An Exhibition

For the past several months, we've (DH and I) been preparing for a 6 week Exhibition at our local Carnegie Arts Center., (click on current exhibits).   My goodness, how VERY exciting, and we are sharing the pleasure with artist Ron Nordyke, also of Nebraska.  The staff at the Arts Center makes our items look so beautiful!  I cannot believe how well all is coordinated - Paintings, Boats and Quilts.  You may have seen many of my quilts before, but they look 1000 times better, when well displayed -- I can't take any credit for those skills.  Saturday is a reception for US all.   It takes a lot of coordination, work, plans, schedules, e-mails, setting values on items, to get this assembled.  I know we both have been busy with preparations -- I can only imagine the work it takes to keep new exhibitions coming and going.   Thank YOU to all who work on projects such as these.

Here are photos of my/DH items.  Some might be similar to the web page at Carnegie.

DH is dusting just one of the boats.  He has 10 for display.

We climbed around stuff like this for weeks!  

I've made approox. 10 of this Kaleidoscope quilt, but kept my first!   Notice how the boats (lower right) and the paintings are somewhat coordinated!

I brought 10 quilts for display.   

There's a small boat on the small table.   

The colors in the painting are very similar to the colors in the quilt.  Remember, two different makers. 

 I NEVER thought anything could "blend" with this small Log Cabin but sure enough, the painting and the boat look like they were made to be together.  The deer in the painting are standing near water, that morphs into quilt images.  And the small boat looks perfect with the other 2 items. 

 The colors on the boat are definitely the SAME as the painting of Orcas, above.  

The African Queen, with a real working boiler, made by a friend in Iowa.   

Again, painting blends so nicely to quilt. 

This is probably my own favorite quilt.  

We both LOVE this painting - perhaps this is a new one that Mr. Nordyke said he was hoping to paint, when we saw our boat photos.   

Another favorite - "STEPS", meaning naturally, the steps in our lives, good or bad, easy or exciting or calm or not calm.   

My goodness, how this one shines, with all the extra pieces of glass.  

I noticed a lot of combinations of texture.  Fabric, wood, metal, glass, ceramics -- things that just BEG a person to touch.   

 A couple from California had stopped on their way to visit cousins and had questions, comments and were happy they ran into us.  So were we happy to run into them.  8-))  

What an honor to have been asked to present our humble efforts.  Just goes to show, we quilters, and boat builders, and artists are all talented more than we know.  Having our projects displayed in a beautiful location definitely boosts our own self-esteem.

We were asked to write an Artist Statement.  Oh TERROR!  First I had to Google the term to see what might be needed.  But writing it, thinking about why I do what I do, was enlightening and encouraging.  

If you have the chance to display your items, go for it!  We are immensely grateful for this joyful experience.

Blue Eggs, and a Jewel Box AKA Buckeye Beauty WIP

It's been almost a MONTH!!! since I posted anything - Where have I been?  However, the weather has been beastly cold - down to -28 below zero at the airport, and several other mornings at -18.  We had a 10 inch snowfall, fortunately light and fluffy, and had to do the snowblowing thing, a demand that took us both several days to recover from.  ( I know, that's a dangling preposition!)  We did the snow blowing and the temp was still BELOW zero.  Some kind unknown persons with a tractor plowed  the entire block sidewalks - what a generous gift to all of us.  We are most grateful!  It's been a week since it snowed, then the extreme cold kept us all inside, and today was the first day I actually ventured anyplace in the car. 

Last Saturday, having some ham left from Thanksgiving, I decided to make a REAL breakfast.  DH brought home eggs from the Barber Shop and I opened the carton to this lovely surprise. 

 All lovely shades of (neutral?) brown but the blue ones were just plain lovely.  I've never seen them before and had to Google "Blue Eggs".  Todays lesson!  

The Araucana, also known in the USA as a South American Rumpless,^[1] is a breed of chicken originating in Chile. The Araucana is often confused with other fowl, especially the Ameraucana and Easter Egger chickens, but has several unusual characteristics which distinguish it. They lay blue eggs, have feather tufts near their ears, green legs and yellow undersides to their feet. Conversely, the Ameraucana has blue-slate to black legs and either black or white on the undersides of the feet.  

