outofthebasement

Project Linus Completed

2012-01-13T14:12:00.000-06:00

I love the way this turned out so much that will be hard to part with it for Project Linus. I wish I had a baby in the family to give it to. If anyone else want to make one of these quilts, the link is here. You don't have to make 15 blocks. A row or just one is good too, and although the picture in the magazine shows the blues as all being the same, mine are not, and I think it looks fine.

We have about six inches of snow on the ground here, with more coming down, a good day to stay inside and sew. It's the first snow day of the winter, and I'm enjoying it!

A New Year

2012-01-02T11:35:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year. It's been a while. Household work and Christmas and other activities have kept me out of the studio and away from Blogger. I hope to be back.

I did make my mom a birthday card,

and yesterday I had a lovely afternoon. I fired up a Glee marathon through Netflix streaming and worked on these cute blocks for Quiltmaker's Project Linus quilt.

I've made one of these several times in the past and have enjoyed it. I'm not sure this time though; there's a bit too much paper piecing for my taste, so I may just finish a few blocks. If I do continue, here are my fabric choices. Love them! That may keep me going.

Also on the schedule is the Hoffman Challenge. I do have an idea, and need to start sketching, and I need/want to make some more pieces for the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative. All my previous ones have sold. Incidentally, the January auction is underway, and the quilts are very good this month.

Looking Up

2011-11-23T10:12:00.000-06:00

I'm feeling more cheerful about my work since the last post for several reasons. One is shown below. My daughter-in-law took the Athena's Puzzle quilt home when they visited last week, and here you see it in use. What could be better!

I finished the scarf. The color combination in this outfit is not the best, but you get the idea. This was fun, incredibly fast, and satisfied any knitting urge I may have had.

And finally, I learned that my joke quilt has been accepted by Road to California. Entering this seemed like a long shot to me; I thought the quilt's uniqueness would be in its favor, but the quilting isn't up to the super level that seems to be expected everywhere. So the email was a happy surprise.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I did lots of cooking yesterday, and am cleaning today, but not too strenuously.

What I've Learned Recently

2011-11-16T09:19:00.000-06:00

1. Sometimes less is more. I like the way this charity quilt turned out with minimal quilting. With the polyester batting, it should be enough.

2. How to make an ugly quilt: Throw in too many, too bright "accent" blocks. Oh, well on a dark and stormy night it will be just fine.

3. I can still knit. I just discovered this novelty yarn, called Marina Glitz, and thought I could manage a scarf that requires only eight stitches.

You pick up the loops on the top of the web and knit them, and the result is this ruffly scarf. Although it's a bit trickier than I expected, I have finished half of the skein in two nights of TV watching. It might be tempting to make more for gifts, but most colors seem to be out-of-stock in all the web sites I checked.

Ho Hum

2011-11-10T09:47:00.000-06:00

Must get motivated. Must get motivated.

This will not help much.

Here's the latest Hoffman Challenge fabric. First off, fabric with roses is not my style, but the other problem is the disappointingly sleazy quality of this fabric. It looks more like a Walmart knockoff than a Hoffman--the weave is coarse, and the colors don't have the usual sharp definition. At $10.50 a yard the high cost of cotton is really hitting home. To be fair, there seems to be a white over print over the images which may have something to do with the blurred look, but the general effect isn't very successful.

I do have an idea, but I'll need to get motivated to start. That seems to be the hard part for me lately.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T14:23:00.001-05:00

The Interpret This! door revisited. What Photoshop can do with a basic quilt!

Seasonal Work

2011-10-17T12:33:00.002-05:00

I hardly ever make something in seasonal colors. It's tempting, but I know that by the time a piece is done the season will be just a memory, and I'll wonder what I was thinking.

In the last few weeks I've done so much driving through the countryside drinking in the early fall colors that I couldn't resist. So here's what I'm working on. It's an attempt to capture the colors of early fall, September here, when the landscape is still mostly sun-bright green with accents of yellow and gold from the fields of soybeans and the Spanish Needle along the road. The bright red comes later.

The maple leaf block superimposed on the split nine-patch is one of Judy Martin's ideas, and it seemed to give the effect I'm after. I deliberately kept the value contrast a bit fuzzy in places so the colors are mixed as they are in nature.The border will be random-length strips of the dark green. The piecing is almost done now, and while I won't have it quilted before early fall is a memory, it's been surprisingly enjoyable to work inside on the the colors that I love outside.

I've also loved paying attention to the piecing. Working on a succession of fast pieces has been fun, but it's satisfying to try making the triangles match exactly rather than just come "close enough". Craftsmanship can be its own reward,can't it.

Ouch!

2011-10-15T10:05:00.000-05:00

Well, at least I don't spread conspiracy theories!

Guild Shows and Charity Quilts

2011-09-27T12:17:00.000-05:00

I've been involved with two guild shows in the last month. The first one is the South Bend-Mishawaka guild show in the Mishawaka main library. I've written about it before; it's a beautiful venue, and lovely show. It's free for everyone, and draws both casual library goers and people who come specifically to see the quilts, including men. How many men do you see at a regular show unless they come with their wives? But there are always men at this show, not all just by chance. They always have stories about their mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and their quilts--all handmade. of course. "No one does that anymore." I wish I had a good answer to that--I just bite my tongue.

Some quilts from the show:

Grandpa's Fruit and Vegetable Garden by Helen Mao, striking from a distance and the fussy cuts are charming.

Simple Gifts by Virginia Heitman. Virginia adapted a pattern to make the quilt rectangular; it's hand appliqued and machine quilted. I love her fabric choices: the colors are so bright and clear. (A softer colored version showed up in the second show, hand appliqued and hand quilted. These men are wrong.)

The second show, held by the Niles, Michigan guild, is a full scale show, with vendors, refreshments, member boutique etc., and is a major fund raiser. Anyone who has worked on this knows how tough it is, but this year seemed very successful, judged on the number of people and the money raised. Here are a few of my favorites from that show. I wasn't at all systematic in the pictures I took.

This quilt is strikingly different from anything else in the show. It's a Gee's Bend quilt. Did you know there are kits for Gees Bend Quilts? Talk about ironic. But I thought the lively machine quilting is in the same improvisational spirit as the original quilts, even though it may seem wildly inappropriate at first.

This is a beautiful Star of Bethlehem pieced and quilted by Joan Duval. I would have liked to see it do better than second in the category.

These two wildly different quilts are made by the same person, Linda FunNell. I hate Sunbonnet Sue ordinarily, but I love this one. Those perky pinwheels in the sash give it life and movement that's usually lacking; and the mariner's compass quilt was stunning.

So much has been going on that I haven't been able to think about anything very creative, so I have pieced three charity quilt tops, and quilted, but not bound, two. I've found that watching recordings of the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert while doing brainless sewing works really well. Today's schedule: Dancing with the Stars!

When Easy Isn't

2011-09-06T09:04:00.001-05:00

While I was out of touch this summer, I missed the big blogosphere discussion of "modern quilting" and the Dumbing Down of Quilting. If you missed it too, just google that phrase and you'll find all you need to know. The two terms aren't really synonymous, but they became joined in the on-line discussions.

This topic is relevant to my experience with Athena's Puzzle. Athena's Puzzle is a Blue Underground pattern designed by Janine Burke. These patterns would seem to fit under the umbrella of Modern Quilting: large pieces, straight lines, emphasis on fabric choice and color rather than intricate piecing. I like them, and I also like Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr's designs which have similar characteristics.

This being said, are these patterns "dumbed down" and overly simple? If people think that, they're being deceived. The question is who is doing the deceiving. Is it the designers and the marketers who want to sell a "simple" pattern to beginners, or is it the beginners, who are kidding themselves. Some patterns undoubtedly are simple, but some are not.

For example, Athena's puzzle is a "simple" courthouse steps design with the colors arranged differently from the original; the sewing is simple, the fabric layout is tricky at first. (The directions are good at this point.)

But after the piecing, we get to the finishing, with those chopped off blocks producing bias edges. Chopping off is supposed to be the simple way to give that clean modern look, I guess, but it isn't. Trimming those edges is not child's play, as I found out. There are no guidelines in the directions at all about how to line up the ruler to make sure the edge stays straight, and judging from the tools that are sold, I bet some of those modern quilters don't "get" 45 degree and 90 degree angles. Secondly, if the quilt is finished like the sample with those bias edges bound, isn't it going to be very wavy? How about a warning to handle those edges carefully. A border might be a better option, but measuring and sewing the border so it doesn't wave is tricky too. No guidance is given.

A truly simple version of this design would have traditional setting triangles, with or without a border. But that wouldn't look as "modern", and probably would scare off some beginners. So I guess my point is that Modern Quilting isn't necessarily dumbed down quilting, and quilters who want something simple need to be very careful in the pattern they choose.

Oh, Woe!

2011-09-04T14:43:00.001-05:00

I finished the top of the Athena's Puzzle quilt and started on the final stage. The blocks in this design are set diagonally, but instead of using half blocks or setting triangles, the top is made in a series of staggered rows, and then half the outside row of blocks is cut off to make a straight edge.

There's lots I could say about this method, but that's another post, maybe. Anyway, doing it correctly requires careful alignment, using the 45 degree line of the ruler, and a careful quilter would probably make a chalk mark first. I made a few chalk marks, decided, "Oh, I can do this," and started to cut. You guessed it... I aligned the ruler with the wrong seam allowance and before I knew it, three blocks were spoiled. While I was moaning about this, my husband walked by and made the worst husbandly comment, "What are you going to do with this quilt when it's finished?"

"I'm going to throw it in the dumpster! Maybe I'm going to throw it in the dumpster NOW!"

"Oh, dear." And he went to wax his car, probably a good decision.

And hour later, one block has been turned, one replaced (the three extra blocks came in handy), one pieced, and the edge is cut straight.

On to the border.

Now she likes it. I don't. But I guess it won't go in the dumpster.

Smackdown Quilt Completed

2011-08-29T14:24:00.000-05:00

Here we are--my version of I Spy a Four Patch, by Bonnie Hunter. It was good discipline for me to sit down and finish a quilt in an assigned time; often I diddle and dither and wander away to do something else. I hope that some child likes this, and I'm sure Debra's quilting will improve it. Here's a link to Debra's blog where you can see her Smackdown quilt.

August Quilting Smackdown

2011-08-25T13:28:00.000-05:00

Debra Spincic is organizing another quilting smackdown to make quilts for local veterans and their families. You can read about it on her blog and on Barbara's. Barbara explains the pattern recommended for this month, and Debra will explain the procedure. You don't even have to use that pattern though. I'm going to do I Spy a Four Patch, one of Bonnie Hunter's patterns from Quiltville.com, because I cut out the pieces and pulled the fabrics some time ago. This will make me finish, I hope. I'll cut strips for the four patches tomorrow and sew this weekend.

Think about joining in. It should be fun.

Finally, a Quilt Post!

2011-08-21T13:09:00.000-05:00

I finished the blocks for the Athena's Puzzle quilt (in fact with my usual inability to count, I made three extra), and have laid them out on the floor. It's difficult to deal with something so big; not only is the design wall too small, but so is most of my empty floor space. I made a few adjustments in the arrangement of blocks after the picture, but that's as good as it's gonna get.

I intended the gold blocks as an accent, and wasn't sure that was a good idea when I began the layout. Now I like them. The other problem is the blocks that are so much lighter. In a perfect world I wouldn't have made those, but the goal here was to use fabric on hand, so they're there, for better or worse. It feels good to have this progress made; I hope to start sewing blocks together this afternoon.

I tried to take a classic Cat Helper shot, but Florabelle is too ladylike to do anything so crude as walk on the quilt blocks. She just watched from a polite distance.

Beautiful British Columbia

2011-08-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

First, a few iconic shots:

The view from the top of the Whistler Olympic Ski run--spectacular in 360 degrees. We took the gondola up, the peak-to-peak gondola between the two peaks, and the chair lift down. Fun!

Sunset onVancouver Harbor, taken from the dinner cruise boat.

