I Love Mountains

This is the winning view on my drive to work.


Amazing, right? And it was actually taken a bit ago, so now with all the snow we have been having, I can't wait to see what appears when the clouds part! These are the Adirondacks, visible over Lake Champlain from Vermont.

Today I visited the Vermont mountains - the Green Mountains - for a skiing day. We go to Stowe, which is the big one on Mt. Mansfield, because if we are going to spend the money, we might as well make sure its worth our while! Today was just gorgeous, and after I argued with my boots for a while they settled down and stopped torturing my feet and I enjoyed the runs immensely. Nothing like pitting yourself against Nature at incredible speeds on two little sticks! Wow!

Happy Tuesday to you!

This is Spring?

It's just absolutely miserable here. There's just no other way to say it. This is the view from my back window...





Particularly, I want to draw your attention to the snow that is covering the rooftops. Last year at this time the temperature was in the 70s. We were having classes outdoors. It was actually Spring. This year, Im just not convinced.

The good part in all this nastiness is that the overwhelming desire to be outside soaking up the sun and the warmth and the infant green-ness is not here and is therefore not playing its devilish role in the procrastination process. To be sure, I do not need any other procrastination temptations, I have plenty and am doing my darnedest to ignore their siren calls.

So, since I cannot chase the clouds away and bring back the Spring goodness that seemed so close a week ago, I am taking the view that this is all for the best, and am dedicating myself to finishing all the papers and projects that have been piling high. Things are going good. And when I need a lift, I sit and stare at the fishes and soak up some of their tropical cheerfulness.

Bear's Paw

The Bear's Paw. First of eight squares that will become the final project for my degree. My study major is art, culture, and community, so for my degree project I am trying to combine everything and wrap it all up in one creative venture.

I have become fascinated with quilts and other traditional "women's crafts," and their role in community development at the most fundamental levels. So I am experimenting with traditional quilt patterns, and marrying them with photography of tools that are used in crafting and building. The plan is to create eight 12-inch pieced squares, and the opposite sides of each will have a photograph, developed onto fabric with liquid emulsion and surrounded by a pieced border. Then the two sides will be quilted together - I would like to hand-quilt but I'm afraid I might be too slow. We shall see. The pieces will then be displayed separately, or bound together as a book. I am thinking a crazy quilt cover would be fun. My main problem now is that I just need to buckle down and work. And of course I need to go fabric shopping! (any excuse will do...)



As you can see, I desparately need to enlarge my collection. There's just nothing here! ok, so there is something, but it is so frustrating to always work with the same fabric. I have decided I really need some new patterns, and especially some more with yellow.



Now I just have to help my sweetheart dig his car out of the mountain so we can get to the fabric store!

By-the-by, if there is anyone out there reading this, and you happen to have any ideas for fun 12-inch quilt squares, or any other ideas for or about this project of mine, I would love to know!