Pennies from Poppy

Las Vegas is such a vibrant crazy place!  We really enjoyed our visit. There is nothing quite like Vegas with its lights, shows, casinos, hotels, shopping and restaurants. There is never a dull moment.  We saw O, the wonderful Cirque du Soleil water show at the Bellagio and Terry Fator (ventriloquist who won America Has Talent a few years ago ) in his headline show at the Mirage. Next week I will tell you about a couple places you might not have thought about visiting while on vacation out there.

Here is the view from the Bellagio with the moon over Las Vegas.

Moon over Las Vegas strip and fountains at the Bellagio

And of course, there is nothing like the magnificent ceiling of glass flowers by Dale Chihuly in the lobby of the Bellagio.  If you are a quilter, you will not be able to stop staring at the artistry of this profusion of color and light. It is truly inspiring.

Beautiful Chihuly ceiling at the Bellagio hotel

While Sherry and I walked along the Las Vegas strip, we kept thinking about our visit there with my mom, dad and our kids when they were little.  Poppy and Mema took the kids to see Siegfried and Roy, still the unbeaten best show ever in Las Vegas. Poppy would take them on the roller coaster over and over at New York New York and over to Circus Circus for the lights and shows. He never seemed to tire when it came to the kids.

After their Poppy died in 2001, the kids would find pennies on the ground and we came to call them pennies from Poppy.  The weird thing is that we found them all the time, sometimes in shiny clusters of four, often when we were talking about him or just needing a little pick up. 

Believe it or not, while walking in Vegas and talking about the fun we all had with Poppy, I looked down and there was a bright shiny penny. I picked it up of course and as I always do, I thought, "Thanks Poppy."

A penny from Poppy in Las Vegas

Who leaves you pennies?

Mark

Unbelievable Utah

Sherry and I are back from a wonderful week starting with the IQA at Houston. We then flew to Las Vegas, driving to Cedar City. Utah on Saturday, November 3. The drive took us about three hours northeast of Las Vegas through beautiful mountainous and desert country. We drove through Dixie National Forest and Zion National Park in Utah, arriving at Southern Utah University. 

Beautiful rocks and mountains in Utah

As I mentioned a few months ago, I was honored to have been asked to send one of my quilts for an exhibition at SUU’s Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery called Everything in Between: Art Quilts, Fabric Collage and Embroidery. The exhibit featured work by Ricky Tims, Caryl Bryer Fallert, Hollis Chatelain and many other accomplished quilters and artists.  In addition, I gave a lecture to an enthusiastic audience on being a man quilter. 

Man Quilter lecture at SUU

The exhibit was curated by Deborah K Snider, Assistant Professor of art education at SUU. Deb is also an accomplished and renowned art quilter whose quilts have been exhibited nationally and internationally She is a member of The Art Quilt Association (www.theartquiltassociation.com).  Deb was a gracious and welcoming host and we had a wonderful time meeting everyone at the lecture, giving door prizes and learning about the Cedar City area and SUU.

Professor Deb Snider, curator and me at Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, SUU, Cedar City, Utah

It was a wonderful trip including seeing so many old friends and beautiful quilts both in Houston and the Braithwaite Gallery exhibit. We also enjoyed making new friends and seeing this beautiful part of the country.

Thanks again to Deb Snider and SUU!!!

Packed Bags

My bags are packed. My newest quilt, Poppy’s Rainbow, is folded and ready to go. The quilt stand has been shipped to Cedar City, Utah.  The presentation is almost done for my lecture at the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery in Cedar City, Utah on Saturday, November 3. Thanks again to Deborah K. Snider, Assistant professor of Art Education at SUU who has curated this new exhibit called “Everything in Between: Art Quilts, Fabric Collage and Embroidery.” My butterfly quilt (Wings and Feathers) is in the exhibit.

 I leave for Houston and the IQA show on October 31. I am looking forward to seeing many friends, wonderful booths, beautiful fabrics and award winning quilts.  Bubba Quilt will be out in full force!!

Leaving for Houston and Utah!

Two more days to mow the grass, trim the bushes, weed the garden, finish the laundry, clean the house, buy groceries for my son who will be staying at home watching the dog and house, clean and chlorinate the pool, etc. etc. etc. I can never enjoy myself on a trip if I haven’t left the house, yard and gardens spotless. 

