Molas--New and Old

Molas have been a fiber art that I've appreciated for many years. My father was in the Foreign Service and was stationed in Panama for about 6 years in the 60's and 70's. While there, he would travel by boat to the San Blas Islands and visit with the Indian women who created this wonderful type of needlework. The thing about my father was that he was someone who absolutely loved to go through the process of bargaining about a potential purchase--which is exactly what the craftspeople expected. He would stop thinking about time and schedule and just enjoy the conversation. During the course of their time in Panama, my parents built quite an extensive collection of these molas--and they have come to me in recent years. It is a gift that I treasure above most others.

My sister has always had the traveling bug and Panama is one of the places that she has revisted in the last couple of years. Since she knew of my passion for molas, she sent me several. One of which I decided to use as a new cover for a stool in my studio. You can see here the before and after. This is typical of the newer molas that are now being produced. They are generally appliqued in the manner of our needleturn method and have a more sophisticated appearance than earlier molas.

These are some examples of older molas--at least 30 years old--maybe more. There is a lot of reverse applique on these and the themes are quite diferent from the more recent work. One of the things that I have really enjoyed with some of the older pieces is they way in which the Indians looked at life around them and interpreted it in fabric. It can be seen in this example that seems to be a beer label. The maker was spelling out the word "cervesa" but obviously ran out of room before she got to the "a." I have others that relate to political campaigns and helicopters flying overhead. And they would have seen many helicopters most likely because the United States still was in charge of the Canal Zone at that time.

So I suppose that these molas were a true example of folk art at its finest and I'm glad that they are still being made today even though the style and emphasis may have changed through the years. And there are also some modern American quilters who are including this same type of applique in their work. I'm glad because I think it is joyful and celebratory-- both of the past and the present.

Blooms In the Studio

I have been working concurrently on two quilts (the first of which was in my last posting). This wall hanging (no name yet) is one that I started quite a few months ago. Once I had finished the floral section, I didn't know how I wanted to finish it--so I put it aside until inspiration struck. As it turned out, that took quite a while. A couple of weeks ago, I drew out an idea that I thought might work and I finally added the borders the night before my art group met (nothing like a fixed date to serve as an incentive). They affirmed my thought that I needed something more in the corners, so I worked on that the next day and, voila, it is done.
The background fabric is a wonderful commerical cotton that has progressive color hues. When I was in Florida a couple of years ago, I saw it in a quilt shop. There were several different pieces and my husband--who is a quilter's dream husband--said I should buy ALL of them. So, of course, I did. And I think it made him feel really good when I actually used one of them.
So now I have two quilt tops awaiting the final part of their journey. Hopefully, they'll tell me what they want me to do with them VERY soon.
I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas and a New Year that is filled with many, many blessings. I have just finished reading Wayne Dyer's newest book, Excuses Be Gone, and I intend to incorporate a lot of what he says we can do to change unwanted or negative behaviors in our lives. This new year is going to be a blessed one for me because I'm going to do my part to make it happen.

A Different Form Of Art

I haven't posted anything in a while because I've been working on a larger project--remodeling the kitchen in the house we bought in Hendersonville, NC--our new home. My husband spent almost two weeks getting up old layers of flooring (can you believe the former owner laid ceramic tile over four other layers of flooring--you almost tripped when you walked into the kitchen!). Anyway, he did that and also helped me with the cabinets. We really couldn't afford to put in new cabinets right now but I really hated the old ones, so I came up with the idea of adding trim & knobs and a great shade of paint. You can see what all of the original cabinets looked in the picture on the left. And the new, improved appearance on the left. We are a long way from being finished but, already, I feel as if I'm cooking in a new kitchen.

In the meantime, I've finished the top of my quilt that I've been working on for quite a while.

A good part of the time recently it's been up on the wall with me thinking about how to finish off the area where the corner stems met. I tried something else first and, after sewing them all down with the blanket stitch, decided that it didn't work. After a few more days I came up with the 3-leaf idea and am pretty pleased with it. And NOW it's back up on the wall so I can think about how I want to quilt it. Hopefully, inspiration will soon follow.

A book that I have recently read, The Talent Code, has been very helpful in terms of thinking about how we learn and how we can learn to create better. Read it if you want to think about learning in a different way. I was talking about it with my art group this week and they asked me what I had learned most from reading this book and I said that the main thing I had learned was the reinforcement of what I have been gradually learning over the past couple of years. And that is--to take your time in the creative process. Don't just rush your way through a project so you can get on to the next one. If you take time for reflection and letting your spirit guide your way, you will be amazed at what will follow.

