Archive for September, 2015

SAQA Auction Sale

Wednesday, September 30th, 2015

Word just in that “Red Bellied Woodpecker” has sold, raising $550.00 for SAQA! Thank you Susan Arnold!!

SAQA Benefit Auction

Monday, September 28th, 2015

The SAQA 12 x 12″ Benefit Auction started last week. With the preview auction and the Week 1 pieces, already 87 works of art have sold raising $25,700 for SAQA to fund their  traveling exhibits.

12x12Woodpecker

My offering, “Red Bellied Woodpecker is in the Week 2 schedule which starts today at 2PM EDT. Check it out!

After The Storm

Sunday, September 27th, 2015

On Friday, I finished the quilting on this new piece and blocked it. On Saturday, I trimmed it to size and prepared the sleeve and the documentation tag, which meant I had to come up with a name. “After The Storm” won out.  The finished size is 39.5 x 24″.

AfterTheStorm

I love to see this fleeting vision when after the storm everything is clean and sparkling, the sky is still dark but the sunlight comes in and lights the foreground against the dark storm clouds. It was a lovely fall day here, so I sat out on the deck to do the hand work and listened to my Art History lectures on the tape recorder. Perfect! I met the deadline and will enter it into the next Topeka Art Guild show with the Kansas theme later today.

Focus Friday – Log Cabin Sunflowers

Friday, September 25th, 2015

The wild sunflowers are still blooming like crazy so I think today I will feature another sunflower pattern!

I love combining piecing and applique together, I think it only enhances both techniques. Here I have used a simple log cabin type block set on point for the background of the appliqued sunflowers. The starting square of the log cabins is the brown center for the sunflowers, so all you have to applique is the simple shapes of the petals and the leaves! And to make it even better you do the applique on the pieced log cabin strips before they are sewn together so you are not working on the bulk of the whole top. I do try to make things easy for you!

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INNOVATIONS 01327 Log Cabin Sunflowers
approximately 77 x 96″ $8.00 Click on Patterns in the side bar to order.

The sample quilt featured in the cover photo and pictured above is also for sale. It is heavily free motion machine quilted using a variety of threads including some metallic. The backing is a nice plaid that repeats the colors on the front.
$2400.00 Contact me to purchase.

Focus Friday – Sunflower Patch

Friday, September 18th, 2015

This year, probably because of all the rain, the wild sunflowers have been extra lovely. In the roadsides and in the fields, they are a delightful vision to brighten our days and remind us fall is just around the corner.

sunflowers

So in light of that and the fact that on my recent trip to the Kansas City Guild, my Sunflower Patch pattern was one of my best sellers,  I decided that today it should be my featured pattern for Focus Friday.

SUNFLOWER PATCH

Approximately 70 x 85 ”      $8.50       Click on Patterns in the side bar to order

A bright and sunny pieced quilt, quickly made from only twenty pieced 15″ original design blocks.  I used two different black and white prints to effectively set off the scrappy yellow and brown flowers – but imagine it with a scrappy blue or cream background instead!

SunflowerPatch

SUNFLOWER PATCH sample quilt
Machine pieced and free motion machine quilted  The backing is also scrappy, created from a variety of green and gold and sunflower printed fabrics.  $1500.00. To purchase, email me.

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Stormy Weather Top Done

Thursday, September 17th, 2015

The stormy weather top is finished. I must have tried at least dozen fabrics for the bottom before settling on these.

Weathertop

I was thinking that it should be dark to balance the top, but too dark was just too much. It also needed to have more detail, being closer to the viewer in the scene, but some of the fabrics just had too much detail. Or not enough. When I came to this green one, it seemed to do the job. It was subtly darker than the sunlit fields with just enough detail to add interest. Then I found this stone wall fabric – so Kansas farm land, and it repeats the grays in the buildings.

I prepared the backing and the batting but have not pinned it yet.

Weather

Sunday, September 13th, 2015

You know that rare weather phenomenon where the sky goes almost black, but the sun is still shining and lights the landscape to a bright chartreuse-y green? That’s what I am trying to capture in this new piece. I finally found the right sky fabric and I already had the greens. This progress shot is a couple of days in and I have not yet decided on the foreground fabric.

stormyweather

Officially Retired!

