Snow Day Sewing

We have had a fair amount of snow since the beginning of the year and it has been relatively cold as well. This means outside projects are not much fun at the moment and other than taking care of all the critters (alpacas, donkeys, chickens and goats) I am working inside as much as possible.  I manage to squeak about an hour or two a day to work on my quilt projects. 

I have been working on Bonnie Hunter's Unity quilt that she did as a mystery at the beginning of the lockdowns. Way back in March! I have finally finished part 4.

Because I have to stop and start working on projects to do other work and I like to multi-task projects - it can take me a time to finish piecing a quilt. I am also working on a quilt that I think I started in either 2013 or 2014 as a block of the month from Cobblestone Quilters Guild in Charleston, SC. I have 12 blocks but have divided it into two lap size quilts and I have started sashing the blocks of the first quilt. Of course I have a studio full of fabric - but do I have white on white (not a fabric I use a great deal)  to finish the half and quarter blocks on the edges. That would be a no. A good excuse to buy more fabric?

I cleaned up the studio and listed out all the UFOs, both large and small. This is the list of larger quilt projects that I have started and not completed. If they are not moving forward at the end of this year - I think they will need to be given to someone else who might get them done.

I am linking into Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday and guess what this is post number two of the year - as many as I managed last year - so one more and 2021 is ahead of the game.

A River Runs Through - Quilted

I finished quilting the two quilts* that became one. The first is a version of the New River in the summer time with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.

The second is the same scene but in the fall.

After quite a few hours of quilting - I then had to slice each quilt into 2 1/2" strips - not an easy task as I was terrified my rotary cutter would slip and I would have spent all that time for a true mess.

Luckily it worked! I have sewn the two quilts together and created the mounting device. The quilt is now hanging in the Ashe County Arts Council gallery in the show "Anything Goes!" that runs until March 22, 2019. I tried to take a few photos before I delivered it - but they were rubbish. I will get to the gallery this week and see if I can get better a better shot.

I have been wanting to do a 3 dimensional piece for a while and I am glad I took the risk. It isn't exactly what I had envisioned in my minds eye - but it is pretty close. I am linking to Off the Wall Friday - I think I might have reached a little of what mentally strong women don't do.  

*This project is funded as a cooperative venture of Alleghany Arts Council, Ashe County Arts Council, Watauga Arts Council, and Wilkes Art Gallery with support from a Regional Artist Project Grant of the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resource.

Fused

The last ten days have been all about fusing. Some fabric I fused in squares and then used them to create the summer palette for my A River Runs Through quilt. I soon found that although I like the look of a wide variety of fabric brings to the quilt - it was just taking too long and I am on a deadline.

 

Luckily for the fall version of the quilt I had several fabrics which have a wide variety of fall colors in just one piece and I was able to use bigger pieces and it moved along much faster.

I still need to add a row of trees as the very bottom of the fall quilt and then on to machine quilting. I had thought that I would slice these two apart and sew them together before I quilted but I am now thinking that I need to be able to see both color pallets and designs to be able to get the quilting right.

That means I will spend the next week quilting and then take a rotary cutter to each and cut them into 2 1/2" strips to sew alternating summer and fall strips. I hope I am brave enough to do that!

Linking to Off the Wall Fridays with Nina Marie Sayre. 

*This project is funded as a cooperative venture of Alleghany Arts Council, Ashe County Arts Council, Watauga Arts Council, and Wilkes Art Gallery with support from a Regional Artist Project Grant of the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resource.

Finding Balance

It has been awhile since I choose a word for the year - Nina Marie Sayre reminded me of the tradition in her Off the Wall Friday post this morning. I have been thinking about what word should be my focus through 2019 and I think the word is Balance.

Balance - a condition in which different elements are equal or in correct proportions.

This is something that has not be in play for the last few years. We moved up to NC and our farm in 2015 and since then my artistic endeavors as a quilter have been limited and always on a time crunch. I felt that I could not slow down and enjoy the process of making art. I used to journal and draw every morning and that has gone by the wayside.

