Returning to my poor, neglected blog

 

Apologia: Last weekend marked the hellish return of my trigeminal neuralgia symptoms and I've asked my doctor to refer me to the surgeon in Winston-Salem who does laser surgery to bring relief from the pain.  This is as bad as it's ever been.  Everything seems to trigger the pain--toothpaste, talking, chewing. drinking cold water, walking, touching the right side of my face, etc.  Saturday, I mostly sat on the porch and tried not to move, but Sunday, I was tired of giving into the pain and decided to do some work in the studio and reactive this poor, sad blog of mine.  The baby quilt above is for the new baby of the couple who owns our favorite Indian restaurant.  I finished piecing it on Sunday.

  Dan and Steph left on Friday after a wonderful extended visit.  Anna was able to come for the long July 4th weekend and it was terrific being together with our entire family for my  66th birthday.  Anna made me a delicious and beautiful cake and we all enjoyed our meal at Lucky 32, an excellent Greensboro restaurant with fabulous catfish.

Jim is greatly improved in health.  The brace and the walker are gone, but he relies on a cane.  He is getting himself around to therapy and school and generally looking and feeling more himself.

Safety Pin Studio has seen the usual number of baby quilts as well as a t-shirt quilt for my cousin, Lynn, and the repair and quilting of an antique quilt top of hers.  Anna's new apartment sports new curtains, too.  Dan and Steph's quilt was finally finished so that they had it on their bed here during their visit and then took it back to Canada with them.

My cousin's antique quilt top was in rough shape, but since I had some experience restoring antique textiles, I repaired everything first. The poor baby below had to be completely backed with cotton to save it.  I suggested that quilting the top would help to preserve it.  Using all 100% cotton (thread, backing fabric, batting), I sandwiched  and quilted it very lightly by hand.

The weather was cooperative, so I was able to baste it on the screened porch.

My cousin knew something about the history of the quilt, so I created a label on the back to preserve that information as well.  The block pattern was churn dash, so I made a little block of my own for the label.

The t-shirts that my cousin had collected over the years were very rich visually and made a very fun quilt. Making t-shirt quilts interesting presents a challenge because it is tempting to cut them uniformly in size which means you end up with lots of empty space and the thing becomes so heavy you can hardly move it.  I'm a fan of cutting the designs out closely.  I stabilize all the shirt pieces with a woven, iron-on interfacing which makes sewing regular cotton fabric to them easier. The differences in size can be dealt with by adding pieces of patchwork.

"The rising of the women means the rising of the race."

While I try to stay away from the overtly political on this blog, the universe has been asking for an "Amen" for the last few weeks and I have been trying to comply in my way.  I renewed our day sponsorship for our local public radio station and sent a contribution to Planned Parenthood--freedom of the press and access to health care for women being two very important causes to me.  Dan has also recently finished an incredible book called Half the Sky which makes clear the fact that many women and little girls on this planet still do not have access to education and are not safe in their persons, cared for when they have children, or allowed to make choices that directly affect their lives like who they marry and when.  A PBS special based on the book is due this fall.  It is chilling.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said that Western women can rescue the world.  Clearly, we have the power.  We are now the primary breadwinners, can elect a President, we represent the majority of college students, we have found our voices.  We must march on.

(Lyrics to the song "Bread and Roses" by Mimi Fariña)

As we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day,

A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,

Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,

For the people hear us singing: Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!

As we go marching, marching, we battle too for men,

For they are women's children, and we mother them again.

Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;

Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses.

As we go marching, marching, unnumbered women dead

Go crying through our singing their ancient call for bread.

Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.

Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too.

As we go marching, marching, we bring the greater days,

The rising of the women means the rising of the race.

No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes,

But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses, bread and roses.

Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;

Hearts starve as well as bodies; bread and roses, bread and roses.

The lyrics for this song come almost directly from the poem of the same name by James Oppenheim that was inspired by the Lawrence Mill workers..

Thanks, some thoughts in praise of Susan Piver, and a little rationalization: an all-sorts blog post

Thanks to Rev. Danny Fisher for the nice shoutout on his blog concerning a great quote from Susan Piver that I posted on Facebook. It came from an interview she did with Jenna, the author of the blog, Drinking to Distraction and was in response to a question that dealt with issues of vulnerability.

