What's Kept Me Going

As my Gentle Readers will remember from my last post, I've been a bit preoccupied this summer...

With help from Ann Petersen, I did indeed manage to get this project finished at about 107" square, and presented it to the Happy Couple on Friday.  Yes, it was very joyfully received.  (grin)

Dreaming of Japan
- in my Outdoor Studio

Centre medallion detail

Detail - one of the corner sections

Formal wedding photos have yet to arrive, but here they are, just after the ceremony at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Edmonton, yesterday afternoon.  

May I present 

Mr. and Mrs. Marty and Chereena Blank:

Just Married!

*Linking up to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday....Sharin' the LOVE!

Incommunicado

I know, Gentle Readers, that I've been out of touch lately.  I'm quilting.  And quilting.  And quilting some more.  Yes, there's been a bit of knitting, and some embroidery, and my work at The Shop, and taking a friend to hospital and visiting her several times and bringing her home, and mowing the lawn, and tending my sister's cottage garden while she works in Calgary, and that sort of thing.

But mostly quilting.

The wedding is 2 weeks tomorrow, and I have a quilt to finish.  As of a few moments ago, all that's left to do is hand-quilt 6 whole-cloth blocks (9" square finished) and put it together, bind and label it.

Right now it looks like this:

It's big.  Very big.  Taking up a good section of one side of my back yard.  The white you see around the edges isn't sashing -- it's batting, which will be trimmed and disappear as each section is joined, one to another.

I'm relying on Ann Petersen and  "Quilting Big Projects on a Small Machine" (a Craftsy class) to get me through.  :-)

So...'scuse me, but I'll see you later...I have some quilting to do.  I recommend you join the others at Nina Marie's for Off the Wall Friday, and I hope you have a great weekend!

In the Middle

My creative focus for the past while, as you know, has been the JTQ (Japanese Taupe Quilt), also known as the WQ (Wedding Quilt)...and the wedding is now only four weeks away...!!

The quilt is being constructed in sections, quilt-as-you-go, which is reassuring because each time a section is finished, I can remind myself that it really is -- finished, that is -- because the quilting is done.  That's a relief when one's on a deadline that's looming ever nearer!

So.  There are four square 'corner' sections, each measuring 45" square (finished) -- here's a sample:

Section 1 (as in first one I made)
 - before quilting

Three of the four of these are now completely finished; the fourth is sandwiched for quilting.

The top and bottom two square sections will be joined together with pieced and appliqued mid-sections that are 18" W x 45" L (finished):

One mid-section, sandwiched for quilting

First two mid-sections, assembled

Both of these are now quilted -- the pieced sections by machine and the applique blocks, by hand:

Quilting motif close up

One of the applique blocks, quilted

The last part of this project involves attaching those mid-sections to their respective corner sections, creating a "three-patch" top and bottom section.  I still have 12 pieced blocks to cut out and assemble for this bit...

These will be joined by a long middle piece that consists of two more of these 'mid-sections' (pieced and appliqued), and an 18" square centre block:

18" square (finished) centre block

I apologize for the poor quality of that photo -- it was taken over 2 years ago, and I had trouble getting the lighting right.  :-(

While all of the blocks I'm using for this piece come from Sue Briscoe's Japanese Taupe Quilts, the layout and quilting have been of my own creation.  Once again I've been reminded of the challenge of quilt design -- that it's not any easier creating a bed quilt from scratch, mainly from stash fabric, without a pattern, than it is designing a landscape. :-)

So...I'm off to do some piecing...leaving you linked from here to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.   This week she contemplates picking up where one leaves off...which is what I'll be doing with my next 15 x 15 Group piece...after the wedding!

Things are Getting Done Around Here

I've managed several "finishes" this week...especially on the knitting front, to wit:

My tunic top...in purple-blue (periwinkle...to be a bit more romantic about it)...which I plan to wear with white flowing pants, for my son's wedding:

Pattern: "Asymmetry" by Jamie Thomas
Yarn: Louet Euroflax 14/2 Linen

Left side detail

Right side detail

When I washed it, it sloughed off an enormous amount of purple lint (!) and may have shrunk a bit (in length) -- though I followed the care directions on the yarn label, the lint took me completely by surprise.   Still, I think it will work well with the selected pants, and some heavy gold jewellry -- a necklace and hoop earrings that I love but don't often wear.  And there's a hat.  Yep; a hat.  A grand purple summer hat.  But that won't be revealed till the wedding.  Sorry!  ;-)

