I commented over at Jude’s blog today that there’s nothing like spring green, but this patch was actually made on March 20th when the world tipped us into Spring (while it likewise tipped our Australian friends into Autumn).
Tina’s bright green cloth was a perfect match for the trees leafing up outside my stitching window. And it occurred to me that the same green appears in one my favorite paintings …
purchased many years ago at the antique mall in Williamsburg, Virginia for not more than $50 …
It’s signed Grace Badkins, who I tried to track down on the internet when we first bought the painting …
I tried again recently and this time I found her in the 1940 Census …
which had been released since the last time I looked …
I even found her mother-in-law’s obituary which revealed that she lived at 109 Matoaka Court, a street well-known to us back in the day …
And I couldn’t help thinking, if only we had internet resources like this back when I was a research librarian at Colonial Williamsburg … my job would have been far simpler!
Anyway, to wrap up a very long story, I made patch with a bit of Tina’s dye magic, taking a cue from the railing in the last close-up of Grace’s painting and adding a dark band on top and a bit of satin stitch to top it off …
The story of the second patch is simpler. Sunday, March 21 was a day full of the Grand Ennui (with thanks to Mike Nesmith for naming the feeling in his song of the same name, and to Walt Wilkins for covering it).
Not feeling at all like stitching, I spent the better part of the day deconstructing Ellis’s outgrown baby clothes in preparation for making her a coverlet, along with a patch to mark the day I officially started …
I guess you could say I’ve got my work cut out for me 😉
But at least that’s another week done …
I'm Going to Texas (version 2.0) 
LA – love how you say you were ripped into spring whilst we were tipped into autumn – and a drizzly rainy autumn it is at the moment. Beautiful stories behind both of your patches. Interesting discovery regarding the artist behind your painting – colours still vibrant. Go well. B
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acrylic on a Gimbels canvas board (that being a long ago department store) … she died in 1984, but no idea beyond that of when she might have done the painting
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Liz~ Oh that green!! I actually picked that color for the carpet/comforter in my bedroom as a young teen! Always a Spring baby 🙂 Of course, now I think that was kinda crazy! I really like what you did with the corner of the painting. Ellis is one lucky gal. Be well.
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Lucky you to have had such open-minded parents! Happy Birthday!!
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such a perfect fresh spring green!
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Tina’s cloth is delight-full
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Green…my very favorite color. I have to read up on this artist. Looking forward to seeing the painting some day in the flesh! Deconstructing can be therapeutic in a way.
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My research hasn’t turned up anything else on Grace Badkins … I believe she was an amateur artist living in our old hometown …
interesting side-note, I just did a quick Google search on the name Badkins and found an obituary from last month for 91 year old Freeda Badkins that lists as survivors her husband Texas (most likely the 12 year old listed in the 1940 Census), their son T. Slaughter (the T for Texas?) and a great-grandson also named Texas …
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I’ve been looking up a lot of family names…usually left with more questions than answers. 🙂 We are just on the edge of hazy spring green here.
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my brother is the genealogist in the family … I got my fill during my 18 years of research librarianship (after which I happily transitioned to public school libraries)
spring only lasts about a month in Central Texas … we have 90s in the forecast this coming week!
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I love how stories add meaning . Your whole ‘diary’ is of course about stories and memories; but that added extra of finding out a bit more about the artist adds so much. For a person who is not fond of green (and who is surrounded by it in the sub-tropics laugh!) I really like this citrusy green – very zingy! And I really like that painting. The title of E’s ‘someday quilt’ brought a smile. Go well.
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In the past I gravitated to subtle colors, but there is definite movement toward brighter and/or more saturated colors in my choices of late
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wow Liz, your research into where your inspiration came from and your sharing it all with us, is a lesson (to me at least) in dedication to details and therein honouring a life
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the research is so much a part of who I am … I’m so glad to have a place to share it
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