Fast Friday Challenge 2--Notan

 The thing that I LOVE about challenges is that they take you places you wouldn't have gone on your own.  This month's challenge is an example of that.  Notan is a Japanese concept that uses the contrast of black and white to demonstrate positive and negative spaces.
I had heavy weight  12 x 12" black paper and drew a freehand design in a light colored pencil.  I then carefully cut along the lines and reassembled the pieces into their original positions on a piece of white posterboard.

I then flipped each cut piece onto the white poster board and--voila--a work of art!  I am told that this can be as addictive as making zentangles but I'm going to try to restrain myself.  I am going to use this design to make a wall quilt but am not sure if I will use black and white or two other highly contrasting colors.  Stay tuned.

Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th Anniversary

Some of you may remember that I participated in the creation of a special quilt to mark the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Well, they have recently published a post card that is available at the Folk Art Center on the Parkway.  I made the block with the fox and owl (double click on the image to actually see it).  It was a lot of fun to be part of this project and it's really neat to see it "in print."  The Parkway itself has been in its glory for the past couple of weeks with the annual showing of leaf color. (of course, the leaves in my own yard haven't been half-bad . . .)

Quilters of South Carolina Retreat 2011

 This weekend was the annual Quilters of South Carolina Retreat at White Oak Conference Center in Winnsboro.  There were over 300 of us there and the classes offerings were varied and well received.  I taught 2 classes--Introduction to Applique and Quilting Freemotion Feathers On your Home Machine. 
I had some of the most wonderful women in my classes.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the Applique class; however, many of the students signed up for both classes.  You can see from this first picture, that they dove right and started right to work.  This was a 1 1/2 day class and it was non-stop.

 And I'm very happy to say that they were so very successful and enthusiastic.  I started them off slowly with easy shapes but by the end of the weekend, each of them had acquired new skills and felt that they would now be more willing to use freemotion quilting in their work.  How about this first example.  She went beyond the scope of the class and added a background pattern similar to the one in my quilt that was hanging in the class.  How beautiful.

Gaynelle is showing the original pattern that I provided for the class and she accomplsihed quite a lot on her piece.

 Another example of a beautiful sample. (I think it was Robin's)

 Mary Sue spent a lot of time practicing on her motifs and did a great job rounding out the edges of her feathers.

 I found out that Emma hadn't been quilting for very long but you never would have known it because of the precision with which she quilted her design.

And look here!  You can even quilt feathers on a featherweight.

 Donna who is in the art group to which I belong proved that she is very "arty."  She decided to ignore the pattern and do her own thing, playing around with the motifs and injecting her own pizzaz into them.

 Mary provided a lot of good natured commentary throughout the day but also managed to complete a great part of her quilting design.

And Nancy, who was already quite an accomplished quilter, produced an exquistite piece.  Note the tiny stippling.

All in all, this was one of the most wonderful classes I have ever taught and I feel as if I made some really great new friends.  Each person in the room contributed to the success of the weekend and I certainly am looking forward to seeing more of their quilting in the future. 

Asheville Quilt Show 2011

The Asheville Quilt Show was last weekend and this year it was in a new venue--the Ag Center.  Now, many people might think that moving from the beautiful Arboretum to this location could possibly be a mistake: however, as far as I'm concerned, it was a good decision.  The show was in a new building, there was plenty of places to park and all of the quilts and vendors could share the same space--without any crowding.  While it's true that thee weren't any lush gardens around, it's also true that most people just wanted to see the quilts.  Any move such as this requires a certain amount of time to settle into being the "norm" but I think most people appreciated the benefits.
So--here are a few of my favorite quilts.  This first one is Golden Chrysalis by Terry Williams.  I have seen a few of the quilts by this artist and they seem to have the same sort of theme but each one plays around with light and color in an imaginative way.  As you can see, it received a well-deserved first place.-

 This next one is Lotsa Merry Berries by Nicki Vick.  I love Christmas Quilts like this one that can also just be a winter quilt.  It was beautifully made.

 This is Fourth of July in Margaritaville by Christine Regina.  I love the colors.

 And this one was made by a friend of mine, Sue Weaver.  It is Gradation and, although you can't necessarily tell from the photo, it's a miniature.  This was the first time ever that Sue had won a ribbon and she was quite excited--and it certainly was worthy of the honor.  If you enlarge the picture and look in the 4 corners, you will notice that there a tiny tubes of woven fabric that make up the squares.  You have to have really dexterous fingers to do that.

Connie Brown made this quilt, Tiffalipa.  The interesting thing about this particular quilt (other than the fact that it well done and eye-catching) is that she and I sat next to each other in a class taught by Phillipa Naylor earlier this year and we each finished our projects.  However, they don't bear any resemblance to each other.  She fell a lot deeper into the creative pool than I did and REALLY made it her own.