Then there's the "baby dress" I made in a 1-year size for the soon-to-be-one granddaughter of a cousin of mine.  Her name is Beatrice May and she's a dark-haired cutie I've never met.  Come to that, I've never met her parents.  Her father is the son of my third cousin...whom I haven't seen either since...well...I think he was in high school and I was at McGill U. in Montreal...about 45 years ago... but Third Cousin and his younger sister -- also a Third Cousin -- and I are FB friends...and he posted about sweet Bea May after a visit in January.  I was smitten, so knew I had to make her this...with yarn I had in my stash that was just the right colour:

Pattern: "Eli Baby Dress" by Leyla Alieva;
Yarn:  Micro Cable Color (discontinued)

Back neck detail

Front bodice detail

And the hat...a commission for my friend D.  I confess I had my doubts about this one.  Though produced by Rowan Yarns, the ball of Pure Wool Super-wash Worsted I used had several flawed sections and a tendency to split...and the product seemed to me over-sized and floppy.  That said, D really liked it and it fit her perfectly!

Shown: Back
Pattern: "Cloche Divine" by Meghan Jones
Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool Super-wash Worsted
in colour #152 - "Oats"

Front/side 

Bow detail

D likes it so well, in fact, that I've been asked to make another -- in black!  It will be later this summer, though, for first there is a Wedding Quilt (aka the Japanese Taupe Quilt) to finish...

The good news is that Sections 3 and 4 are both sandwiched -- and the machine quilting on Section 3 is about 75% finished (the rest will be done after this blog post).

Section 3 under the needle

Section 4, sandwiched and waiting

At the same time, I've begun knitting a shawl for myself for the wedding...

Pattern: "Sundae Shawl" by Lois Young
Yarn: Paton's Lace Sequin in "Crystal"

Though the self-striping Paton's Lace yarn is called for, I don't like the colours on offer...so I call my piece, "My Vanilla Sundae Shawl".  ;-)

And...I'm working on Sock #2 of a pair for my nephew George, who'll be 24 in early July...

Pattern: "Trekking Socks" - E.J. Slayton
Yarn: Zitron "Trekking XXL"

The above photo belies my progress, as I've finished one sock and am more than half-way down the leg of the second...And then there's the 'Feather and Fan' baby blanket I'm working on for a relatively new baby girl (3-4 months old now) in the family...no photos yet...so I guess I need to up-date my photos!

But a gal can only do so much...keeping up with the garden, mowing her lawn, making sure her cat doesn't interfere with the swallows raising a family in one of her birdhouses...

And letting the dishes pile up in the kitchen...

While I link in to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday... Why don't you pour another cuppa, pick up your latest WIP and go for it...  And while you're at it, have a great week!

Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens

This tune's been running through my brain this week because in the sewdio, it's been wedding prep almost all week.

I finished the machine quilting on Section 2 of the Japanese Taupe Quilt (JTQ), marked the whole-cloth blocks in it for hand-quilting, and managed to finish that on one of those blocks:

Section 2 Machine Quilted
and Marked for Sashiko-style Hand-quilting

I piece two thirds of the blocks needed for Sections 3 and 4...

I selected and started piecing the 'alternate' blocks for Section 3 (these are different in each section)...

And...I began to work on the embroidered tea towels for the Shower (May 15).  I need to hustle!

Before I go, I'm linking this post to Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday, and leaving you with this jazzy little number...your weekend ear-worm!  Enjoy!  :-)

Presenting...Canada's Own...Emilie Claire Barlow -- and friends!

Grumpy

And perhaps also Dopey and Sleepy.

Today is my first full day home since Friday.  The days in between have been full and rich with work, friends, travel and good food...but short on quiet time, exercise, and -- to some extent -- sleep.   In other words, I've been operating outside my routine and though I have a long list of 'to do's' for today, I can already tell that very few of them will be crossed off that list by this evening.

For example, I wanted to rake the front lawn today so I could apply "Turf Builder" -- with a view to restoring some of the damage done by last year's dew worms.  However, it's far too windy, so that will have to wait.

I have a mini and some fabric post cards to finish for the Lacombe Show, though, and those will probably get done:

That one you see on the bottom?  I finished it on Saturday morning...

