CQ Boho Bags

"Kiss Me". My Pat Winter's pattern for a Boho bag. The toad and the Fairy begged for a Princely kiss!
This is the bag that won 2nd place in the wearables category at the GVQC show last weekend, which included a $50 cash prize~! I spent that and more on Marcia Derse fabrics at one of the vendor booths!

The bag is quite roomy. I will be using it~~!

A flower motif cut from a larger cotton crochet piece, with silk ribbon and a blingy vintage button.

Love the newer line of baubles at Micheals Craft Stores. Arti Cakes. I dyed the cheesecloth stitched behind the pendant in Val Schultz's immersion dying class last summer.

The fabric I used for the lining and pocket of bag, has had a lengthy life with me. I found the cherub toile fabric for $6 a yd 17 years ago. I bought enough to make and clad my old windows in curtains with them in the apartment I had with my son & daughter in 1997-2003. When I bought this old house in 2003, I employed the curtains as a shower curtain with the addition of large grommets. I replaced that last year with a white Target beauty, but of course knew the cherub fabric would be reincarnated! Perfect for lining! I will be using this fabric til the very end of its life~!
I made another Boho Bag simultaneously. It is called "Sweet Noel". The image I used is a wintry little girl. I have a close friend that had a sister named Noel. She drowned in the Tonawanda Creek in Batavia at a young age. It just fit. The colorway is not my usual and I did have a harder time working on it. It is still a beautiful bag.

Some close-ups...

The lovebirds are a hand dyed lace from Ravioli Dreams from my sweet friend, Nicki.
I thoroughly enjoy working on CQ projects. There is a real creative element involved in every piece. I would be happy to entertain a commission if you care to preserve a special memory.
I finally finished my last obligation to HGTV RRRR today! I have been working on this row between the show quilt finishing. I made hexi wreaths from the focus fabric. Stitched to WOW fabrics and finished with more WOW's to make a log cabin block. There are over 20 pieces per 6" block!

Here are all the rows thus far..

She has a wonderful Christmas Holiday quilt in progress~! Love it.

I have learned

1. Child labor is awesome~! Ian & Darcy weeded, mowed, cut and dragged tree limbs and moved boxes upstairs for me in the last 2 days. Appreciated!

Link to GVQC Quilt Show....607 Quilty Things to Peruse!

This is a link to the GVQC quilt show last weekend! It is worth a look. I do believe it was posted by Beth Brandkamp.
This is Val & Julie's booth. They deserve an award for most inviting and homey! I was at their booth both days to get a great photo on fabric! Red-Dog Enterprises.

Iron Quilter at GVQC Quilt Show at R.I.T. FUN!

"I Know Why the Uncaged Bird Sings". This is what I came up with in 3.5 hours at the GVQC quilt show this past weekend, at R.I.T. The them..."disappearing act". The door on the birdcage is open. The bird is doing his own disappearing act!

I participated in this event 2 years ago and had a blast. I loved the whole experience and looked forward to doing it again. This time they gave all of us ONE theme instead of a dozen to choose from. I think it made the results more interesting for the audience. And yes, people sit and watch and gather at the end to see who wins! Nothing came to mind that second, but on the fabric table (we get to choose from a heap load of fab on tables to work with) there was this Monopoly fabric. The little Monopoly man had wings and he was flying from an open birdcage. Hmmm. I can work with that!

We have to have a completed piece in this time frame, meaning quilted and edging done. 

One of the fabrics I brought (we could bring three 1 yd pieces) was a Pat Pauly shibori dyed. I cut it up, sewed with a smidge of blue between rows, added the thread sketched birdcage on an upholstery sample and used the lines in the shibori to machine quilt it. The feathers you see were in the design so I went with it and quilted them in. The bird silhouette was fused and stitched and I did a pillowcase edging. Voile! The fellow contestants were all great....here are most of the other pieces. (I think two are missing...they weren't up on the boards when I took pics and quickly disappeared when event was over)

Anne was the winner with her excellent interactive quilt! The zipper goes up and down to be a true "disappearing act"! Very clever. 

