Portland visit

Hubby and I have returned from parts west recently.

We had a fabulous visit with our daughter and her hubby and at long last got to meet  our grandpuppy. Our first trip to Portland was delightful and seems an enticing area to live.  There is so much happening, so much to do and see.  Exquisite restaurants to satisfy whatever mood you may be in and acres of city parks, trails for hiking and biking, to work off the excess calories.  Lots of accessible shops within walking distance of their home, to walk off more calories.

a hike near Mt Hood with Jevan, Casey & Winston

Lots of other shopping districts to explore throughout the city, like this great little shop.

Check out Tanner Goods Retail shop.
Guess who provided the interior design for this hot new spot?
If you guessed that it was my designing daughter, you were right on!
She even designed and made the light fixture for the shop.
tres' cool, eh?  
She & her equally talented hubby,
 along with their partners design, create, market and sell 
top of the line leather items.  
Casey & Jevan sweetly accommodated Mom & Dad by giving us a grand tour of Portland.  Even the touristy things I wanted to see.  Like the Chinese Gardens and the 
International Rose Gardens, to mention a few. 

Sad to say I didn't take pictures of some of the delightful restaurants we enjoyed, nor the lovely home cooked meals.   Guess that means I will have to return, huh?


Oh, yes, a blog post is not complete without showing a picture of a quilt.  Am I right?


Vanilla Bean has a new home.  And here she is with the proud new owners.

I think they liked it. 

Shakerag

I've done it now!  

I am going to Shakerag next June to spend 

a week with the inimitable Nancy Crow. 

This idyllic area is only a little more than an hour's drive from my home.  

So why not, I say.  Feed the soul, feed the creative forces within,
not to mention the exquisitely prepared
home grown, organic delights to feed the stomach.

I can't say when I've been more excited, except for week that I spent in the
presence of Ms. Ruth McDowell a few years ago.  

I must admit, that I was somewhat terrified after I signed up for the workshop with Ruth, so I spent months making samples and learning her techniques from her books
before I left for the workshop.  

I wanted to be prepared, you see.  

What began in this workshop was another bloom

I came home so full of self confidence that
I beat my all time recorded for completing a quilt.

This type of design and structure is my passion.   It is my own original design from start to finish with encouragement and assistance from Ruth in beginning a pattern. Rather than telling me what and how, she quietly guided me in the direction that I wanted to go and gave me more self confidence in myself that anyone had previously done.

So, now, I find myself yearning to broaden my field a bit.  I've never been comfortable working with solids and geometrics, other than coping other quilts.
Or making simple pillow tops.

I want to do grand abstract art quilts and simplifying does not come easily to me on that scale.  I am eager to learn and next June seems so far away.  But then Mama always said, the older you get the faster time flies.  And I've got lots of hand dyeing to do and lots of practice to do before next June.
I better start shaking 

Gee's Whiz

Here is what's been happening with the strips of pieced rectangles that I received from the lovely ladies participating in Victoria's 

15 minutes play quilt bee 

It all began in October based on the scrappy making fabric concept.  

When It was my turn to "play", my original thought was to ask for strips of fabric rectangles sewn together.  What I didn't divulge in my request for the strips is my idea for the putting them together.  I would  sew all the strips together, then cut them apart in  "snakey curves".  I would then sew in the "snakes" to rejoin them. 

Sorta like these inspirational  African American quilts:

 

Rather than actually making a quilt similar to my friends' Real Deal quilt 

Once those strips began to arrive, I got a bit lazy.  Plus I couldn't decide what color to use for the "snakes".  Black snakes, green snakes, copperhead........... 

the first strips came from Margaret

a few more from other bee members

And still more

Then I pulled out a few old words blocks that I had made years ago, I just knew it was meant to be.  It just seemed to suit the mood of a bee concept.  People sharing pieces of fabrics sewn together, inspiring one another, and having fun. 

so to here

then to here

But wait  there are more strips to come from other players, 

it isn't over yet.  There could still be snakes.

With so many strips of fabric, I can make two quilts.

Why not?  Two for the price of one. 

