Altered Book

The same group, plus a couple new talents, that created the fabric book pages, have embarked on our next endeavor! Thanks to Jody's suggestion, we are all excited about our altered books RR. I have always been intrigued by this, but needed this nudge. I actually took a class, a too short 2 hour class, at the library a few years ago.

This is what I started then. I covered the outside with black velvet and some images. I need to get it out and work on it!
Anyway, the name of my book is "vintage finds". I love all things aged and old. My page has a tarnished silver spoon, vintage tab off old index file, I sewed old crepe paper and gathered to pleat, Dean's license tag, punched picket fence edger from Martha Stewart collection (love this) from old book paper, scrapbook paper and paper from an issue of Somerset Studio. The pattern paper on back of cover is vintage as well.

I love the idea of a niche. Love shadowboxes. Something about a cozy cubby for treasures. After gluing about 40 pages together on the edges with Golden Soft Gel Medium. I cut the niche with an exacto knife.
Stamped "I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth" with those $1 alphabet stamps from Michaels.
I will be mailing this off to Jody near Chicago now. Fun begins!

Sunday, Melissa, Cory and I went on an urban adventure to Buffalo's east side. The old New York Central Train Terminal to be exact. I haven't been in that area in over 30 years. It is not a nice neighborhood. The Buffalo Police corroborated that with us after they drove the RR tracks looking for the occupants of the gray Trailblazer (mine) with the purse and phones inside.
I was taking pics of the two of them in the interesting, crumbled remains of once grand grounds. I remember being there as a young child with my grandmother and it was spectacular. Urban decay reality.
I did get some good shots though.

Cory and Melissa.

I love this shot.
After wandering too far, I did start to get nervous. There was evidence of a campfire on one of the old station pads, empty liquor bottles, lovers resembling destitution or prostitution.....I got that queasy, alarming sensation. Just after that the BPD showed up.

One former entrance. Such attention to detail. Pride in workmanship.

Pigeon's own this property.

Curious.

While I sweat and chafe my way through this week, it is with the knowledge I have next week and a day off! I need time off. I have much to do. The wedding projects beckon me. The Podiatrist beckons also. Appointment to see how she can make my left heal feel better. Walking to compensate for the pain for the last 6 months has affected the knee and hip.

I have learned:

1. Apparently the Buffalo Bills football team is the 10th toughest professional team to root for. It's not just football teams....it is every pro sport team. My son will agree with this. Hope reigns eternal. 
2. French Onion Dip. Kind of retro taste sensation for me. As kids, chips and dip was a treat. Its been a recent craving.
3. Facebook status update makes is official. Michael is "in a relationship" with Jen.
4. Buffalo's Waterfront. When I worked downtown in the 80's, all that was there was a big old ship. Now there's a boardwalk and museum with cobblestone way and small bridge. Impressed.

Little Flower Quilt

Here is a pic of my little Flower challenge piece. After a week of deliberating judges the results were posted on HGTV message board last night. I was so anxious to see the interpretation of each participant of this picture....

Well, I was excited to see awesome-ness!
Thearica posted all the participants quilts on her blog. You have to check these out!
My friend Colleen made my favorite. I covet it! I know she won't mind me posting her quilt. I just LOVE it. If I were a judge, this would have been my 1st place choice.

I used the Susan Carlson, Serendipity Quilts book method I talked about a few times. Using watered down glue and scraps, in my case I used squares and rectangles, to make my green and purple background. I decided those garage doors had to go, but kept the iron fence element by stitching black lines. The limb is cut from a batik...the flowers are vintage chiffon scarves....the green silk leaves are from silk blouse...and a little thread painting.

Tulle lays over the background to soften it and make the limb appear in the foreground. I had fun being challenged by this. I was actually wondering why I signed on when the original picture didn't spark an idea. I am thinking it is Thearica's southern persuasion....and the prizes she so deftly procured! One of which I won. I   was honorable mention...which is like 4th place. I won a laser cut John Flynn quilt kit! I am pretty excited about this. I don't know if I will get a choice or if they will just mail one to me, but I will find out!

I have made my CQ block with the bits of fabrics included in Nicki's challenge packet. That spiral fabric was a bear to figure out how to use! That IS the challenge! I have begun stitching, so will see where it goes by the due date, 9-1-11.

