Unfortunately there was not a lot of time this weekend for working in my studio. I had this urge to take all the Christmas decorations down and packed up on Sunday. I am not sure why since I usually leave them up until after the new year. I think it is because of all the snow and really being sick of winter already. I am glad I did it though as the house has a fresh feel to it now and I rearranged my living room as well. Doing that always makes me feel good and gives me a new perspective of "things". Then on Monday my daughter Molly and her boyfriend Mark came to spend the day. Mark has just graduated from college and we were going to take him out to dinner to celebrate. I also wanted to give my Bernina Sewing Machine to Molly so she had a good machine to use. Right now she is sewing for decorative purposes. Maybe one day that will change like it did for me.
I did get my borders on "Pinecones". I decided I liked the simplicity of this quilt the way it is. I had originally thought of chopping it into segments and doing more with it, but it just seems perfect to me the way it is. I know the quilting will enhance it just a bit more and that should be exactly what it needs.
I had enough time before work to put some more pine needles on the Pinecone quilt.
I will relook at it when I return from work to see if it still needs more needles or pinecones. Now I am running late and better get going. Feels good to be back in my studio again and in my right brain!
With the weather now changing to 40+ degrees we are having a big melt of all the snow that has piled high on the rooftops and ground all around the city. It is a good thing but we are now in a flash flood warning. Always something.
I think I have recovered from all the Christmas stress and prep and am ready to get back to normal and back in my studio to work on my pinecone quilt and begin a larger project. My daughter Molly gave me a year membership to SAQA (Studio Art Quilters Association) so on January first I can access their membership areas of their site and check out all they have to offer. I am very excited about that. She also gave me a year membership to the Plymouth Arts Foundation here in our community. This means I can put my work in this years membership show. That was a wonderful present and meant so much to me. She is a graphic designer as well and so supportive of the new direction I have taken my quilting.
My husband gave me a substantial gift certificate to our local Quilt Shop, The Sewing Basket, and I am trying to decide if I should go in for their sale on the 31st to spend it, or wait for all the new fabric to come in and then spend it. It is a nice dilemna to be in.
I have to say, I do not remember this much snow in a long time. It just does not end.
Now I just hope that everyone in my family will have safe traveling to get home on Christmas day.
It was fun for a while and beautiful, but now, not so much fun just a lot of work keeping the sidewalks and driveway clean at both the house and the store. It is also hurting business as well which we sure do not need with the economy the way it is.
Today I picked up all the food for Christmas dinner including another turkey! I do not want to see a turkey for a long time after making 3 in one month! I am thinking next year, maybe gourmet pizzas and paper plates???
No progress on the pinecone quilt and I do not foresee finding any more time in the next few days either. So I will wish all who visit a Very Merry Christmas now. I hope all of you have a wonderful day with family or friends.
Had to share this photos of my two buddies, Barley and Ozzie on their limited path of snow out in the back yard. They can just see over the sides!
I feel I am like my children used to be, excited about having a snow day! It is really bad here. We have about a foot of snow on the ground with more coming down. On top of that it is blowing terribly and drifting which makes it worse. My dear husband is out with the snow blower trying to keep up both here at the house and at our store. I did my part by making him a hearty breakfast and now I am going to my studio. Maybe I will have the beginnings of something ready to share by tonight. If you live East of Wisconsin....get ready!
Well, I am finished. My presents are wrapped, my gifts are mailed, my cards are sent and my turkey for this weekend is thawing. I am so happy! How great it is to know that you are not forgetting something or how to fit in time to get to the Mall for a gift or deciding whether to send a gift card this year rather than a present and standing in line at the post office to get it sent out on time etc. etc. etc.
So tonight, in the midst of another big snow storm, I will sit back with a glass of wine and look at my tree and toast to myself for getting it done once again! I might even head up to my studio and
put some audition fabric on my design wall! It may be a snow day tomorrow you know!
I love antique quilts. Here is one that I just bought. Isn't it amazing how creative women were when they only had fabric from old shirts, dresses etc. We are so lucky to have the resources out there to find fabric of all colors and shades until we have just the right combination to make our quilt look fabulous. Some are talented enough to dye their fabric until they achieve the pattern and texture they want as well. Yet long ago women went out of the box by finding a small amount of some bright color and incorporating it into their quilt to make their personal statement. Like here where she found a great red and popped it in one block on the entire quilt. She complimented it with the blocks using the peach/orange. How amazing is that.