Green snakes,

black snakes, 

copperheads, 

coral snakes, 

scarlet snakes, 

even a python

forgive my naivete

Not being a trained artist, I am constantly attempting to learn more about art, the history of art, design, all those dead artists as well as current artists.  You get the picture.  Right?

So forgive me.  I am going to just show my naivete here and now.

I have been "studying" the artists of the Bauhaus style when a thought occurred to me.
When I look at the textile artists of that school I cannot help but make this obervation beginning with the woven textiles from Africa:  

To the weavings from the Bauhaus school:

Gunta Stolzl of the Bauhous School 

Gunta Stolzl

Anni Albers

Anni Albers

To the African American quilters :

The Quilts of Gee's Bend

And other African American quilters

These may not be perfect examples, but I am going to post this anyway.  (Blogger is yet again being uncooperative with my photos)  If you have an interest, I suggest a trip to the library or book store to see what similarities you might find.  It has been fun for me.  This may be redundant to many of you.  So please remember, that I am in no way a trained artist, nor critic, but just a woman of a certain age who is enjoying some exploration. 

Control

CONTROL
Let's talk about that. I spent the day whizzing pieces under the 

walking foot of my Juki and thinking.   I know why I am so compelled to complete this Selvage/Mandingo quilt.  Ironically the front is of a circular design and the back is geometric, Which has gone through several design changes.

It is all about making order out of chaos. It always seems to be.  Whatever might be occurring in my life,  comes through when I am in my studio.  When there is too much helter skelter happening in the rest of my life,  I must create some type of order.  Even though this design is not perfectly orderly and precisely pieced, it is a repetitious pattern of sorts. There is some semblance of control here.  Along with a tad bit of design aesthetic perhaps? 

                              As much as I should be completing Ms. Magnolia or Seashells on the Bay, 

I have a need to join the ying & the yang and make it mesh.  I need to pull other parts together in a harmonious union. 
I will be able to get on with the others who are calling to me once that is accomplished

So that is my current reasoning as to why I am not able to complete a project 

in a reasonable amount of time

It is all about having some control of my life.  

And perhaps more about mental therapy.


And now
even though I seem to have no control whatsoever with formatting blogger
life goes on

Wordless (almost) Wednesday

pillow fronts

pillows back

selvage quilt front in progress

Mandingo inspired back in progress

family trees are growing

Ms. Magnolia

In answer to some previous questions:

It all began with this photograph that I took of an arrangement of magnolias that I created
for a bridal shower for my niece. 

I traced the portion of the photo that I wanted to use, drew a pattern and enlarged it to 24" x 32".

And the fun began.  Selecting and cutting my fabrics to be pieced.
And speaking of pieces:

Someone asked how large my pieces are in some of my quilts.  

So, I  finally remembered to document the sizes this time 'round. 

Here's Ms. Mag with her twin as comparison while I am playing along.

And here they are, just about ready for piecing together.  Scary isn't it. 

I am always second guessing myself at this point.  Until I sew some pieces together, then it becomes a bit more reassuring.

And even more reassuring when she's all sewn together and ready to quilt.

  I met my friend Melody at her knitting group on Wednesday and we both did a preview showing of our textile arts.  The knitting ladies seemed to really appreciate our efforts!  Although Melody's art and my art is vastly different, it is so much fun to be able to appreciate what all of us ladies create.  And WOW, you should see some of the spectacular things going on with those knitters.
 Maybe one day they will teach me how to knit. . . . .  

I could really use some of those gorgeous sweaters . . . 

I digress, here's a close up of the center of Mag.  I fused tiny pieces of hand dyes and after I've quilted her,
I plan (for now) to stitch some french knots to make certain that those teeny bits won't fall off.
 It seems that folks have a tendency to try and pick at fused fabrics,
just to see if they can pry them up.
I would hate to see that happen, so I'll try and nip that in the bud!  

Hope y'all have a great weekend and are keeping cool. 

