Windy Hill Happenings

Back to Funky Houses

2012-02-14T08:27:00.000-05:00

One of my New Years "resolutions" this year was to finish unfinished projects...seems I do this every year and every year I say...But this year I really mean it! Well this year, I really do mean it (-: I started this "funky" house quilt last year but for whatever reason, it got put on the back burner. So now it's back on my wall and I'm in the home stretch. I think I've had more fun with this quilt than anything I've done in a long time. The houses are a combination of inkjet printed images and commercial fabric. The house below is the biggest and centered in the quilt.

I printed a picture of lichen covered rocks for the roof....

windows, doors and dandelions ....

This next little "doghouse" started with an image of a sculpture at the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC

and became the entry way to the house.....

This next little house has a doorway to a forest....

The next very crooked house has a "wonky" looking door which was manipulated in Photoshop Elements.

A picture of an outhouse....

became an outhouse with grass on top and a horseshoe on the door (and chickens).

I'm still working on how to set them and I hoping to get this sewn together by next Monday.

I'm doing a lecture at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival next week on Creative Inkjet Printing on fabric...this would be a good sample to show....so it's back to the machine.

FAA - February, 2012

2012-02-08T18:52:00.000-05:00

We had our February meeting of the Fiber Arts Alliance group yesterday and as always, it was inspiring and great fun....especially since I hadn't been in a while...so nice to see many friends. I really only planned on staying a short while as I have so much to get ready for the Mid-Atlantic conference (new workshop, patterns, lecture etc.)...but much as I tried, I couldn't pull myself away. Heather Yurgeles showed us this beautiful scarf she made below...using a water soluble stabilizer (I believe). She didn't like the way one of the yarns behaved so she crocheted an edge on the finished piece giving it more stability and definitely more WOW...it was a wonderful piece.

She also showed us a precious baby quilt...I'm collecting patterns for baby quilts and this one was just precious...from the subject matter to the polka dots (which I love) to the colors....

Edie Sloan showed us another one of her fabulous quilts....she has a good friend whom she has a bet going with every year (don't know what that is.....) but whoever loses has to make a quilt in the style of the other person. Edie's friend is traditional...Edie is SO NOT....but her friend won and told Edie she had to make a 9-patch.....All Edie could invision was tons and tons of tiny little pieces being sewn into a 9-patch....so Edie thought long and hard and came up with this....Well...how clever is this ...it kinda looks like a 9-patch....in places.... and there was no rule on how many 9 patches there had to be.... what a great quilt....and it's definitely SO Edie!

Forgive me....as in all Show and Tells...the info wizzes by so fast, you sometimes miss the person's name....although everyone gave me the go-ahead to use their work...still didn't get all the names. This member is a knitter "extraordinaire"...really incredible....I can knit a simple scarf...barely...so this is very impressive to me!

Sally Fargo created this wonderful portrait in fabric of her husband.....a cute store behind it...Her and her husband don't do that many presents for Christmas....like many of us, they are at the point where they buy "Christmas" presents throughout the year - works for me....anyway, Sally started to get suspicious and thought maybe her husband had indeed gotten her something....so she put together this wonderful self portrait of him...last minute....

The detail in the beard is my favorite....done with saw dust chips...apparently he is such a neat nick, she couldn't even get the sweepings from his workshop, as he cleaned them up everyday...so she got them from a friend...but isn't it a wonderful touch.

I love the real "recycled" shirt and apparently he doesn't like change so the "change" with a slash though it button is perfect!

And the back....tape measure fabric....I need to find this fabric for my husband as he's a woodworker.

PS....Sally wasn't wrong in her suspicions...Her hubby got her a Laptop.....
Sally also showed us a sampler of an online class she was taking making use of all the decorative stitches on her machine as well as hand embroidery stitches...apparently once you sign up...there's a great amount of time to keep going back to lessons...

I always look forward to seeing Peggy O'Connors work...it's always wonderful and packed with wonderful detail (below).

Beautifully dyed fabric and beadwork....wonderful to see up close.

Maureen Kampen shared with us a hostess gift she made for a recent trip she made to a friend's house. They are fabric coasters but she had a more clever name for them which I forget...but the thing I loved the most was the photos they took while visiting their friends and then....

incorporating them into these small pieces of art...such as an interesting tree on one of their walks.....

A seashell from a walk on the beach....

And favorite sayings.........................as I leave you with this parting thought!.........

Hmmmmmmm.......
A great meeting...

Shaded Florals

2012-02-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

Last week I posted about the wonderful "marking" day I had with my Fiber Junkies group. One of my favorite markers is the Paintstik by Shiva. It's oil paint in stick form and works great on fiber. It's also permanent after allowing it to air dry for a week. I have a load of them...can't help adding more colors.

I started using them for shading when working with commercial fabric for the piece below.

The sticks worked so well for shading, I decided to develop a workshop to demonstrate this technique.

It's one of the workshops I'll be teaching at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival this month. Students will have a choice of several patterns...one being my old stand-by - the Iris. This flower lends itself to a lot of shading. This is the Iris done in commercial fabrics before shading and threadwork.

I'll use several paintstiks in colors close to the fabric color.

I also use the tiniest of tiny stencil brushes...this gives me the best control and enables me to get into small spaces.

I also use lots of index cards (as they are sturdier than regular paper) for mixing the colors....that's a plus using these...you can mix any color and being oil, they don't dry out quickly on the card.

I choose areas that need a little "personality" and very cautiously start applying the paint. Better to go light and add more, you can't remove it too easily once it's on the fabric.

You can see I've started the bud below.

I also use decorative threadwork.....

And some of the shading on the flower....

so this......

becomes this with just a little effort....

I also use a microwave dyed background for a lot I do...but I'll save that for another post.

"On Your Mark....Get Set....

2012-02-01T14:09:00.001-05:00

MARK! (Bet you thought I was going to say go!) My Fiber Junkies group met yesterday to have a day of play and experimenting....We decided to explore different types of markers for fabric. I'm sure if you're a quilter or a sewer, you've been to plenty of conferences and seen many wonderful demos on the newest products. They pull you right in....You buy 1 of each, bring them home...excited to get started but life gets in the way and they get put on the back burner....when you finally do pull them out you scratch your head thinking....why did I buy these and what do they do....

Sooooo yesterday we brought our "known" and our "what do they do" products. Doing this with friends was such a good idea...I would probably never devote a full day to trying out markers on my own...but with a small group...so many more ideas and such a variety of products.

We all made samplers on muslin....tried things with water, without, with rubbing alcohol etc.

We blended with Q-tips, our fingers small brushes...

Some of the products were made just for fabric...others would need an adjustment to make them permanent.

We had some black and white prints which really lent themselves to trying the different markers.

Kate brought a product....great for blending....Aqua Flo which was filled with water and using the brush on the end, were able to blend the marks more easily.

The Portfolio water soluble oil pastels were among my favorites.....They would have to be fixed with a fixative to make them washable on fabric....but they were so slick to use and blended beautifully....also water soluble for easy clean-up.

The pastel dye sticks from Pentel are permanent and made for fabric. They go on smoothly and blend well together...also great with water on top of the dry mark.

Okay...so these are my least favorite...not great color and you are limited to using them with a blended fabric...but they do bring back wonderful memories of when I was a Brownie leader and room mother....did lots of projects with the kids...they are safe and easy to use...so I keep them around for any future grandchildren...sigh!!....

Caran D'Ache are wonderful on fabric but I've had the best success with them by marking them on a blank silkscreen and using an acrylic medium to squeegee them through to the fabric. Acrylic medium also makes them permanent.

We used many more things....more to follow in the next post...hope I wet your your appetite just a little...!

Yup....More Marbling

2012-01-27T09:52:00.002-05:00

Nationally known fiber artist - Laura Sims was originally the instructor of this workshop....due to health reasons, she had to pull out but was able to come and spend an afternoon with us. She was donned with a "tiara" and gave us the "wave". She is one of the most talented artists and fabric marblers I know...watching her is magical; we were thrilled to have a little part of her if only for a short time.

One of her tricks is the size whisk she uses for distributing paint. This whisk is actually for cleaning woks and can be found in kitchen shops.....it's huge and so much fun to use.

One of the marbling techniques Laura is know for is her Italian Veining which looks beautiful on the surface.

Another technique which she developed is the "2 eyedropper" distribution of paint. She has both eyedroppers going at one time using different color paints.... a base color is dropped first. As the 2 colors merge together, they squeeze the base color into tiny veins....

So your piece looks like this....It was fascinating to watch.

Another technique Laura developed is to use an eyedropper to "draw" on the surface of the methyl. It spreads and moves so you can make a picture of sorts. It's best to do on clean methyl with a white tray so you can see what you're doing.

It was very unique looking when finished.....

Here are some of my attempts at the techniques Laura showed us.

One of the nice things about marbling is that you can overmarble without re-alumming the fabric....just let it dry and marble again. The piece below was not good so I decided to overmarbled it, used Photo-Flow to open up areas and allow original design to show through....It was a save. There were some pieces that were beyond saving....we kept saying..."you can't beat a dead horse"....so they became our "dead horses".

This one below was almost a dead horse.... so I made a stones pattern and used Photo-Flow to open up areas...interesting but bold....

The last morning of the workshop, I was doing lots of veining patterns as they went fast and I was determined to use up the alummed fabric. If not, I would have a lot of fabric to wash as you can't leave alum in fabric too long.....

These kind of prints are nice for doing silk screens on or running through the ink jet printer...

Such a great week........

Marbling and Dyeing Pt. 2

2012-01-24T18:04:00.001-05:00

To continue with our Marbling and Dyeing week.....,On tuesday, we were ready to dive right in with marbling...we used fabrics we brought as well as the ones we dyed. Marbling involves laying paint on a clear thickened solution (methyl cellulose), using rakes and stylus's to make a pattern and then lowering the fabric down so it touches the surface and picks up the paint. The paint connects to the fabric permanently and instantly because of the alum in the fabric....it's also instant gratification. Below, Karen is getting ready to demonstrate on a sparkling new tray of methy. The first prints are always so exciting with clean methyl....the methyl does tend to get murky quickly....

