Still in Silence

Last night Jerome and I attended a concert by Nordic Voices at our historic Temple Theater. Every piece on the program was composed by people born since 1949. Most of them are Norwegian. (Did I ever tell you I now live in an area of the world heavily populated by Scandinavians, primarily Norwegian?)
One piece that resonated with me so deeply was Still In Silence. There is a link to the group singing it here. Last evening's program was performed entirely a cappella. Jerome, with his life long musical training, had much to share with me about the sophistication and complicated construction of the pieces. I heard the works through untrained ears but with my heart. Amazing program.

Around the Corner

Last week Jerome and I attended a preview showing of our town's moment in the spotlight on  Milwaukee Public Television's Around the Corner with John McGivern. The preview was held in our historic Temple Theatre. John McGivern and his crew were there to answer questions and entertain the us with their enthusiasm for their job.
Last night PBS broadcast the episode and today it is available to everyone via the link above.
Filmed last summer, it provides a little wider window to this incredible place I call home.
Have a look and let me know what you think.

when life hands you several challenges, pick an easy one and get started

Recent work in my sewing space:

my quilt guild's challenge.

We were given a fat quarter of the tiny check fabric you see above. I've added the dimension of using only fabrics in my stash. My plan: use several deep tones plus some of my rich Amish black.

Some time ago I won a bundle of assorted fat quarters from the Grunge collection by Moda. It's very popular in quilt shops right now and I did use some of it in the quilts I made for Africa. But I really don't like how they play with other fabrics but when I flipped them over to their gorgeous back sides they were just right.

Searching  in my tear sheets notebook I found a pattern called The Goose is Loose that just might work for this. Since I really, really enjoy drafting my own patterns from pictures I did a basic plan on graph paper. Flying geese units are twice as wide as they are tall so the math is relatively simple.

The bed in the guest room is my design wall for the time being. I've been playing with the color arrangement of the center portion of the quilt. There are pinwheels that form where units come together that are made obvious by arranging the blocks just so. What is laid out here is just the center design of the pattern. Next up, the outer borders.
Oh, and I think the back of this quilt will use lots more of the Grunge.
What challenges have you been embracing as January has slipped into February?
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