SERENDIPITY QUILT

 Quilt made in Louisa L. Smith's class at Asilomar Conference Center, Empty Spools Seminars.   This quilt was published in Louisa's newest book, "Double Vision Quilts" on page 45.  Techniques used were curved pieced background, raw edge fusible, and hand embroidery. 

Small quilt I made from the photo below taken in Africa.  On a piece of white fabric I hand stamped the background, and dry brush painted the bird.  After adding the batting, (with trapunto behind the bird) and backing plus a stabilizer the background was free motion quilted.  Then the bird was heavily thread painted.

LILAC BREASTED ROLLER, AFRICA 2011

PAFURI CAMP, KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

HAIR EATING SPIDER

I must admit that I’m afraid of spiders.  But my fear has been greatly reduced by my experiences staying in 5 bush camps (15 days) while we were in Africa for 19 days.  It was a matter of face your greatest fears or pack up and go home, which definitely was not an option.

My husband and I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, after two VERY LONG overnight flights from San Diego via London.  From O. R. Tambo International Airport we boarded vans to drive to a smaller airport for our flight of several hours in a 12 passenger plane to Kruger National Park.

This was the “Cadillac” of bush camps and one we would always fondly remember as the quality of the “bush tents” in the next 4 camps paled in comparison.  These different bush tents all had one thing in common…….lots of open spaces around all the plumbing in the bathrooms where the pipes came into the tents.  In some tents the floorboards had half inch spaces between them.  And they were all in the bush where creepy crawly things can enter, and enter they did!

Which brings me to the story of the “hair eating spider”.  On our very first morning in Africa my husband and I were busy getting ready to meet our group of 10 travelers and go on our first of many morning game drives.  I was dressed but still barefoot and standing next to the bed.  All of a sudden this huge brown hairy spider with at least a hundred (?) legs came out of nowhere and ran right across my bare foot and quickly disappeared under the bed.  I let out an ear-piercing scream and my husband came running into the room thinking a lion had attacked me in our tent.  He immediately wanted to look under the bed to find the spider.  I strictly forbid him to even peek under there.  All I could think about was that we had to sleep in that bed for a week and I really didn’t want to know what was lurking beneath it.  I had to suck up one of my biggest fears and be brave or I wouldn’t enjoy this trip of a lifetime.

When we met our small group that morning I told the guide my story and he laughed and said, “Oh don’t worry about that, it’s just a hair eating spider and it’s not dangerous.”  Of course I knew he was kidding so I laughed too.  

That week in Kruger I never saw the hair eating spider again, but every single night when we got into bed with the mosquito netting all around it I prayed that the spider was on the outside of it and not waiting for me to fall asleep so he could enjoy himself.  

On the last day in Kruger I asked our guide, "You were just joking with me about the hair eating spider, right?"  Straight-faced he answered, "Oh no, there really is such a thing as a hair eating spider."  I'm not sure if he was telling me the truth or still kidding around, but I was very glad to be leaving there.

And that was just the beginning of my numerous close encounters with spiders of many sizes on our trip.  I learned to coexist with them as well as lots of other insects that made there way into our tents.  

NEPAL COMFORTERS

I had hoped to buy some fabric that was unique to Nepal when I was there, but that didn't happen.  Every day the small bus we traveled on passed through the busy, crowded streets of Kathmandu, Nepal and I would see one fabric shop after another.  But of course there was no stopping just so I could have a look.  I could just envision bolts and bolts of native fabrics calling out to me, with that call going unanswered.

Outside most of these fabric shops were sacks of cotton.  I soon discovered what these sacks of cotton were for and why there were so many fabric shops.

Rather than making traditional block pattern quilts in Nepal, they make whole cloth comforters.  These comforters are made with a top and bottom, sewn around three of the sides, then stuffed very full and thick with loose cotton batting, and the end sewn closed.  They are used nightly on their beds to keep them warm.  I slept under these comforters several times while I was in Nepal and they kept me warm and toasty.  The comforters are very thick and heavy too.

