Moscow

Recognize this?

The most obvious difficulty in visiting Moscow is the language. Unless you can read Russian a little you have great difficulty moving around independently. There are few signs using the Roman alphabet; some subway maps do, but it's hard to find one. So I traveled in a tour group most of the time. This necessarily limits what I saw, and anything I say is based on limited data. But here goes.

Moscow is big--15 million people and growing. New high rises are going up everywhere, and traffic is a major problem. Everywhere we went, we spent much of the trip sitting in traffic. This is true in spite of the fact that the excellent public transportation system is also jammed. The city is extremely pedestrian unfriendly; six and eight lane roads filled with speeding cars who DO NOT care about pedestrians separate neighborhoods, even in the historic center. The only way to cross many of these roads is by pedestrian underpasses, which have no signs indicating which way to go. Almost everyone in Moscow lives in high rise apartment houses, which range from old and shabby and to new and rather expensive looking, with every combination in between. They're mostly without charm: boxy, grey or brown, no window boxes, even in the heart of summer. However, there are lovely older buildings (both baroque and Victorian) mixed in, and churches with the familiar Russian onion domes are everywhere.

Here's the skyline. The large "Soviet Gothic" building is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I think. There are actually six of these, called the Seven Sisters (number seven was never built) scattered around the city so one is visible from any direction.

This is one of the lovely churches, the Cathedral of the Assumption, inside the Kremlin walls. Tsars were crowned here.

The first thing that would strike an American about the people is the Moscow Stone Face. To say that the service industry is lagging behind there is an understatement. No hotel clerk, store clerk, or museum person smiles; most of the women have their eyebrows plucked into pencil thin arches, which somehow adds to the unpleasantness of their stare. In addition, there are many incomprehensible rules and procedures that produce cries of "Nyet, nyet, nyet," when you misstep. You need a thick skin to visit Moscow. I suppose this is a holdover from the days of Communism; when you consider the history, openness is probably not to be expected.

This picture illustrates an example. The beautiful young woman to the left was the guide for the museum we were visiting. Some places don't allow the commercial Moscow guides to conduct tours and insist on having their own person, who only speaks Russian. So the museum guide conducted a long tour, full of statistics like the square footage of the room or how many kilos of gold leaf were used for ornamentation, all without changing expression or varying the monotone of her voice. Our guide Irena (on the right), who could make information fascinating and convey excitement for the historical places and events described, was force to translate, probably gritting her teeth in frustration the entire time.

That being said, if you have any kind of personal relationship, the people are delightful. Irena had a wonderful sardonic wit; her comment about the museum people: "We don't understand the rules either. We just say "Don't break your brain, do what they say.'" (There's lots of history in the creation of that attitude.) The Russian conference organizers, who struggled with the bureaucracy as much as anyone else, were warm, helpful, and gracious. And best of all, we were invited to the home of the parents of one of my husband's post docs. His mother had prepared a traditional Russian meal, with her own home made salted salmon (delicious), home made blinis, and other snacks. A meal includes many toasts, each one to be followed by downing a shot of vodka and taking a bite of food. Fun! One could imagine the hilarity when a big party like this gets going; we were rather staid, but I hope not unappreciative! I haven't any pictures from that occasion, but here's a band that entertained at one of the dinners. They're playing traditional Russian folk instruments, and had a wonderful time doing it.


Tomorrow, I'll talk about some of the incredible things to be seen in Moscow.

Russian News and Views

We returned home from Russia Monday night, or 6 a.m. Moscow time. Most of my pictures are still on my husband's computer, but I have a few from St. Petersburg, much the best ones anyway. I'll post Moscow pictures and some comments on the experience later. In general, I'm glad to have taken this trip and to have seen the wonderful churches, art, and architecture there, and to have reviewed some of the history. But I wouldn't go back. More about that later when I have pictures to soften the commentary.



These are views of Peterhof, a palace constructed outside St. Petersburg by Peter the Great in the 1700s. The palace was behind the German lines surrounding St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) during World War II and was heavily damaged, so the building is a reconstruction. The furniture, paintings, statuary, however, were hidden before the war, and are mostly original. The gardens and fountains are breathtaking, much more appealing than Versailles. This grand cascade was designed by Peter himself, and uses no pumps, everything is gravity fed.



