My Credential

Finally, I have a credential.  I just found out a few weeks ago that I was awarded artisan status within the IGMA  It is something that I have been actively working on for over two years and among my mini friends it brings some serious street cred.  To my non mini friends it ilicits a polite smile and a vague look of confusion..."IGM...what?" they say,  "IGMA, its the International Guild of Miniature Artisans and to be awarded my artisan certificate is a really big deal!"  Of course how big a deal can it be if you have to tell people its a big deal...so It's a big deal in the mini world, a small deal in the real world, but that seems oddly fitting since its a miniature guild.  Still it is a big deal to me, and that is enough because that's  the whole reason I did it in the first place; to prove to myself that I could.  I did not do any deep soul searching before taking it on, I just wanted the challenge.  If I had bothered to think about it I might have discovered what Steve had to point out to me.  He did it inadvertanly recently while talking to someone.  I can't recall the specifics of the conversation but he pointed out that I had been a stay at home Mom and homemaker for the past 20 plus years, and now that our one and only has left the nest I was finally free to work on my own achievments.  I liked that very much for lots of reasons.  Primarily it seems to give me Steve's blessing to continue what I have been doing since Zach left and that is crank out quilts both big and small.  Secondly it dulls the edges of the self loathing that is the unique pervue of the stay at home Mom " What do you do?"  "Nothing...I am a Stay at home Mom" I know Its the most important job in the world, or so they say.  It sure does not pay like the most important job in the world, in cash or prestige...still I know it is important...yet it does have a whiff of underachiever about it that is hard to shake.  I have tried to get up wind of it by tentatively laying claim to the title "artist" but that always seemed like a sham to me, but now that I have my Artisan certificate, and a few blue ribbons under my belt, I will say it loud and say it proud I AM AN ARTIST!

My IGMA Submissions

 Please to enjoy

FYI "Please to enjoy" is some Engrish I picked up somewhere and it has become a permanent part of my vocabulary

Provencal boutis

The squares in the grid are one inch

Prim Four Patch

Crazy Quilt

English paper pieced quilt with Pud

English Paper Pieced quilt Sans Pud

Ku'uipo

I have a silver bangle bracelet that Steve gave me while living in Hawaii, it says Kuuipo which is Hawaiian for sweet heart. Its a placeholder bracelet for the gold one with a Hawaiian transaltion of the meaning of my name that I am holding out for. The sound needs no translation since the consonants and vowels in Kellie are frequently usued in Hawaiin. It might be better spelled as Kele, but the sound is almost identical. So rather than just converting the spelling of my name, I asked my friend Naomi a Hawaiian language proffesor to help translate the meaning of my gaelic name to Hawaiin. It means Battle maiden, or fearless woman in Irish, so how does that translate in Hawaiin? Kawahinewiwo'ole is how. It means the woman with the brave face. I like it, it rolls easily from the tongue and sounds pleasant to the ear and it reminds me of another favorite from Hawaii, Braddah Iz...Isreal Kamakawiwo'ole...I think its time to put his cd in my car stereo, the weather is warm and the time is right to sing about the white sandy beaches of Hawaii....oh and about the quilt block...its a maile and pikake lei, just the sort of thing you might where to get married in. I miss the smell of the pikake blossoms, but have found that the hawthorns of South Cackalacka smell just as good!

quite possibly my favorite of the Aloha Album blocks

I thought when I did it, that the Mokes would be my favorite quilt block, because I dreamed it up and because that was our favorite beach the three years we were on O'ahu. But now that I have finished the Aloha block, my favor falls on it and for many reasons too. First, I love all the color! Second I love the symbolism. Each floral motif represents the different islands in the State, but more than that, they remind me of special things. Each one attached to a different memory of our time in Hawaii. While choosing the fabrics for this block I refered to a book on Lei that I got while living there and I was reminded of how amazing the floral arts are in Hawaii. I love the way people in Hawaii look for reasons to give one another lei, and the pagentry of the Hula Halaus and Pa'u riders decked out in all their floral finery. I love how they festoon party halls with palms and ginger, the extravagance of it all an everyday thing for them, but for me a child of the desert southwest, it was a sight to behold, and one I love going back to in my memory. so this block brings all that back to mind for me. To look at this block I am reminded of all the lei I wore while there, the smell of flowers in the air, the wind showing me the silvery backs of the kukui tree leaves on the mountain sides. The brilliant red of the Ohia blossoms against a bright blue sky on the big island, and ilima growing alongside a hiking trail on O'ahu...yep, this block is officially my favorite.

