More on Chicago

While in Chicago, I was able to meet up with and old friend who not only introduced me to her new husband, but showed me around that famous Chicago suburb, Oak Park.  We passed the Percy Julian middle school.

And swung by the Frank Lloyd Wright museum:

as well as several of the houses he designed:

I also got to go to the Field Museum with family:

Just look at those wonderful shapes made by patterning and repetition!

Once again, I marveled at how well the city has done with supporting the arts.  This instillation takes advantage of the "Windy" in the windy city:

I'm back!!

After a long flight sitting next to "Miss Elbows" and in front of a child who will no doubt someday grow up to belt out the National Anthem at a ballpark someday, I'm glad to say it's good to be home.  Fortunately the ride home was only one of two low points of my trip; the other being arriving in Chicago at sunrise and not being able to check in until noon.  But that's it!  The rest was ALL GOOD!  Ahhh, where do I begin?  It's hard for me to think of my stay in Chicago because I think I left my heart in Baltimore, but the trip really started here:

Sunrise over the city looked as if the sky were on fire.  It was such a nice way to start the day.   The hotel I stayed at was downtown in the "theatre" district.  It was over a hundred years old and the interior was a cool blend of vintage charm with modern conveniences.  There was marble EVERYWHERE!  Not just big chunky slabs of it, there were delicately carved details from floor to ceiling.

I took a walk downtown and was amazed with the architectural detail everywhere I looked.  The way the buildings sat with each other and the touches of nature found throughout made me marvel at this man made setting.

The city has done a good job of honoring the arts.  This Picasso piece was gigantic!  What a commitment Picasso had in making it and the city had in adopting it.  Definitely a good move.  Just look at those interesting shapes and lines, the way the metal changes color as it reflects light and the cast shadows on it.  One could look at this many times and see it differently each time.

I leave you today with a "I was there" shot.  Behind me is the new Trump tower.  It's nice how this city was built around this river.  It gives room to take in the scenery.

Chicago

What a wonderful thing to be able to fly from Hawaii to Chicago in one flight! Beats layovers! I'm staying in a Hotel in the Theater district of downtown Chicago. It's a 104 year old refurbished office building and the architecture here is amazing! I took a walk today and tried to soak it all in. I took many pictures, but unfortunately forgot the cable that connects my camera to my computer. Oh well, I guess it's a good thing. After this weekend of play, I'll really need to buckle down. Miss my family already, but will see other family and friends soon!

What a day!

I left the house early this morning and this is what it looked like:

I was on a mission!  I had just a few hours to find a slab of marble for our counter tops.  For sure this was going to be easy, I thought, until I visited the third yard and .... nothing.  I was really starting to get worried!  I was running out of time and really wanted to get this taken care of before I left.  But then, voila!  The last yard I went to had the perfect slab!  It was amazingly beautiful, had the depth and color I was looking for, and JUST the right size!!!  It was as if the stars lined up just perfectly and it was meant to be.   Each time I look at this picture, I get a little tickle in my breath.  I know it must be right.

 

After picking up the kids, I came home to this:

And this:

It's a piece of fabric (actually a couple of pieces) that I'm dyeing for another commission.  To my horror, the wind had blown the plastic around and some of the fabric dried.  Yikes!  It's now in the wash and I'll get to preview it later...

Just a couple of more pictures from our remodel.  First, welcome to our new kitchen!  It's not bad actually.  I tried to clean it up and organize it so feels a little more like home.  Notice the "manly garage" decor I've got going on!

One of the things that is coming down is a wall in our laundry room that we've plotted the children's growth.  I have to admit, it's a little sad seeing this come down.  Fortunately, my DH traced the marks on a piece of tracing paper last night, and we plan on continuing this tradition in our new laundry room.

Finally, here is a shot of work that needs to be done - ironing and packing!

A follow up

Dianna made a quilt from fabric I dyed a couple of weeks ago and posted about here.  It's called Hana Sunrise and you can find it here.  I did not get to see the quilt in person, but I'm sure the picture does not do it justice.  Dianna's quilting is usually impeccable and with the silk I'm sure it added an interesting texture to the surface.  I was thrilled to get the commission to do the fabric, as I'm sure she was thrilled to get the commission to do the piece!  

OMG!  Melissa, just posted a comment on my "flat dyeing" post and gave me her method on dyeing solids.  "The trick is no excess liquid..." she wrote and went on to provide links!  Thanks Melissa!  This is coming at the right time because I'm really coming down to the wire with preparing for my class.  Years ago I would have been happy with the assortment I've accumulated thus far, but now I've gotten much more particular.  I need more dark values, a few very dark, and more tans, browns, beige... saffron yellow, beach glass green, honey, sepia, and "Greek" blue:

Someone asked me how large my fabric pieces were that I dye - everything is at least one yard.  I measure by stretching out my arms to my sides... yeah, that's really scientific.  And if you are wondering where I get these interesting pictures, I get them from a website called FFFOUND.  I just love seeing the wide variety of pictures, some funny, some strange, some sexy and some just cool to look at... like these:

Here's one for Kristin:

Anticipation

I leave in a week for my trip to Nancy Crow's workshop.  I'm completely excited and freaked out at the same time!  I still have many more yards of fabric to dye as I realize I'm short on greens and purples.  At least I'm getting some nice earth tones this time.  The studio is a mess because everything has been moved out of our living room in preparation for our upcoming renovation (which starts on Monday!!).  

To calm myself, in the evenings I've been piecing nine patches for a few baby quilts I'd like to whip out.  I love the process of mindlessly sewing nine squares together to make a nine-patch.  I think it's my favorite block because it's so versatile and it serves as the basis for many other blocks.  These retro prints are perfect for a baby quilt.  I love how you don't even have to know the gender of the baby to make a fitting quilt.

I made my reservation for a place to stay while I'm at the workshop today.  I had reservations at a hotel already, but I remember from last year that my experience was not the greatest.  The place was perfectly acceptable, and the price was reasonable, but the hotel was part of a chain and it lacked charm.  It was also a 25 minute drive from Nancy's and located in the middle of urban sprawl.  I'm thrilled that I was able to switch my reservation to this place, The Baltimore House, a B&B located 6 minutes from Nancy's!  Yippee!  The place looks wonderful; they serve breakfast, they have a room with a Parisian theme, beautiful landscaping...they even have pets!  I know I'll feel right at home.  I'm especially excited to have the opportunity to take a jog and not breathe in polluted air from congested roadways.  I'm sure I'll post more about this lovely place later.  

I just have to tell you that when I made my reservation the lady asked why I was coming.  I'm sure to anybody it may seem odd that I'll be traveling from Maui to "vacation" in a rural place in the Midwest.  I told her about Nancy Crow and she replied that she had never heard of her!  I was stunned!  How could this be??  It still freaks me out when I meet someone in that area that has never heard of her.  Nancy must not get out much.  I'll have to tell her!

Virtual quiltmaking

Again, finding myself with little studio time, I'm forced to compose on the computer.  This time I started with this quiltlet:

Using Adobe Illustrator, I came up with these:

These took me about 15 minutes to complete.  I'm trying to work through my desire to work in a column format. I like the middle one the best.  I feel as if now I can get on with my day!