Liz channeled the Wicked Witch...melting!

Janet made disappearing circles.

Diane's piece was a take on disappearing log cabins. I really liked this one. She is going to rework it. It will be great.

Carol's quilt was awesome too. Cities taking over the land.

Joyce won third place with this piece! I wish I could remember what her thought process was. Sorry.

Nancy's quilt was a comment on the disappearing Midtown in Rochester. She used snaps and matchboxes to embellish it!

Linda Bachman's quilt is beautiful. 

Elaine Ross made a leaves disappear. You can't see her quilting in this pic, but it is what makes it.

I wish I could remember all the explanations. I can't. It's a great piece though!

Peek-a-Boo. Sweet.

Sue Donovan made open circles with thread work in them. Nice!

Anne's "Tornado" was very cool. She decided to turn it the other way around after the show. 

Beth was nervous, but she had no reason to be...I love her leaf piece! 

And Louise, who is a dear person, made an adorable cat's tale/tail quilt. 

 I apologize that two are missing.
Aren't they all fantastic!? Only 3.5 hours from announcement of theme to finished piece! Phewww. Fun! What wonderful work done in that time frame...congratulations to all these talented women. 

I am the lucky winner of a tabletop Ott light. I needed one! Thank you for a great time and fun day Marcia and Jeanie~!

Val & Julie, Red-Dog Enterprises, had the prettiest booth at the show. An outdoor canopy, with lights was erected, complete with rug and curtains. You know, it matters. 

They are the one's that print onto fabrics,...you know, the thing I am addicted to?! They were printing on 8.5"x 11" fabric at the show. All you needed was a pic! What?! Of course I was there both days for my prints! They had a TV with running info on the classes and retreats at Julie's house on Lake Ontario, with pics of various prints made...and Michael and Jenn made the cut!

"The Kiss"

If you have not checked out the possibilities of printing onto fabrics and using them in your work, I urge you to check it out. Play in Befunky.com or other free photo fixing sites...and order a print from Red-Dog. You will not be disappointed.

I have learned:

1. Karen from Ontario, Canada, showed Connie, Vinnie and I this domestic trick......on the sides of aluminum foil, saran wrap, freezer paper etc., are push points. If you push the tabs in, the roll stays in the box. Simple. I never knew this. It was revalational. 
2. Indian food...yum. What a nice dinner with good friends Saturday. Good food. Good convo. 
3. Mela will be here in less than 7 weeks! When I break it down and think about it....a life, a new Everett, a sweet baby making her way from womb to world, it is astounding. She has a full head of hair apparently!
4. RUZZLE. Like Boggle. I am addicted. Good thing about this app is that you can play practice games.
5. Roots of teeth rest in sinus cavities, causing intense pain for whatever reason that very closely mirrors a horrible toothache. Constant medicinal assistance needed. .
6. Michael and Jenn have a Military Ball next Friday at Opryland in Nashville.Look at this place. Nice.

Ready for GVQC Quilt Show

My dog is done. I left it for the last minute and had to get him done! So I spent ALL day yesterday doing that.
I quilted the lab...

It looks like the dog...that's good!
Stitched him to the quilted background.
This is the quilt I put on Julie's longarm quilting machine last month. Not bad for the first time!

I pieced that back as usual. I loved a pieced back. Mucho.

He has been delivered (thanks Elaine) to Rochester for the GVQC quilt show this weekend.
I also finished two of Pat Winters Boho Bags for the show...I literally sewed the last seam before
work this morning! I do work better under pressure. I always get it done.

At the show this weekend I will be participating in the Iron Quilter competition again. I can take 3 one yard pieces of fabric, threads and embellishments. We are given a list of themes at 10:15 AM, pick one and formulate a plan, then get to work! We have 3 1/2 hours to make a small quilt, finished! I loved it last time. I like to work under pressure. We will see how it goes!

Trying to get into Pat Pauly's Big Leaf class on Sunday. Of course....I wait...til last minute....

If your able to make it to the show...do! Almost 600 quilts to appreciate, at R.I.T. in Rochester.