Part of the totem pole display in the atrium of the UBC Museum of Anthropology. The picture doesn't really convey how powerful these are, especially as the light begins to fade outside. I remember being stunned by them 30 years ago, and the feeling hasn't changed. Unfortunately over the years, the landscaping around the museum has changed so that the totem poles no longer seem to be part of their original land and water setting the way I remember.

More Northwest First Nations art: these are two works by the Haida artist, Bill Reid. The first one depicts Raven discovering the first men and releasing them from the clam shell.

The second, called Jade Canoe, is depicted on the Canadian twenty dollar bill and stands in the Vancouver Airport. The picture with me in front of it gives some idea of the scale. There's a wonderful gallery devoted to this artist's work in downtown Vancouver where we spent several hours, totally fascinated. The anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss said that Haida art is one of the five or six great art traditions of the world. I don't know how to evaluate that statement, but it's thought provoking certainly.

And finally:

It's not what you think. This is a bar, in Vancouver's historic Gastown district, shown below. Originally seedy, it's now trendy and touristy, at least mostly.

And finally:

This is part of the decor of a new-to-me trendy clothing store called All Saints Spitalfields. Apparently they want a garment factory theme. Considering what garment factories must really be like, I don't think that's too cute, but the number of old Singer sewing machines is incredible. There must be several hundred, stacked on floor-to-ceiling shelves and as a backing for displays.

I'm glad to be home although it was a good trip. Normal life is very satisfying.

Out of Office

2011-08-05T09:37:00.000-05:00

A week in Vancouver and some time in Seattle. See you in a while.

2011-07-30T08:02:00.000-05:00

More bits and pieces:

Alzheimer's Quilt Auction for August is different, and special. They're auctioning the quilts that traveled in the exhibit Alzheimer's: Forgetting Piece by Piece. Many of these quilts were made by well known quilters. Check out the link and bid if you can, starting tomorrow.

This obituary, of Ardis James, whose donations started the University of Nebraska center for quilt studies, appeared in the New York Times a few weeks ago. I knew about the center, but nothing about its founders. What's interesting is how much her life experiences as a quilter were like those of many of us. She loved fabric: who doesn't?

Recently I bought a small painting from my friend Libby Fife, who blogs about her painting and other creative endeavors here. I'm so happy to have it framed and on my wall. The frame came from Dick Blick, very nice, very inexpensive.

I've been working on ribbon medallion centers for my guild show: here's the first batch, the white ribbons. The rosette and streamers will be the polka dot fabric with ribbon accents.

And finally, I got a new haircut, the shortest I've had for years. Apparently it makes me look slimmer, which I am, but no one had noticed before. Unfortunately, as Nora Ephron says, "I feel bad about my neck." I also feel bad about my glasses, and my teeth, but one can't dwell on that stuff.

Not So Much...

2011-07-21T11:18:00.002-05:00

That would be my answer to "What have you been doing?" I spent two weeks staying at my sister's. She had eye surgery which required a week in a facedown position afterwards and another week of very restricted activity. My role was to take over the responsibility for my mother who lives with her, as well as help with housework and cooking. I didn't take any handwork, and away from my usual computer access, I was limited in following what other people have been doing.

I've been home a week now, and am catching up around here. In the heat, our basement is a good place to be, and I've spent quite a few hours updating mailing lists for my guild's upcoming show. These little bags for the member boutique are the only creative thing I've done.

The pattern is the Cash and Carry bag from Atkinson Designs. It seems odd to use a pattern, since I made and sold so many little bags like this, with no pattern. But for this, I didn't see any reason to reinvent the wheel, and it's nice to have all the thinking and measuring done for you. This pattern has very clear directions, although there's really nothing except the zipper insertion method that you couldn't figure out for yourself; that gives very nice results. The results would be even better if Janome had a zipper foot with a clear stitching guideline. Why don't they? And why is the accufeed foot designed so there is no easy way to figure a quarter inch seam?

My next project will be the medallions for the center of our prize ribbons, and then maybe I'll work on the Greek Key quilt, fast becoming a real UFO. Stay cool if you can everyone, and if you can't, be careful.

Remember Paducah?

2011-06-27T12:02:00.000-05:00

Long ago, I said I would post some more photos from the AQS Show in Paducah. So here they are, better late than never. I've put off this post for several reasons, one of which is that I don't have many pictures. I'm impatient, and photograph only what really catches my attention, and so finish without much to show. Accordingly, this is a very personal set of photos, not intended to be inclusive, and you're also going to get my opinions, not necessarily so humble.

There are certain popular themes or styles in the quilts at this show, one of which is the Baltimore Album style appliqued quilt. You'll see no pictures of these because I have none. I find the design so static and predictable I tend to pass these quilts by quickly. This is unfair to the beautiful workmanship, I know, but they get the admiration they deserve from many other people.

Another popular type is the medallion quilt. They're also static, by definition, but here's one I loved.

The Lily Bloomed

Fusako Takido

She's created movement with the curving stems of the lilies and the pattern on the fabric in those tiny triangles. The soft color scheme sets this quilt apart too, and grabbed my eye.

I love the way the Japanese quilters breathe so much life into these regular designs by their fabric choices and fussy cutting. The colors are subtle usually, it's the pattern that does the work.

Brilliance

Yaeko Noguchi

In the Future

Hiroko Miyamoto

I love the op art effect of this one.

A Beam of Hope

Kayoko Hata

Then there are the landscape quilts, not a favorite of mine, but this one was stunning. Unfortunately it was at the back of the booth, so I couldn't get close to it to see how it's done.

Winterberries on a Winter's Green

Patricia A. Bruno

The color of that sky is glorious--a perfect winter dawn.

And there's whimsy: I love this one.

A Day in the Life of a Diner Booth

Linda Cantrell

Finally, here a few done with special techniques that appeal to me. An effective use of altered photos in this one, along with beautiful quilting. Could it be that I'm partial to winter scenes? Hmm.

Feel the Chill

Nancy Sterett Martin

She really has a created a feeling of chill.

The fabric designs of the animals and plants in this one are screen printed and stamped.

Memories of Edgewood Farm-Hinton, Iowa

Hallie H. O'Kelly

And a painted fabric piece by Inge Mardal and Steen Hougs. This one is notable for the totally unsentimental, almost disturbing quality of the image. It reminds me of a Magritte. As my sister said, "What are they going to do with those little boys?"

Separate Ways

And finally in no particular category and for no reason except it's such fun:

Some Assembly Required

Margie Engel

Click to see the embellishments. As well as hundreds of buttons, there are zippers, snaps, hooks, etc. A totally delightful quilt!

I hope you've enjoyed this totally biased selection of the best of the best. As you see, sometimes the judges agree with my choices, and sometimes they didn't. Quelle domage.

More Catching Up, or a Data Dump

2011-06-15T10:08:00.002-05:00

How's that for a catchy title? If you're still with me, I'll start with the quilting things.

Several weeks ago I started this crazy quilt piece for Alz quilts, and finally finished it before leaving for my trip to Washington, D.C. I think this will be the last one of these I ever do. Although I did lots of embroidery years ago, I no longer remember any of the stitches, and have to constantly look them up, and the work isn't very good. This one has more embellishment than I can usually stand, all handwork except for Debra's machine embroidery motif. The fabric is scraps of kimono silks, left from other projects. The orange fringe in the upper left is actually selvage from one of the fabrics.

I like the hanging ring. In the spirit of crazy repurposing, I've used a copy of the "one ring", complete with magical runes, saved from an old Lord of the Rings bookmark.

Yesterday afternoon, I finally went back to the Greek Key quilt, and made a bit of progress. Something clicked and I finally understood Bonnie Hunter's beginners and enders concept, so I also made a pile of triangle squares for my endless scrap quilt. Maybe I can get the Greek Key blocks done this week.

And here comes the data dump: What I liked best from my trip to D.C. and northern Virginia. For the first time, I took the Tourmobile that goes around the National Mall, and was able to go to the Tidal Basin to have a look at the Jefferson Memorial and the new memorial to FDR. The view back across to the Washington Monument is spectacular.

The FDR memorial is beautiful, a small park of its own, with sculptures illustrating him and his presidency, and quotations from his speeches. I hope you can click and read the inscription here next to the relief depicting men in a bread line.

I also visited the new Museum of the American Indian on the Mall. As you can see, it looks nothing like the other buildings, and is landscaped so that it's not visible from the center of the mall. Their artifacts are stunning, and the cafeteria serves delicious native food from various regions of the country.

At the National Gallery, I skipped the big Gaugin show for the regular collection, and found this wonderful painting by George Bellows. Bellows is one of my favorite painters. He's one of the Ash Can School of early 20th century realists, and this painting of NYC fits that description. I love the way he reduces part of the figures so that they're almost abstract shapes and makes others jump out with splashes of unexpected color. Although this photo I took with my cell phone isn't very good, I think you can get an impression of his work.

Last, but not least, we had a wonderful visit to old friends, highlighted by a trip to wineries in the Blue Ridge. We had a delicious picnic lunch and wine of course on this deck. Beautiful scenery, and even better company.

A funny P.S.: While we were out to dinner one night, my cosmetic bag decided to tumble off the shelf into the toilet. It turned out that the nearest CVS where I could buy replacements was in the Watergate building. How's that for an unexpected visit to a historic site?

A Visit with Ami Simms

2011-06-12T15:59:00.000-05:00

Hee-r-e'-s Ami:

Her talk was hysterically funny. She described her early quilting adventures: not knowing about seam allowances, so the Lone Star Block came out much smaller than expected, not knowing how to miter a corner, so each one was bad in a different way, the sheets (including the label) used for backing. A memorable line: It's easy to get small quilting stitches. Use cotton thread, fabric, and batting, and boil it.

And here's a selection of the guild's quilts for the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative:

A fairly small percentage of the members participated, but still the quilts made a good display, and will certainly sell well and help the cause. The color challenge is a good idea; it forces people to stretch, and not choose the currently popular colors. This was one of our best meetings ever.

Hello Again

2011-06-08T09:18:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd be one of those people who say, "I can't believe how long it's been since I posted," but here I am. No interesting excuses. I've been traveling, doing family things, entertaining house guests, and trying to keep ahead of the Center of Entropy which is my house and yard. Thank those of you who emailed to see what was up with me.

On the family front, my grandchildren came for the Memorial Day weekend, and here they are using Grandma's glue and fabric scraps to create a multi-media work of art.

And in the housekeeping area, I'm gradually moving part of my stash to this old cabinet my husband salvaged from the chemistry labs. If it's good to re-purpose fabric, it should be equally good to re-purpose furniture, even though the resulting studio doesn't look like an article from Quilter's Home.

The only thing happening creatively is this little piece for Alz Quilts.

Ami Simms is speaking at our guild tomorrow night, and in preparation, everyone drew a crayon from a basket and is challenged to make an Alz Quilt using that color predominantly. My color was red orange, and as you see, I'm barely within the rules. Art has a mind of its own, right? The binding will be orange, and the backing too. Maybe that counts.

I hope there's a good response to the challenge and a large turnout for the meeting. It's terrific that we're having an outside speaker, and especially such a notable one.

Blogger's Spring Festival

2011-05-16T11:02:00.003-05:00

Having been out of touch for a while, I just discovered this festival in progress, so here's a quick post.

Unintended Consequences

37 x 35

Machine pieced, machine applique, machine quilted

This an oldie. I made it in 2005 or 2006. When I heard that environmental activists in California had put bumper stickers with this slogan on SUV's, the design for the quilt popped into my head. It was fun to make; creating the design and planning the fabrics and measurements to make it all fit together kept it interesting, and I was happy with it when it was finished. I'd do things differently if I did it again, but that's not surprising. The part that usually gets the most comment is the button wheels on the SUV's. Ironically, I hated those wheels after I put them on, thinking they look kindergartenish, but left them on because I didn't have an alternative. You never know. The quilt won Honorable Mention at the IHQS, and was accepted for show at Road to California.

Click on the button above to see the other quilts people have posted.