And, finally, many of you know that the mountains of North Carolina had a pretty major snow event yesterday. We got about 12 inches of snow and, thankfully, kept our power throughout (so far). I LOVE the snow. I love the quiet that surrounds you as you step out the door. I love the opportunity to slow down when you really can't go anywhere. I love the great excuse to curl up with a good book. And, amazingly, I love to shovel the driveway so we can get out if we really need to. This afternoon, I took a walk and photographed this old spring that is near our house. I love it, too.

I'm at the Arboretum

I'm a member of the Asheville Quilt Guild and each month members of our guild are invited to display quilts at the North Carolina Arboretum. The Arboretum is a beautiful, beautiful place to visit and is the site of the annual Asheville Quilt Show. We are allowed to hang our quilts along two walls of the upper level in the main building. And THIS month, my quilts are on display. It's really a wonderful space and I am thrilled to have my quilts there. It's quite exciting to see so much of your work showing in one location and I hope that those who visit from now until the 5th of January will take the time to stop by and view my quilts. After the show was hung, I took a few pictures and I hope you enjoy them.

Magical Thinking above

This hydrangea quilt (Shady Ladies) looks so nice in this spot with the plant underneath.

Lowcountry Musings above

Heliotrope's Glassando (top Quilt) and Sunflower Afternoon

My friend Dottie holding Althea's Waltz and

other Guild friends.

Chris (holding the bars) is responsible for setup throughout the year. She's standing by Swamp Hibiscus.

Second Chance on the right

Missing and Inaction

Maybe some of you have been wondering where I've been lately as there haven't been any postings in such a long while. Well, I was under the knife! I had rotator cuff surgery and it's been a while for the recovery process. Although I can't work for a long period of time--or work on anything large--I am feeling lots better and, with therapy, will soon be better than I've been in a long time. Everything about my surgery went so well and I am very greatful. But you know us quilters--anytime away from our work is WAY too much. In the meantime, I've been reading a lot of "fluff" novels and sleeping through a lot of television. And for someone who was a production potter and still an organic gardener, it's been especially tough to not go on ahead and pick up whatever I want to. Oh yes, there have a lot of life lessons going on in this house.

So anyway, I thought I'd post what I HAVE done in the last month. This autumn wallhanging is the Fall Memories pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts. I had made it one other time and gave it away but I really liked it and wanted one for myself. I actually got all of the fusing done before my surgery. As soon as I could elevate my arm enough to thread the sewing machine, I was back at it and finished it about 4 days ago.

Yesterday, a friend came over and we each started on a paper-pieced placemat from Quilts With Attitude by Deb Karasik.

I am not a big fan of paperpiecing (or, as Jane Hall has corrected me more than once, foundation piecing) but I liked the looks of this mat and, since it was a small project, decided to tackle it. I hope to make 6 mats, but this one mat was an all-day project--and I haven't even quilted it yet! I do like it though and its gets faster as you move along.

I would like to make a couple comments on this particular pattern though. The picture in the book just showed this mat as an oval, so it was a little confusing when there was an extra pattern piece. Also, there was way too much text without accompanying illustrations. I guess this might sound picky, but I kept thinking about newer quilters and the difficulty they might have making this fairly simple project. When I write patterns, I try very hard to keep the instructions simple and clear--and even then students sometimes have problems. And in teaching, I invariably come away with ideas on how to improve the written and illustrated word. I think there needs to be some of that with this book. HOWEVER, I need to say that the quilts in this book are wonderful and if you're into paperpiecing, you will want to add this to your library of "can't do without" books.

One last word today--I didn't have the camera with me when I went places this autumn, but I sure wish I had. The leaves here in Hendersonville were beyond description in their beauty. There was one tree in our neighborhood that looked as if it were on fire with the mixture of orange and red leaves on its branches. I consistently kept thinking about some of Wordworth's poetry--especially his poem where he talks about his "heart leaping up" upon seeing a rainbow. That was exactly how I felt each time I saw one of these beyond-gorgeous trees--a beauty that is beyond measure and quantifying and brings far more satisfaction than most of our store-bought possessions. Now . . .if only I could capture that in a quilt. . .

My weekend at the South Carolina State Retreat

Each fall, the Quilters of South Carolina has a very special retreat at the White Oak Conference Center in Winnsboro, SC. This year I taught 2 classes--Los Flores de Sol (a machine applique class) and a Drunkard's Path class. The Drunkard's Path class was only 3 hours long this morning and there just wasn't enough time to get any pictures, but I did get pictures of my students' quilts in the applique class. They were such a great group of women who worked with zest and generosity. They tried new techniques and each came away with a quilt top that was close to completion and reflected their own personalities.