Michael is HOME in Fort Campbell! He returned from Afghanistan last Tuesday night. What a relief it is to wake up in the morning, knowing he is on American soil. He is acclimating well and has already adjusted to the 9 hour time difference. Jenn is adjusting to cooking again! Thank you for all the thoughts over the last 9 months. Priceless.

Mela is 4 lbs now. She has a full head of hair apparently. She is already beautiful! 2 more months!

I 

Isn't she precious? Just waiting patiently for her entry into the world. I asked Sophia, "How do you think Mela breathes in Issa's belly?"
"Good", she said.
Of Course.

I have learned:

1. Saving Grace was excellent. If I mentioned it before, I hadn't seen the final episode yet. Great.
2. Another sale tonight on my Etsy vintage site! I am enjoying the endeavor of saving "junk"!
3. The war on the woodchucks under my house yielded 2 raccoons, 1 woodchuck and 1 possum. So far. I
4. Prerogative. I know this is how you spell it. I looked it up. It's just a jumble.

Valerie Goodwin Class Work...Awesome

For the last 2 days, I have been taking a class from Valerie Goodwin, through one of my quilt guilds, GVQC, in Rochester. What a great class this was! I loved what Valerie Goodwin did from the first time I saw her work in Quilting Arts magazine. We worked on the seven principles of design in art...any art. Of course we used fabric as our medium. On the first day we made paper studies of each principle. Movement, unity, rhythm, pattern, emphasis, balance and contrast. The piece above is my piece on contrast.
I have been "accused" of not having enough contrast in my work before. I can appreciate contrast in the work of others, but for me, contrast is not necessarily my objective. I love this little 4" x 6" piece! What contrast there is, is me.

After making the complex foundation, hand stitching, painting and sheer fibers are added. Hand work is my first love, so I add as much as I feel is warranted. I could have used some more time on the painting part. Next time.

Barb was kind enough to bring in extra fabrics today for me to work with. the shiny rusty bit worked great. Karen, my new Canadian friend contributed the black thread. Part of making this class so wonderful, was these two quilters that made up our little corner of the room. Very similar aesthetics. Connecting to others that share the passion of fabric and fiber...priceless.

Some student work. Karen's work is the in the upper left and center. The yellow, red, green pieces.

Barb's work is the soft, serene purple and pink work...3 along the bottom.

Caris Burton's pieces are really good. Caris took Valerie's week long class at QBL last summer, so she had a bit of prior knowledge! Caris work is always calm, soft and mellow. I especially love the lower left one.
I learned much in the last 2 days. I plan to use her techniques in future pieces. I like the layers, the interest and the purpose of the process. Valerie Goodwin will be teaching at QBL again in July of 2014. I will be saving and vacation day planning to be able to take her intensive class.
If you are intrigued by what she does, her book comes out at end of summer. You can pre-order ( as I have done!) the book from Amazon.

I surely have much on my plate right now! I have 2 CQ Boho bags to sew up for the GVQC show in a few weeks, as well as thread paint my lab and put him on the quilted background piece. Oh boy. I do work best under pressure, but that is not all I have to do.
Two RRRR rows are on the agenda. I do believe they are both 8" blocks. What to do? I don't know yet. Idea's are ruminating.
Melissa's baby shower is June 22nd.
I have a room to paint and a house to clean and organize (somewhat) for Michael and Jenn's visit the beginning of July.
Mowing takes up 2 hours of my time every 5 days now. Ugh. I hate outdoor work. I want to be sewing, not mowing.
Work and union business takes much of the hours in a week as we all know. Retirement can't come soon enough. I have so much to create and so little time.

I just mailed off the HGTV RRRR Monday. I made the 12 4" improvisational star blocks on the bottom. With 21 pieces in each block, it was quite a marathon for me! Naturally, the blocks were 1/2" off, so I had to add the red strips between blocks to get the 48 1/2" length. More work, but it added a needed separation between the blocks.

