|
|
|---|
How the Thermals Saved My Life
My life has encroached upon my leisure. I’ve recently taken on significant non-profit and for-profit projects (details to follow). My kids have reached the age of serial obligations (gymnastics, tee ball, dance, etc.) which seem to eat at the edges of every day. They’ve also discovered music and television of their own, which has slowly pushed mine to the margins. In the rare quiet moments, I’ve embraced the silence, guarded it zealously, and begrudged those who would take it from me. For the co-proprietor of a blog devoted to music, the result has been a historically fallow period. Thank goodness for Trip. Without him, this place would be gathering dust.
For a while, I thought that I had reached that point where music seemed not to matter so much. I’ve seen it happen to others, but I never thought it would happen to me. Through January, February, March and April, I just wasn’t interested. Sure, I bought things and gave them a spin. Some (A.C. Newman, the Felice Brothers) resonated, but most simply fell on apathetic ears.
So I went chasing music. I tried to latch on to Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, the buzz album of spring ’09. But for me, the Prog Rock of the Future is a lot like prepared fish. If done just right, it’s great, but way more often than not, I just don’t like it. And I kept chasing but not finding, until one day I decided to relax and let the music find me.
And then, like magic, it did. Lou sent an mp3 by e-mail. It was “I Let it Go” by The Thermals. I clicked. Six scratches on an electric guitar followed by the “POP-POP-boom-boom POP-POP” of a thunder-loud snare. Those four seconds alone would be enough to obliterate my musical ennui, but the song goes on, blasting up a mountain road, kicking gravel over the edge as it slides through the turns, cheating death all the way to the top.
Oh yes. Now I remember. Rock and roll.
I’ve listened to the song on the computer, on my iPod, and in the car at volumes that made my kidneys ache. I’ve sung along till my throat burns. I’ve danced in ways that have attracted attention from local authorities.
If the rest of the album, Now We Can See, fails to reach those stratospheric heights, it’s still pretty terrific, good enough that the Thermals would be minor legends had it come out in 1978, instead of marking them simply as keepers of the flame, a band like so many that have come before. And lest you think that the music is any less joyous because it’s the sort of thing that has been done countless times already, let me invoke the Ice Cream Principle: I’ve had ice cream thousands of times over the years, yet ice cream remains awesome.
For a while, I thought that I had reached that point where music seemed not to matter so much. I’ve seen it happen to others, but I never thought it would happen to me. Through January, February, March and April, I just wasn’t interested. Sure, I bought things and gave them a spin. Some (A.C. Newman, the Felice Brothers) resonated, but most simply fell on apathetic ears.
So I went chasing music. I tried to latch on to Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion, the buzz album of spring ’09. But for me, the Prog Rock of the Future is a lot like prepared fish. If done just right, it’s great, but way more often than not, I just don’t like it. And I kept chasing but not finding, until one day I decided to relax and let the music find me.
And then, like magic, it did. Lou sent an mp3 by e-mail. It was “I Let it Go” by The Thermals. I clicked. Six scratches on an electric guitar followed by the “POP-POP-boom-boom POP-POP” of a thunder-loud snare. Those four seconds alone would be enough to obliterate my musical ennui, but the song goes on, blasting up a mountain road, kicking gravel over the edge as it slides through the turns, cheating death all the way to the top.
Oh yes. Now I remember. Rock and roll.
I’ve listened to the song on the computer, on my iPod, and in the car at volumes that made my kidneys ache. I’ve sung along till my throat burns. I’ve danced in ways that have attracted attention from local authorities.
If the rest of the album, Now We Can See, fails to reach those stratospheric heights, it’s still pretty terrific, good enough that the Thermals would be minor legends had it come out in 1978, instead of marking them simply as keepers of the flame, a band like so many that have come before. And lest you think that the music is any less joyous because it’s the sort of thing that has been done countless times already, let me invoke the Ice Cream Principle: I’ve had ice cream thousands of times over the years, yet ice cream remains awesome.