Below is a current project on my "Design Floor" - yes, another scrappy quilt.  I kept the HSTs all in browns, deep reds and a few greens.  I kept the rest of the palette somewhat consistent, with a few brights for "twinkle."  The lights really needed to be scrappy for a bit of contrast (IMHO).  This should be 10 x 11 blocks and the blocks are 6 inch finished.  I was smart this time and make ALL the 4-patches, and ALL the HSTs and kept track of them with a tally sheet. in baggies, then started sewing them together. It's a small suggestion, but often I don't count ( duh) which is definitely a waste of time.  I make 10 blocks at a time, then get up and do something else.  Sewing definitely goes faster if one does not need to stop and cut more, a little at a time. This block has so many possibilities.  If you are consistent in sewing the same way each time,  I found if I twirled all the seams in the back, (pressed all clockwise) each block's seams will nest in the next block with no problem seams - a good time saver. 

Retreat, RRTK and Machine Quilting, Hourglass

I spent last long weekend at our Guild Retreat, located at a beautiful lodgey YMCA, with friends, a LOT of food, and beautiful views.  I think this was my 5th or 6th retreat at this location.   If you've been to a Quilting Retreat, these kinds of photos will look familiar. If you HAVEN'T been to a retreat, you are missing something. 

 I think that head on the pink shirt is Marlene!

 This pink shirt belongs to Donna, the recent Raffle winner of a quilt I helped make last year, called Prairie Schooler - lucky girl!

 Another view - we had a fireplace when needed.

These are part of Scotts Bluffs, the view out our window.  Just beyond the rail fence is the North Platte River, gurgling away, full of ruching water.

 The walk in front of the various rooms.  I believe there were 5 or 6 double rooms.

More North Platte River, with the noisy, gurgling tributary.  

 This is the entire lodge where we stayed - so comfy, economical and pleasant.  We gals did the meals, all taking turns in the wonderful kitchen.  No one went home hungry!!

My workspace - that "red" around my quilt is a flange, not binding.  I was with 2 other friends, and we were comparing work spaces -- neat or messy.  Note - no mess on the floor under MY project.  Also, I have learned to use a boat cushion on my chair to help me sit high enough.    A boat cushion doesn't compress, nor does it make rude noises when I plop down on it!

That portable machine worked just fine for much of the machine quilting.

 Carol, one of my roommates, also works neatly.  Note, no mess on the floor.  This was her first retreat, and we KNOW she had a great time.

 And then there's Tina - my other roommate, who said her floor was a mess because she was piecing a tiny chicken that took her all day, and there was much unsewing!   8-))

 This was just to show to DH, how much of a mess we all make and that he is not alone when he comments about MY mess at home.

I almost finished my project, a Rocky Road to Kansas design, that I call "Stringin' My Blues"  I DID have to unsew one entire border side of machine quilting as it just "didn't do"! The improved version was 2 simple evenly-spaced lines using my walking foot -- soooo much better.  Even someone who has machine quilted a LOT makes errors in judgment.

Also, some of the gals were interested in how I machine quilted on my DSM, questions about  what did I draw with, what stencil, etc.  Repeat - this is all free-form - no drawing, no stencil, no paper.  At first, thinking about quilting those swirls in the white border scared me and I had planned to draw them, or draw guidelines, but almost right away, I realized I could do them just fine free-form, and they are all surprisingly evenly spaced. Frankly, I'm amazed they ARE evenly spaced and wonder about brains and hands actually being able to coordinate so well. The design itself took about 10 minutes of practice to get the right size for that border width.

The flange sewn between the border and the binding definitely gave the quilt pizzazz - a trick I learned from my friend Jody (Goddess).  I DID purchase the RED for the last minute idea to add the flange.

 All of the other fabric for the top is from my stash.

Here it is today, hanging over my fence.  I hung heavy clamps to the top of the quilt that weight it over the top of the fence so wind does not blow it down.  The size is about 71" x 81".  As I frequently have said, "It turned out much better than I thought!"  