 Heartwood is made by Marge Edie--a quilter who is incredibly talented in the math side of quilting.  This was a replica of the top of a box she carved for her husband as a wedding gift many years ago.  I was a member of her art group while she was in the creative process of making the math of the angles and the colors of the wood come together into a thing of beauty.  She really succeeded--partially because she also has the gift of perseverance.  She kept at it when things didn't fit right until they did.  And look what she ended up with!

 This quilt, Compass Fantasy, by Renate Jaeger won the Viewers Choice Award.  She said that it had 3,700 pieces.  Man, talk about perserverance!  The original maker and designer of this quilt is Judy Mathieson and it was on the cover of The Twentieth Century's Best American Quilts.  If you want to see more of Judy's work you can visit her website ttp://web.mac.com/jackmathieson/Judy_Mathieson/Welcome.html

This last quilt I'm featuring is Dresdan Plate Fantasy by Velma Frady.  No reason.  I just liked it.

And, Oh, one last quilt I liked--MINE!  I received Best of Show for Summer Soiree.  Needless to say, I was very surprised and a very happy camper.

Fast Friday Challenge

 Recently, I joined an internet art group named Fast Friday Challenge. The idea is that on the last Friday of the month a challenge will be issued and a quilt should be made within a week.

One of the objects of this is to free your mind of all of the "what ifs" and JUST DO IT.  This challenge was based on 35 master paintings.  Each of us was free to choose the painting we wanted and use the color palette from it in a quilt.  I chose James Tissot's Croquet as my inspiration and I almost immediately thought of the little leaf drawing I had done several years ago.  (And that's the beauty of doing drawings and collecting pictures and putting them in a place where you can find them later).  So, I took this drawing and enlarged it to the size I wanted and then decided on the rest of the layout for the quilt.

 As you can see, I choose a circle for the center and went out from there.  Since I had a fairly limted color palette, it was challenging to decide on the placement of the colors.  I have named my piece Strolling Through The Garden.  When I had to come up with a name for it I felt that there was a certain feeling of pathways so,thus, the name.
When I got to the quilting stage, I decided that it was a good opportunity to try something a little different from what I usually do so on the outside border I used circles but finished off with curved lines.  You can double click this picture for a better view and the last picture is a closeup.
All in all, I really enjoyed this challenge.  I ended up with a wallhanging that I really like--one that I never would have made otherwise.
Hmm . . .I wonder what's coming on the next one?

A Friend's Aurevoir

When I moved from Charleston several weeks ago, it was with mixed feelings because I have so many good friends there.  My Quilters Night Out group had a special dessert evening to tell us goodbye and one of the members of the group made me this wallhanging.  You would have to double-click on it to get the full gist of what it's about but it's pretty special to me.  On the right sidebar of this blog is a poem by Dawna Markova entitled "I Will Not Die An Unlived Life and my friend Ellen translated it into fabric and gave it to me.  She just recently bought a nice Janome sewing machine and has been having fun freemotioning words onto her creations.  I feel so blessed that she chose to do this poem for me.  Thank you, Ellen, and "Aurevoir until the next time."

A Note On Posters

I have been asked by several people about the photographs that I use for some of my art quilts.  They look at the photo that I use for my pattern and wonder where I had it blown up (I recently did find out that some Fed Ex --used to be Kinko's--offices can blow up a photo to quite a large size).
However, I do the job at home and have been quite satisfied with the result.
Most printers today have a "Poster" function.  Some can print out a picture on (16) 8 1/2" x 11" sheets of paper.  My particular printer will go up to 25 sheets.  You will find this function under Preferences in your printer menu.  And I recently read an article in the February 2011 issue of The Quilt Life that show you how to go even bigger in Excel (although the directions weren't for my version of the software and I had to figure out how to convert it).  So here you see my photo

printed out on 25 sheets of paper.  You then have to trim off the appropriate edges and and glue the trimmed pictures together (you could also use scotchtape--but using a stick of glue is better).
And voila--here is my finished photo which now measures 37" x 50".  I printed it out on the "Best" setting and was really amazed at the quality of the resolution.  Someday it will be a quilt but, for now, I'm just going to enjoy looking at it.