This shot gives some idea of the heavily gilded baroque interior. I'm trying to get a shot of the infinite view created by facing mirrors. There are mirrors along both sides and the end of the room, so the whole effect is an optical illusion making the room seem even larger and grander than it is already.

St. Petersburg and the Peterhof are full of tourists and tour groups as they're stops on many cruise ships' itinerary, so this city is relatively tourist friendly. But if you can see the expression on this palace "guardian's" face, you'll see that "friendly" is only a relative term! Our guide and many other people were wonderful, but there is definitely a grimness present all over the country which is startling to Americans. I'll talk about that later.

Looks like Halloween, but actually this is just a few pieces I've put together for the arrowhead quilt. There will be golds, greens, and browns also with the black, and I'm doing a broken dishes block. I liked the one I did for a friend so much, I thought I'd borrow the idea.

I'm also packing for the trip to Russia. I enjoy packing. It's a challenge to take the perfect number of things, not too much, and yet not forget anything important either. An extremely interesting web site called One Bag has terrific information on this. The author is a serious minimalist; the premise is how to go all around the world with one carryon size bag. Although I don't travel like that, it's still very helpful, with a handy one page check list of what to pack, and a very long annotated packing list with recommendations in every category. It's not for someone who is going on a cruise, or lounging at a luxury resort, or staying anywhere looking fab is a high priority, but for people who are actually traveling and handling their own bags, it's full of practical information. I particularly recommend the travel clothesline made out of braided surgical rubber with loops on both ends that stretches between any two convenient hooks and holds clothes w/o clothes pins.

So tomorrow I'll finish the packing, mail my Hoffman Challenge quilt, and take off on Thursday. Back in about two weeks; do good work, everyone!

Terrific Binding Technique

Recently, Debra Spincic mentioned using Sharon Schamber's binding technique as shown on this video. (There are three parts, but it's worth watching.) Sharon uses Elmer's School Glue instead of pins at all stages of the binding to hold everything firmly and it gives amazing results. I tried this out on a charity quilt that I just finished binding, and it's wonderful. Sharon says she does this for her show quilts, but I think it also works beautifully on something quick that you just want a fairly neat looking machine stitched binding. It's actually much quicker than the pinning I have to do for decent looking results, especially on the second stage. I didn't have her glue applicator tip either, just the regular tip of the bottle. You can see my results here. I didn't even try very hard, and they still look good, although they'd look even better if I had my glasses changed so I could see the ditch to stitch in better! The slightly-out-of focus first photo has the same effect :) Forgot to stitch down the miter too--mea culpa.

News Flash!

Okay, everyone! What we've been waiting for! While waiting at the library yesterday, I came across this book, and HAD to sit down and browse through it. I have mixed feelings: it's good for what it is, but part of me wants to scoff, and much of it I knew already or had decided I didn't give a damn about anyway. As you might expect, it's full of tips about clothes, shoes, makeup, hair, underwear, etc., so you can look Y & H (young and hip, I guess), rather than OL (Old Lady). The author is probably in her mid forties. Being more than a bit past that is why I don't care about some of it, but still... I did go and buy Sally Hansen airbrush for legs, a recommended product.

Thoughts on Color

Lately I've been feeling negative about quilting--much of what I see seems stale and based on current "trends", the latest techno gizmo, or hot new technique. So I've been trying to go back to basics and connect with what has always drawn me to any kind of fabric work, which is color. Looking back on what I've made, I find that the things I like best and am happiest with are pieces that I based on a particular color plan that spoke to me. Some of them have come from art or photographs.


The first is a painting by Picasso of his mistress Dora Maar. This combination is bizarre, and I can't analyze why it works, but I love it. I used it to chose fabrics for the quilt at the top of the blog. Some one else liked the combination apparently because I actually had a novelty child's fabric to use for the border.

Then there is this Christmas card, which I've used several times. It's not in the same category as the Picasso, but what makes it special to me is the zing of the red orange. Perfect!

I chose color plans from nature too. This quilt was inspired by flowers and foliage on my deck. I don't like the quilt because I didn't get the value placement right, but the effect of pink/red scattered through the different greens still pleases me.

