Good Bye 2014...Hello 2015

I have been working on my guild challenge, so of course no sneak pictures.   They will come later,   I toiled and labored over that sample fabric we had to use....using most of it up in failed ideas.  I'm almost gave up...when...VOILA!   An idea that worked,   It's smaller than I would have liked but ?..oh well!

Since I can't show it, I will close out the year with a ohoto of my first amaryllis bloom that just opened today.   Apple Blossom is my favorite variety,

And finally....,,A Happy New Year wish!

Charley Harper.... Artist inspired art quilt

My little art quilt group chose Charley Harper as its latest artist to interpret.  I knew nothing about him but discovered he often used birds in his work....in a simplistic cartoonish fashion.  I didn't change mine much but decided my tree and cardinal were in a snowstorm as indicated by the beading over the surface of the quilt.

New kitchen .... Sort of

We are in the process of "renewing" or "reviving" our kitchen.   When we moved here it was stuck in the 50s.   The walls were papered......with what appeared to be bedroom paper.    Light, pastel green flowers on the bottom and white on top, with bigger flowered borders,    The split was too high up.   There was an old 40 inch avocado green stove, a white refrigerator and white linoleum flooring,    The cabinets while not modern, are in good shape and the finish on all of them is really good....so they are staying.   New countertops, new flooring and stainless steel appliances have been added.

Little by little we have worked on it.   The walls are the final step for now.   Because it was wallpaper, poorly adhered, and perhaps layered over other wallpaper, it was problematic as to how to proceed,   After many conversations we decided to go with paintable wallpaper.   We really didn't want more wallpaper, so were presented with this option.   We can paint it, like we wanted to on the walls and if we change our mind in a few years as to color, this will allow us to reprint without creating a whole new surface.

This wqs our kitchen a week ago before starting the walls......

This is the primer so the green is gone.....

Hopefully by the end of the week I will have new pictures....new wall color...our final step.

Commission Quilts.....good or bad?

I rarely do commission quilts.   I have never wanted my hobby or passion to be for money...generating undue pressure to be sure I'm completing someone else's vision.   To me, that could kill the fun and enjoyment.   That being said I have done a few and they have been more successfully received than I feared,   

Thus, my latest one came to me during our recent quilt show.   I almost said No, but set the request aside until the "busy-ness" of the show was done,   When it was over I was creatively stuck and figured finding and following a pattern might be what I needed to do.  The requester wanted a Christmas tree skirt...as a gift for her sister.   I was given free reign as to color, pattern and fabrics.   More pressure!  I never know how to charge....feeling probably this was easily double in time etc. than what I charged,   But she was a friend of my daughter, said she loves everything she had seen me post on Facebook....and therefore the final impetus ...."the gold star on the forehead".  

She loved it....said her sister loved it.....and so very successful.  

Being Inspired Doors & Windows

I don't know why, but I seem to be attracted to doors and windows....the more run down the better,   I happened upon a website where the artist was doing windows.   I decided I wanted to take it one step further and do doors.   But I decided to play first and did a small piece, featuring a window....a run down building, a dilapidated window, a pile of old rocks.   I worked on the piece just using those 3 ideas and decided it still needed a pop....or something to be a bit brighter,   I added greenery with the theory that even old run down buildings have lots of living greenery and flowers, despite the abandonment of the building.   Am I done?   I don't know,   

I alternated strips of cotton fabric, not measured, sometimes using a 1/4 inch seams, sometimes not,   Then I cut a big square for the window and backed it with cotton and painted cheesecloth.....to create the look of glass that might be there, might be knocked out, and might just be a shadow,   There is also cheesecloth in the bottom corner.   The pile of rocks is done with gold thread on gray fabric.   Very, very happy with how that came out,   Free motion greenery arises from behind and between the rocks.   Finally, I dabbed Shiva Oilsticks in gray to weather the shutters.   

As I said....this is mostly a practice piece,   I have photos I have taken of other old buildings that. At show up next.   I've never worked in a series before.   This could be a first!

Busy, busy, busy......

I've been busy sewing and sewing and sewing....but I can't show any pictures as it is for a commissioned quilt which a friend asked me to do for a gift for her sister.   Not that my blog is so widely read.....but I figure I shouldn't take the chance.

My granddaughter has been in a local theater production of Dracula the Musical.   I have enjoyed having her at my house between rehearsals, staying over night, coming for dinner,   Also my daughter and grandson have been here almost every night waiting for her to be done rehearsals.   I miss them.

My middle grandson is active as a young explorer in their hometown fire department.   It is a passion of his and you can tell it is in his blood.   There was a huge monster for in their hometown this weekend and my grandson was found in one of the photos.  This picture makes my heart burst with pride.

The party is over.......Quilt Show is now History

This past weekend the Museum Quilt Guild hosted its Stitches in Time 2014 quilt show.   It was a busy, hectic, time consuming weekend and I wouldn't change a thing!!!!  I love being in the mix and spending time with all my friends who share the same passion I do.   I will post some photos - but there are many more.

 

This was my overall view of the show as I sat at the raffle quilt ticket table most of the time.   It was also the view as you walked in the door.   This brown quilt - "Southwest Heritage Quilt" made by Becky Nichols, was one of my most absolute favorites.   I'm not a brown person at all, but something about the colors and patterns and southwestern flavor just drew me in.   Sadly, she told me it already has a home!

 

 

This was the best of show done by Jean Butzer.   She calls it "Using up my Stash" - and yet she says there still seems to be a stash in her closet.   Jean does exquisite miniature work.

 

This was our guild raffle quilt - won by "Judy" from Akron,, NY.  

