Quilts

Moments of Friendship

November 11, 2014November 12, 2014 Elizabeth E.8 Comments

I had some enjoyable moments last week with friends and family, and a funny little moment in a fabric shop watching these two little future quilters in the lower right corner climb up the shelves of fabric. I was also able to attend Andrew’s baptism at the age of eight, and I got all teary listening to the talks, the messages from the bishop of that congregation, and enjoying seeing my son interact with his sons (he has four boys).

Another friend and I traveled to Roger’s Gardens in Costa Mesa (Orange County) to see their holiday decorations, newly revealed and loved all their arrangements. But since we didn’t rob a bank before going, we took snapshots of a lot of them for you to enjoy (although I would have like to have sent you all that beautiful wreath in the upper right).

And to honor another friend, we finally gathered up all the signature blocks we needed in order to make a quilt for Lora.

Another reminder of how the weekend went was the chance I had to listen to still another friend who had just lost her father, and all the attendant issues that come with the dismantling of a childhood home, of caring for the remaining aging parent, of dealing with grief and loss.

Some of us have known each other for 25 years or more, and like all friendships, our ties to each other have come about layer by layer and shared experiences and I have had a chance to reflect on why they had impacted my life so deeply. The salient characteristic was as Emerson described: they listened to listen. They listened to learn. They listened and then asked questions and our answers and questions to each other would ping-pong back and forth.

They never listened to me in anticipation of getting the conversation centered back on themselves, a commonplace experience nowadays. Slowly over time, like the process of building a quilt, we learned about each other, the years sifting over us until we found ourselves at a dinning room table talking about seam allowances, a flood in a kitchen, how a child is doing in college, a child’s wedding. Not all friendships can go the distance, and perhaps Emerson’s words are a golden nugget for me to think about again and again. All I know is that time with a good friend is a treasure, and this past week I had more than my share.

Quilts

Sewing Sewing Sewing Along

November 9, 2014November 3, 2014 Elizabeth E.12 Comments

To get you back in the mood for this post, here’s my son’s pumpkin. Did I tell you he has a great sense of humor and can write computer code that drives websites?

First up is Keagan, the Egyptian Princess. I visited my daughter’s home in October and went right to work. We had to double-line that white sheath because, well, it was white. Keagan and I talked over costumes, looking some up on Pinterest before she went to school and then I headed to JoAnn’s. I hate paying a billion dollars for patterns, so picked up one of the $2.99 Quick and Easy patterns that looked like it might work, and added on enough at the bottom to be long enough. I used the bodice of the dress to fashion a collar out of paper and tried it on her. Keagan had a few suggestions and I trimmed it to her specifications.

The drapey thing was pinned on in the back with a safety pin, then wrapped around some rubber bands. Her mother and dad fashioned some gold bands for her (one solution is to cut a Pringle’s can into sections, then spray-paint gold) which she slipped over to hide the hair bands. She also had some on her upper arms to complete the look.

Maddy wanted to be Elsa. She had VERY detailed instructions, and since she was recovering from a tonsillectomy I had her at my disposal for measuring. The dress had to had see-through sleeves and silver at the top of the bodice, and Maddy was very specific about the drapey overcoat thing, wanting it to flow from her shoulders, but since I only had one day to get both costumes done, I went with a “coat-type” construction, made out of organza so it would have some body.

We cut out a giant silver snowflake by tracing it onto the paper side of fusible web, adhering it to the silver lame. We cut out the lame, peeled off the paper and fused it on. Because the lame and the organza are kind of “open” this process left a residue of stickiness. I told my daughter she’d better wash her ironing board cover so it wouldn’t stick to anything she ironed after that.

I’m told both costumes were a hit.

Here they are with their brother who was a Mad Scientist-Zombie Guy. Maddy is not wearing a crown (it’s a bush behind her). Sure looks like a crown, though.

I was also able to get ahold of the pouch I made for Barbara and check it out, fully loaded.

She says it works great. I’m so glad I can sew! Thanks, Mom!

Quilts

Jazz, Light, Montreal, a Four-in-Art Quilt, November 2014

November 1, 2014November 1, 2014 Elizabeth E.14 Comments

Jazz, Light, Montreal
#5 in the Urban Series

When the challenge theme was announced, of Light, I started looking and noticing urban light–both that which sheds or projects the light, and that which receives the light. Multi-hued lights intrigued me, as well as light fixtures (as you saw before). I was also interested in reflections of city lights on windows and in rain puddles. But in the end, I went with a memory–the graceful arching lights of Montreal, swirling over the Jazz Festival that was in its final days.

Montreal City Lights

Yet the artistry in that photograph comes partly because of the different widths of the light poles, changing from thicker to more slender as they were sited in the field of view.

I fiddled and widgeted my stuff, moving and trying to get that look but with my bias tape, I could not really manipulate the widths easily, although I tried. So mine resembles a spider the day AFTER Halloween, squished beyond recognition. How appropriate that today’s reveal date is November 1st. Since this little foray into representation is not one of my favorite art quilts I’m not going to do a deconstruction post. I tried out multiple brown fabrics and thought about trying to mimic the interesting placement of windows as shown in the photo above, but in the end, went with one that conveyed the pane-pierced facade. Okay, maybe not so much, but I gave it a try. I fused it on, satin-stitched around it. Sewed down the light posts, then used a zig-zag stitch to quilt clouds into the sky.

