May 27, 2016

La Machine

An early anniversary present. It is amazing what paying about $100 more for a machine means for ease of sewing. This is the Brother Project Runway PC210 or something like that. I don't know. Brother likes to attach all kinds of numbers to every machine they make and I swear it seems like they change the numbers with each individual machine. Sort of complicated. They should just give them names like "Laverne" or "Shirley". I am loving this new machine though. And I'm taking the old machine to the parsonage so I can have one up there too. 


Madonna and child coming along nicely.


And my second project, Mr. Egret is also coming along nicely. I never do more than 2 projects at a time though.


Hmmmm..... now that I have 2 machines, I think I know what I'll name them.

May 21, 2016

Burlap


The quilt top is just about finished. I still have to embroider around the hand and I'm not 100% sure about the holy medal yet. But once those things are figured out I will begin the quilting. I haven't settled on a pattern yet for that either.

On the left there is the burlap that I put up on the design wall. At first it was very stinky, but that's gone now and the burlap is really kind of nifty. It is stickier than the table cloth backing and is great for sticking pins in. Thinking about doing the whole wall that way.  

May 12, 2016

Changes

This is where I am with Bathtime Madonna. She has quite a bit of work to go, but I am happy with the results so far. I did a classic nine patch for part of the floor. The fabric is all hand painted. After I took a picture and looked, I can see that there is a very nifty shadow effect in the left hand bottom corner. Not planned. Happy accident. 

This week has been very busy. I have been transferred at my "place of employ", and will now be the archivist for the Bienes Museum of the Modern Book and the historical collection. I can't even begin to express how thrilled I am by this. So lots going on at work.

Going to the parsonage this weekend for a much needed rest and to see those grandbabies! 

May 5, 2016

Trunk show

I started working on and finished a piece for the SAQA Trunk Show a bit early. But I just knew in my mind what I wanted to do.

Miss Ivy. 
Once everything was quilted I was having a hard time with the binding. At first I tried facing the tiny quilt (7x10) and was unhappy with the results. The quilt seemed squished and distorted. I think that has to do with the small size of the quilt, in that a larger quilt could bear the facing better.

I settled on binding. I sort of like the way the black border looks. 
I had fun doing this small piece and I think that's the idea. You're supposed to explore new techniques and try new things with this. I employed layering and free motion quilting. Also, her embroidered scarf and hair which I am very happy with.


Before starting on the next piece, I decided to do some experimentation with an old sketch from one of my sketch books. Sometimes I just feel like I need to stretch my wings a bit before starting on the next big project. 


Apr 25, 2016

We're back

Welcome to the world Clara Rey. She is our second grandchild. I am truly loving being grandma.


This is a picture from back in the day of Clara's mama sitting on my lap. 


And Clara's mama as big sister. I have had the privilege of having these two girls in my life, and now their children. I am thankful to them both for giving me the chance to be a grandmother. 

Grandparent love is wonderful but different. It's not the same heart breaking love you feel for your own. With grandparenting, you get to look into the eyes of your grandchild and slow things down. There aren't doctor appointments to keep and homework assignments and parenting deadlines. Just being with this little person who shares your blood.   

I had intended to get at least a little work done this week, but holding my granddaughter was more important. Being, not doing. 



Apr 15, 2016

Bathing


I have started working on my Bathtime Madonna. I love the purple and gold against the red. I've been wondering why my work is tending toward babies and baths. I haven't really planned a series, but it is coming out that way. Maybe it is because both of my girls are having babies right now. New granny... part of a new role in life. 

I think too that I've been contemplating this theme for a while. Not too long ago my mother's back went out and I had to help her get in and out of the shower and help her to dry off. She felt so much better after her shower. Such a small thing that I think we take for granted. The act of bathing someone who can't bathe themselves such as a baby or an elderly parent, is a very age-old sign of love and caring. Very fundamental and human. A ritual purification that purifies the caregivers soul. This photo by Smith has always stayed with me since the first time I saw it. The love and sadness in Tomoko's mother's face is heart breaking. 

Apr 8, 2016

No gold

I love spring time at the parsonage. Because unlike SoFLo, there actually is a spring time. 