 

This is the first of my award winners - "Subtly Christmas".   It won best piecing on a small quilt.   Since it is a Round Robin Row project in our guild, I share this award with 4 friends.   I made 3 of the rows, they made the others and I put it all together in this layout - and just a simple sashing and binding.   I designed it to "say" Christmas, not "scream" Christmas.

 

My next winner - "Best Visual Impact".   One of my favorites based on a story about two girls - one had butterflies for hair and one had bottlecaps for hair.   Neither one realized how beautiful they were.   I used REAL bottlecaps in this one and lots of appliqued butterflies and butterfly pins and buttons.

 

Inflorescence was a "Judges Winner" for me.   This was the result of a digital collage class done by my friend Julie Brandon  of Red-Dog Enterprises.  She also printed the photo onto fabric and then I quilted and embellished with beads.

Museum Quilt Guild Quilt Show

11 days and counting!   Please consider joining us and viewing our quilts, shopping our boutique, bidding at the silent auction, taking a chance on the raffle quilt and many raffle baskets, viewing the demos, shopping our vendor mall and just joining in the fun our guild has to offer.

Trip to Letchworth State Park.....looking for color,

Today was an absolutely awesome perfect weather day in western New York.   The leaves are turning, but aren't at peak quite yet.   Here are a few of only 268 photos I took today!    Some of my favorites while looking for color!

The Middle Falls

Upper Falls....a different angle than I usually photograph.   Might be my favorite

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The dam at the Mt. Morris entrance,   Some of us remember the great flood in 1972 when the water came within inches of spilling over the top.   Amazing to think about but pretty frightening then.

I managed to get a rainbow at the fountain at the Glen Iris Inn,

Love the color in this,

Wolf Creek....one of my favorite spots.

The trestle bridge....perhaps an inspiration for a "lines and angles" quilt challenge.

The brave soul on the bridge today.   This is, by the way, illegal.

Small sampler quilt for silent auction

I have been finishing some older quilts I started long ago.  They will go to silent auction at our quilt show or community service.  

This is the butterfly sampler from years who when a group of us led a workshop. I got a new quilting book by Angela Walters called Shape by Shape Free Motion Quilting.  I found several interesting ones to try.  I really like the square boxes in the sashing but they didn't photograph well.

Tropical hibiscus

I took a cutting from the hibiscus plant near the front door of the house we stayed at in Florida last winter.   Actually, I took 4 cuttings, but one survived.   I didn't have much hope for this one for many months.   After about 4 months it started to show some signs of growth, and a couple weeks ago it really shot up with two buds.  It is tropical so it will now need to be wintered inside.   Both buds have now bloomed and it is more spectacular in size and color than I remembered in Florida.

Rochester Area Fiber Artists (RAFA) Art Quilt Show opens toay

I am a member of the Rochester Area Fiber Artists (RAFA) and today marks the opening of our latest show in Brockport, NY.

I will have 2 quilts in this show - "Autumn Candles" and "Portrait in Purple"

  

 

I hope you will visit our show and our reception and support our creative endeavors!

2 Art Quilts Juried into National Show

I am so excited and honored to learn that two of my quilts have been juried into the Old Forge National Quilt Show to be held October 10 - December 5.   They are "Dead Palm  Fronds" and "Clematis on Acid".    Both of these quilts are created frin photos I have taken and manipulated in photoshop,   and then had digitally printed onto fabric by Julie Brandon of Red-Dog Entperises.  

 

"Dead Palm Fronds" is from a photo I took in Rainbow Springs in Florida.  It is very densely quilted, on my domestic sewing machine;  and I added beads to the part depicting Spanish Moss, just for definition!

 

"Clematis on Acid" is from a photo of a single clematis flower in my yard (see photo below), to which I added some distortion filters in photoshop.    It is also heavily quilted, on my standard sewing machine;  with beading to define the center of the flower.

Hibiscus overload.

Here in western New York we are enjoying a beautiful end of summer day!    This is my hardy perennial hibiscus.   It has been very prolific this year (apparently it likes a lot of water).   The flowers are always huge....easily 6 inches across and sometimes 8 inches.   As you can see..... The flowers seem as big as the whole shrub!!!!!    

Seasonal visitors....

Our seasonal visitors have been quite frequent the past 10 days.   I don't know if it is because we moved the feeders around and moved the canna lilies to be near them.....or if they are actively beginning migration,   Anyway, we have been enjoying watching them.   I struggled to get a photo all summer and this one I caught while on the phone, using only one hand on the camera...with a long zoom lens,

Daylilies.....keep appearing!

My latest day lily...isn't it pretty, and my favorite color too!

Fireworks

During the summer, if the local baseball team (The Mudckdogs) plays at home on a Friday night, they end with a round of fireworks.  Last night was the final Friday night of the season, and so in the continuing quest to learn my camera, I decided I should try some photography,   I got a few good ones, but I will say fireworks photography is a lot harder than it looks.

Here is the Muckdogs Baseball Team farewell to summer!

Hibiscus

My hibiscus is in full bloom right now,   I love the color of this perennial.

Hundertwasser inspired art quilt project!

I belong to a small group within my art quilt group (RAFA - Rochester Area Fiber Artists) that is currently working on small 12 x 12 pieces inspired by different artists.   Our first venture was Henri Matisse and this time we chose architect and artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.   I was impressed with his use of spirals, bright colors and black as a bold contrast.   My flowers are based on a spiral multi colored button I found at my local quilt shop.   Then I found a piece of black spiraled fabric in my stash and decided to contrast the two against a bright colored landscape background.   Even the stems are spiraled.   And, if you look closely the jolting is all done with free motion spirals.