Paint and stuff

So I painted the center block of the Ryokan quilt because I didn't like it with a white background.  It came out sunny yellow and still stood out like a sore thumb, so I painted it a light gold, which still looked sunny yellow and still stands out like a sore thumb.  Here it is (with a border fabric I was auditioning):

So I borrowed some fabric paint from a friend.  The color was listed as 'Russet' and looked brick red.  I mixed it with some gold paint to tone down the red a little, and painted over the yellow.  It came out pink.  Bleh.  I can't take it back now.  It will just have to be pink - but at least it doesn't stand out so much anymore.  I will post a picture of that soon - as soon as I take another pic of it.

In the meantime, a quilting teacher I know asked me to bring and show an older quilt of mine to her class.  I'd forgotten all about this quilt.  It was made for a challenge - the challenge was to make a quilt that expressed who we were as individuals.  I couldn't think of anything more individual or unique to me as an individual than my fingerprint.  So I blew up my thumbprint and made appliques of all the little pieces and placed them on white fabric.  Quilted into the background are the words: "I.D., Therefore I am", which is coincidentally the name of the quilt.   Anyway, I thought I'd share the quilt here, since I don't think I ever have posted it on the blog before.

It was about 40 hours of work to painstakingly place all those little black pieces of fabric in the right places and fuse them down.  It is all raw edge applique (I'm crazy but not insane enough to needleturn something like this - I don't do needleturn applique anyway).  

Anyway, I saw Batman and didn't hate it.  Didn't like it as much as my husband did, but it was okay.  I thought the pacing was good enough and the effects were okay... it just didn't enthuse me and while the movie tied up all the loose ends of the trilogy, the ending was a little trite.  Just my 2 cents. 

Maybe someday I'll get to see a movie -I- want to see on our anniversary.  There always seems to be some science fiction or some such movie that he wants to see and we go to it because I always acquiesce.  Not that I don't like science fiction and superheroes - I do.  Just always seems that we end up seeing something for our anniversary that I'm not crazy about.  Ah well... such is life.

Tomorrow is mah jongg in the morning and maybe some quilting in the afternoon.  Now that I have a studio, I have no excuses not to sew or quilt!

I was reminded tonight why I do what I do - and that we are not sewers, we are artists... and we have to think of ourselves that way, even if we are traditional quilters.  It may not be entirely true - sometimes I don't feel much like an artist, but more like an artisan.  I go through the motions but I don't feel original enough to be an 'artist'.  I see the work other artists do and am inspired but also intimidated.  Do I have it in me to be that original or free to experiment?  I hope I can grow into it ..