I also like this quilt, where I tried to capture different grasses and wild flowers along the roadside.


I've wanted to make something in the muted, greyed, greens and browns of winter for a long time, but I haven't been able to decide on a design for that. Currently, I'm thinking of something based on this Science cover that I've saved for over a year. Unfortunately the reproduction isn't good; there's quite a bit of green in the stone of some of those spear points, and that's what makes it particularly striking. This would make a stunning quilt I think, very contemporary looking, and rather masculine, although no one I would make it for is hung up on that sort of thing. Maybe this project is what I need to get me out of the doldrums. I'm going to need some fabric...

Pleasant Surprise!

I received this beautiful postcard from Liz. Liz and I discovered each other through the Take It Further Challenge, and were struck by the similarity of our blog names. When I realized she was making hats, I sent her a book that I wasn't using any longer about millinery techniques. I'm always so impressed by lovely handwork like hers on this card, and the various embellishments add just the right touch. Thanks, Liz. It's a great addition to my collection.

Towel Bib

Valerie asked how I made the two bibs I showed in the last post, so here's a quick tutorial. This is pretty basic sewing, so I'm not going into much detail, just giving a general idea.

You start with a hand towel, about 16 x 24 inches, and cut it in half, crosswise. It's better to use one without the plain-weave band, but I just ignored the band and appliqued over it this time. I use a purchased bib as a template for the neck, but if you don't have one, the opening is approximately a 4" diameter circle.



Then you can decorate as you choose. There are lots of options, but for this I was using up a little piece of rather poor quality fabric that I got in an exchange. To make this oddly shaped applique around the cat, I put a piece of muslin on top of the image, drew around the shape I wanted with fabric marker, and then stitched on the line. Then I trimmed around the stitching, leaving 1/4 allowance, and slit the muslin to turn it right side out. After turning and pressing, I trimmed the excess fabric away leaving 1/2 inch seam allowance, pinned the image to the bib, and stitched it down.






For binding, I cut a bias strip 2 1/4", folded it in half and stitched it to the front of the neck. You can use purchased binding, too, but I think this kind works better actually. The curve is rather sharp, and so this is a little tricky, but there aren't any quilt police here, so if it bunches a bit, it's ok. Then I folded the binding over to the wrong side and pressed it. I did use Sharon Schamber's technique of putting a line of Elmer's School Glue on the seam allowance, and then pressing down the binding. This holds it securely and evenly so that you can stitch-in-the-ditch on the right side easily. Then, add velcro strips for closing, wash it to get out the glue and be sure it's clean for the baby, and there you are.



They're great bibs: big and thick enough to sop up lots of STUFF, and the extra size is also good for wiping the face.

Catching Up--Again

It's been a big reunion time. First, friends of ours from our long-ago days at Cornell dropped by on their way home from visiting family, then there was a family reunion in Missouri, and then a get together of the cooperative house where I lived in college. So I haven't been home, and definitely haven't had time to post or read blogs for about two weeks. And then there's all the activity on Stitchin Fingers ring, so I'm a bit overwhelmed. But here's the beautiful postcard I received from Ruth.

It's a very effective combination of texture and techniques with a bit of three dimensional embellishment too. Thank you, Ruth. My part of the exchange will go in the mail today, I hope, and then after cleaning, laundry, and unpacking, I hope to catch up on all the on-line reading. Maybe I'll sew later in the week...

The only creative activity in this time frame has been two baby bibs,

and sending my quilt, Unintended Consequences, to the AQA show in Columbus. If anyone is going to be there, say hi to it for me.
Catch you later, everybody.

Take It Further, May

Theme: What do you call what you do, or what do you call yourself in regard to what you do, or something like that. I actually have trouble answering "What do you do now that you're retired?" I'm not an artist; I don't have the training or the natural talent. I sew; I make quilts; I make "fiber art", whatever that is. All these answers produce glazed eyes.