Slow Going

Things have been going pretty slowly the past week or so.  We have been having some much needed work done on the driveway and foundation of the house; however, most of it has been going on right outside the window of my studio.  The vibration from the backhoe breaking up the concrete has been a little much. 
And this morning I was supposed to go to my first meeting with the Art Group I belonged to when I lived up here before and, instead, I ended up in the driveway digging channels in the rock and dirt in order to keep the water away from the foundation .
Oh well--one of the phrases I remember from my Spanish classes is "Asi es la vida" or "That's life."  And I guess that's right.  At least I have the muscles and the shovel.
Anyway, I HAVE finished the blanket stitching the fusible applique on my newest quilt, Lady in Waiting.  I just thought I'd post a picture of the pinning.  So many people have asked me how far apart do I place the pins.  I like to place them between 2 and 3 inches apart.  I think it helps to prevent those nasty "accidents" that can take place on the back of your work when you all of a sudden discover that you have quilted wrinkles into your quilt.
So now, I can begin to actually quilt something.  This particular piece has been in the works for almost 3 years from the time I took the picture of the Lenten Rose.  And now I can hardly wait to get it finished!

The Finishing Touch

The final thing in my studio that needed to be done was to replace the formica covering for the top of the worktable.
As you can see, the large sheet of formica arrived and is ready to install.  It is 5 feet wide--a foot wider than standard.  We ordered extra length so the trim on the end of the table could be replaced, also.

 Smokey's first task was to cut off the overhanging section.  I looked up on the internet for instructions on how to do it but he decided that a saber saw was the way to go--and it worked perfectly.  The problem about cutting formica is that it's brittle and can easily chip off and leave an uneven surface.

 The next day, our neighbor Anthony came over to help with the actual installation.  The top of the table and the wrong side of the formica are slathered with adhesive and set aside to "cure."  Then removable sticks are laid down the entire table top.  This is to prevent the formica from touching its surface.  The adhesive is sort of like super glue and of the two surfaces were to make contact with each other when in the wrong position, it would be somewhat of a disaster because they would be STUCK.

 So, here are Anthony and Smokey laying the formica out over the table, resting on the wooden stakes.

And here they are starting to roll the formica where they want it to touch the tabletop.  As they rolled, they carefully removed the sticks as they went along.  They rolled and rolled and rolled so there would be no air bubbles that could lead to separation of the two surfaces.

 At this point, they've removed all the sticks, the laminate is in place and they're rolling some more.

 This is what the roller looks like.

 Next they used a router with a special bit to trim off all of the overhang along the edges.  Anythony's holding the vacuum up to it to catch some of the sawdust.  It actually did a pretty good job (of course I may find some later when I go through my fabric!  But that can be washed.).

And here is the final, finished table top.  I'll have to say, they did a better job than the man who installed the original top.  And now, I guess I've run out of excuses about getting back to work.  Hi ho, Hi ho.

Yes, I'm Still Alive And Kicking!

A lot has happened in the last two months.  And it's been pretty intense.  As many of you know, we have moved back and forth from the mountains to the sea a couple of times in the last couple of years.  When we moved back to Charleston, we said, "This is it.  We just don't have another move in us."
Well, little did I know!  Our house in the mountains hadn't sold--and most likely wasn't going to sell in the near future  (or who knows when given this economy).  So, we had more or less decided that we would list both of our houses and live in the one that didn't sell.
Wouldn't you know?  As soon as we made that decision, someone called up and offered to buy our house in Charleston (before we even put it back on the market).

And not only did they want to buy it, they wanted to move in right away.  WE packed and packed and packed, rented a truck to bring many of the boxes to the mountains before the movers came, took lots and lots of stuff to Goodwill and sold more things on Craig's List.
Given the speed and our age, the move went exceedingly well.  The movers didn't break anything and they were nice and polite--and worked.  Thanks to Craig's List, everything I have left fits nicely into my smaller space.  There is still much to do, but I'm beginning to sew.

 A few comments on the pictures.  We were able to get my large table out of my old studio and into the new one.  We did have to throw away the formica covering on the top, but a new piece is on order and we'll install it as soon as it arrives.  I sold two of my sewing cabinets (to a VERY nice woman in Summerville) and two of my machines and that opened up a good bit of space. 
Lighting has been an issue in this space.  You can see the overhead light in Picture #1 and the nice flourescent that my husband replaced it with in Picture #4.  It has made the world of difference and he will also be replacing the old flourescents with newer, brighter models.

 Also, a comment on Craig's list.  I think I was able to sell my sewing-related items for a higher price than I could have gotten on eBay.  Perhaps people prefer being able to come see the actual items in person instead of relying on a photo from an unknown person in another state and then adding shipping costs on top of it.  I really enjoyed meeting these people but I made sure that I wasn't home alone when they came.
We also sold some furniture and although we didn't get what it was worth really, it saved the headache of having to deal with it in the midst of a move.  All in all, for us, Craig's List was a good experience but I think that listing sewing related items are less likely to draw an unwanted response than other items.