Blue Moon (C) 2016

And realized that while at the Central Alberta Quilters' Guild show that afternoon, I'd need to track down at least one more piece of dark blue fabric that would take deColorant well, if I were going to make any more "moon" pieces.  I did find it, as well as a couple meters of wonderful batik for landscapes (Hamel's Fabrics, a long-time favourite), and some fat quarters (yarn-dyed from A Threaded Needle) and single meter cuts ('regular' cotton, in the Japanese taupes from Quilter's Dream, Vancouver) for the Japanese Taupe Quilt (aka the JTQ or the Wedding Quilt).  The Superior Threads distributor (Cotton Mill Threadworks) was there, too, so I bought another spool of King Tut (in whites) and several packs of needles -- 90/14 for 'regular' use and 60/8 for tiny, fine work.

My friend C and I had a great time at the show, especially enjoying demos (she went to one on rulers for Dresden designs, while I went to one on working with kimono silks), and the wonderful work of my friend, Annette Johnstone of Red Deer who was the Featured Artist for this 25th Anniversary edition of the show.  I didn't take photos of her collection this year -- you'll have to take my word that each piece is fabulous! -- but here she is with one of her needle-turned, hand-quilted beauties, when it won Best Of Show in 2014.  (I think it's title is "Friends of Baltimore", but don't quote me on that!)

So...while I go off and work on the last of my minis and cards, how about you pour a cuppa and enjoy a few of the photos I did take...mainly SAQA members (there are 4 of us in Central Alberta and 3 of us had pieces in this show), and a few others that really caught my eye.

First, a collection from Patti Morris, SAQA JAM (Juried Artist Member) and former SAQA Western Canada Co-Rep (Alberta):

Blue Heron for Mom

Alberta Turbines

Alberta Dinosaurs Rock!

Lazy M Sweat Lodge

As you can probably tell, Patti is known for her large, colourful pieces -- but not all are pictorial.  She enjoys creating abstract too:

City from the Air

Red, White, Black and Dots

And these from Wendy Greber, a SAQA Artist Member:

Galaxy - juried into the
National Juried Show,
Quilt Canada, 2015

Love of Fall

"Z" is for Zebra - Pattern by Susan Filer

Wendy and me, side-by-side
(L) Edging into Spring (mine)
(R) Alberta Trees #2 (Wendy)

Then there are a few special ones I had to photograph...the first being from a multi-talented needle-woman and crafter, Mary Vanson of Red Deer, to whom I was recently introduced.  She does delightful figurative work, as well as piecing:

Once Upon a Summer

Goodie and Peter: 1910

And these pieces, incorporating vintage fabric and/or linens...

Stitches of My Heritage
Shirley Cullum
includes hand-embroidered dresser scarves
from her mother and grandmother,
as well as vintage fabric from her mother-in-law

Then and Now
Candace Cullum

Vintage Love
Terry Rowland
A Battenburg table-topper
used at her daughter's wedding and
lovingly preserved in a quilt

Linking up to WIP Wednesday over at The Needle and Thread Network...and hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

A Typical Day...

There's a wonderful series on YouTube produced by Art Documentaries, entitled "What Do Artist's Do All Day?"   Each clip is short -- 15 to 20 minutes, mainly, though some run to half an hour; sometimes there's more than one part to the story of each artist.  The artists come from a variety of media: music, photography, painting, sculpture...

I've yet to see one about a textile artist, but I've not exhausted the series, so perhaps one will turn up.

Then there's my own work...an 'artist' who carries that moniker with some reluctance, because, well...I struggle with the reality of it.  It's the old "pretty versus pointed" debate rearing it's ugly head again in my consciousness -- likely as a result of a great deal of time to reflect since I've not been held in thrall to the distractions of Facebook since Ash Wednesday.  :-)

The thing about the artists in "WDADAD?" is that you don't see them doing anything unrelated to their work -- making it, shipping it, flogging marketing it to galleries, supervising installations.  You never see them cleaning the cat's litter box, or walking the dog...vacuuming, dusting or doing their laundry or the dishes...making a meal, mowing the lawn or shovelling snow...washing the car or cleaning their eaves-troughs (gutters)...

My days seem far more mundane; at least, in part, because I have to do those things or perish!

Waiting for me this morning.
I'm the dish-washer!

Before you go pouring a cuppa and settling down with some stitching to watch the "WDADAD?" series...here's a glimpse at a typical day in this erstwhile artist's life.

