Pantone Color of the Year 2020: Classic Blue

Each year Pantone, the paint and color people, choose a color in December for the year ahead. They imbue these colors with ideas and ideals for the new year. I don't always agree with the choices but along with many in the quilting community, I like to ruminate on them a bit.

The Pantone color of the year for 2020 is Classic Blue.

Here is what they say about it:

“Instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era… Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue re-centers our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience… As technology continues to race ahead of the human ability to process it all, it is easy to understand why we gravitate to colors that are honest and offer the promise of protection. Non-aggressive and easily relatable, the trusted PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue lends itself to relaxed interaction. Associated with the return of another day, this universal favorite is comfortably embraced.”

I’ve pondered Classic Blue for almost two months.

Generally I have a pretty quick response to the Color of the Year. Usually a negative one. I tend to vehemently disagree with the statement and mission that Pantone puts out. This year it took me much longer to decide how I feel.

My first thought is that I like this color. I’m often indifferent to the actual color of the Color of the Year. But Classic Blue is calming; it reminds we of the deepening blue of a late spring or early summer sky, cloudless and intense. The feeling you get when you’ve gone thru your whole day and for some reason you glance up, maybe a noise attracted your attention, maybe your in the middle of a memory and your head tilts up in thought, and there it is, a perfectly blue sky. And the feeling that the color inspires is so all encompassing, washing over your body, spirit and mind. It is uplifting, humbling, and expansive all at the same time. It may be, as Pantone suggests, a peaceful color, but it is at the same time a color that makes one think of the vastness of sky, ocean, and time, and how small your part in that expanse can be .

One tiny indistinguishable drop in an enormous endless bucket.

To me, this feeling is comfortable, re-centering, bringing a sense of peace and tranquility, just like Pantone intends. The idea that we are all the same, and all only a part of something far bigger and more important than the individual. This might not be exactly what Pantone meant, but to me this is the most relevant message to what’s happening in the world that Pantone has come up with in recent years. With world leaders making choices that strip away our rights, and divide us, with a shift to a “me me me” mentality, we need a reminder that everyone is connected and everyone needs to be able to relate to each other and put themselves in other people place. No one is special, no one is different, look at a stranger as you would look at yourself.

Overall, I really like classic blue and hope that Pantone, is right and this can be an awaken, centering, joining, strengthening year for all as a whole. That the larger community can leave the individual behind and come together to create better things.

What does Classic Blue make you think of or feel?

Modern Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art

It seems like we were in New Orleans ages ago!! It was really only about two month ago that we traveled with my husbands family to one of my favorite cities. The only thing that I put on our family trip agenda was to go to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA).

Although I had been to New Orleans several times, and had visited the free sculpture garden adjacent to the museum, I had never visited the museum itself. It’s a very small museum but it’s pretty jam packed. We had a limited time for this visited so we did end up skipping some of the more classic art, and heading right to the modern art. We were pleasantly surprised that the modern and contemporary art areas were quite large. That’s usually our favorite part of any museum and this was no exception.

Many of our favorite modern artist were on display including Rauchenberg, Picasso, Ernst, Pollock and more! There were also some super fun new artists and peices to learn about and explore.

I think a trip to NOMA is a must at some point for those visiting New Orleans. The museum itself is great, it’s also a very doable size, and the attached free sculpture garden is also awesome. Both are right at the entrance to City Park, which is a stunning free park to visit. The museum is a little pricy at $15 for adults. I think this is worith the price and feels good to support, but it makes the free garden and park even more exciting and inclusive as you can still see some amazing work while on a budget.

Has any reader been to this museum? Does anyone have suggestions of other museums to visit in New Orleans, LA?

Off Season: gARTen, Asbury Park

On the main street (but not Main Street) of our town, tucked in a lot, beyond a fence, besides an ice cream shop, it the gARTen. Truth be told, I don't know too much about it but I think it's an amazing thing to have in one's town!! I'm not sure who is behind this amazing open air junk art gallery display but I salute them! 

This garden isn't open all the time, I don't know the hours, but that almost makes it more magical. You'll be walking along and see that it's open and pop in as an unexpected treat! The garden is always different, pieces added, pieces missing, and constantly in a state of entropy. At night, it's illuminated by blacklight!

I love that someone (or several someone) is creating these objects and I love that they are made from trash that might otherwise end up in the landfill or even worse in the ocean and on the beach, just a few blocks away. 