The cotton to stuff the comforters is sold in large 3'x4' sacks.  Since the cotton is quite compressed it needs to be fluffed up in order to fill each comforter.  I watched a man, who was crouched down on the ground, reach into the sack and grab a chunk of cotton, then he beat it with a long stick with a mallet-like wooden head and string attached.  The cotton chunk was soon a soft, fluffy bunch of loose cotton ready to stuff into the comforter.  Once the entire comforter was filled the opening was sewn closed.

After some time the comforters become compressed.  They simply open up the end, remove the cotton and beat it until it is fluffy again, then stuff it back into the comforter and sew it closed. 

One of the places I had the opportunity to sleep under one of these comforters was at the Sanctuary Lodge while trekking on a portion of the Annapurna Loop in the Himalayan Mountains.  The nights were very chilly, but I was quite warm and cozy sleeping under my handmade comforter.  

NEW BEGINNINGS

Rather ironically, my quilting journey began the same year my international adventures began.  It was in 2003 when my first passport was stamped as I entered Peru; and it was in 2003 when I took my first six week quilting class.  Over the years both of these adventures have become linked together and changed my life in ways I never dreamed possible.

     Like so many quilters, I first learned to sew as a child.  I used to watch my mother sitting at her sewing machine making beautiful clothes for herself and for my sister and myself.   It wasn't long before I was sewing clothes for my dolls.  Eventually sewing doll clothes gave way to sewing clothes for myself.  Sometimes it became difficult for my mother, sister, and I to share the same sewing machine.  I received my own sewing machine when I was a teenager.  Making my clothes in high school served a dual purpose.....it saved money and it was a way for me to express myself creatively.  The gowns I made for dances were exactly what I wanted and they were one of a kind.  

     When I got married my sewing machine came with me.  I had seriously considered making my wedding gown but finally decided it might be too stressful in addition to planning a wedding.  I continued making my clothes and also made a few shirts for my husband.  Years later when I became pregnant I thought a lot of the maternity clothes in stores looked plain and boring; so I made my own.  After my son was born I enjoyed making him baby clothes; and eventually pajamas, shirts, shorts, and knit t-shirts.  Sewing for my children continued after son number two came along three years later.  The only clothing I still have from the years of sewing for my children are two wool, fully-lined sport coats they wore to a family wedding.  I guess the amount of hours it took me to sew each one prevents me from parting with them.

     During these years of raising our children my husband was also busy traveling to different countries in the world for business.  I longed to go with him but I also worked and our children had school and sports activities, so I had to stay home.  I loved seeing his pictures and hearing his stories of these foreign places.  He always promised me that someday we would see the world together.

     Funny how very, very quickly life unfolds and one year fades into another, until you wonder how all those years flew by.  Before we knew it our children were grown and out of the nest and we had the freedom to vacation whenever we wanted.  After a lifetime of summer travels seeing the United States we decided to take our first international trip together.  (We had been to Mexico and Canada, but didn't need passports for those countries at that time). 

     In 2001 I received my first passport and I can remember looking at those blank pages and wondering if I would ever fill all of them.  I had always wanted to see Machu Pichu, Peru; and when our neighbors went there I couldn't wait to see their pictures and hear their stories.  In 2003 we booked our first adventure travel trip through "Overseas Adventure Travel" (the same trip and tour company our neighbors used).  This trip was going to be different than anything we had ever experienced and it would lead us to places we never thought we would see.

    As long as I live I will never forget the exhilarating feeling that came over me when I walked off the airplane in Lima, Peru, and made my way through the airport.  Looking around and seeing all the Peruvian people sent such a thrill of excitement coursing through my body.  At long last I was finally there, in a country so very foreign from my own.  My husband and I were about to embark on our first adventure together, just like he promised me so long ago.  

     It just so happened that in 2003 I began my quilting journey too.  After a lifetime of sewing clothing and various crafts, I became interested in learning how to quilt.  My old sewing machine in the cabinet took a back seat to a new portable sewing machine that did decorative stitches.  I took a six week beginners quilting class at the nearest quilt shop and immediately became hooked.  Spending time sitting at my new sewing machine working on a quilt was my favorite past time, as well as spending countless hours in a quilt shop picking out just the right fabric.