Karen is going to do the Spanish Wave.....a pattern which is difficult to master and one of the reasons I signed up for this class....it's a really beautiful pattern and one I've wanted to learn for some time.

And a perfect wave...below!

Karen uses this pattern a lot in her work....truly she has mastered it!

One of my favorite pieces that she has created (has done several like this)....is a Spanish Wave with a hand drawing of a baby in the wave....can you see it below. She has even done some for babies in her family...how personal and wonderful is that!

Here is a detail of the baby...(below).

Karen will take several pieces of marbled fabric and incorporate them into one piece...

There were only 5 in the class...how lucky for us to have all that space and attention from Karen!

I did a lot of Spanish Waves and was happy to learn the technique....as you can see, I'm far from mastering it (below).....but I know it will take some practice.

I've done a lot of marbling....my second book was on marbling ...but strictly the traditional patterns which I've always liked doing...but this week was an eye opener for me. I learned so many different ways to marble and am excited to see what I'll do with the fabric....
More to follow.....

Marbling and Dyeing at JCC

2012-01-22T20:17:00.001-05:00

I had a wonderful week dyeing and marbling at John C Campbell Folk School. We were in Keith Hall in the basement which is a big space with good light and windows. The first day we dyed 57 different colors using complicated formulas. I had the presence of mind to rip off a long swatch of each piece; I labeled each in case I want to duplicate it....I usually get caught up in the moment and don't think that far ahead.

We made some great fabric to marble on top of...some were too pretty to cover such as Linda's fabric below.

We dyed a large color range....I usually work in more muted tones so this was a challenge ....working with these colors.

As I look on the stacks of fabric at each person's table, it's hard to believe we did it all in one day!

I was one very tired puppy at the end of day one!

The next step was to alum the fabric for marbling. Alum is the mordant which holds the paint to the fabric. The process involves soaking the fabric in an alum solution and allowing it to drip dry. Since it was so cold out, we couldn't hang outside and our hanging lines inside were in places...also quite cold. It was taking way too long for the fabric to dry. I brought some line back to my room and hung it from the curtain rod.....(old towels I brought were underneath)

to a hook behind the bathroom door.....

and put up additional slats for hanging in the shower. I couldn't take a shower until my fabrics were dry.....but I do have my priorities!

Stayed tuned for day 2....and let the marbling games begin!

Lake Santeetlah

2012-01-14T15:20:00.002-05:00

I'm at my friend Karens home in Lake Santeetlah...we're getting ready to go to JC Campbell for the marbling workshop which Karen is teaching (check out her website). I'm going to assist and that's very exciting for me...Karen is so wonderful at what she does...I'm looking forward to learning the interesting and intricate techniques she'll be covering. I've been a fabric marbler for over 20 years but there's so much to it.

Well, first things first, I'm enjoying my stay at Karens...she comes from a long line of artists (mom and dad and so on....)and everywhere you look, there's some piece of beautiful artwork from handmade rugs, to pottery to this wonderful mosaic table below. This was made by Karen's mother - Jean Reese. She used broken pottery and dishes.

The broken dishes had a garden theme......some of the plates had seed packet printing on them. Other dishes had pictures of vegetables on them. Combined, they worked into an interesting look.

Jean did a beautiful job on designing the table...her use of color and placement.

This wonderful birdbath outside...also done in mosaics...

This is a sundial salvaged from a fire from many years ago....just tucked into a big rock.

There's a fabulous "bottle" garden along the edge of the lake...

Some of the bottles are violins.....

And green cars.....

And fish....

But the best part...the VERY BEST PART....is the view out the big windows as you walk in the house.

Takes your breath away....

And waking up to this...in the morning...

And the beautiful winter trees...

It is so beautiful and peaceful here....don't think I want to leave....Karen thinks she's getting me to leave tomorrow....HA!...I'll be kicking and screaming.

Return to Mousetown

2012-01-11T17:11:00.001-05:00

I've been going to JCCampbell Folk School for many years - both as an instructor and as a student...and I've never heard of "Mouse Town" until my last visit in October. People were asking "have you been to Mouse Town", or "have you seen it lately"? Quite frankly I was puzzled. Turns out...Mouse Town is a very special part of the JCC campus that started years ago with a piece of pottery. Some student decided to plant a piece of pottery in the shape of a mouse on the outside part of a building. What started as a joke, caught on..... and grew... and grew.....

People started leaving little artifacts on the wall and ledge...

Signs and little pieces of furniture - perfect for a mouse!

All classes were represented including the metal workers (below).

It's so darn cute and full of interesting things, you could pour over it for hours.

A paper was started called the Mouse Towne Gazette and has been around for over 10 years...

What started as a joke, turned into something very special on the campus...I hope if you're ever in the area, you'll check it out. I'll be going to JCC next week to assist with a marbling workshop. Karen Tunnell, one of the most gifted artists and fabric marblers, will be teaching the workshop. Check out her website to see what we'll be doing, I can hardly wait.

A Clever Idea

2012-01-08T16:13:00.001-05:00

Several posts ago, I shared some pictures of a hand carved Santa given to me by my friends Joe and Dina. It was carved on an old wooden spool so already had the hole in the middle. I asked my husband to come up with a way to display it as I wanted to keep it in my studio year round. My husband has his own little holiday traditions also...one is to save the live Christmas tree until the following year, cut it up and burn the tree trunk on Christmas day. We didn't have the chance to do that this year as we were out of town....so the trunk was still outside...waiting to be put to good use!

And it was....My hubby cut it and drilled a hole in it to hold a dowel....the other end placed in the spool...thought that he was a most clever fella!

I actually like the idea of these little stands for holding other things....hmmmmm...

Til next time....

Trees and Magazines

2012-01-04T11:27:00.002-05:00

I've been feeling out of touch with my studio lately...no new work to share and realized I have some "semi-new" work I've never posted. Last year I did a series (still ongoing) on trees. This is possibly my favorite time of year for trees....no leaves ...just the amazing shapes of branches set against gray skies. I get my best pictures now....despite the cold temperatures (17 degrees today)...I'm out there snapping away. This particular piece is my Trees III - Blue. I used a silkscreen of one of my grandmother's recipes so her writing would be part of the quilt (below)...the right side is a tree ...upside down.

I did an image transfer of a brick wall (below) and manipulated the color in photoshop before printing it out. I screened the same trees on top - this time right side up.

I also screen the dots and "Fleur de Lis" on fabric I had made.

I found an old piece of Shibori from a workshop years ago (it pays to hold onto every scrap....right?!) The larger piece to the left is deconstructive silk screened fabric....a technique we've been exploring in my Fiber Junkies group. It's great fun to do but creates a very busy fabric...sometimes hard to incorporate into a quilt...It worked for me this time.

The middle strip is a screen my friend Val made for me out of a piece of cheesecloth....gives great texture and a screen I find I use a lot!

And the finished piece.....

And to my surprise....this morning a copy of Quilt Life magazine arrived. I knew I was to be one of the featured artists in the February issue but didn't expect it so soon....soooo....

Here is my quilt - Trees III - Blue....nice to see in print and they did a nice job on the article.

Hope you get a chance to read it.

New Years Resolutions, Uncooperative Cats and Happy New Year

2011-12-31T09:37:00.001-05:00

I've given up on New Years Resolutions...new diets....new exercise programs....it's just not gonna happen...but I'm always striving for more studio time and that is the 1 resolution I'm going to focus on. I also like to choose a book and work through it during the year - trying new techniques....last several years it's been on image transfers - something I'm passionate about and will probably explore further this year. I've also loved working with sheers and layering - another technique I'll explore. I buy sheers wherever I see them...often in a Home Decor department of a fabric store. Printed sheers can be painted over with Set a Silk or Dye na Flow paint. The paint has the consistency of water and is fairly transparent so the original design will show through. The sheer below would be a good candidate for painting on top of.

The sheer on the left is the one I'm working with now ....on the right side is a piece of silk organza I painted with Dye na Flow paint.

Below .......the one on the left is purchased...on the right painted.

I love the floral sheer although it may be too busy to incorporate into something. I also stamp on sheers...like the one on the lower right.

Here is a close-up of the sheer I'm working with...it's busy but there are lots of "calm" areas to work with.

I started with a picture of a rock.....transferred it to fabric using an acrylic medium and then silk screened a tree on top.

I then silkscreened a tree (the mirror image of the first one) on top of the sheer (below).

And laid the sheer on top of the first piece of fabric.....This will be a small piece but I'm liking the effect. The white fabric area beyond the original transfer is interesting with the sheer on top...I was going to cut it off but think it adds something to the piece....I have a few more pieces of fabric to add and then it will be finished...will keep you posted.

On another note...I tried to dress Molly in a Happy New Year diaper and hat...but she outright refused....but she does want to wish you a Happy New Year and hopes you find lots of catnip under your pillow!

I also want to wish you all a wonderful New Year....one that's filled with many blessings, the love of family, good creating time and plenty of time to "just smell the roses". Thank you for sticking with me...I love and appreciate your comments and also knowing I have so many nice friends out there....

How Cute is This?

2011-12-29T17:25:00.000-05:00

Back in October, I had the great fun of being an assistant to my good friend Sandy Bonsib - she was teaching her week long course on piecing. One of the students - Dina was a repeat student and always takes Sandy's class. Her husband Joe comes along and takes something he likes. He's real good with wood and so usually it's a wood related workshop - this year it was woodcarving. The woodcarving class was amazing; the things we saw these guys do were so clever and creative. To my great surprise..... the other day, I got an interesting package in the mail - a gift from Joe and Dina. Joe used an old spool...remember the wooden spools that thread used to come on?!........

To carve this.......How wonderful is this...carved and hand painted...No way is this going away with my Christmas decorations....this is staying in my studio ......all year....where I keep my favorite things...usually hand made by friends I love. This will be among my treasures!

