Friday Feet 10-28-11

I was drinking my latte at Starbucks the other day and suddenly there seemed to be lots of little girls with their adult keepers.  Coffee break time, I guess.  I don't remember being small, do you?  Oh, there are a few vivid "snapshots".
 Once my dad put me up on the ladder so we were eye to eye - I thought how amazingly tall he was.  I was younger than four at the time.
In the second grade I was living with little grandmother in Los Angeles and one day I was able to get on the red cars without a boost from someone.  I expected applause!  


I wonder if this cute little gal in her retro jacket will remember being surrounded by people twice as tall as she.  Mostly kids must see our feet and our knees.

Creating the "Purple Passion" basket 10-27-11

One job I completed during the last few stress filled weeks was finishing and delivering the "Purple Passion" basket.   Strangely, I didn't take any pictures!  Nancy Ota took this image after I delivered the basket - she also weighed and measured it.
 
The basket measures 15 x 23 x 9.5 deep and weighs 25 pounds.  There are about 78 yards of fabric - fat quarters, half yards, yards, more than a yard and a bundle of scraps (anything that doesn't measure the "cuts" mentioned or has a chunk cut out).  I tucked in some silk scraps from Talbott Ties outlet and someone donated a package of 100 pre-cut 5" squares.  I expect to see at least one purple quilt at Show & Tell this coming year!

 


Click "Purple Passion" on the sidebar to see a few of the items included in the basket.

Thanks to everyone who donated to this basket - you forced me to buy a larger basket!
See the Surfside Quilters Guild website for pictures and information about the November Fest (Tuesday, November 8th), the baskets and the fabulous live auction quilts http://www.surfsidequiltersguild.org/

Wordless Wednesday 10-26-11

New car shopping 10-25-11

Two and a half years ago I sold my lovely Dodge Caravan because it had 230,000+ miles and I was leery about driving it on a road trip to remote areas.  The Lexus 330RX seemed that it would fill my needs, but with the problem I have had with my hip I have increasingly felt that the the uncomfortable seat was aggravating the problem.  So, before I went to PIQF I rented a Chrysler Town & Country van to see if it would make a difference.  It did!


I accept that at 73 I can no longer do the marathon 10 - 12 hour drives, but the last few years I have found that I need to stop every 1-1/2 to 2 hours to walk around and stretch or I can't get out of the car when I arrive at my destination.  Driving the van home last Monday I did the six hours with only one gas stop plus one pit stop and I could get out of the van and walk when I got home!   So I am convinced that the Lexus is part of my hip problem.  I'm going to try some other vans, I wish that Dodge and Chrysler still made a short van, because the long van is really more than I need.  One requirement is that it must have sliding side doors, something that I have missed and appreciated in the Town & Country.  They make loading quilts, quilt stands, luggage and ...everything so much easier.
If any of you have suggestions, advice, comments, whatever, I hope you will share with me.

PIQF 2011 The End 10-24-11

Here is part two of the last post on PIQF

If you are interested in the PIQF '11 winners go to:

http://www.quiltfest.com/activities_detail.asp?id=5611.

http://theartquiltassociation.com/home

The Green River curves and swings back and forth carving wondrous shapes as it wears the earth away.

I like the color and the use of the speckled fabric which quite accurately shows the spare scrub typical of this Western landscape. 

Mary has been doing more watercolor painting than quilting the last few weeks, so she saw this from a painter's point of view.  I think the background is especially effective.

Here is another quilt that I really like.  Great movement, great color and it is large!

I haven't been to Catalina in a lot of years, but when I saw this quilt it rang a bell - the murals are lovely.

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The quilt below is a mystery to me.  I think it is a funny quilt, but it isn't traditional in any sense of the term as far as quilting terms go.   It was in the wrong category.   Why isn't there a policy of moving quilts which are entered incorrectly?  It seems so disrespectful to the makers of the wonderful traditional quilts that were in the correct category.

 Traditional: Best Interpretation of Theme:  "Swan Lake de los Muertos"  by Nancy Arseneault

Great totebag.  Actually, these ladies weren't shopping at the moment, but looking at brochures.

 

I'm not sure what this device is - I-Pad? - but it is the first time I have seen someone using something like this to photograph quilts at a QShow.  She is explaining how to use to the lady to the left.  Seems awkward to carry around, but she may not find it so.  I guess I'll stick to my point and shoot Canon.

PIQF 2011 10-24-11

Two posts today because Blogger seems to limit the number of pictures I can post and it is much easier to post a series than to pull up and post one picture at a time.  The next post will be the end of PIQF '11.