Fast Paducah Report

2011-05-05T07:56:00.002-05:00

I'm back home, but I really was at Paducah. To prove it, here's Best of Show, Paisley Peacock, with its maker, Pat Holly. I like the rich oriental colors of this quilt, and her machine applique of the tiny, tiny, pieces is fabulous, of course. It was also fun to talk to her about the machine (Bernina) and thread (silk) she uses.

And here is Sharon Schamber's piece, Mystique, with a closeup. The black and white is made by machine quilting in black thread on a white background. Amazing.

The show was held under difficult circumstances. Flood gates at Paducah had to be closed because of record high water on the Ohio River, making the Convention Center unavailable. Show venues were shifted around, with a Baptist church and the defunct Circuit City building being used. In addition, some hotels in nearby towns were flooded, causing problems for visiting quilters. I don't know how this affected the economic success of the show for vendors and for the city; it couldn't have been good. I saw all the quilts, but skipped the Circuit City vendors and exhibits, partly because I was making a flying trip. I bet I'm not the only one who did that.

I'm so glad I went. It was a thrill to see my quilt, my host family (arranged through the Paducah Visitor's Bureau) was wonderfully hospitable, and the quilts were beautiful. The winners should be posted on the AQS web site by now. I'll be back in a day or so with a few that I thought were particularly interesting.

Right now I'm trying to make the house presentable to host my book group tonight, and planning for my younger son's move into an apartment in Chicago. He just started a new job--better news than any quilt show!

Traveling

2011-04-24T20:07:00.000-05:00

This is where I'll be tomorrow.

I have only a limited time because I'm combining a trip to the show with a family visit and have to be back by the middle of next week. My plan is to spend Tuesday visiting the Quilt Museum, Hancocks of Paducah, and some of the art galleries and shops in downtown Paducah. Tuesday evening, as a contestant, I can attend the awards ceremony free of charge, and see the stars win their prizes. (I wonder if there's a Red Carpet...) Then I can go to the preview evening for two hours, and spend part of Wednesday back at the show. That will have to do it, but it should be enough for a good look at the quilts. I find I can only take a short time with the vendors before sensory overload sets in, and I'm not in shopping mode anyway.
Should be fun! Photos next week.

A Test

2011-04-20T10:51:00.000-05:00

I am spending this week as a substitute nanny for my grandsons, and then hope to drive to Paducah and then on to Missouri for another week. So blogging may be a bit irregular for a while. As a computer I have brought along my new iPad, which I find has some real limitations.

One is the weird keyboard, with its only sometimes helpful autofill. Also I don't know how to upload photos or even if that is possible, and finally, Apple does not like Google apparently, so reading my regular blogs is a problem. It's frustrating to be away from the familiar, but new things have their joys too; and who can complain about having the latest cool tech gadget!

So this post is a test of how everything works. Thanks for the comments on the elephants. I'll see you when I can, and please don't think I'm ignoring you!

Six Elephants

2011-04-16T06:16:00.000-05:00

Road Trip

41" x 41"

Machine applique, machine pieced, and machine quilted

Finally, the "punch line of a joke" quilt for a guild challenge can be revealed. When I first heard this challenge, I immediately thought of this joke because my husband has always thought it's hysterically, laugh-out-loud funny. (This tells you a lot about him, probably.) I also immediately thought, "I can't draw that." However, as time passed, I kept thinking about it, and thinking about it, and with the help of Google images and how-to-draw web sites, here it is. I got lots of inspiration and tips from Mary Lou Weidman's wonderful books, and the Hoochey Mama monkey wrench blocks in the border are hers too.

I loved every minute of making this quilt; I had been in a creative slump, and this was the jolt that got me out of it. The bright colors brightened the dreary weather, and I loved the silliness of it. I'm not much for embellishment usually, but for this quilt, even that was fun. My favorite is Mama E's version of a flag pin. She's patriotic, of course--an elephant, after all. Currently, I'm still looking for an appropriate charm to put on a bracelet for Sister Elephant!

Back from Darkness

2011-04-15T11:49:00.001-05:00

We've had no internet service here for 12 l-o-n-g days. Our internet provider (a local broadband company) stopped working, there was no way to contact them, and we were stranded. After several days of denial, we decided they had gone out of business, and over my husband's groaning, bit the bullet and contacted AT&T for the bundle of internet, cable, and phone. A week later, we've got it!

Total excitement! Not only is it wonderful not to read and answer emails on the tiny phone screen, but this is the first time we've ever had cable TV. And of course there's the new wonder of DVR! (I've already set it up to record Glee and Dancing with the Stars forever.) And maybe we'll have faster internet for better streaming videos. And caller ID! And the I-pad I got for my birthday is not just sitting in its box. I could go on, but you get the idea.

Ironically, as the AT&T installer arrived, the old internet came back. But I've written them a letter... So much for shopping locally; we tried.

Design Wall Monday

2011-04-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

I've gone back to working on my Athena's Puzzle quilt. This is only a small part of the blocks I've finished, and there will be many more. If anyone has seen this design completed, you know that they actually are set on the diagonal. However they're sewn together in straight rows and then trimmed.

There will be lots of waste, but I'm sure I can find a use for the partial blocks.

It's an easy pattern; the only tricky thing is sewing the strips in the right order and orientation, but now that I have worked out a system, it's going fairly quickly, and has reached that nice, relaxed, flow state of sewing.

A Satisfying Finish

2011-04-01T09:47:00.000-05:00

Once I went back to the nine-patches, the addictive quality of these little blocks kicked in. I had only intended to make a few more, and then go back to another project. Instead, I finished this, which can be a lap quilt for the veteran's hospital where one of my guilds sends quilts.

It turned out to be quite a stash buster; when I started cutting the longer sashing strips I was no longer using tiny scraps and had to use larger pieces. That's a good thing. The final outer border used up a piece of amazingly hideous dull green and brown fabric, and I pieced the back, using up even more fabric which seemed a bit dated to me, but works perfectly here. So I'm very pleased with the whole thing.

I'm also happy with the batting I used. I like polyester batting for service quilts because of the easy care, and this time I bought a new product from Mountain Mist called Quilt-Light batting. It's very low loft, which makes it light, non-bulky, and easy to manipulate for quilting in the Janome, and I had no problem with the fabric creeping and producing tucks. It's soft and drapey when finished also. The king-size batt I bought should make three more quilts.

A few other things to be pleased with: Peppermint Stars is packed and on its way to Paducah, I have a place to stay when I go there, and all my Alzheimer's quilts have sold. If anyone reading bought one, thank you so much!

More Nine Patches

2011-03-26T06:56:00.002-05:00

When I made nine-patches for Debra's American Cancer Society auction quilt a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded of a scrap reduction nine-patch project I've had going for a while. So this afternoon, after the joke quilt was all finished, I got it out and made a few more blocks.

As you can see, this neutral, earth tone palette is very different from Debra's. The blocks are larger too, finished size of 4 1/2 inches. I love the softness of various browns together, and this quilt will make a good gift for someone else who does. The pattern is a double nine patch block, with triple sashes and nine patch cornerstones making a chain of small squares throughout the quilt.

Nine patches are much more fun to make since I stumbled on Bonnie Hunter's directions. I never could get my head around how many and how long the strip sets should be when you make strip sets with three fabrics. Bonny says to use one kind of strip set about four times the length of the cut squares, and then just cut one extra square from the fabric that goes in the corner. Slice your strip set into four pieces as though you were going to make four-patch blocks, add the extra square to the end of one piece, and put the block together.

I intended to link to Bonnie's instructions, but I couldn't find them on her site, so this picture should give the idea. Maybe everyone else already knew this, but it was new to me. Thank you, Bonnie. This is just one of many wonderful ideas on her web site.

P.S. Here's the link to Bonnie's instructions, thanks to Amy of the Calico Cat.

Showers and Flowers

2011-03-22T09:36:00.000-05:00

There's a soft spring rain coming down today; maybe it will turn the ugly grass green and bring out more spring flowers.

I made these two postcards for a local school's silent auction. I'm hoping they'll bring in a tiny bit of cash. Also for a good cause, two of my Interpret This! pieces, Spring Dreams and Saratoga Ovals are for sale on the Alzheimer's Art Quilt site. (If anyone is interested in Spring Dreams, please note that I had to crop it for the Alz Quilts size limit, and check the size on their web site, not the IT! blog.) Now that the AAQI has little quilts for sale all the time, not just during the auction at the beginning of the month, it's interesting to browse that page from time to time. There are some beauties.

I have my joke challenge quilt completed except for the binding and embellishments. I can't show the whole thing, but here's another peek. The colors in this quilt make me smile. I particularly love this blue striped fabric in the binding.

Have a good day, everyone. Spring is coming!

It's in the Genes

2011-03-18T07:14:00.000-05:00

My sister sent me this photo today, one I've never seen before. That's my mother, sometime in the 50's, I'd guess. She's found a fabric treasure, and isn't she happy! I don't recognize the other ladies, and I'm not sure I know the place, but I know the feeling.

Some Old Beauties

2011-03-11T14:53:00.001-06:00

An interesting item came up at guild last night. Apparently about 20 years ago, our guild helped register quilts made/residing in Indiana before 1950. Photographs and information was stored in the Indiana state museum. Now the museum would like to put this information in digital form to be included in the Quilt Index. There is no state funding available for this, so the museum is asking guilds for contributions, and since we were one of the earlier guilds instrumental in collecting records we were asked to contribute $250. Some members felt this was too much, but after discussion, we voted to contribute the full amount.

It was gratifying to see how strongly people felt about this: the importance of the project (although no one seemed familiar with the Quilt Index), and pride in being a group who made a contribution to quilt history.

By coincidence, last week I visited the Wylie House museum in Bloomington, Indiana, and saw these old quilts, part of their collection.

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the information cards, so I can't add to the pictures. However, I do know that the Grandmother's Flower Garden at the top of the page was bought from the Henry Ford Foundation. It is English, made from drapery fabrics of the 1840's and is lined but not quilted. Isn't it contemporary looking? It could be Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

Tara Lynn Darr of Sew Unique Creations also attended this exhibit and took many excellent pictures, with close ups of the information cards. From her web album you can see these quilts and all the rest. Thank you so much, Tara.

Briefly, the pink and green quilt, called Ships Wheel dates from 1850-1875, the crazy quilt was probably made by Rebecca Wylie in the 1880's, and the Cherry Basket quilt dates from 1860-1880. As you can see, there is only incomplete documentation on these quilts, reinforcing the importance of labeling ours.

So here are a few of the Indiana quilts that may someday be added to the Quilt Index. Thank you, River Bend Quilt Guild, and all the other quilters who will help.

Bits and Pieces

2011-03-09T06:32:00.000-06:00

Yellow nine patches for Debra:

Deb Geyer and I in front of Carolina Baskets at the IHQS:

It was wonderful to meet her and talk, although briefly. We shared some thoughts about the machine quilting on display at this show. When I can get my thoughts straightened out, I will post some, as well as a few more picture.

And--big news: Peppermint Stars, pieced by me and quilted by Deb, was accepted to Paducah. When I marveled at the Paducah show several years ago, I never thought I'd have a quilt there, so this is stunning to me, but after this one was accepted at Road, I decided I had nothing to lose. As Colin Firth said, "I think my career has peaked."

A Tired Tuesday

2011-03-01T16:14:00.000-06:00

Sneak peek: Here's what I'd be working on if I had any energy.

I'm feeling lousy today, with no energy to do anything but sit and stare at space, or at the computer. However, I've got the miracle drugs and am hoping to be back in good form by tomorrow. That's the day I'm driving down to Bloomington to visit the Indiana Heritage Quilt show, one of my favorite shows. The plan is to meet up with Deb Geyer. This should be fun--she's done a beautiful job of quilting several tops for me, but we've never had an in-person meeting. There will be some outstanding quilts there, I know, and although the number of vendors isn't large, they're good ones. It's always a fun trip, so kick in, Cipro!

An Appraisal

2011-02-25T16:32:00.000-06:00

Recently I posted about quilt appraisals. Road to California offers a chance for an appraisal while your quilt is on display there, so I had Peppermint Stars appraised. This is a replacement cost appraisal for insurance purposes, the cost to have the quilt made again with similar materials and by quilter(s) of "similar skill and reputation." A market value appraisal might be different.

