Call for Entries

September 26 – October 20, 2013
Artist Reception: September 27, 2013, 6 to 8pm
Page-Walker Arts and History Center
119 Ambassador Loop, Cary, NC 27513

ARTQUILTSFreezeFrame will exhibit innovative and original works submitted by PAQA-South members . Artists frequently refer to photographs to arouse their muse through literal or abstract interpretation of photographic images. With photographs being their inspiration, we look forward to seeing how our membership freeze a moment in time, capturing natural beauty, scientific anomalies, landscapes, cityscapes, or cherished memories of family and friends in art quilt form. The inspiration photos will be displayed next to the completed art quilts.

Submissions open July 1st.  This is a member only but we'd love to have you join us - visit PAQA-South website for more information.  

Thanks for stopping!

Mother's Day creativity

Hope ya'll had a wonderful mother's day and got to spend it just the way you wanted to!

I spent the day sewing with my daughter.  My son skyped us from Turkey so all was well in my neck of the woods.

A look at the final king sized quilt on the bed.

My daughter, Jenn, is heading to a baby shower this weekend and needed some help in making some onsies for her nephew due to be born in a month or so.  She found some ideas on pinterest and the rest is history.  Here's what we came up with:

 I made the patterns, cut the fabric and fused it to the onesies.  She zigzagged around all the edges.

 I love this one with the vest and yellow buttons - adorable!  

He'll be a sharp dressed baby with this suspenders and tie!

Sorry this pictures is so fuzzy!  There is a family wedding coming up next May 2014 and we thought a black onesie / white tie might fit the occasion.

  They're 3 different sizes.  The blue is a size 0-3 months.   The whites are 6 - 12 months and the black one is 24 months.  

One is just as cute as the next!  Back to working on my Church Banner!

Be Creative Today!

Who me??? Knit?

I don't think I have picked up a pair of knitting needles in over 20 years.  I've been thinking about it lately.  Seems like a great thing to be doing in the car, on the couch.  I was at Joann's the other day and pulled off one of those free knitting patterns for a scarf, bought two skeins of Lion's Head Homespun Yarn.

It wasn't the clearest set of instructions or maybe it was my rusty knitting skills in reading pattern instructions. Either way, I love the way the scarf came out - it's soft and cozy.   Unfortunately, Spring time has arrived and soon to be followed by a humid summer on North Carolina - but I have rediscovered a lovely quiet activity to do when I'm not in front of the sewing machine.

Thanks for stopping!

Thin Strips

After reading Dec/Jan's Quiltings Arts magazine, I was intrigued by Ann Brauer's technique of making thin strip quilts.  The directions called for WOF by 3/4" strips.  My first time out, I decided to experiment with 18" x 1" strips - a little easier to keep them straight!

It ended up a bit too wide, so I cut off about 3 inches and turn them into 2 bookmarks.

Thanks for stopping by!

Church Banner

I was recently asked if I could replicate this - it hangs in a local church.  Of course my first question was, is there a pattern?  I was given a sketch on 8.5 x 11" piece of paper.  Not quite a pattern but not impossible either.

It measures approximately 33" wide and 56" long.    I scanned the sketch, enlarged it and printed it out  on 16 sheets of 11" x 17" paper.  It's currently all taped together on my basement floor. 

Still not sure if I could even come close to making a piece that comes close to this original.  To give me a little more confidence, I decided to make a smaller version.

I just used scraps, fused the pieces down and top stitched.   

 Not perfect but not a bad smaller version. I'm on my way to pick up some better matching fabrics and make a full size piece.  Wish me luck!

Sacred Threads

Received this email late Friday, "Congratulations! 

Your quilt Soaring has been juried into our Sacred Threads 2013 exhibit."

Wahoo!  This is my first time entering a piece in Sacred Threads.  

The exhibit will be in Herdon, VA - July 10 - 28th. 

