The workshops are going well. I had a brief reminder of times past when suddenly in the middle of the surface design workshop we found ourselves without water! Fortunately there were buckets of saved water for the toilet in the bathroom to tide us over and in less than an hour it was back on. [...]
Teaching here is always a challenge. At least this time I know what to expect. Although I was hope for a change. First, there was the challenge of actually getting to the workshop! They are now closing the main road each Sunday for programs for the public. Then we kept encountering closed roads. Fortunately we [...]
I spent the evening with an amazing graphic artist- Emir Burjanadze. He is 65 but looks much older. However, he has wonderful eyes which are full of life. He is an expert on Georgian ornamentation. Poor Keti had to traslate all the deep philosphical details which were not easy to understand. We were all tired [...]
I woke to more rain so we spent the morning working on Keti’s computer. Her anti-virus program was not working and we found 26 different problems. It is much better now. Having to get use to dial up is always interesting. It does make me appreciate what I have. This afternoon we went some galleries [...]
Things are improving here. There is still no water from 2 am until about 7 but I have yet to experience no water. I have noticed that things are more expensive but there is still not more pay for people. We are complaining about the price of gas but here it is even more. A [...]
The problems with the power point projector was solved so I was able to give my paper on quiltmaking. I am so happy to report that I was a hit! I love power point and realized just how important visuals are for presentations. Others at the symposium have read long texts which is truly difficult [...]
It is never an easy journey to get to Georgia but always worth it in the end.After 26 hours of traveling, Keti was there to greet me. I discovered that I did not need a visa. Rules are always changing for the better. The first time I came in 2003, I paid almost $300 in [...]
My dear friend Marti was getting ready to evacuate from Houston when her husband collasped. He is now on a ventilator and his future is uncertain. There was no time to go back to get her cats. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She is a wonderful quiltmaker and generous human being. This [...]
Keti is so much fun to watch as she marvels at everything. At first she was overwhelmed by all the choices we have. She is quickly adjusting. She’s also learning about coupons and sales. Loves a bargain just like the rest of us. We are having fun but the days are long and she’s so [...]
I could hardly sleep I was so excited. I felt like a child on Christmas Eve. Keti was waiting for me when I arrived at O’Hare. It seems visitors are processed more quickly than citizens. We headed home and she was full of questions. I love watching the wonder in her eyes. After a short [...]
I haven’t written because I have been preparing for Keti’s arrival. I can’t believe it is tomorrow and I have successfully cleaned my studio. Now I hope she helps me reduce my stash! I have on her bed things to get her started. I can’t wait to share. I’ll keep you posted. Karen
Friday around noon Keti will be here! Her room is ready and supplied with magazines and books, her own mat, rulers and rotary cutter, fabrics (got to start her own stash, and new hangers in her freshly painted closet. I’ve cleaned my office including painting the closet. Yes, even my husband is making fun of [...]
Valeri’s mother died at 54 in 1985. The portrait of her that I saw I would never have guessed that she was this young. So when Valeri says that his mother died from a “hard and ruthless life” but that she loved life, I can see it. He is now working on a large painting [...]
You may not know it but I’m the co-chair of Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories, an Alliance project. We collect the stories of quiltmakers and their quilts. If you haven’t visited, please do. Anyway, I’ve always been fascinated by people’s stories so I’m trying to find out more about the story behind Valeri’s quilts [...]
Yesterday I drove downtown Chicago (I live about 30 miles from Chicago in the far west surburbs) to the Field Museum to see the women of Gee’s Bend. They were finishing up the project with Do Your P’Art, a nonprofit organization that brings schools and artists together in the Chicagoland area. The quilts that the [...]
The Georgian Textile Group, of which my quilt group, is a part has finally after months and months of working on it launched their website! It’s www.geotexart.org. I spent many an evening while I was in Georgia and upon my return from my home editing the text. Nino Tchatchkhiani did the work from Switzerland where [...]
President Bush is visiting Georgia. It’s been interesting to hear what has been happening in preparation for his visit. I’ve been told there are parts of Tbilisi I am not going to recognize when I return because streets have been paved and everything has been painted. I’ve heard lots of complaints that the colors chosen [...]
Working on my new lecture which I am calling “We’re All Connected: Making a Difference One Quilt at a Time.” Going through my slides and journal enteries makes me realize how difficult it is to explain what I am doing and why so I just keep working at it. It’s so hard for me to [...]
There is an interesting article in the New York Times International by Craig Smith. It is about the common abduction of women known as “ala kachuu” which translates roughly as “grab and run” for marriage in Kyrgyzstan. I remember my interrupter telling me that she would protect me against abduction while I was in Almaty. [...]
Keti needs to postpone coming because her exams are scheduled until May 27. I’m always amazed at how things work out. When I enthusiastically agreed to her coming on the 18th, I had totally forgotten that this is the date of the Alliance’s raffle quilt, “The Voice of You and Me 2004,” in Louisville, Kentucky [...]