My result is as described by our guild speaker: the two page report is totally objective, including things like size of blocks and borders, the colors, the patterns, the layout, type of fabric, quilting design, batting fiber, etc. There are no judge-type comments at all. The only subjective comment concerns the difficulty of the pieced design and quilting patterns. As for the value assigned, I'll just say that I wouldn't be likely to buy this quilt!

The up side: It's gratifying to see a nice monetary value on something you made, and to know that if something happens to it, you've got compensation. It's also interesting to think that someone actually spent a lot of time examining the quilt. (The judges apparently did not.) The down side: when I sent the quilt to the Smoky Mountain guild show, I insured it for its appraised value. The resulting shipping cost made my jaw drop. Homeowner's insurance covers the quilt in the home, but I'm not sure about en route to a show. Before I do this again, I'll need to find out.

Using Value

2011-02-23T09:41:00.000-06:00

I've been having so much fun working on my joke challenge quilt! Most of the motifs that make up the picture are done now, and just need fine tuning before I begin to stitch them together and do the final assembly. Then the quilting--like Scarlet O'Hara, I'll think about that tomorrow.

Here you can see my fabrics for this project sorted by value dark, medium, light in the back, with the multicolors on the upper left. I approached fabric choices for this a bit differently. I chose a color plan, and made a sketch, but instead of planning what color each piece should be, I only planned what value it should be. I wanted to be sure to get enough contrast in the focal points to let those shapes stand out, and less contrast in more secondary areas.

I found this a very satisfying way to work. It's somehow simpler to look for a dark fabric than wonder whether I want a blue or a green or an orange, and it makes sorting the fabric easier too when I'm working with a large number of possible choices. As I went along, I did consider color, making sure that the different colors are spread around in a pleasing way.

By coincidence, Libby of Creative Endeavors has been working with values in her painting projects, and it seems to be working well for her.
We'll see how this works for me, but so far, I'm pleased.

While stitching lots of little letters...

2011-02-16T07:46:00.000-06:00

I learned something. Last summer I discovered that if you hold the bobbin thread when you start to zig-zag, the Janome pulls the knot to the back. Now I discovered something even better. If you DO NOTHING, don't touch any thread, both threads and the knot go to the back. Isn't that great? The only problem is that I have such a habit of holding a thread, it's hard not to do it. But I'm learning. So much faster, which is a blessing for this project.

Also, I'm wondering why Superior Threads makes their Mono-poly thread only in a very dark smoke or clear. Neither color blends well on a medium fabric. The Coats and Clark nylon that I no longer use blended better.

Finally, I just wasted some time looking at H of Paducah's on-line sale. The sale batiks are beautiful. I know what I said about batiks a while back, but these really are lovely, and with prices going up, it's a good opportunity. I'm resisting. I'll use my Christmas gift certificate on wool batting instead, but that's boring, isn't it?

Designing and Decisions

2011-02-11T09:10:00.000-06:00

I don't know if I like this stage of a project or not. Sometimes it's fun--there's a real surge of adrenaline; but then sometimes the decisions just tie me up in knots.

Here's where I am on the joke challenge quilt. I'm stuck on the background fabric, not able to find exactly what I visualize. The one on the right seems a bit bright, and also dark enough that having visibility for the center elements may be a problem. They'll need to be either dark or light, not medium. The one on the left has a flower sprig, which isn't right for the mood or theme. I know it is only visible close up, but still it bothers me. I'm not quite willing to try a couple more fabric shops, but maybe I will. On the other hand, maybe I'll just say, "Oh, well," and go with it. See what I mean about indecision?

This is probably the only post about this quilt since it should be a surprise. It's hard not to be able to post what you're working on, isn't it?

2011-02-08T11:41:00.000-06:00

The retreat was delightful: a warm, sunny room with a view of snow covered woods and fields, good food, good company and plenty of time to sew. What could be better?

I've finished 18 (out of 72) of the Greek key blocks, and started making some of Mary Lou Weidman's Hoochey Mama blocks. Her method produces straight edges, which means the finished blocks are more stable than other wonky methods where you just piece and hack. These are fun, but not particularly fast to make. I need at least six or seven more to get a good range of color and to make a border of the right length. So with two unfinished projects, I probably won't be posting finished work for a while.

One thing that is finished, however, is the Interpret This! Challenge. Debra posted an excellent summary of the project with links to everyone's work, and you can just scroll down and read our final comments too. I hope you'll visit this site if you haven't yet.

Time to Retreat!

2011-02-03T06:58:00.000-06:00

Assuming the roads in Michigan are plowed, I'm packing for retreat. Here's my project stash:

The batiks in the back are for the Athena's Puzzle block, good for brainless sewing. The front piles are for a new project, a Mary Lou Weidman style "story quilt". It's for a guild challenge: the punch line of a joke. Now there's a challenge! But I do have an idea, and while it will stretch my drawing skills to their pathetic limit, I'm giving it a shot. This weekend I hope to do some of the wacky border blocks, and then develop the center later.

I'm also planning to finish this little thing for Alzheimers' quilts.

In my stash was a scrap of fabric with faux blue-work flower designs that I've always thought would make a sweet little miniature. So here it is. Miniature, or potholder? Will curved bound edges help, or just add to the potholder look? You can cast your vote here.

As soon as I finish organizing, I'm off to the grocery. In case you haven't heard, we've had a massive snowstorm, and I'm afraid the choice of fruit for the fruit salad I'm supposed to make may be slim. We'll see.

The Batik Blur

2011-01-25T11:15:00.000-06:00

I used to love batiks. When I started making "wearable art" about 12 years ago, batiks were new to me, and they were perfect for what I was doing.

The low value contrast and blended colors worked for quilted clothing, because after all, not many people want to look like they're wearing one of Grandma's quilts. Some of my batik stash dates from that period, but I've added to it constantly, finding uses for some of it, but always thinking "Some day I'm going to do something wonderful with these batiks!"

In the last few months, it's been dawning on me that I no longer like batiks so much. They've become much more common, and often are used in such a way that their already blended look becomes just a blur--there's no pattern left in the quilt. The popular jelly rolls are very much to blame for this. Many batik jelly roll quilts seem to me like a big smudge of finger paint--pretty colors, but without any pattern definition. Now if you love jelly roll batik quilts, I know I'm stepping on your toes. Don't take it personally. You can still love them. It would be a dull world if we were all alike, right?

So--DRUM ROLL: It's time to use up some batiks! ( It's not that I don't like them at all, it's just that I'm not "saving" them any longer.) I'm making Athena's Puzzle, from a pattern I bought at the Chicago Quilt Festival last spring with the aim of busting batiks. I love the Greek Key design, so that's a bonus, and it's actually just a simple Courthouse Steps block.

I have a retreat coming up in two weeks, so I'll cut this out and sew it there, and will have reduced the batiks stash noticeably. The quilt will be fairly blurry, but that's okay. Nine yards of fabric, plus backing and binding will have been finally used.

I keep repressing the voice that says, "You're going to want that blue for sky! That blue-green has been perfect as an accent. No! Not that purple! You'll be sorry." So far it's working.

It's Still January

2011-01-21T10:12:00.001-06:00

Greetings from the tundra.

What's happening:

I'm preparing these three Interpret This! pieces to send to the Alzheimer's Quilt Initiative. Two of them need a sleeve, since I didn't do that when they were finished. The pink tree has been cut smaller to meet the AAQI size limit, without any impact on its effect that I can see.

The service quilt that was posted last week is quilted, bound, and ready to go.

I've also been reading, finishing the Inspector Troy novels by John Lawton.

These are an odd combination of police procedural, cold war espionage, and historical novel, since they're set in London at various times from the Blitz to 1963. Lawton wrote four novels, the fourth bringing his hero Inspector Troy to the end of his career, and then apparently not really finished, wrote subsequent novels that went back and filled in gaps in Troy's life. I'd highly recommend these books. Troy is a fascinating, not totally likable character; as the son of a family of aristocratic Russian refugees, he's a bit of an outsider in England. There's an excellent cast of supporting characters, as well as vivid descriptions of English society at various time periods.

What's not happening:

I signed up for a Quilt University course, Playing with Paint, taught by Lyric Kinard. I debated a long time about taking this class, but finally decided it might motivate me to use some of the fabric paint that is sitting on my shelf. I've bought the paint because other people make such beautiful things, but after the paint comes into my house, it usually sits untouched.

Stupid as it sounds, I just don't like the mess. Clutter is okay, but I don't like to get my hands dirty, or spill stuff that has to be wiped up, or wash paint tools. In addition, if there's anything that says "bad art everyday" it's my painted fabric. I look at it, and think, "Now what?" So last Friday I downloaded the first lesson, read it, and haven't opened a jar of paint! I will do the class work; I promise. Just not yet.

Ah, Winter

2011-01-18T14:10:00.001-06:00

January

The days are short,

The sun a spark

Hung thin between

The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footprints

Track the floor,

And parkas pile up

Near the door.

The river is

A frozen place

Held still beneath

The trees' black lace.

The sky is low,

The wind is grey.

The radiator

Purrs all day.

John Updike

Don't be fooled; the vision at my house is much more like the images in the second stanza of the poem than the lovely photo. I would add to the picture: puddles on the garage floor from snowy cars, wood trash and ashes near the fireplace, and extra floor mats to prevent those wet, snowy footprints. I give up. In addition, it's thawing today: grey mist, dripping water, puddles that will refreeze into sheets of ice, and dirty snow.

I spent the morning going through excess STUFF in the basement around my studio area. The progress is not even noticeable. I'll keep going. The plan is to buy some new storage furniture to neaten it up, but first I had to throw out boxes, shopping bags, and tissue paper saved after Christmas. And that's just the beginning.

I hope in the time left this afternoon I can do something creative, in the spirit of Bad Art. Everyday. Click on the button for the link to Libby's blog where she explains this philosophy. It's not what you think. Join in!

December/January Interpret This!

2011-01-14T06:00:00.036-06:00

Weeds 8" x 10"

Altered image photo transfers, hand dyed fabrics, fibers

Machine applique, machine quilting

The photo for our last Interpret This! photo challenge shows river weeds and grasses.

I wanted to use the yellow flower as my focal point, and also to emphasize the diagonal lines of stems and grasses. This could have been done with applique, but I thought I'd try photo transfers this time.

I tried many different approaches, and although I didn't use most of them, it was an interesting experience. I'll summarize some of the things I did, and although they may be familiar to many people, it seems there are so many possibilities with this software that you may find something you haven't tried.

First, does everyone know that if you edit and save an image repeatedly you should not do that in JPG format, but instead use PSD or TIFF? I found this out fairly recently. Apparently a JPG looses quality somehow every time you save it. So do the altering in one of the other formats and then go back to JPG to post.

After cropping the flower section, the first thing I did was clean up the background around the flower by taking out some extra stems and buds. I used the Clone Stamp tool. You select that tool from the tool bar on the side of the screen, choose a size from the brush settings at the top, roll the brush circle over a section of the photo that will replace the part of the image you wish to remove, and Option Click. Then put the circle over the part of the image you want to remove, and click. The background you have selected replaces part of the image. You can click repeatedly until the part you want to erase is gone. It's good to Option Click on a new background occasionally to get a smoother fill. As you can see from the examples, this is a rather crude method and wouldn't work if you wanted a sharp finished photo, but for most fabric transfers it works fine.

The next step was to make the flower sharper and brighter. There are several filters that work for this, but I used the Watercolor Filter. Choose the Filter pulldown menu, and the filter you want to try. On Photoshop I use the Filter Gallery option, which shows me several filters at a time. (Filter-Filter Gallery-Watercolor) Like all the filters, Watercolor allows you to adjust several different sliders to get the best effect. Just play with it. After applying the filter and saving it, I chose Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp Mask, and set the radius slider at about 130. As I understand it, this increases the contrast between the pixels and can make the object stand out brighter. Here's the flower after those two steps.

The final step is to go to Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation. From the pulldown menu at the top of the window, I selected Yellows and increased the saturation by 30%. The image looks garish on the screen, but because cloth absorbs lots of ink, the extra brightness is needed. (The version below has also been resized and slightly distorted.)