This year has been especially stressful, as between my daughter and I, we have participated in 40 different events - from quilt shows to farmers markets to teaching at my local guild. As we are still in the process of developing our product lines and processes - every week seem to be a mad dash to get ready for the next weekend.

We will start the grind again the March of next year and I hope between now and then that we will be able to have a better starting inventory so that we will not feel as pushed every single week.

I want to quilt more on a regular basis. 

I want to travel both by myself and with my husband of (gasp is it possible of  37 years!)

I want to spend some time enjoying the 30+ acres of our property - we have an amazing place here in the mountains - with a wonderful waterfall that I just want to sit by and find Balance.

I want not to work every single waking moment of every single day.

Today I took a picture of my studio -

as you can see I have a wonderful space to create and it is an absolute tip. Almost every flat surface is covered and to work on any thing at all you have to move something out of the way. After I took this photo, I started to clean up and that is what I will be working on until the first of the year. 

The holidays start today with the Winter Solstice and Jeremy (weather permitting) is coming home tomorrow, so it will be difficult to find more than a moment or two to myself. But if I can get my work space straight - maybe I can start the year off calmer.

I nearly deleted this post and then thought - not all blog posts should be about the wonderful, successful projects but sometimes show that angst that goes on behind the scenes.

So here it 2019 and Balance! 

Day 19 of the of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge

Road Barn in Snow

One of the pieces I have on display at the Ashe County Arts Council is our old road barn in the snow.  This piece is based on a photo taken in the summer.

The pieces are limited to 12" by 12", so I have had to simplify the quilt and remove things like gates and old wheel rims.

I started with very basic shapes fused on to a semi-solid white background.

Then I added a bit more detail in the snow.  Our county is one of the major producers of Christmas trees and greenery for the country - so I added a few trees and a wreath.

Some simple machine quilting* and a frame from old barn wood made by my husband finished the piece. 

I am linking this post to Off the Wall Friday and is day #6 of the 31 Day Blog Writing Challenge.

 *This project is funded as a cooperative venture of Alleghany Arts Council, Ashe County Arts Council, Watauga Arts Council, and Wilkes Art Gallery with support from a Regional Artist Project Grant of the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resource.

Emerson - A Chicken Story

Back in the spring of this year we added thirteen new members to our menagerie on the farm - a set of bantam chicks. Not ones to do anything in an easy way - we did not get them from the local feed store but instead ordered them through the mail.

One very cold and snowy day in March, we got a call from the post office to come and collect our new babies.  I named this little guy Emerson from one of my favorite book series the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters.  He had the lightest coloring so was easy to identify from all the others. 

Of course I took a chance that he would turn out to be a rooster as it is very difficult to tell little boy chicks from little girl chicks.

Chickens grow up very fast and by mid summer he was looking more like a boy.  He is a cochin and sports very beautiful feathers on his toes.

This is what he looks like now that he is all grown up:

Since he will never be a chicken dinner, he had to become a quilt!

He was appliqued 

and then machine quilted on my domestic machine.

I recently was award a grant* to purchase thread and rulers to use on my domestic machine,  It was really wonderful to be able to go to this basket of thread to get just the right color to make Emerson come to life.  

He is currently on display at the Ashe County Arts Council gallery  as part of the Tree Fest show. I am linking this post to Off the Wall Friday by Nina-Marie.

*This project is funded as a cooperative venture of Alleghany Arts Council, Ashe County Arts Council, Watauga Arts Council, and Wilkes Art Gallery with support from a Regional Artist Project Grant of the North Carolina Arts Council, a Division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resource.

At Long Last

In December 2014, I designed a small wall quilt featuring a Christmas tree made from prairie points and a partial Dresden plate for its tree skirt.  I planned on writing up the design as a pattern but then - we sold our house and bought an old farm (and farmhouse) and now have four alpacas, two donkeys, thirteen chickens, and one very spoiled rabbit - so it has taken me a while to finish it.

But it is done!!

I taught the pattern to my local guild - thank you ladies for helping do the final edit! Here are a few of the quilts they showed off at our last meeting.

