PTA Annual Retreat # 11

I cannot believe we are in our eleventh year of retreat...and it's already come and gone. We all look forward to it each year and like creatures of habit, we take our same place in the community work room as the year before - maybe a comfort zone for us.

Janice and Leigh Anne ready to get to playing.

We have a big table down the middle of the room which serves as a great place to share techniques or work on larger things.

As each year passes, the dynamics of the group change....still the same people loving the same thing but we are 11 years older so not quite as peppy as we used to be....but still loving every minute.

Leigh always brings several things to work on. These are old blocks she came upon, finished up and changed some and putting together in a really pretty arrangement....You'll see more finished tomorrow.

This is a quilt Lynne is working on using greens...somewhat of a modern quilt feel to it - very nice.

Here's my mess of strips which I'm still working on to make a quilt for the NC Hurricane Quilt Project. I will have more on that later as it's a great cause and one every quilter can get involved in as there are so many options.

Georgia teaches at a retreat every year at a Dude ranch in Montana. She and Charlotte Warr Anderson are the only 2 instructors and have been doing this for over 30 years. Enthusiastic quilters love to take the workshop but they also have access to horseback riding and other outdoor activities. This is the project for this years workshop. It's darling and very do-able in the time frame allowed.

Barbara is working on a piece from Ruth McDowell's book (on left). The most intriguing part of this is the wonderful background of black and white prints. Linda likes to bring her knitting and visit and chit chat...Her socks are always amazing.

Marene has several projects in the works including blocks for Georgia who is making quilts for the Quilts of Valor project.

I love this block.

Georgia just came out with a new book - Scrap Happy Quilts. It has wonderful new patterns and quilts but also some wonderful, heart warming stories. She read us the passage she wrote regarding our PTA group. It was heartfelt and lovely. She also received a nice bottle of wine from her publisher which she brought to share with us.

At our retreat each year, we eat in the dining hall. In order to do this, there has to be 10 people present or more that one group that will add up to 10. This year, we were the only group and 9 of us, so for the first time, we did our own meals...

So after our traditional happy hour....

We had a feast...which was delicious.

A wonderful spinach and zucchini salad and Mexican chicken roll up with yummy sauce.

We all had our assigned meals or dessert (mary is always the dessert person) and it worked out beautifully.

Some great conversation, games and

door prizes. Lynne won this adorable tape measure earrings...More fun to come so ....Stay tuned for pt. 2

Top of the Mornin' to Ya

Just wanted to wish you all a Happy St. Patricks Day...I met my husband on this day many, many years ago so it's always a special day for me. In honor of the day I'm making corned beef and cabbage and boiled potatoes with butter and salt.  The potatoes are in honor of my Irish grandpa whom I adored and who loved potatoes fixed this way. He was from Ireland, county Cork and his last name was Corkey.

While we were in Ireland, we visited the place (and gate) he left from to come to the United States...same place as the Titanic left from.

While there we also bought a snap brim cap for my son who loves it...and while in Target of all places, they had them for cats. I couldn't resist...so here are Mike and Fraggle with their hats!

Have a fun day.

The Celebration Continues....

We started our party first thing....in the past we have started our project for the day, sneaked back into the kitchen to set up and then surprise...... but not today....The minute Gen walked in the door, we had the crepe paper ready, the crown and a regalia which said 90 & Marvelous. 

 So of course we get the "Queen's Wave"

 The table was set with festive party goods as well as flowers and a birthday balloon.

 All of us enjoying lunch and bubbly!

And the birthday girl... I can't say enough wonderful things about this lady....Look at her....She's 90 - she's beautiful!! both inside and out. Since day 1, she has served as an inspiration to us all with her creativeness, her energy and positive outlook on life. We love being with her.

 We had a beautiful Chantilly Cake with fruit for filling and on top...making it very healthy ( - :

 9 Candles topped the cake, 1 for each decade....

 And some lovely presents....

 A handmade book...

 some beautiful handmade papers...

 A gel pen set, a puzzle which I regret not getting a picture of and a gift certificate to her favorite online store - Joggles.

It was a glorious day which we all enjoyed. Happy Birthday to Gen, our dear, dear friend and we wish you many, many more! We love you to pieces!

Fiber Junkies - Celebration Time

It was a day of celebration as well as fun time in the studio..Gen turned 90 but more on our birthday girl later.

 First things first, our early morning show and tell.......our days are so full and we want to do it justice. Gen is working with paper which is easier on her hands; she's creating some beautiful pieces as well as journals.

