CHANGING LANDSCAPE

We will soon celebrate our 2nd year living in the Blue Ridge Mountains and still marvel over the differences and yes, some familiar seasonal changes.  In Wisconsin it seemed that we'd have spring from perhaps mid March through April.  Then, overnight....summer would arrive.

The process is much longer here.  Since the weather isn't harsh, by February we think it's spring, though the wise farmers in this area know it isn't.  With one round of blooming flowers and plants appearing in March-April, we now have another......

The fragrances are delicious.....one positive aspect of our twice daily 'forced marches' that the husband and I do in an effort to burn off more calories so we can have dessert!

Now all I need to do is LEARN what all these plants and trees are!!

ANTIQUE QUILT COLLECTION ONLINE

The Alliance for American Quilts, located in Asheville, NC has announced a new major collection has now been posted on the Quilt Index 

Click on the link above and navigate to the Featured Contributors bar on the right.....click on Mountain Heritage Center.

The Mountain Heritage Center, established in 1975, is located on the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC.  The center's focus is the study of Appalachian culture, history and traditions.

The following 3 photos are samples of the many quilts now available for viewing online.  Don't ya just love these old beauties?? 

BLOGGER'S PHOTO UPLOAD IS DOWN

I've been trying to post since early this morning with news of another wonderful resource to view antique quilts.....

Wanted to share photos and info.....will keep trying throughout the day.

Basically, this is a test to see if this even gets through.....

MEN & THEIR TOYS

Despite my dislike of motorcycles....and after years of negotiating....the husband purchased one last year.  Western North Carolina is a 'destination' for cycles.....beautiful scenery and curved mountain roads.  

New adventures means new equipment.....so we spent the day yesterday in Atlanta researching a different bike for the husband.  

Showroom floor......a place for men to dream and wives to avoid!

The dream bike....notice, there is supposedly room for a passenger.....NOT!!!  More negotiations are certainly ahead!!

EXHIBIT

Yesterday the Asheville Quilt Guild's meeting featured a lecture by Mary Ellen Kranz, a fellow instructor who creates the most wonderful compositions, blending printed images taken with a digital camera and off the bolt fabrics.

Afterwards, our small fiber art group took a side trip to the Black Mountain Arts Center to view the LINT 'transparency' exhibit.  Two of our members also belong to this very talented group of 12 women.  Their pieces personally blew me away! 

Made by Bernie Rowell

Detail - this piece has been created from mostly sheer fabrics....stitched & painted.  It was backed with what looked like heavy stabilizer (almost cardboard like).....and what appears to be beads in this detail, are actually holes punched through the layers.  Stunning!!

 
This is one of 4 almost identical pieces that artist Vicki Essig created.  A very finely woven fabric featuring a tiny found object (this one is a shell) are mounted behind glass with a mat, but no backing.  The shadow in this photo is due to my camera flash; in person one sees the wall.  I've never seen anything  like this.....again stunning.

Norma Bradley's piece has been created with many layers of various sheers and metallics, machine stitched.  Her title was God's Little Acres....perfect.

Judy Simmons created this wall piece, mounted on a wooden hanging rack made by her woodworker husband.

In this detail you can see that there are rows of leaves suspended from the top of the piece on fishing line which allows them to move freely in front of a sheer background that had been printed with leaf shapes.  The leaves were photo transferred onto silk....to add color and texture, the edges were burned, which also prevents fraying. 

Made by Jen Swearington.  The sails, boat, and some of the waves are made from Xray film that had been painted then carefully cut and stitched onto her background, which I assume she also hand painted or dyed.

There were many more quilts to view.....sadly my camera battery didn't last long enough for you to savor more.  This community has the most wonderful, creative artists......inspiration is everywhere! 

