Works in Progress

How can it be November already?  I think I must be suffering from some kind of time warp.   The fact that we have been able to go outside in shirtsleeves this week isn't helping me keep track of the season, either!  (Not that I'm complaining)

So, aside from getting out to enjoy the weather, and buttoning up the gardens for the year- it broke my heart to put the pots away as some were still blossoming!-  I have been in the sewing room as much as I can the last couple of weeks.  I wish I had more to show for it!

 This is the big cutting table in the "studio".  I'm not sure how many projects are there in one form or another.  What you can't see is the piles of projects I have pushed off the table onto the futon.  There are two on the back of it that only need quilting.  The pretty green and red bit in the center is one my great grandmother made.  I'd love to replicate it some day!

 This is sideways.  It's a Christmas gift.  This is the latest I have ever started something to be given for Christmas.  I hate this kind of pressure. This one is going together quickly.  It's from the book "French Braid Transformation", by Jane Hardy Miller.  I was pretty upset when all the light blues landed in the same area- no matter which way I turn those strips- but now I kind of like it.  It looks like I did it that way on purpose!

This is a sneak peak for my Guild members.  We have been working on a new quilt to raffle next year during our quilt show.  I am the chair for the project this time.  I did not design this, just changed the way the colors were laid out and added the borders.  I got the pattern from McCall Quick Quilts.  One side of the pieced border is missing four colors (it was the only way to get it to come out right at the corners)  Can you find them? - sorry the picture is at an angle and makes it harder.
 We'll have this machine quilted.

 I've knitted a few more tiny snowmen to use as gifts this year. (If you get one, act surprised, ok?)  They stand about one and a half inches tall.  Each one takes about an hour.  The little scarves are actually the hard part. 

I'm working on a Kanzashi Christmas bouquet.  The extras will be used as ornaments and "bows" on presents.










My Green Tip this time is about all the leaves we have to clean up this time of year.  Raking is good exercise,  and leaf blowers use gas, creating CO2 and noise.  If you live where they collect leaves, just pile them up, don't bag them and clog up landfills.  If you live in the boonies, like me, use them to mulch around your shrubs and tender perennials, or just add them to your compost pile.   If you don't want to rake, chop them up with the lawnmower and leave them on the lawn as mulch and to enhance the soil.

I am grateful for:
A few extra days of nice weather allowing me to take walks outside!
Friends who are willing to spend time with me.
Having a little one to play in the leaves with last week.
A chance to have my say and doing it in a calm manner.
When things work the way they are supposed to- making life a little easier!

New Business!

Kathi, me and Anita!

Anita's Xcentric/Concentric block quilt

Anita Grossman Soloman visited the Museum Quilt guild last week!
We enjoyed her company for three days.  As the workshop chair, it was my pleasure to be her hostess.  She is fun and witty and gracious!

Elaine, Kathi, Anita and Dodie at our welcome dinner

In addition to the presentation at the meeting, many of the members-myself included!- were lucky enough to take classes with Anita.

Blocks made by class participants

The class I took was the one for the Xcentric block quilt shown at the top of the page. It's a fun process that will have us all buying striped fabrics to play with!

I used all the same fabric for my blocks.  This is what I got done in class.  Hopefully there is enough fabric to make a quilt some child will enjoy dragging around.



When I got home, I was playing with a border stripe I had used for something else and got these blocks.  They might end up as a bag, if I can find a nice coordinate for a lining.

Anita also gave a slideshow and trunk show at the regular meeting for those who couldn't take the classes to enjoy.  There are more pictures of this, plus the monthly show and tell (or there will be very soon!) at the guild's blog.
Now that I'm done with this project, I am hoping to spend an entire weekend sewing.  So, don't call me- I won't answer.

I am grateful for:
Winning the boss lottery
Being treated like a rock star by the members of the Yorktowne Quilt Guild
The stomach bug I had Sunday and Monday was relatively minor.
Neither of my boys were hurt seriously in their(separate) accidents.
Some time and the tools to play mad scientist in the studio.

Old Business

 I've had a busy couple of weeks and am still way behind and in the middle of another busy week.  So going back a couple of weeks.....

 We'll start back at the "Quilting Around Chautauqua" event. It was a wonderful day, in spite of the early weather forecast.








This event takes place on the beautiful grounds of the Chautauqua Institute

I loved the texture of the bricks and the rock garden edging.

 We get to spend the day admiring the architecture and gardens, as well as the quilts on display.

I need to find out what kind of Coleus this is!

The quilting on this one makes it really special!

In a little cafe used by one of the guilds.