I thought first I might be a dilattante, but the definition is someone who admires the arts or has a superficial knowledge. Maybe, but then lightening struck, and I thought: AMATEUR. Amateur: one who engages in a pursuit, study, science, or sport as a pastime rather than as a profession, and one lacking in experience and competence in an art or science. That's me. Also the etymology of amateur is from the root meaning to love, so an amateur does something for love. And being an English Major, I immediately thought of a giant red A like Hester Prynne's in The Scarlet Letter. So here's my A for "amateur", although it's not red. Two of my amateurish painted fabrics, a bit of equally amateurish quilting, and some beads. Done by the deadline!

Catching Up

It was a perfect day here yesterday, and we had dinner on the deck, contemplating the fact that this is the first time in four years that we haven't been in Paris Memorial Day weekend. It's both sad not to be in Paris, and good to be at home. One French thing I definitely regretted at this meal is the very fresh tasting bearnaise sauce I could buy in a pouch at the Monoprix and heat up in hot water or the microwave. It would have been perfect with steak and fresh purple asparagus. I've never seen anything like that here, even with all the prepared stuff available.

On other fronts, the kitchen is done and is fast returning to its normal cluttered state. Here's a picture of the neat condition, even before the drawers are back. The speckly granite makes it impossible to tell if the counter is clean or not. Not sure if that's good or bad--



And this charity quilt is ready to bind and take to guild tomorrow. Lots of cause for the "machine quilting needs improvement" comment in this quilt.


I now have some chore type sewing: pants to hem, etc, and maybe some baby bibs.

Enjoy your holiday, everyone, and take time to remember those who died in service to the country; especially remember those veterans of this war, fought by a few, because of a few.

A Rant

Today I made what was supposed to be a quick trip to JoAnn Fabric and Crafts. When I walked in it was like a new world--they're in the midst of a store makeover; instead of open aisles, cutting table in the middle, etc., the store is filled with grocery store style shelves about eight feet high so that it's difficult to find anything. I'll keep an open mind about this; maybe it will be fine when finished. Apparently bigger stores in cities are going to this layout and we're just trying to keep current.

But here's the real point of this post: right by the door, extremely visible, (although most fabric is hidden), is a candy aisle: not just a little check-out lane candy display, but a full size, grocery store scale candy aisle. I know it's a free country and except for a few restrictions, merchandisers can sell whatever they want. But tell me one good reason why, in a country suffering from run away obesity, someone should be encouraged to buy candy on impulse when she shops for fabric and craft supplies. Recently I've noticed that all stores from hardware stores to big box electronic stores sell candy by the check out, so JoAnn's display shouldn't be surprising, but the scale and inappropriateness of it still shocked me. We all know how hard it is not to gain weight if you spend lots of time in a sedentary activity like sewing, and I don't want the temptation stuck in my face everywhere I go. Next time I go in, I'll say something to the manager, although I'm sure he will say it's a chain policy. What does anyone else think about this?

No I didn't buy any; I'd just come from the dentist. :)

Cyber Fyber Exchange Complete

Here's the terrific card I received from Susan Lenz as part of the Cyber Fyber Exchange. It's something that doesn't photograph too well, but trust me that the contrast of soft color and texture and a bit of gold stitching is lovely. I sent her one of my rose cards. Anyone who makes cards, check out the web site and sign up. It's fun.

Daily Grind

These postcards, and two more which have been sent, are all I've been doing recently. I guess it's a rose and tulip series. I'm truly in a creative slump. Next week maybe I'll come out of it and start a new project, or maybe not. In the meantime, I have half a kitchen, it's a beautiful May here with trees in full bloom, and it's also graduation weekend. Hubby went off this morning with baby blue University of Michigan cap, gown, and hood, six-inch diameter "gold" chair professor medal to wear around his neck, and last but not least, the sacred lapel pin (not a flag, but the Golden Dome). Academic regalia is an interesting throwback to past times; maybe only the military is the same nowadays. I'm off to a soup kitchen volunteer appreciation luncheon soon. Then tonight there is a graduation party for Bob's Ph.D. student. So life is busy, in a sort of day by day way.

Cyber Fyber Exchange

Thanks to Paula at Beauty of Life for an alert about the ATC and fiber postcard trading going on here, organized by Susan Lenz. This is the second exchange, but I missed the first one and only caught references to it on others' blogs. There's an interesting list of cards available, so check it out. I've already grabbed mine!