The background required more trial and error. I wanted to use actual photos of the background, but the photo was so busy that it didn't allow the flower to stand out much. There are lots of fills that can change the color, but I wanted to keep the greens.

First I selected the left half of the image, copied it, pasted it in a new layer, and flipped the image so I only had the diagonal stems.

Then I tried different filters to blur or soften the busyness of the background. Here is a spray filter (Filter-Brush Strokes-Spray Strokes) with a green fill layer. Pretty but not right for what I wanted.

Here is the final choice. It's the stamp filter (Filter-Sketch-Stamp) with the foreground color set to match the darkest green in the photo and the background color set to approximate a fabric I planned to use.

If I were doing it over, I'd make the foreground darker, I think.

For all these trials, I printed a sample on paper to see the general effect, and used the paper copies to plan a layout. After deciding on a final plan, I upped the saturation (Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation) and printed on fabric. I printed the flower on a purchased silk fabric sheet, hoping the luster would make the flower clearer. I'm not sure it did. The background is cotton pretreated with Bubble Jet Set and attached to a postage label.

Everything I've done here is pretty basic; for this project, I didn't even try some of the various fill effects possible, or the selection tools to cut out the flower from the background. There's so much trial and error in using these techniques you could spend months doing this. I'm not sure I want to, but this was fun.

Snowbound Service Quilts

2011-01-12T16:00:00.001-06:00

I've been semi-snowbound for a week or so. I can get out, but haven't really wanted to. The South Bend area had a record snowfall last weekend, 38.6 inches. It's snowing again, and probably will for several days. Although there isn't that much snow where I live, (maybe about 20 inches), going anywhere is a hassle. So I've stayed in, and done some scrap strip reduction. Both these quilts are service quilts for my guild; when the second one is quilted, I'll have five to turn in.

I've been in a sort of brain-dead mode lately, and putting these things together has been just what I need. Bright colors brighten up the winter too!

Observations of a Lurker

2011-01-05T16:29:00.003-06:00

I've been doing lots of lurking lately; for whatever reason, I haven't felt very sociable, so I haven't commented (or posted) much, but I do read. As I read, I started to divide quilting bloggers into categories. Most bloggers tend to drift and don't fit in the same category all the time, but everyone has a default setting. See if you agree with my list.

The Neighborly Blogger Reading this kind of blog is like going back to the old days when you could chat with your neighbor over the back fence or stop in for coffee while walking the dog. She will show what she's working on, talk about her day, show pictures of her children, pets, or grandchildren. This is probably the most common type of blog.

There are subtypes in this group: the Bossy Neighbor, who will give you a pattern to follow along with step by step, or the One Up Neighbor who always seems to have a nice new "toy" to play with or have been somewhere exotic or maybe just has cuter grandchildren.

The Trendy Blogger Here's where you find out all about the latest "in" stuff. The word of the year, the sketchbook challenge, the "let's all post the same thing on the same day" sort of game. The beginning of the year is a big time for trends, but many of them fizzle pretty quickly. Still it's good to be in the know, and if you're in a passive, observing mood like me, watching the world of trends go by is fun.

The Instructive Blogger Want to learn a new embroidery stitch, how to make a perfect mitered corner, how to make a stencil out of stale bread? Someone out there can tell you, with pictures or a video, and maybe sell you a book or a pattern too. These blogs are a service; they're part of what the Information Superhighway is all about.

The Philosophical Blogger Is what I'm doing Art, or just Craft? How can I grow on my Artistic Journey? When will fabric reach its deserved place as a Medium? These bloggers meditate on the Big Questions. The sub-type of this blogger is someone who disagrees, maybe snarkily, with other bloggers' answers to these Big Questions. I love these people! Seriously. And I really love the snarky ones.

The Informative Blogger Here you'll find lots of pictures of quilt shows, shops, new fabric lines, or links to other interesting blogs. These bloggers help spread news the rest of us want to know. They must be the blogosphere's gossipy neighbor.

The blogging world has as many different personalities as the real world. Did you recognize yourself in any of these descriptions? I did. Sorry, I can't help it if my grandchildren are the cutest!

End of the Year News

2010-12-30T15:08:00.000-06:00

Christmas was quiet, filled with excellent food, not too much in the way of gifts. I made my husband a reservation at Alinea in Chicago, and that's his gift. I guess it's mine too, although it's honestly not my thing. Still, a world class restaurant is not to be sneezed at, so I'm grateful for the chance to go.

This is more my thing:

Our new kitten, Larry. Larry was rescued as a newborn from a cat hoarding situation: sick, starving, covered with fleas. He was bottle-fed, given antibiotics, de-fleaed (twice), and is now healthy, happy, and very people loving. He thinks he is a person, I'm sure. Our other cat hid for two days, stalked around in fury for several more, and now just stares at him. He is completely undisturbed by anything she does; he's seen it all. We're hoping they will eventually be friends, but peaceful coexistence may be as far as it goes.

On the quilt front, I've finished Interpret This! (reveals January 13), pieced one more quick charity top, and quilted and bound this one:

the last finish of the year.

We're going to Chicago for New Year's with my son, daughter-in-law and the twins since we couldn't see them Christmas. I can't wait!

Everyone: have a safe New Year's Eve, full of whatever sort of celebration you most enjoy, and a good 2011.

Interpret This! Progress

2010-12-17T15:24:00.001-06:00

After I finished some Christmas gifts yesterday, I was able to start working on my December Interpret This! piece. I've spent a lot of time playing with Photoshop and learned some more about it. The results aren't necessarily going to show this, however, since I've discarded a pile of trials. Not wasted time though, because I enjoyed it, and learning can be its own reward--if you remember it!

Some Finishes

2010-12-13T17:06:00.007-06:00

I'm not really hiding from Christmas duties. One of these is a gift, one was finished a while back, and the third--yes, it was an escape. I lied.

1. Lap quilt for son and daughter-in-law. I chose the colors to go with the repainting plan they have for the large living area of their home, and I hope they like it. I like the look of the quilt, but not the feel. The quilting is beautiful, but I've learned to be more careful about choosing the batting, quilting pattern, and thread to get a softer cozier touch for a lap quilt. Wool batting, looser quilting, and a finer thread would be better.

2. Guild service quilt, made from orphan blocks. I posted this before it was finished and quilted, but it is completely done now. Was there a reason I started the alphabet border in the lower left hand corner instead of upper left? I hope so, but I've forgotten it now.

3. Another guild service quilt. I started with pinwheel blocks made from the trimmings of flying geese units. I'd saved them, but hadn't used them because I didn't really want to square them up. But then after reading Gwen Marston's Liberated Quilting, I realized they could be a bit off square, and definitely didn't all have to be the same size. Then I added liberated log cabin strips, and this is the result. I love the freshness of the colors, and the movement the off-center pinwheels give. It definitely needs a bright colored binding to keep the border from disappearing, so I'll add that when I quilt it after Christmas.

It's so relaxing to make something like this! Now to wrap some gifts, and finish the tree.

Help with Binding

2010-12-06T13:25:00.004-06:00

I packed up lots of gifts today and took them to the post office, along with my Road to California entry. Now as it's continuing to snow, I'm finishing my last big pre-Christmas project. I was laying the binding around the edges to make sure that the seams didn't hit the corners, and Florabelle came to help, as you can see.

Elizabeth Barton has a post today about quilt cliches, and I know a picture of your cat on your quilt is a quilt blog cliche, but I couldn't resist. After all, cute is cute, right?

November Interpret This! Revisited

2010-12-02T10:58:00.002-06:00

Season's Greetings!

Hotel Fabric Art, and a Testimonial for Phone Cameras

2010-12-01T04:41:00.005-06:00

In Chicago, we usually stay at one of the Club Quarters hotels. For some reason this chain features fabric art in their lobby. There used to be a silk wall quilt above the desk whose blocks made a subtle CQ logo. It was truly subtle; I saw it several times in Chicago and a similar one in New York before I realized it wasn't just an abstract pieced design.

This new piece, meant to suggest the ripples of the Chicago River, hangs in the remodeled lobby of the CQ on Wacker Driver, also known as the River Hotel.

It's silk, made by something like the faux chenille technique that was fashionable a few years ago. I've admired it several times, and two weeks ago remembered that I could take a decent picture with my new phone.

And also with my phone, I took this stunning photo, looking east down the river from the Wells Street Bridge. The moon was posing for me, I think.

November Interpret This!

2010-11-29T18:00:00.002-06:00

Bricks, Boards, and Window Panes

20" x 29"

I stayed away from the detail in this photo and concentrated on the geometric shapes. It was put together using a modified version of Ruth McDowell's technique. Instead of cutting a freezer paper template for every piece, I just divided the design into large sections (door, window, three sections of wall) and pieced each section by rough measurement. Then I used a template to cut the section to size, and assembled the sections. Except for the window section, it was simple.

I blogged earlier about the border fabric problem, but the result is passable in my eye. The holidays kept me from thinking much about how to make this more interesting with elaborate quilting, more thread work, even some embellishments. I just went with the simple geometric patterns.

This is a piece that makes me keep thinking about alternative approaches. For instance, the various textures in the photo are lovely, and it would have been fun to find fabric with textures instead of standard quilting cotton. Perhaps someone else in the group has done that. Be sure and click on the sidebar link to find out.

2010-11-24T07:22:00.004-06:00

Fortunately, there's only a couple of the these types at my table. How about you?

Before I start last minute Thanksgiving organizing, here's a few bits of information that are on the top of my brain this morning.

Equilter is having a fabulous Thanksgiving sale, with many fabrics at 50% off. The collection of blenders is particularly wonderful; there's a full selection of several beautiful lines. I know it's ironic that I should post this in light of recent complaints about my stash, but I didn't say I was buying. I'm just sharing.

Kathy Loomis has been publishing a series of posts about the trend in quilt design and art quilting today. Some sacred cows have been gored. Very thought-provoking, whether you agree or not. I do, mostly.

Personal notes: I finished the binding of my IT! piece last night while watching the finale of Dancing with the Stars. Perfect timing. Reveals begin Sunday. And Peppermint Stars is going to Road to California. This was very good news, not really expected.

Finally, Happy Thanksgiving, safe travels, good eating, and pleasant company to everyone.

One of Those Things

2010-11-16T10:54:00.002-06:00

I spent all day yesterday trying to make headway on my Interpret This! project, and actually accomplished quite a bit. The photo is both a teaser and a reminder of what can happen when you have been sewing all day and have "just one more thing to do". You mark the pattern wrong and cut where you shouldn't. No, there is not supposed to be a seam there, but there is now!

Framing

2010-11-12T16:10:00.005-06:00

I recently prepared some pieces to submit to a local art gallery and decided to frame two of the small ones to set them apart from hot pads. I know there are different ways to frame fabric art, but this is what I did. I was happy with the results.

I bought an inexpensive frame with glass, removed the glass and all paper filling. I discard the glass because I don't care for the look of fabric pieces behind glass. Then I cut a piece of foam board the size of the frame. I like to use foam board instead of a mat board because I think it's easier to cut and work with, but it is a bit too thick to go back into the frame easily. I solved that problem by cutting and peeling back the layer of cardboard on one side, right where the little doo-hickies that hold the cardboard backing go. That makes the board compress so that it will fit into the frame.

Then I used temporary spray adhesive and pins on the corners to hold the piece in the correct place on the foam board. Then with a long heavy needle and strong thread, I made a tiny stitch through the board and the piece, trying to hit the ditch where the binding is attached. I repeated this stitch around the edges, tying the ends. The stitches and the cuts in the foam are hidden when the original backing of the frame is replaced.

Then the foam board goes back into the frame, the backing is replaced and the holders are twisted back in place, and here it is. Not too bad, relatively easy and inexpensive. It also has the advantage of not damaging the piece in any way, so you or a future owner can change your mind.

After posting, I realized I had an earlier, briefer post on this method, and had credited the idea to Deborah Boshert of Deborah's Journal. She should have credit for the idea, but I take credit for shaving down that foam board! Although it still takes muscle to force it into the frame, this helps a lot!