I didn't get a chance to work on Miss Ivy while there because I was too busy gardening. But when we got back I had worked on her chair. I had put a gold color for the chair upholstery (the one next to the spool), which just seemed to drain the color out of everything else. I was not lovin' it. I do love how you can just peel pieces off if you don't like them when you've used the Therm O Web Heat N Bond lite. 

I had it in my head to do a purple background for the wall paper and some sort of floor. Now I'm thinking I'd like to keep the piece primarily white, red and black, though I did put a small splash of purple in the chair, which is still "red" of a sort. So more experimentation. 

Apr 1, 2016

12x12's

The 12x12, River Bath is finished. I am going to send it off to SAQA, as soon as I fill out the online form and pay my dues for 2016. Oops. This was the first small quilt I've ever done. Wish they all sewed up this fast. 


I have also been experimenting with layering and colors. The little square on the right was done very randomly like a free association session. Freud would be proud. With the one on the left, I put a little bit more thought and planning into it, (but not much) and was happier with the results. I like the way the little bits or orange and gray seem to melt into the turquoise dots. Not planned. Duchamp would be proud. 


We are thankfully heading up to the parsonage this weekend for 3 lovely days. Catfish festival on Saturday. See the kids on Monday. And hopefully putt around in the little boat on Sunday. Miss Ivy is coming with me again. I have possible plans for her. 

Mar 22, 2016

Shadows

 I'm attempting to put a piece together for the SAQA 12x12 benefit auction.
It's a water piece so lots of blues. I thought I'd play around with fabric weaving to get a more "stressed" sort of fabric feel. And hopefully a bit more random. I did the whole 12x12 background in weave and wasn't happy with it. It wasn't random enough. I'm not even sure what I mean by that either. Just something I felt. So I'm playing around with it. I'm calling the piece River Bath

We went home this weekend to see the kids and baby and just get our heads clear in general. I brought Miss Ivy along to have something to work on. And thanks to these gloves I bought at Joann's, I can hand sew again. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

I don't know if it's because of the time change or what, but I've been noticing shadows a lot lately.


The light plays on things at home that make you stop and notice. Make you feel homesick for things you can't even name. 

Well, I can name this little person that I'm always homesick for. Prince Booboo has shadows dancing across his face. Perfect peace.


  

Mar 11, 2016

Many Moons fini


Grand baby quilt #2 is finished.

Why moons? Well, when Clara's mommy was a very little girl, I would take her to daycare on my way to work very early in the morning,... so early that the moon was often times still out. My daughter would sit in her car seat in the back and look out the window at the moon. I would sit in the front seat and make the moon talk to her. "Good morning bumblebee". And she would have whole conversations with the moon. So when it came time for a quilt for my little girl's, baby girl, I thought
moons.

Found an article in a recent Quilter's Art Magazine by Jude Hill. I usually just skim over magazine articles, so I was skimming this one and saw the word "weaving" which stoked my old weaver's fire (I have been thinking recently of pulling my Mirrix down from the closet and doing a little weaving). Unfortunately, the magazine disappeared before I had a chance to read the article, so the only words I remember are "weaving" and "backing cloth". I decided to just go with those two words and had a lot of fun with it! Jude Hill hand sews her quilts, which I can't do anymore because of arthritis in my hands. So I took my little woven strips to the sewing machine and played around with the free motion quilting foot. Making really cool, random sort of blocks? No measuring and rotary cutters? Yes please! This may be my new regular Saturday night thang.






Mar 3, 2016

Boababs and finish lines

I am finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel with Many Moons. Doing wonky stars with free motion quilting for the pattern. When next I post about this quilt, it will be completed which should be by the end of next week. 


Driving home the other day, I saw the sun setting behind this big wonderful Boabab tree that I pass almost everyday, and thought I would share. I'm not sure how it got where it is, which is sandwiched in between the traffic of US 1, the railroad tracks and the Fort Lauderdale airport. Wedged into this noisy, bad smelling place. It doesn't belong here. I know how it feels. I wish I could rescue it but I can't even rescue myself right now from this noisy, bad smelling place.  


Feb 22, 2016

Pain to discovery

About half way through making my moon faces, my hands decided they have had enough of embroidery. They were killing me. So I finished the last remaining faces by free motion stitching and fabric paint. And do you know, I am loving it! I love the way that they look like my illustrations instead of sewing. I feel more comfortable with that. Now I wish I had done the whole quilt top this way. 



