Garden Girl by the Sea

Garden Girl by the Sea

36" x 36"

I wanted to make a quilt that celebrates the extensive gardening I have been doing. I have also been missing the ocean.  I grew up by the ocean but rarely want to drive far to visit again. Many times I have wished for an ocean front property with a lovely house, but the geologist in me does not really want that. I understand about barrier islands and hurricanes. So, I will put it here in my art, and dream of it instead. Then I remembered that I already had a quilt like that. One that I didn't like anymore, and didn't need anymore, and was stored deep in my closet. So, I pulled it out.

To transform it into my new vision, I had to remove a number of the old elements, which included glued on string, some embellishments, and some applique. The dense satin stitching was not too hard to remove, but it left damage in the fabric. The glue was harder to remove, and very visible. I tried scraping it off, freezing it, and then trying to scrap it off, and a razor (which sadly made little holes in the fabric). So, I gave up for a while.

Then I saw a video about glue basting, and how it washes out! Why didn't I think of that???  So I tried getting the glue wet, and it was so easy to remove! I guess I got lucky with that one, because without it, the project could not proceed forward. I also remembered that if you get fusible applique hot again (at least for mistyfuse), you can peel it off. It worked perfectly after I removed the machine quilting first.

On to the rebuilding, and redesign!

I wanted to add a whale to the ocean part. I love the idea of living close enough to the ocean that I could see a whale. Fortunately, I had just made a quilt with screen printing, and I still had the screen for the whale. It took all of 10 minutes to print one whale AND clean up!  

Then I dyed it, and it was ready for fusible and to add to the quilt. 

I really love how the dye powder looks sprinkled onto the wet surface.  I wish it could have stayed that way after processing.

I also wanted to add a few flowers to cover a previously blank section in the lower right corner. I opted for some pink flowers, and cut the flower centers from an old piece of batiked fabric I made years ago.

I added a garden hose, and then used some hand quilting and hand embroidery with embroidery floss to make the water coming out of it.

The old version of the quilt had a pretty frustrated, possibly angry face. So I changed it to optimism and awe for the re-do.

And the last change was a pair of kittens by the little house. Very sweet!

Now I have it hanging on my wall. I have no plans to send it anywhere. It does provide a lot of joy when I look at it though!

Austin QuiltFest

Austin Quiltfest 

Sept 27 - 29, 2024

The quilt show in Austin this year was pretty amazing! There were some incredible quilts made by some very talented quilters. I had a great time visiting with friends and meeting new people, and seeing all the quilts. I also volunteered to help hang the show this year, which was a great physical accomplishment, because I have been afraid of ladders since one fell on my head a few years ago. Overcoming that fear was as equally rewarding as the ribbons my quilts earned.

This one, Currents, won a First place award in the Modern Category. This made my heart sing because this quilt was rejected from QuiltCon.

Complements did well too! It won a Second place, and a Color Award!! This was also in the modern category, and also rejected from QuiltCon. 

Ocean Blues....

and the other side, Oil and Water. 

I was super pleased that Austin was able to hang my two sided quilts with both sides showing!  A great job to be sure! This one won a Third Place Award in the Large Art Category. I feel very honored!!

I did raise an eyebrow though, when I read the judges comments. Apparently, Austin has added a criteria to their judging forms which includes a statement about interesting backs of quilts. It was NOT checked on my judging form (for this quilt, nor the one below) ... And, if ever there was a quilt that would fit that criteria, surely this would be one.  I have judged quilt shows before though, and I know the judges do not have much time for each quilt, so I'm chalking this up to a simple oversight. It's okay.

Turn the Dial...

and the other side, Diverging Distractions.

This one won an Honorable Mention and a Design Award! This lovely quilt has been to quite a few shows, including it's premier in my solo exhibit of two-sided quilts in Houston. But, this is the first time it has won an award, or better, two! Go yellow!!

And, my last quilt at the show, did not win an award. I never expect to get awards though, regardless of how much I love my quilts. I love this one, and am very happy that it got to get out and be seen, and hopefully spread some inspiration!

Charmed Remix, detail

Charmed Remix

And, I wanted to share some of the quilts that caught my eye.  Unfortunately, I left my cell phone (and thus, camera) at home on the last day of quilt viewing, so I missed getting photos of so many more very cool quilts. These quilts had been hung when I was helping hang quilts. 