First, here is a picture of my class sample: In this class, the students learned how to make a circular insert, how to use--and fall in love with--fusible 1/4" bias binding, how to use tracing paper in the placement of appliques and, most of all, just how wonderful a teflon pressing sheet can be. They also made the checkerboard border--and not one of them opted to leave it out! Great work girls! And now, here are the pictures of THEIR work:

Isn't it great? I always get such a thrill when my students--and new friends--take one of my patterns and turn it into a quilt that is uniquely their own. I think they were quite successful, don't you?

New Work Progress

Just thought I'd post my progress on my newest project. This is the center section and I've really been enjoying working on it. I've already changed somewhat from my original drawing and also have changed the colors that I had planned. The biggest change so far is in the flying geese. I had decided to applique the flying geese sections--rather than paper piecing-- and had put a beautiful aqua batik row of flying geese on top of a black background. I just felt a big "Ugh" when I looked at it--it felt heavy and off-color. So--I decided to lighten up the feel of the black by cutting away the insides and then changed the color of the geese. And I came away a happy camper. And then I chose the colors for the flowers in tones that, hopefully, work to pull together the already existing colors. The very center is still in the thought process. I have the next section outside of the red frame drawn and will work on that next. After that? Euw . . .I'm not sure.

Studio Tour

Most of you know that we have moved from Charleston, SC to Hendersonville, NC. I am VERY glad to be here but, amongst other things, I left behind a WONDERFUL studio. My husband had it configured especially for me and my quilting when we remodelled the house we bought from his mother.

The house we are currently living in is less than ideal for many reasons (and this may not be our final stop) and I would put my studio into that category also. However, it works and, truthfully, is better than many I've seen. So I'm not complaining--I'm just trying to make it work as well as possible and I thought I'd share a few pictures so those of you who have seen my old studio can kind of have an image of where I am now (and those of you who've never seen my studio can also have a look!).

In my Charleston studio, I had a wonderful work table comprised of 10 cabinets and a custom top. The first thing we came to terms with when we were trying to move was that we were just going to have to throw away the top as it wasn't going to hold up to the move. And the other thing we realized was that not all of the cabinets were going to fit into the new space. Only six will work--but I'm really enjoying them and being able to put away things. Smokey made a "temporary" plywood top (we all know how "temporary" often becomes "permanent"!) and it is working great. And you can see some of my fabric in the background.

And here is some more of my fabric and shelving. We got these shelves at Lowe's several years ago and would liked to have gotten more but they seemed to have discontinued the white version. They have been really sturdy and have held up to a couple of moves.

And here on the right is my computer station. I am sort of "camping out" for now and will bring my "real" desk up after our house sells. It's kind of a thrill to use the printer as the little table it's sitting on shakes, rattles and rolls when it starts to print!

And, finally, here are two shots of my sewing area. I have another sewing cabinet that will be brought up in one of our many trailor load trips. I'm in the middle of quilting the quilt that I pieced at out TTT retreat this year and the shot on the right shows my "puddling" method. I like to quilt with a lot of flat space around the machine so that it doesn't pull on the stitching as I'm quilting.

And for those of you who may have sharp eyes and have noticed the machine I'm using, yes, I DO have the new Bernina--and am loving it. I was able to get it because we just settled my mother-in-law's estate and I think of it as my present from her. She gave me my very first sewing machine the first year Smokey and I were married and I know that she would be glad that I used some of her bequest to get this. She was always so proud of my quilting and made quite a point of letting the ladies at the retirement home see pictures of my work. I'm naming the machine "Miss Susie" because that's what her husband called her.

One final picture: This is my working drawing of my next project. I'm beginning to pick out the fabric and am just about ready to get going on it. I know you can't tell a lot from this picture but, hopefully, you'll see something a little more "colorful" in the near future.

I Know, I Know--It's Been A While . . .

You know what keeps happening when you're not paying attention? Life! Well, life has been going on pretty fast and furious this past month or so. Between going to 2 quilts shows, one quilt conference, back and forth to Charleston several times and having company . . .well, time has sailed past with hardly a notice. And I can tell you that I don't really like to live that way. Our time on this earth is so short and so precious that I really like to notice it as it's happening.

So, anyway, here are a few pictures to comment upon.

While my sister-in-law and her husband were here, we did a lot of different things and enjoyed all of them. Two days we went hiking and each day we saw beautiful waterfalls. The first trip was to Dupont State Forest. The hike was a moderate one (but enough to make us stop to rest a couple of times along the way) and the river had numerous rapids along the way such as this one. There has been plenty of rain this year so the rivers are full and running.

