Thinking it Over… and Over…

Dear Liza,

As you can tell, I’ve become a little obsessed with this French map quilt.

I’ve never made anything like it, and the examples I’ve found on the internet aren’t anything like I’m trying for, so I am in untested waters.

Quite literally, because it is the shorelines that are giving me the heeby-jeebies. I am trimming, staring, and questioning myself at every step.

After Auntie Bridgett pointed out that for the shoreline to look right it would need water, I headed down to Joann fabric to fetch some blue. And she was right (as she so often is). The shorelines of France curve in, so they fit well inside my hexagonal outline. But what shape should the waves be? Classic pointy? Or smoothly waving?

Since this is an interpretation of a map, we are imagining it from above, and the pointy wave shape is what we see from alongside the waves.

So I am going to go with the smoothly waving style, and will add some embroidered lines of white and blue to show the texture and movement of the waves hitting the shore.


So, after more than a week of “The Artistic Process”, I have three of my six edges (those with shorelines) figured out. Next, I’ll wrestle with mountains.

Wish me luck!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Films of Tomorrow

Dear Liza,

This past Sunday, I took a break from wrestling with the French map quilt to go to the movies with Grandpa Nelson and Auntie Bridgett. We walked a mile down to the Tomorrow Theater on Division Street.

The Tomorrow is an old movie theater that has been resurrected by PAM, our Portland Art Museum, as a community place to show movies and feature local artists, attracting families and artists to enjoy all sorts of art together.

To make sure everyone had fun, our old friend Selfie Bot was there, drawing pictures of folks and making everyone smile.

On the “previews” screen, we saw that our friend Jack Kent had been here just days before, drawing Sketchy sketches during the showing of “Wayne’s World”. Clearly, this is a place we need to get to more often.

We got popcorn and sodas, and “The Iron Giant” began. Grandpa and I had seen it years ago, but it was new to Auntie Bridgett. We all enjoyed it very much, and I realized at the closing credits that it was an early creation of Brad Bird, who later created “The Incredibles” and a dozen other wonderful animated films since then.

We were still talking about the movie as we walked home, and we passed this poster for a completely different event. Funny how some images just get into the cultural mind and stay there….

Love,

Grandma Judy

Progress on the Map of France

Dear Liza,

In search of fabric for my France map quilt, I took the # 75 bus to the #72 to Bolt Fabric the other day. It’s a quick trip, and nice to see new neighborhoods.

Bolt didn’t disappoint! I found the palette I had chosen in solid cottons, which will be good for appliqué-ing and embroidering as the project moves along. I got the fabric home and washed it.


And now I need to decide on the style of the map. The main body will be green, the lower mountains purple, and the peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees will be red. Coastlines will be a soft peach. Am I sure? Maybe.

With my five colors, it will not be a ‘realistic’ map. It will be modern, abstract, more …. stylized. But what style?

I’m wrestling with that, in one of my favorite stages of creation, the “creative problem”.

My goal at this point is to let each stage sit long enough, and look at it often enough, so I don’t get ahead of myself.

So far the only cutting I’ve done is to make the basic green hexagon shape. The rest will come, I’m sure.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Another Map Quilt?

Dear Liza,

You know I love maps, and I love quilts. So, over the years, I’ve made a few quilted maps. When you were little, I made this map of our old neighborhood in Salinas. There are a lot of people and places I love on that map!

And now, being slightly obsessed with France, I am planning a hexagonal shaped quilt. It’s an interesting idea, since the shape of that country is sort of hexagonal, and even is nicknamed “L’Hexagone” because of its six-sided outline.

A few years back I made a folding paper map of France, and it was hexagonal. I really liked it, but didn’t know what to do next. Now I’ve figured it out.

But first, I had to make a good sized hexagonal pattern from newspaper. I don’t want this quilt to be bed sized, but maybe lap-sized. It’s mostly an art project.

I got the length ratios from your Daddy David and the proper angles from Auntie Bridgett, and cut my newspaper pattern 92 cm across, about three feet.

Screenshot

I have chosen my color palette from a website called color palettes.net. This photograph was taken by Svitlana. They aren’t typical map colors, and I like that. Now I need to hunt for these colors in suitable fabrics so I can get started.

I will keep you posted as I go along.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Garden Update July 2024

Dear Liza,

My veggie garden grew like crazy while we were visiting you! Auntie Bridgett kept it watered and weeded and Mother Nature did the rest.

Laverne and Shirley, our dahlias, are as tall as I am and have a couple dozen blooms. The bright yellow blossoms are fat and ruffled and almost as big as our dinner plates. I cut some to decorate our table and left some others for the bees.

And speaking of bees, they have been busy pollinating my zucchinis! We picked one, cooked and ate it before I remembered to take a picture of it. But I did paint a picture of the dinner for my garden journal! The corn on the cob was from the Hollywood farmer’s market and the chicken meatballs were from Trader Joe’s.
Yummy!

And last but not least, my tomatoes are beginning to think about, maybe, someday, getting ripe soon. The Chocolate Cherry tomato plant is slowly getting red!

And that’s all the news from my plot at the Blair Community Gardrn.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Farewell Dear Mousie

Dear Liza,

*This letter is about a sad time. I have included photos from happy times.*

Our sweet cat, Mouse, died July 3rd. Grandpa Nelson and I were away visiting family, and Auntie Bridgett was home caring for her.

