Dennis' lap and then took over his office chair when he left to go to the school where he was holding a speech pathology clinic today.  


Our other cat is Zigmund Cadbury  Snugglesworth, a British Shorthair cat.  The wisdom is that British Shorthair breed cats are distinctively not 'luvvey' cats-- they're aloof and dictatorial.  I don't see Ziggy as dictatorial, but Shadow his predecessor certainly was the boss around here.  He'd whip his tail as if to say, "YOU don't call the shots.  I make the decisions around here."  And he'd jump up and rub his tail right across your mouth as if to say "zip it" if he didn't like something.  As for Ziggy, he's just spooky and shy and aloof.  Somehow these qualities make one feel honored when he does come around for petting or just to be in the milleu of Den's computer game or my quilting.  His eyes are stunning.  I'll post a picture update for him soon, as his previous family in OKC must be curious about how he looks now at almost seven months of age.  

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Kai's Cowboy Suit

Kai Thomas Brinkley
Dennis and I are charmed by our wonderful new little first grandson, Kai Thomas Brinkley, born December 22, 2009 and weighing in at birth at 11 pounds.  Here, he's modelling his Baby Gap Cowboy clothes.  Since he's going to dress western for Easter, I will too.  Everyone thinks they got a cute grandbaby, but Kai is already absorbing so much about the world every moment.  He loves the paintings made by Dennis which hang on our walls, and he is fascinated by light fixtures, fans, ceiling glitter, shadows, reflections and the like.  Based on that I'm wondering if he'd like to be an architect some day.  For now, he's a cowboy.

This year I said I would make the rolls for Easter.  Its a tough job, because my mother always made these tender delicious wheat cloverleaf rolls for Easter, but she passed away.  I made a batch of bread today for the first time using her recipe.  I'm coping well despite her death--- or was until today.  All my life I could call her anytime.  She had an instant answer to my questions.... Is hydrogen peroxide OK for gargling?  Can you use a zipper foot for machine quilting?  If you don't have baking powder can you use soda?  How deep are jonquils planted?  When giving myself a perm, when do I know that its done?

This time, she wasn't there for me.  Her recipe is in a cookbook, and she has sold hundreds of copies of  our family recipes, always donating the proceeds to Relay for Life. She raised and donated hundreds of dollars, one cookbook at a time.   I melt when I see her post-it notes.  Her handwriting is like a message to me from heaven.  Dennis says she must have been playing a little joke on the world, because there in her cookbook... our only clue to continuing the Easter bread tradition, in the list of ingredients was "1 egg."  No place in the recipe was any instruction for what to do with it.  My first thought was that it should say to brown the rolls, then brush the egg whites on and burnish them so they'd be glossy.  Without checking, on a whim, I just decided to add the egg to the dough.  I don't know if that is right but the bread was good.  It wasn't as good as her bread though.  I followed up, by using one egg, whites only, to gloss the bread when it came out of the oven.

I suppose holidays are hard for anyone who lost a loved one.  She's not at the table.  Her bread isn't there.  She's not seeing this darling boy in his cute outfit.  And she'll never be there again.  Never.  We're left to make our own traditions to fill in the empty spots that she leaves behind.  And we have to do that, else we'll feel sorry for ourselves and miss out on the joys we are blessed to have around us.  Joys such as darlin' lil cowboys-- Grandma Fluffy has to love him twice as much now.

Nana's Basic Wheat Bread
As Adapted by Kathy

1/2 c. Water at 110 degrees farenheit
1 Packet of Activated Super Fast Acting Dry Yeast
1/2 c. of hot water (hotter)
1/2 stick butter
2 T molasses
1 T. salt
1 lg. egg
2 c. Bread Flour (Nana used enriched)
1/2 c. wheat flour (I use stone ground Oklahoma Organic)
Tablespoon or so of Wheat Gluten (my add, not hers)
Dissolve yeast in the warm water and set it aside.  Combine hot water, butter, molasses and salt.  You can microwave this if the the butter doesn't melt well.  To this add 1 c. of white flour, and the wheat flour, stirring after each.  Add the yeast mix, then remaining flour.  Mix in.  Let it rest.  Nana would knead for ten minutes, but I did this step with the mixter and didn't even have a dough hook.  Just watch and you're finished when it becomes smoothe and shiny.  Nana says to let this rise until it doubles in bulk and then form a loave or rolls and let it rise again until it doubles in bulk.  However, as soon as it turned viscous and smooth, I cut off plum-sized balls and dropped them onto a cornmeal-sprinkled cookie sheet to rise till double in bulk.  Nana says to bake at 350 degrees farenheit for about a half hour.  I'll add this tip:  I like to preheat my oven with a roasting pan full of water in there, so it is very humid when I add the bread.  You must watch to prevent steam burns every time you open the door if using this much humidity.  The humidity in the room also helps the bread to rise higher because the protein cloak on the outside of bread is elastic and stretchy as the air allows it to be.