Moment of Truth

2010-11-02T14:41:00.002-05:00

My name is Kathy and I have too much fabric.

This morning I was searching for a particular piece of blue fabric, bright blue with little white dots; it makes a perfect night sky. I couldn't find it.

In the search I realized that I have three drawers of blue fabric, two of them so full that the fabric is no longer standing neatly so I can see what's there. Some of it has slipped down and is totally lost to view. If you can't find it, or don't know it's there, what good is it? In addition, I realized that I no longer enjoy the rummaging process. I just felt frustrated, ready to give up the project. I never did find that fabric--it may be gone. I didn't find the white "snow" fabric either, and I'm sure I haven't used that up.

I could make a "stash busting" quilt, but we all know what a joke that is. The stash just grows. The quilt I'm making was supposed to bust some batiks, but the dent is not noticeable.

I'm not ready to start shipping fabric off to a good cause yet, so don't anyone suggest one, but I have to do something. One thing I won't do is go to a garage sale held this Saturday by a guild member who is cleaning out her excess!

Reflections on Work Past, Present, and Yet to Come

2010-10-30T17:03:00.007-05:00

About an hour after I posted my Interpret This! piece, while dusting I picked up the Art Institute of Chicago magazine and it fell open to this:

This seems to be a tapestry; there was no other information given. It was just a brief article about the museum's textile collection.Of course I was struck by the repeated ovals and the subtle coloring. (It's actually brighter here than it was in the magazine.) What a beautiful thing! It's always an odd experience to find a work that has some resemblance, even slight, to something I've just done: there's regret that I couldn't create something so good, along with pleasure that someone else found the same idea pleasing.

In other news, I have all the blocks made for this lap quilt, and I think this will be the final arrangement--or almost. You can tinker with this sort of thing endlessly. I wish I'd had more variety of fabrics, but this will be it. Now to start sewing together. My goal is the end of the week. That should be simple to do, but there are other things going on too.

And finally, this lovely scene is the new Interpret This! photo. In some ways, a photo like this is harder than a less appealing one, at least for me. It's early yet; I'll hope for inspiration.

October Interpret This!

2010-10-27T13:05:00.004-05:00

SaratogaOvals

12" x 9"

Batik, organza, machine applique and quilting

I probably win the out-of-left-field prize this month, since as you can see, this looks nothing like the photo. Sometimes you just have to do what feels right to you, especially in art, however you define art. There is more about my thought process on the Interpret This! blog, and you can see the other lovely work by people who were able to stay much closer to the original image. Reveals began yesterday, so be sure and scroll down.

1,000 Quilts To Houston

2010-10-20T11:07:00.000-05:00

Ami Simms is taking 1,000 Alzheimer's quilts to Houston again, so if you're going to be there, pay a visit.

Happenings, continued

2010-10-19T07:29:00.001-05:00

I finished my Interpret This! piece, thank heavens. Reveals start next week, October 26.

My problems with Blogger and photos continue. (I bragged too soon.) I can upload in the old editor on Safari, and when I change to Firefox, I can use the new editor, but it doesn't work the same as it did. Other people must be having these problems too, but they still seem unresolved.

This weekend I'm going on a guild retreat. The main building at the place we have gone for years burned last spring, a terrible thing for the camp and everyone who loves the place. They are still open in the smaller, older buildings, so we will be cramped this year. Still, I'm looking forward to the chance to do nothing but brainless sewing for a couple of days.

In preparation, I've cut more pieces for this:

The more fabrics I add, the better it looks, I think; in the end, it will be mostly the blue/green, with the reds second and only enough gold for accent.

I'm also planning some pillowcases for Christmas gifts, layering a charity quilt to finish, and making snacks to share. Remember: MUST STAY AWAY FROM THE SNACK TABLE! I like being a size smaller than I was last year.

And finally, a quick brag:

At guild last week, I received a ribbon for Carolina Baskets, displayed in our library show last August. (It's a viewers' choice award.) Thank you, everybody, and thank you Deb Geyer, for the quilting.

What's Happening

2010-10-14T07:00:00.004-05:00

Some miscellaneous news, just to show I'm still alive and quilting, at least a bit.

1. While I was away last week I cut out some squares for a scrappy lap quilt using batiks. I will need to broaden the color range in order to have enough fabric. I could also broaden the value range, but don't want to do that. The quilt is intended to be a gift, and I don't think the recipients would go for the busy look. The pattern is called Scrappity Do Dah, and I downloaded it from McCall's Quilting.com after I saw someone's version at guild. It's been a long time since I did something like this, and when I finally sat down to sew on it, it was fun.

2. Here's the new Interpret This! challenge photo. It's tough. That's all I'll say. I have an idea, but no work to show yet.

3. I entered Peppermint Stars in Road to California. Fingers crossed.

While I was feeling bold, I called the owner of a local gallery who used to sell my quilted clothing and asked if she would take some of my small art quilts for the winter jurying. She agreed, even saying that since she knew my work she didn't think they needed jurying. I assured her that yes, they did. We'll see how this goes. I'm feeling some regret--would anyone really want these things?

4. The project hanging over my head this week was preparing supplies and ideas for a group of ladies at church to decorate little canvas totes for nursing home residents to carry and stash belongings. Since most of these women don't know much about fabric work, and aren't very crafty, it was a challenge. I brought bags, paint, prefused fabric for applique, and some very simple patterns and stencils. The bags might not win a prize for art, but the group had fun, and I hope the recipients find them useful and appreciate the thought. My benefit was becoming more skilled at applying WonderUnder to large pieces of fabric, and I now have the leftovers for my own use.

Now that that's over, I plan to dig in to that fountain!

P.S. Have to brag about a victory over the computer: I couldn't get Blogger to upload photos, so I tried looking at the Preferences menu, turned on Extensions, and voila! I have no idea what Extensions means exactly, or why it was off, but this worked. I always feels as though I have somehow conquered something major when I can solve a problem without having to see the suppressed scorn of my live-in computer consultant.

September Interpret This

2010-09-29T12:00:00.021-05:00

Behind the Gate 22 x 22

Machine pieced, quilted, and appliqued

Strip piecing worked well to give the basic feel of the gate in this photo. I added the leaves to create a tropical lushness and to contrast with the stiff graphic lines of the fence. Flat traditional applique didn't seem right for the feeling I was trying to create, so I attached my leaves loosely, with only one seam down the center so that the edges and ends would curl a bit, giving a three-dimensional effect. I also extended them beyond the edges of the quilt.

I worked out a way to make a two-sided leaf with raw edges that won't fray, or at least I think they won't. First I pressed a freezer paper pattern of the leaf to the right side of the fabric, cut around it leaving about a quarter inch margin, and then painted the edges of the wrong side with Liquid Thread, slightly diluted with water. It's important to be sure some of the Liquid Thread goes inside the margin of the leaf.

After it dried a bit, I fused the cutout leaf to the wrong side of the fabric. After it cooled, I cut out the shape of the leaf and peeled away the freezer paper.

I tried fusible web for this also, and it would work too, but the glue of the Liquid Thread seals the edges of the fabric, so there's little raveling. It also gives a nice crisp hand, with a tendency to curl, which is exactly what I wanted.

I must say it's a bit of a tedious process though. There were lots of leaves!

You can see the original photo and other interpretations on the Interpret This website.

Something to Share

2010-09-17T09:02:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I had a photo of work. Mostly I've been working on my Interpret This piece for September. Here's a bit of a peek. The slanted image I produced here may turn out to be more interesting than the whole thing.

You can see the challenge photo (it's a fence/gate) and other people's hints on the blog page. Reveals start Sept 26.

Here are three little pieces for Alzheimer's Quilts. One is a "multiple original" using another copy of my scanned butterfly weed and another of Debra Spincic's machine embroidered butterflies. The first one sold well, so I hope this one will too. The rather disproportionally large rose is a bit from Anne Lullie's workshop sponsored by our guild a while back, and last but not least, there's the infamous lilacs. Maybe someone will recognize them.

Need an Excuse?

2010-09-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

I heard this morning on NPR's Marketplace that because of droughts and floods in China and India, the price of cotton will be going up. So stash builders, shop now!

Appraisals

2010-09-12T15:37:00.000-05:00

At guild last week a certified quilt appraiser from the area presented the program. She discussed why you should have your quilts, both old and new, appraised, and what she does when she makes an appraisal, what determines the value. One reason to have quilts appraised, of course, is that in case of loss an uninsured quilt is valued by the insurance company as bedding. I'd always heard cost of materials, but apparently that's not true.

Her presentation was interesting. For a new quilt, she considers fabric, the quality and quantity of the workmanship, and design, especially the good old "Wow factor." The more specific information you have about any of these things, like the exact fabric line, the better.

For an old quilt, condition seems to be most important, but also rarity (old Grandmother's Flower Gardens are a dime a dozen apparently), and again the more specific the known history or provenance of the quilt, the better.

Besides putting a detailed label on a new quilt, she suggests labeling any antique or vintage quilt you have, even if your information is incomplete. That way the next owner will have a place to start.

The most intriguing bit of information was this: If you give a quilt for a special occasion like a wedding, it's good to have an appraisal to give with it. Why? Because young people may not care about the sentiment at this point, but they will care about the value. So they will take care of the quilt, and later perhaps appreciate the sentiment too. Rather cynical and commercial, but worth thinking about.

Does anyone have their quilts appraised? At $40 an appraisal, it's pretty pricey, I think, and so I've never done it.

Finally, a Perceptive Critic

2010-09-06T09:14:00.002-05:00

My older son came to visit this weekend, and while using my computer, was looking around the walls of my "studio", aka basement, where some of my Interpret This pieces are hanging. He had some comments:

"I like your sushi." (This was totally unprompted; it's hanging above the scanner.)

Then I asked him what he thought about the others, without making any prompts or suggestions.

"I saw the Andy Warhol. It's pretty cool. The doll eyes are really creepy."

"I intended them to be that way."

"Bingo!"

July August Interpret This

2010-08-30T05:09:00.000-05:00

Palais de l'Isle 15" x 17"

Machine pieced and quilted

I jumped at the chance to use Ruth McDowell's piecing methods in creating the medieval castle at the center of this challenge photo.

Planning the pattern and piecing sequence is like creating a jigsaw puzzle and putting it back together, but once that was done, the piecing went smoothly. This particular design didn't require curves and only one or two Y seams. I did learn the importance of clear and complete marking though.

You can read more about my piece and see the other reveals at the Interpret This! blog.

Me, Men, and Matisse

2010-08-27T07:05:00.002-05:00

A while back, I posted a picture of this little piece and reported that my husband and son didn't know what it was, guessing "leaves". When asked why the leaves were purple, they were stumped.

More recently, we saw this Matisse painting in an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Me: David, do you know what kind of flowers those are?

David: No.

Me: Bob, do you know what kind of flowers those are?

Bob: No. (After walking across the room and peering at the label) Lilacs!

So there you have it. I'm not comparing myself to Matisse, but isn't it odd? Same flower, same lack of recognition.

Do you think it would have helped if I'd put my lilacs in a vase? Or added a label?

And on a totally unrelated note, don't forget the Interpret This reveals beginning today. Mine will be up Monday afternoon.

Design Wall

2010-08-23T10:20:00.002-05:00

I don't usually post the design wall on Monday, but this week I have something on the wall. It's the same thing, at about the same stage of completion, that was on the wall last Monday too. I'm still fighting a messed up sleep schedule and a cold, so haven't been very energetic.

This is five orphan blocks which I am putting together for a service quilt. After I make some more nine patches, there will be an outer border cut from a panel of alphabet flower blocks, also pink, green, and yellow. That should bring it up to size for a very feminine lap quilt, or I guess, a crib quilt for a little girl.

And speaking of nine-patches, does anyone else find them hard to make when they're cut from scrappy squares? (I'm not strip piecing because I want more variety than that allows.) I don't seem to be able to line up the little pieces accurately, and on a small block the mismatches really show up.

