Happy Christmas...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

We left home at 6.30am and arrived at the party by 11.30am.

All too soon it was time to eat and run. But an excellent party and a big thank you to my sister and her husband. A warm, welcoming, fun Christmas celebration. Great to see everyone.

Just as well the shopping had to stop.... I might have gone nuts (well even more over the top). I love pressies and helping all the kids have a great Christmas.

Samuel didnt enjoy all that time on the train. We wont do it that way again. But we are home now and enjoying a great Christmas day. It's fine to be by ourselves and have a fun lazy day.... because yesterday was so special ..... gosh the food was delicious. Note to self: try cooking. It might be fun after all.

One thing at a time.....

See the ant over there? I never realised he was walking sideways.... I should have taken the shot differently.... with everything in the garden at the moment I am wondering what was so great about the moth wing that he just HAD to carrying it up the steps. Oh well. Ant business I guess.

Well i suppose there has to be ONE good thing about getting really really old LOL!! And here it is. While part of you is in a huge panic because of everything you have to get achieved in the next 5 days..... old age is telling you that one step at a time you can do it!!!

If I could just really crack the lion's mane..... Im off to get a few more fabrics today. Im not sure whether to do it solid, strips, ..... its a bit cheesy to try and buy fabric that looks like lion hair and just put a wig on..... LOL There has to be some way I can manipulate all the gold and brown I have.... to make his hair appear!!

Shopping list today:

invisible thread, quilt permanent marker (for the quilt label), binding fabric, better hand sewing needles, iron on stuff (name?) and disappearing act stuff (name?) see..... old age is a shocker.

Im also buying myself a few treats today...... like some new pj s and other bits and pieces that are a bit boring.... but it is nice to be able to get myself a Christmas present!!!

**Its raining again.... which is good..... and bad. Ok good. I suppose I can justify NOT mowing the back lawn if it is nice and wet!

Its a scan so I had to erase the white threads that showed up.... but add a blue tie and this is my obama, hand appliqued, black and white cotton fabric. It sits in the centre top of my quilt in a narrow frame. His face was a mm by mm proposition but I think it looks like him.

My Artist Statement accompanying my Obama quilt

You know, Australia too was colonized and then worked its way to independence. I have an intense interest in history. I believe you are better equipped to know where you are going and who you are traveling with, if you shrug off ignorance and embrace a knowledge of those who have gone before.

The first settlers were my family and friends of family. How do I reconcile my pride of these amazingly brave people with my embarrassment over their attitudes towards native peoples, racial and religious intolerance? I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible and unnecessary. Impossible because no one determines what period of history they are born in, what family they are raised in, what norms concerning religion and race they are soaked in. Unnecessary as my responsibility is to share their story even handedly and be responsible for my own actions and attitudes.

I have been watching for an event that would reveal and celebrate the incredible generosity of spirit the challenges of the last 100 years have put in our hearts. I passionately believe each one of us take very seriously our personal responsibility for the worthy human being living, working, by our side. I think we have come a long way in finding value in our family traditions, our roots, while allowing ourselves to feel a love for whatever country we now call home.

Out of this complex consideration of past and present comes the simple word : hope. Hope epitomizes a state of mind that took action and elected Mr Obama.

The campaign language: “Yes, we can.”, “Change”, rang true for peoples living beyond the shores of the United States of America. Australian television channels broke into regular programming for President Elect Obama’s acceptance speech in Chicago, November 5 2008. People here stopped and listened, were moved to tears.

I have been inspired by Jefferson, "all men are created equal", Martin Luther King Jnr, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. “ and President Elect Obama’s determination “Yes we can”.

I feel priviliged to offer my quilt for the show at Montgomery College. My quilt has elements from Kenya, Kansas and the USA because you know, not one of us stands alone, unaffected by our forefathers or untouched by present time pressures. I am inspired by a man who campaigned not on fear, cliché or race. But on the contents of his character.

Finally....

Welcome David

Shhh! we will let you sleep because you are probably still getting used to being in this big wide world!

Gosh .... you are gonna be a great addition to the clan...

No pressure.... but we are looking for a sane member..... so we hold out great hopes for you being the "one". LOL

Kisses sweet little boy.

Obama quilt.... its drawn.... on paper... now for fibre!!

Im ready to put fibre to background fabric now. Ive drawn the pictures and Ive got the layout.

Im curling the lower edge corners and underneath will show the Kenya and Kansas flags. I feel this will give credit to Mr Obama's parents homelands in a significant way.

The lion, elephant, wheat, paddle steamer wheel, sunflowers, bald eagle.... are all in subtle frames. Im still working on how to suggest frames while still keeping the piece bascially a picture of all the natural elements that have blended to make the man.

Inside the fields (under the rising sun - reference to Obama's campaign logo) Im sewing in invisible thread 3 memorable references. Jefferson's "all men are created equal", King's "content of one's character" and Obama's "yes we can".

I havent seen ANY pictures referring to Kansas (his mother) or Kenya (his father)... I hope that my quilt wont be excluded because it isnt a 60 inch square of his face.

My whole family is eating, sleeping, working, walking, this quilt.

I hope it gets finished. INSIDE my head is the easy bit.

Thank you to all my friends who have donated bits and pieces of fabric... for all the colors in it. You will be on the quilt label ... so we are all in this together.

Thanks to my sister ..... well too many things to mention.... but one thing ..... I searched, located and downloaded for free the entire user manual for this machine.

She let me know that these sewing machines are still being sold and now Ive found the manual. I feel so sure that buying it (I use that term loosely because our dad can be very generous) is going to be absolutely the right thing to do.

It has a great big table that it sits "in".... you can make a tent or a blouse or mmm..... oh yeah QUILTS

AND I should have so found the manual to my current singer... because if I adjust the foot tension on the top of the machine I can machine quilt ..... omg Im such a silly.

Yes yes I dont like machine quilting..... but there are times when it is great..... like table runners. It is only the ones that are possibly going to be family heirlooms that I love to hand quilt.

OK well ... a marriage proposal would be handy and then my life would be perfect !

Obama quilt.... just thinking

Mental stretch 1.

Ive been thinking and drawing.... how am I going to blend... the animals and trees and icons.... I think Ive settled that each piece that has significance in his past will be very lightly framed. So the quilt will be different size framed objects..... but how do I fit in the final frame? Perhaps centre top? Either side of the centre top..... sky will silhouette of girls, on the other side a woman.

Mental stretch 2.

Have to put together a few lines on where my inspiration came from. Well if you know me at all..... it is the restriction of "a few lines" that is the tough part.

Getting supplies....

It is really really hard to juggle 2 teens who never want to go anywhere... and a 3 yr old who hates shopping. Throw in that a bus ride there and back would be fine except for the 3 hours in between.

I cant even find a shop here in this town that sells a spool of thread let along a length of ribbon or some fabric. It is such a pain that the big shops get all the best deals on buying a million yards of fabric but then they dont both helping out a smaller shop so we can buy. AND I tried to buy online and it was going to take me two weeks to even see what I bought! amazing.

Hopefully today is nearly the last time I go on the bus and struggle with Sam for 3 hours. I need to match shades of fabric. I cant just buy online.

How is that printer ink going? Does it surprise anyone that I can buy an entire printer for the cost of two cartridges? it is madness.

Design by S O'Connor, Victoria, Australia