The other day my husband mentioned that he read that this art project was in danger so we decided to head over and check it out. Hopefully it won't be for the last time. 

This art project reminds me a lot of my childhood and early education. Being homeschooled and then going to an alternative education school, we were always making the most of the supplies we had and making things out of "junk".  

We are so lucky to have a an art space like this in our town. These unique spaces should thrive in young cities like ours. We should work to preserve them!

Do you have a unique place like this in your town or city?

Art and Nature in Cleveland Ohio

Whenever I go on a trip I like to take some time to see some art, a museum, a gallery, and I try to see some nature, a park, a garden, And I love to see a combo of the two. 

When I went to Cleveland in June, I didn't get to seek out any museums or botanic gardens, but luckily, just walking around the city, I got to see quite a bit of art and nature!

I loved how much street art and how many murals were just peeping out around town. It gave the city a very new and cared for feel. With the old architecture, and repurposed spaces, made the whole city feel like it would survive anything and still live on. 

A city on a body of water is a glorious thing and it was nice to walk only a few minutes from the heart of town and find yourself on a curving river or expansive lake at sunset. 

Parks and little bits of nature were all over, and people were out enjoying them at the start of Summer!

Although Cleveland isn't the most ideal walking city, it was the perfect way for me to get acquainted with it! Next visit, I hope to get to a museum, park, or combo of art and nature, but for a first visit I got the perfect taste!

Modern Art at The Fabric Workshop and Museum

While we were in Philly at the beginning of the month, we discovered that our hotel was right near the Fabric Workshop and Museum. Before we visited, I had never heard of this little  museum and didn't know their mission. Here's how they describe themselves:

The Fabric Workshop and Museum was founded in 1977 with a visionary purpose: to stimulate experimentation among leading contemporary artists and to share the process of creating works of art with the public. Providing studio facilities, equipment, and expert technicians, FWM originally invited artists to experiment with fabric, and later with a wide range of innovative materials and media.

The exhibit that was at the museum when we went was a sort of retrospective of many of the artists that had come to the Fabric Workshop. Process and Practice: 40 Years of Experimentation showcases many of the artist's work as well as their notes, sketches, scraps, prototypes, etc... that they generated while working on the major project. We didn't know what artists there would be or what to expect, but it was really lovely to see the process and production of notable artists like Kiki Smith (next three pictures). 

There were a ton of recognizable artists, and many that I had never heard of. I really enjoyed the way the museum was laid out and the way each artist and their work was displayed. Being primarily a textile museum, there were lots of clothing, a quilt, some stuffed toys, some embroidery, and other fabric works. But there were also works of paper, film, and projection. 

The Fabric Workshop and Museum is right in the heart of center city, one block from the Reading Terminal Market. The entry fee is only $5 suggested donation. This museum and exhibit is a great way to see some more obscure pieces of your favorite modern artists, or to introduce people to modern art and textile arts. I love how accessible this museum is and I would highly recommend checking it out! 

Has anyone else visited this museum? What is your favorite suggest donation museum near you?

Goodbye Hall Of Gems

Last week The American Museum of Natural History in NYC closed the doors of the Hall of Gems for several years while they refurbish and redecorate it. We decided we needed to see this magical place one more time. 

One of the greatest things about this space is that it is dark, cramped, and narrow. It always seemed a bizarre choice and something they will change in the new hall. But it was part of what made the experience so otherworldly. 

One of the reasons they are renovating the hall is to accommodate this massive amethyst! 

We were totally happy to get to see all these beauties one more time, to touch meteorites and huge quartz. Before we went, I thought there was no way I would like the new design and would be unhappy. But after our trip, I can't wait to see what the new hall will look like!

Art and Nature at Princeton University for Fourth Anniversary

For our fourth wedding anniversary, we opted to skip a larger trip and stay closer to home. We took several day trips over the course of a long weekend. One stop on our list was Princeton, NJ and specifically the Princeton University Art Museum. 

We arrived in town and meandered around a bit, stopping for lunch and exploring some shops before making our way thru campus to the museum. The Princeton University Museum is free and open to the public. It sits in the heart of the campus. 

This little museum packs a lot of punch!! We were quite surprised at how much was going on with it. There were ancient pieces from all over the world, recent artworks, too, and some modern art. The whole way through the museum we were amazed at what we saw and how much there was.