I have learned:

1. Michael should be off his COP in AFG by this time today, on his week long journey home. Anxious for his arrival on U.S. soil. 
2. Etsy shop was busy last week! Postage to Germany, Australia and China....mucho $$.
3. Case Histories, a BBC crime show on Netflix...very good. Jason Isaacs, the actor playing the main character...very mmmm.
4. Realist. Idealist. I am a realist. I was an idealist in my 20's. Jon, a youngun' at work, and I had a little debate about this recently. What are you?
5. Batavia will be welcoming TJ Maxx, Kohl's and Dicks to the Lowes store vacated space. 
6. Tennessee is the number one retirement destination. Affordable cost of living, coupled with a pleasant climate make it ideal. From the bits of TN I have seen, I feel it. 
7. Seneca Village, unearthed in Central Park, NYC, was an African- American/Irish populated settlement. Valerie Goodwin mentioned this today after I was studying her African Burial Ground II. Interesting.
8. I am an artist.

Paducah Quilt Show

One of my favorites at the Paducah Quilt Show. Stunning crazy quilted artwork. Spent 5 days with DIL, Jennifer, in Fort Campbell KY/TN. We made the short trek to Paducah on April 25th. We had just walked in to the outdoor eating area, when my good friend Penny saw us!

Hexi's! Love. The quilts from Japanese quilters were perfection.

Cool.

This quilt was fun.
Tentmaker's of Cairo were a feature at the show. They are known for their intricate applique quilts. This man has been making quilts for 35 years!

The pattern is in his head he said. Wow.

There were many quilts on display and all were for sale. It was worth the price of admission to see this demonstration.
Visited Nashville too. Nice.
Went junking. Great!
Flight delays on my way back to Buffalo were not unexpected.

Yesterday at my Fiberista group Beth lead us in altering an old book and adding fabric pages with binding technique. Great time. We actually cut the book pad out of the cover, covered the book with fabric and poked the holes with an awl for the binding. I love it.

My canvas pages are ready for working on them before they go into the book.

My friend, Julie, graciously let me use her longarm quilting machine to make quick work of my lab piece background! I never used one before, so after a little lesson, I just had at it. Awesome! It is not perfect, but it's not bad for first attempt. I had no idea how I was going to quilt it until I started up the machine.

I still need to thread paint the dog and sew him to the top. I already entered it in the GVQC show at the end of May, so I have some time to work on it.

Melissa is very pregnant! I met her Friday for dinner at Olive Garden, which for the last many times I have been there, it has not delighted me at all. I used to love Olive Garden. After that we went to baby gift register for the upcoming shower. Mela is in her last trimester now!

Have had much Facetime with Michael over the last 2 weeks. Nice. He has his bags packed. The American arrival is sometime this month! He wants three glasses of wine when he gets home! Missed that more than beer he said. Always good conversation.

I have learned:

1. Paducah show was too much perfection and dense machine quilting. The things that make my heart flutter are more imperfect I guess. That level of quilting seems unattainable for the average quilter. I admire it, but don't see the makers reflected in the work. I like to see a personality or style on fabric. That makes my heart flutter.
2. Flies. Hate.
3. Woodchucks. Hate. I am at war with them now. I actually hear them under my living room (no basement under this part of my house) I am taking action today.
4. Yay Michelle, Project Runway winner. 
5. I like fried calamari apparently.

My Little "Red Barn" Collaged Piece

My "Red Barn" piece made in Sharon Bottle Souva's workshop today. I used a landscape from Judith Baker Montano's book, Fiberart Montage. It is a beautiful book.

You can see this inspiring pic on the right.
Sharon helped each of us in her class, make something we all were surprised came from us!
I wish more of the guild had taken the opportunity to learn her technique and take the class.
We hope to schedule a more intense landscape class with Sharon in the near future. Good time today.

All 8 pieces from class today. Wow. What a great turnout. Love each of them.

Sharon gave a great trunk show mixed with poems she has written on quilting. What an effective way to show your work and tie in the writings. This piece, using a screen print of Austin, is my favorite. I am so intrigued by screen printing. I must learn about it this year.

I did order and receive a  finished screen from Lyric Kinard. I cannot wait to try my hand at this soon! 

Will write more tomorrow. Tired.