My Antonia by Willa Cather

I finished my first book for the Back to the Classics 2015 challenge, and I really enjoyed it.  My Antonia, by Willa Cather, is my 20th century classic.  The story is narrated by Jim Burden, who loses his parents at the age of 10 and is sent by relatives in Virginia to live with his grandparents in Black Hawk, Nebraska.  Antonia, one of 4 children of the Shimerda family, is traveling to Black Hawk on the same train as Jim.  The Shimerdas are the first Bohemian family to come to Black Hawk.  Antonia is just a few years older than Jim, and they become friends.  The book was well written, the story was interesting, and I rate it 4 out of 5.

Documented Life Project - Week 3

January Theme - The Blank Page and How to Face It!
January 17 Art Challenge:  The Color Wheel
Journal Prompt:  "I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way . . . “    - Georgia O’Keeffe

I'm a little late with this - but I have the excuse that I was traveling when the prompt was announced (more about that later) and then I came down with a cold.  It's really amazing how little energy I have when I have a cold, but I'm starting to feel better now.  I got a pretty good night's sleep last night which really helped.

Preparation for Winter Interrupted

This is the palette I'm taking to Florida TOMORROW!

And this is the pencil case with supplies I'm taking.

I am SO looking forward to this trip!

Documented Life Project - Week 2

January Theme - The Blank Page and How to Face It!
January 10 Art Challenge: Gesso
Journal Prompt: “The beginning is always today.” -Mary Shelley

Documented Life Project - Week 1

January Theme - The Blank Page and How To Face It
Art Challenge - Book Paper
Journal Prompt - Be Your Own Goal Keeper

Documented Life Project 2015 and My Word for the Year

I've decided to participate in the Documented Life Project this year.  I probably won't be able to participate every week because I'll be doing some traveling this year.  I imagine that other things will probably get in the way as well, but I plan to do what I can.  I don't have my journal yet; I've ordered it and it should arrive early next week.  Each month will have a theme, and each week there will be an art related challenge as well as a journal prompt.  January's theme is "the blank page and how to face it."  The first art challenge is book paper and the first journal prompt is "be your own goal keeper."  I already have an idea of what I want to do for my first challenge, so I am anxious to get my journal!

I've also chosen my word for this year:  ORIGINAL.  I want to do more original design in my fiber arts, so I am hoping that by choosing original for my word this year, it will focus my intention.  And since that is one of my goals, I will incorporate my word into my journal page.  I've only chosen a word once before, and it didn't really do much for me, but I'm going to try it again.  I have high hopes for the year.

Happy New Year everyone!

Stockings

I made these for a good friend who lost her house and everything in it in a fire 2 1/2 years ago.

I also made one for my grandson, but I forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to him over Thanksgiving.  It is similar to the last Santa stocking, but with a light blue background and dark blue toe, heel, and cuff.

Reading Challenge for 2015

I've decided to participate in the Back to the Classics Reading Challenge hosted by Books and Chocolate again in 2015.  I was hoping she would host again, because after participating in 2014, I have quite a few more classics I want to read.  She is changing the categories up somewhat for next year; here are the categories for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015:

1.  A 19th Century Classic -- any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2.  A 20th Century Classic -- any book published between 1900 and 1965.  Just like last year, all books must have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify as a classic.  The only exception is books that were published posthumously but written at least 50 years ago.)

3.  A Classic by a Woman Author.

4.  A Classic in Translation. As in last year's category, this can be any classic book originally written or a published in a language that is not your first language.  Feel free to read it in its original form if you are comfortable reading in another language.

5.  A Very Long Classic Novel -- a single work of 500 pages or longer.  This does not include omnibus editions combined into one book, or short story collections.
 

6.  A Classic Novella -- any work shorter than 250 pages.  For a list of suggestions, check out this list of World's Greatest Novellas from Goodreads.