This second picture is of the falls at Chimney Rock. The walk to get there was a steady climb but well worth it. The water fall isn't especially wide but the height of the drop is impressive. While we were at Chimney Rock, we also took the elevator to the top of the lookout. The vista was incredible. Everyone up there was having a great time that day and offering and asking to have pictures taken. Someone offered to take ours and here it is:

Smokey and I are the ones on the left. You can tell our visitors are out in the sun a lot more than we are!

Next on my schedule was the Asheville Quilt Show and since my sister-in-law was still in town on the night of the Awards Ceremony, she got to go along with me. I kind of felt sorry for her because she really isn't into sewing (she's really into tennis) and had to sit and listen to "quilty" talk for quite a while. But once the ribbons were disbursed and we got to go look at the quilts, she was as interested as anyone there.

I was fortunate to have won ribbons for both of the quilts I had entered--Swamp Hibiscus and Say It With Flowers (can be seen on my website: judithheyward.com). And here are a few pictures of the quilts I liked:

This first one--Birch Trees for Benjamin--by Veronica Von Zwehl was really interesting because the detail of the birch trunks is ALL thread painting. I think she had fantastic control as she laid out the detail of the quilting.
This next quilt is an applique quilt by Gail Sexton. Her applique work was wonderful and her quilting was great also. Both of her quilts in the show were noteworthy.

And here is a prize-winning quilt by Betty Dalton--QEXI A Taste of the Lowcountry. Betty was supposed to take my class last fall in which I taught A Taste of the Lowcountry, but she ended up sick and couldn't come. But she was not held back by that. She not only did the work on her own, she also figured out how to do it in a way that could take advantage of her own strengths. She didn't feel that she could make all of the small jasmine leaves that were on my design SO she digitized her own interpretation and machine embroidered them around the entire outer border. I was impressed. And she earned two ribbons for her efforts. Good work, Betty!

This small pieced wallhanging on the left is called Bamboo and is by Diana Ramsay. She said that it was inspired by a photo of a section of bamboo fence. If you look closely there are a LOT of tiny strips sewn together. I'm always impressed by the way quilt artists can look at a piece or section of something and then interpret it in a new and different way and I think Diana was quite successful in her effort on this quilt.

And, finally, here is a quilt by Norene Goard called Ahinahina--a fine example of Hawaiian applique technique. Both the applique and the quilting were done by hand. Although this wasn't an award-winner for Norene, she won ribbons with her other quilt (I didn't get that photo). I have always been fascinated with this style of quilt because I think you have to be so precise with your placement since its elements are supposed to be balanced in relation to each other. Sometimes I'm a LITTLE too casual in my approach to be very good at this style--so I really admire it.

In my own work lately, I've been sort of at loose ends--moving my studio from Charleston to Hendersonville, trying to find a place for everything, and just so much going on. BUT, I finally have gotten an idea for a quilt and have spent the last couple of days drawing it out. It feels good to be going forward once again. Hopefully, I'll be ready for some "show and tell" in the near future.

What A Great Weekend!

This past weekend I went to Quiltfest in Johnson City, Tn. This is an event that is held each year with classes from national and regional teachers. I'll have to admit that I have been disppointed with most of the classes that I've taken in recent years, but I absolutely was not diasppointed at Quiltfest. I took two classes--Quilting Feathers with Sue Nickels and Hot Piping with Susan Cleveland. I had never heard of Susan Cleveland before but she is a real hoot! And you come out of that class with many new tips about using piping in your quilts and doing it properly. (Unfortunately, my pictures of that class were not good). This picture on the left is of the Feathers Class. Sue Nickels is in the center. We had a wonderful classroom space and there weren't many of us in the class so we all received plenty of feedback on our progress. And she had a camera that she kept aimed at her quilting demos and the picture would be projected on the screen so we could easily see what she was doing without crowding around the desk. This small quilt on the right is the class project that I finished yesterday. It's not the clearest picture in the the world, but I think you can see that I got a pretty good relief effect with the feathers. She gave us all kinds of tips about this kind of quilting--position of hands, type of thread, etc-- and it was just what I needed to hear. You might be able to also see the piping that I put in along the borders--thanks to the techniques that I learned in Susan Cleveland's class. I got the label on it this morning and turned it in for the Small Quilt Auction at the Asheville Quilt Show in a couple of weeks.
So, put Quiltfest on your calendars for next year if you can. You won't be disappointed. (And come to the Asheville Quilt Show this year! It's August 7th-9th at the North Carolina Arboretum. I was there today and the flowers were incredible.