Hurricane Sandy has spared South Florida and my thoughts and prayers are now with all you folks in the Northeast.  Having lived through the late October surprise of Hurricane Wilma in 2005 that came in from the Gulf of Mexico, moved east across the Everglades and hit us hard, I know how these big storms can change things. We lost trees, roofs and electricity but in a funny way, it pulled us all together here in South Florida and taught us all that life goes on and the human spirit always triumphs. 

Mark and Matthew cleaning up after Hurricane Wilma, 2005

 A huge thanks to the lovely quilters of the Palm Beach County Quilter’s Guild. We had our basket class yesterday and they all made beautiful fabric baskets using my Remarkable 100 percent solid core cotton rope.  As always, you were gracious, big fun and great students.

See you in Houston!

Mark

Bubba Quilt

One of my all time favorite movies is Forrest Gump.  I have seen it five times and it still makes me laugh and cry.  One of Forrest’s best friends was Bubba. Forrest had a similar intellect and he and Bubba spent alot of time together as army recruits in the Viet Nam war. Bubba was from a family of shrimp fisherman and he could talk for hours and hours about all the dishes that could be made with shrimp. Forrest hung on every word.

My wife says I am like Bubba when it comes to quilting.  She says I can talk for hours and hours about quilts and quilting without letting up.  She calls me Bubba Quilt.

It is true.  I can talk for hours and hours about quilting, my passion and favorite topic!.  There is so much to say.  I can talk about quilts, quilting sewing machines, quilting long arm machines, quilting fabric, quilting thread, quilt wool batting, quilt cotton batting, quilt alpaca batting, quilt bindings, quilt awls, quilt marking pens, quilt dyes, quilt cruises, quilt shows, quilt stores, quilt guilds, quilting teachers, quilt light boxes, quilting irons, quilt crystals, quilt scissors (I have over 200 pairs!), quilt patterns, quilting trapunto, quilt design, quilt colors, quilting irons, quilt studios and on and on.

My wife calls me Bubba Quilt

This week, I was lucky enough to be invited to teach at the West Pasco Quilt Guild in Hudson, Florida.  I had a delightful time meeting all the quilters. Thanks so much for the warm welcome, West Pasco quilters! I brought my new quilt, Poppy's Rainbow, and displayed it for the first time during my lecture and then we had a good class on Remarkable Machine Trapunto and Remarkable Tips.  Imagine how it feels to be Bubba Quilt teaching and lecturing a roomful of quilters who share my passion!! 

 I know all my quilting friends out there understand, don't you?

Mark

Basket case

Some days I am a complete basket case, as the term is used to describe a person in a hopeless condition.  The lawn needs to be mowed and the garden weeded. In the South Florida heat and humidity, the grass seems to grows two inches a day and the weeds multiply and grow a foot every week. Laundry is piling up thanks to my two kids, the house needs to be cleaned and the refrigerator is empty because I haven’t gone to the store.  The neighborhood association sent a notice that my roof needs to be cleaned by tomorrow or else. I am hopelessly behind!

So, I do what many of you do. Let the lawn, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, refrigerator and roof wait. Tomorrow is another day. For today, I decide to sew instead.  I love to sew and I always have a project waiting for me somewhere.  This week, I am working on my fabric baskets. Not just any fabric baskets, but baskets made using my hand dyed fabrics and custom made 100% cotton solid core rope (available at www.remarkablequilts.com). I use Aurifil 50 wt. Mako cotton thread to sew the baskets together.

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I am inspired by my collection of antique Native American baskets.  Basket weaving is one of the oldest known Native American crafts.  These beautiful baskets with their exquisite craftsmanship can be made from braided sweet grass, bundled pine needles, sumac, willow wood and swamp grass among other materials. I have found these treasures in antique shops  throughout the US.  I collected my first ones while visiting my dear friend Elaine in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Native American baskets in all their wonderful designs and shapes

In a few weeks, I will be at the Palm Beach County Quilter’s Guild where I will be teaching a basket class. Hello to all my friends there!!! We will have a wonderful fun time and all the quilters will be taking home a beautifully made and decorated basket.

Mark's RemarkableQuilt baskets

Sure, I am a basket case on many days. But it never stops me from sewing.  What do you need to do today? And dear quilting friends, what are you going to do?

Mark