In fact, the more I write about this, the more I realize that not every art quilt will challenge me to learn a new technique, which is what I want to do. Sometimes you come to the project tired and worn out and your brain cells look more and more like the spotted building in my art quilt, or perhaps that splayed spider thingie and pulling out the stops means Getting It Done and Moving On.

I do like the back quite well. No complaint about that Anna Maria Horner fabric from eons ago. And ever since Betty started putting labels on hers, I’ve copied her example and now have a lovely collection of art quilts, properly provenanced. The quilt is 12″ square, and I used a fancy little bit for the binding (hoping it would redeem the front?).

But the best thing is the memory of that horribly hot night, sitting on the steps listening to jazz, getting photo-bombed by a tourist behind me who turned out to be a quilter, and we spent a long time showing each other quilt photos from our phones. I look somewhat different now, but it was a great night watching people bee-bop to the doo-wap (try and find them!), sitting under that graceful swirling street light.

Normally we only have four challenges a year (hence, the name: Four-in-Art), but this year we decided to jive up to the calendar year, and so added in this last challenge, making it a #5. In the next cycle we’ll be back to four, and we’re trying something different. Our overall theme will be Literature, but each quilter will think up her own quarterly challenge, instead of having a group challenge. We’ll still reveal on the first days of February, May, August and November. We have also had some subtractions and additions in the last few weeks, so won’t have a full compliment of eight quilters until next February.

Come see what other quilters in our Four-in-Art Group have done!
Amanda at www.whatthebobbin.com
Betty at Flickr//www.flickr.com/photos/toot2/with/12251011196
Nancy at patchworkbreeze.blogspot.com
Rachel at rachel-thelifeofriley.blogspot.com
Simone at quiltalicious.blogspot.com
Anne at SpringLeaf Studio

and please head *here* to vote for Anne’s Cascade quilt, a finalist in the Craftsy Pattern Design Awards!!

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Coming in a couple of days. . .

Circles Block #6!

Quilts

Ralli Quilts and Conversations

October 29, 2014October 29, 2014 Elizabeth E.16 Comments

I was fascinated by all the comments left on my last post about whether to not you choose to answer every comment on your blogs. The trigger, of course, was a couple of articles from 99U which is a site geared toward business types. In talking about this with Cindy, of Live a Coloful Life, we both remember the early days of blogging, where reply comments were not the norm, but instead of replying to a comment, you’d head over to their blog and leave a comment. A couple of comments referred to this, such as this one from Barb: “I also would rather someone comment on my blog rather than spending time replaying to my comment on theirs. That would be a great agreement; instead of replaying, comment more on others blogs.”

Some of you came up with your own name for those snippets of comments. I liked Susan’s observation: “‘Nice Quilt’ is what I would consider a conversation ender. If someone says something like “that’s a really nice quilt, I like the blah feature” then I consider that a conversation opener.”

Nancy echoed many comments when she wrote “I like the interaction between people, albeit virtual, through blogs. I have made some blogging friendships of which I am truly glad. I leave comments about blogs that have given me inspiration, a lesson, beauty, a smile, or something to think about–the start of maybe a brief conversation. I think of blogging as a way to interact with others of like interests. In my smaller physical community, it is difficult to find the more artistic quilters or those who self-design, so I turn to blogs.”

I’ll leave the final word to Claire about our blog reading, as she describes exactly how I feel: “All this assumes a normal day with a leisurely coffee break while I read email and blogs. Other days I skim and probably miss wonders.”

Well said, Claire.

All of these quilts are from an exhibit I recently saw in Utah at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art. They are known as Ralli Quilts, and are from Pakistan and India (see map at end of post). I was amazed at all the stitching, the detail, and the colors (like the quilt above–I couldn’t get my camera to adjust to the deep reds).

These were all found by Dr. Patricia Stoddard, a friend of my sister Susan (who tipped me off to this exhibit). The website about these quilts is found *here* and is interesting reading. Her book, a veritable catalogue of the quilts, can be obtained *here.*

I loved the contemporary look of these quilts, many made in the 1970s. There are several sites that sell newer ralli quilts and can be found by a search on Google.

This reminded me of the Trip Around the World Quilts, a sensation on Instagram last year.

Improv piecing anyone? Often the women saved time by piecing printed textiles together, rather than doing their appliqué.

One of my favorites; I put the closeup on Instagram. It was a good afternoon there at the museum, looking at quilts that are out of our quilting mainstream, a good antidote to the quilt market frenzy on social media. Their vivid colors and patterns reminded me that time spent with patchwork and colors can bring a quiet satisfaction and an entry into the wider world of quilting.

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Our Four-in-Art quilt group will be revealing their final challenge of this year on November 1st. Occasionally we have an opening for someone who wants to play along. No shipping required, just a willingness to engage in new ideas, new techniques of your own choosing. Leave a comment and your blog address if you are interested.