Smoked Out

A few posts ago, I offered a close up of my latest fire inspired quilt "Smoked Out". I didn't want to post the full image until the exhibit was hanging. The show at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center has been hung and is open to the public, so now I can share my quilt with you. Don't forget about the reception on October 7th, 5:30 - 7:30pm.The background is a hand-painted piece of fabric. The mountains, clouds and sun were formed using layers of tulle and the raw edged flames are made from organza and commercial cottons.

I'm really pleased with the results and have been getting some great feedback. I'm pretty sure that I have at least one more fire quilt left in me.

If you're a regular reader, I'm sure you will recall the Gap Fire and the trauma surrounding it. Well, the effects of the fire are still being felt; but now the problem is flooding. All five watersheds have been burned, which means the chance of major flooding is extremely high. Planes and helicopters are dropping 200 loads of hydromulch per day, 7 days a week, for the next two months. I feel confident that they are doing everything possible to prepare for winter. Let's hope it's enough!

Fibervision: New Views

I'm working hard in my studio, trying hard to meet all of my upcoming deadlines. There are so many fiber happenings coming up in the next month; it's going to be a blast!
What's this, you ask? A detail shot from my "Smoked Out" quilt that I started after the Gap Fire. I posted a rough layout here. It's completely finished and it is very colorful! I love, love, love the way it turned out. It will make it's debut at Fibervision New Views exhibit at the Cabrillo Arts Center, 1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd. in Santa Barbara.

The exhibit will hang from October 1st through October 24th. And all of you are invited to the reception on Tuesday, October 7th from 5:30 - 7:30 pm. It's going to be a fantastic show! If you can't make it to the reception, please call the gallery for their hours, 805-897-1982.

Fibervision also has an small exhibit throughout October in the display case at the Santa Barbara Main Library.

And if that's not enough, the Coastal Quilters is having their Harvest of Colors Quilt Show on October 4th and 5th. It is being held at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara. There will be over 200 quilts on exhibit ranging from traditional to art quilts. Ellen Ann Eddy is the featured artist. There will also be workshops with my good friend Andi Perejda and Joe Cunningham. Stop on by, Santa Barbara has an incredibly talented group of artists living here. The quilts are always amazing.

Colorful Weekend

I'm taking full advantage of the extra time I'm spending indoors and it's been a colorful weekend. Fortunately, the real Gap Fire is 80% contained, however, the fire living inside my head has spread to my design wall. For the background, I'm using a piece of fabric that I've painted. It has several layers of tulle and organza throughout with another layer of blue tulle on top of all the mountains and flames. It's still in pieces, but I'm getting pretty close to the final design.
I can't decide which fabric to use for the palm tree and border. Do you have a preference? Or maybe, you have a completely different suggestion. Let me know what you think.

The photo above would use a green palm tree to go along with the greenish/red foreground (left side of photo)This photo above shows a purple palm tree to go along with the purplish foreground (bottom right of photo).

Home Again

I'm very happy to be home, but he air quality is terrible; lots of smoke and ash everywhere. I need to stay inside as much as possible because of my asthma. I've spent a good part of the day returning all of my stuff to its proper place.
Unfortunately, this fire is far from done. It is burning towards Santa Barbara and thousands of houses are still threatened, but so far, only one mobile home, a few outbuildings and several cars were lost. Pretty amazing when you consider how fast this fire has spread. It has burned over 10,000 acres and is 28% contained. Over 1,200 firemen are working hard to control and contain the flames. No easy feat!We were very fortunate to have a beautiful house to stay at when we evacuated (thank you Cyndee), but under the circumstances, we really didn't get to enjoy it. We were much too worried. However, I did get some great shots of the fireworks from the balcony.
Thank you to both my local friends and online friends that offered their homes and words of comfort. You have no idea how much it helped.
The firemen are real life heroes and I am amazed at the bravery they continually display. As we run out, they run in! Thank you guys, YOU ROCK!

Fire Storm

The fire storm is spreading at an alarming rate. Yesterday, 300 acres burned; and tonight, that number has climbed to over 3000 acres.These photos were taken Tuesday afternoon and that glowing sphere is the sun covered in smoke. Very eerie!

This is, by far, the scariest situation I've ever been in. Earlier tonight, we evacuated our home. My nerves couldn't stand another night without power. Sitting in the dark wondering if the fire is rushing down the hill toward you is really nerve racking. Today, the air was so bad I had to wear a mask. I have a phobia about anything covering my head and face, so for me the mask was a HUGE deal. I developed asthma during the fire last year and have been taking medication since. I figured it was the mask or the hospital!

We'll try to get home tomorrow to see if our home is still standing.

Thank you for all your kind words and prayers. I really appreciate your support.

Here We Go Again!

Another wildfire (The Gap Fire) is burning here in Goleta, and this time, it's the moutain right above my house. The last time this area burned was over 50 years ago, so there is a lot of dry fuel. So far, 350 acres have burned. This photo was taken last night by Ray Ford, a photographer at the Independent Newspaper. My husband and I were enjoying a glass of wine during intermission at an Ottmar Liebert concert at Soho, when my son called to tell us about the fire. Needless to say, we left the concert and raced home. An evacuation warning was issued for the area around my house and we're ready to get out if need be.
What possessions would you save? Family and pets come first, of course. Some of the items I grabbed were photos, external hard drive, camera, computer, personal files and quilts. I have lots of stuff and I love it all, but when it comes right down to it, very few possessions are precious.
I'll keep you posted!