Back from Barcelona and trying to catch up!

(Above:  Rooftop view of Gaudi's Casa Batllo.  Click on any image in this blog post to enlarge.)

Steve and I returned late last night from a week in Barcelona.  It was a terrific and quite an inspirational time.  We went EVERYWHERE but this blog post really isn't about our trip.  I'll write more about that later ... after I sort through the over 1400 photos we snapped.  Suffice it to say, we had a BLAST!


(Above:  Me ... at Park Güell under Gaudi's colonnaded footpath.)

How did we get to Spain?  Well, last December we went to England to see our son Mathias dance the role of "the prince" in Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker.  His lovely girlfriend Laura-Jane was Clara.  (Different casts ... so we saw several of the 35 or so shows).  Our return flight, however, was over-booked.  The airline was looking for volunteers to be "bumped" to a later flight.  They offered $1000 vouchers for future travel.  Steve and I jumped at the chance ... and hence cashed the vouchers in for our flight to Spain.


(Above:  Steve and our one dinner out!  I had pizza with an egg!  Steve had traditiona paella.)

Best of all, we booked our accommodations through Airbnb.  The stay was around $425 total ... for an entire week in a beautiful place!  That's also how we met Fabriano!


(Above:  Fabriano, Steve and me ... a "selfie"!)

Fabriano is living with his boyfriend.  Thus, he is renting out his apartment which is about a block away from Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia cathedral.  The place is a rooftop flat ... fully furnished ... with a private patio ...


(Above:  Fabriano's rooftop patio.)

... in a quiet neighborhood ... with free WiFi ... and a totally equipped kitchen.  With the exception of a single dinner out, Steve cooked all local fresh food from the many great markets.  We dined under the stars, laughed, and walked miles every day.  More will come!


(Above:  Life's Race Well Run, a Grave Rubbing Art Quilt and my donation to the annual SAQA auction.  12" x 12".  Crayon on fabric grave rubbings on an embroidered, vintage napkin.  Self-guided, free-motion machine embroidery and hand stitching with buttons salvaged from the South Carolina State Mental Hospital.)

Before we left, however, I had almost completed my donation piece for the annual SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) auction which will be held on-line from September - October 4, 2014.  All the pieces are 12" x 12".  This is my fourth year donating to the organization. 

 
 (Above:  Life's Race Well Run, reverse.)

The reverse is made from a damask napkin and a little embroidered cozy for a piece of stemware.  The hanging sleeve is another grave rubbing.  The edges are all hand-stitched ... blanket stitches.  I'm pleased with the piece and happy to support SAQA.  I believe in its mission to promote art quilts as "Fine Art".  It is now finished and will be in tomorrow's mail!  Remember to bid in September!

 
 (Above:  Window XCVI, Inventory # 3133.  Unframed:  12" x 10"; Framed:  17 3/4" x 15 3/4". $265.)

There were also three "Windows" that were almost finished before our departure.  Today ... THEY ARE FINISHED!

 
(Above: Window XCVII.  Inventory # 3134.  Unframed:  12" x 10"; Framed:  17 3/4" x 15 3/4". $265.)

Finished ... photographed ... and framed!  A good day!

 
(Above: Window XCVIII.  Inventory # 3135.  Unframed:  12" x 10"; Framed:  17 3/4" x 15 3/4". $265.)

 
(Above:  Cynthia Saad and her new purchase ... My Bluegrass Roots II.)

To be honest, I've been enjoying a little flurry of sales ... including this piece!  Plus, my installation Threads: Gathering My Thoughts at Studio Cellar, 912 Lady Street here in Columbia, as been extended until June 1st!  The group show at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios has also been extended for another week.  I've got my Wall of Ancestors there.  This weekend Steve and I will visit ArtFields in Lake City, a 10-day festival and art competition ... including my The Grid of Photos.  Also, I've got four pieces in North Charleston's Palmetto Hands Juried Fine Craft Show.  The coming weeks will find me busy making more "In Box" and "Stained Glass" pieces.  Why?  Well, I've got a solo show coming up this fall in Durham, NC!  These are all very, very good things!


(Above:  Antoinette Brown's second donation of old thread!)

My evenings are still busy ... unraveling even more thread.  Why?  Well, I'm expanding Threads: Gathering My Thoughts for a show in September.  This installation will be even bigger!  I'm envisioning a cascade of thread that will allow viewers to actually walk under and through the suspended mass of material! Thankfully, I'm still receiving more thread from nice people like Antoinette Brown, a talented art quilter in Cary, NC ... who sent this second donation!  Thank you!


(Above:  Donation of thread from Noel Gilliam.)

Thank you Noel!


(Above:  Donation from Sallie Maral.)

Thank you, Sallie!


(Above:  Donation from  Suzanne Taetzsch.)

Thank you, Suzanne!

 
(Above: Donation of buttons from Julie Ruff!)

Thank you, Julie!
(Okay ... these buttons won't be in the installation ... but I LOVE BUTTONS and often use them in just about everything else!)

It is hard to believe that last Friday in Barcelona I linked a blog post written on Wednesday from JFK to Nina-Marie's "Off the Wall Fridays".  This week, I'm linking this post to her site for sharing fiber art.