Mouse had been sick for a few months, and had gotten a diagnosis of Lymphoma last month. We knew she wasn’t feeling well. She was slower to get around, fussier at her food dish, and less eager for lap time.

And one day while we were gone, Auntie Bridgett knew it was time to let her go. Mouse had been sicker and not able to eat. Out of love and compassion for our dear fur friend, Auntie Bridgett called the Humane Society.

Before they arrived, she called us, and we got to see Mouse one more time. We all cried and said our last goodbyes to Mouse and sent our long-distance love and sympathy to Auntie Bridgett.

Marie was the kind lady they sent out. She met Mouse and saw how sick she was. While Auntie Bridgett held Mouse in her lap, Marie gave Mouse a sedative, and then the medicine that let her slide out of pain and into oblivion.

Marie snipped a bit of fur from Mouse’s back as a keepsake, and gently took her mortal remains away in a box. Auntie Bridgett had some very hard days for a while.

Grandpa Nelson and I got home a week later, and had our own hard time getting used to life without Mouse. No silly kitten waking us up by walking over our tummies; no paw ringing the bell to be let in or out of the balcony; no thieving kitten to hide our toast from. It is a less silly, less fun household, to be sure.

Farewell, sweet, silly Mouse. We will miss you.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Opening Night for Eris

Dear Liza,

Our new friend Tony Pepe and his new bar Eris had their opening night this past Friday. It was a very warm evening and we were looking for nice cold cocktails. We found them!

Auntie Bridgett had an Armagnac, I had a new creation called the Carmen Sutra, and Grandpa Nelson had a glass of red wine. Mine is the pretty pink one.

There was a lively crowd of happy people, including some of our neighbors, enjoying conversation, music, and Tony’s friendly staff; Cassius, Kyle, and Mitchell.

The decor of Eris really speaks to me.

Sigorney Weaver as Ripley (with her cat) keeps look out from over the bar; homages to Sir Terry Pratchett decorate what we will forever call OUR table, and Vigo from Ghostbusters II haunts the bathroom.

You gotta love a haunted bathroom!

The music was a bit loud for my taste, but I’m 68 and don’t generally care for loud music. I’m sure, as cocktail bars go, it was perfect.

As the summer wears on, I know we will be stopping by Eris for yummy wines and chilled cocktails, clever conversation and tasty snacks.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Bridgett and Gifty Kitty in the Mississippi

Dear Liza,

Now that I am back in Portland, I will address my letters to you. This past Saturday was the biggest street fair in the city, The Mississippi Street Fair. I helped Auntie Bridgett get her table set up in front of Gifty Kitty.

Gifty Kitty is a delightfully artsy, quirky shop run by Clody Cates, who is very artsy herself. She is also a powerhouse of energy!

The other tables in front of the store were run by Amelia Opie, who paints cats, and Rowen, who creates all sorts of cute characters.

Rowen really likes pink!

As the crowds started showing up, Bridgett started drawing, and several folks came by to ask about hiring her to draw their cats! She said yes, of course!

As it turned out, the heat of the day was too much for me, and Grandpa Nelson came and fetched me home. While I was grateful for the cool lay down, I was sorry to have missed seeing this: Clody in her beautiful cat costume! (Bridgett took this picture!)

Ain’t life fun?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Completed Travel Journal

Dear Liza,

Now that I’m back home in Portland, I can sit down and do the finishing touches on my Danish travel journal.

I had fun drawing, painting, and inking scenes from our trip. I know photographs are more accurate, but I like being able to give my own take on things.

There are lots of flowers, of course. Denmark in summer is glorious with wild flowers!

There are maps, too, like this one of our three day road trip around the Southern Archipelago.

And this one, of the ferry service in and out of Svenborg, copied from a board by the ferry landing. There are also drawings of the wonderful play area by the Egeskov Castle. I love my bouncing stick people!

The sewing project for Liza that was on my mind and in my hands found its way into the journal.

And you can tell I am getting braver with my drawing when I make an attempt at Liza. I certainly don’t want to botch the picture. But a photo from Elbaek Skov inspired me.

I can’t yet do justice to the beauty of the place or the girl, but I can stretch my limits and get better.

And that closes the book, so to speak, on my Denmark travel journal. Where will I go next? Stay tuned!

Love,

Grandma Judy

A Bag for Liza

Dear Jasper and Kestrel,

While traveling in Denmark, I had a hand-sewing project to keep me occupied when my tourist muscles were tired. I started sewing on it at the Portland airport.

Being stuck in waiting areas is less frustrating if I have something useful to DO. So this made me very happy, stitching bits together and feeling the fabric grow under my fingers.

As I worked, I realized the fabric was getting thick, almost feeling like canvas. Was this going to work? Or was I accidentally making a brick?

Once I was in Denmark and finishing up, Liza helped me find fabric for the lining and drawstring loops, in the form of a kitchen towel from Bilka, the buy-everything store. I managed to get everything sewn together and lined. Usually, I would do this part on the machine. But hand-stitched was the way to go.

The loose weave of the towel was challenging, and felt very bulky. My confidence was slipping.

But once I got it stitched and all together (even with the weird narrow opening), it was, indeed, a functional bag.

It has two different colors of drawstrings, one made of an orange shoelace and the other a stitched length of seam binding.

It is odd and quirky and Liza knows that, like her, there is nothing like it in the world.

I am glad that I got it done and was able to leave it in Denmark where it was intended to be.

Love,

Grandma Judy