I said yes, again

You cannot imagine how much I dislike the idea of packing and moving.  Even packing for a minor short trip would put me in a tailspin.  So when I was asked to participate in my home town museum's Appalachian Artisans Festival, I immediately froze.  I have never had any desire to participate in a show.  That would mean selecting some of my textile art, packing it up, coming up with a reasonable display, making business cards, an artist statement, etc, etc, etc.  Yet, the wonderful staff at the 

Museum Center at 5ive Points in Cleveland, TN, 

has been so supportive of my art, displaying it in their lobby and 

selling it in the gift shop for me,

 how could I say no.  So I said yes.  

MY SPACE

I came up with a display idea at the last minute, and schlepped my stuff over 

to the museum bright and early Friday morning.  

Dreading this past weekend, would be an understatement.  But today, let me just say, not only is the dread over, I had a fantastic time.  I met some wonderful artists as well as many people who came just to meet me in person.  Me?!  I  really dislike self promotion and being a braggart, but what a confidence booster to find that so many people appreciate what I love to create.  And one of the lovely people liked one of my larger pieces well enough to buy it. 

SPRING RIOT

The fact that it is not an inexpensive piece, more's the better.  As this was the most expensive piece ever to be sold from the museum gift shop and their artisan festival, 

or so I've been told.  

 I have learned a lot about myself this past weekend.  For one thing, I discovered that you are never to old to try something new.  And, now I have even more reason to spend time doing what I love to do because I must get ready for the Appalachian Artisans Festival in November, as well as preparing for my one woman show in October at the local university.  

Appalachian Artisans Festival

You cannot imagine how much I dislike the idea of packing and moving.  Even a minor short trip would put me in a tailspin.  So when I was asked to participate in my home town Museum's Appalachian Artisans Festival, I immediately froze.  That would mean selecting some of my textile art, packing it up, coming up with a reasonable display, making business cards, an artist statement, etc, etc, etc. The wonderful staff at the Museum Center at 5ive Points in Cleveland, TN, has been so supportive of my art, displaying it in their lobby and selling it through the gift shop, how could I say no.  The past coup

the last bloom of the season

I was compelled to cut the last one.  It was already beginning to get brown spots and the beetles were having their way with the edge of one of the petals.  I spontaneously snipped it, brought it into my studio and placed it in shallow dish  with a bit of water.  I placed it on top of my inherited aunt's cedar chest so as to enjoy the  beauty and fragrance all day.

In case you might ask, I adore magnolia blossoms.  And I have been tempted forevermore to create an art quilt depicting a blossom that I could enjoy throughout the year.  In the south, we use the leathery leaves from our magnolia trees to decorate our house all year long.  But only in the late spring and early summer are we captivated and delighted with their most magnificent blooms and enchanting fragrance.  So here's the teaser for my next quilt.  It is not nearly as large as the last one, but a challenge, none the less.

I drew up the pattern for Miss Magnolia on Friday morning, selected my fabrics and played around with the whites for a while.  Not to be neglectful, I felt obliged to at least begin quilting on Ms. Lantana.

In the midst of my intense machine quilting today, my husband ventured into the studio, "er-ah, are you ready for lunch/?"  Which translates, "come make my lunch for me."  While he was lingering in the doorway, he casually mentioned the number of projects that I have on my walls.  Well, yes, there is a bit going on around in my AADD mind which somehow leaps onto the walls.  One of which is an online quilt bee in which I am participating over at Bumble Beans 15 Minutes Play.  You must make the jump over there to see what is going on with that.  No need in me being too redundant, yet again.  Victoria has set up a wild, wacky wonderful playground which has enticed me to play along.  

Oh, so, back to my wall.   I just received a delightful package from Beth with the requested strips for my 15 minute play project.  LOVE 'EM

Thank you so much Beth.  They are perfect.

And Margaret posted hers on the 15 minute blog, which I cannot wait to receive.  Luscious!

 What I failed to mention in my request on the 15 minute play blog for said strips of fabric rectangles, is my ultimate goal for said strips.  Which I am anxiously awaiting from 9 other lovely ladies.  Yes, yes, I know you think that this is going to be a simple repro of the elegant quilt of my friend that I have been lusting for.   But I have some secret designs in mind for this beauty, which will be reveled at a later time. 

Eeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I see fireworks as I type.

Happy Independence Day to All