Just me talking out loud in a very long post.

 Upfromsumdirt thinks the piece in the previous post is a very interesting background in need of a focal point.  Entertaining the possibility that he might be right, then I'm in that zone where creating complex cloth is the purpose and reason for the art and it can stand alone.  The quilter in me replies, "But there is that design element where the whole piece is the focus".  This stance will require more from the viewer and I'm reminded of a quote, to paraphrase, by Toni Morrison saying she doesn't write for lazy readers.  But (again) I slightly shared his view even before he criticqued it which led me to the decision to screen the numbers enlarged to cover about a third of the surface.  I'm undedcided about screening the numbers on...I've since thought about using a transfer technique or printing the numbers in organza and fusing them on.  Because I'm still undecided I moved on to the companion piece:

Again using a neon thread...the neon threads I first saw on a quilt last spring when I was in a 2 day workshop with Hollis Chatelain in Berea.  I thought then, "I'll never use those" but at a local thread sale I lost my mind and said "just in case" and about 5-6  colours came home with me.  This is my first time using them and am looking forward to exploring more with them.

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When I'm in my workshop I use my portable oxygen that I carry in a shoulder bag with a 5ft or 7ft tube and as a result, my shoulder is beginning to ache...to avoid any future problems I asked the provider about the coverage and cost of a 2nd stationary tank since I'm there 3-4 days each week.  The provider called on Tuesday and said its doable and it is also a courtesy free of charge!!!!!!!!!!!!  I thought I was going to pass out right there on the phone from joy and shock.  The larger stationary tank will allow for a very very long tube (as long as I need it to be) to move around more freely.  The only reason I can think that it is free may have something to do with me being in what Medicaid calls "catastrophe" status due to my out of pocket expenses...but I'm not going to think about it beyond this and just rejoice in the blessings!  The tank will come tomorrow.

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With the larger oxygen being at my workshop I want to aim for a 4-5 day week.  In order to help absorb the additional cost in gas I'm thinking about cutting up the piece in this post above and the piece in previous post in to 4"x6" and 5"x7" to sell from my languishing postcard blog (see sidebar).  When I'm there I really aim to work 5 hours which actually means I'm there much longer.  I take breaks for routine breathing treatments, snacking, lunch, and socializing with my parents, nieces, and my son and daughter who are sometimes in tow.  Oh, and don't let me sit in the comfy chair.  I suspect there is some kind of poppy dust embedded in the fabric because of the tranquility that I experience as soon as I plop my butt down in it...a tranquility that sometimes leads to 2-3 hour naps with some very lucid dreaming.

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And speaking of my comfy chair, here is my latest craigslist find that cost me the same as 2 fast food meals only this is more healthier ;)

And how about this little gem for 50 cents at a garage sale: 

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My official "rediscover my city" vacation started this week spurred on by something I saw on tv about how the development of highways caused economic downturns of towns and I thought about how we also loose touch with neighborhoods in our own cities because of taking the expressways.  I started with going to the old water tower that houses a gallery and the Louisville Visual Arts Association.  River City Fiber Artists have a vibrant....really vibrant show there which multiplied my reasons for starting here:

The old water tower is the white structure and the cobble stoned building on the left is one of the actual water processing facilities.

 

At the River's Edge is the name of the exhibit for the River City Fiber Artists that consist of Juanita Yeager, Valerie White, Joanne Weiss, Pat Dariff, Marty Plager and Kathleen Loomis.

The exhibit is a visual high.

While there, have lunch on the lawn by the river.