On the Fringe: Explorations in Fiber

Two of my older pieces have been juried into this exciting exhibit--the first for the Connecticut chapter of Surface Design Associates. The group first met in May of 2014 and has been meeting about every three months since. I'm fortunate to be part of this very talented group of artists. Although everyone works in fiber of some kind, the work is varied and ranges from weaving to dying to painting and so much more. I recently took a workshop with Leslie Giuliana on working with encaustics.

Graphic Patchwork Table Runner completed

Vivika DeNegre, in her Quilting Daily email this week, showed a tutorial for a simple but beautiful table runner. I needed a house-warming gift in a hurry, but I usually get too stressed to start and finish a project in a few days (and I usually try something too ambitious). However, my studio was finally in good enough condition to work, so I thought, Why not? If something went wrong, I'd have to go to Plan B, whatever that might be.

The design, Graphic Patchwork Table Runner, is by Amy Ellis.

The charm square packages that can be purchased would make this even easier than it was. I didn't have any, so had to pull fabrics that would go together and cut the 5-inch squares.  Some of my Kaffe Fassett fabrics seemed perfect for this project.

For quilting, I used my walking foot and the serpentine stitch. Although I've used this stitch before, I was inspired by my recent download from Interweave, Modern Machine Quilting with Catherine Redford, to use it here. My machine and foot allowed the width to be 5mm, and I lengthened the stitch to a 3. Starting in the middle, I made my first row of quilting down the center seam, which I had pressed open. For placement of the rest of the quilting, I used the edge of the foot and stitched back and forth until done.

I really like the look of this quilt and may have to make something similar for myself or other gifts. I hope the recipients of the this gift will like it as much as I.

You can see some of Amy Ellis's other designs here.

Tag Sale Results

Barb and I sold some items at our tag sale, but we still have plenty to work with. We may do another sale, but not at my house. I had lots of bags of scraps that didn't sell and have been trying to decide whether to try and do something with them or to toss them. As someone who can't stand to throw out anything that might possibly be used, the latter action was going to be painful.

But, good news: I learned that someone who works with autistic persons will take the scraps, along with my bag full of empty thread spools. I've got both the small cylindrical kind and the cones. I feel so much better to both learn that I don't have to make something out of these items and that someone else will.

I kept looking over at Barb's things, thinking that she had things I could not live without. In the end, we did trade a couple of things.

FABRIC, YARN, CRAFT SUPPLIES SALE

Fabric & Yarn Sale

Saturday, July 25

9:00-1:00 

28 Arden Street, New Haven (Morris Cove)

We can’t store it all!  Two artists/quilters are reducing their stashes.  

Quilting, Sewing, Knitting,

Arts and Crafts Supplies

*Fabric *Yarn *Books *Patterns *Beads

*Paper crafting supplies *Drawing supplies

 and more.

Sentinelle is finished

This is my sentinelle piece for the upcoming Sisters in Cloth exhibit in Stony Creek at the Willoughby Wallace Library gallery, which is opening Friday, March 27.

The wood block prints were purchased from Dijanne Cevaal and each of us decorated our print according to our own aesthetic. I often embellish with some (or many) beads, but this one is strictly embroidered.

I've had some positive comments on my Facebook page, so I think I may have to do another. Dijanne has a new similar design, Queen of Chartres--along with other block prints. Click HERE to see them.

The act of sitting and embroidering while I was recuperating from pneumonia was quite therapeutic. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this needle craft. Perhaps another sentinelle or a Queen of Chartres will be upcoming?

Sisters in Cloth has an exhibit coming up this month. The show runs March 27 through April 29. I have two pieces in it (although I'm still working to finish them).

The show includes a collaborative project, Fiber Journeys, which connects one piece to another by a pathway. The second part of the exhibit is our collection of sentinelles. We purchased the wood blocks from Dianne Cevaal and embellished/decorated them according to our individual preferences.

Having been sick over the winter, I reconnected with my love of embroidery. My sentinelle piece includes old embroidery stitches and some new ones I hadn't used before.

Happy New Year

2015

The years pass so much more quickly as I have celebrated more and more birthdays. My mother-in-law said that many times, and I've found that she was right.

We are well into this century and I am in my seventies. I won't be achieving everything I had thought I would, but I am doing what I like. I teach math at a community college, which is very gratifying, and at a local state university. Freshman math. The things most people hate, but I try to make it as painful as possible. And I love my students.

The main drawback to my continuing to work is a lack of time and/or energy to pursue my art. If it weren't for Sisters in Cloth, I might never get any quilts done. In November I completed this quilt for our recent exhibit at the Guilford Public Library. It has now been transported to another exhibit at Brookside Quiltworks in South Egremont, Massachusetts.

I enjoyed making this quilt, as it used traditional techniques but non-traditional fabric. (I love making all those points and corners come together.) Except for the white, of course, the fabric was all from one piece of my snow-dyed fabric. The pattern is Greek cross, but the lack of sashing between the blocks gives it a very different look. I also quilted it differently from the way I might have back when I was doing more traditional quilts.

Happy New Year to all.