I also made one during the class, this time leaving off the ribbon garland and using buttons as the  embellishment. 

The pattern is now available on our farm's etsy store as a PDF download.

Next up a little something with these two handsome boys:

I am linking this post to Nina Marie Sayre's blog and Confessionsofabricaddict 

Seasons of the Mountains

Last week a long term project that I have been working on finally came to an end.  I helped with the design and construction of the Ashe County Piecemakers Guild 2018 fundraiser quilt.  We started the process in July of last year and it is currently hanging in the Ashe County Arts Gallery as part of a month long quilt exhibit.

This year’s fundraiser quilt was inspired by the beautiful place where we live and the seasons we experience as the year progresses.

Starting at the top of the quilt, we have the snow-covered mountain tops and then the dark greens, browns and greys that cover our hillsides during winter.  In winter, we see the pine cones of the conifers and a peek of red from the holly trees.

As we move down the quilt, spring with its pale greens, yellows, pinks and reds lighten the mountains and our spirits after a long winter.  The woods are punctuated with the bright oranges of the fire azaleas and the pale whites of the dogwoods.

Summer brings the darker, richer greens of the trees and the pastures.  Our hillsides are now covered with blooming rhododendron, the woods with trillium and the pastures with chicory.

As the season changes into autumn, our quilt is vibrant with the bright yellows, oranges and reds of the leaves as they swirl in the wind.  The acorns mature and the pumpkin patches open.  And the Christmas trees begin their long journey off the mountain to brighten the homes of people around the world.

Ann Becker quilted it on her long arm and many guild members worked on making the long cabin blocks.

I wanted the design of this quilt to be traditional with a twist and I think we achieved that goal.  I am linking with Nina Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

Like Riding a Bike - Sort of

I have finally had a chance to work on quilting a quilt! In 2014 I designed a mystery quilt for my then guild - Cobblestone Quilters Guild

I pieced two different versions for myself - one out of yardage and one scrappy.

Fast forward nearly four years and I am working on quilting the scrappy version.  Although I have done some free motion work in the ensuing years, and even taught a few beginner classes, I have not worked on anything as large as this in a long time.  I have also purchased a ruler foot and rulers for my machine and am learning to use them.

I feel like a newbie all over again.  I know what I want to do - but the muscle memory is very rusty.  It is like riding a bike again after many years - you know what to do but are very wobbly.

I am not pleased with my stitches or the thread colors I have chosen.  But as I work, the stitches get a little better, the movement of the quilt gets a little easier, and I remember why I love to quilt.  So I will pick myself up and keep at it.  Linking with nina marie sayer and her post on troubleshooting free motion quilting. 

Summer - At Least in My Studio

Charleston is once again thawing out of an ice storm - twice in two weeks is just too weird.  Although I grew up in Colorado, I have lived in the South for nearly 30 years so I think my blood has thinned.  I don't really like cold weather anymore!

For two days I sweated as the lights flickered (I have way too much sewing machine work to do to be without power) but we were lucky and had light and heat the entire time.  Friends nearby weren't as fortunate.

I worked on Bloom as the icy rain fell.  In my last post I estimated about 2 hours to finish the flower - was I way off.  It took nearly 2 hours just to pull the threads from all the stops and starts!  I probably have closer to 3 days of stitching.

Once again I struggled with the marking of the background of the quilt.  Finding a marking pen that I can see and that will come out easily is becoming like a Holy Grail search.  Any ideas?

I still need to put on the facing, sleeve and label and need to decide if any of the centers need beading but I am pretty satisfied.


Once again I am linking to Nina~Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday to show my progress.

Blocks Done

After a long week of marking and quilting all twenty-five blocks are done.

I don't have a design wall large enough to put the quilt on so the blocks are on the floor - hence the poor photo.  I have started sewing the blocks together and will be un-sewing the plain center block and the grey pinwheel.  It creates a bit of a black (grey) hole effect.  The pin wheel will move to the center bottom and hopefully will look better.  I have lots of hand sewing on the back to do - luckily it is Downton Abbey and Sherlock tonight!

