Off to NYC

Well, I'm off to New York tomorrow with three friends for the weekend. We're going to see the Edvard Munch exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, and other than that, we're playing it by ear. No husbands, so we get to do as we choose. The weather is supposed to be warm, with only a chance of showers. Warm is the operative word here, in my opinion. So, when I get back on Sunday, I'll have photos to share.

Dallas Miniature Textiles Exhibit

I am participating in the International Miniature Textiles Invitational-Dallas. I decided to try the iridescent fabric on darks for that piece, and here's what I submitted: Night Garden.

While I worked on this little piece (11 x 14) I struggled with being so rigid. I need to think less about fabric and more about value. Maybe I should re-organize my fabric, but OH! what a chore that would be. Maybe a big sign over my work space would do: THINK VALUE

The Waterfall Diptych is finished.

I finished this piece last week (a month ahead of the deadline!) and we hung it yesterday. I'm pleased and so is the client, and the decorator who recommended me, too. It's hung on either side of the entry from the client's living room to the dining room, pretty high up. Each piece of the diptych is individually lit, and the lighting emphasizes the iridescent fabric. The beads look like stones, and the client actually thought I had sewn stones on it. I put way more beads on it than I had planned, but I love the look.

Progress in the Dirty Workroom

Finally! I painted that white plywood this wonderful red-purple color: Dark Iris. The color (on my screen anyway) is pretty accurate. Next I taped it, with the idea of adding stripes.

The blue tape will come off, revealing the original Dark Iris color, with stripes of a lighter color in between. I painted the edges of the blue tape with the background color. It makes a seal, so that blobs of the next color won't ooze under the tape. Well, that's the theory, anyway.

This is the room where I paint stuff. Fabric, furniture, floor cloths. To the right of the newly painted plywood is the utility sink, and under the work surface in the foreground are two small dressers and a rolling set of drawers. In another space I have a raised work table, and there are shelves along one wall. There are also a freezer, miscellaneous chairs and most of our holiday decorations.

A Blank Slate

I was messing around in my utility room, also known as the dirty workroom, and I wondered if my husband had ever put up those plywood sheets he bought for me. Voila! there they were, and I have no idea how long they've been there. The idea is to hang shelving in front of them, and the plywood will keep the stuff from falling off between the studs. Ask me how I know this.

Anyway, all that bare wood called out for paint. So here it is, all primed and ready to be tarted up. Or Nancy-ed up, as we like to say, since my sister will paint anything that stands still and isn't suitable for mosaic. Stay tuned. As soon as the primer dries, I'll start with the paint.

Weather Notes

Last week's snow storm left us under 18 inches of heavy wet snow. It split two branches on an ornamental red maple outside our front door and was generally a nuisance. But it was pretty while it lasted. My town, Columbia Maryland, was the "epicenter" of the storm. We're finally in the middle of something, and it turns out to be a major storm!

My husband and I spent the weekend on Virginia's lovely "Northern Neck." The weather was gloomy and wet, and it snowed a good bit on Saturday. It didn't amount to anything, but the sky was an interesting mix of clouds and clear spaces. We took this photo on the way back to Maryland, outside of Warsaw, Virginia, at about 5:30PM Saturday. I like the shaft of light radiating upward from the setting sun.

Progress!

I have gotten far enough along on the waterfall commission to post a photograph of the test piece. It's quilted but not bound, and I have not put the beads on it. Since this is a test piece, it may be a while before those finishing touches get done.





Here is the detail. Most of the irredescent fabric is sewn into the seams, but there will be a few curly-queues on top, with beads on them. I think this piece really needs lots of beads and lots of seed stitch, but. . .

Get Over It!

This piece, Get Over It!, just sold. This photo is not very good - it's keystoned, but it's the one which shows the color the best. I'm about as good with PhotoShop as I am with the camera, ie not very.

I'm happy to have her go to a new family who will be glad to have her in their midst, but I'm also sorry to see her go. I have a big blank spot on the wall where she hung. There is another one in the same series hanging there: Living Well Is the Best Revenge. I suppose it's an invitation to do another one.

How Many Irons Do You Have?

As I've gotten older, my definition of "toy" has changed. Dolls used to be toys, yo-yos were toys, but never something like a car, a chainsaw, or an iron. Now, though, think how cool it is to get the car that you want, how much fun it is to drive it around. I gave my husband a chainsaw for Christmas (yes, he is qualified to use it!) and he was thrilled to death. Ok, bad turn of phrase, but you know what I mean. And so I turn to irons. I use my iron everyday in my studio, so it's technically a tool. But I use it so much that it qualifies as a toy, in that it was fun to go buy it.
I have three irons. This one I bought recently when I decided I needed automatic shut-off or I would burn the house down. Contrary to popular images, I wasn't loathe to spend money on something as pedestrian as an iron. I was looking forward to seeing what new features, in addition to the auto shut-off, I could have in a new iron. Actually, there weren't any. But it was still fun to go buy it.

Here is the one it replaced. This is a great iron, but it gets really hot. That makes it good for ironing lengths of fabric and shirts (Ha. Like I'd know.) but not so great for fusing and foiling. And any fabric that had too much finish on it would get scorched easily. So this one has been sent to live out its days in the laundry room, where its auto shut-off lets me have some peace of mind. I only iron clothes in a hurry, which is a recipe for forgetting to turn it off. I actually thought about having the outlet in the laundry room connected to the lightswitch, but I realized that it would be much cheaper to get another iron.