 I hope I have a chance to drive up there to see the exhibit - about 5 hours for me!  

If you live in the area, it should be a fantastic show!  Hope you have a chance to go to it!

Thanks for stopping!

Mug rugs on the wall?

This past Christmas was a mug rug Christmas.  All of my family received a set of 2 mug rugs.  My brother out in Arizona thought his were so nice he couldn't put a mug on them, he had them framed and hung on his wall.  They look great but told him he had to promise to put a mug on the next mug rugs I send him!

Thanks for stopping!

Double finishes

Back from our trip, my husband and I had completed both of our large projects we had been working on.  My king size quilt is done!!!  Added the binding, hand sewn on the back.  

While I was working on my quilt, my husband was downstairs in his workshop building a new kitchen table.  It is fabulous!

He distressed the wood before he stained it.

He had to sign it with a soldering iron.

AHHHH  .... with both gave a sigh of relief to have both of these projects completed. Next it's off to find some chairs for our new table.  I need to  go back to playing with fabric!

Istanbul was Constantinople

Isn't it great to come home from a trip and take a look through your photos and videos to remind you of the places you visited?  I've never like it as much as I do now.  Istanbul was such a different place.  My son was a fantastic tour guide and interpreter (by no means fluent in Turkish, but spoke well enough to communicate with the waiters and shopkeepers)

Above is a picture of Hagia Sophia, (pronounced Aya Sophia) - 

a must see I was told by my Art History friends.

Inside the Hagia Sophia - 

beautiful tilework on the walls and ceiling.

One day we rode a ferry to one of the Prince's Island, where we rented bikes and toured around the island.  Not a typical Island by any stretch - sure surrounded by water but we only saw one small beach area as we rode.  Above  here is a typical rural home with cows, goats and horses.

Then we would see these beautiful primrose flowers in gardens everywhere around the city of Istanbul.

What trip to Turkey wouldn't be complete without a stop for Turkish coffee, along with some baklava and other sweet goodies.  It was my only cup of Turkish coffee, wasn't one of my favorites.

Now I've got to dust off my sewing machine and get myself focused....thanks for stopping!

QAYG - almost done!

I've taken pictures of the final row. This is the method of connecting two quilted sections together.

 You can see above, I have pinned the top sashing piece (brown) and the bottom sashing piece (blue).  Top piece is 4 1/2 inches folded and pressed in half - raw edges of the sashing lined up with the raw edge of the quilt.  Bottom piece (blue) is 2 1/2" and positioned right side together with the back of the quilt.

 Quarter inch seam, stopping to be sure the 3 parts are aligned
 (top sashing, quilted piece and bottom sashing)

View of the rest of the quilt and is supported by the tables on my left.

View of the back where you can see the back sashing I just sewed on.  This back sashing is used to connect the next row.

 I've laid the row down and will line up the sashing and pin the sashing to the back of the next row.

 Here I have the next row (underneath) pinned all the way down to the back sashing I just sewed on.

 Here is connected and laying across my ironing table.  See the gully (wrong side of the blue sashing)   Ironed and I will lay a piece of batting that is the width of the gully.  Approximately 1 1/4" wide batting.

Spray adhesive on the batting and laid into the gulley.

 Folding over the front sashing, press and pin.

 All pinned and ready for sewing.

 First pass through, top stitching the top sashing down.

 After the initial top stitching, I quilt 4 more straight lines down the sashing.

 Just to give you an idea, the only fabric that is under the throat is the piece that you are adding on, mine are about 20" wide.  A couple of folds and it's easy to pass under the throat - sure there are lots of stops and adjusting the grand amounts of fabric (on the left and all that is sitting on my lap!)

Not quite finished but here is it laying on my bed.  I need to add about 4 inches to each side of the quilt but that will have to happen sometime next month.

I am off visiting my son in Istanbul right now as you read this!  I'll share some photos when I return.

Thanks for stopping by!