Nothing Much

May 9--the deadline for entries to Sky's the Limit. I had foolishly thought I might have an entry, but it has now officially become a UFO, maybe someday to be bound and reincarnated as an arty lap quilt. Feeling humbled, I cleared my mind by making a charity quilt for the guild, and have been trying to decide on my next project. It will be pieced and traditional. I've had enough of applique, machine embroidery, and especially of machine quilting on my less than perfect system.

In other news, the kitchen work will start next Thursday. I will be in Chicago with the twins (yay!) until Thursday afternoon, so preparation and removal of stuff from cabinets will have to be done by my husband. In addition, one of his colleagues will be staying with us until Thursday to work on a project, so he will probably get roped into that fun job. This may be awful timing, or great timing. I'm not sure. Anyway, I will do pre-pre- preparation early next week before I leave, and hope for the best.

And just so this won't be a pictureless post, here's the countertop. The real thing is a bit more yellow, I hope.

TIF Challenge April--It About Change, Isn't It?

"Janus" 8 1/2" x 11"

OK, I changed my mind! I was skipping this challenge to finish another project although I had planned the design several weeks ago. Kim at Skybell Arts had mentioned some Greek phrases in discussing the "attitude toward change" theme, and that caused me to remember the Roman god Janus, who is pictured with two heads, one looking to the past and one to the future. I also remembered a face-like scribble that I had done a while back, so I copied and flipped it on Adobe Illustrator to make this two-faced thing. And now, since I'm giving the other project a long Sabbatical, I came back to Janus and put it together. I actually have no attitude toward change--it's like sh-t, it happens.

Yesterday, I made this block for a guild friendship block exchange. It's for Kristie the orange freak who wanted scrappy orange Broken Dishes blocks. I love it! So refreshing after the other things going.

I am very, very, very sick of my current project. The quilting is done and I now have to bury many thread ends before proceeding to embellishment. I'm not liking this thing much, and am considering stuffing it in a bag. There may be a UFO in my future.

On other fronts, I am leading the discussion in my book group tomorrow night and need to work on that. We're discussing The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton. This isn't one of her best known books, and I don't know why. Undine Spragg, a beautiful, ignorant climber who makes three men very unhappy as she marries her way up the social ladder, is one of the most detestable literary characters ever. We're a serious group who really talk about the book, so I need some insights and thought provoking questions. Well, two days left for inspiration--

Also, we're going to Moscow for 10 days this summer, and as it's uncomfortable not to have a clue what anything is, I am working on learning the Cyrillic alphabet and a few words. This is slow, to say the least. MOCKBA =moskva=Moscow. That's about the extent of my knowledge, showing that there are some letters like the Roman alphabet, some that look the same but are different, and some that are really strange. For instance, the symbol for women's toilet is something that looks like two x's stuck together, although I'm sure they will also have the universal paper doll with a skirt symbol; I least I hope so.

And last, but not least, we're getting new counter tops, stove, and sink, and I've been picking out those things. That's all I'll say because I hate the whole trendy, HGTV-driven, home decor thing. But no matter how little I care about this on one level, it's expensive and I have to live with it, so it's taken lots of time better spent in other ways.

Oh, and in case you don't know, the Indiana primary is next week. The media knows the state exists, and that there are Democrats here! It's very exciting!

My new blog photo expresses my rather strange mood.

Serious Embroidery!

An interesting link for fabric and needlework lovers: here

Thread Report

Taking a break from quilt wrestling to report on all the different threads I've been using on this project. Maybe that will be of interest to someone. I'm only considering the ease of use in my machine and the general effect, not specific colors or variations because that's of course something that depends on individual taste.

I'm using Superior Threads Bottom Line in the bobbin, except when I use a contrasting color in the top thread and then I've used a transparent thread, don't know which one. I love Bottom Line and use it almost all the time for machine quilting. It's fine polyester, comes in many colors, doesn't knot or make ugly lines and helps camoflage errors, important for me.

Sulky metallics work well for me; Sulky Holoshimmer and Sliver worked for a while, have always worked in the past, but stopped working day before yesterday. I changed needle, changed the bobbin, turned the spool, moved the spool, everything I could think of. It's a mystery to me. Sulky cotton quilting threads in both weights are good threads. I think the color choice is rather limited, but again, that's taste.

