Beautiful Freesia

The potted freesias at Trader Joe's tempted me and I chose one with lots of buds, but no color showing.   I was thrilled when the blossoms started opening.  What a luscious color!

 

 

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Miscellaneous leftovers from Road Trip 05-21-15

I haven't done much that is photographable since I came home from my Road Trip.  You know how it is....  unpack, put away, laundry, mail, laundry, restock pill boxes, laundry....!   And I have just now gotten around to sorting through the last few days of pictures, deleting and resizing and editing.  Here are just a few more from my 3000 miles of driving.

 

One thing I notice when I get out of southern California is the old cars on the road.  I suppose there are a lot around here, but they are mixed in with so many newer cars they seem rare.  This vintage Lincoln was cruising down I-5 in Washington State  - looks to be in good shape and it was doing 70mph or so.  I thought at first the driver was giving me the one-finger-salute, but he was just smoking a cigarette held in his left hand.  Smoking, another thing I notice when I am on the road.

There was a huge patch of nettles in a roadside rest, they are so distinctive in their growth pattern they are hard to miss.  But I remember having to learn the hard way when I was a child.  They sting like the devil when one get them on the skin - especially a bare bottom.

Buttercups.

At another stop there was a field of buttercups, so bright in the sun.

Crossing the mighty Columbia River.  Just look at all that water running off to the sea.  Sad.

I  took my arty dice along for company, they are sparkly and cheerful on a dreary day, but I didn't have many of those.  The weather was phenomenal, I don't think I have ever been to the Pacific Northwest before and not seen any rain. 

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Monday Browsing 05-18-15

Not just for machine quilters – reminders for all of us:

http://thequiltshow.com/daily-blog/142-newsletter/23441-three-things-machine-quilters-should-stop-doing?utm_source=Infusionsoft&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2015_05_13_Newsletter_2&inf_contact_key=965eb6e001226594e59af9adb7e087fa4c53d8589190b4cc8d9897037a667138

Makers Space at Fiberlandia.  This is about the hands-on “room” at the Studio Art Quilt Associates conference in Portland.  I attended and loved the one evening Makers Space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvNtOzWmCYc

Tutorial on making quilt from photograph:

http://weallsew.com/2015/05/01/how-to-create-a-fabric-collage-art-quilt-from-a-photo/

A quilt show in Italy (with music)

http://www.veronatessile.it/en/portfolio/event-video/

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New Quilt from SAQA Fiberlandia auction 05-17-15

The silent auction at the SAQA Fiberlandia was great fun and I was there to "bid 'em up"; adding some treasures to TCQC.   I was the successful bidder for 12 quilts, although I bid on about 22 different pieces.   There was a wonderful selection of about 124 6"x8"quilts donated by SAQA members, whether or not they attended the conference.  At the banquet the little quilts, matted and propped on little easels were arrayed on tables along each side of the room with a nice long bidding sheet for each.  The bidding was fierce and the total income was over $14,000. 

 

"Fallen 1" Susan Szajer - Santa Fe, NM  6"W x 8"L

Cotton fabric hand painted by the artist, cut and snipped commercial cotton, free-motion machine quilted.

Is this fun, or what?  I think this is a wonderfully original way of working and some of her pieces are simply spectacular.

The feathers are made of painted cotton, they are cut to shape and applied by stitching down the center before the clipping is done.

Susan selects fabrics with dense weave, such as the commercial batiks, and sometimes uses two layers of fabric for the feathers to create the stiffness she wants.

  

Nice label giving a contact for her, in case the buyer wants to see more of her work.

www.susanszajer.com   sszajer@gmail.com

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