Also, I do crack an egg into a ramekin, taking care not to break the yolk.  With a pastry brush, coat the top of each browned roll or loaf with a thin brush of egg white.  Too little, and there won't be a nice shiny glow.  Too much, and the  whites will soak in making the crust somewhat tough.  If you do this just as you take it out of the oven before cooling, there isn't any particular need to stick it back in the oven because the heat will absorb and cook the egg whites.

Let these rolls cool before taking them up, if you plan to freeze them or serve them later.  (It never hurts to eat them hot right off of the pan though.  ; ) 

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Its a Good Friday

Easter this year is a bit of an anomaly.  I always like Good Friday because it is an extra day off of work, and a play day.  I often spend it cooking for Easter or dyeing eggs or tee shirts.

This year, Easter will be different without my mother's touch as family matriarch.  She was a gracious hostess and a good cook.  Most of all, she had boundless energy and never was there a holiday where the cake was not themed, or any such thing.  I, on the other hand, somehow inherited the 'guy' genes in my family consisting of two girls, and usually I'm asked to bring the soda pop.  For years there, relatives told ME that the get-together was an hour earlier than 'real time' because I was habitually late... being the type of partygoer who just starts preparing for the party when it is time to be there.

Maybe I exaggerate.  I've been reputed to bring brilliantly delicious dishes from time to time.  And scarcely mediocre ones at other times.

My best Easter was when my sister lived down the street from my parents on Victor Street, and had 3 girls just of the age to wear wonderful Beatrix Potter empire waist chintz floral dresses with fantastic large sashes.  Back then, we had lots of children of the age to race across the yard in competitive Easter Egg Hunting.  Oh the pink velvet and lace tights!  One niece wore a shirt from her grandfather, "Just Say No To Hollow Bunnies."  We were a large extended family of 5 aunts and uncles, their children and grandchildren.  Every person on Earth should have the delight of such a large, fun, funny, handsome, competent, and loving family.

Nieces and nephews now have grown up and there is an equally charming age cluster of Oklahoma University cohorts consisting of not less than five of them this semester.  Now the darling dresses are replaced by crimson and cream jerseys with the number 14 on them.  (For those who may not know, that is Sam Bradford, OU's former great quarterback and Heisman Award winner, who happens to be Cherokee like all of our OU students in the family).




Friday, April 2, 2010

Optical Snowball Quilt Top, 1950s


1950s Optical Snowball

See yesterday's bowtie quilt for a similar yet different one.  This quilt top was made a decade earlier.  See how the colors are different, and have for example, complimentary color wheel colors in the turquoise and chartreuse?  (This is one of my fave color combinations).  See how the plaids are more "American Western"?  If you look at the turquoise and chartreuse "bow ties" in the lower righthand area, you'd see similarities with yesterday's quilt.  But look at how the circles are really round.  Quilters scream and run away at the thought of piecing round shapes.  Think about how round shapes are the opposite curve of the piece they're being attached-to.  Like putting in a gathered sleeve, you never quite know if you're on track until you get to the end and check to see if there is fabric overhanging on either side.

I adore this quilt.  Why?  Because the use of the black checkered gingham fabric makes me crazy!    Big round postholes are like a textural collage on the surface.  And in other places, the pattern drops mistily and indistinctly into the background.  Now look at the block below the red square.  Its like spaghetti or wheels in motion.  You can tell that the woman who made this quilt was not over-intellectualizing the process.  She just put things together any which way.  We could speculate that a quilt like this was made by a woman who learned her skills in the depression era, when it didn't really matter what the right way was... a seamstress just did whatever conserved the most fabric and minimized the most waste.  It was Lllooonnnnggg before the days of fussy-cutting quilt fabrics.

This quilt is small twin or personal quilt size.  It is a top only.  It would be for sale for $75 as a top, or $250 quilted and backed in the colors of the buyer's choice.  It could be edged out with a border of historically-accurate fabric to make a full, king, queen quilt for $450.  It is hand-sewn.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

1960s Bowtie Quilt Panel

1960s Bowtie Quilt Panel

Don't you just love those pop art quilts using stark contrast to trick your eyes into seeing different parts of a quilt?  This one was probably made in the 1960s, if my take on the fabrics is accurate.  It contains bowties made up of a four-square with a diamond block in the middle of it.  I don't know who made it.  Its a partial quilt top, about four feet by 3 feet in size. 

Now, look again.  Focus on the roundish square made between the two green bowties near the bottom and middle.  See how that "square" is actually eight-sided?  Sometimes ladies make a SNOWBALL quilt using this same pattern, by accentuating the round part and then fading out the surrounding pieces in a monotone of background.

This piece is so very informal that I keep looking at it from different angles like my eyes are playing tricks.  The bowtie is green.  Now it is pink.  That plaid middle is no help in giving context.  Women with no art training (or quilt training for that matter) just exhuberantly made things up as they went along, and the result is wacky quilts for fun.