Superior Threads King Tut (30 wt. cotton), and Razzle Dazzle (for bobbin work) are three star threads. Beautiful smooth stitching. So is Superior Rainbows (40 wt. rayon) except it's so fine the ends work loose for me. I think I've solved that problem by using my lock stitch THREE TIMES and then burying the ends. I also love Wonderfil Accent. It's a 12 wt, 2 ply rayon with a beautiful shine. I wish I'd bought more colors in Chicago. I also have some Wonderfil Sizzle, which looks just like Razzle Dazzle, but didn't work as smoothly in my bobbin. Wonderfil metallic with a rayon core is an interesting 12 wt. thread that's supposed to work in needle, but I didn't have a big enough needle, so I put it in the bobbin. Worked fine, very little shine. Then there's YLI machine quilting thread which is also a beautiful cotton thread, 30 wt. I think, and Aurifil Mako, a 12 wt cotton that seems heavier than the Sulky 12 wt although they're nominally the same.

Back to work--I'll spare everyone my thoughts on Viking sewing machines--

Several Questions

I've started quilting the large blue piece with gold "spots" that I pieced back in January. To try out a basic quilting pattern and audition various threads I pieced together some left over blocks to make this 18 by 12 inch piece. It's probably better than the big one will be. I included lots of shiny threads, some angelina fibers, and even some foil dots. (I wouldn't do the foil again; it looks cheap. Easy, though. ) But how do you get it off if you change your mind? The foil glue is somewhat like rubber cement.

The big piece is going slowly. Last night I ran into problems with Sulky holoshimmer thread pulling into knots on the back. It had been working fine, and suddenly, a mess. Will try some trouble shooting today. Suggestions, anyone?

And finally, does anyone know what the judging standards are for the back side of an embellished piece? For example, if you couch a heavy fiber, is it kosher for the zig zag stitches to show? Or must the couching be done before quilting? Also, for bobbin work, if there is a slightly visible double line of stitching on the back where the marking stitches went, is that a no-no? And can you use different color bobbin threads with different color threads on top to minimize any show through if the tension isn't perfect? Just curious. It's probably too late for me to avoid any of these errors.

Overly Challenged

I'm passing on the April TIF Challenge although I did have an idea for how to handle the "attitudes to change" theme. I've just completed two other challenges and that seems plenty for the moment. Here they are:



"It's a Ming Thing" 36" x 36" machine applique, machine quilted; original design

I have a love/hate relationship with this piece. The method I used, drawing two/thirds of it and then cutting fabric from templates based on the drawing, worked well as far as allowing for the circular construction, but made it difficult to audition fabric choices until a late stage of the process. I originally intended it to be blue and white like a Chinese plate, and the general six part design is based on a plate I own. The fish was blue enough, but when I put those gold and white flowers on, the gold became so distracting that I had to add more to even it out, and the look is not at all what I had envisioned. This became even more true when I added the dark gold background around the "plate"; I thought it added richness, but then I thought it was drab. Now I honestly don't know. It seems to depend on the light. But it's done, including the label that was pinned on when I took the picture. And it IS straight, in spite of the ripple at the moment.


"Big Momma Kitty" 27" x 27" machine pieced, machine quilted; pattern by Janine Holzman

This was done for two guild challenges, as I explained last week. I like it. Nuff said.

A Jinxed Trip, or Why I Have No Pictures from Chicago Quilt Festival

The intention was simple: a blend of family time and quilt show. I would drive to Evanston Thursday, visit the twins, and then take the short drive over to Rosemont for the Chicago Quilt Festival early Friday morning, maybe even returning Saturday if the show was good before driving home. Without going into detail, I'll just say that I had car trouble Thursday, and before 10 a.m. Friday morning I learned that my car would need $1800 (yes, that's right) worth of repair before being picked up that afternoon. So I took my "free" loaner and drove over, now late enough that a full scale traffic jam was blocking River Road and the Convention Center parking garage. After spending a half hour in that mess, and another 15 minutes taking the elevator, lining up for the $11 parking ticket, making the long, long walk through corridors leading to the convention center, and paying the $10 entrance fee, I was feeling quite a bit poorer and in a very bad mood. It was now lunch time; in the car breakdown confusion, I had forgotten my lunch, so that meant more lines, and more money spent on overpriced, unhealthy, and tasteless food. Finally the quilts! But I was now at the far side of the exhibit hall, separated from the quilts by 500 vendors and thousands of quilters clogging the aisles as they searched for the perfect pattern or kit. So I decided to work through the vendors on my way back to the quilts. Some aisles were totally impassable; others were merely claustrophobic.

