Ups and Downs, Starts and Stops

Gretchen Rubin once said, "The days are long, but the years are short."  As we move toward the Winter Soltice up here in the Northern Hemisphere,  it seems to me that both the years and the days are short right now!  November is slipping away -- albeit with lovelier-than-usual weather -- and according to All Things Consumerist, the Holiday Gift Giving Season is on our doorstep.

For those of us who make gifts -- whether to give to loved ones or for others to give to loved ones (or both!) have been gradually ramping up since late summer (or maybe earlier!)  Certainly, my days are full of fabric, fibre and floss at the moment, and I'm hard-pressed to want to go anywhere but the Sewdio.

I'm working on "birds" again and will soon have three pieces ready, one of which is a commission for Christmas.  All have been stitched and one has been beaded.  Next up: "snow" and a mat.  I'd not done any mono-printing for a few months when I got the request, so I wasn't entirely happy with my initial results:

See how 'smudgy' they look?
 

The good thing about them, though, is that the printing was visible through the fabric, so...I simply turned them over and stitched on that side!

The three white pieces have become "bird" pieces, but the long, narrow blue one (upper left corner, above) turned into this:

Autumn Skies (C) 2017
12" W x 4" L
hand-dyed and batik fabric, free-motion quilting
wrapped around stretched canvas

Autumn Skies - detail

It's being put in a floater frame, and I hope to pick it up tomorrow.  I love this 12" x 4" canvas, and made another one that's only paint and stitch, directly on the canvas:

November Evening (C) 2017
free-motion stitching on painted canvas

November Evening - detail

The painting is done with watercolour, and I found I had to do 4 coats -- 1 before stitching and 3 after -- to get it to really show up.  This piece, too, is at the framer's, but will be picked up soon.

Speaking of the framer...Andrea Hatch at Cabinet of Curiosities in Stettler, Alberta -- the gal who also cuts my mats -- is an award-winning framer and a real authority on preservation framing etc.  I always enjoy stopping by her shop.  She's put these into floaters for me now:

Highland Hills (C) 2017
5" x 7" framed to about 6" x 8"
Paint and needle-felting on stretched canvas

Fifty Shades of Green (C) 2017
5" x 7" framed to about 6" x 8"
Paint, quilted hand-dyed fabric, sari silk
 on stretched canvas

On the piecing front...About a month ago I posted about a pair of pillow shams I was making for a client to give as a gift (to match a quilt made a couple of years ago).  The post was about figuring out how to convert a quilt/block pattern into shams, and the math involved.

Well.

I got the first sham top pieced, and most of the second...

First sham top pieced

(Here's where the "down" in this post's title makes sense)

I had a limited amount of fabric from the earlier quilt project; I was careful to pre-cut all the pieces for each sham before I started.

Or, at least, I thought I had.  😡

BUT...I got to the outer 'Labyrinth' border...and was dismayed to find I'd not cut the four dark brown rectangles (each 3 1/2" x 6 1/2") for the flying geese therein.  What had I done with the last of that fabric?  Sliced it up for the narrow borders, that's what!!  AAAAAARGH!!

There followed almost 2 weeks of hunting...and a generous donation of two completely ineligible pieces of fabric by a sweet soul on the Quiltville community FB page.  But...blessedly...the fabric was found in a shop in Calgary, bought, shipped, received...and both tops were finished!

Side by each on my design wall

As of this afternoon, Sham #1 has been quilted -- but not without it's "downs"! 

What happened?  Well...my machine -- taken in for its annual spa treatment in September while I was away -- spit an oily substance of some sort out the back (when the presser foot lever was raised) that landed on (you guessed it) the lighter fabric in the piece -- in four spots!!  Thanks to Grandma's Secret Spot Remover followed by the application of some mild detergent (Sunlight) with a soft old toothbrush...disaster averted -- only to be nearly thwarted by a thread with "just the right colour" that refused to play nicely with the bobbin thread...but that was taken care of too...by replacing it with something that would! 

It also wouldn't be the latter part of November without the temptation of Bonnie Hunter's Mystery Quilt.  It comes at a time when I am ready for some cutting of fabric, clearing of stash, a new project to distract from all the other STUFF I have to do, and definitely from all the STUFF going on around the world.

If you tap into the link above, you'll see that though it's a pieced bed quilt, it's inspired by a landscape beloved by Bonnie...and not too far off the landscape around where I live.  I shopped my stash and discovered I have fabric in appropriate colours that would work.

HOWEVER (there's always a 'however', isn't there?!) before I could entertain the thought of a new mystery quilt project, I realized (to my chagrin) that...erm...the last one I'd attempted (in 2014) lay in pieces in trays under the ironing board in my Sewdio, where I could trip over them more often than not.

Sigh.

The good news was that when I sorted that out, I discovered I was only 2 clues shy of a finished mystery that would fit my twin bed (sorely in need of a new quilt)...so I got to work -- et voila!  The top is finished and will be taken to my friendly long-armer for quilting in the new year.

Not-so-Grand Illusion!

