Show & Tell - 2

Nancy is doing handwork on a piece that she discharged. 

She's also finishing her piece with all the lovely Japanese fabrics.

Priscilla showed us some tote bags she bought inexpensively in India that are zippered and plastic-lined inside.

Pat and Jeanne talked about Jeanne's challenge on her blog http://www.quilt2012.blogspot.com/ to make a 20 x 12 quilt each week, where you can see all the quilts posted for each week. 

Here's an overview of Pat's entries for each week -- great pieces by themselves, but also great sketches for bigger pieces. 

Show & Tell

Priscilla brought this wonderful wall piece in to show us.

She found it on her recent travels in India, and I think it's destined for a prominent space on her living room wall.










In addition to the overall design, there are many individual blocks -- so much to look at!

Priscilla's back

Our friend Priscilla is back from a long trip to India that included volunteering to teach jacket-making skills to women in Jodhpur.  See her blog for more... http://www.priscillakibbee.blogspot.com/

She had some time while there to do a bit of shopping and brought back some beautiful saris.

We spent a little time today figuring out how this beautiful material could be used as fabric for new jackets.








Here's another view of a purple and green sari.  Notice that the design of the print on the end of the sari (to the right) is different than the main part of the sari.

 

Suki was also very happy to see Priscilla and especially appreciated the opportunity to get in the closet and settle in on top of Priscilla's case.

And she got a chance to play her favorite game with Priscilla, trying to catch her finger. 

In the studio

Pat was here for a little sewing and to give me some much-needed help with postcard design.

Suki graced us with her presence and helped by holding down my quilt for me.






Pat is participating in the Quilt 2012 challenge and is finishing up her newest quilt for this week.

GVQC meeting

The Genesee Valley Quilt Club had its regular monthly meeting yesterday.

One of the on-going activities that the Club sponsors is Comfort Quilts. Members make quilts of all sizes that are donated to area groups that distribute them to people who could use a little extra comfort and care.




The monthly meetings also offer the opportunity for members to host a sale table. Bev is behind her table where she offered some of her hand-dyed fabrics along with items from her stash.






Pat was there to offer some antique quilt tops and blocks, which were all taken.

Another camera test

Our resident deer appeared (as they do on a daily basis) so that I got another chance to test out the zoom on my new camera.

Although they are several hundred feet away at the far end of our pasture, they carefully observe the photographer.

Our four regulars seem to feel very at home here and may very well have been raised here or very near by.  Many acres of woods and open farm land surround our property, and no houses or street lights are visible in the miles south of this pasture.  There's lots of room for the herd to wander.

They are attractive and a pleasant addition to our enjoyment of country living --- too bad they are so destructive!!

New camera

I was ready for a smaller Point and Shoot camera that had a bit more zoom power than my old Nikon Coolpix and wanted to show you my new pretty red Coolpix.

Suki insisted on helping and couldn't seem to stay out of the picture, but at least her tail helps indicate the size of the new camera!








And with the new 10X zoom, I have a better chance of capturing some pictures of more of our backyard visitors.



These Canadian geese looked like they wanted to settle down under the tree, or maybe they were interested in the flower bulbs I have planted there.

They're so alert, though, that they were immediately on the move when I came out of my door.



They flew off toward one of our ponds, and I wonder if they are the same pair that has had its spring nest here in recent years.

Weekend visitors

We haven't seen many pheasants on our property in the past few years.  They used to be quite common, but the rise in coyote population has kept their breeding pair couples at a minimum.  Here, a lone male is looking for companionship.













The open winter has allowed the deer to prosper.  A large buck (maybe eight point?) and his harem stopped in the pasture to feed.  A young male was also part of the group, and all were alert and on guard.

Very few, if any, will be lost to lack of food this winter.  This will mean more hungry visitors to our garden this year!!

Hang with AQE 2012

Art Quilt Elements (AQE) began in 1999 as ArtQuilts at the Sedgewick and is celebrating its 10th exhibition this year.

A special part of AQE 2012 will be "Hang with AQE" in the Link Gallery, where they will present  6" x 4" fabric art postcards during the opening weekend.

This postcard is my contribution to the project, which I made from a piece of shirbori-dyed fabric.

Each piece will be priced at $50, and all funds raised will help support the full color catalog for the AQE 2012 exhibition.

The show runs from March 30 - May 31, 2012.

For more information check HERE

MAQF XXIII

These two quilts have been selected for the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival XXIII  and will be displayed from February 23-26, 2012, in Hampton, Virginia.



Appian Way  (48 x 48)










Earthquake Compression  (43h X 36w)

A BIG ruler

This is one of my favorite tools. I don't get it out of the closet very often, but it's very handy for trimming up finished quilt tops (and any other job where a 6-foot straight edge is needed).

When our local Chase-Pitkin home improvement stores were closing a while ago, a friend from our quilt club found a great sale on these in the hardware section and shared the tip (Thanks, Anne!).

A little hand sewing

I had a little company in the studio for some hand sewing and a bit of paper work. Pat was working on sleeves and signatures for some of her newer quilts, and I was finishing a facing.






We had some rain, and even a little sleet, and then the sun came out at the end of the afternoon.

We were admiring the shine on the trees in the hedge row, but had a hard time capturing it with our cameras.















I did capture a few of the beautiful pink clouds though.

Phelps

On a recent trip to Auburn to pick up quilts from Schweinfurth, I took my favorite route that goes right through the town of Phelps.

It's pretty easy to drive right over this little creek without realizing how beautiful its falls are.

Check it out the next time you're on Route 96!