Various and sundry . . .

I'm finally in my studio again! I've been working on two challenge quilts. I'll just give you a sneak peak here. The first is for the Cotton Patch Quilters:

And the second is for Fiber Frenzy:

I've joined the Sketchbook Challenge. This month's assignment is doodling, which I haven't done yet, but sounds like a non-threatening way to start.

And I just signed up for a challenge with Karen Musgrave AND a class with Elizabeth Barton at Quilt University. I've taken dozens of classes from Quilt University and have been happy with the teachers and the quality of the classes. I'm really looking forward to learning from Elizabeth. This is my first time responding to a challenge, and I couldn't just do one!

I've got my hands full, but I think that's what I need to get myself moving. Deadlines are a great motivator!

Now, a treat for the soul (at least it was for me)--a December morning from my back deck:

And last but not least, this is from June Underwood (reprinted by permission) who summed up my feelings about trying to be a superwoman very well:

Let's see: why do I suddenly want to curl up in my closet -- let me count the ways:

1. I should keep a journal, an orderly journal, one which starts at the first page of the handmade book (that I made, of course) and finishes at the last page. Each page should have text and at least one drawing and perhaps some photos and fabric as memorabilia.

2. I should blog every day, incorporating both text and photos, inspirational sayings, links to other great blogs, and links to Amazon for books I think others should read. I should also read books.

3. I should list my hopes, aspirations, and goals for the year, break them down into daily, weekly, monthly segments, make up an excel sheet, and write every day (in my computer, not in my journal) what I've accomplished in these areas.

4. I definitely should do strengthening exercises so I can lift my carry-ons into the overhead compartments, should I ever want to carry on luggage again. Or use the airlines, for that matter.

5. I should walk at least 4 times a week, alternating days with swimming or biking through Portland's streets in order to sharpen my defensive skills against open doors and crazed drivers and to keep my hair straw-dry and my feet mud-wet.

6. I should vacuum the studio once a week. I should vacuum the kitchen twice a day. I should be sure to get the dust mites up before they get up me.

7. I should eat a good breakfast with protein and blueberries. I should have only 1/2 cup of coffee if I think I can't live without it, which I can't.

8. I should eat a good lunch with whole grains and citrus. No coffee. 16 oz of water.

9. I should eat a very very light dinner with no wine, no dessert, and lots of fish. No coffee. 32 oz of water.

10. I should go to the studio every day, even if it's only to vacuum.

11. I should blog on two blogs, one personal and one artsy. Both should contain photos of my recent trips (walking around the neighborhood counts) and my recent art (drawings in the dust mites is OK).

12. I should be on Facebook at least 5 times a day, posting about my art as well as my vacuuming.

13. I should be on Google Plus at least twice a day discussing the nature of post-modernism and whether Titian used holographic devices and allowing Google to send these posts to all the email folks in my gmail accounts (this in addition to my Google Plus Circle friends).

14. I should grow my own vegetables, particularly as I am fortunate enough to live in a climate where year-round gardening is almost possible, if one has greenhouses and cold frames and doesn't mind hoeing when it's 35 degrees and raining.

15. I should prune my own fruit trees, when I'm not painting the parlor and/or fixing the roof.

16. I should learn all the options on Facebook and set them according to a complex set of rules about who should and who should not read about the inability of my toilet to flush.

17. I should buy an iPhone so I can learn how to use cell phones in the most sophisticated manner and thus be ready to join in conversations about how wonderful the iPhone is.

18. I should buy an iPad so I can learn how it doesn't like PCs, which then would lead me to buying a MAC and starting all over with all my documents, photos and email addresses, transferring these via the unusable cable from PC to MAC as well as buying programs that I already have for the PC that don't transfer on the unusable cable to the MAC. Then I can write blogs and post to FB and Google Plus about how wonderful the iPad is.

19.  I should apply for grants, for residencies, for group exhibits, for solo exhibits, and to be allowed to wrap the Sellwood Bridge in silk so it doesn't fall down before the new one is built.

20. I should learn musical composition, video recording and editing, woodworking, encaustics, and the chemical makeup of dyes in order that I can enhance my art. I should also buy a full set of drawers for beads and feathers and bling-bling, which I can then buy and put away in color-coded, size-delimited containers, and vacuum every day. Then I can learn all about watercolor -- brands as well as pigments -- and oils paints, which I should use.

22. I should subscribe to all the appropriate professional journals, on and off the computer, and make up a marketing plan, having in place a portfolio (fully up to date, and updated every day to account for what I did the day before), a resume (see last parenthesis), and an artist's statement for each piece of art I do (see parenthesis before the last parenthesis). The marketing plan should be separate from goals, aspirations, and hopes, because it's marketing, which must take into account customers, fads, colors of the year, and venues that would actually sell any art I made. These should be placed on an excel sheet so the marketable elements can be checked off; this will save Medicare a lot of money.

22. Oh, and I should make some art.

But before any of that, I think I'll go lie down with a wet washrag on my forehead.

Cheers,
June
Sorry. I couldn't resist. I should be more humble, more laconic, and more earnest.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy creating!