7.  A Classic with a Person's Name in the Title.  First name, last name, or both, it doesn't matter, but it must have the name of a character.  David Copperfield, The Brothers Karamazov, Don Quixote -- something like that. It's amazing how many books are named after people!

8.  A Humorous or Satirical Classic.  Humor is very subjective, so this one is open to interpretation.  Just tell us in the review why you think it's funny or satirical.   For example, if you think that Crime and Punishment and funny, go ahead and use it, but please justify your choice in your post.

9.  A Forgotten Classic.  This could be a lesser-known work by a famous author, or a classic that nobody reads any more.  If you look on Goodreads, this book will most likely have less than 1000 ratings.  This is your chance to read one of those obscure books from the Modern Library 100 Best Novels or 1001 Books to Read Before You Die.  Books published by Virago Modern Classics, Persephone, and NYRB Classics often fall into this category.
 

10.  A Nonfiction Classic.  A memoir, biography, essays, travel, this can be any nonfiction work that's considered a classic, or a nonfiction work by a classic author.  You'd be surprised how many classic authors dabbled in nonfiction writing -- I have nonfiction books by Dickens, Trollope, Twain, and Steinbeck on my shelves.

11.  A Classic Children's Book.  A book for your inner child!  Pick a children's classic that you never got around to reading.

12.  A Classic Play.  Your choice, any classic play, as long as it was published or performed before 1965.

There are no required categories for 2015.  There will be a drawing for a $30 gift from Amazon.com or The Book Depository for reading at least 6 classics.  If you read 6 classics, you will receive 1 entry in the drawing; if you read 9 classics, you will receive 2 entries; and if you read 12 classics, you will receive 3 entries in the drawing.  I haven't chosen all of my classics yet, but I will keep this page updated as I select and complete them.

Truant by Margaret Hasse

Another really special poem. 

Introduction by Ted Kooser, U.S. Poet Laureate:  For every one of those faces pictured on the obituary page, thousands of memories have been swept out of the world, never to be recovered. I encourage everyone to write down their memories before it’s too late. Here’s a fine example of that by Margaret Hasse, who lives in Minnesota.

Truant

Our high school principal wagged his finger

over two manila folders

lying on his desk, labeled with our names—

my boyfriend and me—

called to his office for skipping school.

The day before, we ditched Latin and world history

to chase shadows of clouds on a motorcycle.

We roared down rolling asphalt roads

through the Missouri River bottoms

beyond town, our heads emptied

of review tests and future plans.

We stopped on a dirt lane to hear

a meadowlark’s liquid song, smell

heart-break blossom of wild plum.

Beyond leaning fence posts and barbwire,

a tractor drew straight lines across the field

unfurling its cape of blackbirds.

Now forty years after that geography lesson

in spring, I remember the principal’s words.

How right he was in saying:

This will be part of

your permanent record.

 

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Introduction copyright © 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Prayer for Joy by Stuart Kestenbaum

Another favorite poem published today in American Life in Poetry, a free weekly newsletter.

Introduction by Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate:  Stuart Kestenbaum is a Maine poet with a new book, Only Now, from Deerbrook Editions. In it are a number of thoughtful poems posed as prayers, and here’s an example:

Prayer for Joy

What was it we wanted

to say anyhow, like today

when there were all the letters

in my alphabet soup and suddenly

the ‘j’ rises to the surface.

The ‘j’, a letter that might be

great for Scrabble, but not really

used for much else, unless

we need to jump for joy,

and then all of a sudden

it’s there and ready to

help us soar and to open up

our hearts at the same time,

this simple line with a curved bottom,

an upside down cane that helps

us walk in a new way into this

forest of language, where all the letters

are beginning to speak,

finding each other in just

the right combination

to be understood.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2014 by Stuart Kestenbaum, “Prayer for Joy” from Only Now, (Deerbrook Editions, 2014). Poem reprinted by permission of Stuart Kestenbaum and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

Long Stitch Book

This is the first long stitch book I made in Kelley Walker's  class at My Heart's Fancy.  If you aren't local and want to learn how to make this book (along with a pamphlet stitched book in a slip case), she also teaches an online version here.  Kelley is a great teacher.

