A Mermaid’s Tale – Introducing….. the Girls!

Well, I am fairly happy with them as a whole. Some more than others….but I guess I’m allowed to have favorites. Each block is 16 inches wide by 20 inches tall.  I plan on a non-straight kind of oceany sashing. Still debating if I will order white silk and dye it? My dying silk sometimes consists of me using it for a sponge and different dyes….I do love surprises when it comes to dying ribbon and fabric. Probably won’t even tackle the sashing until Christmas time. I still have two of the ladies unembellished and so will have to get them all done before I can decide what exactly I want to do when I put it together. The octopus is the center block…that is decided.They could all use a little more seaweed….maybe more little fishies.

It was mentioned to me that their TA-TAs may be a problem with showing. Might be considered offensive. I thought maybe I would present it to the show committee and see how they feel. Attendees may not like it. So….the burning question is: Do I break out the sequins and make them all bras? What do you think?

 

Arsenic and Old Lace – Block One

I’m happy with my first block. However, what is in my head is not what I’m getting. I need to take a deep breath and block out interference when I am piecing. I have crates (yes crates) of lace and I’m not organized. I’m better this time than I was when I pieced the mermaid quilt. Tomorrow I will take pictures of my mermaids and post them. Anyway….I know I have some really,really cool lace here somewhere and I need to take a weekend and just go through it all.

Below on the left is the pieced block and on the other left is the embellished block. What is really great about working in a small area (10 inches at widest point) is that I see progress quickly.

My 5 am sewing sessions seem so productive

    

Prisoner of Love

I doodle….all the time. I find it very freeing. My imagination seems to work better when I’ve been doodling. Some of my best embroidery designs come from doodling. So did the beaded spiders.

Sometimes quilt designs float to the top when I’m not focused and just doodling little designs. Prisoner of love is like that. I have the pattern about half written. I love this pattern and plan on making a full size bed quilt when I get a chance. I doodled this one about three years ago before I had thought of writing patterns.

Arsenic and Old Lace

I’ve started on Arsenic and Old Lace. I don’t know what possessed me to do it in a hexagon pattern. Putting them together may just be a challenge. I’m thinking maybe black sashing between the blocks with red triangles at the corners.

I have no idea how big this will be. I guess it depends on when I get tired of piecing blocks. It will give me a chance to use some of that massive stash of lace I have. I had a large stash already when a lady from my guild brought me a HUGE box of lace that had been her mother’s stash. I have no shortage of fabric and embellishment; I’m at the point where I just can’t find what I’m looking for.

 

Have you ever threaded a treadle sewing machine?

I was sitting down to experiment with the movie program in my laptop and found this video I made last year and forgot about it. The Carson Valley Quilt Guild had a heritage exhibit at their show where we demonstrated crazy quilting, hand quilting and working with a treadle machine. We also had an incredible display of antique quilts. We had talks about their history and dating antique quilts. I think it was one of the highlights of the quilt show.

The two hilarious ladies in this video are Loyann and Marilyn…two delightful quilters with a tremendous amount of talent between them. Loyann had so much fun demonstrating the Treadle machine that she has been making a quilt top on a treadle. Marilyn is one of the most talented hand quilters and applique artists I have ever seen.

Threading a treadle sewing machine in preparation for a demonstration at the Carson Valley Quilt Show

Exciting News – My Book is out

 

I stepped out of my box again. Feels good to do that. I published my book on Craftsy.com and I have had so many wonderful comments and a great deal of encouragement. This is volume one. I felt I would never finish it if I didn’t break it up. Volume two is in the works.

Included in this volume is my beaded spiders and spider webs. Stitch combinations, etc.

The picture on the cover of the book was supposed to be part of a challenge quilt last year, but it made the quilt too big for the challenge…so it was just hanging on the wall waiting for something special.

http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/embroidery/hand-embroidery/little-book-of-crazy-quilt-embellishment/61465

 

Sewing Expo and Stuff

 

Chinky has been moved into the living room and I’m reorganizing my sewing room. I’m horrified. I mean…at what point did I become one button jar away from an episode of Hoarders? At this point I have Five (count them…5!) full gallon jars of buttons.  Almost all are vintage. And then I came across an organizer box with all these vintage buttons neatly divided by color. This doesn’t count the other embellishments. I have three more boxes (so far) to tackle and I know there are going to be baggies of buttons in one of them. Somebody is going to have a blast digging through my stuff after I die…..

I went to the sewing expo in Reno. Spent quite a few hours there. I had a chair entered in “The Chariatable Affair” contest. Didn’t win, but it was fun. Saw lots of people there that I knew….but it was Allie Aller’s quilts that stole the show. I wish that I had taken close ups, but I didn’t. There was a gorgeous Heart quilt, but that was one of my blurry pictures. I really need to take a tripod with me.