Thank you Dina and Joe....I LOVE it!

Greetings from Molly

2011-12-20T08:27:00.000-05:00

Uuh..ohh...Caught playing with the tree ornaments...was hoping I would not be seen ..

But they got me....Help...I'm caught inside this silly red thing and can't get out!

Well....pretty cute if I do say so myself....

The things I have to put up with to get a little Christmas Catnip!!!!!

Molly and all of us here at the Simmons household wish you the merriest of Christmas's!

Shibori

2011-12-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago while getting ready for the holiday fair, I found myself up to my elbows in dye pots. I was dyeing silk scarves using an acid dye. I like to have a large variety of colors so I'll do 2 at a time and try to use as many colors as possible. There is some waste of dye ....even though I do small batches, there should be more silk present to absorb all the dye. I had an idea to use my silk scraps and do some Shibori in the dye pot at the same time. It was very serendipitous, no plan ...but thought I have nothing to lose so go for it!

I did very easy wrapping, rubber bands, clamps, string etc.

Years ago, my husband cut shapes out of plexiglass for me to use...2 of each shape - one for the top and one for the bottom of the folded fabric....

I wasn't fussy...just grabbed pieces of silk...some were solid and some were printed like you see below.

This was a piece of silk charmeuse - a sample I had made and serged the edge. Acid dyes will only work on silk fiber....the thread was not silk which is why it remained white.

This scrap was leftover from a lining I made...it's also stamped.

This next one is funny....I think it's very obvious what I used to create that shape (will reveal at the end of post)

And the next couple of pieces....Can you guess what I used to resist the area to get this shape....

Think Retro!...something we all suffered through to look beautiful!

Nope not this....these are switch plates...makes for cool designs when used in Shibori

Remember these?!!....I spent many sleepless nights with these in my hair.....whoever thought I would find a much better use for them....

Til next time....

Beware of Throw Pillows

2011-12-07T11:26:00.003-05:00

I'm sure you've heard stories like this......... you're in a store and pass by some beautiful throw pillows....love them, can't live without them ....so you buy them and bring them home....but now the couch conflicts with them so you need a new couch. The new couch doesn't go with the rug....and now the new rug doesn't go with the drapes and so on and so on....

On a much smaller scale...this is my version and of course it involves fabric. I bought this wonderful...couldn't live without fabric which I thought would be perfect for Christmas napkins. Can you see the sparkly background???...I love sparkly things at Christmas.

So now I have these wonderful new Christmas napkins (as soon as I make them) that actually go with my plates.....

But now I need some silver chargers to sparkle it up (and go with the sparkly napkins).

But my centerpiece and table runner doesn't go....too much gold....sooooo

I get a new table runner (notice the sparkly beads)

And make a new centerpiece using blue and silver and sparklies....

And now I have a lot of flowers etc. left over....no need to let them go to waste....so.....I make a small arrangement.

Which then doesn't go with the gold candle....so a white one will work

Yes...now that's good....whew!!!

So my advice for the day....next time you're shopping and see some gorgeous throw pillows or anything else you can't live without....Just CLOSE your eyes.....TAKE a deep breath and WALK ON BY!

Holiday Sale at the Folk Art Center

2011-12-02T11:50:00.001-05:00

The Holiday Sale at the Folk Art Center takes place this Saturday, December 3 from 10 - 4. Members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild will have wonderful items at great prices for holiday shoppers. Most items are overstocks, seconds and discounted items...wonderful bargains to be had. The sale is in the auditorium of the Folk Art Center...I've been getting ready ...dyeing lots of silk scarves in chiffon, China and crepe de Chine silk. My helper - Molly is supervising by sitting in my box of silk scraps from other projects...(Why do cats like fabric so much??)

So here is a small sampling of what I'll have....I managed to make 150 scarves....yikes!

Please join us if you're in the area...it's one of the best sales of the season!

Trees and Trucks

2011-11-30T08:07:00.000-05:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving is usually the time we make our annual trip to the Christmas tree farm in Pineola, NC......around and hour and a half north of us. It's a beautiful ride and lots and lots of farms to choose from. The prices are great and you know the tree is fresh. We always hope for a wintery looking day that's not too cold but gives you the Christmas spirit. This past Sunday was just that kind of day....gray skies but fairly mild and great to be outside. The Twin Pines is our favorite place...don't know why, they are all great but we started here and have had good luck finding the "perfect" tree....They all look perfect in my estimation...it's hard to choose.

It's just such fun walking through this beautiful forest of trees....and right away we find one. Last year we tagged trees we wanted to revisit with the orange streamer tape from home improvement stores....EVERYONE had the same idea....so this year we switched to red ribbon and seems like there were a lot of red ribbons when we got here...Oh well!

In every direction, you see trees....

So this is the one we got...hope we got one of "our red ribbon" trees...but we'll love it....regardless.

So tied to the car and the sun roof open (glass closed) so we can watch on our trip home...we are ready set to go....

And on the way home...an added bonus, I came upon this old rusty truck...how cool is this....will add it to my rusty tractor, tires and other Americana photos....These trucks always appear to have "faces" and this has a great one....can't wait to print it on fabric.

A good day!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T14:49:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving ....I wish you all a wonderful day surrounded by good food and those you love and hold dear to your heart.

Airplanes

2011-11-21T18:53:00.000-05:00

My friend Sandy has a darling grandson who is in love with airplanes...so her being a quilter...guess what he's getting for Christmas!...Yup, you guessed it...an airplane quilt. He can't get enough of them....and only 2 years old....I personally see airplanes in his future. Sandy showed me this really cute fabric with airplanes on it..

with a patchwork of grays and neutrals...

It's adorable I thought but it needed a BIG RED AIRPLANE. Well, Sandy is a fabulous piecer but doesn't do applique...... I don't piece but I can applique. So I took the fabric home to see if we could add a big red plane. And another thing...I don't draw...not one single bit ......so first thing was to find an image of a plane. The internet has lots of copyrite free images as well as the Dover coloring books....AND....I have a son who draws really well. Here is one of the planes I found and thought would work. I enlarged it quite a bit and placed it on the fabric to see the size and position. I wanted the plane to look like it was flying into the quilt.

I had red fabric from Sandy which will also be used in the border. The headlights are silver tissue lame backed with a fusible web for strength.

I shaded the wings with Shiva oil sticks and stitching....

And here it is finished....just needs the border and it will be done for Christmas.

I think little Maceo will like it!

"Small Works - Trees I"

2011-11-19T18:52:00.003-05:00

I've been working on some small pieces...I truly love doing them as they go fast and I get the chance to try out new techniques and USE UP FABRIC...okay, I admit...not a whole lot of fabric but a small step in the right direction. I don't know why I care so much (about using up fabric) as I'm always adding more...sigh!!...I'm hopeless and I know you all can relate!! This is the finished piece...

I used some hand dyed fabric for the sides....

Added some deconstructive screenprinted fabric on the top...
and bottom. I love using couching thread such as Candlelight by YLI to sew on top between the 2 fabrics. You can see the thin black line which is the couching thread. It gives it a little definition as well as a teeny tiny bit of sparkle. Candlelight is the same as Glamour by Madeira and Razzle Dazzle (Ricky Tims). They all are metallic, very soft and easy to use. By soft, I mean they lay very well on the surface and don't interfere with the way a fabric handles.
I used 2 layers of fabric here....the background fabric which was dyed and screened with an image of trees. Next I placed an overlay of silk organza with trees screened in black on top to give the feeling of distance in the piece.
And here's the finished piece once again....
It will be for sale in my online gallery. Click on the link on the right to take you to the gallery.

New Silk Screens

2011-11-14T15:30:00.006-05:00

I've been working on some new screens....I really love making them...it's hard to know when to stop. I did a screen of this chair some time back...but the finished product had too much "noise" in it (leaves, grass) which made it difficult to see the main image of the chair. Sometimes the background noise is hard to remove from the picture but I thought I would give it another try. I made a copy of the original and using some white-out, was able to clean it up a bit.

I like it better and think the chair is much more obvious....
This old tire might be my favorite image....I played with it in Photoshop to make it into a photocopy, printed it, cleaned it up to make the tire prominent and then made a lazer copy of my copy which I needed for my Thermofax.
I made a screen in 2 sizes. I store my screens in file folders and print the image on the outside...like you see here...also a good test to see how the image turned out.
And the old tractor....finally got around to doing a screen....doesn't "he" have the best face!!?
It made into a good screen....
And the side view of the same tractor....This was taken quite some time ago. I saw him again (think I've humanized him) while at my friend Dorts house....and he's covered with greenery so I'm glad I took the picture when I did.
It's done in 2 sizes also...I'm really happy with this screen.
All of the above images I'm hoping to use in my "Americana" quilt. I don't remember where I took the picture below...know it was with my PTA group on one of our outings. I loved all the circles and wanted to see how it would work in a screen...so Photoshop to photocopy to printing it out, cleaning it up and then a lazer copy.
I really like the way the screen turned out....
And of course...some trees...always have to have a tree in the mix.
This next screen was from corn silk from some corn on the cob. I think it will provide some great texture.
My son who is an artist did this drawing of an eye...I love faces and eyes so this was a fun image to use. I also like to have a bit of his talent popping up in my pieces.....
It was a fun, productive day and am anxious to try them out.

PTA November

2011-11-11T17:49:00.005-05:00

As always, this wonderful group I'm in, met yesterday and surpassed last months Show and Tell, laughter and good conversation! We've all been working on challenge pieces for an invitational exhibit we're part of at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival in February....our challenge - to create a piece inspired by a 2-dimensional artist we like. Cathy N finished hers and it's wonderful! Her artist was Kandinsky.....Each block has so much detail with embroidery and interesting threads.