"I think the attunement with your essential vulnerability is the same thing as attunement with your highest wisdom and your deepest creativity and your heart of hearts. It’s difficult to be human. It’s difficult to walk around with what we know is true, which is that we each have a raw and open heart that is without protection at any time."


I love her writing and I think she has a wonderful ability to home in on the heart of complex issues. I've written before about my own struggles with anxiety and Susan's words made me realize how much time I spend trying to protect myself from my various vulnerabilities.  This idea of making peace with them, embracing them as you do your wisdom, your creativity, and your own true heart, just took my breath away. At the same time, I can think of artists, writers, musicians, who have channeled their own vulnerabilities to produce stunning creative works.  Think of nearly any self-portrait by Frieda Kahlo. This is the most difficult piece for me.  Much work still ahead.

I know I haven't posted in days and days, but it's been crazy at school and we seem to have so much to do in the evenings that there's never any time then either.  Last weekend was our 34th anniversary and we had a lovely celebration.  I have been quilting on the yoga quilt when I've had any time at all and it's nearly finished.  Pictures of that will follow soon.

Another round on Dan's Buddhist liturgical vestment

This is a shout-out to Dan, our son who blogs at Rev. Danny Fisher, for a back-link to my post about his stole.  Check it out and you can see one of the fabulous black and white photos that Dan took at the wedding.  Jim subtitled Anna and Matty's wedding, When Worlds Collide, and here's another example of that!  Thanks for sending your readers to me, buddy.

The header of Dan's blog is a detail from my quilt called "Kundun" dedicated to his Holiness, the Great 14th Dalai Lama.  George C. Wolfe was right.  We are all truly "up in each other's stories."  Like a great scrap quilt, it makes things rich, interesting, and varied.

Dan's Stole: On Creating a Buddhist liturgical vestment

After seeing the wedding pictures, several people have asked me if I made the stole that Dan wore to perform Anna and Matty's wedding ceremony so I thought it merited a post.  When Dan was getting ready to perform his very first wedding, he decided that he would like a stole and I offered to make one.

While a liturgical vestment often associated with the Christian tradition, the stole was probably based on the tallit or Jewish prayer shawl.  In the Japanese Buddhist tradition, patchwork plays a very large role.  Monks are supposed to beg or collect scraps of fabric to piece together to make their robes.  It was from this that I got the idea to use crumb piecing to create the stole. Dan chose the color red.


After the stole was pieced, we determined that it needed some sort of symbology on the peak at the back and on the ends.  Dan chose the dharma wheel for the back and lotuses for the front ends. The red lotus is that of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva who embodies compassion.

Here's a great shot of Dan with my Dad that shows the dharma wheel.  The photo was taken by my brother, Dan Warner.

This is a close-up of the dharma wheel.

Here's one of the lotuses.

This is the ceremony in progress shot through a string of prayer flags and one of my favorite photos of the wedding.

Update July 20, 2010              
          
I received an email from Lynn, a vestment maker with more information about the history of the stole.  Here's what she has to say:
I am a long time vestment maker and although people of prayer have draped themselves in garments of worship for thousands of years, the stole itself traces its lineage to first century Rome.  The stole or scarf, longer (to knees) was worn as a symbol of 'office' and power. When the Christian church became endorsed by 'the state' under Constantine in the 300sCE, Christian priests (deacons, bishops) began to wear upper class Roman clothing as vestiture, again to denote their rank and role, and also fulfilling the idea of 'draping' the worship leader with a covering during worship and/or celebration. Of course every different path of 'the Holy' brings it's own lore and trappings.... When the Jews wore shawls (imitating Moses, who veiled himself, according to scripture, when he met God on the mountain), setting the precedent that a 'garment' was worn in conjunction w/ worship.  Not sure *really* what the first and second century Christians wore... after all, many of them were still Jews converting non Jews to a new 'sect', most probably.  The Roman's desire for 'order' and ritual is what set the pace for vestments, IMO.  The stole is not the only Roman attire that is still modeled in vestiture in Christian churches to this day, but the stole is the one most universally worn.

Happy Birthday, Dan

Our son Dan celebrates his birthday today. I send him lots of love and wishes for many happy returns of the day. This picture was taken the month his sister was born and is one of my favorites. What a gift I was given 31 years ago today.