Waves of Color by Donna Phelps

Here's a detail shot of one of the blocks near the bottom of the quilt. I spied a fabric from my fabric line back in 2010! Very very fun!

Starfish on the Beach by Maureen Moore Scheeval

I love the shapes, I love the colors, I love the design, I love the quilting.  All good!!

O' Sisters a Tribute, detail, by Renee Summers

Here's a detail shot to show the amazing hand stitching. Love the texture!

Manhole Art by Margery O Hedges

The fish are so wonderful, and that this one is of Austin manhole covers, brilliant! Sorry I did not get a photo of the entire quilt for this one, it's pretty interesting!

I also volunteered to take down the quilts. It is amazing how quickly the quilts come down and the room is emptied, especially compared with the time it takes to hang them all.  I left with an armload of quilts, and many good memories! 

Going to the Show!

Where the Walls Have Eyes is going to Quilt National 25! And I couldn't be happier!!

It is difficult to photograph a 3D art project.  I guess I did okay with these because the jurors liked them! A big thanks to Martha Sielman, Luke Haynes, and Ellen Blalock for their efforts in putting this exhibit together and including me in their decisions!

I have only been in Quilt National once before.  It was '09. That was quite the emotional experience for me. It validated my new identity as an artist. This time around was very different. It was also very emotional but for a different reason. My mother is no longer here to share the good news with, and it was the first thing I wanted to do, call her. 

Quilt National 25 opens in May of next year, but they need the works a long time before that. This is because they need to see the quilts up close and personal to award prizes. And normally for an exhibit, this is done after the exhibit is hung. However, Quilt National publishes a very nice hardback book of the exhibit, and they need the extra time to put the book together (with the prize winners), and you know, actually publish the book and print the copies. So shipping is very early. 

I did not waste any time! I knew it would be easy to get a box, because I have a fantastic box store near me with boxes in every size. The limiting problem was going to be the plastic bag. Quilts need to be shipped in plastic in case the box gets wet. And this cube was too large to fit in any plastic bags I could find, including XXL garbage bags. I could find big enough bags if I was willing to buy 100 of them (which I was not). So, I opted to build my own plastic covering.

I bought plastic sheeting from a local home improvement store. Cut it into pieces, and taped the pieces together into a tube.  Then I put my lovely cubic work inside, and basically wrapped it like a present! I taped the top and bottom ends, and it fit perfectly inside the box.  

The last piece was to "protect" the box with my hand drawn talisman. Voila! Done! And very happy that it has safely arrived at the Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, OH.

The Outtakes, fabric waste

The Outtakes, fabric waste

Regarding, Where the Walls Have Eyes, I think I have mentioned before how BIG a project this was. It also created a lot of waste..I made the following videos of the piles of "leftovers" from the project. 

Here are the cutouts from making the eyes...

And here are the quilt sandwich circle cutouts from quilted blocks...
 

And last, the quilted pieces that were trimmed off all 4 sides of each block...

Where the Walls Have Eyes, Part 14

Where the Walls Have Eyes, Part 14

21" x 21" x 21"

Sometimes, when I get to a certain stage of making a quilt, the work speeds up for me, in eager anticipation of the finish. This was not one of those kind of projects. I had to deliberately work slowly so as not to tax my hands.

And then there were the unintentional delays.  The six stranded floss, at the point where it goes through the eye of the needle, becomes 12 strands. It is hard to push through the little quilted blocks, and much harder when there are also fused eyes to contend with.  Sometimes I would just yank it and accidentally peal off the fused eye. Rats!  I tried using a tiny miniature iron, I think it is called a Clove iron?, but I would over focus on the eye and the quilt, and not pay attention to where my fingers were, resulting in numerous clumsy burns. 

So, I opted for fabric glue, and clothespins and waited for the glue to dry. 

I also found that certain parts of the project were hard to reach at times.  The more I added, the taller it got. At one point, I had to switch from my table to a (closer to the floor) coffee table.  But then THAT was too low. 

My favorite seams were on the sides of the cube, because there are only 2 quilt pieces to join.  Very easy!

Here's what that stitch looks like from the inside.  You can also see me burying the thread end after taking 2 very tiny stitches in the end.  

Here is a sample below of sewing 3 pieces in one seam.  In this view you can only see 2 of the pieces.  The third piece is underneath, out of sight, until you flip this around.

