Lighter is Better

Dick Blick sells some inexpensive screens that I can add the mesh, tape up, and go to town. These are 18" x 22" and let me make several prints on each yard. I love my big screens, but these are so much lighter!

When I'm Hobbying

I love making things, and got hooked on this wire crochet beaded necklace thing. So, I'm collapsing my old necklaces and reinventing them into a  new form. This is what I do when I'm out of the studio.

Before and After

Bonus time -- two images! I am always struck with how different the fabric looks after the wash. The original (above) and the final (below). Knowledge is power.

Back in the Thickened Dye Pots

If there was any way to loose oneself from reality, then printing (here monoprinting) is my choice. And it's not an alternative, its real. I've got the fabric to prove it.

Detail of Normandy

Here is the shot that I sent to Quilt National that swayed the opinion that my work should be part of Quilt National 2017 exhibition. The devil's in the details, or so they say.

Home for a Brief Visit

I'd sent my Quilt National 2017 entry to Athens, Ohio last fall, and now it has been returned. I'll enjoy it for a few months -- its over my couch now -- and send it back to the Dairy Barn later this spring. I'll give you a peek tomorrow. Maybe.

Gift From a Friend

A lovely friend gifted me 6 glorious yards of fabric she bought in Rwanda, her home. Printed in Beijiing, this wax block print has nearly circled the globe, and I'll have too find a spectacular way to use it. May take a while.

Evening Light

I totally forgot to post last night. My lecture for the Irondequoit Art Club went well, and this was my welcome home last night. Guess I just relaxed and let the world wind down without  a thought.

Whole Cloth Again

Measuring about 39 x 42, this is another little whole cloth quilt finished. I've got a binding on it for functioning as a throw, as well as a sleeve for hanging. Just love printing on fabric, and even more, quilting my printed design.

Megaplanet

Josh Simpson's 100 pound paperweight mimics the earth. An object that seemed appropriate for the world wide Women's March of more than 2 million yesterday. This seen at the Corning Museum of Glass last week.

Where Once Our Mothers Stood

The Women's March rally in Seneca Falls passed this marker commemorating the first convention of Women's Rights in 1848. We marched in solidarity with women around the world for not only women's rights, but also the rights of others.

Years Ago

Back in the 90s my job was to design exhibits for the Memorial Art Gallery. One thing that still exists is the blue color of this room of European art. I think I choose that for the center painting. Still like this color.

Winter's Work

Winter is my time to catch up on studio work. Here is the whole cloth quilted and bound. I'll be taking this with me when I travel, along with other yard pieces I've printed. Just in case someone needs them.

Drying Rack Reality

Pink foam boards -- rigid, washable, light -- serve as the shelves for my collapsible drying rack. Made from 4 x 8 sheets, they are cut them down to fit my oversized yard of printed fabric. Next week is dyeing week.

Drying Rack Starter

With the help of a friend's drill press, I have the legs for one side of a drying rack. The large dowels can be pulled out when not in use. This will give me loads of flat surface to stack my wet screened fabric.

The Portland Panels

Klaus Moje's work The Portland Panels stopped me in my tracks. I would have sworn it was a strip pieced quilt, but this is pure glass. Same design, different medium. At the Corning Museum of Glass yesterday.

Heaven and Earth

Susan Plum's work Woven Heaven Tangled Earth, which I saw today on a visit to the Corning Museum of Glass, is about 30" wide, and symbolizes the Mayan belief that the universe is constructed of filaments of light from which the heavens and earth are said to be constructed.

Change of Color

I purchased perfectly fine fabric for a background, seen here in the middle greenish stripe. But, preferred a redder shade, so heck, I dyed it. Easy when the dye studio is just to my right.

Admiration Society

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of the quilt club and part of the fun is to see members' work up close and in detail. One member quilted a tree where she "carved" her husband's and her names in the trunk of a tree. Clever clever.

Being a Fan

Show up, support your fellow artists, introduce artist to fellow artist, connect. Make an opening.

On the Wall

Started back spring, this water lily pods are now catching the winter light. I've finally finished the piece, which is split to be a diptych. Nice to have January cleaning make way for new art.

Keeping Time

Check email (business), reply email (business), breakfast (pleasure), bury threads (business), phone call (pleasure), bury threads (business), update expense for January (business), check clock (see above), head to studio (work).

Closer View

Can't say how fun it is to quilt with abandon. If that is what you might call it. It's off the machine, ready to block.

X Marks

After much finagling, the handi-quilter is back in action. I've got a whole-cloth quilt on the machine, and am working away at the quilting. Following the "X" is easy. This quilt will go with me to QSDS this June.

Quilt Surface Design Symposium

The Quilt Surface Design Symposium has asked me to teach two classes this June. Both are built around designing improvisationally, and set out to design strictly from the materials at hand. I love working this way, and you might want to join the class. I'm in Session 3 and 4. Check out the site: http://www.qsds.com/aboutqsds.html

January Cleanup

With the tree tossed, it was time to clean the pile of fabrics mounting next to my cutting table. So many forgotten pieces, each wanting to be part of a work. Good thing I've got some blank design walls to work with.

Mine's on Top

My small part of recycling in evidence. Mine is the one on top of the pile that is spilling out of the container. Bonus -- my car now smells pine fresh!

Pleat, Please

OK, Cris, here is why the pleat matters. When the hanging slat (home depot wide rod pocket curtain rod) is added, the bulk of the rod is accounted for with the pleat I made at the bottom hem. The ease transfers to the top, which is why I've sew the sleeve 1/2" below the top edge.

Green Sleeve

After dozens of sleeves -- which are tubes for a slat that hangs the work -- I finally turned the hem's selvage to the inside. I'll drop it down half an inch from the top, and pleat the bottom, and sew all four sides.

Tools of the Trade

I noted that most all of the things I use to hand sew were gifts, and they are the tools I use. The little scissors from friends at Quilting Arts, the thread goop from a friend, the thimble, heck, even the thread was given to me. I'm so lucky.

Think Spring

For all those who feel as I do -- which is "Now we take down the decorations and endure the winter" and long for spring, well, here is spring. Courtesy of my neighborhood Ace Hardware store.