Wonky Star

"Wonky Star" - in progress

Today's workshop at the Stitchin' Post in Sisters, Oregon was a lot of fun. We spent the day with Gwen Marston, who taught us about liberated medallion quilts. I know Gwen draws inspiration from antique quilts, so I decided to make a Wonky Star based on two very old New England quilts.

Center Star, c. 1815-1825, New England, Museum of American Folk Art

The eight-pointed star set on a square is one of the oldest pieced designs you'll find in American quilts, and this Center Star from New England, made sometime in the 1815-1825 period, is a quilt that sticks in my mind. It was fun to try a new spin on it. One of the quilts in my collection, a Rhode Island quilt c. 1800, also includes these eight-pointed stars set on squares.

Star Medallion, c. 1800, Rhode Island

The other inspiration quilt, which I brought with me, served as the idea for the color palette. The quilt is a wool economy block, c. 1810, from New England.

It's a wonderful quilt, one of my very favorites, and I love the mustard, rust, and deep browns that go toward black. The binding is red on three sides and green on the other side, so I may include those colors - or not. Probably won't get too much bigger, since I feel like it has to be hand quilted. Maybe finish the border I've started and one more larger border. I want it to be the size of one of Gwen's quilts, a good size for hanging.

The one thing I have to admit is I didn't get as much done as I thought I would. Talking the whole time, of course, and it's been a long time since I worked in a group environment, so I got distracted easily. Hopefully I'll buckle down and get more done tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday with Sue Spargo and Gwen. We're making wool applique quilts, and if you read my earlier blog, I'm a man with a plan!.

Clever Little Boo

Little Boo is very old but very clever. She has a hard time jumping, and sometimes needs more than one try to get up on the couch. The big mystery lately has been how she gets up on the bed, which is much higher than the couch. Finally, I caught her doing it. Didn't have a camera on hand, but here's how she does it.

I can understand her getting up on the ottoman. It's lower than the couch. The big leap from the ottoman from the bed is what surprised me. I caught her doing it the other day just as I was waking up. Imagine opening your eyes and seeing a cat flying toward you. Little Boo is probably 18 or 19 years old at this point. But I guess she's got a few big leaps left in her!

Upcycled Vintage Stumpwork

I'm headed off to Sisters for Gwen Marston's "Contemporary Medallion Quilts in Solids" workshop, and Gwen and Sue Spargo's "Contemporary Folk Art Quilting Retreat". Doing pieced quilts in solids with Gwen seemed doable, but doing applique with mixed materials in the retreat seemed like it might be too advanced.

Fortunately, we'll be working with wools, which may be more forgiving than cottons when it comes to hiding stitches. I've been experimenting upcycled vintage stumpwork flowers from an old top riddled with moth holes. These flowers are cut out and arranged on pieces of fabric from overcoats purchased at Goodwill. The little pom-poms will be used as the centers of the flowers, and the yarn will be braided and used as stems or vines. I tried to applique one of the flowers to overcoat fabric, and it worked. Stitching the pom-pom through the center also worked.

Any other embellishment would be icing on the cake. Perhaps some embroidery in the background with pearl cottons in rich colors. Maybe even some beads. Hopefully they'll let me work on it at the retreat. It could be a good canvas for practicing applique, embroidery, and embellishment - even if I did cheat a little by getting a head start and using vintage stumpwork.

So, what do you think? Am I cheating by trying to plan ahead and using pre-made, vintage materials? Or am I really on to something?

The supply lists...

Supplies for Gwen's workshop (top) and Gwen and Sue's retreat (bottom)

This is fun. It's like a scavenger hunt. I've got these supply lists for Gwen Marston's workshop and Gwen and Sue Spargo's retreat in Sisters this week. Gwen's list seemed pretty easy- mostly solid fabrics. And I have ideas about how to approach a pieced design the way Gwen might do it.

The supply list for the retreat is a whole other animal. Since we will be doing embellished applique with mixed materials, I've been looking for beads, embroidery thread, yarn...and yes, I even bought a bag of pom-poms. Maybe I'll figure out how to use them. :)

The frightening thing is we'll be using a variety of needles. I'm terrible at threading needles, so the idea of having not just one, but half a dozen or more needles to thread is an amusing thought. Believe it or not, I actually have ideas about things I could do, if I can get the needles threaded.