Pamphlet Books in Slipcase

I made these books and slipcase in a class I took from Kelley Walker last year.  She teaches it online too, which you can find here.

Long Stitch Book

I have enjoyed making books ever since I made my first one many years ago, and about a year ago I discovered a great book arts group right here in the town where I live.  It is a great group of artists who are up for just about anything.  I taught this book structure at our last meeting.  Thanks to Kelley Walker for teaching this structure at My Heart's Fancy a few months back.  The covers are some of my gelli plate printed papers and the spine is sticky back canvas painted with acrylic paint.

Start Where You Are . . .

Gelli plate printed background.  Washi tape accents. Hand lettered quote.  In one of my hand made journals.

Happy Village

Finished my happy village quilt I started this weekend in Karen Eckmeier's class at Oklahoma Quilters State Organization's fall retreat.

Use Your Words - Color

Another page for the free class I'm taking from Carolyn Dube, called Use Your Words.  This page also uses a technique from her Play Dates video, using gesso over Dylusions spray ink. The pink strip along the bottom is painted canvas, and the green patterned strip down the left side is gelli printed deli paper.  It's fun combining a variety of techniques on a page.

Use Your Words - Play

For some reason, I see that I haven't been sharing much of my art here lately.  I have posted some things on Facebook, but I seem to have forgotten about posting to my blog.  So here is a journal page I did recently:

It was done for a free online class from Carolyn Dube, called Use Your Words.

Back to the Classics 2014 Reading Challenge Wrap Up

I have completed the only reading challenge I participated in this year.  Below is a list of what I read for each category, when I completed it, and a link to my review:

Required:
1. A 20th Century Classic - The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway - finished 5/3/2014
2. A 19th Century Classic - Cranford by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell - finished 7/27/2014
3. A Classic by a Woman Author - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - finished 4/20/2014
4. A Classic in Translation - Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak - finished 3/26/2014
5. A Classic About War - All Our Worldly Goods by Irene Nemirovsky - finished 7/11/2014
6. A Classic by an Author Who Is New To Me - The Paradise by Emile Zola - finished 2/22/2014

Optional:
1. An American Classic - Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - finished 4/10/2014
2. A Classic Mystery, Suspense, or Thriller - Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers - finished 5/13/2014
3. A Historical Fiction Classic - Lamb in his Bosom by Caroline Miller - finished 4/2/2014
4. A Classic That's Been Adapted into a Movie or TV Series - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - finished 8/13/2014
5. Extra Fun Category: Write a Review of the Movie or TV Series adapted from Optional Category #4 - The Age of Innocence - watched 8/30/2014


I completed all 6 required categories and all 5 optional categories, which makes me eligible for 3 entries for the prize drawing. 

I enjoyed doing this challenge.  My favorite books were The Age of Innocence, Lamb in his Bosom, Cranford, All Our Worldly Goods and Whose Body?.  My least favorite books were The Sun Also Rises and The Paradise.

The Age of Innocence - Movie Version

When I watch a movie made from a book I have read and enjoyed, I usually like the book better.  This was true about The Age of Innocence, although I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  I thought it was very well done, the acting was excellent, and the main characters were well cast for the parts (Daniel Day-Lewis as Newland Archer, Michelle Pfeiffer as Madame Olenska, and Winona Ryder as May Welland).  I had actually seen the movie several years ago (before I read the book), and I remembered scenes from the movie as I read the book.  (This may have colored my impressions of the movie and/or the book - I usually prefer to read a book first before seeing the movie.)  After reading the book, I wanted to see the movie again.  I don't have the kind of memory required to be able to say "this scene was changed" or "this scene was left out," but it seemed to follow the book fairly closely and had a similar "feel" as the book.  But a book can go into so much more depth than a movie can, which is why I usually prefer a book.  You can read my review of the book here.  This is my final category for the Back to the Classics 2014 Reading Challenge.  I rate this movie 4 out of 5.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