One of our favorite parts (which I failed to get a photo of) was a small hallway where items from greek, roman, and many other ancient cultures were assembles in packed glass display cases. This was specifically designed so that art students (and others) could come and sketch and study the artifacts. 

After quite a long time exploring the museum we went out in search of a Serra piece we had read was on campus. Before coming to Princeton on this visit we did now know that there were so many large scale modern sculptures on campus. The architecture of the school is nothing to sneeze at, either!

I highly recommend the art museum and walk through the university if you're in the area. 

Two Special Pieces in Princeton

Last month, for our anniversary, we went to explore some art in Princeton, New Jersey. We went to see the Princeton University Art Museum (more on that soon), but we didn't realize that there were so many large scale works of modern art scattered around the campus. 

Quite unexpectedly, we found two special pieces while we were there. The first we spotted as we drove through campus and it really blew our minds! This Ai Weiwei sculpture, Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, depicting huge lifelike busts of the Chinese zodiac, has special meaning for us; My husband and I saw this sculpture on our second date! It was in Manhattan then, and we had no clue it would be in our new home state on our 4th anniversary!

The second astonishing piece we saw was by Richard Serra, one of our favorite contemporary artists. The Fox and The Hedgehog consists of three massive curved sheets of steel, which can be walked through as well as around. We particularly love that aspect of some of his work. For some reason, you get a strange sensation to be inside of his sculpture. As if your molecules are drawn to and becoming part of the art, and you are involved more than observing. 

We are very excited to get another opportunity to return to Princeton and see more of there outdoor sculptures. I highly recommend a visit if you ever happen to be in the area. 

Who is your favorite large scale artist?

Art and Nature at Grounds For Sculpture

Last month, while my BFF was visiting, we headed over to Grounds For Sculpture on a very cold January day. 

Grounds for Sculpture was founded in 1984 by artist J Steward Johnson. Johnson was a sculptor and painter who had the idea that modern art and sculpture should be widely accessible. His work is mainly life-sized bronze sculptures depicting people in everyday situations or in the style of famous paintings such as Claude Monet's "On Poppied Hill" (above).

Johnson was born in New Jersey and started building GfS there in 1989. It's sprawling grounds are filled with his own work as well as many other modern sculptors. 

Personally, I think Johnson's work is very creepy, but I really enjoyed walking around the grounds and stumbling upon his life-like work. All the sculpture ion the grounds were neat and it was punctuated by being startled by Johnson's weird people made it all the more exciting. Besides the outdoor sculpture, there were several warming stations with fireplaces and circular motifs, restaurants made to look like Parisian cafes, doors that lead no where, etc.. Peacocks roamed the grounds freely. 
We decided that the whole place reminded us of the the island of Myst from the old 90s game.  

There are a few buildings on the grounds, some closed to the public for artists, and others housing indoor work and changing exhibits. 

In the main entrance building, there was a large gallery of Johnson's work. In one room he had assembled many tea trays that he had painted over the years. In another he recreated Van Gogh's bedroom. 

The day we visited was bitter cold, but it was nice to see the works in a freezing and barren landscape. Grounds For Sculpture will be a good place to keep my eye on for changing exhibits and I'm excited to see the grounds in the warmer weather.  

Grounds For Sculpture is known for being pretty close to NYC, and an easy day trip. It was a breeze to get there from Asbury Park. It's very close to Princeton NJ. I think the two combined would make a great day out.

Art and Nature at New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden

While we were in New Orleans we went to the New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden.  The museum itself was closed as it was a Monday. But the Garden is open 7 days a week. 

There were quite a few nice pieces, including a Magritte right was we walked in!

The Labors of Alexander

There were several other notable sculptures, as well, all nestled among winding pathways. Water features prominently in the sculpture garden, along with the large Spanish moss covered trees, this makes the garden cool and breezy to walk thru. 

We encountered many lizards darting on the paths but try as we might, we couldn't catch any. 

We also crossed paths with a surprisingly aggressive duck. We had a puzzle of trying to get him to let us get around him as we wound our way through the garden. We soon realized that his aggressive nature was merely a food seeking ploy and we followed him on his begging route until he landed us at a perfect spot for a cool break. 