I am so impressed by this special exhibit curated by Doria Anne Goocher, a San Diego area quiltmaker.  I did not see the sign that explained about the exhibit, but I believe it is part of Doria's training as a curator. She did a great job.  I think this was the best special exhibit at PIQF this year.  I would like more explanation about the techniques, but then I feel that way about most exhibits.  All of the quilts in this exhibit can be seen on the SAQA website http://www.saqa.com/about.php?ID=1943 and you can read the juror's statement at: http://www.saqa.com/about.php?ID=1921

www.bbusbyarts.com

Betty's work has become more and more sophisticated as the years go by.  I admire everything I have seen.  This is done in layers and (no pun intended) has a great impact when viewed close or at a distance.

www.kathleenkastles.com

At first glance this appeared to be reverse applique, but instead it is embroidered.  The glasses on the table are a nice indicator of place - at a table with liquid beverages. 

This machine quilted image is in the upper right corner of the quilt.  I wish there were a bit more quilting to prevent the saggy feeling, but I don't know how the artist could add quilting.

I wrote to Kathleen to ask about her embroidery technique and she sent me the following explanation:  All quilting and embroidery were done by machine. I outlined the form first using a straight stitch, then filled it in with zigzag stitches. Heavy zigzagging by machine tends to distort the quilt (and must be subsequently corrected), whereas chain stitching by hand would eliminate that problem. But I lack the patience to do hand work, other than for burying loose threads and hemstitching the binding or facing.

www.barkingdogfiberart.org

Such concentration and organization this quilt must have taken.  Certainly a perfect example of a work of art that changes when viewed from a distance and then viewed again close up. 

I was tempted to stand for the rest of the day looking at the tiny individual pictures - fascinating.

 
www.marypaldesigns.com

It is always a thrill to see one of Mary Pal's works "in-the-fabric" because a photo just doesn't do justice to the techniques she has developed.  I am so fortunate to have purchased her image of Jane Goodall from the SAQA Auction this year. 

Mary's ability to see the negative space and interpret it is awesome.

Lovely color.  It reminds me of the work of a famous painter of jungle scenes, but I can't retrieve his name from my foggy brain. 
The next day I remembered the artist's name - Henri Rousseau 

http://www.spotlight.com.au/inspiration/blog/post/Spotlight/2009/08/artist-profile-carolyn-sullivan/

 
So subtle, such gentle color - it does resemble eucalyptus bark. 

This is reminiscent of the Bangladesh and Bengal, India stitching called Nakshi Kantha.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakshi_Kantha

PIQF 2011 10-23-11

I returned Corky to his parents this afternoon and was surprised by the drop in temperature from 83F at my house in Placentia to 63F at his house in Long Beach.  It was also still very foggy there at 3pm.  Tonight I am missing the little guy - even though he sleeps most of the time, I always know he is here because he snores so much!   At fifteen he is almost completely deaf and very stiff in his arthritic joints (just like his Nanny), but when out for his walk he trots along like a puppy.  Since he is all white he doesn't show grey hairs, so people think he is indeed a puppy. 

These images from PIQF are all from the same special exhibit - one I found very interesting.  This group of quilters is following a new path to integrate their interest in photography with their fabric lust. There are so many different aspects of quiltmaking to keep our interest moving forward - this is just one of those ways which attract new interest to our quilting world.

Some of the group live in the Monterey Bay area and have participated in the movement to preserve the historic lighthouses along the coast.   This rather ghostly image reflects both the past and the hopeful future for the Point Pinos light.

A fanciful image, but nicely executed.  I find the reflections on the silk rather distracting and it makes me wonder about the other fabrics that might be used - cotton, poly, wool?  I wonder if one could even print on a fine wool with a hard surface - wool absorbs the light and might increase the appearance of depth.

I cannot see any jellies!

Wonderful airy layers with ghostly colors - like light through water or leaves floating through the air.  This is a lovely piece, but difficult to photograph.

I took this detail from a side angle to show the depth and the bead attachment.

This would not be nearly as interesting if Nancy had not inserted the narrow strips, breaking up the (about) 33" width and length.  This is printed on cotton - perhaps accounting for the improved clarity of the image.

I keep wondering if I have the label wrong since I cannot see any writing on the vertical strips and no mention of who this cute little gal/guy might be.  The fish in the lower right are nice, but don't seem to fit in with anything else in the quilt.   Because of the clarity of the images I think EQ Printables must be cotton.

 

Clever idea and a different take on using the photographs. 

I have, I think, one more post of photos from PIQF '11, but if you yearn for more, check out the C&T Flicker page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctpublishing/sets/72157627912391852/

They have taken entirely different quilts than I have posted, some of which I didn't even see.

Also see the Quilt Show blog post on the BOS:

http://www.thequiltshow.com/os/blog.php/blog_id/4239