4:30 a.m.: Wakened by the cat, who wants to be fed and let out -- unless the weather is terribly inclement; in which case, she comes back to bed with me.  I'm there doing my Morning Pages (bless Julia Cameron!) -- two or three pages of all-one- paragraph-in-a-stream writing to clear the head.  This is followed by quiet time -- part of my faith practice, which includes prayer -- usually by candlelight.

5:00 a.m.: Handwork for an hour, usually to the background of The Road Home, "an hour of music and spoken word" produced by broadcaster Bob Chelmick on CKUA radio, and available through streaming as well...HERE.  Currently I'm working on my tunic top for my "MOG" (Mother of the Groom) outfit, and the first of a series of stump socks for MOB III, giving them equal time as far as possible.

Stump sock cuff
Pattern: Knitted Stump Socks
from Yarn Lover's Room (no current URL);
Yarn: Sock It to Me! Collection "Esprit" 
from elann.com (discontinued)

6:00 a.m.-ish: Another hour in bed, but with the computer, checking e-mail, answering or initiating correspondence; doing online banking; and ....playing a set of challenges in MicroSoft's Solitaire Collection...my idea of fun instead of Sudoku or the crossword.  I also have breakfast...which I generally take back to bed so I can read some of the blogs I follow while I munch.  Pookie-cat spends this time stretched out on my legs, so I can't go anywhere anyway.  :-)

7:00 a.m. -ish: Up, washed/dressed, to my desk to do "real" computer business -- blog posts (like this one), or hard-copy stuff, or an online class (in season)...or to do chores (dishes, laundry, etc.)  I might also use some of this time to wrap items being sent away to a show, or to a volunteer for MOB...

9:00 a.m. -ish: Into the sewdio.  This week that includes work on my piece (12" square) for this year's SAQA Benefit Auction, piecing blocks for the Japanese taupe quilt (also known as the JTQ or the Wedding Quilt or the WQ) -- work that has to be done involving my cutting table, iron, and sewing machine, or working in my "messy room" doing painting or mono-printing.

11:00 a.m. -ish: Break for the mail -- I have to walk down to the Post Office for it -- and a bite of lunch.  Generally also check e-mails (and Facebook, in the 'regular' season)...If it's snowed, I shovel at least the front walks, which are en route to the P.O.

Noon-ish: Back to the sewdio or in the living room, which is where I like to do my hand-work.  Currently I am piecing the rest of the background for my next 15 x 15 piece, and doing sashiko-style hand quilting on the WQ.

Hexie background - WIP

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 -ish:  This time varies by the seasons, but during the fall/winter, as the days are short and cold, this is usually the ideal time to set the stitching aside and go for a jog.  I'm out the door around 3:00 for a good 45 - 50 minutes.  If I deem it too cold and windy, I'll put in an exercise DVD that takes about the same amount of time.

4:00 p.m. -ish: Winding down.  I check e-mails, read blogs, start dinner, and sit down with more stitching and perhaps a glass of wine.

5:00 p.m. -ish: Dinner time!

6:00 p.m. -ish and afterward...depending on my energy level, I do more hand-work or simple quilting (i.e., piecing), accompanied by an audio-book or one of the afore-mentioned art clips from YouTube.  I also enjoy Bonnie Hunter's "Quilt Cam", episodes of The Quilt Show, the replay of a Craftsy class (Joe Cunningham's my favourite), or Craft In America (either on PBS Videos or YouTube).

Pookie likes to watch too...

8:00 p.m. - ish: Generally, to bed with a cuppa (decaf) and a book (usually a cozy mystery) and lights out when I stop following the words on the page...pretty much always before 9:00 p.m.

By the repetition of "-ish", you can tell this is a pretty flexible schedule.  Today, for example, those dishes still await...and I have a parcel to wrap for the P.O....and this blog post isn't being finished very early in the a.m....and so it goes.

Tomorrow's another day at the shop, and Friday?  An Artists' Date with my friend and SAQA colleague, M.  There are two exhibits in Edmonton we want to see (Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven at the Art Gallery of Alberta and X3 -- a collaborative exhibit which includes the fibre artists from Contextural Fibre Arts Collective  of Calgary (my friend arlee barr is a member)  in the Feature Gallery at the Alberta Craft Council) -- landscapes and textiles...who could resist?

Now if you'll 'scuse me...I'm late for the sewdio!  Before I go, I'll link this to WIP Wednesday over at The Needle and Thread Network...and see you later!