And here is the really old iron. Note the classic avocado green handle, dating it to the seventies. This was my mother's old iron, and I took it when she died. I keep it by the sewing machine for pressing seams and quick things like that, and it's connected to a power strip along with the lights and the machines. I don't worry about leaving it on anymore. And it reminds me of my mother, because once she looked in the laundry basket, took out the heirloom linens and gave all the rest of the stuff to Goodwill because she was sick of ironing it.

Apologies to TS Eliot

Actually, I don't think April is the cruelest month. It's interminable January, with its short grey days and cold nights. Of course, interminable February is right around the corner, with its short grey, wet days, always with the chance of snow. I want to get in bed, pull up the covers and stay there until spring.

Bearing that in mind, you can imagine how tempting it was to go back home this morning after torturing myself at the gym, instead of going to a friend's for lunch with 5 other women. I'm so glad I went. The antidote to January greyness is lots of laughter, with a heathy dose of chocolate on the side. I'm fortunate to have such good friends.

Making a 1/4 inch border, Part 2

These photos describe how to finish making the quarter inch border that I began to describe Friday.

Start this next step by laying the piece with the border attached on top on the new piece. Place the edge of the presser foot against the first seam line.



Sew the seam using the left side of the presser foot as your guide, as it butts against the first seam you sewed.







Here it is! See how even it is? Wasn't that easy?

Making a 1/4 border for your quilt

The other day I showed a friend how to add a 1/4 inch border onto a quilt, neatly and easily. I thought others might like to know how to do this, too.

First, cut border strips 3/4 inch wide. If you need longer strips, trim the ends at a 45 degree angle, so that the seam is angled. A border this narrow can't handle the bulk of butted seams.





Using your quarter inch foot, stitch the border strip onto the quilt.





Iron the seam allowance toward the quilt. This makes the next step mcuh easier.




Here is the skinny border, ironed and ready for the next border to be added this afternoon.

Another big step

Here I've inserted in the seam an iridescent fabric, cut on the bias, to simulate water. Being directionally impaired, I put it on the wrong side. The dark green/blue fabric was supposed to go on the other side of the light section, so I have to re-do it. When I make mistakes like that, I know it's time to quit for a while.

Auditioning fabric

I was busy today. In these two photos, I was auditioning fabric for the commission I'm working on. The photo on the bottom has the fabrics that won. I'll add another darker piece to the edge when I get all this assembled. But now that I look at it, I like the one on the top better. It's not to late to change it.

Latest Work

This is the start of a commission I've been working on for the last several days. I figure if I chart my progress here for the world to see, I'll stay on track! This is essentially the upper right quadrant of the first piece of a diptych. I'm learning a lot about curved seams. I took this photo this morning, and I've made a lot of progress since then. Now I'm goofing off, eating popcorn while the gas man works on the gas fireplace.

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged!

four jobs I've had: lifeguard, dental assistant, banker, researcher

four movies I could watch over and over: It's a Wonderful Life; and all the Harry Potter ones

four places I've lived: Richmond, VA; Charlottesville, VA; Akron, OH; Timonium, MD

four tv shows I love to watch: 24; Gray's Anatomy; Six Feet Under; Desperate Housewives

four places I've been on vacation: Italy; Costa Rica; Mexico; Zion National Park, Utah

four websites I visit everyday: www.nancysstudio.blogspot.com; www.fiberstudio.blogspot.com
and that's about it.

four of my favorite foods: egg custard; 1234 cake; coffee ice cream; rack of lamb

four places I'd rather be: Costa Rica; Italy; Jonesborough TN; Timonium, MD

four albums I can't live without: Between Here and Gone, Mary Chapin Carpenter; Desire, Bob Dylan; High Tide and Green Grass, The Rolling Stones; Abby Road, The Beatles

four people I'll pass this on to: everyone I know has already done it.

Mindless sewing

I have been mentally working on a design for a commission, and while I was working the kinks out, I did this. It's just strip piecing, using scraps. As you can see, I used any old scrap! No color scheme for me. It's not sewn together, just pinned to the wall. I like this, even though I don't do bed quilts much. I think I'll give this to my goddaughter when she graduates from high school this spring. I have enough blocks to give one to her sister, too!

Draw Something You Collect

Here is my EDM challenge for last week: draw something you collect. Well, I don't really collect pitchers, but I have several. This one is white, and the handle really is out of proportion to the body of the pitcher. It's my first attempt at pastels. I'm not happy with the handle because I don't think I got it round, and I think I over worked the bottom.

Boathouse in Lewes, Delaware

We were in Lewes, Delaware this weekend, and while we were rooting around, we saw this little boathouse on the Rehobeth-Lewes Canal. The illusion is all done with the wood - the wall is really as flat as a normal side of a house.

These are some postcards I made for Singular Sensations, the holiday art sale sponsored by the Columbia (Maryland) Art Center.

Most of them are 4x6, but the red ones are 5x7. They take letter rate postage.


They make great thank you notes and birthday cards, not to mention get well cards.


I usually make 4 or 5 at a time, adding the fabric to the stiffener before I cut them into postcard sizes.


Then I add the thread to each one. I have a hard time restraining myself. I always figure that enough is never enough, and neither is too much!


They are fun to make, and fun to receive.


And of course, they can be framed. My step-mother keeps her birthday postcard in a frame on the shelf with all the family photos! High praise, indeed.