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The train will not find you. You must find the train, its pulse, its way of being beyond obvious rock and sway. The train’s pulse is deeper than movement. If you listen, you will hear the song of the train, and when you find the song, you will find the engine, the heart, the blood, the pulse. You ride the train. It is the Iron Horse Without A Saddle: silent, strident, gentle, strong. Everyone must stop for the Iron Horse. The Iron Horse owns right of way. The Journey: CALIFORNIA: San Diego, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, Barstow, Needles; ARIZONA: Kingman, Williams Junction, Flagstaff, Winslow; NEW MEXICO: Albuquerque, Lamy, Las Vegas, Raton; COLORADO: Trinidad, La Junta, Lamar; KANSAS: Garden City, Dodge City, Hutchison, Newton, Topeka, Lawrence; MISSOURI: Kansas City, La Plata; IOWA: Fort Madison; ILLINOIS: Galesburg, Princeton, Mendota, Naperville, Chicago; INDIANA: South Bend, Elkhart, Waterloo; OHIO: Sandusky, Elyria, Cleveland, Alliance; PENNSYLVANIA: Pittsburgh. From San Diego, California to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Three trains, two and one half days, three nights, me at a window seat, marveling. The southwest is shades of dark to light and everything in between of brown, green, black, pink with very little white. The white is ancillary and too obvious, out of place, except for snow covering mountains in the distance. I witnessed
I thought of my camera in my bag, yet found myself relaxed beyond need, perfectly peaceful and serene that the camera became an afterthought. I witnessed
If creative people are not careful, they will find themselves bereft of ideas and unable to create with highest authority. This is called being all used up. This is the time when artists must fill the creative well. Three nights on a train became another filling the well opportunity for me and I am grateful. Three nights on a train is not luxurious. Shame on you Amtrak, the train needs a thorough steam cleaning front to back, top to bottom. The bathrooms are wiped down but never really cleaned, obvious muck. But I’m a camper and allowed myself to think of the train as a moving campsite. I listened to that small voice prior to my departure date and brought along Clorox wipes, also body wipes, snacks, water, pillow and other comforts and decided to enjoy the experience. I’m glad I did.
I still have a romantic notion about trains. The clean train I’m looking for is out there somewhere. I’ll find it. Nature is already there, waiting for me. Well, that’s it for now. God has refilled me, can’t wait to get back to work quilting, writing, painting and whatever is next. Happy Quilting! or whatever creative project you are dreaming of and working on.
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 Great grandmother Margaret There is an artistic reference library inside our brains. For me, the library needs constant upgrading with fresh ideas so that when I purchase or paint fabric for quilts or choose beads for beadwork and other projects, I am reminded of Nature's color palate, Her textures, and of the freedom it takes to create with integrity. When I began teaching myself to quilt, HGTV presented several craft, sewing and quilting shows. I noticed right away that there were many rules about color. For example never use colors next to each other on the color wheel; that yellow overpowers, and stay away from too much red. Most of the rules restricted ideas and rendered me incapable of transferring what was in my mind onto fabric and other media. One night I had a dream about something, and my great grandmother, Margaret, marched through the dream and said to me, "Throw all the colors together. They go. Don't they?" Great grandmother Margaret freed me. I have never looked back. The following images are from San Diego, new installments for my creative reference library.  green on blue, yellow, brown, white, silver highlights, heaven, sky, smooth, hot Looks like food green, red, yellow, pink, brown movement, magic, red, pink, yellow, green, silver, brown, gaiety, white, black  bluish green, shimmer, white, brown, pink (feet), black, iridescence (for me, glitter), smooth, not smooth  A sculpture in a desert park. re-purposing, patina, greens (how many shades of green are there, anyway?), yellow, red, brown, spikey, soft, hard, smooth, gritty Love and independence mommie duck and babies. watch the last little baby. independent thinking at its best. Well, that's it for now. Thank you for stopping by and Happy Quilting! or whatever creative project you are doing or thinking about.
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AboutThis is a blog about how we make things. 
cathleen margaret
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