And with the leftovers...wow...another great piece!
Connie celebrated a "big" birthday last month and received some surprise gifts at our meeting. Connie has more energy than anyone I know...is involved with so many things and has a wonderful zest for life....One of her many passions is collecting aprons - which she also uses. This apron was a shirt made into an apron....cute...
And look at the apron ties....shirt sleeves. Connie has dubbed this a "shapron" which is a shirt plus an apron!
Mary B made this wonderful piece based on a picture from her childhood...she had the picture with her and how I wish I had it to show. This is a wonderful rendition of that picture. Mary is the small child in the quilt....and her mom sitting on the bench.
Dort is our "detail" artist...nothing too small to overlook. This quilt was made for her aunt....it's a map to her house which apparently is at the end of a very winding road.
The details are so much fun to see including a helicopter which flies over the house each day...can you see it front and center?!
Connie organized a few people from our group to quilt at the Biltmore with children who designed some of the blocks. The quilt will be given to another child who is ill. The children wrote messages of anything they wanted and then quilted it....
It was a wonderful experience for adult kids and little kids alike.
Connie also brought a beautiful antique quilt to show. Connie is an AQS certified appraiser and always on the lookout for antique quilts...this one was a beauty!
Gen is almost finished with her challenge piece based on the work of Klimt...she admits she's ready for it to be done...it is wonderful to see in person.
All in all, it was a great day with just the nicest gals I know...I feel lucky to have them in my life.

Confused??

2011-11-06T19:01:00.003-05:00

Does my "Christmas Cactus's" not realize.....

that this is only......
November 6!!!....!!!
Where did I go wrong??....

Hope you enjoyed your extra hour of time today....I still haven't adjusted the clocks...like to feel like I still have that extra hour every time I look at the clock...Silly....I know!

Small Works - Windows 1

2011-11-02T18:34:00.007-04:00

I haven't had too much studio time...that time of year when things are crazy.....fun but still crazy. I've taken to doing small pieces when I get a chance...at least I keep my fingers in my art and my mind on a creative track. I have a series called Small Works....small quilts that aren't matted or framed....just small. They're fun to do; I get to use up fabric (very small amounts), try new techniques and best of all feel like I'm creating something with an end in sight. I love using my own photography as it's mine and copyrite free (for me)! I took this picture years ago in Old San Juan....I loved the aging walls and colors. I transferred this photo to fabric using an acrylic medium...giving it an aged look.

I have bins and bins of scraps...sometimes I'll dump them out on the floor (I'm a neat-nick...so this is hard for me to do) and just fish through them....I find some great treasures. I found these fabrics to frame my window.
They definitely needed more "zing" so using my silkscreen of a tree....
I screened part of the image on one piece of fabric...
and the other part of the screen on the corresponding side. I also screened some discharge paste through a "recipe" screen on the light green area...I love using things from my family in my work....this is a screen of one of my grandmother's recipes...written in her handwriting.
The top piece of fabric needed something so I screened discharge paste through one of my favorite "tree" screens...I like the way it turned out.
Almost there....some quilting (very little) as I'm most interested in the imagery and don't want to detract from that...and if the truth be told.....just anxious to finish!
So here is the finished piece.....I was working on this while at John Campbell last month and one of the students bought it....so it has found a new home...and I know a good one!!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-27T17:16:00.005-04:00

The price of 3 very large Halloween Pumpkins = $12.00

One pot of colorful fall mums = $5.00
The cost of one bag of Halloween Gourds = $3.00
A bag of Halloween candy (our favorite so we can eat them also) = $5.00
And a 34 year old book that was your daughters favorite

(especially at Halloween) = PRICELESS!!

There are just some things you can never part with...this is one of them! I think I must have read this story 1,000 times over the course of many years...and hopefully will do so again with grandchildren. Have a safe, wonderful and very spooky Halloween!!!

Where are we???

2011-10-24T18:02:00.005-04:00

In the fall, my husband and I make a lot of day trips to view the pretty leaves and enjoy the cooler days of the season. We had never been to Bristol which is in both Tennessee and Virginia. It is a lovely town and the trees just beginning to turn. While in a store, we asked if we were in Tennessee...the lady promptly replied...No, you're in Virginia...if you want Tennessee...just cross the street.

It seems the yellow line down the middle of the road divides the 2 states.....sooooo being a typical tourist, we had to take a picture. Cars were very patient, probably thinking....here we go again...another tourist having to take a picture with their feet in both states!...Yup...we did. And my poor husband...the things I make him do...but he's a good sport and so were all the Virginia and Tennessee drivers waiting patiently for him to move. The stores on one side wave the Virginia flag and the other side have Tennessee flags.....
We also visited a charming little town - Abingdon....totally in Virginia with a very old tavern. We wanted to have lunch there but they only serve dinner so looks like we'll be making a trip back.
I loved the roof...completely covered in moss.
And the door....not super old looking but pretty cool none the less.
We came upon a very old house called the "Crooked Cabin".....
Wonder if you fall out of bed while staying here....?
A fun day....I love the fall!

Textures

2011-10-19T18:28:00.005-04:00

While at John Campbell a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take photos of some wonderful textures....Often my pictures are of odd things....not your typical photo. Most times I haven't a clue where I'll use them...but eventually they do wind up somewhere. I have a good friend who is very creative, takes lots of pictures, especially likes the perspective of things on the ground. Someone asked her once, why she kept looking at her feet......not realizing, that that was her favorite place for subject matter. This beautiful barn (below) was covered with fall foliage.

I love the old weathered wood...
and lime green leaves....
and this wonderful old plank of wood with nails sticking out.
The forest which provides a shortcut between buildings had some wonderful lights and shadows...my love of trees pulled me in.
I also love old, weather-worn windows.....they are so interesting with lots of texture.
And old screen doors....

I'm working on some small studies right now using old windows and trees....this will probably wind up in one of them....

John Campbell Projects

2011-10-14T16:33:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderful class at John Campbell including one male student - Dan who did beautiful work and is destined to be an art quilter. The man in the middle - dressed as Christopher Columbus was David - who gave massages - you know the deal...a dollar a minute and worth every penny. He was very good and also very funny - he did his best work dressed in something unusual....He couldn't find his "tu-tu" so Christopher had to do. Behind the students are some of the beautiful quilts made by them this past week. The blue and green was Kathy's first quilt - a great job. The navy and red quilt belongs to Joan and made for the Quilts of Valor program. This is her third one and it was stunning!

The quilt studio at JCC is very large and the class size is kept to 12 people or less....
Plenty of room to walk around and everyone has their own design wall.
This next piece was made by Mary Jane...78 years old and still loves to make quilts.
Judy Mayer made this next piece - this picture does not do it justice...all beautiful batiks and lovely fabric choices.
Mary Waterman made the same quilt, different colors. They were hanging side by side and fun to see the same pattern made up in 2 different kinds of fabrics and color.
I was intrigued by the corners....The pinwheels were so small and absolutely perfect - most impressive!
We had a young woman in class - Aino Riiho who was from Finland and married to a man from this area. She is studying to be an arts and crafts teacher in Finland; quilting was the one area that wasn't covered in her course of studies and this was her first attempt at quilting. She first learned the basics of half square triangles and made a heart quilt for her baby due in February. From the beginning I knew she loved art quilts...she designed and made this incredible piece (below)....her second quilt and all in the course of 5 days!!! Keep an eye out for her - She is a wonderful artist!
It was amazing to see how much one could accomplish in a mere 5 days.

John Campbell

2011-10-11T08:10:00.005-04:00

This past week, I had the great fun of assisting my long time friend Sandy Bonsib at the John C Campbell Folk School. At JCC, when your class fills you qualify for an assistant and Sandy asked if I would come....a great chance to visit with a friend I don't get to see very often...So I was packed...off and running! The week that Sandy taught followed the Fall Festival weekend - the biggest event of the year which draws thousands of people. I had to be there on Sunday which provided a great opportunity to see what it was all about. It was perfect weather, lots of wonderful crafts for sale, music, animals - something for everyone.

The huge barn has music going on throughout the day and lots of bails of hay to sit on.
All the banners hanging throughout the barn have been made by various fiber artists.
I came upon this booth which was soooo "sixties".....
And these beautiful Alpacas were my favorite.
What a wonderful face!!!
All the studios on campus had demos going on...this is the weaving studio which is also connected to the quilting studio (where I was working all week).
So of course, I wandered over to see what was up and was surpised by this beautiful quilt exhibit going on...made up of quilts by instructors of JCC. This is Elsie Campbells "Dad's Plaids".
I loved this next one by Elsie Campbell as I love the pieced background with appliques on top...so subtle and effective.

"Crazie Dazies" by Audrey Hiers was whimsical and wonderful. Her fabric choices and the caddy-whampus" angle of setting the blocks made the quilt. I loved it!
And a detail....
Karen Reese Tunnell is a wonderful marbler and does the most amazing things with the fabric she creates like this kaleidoscope quilt - "Nouveau Fractals" below.
and "Maternalis" where Karen will create the marbled fabric and add further imagery on top. Karen will be teaching marbling at John Campbell this coming January....I'm already signed up and can hardly wait.
Marilyn Walls beautiful "mother and child" is based on a photograph she took while on vacation. She was so touched by the love this woman felt for her child, she felt she had to capture it in fabric....I think she nailed it!
It was a great day which was only the beginning of a great week.....Please join me again for the further adventures, pictures (for possible quilts) and crazy goings on.....

Asheville Quilt Guild Show

2011-10-02T11:20:00.007-04:00

The Asheville Quilt Guild held their annual show this year at a new location....the agricultural center right across from the airport. It's a much bigger facility and able to house the entire show and vendors under one roof! A welcome of beautiful fall flowers greeted us at the entrance.

