Guys and Dolls........finally it is time for the show!

This week is all about the Rotary Club musical production my husband and I are in.....Guys and Dolls.   We used to do musical productions every year - sometimes twice a year.   But, life changed and so did our interests.   This will be the last ever musical production for this club so they brought back many of the favorites from years past and recreated Guys and Dolls based on those of us in the show 21 years ago.   21 years is a LONG time I'm discovering.   But now that the show is here - it will be fun........and off we go!!!!!

 The Oldest Established, Permanent Floating Crap Game in New York.   (The Rotary Club has used this photo of mine as their cover page for the advertising for the show)

 Mark Ross (aka my husband),  as Nicely Nicely Johnson, (and friends) sing Fugue for Tinhorns.   This is the same role he did 21 years ago.

Me, as General Cartwright, telling Sarah and Sky that we are closing this branch of the mission.

Longwood Gardens - Landscape Quilt.....Part II

I have done a couple of quilts based on Longwood Gardens - one my MOST "favoritest" places to visit.   This is the current one - still in progress.   The RAFA (Rochester Area Fibre Arts) group that belong to has a current challenge for an upcoming show.   The theme is "Nature Behind Bars".   Not wanting to be stereotypical and think "zoo", I went with a landscape behind bars of music.   The music is Vivaldi - Four Seasons - Autumn.   Here is an "in progress" quilt and the original photo (taken almost a year ago).   The photo has been printed onto fabric, (which accounts for it being slightly lighter) the music is on organza overlay......and the quilting is still in progress.

Quilt Show Opens!!!! 3 Ribbons!!

Another Open', Another Show!   Museum Quilt Guild of Batavia Quilt Show opens today!   I am limited on time as, since I am president of the guild,  I have to yet go pick out a quilt for the President's Award.   But, here are my 3 winners!!!

 "Under the Deep Blue Sea" - Best Mixed Technique on a Large Quilt

 "Yes the Water Really Is This Color"   Best Art Quilt

Autumn Tree - Best Miniature

My Grandson, Aaron's Pillow!!!   I'm SOOOOO very proud of him!!!

MORE TO COME LATER!

4 Days and Counting - Museum Quilt Guild Quilt Show

We are 4 days and counting until our guild quilt show!   It is ALWAYS an excellent show and this year will be no different!!  Over 240 quilts will be on display (12 of them are mine)!

You will also find the very best boutique (you can do your Christmas shopping early), silent auction (you can actually own a quilt done by a guild member), vendors (to supply all of your quilting wishes and desires), a raffle quilt (again own a quilt created by our members) and lunch on premises.   What more could you ask for. 

Take a drive and enjoy the fall foliage and join us in Alexander.   Hope to see you there!

Guys and Dolls...or...a Quilter Goes to Broadway!

Most of my friends who read this know that I was a musician first and foremost - before a quilter or a gardener!    And so, this is what I'm up to right now!!!!

Yup, I'm in a show........again!   My husband and I used to do this all the time!   For years we took part in almost all of the community theater plays done locally.   Then - life changed - the shows changed and we didn't do them.   In the past few years, attendance at the Rotary Club musical productions has suffered and so this will be the last show.   In order to "go out with a bang", they resurrected an old show we did 21 years ago and invited back as many as did it then, as could do it now.   I would say a good 80% of the cast is back.

What fun we are having!!!!   My husband will recreate "Nicely Nicely Johnson" and I am in the mission band - General Cartwright - head of the Salvation Army!!!!

Come and see us - you won't be disappointed!!!

Indian Summer Quilt Update

Updated pictures from the post below!

 I added some leaf buttons to further indicate swirling or falling leaves.  See closeup below!   I "think" I got these from my friend Priscilla.....I only had 5 of them - but I think that is OK!   I might have added one more if I had it..........but....this will do for now.

Indian Summer

I haven't been too prolific lately.........for whatever reasons.   This is a small quilt I made to use up some of the silks I had been collecting.   I am not sure it is totally done...but, the colors remind me of Indian summer and I did quilt some "falling leaves" throughout.   Simple, but appeals to my mantra - "It's All About the Color"!!

