Six Degrees of Separation

I had a mini reunion with some friends the other day; it was wonderful to see them again and do some major catching up......The whole time I'm thinking....this reminds me of that movie...."Six Degrees of Separation"....where someone knows someone who knows someone else....I'm standing on the right...next to me is my friend - Cindy...... from very long ago.....close to 30 years I think. She was my very first quilting teaching....in Florida! She was a wonderful teacher who has been teaching nationally a long time. She had a great influence on my love of quilting....and of course she knows my friend Mary from the teaching world (lower left). My friend Vita from my Marietta days (sitting in front of me) and whom I've know for around 15 years+ moved to Maryville....WHERE she met Cindy (who also lives in Maryville). Are you still with me!....confused yet? Well we all wound up together for a reunion...still don't know how it happened but so glad it did. It was great seeing them again and the beautiful work they're doing.

Mary is our "Beading Queen"...... and deserves to be so. Her work is amazing! She often works on hand dyed wool which she dyes herself...all the edges are her own design.

I love this new piece with hand dyed felt and gauze. The gauze is doubled and fused to itself for strength and then scalloped...held in place with what else?...a bead!
Cindy does beautiful hand piecing. This project is for a retreat that Cindy offers every year. Students will piece a block and also learn all the embroidery for the second block
How pretty is this.....
She is also a fabulous knitter...something I'm green with envy over...I've never mastered the skill and making a scarf with knit and purl is the hardest thing I've done...still not sure which is which either. This beautiful shawl featured lots of different kinds of stitches...just mind boggling to me.
Vita....is also an accomplished knitter .......This is a project she is working on
Vita is known for her wonderful "Barn Doors". She has traveled many "off the beaten track" roads, camera in hand, photographing barns and their surroundings. She then paints canvas and stitches to recreate a "piece of Americana" in fiber. They are absolutely wonderful in person. It's hard to grasp that these are fabric...they look so much like the real thing.
Her attention to detail is amazing....these are all thread....every bit...Incredible, wouldn't you say!

When people ask how she starts a piece, she shows them her label on the back. It's a blank piece of canvas - that is her starting point.
Vita is also doing smaller pieces using windows as a main theme and all machine embroidered.

What a great day....so much beautiful work to see...such great catch-up talk....getting together with old friends is the best.

Meet Bernie Rowell

Meet Bernie......I never knew Bernie personally until I moved to Asheville....but I knew and loved her work for many, many years before I landed up here. I first became acquainted with her work on one of our many annual trips to Asheville - for the Southern Highland fair or to peruse the galleries. I was blown by her wonderful style, unique techniques, technical skills and her sense of color and design. It's hard to pass by one of her pieces without studying it - top to bottom. One of her trademarks is the squares along the border...each individually designed with stitching, a stamp or other interesting element in the center.

She also creates the most wonderful "checkboard" backdrops - sometimes in the way of skies and sometimes in other areas....most of the time containing tissue lame fabric here and there for some added sparkle and texture.
Her themes are often nature related but sometimes veers off in the most unexpected directions like the piece below....combining both nature and blocks with interesting stitching.
Bernie often frames her pieces.....her husband Robert is a professional framer and does a spectacular job....and sometimes leaves them to hang on their own.

I'm always surprised to see her new directions like the piece below....combining many of my favorite techniques in her work and more.....
Bernie uses painted canvas, sewing, embroidery, beading, quilting and more to create each piece.

Bernies work can be see at the NC Arboretum in Asheville through Oct 2 of this year.....It's wonderful, it's interesting....it's a feast for the eyes, the heart and the soul. Just Go!

Are You Smarter than a Third Grader?

I had the great fun of visiting my daughter last week who lives in Atlanta and teaches in Decatur - third grade. For the past many years, she has taught second grade...so this was a new and very enlightening experience for her. When my kids were young, I used to substitute in their elementary school...third grade was always my favorite....and I realize it still is! The kids are old enough to be independent and young enough to still think their teacher and school is cool! School has changed drastically since I was a student and also since I was a teacher...Classrooms are a thing of beauty....

with learning centers.....
Curtains on the windows (I made those years ago and they're still going strong).
Soft lighting in every corner of the room.....
Water bottles on every desk.....
Tennis balls on chair legs to keep the noise level down and floors unscratched....
And an active board....Yup....Not a blackboard like in my day....nor a greenboard like in my daughter's day....or even a white board (dry erase board)....This active board is the most amazing thing I've ever seen....it's huge, you can write on it, change things, erase things....
and all generated through an Apple computer...Amazing!
The first week of school, my daughter read them a story about "It's okay to be....." and so they made a paper quilt with self portraits about themselves and one important fact about what it was okay to be....everything from talented to small to being an artist.
The students had to figure out how to put it together which they did in a clever way using yard and a hole punch.
It was amazing and fun to see the many changes that schools have undergone.... Just about everything.......EXCEPT .......School lunches.....wellllll......some things never change!
And in answer to my question...Are you smarter than a third grader....in my case....Not even close!

