So this is the only activity going on in my sewing room right now...
Thanks for all your well wishes...
This past Friday and Saturday I was at the Creativ Festival (yes, it drives me crazy too that they've taken the "e" off of "Creative"). Kitschy spellings aside, it was the first time I've been. I was pretty "meh" on going in the first place, even though I had booked two classes - one with Kaffe Fasset and one with a well known American art quilter.
As it turned out, I couldn't get out of work on Friday and missed both classes, only doing the first part of the Festival in the evening on the Friday, which in my feverish state wasn't very enjoyable! I missed Kaffe altogether (he was already gone from the festival by the time I arrived), but the art quilter had an exhibition up.
She does beautiful pictorial quilts, but upon examining them close up, I was really disappointed with her quilting - on the perhaps 25 pieces she had up - she never varied , not for a single stitch, from stipple, stipple, stipple! Don't get me wrong, atlhough I do appreciate that on some quilts - stippling is likely the absolutely perfect thing, but why limit yourself to those little puzzle pieces on every single quilt? And on art quilts!?! BSP said that perhaps, in Lenore's view, the quilting was just what "holds it together", and the "art" was in the top. I agreed that that must be the case, but I'm not disappointed that I missed the class. A beautiful top is a beautiful top, but, in my opinion, it can be immeasurably enhanced with quilting. I spoke to her at the exhibition however, and did learn a good trick for surface design which will show up in my quilts - probably sooner rather than later. ;)
I bought some beads to experiment with embellishing quilts,
and I bought this neat bobbin saver thing, which as advertised, will keep them from rolling around and keep them neat and tidy -some basic jewellery making supplies (I've been on the hunt for the pefect-for-Kit earrings for about 3 years now with no luck, and I've decided to make them - I'll post those when they're done. )
I also bought five things which shall not be seen because they're for my advent swapee, and I bought two amazingly beautiful waxed cloth panels made by artisans in Tanzania which will also not be shown here, because they'll be part of future art quilts.
It was a great, if exhausting day, and by the time we got to the car, I was burning up again. I've been in bed all weekend, and am typing this on BSP's laptop from my bed, so I have nothing substantive to show you today.
I hope to be feeling better soon and have something fun to show you later. I just have to put binding on one thing to be able to show it to you! :)
Stay tuned...
For those here for the quilt festival - please see my entry HERE
(clicky clicky as per usual)
For a change, not much talky-talky today - I've had a recurrence of my illness from a couple of weeks ago, and I'm feverish, fretful and cranky. (Who, me?) I'm a terrible patient. (But an excellent nurse when it's your turn to be sick.)
More of that coral silk tulle, laid over a silk panel and flowers cut from coloured cotton.
That RED quilt I was working on last week which I hope to finish this weekend. It would have been done by now, except I was distracted by Paths to My Bliss, No.1 and then my sewing machine went to the hospital. It's supposed to be back today, though.
And guess what? I'm a winner, winner, chicken dinner! I won this batch of loveliness:
from a giveaway at Green Fairy Quilts! Go check her out. :) A pack of of charm squares, a layer cake, a honeybun, some already made up hourglass blocks and pattern to put them together! These are not colours I'd normally use, and as you know by now, I never use a pattern, so whatever I make with this little package will be sure to stretch me. In order to continue to pay it forward (a concept I've become thoroughly committed to); the finished product - whatever it will turn out to be - and the pattern will be a giveaway. Stay tuned for that!
In the meantime, I hope you all have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday!
ETA: For those here for the quilt festival - please see my festival entry, found HERE
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As you know, on Thursday night, I was all "ZOUNDS! I must complete my Bloggers Quilt Festival entry!" But at about 10:00 p.m. on Friday night, BSP and I were both in PJ's, bedside lamps on and I said "Babe, I'm just going to go downstairs and get the Ikea catalouge and a quilting magazine - be right back!."
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So, coral pink tulle in hand, I unerringly pulled from my scraps stash two lengths of fabric that were part of a a scrap bag of batiks I purchased for $5.00. I thought I would just quickly run a seam up them to make a fat quarter sized piece of fabric
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As you know, on Thursday night, I was all "ZOUNDS! I must complete my Bloggers Quilt Festival entry!" But at about 10:00 p.m. on Friday night, BSP and I were both in PJ's, bedside lamps on and I said "Babe, I'm just going to go downstairs and get the Ikea catalouge and a quilting magazine - be right back!."
And so I toddled downstairs, pajama clad, got the Ikea catalogue, and then went into my sewing room for the quilting magazine. But, instead of reaching for a magazine, for no particular reason, my muse told me to pull out this fabric:
Yup. That's a coral pink silk tulle. I bought it on a whim a couple of years ago. I had no idea what I would ever use it for, but, when it comes to fabric, I just buy it and worry about what I'll do with it later.
So, coral pink tulle in hand, I unerringly pulled from my scraps stash two lengths of fabric that were part of a a scrap bag of batiks I purchased for $5.00. I thought I would just quickly run a seam up them to make a fat quarter sized piece of fabric
(I know! Dusty rose and gold - I never thought I'd use that!) But, I draped a piece of the tulle over it and liked what I saw.
And then I wondered what it might look like if I sort of drizzled some of the same yarn I used for Coneflowers in Leslieville over the dusty rose batik, and under the tulle.
And then I wondered what it would look like if I added some of this patterned burgundy silk:
An hour later, BSP came downstairs to find me, and there I was, in my pj's, tacking things down with clear filament thread.
I looked up rather guiltily and said "I'm sorry honey - I was minding my own business and this fabric just kidnapped me right out of the living room!" BSP (long-suffering and endlessly patient) said "I was only reading anyway. Carry on."
And so I quilted into the night:
(All pics are clickable. The entirety of the quilt is quilted with gold emboridery thread)
I had to stop eventually, and get some sleep, but luckily, the next day was a Saturday, so I got up early and got right back to it. And when I was done, I had a new quilt that I called:
The Paths to My Bliss. No. 1
(the quilt is not quite so pink as this picture would have you believe - more like the one above)
I brought it upstairs and showed it to BSP who said "You're not giving that away! We're going to keep it!" And grabbed it out of my hand and started walking around the house to decide where to hang it. I said "Hold on, before you decide, I think there's two more where that came from. "
And just think. About this time last year, I was proclaiming to anyone who cared enough to listen that "I don't like art quilts. I don't get them." I think it may still be true that I don't "get" them, but apparently, I'm compelled to make them anyway.
The Universe. S/he's a tricksy one, isn't she? Likes her jokes, s/he does...
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