The last week and a half has been one thing going wrong after another! My Trailblazer's manifold cracked to the tune of $409. My hot water tank needed a $169 repair. Yesterday after work my car was turned off, keys out of ignition but the blower inside for air was still blowing. Hmm. Can't be good, this. On down the road to my trusty mechanic....he pulls out some resistor behind the glove box...melted and wires exposed. Not good. I have no air and no blower until the part comes in. To the tune of ???

I have learned:

1. How to relight my hot water tank. I was scared, but I wanted hot water, if only for a little while, more.
2. Silver Lake is a hidden gem! I want to be there. 
3. Rescue Me...final season, starts tonight. I know, but I like Denis Leary. 
4. Independent Health made an automated call to me to remind me I am overdue for my colonoscopy. Oh joy.
5. Melissa's wedding is 3 months from Friday! I have much much work to do!
6. Apparently the new shovels we are stocking at work are "women's" shovels. So said old Jack-the-drain-tile installer today. Ha!
7. Thearica will be loading my Nancy Crow quilt onto her longarm tomorrow! She is a spectacular machine quilter. I asked her to use retro atomic symbols and just let go! I can't wait to see what she does. 

July 4th and some Cool Piecing Up

Picnic in the Park in Batavia at Centennial Park. I love the small town-ness of this celebration. Melissa, Cory, Michael, and Cory's parents, Karen and Bob all walked the grounds, followed by a cookout at Karen and Bob's new house. Hot dogs wrapped with bacon, burgers, pasta salad, deviled eggs and pineapple upside down cake. Still full!

In between deviling eggs and cake making, I grabbed the pile of leftover hand dyed fabric from the Iron Quilter day. A woman from guild, Cheryl Doodie, showed me how to do this cool technique that gets you a 1/4" or even 1/8" strip of fabric in your piecing. I had my sample from a few years ago to remind me how to go about it. I started piecing strips and bits and a couple hours later had this...

Very improvisational. Very satisfying. I love it.
And because I just can't waste a shred of this fabric (I still have some left, and I will use it!) I did this....

A mini weaving inspired by my online "class" with Jude Hill on Spirit Cloth. The weave is done on a backing fabric and tacked in place. I have an idea for some stitching. Also very satisfying. It's all about the process for me!

If I were to choose a work of art at the Art Gallery in Rochester to interpret, I would choose this painting. A few years ago, RAFA, did a challenge just like that. I went to the exhibit and it was excellent. Pictures were allowed....sooo when 

I took last Friday off so Melissa and I could go there to  check out the Fiberworks exhibit, I was disheartened to find out no pictures allowed of this very interesting show. How else so you look back for inspiration? To me the exhibit is like a traveling magazine. Out of respect for the rules, I won't post the one pic I did take...but it was really inventive. This woman had taken discarded lottery tickets, but them in star shapes and with dental floss, sewed them to a man's suit. What you didn't see readily with my eye, my camera showed she had incorporated color/value and made an American flag image. 

Lunch at the Gate House Cafe in Village Gate. Nice day indeed.

I mentioned the Summertime CQ Challenge Nicki on HGTV message board is hosting. We got the bag of bits and have to use some of each fabric and lace in a block. I spent hours yesterday piecing it! Blue is not my favorite color. The blue fabric we got is a dense , 3-D, tricky bit. Using a third of this is THE challenge here! I managed. I actually counted how many swirls were in the piece, divided it by 3 and determined I had to use 15-17 of them in my block! Since this is a competition, I can't show pic of it til voting is over in September sometime. I have alot of stitching to do, but this is the fun, dress up stage. Many idea's brewing!

I have learned:

1. My Trailblazer sounds like a race car. Muffler? Catalytic Converter? I won't find out til Wednesday. Meanwhile.....music....loud.
2. Tomorrow is my 32nd anniversary of my start date at National Fuel. I was 18, two weeks out of high school when I took the bus to downtown Buffalo, in a borrowed flannel dress. to work summer help on the 8th floor in Materials Management. (yes, a flannel dress, in July. No one told me not to!) I am once again in Materials Management, but in the Operations end....different union, like a new job 15 years ago. 
3. The Voice. Javier was my least favorite all along. 
4. The Bernina Bernette 82e that I won at Iron Quilter is in the shop. After Melanie had a look-see and verified I wasn't inept, I called The Bobbin Case and dropped it off for a timing belt repair. Linda, the owner is a lovely woman in her 70's that opened the Bernina Machine shop almost 20 years ago! Since I am giving this machine to Melissa, in hopes that she learns to sew and stops asking me to do everything for her, she will pick it up and receive free lessons! What a great prize.
5. Why have I never seen these fabrics before? Thanks to an article in a magazine, I found her website. Marcia Derse. Her third line of fabrics with Troy Fabrics. Wow. I want every one from all three lines! 

