Paper Schmaper ~ Give Me COLOR!

This was the scene when we woke up Monday morning (remember, we live in the mid-SOUTH). Schools were closed, the courts were closed, doctor and dentist offices were closed, & at least one local university was closed . . . but were DH's or my office closed? Nooooooooo . . .

Over the weekend, we had finally figured out why Miss Angel hadn't been eating well . . . a broken/infected tooth! So, we were off through the snow to the vet for a 9 am appointment. Diagnosis? The tooth had to be removed (they cleaned the tartar and plaque off the rest of her teeth while she was sedated) and her bloodwork indicated a mild bladder infection. She will be getting an antibiotic daily for 14 days. Here's hoping she feels better soon!

My office finally closed at 3 pm . . . now, I don't know about ya'll, but I am NOT going to deal with paper when I get off work for snow! Unfortunately, the snow changed to rain, then to sleet, then to snow again, then more rain . . . with the temps hovering at the freezing mark. By 6pm it was very soggy and NOT so pretty.

I used my bonus hours to machine stitch the binding to this little gem. Back in early September, several of us made liberated blocks in solids for what would become a get-well surprise quilt for Tonya. MIL was in the hospital so I just tossed the leftovers into a basket. After they turned into a scrappy 40" x 50" flimsy nicknamed Liberated Leftovers (click to enlarge), my original plan was to hand quilt using Tonya's freehand fans ~ my wrist and hand let me know in a hurry that my plan needed to change, asap. (Oh, Chris . . . I have another one for you . . .)

Today, as I attached the binding (with doo wop playing in the background), I just knew there HAD to be a better name. Then, all at once, there it was ~ Antidote. Is there any better antidote for cold, sloppy wet weather than COLOR? I think not.

Once I have hand stitched the binding in place, Antidote will hang on the wall in my studio ~ beside my grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. I hope her work made her as happy as mine does me!

Quiltdivajulie

Top of the List

It is threatening to take over my life . . . between what accumulates in the kitchen, what is stacked on my desk upstairs, and what is lurking in the boxes we brought from MIL's house . . . I am drowning in paper (a nightmare that woke me over the weekend made me realize it was way beyond time to deal with the nagging issue)!

I spent a large part of the weekend capturing random scraps of information in my electronic calendar and address book before joyfully tossing those many sheets of paper, but I'll need to spend many more hours to work my way through what has gotten so far ahead of me. No significant studio time until this paper tiger is brought to his knees (although I have a plentiful stack of hand stitching/binding that I can work on so I don't completely lose my fabric-loving mind . . . and our daughter in law's birthday is next weekend, so I must get the final pieces attached to her quilt and the label made and sewn in place SOON).

If you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know why!

Quiltdivajulie
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"The shortest answer is just doing the thing." (Ernest Hemingway)

Photo credits:

Mixed Media Piece: Lifefullness

Tiger head: Papersculpture

Word Art: Google Images

Name Quilt No. 70

I took AAQI Name Quilt No. 70 to work earlier this week and asked my co-workers to help inscribe the list 55 names. [each photo will enlarge when clicked]

In a firm of 12 attorneys and 10 staff, eight of us had immediate family members whose names appear in these photos (including one family with twins and one of their sisters).

I kept the flimsy at my desk along with the list and all day people stopped by to add a name or two.

For those who have not yet had a close encounter with Alzheimer's, it was an eye-opening experience to see the two-page list of names.

And even more sobering when I showed them the information from the AAQI website about the exhibit.

"You mean there are 182 of these lists?!?"

At which point, I shared more information from the AAQI website.

By the end of the day, every name had been written on one of the 2" x 6" purple patches.

I chose to quilt No. 70 using a subdued vertical version of my liberated ripple quilting.

I used a double needle, one eye threaded with lavender quilting thread and the other with Superior metallic (holographic) no. 208.

As I've shared here before, I've stitched hundreds of these patches together for two full size purple patch quilts previously donated to AAQI, but having the names slide beneath my fingertips never fails to bring a lump to my throat.

On Friday, I took the quilt back to the office where I used blue painter's tape to secure it to the wall across from my desk. Reactions ranged from respectful silence to one person who stood and read each name out loud before moving on.