Diamondhead

I always knew about Diamondhead the way I always knew about the Empire State building. Its so imbedded into our American story that I can't remember a time when I did not know what it was, and like seeing the empire state building for the first time and recognizing it instantly, I recognized Diamondhead the moment I laid eyes on it from Waikiki Beach. There is a weird thrill when you see a place you know but have never been to. It happend in New York, Paris, London, and especially in Hawaii. Living on an island you get to know the lay of the land pretty well. The landmarks become very familiar and your eye automatically searches for them when you are in their proximity. Diamondhead is the big Kahuna of landmarks. The local people don't give directions by saying east, west, north and south, they say Diamondhead, Ewa, Mauka and Makai. It really makes sense once you get the hang of it. I even managed to hike up Diamondhead a few times while we were there and I am glad I did the views were worth the climb.

Life with the Wachters

When Zach came for his last visit we had enough time and good enough weather to make the trip to New Jersey for the weekend. It was important to Steve because he wants Zach to know all of his family, not just the New Mexico half. Zach had only met his Jersey cousins 4 times before this last visit and the first two times he was really too young for it to be meaningful. So this trip back changed all that because it meant Zach would finally be old enough to get to know his cousins and uncles in a way that he never had before. He new his aunts well enough because they both came to Germany and Hawaii, but his uncles were another matter. He made up for lost time on this trip hanging out in the Man cave with them and taking his share of "Chop busting" that comes with daring to join the uncles as they sit around with beers and cigars. He learned what it was like to be in a house filled to capacity and be related to every soul in there, and I hope he experienced the sureal weirdness of feeling perfectly at home in a room full of strangers that are your blood kin.

As for me, I got to finally participate in a Wachter Christmas traditon that I have longed for over the years, to be in on Bonnie's Christmas party goofy hat shenanigans. Now all I have to do is make it to an Angel Sunday and my life will be complete!

me and my pud

Don't ask me to explain why I call Winslow Pud, maybe its an almagamation of Puppy and Buddy...or not. Who knows, he just seemed like a Pud to me, so thats what I call him as often as not. I took the picture with the photobooth app on our computer about a month and a half ago. He has gotten slightly bigger but other than that, nothing else has changed. In fact he sleeps curled in my lap even as I type this. He loves laps. He also loves heat. When there is a sunbeam to sleep in he'll find it. Here lately he has discovered the joys of tunneling into a load of laundry fresh from the dryer. So much so that when he hears the dryer running he hangs out near by so as not to miss his opportunity. At night when I tuck him in, I throw the towels that he sleeps with in the dryer for a quick spin to warm them up. He is very good to go to his crate when we tell him its bedtime, but last night he did not go straight to his crate...he went to the dryer instead...What a pud!

Hey Ho, Lets go!

My son Zach and I share a lot of things in common, one of which is a love for Punk music. I like to take credit for planting that seed...I remember well the year I got Green Day's Nimrod album from Steve for Christmas and played it in our little black Ford Contour as I drove me and Zach hither and yon amongst the Nebraska cornfields. We spent a lot of time trolling the antique malls. We had hardly any money so we spent far more time looking than buying, but we both enjoy the hunt as much as the score, so we usually left happy whether we spent anything or not. So when Zach came for his visit these past few weeks one of the activities that featured prominently was antiquing. We hopped in the mini, plugged in a Ramones CD that Zach made me for my birthday and went in search of some mid century modern treasures for Zach to feather his nest. So with the Ramones thumping in the background we hit on the idea to take a family photo reminiscent of an iconic Ramones album. I think it turned out really well and we ought to try it again the next time Zach is here. Maybe that time we will do our version of a Green Day album!