Pat & Mike

My parents would have been married 51 years on June 25th. Cancer took my mother in November 2002, and an assumed heart attack took my dad 9 months later. They were 61 and 66 at the time.
I love this picture. Their whole wedding album is a story....a moment in time recorded on June 25, 1960.
Michael Joseph Darcy was a handsome Irish immigrant with a  thick brogue and a twinkle in his gorgeous blue eyes, attending a dance at the Irish Center in South Buffalo, where he met Patricia Elizabeth Dolan!
It is interesting to see ones parents as young hopeful newlyweds. We all have been there. It is by design I suppose that hope springs eternal while young. Thus we insure the cycle of life. All stories have their endings...my parents had hard times for sure, but what ran deep, a constant undercurrent, was a true love. I am reminded of that when I see this picture.

I have been busy. But the things I have completed I can't show you! I mentioned the HGTV Flower picture challenge a while ago. We had to take this picture...and do whatever we wanted, no rules! My kind of challenge.

All I can say is that, yes, I did interpret it.. my way! Pics emailed to Thearica. I think there are 17 women signed up. The due date is July 4th. It will be judged and gift cards awarded to various online quilt shops. How cool is that? Thearica has the magic southern accent and persuasion when it comes to getting vendors to sign on!

I love Jude Hill of Spirit Cloth infamy. Her aesthetic is to reuse, rescue and repurpose old fabrics. She is all about hand work, which continues to be what feels good to me. I signed on to take one of her workshops. It is an interesting delivery of audio, video, pictures and paragraphs of the way she attains her precious, unique and comforting pieces. There is something that hits home for me in Jude's approach. I love old fibers and fabrics as evidenced from my treasure trove of linens, wools and silks from years of scavenging at Salvation Army! Tonight I made a very small weaving from leftover bits of  a Judy Robertson hand dyed. It is approximately 4" x 9". I love it already! (No pic yet.)

I have learned:

1. XXX Hot Salsa.  Delicious.  Addiction. But tomorrow......oh. You know. 
2. "Cathedrals" by Jump Little Children. Weird name for a band. Cool song. 

Guild Meeting Fun!

 I got to revisit my Iron Quilter piece when Louise brought it to the NYS Quilters Consortium luncheon my guild, Museum Quilt Guild, hosted this past Wednesday!  The meeting was a success!

I made this mini quilt for AAQI's online auctions. "Slipping Away" is dedicated for my friend Charlotte's 59 year old brother, Joseph. He was diagnosed 18 months ago with Alzheimer's. Her father was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's. (A woman collects them at these quarterly meeting and takes care of getting them where they go)

These are some of the others....

This is a panoramic view of our fun day with people from near and far!

Guild meeting today! Always a highlight of a month for me. John Roll, our resident and sole male quilter, headed up this Military Pride quilt making project. We were asked to come up with some way to commemorate regional heroes, men or women that have and are serving in any branch of the military. John and his committee created this wonderful quilt that will record names, branch and years of service. Next Saturday our local paper, The Batavia Daily, will feature this quilt in an article! This is one of the reasons I love my guild!

Mary Lee showed us her life size Jesse quilt. Jesse is her son and obviously a champion wrestler. This quilt won 3rd place in GVQC's huge show! These pictorial quilts are her special niche and she has mastered the technique. If she doesn't submit these to Lark books, who is searching for picture quilts for a future publication, I will!
Martha, our teacher for the jacket workshop I took the last two meetings, finished her jacket! It is beautiful. I love the mola piece on the back. Priscilla Kibbe always has an array for sale.

Paula Schultz, from Cottons, etc. in Wampsville, NY, was our program today. She brought with her an inspiring selection of garments. Some have won various awards in national shows! The orange/pink outfit above is made entirely of silk.

Her Matisse influenced jacket. It is made with the same Vogue Geoffrey Beene pattern as the jacket she is wearing. Of course it is discontinued!

Cool pintuck weaving inserted in this vest.

For my CQ friends...a crazy pieced jacket! The back was a tone-on-tone black with a random patch sewn on.

I LOVE this jacket! Paula started a Runway Addicts program at her shop 5 years ago. The group produces garments and accessories using items and challenge parameters doled out a few times each year. How fun is that? Some of the interesting items they had to incorporate were ear plugs, scrubbies, buttons, belts, ties, keys and stamps. I want to do this!! Anyway...this jacket is a remix of a wool blazer. She cut it down, added fabric at bottom and needle felted with a machine, the wool circles.