Quite frankly I didn't know what to expect...In years past, the show has been held at the NC Arboretum which is beautiful, warm and inviting....so this was quite a change....And change can be good...and this was spectacular!
I felt like I was at a "mini" Houston show....The vendors were wonderful (and a lot more of them)....
The quilts were hung so you could really get around and see them up close and personal or from a distance...great for picture taking. Barbara Swineas beautiful piece (below) was one of my favorite...her piecing skills are the best I've seen...the uniqueness of the placement of the squares is wonderful...
And the beautiful large stitches added so much.
Linda Cantrell's...A Day in the Life of a Diner...was another one of her "humorous" quilts...which she is very well known for....What an imagination Linda has...she never ceases to amaze me or keep me laughing.
And a detail...this was the "12 midnight" seating with Ladies of the evening in the booth.
Pat Kerko did the most beautiful silk quilt....looked like a dupioni to me, brilliant colors and machine embroidered. Her color choices were just amazing.....I love silk and fell in love with this piece.
Jane Cole's quilts are always wonderful and add so much to a show......
Jane Weaver did this beautiful kaleidoscope quilt with lots and lots of metallic threads...so hard to work with and she did a great job.
A detail where you can see the threadwork.
Veronica Von Zwehl did this very unique piece.
Anita Heady known for her strip piecing and beautiful dyed fabrics created the piece below.
And one of Lynne Harrills wonderful pieces....
There are so many more...I do hope you'll get a chance to stop by today...Congratulations to Barbara Pate (chairman of show) and all the guild members who worked so hard to pull this together...It is a wonderful show.

I'm heading off to John Campbell for the week to assist my friend Sandy Bonsib with her workshop....so have a great week....

Bears, Great Students and a Beautiful Sunrise

2011-09-30T18:32:00.004-04:00

This week has literally slipped away, we're painting the living room so everything is in an upheaval, I'm leaving for John Campbell this weekend and have company coming when I get back....whew!!!!!...so I forgot about my blog....Booooo on me and I've been wanting to share more on my wonderful stay in New Bern, NC (last week). New Bern, NC is the sister city of Bern, Switzerland and their trademark is the bear. There are bears everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. They're wonderful...colorful, artistic and add so much to the city of New Bern. each bear has a sponsor and costs around $3,000. They are painted by local artists and a plaque sits besides each bear telling all pertinent information. They are such fun to see...Here are a few I photographed.

There was even one in the hotel lobby.....
And speaking of hotels, I had the best room with great views....got up early one morning to see this outside my balcony.....
Does it get any prettier than this?!!
And onto my workshops....first day we did a half day of Bobbin Magic and a half day of dimensional work (flowers, petals, leaves and off the edge). The students were wonderful....
And lucky for me, I had so many repeat students...making it more fun and personal.
The classroom space in the upstairs of a church was absolutely great, plenty of room to spread out, and even a "whiteboard".
Years ago, when I taught in public school, I had a blackboard...then when I went back to substitute teaching in my kids school, where there were greenboards....now they are white or dry erase boards....either way, I was grateful as it's not something I get often when teaching for guilds...and I love using them in my teaching. So amongst all these lovely ladies....we also had a lovely man - Ed! Ed was great, the hubby of the program chairman and a great help to me (and a very good quilter). Ed is also active with community theater and was involved in the production of Guys and Dolls which he gave me a ticket for.....and....I used on friday night! What fun!
This is some of the samples that came out of our first half day workshop....we did dimensional work with wire, with interfacing and with machine lace....also off the edge applique pieces. All my gals (and guy) did great and wish I could show all of them.
Our other half day workshop was Bobbin Magic which included bobbin stippling, bobbin beading, bobbin stumpwork and bobbin curls. I was amazed that everyone was able to complete every exercise in our very short 3 hours....such good skills!

Bobbin beading below...looks like it was beaded but all done with couching thread.
It was a wonderful experience and I thank the Twin Rivers Quilters for their wonderful hospitality.

On another note, today I went to the Asheville Quilt Guild's quilt show (my guild) and have lots to report....so please visit me again real soon....and enjoy this wonderful fall weather - I'm in Heaven!

New Bern, NC and the Twin Rivers Quilters

2011-09-27T18:39:00.006-04:00

I just returned from teaching at the Twin Rivers Quilters Guild in New Bern, NC....the opposite side of the state from me......on the water. It's a wonderful guild and I'll be remembering this trip for a long time. I was treated royally....for starters, put up in this wonderful hotel....with my own balcony....that had this amazing view!...Wow!

And little ducks and birds of all sorts just hanging out...waiting for treats.
This was another view from my balcony.
And I just love this post in the water....think it might make an interesting print.
The skies were glorious...both morning and night....

I loved this picture of a dock...so simple and a peaceful place to be.
Critters everywhere....just knowing someone was going to feed them.
And interesting roots and trees....
And amazing buildings....
And I love the way the steeple looks against the sky in this photo.
Some amazing big old homes....
There's a very old hardware store downtown....been there forever...thought this old brain could remember the name but I'm sorry, it is gone. Their windows are amazing with every kind of old artifact you can imagine. Unfortunately I was there when it was closed, but heard it has everything!!....really!!

They had a number of windows to window shop in....great fun...almost reminded me of some of the vignettes at the Smithsonian's American Museum.
There's more to come...some very clever and arty bears, great ladies/students (and 1 gentleman) and projects and some more beautiful skies...so please join me again

Biltmore Exhibit

2011-09-20T17:43:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, dear hubby and I visited the Biltmore Estate to see the Tiffany Exhibit along with the annual quilt exhibit held at the Deerpark restaurant. The Tiffany Exhibit was beautiful and featured many different styles of Tiffany lamps along with lanterns and reading lamps. To see that many Tiffanys together in the same place was chilling and very moving. The rooms were darkened and the lamps lit to get the full affect. No photographs allowed so hopefully if you're in the Asheville area, you'll be able to see for yourself. The quilt exhibit held at the Deerpark restaurant on the estate grounds featured quilts made in the stained glass technique or featured motifs often used in Tiffany lamps such as birds, flowers, dragonflies etc. Here are some of the very lovely pieces - enjoy the show..... "Sudoku Solved" by Trish Gabriel ...

The "Stained Glass Tree" by Barbara Swinea....
"Magnolia" by Janice Maddox...And you're not seeing out of focus...it's this very cool technique that Janice used to make this piece.
A detail.....
"Century Plant" by Kate Weston...
"Iris" by Judy Simmons...
"Waterbird" by Dort Lee....
"Autumn Tree" by Christina Strickland....
There were also some wonderful paintings...this one "Rays of Summer" by Susan Stanton was lovely.
And on the way in...all the wonderful livestock...
And the beautiful flowers....
And there's no way we're leaving without a stop at the Creamery (Ice Cream)....My hubby has always maintained the philosophy..."there's always room for ice cream"....and he never turns down an opportunity to prove it!!!
Yummmmmm.....Their ice cream is the best.......On another note....I'm off on a teaching trip to the Twin Rivers Quilt Guild in New Bern, NC.....a town right on the coast. I'm packed, ready to go and so looking forward to it....I'm staying in a hotel right on the water....I may never want to leave!

Have a lovely week.....

Photography Adventure Pt. 2

2011-09-17T18:44:00.007-04:00

I've been having some fun working in photoshop with the wonderful photos from my day at Dort's home and property. I loved the look of this old log wall....

which transferred into a really good line drawing. I've already been to an office supply place to make a lazer copy of this, which I need to make a silkscreen....That's on tomorrows "to-do" list.
And I also loved this logwall...also made into a drawing....don't know if it will make it into a screen.
All the greenery comes across as "noise" in the drawing and the initial image is not as clear as I would like.
Another fun thing that Kate, Cathy and I came across was an old fridge........got Kate to sit on top and pose for a picture......Notice how Kate's pants and shoes match the greenery....Exactly!
Okay...so this was my favorite thing to photograph....I love circles (and rust) and of course this tire did the trick for me....
And transferred so well into a line drawing...which has already been lazer copied to be made into a silkscreen. I think it will be a great image when screened on fabric.
There were some wonderful old tools standing upright.....
perfect for a possible silkscreen.....
And my other favorite....a tractor....hidden in the grass. Last time I was at Dorts, I took tons of pictures of this tractor in full view....but Mother Nature has taken over and all you can see is just the front peeking out. I love the drawing of this but way too busy to be made into a silkscreen. The original full view is great though and will make into a good line drawing.

I'll share that soon...When you see this tractor from head on...it has a face...and I think you'll agree when you see the photos....Tomorrow, hubby and I are heading for the Biltmore Estate to see the Tiffany Exhibit as well as the annual quilt exhibit organized by our own Connie Brown...so it should be a fun day. On another note...woke up this morning to a mere 51 degrees....yes....I was elated.....I LOVE FALL!!!

Photography Adventure

2011-09-14T16:58:00.011-04:00

Last week while at our PTA meeting, myself, Cathy and Kate grabbed the opportunity to go outside and take some pictures. Dort L, our hostess lives on 50 beautiful acres, filled with history, lots of little outbuildings, barns and other interesting things. I have a folder called my "Americana" file, filled with pictures of old time America....maybe a future quilt.....just maybe. I loved this little barn

which I turned into a black and white image in Photoshop Elements....
and then a line drawing for a possible silkscreen.
One of the neat things we found on this very short but fun adventure was this charming old tub....surrounded by greenery. It looks as though they were planted there on purpose....they seem to "frame" the tub.
I loved the old faucets....
also turned into a line drawing for a possible screen.
And here's Cathy being a big ham.....(and a good sport).
I love old chairs and this one was perfect....I have it in my head to do a quilt of old chairs someday.....
The trees and plants on Dort's property are just wonderful....This crabapple caught my eye....
enough to turn into a line drawing.
This wonderful old wooden flatbed....wonder what it was used for in it's "hayday".....(maybe hay)
I think it will make an interesting screen as the image is very distinct.
And this old gate....I love it!
and a good line drawing also so it will probably become a screen.
There are many more images to share....so stay tuned for further adventures in photography at Dorts.

Remembering 911

2011-09-11T09:08:00.003-04:00

A tribute to the many amazing and wonderful heroes, this terrible event in history created. I've been watching the specials on TV and reminded of the many "ordinary" people who reached out to others, put their life on the line and their own needs last. I have a book of favorite quotes....One very special one is "Adversity introduces us to ourselves". 911 showed the world what we are made of.... God Bless our heroes then and now and God Bless America.