Another Serra in Chelsea

Things have been hectic here, to say the least. June has been non stop work and little play, and even less quilting. It will all weigh out in the end, I'm sure. But for now it feels like a whirlwind. So, the other day, it was nice to take a break and walk around the Chelsea area of Manhattan in the blustery drizzle. 

We knew there were some Richard Serra's up at the David Zwirner Gallery, so we headed there first. 

We try to see Serra's work when ever we can. More posts to read more and see more here and here. We also saw his work in Dia:Beacon. The pieces there are monumental,  so I would suggest going!

This piece was not like anything I'd seen from him before. 

We walked around and found some other interesting works, but as usual, I didn't write down the names of any of the artists or galleries. 

It was a treat to see some interesting art, people watch, eat good food, and spend the whole day together. 

Have you seen any interesting art lately? Recommend a museum or gallery if you have!

More Modern Art with my Father

Earlier this year, we took a trip in to The City with Stephen, my father. We went to the MOMA to see some modern art. A few Sundays ago, he came to visit and we decided to visit the Brooklyn Museum. 

There were two modern art exhibits up that we had been wanting to see and we got to explore both; Ai Weiwei and Swoon.

Ai Weiwei crabs. This room also had two huge bowls of pearls, which were begging to be touched. They had a guard to keep peoples fingers out of the pearl pots.  Pardon the blurry picture. 

Ai Weiwei's work is very political, often criticizing the Chinese government and practices. His work sometimes seems light hearted and whimsical, but often has undertones of loss and violence. 

The last Ai Weiwei room we visited was right before the next exhibit we were there to see and blended perfectly, having many pieces made from reclaimed wood. 

In a lot of the work we saw from Ai Weiwei, He used found objects, or reclaimed materials. Some from earthquakes, some from destroyed temples, but all things that impacted the people of China's lives. 

This giant tree created from paper mache, dyed fabric and paper cuts, was the center of the Swoon exhibit and served as a dock for two hand made boats from a previous art piece.  

In contrast to Ai Weiwei's deeply political, world wary work, Swoon's art seems to be about creating new worlds by taking the leftovers from this one.  Often using found objects or NYC garbage, she has created floating cities and strange spaces. 

A room and resting place besides the tree dock invites you to sit among bees, wasps and their nests. 

Swoon reformed the gallery space by painting the walls and creating an organic feel using wood, cloth and paper. 

Swoons first inspiration and applications as a street artist were increasingly delicate and detailed paper cuts pasted to walls and buildings using wheat paste. 

Having followed Swoon's street art for practically all my years in Brooklyn (who else remembers The Splasher?), it was wonderful to see a show of hers in a major museum. Although she has been having such shows for a while, it was a first for me. 

A familiar sight to the Jersey Shore bred. Reminds me of this work by fellow New Jerseyan, Mermaid Trousers.

In both these artists work there was a mix of the grotesque and the gorgeous. Both seemed to be about creating beauty from the fallen or forgotten. 

As usual it was nice to see art and hear three different perspectives on it. I'm sure there will be more modern art trips for our family this year!

Art and Nature at Storm King, NY

For Memorial Day Sunday, we trekked out to Storm King Arts Center to see some modern sculpture. 

We took some winding backroads and ended up at the overlook on Bear Mountain. 

The weather was pretty perfect, but we were in a lazy mood and only saw a fraction of what is there. We mostly stuck to our favorites. 

Several Serra slabs were imbedded in the hillsides. 

We are always lucky to find our favorite artists. 

The last time I had been to Storm King was when Andy Goldsworthy was just starting his winding stone wall. I was fairly shocked to see it had be completed in 1998. 

Goldswothry's wall starts our straight and conventional, but ends up winding around trees, dipping down into a lake and snaking up and down hillsides. 

Walking barefoot in the sun was an added bonus. But we visited some indoor exhibits, too. The main being a look at Zhang Huan, who has a large outside piece as well. 

Huan creates sculpture using ash from Buddhist temples. But I was more drawn to these jars containing ash and remnants of the incense fires.  Reminds me of our house; full of jars. 

I greatly enjoyed this marble piece that sat on the floor of the gallery, but didn't catch the artist's name:

Art and Nature in Washington DC

During our recent trip to the District of Columbia we made time to see some great art. Nature was a little harder to come by. But our first stop was the National Museum of Natural History which is pretty much a combination of nature and art. 