I may have trouble sleeping under it, but I sure love those cheery colours!!

And now for On Ringo Lake...with a lovely nature-inspired colour palate...and (so far) all from my stash!

Sunrise/sunset skies, the earth, water...
and for me, the neutrals signify the inevitable snow

I've saved and printed the Intro and Clue #1, and will turn to them over the course of the next few weeks, even as I finish the Annual Christmas Boxer Shorts, some Christmas knits, those pesky shams, the 'birds' in their bushes...and welcome in the holiday season.

Blessings, Gentle Readers...have a lovely rest of the weekend!

Linking up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, for which I too am very thankful!

More Public Education in Bed Quilt Central

Yesterday was the Annual Art Walk in Stettler, a town of just under 6,000 folks, about 43 km (26 miles) east of me.  I participated this year for the very first time, at the urging of Andrea, long-time owner of the art-and-framing gallery there.  She cuts the mats for my miniatures and carries some of them in her shop.

Let's face it; Stettler is a hard-working, ranch-and-oil-focused town on the East Central Alberta prairie.  There are more trucks than cars on the streets.  The people are friendly, salt-of-the-earth, plain-talking folks who like something to be what it is.  A picture is either a photograph or a painting.  A quilt?  That goes on a bed, thank you very much.  Most of the local quilters who experiment with wall hangings make them from a pattern or in a class.

Andrea's bread-and-butter comes from her framing and teaching, not from the artwork in her gallery -- but she's been there over a decade, and isn't going anywhere else.  She's won awards for her framing, too, and is certified in archival work, so I trust her to do a good job for me, even if its only with my mats.  She's fair on her commission, and works hard to teach the community about art.  She's a major force behind the Art Walk, and knows just about everyone in town.

Yesterday, after two weeks predicting rain, the Weatherman came through -- with clouds early in the morning giving 'way to sunshine before lunch.  This meant that all of us artists -- three painters, two photographers, one stuffie-maker and me -- could have our exhibits outside and watch over our wares in relative comfort.

In addition to the Art Walk, the Annual Heartland Quilters' Guild  (Facebook link) Show was in full swing over at the Royal Canadian Legion, the steam train was running, and late in the afternoon there was a hay-ride around the town.

The morning was slow, but by early afternoon there was a good mix of visitors on the Walk -- some young families, and lots of middle-aged and older women travelling to and from the Quilt Show.   Those on the younger side were fascinated by and interested in my work; those up in their seventies (my guess)...not so much.

One dear soul stated, "Oh -- here we have quilt samples."

Politely, I corrected her: "No, M'am; these aren't quilt samples.  They're meant to be used as they are."

 "Oh."

She then told me about someone she knows who makes 18" quilted blocks for Alzheimer's patients to fondle (comfort and calming being two very real properties of quilts, no matter the size).  I responded by complimenting her friend on her work and its purpose...and gently pointing out that this was not the case with my pieces.

"Oh?  Then what do you do with them?"

Sighing inwardly, I smiled and said, "You hang them on the wall, M'am, like a painting."  Clearly unsure about that, she wandered over to the painter's table next to me, shaking her head.

That was the most unusual encounter of the day, though one gentleman, pointing to the oil painting (landcape) in the gallery window behind me, wanted to know if I'd done that one as well.  When I explained that no, oil wasn't my medium; I 'painted' in fabric and thread, he looked confused.  A woman near him said, "See? This is her work" (pointing to my display).   The look in his eyes (despite his smile) told me he was still confused; the woman just looked at him pityingly...!

Reach for the Sky! (C) 2014

I sold nothing (I hadn't expected to), but spread the word that my miniatures were available in Andrea's gallery (I had them for the display too), and gave away several of my new post-cards, which feature my SAQA Benefit Auction 2014 piece.  One woman inquired about my doing commission work (I said yes -- though I've never done any to this point!) and she took a card.  I'm not about to bet on it...but it would be nice if she called.

Bob, an Irish-born musician, serenaded all of us with wonderful Western and folk songs, which tickled everyone's fancy, and made it a real pleasure to sit and stitch in the sunshine.   As a result, I've just about finished the second section of my planned triptych, Civility.  The stitching alone was a conversation point.  :-)

It all wound up just after 3 p.m., so I had a chance to pop over to the Quilt Show before it closed.  There were a couple of vendors -- one of which was Joan Statz, a local artist whose landscape quilts and patterns are very popular.  There was a full selection of quilts; viewers got to vote for their favourites in the small, medium and large categories.  In the 'small' category I saw for the very first time (for me; I didn't see the show last year) two hangings that were completely original in design.  One -- a city-scape -- was quite good, I thought, so it got my vote.  In the 'medium' category I voted for a throw-sized quilt that was entirely scrappy stars with tiny pieces, beautifully pieced with great colour-play and movement.  I really admire people who can make tiny 1/2-square triangles!   My choice in the 'large' category was a full-sized bed quilt in white and blue -- crisp, clean, beautifully executed; it made me smile.

