Design issues

I am trying to finish up a quilt for my art group's Charles Towne Landing challenge.   We were tasked to use photos taken at the Landing as inspiration for our work.  I was taken by the various pathways I saw and used these photos for inspiration:

Sorry about that last photo, I just can't get it to rotate properly.

My original plan was to depict each photo and then join the 3 pieces together as one quilt.  The trees in the middle with the other two in opposite corners.    The trees in the middle of this:

(these are not done yet, but are fused enough to be able to put them on the wall)

 We are limited to a maximum size of 36" and I obviously didn't give the measurements serious consideration.  Each of the 3 individual pieces is too big to use the way I'd original planned. 

So, on to plan B - but I don't know what plan B is!  This is the only way I can stay within the required 36".

I know at one time we talked about maybe being able to do more than one work - I wonder if they'd let me do 3 small works!? 

Any advice on composition would be welcome.

A bit of 2011 review

2011 was a busy year for us as we moved in the middle of the year.  I've used the move as an excuse for not getting much done quilt wise this year - but I suspect I might have been a slacker anyway!

Early in the year I attended the Mid-Atlantic Quilt show in Hampton, Virginia.  I really like the shows put on by the Mancuso brothers.  Lots of beautiful quilts, wonderful vendors, and classes by national teachers. 

I took the class Arc-I-Textures with Carol Taylor whose work I've always admired.  The class was fun, but I did not love my piece after it came together.   It's still hanging on my "wall of shame" and may remain there to mock me for some time to come.  I'd like to try the technique again in a different color palette.

At the end of last year I joined a local art group - Art That Works.  The group issues quarterly challenges.  One of the challenges was to use a haiku as inspiration for for a work.  I must confess that this butterfly was something I'd started in a class with Marilyn Wall a couple of years ago, so I wrote a haiku to go with the butterfly. 

Black/white butterfly

flitting around the garden

delicate beauty

Unfortunately, I STILL haven't finished this work - although now all it needs is to be quilted, so I've made progress.

The zentangle challenge was a really tough one for me.  I had a horrible time just trying to doodle to create zentangles.  Others find very relaxing, but I found my inner critic really speaks up when I try to do it.  I finally ended up with this piece, which isn't really a zentangle, but about as close as I was going to get.  One good thing about challenges is learning whether a technique speaks to you or not - and this one sure doesn't!

Another challenge was to use a technique out of a book, magazine or published source you've always wanted to try.  I was interested in a resist technique I'd read about on the blog Tommy the Material Girl that I follow.  She describes the technique using Elmers gel school glue here.   I just used the glue as it came out of the bottle and, like Tommy, found that the lines were too gloppy.   I used a variety of paints and inks to color the background and the leaves.  It was kind of fun to do, but I'd certainly try to fine tune the resist application the next time.

We've also been working for the past year on our Charles Towne Landing challenge.  Charles Towne Landing is the site of the first permanent settlement in the Carolinas.   After a photo field trip to the park we were challenged to make a work inspired by our photos.  I found I was very taken with the various walkways in the park and had many photos of them.  Eventually I decided my piece would feature those walkways.  My eventual plan is to combine these 3 different small pieces into one piece.  My problem right now is that the finished size of our work can't be larger than 36" and my current plan is too big.  I'm still working on it and we're due to reveal the quilts in a couple of weeks YIKES!

We are slated to display the quilts at Charles Towne Landing in a special exhibit in April so I better get busy.

My guild is gearing up for its quilt show the first weekend in March.  I'm going to enter 3 quilts. 

Stars over Monterrey:

Whole Cloth (made in a machine quilting class with Judy Heyward using her pattern)

Wonky Log Cabin

If you're in the area March 2-3 make sure to stop by the show!

this & that

I haven't been posting much at all since I don't really have anything exciting to post about.  I haven't been sewing with any regularity.  I have a big project that I need to work on - a challenge that is due soon - but it's nowhere near completion.   I need to get back to the sewing machine soon.

I had a couple of things I wanted to embroider, but my embroidery attachment is on the fritz.  The best repair person for the Bernina machines is in Myrtle Beach - about 1.5 - 2 hours from here.  I finally took it up there a week or two ago and the verdict is that there is something wrong with the touch screen.  It's supposed to be about a $200 repair.  I had hoped that it would either be super expensive to repair or not repairable at all so I could consider a new machine!  

Last weekend we went down to Savannah for the Savannah River Bridge Run.  Jerry has been running the 10K portion of this race for the last several years.  The race requires the runners to run over the bridge to Hutchinson Island and then back again to downtown Savannah. 

We go down with our friends John & June and John runs the race as well.  June and I usually stand on the sidelines and cheer them on. 

 At last year's race June and I decided we'd do the 5K portion of the race this year - I was going to run/walk and June was going to walk.   The 5K portion starts on Hutchinson Island so we would only have to get over the bridge once.  At 6:30 Saturday morning we both decided we had made a rash decision!    June has been dealing with some foot and knee problems and shouldn't have even attempted it, but she was a trooper and made it the entire distance.   I had to walk up the bridge span but managed to run most of the remaining distance.  My time wasn't very good - 42 minutes but it was a beautiful morning and the view was great from atop the bridge.  I think next year I'll be watching from the sidelines again.