A statue/idol from Easter Island who greets you as you enter the museum...

But this guy in the lobby is more iconic. 

I hadn't been to the Smithsonian Museums in many many years, and my husband had never been to visit them, so it was a great adventure. He was very keen to see the Hope Diamond, which I had forgotten is blue. I didn't get a good picture, unfortunately, so you will have to visit it for your selves!

We loved visiting the big gems and meteorites! I hope, one day, to own one! Can you imagine owning a piece of outer space?

There was a great live bug exhibit that culminated with a butterfly garden. We skipped the butterflies bc it cost extra and we were short of time. I love a good bug zoo, so we fully explored the other bugs. They were fascinating, interesting, and not a little creepy. We left feeling a bit itchy. 

Gorgeous colors. 

Armor plated. 

We popped into the National Gallery of Art and saw a few favorites. 

I think Seurat and I would've gotten along. He seems to love the Shore. 

This is a detail from The Wind by Felix Vallotton. I had never heard of him before but really enjoyed this painting. It seems like he is someone I will have to research. 

I always love Wyeth's muted tones, bleak but beautiful. 

There's an underground passage way connecting the two wings of the art museum. The highlight of which is an amazing light walkway. I'm not sure who the artist is, but it was clearly a fan favorite judging by all the people snapping pics.

One of the things that I find really thrilling about all these museums is that they are free. The ease  of entering is a shocking contrast to doing just about anything in NYC. Bc one doesn't pay to get in, there is only a small security table, only for checking larger bags, etc... It makes it quick to enter but it also makes it feel so much more accessable. I could certainly picture people popping in on their lunch break, or walk home. And it must be spectacular for people with kids. All of the education, fun and excitement of the museum in an easy and affordable way. I sometimes marvel that families can pay what it takes to go somewhere like the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, where one trip for a family of four might cost upwards of $100. 

One of my IG friends recognized this spot in a photo from all the way in Cleveland, OH. It leaves an impression. 

Something that I was not thrilled with was that a lot of museums, exhibits and exhibitions seemed to be closed, some permanently. Upon entering the Modern wing of the Gallery of Art, we realized that there were only a very few pieces on view and these only in the lobby. All the galleries were closed.  

The few things that were on view were pretty great, though. On display was work by some of our favorites, including Serra (not pictured), Ernst, Calder, and Goldsworthy.   

The largest Calder mobile was sadly tied and not allowed to turn. 

We are fans of Max Ernst's paintings and print work and were happy to discover this sculpture. 

It's pretty rare to find Goldsworthy's work in galleries or museums. I always feel lucky if I stumble onto it. Unfortunately you could get no closer to it than this as the doors out to the patio were locked and the windows to look down on it were very dirty. 

Walking out on the National Mall is very similar to being in a sculpture garden or museum bc of all the monuments and memorials. I covered some of what we saw in a previous post about this trip, so I won't go into it again. But it was also nice to see some "wildlife" on our walk as well. 

One of the things that I really really wanted to do was go to the National Zoo. We ran out of time for it on this trip... So I guess we will have to go back!

Modern Art in the New Year

As a belated xmas gift, we took my father to the MOMA last week. We specifically went to see a Magritte exhibit that ends tomorrow. That means there's still two days, if you want to catch it! My father is a huge Magritte fan and we always try to catch any retrospective that travels our way. It's always nice to see the old favorites, like old friends, and there's always a piece or two that I haven't seen before, or haven't seen live. This time, I discovered Le Chant De L'orage which has been on my thoughts ever since. 

No photos were allowed for the Magritte exhibit, but I couldn't help myself. 

Any trip to the MOMA requires that we visit our favorites. Such as Duchamp's To Be Looked at (from the Other Side of the Glass) with One Eye, Close to, for Almost an Hour, or Oppenheim's Object 

The MOMA has quite a few nice Duchamp pieces. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has a ton, as well. Worth a trip!

I'm not sure why this furry cup has always been so appealing to me!

Not only are many modern art works reminiscent of quilts, some of them are quilts! Like Rauschenberg's Bed. 

Detail of Bed. Not the best lighting. 

And in keeping with a theme lately, we stumbled on a Yoko Ono work that I had not seen before. I wonder if perhaps she is my spirit guild this year?

I'm a fan of Art Books, in general.

I also like instructionals. Is that even a thing in art? It should be. 