Quilt Show Post-Mortem

It was a wild and wonderful weekend. Tomorrow is my surgery and I’m going in feeling very upbeat and relaxed. I spent the weekend working in the “Our Quilting Heritage” exhibit at the quilt show. It was very, very popular. We had a number of antiques (plus the fairy quilt “Dreamweaver” on display along with demonstrations of how to properly hand quilt for tiny tiny even stitches (I learned a lot), operating a treadle machine, and crazy quilting. I got to spend the whole weekend discussing my favorite subject. There was enormous interest in crazy quilting

I had four quilts entered. One challenge and the three others allowed for guild members. I won a first in mixed media small, a second in abstract non-representational, the third in the challenge that was already displayed at the library…and one disqualification. On “Neptune’s Garden” the judge said that the definition of a quilt is three layers of fabric held together with thread…and I thought “well hell, that’s the last time I spend a week hiding my tying”. LOL

She did go on to note the yellow submarine and that the embellishments were extremely well done. I actually got very good comments and now know what I need to concentrate on for my next quilt.

Overall it was the best show I have entered or attended to date. Had a wonderful weekend.

Fabric Chicks has asked if they can hang my quilts in their booth at the Sewing Expo in Reno next week…so they will be displayed there. I hang out in Beth’s shop quite a bit and teach there every month so I figure this is another good chance to get my work exposed.

	Arachnophobia II: The Sequel
	Pickled Ginger
	Loyann (on the treadle) and me

A Wonderful Antique Crazy Quilt

 

Here are some wonderful pictures taken by Janie Cattoor of Douglas County, Nevada. This is a crazy quilt made by Anna Emma Gavin who was born in 1857 in Kentucky and died in 1940 Montana (I bet she had some stories to tell!). The names embroidered reflect members of Anna’s family. The designs that she embroidered came from a watercolor book. The quilt was made in and dated 1888.

This beautiful quilt is in the guardianship of Anna’s niece, Doris Bennet of Genoa, Nevada. She received it from her father in 1987.

So many things, so little time

This has been the month of disasters. The hot water heater died…and of course, it is one that is very difficult to find. Lowe’s tells me it will be twice as much as we were originally quoted and then it will be six to eight weeks before we get it. Thank You Champion Homes for selling me this piece of crap home. Nothing fits. Nothing is standard size and if you do try to fix something it breaks something else. And yet I keep making payments…oh, and then the oven went out and the dryer went out and the truck broke down. Oh and I have to pay my portion for surgery in cash this week. I’m standing in the middle of this and every time I think this has to be the last of it, something else happens. Sigh. I know I will live though heating water on the stovetop sucks big time.

I’ve been busy too. I’m working on some mermaids blocks.

 

Buffalo Gals won 3rd place from what I’ve been told. Just didn’t have time to drive to Fallon for that show. Maybe next year. My challenge quilt, Quixotic Obsession won a third also. I have three other quilts entered in the Carson Valley Quilt Guild Show, plus the fairy quilt will be on display in the quilting heritage exhibit. That will be five of my quilts on display. I have also been asked to demo my sewing in the exhibit and answer questions both days…..so I’ve dug out a silk blouse that I haven’t fit in in years and making a simple black skirt and maybe I will even dye my hair for the occasion.

I’ve started a new spider web and bugs quilt for the demo because the spiders are always so impressive to everyone.

Happy Adoption Day Chinky!

Chinky joined our family 4 years ago today. He must be 8 or 9 years old now. In the time he has been with us he has learned to imitate the sewing machine, a wolf whistle, and…a car alarm. Even older birds can learn new tricks. LOL

    

Catching up all around

As I sit here writing this, Chinky is trying to squeeze his head between my hand and the keyboard. Poor little guy is molting and getting pinfeathers. He is desperate for someone to scratch him all the time.

Finally I have Buffalo Gal backed and bound. Need to have it done this weekend. All it needs is the label. Could have sworn I printed one, but I can’t find it. I’ll have to print another. I have it saved on the hard drive on the other computer. I should go ahead and make the label for Arachnophobia:The Sequel while I’m at it. I plan on backing that one this weekend.

 

 

	The Theme is “Under Western Skies” for the Nevada Quilt Guild Challenge. The western prairie wouldn’t be complete without some wild flowers.
	Cowboy Gals all in a row. A herd of four buffalo nickels. Would have been more, but I didn’t get it done in time.
	Penny centered shisha sunflowers with Chenille petals.
	The moon and stars because the songs goes something like “Buffalo Gal won’t you come out tonight and dance by the light of the moon”.

Catching up with TAST this weekend. Put the detached chain and chain on the same page. This challenge is pushing me to look at variations. I really need that.