Fly your colors - Red, White and Blue!

PTA Continued

2011-09-10T16:31:00.003-04:00

To continue our wonderful Show and Tell from our PTA meeting, Gen G is one of our most talented members....there is nothing she can't do or won't try. Each meeting brings wonderful surprises from Gen. She is a fantastic knitter - a skill I've always been envious of since the only thing I can knit is a scarf.....on big needles....with one kind of stitch. How many knitted scarfs can a gal use?! I love the socks that Gen makes...They are so soft and lovely....and quite frankly....

too pretty to wear....think I would just have to have them nearby to admire and touch...but just think how great these must feel on a cold winter's day.
Georgia B does a retreat each year with Charlotte Warr Anderson in Montana. They each come up with very different and wonderful projects. Everyone attending has the opportunity to take both classes...This is the project for this year. The blue cowboy fabric is wonderful in this piece.

And another lovely piece from Georgia.
Dort L is on a roll with her series of birds. Dort received a lot of fat quarters from her kids and is making good use of them in this series.
Dort has a great eye for mixing prints together.
and capturing some great perspective such as this bird in flight.
It's a fun series we've all been privy to seeing up close and personal.
I love this last piece by Dort.....the bench is made entirely out of ribbons...amazing!
Join me again soon for our wonderful photography adventure on Dorts property.

PTA Meeting Today

2011-09-08T20:41:00.003-04:00

We had our September meeting at Dort Lees house and as always it was full of fun, chatter, great ideas and food, yummy dessert with fresh out of the garden blueberries and enough ideas to keep us going for years. Amongst the talking and laughing we did manage to get in our show and tell...always a highlight for inspiration. Cathy N showed us her progress on her challenge piece for our show "Inspired By" to open at the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA this coming February. Cathy has always loved the artist Kandinsky; when this challenge came along, it was no contest....this was her artist of choice. Her blocks are incredible to see in person.

They're all so spontaneous and colorful. Each one is different - she plans as she goes along.
Whatever the block suggests to her....She's calling this wonderful piece - "Sunnyside Up". There are 12 blocks to this piece (as in a dozen eggs).
Mary S is working on a beautiful piece which she has given more detail to on her blog. It has wonderful beading on it....of course.... and also beautiful hand dyed felt.
Mary is doing more and more with her hand dyes as backdrops for her work....really lovely!
Janice M showed us a fun quilt called circles and bubbles....great color and just fun to see up close and personal.
I love the way the colors seem to run together.
Janice also created this beautiful heirloom piece in needlepoint which she also loves to do. This picture doesn't come close to doing it justice.
I was fascinated by the beautiful mottled effect which was created using 4 strands of silk thread in different values of the same color and mixing up the proportions such as 2 strands of dark, 1 strand of medium and 1 of light.....next time might be 1 strand of dark, 2 of med and 1 of light...you get the picture....and it's what creates the beautiful mottled effect in the background. It is a masterpiece....Plenty more show and tell to follow as well as our outdoor photography adventure with Kate and Cathy....great fun....Stay tuned.

More About Charleston

2011-09-04T08:57:00.006-04:00

I have never been to Charleston....hard to believe growing up on the east coast and living in various places up and down the eastern seaboard....but it's a place I've always wanted to visit. It is the ultimate charming city.

One of the most fun things to do is to visit the market in downtown Charleston....it literally goes on for blocks and blocks....very narrow and long.
This was the entrance where you see lots and lots of sweet grass baskets, all hand crafted and so pretty with such interesting shapes.
Parts of the market are air-conditioned....and parts are au-naturelle.

The vendors go on forever....of course you want to see everything first before you buy and then to find your way back to a particular vendor was a challenge.
One of the stores was a candy store...don't you just love all the barrels of old-fashioned candy with NOT SO old fashioned prices....we used to call it Penny Candy (can't believe I'm that old)...not a penny anymore!
And a display case of hand dipped chocolates and chocolate and caramel apples...these apples were huge!
The streets were charming with sculptures and beautiful landscaping....
Little outdoor places to sit and eat...
And the beaches...I love the sand dunes....I miss that living in western NC....
And critters everywhere....
But the best part was the sunsets! Wow...spectacular!
Hope you're all enjoying this last official weekend of summer....staying cool and safe....

A Very Charming Quilt Shop

2011-09-02T09:55:00.006-04:00

This week, my good pal Mary and I went on a road trip to visit a former student of hers....Bev Cone. One of the fun places we visited was the "People, Places, and Quilts" Quilt shop in Summerville, SC (also in Charleston).

There were many rooms, each more delightful than the one before...often with "wooden" people to greet you and always dressed in a featured pattern.
There was a room specifically for baby quilts with bright colored fabrics in both cottons and flannels...a feast for the eyes - you just wanted to run your fingers over every one.
And more "greeters" to make us feel welcome!
This quilt tickled my fancy (in hopes of having a grandchild someday)....Little purses that opened up to store treasures....For a little boy, I could see pockets of some sort. What a fun quilt for a child.
And a gorgeous and very spacious classroom with wonderful samples all over the walls.
This long hallway led the way to the many rooms.
This huge room had wonderful fabrics including a large selection of Batiks.

And a designated area for books....
And a place to sit and peruse the books....How cool is this!!
Well okay....I usually don't take pictures of bathrooms, but this one was way too cute to pass up (and with a bunny to keep you company).
Some lovely antiques mixed in with the decor.
So many of you don't know my obsession for wanting an American Girl doll to make clothes for....I've been waiting for a granddaughter to do this. My daughter asked me "what if I have a boy".....well, I'll be making American Girl doll clothes for him also. So when I saw this hanging on the wall....it tickled my heart strings.....a little girl apron and one for her doll!
Mary was picking all these wonderful bright colored fabrics....dots and stripes..... and me....I was getting my usual "putty" colored fabrics....which I use a lot in my work. But Just You Wait...until I have a grandbaby.....I will be buying brights galore! So we had to laugh with the contrast in our fabric piles....

If you are ever in the area...give yourself a treat and check out this wonderful shop or go online to see what they're all about www.ppquilts.com

Six Degrees of Separation

2011-08-27T18:43:00.005-04:00

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

2011-08-24T17:19:00.004-04:00

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?

2011-08-21T17:36:00.005-04:00

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

2011-08-17T07:42:00.002-04:00

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

2011-08-14T18:36:00.008-04:00

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

2011-08-11T16:55:00.006-04:00

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)....

More Sh'rooms and Leaves

2011-08-09T09:55:00.003-04:00

To continue my obsession with mushrooms, I found some last week on my morning walk...and they were wonderful - such great shapes.

These two were "joined at the hip".
And this morning I found this huge leaf.....
Really huge....but I loved the prominent veins on the back. It will work into a really nice screen for deconstructive screenprinting.
I've worked up a few screens....already dry, just have to soda ash some fabric and they'll be ready to go....this one is the mushrooms and some ferns.
And these little guys.....

And this is a very tiny screen which I love to use.
Anxious to see how they print.......will keep you posted.

Fiber Junkies Making Books, Pt 2

2011-08-06T11:35:00.008-04:00

Yesterday Fiber Junkies met at my house for Part 2 of making books. Carol Sloan does the most wonderful and creative job of making books and left us all...once again....inspired and excited for more. Carol has a very spontaneous approach to her art which is fun to watch....the combinations she comes up with is mind boggling. Very few things make it to the wastebasket....most become potential trims etc for her books - they are wonderful!

All of us had worked on our papers since the last meeting...they were all so interesting to see.
This one was one of my favorites.....

This is Patsy's cover...if you know Patsy, she loves leaves and feathers and uses lots of them in her work.
Nancy's cover was fantastic....love the lace at the top...the small frame she created herself, the leaves etc.
And the back....just as wonderful!
One of the pages....Nancy loves nature subject matter also...
I think this next page was one of Vals....so much to see, they were all running together. Val makes many beautiful hand made papers...the beige paper has been embossed with a Sizzix machine and lace added on the edge.
On this page, Val used the cover of a thank you note and stitched lace along the sides...what a great way to recycle those beautiful cards you don't want to toss but wind up keeping in a box.
We also had "show and tell"....Nancy and Patsy brought something we all were drooling over. Nancy made this beautiful felted bracelet....
along with this.....
Nancy made these shapes with a sizzix machine and dyecuts from Patsy. She then felted and dyed them....How cool is that!
Nancy's latest love....buying these assembled "blank" books, taking them apart, embossing, painting etc. the cover....re-assembling them - Wow!
One of the pages...with a felted Gingko leaf.
What a great, fun and inspiring day....Next month, we're doing a field trip to one of our favorite fabric outlets...we call it "dumpster diving" for fabric....as that's about what it is...I've found many treasures for printing on....can't wait!

Meet the Hummingbird

2011-08-01T17:29:00.004-04:00

My challenge piece is coming along and almost done...feels good to have some time to play in my studio and work on something I'm excited about. For this piece, I dyed the background to give it a mottled look. I added some Dye-na-Flow silk paint to the edges and bottom to darken it. I mixed black and brown and then watered it down....a lot!!..... so it was just a wash. Dye-na-Flow is such a fun paint to use....it can be used on any fiber and heat sets with an iron....so easy!....I like easy!!!

After the Dye-na-Flow dried, I went back and added some peachy colored paint to tie in the flowers to the background.