I'm taking a class this weekend on making fabric baskets, so maybe I'll have pictures to post!

Scarf girl

When Hayden saw me making this purple scarf she immediately claimed it as her own.  She had great fun posing with it.  

I grew up in Michigan and I miss the beautiful fall colors.  This is our first fall in our new house and I'm enjoying the view from our living room to the wooded area behind our house.   We had a cold snap last week which helped bring out the colors of the trees. 

Scarves

When I was at the Asheville, NC quilt show a while back there were a couple of vendors selling the yarn necessary to make these frilly scarves. (click photos for larger view)

I found these fun to make because they're fast.  I can usually do one in the span of a couple of hours.  I don't even wear scarves so haven't figured out exactly what to do with these.  I'm considering sending them to my mother, who lives in a retirement home, letting her pick whatever she wants out of them and then sharing the excess with her friends there. 

I still have several more to make - one is in green and then the others are duplicates of the colors you see here. 

The art group I belong to met Saturday and as an activity we made silk scarves dyed with men's silk ties.

You lay a silk scarf blank on top of a piece of muslin and then lay out pieces of silk ties on top of half the scarf.  You then fold the half of the scarf without the ties (with its muslin backing) over on top of the part with the ties laid out.  

Roll the entire package up like a sausage and tightly tie closed.   

Place the sausage package in a pot of boiling water to which a bit of vinegar has been added.  Boil for 20 minutes.

Remove from the water, untie, and voila!   Iron the scarf to set the dyes.

Apparently the ties can be used 2 or 3 times each.

 

 

 

Government Bureaucracy?

Jerry and I moved several months ago to a new house - about 10 miles from our old home but in a new county- and we have been negligent in taking care of changing records with the county.

One of the things we needed to do was transfer our Voter's Registration.   We had to be in the County Seat for other business so we stopped by the registration office.  When they asked Jerry if he'd ever been registered in this county before he initially said no, but I reminded him that we had lived in this county years ago.  They found us on the computer and then the woman stepped to a file cabinet and pulled out our original registration forms from 1980!   We were amazed that they still had hard copies from over 30 years ago, and that they were able to find them in the matter of seconds.    Our new address was noted on the forms and probably refiled in the drawer for another 30 years!

Our trip that day also included a stop at the DMV, the County Assessor and the County Treasurer.  Not my favorite way to spend a day!

Asheville quilt show

I attended the Asheville (North Carolina) Quilt Show on Friday with some members of the art group I belong to.  Judy, one of our group members, just moved from Charleston to the Asheville area and invited us to stay with her while in the area.  We were thrilled when we arrived at the show to find the Best of Show ribbon on Judy's beautiful quilt.  (click photos for larger view-double click for the closest view)

Butteflies in the Garden by Peggy Garwood was awarded Best Hand Workmanship 

Lotsa Merry Berries by Niki Vick was awarded Best Machine Workmanship

Heartwood by Marge Edie. The design was taken from a wood box she made for her husband when they were married.

Exotica by Dale Williams



Fractured Peony by Linda Hallatt



Evergreen by Linda Medeiros

Golden Chrysalis by Terry Williams

Detail


Gradation by Sue Weaver

Detail showing the woven corners

Continuous Motion by Diana Ramsey.  I took a class with Carol Taylor in February on this technique so this one was of particular interest.

Crazy for Wolf Kahn by Connie Brown

Tiffalippa by Connie Brown

Jocassee Sunrise by Lynne G. Harrill

Sunset Cruise by Kathryn Weston

Everything is Hunke-Dore (Manala XII) by Jane Weaver

Aqua Luna by Brian Fackler

Detail

Jules' Poppy by Julie Simpson

This is Jerry Brummett with his quilt Our House.  He was white gloving when we arrived and proudly showed us his very first quilt which he hand quilted.  It's obvious that he is really enjoying his new hobby.

These frilly scarves are becoming all the rage and we all succumbed and bought yarn to make one.

24 Hours of LeMons

The latest 24 Hours of Lemons http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/ race was this past weekend.  Usually the South Carolina editions of the race are held at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC, but as a one time experience, this edition was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  (click photos for larger view)

The LeMons course was an odd configuration that used only a small part of the Nascar course.  It was a challenging course that all of the drivers seemed to really enjoy.




Unfortunately the accommodations at Charlotte were not as good as in Kershaw.  Most of the racers camp at the course and at Charlotte the shower facilities were a car ride away from the camping area.  Jerry and I stayed at a local Embassy Suites so we only had a few steps to our shower!

The Bee car had a good race.  They actually were on the course for the entire race - no major problems and no engine swap in the middle of the race! 

We finished in 21st place out of about 60 cars - certainly not a bad showing. 

There was some significant rain both Saturday and Sunday - in fact both days the race was ended a bit early because of the rain. 

The 2012 schedule isn't out yet, but we expect the next race to be sometime in February.