The Mid Atlantic Quilt Show

The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show is taking place this weekend in Hampton, Virginia. The picture to the left was my FAVORITE quilt from the 2007 show. Click on it and check out the details.

I know quite a few of you are going. Sabrina and I have been to this show and it is really something. We had planned on going this year too, however thankfully - the real estate business has picked up for us so we are really busy with that, and we are getting ready to head over to the mountains in just over a week so we had to miss it this time.

Hampton, Virginia is a nice town, with some nice hotels and restaurants, etc. and the Convention Center is easy to find. While a convention center is NOT my favorite venue for a quilt show (yuck) -- just the sheer volume of inspiration that can be found there is worth the trip.

Here is a link to the show if you're interested: http://www.quiltfest.com/activities.asp?id=8

as well as a few other shows that we're going to head out to this year:

This one is my favorite:

The Mountain Comforts Quilt Festival which takes place during the Blue Ridge Folklife

Festival: http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/mountaincomforts.htm

Folklife Festival link: http://www.blueridgeinstitute.org/festivals.htm.

Back on the home front I've got a few things going - but not much progress the last week or so due to a revisit from the flu to our house, as well as LIFE. I'll be posting updates, etc. on by the beginning of the week.

Enjoy your weekend.

Neocolors, Color Resist and Sunday Stitches - All Rolled into One!

This week, I wondered what would happen if I used a white tone on


tone as a base fabric and layered on some Neocolors.


I was hoping the "tone" on the tone would act as crisp resist -- it did.

Originally I was going to use the resist theme for stitching, as it really came out nice and clear. However, turning the fabric over, I decided I liked the backside better for what I had planned for it. I colored a pretty good sized piece of fabric and have tucked the rest of it away for future use - to experiment with the resisted side.
For now though, I sprayed my little piece of sunset (saturated it actually) with spray starch and scrunched it up into a teeny tiny wad. I loosely rubber banded it and put it on top of a heater vent in my bathroom with the door closed so Gizmo wouldn't eat it! I left it there for a day until it was totally dry.

This morning I undid the rubber band and check this out - a nice little wrinkled, (but not crinkled as I had hoped) sunset - a perfect foundation for Sunday's stitches. Some of you may recognize this "starch and crinkling" technique from Nellie's Needles blog. I have a big fan of Lake Michigan series quilts in particular, and decided I wanted to try this out for myself.

Typically I just stitch into the fabric, but I put a piece of batting behind my little sunset piece before stitching. This worked out well because pulling tight as I draw the needle up, really accentuates the crinkling effect.

I played with this using different weights of perle cotton, various strands of embroidery floss, and some hand dyed variegated threads. I can see possibilities here - with practice.

Learning Curve:

For next time.....

1. Use less water next time and don't put the piece on a towel while painting (the towel wicks moisture AND pigment) which I believe will avail better color saturation;

2. Saturate fabric entirely with heavy spray starch next time. (I don't think I used enough spray, AND I used a light starch);

3. Wad the fabric tighter and smaller in an effort to create teeny tiny stiffer wrinkles.

This week - take chances, experiment, step outside of your comfort zone. It's okay if things don't turn out as you've planned. Sometimes that's the best part.

Experimentation - Molding Medium, Gel Medium and Tar Gel

We met with our art guild last Wednesday and one of our members, Jodi Ohl explained how to use various media in paintings, collage work and on paper. Inspired by her work which has been published several times in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine, (visit Sweet Repeats to check it out) we decided to check it out and do our own experiments.

Sabrina got right to work with the molding paste. She molded canvas, paper, metal - basically anything she could get her hands on. Next she drug out the sand paper - sanding, sanding, sanding. I think she's in love.

I, on the other hand, in response not only to Jodi's urging to try medium, but also our attendance at Amy's "intuitive journaling" workshop, got out my journals, acrylics, gouache (which I really love to work with,) and painted some pages using paints and medium.

The medium almost plasticizes the pages giving them a really nice hand, as well as making a great surface for acrylic ink (Liquitex makes gorgeous acrylic inks that write beautifully on acrylic paint) and anything else I want to apply. Picture on the journaling process tomorrow.

I think today we are going to experiment with tar gel, which I heard is great for image transfer on to fabric. I think I'll get my camera out and take a few pictures and try that.

Oooooooh Gizmoooooo...........

Sunday's Stitches - February 15th - on Monday!!

This week I played around with stitches previously learned (straight stitch, whipped straight stitch, broken chain stitch) as well as I added the seed stitch, tied cross stitch and straight cross stitch. Learning to execute the stitches is the first step. Learning to execute the stitches neatly, precisely and straight - is the second.

Stitch on!

Finished Lisa's Tote Bag with a Surprise...

I finally finished Lisa's peace sign tote bag and Sabrina decided we should make her a little journal to go with it. I love making these. I don't use a pattern, just cut the shape out of newsprint. The handles are rolled and hand stitched with embroidery floss so that they are soft and comfortable to carry a heavy load. The outside of Lisa's tote is a giraffe print batik in black and white and the lining of the bag is the same Kaffe Fassett print that the peace sign is made from - it's pretty funky. I really like how this came out.

I really need to make myself one to lug around my book, sketchbook and camera. Oh, that's right - I did make myself on - and even I used it ONCE -- until it was "claimed" by Sabrina. I've made three of these now - and not one hangs in my closet. Yes - I think I will make one for myself.

Enjoy your Sunday. Oh, and Sunday Stitches will be posted later today.

My Wish for YOU Today:

Laugh as much as you breathe

and love as long as you live.

Van Gogh Iris Slice Quilt - Continued.....

It's been a while, I know. You may recall, I participated in a group project wherein we each selected an image, sliced it up into five pieces and handed out one piece to each artist to interpret. I received all the pieces back months ago, got frustrated with this and put it aside. (You can click here to see the history and beginning's of my Van Gogh Iris art quilt slice project.)

I've had a hard time getting the pieces to fit together properly and just put it away for a while. Well, I got it back out this past weekend and am bound and determined to complete it. The pieces have now been stitched together and I am in the process of adding painted details to unify the pieces. Once I finish the painting process, I plan on adding some beads and hand stitching. I may or may not add machine quilting/stitching, depending upon how my hand stitching comes out. I'd love to just do the rest of this all by hand.

I'm so glad I brought this back out. I'd like to get this finished and maybe get it in to Symposium. We'll see.

..

Sunday Stitches - February 8th

The only problem I had this morning with my stitching was in choosing what color(s) to use. I'm still working on the sunrise and mediterranean painted linens so I wanted to choose colors that compliment those color ranges.

This week I worked on the Backstitch, Split Stitch and Closed Fly Stitch, in addition to continuing practice on the chain stitch, straight stitch and whip stitch.

I decided to do something with it - so I made some flowers with chain stitched petals and little french knots in the center. The leaves on the yellow flower utilize the closed fly stitch. In order to learn this stitch, it is suggested that you draw out your leaf shape and then fill it in with the closed fly stitch. That is what I did the first time, but it was not really necessary. This stitch can be worked open or closed (with no space in between the stitches).

I also worked with the backstitch and the split stitch. Those are great outlining stitches, as well as I used the split stitch for the stem of the flower.

First Place Solo, First Place Group & Viewer's Choice Award

The morning after. What a night. Sabrina had two performances - she sang a solo, "Anyway" by Martina McBride, and sang with her group, AWKWARD SILENCE, (Matt, Sabrina, Hunter & Matthew) a song by Paramore, "That's What You Get."

Here is Sabrina singing, "Anyway." Honey - we are SO PROUD of you. XOXO