Challenge Piece

My challenge piece is done.....it was really a lot of fun. This was the challenge my PTA group is involved with....We haven't chosen a name for it yet ----we're thinking "Inspired By". We're to do a piece inspired by an artist (2 dimensional and non-quilt) that inspires us. I chose Martin Johnson Heade. I was not too familiar with him, but in looking for an artist, I came upon some of his works and recognized them as pieces I've admired in the past. He's an American artist...does lots of florals, salt marshes and usually includes hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are near and dear to my heart. My mother in law - Hilda would sit in my studio and watch them out the window.....for hours. I loved her connection with them....and mine. Here is one of Heade's paintings.....

And here is my finished piece....I haven't named it yet...that's always the hard part...so if anyone has any ideas....please let me know!
Our PTA group has been invited by the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival to do an exhibit at their conference in February, 2012. The exhibit will feature our artist inspired piece along with another piece of ours...can be old or new. This conference (which takes place near Williamsburg) is run by Mancuso Bros...it's a wonderful event....I've taught for it many times and will be teaching there again this February...so hope to see you there!

Kayaking and Darning Needles

Wow....I can't believe me....of all people.....writing about kayaking. Our neighbors/friends - Dave and Vickie wanted us to go kayaking with them on the French Broad River. They have kayaks for rent at the Biltmore Estate....they take you to the starting point and meet you at the end - a 3 mile run. I've never been in a kayak....thought to myself...this is going to be a white knuckle experience......this isn't even on my "bucket list"....but in the spirit of being a good sport, I agreed with "enthusiasm". So off we went, equipped with bug spray, hats, sunnies and a change of clothes!....The change of clothes was my idea and I get an A for the day for that!

The water was beautiful, calm and a mere 2 feet deep in most parts....and we were wearing life jackets....so a bit of overkill - but safe!
John (hubby) and I went tandem.......As it turned it, he wanted to do most of the paddling...kept telling me to stop whenever I tried......works for me.....so mostly I cruised.
The scenery was beautiful ....lots of logs and interesting trees.

Great shapes for a quilt.....always thinking "quilts".
I had a dragonfly perch on my sneaker for a free ride....refused to leave. I remember when we were kids, we were terrified of these little guys....called them "Darning Needles" and would run in fear as we thought they stuck their needle tail into you....I often wonder where kids get these wonderful, silly ideas.
The water was incredibly calm....probably equivalent to a bathtub without the whirlpool turned on. A tried and true kayak-er.....would be laughing at us...but for me, being the first time - it was perfect!
We hit a few ripples.....and rocks....one of which we got stuck on for a short while. We tipped the kayak a slight bit to get off the rock and we filled with water....! Around 6" worth....and we sat in that for the remainder of the trip....it was hot, so it was kind of refreshing but also a bit yukky feeling.
Our friends pulling up the rear....
And the beautiful Biltmore hotel in the distance....
It was great fun...so glad we brought extra clothes so we could go to lunch with dry underwear on!....

PTA Meeting Today

We had our PTA meeting today at Mary's...and were greeted by this....

.......along with these wonderful flowers displayed in individual glass tubes....set in a bed of rocks inside an interesting wooden tray...so clever and pretty - just loved it!
Now I'm on a quest to find these little glass tubes....Thanks Mary for inspiring me - now I'll have to add one more thing to my "to do" list :-) !!!
And brightly colored vases of flowers around her house....I love fresh flowers...especially when they're indoors.
Gen showed us this new product....You have to get it online...It replaces the gelatin plates you make with Knox gelatin. This one is permanent, can be cleaned and used over and over....It's really cool and I'm thinking I may have to invest in one as I love monoprinting !
Lynne showed us her latest and as always wonderful piece.
Linda is always off on a new adventure where her quilting is concerned. She has been reading fairy tales on line....the European ones from France and other places. The images as well as the story have been sometimes wonderful...sometimes spooky the way fairy tales can be.....BUT...they are also public domain....even more wonderful. So they have become the inspiration for a series she is working on using these stories.
These 2 - top and bottom are the same, just a different size and coloration.
This next one is my favorite and beautiful in person ...it's about an evil ogre, a brother and a princess who has lost her crown...you can see the crown in amongst the flowers in the lower right. I think Linda said she cut close to a thousand flowers for the bottom.....each individual!!

And this next one....Linda is trying to create some moonlight highlights on the water...know it will be wonderful when finished.
We have all been invited to be part of the Tiffany exhibit being held at the Biltmore House in Asheville. The Deerpark restaurant which has a nice gallery space is holding the quilts....Antler Village is holding the actual Tiffany glass items. Thanks to our Connie B for making this happen for us. This is Dort's quilt for the "stained glass" piece to be used in the quilt part of the exhibit.
Dort is one of the most prolific artists I know...always creating new and wonderful things....This next series is from fabrics her children have given her....She loves birds and this is her Homage to our Feathered Friends....quite wonderful....especially the angles she captures on each one.
and the wonderful backgrounds....Love this little guy/girl and the way we are looking down on him....
And this one...ready to take flight...with his wing hanging off the edge.
A great day....great fun....great company (and a very yummy dessert provided by Mary)....