The View From The Ship - Finished~

A few weeks ago (a few posts down) I posted that I had started the 3rd in a series of Bermuda Quilts - this called "The View From The Ship".   Today it is finished and ready to hang in the Museum Quilt Guild Quilt Show in October.   I am MORE than pleased with how this came out.   I feel like I'm there every time I look at it.

 This is the original photo taken in August 2011.

This is the recreation of the view - in fabric, fusible, tulle and thread!!!!



Photo Collage meets Fabric thru Printing

Yesterday I took a class on photo manipulation thru Photoshop Elements and Printing on Fabric.   We started cutting out pictures from magazines and assembling them into collages on "playing cards".   There were many size cards, but it was a challenge to work in something that small.   From there we scanned our creations into photoshop elements, played with some filters and then printed onto fabric.

This is my finished creation - the fabric is 44 inches wide and we printed onto a yard of fabric.   I have two smaller ones to practice some quilting ideas.

This was my original collage - 2 simple pictures - the swirly background picture and a cutout of the bird of paradise flower.

This was after I played in Photoshop by changing the colors, the saturations, and using the liquify distorting filter.   That was so much fun.   The actual fabric has a lot of "liquid" or "marble" effects - hence the name liquify.   Maybe it has a Little Shop of Horros feeling to it.   I haven't decided the final orientation of the fabric as looking at it different ways, conjurs up different ideas.

For reference sake - this is the size of the printer - lovingly nicknamed "the beast".  The fabric is 44 inches wide.



Art Quilt Show - Rochester, NY

I am part of an art quilt group in Rochester, NY called RAFA - Rochester Area Fiber Artists that meets once a month to show and inspire and educate in the world of art quilting.   I am part of a show by this group which opens this Friday.   My piece is called  "Yes, the Water Really Is This Color"! 
Information is as follows:

Fiber Art exploring the concept of ‘Branching Out’ with new materials, ideas, and complexity.

Williams Gallery

First Unitarian Church of Rochester

220 Winton Road South

Rochester, NY 14610

Opening Reception: Friday, August 24, 5pm-8pm

Gallery Hours: M-F 10am-2pm and 4:30pm-8pm

It’s best to call the church office at 585-271-9070 to confirm.

Image above: ‘Swampwood’ by Kate Wylie

Bermuda......Again..... Art Quilt #3

And so, I have begun the 3rd in my series of quilts inspired by my trip to Bermuda.   I have been in a quilting slump for reasons I won't bother to go into here.   I have done NOTHING and it was starting to concern me.   Today I decided to try and pull myself out and began a quilt that had been percolating for awhile, had collected fabrics for awhile and had begun a rudimentary sketch.

This one will be called  "Bermuda - The View From The Ship".   Everday when we were docked and sat on the deck, we saw this view.

 The colors were a bit more intense than this photo shows, but this is the idea!

This is what I have done so far.   I have more little roof lines to add and then will decide if there will be further detail.   Initially, I saw just blocks of colors as a vague impressionistic reference to the view.   We'll see how this plays out.   So far, I'm pretty happy with it - but - much more to do!

Stony Brook State Park

This week we went to Stony Brook State Park, about an hour south of Batavia, NY, to walk the gorge and climb the stairs on the edge of the gorge.

 I like photographs of stone bridges - especially the curved under part of the bridge.   I especially like the way the light plays through the leaves and lands on the water and rocks.

 One of the water falls.

 Every year the orange lichen is present and there are random green leaves sticking out from the wall crevices.   I have done a quilt on this theme before - depicting the lichen contrasting with the green leaves.

 I know I was in the water, taking a picture of the texture of the rocks in the water below me.   But I don't remember such a contrasting black part before.   I see a silhouette of a young girl....I kind of like it.

 Driftwood in the water.

 I was bending over taking a picture of the swirly color in the rocks in the water.   The shadow is just interesting to me.

 More driftwood in the water.   All the textures are what I like.

 My husband took this picture along side the wall.   As you can see, we are often more intrigued with the rocks and trees and leaves than the water and waterfalls.