And here is my Hourglass, ready for sandwiching.  More stash use.  Hmmmm, how to quilt this????  This is probably the easiest pattern I ever made.  Onward and upward - Quilt ON!

Practice, Practice, Practice

I'm beginning to think about preparing to start to commence studying a possible plan for quilting this recent Rocky Road to Kansas.  Yes, my brain is NOT focused, and every time I get on a direction, some diddly nothing changes my direction - what's with that???

Here are some samples, and disappointments, or I should say, "not yet successful designs."  I was thrilled with the first McTavishing  (diamond on the right) but by the time I got to the bottom, hypnosis seems to have taken over and I totally became "lost" in the design!  Yes, I remember about half-way finished, "perhaps I need to stop for a few seconds" but I didn't.

The diamond on the left is OK and I might use it, but in softer threads.  The wonky triangles in the top middle look interesting and not as difficult as I thought.

The wiggly lines in bottom center have the right "feel" for my scrappy stars, if I use a soft blue/gray thread.

I've not machine quilted since ??? spring -- hey, a person gets rusty!  It's amazing how much improved a design becomes with a little practice.

This second practice piece is almost a total loss!  The "wormy" thing on the bottom left has possibilities.  I was using my own imagination which has a mind of it's own every 2-3 seconds! Even poor practice results are better then no results at all.  If you are not appreciating my dark thread, remember that a thread that blends will alter your surface dramatically.

My practice pieces are saved in a 3-ring binder in page protectors, just like PatsyThompson Designs.com suggests.  Many times I can't think of any design, but that practice binder always has reminders.

I am also practicing designs from www.FreeMotionProject.com, by Leah Day.  I own her big beautiful book, and added a spiral binding to it.  Free tutorials of all her designs from her book are on her site. These two generous machine quilters have given so freely.

A new block, prairie grass, and quilt basting

 This is the design for a new donated project our monthly Thursday night  quilters want to make.  This is the first batik fabric I've purchased - yes I love it, but there is so much standard cotton to use!  It's called Eli's Wheel and is a free pattern at Moda Bake Shop.  

 Note the prairie grass against the bricks, now taller than the house - it grows from nothing in the spring to over the roof in places.  I really wanted a tree in that place, but trees take so long.  Those plumes will last until spring when I cut them down, ready to start over.

Rocky  Road to Kansas.  My last Hurrah of fall - basting in the garage, where I set up the 2 tables, and put legs on legs, to keep from bending over for pinning. This job from beginning to end (assuming all is pressed) takes about 45-60 minutes, from set-up to take down.  Now to get to the quilting, my favorite part, although I haven't a clue as to quilting design.

Here's what I decided for the border.  More stash use-up.  

Today is lovely, but icy, snow, drizzle coming our way.  

Happy Quilting!

"Shirttails" Bonnie Hunter Class

Saturday was our Bonnie Hunter class in Englewood, CO, about 5 hours from my home in western Nebraska.  My travel mate was (above, left) Jody (I usually call her Goddess) who was waaaay more familiar with Denver than I ever hope to be, and her sister Janice who lives in Denver, and Bonnie, then Diane (far right), our table mate from Washington state who was visiting relatives in Denver, but they weren't home so we know which activity took priority!   Our project was from Bonnie's book Shirttails.  Janice and her husband went out of their way to make ME feel welcome - what a lovely visit we had in the evenings and at an incredible breakfast Sunday morning!

This class was sponsored by Wooden Spools, and amazing shop that buys quality cotton fabric from regular quilt folks and resells it at a generous discount to other regular quilt folks!  Bargains galore for first-quality fabric - what a concept!  They also have a Bonnie Hunter ... not sure it's called a fan club, but they all make more of Bonnie's quilts.  What an amazing shop - they gave us breakfast Saturday morning with leftover yummies for Saturday lunch!!!  They are in Englewood, south of Denver.

Because of the distance, we made a weekend of the class - I am exhausted.  It was a VERY good - and humbling experience to be traveling with younger, strong women!  

Many photos are on Bonnie Hunter's site.