I managed to spend more money (cheerfully this time) at the Wonderfil booth, met some friends, and finally got to the quilts. No camera! It was also a casualty of the car situation, having been left in the wrong bag when I changed vehicles. I can't say anything much about the exhibit either; it's all a blur. Whether this means that the quilts were forgettable, or that I was so tired and fed up that nothing would have impressed me, I don't know. You can go to this link and see for yourself. I left, picked up my repaired car, drove back to Evanston, and needless to say did not return to Rosemont Saturday morning! All in all, I should have spent more time with family, and less with quilts.

Two for the Price of One

One of my guilds is having a challenge due at the end of the month to use one of these black and white fabrics, and the other guild is having a challenge due in July to make something black and white and one color. So here is a two-fer. He's cute, although I would make some slightly different fabric choices if I did it again. He will definitely have to have bobbin work whiskers, and maybe button eyes, although I'm not sure of that. I'm still debating the border design. It's sort of a second choice design anyway, because I'm short of fabric. I'm thinking about making opposite corners the same dark or light value, and putting a point at the break to echo the triangular pieces in the cat's tail. There will also be a point in the cornerstone block where the contrasting strips appear to cross. The cat pattern is designed by Janine Holzman and was in a 2006 QNM that I stumbled across while straightening things. I made just one block and am doing my own border design.

Paper piecing is one of the first techniques I used when I started quilting again about 7 years ago, and it's one of my least favorite things. In a great example of synchronicity, we had an excellent program about it at guild right before I came across this pattern, and I decided to give it a shot. This went together very well. One thing I learned, partly from the guild demo and partly from my own adaptation, is to use a Hera marker. I used the flat side to gently press a seam after stitching, and then used the point to lightly score the seam line on the next piece. Then I folded the paper back on the scored line, and used a ruler and rotary cutter to trim the excess fabric to an exact 1/4 inch seam. This makes it easier to place the next piece, and also makes the paper easier to tear away. This probably isn't new to people who do lots of paper piecing, but I felt like it was a real breakthrough. I still won't be a paper piecing convert though; I'd rather handle fabric than paper.

An Acknowledgement

McIrish Annie just sent me this link, which solves the mystery of where the image for my March TIF challenge came from. I knew it had a Jane "feel" but didn't realize I had been that much of a borrower. That's how plagiarism happens; as a former English teacher, I should know that. But anyway, I did know it's a great design. Thanks, Annie, and Jane.

I've been away for a week, staying at my sister's and doing spring cleaning and yard work at my mother's house before she comes back from her "winter quarters." We accomplished quite a bit, and had a good time doing it. Now if someone would do the same here-- Anyway, I've been catching up on people's blogs, and after I do some cleaning, I will hit the sewing machine. It's definitely calling me, and I have a list of things that need to be done. Why is that? I seem to have a tendency to stress out, even about something that is supposed to be fun.

One bit of quilty news: I discovered a shop called Corner Quilt Fabrics. It's in an outlet mall in Warrenton, Missouri, where no one would find it unless they knew it was there. I just happened to stop for the Liz Claiborne outlet and enjoyed a short browse in this lovely little shop. Anyone who has the misfortune to drive Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri, might want to stop. It's a good place for a break, just before or after the St. Louis traffic.

TIF Challenge March

"Grass" 12" x 7" Hand dyed fabrics, machine applique and quilting

For the theme " the little things", I've depicted grass. Grass is definitely a ubiquitous little thing. Sometimes, like at the end of the summer, I'm pretty tired of it, but without it the landscape is certainly drab, as it is here now. For some reason, several quotations about grass, mostly morbid, came floating up from the subconscious. There's the Biblical one: "All flesh is grass," and Carl Sandburg's "Shovel them under and let me work--I am the grass; I cover all." But on a lighter note (I guess) there's Gertrude Stein: "Pigeons on the grass; alas."