I really want to get this project finished soon as it is one of four quilts I am entering in the Cobblestone Quilters Guild Show in late February.  The next quilt up is Bloom - a whole cloth dye painted quilt - much more my cup of tea.

I am linking to Nina Marie Sayers Off the Wall Friday again this week. 

What Was I Thinking?

For the past week I have been working like mad on quilting my Quilt in a Box. Twelve unique blocks, eight setting triangles, four corners and one central block.

Twenty-five total.

I am using the border as the basis of my quilting design and spent many hours designing the main motif.  The half block sketch looks okay:

But it really starts to work when the other half is added:

By having the design touch the edge of the block in a couple of places it creates secondary designs.  One of the blocks that I have finished is the quarter circle block that I showed in the last post.  It now looks like this:

I really like where this is going but - - twenty-five blocks!  Thirteen are finished, six are marked (the most difficult part so far - finding a marker I can see has been a challenge because of the wide range of lights and darks I am working with) and ready to quilt.

I am linking to Nina Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday

Now just to Finish It!

An Old Plant and a New Quilt

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Florida in a magical place - on a lake, in the middle of an orange grove and with lots of places to explore.  My grandfather was a builder and every time they ran out of room - he would build another building.  There was a main house, two cottages, a barn and a bomb shelter built during the height of the cold war.  At the entrance to the main house was a court yard growing all sorts of plants that a Colorado girl like me had only seen inside at home.  Grandmother grew enormous Crotons and Dieffanbacias as well as others that I don't know the names of.

Years ago (more that 30!)  we potted up a few of the Crotons and the Dieffanbacias and I still have some.  They have suffered some through the years - with moves and dry climates - and there was at least once when my Croton was nothing but a stick. Everyone said it was a lost cause but with a little TLC it recovered and now is beautiful.  I think being able to live on the screened in porch in the SC humidity for six months of the year has really helped it flourish.

In May, I attended the NC Quilt Symposium and took a class with Hollis Chatelain.  I have been wanted to take a class from her for ever.  It was wonderful.  We needed to bring a few drawings to use for our painting and I decided that Grandma's Croton was one of them.

When I returned home and rinsed out the extra dye this is what the piece looked like:

I like uneven edges so created a couple of shadow leaves in the background and did an envelope finish.  I used wool batting for the first time and am in love.  I really like how it quilted and how it does not have a memory like cotton.

Next, I quilted the shadow leaves:

Then I quilted the main leaves using a red thread and a variegated yellow/orange.

I was very please how the pieced turned out and now have a croton that will survive even if the plant does not.

I am linking up to Nina Marie Sayre's Off the Wall Friday.  Next week I hope to get back on my Marsh quilt after a long hiatus.

  

Starting to Quilt Marsh Isle

I am moving out of the hate phase of the love/hate relationship I general go through with a new quilt.  I always see a certain image in my mind and then struggle to get the fabric and thread to recreate what I envision.

Having decided to separate the log into bark and bare wood pieces has added to my struggles - of course I had not designed in any seam allowances and will need to cover awkward places were they didn't go back together well with strategically placed cattails and extra pieces of bark.

I have added my egret - who is actually a Great Egret and not a Snowy Egret as last reported.  Great Egret's have black feet and yellow beaks and Snowy Egret's have yellow feet and black beaks.

And I finally started machine quilting the piece - and had to pullout about an hours worth of work - the tension was terrible.  So the quilt has stalled for a bit.  I hope to spend some more time on the quilting this week and move back into at least the like phase.  I am once again linking up to Nina Marie Sayer's Off the Wall Friday and would love to have comments on my progress.

My bird tree continues to attract a wide variety of species - I think this Red-bellied Woodpecker has a nest in the tree as she has been seen going in and out of the hole in the tree numerous time over the past few days.

This Osprey brings his dinner by nearly every evening.

And these guys were just part of the flock of Turkey Vultures hanging around -

not every bird will inspire a quilt!