And by blasting out the cobwebs, the Thermals have opened my ears to other great new things – Lissy Trullie, Roman Candle, Heartless Bastards and Wussy, to name but a few. They’ve also reminded me of who I am at heart. While my advancing age has allowed me to appreciate subtleties that would have escaped me in my youth (I’m looking at you, Nick Lowe’s last few albums), the thing I love best is still the thing I loved most when I was nineteen, namely the combustion of guitars, bass and drums, plus the adenoidal bluster of a singer flush with righteous rage. I may get old. Rock and roll never does.
Don't Buy Retail...
It was gorgeous today. I opened the door and windows of the Thread Shed so I could see the sunshine, feel the warm breeze, hear the cattle moo-ing and smell the horses. If I couldn't be outside, then I was bringing it in with me!
I spent the day finishing up the applique' stitching on the sunflower quilt top.
Then I spent a couple more hours trimming all the stray threads off the back side of it. It is ready to be basted and machine quilted..........we have a date on Friday.
With this warm, beautiful weather my favorite sport comes to mind....thrifting.....yard sales.....second hand stores.......the sport of champions! I was raised by a mother who trained me well. Most of our home today is furnished and decorated with second hand items. I love things with character.
Click Images to Enlarge:
My friend Linda, who has walked many a mile with me hunting down second hand items, sent me this entertaining video. Click here to view ESTATE SALE
The Yard Sale Queen,
LuAnn
To see my New Work CLICK HERE
To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE
To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE
To see Tutorials CLICK HERE
Flowers Chicks & Grapes...
Monday I spent the day putting together this backing for the sunflower quilt top I completed last week. The quilt top measures 100 inches square. This backing measures 108 inches square. It is too large to see the entire backing on the design wall, so 3 feet of the bottom portion is laying on the floor. If you tip your head to the left, you can view the strips of fabric horizontally rather than vertically. I plan to sandwich the quilt together so the back is horizontal. I will keep you updated as the free-motion quilting progresses...
Click Images To Enlarge:
The iris are really putting on a show this week
The baby chicks are 6 weeks old. The barred rock peeps are all feathered out with their black and white poke-a-dots. They have become the friendlies of the baby chicks. They run over to the food and water each morning when I come to do chores.
You can see all 3 breeds... Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons & Barred Rocks. They no longer look like baby chicks...more like miniature hens.
Just in time for hanging laundry on the line... the pink lilac bush, just outside the back door, is beginning to bloom... and it smells yummy. It is located a few feet from the clothesline... the aroma lures me outdoors to hang the clothes.
The grape arbor is beginning to leaf out. I strung out a soaker hose around it yesterday. This fall the leaves will turn purple with bright lime green veins. I press them in the phone books, then toss them all over the table on Thanksgiving.
If you admire incredible landscape and portrait quilts, check out this website. The quilts will take your breath away. Be sure to check out their Quilts and About US section. Click HERE to view.
Enjoy,
LuAnn
To see my New Work CLICK HERE
To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE
To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE
To see Tutorials CLICK HERE
How Does It Feel?
Blogger tells me this is the 500th Teenage Kicks post. What better way to celebrate than to present one of the all-time greatest rock songs by the greatest rock and roll live performer I've ever seen?
Bruce Springsteen - Like A Rolling Stone
Hospital Quilt Exhibit...... May 2009
The Permission 2 Play members have a new journal quilt exhibit going up at Good Samaritan Hospital and Corvallis Clinic
This is a revolving exhibit that changes every 2 months.