     And so as 2004 rolled around I found myself with two major addictions that I had no intentions of giving up:  quilting and seeing the world.  In the years that have followed, my husband and I have traveled to remote and far away places and are already filling up the pages of a second passport.  These travels also began to influence my quilting.  After a few years of making traditional quilts I felt the need to express my creativity in a more artistic way.  That is when I became interested in art quilts.  It wasn't long before I began designing and creating quilts based on a vacation photo I had taken.  

     After all these years of traveling my file of artistic photos is numerous.  They range from architectural details, tile work, carpet and pottery designs, statues, and symbols; to people and landscapes.  Sometimes, when I am on a trip, I see something that speaks to me in such a way that I immediately begin planning out the quilt I will make.  My design might also include elements from several different photos.

     Just as my travels continue to take me to interesting places in the world, my quilting journey continues to take me in new directions.  

GYM RAT

My husband endearingly calls me a gym rat and it has become a joke between the two of us.  And it is true because I absolutely LOVE going to the gym almost everyday and working out.  I even call it my home away from home.  Too bad this wasn't a part of my life when I was much younger, but as they say "better late than never".  

Now I'm not one of those people who jumps out of bed and heads straight to the gym.  My husband and I enjoy breakfast together and I go to workout sometime in the morning if I have nothing scheduled that gets me going sooner.  Some mornings I get so immersed in my sewing room that I have to drag myself away from a project.  But it's better to get my workout done and then I can spend time on my creative pursuits.  This morning it was cold and rainy and I sure didn't feel like getting out of my warm pjs and robe to go outside.  Yet that is exactly what I did because I knew how great I would feel while I was there and when I was done.  I came home an hour later full of energy and ready to accomplish anything.

After more than a year and a half I still enjoy, and look forward to, my daily workouts.  The gym I go to is Fitness Quest 10 ( fitnessquest10.com ).  It is a neighborhood gym owned by Todd Durkin, not a large chain fitness center.  While it may be small in size it is super large in IMPACT, Todd's key word.  He trains some of the nation's top professional athletes from the NFL, MLB, and NBA, as well as college sports.  However, I do try to keep some space between myself and those REALLY BIG GUYS from the sports world when they are working out. Even though I am among the "older" clientele that work out there I never feel out of place.  Everyone is very friendly and there's such an amazing amount of positive energy everywhere.

The gym has given me back my quality of life.  I was on the verge of scheduling spinal surgery when I went to Water and Sports Therapy (they share space in the gym).  After years and years of living with a very bad back (many problems), enduring countless epidural spinal injections only to end up in pain again in a year,  I began PT one more time.  In the past I would practice the home exercises they recommended but sooner or later I stopped doing them and of course the back pain eventually returned.  Two years ago I completed my Physical Therapy and my pain was gone.  I knew that I definitely did not want back surgery so I made the decision to join the gym to try to keep my core strong and my back pain free as long as possible.

So all-in-all I guess you could say I am a gym rat.  And so far all my hard work has paid off in spades.  I can now carry my 11 pound travel backpack, or a heavy bag of groceries without hurting myself or being sore the next day.  And I can stand for hours without my back aching or feeling exhausted.  My clothes also fit much better.  My bottom-line goal is to try to live the best quality of life I can as long as I can.

Women in colorful saris in a field taking a work break.
India 2015.

Khajuraho, India

Jantar Mantar monuments, Jaipur, India; giant sundial.

Abstract pieced quilt based on the three photos above.  Made in Jean Wells' class at Asilomar Conference Center, Empty Spools Seminars.  Hand embroidered, beaded, and free motion quilted.

AFRICAN SUNSET, 2011

Quilt based on above photo, made in Patty Hawkins' class at Asilomar Conference Center, Empty Spools Seminars.  This was an abstract quilt class using a raw edge fusible technique.  I chose not to bind my quilt but instead left the raw edge for a more natural look.