New Year

Greetings All and VERY best wishes to you for a wonderful, creative and healthy New Year. I have been VERY slack on my blog lately, partly as I am not quilting , partly that I am VERY lazy having had a lot of major health problems to deal with in my family! It wears me out but we ARE coping and getting along with things now, so hopefully, I'll be more regular!

I keep thinking I should close this blog as it is sort of "false advertising" now but it is likely where people know to look so perhaps just THINK of it as "rtpainter" now instead! I am in the middle of divesting myself and my laundry room/studio of all of my quilting and dyeing STUFF!!! MY goodness gracious, I have a LOT of stuff down there!!! I have one, possibly two friends coming next week to pick over the PILES and see what would be helpful to them. I want no money for this stuff, just the space and the peace of mind knowing that there is ONE SMALL corner of the house where there is SOME semblance of order. We are getting older and as we have only one child, thinking of HER having to clean up this place after we have shuffled off, is keeping me awake nights!

These pics represent a fraction of my STUFF! I DO hope someone can use it- some of it, at least!

Same stuff from the other end of the table!!!

I have finished my Kale painting. It is on Arches 140 lb cold press paper, a full sheet.. 22"x30". It was  really quite a HUGE job, started before my watercolour course and finished after it was done. I THINK , on the whole, that I am fairly pleased with it. It has been such a long time since I painted seriously and it feels REALLY good. Painting/drawing for me is a great retreat into peace and sanity. I always enjoyed the Fibre Arts but my true love has always been painting!

This photo is , unfortunately, kind of woolly! I REALLY need to shoot pics of my paintings with the big Nikon Camera and proper lighting. These are all just phone pics... OK, but not beautiful!

I recently submitted a DNA sample to Ancestry.com. DH gave it to me for Christmas as he knows how hard I find it knowing only one side of my family! My Dad, born in 1919 was adopted by two maiden English sisters who worked for a while in Hamilton ON as Matron and Asst Matron of the WCTU Nursery, where Dad was left as an infant. I have the official adoption papers from 1925 when the whole thing was finalized. His birth name was James Davidson but Grandma and Aunty officially changed it to Theo Hamilton Morris. I have agonized over learning more about Dad's family forever. I MAY have a tiny crack opening in the secrecy as a result of the DNA test, but no answers and maybe NEVER any answers. Anyway, I have subscribed again for six mo to Anc.com so we shall see. Between that, trying to shed all this ballast and looking for my next subject to paint... I am pretty busy. Oh, and the health issues and their attendant appointments continue too. We are well booked up into mid August.

SO, Dear Friends, I solemnly promise to TRY to do better here on my blog and hope to hear from you. Happy New Year all and God Bless!