Click Images to Enlarge:
Melted Crayon Printing
By: Nancy Bryant
Painted Fusible
By: Virginia Gregory
Painted Fusible
By: Virginia Gregory
Painted Fusible
By: Kathy Haywood
Painted Fusible
By: Nancy Bryant
Shaving Cream Printing
By: Virginia Gregory
Shaving Cream Printing
By: Nancy Bryant
Shaving Cream Printing
By: Nancy Bryant
Shaving Cream Printing
By: LuAnn Kessi
Shaving Cream Printing
By: Kathy Haywood
Paper Quilt
By: LuAnn Kessi
The Permission 2 Play Class meets once a month at JanniLou Creations Quilt Shop in Philomath, Oregon. This is a free class offering for cancer diagnosed patients. No quilting experience is necessary. If you would like to be a part of this class, or have any questions please click the comment link below and leave me a message. You can also contact me at: kessi@pioneer.net
To see more Permission 2 Play CLICK HERE
To see more Journal Quilts CLICK HERE
May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn
To see my New Work CLICK HERE
To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE
To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE
To see Tutorials CLICK HERE
Raffle Quilt......Workshop
4th of July Quilt
Click Images to Enlarge:
I spent Saturday with the members of the Mary's River Quilt Guild. We participated in a paper piecing class to create the 4th of July quilt pictured above. This quilt will be our 2010 raffle quilt.
After a thorough paper piecing lesson, lead by instructor Jan Bressler, the volunteer quilters were paper piecing units like the ones above. The gorgeous batik fabrics worked well with this design.Earlier in May a group of volunteers gathered to cut all of the fabrics needed for this quilt.
Volunteer quilters began arriving at 9:30 am ready for a full day of paper piecing.
This is one of the main paper pieced units with a curved arc unit added to the top
When I arrived home Saturday evening, I pulled down the driveway.....Dancer & Freckles were there to greet me with a view of Mary's Peak in the background.
This is Jan Tallis, who completed the very first paper pieced unit of the day!
Jan is responsible for producing the MRQG Newsletter.
Volunteer quilters began arriving at 9:30 am ready for a full day of paper piecing.
Linda, Marcia & Kelly kept things lively in the back of the room
Paper Piecing is all about sewing on the lines
This is one of the main paper pieced units with a curved arc unit added to the top
By the end of the day there were piles of completed units all over the classroom.
This is a HUGE help to our raffle quilt committee.
Please see Debbie van der Sommen to check out a packet of blocks to paper piece.
The block packets will be at the next Mary's River Quilt Guild Meeting, May 28, 2009, 7pm, Benton County Museum, Philomath Oregon
When I arrived home Saturday evening, I pulled down the driveway.....Dancer & Freckles were there to greet me with a view of Mary's Peak in the background.I had a fun day with the quilters and it was good to be home.
May Your Bobbin Always Be Full,
LuAnn
To see my New Work CLICK HERE
To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE
To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE
To see Tutorials CLICK HERE
A Day On The Coast......Sand Images
We took the dogs to the coast to run on the beach. The tide was way, way, way out. The images of the sand were spectacular. They reminded me of marbled and hand dyed fabrics........yes, I have a one track mind. Look further to see what I did to the images once I was home and imported them into my iPhoto program...
Click Images to Enlarge:
Original sand image
I darkened the image a bit to enhance the lines
I added some brown to make the image look like wood
Now it was time to play with some colors
This reminded me of dyeing fabric.....without all the work
The blues could be used in landscape quilts for sky or water
I could see this pink tone in an applique flower
This light wood color reminds me of the floors in our house
I tried out red just for fun!
This is the second original sand image I chose
Be sure to click these images to enlarge them.
You can still see the sandy texture after they are manipulated and colored up.
The detailed images are wonderful.
Again, I darkened up the exposure a bit to enhance the lines and textures
I added more brown to the image, which reminded me of myrtle wood
I continued to add more and more brown to the image
After manipulating the images with temperature controls & saturation, they began to glow. I really like these.
This is definitely in the plans for transfer to fabric.
This would make a great background for a silhouette image...
A third original sand image
Here I go again manipulating the image, enhancing the lines....this is addicting. If you have an iMac, you should give this a try. The controls are built right into your iPhoto software, directly in the program where your photos are downloaded.
If any of these images inspire you, please download them and put them into your artwork. I don't get carried away with all the copyright issues. My motto is.......Share What You know........Share What You Have.
To see my New Work CLICK HERE
To see the Thread Shed CLICK HERE
To see my Exhibit Quilts CLICK HERE
To see Tutorials CLICK HERE
From The Oregon Coast,
LuAnn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)