Missing 11-18-11

I do have a tree fetish and I mourn for those that have gone back to the soil in some way. This last year the lovely weeping birch by my front door slowly died. The tree guy said they just do that, they are not long-lived trees. A half dozen in this neighborhood have gone in the last few years - they were all planted when the houses were build forty some years ago. I suppose that is a good lifespan for a tree in the heat and smog of suburban Orange County, CA. But I do miss it a lot now that autumn is here. I have not replaced it - I'm considering other trees, but I may just plant a new weeping birch in its place.

The red in the center of this picture is not part of the tree, but a red truck parked on the street.

I have another shot w/o the truck, but I like that red smear there.

Another raffle basket - "Sew Green" 11-17-11

Visions Art Museum (I always want to insert Quilt between Art and Museum!) will have a major fundraiser on Saturday, November 19th.  See the VAM newsletter for Fall 2011
http://www.visionsartmuseum.org/newsletters/2011Fall.pdf

The "Purple Passion" raffle basket for SQG was such fun to do that I decided to do a basket for the VAM auction.  Here is "Sew Green" which has a value of about $200.  I believe it will be part of the live auction along with some very nice quilts - and it is only one of dozens of baskets that have been specially prepared for this event.  So, if you are a quiltmaker or a quilt collector this could be a good opportunity to add to your 'fabric library' or your collection.

Among the green fabrics in the basket are fat quarters and half yards from the dye pots of Judy Robertson of Burlington, Washington.  http://www.justimagination.com/ A half yard of Marcia Derse designed fabric http://www.marciaderse.com/  Scraps and yardage from countries all over the world, along with a bag of cotton scraps and a bag of silk scraps (mostly from Talbot's Ties outlet in Carmel Valley).  There is more green fabric in half yard and fat quarter cuts, along with trims, ribbons, buttons, beads, spools of thread, candy, green Post-it notes, hand cream, soap and a bunch of other green stuff. 
 And when a stimulant is needed there is a Starbuck's mug and gift card.  
I hope any of you who live in SCalifornia will make the effort to attend this 2nd annual fundraising event to support the Visions Art Museum.  And if you can't go, why not become a member and lend yours support to this very important part of the quilting community.   

Wordless Wednesday 11-16-11

Monday Browse 11-14-11

Quilting necessities - where is the thimble?  On her finger, of course! 
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Items gleaned from browsing the Web:

Views of Houston Convention Center http://sarahdidit.blogspot.com/2011/11/houston-sightings.html

Interview with Martha Sielman about her book “Master’s Art Quilts: Volume 2” http://www.blogtalkradio.com/art-and-soul-radio/2011/11/08/martha-sielman--the-artist-as-writer

From Bonnie McCaffery: “WOW! Wait until you see the Tentmakers of Cairo - their work and how they do it. It was one of the best things I saw while at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, UK”.   http://bonniemccaffery.com/vidcasts/064.html
IQA – winner of In Full Bloom” category https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150382366987626&set=a.138334247625.107694.112718052625&type=1&theater?

Does that voice sound familiar?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/13/carolyn-hopkins-voice-of-_n_1091628.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C112260

One of the things I have done lately to "Pass it on" was sponsorship of the Houston Special Exhibit "Twelveby12" which showed 244 12" X 12" quilts made by twelve quilters from around the world during a four year period.  You can read about their Houston experience on their Blog:
http://twelveby12.blogspot.com/
And explore their ongoing project on their website:  http://twelveby12.org/index.html

Franki Kohler quilt in TCQC 11-13-11

Franki Kohler has an affinity for Ginkgo trees and leaves in all seasons of the year.  And so do I.  She made this piece for the Alliance for American Quilts online auction in 2008 and I had the winning bid.  The Alliance is an important organization preserving, protecting, and presenting American quilts, covering the entire range of their history.  To my mind one of the most important things AAQ does is preserve the oral history of quiltmakers, from the world famous to the ladies in your quilt group.  These interviews are available on the AAQ website.  They also have a program named "The Boxes Under the Bed" designed to preserve examples of quilt ephemera. 

As it happens the 2011 auction starts tomorrow, November 14, and runs for three weeks with a different offering of quilts each week.  It is a great place to go holiday shopping for someone you care about, or to add to your own collection of quilts.  Check it out at:  http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/   There are some lovely quilts being offered. 

"Ginkgoes II"  Franki Kohler  2008  15" X 15"

Fabrics: cotton, organza, tulle.  Threads: cotton, rayon, silk.  Beads.  Machine quilted.

I especially appreciate the use of print fabrics which are transformed by free motion stitching following the veining in real Gingko leaves - that lovely radiating fan from the stem to the leaf edge.

Notice her use of a variegated thread to give a touch of fall color.  Also the earth, sky, tree bark, leaf colored beads creating a formal framing.  I made this image a little darker to show the textured background fabric - very subtle.  It makes me think of Doreen Speckman's advice on choosing fabrics, "Are you glad it is there?  Do you miss it when you take it away?"   I would miss the texture if it weren't there, it adds a lot to this piece.

A plain back, but a great textured fabric that allows the quilting lines to be seen.  I like that Franki let the hand stitching on the beads show - sort of the mark of her hand. 

 

A plain printed label - I have added the size because it is helpful when I am arranging quilts.  I do wish artists would put a contact on the label - e-mail, address, whatever. These days it is a lot easier to find an artist through one of the important quilt organizations, but it is nice to just flip to the label for a contact.   http://frankikohler.com/  

Sewing Again! 11-12-11

I have hardly touched my sewing machine since I returned from the Road Trip in September.  I've done a little mending (yes, I still mend things that need it) and made a pillow for Corky - necessities.  Perhaps it is the rainy weather that makes me feel creative!  This is a fiber postcard I started in July and posted
http://delquilts.blogspot.com/2011/07/wordless-wednesday-07-27-11.html

Four months and it still is not finished.  Talk about being in a creative slump!  I hope this will get me going again. 

"Orange Tree With Cat"  (in progress)   6" X 4"