Here's what it looks like to sew a seam with 4 little quilts in one seam. URGHH!

Just for a little trivia, I did not use any knots in the hand sewing seams.  I made a couple of very tiny stitches on the inside and then just proceeded forward.

I only used 2 hand stitching needles for the entire project.  This is the first one, after it broke.

Here is a photo of the inside at the part where it was time to use the little lime green squares! Ah YEASS!

And, here is the part where I got to add the little yellow squares.  Predictable, you can probably guess where this single yellow cube is.  Which is good, because once the cube is completely sewn, it is too dark to look inside to find it.

It is getting taller and heavier now. A view from inside the studio.   Ironically, the quilt on the wall is called Windows...

About half way through, I started arranging the 'ceiling' layers on my design wall.  It made it easier to keep up with the internal color patterning inside the cube. 

I never got tired looking through the holes to see the view. 

Getting very close to finishing.  This is the very last and top layer to add! Never thought I would see the day!!

The final project. I am not sure this view entirely captures how wonderful this is to experience in real life. So, I hope the process photos have help expand your imagination. The colors in real life are also pretty vibrant! 

As for the meaning behind this project, I have hidden some little trinkets inside the cube that are attached in a way that you cannot see them by looking through the holes.  I tried very hard unsuccessfully, and I KNEW where they were.  You could upgrade your "looking abilities" by investing in some technology, like a snake camera (which I did), and be able to see the hidden trinkets. It is possible to find them this way. And, it serves as a perfect metaphor for hackers upping THEIR game to steal YOUR privacy. 

Ta da! It really worked.  All those layers and it held up and did not collapse! 

And, for inquiring minds.  This build has 73.5 square feet of surface area.  That is equivalent to 102 in x 102 in quilt. And, all of these little pieces are essentially two-sided, so imagine twice the surface area!!

Compared to the flat version of the project (you can see here), it is even larger than THAT!

Where the Walls Have Eyes, Part 13

Where the Walls Have Eyes, Part 13

This part took so long to complete! Wahhhh! I took hundreds of photos along the way, and it has taken me a while to narrow it down a bit.  And, it is still too many photos for one post, so I will be making two posts about the building.

It is all hand sewn, like the prototype. Every seam is a different color.  Some of the seams have 2 squares, some have 3, and some have 4.  As expected the ones with 4 pieces being combined in a single seam were the most difficult physically.  I am pushing a needle through 4 quilted pieces while it is threaded with 6 strands of embroidery floss. Chonky! 

And, trying to remember the orientation of the thing while it is rotated many times during stitching. I selected one face (the front), and put a safety pin in it, to ease my confusion. There are also a number of different color patterns INSIDE the cube, that were a bit cumbersome to remember. 

The first row is completed, and now I move on to those even more tricky seams with 4 pieces at a time. After the first one, I wanted to quit! 

I am starting to get the hang of it! More rows on the first layer! I am also learning that the hand sewing is very stressful to my hands. And it tweaks my tendons, so I started doing hand therapy and getting out the forceps to pull the needle most of the time.

But, I did not. Breaks and rest time are a crucial part of this project! Here is the complete first layer. Every little interior cube will have 4 walls, a floor and a ceiling. The little interior cubes will share their walls, and floors and ceilings with adjoining little cubes. The beautiful colors and threads kept me going!

My stash of embroidery floss.  I had no idea when I started how much thread I would need.  I ended up shopping for more thread about 4 times throughout the project. 

I also changed the color scheme before I started. I liked the aqua blue so much better than the navy blues, that I opted to have all the external sides the brighter and lighter blue. I worked out the math because the entire structure was envisioned with a different set of colors, which were made to order. And, with a few modifications, I was able to make the change. I am so glad I did. I absolutely LOVE the aqua color on the outside.  

I also preplanned the layout of the external sides, to make sure that I was able to both have enough pieces, and that I could arrange those pieces in a pleasing layout.

You can see some of the missing pieces above, which shows how far along I was when I took this photo! 

On to the next level!

And flipped over...

And looking through some holes...

These process photos of looking in the holes before the 'ceilings' are sewn on, have an abundance of light, which really shows off the wonderful colors.  Once the ceilings are sewn on, this beautiful view gets lost, or maybe I should say, goes private? 

Stay tuned. I will post the rest of the process photos and the final project next week. Nearly there!