Saturday, May 15, 2010

Connections from Afar

My last post got a comment from Annika DeGroot, the author of a book on micro-macramé, offering to help if I got stuck in my experimentation. How totally kind of her. 

I haven't read the book, but Amazon has a nice feature to let you search inside, and it looks well illustrated and filled with interesting projects. I'll keep it in mind, though I can't possibly buy every fine book I see. 

Beaders are finding this blog from hither and yon. I've got readers from Australia, and Singapore, and all over the US. And, I find, they are kind and helpful, sharing their work, their hints and techniques, and their enthusiasm for beads. 

Yes, many crafts communities are like this. As I've mentioned before, I used to do art quilts, until the larger format of quilts got beyond me. Quilters are wonderful people, and many of them are beaders too, as the move toward surface embellishment of quilts doesn't seem to be fading at all. 

I still have one or two quilts I'd like to complete, if I can. One is for my son. I made him a sailboat quilt when he was little, which he still sleeps under.  When I first started it, he was very patient. He waited three whole days before asking me if it was finished yet. Eventually, it was finished.

Now, I've promised him a quilt, and even started it, for his college graduation. It looks like I have a year to finish this one, as he's enrolled in a program to get FAA certified in Airframe and Aircraft Engine Maintenance, which will finish this time next year. I'm so proud of him!

And there's another quilt I've had in my head for a good 10 years. It's called "Killing the Good Girl" and evolves from a fine traditional center to a wild, embellished, stamped, ripped, embroidered, beaded and steampunk'd outer rim to reflect my inner artistic and spiritual journey. I could make it even wilder now with the beading skills I've acquired. That one too is started, but nowhere near finished. Somewhat like the journey it is supposed to depict.

Life. A Work In Progress. This is true for most of us, I think.

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