In the New York City of the 1870's, Newland Archer is engaged to be married to May Welland but has fallen in love with May's cousin, Madame Olenska, who has returned to New York from Europe after leaving her husband. This puts Newland in a serious dilemma, because:

Few things seemed to Newland Archer more awful than an offense against "Taste," that far-off divinity of whom "Form" was the mere visible representative and vice regent.  

I thought the author did an excellent job of showing how hypocritical society was in valuing appearances over substance. I rate this book 5 out of 5. It counts as my Classic That's Been Adapted into a Movie or TV Series; I will re-watch the movie in a couple of weeks and then I will have completed my Back to the Classics Challenge 2014. 

Planting Peas

I don't read a lot of poetry, although I am subscribed to American Life in Poetry's weekly newsletter.  This week's poem was one of my very favorites, so I thought I would share.

Introduction by Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate:  The ancient Chinese poets used to say that at some point in each poem the poet ought to lift his (or her) eyes, ought to look beyond the surface of the present into something deeper and more meaningful. Here is just such a poem by Linda M. Hasselstrom, who lives in South Dakota.

Planting Peas

It’s not spring yet, but I can’t

wait anymore. I get the hoe,

pull back the snow from the old

furrows, expose the rich dark earth.

I bare my hand and dole out shriveled peas,

one by one.

I see my grandmother’s hand,

doing just this, dropping peas

into gray gumbo that clings like clay.

This moist earth is rich and dark

as chocolate cake.

Her hands cradle

baby chicks; she finds kittens in the loft

and hands them down to me, safe beside

the ladder leading up to darkness.

I miss

her smile, her blue eyes, her biscuits and gravy,

but mostly her hands.

I push a pea into the earth,

feel her hands pushing me back. She’ll come in May,

she says, in long straight rows,

dancing in light green dresses.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©1984 by Linda M. Hasselstrom; www.windbreakhouse.com. Her most recent book of poems, written with Twyla Hansen, is Dirt Songs, The Backwaters Press, 2011. Poem reprinted by permission of Linda M. Hasselstrom and the publisher. Introduction copyright © 2015 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. 

Cranford by Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

I found this to be a delightful story (or series of vignettes). Most of the residents of Cranford are women.  Visiting and calls had rigid rules and regulations:  from twelve to three are the calling hours, stays must not exceed a quarter of an hour, and no more than three days should elapse between receiving and returning a call.  No one ever spoke about money.  And manners were more important than anything. 

According to Goodreads:  "First published as a magazine serial from 1851 and then in novel form in 1853, Cranford is the best-known work by Elizabeth Gaskell (1810 65)."  I read this as my 19th Century Classic for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2014, and I rate it 4 out of 5.  This is my final book for the required categories.  I plan to read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for the category "A Classic That's Been Adapted into a Movie or TV Series" (unless I change my mind - which I've done several times with this challenge already).

All Our Worldly Goods by Irene Nemirovsky

This book is set in France, starting right before World War I and ending just as World War II begins. Pierre is from a wealthy family and is engaged to Simone. Agnes is from a lower middle class family. The different social classes didn't mingle. But Pierre and Agnes are in love and they marry against their parents' wishes. Shortly after their marriage, Pierre is called up.

"It was the very beginning of the war, when the heart bleeds for everyone who dies, when tears are shed for each man sent to fight. Sadly, as time goes on, people get used to it all. They think of only one soldier, theirs. But at the start of a war the heart is still tender; it hasn't hardened yet."

The story follows the families through the horrors of WWI, the time between the wars, and up to the start of WWII.

