Christmas preparations 11-22-14

It has been about six years since I stopped celebrating Christmas.  It all seemed so phony with so many people focused on buying and exchanging gifts.  AND since I don't have family it didn't seem that I belonged anywhere.   I decided to step out of the mad house.  Sometimes I miss it, expecially making the ornaments and gifts.  Maybe some day I will buy into the hysteria again.  Meanwhile, I sometimes revisit the things I have made in the past.  

This was for a quilt guild project to make stockings for some worthy cause.  2005

When a clever pattern came into the quilt shop where I was working I had to make some samples.  These turkey pins are three hearts turned and softly stuffed and a "butternut squash" turned and very lightly stuffed.  They are about 3-1/2" square.  The problem was that the customers wanted to buy the finished pins, not the pattern!  I made more than a hundred of these cute little guys and still wear one at Thanksgiving time. 

Love these button/bead Santa heads.  Very labor intensive if one sews on the buttons and beads, they can also be glued on, but then are missing the threads through the button holes.  They are about 7-1/2" long. 

Teenaged Reindeer quilt  35" x 40" (approx)

This quilt was part of a challenge done by a friendship group.  The tiny squares were drawn from bags of squares brought by each member.  

The other fabrics were rolled or folded and everyone had their choice from the pile on the table. 

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Friday Flowers - leaves today 11-21-14

One thing about Southern California landscaping is there is always some color somewhere.  Here are three plants with colored leaves - not always but on some occasions.  

White bougainvillea leaves against green pittosporum.

Yellow viburnum leaves.

Orange boxwood leaves.

Using selvedges 11-20-14

In the Surfside Quilt Guild it is a tradttion for the outgoing president to give each of her board members a gift.  Sometimes these are handmade.  Jan Hirth, who was President in 2012-2013 made each officer a little quilt using selvedges that she saved.  I was surprised to see that the one she gave me is personalized.  Other than the section that has the guild masthead, my name and my job (done on her printer) she has included other words that refer to my interests: "On the Road", "Dogs Spotted Everywhere", and "Quilt Diva".  Pretty clever. 

On the back there is a rainbow stripe and a Dresden Plate rainbow with the logo in the middle. 

Our logo represents our location in San Clemente with the western sunset to the right of Catalina Island and palm trees waving on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.  

I save my selvedges for whoever wants them and have a small box full to give to Jan.  Thanks Jan for all you do. And again for the clever little quilt.   

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Wordless Wednesday 11-19-14

Challenge quilts at Canyon Quilters 11-18-14

Here are all of the challenge quilts from last evening's meeting of Canyon Quilters.  There were four hanging racks with black drapes to which the quilts were pinned.  I hope you can enlarge and read the names of the makers.  I can't tell if that is possible until I finish the blog post and can try it myself.

The Challenge was "My Secret Garden"  and the size was limited to no more than 100" perimeter - so they came in many sizes.  There was some discussion about the pros and cons of quilts the same size and quilts limited to a perimeter, so that they were all different.  No conclusion.  But I like the varied sizes.  

The bidding sheets are out for the silent auction.  Starting bid ranged from $100 to $125.

For size comparison my quilt, second from left, 

is 14" wide and 11" long. 

And here are quilts that I like: 

"My Secret Water Garden"  Deb Mackay

The top section is one of her spectacular marbled pieces.  The flowers are Kaffe's Gloxinia.  

"3-D Garden"  Terry Seaberg

with folded flowers and appliqued leaves and stems. 

"Springtime"  Marty Gigler.  Surely made in or after a class with Laura Wasilowski.  It is beautifully done and has a great composition.   

 

"I Love to Bee in my Garden"  Carol Neely

This is done in the style of Barbara McKie and is nicely quilted.  

"Bee Happy"  Kay Laboda

Gorgeous quilt and awesome quilting.   This quilt won the viewer's choice award. 

"Poppies Worthy of Sorella"  Judy Warren-Tippets

These are Matilija poppies with blossoms about 6" in diameter.  Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida was an early 20th Century painter - an exhibit of his work was in San Diego in July and August.  

 

 And here, again, is my humble offering. I remembered the fabric having larger buildings and was surprised when I dug it out of my fabric library and found that the buildings were only 10 to 12 inches tall.  I had to size the garden to go a little better with the building size, but made the the flowers and leaves large enough to show the fecundity and how they take up too much space to be contained in a "secret" garden.     

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Canyon Quilters meeting in San Diego 11-17-14

I drove down to San Diego this afternoon to attend the evening meeting of the Canyon Quilters.  It was a celebration of their thirty years of existence, presentation/voting/bidding on the Challenge quilts and a fabulous potluck.   It was a fun meeting and it seemed that everyone had a good time.  They have some fantastic cooks!  

I did finish my little challenge quilt and it sold, so I was glad I made the effort.  However, it was a long slog back home and I arrived about 10:15pm.  I am very sleepy, so I will go to bed early tonight and post the challenge quilts tomorrow night. 

"My Secret Garden is no Secret Anymore."  Del Thomas  2014 

Commercial cotton fabric, illusion netting, fusing, machine piecing and quilting.  (Thread knotted in corners the way Sue Benner does her quilts.)

If the phrasing sounds a little odd, just think back a number of decades to when there was a popular song called "Secret Love" - that song claimed her "secret love was no secret anymore".  I think it was Doris Day.  

I haven't done much quilt making the the past few years and seem to have lost some of my technical skills.  The satin stitch edge on this quilt is not the best - one of the things I will need to practice if I am going to do it again.  

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Aileyn Renli Ecob quilt added to TCQC 11-16-14

I like Aileyn's work - there are four of her pieces in the Collection - and always try to be first in line on the day her quilts come up for auction.  This is the latest addition to TCQC from the SAQA 2014 online auction.  

"Ginkgo with Fruit"  Aileyn Renli Ecob   2014  12"X12"

Cotton fabric, synthetic accent fabric, cotton batting. Fused and machine stitched. Machine quilted. Decorative stitching on leaves and stems.  Reverse applique. 

The rusty colored outline is the bottom fabric.  Notice the even width of that outline. 

Nice variation in the leaves, including this print fabric used for two leaves.  The background is not blue - the picture above of the whole quilt is the most accurate color.

Nice wide sleeve, but it could use a little 1/4" ease so the hanging slat doesn't make the top roll over. 

Nice handwritten label, but no contact for the artist.  I know how to reach Aileyn, but others would not.
 http://fiberonthewall.com/aileyn-ecob/gallery/
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