Friday, September 11th, 2015

My trip to the Greater Kansas City Quilt Guild was perfect!  It was supposed to rain, but it didn’t, so that was good. The equipment worked and the audience was appreciative and very supportive.  I even got to touch base with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while. I know I am going to miss those aspects of traveling to do presentations and workshops for guilds, but the hardships of travel and the extensive prep time has won out and I am officially retired! It feels good.

Everyone asks “What are you going to do now?” Well for sure, I am going to sew and continue to make quilts for sale and competition. I hope to do more traveling just for the fun of it. Maybe there will be enough time to keep things neater around here and in the garden. I’m quite sure I will be plenty busy!

Now that I am not traveling to do trunk shows, I do not need all of the sample quilts, especially now that I am winding down the pattern business. My plan is to sell out the inventory I have, but not to design new ones or reprint the existing ones. And since I no longer need all of those samples I will be offering them for sale at reasonable prices.

Maybe I will even do a better job of keeping up this blog!

With that in mind I think I will institute “Focus Friday” where I will feature an INNOVATIONS pattern and it’s sample. Today is Sept 11, so I am focusing on “From The Ashes”, my tribute to 9/11.

FROM THE ASHES

approximately 38 x 39″  pattern: $8.00.   To purchase, click on “Patterns” in the sidebar.

fromtheashes

From the ashes of the World Trade Center, America will rise, stronger than ever.  Lady Liberty stands proud in the harbor as she has done since 1886, with her message of freedom.

Pieced Tumbling Blocks done in shades of gray represent the destruction, but they morph into golden stars of hope as America will recover. Add hand or machine applique and a message – either the one included in the pattern – or your own sentiment or memorial.

ashescloseupSample quilt approximately  37 x 38 , $200.00.  To purchase, email me.

Machine pieced, machine appliqued and free motion machine quilted with cotton and metallic threads.

 

Shipping

Monday, September 7th, 2015

At lunch on Friday, I mentioned that I needed to ship to three different shows on Monday, and my husband reminded me that Monday is Labor Day. I checked my info and discovered that for one of them Tuesday would be too late, so I hustled and got that one ready to go on Friday.  Alas, due to the holiday, Friday was even too late so I had to pay $22 extra for 3 day select to get it there on Thursday – that’s almost a week!!  Oh, the logistics of it all, but thank goodness I learned about it on Friday and not Tuesday morning when I need to be on the road early to KC.

So no holiday today for me!  I’ll be laboring to get the quilts organized, packed and ready for an early departure tomorrow, and packing the quilts for the remaining two shows, so they can go out tomorrow, too.

 

August

Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

August has been  busy month! My last multiple day engagement for Guild programs/workshop in Oklahoma happened and it was a fun trip with lovely ladies.  Even fitted in some fabric shopping, though we did not find the one I was looking for.  One more trip – next week to Kansas City, then I will be officially retired!!

We went to Wichita over the weekend for the Opening Reception of the Wichita National All Media Craft Exhibit where “Snow Buddies” is being exhibited. It has a great spot , well lighted where you see it as you enter the gallery; looks good!

WCFTA-SnowBuddies

While we were in Wichita we visited the Botanic Gardens, The Indian Museum and the Zoo.  The weather was near perfect and I was exhausted by the time we got back home! But it was fun!

Since coming back I have finished the Heron top using some of the fabrics that I found that looked like they might have possibilities.  I un-sewed some of the previous work to insert the new fabrics and I think it is going to be OK. HeronTop

Yesterday I squared it up and selected a backing fabric but have not yet layered it for quilting.  I think another deadline has squeezed in that will need my attention first!

News came that all four of my entries to the Visions of the Flint Hills Art Benefit and Sale at the Buttonwood Gallery in Kansas City were accepted.  “Harrier Hunting”, “Prairie Power”, “Drifted”, and “Grasslands” will be there.  This is an art exhibit so it is always gratifying when my quilts are recognized as art! The opening reception is on Oct 2 and the show runs through Nov 27.  Sales benefit the Friends of Konza Prairie.  Be sure and check it out if you are nearby.

HarrierHunting