"If they have good commanders, if everything goes according to plan, they'll make it through, as we did. But . . . I'm afraid. Too many people have told them about the last war. . . they know that all our sacrifices were useless, that victory conquered no one . . ."

This was published in 1947, 5 years after the author's death in Auschwitz. It is my classic about war for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2014. I had already read Suite Francaise, also by this author, when I belonged to a book club, but I thought this was better. I rate it 4 out of 5.

With our Grandson

We visited our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson the second week in June.  Our daughter-in-law took this photo of us with our grandson, and it was such a good photo that I just had to share.  They've been visiting us and her parents this week; not sure how soon we'll see them all again.  Hopefully no later than Thanksgiving, but maybe earlier!

Lesson 8 Abstracting a Photo

We were given three suggested ways to make an abstract design from a photo. I chose to use a grid. This was my final lesson for Katie Pasquini Masopust's Online Color Composition and Design class. I learned a lot from doing the lessons so it was a worthwhile class.  

Below is the photo I chose.

Obviously I cropped the photo considerably.  This quilt ended up a bit smaller than most of my others (it is 12" X 12" while most of my others were 14" X 14"), because once I had all the fusing done, I decided it needed to be cropped a bit closer.

Sister Trees

Little quilt I made in Frieda Anderson's fusing class at the Quilting Adventures spring retreat in Schulenberg, Texas.

Lesson 6 Abstract Landscape

My assignment in Katie Pasquini Masopust's Online Color Composition and Design Course was to create an abstract landscape.  This is actually my second attempt, as I didn't like my first one.  I found that it's true what they say - you learn more from your failures than from your successes!

Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers

I don't read many mysteries, as it isn't a genre I usually like very much.  But one of the optional categories for the Back to the Classics 2014 challenge is a classic mystery, suspense, or thriller, so I asked my brother (who works in publishing and likes mysteries) for a recommendation.  Based on his comments (and the fact that it was only $0.99 for my Kindle!), I decided to read Dorothy L Sayers's first Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, Whose Body?  I'm glad I did; it's one of my favorite classics I've read so far.

A dead body is discovered in the bathtub of an architect on the same day that a well-known financier disappears.  Are these two events related?  Lord Peter Wimsey investigates.  The story was interesting and the writing was engaging; here are a couple of my favorite quotes (that I can sadly relate to more than I would like to admit):

He felt as though he were looking at a complicated riddle, of which he had once been told the answer but had forgotten it and was always on the point of remembering.

He pursued an elusive memory for some minutes, till it vanished altogether with a mocking flicker of the tail.

I rate it 4 out of 5.  I will probably be reading more by Dorothy L Sayers.

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

I read A Farewell to Arms in 2012 as one of my selections for the WWI Reading Challenge.  I didn't care much for the story or the writing style, so I really didn't think I would read anything else by Hemingway.  But last year, I read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, which was about Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley.  I enjoyed that book so much that it made me decide to give Hemingway another try.  I chose The Sun Also Rises, which was Hemingway's first big novel and established his reputation as a great writer.  Which I have to say, I don't get.  His style is very terse, almost newspaper-like.  Maybe that was such a change from the writings of his day (The Sun Also Rises was first published in 1926) that it was revolutionary, but it doesn't do anything for me.  And the story wasn't any better.  It was about several American and English expatriates (the so-called Lost Generation) living in Paris who go to Pamplona, Spain for the bullfighting fiesta.  Their main activity is drinking and getting drunk (or "tight").  It is my 20th Century Classic for the Back to the Classics 2014 Challenge, and I rate it 2 out of 5.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

This was the story of Janie Crawford, a black woman in the south. Janie was married three times. Her second husband took her to Eatonville, Florida, one of the first all black towns to be incorporated in the US. It didn't say when the story was set, but it was published in 1937. It was an interesting story, but the dialog was written in vernacular, which I found difficult to read. This was my American Classic for the Back to the Classics 2014 reading challenge and I rated it 3 out of 5.