And this is the piece that I am finally getting back to work on--a Lenten Rose.  I'm in the process now of anchoring down the fusible applique.  And, in spite of some bumps in the road,  this is feeling like home.  I surely miss my friends in Charleston--I have been blessed to be part of a wonderful art group there and have also known other quilters there for quite some time.  They are all special people in my life and I know that they'll continue to be so.
So, here I am--alive and kicking.  I hope everyone is doing well.

More Feathers

 One thing I know--from a student's perspective--is that a teacher can never have too many samples for a class.  Since I'm teaching classes on quilting feathers, I decided to make a more complex piece showing how you could use all of the different elements that are taught in the class.  Unfortunately, my picture doesn't quite show all that I would like it to, but I hope you can see well enough.  The fabric is a hand dye by Ellen Ann Eddy and I think it "confused" the camera somewhat (not to mention the quilter!).
I've been to several classes lately in which the teacher had the diffinitive answer on what needle to use and the proper weight thread.  The truth is that these figures are merely guidelines and that many other threads and needles will also work--depending on the fabric and the tightness of the quilting, etc.

For this piece I used a 75 quilting needle and had absolutely no problem.  The purple thread is a Superior 50 weight Masterpiece thread on top and a 60 weight Superior Bottom Line thread in the bobbin with a 2.00 tension.  For the background quilting, I used Isacord thread in both the top and the bobbin with a 1.5 tension.  For use in my Bernina 430, I also threaded the Bottom Line through the little hole in the bobbin case--which helped to pull the top thread down into the fabric and prevented the bobbin thread from showing on the surface of the quilt.
Of course, one of the major challenges of this piece was using a dark thread on a lighter, fairly blank top because any boo-boos are sure to stand out.  There are some, of course, but overall I was very happy with the end result.

The Final Result

Well, after months and months of piecing, ripping out, fusing, appliqueing and quilting, my latest quilt is finally finished.  It was quite a challenge in many ways but part of the enjoyment I get from projects I begin is the "figuring out" of how to make things work (which often means even more ripping).  I always come away with some lesson learned--even if it's "I never want to do that again."
So . . .Here is Summer Soiree (double click on the image for a little better view).  And now it's on to the next one.

I've Been Waiting For Five Years

Since we moved back to Charleston several years ago, I have been spectacularly unsuccessful at growing decent tomatoes.  My last garden in the mountains was huge and organic (lots of manure, compost, etc). There I had tomatoes coming out of my ears.  I canned them, dried them, cooked with them and--most especially--had tomato sandwiches--day after day and never got tired of them.
My yard in Charleston has sandy soil and there aren't many cows grazing in neighboring fields (what neighboring fields?) to provide that very necessary boost to fertility that will produce big honker tomatoes.  Well, AT LAST, this was the year.  These tomatoes are sitting on a dinner plate--not a salad plate--and I can tell you right now what I'm going to have for lunch today--with soft bread and mayonaise.
Whew, there's not many things I like better.  I think I've reached nirvana.

Hope

 The Challenge for our Art Group this last quarter was to write a Haiku poem and then create a quilt based on the poem.  A haiku poem is vert short--3 lines--the first line is 5 syllables, the 2nd is seven syllables and the 3rd is five.  Here is my poem:
Life's many circles,
Reaching to include us all--
Containing Love's Hope.
And so I named my quilt Hope.
I had made the the petal-type shapes in a workshop with Phillipa Naylor earlier this year and felt that they could be my starting point.  I then added circles--and more circles--that were connected to each other.

This is the quilt after it was quilted.  If you look closely, you can see the pins where it is being blocked in order to square it up before I add the binding.  Before I block it, I add a little synthrapol to coolish water and then immerse the quilt into it.  I swish it around to get it good and wet and then rinse it out.  I wrap the wet quilt in towels to remove the excess moisture.  Then I spread it out on the CLEAN carpet and start smoothing and stretching to bring it into square as much as possible.  I always need to block my quilts because of my tight quilting stitches.

 And this is the finished quilt.  You can't really see it in this picture, but there is a very tiny piping next to the binding, ala the Susan Cleveland method.
One thing I decided to do with this small quilt was to play with various elements as I went--and to just have as much fun with it as possible--using threads, stitches and techniques that I don't ordinarily incorporate into my work.

 This is some of the beading I did.  I sewed on the beads before I quilted.

And the background quilting is composed of jutting lines from variegated thread.  You can also see the gold thread I used on the red "leaves."

And the quilting with gold thread went well.  As a final touch before I quilted, I used my braiding foot and sewed down mettalic embroidery floss with red rayon thread.  This technique joined the four corner circles and, thus, encircled the other circles in the center.
All in all, I really enjoyed myself.  For me, one of the freeing and fun things to do is to participate in a Challenge and just enjoy the journey of discovery along the way.