This vest is constructed of wool bits and broderie perse type applique.
We all were truly inspired to create, which is what Paula's purpose is in this show. She loves what she does. She loves to inspire people to create. She has today! Thank you Paula for your light today!

I meandered around my limited gardens, if they can even be called that...but I am taking liberty with the definition! I need to spend time weeding again. Is there a better way to weed? I kneel on my achy knees and dig with a trowel, then pull. Ugh. Not what I want to do on a weekend.

I have a few projects/challenges I have made some progress on.
I can't talk about the HGTV flower challenge as it will be voted on. I am liking where it is going though! I may be 1/2 finished. July 4th deadline.

My textured page for Art quilt group still needs disk beads sewn on and finished!

I am expecting a little package from Nicki next week. I will have to incorporate the 5 elements into a CQ piece that will also be voted on on the HGTV message board, so no pics of that in progress either. I will be able to show you what I have to use though!

I have purchased 2 great old sewn binding books at Sally Ann's. I will be using one very soon to begin my altered book for our next RR project with the AFF's. This is a non-mostly-fabric challenge and one I have wanted to try to do for years. Fun!

I am sure there are others that escape me at the moment, but there is nothing like a deadline to motivate me, so I know I will get them in order!

I have learned:

1. Old measuring tapes were 5/8" wide making it easy to check your seam allowance when sewing garments. Great idea.
2. Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen's celebrated sax player, has died after suffering a stroke earlier this week. The Big Man. He was the epitome of cool. 
3. I need to find time to make it to this exhibit at the Rochester Art Gallery before it is gone July 3rd. 
4. I won't tell you the total of my fines at the library today but will say I am sure I bought a book or two for the shelves! I needed to get the book on Altered Books out so....
5. My studio is painted!! I am ready to move all my stuff upstairs. I guess it's time to call in those old sawhorses from Ryan. Pics soon!
6. Funeral homes have come into the 21st century. Last night my daughter posted a link  on FB to the slideshow of pics of her friend Mo that died last weekend at the age of 29, in a motorcycle accident. Maureen left three young daughters behind. The picture/slideshow unleashed a deluge of tears for all the pain the family has and will endure. 
7. I have been sucked in by The Voice. On demand. 

Allentown Art Fest-ivities.....

Allentown Art Fest in hotter than expected Buffalo yesterday. Very few new and interesting artists. The more entertaining aspects of the day were on Allen Street, like this installation piece. I believe it was by an art teacher with students. All bike tire rims, connected and strips of fabrics woven randomly. Cool.

Violinist. Dinosaur.

Art by Blair was doing this graffiti art thing which was apparently sponsored by Ford. Not sure if painting the car was next.

And lunch at Fat Bob's. Lauren, Bob, Melissa and Cameron, joined Carol, Sandy and myself for delicious BBQ!

I must be getting old because I was so tired and achy after 4 hours walking around yesterday. I was happy to be an example to Sandy that all her aches and pains are not necessarily from her medical ordeal over the last 2 1/2 years....we are getting old! Seriously!

Not feeling 100% today made making this Nook cover a slow go. (not sure if it is sickness or just all the bad news and work stress manifesting physically.) A young man at work, one of my favorites, asked me to make his Dad a Nook cover for father's day. I knew today was the only day I had to work on it, so I printed out the directions I bought from Birdiful Stitches. I had hacked my way through making one of these a few weeks ago but didn't have the dimensions right for the Nook. I felt more confident have her instructions and pictures to guide me.

This is the front/back cover. Ted had definite idea's he wanted incorporated in this project. He found his dad's emblem from his Marine unit, emailed it to me and I printed it to a nice canvas and fused to front. He wanted the cover to be red and the Marine fabric inside.The back cover design came about when I noticed errant threads showing under the red! I fused 2 bits from the Marine fabric my friend Jody hunted down in Chicago for me, right on top of the offending threads.

Inside.

I have learned:

1. Very sad news this morning. Melissa's good friend Maureen O'Grady died in a motorcycle accident last night. She leaves 3 daughters behind. While I never knew her I am feeling the loss for Melissa and Maureen's family. So much bad, sad news lately. Makes a heart heavy.