All in all, a great trip into The City and a a great start to the new year. I fully intend that this year shall be full of good art, good work, good trips, good family and friends, and good times. 

If you live in the area and haven't checked out the MOMA, or haven't been recently, you should go! We bought a years membership ($70) which paid for itself just on this visit. 

Stephen (my father) and I in some Modern Art. He looks so serious here, but he had a good time. 

Art and nature in Tennessee.

While we were in Tennessee we visited the Cheekwood Gardens and estates. I was told Winter was not the best time to visit, but I wasn't the least bit disappointed. There was a fresh sprinkling of snow and ice on the ground and no one was out except us and the animals.  

Im not sure what kind of grasses these were, but they were pretty neat. Quilt inspiration?

As well as many themed gardens, Cheekwood has a sculpture path that winds it's way around the outside of the grounds. I didn't catch most of the artist names, but it was fun to "discover" sculpture in the cold Winter woods. 

It was startling to come upon this great creature/structure in the middle of the woods. 

We saw four deer making their way along the same path we were. 

James Turrell was a highlight of the sculpture walk.

It will be very exciting to go back in a different season and see how much the landscape changes. There were tons of squirrels and birds out but I bet there are even more in spring and summer. I most want to visit the Water Garden and Japanese Garden when we return. 

We saw quite a few interesting birds but practically no feathers! Shame, I was looking forward to bringing some home. 

There's a ridiculous amount of lichen in TN. I wish I could have taken some. I don't think it would survive the plane ride. 

Inside the estate, they had a xmas tree display that was fairly uninspired (although, I hear it's been far better past years) and a small museum space. The exhibit was something to do with the early 90s and had a few interesting pieces, including one where a woman answered personal ads (pre-internet) and then requested the men eat birthday cake with her while being filmed. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but I have found the images strangely haunting me this week. We also got to see a Yoko Ono piece that incorporated some of her earlier work to make a new one. I think I need a book of her art.... but I think I missed the xmas deadline!

I have been lucky to stumble upon some of Yoko Ono's work recently. It often appears in unexpected places. 

Richard Serra and light art in Chelsea.

A few weeks ago I took the long trek into Manhattan (The City). Besides visiting the quilt gallery at The City Quilter, I also got to see some great Richard Serras that are up in Manhattan right now. 

This piece was one that you can walk inside of. Sometimes the strange perspectives and energies can be quite intense. 

I had only seen one other exhibit of Serra's, earlier this year, at DIA: Beacon. A trip to that museum is well worth the beautiful train ride upstate and highly recommended for lovers of modern art. Richard Serra's work is really amazing and I'm so happy that there is so much of it on view at the moment. 

Another gallery had more simple slab work, although the materials are very minimalist, there is still an amazing amount of texture. 

These works were all exhibited by the Gogasian Galleries in Chelsea, Manhattan, NY (http://www.gagosian.com/artists/richard-serra/artist-exhibitions). 

We ended up walking around and popping into a few more galleries that day. We got to see a lovely light art exhibit where, sadly, I didn't catch the name of the artist or gallery. The exhibit was small and simple, using mirrors and light to make beautiful reoccurring patterns. Very quilterly. 

I didn't get any good pictures of the mirror works, unfortunately. 

Although going into The City can be a chore, trips like these make it easy to see why I should be doing it more often. 

Visitors and Art Quilts.

Last week, our good friends were in town from Tennessee. It's always nice to have visitors in bc we get to do things that we often neglect living here. Or things that we have wanted to do, but haven't made the time for.

One of our friends is a fiber artist so I was able to easily persuade her to visit The City Quilter (http://www.cityquilter.com/).  I had been wanting to go there for a while, but rarely make it into "the city" (Manhattan). I hadn't realized there was a gallery there and we were lucky to stumble upon a quilt exhibit by Cécile Trentini. Her work was quite varied but I fell in love with her use of unexpected materials, such as daily household items.

A lovely geometric quillt made with coffee filters!

This one is tea bags!

We bought some lovely fabric, too, of course!

Always room for more fat quarters in lovely prints! The maroon on top is actually a oversized yard that I plan to use as a quilt back one day.

I don't usually go in for novelty prints but these were too fun to pass up! The black is already covered with cat hair, of course!

I'm glad I was spurred into seeing this shop by my friends, and I won't wait until I have more visitors to go again!