Name Quilt No. 70 will now travel to another AAQI volunteer for binding on its way to joining the other 181 name quilts of From Heartbreak to Hope. It was an honor to include the names entrusted to me.

Quiltdivajulie

Collage Class - Day Four

This was Susan's Day 4 piece - Billie (our instructor who calls herself a subliminal, interpretive painter) calls this triplication and says she cannot keep these pieces in the galleries. Again, we spent time searching for images from the studio's stash of old National Geographics, architecture, and fashion magazines. Susan had a head start since she brought most of her altered book ephemera and has a strong sense of what appeals to her. [her squares measure 3" x 3"]

This was Lynette's piece. The first step was to choose an image that would be lopped into three pieces and the rule of threes applied all the way through. Add a texture here, carry it into the second section and on to the third... again and again, working towards a cohesive, well-designed whole. [her squares measure 3" x 4"]

I started with black and white with splashes of royal blues, then settled into a leaner black and white theme after finding the zebra.

Here is my piece, trimmed and glued (including glare from the overhead lights). Due to our early weather-related departure, I did not get the multiple coats of gloss medium layered onto my blocks. I'm not sure I want to purchase another $20.00 worth of supplies (plus framing) to complete this one (Billie finishes hers with multiple layers of gloss medium with varnish, then floats the squares and mats them all around with black). I learned and had fun doing, which were the real goals. [my squares measure 4" x 4"]

Most interesting of all was this recurring pattern: Billie offered a detailed demo of a technique, then turned us loose with access to the same array of materials (with support and guidance available as requested/needed), and the resulting student creations were totally unique (and full of personality) in each and every case.

We did finally manage to spend a short time rocking on the chilly porch, before the weather shifted to wind, rain, sleet, and ice.

If you want to see the piece DH started and completed while we were there, you can visit his blog. He has another piece almost finished (it should be posted sometime next week).

In the end, I learned that I am not likely to become a painter. I love the tubes of pigment and the potential they hold, but I am clumsy with the brushes and the techniques needed to respect the art of watercolor. And as far as the cutting out and pasting of items onto paper, the increasingly frequent issues with carpal tunnel-like symptoms suggest to me that I should stick to my ergo-friendly rotary cutter and fabrics instead.

Quiltdivajulie

Collage Class - Day Three

This is the front of our classroom ~ that overhead mirror was essential. Billie (instructor, in denim) was helping Susan (in brown) with her composition and design.

Again, more reasons why we love the area . . .

Finally, this project ("whimsical") involved what each of us had perceived as 'collage.' Late the day before, Billie shared her Studio Goddess collage with us (above) and I knew exactly what I wanted to create! We spent the entire morning of Day 3 flipping through magazines as we searched for bits and pieces that spoke to us and fit the overall needs for layout and design (actually, DH and I had also made a quick stop at the local WallyWorld that morning so I could pick up a few key items that fit my plan). Just before lunch, we each prepared our illustration board so it could dry while we took our break (more choosing of colors, painting, and sealing our tissue paper backgrounds).

This is a closeup of the quotation I included in my collage. I held two sharpie markers in my hand as I wrote on water color paper (trickier than it seems). [reminder - each photo will enlarge when double clicked] I had a whole assortment of quotes with me, but this one fit the best.

Ta Da ~ this piece is being framed to hang in my design studio. It makes me happy. I managed to find a great many words that had meaning, including the name of my first JCCFS instructor (the one who showed us her quilt journal and helped me get over my fear of color). If you enlarge the photo, you'll find words I use often, lots of links to my fabric love, paste paper and the top layer of a luncheon napkin, buttons and glittered foam pieces, a color copy of a vintage photo (that little girl has always fascinated me-she appeared on a cabinet card postcard sent to DH's grandmother), scraps from Billie's stash of leftover watercolor paintings, a tea cup, a Bernina presser foot, and other selected bits from my HOP catalog and recent issues of Southern Living, Tea Time, and several quilting magazines.

Since dinner involved fish, I left right after class and went back to our room to sew. It was a very good day.

Quiltdivajulie

Collage Class - Day Two

Day two started with the same challenge - "Choose three colors" . . . I found that putting some of the water color paint onto water color paper was a better way to evaluate colors. [note, each photo should enlarge if you double click]

After we blobbed and mashed and dripped and spritzed and dripped and crawled on our illustration boards, Billie (our instructor) demonstrated how to collage tissue paper to create the illusion of trees.