Link to All Iron Quilter Info...and Pics of Awesome Quilts from GVQC Show

http://www.cs.rit.edu/~kar/ironquilter2011/

Since I couldn't say it better, click on this link to a great explanation of Iron Quilter and great pictures Margaret Reek's husband Ken took throughout the competition. As a participant I didn't get to look around much and appreciate being able to see what went on while my eyes were cast on my own piece in the machine!
You will also see pics of the entire 20 quilts made in 3 1/2 hours. They are very impressive. In retrospect I regret not buying at auction, to benefit Gilda's Club, a couple pieces.
I really liked this one by Kris Gedeon. She is in the Twin Cities Quilt Guild I just joined. She chose "Dreaming" as her theme. I have to find out her process. It's cool.

One other person chose "The Diet" too. I liked what Jeanne Simpson created. It stands on its own.

GVQC also had on display a small Hoffman Challenge exhibit. It was a garment/accessory challenge as opposed to the quilt display. This beaded bag was great.

And for my Crazy Quilting friends...this bag. I have some friends that do really good work. Challenge winning work!
This quilt show actually had over 1000 pieces, big and small, on display! Wow, it was overwhelming. So much beauty and creativity to take in. I know many of my friend left feeling the same way! There were traditional, art quilts, wall hangings, garments, special exhibits and attractions like Iron Quilter and a runway show of Priscilla Kibbe's intricate impressive garments. I had Priscilla come to Museum Quilt Guild last year with this trunk show.
Here are a few quilts that I especially liked.

Marcia Decamp. She is a very accomplished art quilter.

I don't know who made this. Thought I would be able to read the labels, but nope.

Pat Pauly's Diamond Ring challenge quilt. Love those screen printed circle's. 

This little quilt is so cool! The background was thin scraps of strips woven together with yo-yo's. Kate Martin was admiring it with me and mentioned how "Carnival" it looked! Yes it does! (Carnival is the guild challenge this year. Apparently some people don't understand)

I had a very small bit of fabric in this show....literally...the slice of Convulvulous at the 2-4 o'clock. My art quilt group tackled this group project last year. I used the snippet/tulle technique.

I wish I had a better picture of this. It was gorgeous. "Fire" by Caris Burton. 

My friend Martha's original design using Jane Sassaman piecing technique. I love this quilt. She should market the pattern!

I love all the little line piecing. I want to try some of these improvisational little bits.

My friend Elaine's original design using a photo printed to fabric. It has dimension and as her style, wonderful emachine quilting. It is a gorgeous piece.

My friend Mary Lee's life size picture quilt won3rd prize! Her son Jesse is the big guy. Around the left side and top Mary Lee sketchy stitched various wrestling moves. It is truly awesome. She really has a knack for capturing faces and her use of value is masterful. We have a program in September scheduled for her to share her secrets and techniques with us....workshop after. Looking forward to learning about this!

The woman that made this quilt had many pieces displayed, all using this large photo printing. I love her quilting. I want to know how she has this done. Apparently she sends images to an online company that prints them this large to fabric. So cool. What possibilities in that!

This traditional pieced quilt is such a strong graphic piece. I would love to say I made this! Beautiful.

This is for my HGTV friends that have all caught the "Twister" bug. 

The best use of ties in a quilt ever!

And this number that was in Quilter's Newsletter in 2007. Love it.

These were just a few of my favorites. It was a spectacular show. 

I have a few projects that have deadlines in the next month or so. 

1. A quilt for Alzheimer's auction. I am stitching and beading a CQ pieced bit with Kaffe Fassett fabrics. 
2.   My page for Art Quilt Group. We took a picture of our choosing and isolated a small area to recreate in a 12" x 12"(approx.) page of texture. So far I have needle felted with my embellishing machine, added some big beads and machine quilted. I still have to sew on some disk beads to finish that up.
3. Alter a book. My AFF group is moving on to our next RR. We will take an old book and begin the round by setting the them/tone of our own book. Each of us will complete the front and back cover and start the inside. Cool fun! So many idea's. 
4. Thearica, on HGTV message board is hosting a challenge to interpret in any way, the flower picture above. I have a base pieced. I have a couple idea's for the flowers. I love that this challenge has NO RULES~. Due July 4th.
5. I have signed on to Nicki's CQ Summer challenge. She will be mailing out 5 bits of lace that we all will incorporate into a CQ piece. We will be keeping them for ourselves in the end, which really allows your to think of your own aesthetic. 

So as you can see I will be busy! This with the wedding creating that will be pressing come August. I have to come up with a great fabric flower, rhinestone brooches, ribbon bouquet and corsages that will not be ordinary. No worries!