Latest Art Piece

It is finally finished, frame selected and all!

Here is my textile piece showing a section of the fishing complex in English Harbour West, on the south coast of Newfoundland. When I visited there this summer, I took lots of photos including the colourful buildings along the wharf. This close-up of the facility caught my interest. Little did I know at the time that it would become the subject for my next art piece.

In September,I was asked to do a presentation on 'making clap board' from fabric, for the Eastern Edge Quilt Guild November program. Apparently many quilters have expressed an interest in adding buildings to their work and want to give it a try. So to get ready for this, as well as do an art piece for the Comfort and Joy Christmas show and sale at the Craft Council of NL, I bit the bullet and spent many hours creating 'clap board'! Check HERE for making the clapboard.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

A cross stitch door hangar stitched by one of the gals at the St. John's Embroidery Guild.

Enjoy the day!

More Work in Progress

I've been keeping busy! When I visited the yarn shop, From Ewe to You, in Nova Scotia, I saw a cute baby hat. I bought the pattern and knit this one for baby Emma. I then decided to knit a sweater for my granddaughter, Gale. This one is off to Chicago. I sure hope it fits!

The dyed fabric was used in my latest art piece that I posted about last week. Other finished pieces can be seen on flickr. I will post a photo of the newest piece soon.

I have three fibre lace scarves finished except for the ironing. This photo shows the first one just after it was washed and dried. It still needs ironing and a bit of trimming.

The next piece is an experiment in needle felting. Again, it's not finished. I usually stitch the felt all over with Sulky Sliver threads. This will probably end up as art cards and wearable art pins. Check more needle felting on my blog HERE; HERE; HERE; and HERE.

Last, but not least, I've been working on some 3-D birds. I'm using a pattern from the 2009/2010 International Quilt Festival Magazine, Fabric Birds by Terry Grant. Here is a small art piece with a bird.

Enjoy! 

12 Days of Christmas and More!!!

I just finished my 'clapboard' creation (previous post). YAH!!!! I'm not ready to share the finished photos as they aren't taken yet - must wait for daylight. However, I just found some Christmas projects that you might enjoy. Time sure has a way of flying quickly!

• The 12 Days of Christmas from Sew Sweetness is interesting. It's from 2011. In fact, this blog has lots of tutorials to share with you.
• HERE are a few nice holiday projects from Pellon
• Partridge from Retro Mama
• Torie Jayne's Hand Made Felt Birds
• Festive Christmas Tree Skirt from Sew Crafty Jess
• Mini Tree Ornaments from The Sewing Loft
• Free Christmas Patterns 

This and That

I haven't posted much about what I have been doing in my studio lately but I have been busy. I did start another art piece which will be my entry for the Comfort and Joy Exhibit at Devon House in December   The Eastern Edge Quilt Guild asked me to do a short presentation at the November meeting on how to construct fabric 'clap board' for houses. As a result, I'm using lots of clap board in my new piece. Making 'clap board' is relatively easy. Buildings that are front on are the quickest to do. However, when angles are introduced, the fun begins!!

Whenever I start a project, I experiment with various methods of construction. This is time consuming but very rewarding. I usually achieve what I set out to do. For example, I try to make window and door frames with the least amount of bulk.

In this last photo, the door is laid on the top of the 'clap board' but in the end, I cut a hole in the wall for the door so that it is flush with the walls. Does that make sense? I'll post more photos when it is finished.

Enjoy!

10 Degree Wedge Ruler

The October program at the Cabot Quilt Guild was about using the 10 degree wedge ruler. Check HERE for a youtube video demonstrating its use. Also, you will find lots of images HERE of a Google search I did.

When I got home I checked my stash of rulers and I have a 9 degree one. Guess I will have to try it out. Actually, the projects look harder than they are. You just have to be careful and pay attention to details. I like the simplicity of the rectangular piece in the last photo. It would make a simple but elegant table runner.
The members of the program committee were busy beavers as you will see in the following photos:

I think they did a great job!