Guild Show

2010-08-21T05:46:00.000-05:00

Every year my guild displays quilts in the Mishawaka, Indiana library. The library has a large open atrium and center hallway which shows the quilts off to great advantage, and the show is enjoyed by all the library patrons and quilters as well.

Although I finished this quilt a while ago, I haven't posted it because it's so large I couldn't get a good picture. The show is a perfect opportunity. It's not been a favorite of mine: the colors are a little sweet, and it's too regular in design, but now that it's been beautifully quilted by Deb Geyer, and I see it hanging here, I do like it.

And while we're looking at blue quilts, isn't this beautiful? It was made by Michelle Wilson, and I wish I knew the pattern. She did a wonderful job of choosing batiks; there's enough variety of value and tone to give the pattern definition but still be soft like a batik quilt can be.

Here are two scrappy beauties, by Kathleen Peterson and Fern Hamlin. The place they were hung didn't allow a very good picture unfortunately, but I love both these quilts--so much movement.

Highs and Lows of Our Australian Adventure

2010-08-11T06:14:00.003-05:00

Highs:

Sunset and sunrise on Uluru (Ayers Rock). The bus pulls in, set up a table with wine and snacks (or coffee) provides a folding stool, and you can watch the moment-by-moment color changes of the rock.

Ride on the Ghan train from Adelaide to Alice Springs. This is definitely a railroad adventure. The entire ride takes two-and-a-half days from the bottom to the top of Australia. We did 24 hours, stopping at Alice Springs. The train is quite luxurious, with comfortable compartments and delicious meals, beautifully served. The scenery was a thrill to me, and we met fascinating people, all Australian. Visiting this part of their country was an adventure for them too.

Amazing plants, animals and rock formations in the outback.

A wonderful performance of The Marriage of Figaro at the Sydney Opera House. This is the view from one of the lobbies.

Lows:

   My husband's worsening cough, which finally required an unscheduled visit to the clinic on the cattle station where we were staying. We walked in with no money or ID, received excellent, immediate, and free care, and two prescription medications. He had to take it easy for the rest of the trip, resisting every inch of the way.

   After a wonderful flight from Australia on Quantas, we had a cancelled flight from LA to Chicago that meant we were rerouted through Dallas, left there two hours late, and then of course had a major luggage mix-up in Chicago. Arrival: six hours late. That's probably par for the course these days.

   It's good to be home! Now if I could sleep more than an hour at a time...

Home!

2010-08-10T08:49:00.000-05:00

We arrived late Sunday in Chicago, and drove home yesterday morning. It's good to be back, and will be even better when the laundry is done and the jet lag goes away.

It was also good to find out that my Hoffman Challenge will be in the traveling exhibit! Thanks to everyone who commented on it. I was able to read the comments while away, and the friendly word from home was very welcome.

I'll post a bit about the trip in a day or so when I can pry my husband's computer from his hands to access the photos.

Time to Reveal?

2010-07-23T09:43:00.001-05:00

Geometry in Bloom 22 x 22

Machine applique and quilting, fabric manipulation (texturing, weaving) beads

Today is the deadline for the Hoffman Challenge, so it should be a good time to post my entry. I scheduled this post before I left home, then deleted it. I've seen some beauties on the web, and don't have much confidence in mine. However, I decided what the heck, and here it is. (Because of Picassa, I could retrieve the picture. Did you know that unless you specifically delete a photo, it stays in your Picassa album, even when the post is gone?)

I didn't like the challenge fabric. I don't like this color, a minority opinion, I know. The design seemed to be too prominent for a secondary fabric and not strong enough to be a focus fabric or to fussy cut. I didn't intend to enter. But once this idea came, I went with it. I love the colors, and especially the ombre background fabric, and it was fun to make. Whatever the outcome, I actually like this the best of all the ones I've made.

After a week babysitting grandchildren, I'm heading off to Australia as this posts. See you in mid-August!

It's All Gouda

2010-07-02T06:17:00.002-05:00

The July/August Interpret This! photo. I'm excited about this one--so much to choose from.

The Hoffman is gone--mailed and delivered.

My studio is fairly neat, fabric put away, floor swept, thread returned to the containers.

The binding on the big blue basket quilt is half finished.

We've had fabulous weather, no thunderstorms, for almost a week.

I've lost eleven pounds, and went to Chico's to buy a smaller size traveler's pants for my up-coming trip.

And if you're wondering about the title of the post, it's a family joke. Just think what positive adjective sounds a bit like Gouda, imagine my pronunciation-challenged husband asking someone in the Netherlands if they had any "Gouda" cheese, and I bet you can figure it out.

Happy July, everyone.

June Interpret This!

2010-06-27T12:00:00.004-05:00

Butterfly Days 18 x18

You can read more about it on the Interpret This! blog.

In addition, I've been binding,

labeling,

sketching.

Fixed?

2010-06-21T08:52:00.000-05:00

Thanks, everyone who offered suggestions about the bleed. I tried Tide stain stick, and it faded it a bit, but I could also see more bleeding appear around the edge on the front of the quilt from the wetting. I decided against a full washing because I was afraid of worse bleeding that would come through to the front, and also I was concerned about too much shrinking with the wool batt. That would have been a totally different look than I had planned, and I don't know how it would have affected the total look.

So, I took out some quilting stitches, and used something called Pentel dye sticks, which seem to be very waxy and crayon-like. It then occurred to me that actual crayons might work too, so I added them. Wish I'd thought of that first because the color match was better and the sharper point worked well with the pattern on the backing. Then I used a hot iron to set both and remove the waxy stuff. It's better; it looks like a slightly darker section of the fabric, and doesn't jump out at you like the pink did. But if you look closely you can see something is odd. (There is actually less pink visible in reality than in this picture.)

I was afraid I'd made the wrong choice and was too timid, but just heard from someone with a horror story about trying to remove a bleed with Synthrapol, so I feel better. Next step will be to distract by adding a very elaborate label!

I'll also try to remember that the oil spill is worse.

Help!

2010-06-19T13:03:00.001-05:00

Just now when I unpinned my challenge quilt from where it had been drying after I spritzed it and blocked it, this is what I found. It's the back, it does not show on the front, and this is the worst one of two spots where a particular fabric seems to have bled. I tried dabbing it with a solution of Synthropol, but it didn't help and I'm afraid rewetting will make it worse. Any ideas?

I'm feeling a bit ill about this, but unless someone knows what to do, or I think of something, I think I'll just trust to the judges' mercies. The only other way I know right now is to wash the whole thing with Synthrapol, on the assumption that it's ruined and nothing can make it worse.

P.S. Several people on the Dharma website said they had used Synthrapol to remove bleeding from quilts or pieced blocks. So maybe I'll try that. Scary. But I guess the Synthrapol would prevent that nasty fabric from bleeding more, which is what I'm really worried about. I have to bind the quilt first though, so this will be a tense time.

A Busy Two Days

2010-06-15T06:22:00.000-05:00

The quilting is done, and I'm ready to bind this! I'm very happy with the background quilting. For the third line, the one that makes the star pattern, I found that using the seam guide didn't work. The slightest error compounded itself over several lines, and the pattern became more and more uneven. So after quite a bit of ripping, I used one inch blue painter's tape to mark each line before I stitched it. This was quite easy and accurate, but at the same time allowed tiny adjustments to keep the effect right.

The outline quilting around the motifs, which you can't see, isn't as good. I FORGOT that I could take off the walking foot and use the regular foot (one of the advantages of doing the background first). So after I made ugly outlines with the walking foot, I tried free motion, which looked worse. THEN I remembered the regular foot, but it was impossible to rip out all the tiny free motion stitches without messing up the applique. I took out the most obvious part, and have let it go.

I also made good progress on Interpret This! yesterday. My husband is at Argonne National Labs this week doing an experiment, and I treated myself to a two day quilting camp at home. It's amazing how much you can accomplish that way. Back to regular life now.

So Far, So Good

2010-06-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

I'm about halfway through the second line of the grid--there is one more set of lines to go to make the hexagons and stars that I'm aiming for. Turns out it is possible to achieve the fashionable quilted-to-death look with only a walking foot! Then I will quilt around the applique motifs. I used to do that first, but I've found it easier to do them last, they look puffier, and I haven't had any trouble with wrinkles--so far.

The quilting is going smoothly up to now, although I had to rip a few lines because the stitching guide slipped and made them too far apart. Too bad there's no way to lock it in place. I've put bits of masking tape to prevent slipping, but it will still slip a bit, so now I check it regularly.

Challenges

2010-06-07T16:55:00.001-05:00

The June Interpret This! photo:

I have two ideas. One is very twenty-first century both in theme and technique, and the other is more retro. Which I choose may depend on the amount of time required for each, because...

I am doing the Hoffman challenge. I put the top together in record time for me and am very pleased with it. All I'll say is that it includes some colors and fabrics that I posted about recently.

I started the quilting today with a bit of trepidation. That's always a chance to mess up. I'm doing a grid quilting pattern from Charlotte Warr Anderson's book One Line at a Time, one of the simpler ones. But even so, I think this kind of quilting can be as time consuming as free motion quilting. I'm just hoping it works out. I even did a 12 inch sample block first, cleaned the machine, and all the things you're supposed to do before a quilting project. Fingers crossed.

Knotty Problems

2010-06-03T07:56:00.001-05:00

The Janome automatically knots the thread when you begin zig-zagging, but after almost two years, I finally realized that to keep the knot on the underside, you have to hold the BOBBIN thread. Then you can cut the top thread short and pop the knot to the back by tugging the bobbin thread. If you hold the top thread or no thread, the knot and the bobbin thread always pop up and look ugly.

Two or three thoughts: why did it take me so long to figure this out, why did no one tell me this when I took a class on the machine, and why did Janome design it that way? It requires some contortion, as you can see. When you end the stitching, the machine knots the thread, and then the scissors tool cuts the thread and pulls the knot to the back. Pretty slick. Wouldn't it have been nice to pull the knot to the back at the beginning too?

No matter though. I'm thrilled to have figured this out. It improves the look of the stitching tremendously.

Spring Quilt Festival

2010-05-28T08:00:00.025-05:00

Indiana Roadside

48 x 48

Amy is having the Spring Quilt Festival, which I almost missed. Here's my entry, made about five years ago. I love Queen Anne's Lace and the way it looks blooming wild along the roadside. (I'm not a groomed-and-manicured-lawn kind of girl.) For a long time I wanted to put it into a quilt, but it's a very hard flower to reproduce effectively. Finally I decided to just use blocks of greens, tans, and white, arranged to imitate the color placement in a photograph I'd taken, and using a block that would give an effect of light and shadow filtering through the foliage. Here's the result. I still like this quilt after all this time, which is a rare thing for me. It's the North Wind block, set so that there are alternating squares of light and dark. I love that block too.

Take some time to look at all the other wonderful quilts on display.

May Interpret This

2010-05-27T11:56:00.000-05:00

Spring Dreams

16 x 14

I went very literal this month; I'm not sure why that seemed the best thing to do, but it also worked into my tight schedule since I didn't change my mind several times.

Everything is simple and straight forward except for the tree, where I wanted to add a texture to suggest the softness of the blossoms and change the color a bit. I wet the fabric, twisted it until it doubled back on itself into a ball, put rubber bands around it, and then stuffed the ball into the toe of an old nylon footie until it dried; drying takes about a week. ( I guess this is a kind of dye-less shibori.) I did this about the first day of the month, which was fortunate, because when I came home from my unplanned trip, the fabric was dry.

Then I opened it, smoothed it a little and fused it to a piece of light weight interfacing.

Stitching at random back and forth adds texture and holds the wrinkles in place. Lots of different decorative stitches, threads, and couched fibers can be used, but I kept it simple here. Then I pressed a freezer paper pattern to the textured fabric, stitched around it to keep the edges flat, and cut out the tree shape.

Since I wanted to do the branches with reverse applique, I marked their outline on the freezer paper and stitched around that too; then when the tree was in place I stitched again around the branch outline, and cut to reveal the branch fabric I'd placed underneath.

Since the tree fabric already had lots of stitching, I just quilted in a circular pattern to emphasize the design in the fabric, then added the beads for more texture.

If at First You Don't Succeed...