We also splatter painted tissue and collaged that into the lower areas of our creations. When DH saw mine, he paused and then said "it's a scene from Avatar" (he has seen the movie, I haven't). Several of my co-workers really like this piece (in fact, I gave it to one of our paralegals since it was obvious it truly spoke to her).

Because there were only 3 of us in the class, we had the luxury of having three large tables to work on (full classes have 10-12 students). It really was nice to have so much space!

This view is one of the reasons I like spending time at JCCFS . . .

Stay tuned for Day 3!

Quiltdivajulie

Collage Class - First Project

There were three students in my class. This is Susan's first project. We were to choose three colors (water color tubes have to be opened to tell what color is inside . . . at least for those of us who know zero about painting). Then we were to put blobs of paint on the blank canvas (most, middle, and least amounts), mash them with our brush, spritz them with water, and watch them drip and crawl.

This was Lynette's first project. After the crawling and dripping part was done, we were to create areas of wash and blending and we learned the basics of adding tissue paper collage. It is important to note that we came into the class with backgrounds in altered books (she works in the rare books area of a university), needlework (she is a retired pharmacist), and quilting (I am a legal assistant).

This is my first day's project. I named it Possibilities. If you read my post from last week about 'to thine own self be true' you'll understand how my inspiration came from the pages of a HOP catalog (Kaffe Fassett fabric swatches on the shipping tags). This piece would fit into a 20 x 24 frame, although I'm not at all sure I'm going to do that.

Tomorrow I'll share our second project.

Quiltdivajulie

Table Talk

I've had questions about several of my tables before but have never shared the information here . . .

The table I use for my 153 away from home (shown above) was concocted by my ever-awesome DH, inspired by the SewEzi unit. I cannot work at a machine that sits atop a table, my neck and shoulder scream after less than an hour.

DH found the original table at Costco - it's a four-foot folding banquet table with adjustable legs (height of working surface is another issue I struggle with). He used the plexiglass insert from my studio table (also homemade) to define and cut the hole in one side of the folding table (the same insert fits both since I'll never be using them at the same time).

From there, he cut a length of plywood (with a hand hole for easy carrying) and notched it to fit over the corner braces of the table (where the machine sits). This is the second-generation version (the first generation involved too many pieces and not enough stability).

When we load up, the board lays flat on the back seat of the car and the folded table lays on top (taking up one side of the back seat). My machine, in its rolling case (with the Ott light and other parts) sits atop the board on the other side of the back seat. Suitcases etc. nest in and around so nothing rolls or shifts if we have to brake suddenly.

Here are photos of the two non-portable tables he created for my studio . . .

This is the table for my 440 - my primary workstation. The top is a sheet of laminate atop a plywood base, edged with molding, framed and secured to off-the-shelf table legs (you could also use sturdy front porch spindles). The pieces on top are a shoe rack from Tar-jaay and a clearance wall cabinet from Hobby Lobby.

This is the table for my 153. The top is a section of off-the-shelf kitchen countertop framed and supported by table legs.

While we're on the subject of tables, I'll go ahead and include two more.

The ironing workstation resides in my quilt room. The table itself was my grandparents' dining room table (circa 1940s). I keep it covered with a quilt to protect the surface. DH added a sturdy (heavy) raised plywood top which was covered with aluminum foil (to protect the wood from the steam), a layer of pre-quilted cotton fabric, and finally the top layer of cotton fabric (secured just under the edge with staple-gun staples). It is SO much better than the size of a standard ironing board, and I smile every time I think about crawling under Grandpa's table as a child to dust and Pledge those legs when we visited. (That's my tripod display stand in the black storage bag tucked into the open storage space.)

My cutting table resides in the design studio. The base is our former oval-shaped kitchen table, stabilized with the horizontal board you see between the leg sections (someday I may paint this, or not). DH cut a piece of plywood to cover and enlarge the original table and topped it off with a sheet of laminate. The layers are secured with strips of wide industrial-grade double-faced tape.

Now I need to get busy on my first Pay It Forward project of 2010 - contributions for the Million Pillowcase Project (for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital via Delta Patchwork's collection site).

Quiltdivajulie