This is what I've been up to...
We celebrated Christmas with our son's family in Arkansas. I'm trying to create a tradition of decorating Christmas cookies with the grandchildren. There were some beautiful cookies and beautiful memories made!
Nate and I took turns holding our new granddaughter, June Beth. We couldn't be happier!
Needless to say, I didn't work on any sewing or quilting while I was gone. Some things are just more important.
My husband and I had a chance to go to the 43rd Annual Mid-States Crafts Exhibition at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science. I think it is good for him to see my work hanging in a show. I'm always hoping he will better understand what I'm doing down in my studio all the time. I also think it gives him a better appreciation for my work when he sees that someone else values it enough to put it in a show. He was duly impressed with this exhibit.
Looking to the left, this is what we saw when we first walked into the show.
I was really pleased with the location of my work. (My piece, Zen, is the one in the middle.)
This show has a wide variety of work. I tried to take pictures so you could get a feel for the range of work on display. This first picture is a textile piece made by my friend, Pat DaRif, from Louisville, Kentucky. The title of it is Other. I love what she is doing with photographs she takes.
I LOVE jewelry, and this piece did not disappoint. Slipped Disk with Mums is made of copper, enamel, silver and glass beads. It was made by Patricia Nelson of Muncie, Indiana.
There was a beautiful table made of forged iron. The Vine Table was made by Craig Kaviar from Louisville, Kentucky. ($250 Martha Ryan Merit Award presented in memory of Sam Ryan and $300 Thelma Karges Merit Award)
Glass work was on display too. I really liked these two pieces. This first piece reminds me of a glass piece I saw in a gallery when we were in Hawaii. The title of the piece is Layered Blue Waves and was made by Michelle Hamilton of St. Louis, Missouri.
The second glass piece is made of blown glass and is diamond engraved and acid etched. Moon Field was made by Benjamin Johnson from Cicero, Indiana. ($500 Dorothea Schlechte Memorial Purchase Award and $285 Museum Members' Merit Award)
There were two pieces by Sandra Jane Heard of Perrysburg, Ohio, chosen to be in the exhibit. This was my pick of the two. Dissolution of Brotherhood is made of silk, yarn, reeds, paper, and found objects.
There is much more to see, and you still have time (but just barely). The exhibit is available till January 12, 2014. If you are in Evansville, Indiana, for any reason, check out this exhibit (or go down just to see the exhibit). For more information on the show, check out this link--Mid-States Crafts Exhibition.
In my quest to use up some of my stash, I am finding projects I have forgotten about. I found this batik project in a big plastic bin along with some other partially finished items. I'll be sharing some of these along with my progress on them (if there is any). (Sorry about the picture quality. I just had the pieces arranged on my studio floor and took the pic with my iPhone, but I think you can get the idea.)
I'll have to cut five more 6 1/2" batik blocks (which won't be a problem with the stash I have), and hand blanket stitch around the centers of those five. (Now that I've looked at this photograph, I'm thinking those green batiks have to go. They really jump out at me. It looks like I'll need to make seven new blocks! I will probably use those two on the back of the quilt.) I'm going to set them together with Kona Ash. I think that will set off the colors nicely. I'm thinking I will use cornerstones. Any suggestions as to what I should use for the cornerstones--same batik, a solid color, maybe no cornerstones? Or maybe you have a good suggestion for a totally different setting all together? I'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment.
I have been primarily been working on "art" quilts for the last couple of years. As much as I like doing something totally original, I need to do something else. I have an ENORMOUS stash and I LOVE scrap quilts, so I've decided to work on quilts that will use up some of my stash fabrics that are not really appropriate to use for art quilts.
I have started working on a quilt (pattern from Kaye England) called Bordered Nine Patch. You can find the pattern here if you are interested. The instructions are clear and the pattern is really easy to follow. I put the blocks up on the design wall as I finish each one, so I can see the overall pattern. Working on this quilt is addictive; I can't seem to stop. I like the rhythm (Zen-like state) I enter when I sew patchwork. Ahhhhhhhhh....
I'm also working on a T-shirt quilt for my new grandson. (He is 10.) His favorite teams are the Saint Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves, so I combined the two for the top of the quilt. I didn't use batting and backed the T-shirt material with fleece. (I used a light-weight fusible interfacing to stabilize the fabric before I cut the squares out of the T-shirt material.) I sewed it together using the "rag quilt" method. I think he'll love it. Here is what I have finished, so far.
It is REALLY cold here. -2 was our high today! This is how we are all feeling around here. The ONLY good thing about it is that I get to stay in and sew!
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