Good News

I just found out that "No Elephants Here" was accepted into Art Quilts XIV: Significant Stitching. The show is at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Chandler, AZ and runs November 20- January 2.
I almost missed the deadline and entered at the last minute. It was all done online, which made it very easy. Please click on the picture to see the quilting detail.

Saturday Market in Portland

One of the very neat things we do every time I visit Portland, OR is go to Saturday Market, which is actually on Sunday, too. It is a huge outdoor market of hand made crafts, all kinds. Lots of jewelry, wearables, food, wooden things, pottery, etc. etc. On my first visit four years ago I found this incredible artist who made these fabulous miniatures out of paper, fabric, and ribbon. It was a cold, nasty November day and I didn't linger as long as I would have liked and I didn't buy anything. I really regretted it. She does not have a website so I had no way to contact her.

My thoughtful son went back the next weekend (after I had gone home) and I received this wonderful glass box as one of my Christmas presents. The little scene is Mount Hood. I just love it! the scene is about 2 1/4" square, with the frame 2 1/2". She must work with a magnifying glass and tweezers.  Be sure to click on the pictures to see the details.


We went back the next year and she was gone. I was so disappointed. Well, we found her this year. She said she had taken some time off and was back doing the show again. Still no website. Her business is called "The Wolfe Works"


I fell in love with this little framed piece. The center miniature is set on clear glass, hard to tell from this picture. The frame is the true color, but the picture is washed out. The true colors are below. He prices are VERY reasonable. this framed piece, 8 inches square, was only $50, and no tax in Portland.

If ever in Portland, be sure to visit the Saturday Market. I have made many other purchases there, too.

Autumnal

I liked working in the style of my "No Elephants Here" quilt and did another, using one of the fabrics I made in an Ann Johnston class as my jumping off point. I added more hand dyed from my stash, some over dyed vintage decorator fabric that I had purchased in Houston last year to make a jacket (and I did) and some Dupioni silk. I quilted in it leaf patterns because the colors reminded me of Autumn and some of the fabrics had a leaf design.

I think I liked the quilting better in my No Elephants Here quilt, which was all straight line quilting and free motion angular meandering.


This quilt is going to Botswana, Africa to be part of a Fiber Revolution exhibit. My quilt that went last year sold.

Wordless Wednesday

Fabric Finds

One of the days in Portland visiting my son, he drove me to fabric stores. What a guy! I had the article that was in Threads Magazine last year, "Portland: A Fabric Mecca". I was on the hunt for Dupioni silk. I have been using it in my quilts lately as an accent to my hand dyed fabrics. I just love the shimmer and shine. I don't have a good source near me and have been ordering it online.

I did very well. We went to three stores. Josephine's Dry Goods in downtown Portland only had a little, but the other two were a bonanza. Fabric Depot had a large selection and it was 30% off that day. Mill End Store also had quite a bit and they were having 20%. The last two stores were enormous and had just about every kind of fabric you could think of, well worth the visit if you are in the area. So I added to my silk stash......


and added more.......


and more. These are only quarter yards, since I only need small pieces in my quilts for that little added zip. I have made two quilts out of all Dupioni and love that look, too.


I fell in love with this scrumptious lime green velvet. It is double shot and I plan to emboss it which should bring out the turquoisey under color.

Alpacas and Apples

I just returned from a delightful visit to Portland, OR to visit my son and his girlfriend. I've been there several times in the four years they've lived there and they always find new and interesting things to do with me. On this day we drove to the Hood River valley, a beautiful ride, and visited an alpaca farm and apple orchard.

Here is Katie feeding one of the babies. Their fleece is amazingly soft to the touch.


What a face!
This is the view from the alpaca farm. They are surrounded by apple orchards, which is where we went next.


We thought it would be fun to pick our own apples and here is my son, Kurt filling a bag. We thought that they would be cheaper if we picked them ourselves, but we were wrong. We ended up with almost $60 worth of apples! Good thing we all like them and they will keep well in the refrigerator for a few months.


We only picked Honey Crisps because they have such a short season and are so sweet and juicy.


How about this view from the orchard with Mt. Hood in the distance? The North West is such a magnificent part of our country.

Wordless Wednesday

SAQA Auction

I was the lucky bidder yesterday to get Elaine Quehl's scrumptious quilt, "Unfurling". I've always admired Elaine's work and now I have a small piece all my own. You can see more about the SAQA auction here and see more of Elaine's work on her website here.

I was feeling very guilty for not having made a quilt for the auction this year, but I feel better now knowing that I have contributed to the cause this way.

So Disappointing

This very sad piece is the cause of my very blue fingers yesterday. It has about three hours of stitching in it, to say nothing of the time pulling out and picking out the stitches. I think I must have missed pulling some of the threads on the middle, although it's very hard to see what you're doing once you start pulling. I must be doing something wrong, but I don't think I want to try this again.


When I was in Japan last year I bought two remnants from a street vendor for about a dollar a piece. They are each about 9" x 20". I can feel the bumps where the threads were. They had to have been done by hand unless they have some very clever machines that make it look hand made. How do they do it? Look at the intricacies!




This is a section from a 52"square tablecloth that I bought in China a few years ago for $20. As in the other pieces, you can feel the ridges where the stitches were and this is embroidered, too! I also bought a very cute fitted jacket, all shibori stitched for about $25. I know that labor is very cheap there, but it still amazes me, now that I know how hard it is to do.
Oh yes, my hands look much better now. Not perfect, but much better. First I used the scrubby end of the Clorox Bleach Pen, then put some of the gel on a Scotch Brite cleaning pad. I put lots of hand lotion on after and they felt fine and didn't smell like bleach. Then I washed my hair this morning and that helped, too.

Blue Saturday

Guess what I did today? I am so mad at myself! I always, always wear gloves when I'm dyeing fabric and today was no exception. However, one of the things that I did was stitched Shibori, dyed dark blue, of course. I rinsed and rinsed but had to take the stitches out before throwing it in the machine. The bulky rubber kitchen gloves wouldn't allow me to do it. Yes, I have thin latex gloves in my studio. Why, oh why didn't I put them on? Tomorrow is Sunday, church day for me. Oh, for the days of little white gloves.



I hope it wears off before I fly out to Portland, OR to see my son on Wednesday.