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~The Buddha

Keeping Christmas in my heart all year: reflections on the day of Dan's homecoming

Portrait by Linda Hayward

Our son Dan is coming home for the holidays tonight. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that Dan is a Buddhist chaplain who blogs at Rev. Danny Fisher. Lately he's added a feature to his blog called the gift of dharma in which he shares a teaching from one of the many wonderful Buddhist teachers. Yesterday's teaching from the radiant Acharya Ani Pema Chödrön struck a strong chord within me.

The basic theme of the teaching, as I interpret it, was that when we are listening to people, particularly people with whom we might have issues, we have a tendency to compartmentalize what they say. If their verbal offering makes us angry, we lay all the blame at their feet or we feel guilty and blame ourselves. Pema Chödrön suggests that there is another alternative:

"Compassionate action starts with seeing yourself when you start to make yourself right and when you start to make yourself wrong. At that point you could just contemplate the fact that there is a larger alternative to either of those, a more tender, shaky kind of place where you could live."

Reading this teaching immediately brought Dickens' A Christmas Carol to mind. Scrooge pushed people away because it's very difficult and messy and sometimes hurtful to be involved with other people. To experience the joy of others, you also have to buy into the less joyous aspects. When Scrooge says, "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year," it literally means he's choosing compassionate action over suffering. Dickens also said, “Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.” Great words to live by in this and every season of the year.

Enjoying the new camera

As I posted earlier, my son Dan is using an image of my quilt "Kundun" as the header for his blog. He'd used an old image and the colors aren't true, so he'd asked me to photograph it again and send him a clearer picture. Since it's gorgeous and sunny and clear here today, I pinned the quilt to the screened porch and took some photos with the new camera. I love this new camera (Nikon Coolpix L100). I had decided to get the next step up, but after handling both this and the next step up in the store, I decided on the L100.



I'm particularly happy with the close-ups. The details of the quilting and the seams are really textural and clear.



We have a matinee of "Gulf View Drive" today and then a day off. (YEAH!!!) We've had really small audiences, but they have been very warm and responsive.

"Kundun" is featured on a new blog

My son, Dan, has moved his blog to Word Press with a refocus on content. In redesigning the look of his blog, he decided to use a close-up of the quilt I made for him called "Kundun." This quilt honors His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. Roughly translated, "kundun" means "presence" and is a way of addressing His Holiness. I first blogged about the quilt here. Good luck with your new blog, buddy, and thanks for showcasing the quilt.

Kaleidoscope Quilts: The Art of Paula Nadelstern

The American Folk Art Museum is the site of the first major exhibit by a solo quilter and Paula Nadelstern's brilliant work is beautifully showcased in this little gem of a museum. Known for her incredible kaleidoscope quilts, Nadelstern, who is also a New Yorker, was the perfect quilter for this honor. Having the opportunity to study her work up close was an incredible treat. I loved coming across a tiny piece of fabric and recognizing it as something from my stash, and then being totally blown away by her use of these fabrics in her bilateral symmetry quilt smorgasbords. The museum has paired her quilts with several actual kaleidoscopes and her snowflake quilts feature an allied display about Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley, the famous photographer of snowflakes.

I was able to visit the exhibit on a weekday and had the entire gallery to myself for most of an hour. If you are anywhere near the greater New York City area, I strongly urge you to get to this exhibit before it closes on September 13th. If you can't make it, there are several videos at the AFAM link above and Bonnie McCaffery did a really good vidcast with Paula that's available from her site.



Ever the souvenir collector, I picked up several things in AFAM's lovely little gift shop, including this lustrous group of fat quarters from Paula's Benartex collection called Opulence.



This is a postcard of Paula's quilt Kaleidoscopic XXXIII: Shards (2007). It is part of the exhibit and is a testament to her incomparable construction techniques.

I took a picture for Dan while I was walking back from the Paula Nadelstern exhibit and he's now put it up on his blog. I knew it would be his kind of billboard. Thanks for the shout-out, buddy.

Happy Birthday, Dan

One of my favorite pictures of Dan. Taken by James Fisher, Crawfordsville, Indiana, 1981.

Happy birthday, buddy. Many, many joyous returns of the day.

Another mention on Dan's blog

Dan did a little post about his accident on his blog.

Thanks, Dan!

A tip o' the hat to my son, Dan, for the nice mention on his blog about my post on the meditative quality of hand quilting.