WOODLAND FERN

After a struggle, I finally completed my beaded fern project.  I've been neglecting my commitment to the AAQI so this little guy will be donated to this worthy cause.  To learn more visit Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts

The beading was a bit time consuming, but the final construction proved to be another challenge.  I decided to keep it small, and add background texture.  After trying everything from machine stitching various designs & hand embroidered tendrils, I finally resorted to using french knots.  I experimented using several different colors and though higher contrast colors seemed like the right decision while doing samples, they began to look like chicken pox, so I matched the embroidery floss to the lighter green felted wool.  

Thank goodness I used National Nonwovens 100% felted wool.....it really held up to all my unsewing!

One important aspect of this type of construction is the need to use a backing to hide and protect all the beading stitches.  This piece seemed to need a border as well, so I bead appliqued the design to the darker green backing, cut larger than the finished size.  After all the beadwork was completed, the backing was trimmed to size, using a wave rotary cutting blade.

If I learn when this piece will be auctioned, I'll report back in case anyone here is interested. Hopefully it will find a new home, enabling AAQI to provide more funds for research into Alzheimer's Disease. 

STITCHIN' AGAIN

My busy teaching schedule hasn't allowed enough time for too much creating, however, here and there, I've been working on another NC mountain life inspired piece.

Ferns are a subject I've explored with hand quilting and trapunto.   Seeing lush areas of ferns during our 'forced marches' each morning up the mountain, I decided to try to recreate the look with beads.  

Again, I've chosen felted wool for the body of the piece.  National Nonwovens 'WoolFelt' is a blend; 20/80 wool/rayon or 35/65 wool/rayon.  For the first time, I'm using their 100% WoolFelt and I LOVE it since it's sturdier.  Providing an adequate stabilized background is vital to support the weight of the beads.  Look for this brand at JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, your local quilt shops, and online merchants.

So....finally now the main design is beaded.  Obviously, it requires a backing to hide and protect all the beading stitches.  That's my next step, incorporating it into a finished piece.  Stay tuned.

FOG

What an eery site....it's so foggy this morning, we can barely see beyond our windows!!

I see the sun (upper left) just beginning to peak out which will burn off the fog....I was sort of thinking about hunkering down in my studio and creating.  With all the travel teaching I've had lately, it's been awhile since there's been time.  Maybe tomorrow I'll have something to share as I'm nearing the end of a small piece.....assuming the weather doesn't improve which will force us outside instead.

STILL PERFECT!!

Yup, after all these years, we still have the 'perfect child', and now a perfect daughter-in-law too.  Since I was out of town for Mother's Day.....I had a wonderful long phone chat with each.....and then returned home late Monday night to the beauty and fragrance of this awesome floral arrangement.

Thank you Chris and Kelly!!

FUN WITH FAMILY

What a bonus....this teaching trip I was able to add an extra day to my travels and visit with my brother and his family in Eugene, OR.  Although I couldn't spend this Mother's Day with "the perfect" child, it was great spending the day with my niece and nephew, who both came from their college lifestyles to join us for the afternoon/dinner.

My brother Richard is a fabulous gardener.......Barb, you plant a mean germanium!

After 23 years in their home, they've decided to redecorate and asked for my opinion....yeah.....we spend hours looking at paint chips, crown moulding, new lighting fixtures, drapery hardware, all on their dime so I could spend as much as I wanted.   My sister (in-law) Barbara has kept me laughing all day.....she was SURE the color I suggested for their "updated" walls was way too dark.  When we got back to their house and taped the sample to the wall, it was nearly the color they already had. (The white is the color for the crown moulding.)   It's interesting how my quiltmaking has helped me to develop a better confidence with colors....specifically the value of the color.  It's now after 9:00 PM....we need to get to bed since I have to get up at 4:00 AM for my flights home....she's still trying to change her mind, after taping about 20 samples to the wall.

Of course, all this nervous energy needed to be burned off.  So we headed to the tennis courts.  Since I didn't have the proper gear....they set up a referee chair for me, plus a blanket in case I got cold.
My baby brother, his beautiful daughter Amy, and her boyfriend.....  sorry Barbara and Brian.....the speed of your return serves were blurred on my photo....that's why you won!