Sometimes pain can lead to good things... like birth. I'm sure my little Dreamboat Annie won't mind that grandma experimented with her quilt. 




Feb 19, 2016

To face or not to face

I finally resolved the dilemma of whether or not to give my Madonna a face. I really struggled with this for a while in my mind. Finally I decided yes. She should have a face. 



Meanwhile ... this little face makes me smile everyday


Feb 11, 2016

Organization

Well, feeling a bit more organized. I've put all my projects in order by deadline on an all year 2016 calendar. It helps to be able to see everything laid out that way. 

And the first project finished for 2016 is the Twitter Art Exhibit postcard.



Precious Waters




Feb 8, 2016

His tiny highness has arrived

And grandma is in love
He looks like an annoyed little Roman senator

While up in Jax helping to birth babies, I took along a technique I've been wanting to play around with. This is Miss Ivy. She is an old sketch from a couple of years back that I drew at a Doctor Sketchy session. I was the only woman artist there. Surprised? I wasn't... not really. 
So I traced the sketch onto white cotton fabric and am presently doing a black embroider around the lines. I want to add color in a different sort of way, using a combination of fabrics and stitches. So we shall see. 

I feel a bit unorganized since I've been back but we only got back in town last night so I guess that's normal. The first thing I am going to do is finish the Twitter Art Exhibit card and will show that here in a day or two. Then Many Moons must be worked on as grandchild #2 will be here in April.

I think I need to get a bit more organized.
Gee... I'm not sure about that Boris 


Jan 28, 2016

Block play

My life now is consumed with waiting for this reluctant little grandchild who will not be born. He is a boy after all, and I'm told they are lazy. However, I did manage to get some work done in the studio yesterday, finally. 

I finished the top and bottom borders for Many Moons. Now working on the sides. While slowly waking up this morning, I decided to do each corner in the above yellow fabric (with a crescent moon in each block) and a sort of back and forth flying geese pattern for the sides in above two colors. 

I also started thinking about my story quilt again. I'm thinking I'd like to add some sawtooth star blocks. 

Also, I originally thought I'd do a black and white small block background, but the black and white made me feel a bit overwhelmed...
...so I played with black and purple, in an Amish sort of way, and really liked the results. You can see the difference in the above sketch. 

Well, my daughter went to the doctor and was told there is no dilation, even though she had a show. So there's no change


Jan 16, 2016

Prototypes


Am presently working on my postcard for the Twitter Art Exhibit. This year the exhibit will be held at the Trygve Lie Gallery in NYC, benefiting Foster Pride's Handmade program. 

This will be a quilted fabric postcard when finished. I feel like this is first in a series of quilts that I will call Sacred Waters. This is a 6x4 prototype. The H2Oh! quilt entry will be next, at about 70x90. Much larger but still examining mothers, babies and water in short supply. There is a sacred connection in this act of bathing your child. I remember the first time I gave my daughter a bath. I was terrified. But my mother showed me how to hold her little head up and what temperature the water should be. And I will be doing the same for my daughter very soon with her baby boy. 

Lucky us, we have plenty of water for our baby's tub. The women that will be in my quilts do not. 


Made a quick trip to the parsonage last weekend. We went for a little walk and discovered that there are wild peacocks in the neighborhood. This is the lovely white peacock that lives in our town.

And this is the cat who kicked the peacock out of her yard in our town. She was very miffed. 

The weather has been strange everywhere it seems. The poor camillia doesn't know whether to hold on or let go. We all feel like that sometimes, camillia.

Jan 6, 2016

H2OH! beginnings

I have begun planning a quilt for entry into the SAQA H2OH! show next year. The quilts are to interpret the importance of water in our lives.

Three ideas began to form in my head. Babies and mothers being ever present in my mind these days, holy water, and drought. I mulled these things over and over. I started thinking about places affected by drought and Africa came to mind first.

Mothers bathing their infants in countries where water is a precious commodity. And I could see in my mind, cracked dry earth.

Which then led me to think of flour paste resist. 


This is one of my favorite techniques. Nice and sloppy and messy! So that is where I am so far with this quilt.

Still working away on Clara's Many Moons. I'm sewing the larger parts together now and working on a border.