 Denny has made some amazing tops over the past year and is in the process of quilting them....Here are 2 she has finished; they turned out beautiful. I'm always amazed that this size can be done on a standard size sewing machine....I would be pulling my hair out.

 I love the use of plaids in this one...looks like old vintage shirts.

 Denny also showed us some prints she made using blocks carved on wood.

  Today was our block printing day and Susan brought along a beautifully carved block she had done some time ago. It was done on linoleum which lasts forever. Below.....Everyone making decisions for designs.

  And our queen for the day who loved her crown and regalia...

I have been wanting to do something with houses and windows for a while. Denny shared the above pattern with me found in a block printing book. She also brought some material for carving (above right) which was very soft.

We don't know the name of the material... Denny found a box of it ordered long ago...I started to use a linoleum cutter but realized a simple stylus with a little bit of pressure did the trick in under 5 minutes. It printed successfully, but a small dusting of the top layer of material came off in the print, which might be the case every time you print. I don't know the longevity of this material but it's fast and easy and serves a purpose in a different way.

 Gen did a small one to print on her papers.

  As easy as it would seem to print, it takes a lot of practice to get the right amount of paint, pressure etc. This is a print using the soft block material. Denny and I both had the same block except she didn't remove the background material. I did the same block but did remove the background so the houses were more prominent. Both were great looks.

 I thought this was so clever....Denny found this in the "dollhouse" accessories section of a craft store. They will make great patterns for block printing but also because they are thin (less than 1/4"), can be used in deconstructive screen printing. Denny has already tried them under a screen.

 We had lots of paint...we used Speedball screen printing ink for fabric. It's very thick which it should be. We spooned some onto a piece of plexiglass; you can also use freezer paper taped down at corners, large styrofoam tray etc. It's rolled out with a brayer first and then rolled onto the block. Keeping the block paint side up, lay the fabric on top and using a burnisher or the back of a spoon, apply gentle pressure over the top of fabric.

Kates first attempt with the "soft material" block and below is Mary's using a regular linoleum block. Tomorrow's blog - time to party!

When is a Broom Not a Broom?

When I marble on fabric, which I love to do, it a a few solid days of committment as the set-up is quite involved.. I tried many methods for dropping the paint onto the surface of methyl cellulose...many use eyedroppers but I've always preferred to use the whisks from a broom.

When I used to teach marbling, I purchased it in bulk to accomodate lots of students...but now it is just for my use. It is not an easy item to find - actually impossible...so what to do. Well I went to a large chain store and purchased a broom...a good old fashioned broom - one that brought back lots of memories of my grandmother and the way she cleaned.

Wow...are these things well made...so strong and very difficult to take apart..but once that was accomplished...

I made them into little bundles around 6" long and wrapped with twine and rubberbands. I used the rubberbands first to hold them in place and then secured with twine. The rubber bands will eventually disintergrate so the twine is there as a back-up....Bring on the marbling!

I Love Mushrooms

Welllllll........not to eat...everyone that knows me, knows I can't tolerate them..how I wish I could as they are used in so many great sounding recipes BUT I do love them as subject matter in creating art quilts. They are so interesting. 

I come upon them certain times of the year...When I do, my car screeches to a halt, I catch my breath and calmly move over to the side of the road, jump out and pick as many as I can. The last batch which was a while back, was sliced and used in deconstructive screen printing. This is a favorite technique of mine and I especially love using nature orientated things like mushrooms.

In order to do this technique, objects to go under the screen must be around 1/4" thick or less so in this case, the mushrooms have to be sliced. They can be very delicate and this part can be tricky. If you are not familiar with this technique, I have many posts you can refer to.

You can get an idea of how thin they should be so...

they can fit under a screen such as you see above. Thickened dyes are squeegeed over the top and allowed to dry. Then using a clear print paste mix, the screen is squeeged again onto fabric. The paste mix loosens the dried dye and allows the imprint of the mushroom to be transferred to fabric.

It was great fun although I'll say this time around I didn't have a high degree of success..... You never know what will print which can make it both exciting and frustrating at the same time. But I did get some beautiful and very large mushrooms to work with.

I have learned tho...it's never over until it's over and sometimes not even then. Being with my Fiber Junkies friends who are always enhancing fabrics that should have been tossed, some uglies have turned into beauties....

These are not great but I recently found a place for them in a new piece I'm doing and they look quite acceptable...There is something to be said for that whole "ugly duckling fairytale thing".....