Part of an "Under the Sea"challenge with a sister guild from Australia

Another "Under the Sea" quilt

There are displays by 8 quilt guilds or quilting groups from the area in several venues around the grounds.

This one makes me want an embroidery machine!

A bunny tea party- one of the vignettes in this display area.

Someone missed the bus.  

The weekend after that, while the men were off on a hunting trip, I did some sewing!

Calendar quilt from "count on it" by Nancy Halvorsen

The top for a baby quilt I have to get done in the next two weeks. Gender of the baby is unknown.

A panel I got at Calico Gals in Syracuse in August, and I actually got it done for this Halloween!

My portrait so far- from the class MaryLee taught at Guild last month.

 

Coming in the "new Business" will be a report on Anita Grossman Soloman's visit to my guild.  I'm taking a class tomorrow, then she'll speak at Guild on Saturday!

I am grateful for:
October with cool nights and fall colors!
Working well with my husband on occasion.
The Bills winning 4 games. (I'll get on the bandwagon when they make the playoffs)
The completion of a major project!
An end to the gardening season.  I need a break. :-)

A moving and powerful exhibit!

I'm sharing some pieces from an exhibit in the new gallery at the college where I work.  I have been in three times and find a new favorite piece each time! 
This is the artists's statement on the show.



You can see more about the gallery and the exhibit here.









One of my favorite pieces is included in the wall of women.

Text: "Gradually....

 I took many pictures close up since I was sure the full impact would be lost in a single picture.  Make sure to note the text written over the photo.

...Among the duties and...

...responsibilities and children...

....I lost myself."

The wooden books are very interesting.  You have to go around a couple of times to be sure you've seen the whole piece.

The house is the part that takes so long to appreciate- and where you find a new favorite each time.Inside and out covered with the smaller tiles.

I think I'd get more out of it if I understood Spanish.

Eye shadow pots as embellishment

Made with hair and fingernail clippings. Read the verbiage- in red.

 

There were pieces included about domestic abuse, as well as the ones I found most moving- the ones involving self image and being a woman in general.  I'm sure each person is affected differently.  Isn't it amazing how these women are so able to express themselves this way????? 

My green tip this time is  one I often forget- take the labels off the cans and bottles you recycle and recycle them separately.  If you don't the paper is burned. By recycling the labels, we can save one million trees a year!!!

I am grateful for:
Access to art that inspires and touches me.
Jane's new fabrics are up on her website!
Leftovers so I don't have to cook every night.
Excedrin on "those" days!
Meditative time in the sewing room.

What I'm working on

 It's been a while since I posted pictures of the project I've been working on.  There's a reason for that.  I've decided it might be my entry for a challenge.  So I can't do a reveal for a while yet.  But I can tease you with some of the quilting I've done.    I am having a great time with this piece- and with the "excellence". 

(By the way, I recently realized I posted the pictures of it twice.  I sort of got the machine twice, so I guess that was why I did it.  It's a cute story- maybe I'll tell it in a later post)

I also finally finished a scrap quilt I started last
summer! I was still teaching Scrap Therapy then, and this was a new pattern I couldn't wait to try.  Since we never taught this one, I made it my "leaders and enders" project.  It finally got to the point where I had to stop and put the blocks all together.  I love this pattern!!  It's called "Square Deal".

My new Leaders and enders project is also from Scrap Therapy- called Star Light, Star Bright.  I loved this pattern, so i decided I'd use up some of the Christmas scraps on  another version of it.









At my Guild meeting this month we had a presentation on Portrait quilts, from my BFF Mary.  You may remember the quilts she made of the two of us last year from this post.  She loves doing this kind of quilt.  She even won a 3rd place ribbon last spring for her life sized quilt of her son!  After the presentation some of us were lucky enough to have her teach us how to do it ourselves! 

I used this old picture of my husband and son.  This hung over my work space back then, so it was a special picture!  I haven't gotten very far yet, but the process isn't hard and it's kind of like doing a puzzle because you can't wait to see how it looks when it's done!

Hopefully next time I'll have at least all the pieces fused down to show.

My Green Tip for this time is a reminder that green is part of everything we do. Are you a "fashionista"??  You happily trade in last year's wardrobe for the new colors and freshest styles??  
The textile industry also causes environmental damage.  The chemicals used to grow natural fibers, the dyes for our favorite colors, the power used at the manufacturing plants...It all causes more environmental damage.
So think about what you buy.  Make smart choices, find ways to make the old work. Buy something that won't go out of style, then add accents in this year's hot color. Shopin the second hand stores and save money as well!

I am grateful for:
A visit from a dear "old" friend.
Fresh apples, so crisp and juicy the pop when you bite them.
Baking weather!
Creative people who inspire and encourage me.
Second chances.