I often dye my fabric for quilts but couldn't get a good peach color so resorted to commercial fabric...found some good ones in different values.
The flowers were shaded with Shiva paintstiks...another fun thing to use. They are oil sticks formed to look like a large crayon....I use a teeny - tiny stencil brush to apply the color where I want it. The paintstiks are oil based so they take a little more time to dry...but permanent on fabric once they are air cured.
These are the 2 I used for the flowers...I mixed them together by coloring one on an index card and then the other color on top....that became my "paint palette" to use with the stencil brush.
And the leaf fabric...I did dye a grayish-brown...enhanced with Shiva paintstiks (weird spelling on this).
And on to the Hummingbird....I found an image in free clipart on the internet. I admit to not being able to draw my way out of a paper bag...so I rely on my son (who is fabulous at drawing) or Dover coloring books with copyrite free images or the internet. The wings on this little guy were made with Angelina fibers which are translucent....so I enhanced them further with Shiva paintstiks.
White Angelina fibers......
He (or maybe he's a she) needed more color in the throat area...so I used paintstiks here also...
and here he is....
Stay tuned....almost done.....Yippee!!!!!

Challenge Piece

2011-07-30T17:57:00.005-04:00

My PTA group is doing a challenge for an upcoming exhibit. I'm not always enthused to do challenges but this one I'm loving....it's based on the idea of creating a piece inspired by a 2-dimensional artist - one we admire, one who's work has inspired us. It's been great fun seeing the different works in progress and the various artists represented. I chose an American artist...not one I was familiar with but whose work I've seen time and time again and have been drawn to. He uses lots of florals as his subject matter......

Soft colors.....
Interesting leaves....and lots of them.

Lots of swirls and "Curly-Qs".
In looking at my own work, I realized I've been doing a similar style all this time....especially the "Curly-Qs"...... on everything from quilts to clothing....
So he has become my artist of choice....
Oh......and hummingbirds appear a lot in his work.....which I intend to put in mine also....

Can you guess who it is?

More to follow....

Rainbows

2011-07-27T17:29:00.005-04:00

I would love to open with "It was a dark and stormy night" but really it was just a welcomed rain storm....a very heavy ....long rainstorm....followed by lots of fog and then the sunset! Wow, talk about nature showing her colors......

But then, just when I thought it couldn't get any better.....I looked outside and saw this.
I've seen lots of rainbows but this was by far the best.....ever!
And it stayed around for quite a while - around 30 minutes.....

Everything looked so green and happy....

And as if this wonderful rainbow wasn't enough...along came a double rainbow.
My mother in law Hilda loved rainbows...always felt it was a sign that her hubby John was looking down on her.....saying hi.
A double...well must be both of them are looking down on us....After such a crazy 2 weeks, this was a welcomed, peaceful, beautiful and unexpected moment...one which makes you stop and be thankful for the beauty in this world.

Southern Highland Craft Fair

2011-07-23T08:26:00.003-04:00

There are still 2 days left to visit the wonderful Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands held at the Asheville Civic Center in downtown Asheville. Hours on Saturday are from 10 - 6 and Sunday from 10 - 5. The concourse level is around the perimeter of the civic center and houses wonderful booths filled with pottery, fiber, gorgeous jewelry, hand made brooms, dolls and much more.

Come visit me at booth # 21 on the main level...would love to see you!
The arena - downstairs (this was taken from a balcony) fills the entire center of the civic center with lots of booths, live music and interesting demos.....
It's a wonderful, fun-filled and also educational day.

There are demonstrations going on outside the building as you enter. Sandra Rowlands will be working her magic with sun painting; she has lots of extra fabric for little ones to try their hand at....

It's been great fun meeting lots of nice people and being in downtown Asheville every day amidst all the hustle bustle........So I hope to see you at the fair...

Next week - BACK TO NORMAL....whatever that may be, but looking forward to it.

AQS Knoxville Show - We Did It!!!!

2011-07-18T15:25:00.004-04:00

I know I've talked about my PTA group many times...just a great group of very talented, sharing and fun-loving ladies. Every year we enter the challenge through the American Quilter's Society show in Knoxville and every year we go.....and every year we don't win.....EXCEPT.... for this year. Our PTA group took a third place with their challenge pieces depicting Sunrise/sunset. For this challenge AQS sets size specifications but the rest of the challenge is up to the individual group. Our group decided on the theme of Sunrise/sunset and the use of black fabric somewhere in the piece. Each group has their own row which gives the viewer a good sense of what the challenge is about. Our row looked great!....so on with the show. Kate Weston designed this wonderful piece - "Sunset Cruise".

Dort Lee created "Morning Milking"....with some beautiful shadowing to capture the feel of early morning.
Janice Maddox created this colorful quilt - "Here Comes the Sun".
Lynne Harrill did "Jocassee Sunrise"....what a neat effect of the sun shimmering on the water.
Mary Berry did this wonderful piece - "Conundrum - Sunrise/sunset".
Mary Stori created "Pine Ridge at Dawn"....love the patchwork backdrop.
Barbara Swinea created this lovely piece - "Sunrise Silhouette".
Linda Cantrell created this very colorful piece -"Under African Skies". Linda taught in Africa awhile back and perhaps was influenced by their beautiful skies.
Our "row" looked great!
Congratulations PTA -ers....you did a fantastic job!

Meet Karen Tunnell

2011-07-12T17:48:00.009-04:00

Let me introduce you to Karen Tunnell - an amazing marbler and fiber artist. I first learned of Karen through my Focus Study Group in Atlanta.....she was a new member....and although I'm not an active member, I still hear all the news! (Thanks FSG!) Karen also emailed me to say she was taking my weeklong workshop at John Campbell - an introduction to surface design. I was so looking forward to meeting her and after seeing several pictures of her fantastic work, I thought "what can I possibly teach this gal"?....Well, long story short, we had a wonderful class and week together (and I was able to teach her a few little things) but even better.... a friendship was born. Besides being just a lovely lady, Karen is one of the most talented fiber artists I know; I am one of her biggest fans. She has a solo exhibition which hosts its opening reception this Friday at the Fernbank Museum in Atlanta. The exhibit runs through September 30 of this year.

Karen does beautiful Kaleidoscope quilts such as the one below "Egg Iterations" using marbled fabric she has created along with paintstik images.
Karen also does beautiful landscapes such as "Last Swim of the Season" using her beautiful marbled fabric. Her dad was a painter of landscapes and had a great influence on her art.
But my favorite.....my very favorite is her beautiful "Spanish Wave" technique of marbling. This beautiful piece - "Caracara" below is an example.
Karen had mentioned that she was an apprentice under Laura Sims - an extraordinary marbler from Asheville.... who taught Karen this very unique technique. Karen was introduced to the use of Paintstiks while in my workshop....and her fascination with eggs created such a beautiful combination to use on top of her marbled fabric. "Mute Swan" is seen below
The technique of Spanish Waves involves moving the fabric as you lower it down onto the sizing....sounds like a "piece of cake"....right....Not so....this is very hard to do.
Much of Karen's work involves using images from the ocean on top of her marbled fabric to depict the effects of the Exxon oil spill. Her work is beautiful but even more so, very moving and thought provoking. The following are beautiful examples of Karens work....with her permission I pulled them off of her website. They are thumbnails and couldn't make them any bigger but if you go to her website, you can see them really up close and personal.
.
Or even better, visit her wonderful exhibit at the Fernbank museum in Atlanta.....

I know I plan to!
Congratulations Karen on a wonderful accomplishment!

Anniversaries

2011-07-10T09:59:00.003-04:00

We love the Grovepark Inn in Asheville, NC and often go there for special occasions. Last night we went there for dinner and they were celebrating their 98th anniversary....lots of baloons and champagne.....

The huge fireplaces were filled with plants and baloons...

And as luck would have it, we were there for our anniversary.......which is today...I can't believe we took the walk..... down the aisle..... 40 years ago. Sometimes it seems like an eternity and sometimes it seems like yesterday.

Time has flown since then....til now....
And the journey has been fun and wonderful!

Gallery Walk

2011-07-08T18:26:00.006-04:00

To continue our wonderful day at Biltmore Industries, we were treated to another tour of the building (open to the public) which houses the history of Biltmore Industries. Jerry's wife, as knowledgeable as Jerry gave us a tour, a quick history lesson and an interesting video to watch.

This room held many of the "homespun" textiles created during that time period....They were given that name because they were spun at home....I still hear the name today.
This beautiful jacket was made from hand woven fabric.
Being a clothing person who loves wool (probably my favorite fiber)....I was totally taken with these wonderful samples of cloth made during the different time periods...this one the 1940s...
The 1930s....
And the 1920s....really beautiful in person.
It was then onto the studios....Twice a year, the artists at Grovewood, open their studios to the public...It's wonderful to see their space and the amazing tools they work with.
The Portfolio Metal Works studio houses beautiful jewelry...All the artists were in their studio - such great fun to meet them.
Daniel Essig makes wooden and sculptural books...that description doesn't do it justice. I first met Daniel when I lived in Atlanta. My friends and I loved to attend the American Craft Council Show every year....Daniel was always there and quickly became our very "favorite" artist and always the first person we went to see.
Little did I realize that someday I would be living in the same town as Daniel.....and could see his work all the time.....up close and personal! Daniel is an incredibly talented and creative artist making book sculptures that deserve to be displayed like you see below - each one on a pedestal. You could pour over each one for hours noticing the wonderful detail that goes into each piece.
They are truly magnificent!

And these beautiful wall sculptures.....

If you're ever in Asheville, take a day to visit this part of town and the Grovewood Gallery which features the work of so many wonderful artists in this area.
Our wonderful hostess - Vicki Essig (yup!....married to Daniel) and an amazing artist herself helped to make this happen for our group. Thank you Vicki....it was a wonderful day....Stay tuned for pictures of all the interesting windows and doors I took during the day...a future quilt I'm thinking!!!!

Biltmore Industries

2011-07-06T10:20:00.006-04:00

This past weekend my fiber group - LINT (Ladies in New Textiles) had the wonderful opportunity to visit the "behind the scenes" of the once very lucrative and well known Biltmore Industries. It is no longer in existence and being able to see the factory rooms and equipment not is use anymore was both eery and exciting. Under the direction and great expertise of Jerry, we were given a guided tour and lots of great stories and information - probably more than our brains could absorb.