I made this by fusible applique. It went together fast; it took longer to pick out the quilting stitches of a bad thread choice than to do all the rest combined. I like it; it gave me a chance to use some of the run of fabric dyed at a guild workshop a year ago and some of Laura Wasilowski's wonderful ArtFabrik thread. The only thing that bothers me is the nagging certainty that I've seen this somewhere, not just in the little grass seed advertisement, so I think I'm borrowing someone else's idea. If so, it was a good one, and I hope I'm forgiven.

TIF March

March is marching on, and this is what I have to show for it as far as the Take It Further challenge is concerned: grass blades are the small things I have noticed. They're still brown and crushed looking as the snow melts here, but in a few days they should be turning green. I have mixed feelings about that since I'm not a yard work lover, but the first green is always lovely. Some people show artistic sketch book/note books, but here's mine. AFTER, I swear after, I made my sketch I found this design in the ad for grass seed. I knew mine wasn't very original, but I didn't see it in this ad. We both picked up a rather generic image, I think. But anyway I will do this if I can find the time. It will have to be soon because next week I'll be at my sister's, and then March is over!



And what is keeping me from making a grass picture? Slow, tedious progress on the quilting shown here:



It's at the "I hate this thing!" stage, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, I think.

Craft

Several bloggers, including Paula Hewitt and Sharon B, have been discussing the question of art versus craft, and what the definition of each is. In one of those synchronicity experiences, I heard a discussion of a new book called The Craftsman, which adds another dimension to the discussion. The author, Richard Sennett, is interested both in the craftsman as a maker of handwork in a mechanized culture and as someone who does fine work for its own sake and believes in the importance of continued growth, education, and experience to master the craft. This focus sets the craftsman apart from a society that values monetary rewards and immediate gratification. Sennett also broadens the definition of craftsman to include people who do fine work in a non-concrete field, such as teaching or computer programming. Although no one in the blogs I read was belittling craft as opposed to art, Sennett's ideas might remind us again that craft in itself is a fine thing, whether it becomes art or not.

Simple and Cute

After my sewing machine came back from its trip to the spa, I felt like I had to get acquainted with it again before I started working on a serious project. To I dug out some orphan blocks and put together this charity quilt. I thought the blocks were hopeless and actually stuck them back in the drawer, but when combined with this bright, soft blue, they worked. I'm happy with the way this turned out: cheerful and bright and suitable for a boy. (Boy quilts seem hard to come by.)


I also liked the quilting. It's something I've done before, but not recently, and was glad to rediscover in the memory banks. It's fast and simple. I just used washable Crayola markers to mark a few curved lines dividing the top into sections, and then quilted more parallel lines in each section using the guide on the walking foot. Faster than quilting in the ditch and more interesting. I don't usually use muslin backs because they don't hide any knots or add interest, but this was a totally stash project. Good thing I did this too, because the new, presumably correct tension calibration on the machine is much tighter, and I had to relearn some things.

A Great Quilt Show

The Krasl Art Center in St. Joseph, Michigan has a wonderful exhibit of art quilts from the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum. The exhibit lasts until April 6, and is worth a drive. Any one within several hours might well consider going. There are works by Ann Johnston, Carol Bryer Fallert, Mary Mashuta, Michael James, Yvonne Porcella, and others less familiar to me. There's a range of technique also, although they lean toward the traditional, with lots of piecing and applique, but there's some photo transfer, contact printing, non-traditional materials. Sorry no photos for the post, but photography is not allowed. The Krasl's web site does give you a taste though. St. Joseph is a charming little town on the hill above Lake Michigan, with a pedestrian downtown area. Other attractions include The Box Factory for the Arts, a former factory which now contains a display area and artists workshops, and area quiltshops, which you can find here.

Since I was feeling sour after my last quilt show visit, the quilts in this exhibit were a breath of fresh air, and also brought about one of the more memorable comments from my husband, the quilt critic. Not "Why don't you make quilts that are works of art like those?" which I could understand, but "Those quilts have lots of little pieces. When are you going to make one with lots of little pieces?" I didn't hit him because I was driving at the time.