Spent last night going through magazines looking for the article about alternative bindings for your quilt. It amazes me when I do that how sidetracked I get. There were all sorts of articles I had forgotten about or did not remember at all. So needless to say, I learned a lot, but it took the entire evening. The good news was, I found the article I was looking for in the end. It was in one of the issues of Quilting Arts Magazine and was a two part series. Tonight I will read it and refresh my memory once again. There are times that the traditional binding does not suit the quilt and this offers new techniques that may be options for a future project.
Even though I thought it better not to start something before Christmas, I did begin sketching out a scene that I think I may like to fragment. I have never done that before but love the results each time I see a quilt using this technique. There is no better time then the present to try new things and venture into the unknown.
Believe it or not, after all that snow it is now raining!
I think I am going to have to put off quilting for a bit and concentrate on Christmas. My mother who is 84, is having her Christmas on the 21st. I am in charge of bringing the turkey and dressing. Since there will be 15 people there I am going to need a big turkey!
Then there a gifts to buy which I have started but not finished. I am trying to make a few gift items as well and then my newest Grandson, Max, has his birthday on the 26th so I have to include that into the celebration.
I finished and mailed out my Christmas Cards last night. Cut back on my list again this year so that helped. Went online this morning and ordered a few things from Barnes and Noble and Old Navy. Now I just need to think of something for my husband.....who buys what he needs when he needs it. He is always the hardest to buy for but I always come up with something so I will again I am sure.
Have been going through a few of my magazines trying to find an article I read a while back on alternative ways to bind your quilt. There was a technique in there that I thought was interesting but can not remember. My sister Bonnie reminded me about it when we were talking on the phone. It has something to do with doing a facing. This is when I wish I had started writing down where things were and which magazine they were in when I find them. Maybe that will be my New Years Resolution.
Snow day! We really got the snow! I cleaned a pathway for my dogs to go out, threw a pot roast in the crock pot, made some short cakes, and then went to my studio to work. (Luckily Bob took care of snow blowing the driveway, sidewalks and all the walks at the store.)
I have finished quilting the borders and attaching the binding, sleeve and label. I will hand sew the binding on the back tonight while watching tv and have completed pictures for you tomorrow. I am very pleased with this quilt and happy with all the choices made throughout the project. I have titled it "Stars Over Purple Mountains Majesty".
I am continuing the quilting and it is going well. Just ready to start the borders and since tomorrows forecast is for us to get 14" of new snow ontop of what we already have, I am thinking there will be a strong possibility for a snow day tomorrow. That could mean I will finish up then.
My plan is to put this quilt up for sale in my antique shop. It will be my "test" quilt to see if I have a market for for this price point right in my own location. I had talked to one of the owners of our local quilt shop, The Sewing Basket, and she suggested I try it. What do I have to lose. So that is my plan and one of the reasons I am working to try to get it there for the Christmas shoppers.
I read on someone's blog that they started pricing their quilts at $150 per square foot. As they became recognized they change the price to $200 per square foot. I thought that that was a fair price considering the quality fabric and threads and embellishments used as well as the time put in. This includes design time as well. So that is what I will start with and see where it leads.
Well for those of you who have been visiting I have changed my blog from a black background to the pale grey. I needed some brightness to enjoy working on here. Thank you Mai-Britt for the advice on putting a neo counter on my site. I sure hope I have visitors! Have not worked out the site meter yet, but I will figure it out.
Had just a little time to work on "Purple Mountains" this morning. Started adding some embellishments to the fore ground. It is looking pretty good. I just enjoy adding texture. So hopefully I can continue to progress even amidst Christmas shopping and working.
Sunday my daughter, Molly, is coming for a visit and Bob & I plan on taking her to the Old World Christmas Event in nearby Elkhart Lake. It is sponsored by The Osthoff Resort and is full of handmade items, art, and food! Should be a good time and it is the one day that no snow is in the forecast so easy traveling for her. I am looking forward to it!
I have been working on my quilt using some free motion quilting and some of the decorative stitches from my machine. This is the first time I have done that other than a zig zag or satin stitch and some other basic stitches. I am not sure I like using machine created stitches. It sort of compromises my creativity a bit. However, I am going to continue and see what the final outcome is. I will have some photos soon. I took some yesterday, but they were blurry. I needed to set my camera for closeup shots and did not do that. So hopefully I will have something to post tomorrow.
I am also going to begin another much larger quilt. I have been drawing sketches for this one in between working on my purple mountain one. Since my design wall is free, I thought I would start fabric auditions and begin piecing the background.
And guess what? It is snowing again today. What was supposed to be 2 inches is rapidly growing to 4 or more!
We had a big snow storm last nite and are now digging out. I have a feeling this may be a bad winter for us. It is not bad though....I get to spend the afternoon quilting!