We were first greeted by this handsome creature, perched right above us....
and then proceeded to enter some of these amazing buildings through a back, un-used entrance.
What started out as a cottage industry soon grew to enormous proportions. In the early 1900s, two ladies, Ms. Vance and Ms. Yale - graduates of a missionary college in NY, found their way to Asheville. They decided the youth needed something to keep themselves busy after school. They started a program to teach these young men woodcarving and the women - spinning for the purposes of weaving cloth.
And as many times as I've walked through this door, I've never looked above......it's the Eleanor Vance Building and also known as the popular Grovewood Gallery. The little woodcarvings are some of the things the young men carved years ago.
The unusual roofs were amazing to see...and the pictures will probably find their way to a quilt someday.
This was the first building we entered......as you can see also a storage for the building outdoor sculptures featured on the grounds. This building was where the yarns were dyed and washed to be used for spinning and weaving.
Susan stood next to one of the vats to give perspective to the size.
And such great antique washing machines, made to handle very large quantities.
And the little white room at the top for the "head guy" to oversee production.
I love all the old walls and peeling paint.
A room kept locked which housed precious formulas, dyes and other auxiliaries used in the process.
and many large looms....

I was fascinated by this very old antique sewing machine.
This room was very depressing but it actually was just used to house the rovings before processing them into yarn.
And the big weaving room with plenty of windows and natural daylight...a plus for keeping workers happy.

And this old typewriter...brought back memories of one we used to have in our family....we've come a long way.
Lots and lots of these bags all holding the spindles used in the weaving process...we were all given one as a little gift to remind us of this wonderful day.
The Grovewood gallery artists were also having an open house that day which I'll post more about later on this week....and the amazing windows, doors and walls which I'll also share in the next post....I feel a quilt coming on.

Making Books

2011-07-01T16:45:00.005-04:00

Our Fiber Junkies Group met today at my house for a book making adventure. Our very own Carol Sloan....master book maker felt we needed 2 sessions....the first one happened today. After a quick cup of coffee and catch up conversation, it was time to dive in. We found ourselves surrounded by laces, trims, paper and fabric, photos and imagery........ a feast for the creative soul. Carol brought several of her beautiful books to show and inspire us ....so many ideas ....how can I possibly fit them all into one book. This is one of Carols books made with heavy upholstery fabric and beautiful imagery.

The inside pages were gorgeous and interesting with collaged items and hand stitching.
Carol taught us about signatures - a group of paper, folder together to make a little booklet, sharing the same spine. There are many signatures next to each other in a book. In Carol's books, she separates the signatures with interesting things such as doilies, vintage hankies and other neat stuff. I've been holding onto my mom's vintage hankies for such a long time...what a perfect time to use them.
And another one of the covers of Carol's books.
A wonderful collage which can be used anywhere in the book.
How beautiful is this...can be left as is or used to mount a photo or a background for writing.
I love these next pages which features Carol's artwork....
and hand stitching around the bird....love it!
We worked on our books doing the back, front and spine in one long piece. Mary and I did the same theme in hopes of being able to give this to a grandchild someday....sigh.......
This is Patsy's and it looks like a Patsy.....it was beautiful with such wonderful stitching.
Val is working on her background and preparing it for some beautiful imagery.
The picture on the right is Vals choice. The patchwork on the left is a sample Carol brought to show us...thought it was very cool....If you have bits and pieces of a vintage quilt which is beyond hope, this is a wonderful place to use it.
After lunch we had a show and tell which was a short one today but as always inspiring. Patsy showed us a small quilt she was experimenting with using braid and also machine quilting the felt in the center. Patsy combined felt and cotton just to try it and with great results.
Patsy's machine quilting is in a word - Amazing!! It's all sewn free motion ....each stitch is perfect and so impressive. Patsy has 2 books and 9 DVDs on machine quilting and I must say, if you ever have the opportunity to take a workshop from her...Do it!!
The felt worked beautifully with machine quilting.
It was a great day and can't wait to see what comes next........have to wait a month but we have homework in between - working on the papers and things to use between the signatures. Know they will all be so individual reflecting our own personalities.

I have a few more things to share which I'll post in a couple of days....like a real acorn shell filled with a felt acorn and some more wonderful pages...stay tuned.

Play Ball!!

2011-06-30T07:41:00.006-04:00

We've always been "Atlanta Braves" fans, having lived in Atlanta for 16 years. When my daughter was on swim team, the booster club used to work one of the concession stands at the Fulton stadium to make money for the team...often we could see the players practicing on the field...we started at 3 in the afternoon and didn't get home until 1 am....lots of energy in those days...but good memories. My daughter and her husband Adam still live in Atlanta and love going to the games, often get complimentary tickets ........- even better - and sometimes right behind home plate ............- even more better.

But it gets even more....more....better....! This week, Adam brought home 4 tickets to the game and was asked to "throw out the first pitch" of the game! How cool is that!
So we have our DVR set for sunday's game......we'll be watching but also recording....to watch over and over...., we are all excited!

Boiling or Steaming?

2011-06-26T08:58:00.006-04:00

In this season of sun and fun, fishing, clambakes etc. you might get the impression (by the title of the blog)...that this has something to do with cooking lobster, crabs or something along those lines.....although I could go on about the crab feasts of my childhood, this is all about silk.

I'm getting ready for the Southern Highland Craft Fair and have been dyeing silk scarves. I use acid dyes which will only work on a protein fibers and give (in my humble opinion) the best color. The silk is boiled in a designated pot with the dye and an acid....just hearing the word acid is scary but vinegar and citric acid crystals are the things I use...both work very well. My friend Nancy shared with me another way of getting color on silk. Through her constant experimenting and huge knowledge of dyes, she came up with a wonderful process which involves steaming. They both give such different results, it was mind boggling. I didn't realize it until I started comparing results using the same type of silk and same color dye - one boiled and one steamed. Some colors are better steamed, some really need to be boiled. The ones of the left in each photo have been steamed...same color on right but boiled.

I've always been a sample maker...it helps me down the road when I need a certain color (little paper color charts don't work for me)....and I like BIG samples...I can really see. This is one of my favorites...on the right (below). It's "Country Green" and love the results of being boiled...a little washed out when steamed.
As I'm doing the scarves in a wide range of colors, I'm throwing in a small piece of silk to keep as a sample.
I love "Golden Pear" in both the steamed and boiled version. Some of the colors split (below) such as in Golden Pear...where the dye actually breaks off into more than one color.
I scrunch the silk into old, used (and clean) pantyhose (thank you Dot for so many bags of them) which produces a mottled effect.
Sometimes it's hard to believe you used the same color dye for both samples such as seen below.
I think it's really fun to see the difference in the 2 processes... I love both these samples...so it's like getting 2 colors for the price of one.
And this one....2 totally different colors from the same dye color.
This next one is Lobster Bisque and does a beautiful color split. I like the steamed version better on the right...the soft coral pink..more of what I think of when I hear the name Lobster Bisque.
And this last one...Pink Sand...love both samples.
Been lots of fun experimenting, getting lots done and learning a lot.

Pigs, Dancers and Beautiful Gardens

2011-06-22T10:27:00.011-04:00

You might wonder what a pig, some dancers and beautiful gardens all have in common! They were all part of a wonderful day hosted by our friends Debbie and Joel....Well maybe not so wonderful for the pig - he was the barbeque part....all 119 pounds of him. I've never seen a whole roasted pig but Wally, the magnificent chef did a very discreet and excellent job of turning this into pulled pork.

The "amazing" Wally....
The barbeque was to honor the dance troupe Terpsicorps that pays a visit to Asheville once a year. The dancers come from all over, some are already dancing professionally, some are still in school studying dance. They are all excellent, in wonderful shape and as Debbie says, you can always spot them as they'll be standing in some "dance postition" without even realizing they're doing so.
Debbie (our hostess) makes beautiful quilts but has taken a break to tend her gardens (wait til you see). She keeps her machine under the watchful eye of....
her furry friend....
The gardens are magnificent....we were first welcomed by some very friendly frogs....
and not to be outdone by some very "smart" rocks....
We then came upon some interesting heads....
and a more "comfortable than it looks" bench.
At one point we found a very lazy bear....
and sleepy rabbit (don't you love yard art?)
And always surrounded by butterflies....
And if that wasn't enough, we were entertained by 2 fabulous musicians.
And the gardens....oh the gardens....they took our breath away.
I love all the natural stone...
and terracing...
These lilies were huge and just gorgeous!
There's nothing like beautiful rocks to set off colorful flowers.
How beautiful if this?

I think if I were a frog, bear, rabbit, bench, butterfly or rock (smart or not) I would want to hang out here also. And on another note, check out the Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance performing at the Diana Wortham Theatre from June 23 - 25. For more info call 828-257-4530 or go to dwtheatre.com

Larkspur and Peaches

2011-06-17T16:06:00.003-04:00

Our Larkspur are nearing the end of their season for blooming and what fun they've been. They reseed themselves easily and the birds are happy to spread the seeds from one garden to the next. We are finding more and more plants each year....doing nothing about it....letting the birds and the wind have their way.

There are 3 luscious colors that I know of ....deep purple and it's really deep and luscious (my favorite), dark pink and pale pink....all glorious.
Aren't these yummy?
I will miss them when they're gone but not for long as there's always something new and colorful on the horizon.
A word about peaches....I wish I had taken a picture.....When I was little, peaches were my favorite....sweet and so juicy, you ate them over a sink or you would run the risk of juice pouring down your arm...as a kid, you didn't care. I still love peaches but haven't found a good one in years: they're always a disappointment...but while at the Farmer's Market in Asheville the other day, peaches were everywhere. We bought a couple of small containers, brought them home, once again hopeful and with fingers and toes crossed and then voila!!! we tasted peaches like the ones from years ago. So yesterday, we went back and bought a huge basketful....so heavy we had to weigh them out of curiosity - 23 pounds worth...yup!! Now you might ask what I plan to do with all those peaches and I would have to say - I have no clue! Just nice knowing they're there!!

So if you're in the Asheville area, check it out!