Rock Face III (C) 2014 - 6" x 12"

After the show I went back to the shop, and left some new pieces with Andrea -- 3 pieces mounted on stretched canvas, two small pieces on mat board, and the two hangings that got the most interest on the Walk -- "Waiting for the Train" and my newest, "One Step Ahead of the Gulls".  We'll see how they do...

Today I'm off to a wedding in Calgary; the rest of the week, I think, will be filled with OPI...and mulling fabrics for my next 15 x 15 idea(s)...

Have a blessed Sunday!

A Miniature Experiment

Earlier this week, I found some wonderful fabric in my stash that I used as leaves-against-sky in this miniature:

"Home Sweet Home" (c) 2013

It's fabric I won several years ago now when "3 Creative Studios" (Sue Bleiweiss. Terri Stegmiller and Vicki Welsh) were in operation.  It was a fabric/embellishment pack, hand-dyed -- I think -- by Terri -- and up till recently, I hadn't done much with it.  Waiting for the right projects to come along, eh?

Today, I used some more of this fabric for another piece, but something quite different.  I had this photo I wanted to translate into a miniature:

I thought about how it would look if I could just place the branches and berries (Mountain Ash, also known as Rowan) against that "leafy sky" fabric.  I began by tracing the outlines of branches, leaves and berries onto plain paper, and copying this out onto water-soluble paper (Paper Solvy by Sulky):

Then I free-motion stitched over my drawing, using threads that would tone in -- green for the leaves, red-orange for the berries, green-brown for the branches.  When finished, I trimmed away the excess paper:

I trimmed the excess batting and backing, and washed the piece gently in cool water (per the manufacturer's instructions.)  I discovered it was tough to get the last of the paper residue out of the areas where the stitching was tiniest.  I used a soft face brush to gently work at these areas, with only partial success.  I decided to go with it anyway:

I ironed the piece, front and back, and then went back into it with fabric paint, water colour pencil (dark brown) and Tsukineko ink to highlight the berries, branches and leaves.

Matted for framing, I call this one "Bounty":

"Bounty" (c) 2013

You knew I'd find a home for that red mat, didn't you?  ;-)

While waiting for the piece to dry, I finished this one:

"Bovine Bliss" (c) 2013

All in all, this makes 5 new pieces finished, and one almost there -- hand stitching started yesterday and should be finished later today.  This meets my goal for pieces to take to show the owner of Different Strokes Gallery (Olds, Alberta) on Wednesday...and clears the way for me to get some knitting done between now and then.

Once I get back from Calgary, it'll be time to finish my piece for the 15 x 15 "Time" challenge, and to make even more miniatures for "Culture Days" at the gallery in Stettler at month end.

Something tells me that September is going to disappear as quickly as did August...

Now whats on (or off) your design wall today?  I'm hoping I can still link up with Nina Marie and the gang for Off the Wall Friday... Grab a cuppa and let's go see who's there!

SAQA Santa Fe Spotlight

On the Friday evening of the up-coming SAQA Conference in Santa Fe, there's to be a silent auction fund-raiser for the organization -- an opportunity to share work with one's peers and perhaps take home something special created by someone you admire and have come to know across time and cyber-space, if not in person.

I frequently joke that I have 'more stash than cash', so I'm always happy to step up to the plate when called upon to make something for a SAQA benefit.  Last evening. inspired by a walk late one afternoon recently, I put together 'Prairie Twilight' -- a 6" x 8" wee landscape based on a view at the end of a street near my house.  I was captivated by the sliver of sunset between the snow-full clouds and the snowy horizon, by the narrow band of trees in the distance, and the top of a hay-bale just peeking over the rim of a furrow in the field beyond the road.

Prairie Twilight (C) - 2013

Here it is, trimmed to size.  It's pretty well quilted from edge to edge, so I'll leave the rest raw.All the fabrics are commercial cottons and batiks, except for the slivers of peach and dark peach silk for which, again, I thank my friend arlee and her shop, FyberSpace.  When these pieces get to the curator of the auction/show, Deb Cashatt, she and her team will have them matted with a 4.5" x 6.5" opening, so it'll look sort of like this...but nicer, because what you see here are my worn and weary-looking home-made "L" frames! LOL!

And yes, I got rather hooked on the process of making these little pieces -- perfect for the Lacombe Show! -- so went to Andrea, my framer, today, and arranged for her to cut a dozen matts (I chose the colours --mainly white and black, but one very dark navy, and some deep rusty-brown and butterscotch ones for autumnal pieces) -- 8" x 10" with 5' x 7" openings.  I'll pick 'em up in a few weeks, by which time I should have several pieces finished to show her, and she can make sure I afix them to their respective matts properly.  (Yes, I ordered a roll of special 'stitcher tape' for the purpose, too.)

I love the thought of treating myself with some time to make a miniature or two, in between the larger pieces I'm also doing for the show, and I'm hopeful that these matted pieces will be priced just right for those who attend and buy purely on impulse as a special gift for someone or a treat for themselves.

If you're going to the Conference, perhaps you'll put in a bid?