It's a wet day in Portland. Not really raining, but everything is wet. The bark on the trees is soaked, the ground is saturated, and sword ferns are standing at attention. Seems like a good day to go look for some unusual wool materials. First stop, Goodwill!

Spooky Show Opening at Lightbox Photographic in Astoria

My picture is in the front window (center)

The opening reception for the fourth annual Spooky Show took place on Saturday at Lightbox Photographic in Astoria, Oregon. When I arrived, I was happy to see my print hanging in the front window.

"Aquarium" 2012

Just as I thought, there was really nothing like it in the show. Most of the work was beautifully done, soft focus work in a variety of alternative printing processes from gelatin silver to wet plate collodion. All of the other works were seen through the camera and developed in a darkroom. Mine was seen in a dream and constructed in Photoshop.

Tom Kittel and his spooky self portrait

I was pleasantly surprised to find the people I met and conversations I had were anything but dreadfully dull. At the beginning of the reception I was chatting with a painter named Phillip who had a row of gold teeth on one side of his grin, and a love of plein air painting. Later, I met Astoria photographer Tom Kittel, who spent many years living in New York, and took photography classes at my alma mater, the School of Visual Arts. Tom was the only other artist living in Oregon whose work was in the show. 

Detail of "Aquarium" - is that Little Boo in the background?

This year's Spooky Show was juried for the first time, and Russell Joslin of SHOTS Magazine selected just 20 photographers and 27 images from nearly 60 photographers who submitted over 250 images. I was impressed by that. You could tell it was selective just by looking at the work. And all of it is available for purchase, by the way!

Detail of "Aquarium" - this guy has a bug in his throat!

Among the group, "Aquarium" may stand out for being unusual, but for some reason it also fits in. I think it's because the piece, while very offbeat and a little spooky, is still beautiful. A nice variety of images, all hauntingly beautiful. For more information including a gallery of all images in the show, click here.

Preparing for Sisters Workshop, Retreat

A fellow member of the Northwest Quilters contacted me recently because she was signed up for Gwen Marston and Sue Spargo's classes in Sisters, which will take place next week. She had to find someone to take her spot. Even though I really don't know the first thing about sewing, I said I'd go. It's a chance to hang out with Gwen and Sue, and maybe I'll really learn how to sew. Aside from 7th grade Home Economics with Mrs Schweitzer at Moorestown Middle School in New Jersey, I've never taken a sewing class.

I may use my colors and try something like this

Gwen is inspired by antique quilts, so I picked my c. 1810 Economy Block from New England as inspiration, and I have fabrics that reflect the color palette including the two colors in the woven binding, moss green and cranberry red. Maybe I can figure out how to make something as cool as the "Liberated Square Within a Square" from Gwen's portfolio.

Sue Spargo design, made by Diana Tatro

Sue's class is going to be another story. I may be out of my element, or I may just be a wild card and do something good. Sue's work is applique with mixed fabrics and embellishments. She uses lovely hand dyed wools, and maybe she'll bring some along to sell. I looked at the supply list and had to laugh. No idea what most of the items were. To psyche myself up, I keep thinking it's like taking an art class at RISD, where you could always expect to be challenged with something new and different. If I can capture just a small fraction of the beauty seen in Diana Tatro's Sue-Spargo-designed quilt, I'll be overjoyed. 

Last Two Weeks for "American Quilts, The Democratic Art" in Bellingham

This incredible quilt is coming to my house in two weeks!

Last two weeks for "American Quilts, The Democratic Art, 1780-2007" at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington. Excellent exhibition, worth traveling to, and certainly one of the best of the year. It was curated by the great Bob Shaw and Julie Silber, so how could it be anything but extraordinary? This wonderful Fans variation quilt is part of the exhibit, and if you enjoy books about quilts, you may have seen it on the cover of Bob's book.

The quilt is coming from Laura Fisher at Fisher Heritage in New York, and I'm sure Laura will be a little sad to see it go, but it's coming to a good home. It will be well loved and shared with many. One of my other quilts is in the exhibit, and I'll be glad to see it back, too. We missed having it in Nebraska, but I was absolutely delighted to be part of the exhibition in Bellingham.

Runs through October 28th. For information about the exhibition, click here. To buy the book, click here.