I have been reading a blog where the author has a theme on "Where I stand" (not sure of exact wording).   Anyway - the final picture is where I most enjoyed standing - in the water, sloshing thru the water, being very careful not to slip on the rocks.

Museum Quilt Guild Brown Bag Challenge

What do all of these items have in common?

For the second time this year, Kathi Everett and I hosted a brown bag challenge for our guild.  Anyone who wanted to participate received a brown bag full of these elements.   The brown, gold and black fabric was a "must use" as were 2 "prompts" on 2 small slips of paper - which said  1.  Use an unusual fabric and #2 add a straight line.  The rest of the items were a cork, set of washers, mini clothespins, 2 beads attached to a ribbon, candy wrapper, piece of suede fabric, a tassel, piece of gold cord, dryer sheet and coffee filter. We could omit any 2 of this last group.  As before, the creativity of our group never ceases to amaze us.

Mine was literally, a brown bag.  It is a purse with the parrot made from the suede, silk, and dryer sheet.  His eye is from the washer covered with floss and the beads are used for feed to hang on the perch which is the straight line made from the gold cord.  The tassel is the zipper pull and the coffee filter is the half circle on the back.   I also added a lot of beading on the back.

Lori Anderson's wash day on the left and her daughter, Bethany on the right.   Beth did a lot of painting with her elements.  For a young artist, she never ceases to amaze.  Lori works a lot with miniatures and that is reflected in her wonderful little quilt.

Cynda Watroba  - whimsical tree on left and Gloria Crittenden's peaceful home scene on the right.

Tracy's bouquet - loved that she used the background from a previous workshop - she is probably the one for whom this was the most a big stretch.   Love the butterfly.   Mary Ellen Casey did the owl - she is always so creative and works larger than I would dare most of the time.   So realistic!!

Another Mother daughter duo - Mary Ann Watson was inspired by wash day also and even joked that it is sad when laundry day is her main inspiration for a quilt.   Her daughter Melanie Watson did the piece on the left which is a journal cover for the book that houses information about our community service quilts.   Love that she was so practical - and yet it is such a lovely keepsake for us.



Kathi Everett did hers totally by hand.   She is the queen among us as to using unusual items in unusual ways and this is no different.   She calls it Harmony.   Love that she is so creative doing all by hand.

Alex Hammon did the sash for her bear, Cinnamon.  Such a lovely story about the first bear she ever purchased and the sash contains all the elements.

My final comment is that I don't understand why the blogger cooperates for all by the last 2 pictures.   I couldn't get them side by side no matter how hard I tried!

Ricky Tims Seminar in Rochester with Alex Anderson & Libby Lehman

What a fun weekend we had!   The Ricky Tims seminar came to Rochester.   Along with Ricky was Alex Anderson & Libby Lehman.   It was great fun, full of lots of quilting information, laughs, jokes and cammaraderie with friends.

Here are some of my "partners in crime"

L-R - me, Mary Ellen, Shirley, Mary Ellen, Charlotte, Eileen & Lori

And my partners in crime at lunch time.   This was the coolest spot we could find for our picnic.   Then we headed to Abbotts for ice cream.

Lori pictured with Ricky & Libby

Lori chatting it up with Alex.   They seem to have this "daughter thing" in common.

And of course there was shopping - everybody wanted a hand dyed fabric

Yes, yes, I do own this piece now.   Beth seems to be giving her approval, and with her knowledge of dyed fabrics, how could I go wrong?

Well, naturally I have to find thread to go with it.

One of my favorites - all raw edges give such great texture - each little color spot is a separate piece of raw edged fabric.   I love everything about this.   This is in Ricky's private collection of purchased quilts.

Libby's ribbon quilt - just love the way the ribbons weave in and out of the pattern.

Libby's circle quilt.   I have to try this technique.

Ricky is a classicaly trained pianist and musician.   That was his first love and his first vocation.   He treated us to a concert on Friday night, complete with slides and stories of his journey in music and quilting.   It was positively awesome and inspiring.  One of my best recent musical experiences.   Here he is playing the pan flute with images of his home state, Colorado in the background.