Affair of the Heart

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that my art professor had us draw a draped fabric as an assignment.  He told me he was happy with mine but when we went back to the next class, he apparently wasn't happy with many of them.  He decided we were going to do some drawing exercises, then try again.  He'll give us the best of the two grades.  I actually got a good grade and a nice comment on the first one so it is downhill from here, baby!

Anyhoo, last week he pinned up a different drapery and told us to sketch the outline, then draw horizontal lines across it that curved with the folds of the fabric.  It was an extremely frustrating exercise and my fingers were killing me from using small muscles I normally just ignore.  Towards the end of class (it is 3.5 hours), I felt like I was starting to "get" it but it was far from complete. 

This week, he let us continue to work on it.  He left the classroom and after about thirty minutes, Angry Girl (who I mentioned in a post about a month ago) stood up and loudly crumpled up her large paper.  Then she stomped over to trash (VERY dramatically) and violently crammed it in.  She then stomped over to her easel, shoved over the drawing board, grabbed her purse and stomped out in a huff.

Well, then. 

The rest of us just looked at each other.  There were a few shaken heads but none of us said a word.  Just went right back to drawing. 

This is what I came up with:

It was actually kind of fun.

Last weekend, I went to the Affair of the Heart, a monstrously huge arts and craft show in Oklahoma City down at the fairgrounds.  It was as big as a small city - six buildings filled with craft vendors.  I am glad I am not subject to panic attacks because the wave of people and complete sensory overload would have set one off.  I had fun - went with my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law and we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel before we went to the show.   I ended up getting some candles, soap and a pattern to make ornaments. 

Here is my first rough ornament attempt:

 Like I said - rough.

It is not a stitched, ornament.  You use pins and my hands, between art class and pinning the ornament, ache.  If you want to see how they are SUPPOSED to look, check out this site! (she sells them)

I also stitched on a label and binding on grandson's baby quilt.  I haven't handstitched down the binding, yet, but it is coming along.  When I finish it, I will start a new one! 

I stopped off after art class, today to get a flu shot.  I don't always get one but someone pointed out that with a newborn, I don't want to take chances.  McB is due in February and the last thing I would want to do is show up and hack on the poor darling. 

February will be here before we know it.  Amazing.

We've had some gorgeous sunrises, lately.

We got an inch and a quarter of rain a few days ago.  The clouds make for an interesting sunrise.  I can count on the fingers of both hands how many overcast days we've had since June.  HEAVEN!

On the 24th, my art quilt group, (We are) The Baker's Dozen, revealed our latest project, with the theme of "Symbol."  I was not in the mood for anything heavy so I went with the symbol for Aries, my zodiac sign.   I decided to quilt/paint an elfin looking creature with ram horns.  Amazingly (pathetically?), that decision was made without benefit of hard drugs.  Actually, I wanted to try to quilt a face on a smaller project before tackling it on Lady Melinda.  So this was my excuse. 

Here are a few photos of Aries, in progress:

 The back:

She looks a bit like a female Michael Jackson and I forgot to quilt in eyebrows.  That may actually have been good.  My sketches that included eyebrows made her look mean. 

 I'm not really happy with the hair or the eyes but I had fun doing it.  I was pleased with the mouth. 

Evelyn has discovered a gopher and I suspect she is going to tear up the yard trying to catch it.  She was buried up to her shoulders, last I checked.  Husband is beside himself but I figure there is no way to stop her because she is a sneak from way back.  An elegant sneak, but a sneak all the same.

I discovered a new app for my IPhone that charts the moon, stars and planets.  It is so cool that I keep going outside and comparing the 3-D screen to the sky.  

I am such a nerd.

Happy Quilting, Penny, Evelyn and Pearl