2010-05-25T12:15:00.001-05:00

You may remember an earlier version of this--terrible piecing. Here it is again, paper pieced. Did that solve the problems? Not entirely, although it might be passible. Those tiny things are VERY hard to match, the paper is thick, it slipped, and of course solid on solid shows every error. There's also the matter of reverse images, and I had a devil of a time with those slanted stem pieces, finally just making the ends oversized and trimming them. I'm ashamed to say how long it took to make this block; we'll just say I worked on it both Sunday and Monday afternoon. It doesn't even shout "HARD TO DO!" like some blocks do, but I think it's the most difficult piecing I've ever done. Do I want to make three more? I think not. I'll just admit defeat. Pretty, isn't it? Sigh...

Non-Fiber Content

2010-05-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

It's a real slump here. I finished my IT! piece several days ago, (I almost typed years--does that mean something?), and haven't touched the sewing machine since. What have I been doing? Well, I have unpacked stuff that I packed before the painter came. Amazing how time consuming that can be.

Here's a general idea of the color of the dining room; it's only approximate because the light is bad in that room in the summer. The painting is one I bought last winter, done by a local artist. I love winter scenes, and the muted colors of this one really appeal to me, although telling people that I bought a painting of an alley in Mishawaka produces some strange looks.

I've also been shopping. I haven't shopped for ages, and it's like rediscovering the world to wander around some stores. I've bought clothes and household gadgets, ordered new blinds for one of the bedrooms, and flowers for the deck.

I will get back into the sewing room soon, maybe this afternoon in fact. Watch for the Interpret This! reveals beginning tomorrow.

2010-05-15T08:31:00.001-05:00

I'm thankful that my mother's condition has stabilized and that I am back home, and grateful for other things as well.

Thank you dear blogging friend who bought the two texture studies from Alzheimer's Quilts Initiative. This helped me make the $1000 Challenge goal! As an unexpected bonus I received a package of beautiful fabric from Beth Hartford at QuiltersStitchTogether

and a generous gift certificate from Embellishment Village, which I promptly spent. That was fun!

I'm thankful that the painting which had just started when my mother went into the hospital is finished and that I like the way it looks. Now if I can get all the pictures rehung, china back in the cabinet, books in bookcases...

Ghost Orchids is back finally and put away. Yesterday I began some work on my Interpret This! challenge, and this blob may appear there. The new fabric would work too, but I'm already committed.

But it's looking more and more like the Hoffman Challenge won't happen this year, at least for me.

Bits and Pieces

2010-05-10T09:58:00.001-05:00

I've been in Missouri for a week, with my mother's medical emergency. I'd planned a trip anyway, but it has turned out to be earlier and perhaps longer than expected. I'm not doing any fabric work now, but some of my quilts have been busy.

Wendy has created a new blog, Quilt Porn, where she plans to show one quilt that she likes every day, without comment. She chose my IT! piece Down to the Root for show the first week. I'm flattered, especially since the other choices are so interesting. Thanks, Wendy.

Deb Geyer is quilting my blue basket quilt. You can see it in progress on her blog. Her quilting is going to enhance this quilt, for sure.

I sent my white Texture Study and the black texture study to Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative and they are now listed on the Quilts for Sale page. If anyone would be interested in helping the cause, look at my blog pictures for a more accurate idea of what these two pieces really look like.

And finally, I sent Ghost Orchids to an exhibit in Florida in January. Two weeks ago when the exhibit ended the quilt was supposed to return. It's been a real saga of confusion, missed instructions, and lost UPS labels. The quilt is still in storage apparently, waiting. I don't know what will happen.

A Pretty Mess

2010-05-03T11:05:00.000-05:00

Literally. This is a charming block, but clearly the piecing will not pass. My Quilt Pro program will no longer print foundations for paper piecing (who knows why), and the templates which the computer prints are not accurate. So--I tried to figure this out for myself. I could do that, now that I have figured out how to read the rotary cutting instructions which would eliminate some of the obvious errors, but there are a few bits that defeat me, like that second stem piece. That's not any standard angle.

Paper piecing is the obvious choice for this block, and there was a time when I would have drawn the foundations myself. But I'm not inclined to do that this time. So a certain challenge may just have to get along without me this year.

May Interpret This

2010-05-02T07:01:00.000-05:00

It's a lovely spring photo, open to all sorts of interpretations. I'm not sure what I'll do yet, but I hope I can decide, and not go around and around as I did last month. We finally have the painter coming this week, which will tear up most of the house, and then on Friday I'm leaving for a week in Missouri for family business, so that won't leave much time. I hope to accomplish a little before I leave so I can finish by the reveals.

April Interpret This

2010-04-30T05:20:00.001-05:00

Here's the photo:

And then we have the good, the bad, and the ugly. Which is which?

This is version three, the official one. You can read more at the Interpret This! blog.

Down to the Root

14 x 12, machine applique and quilting

Version one:

Untitled

8 x 11

This lay unfinished, in pieces on my worktable, until last weekend because I was so unhappy with it, but then since I wasn't happy with the others either, I thought I'd finish it. So here it is. It looks much better finished, and I actually like the way I pieced in the diagonals. Also, it was good quilting practice. I wish I'd thought of the free-motion zig-zag for version two.

Version two:

Untitled 2 (Working title: The Big Root)

12 x 11 (in reality)

I'm cheating here. It's actually almost square, but it occurred to me that it would have been less boring if I had elongated the root. Through the wonders of Photoshop, I have done that. Except that the rocks are now oddly shaped, it looks better this way. I hope I can remember this technique in the future, not to use after the fact, but in the planning process.

So there you have all my dirty little secrets. April is truly the cruelest month. And to continue the T.S. Eliot theme, we're ending April not with a bang but a whimper.

Anne Lullie Workshop

2010-04-27T08:35:00.002-05:00

I spent a very enjoyable afternoon yesterday at a workshop presented by Anne Lullie, one of the "Chicago School of Fusing" quilters. We used some of her beautiful rainbow gradation hand-dyes to create a fused piece of our own. It's was terrific fun, very relaxed and spontaneous. Most of the group are traditional quilters, and many had never done any fusing before, so it was wonderful to see how everyone took to the process and how pleased they were with what they produced.

I had intended to blog about the workshop, but forgot my camera. (Age, maybe?) Here's a picture of some of the fabric with its lovely clear colors. I also bought, and used, a less saturated version.

The workshop pack was pre-fused, a wonderful thing for me because WonderUnder and I do not get along, but maybe I learned something about that too. We'll see. Anyway, I bought an extra 3/4 yard of pre-fused, and a piece of unfused also, so there may be some of this fabric showing up in future work. I left the piece I started at the workshop unfinished because I wanted more time to think about what more it needed.

Also, reveals have started in the Interpret This! challenge; three pieces have already been posted, and are worth seeing. Go take a look.

One More Dress

2010-04-23T08:05:00.000-05:00

Up early, I finished one more little dress, and changed the ties on the one on the left. Cute. Now that I've worked out the best way to finish armholes and make ties, I could go on. But I think it's time to think about the Hoffman Challenge.

A Change of Pace

2010-04-22T08:16:00.002-05:00

I finished my Interpret This! piece for April and have taken the chance to take a break and do some other types of sewing.

Our guild is making and sending dresses to Africa with a member who will be going there in a few weeks. We're using information from Little Dresses for Africa, a project you can read about on their web page. One way to make the dresses is from gently used pillowcases, and I made one that way. But since I've got stash fabric that is suitable, why not use it? These are easy to make, and quick. I made the pillowcase one in less than half an hour last night, and the from scratch one in a bit more today.

My other project was to make pillowcases for the twins. I had the brainstorm of piecing their names into the band. When you have young geniuses who can find "A for Aidan" and "C for Conor" on cereal boxes, you should celebrate, right? I wish I'd paid a bit more attention to fabric choices, but these were fun.

Chicago Quilt Fest

2010-04-17T08:17:00.001-05:00

Here are the highlights from my highly biased viewpoint.

I always like In the American Tradition exhibit, contemporary spins on traditional patterns. Here's a favorite, all polka dots and stripes. It's appropriately named Sunny Side Up, made by Tamna Tarr.

Another dependable highlight is Hands All Around, quilts from around the world. This year's Japanese best, Spring Field by Akiko Kawata:

Love, love, love this quilt. (I actually like dandelions, too.)

Here's one I liked from Tactile Architecture, Remembering Sweden, by Helena Scheffer.

And this should be familiar:

I bet the Hoffman Challenge people will never again choose such a drab fabric for the challenge. Although the individual quilts are striking, the overall impression of the exhibit is dull. Most people stuck to that earth tone palette, with only a couple of brave souls adding red, or in one case a reddish purple.

The best part, which I can't show, was the SAQA exhibit, SAQA @20. This was fabulous. These quilts are art, no matter how you want to argue about the definition. If this exhibit comes near you, it's well worth seeing.

And as a final note, this is the last year for this show in Chicago. Apparently there have been many complaints about the venue, so next year the spring show goes to Cincinnati. Too bad for those of us here; Cincinnati is not a day trip.

2010-04-15T09:29:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow, I'm taking a bus trip to the Chicago International Quilt Festival. I always have mixed feelings about this show. The crowd is too large for the venue, or the venue is too small, and the press of people is unpleasant. I also don't like the way the vendors overshadow the quilts, but I guess that's the way it is at all shows. Still, I would hate to miss it, and am looking forward to the beautiful exhibits, and some of the vendors, and especially to seeing my quilt, I Dreamed of an Elephant, in the Hoffman Challenge exhibit. If anyone will be there tomorrow and would like to say hi, email me, and we can arrange a quick meeting.

Tulips, Art, and a Rock Slide

2010-04-07T11:10:00.001-05:00

When I showed the postcard on the left to my husband, he said, "What is that? Is that a mango?" Since this is a photograph of a tulip, printed on fabric and fused to painted fabric, I can't think my drawing skills are at fault this time. Then I showed him the other one: "Now that's a tulip. I can tell that's a tulip!" Isn't it odd that a grade-school level stamp of a tulip looks more like a tulip than the real thing does? That says something profound about art, I think, but I'm not sure what. Of maybe it just says something about Bob.

And speaking of art, I am now on Plan B for Interpret This. As often happens, I had the idea when I was half awake this morning. I'm hoping it will look as good on paper and cloth as it did in my drowsy brain.

outofthebasement

Project Linus Completed

A New Year

Looking Up

What I've Learned Recently

Ho Hum

Happy Halloween

Seasonal Work

Ouch!

Guild Shows and Charity Quilts

When Easy Isn't

Oh, Woe!

Smackdown Quilt Completed

August Quilting Smackdown

Finally, a Quilt Post!

Beautiful British Columbia

Out of Office

Not So Much...

Remember Paducah?

More Catching Up, or a Data Dump

A Visit with Ami Simms

Hello Again

Blogger's Spring Festival

Fast Paducah Report

Traveling

A Test

Six Elephants

Back from Darkness

Design Wall Monday

A Satisfying Finish

More Nine Patches

Showers and Flowers

It's in the Genes

Some Old Beauties

Bits and Pieces

A Tired Tuesday

An Appraisal

Using Value

While stitching lots of little letters...

Designing and Decisions

Time to Retreat!

The Batik Blur

It's Still January

Ah, Winter

December/January Interpret This!

Snowbound Service Quilts

Observations of a Lurker

End of the Year News

Interpret This! Progress

Some Finishes

Help with Binding

November Interpret This! Revisited

Hotel Fabric Art, and a Testimonial for Phone Cameras

November Interpret This!

More Stash Problems

One of Those Things

Framing

Moment of Truth

Reflections on Work Past, Present, and Yet to Come

October Interpret This!

1,000 Quilts To Houston

Happenings, continued

What's Happening

September Interpret This

Something to Share

Need an Excuse?

Appraisals

Finally, a Perceptive Critic

July August Interpret This

Me, Men, and Matisse

Design Wall

Guild Show

Highs and Lows of Our Australian Adventure

Home!

Time to Reveal?

It's All Gouda

June Interpret This!

Fixed?

Help!

A Busy Two Days