Show & Tell, Part Two

Here are the rest of the October Show & Tell items from the Cabot Quilters:

Cabot Quilt Guild - October Show & Tell

Last evening was the October meeting of the Cabot Quilt Guild. It was an enjoyable evening with a lovely Show and Tell as well as a wonderful program. More on the program in a later post! Here are some of the items that were on display. This month we had a early viewing of Show & Tell followed by tea. Members had a chance to view the quilts up close. Usually the Show & Tell is at the end of the evening but according to comments I heard, members liked the change! Hats off to the executive for doing this.

 

  
 

A Library of Teacups

On Saturday, I attended the opening reception at Devon House of A Library of Teacups by pottery artist, Maaike Charron. There are over 400 different teacups in the collection. Maaike wanted to do something a little different and decided to make a teacup for every book she owned. This included text books, fiction, children's books, non-fiction . . . the list goes on. The cups are arranged on shelves the same way as if they were books. It is a very eye catching exhibit and if you live in the area it is well worth a visit.

Maaike is a self-taught potter from St. John's, NL. Here is what she wrote about this show:

Books and tea are two of my great loves in life, and they go together swimmingly. I have made one cup inspired by every book I own. Each is one of a kind, varying in size, shape, colour and clay body. Some are very simple, and others much more ornate.

Why teacups? Because (much like books) they lend themselves to individuality, to standing as one in a herd of many. There is a cultural expectation of uniformity for household food vessels - everything matches. But mugs and teacups have largely escaped this rule. What kitchen does not have a cupboard or two of chipped, mismatched and utterly loved mugs?

The deeply personal and individual act of cradling a cup of tea is best carried out, it appears, with the assistance of a personal and individual teacup. And the enjoyment of a good book is best enhanced by a cup of tea.

Here are some quilt related sites you might enjoy!
Quilting Gallery Mug Rug Inspiration
Pink Penguin Teapot Pattern 
Connecting Threads Sidecar Coasters
Piece by Number Tea and Coffee Cups

Korak Hand Piecing

I sat down at my computer with no particular idea for today's blog post so I started reading from my blog list. One word caught my eye: Korak. I was curious! 

Eva from Colourful Research: a Creative Diary, wrote that 'korak piecing' is an old technique from Central Asia (Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Usbekistan). It means mosaic. Please check out her tutorial on this piecing method HERE. Also check Ruth Tschudy for more on this particular style of quilting. Thanks, Eva, for this great tutorial and information on this type of piecing.

In my searching, I also found the home of the European Quilt Association. In the Gallery section, you will find lots of links to some fabulous 'eye candy'! You really need to check this out. Lots of inspiration!!

Enjoy . . .

Halloween

Halloween! Not one of my favorite occasions on the calendar! However, I do know that it is a big deal for most people. As a result, I have found a few things that might be of interest and you just might have enough time to make one of them. 

• Spoonful is a delightful site (courtesy of Disney). There are lots of really great, easy to make recipes. Each day, a different one is displayed. Check out September and October for 'scary' ones!
• Totally Stitchin' from Baby Lock has some quick sewing projects for the little ones. 
• McCall's Quick Quilts has a Friday Freebie: Ghoulies & Ghosties Halloween Lap Quilt Pattern
• The Painted Quilt's Friday Freebie: Ode to Halloween ; Halloween Hauntings; Lots of great projects at this site!
• Halloween paper pieced witch from Martingale (Idea - if you aren't into paper piecing, do a fused silhouette on a background and stitch around the edges with your sewing machine -  a child's colouring book is a good source for pictures).
• Spider Web Table Runner from The Crafty Cupboard is an interesting one!
• Quilt Inspiration has free Halloween Patterns too.

Enjoy!

October Show & Tell - Eastern Edge Quilters

It's hard to believe that it's October! This year there are NO autumn colours to brighten the scenery. The hurricane we had in September literary sucked the moisture from the leaves, leaving them a dull brown. Guess we will have to brighten up the inside instead!

The Eastern Edge Quilters had a few pieces on display last Tuesday evening that would brighten up any home. Take a look.