Hinky Pinkie

Collaborative Quilting with Kids

Local Schools, Local Artists  is showing at the Easthampton Arts Walk.   I'm participating in this sharing after working with the second graders at Maple Elementary School here in Easthampton, Massachusetts.  On display, at White Square Books, will be the two quilts we made as a product of our six art class sessions together.  

 

The students learned about warm and cool colors, high and low contrast, practiced making a mark with stitch work and analyzed some layout and design ideas. This curriculum was supplemented with pattern play, quilt themed children's picture books and each child recieved a sewing kit in order to continue their project ideas at home.

 

 

Company is Coming!

I just last week jumped into a mini blog world of creative mamas, who write a small musing on a given theme and then share once a month.  Check it out here: on Edison Rex, crafted by the fabulous and astounding Maeg Yosef, artist mama extraordinaire.

The great thing is that I get challenged to be introspective and then to share my thoughts.  The other great thing is to hear what other artist mamas think on the same thought. And the third great thing is that it invites visitors!

I’ve reached a point in my grown-up-ness, which I think might be related to the magical number 40, in which I’ve really accepted who and where I am.  I’ve accepted that I’m doing the best I can with what I have, and that that’s enough.  I got the warning email last night, from Maeg, that our creative mama post would go live this am, which I thought was a nice courtesy.  This morning, I’m realizing that means she’s inviting her new friends into my living room of blog space, and I didn’t clean it last night!  It’s just it’s own musty stale self of my thoughts from a few weeks ago.

Well- I’m ok with that- it’s honest and true.  I have been busy making things, and will now give you a little taste of my current works in progress.

 

Known as English Paper Piecing or Mosaic Patchwork, this is a time consuming hand work project that brings me great joy.

 

Another intricate project, machine paper-pieced trees, ready for their binding, sleeve and label.

 

The sticky note is the to do list on this one: sleeve and label is all that's left!  I love this color study and am eager to do more.  It's hard to choose where to direct my time!

 

Thanks for visiting- enjoy your stay and come again soon.  Having company coming is delightful, and means I might even have incentive to get a bit more finished product completed for sharing!

 

Trail of the Snail

So I'm finishing up my bed sized snail trail quilt, by which I mean I've spent a year ironing, cutting, piecing and pressing the top, and I've reassigned the intricate pieced four inch squares which were to be the border, to the back.  All I have left is to finish piecing the back, make the sandwich, quilt the whole thing (still collecting great design ideas for a snail trail block if you have suggestions!), and put on the binding, label and possibly a sleeve.

 

Here's the best design idea I've found so far. Follow the link to learn more about this artist and her custom work: Dancing Elephant Quilts.com

 

I'm starting to add fabric strips to make the back wide enough to match the front.  While on my trip to Montana in April I found a fabulous print of green fabric, (it's called Meadow, #7320-04, seen below) of which I bought double my usual amount (a half yard instead of a quarter yard) but now want to use it for two fabric strips on the back. I didn't get enough!

 

 I did however, have a scrap remaining which lists the fabric name, Wild Bunch, which I googled, and I found the awesome company: FunQuilts, run by a wife and husband team of modern quiltmakers, who I called on the phone (it's so cool to talk to real people), ordered two more yards of the almost out of print fabric, and it arrived less than a week later.  

The internet is a wonder and a danger, as I may never need to leave my house again.

Montana Shop Hop

Who knew that when I flew to Montana to visit my folks and extended family, that I would be there the same week as the Montana Shop Hop???

Not I, but I was delighted, and jumped in with both feet!

To learn more about the quilt shops in Montana, follow this link: Montana Shop Hop! 

and then check out these photos from my two favorite places.

The first was actually not on the shop hop, but is worthy of it's award as being in the Top Ten quilt shops as rated by Better Homes and Garden Sampler edition.  Fiberworks  is the brain child of Laura Heine and is truly a quilter's heaven.  Here I am outside the shop and then after that is a fun snippet of a piece I found really intriguing because of the tight gridwork quilting and the included ribbon embellishments. 

We visited four or five shops the first day of our tour and I bought a little something at each place.  The last spot we visited was a couple of days later, after an overnight (it was April, but this was Montana).

This made the drive even more beautiful and the remote location of our last shop on the tour seem even more isolated.  It is a little shop in the town of Washoe.

As far as I can tell, the quilt shop is the only store in Washoe, and from the panoramic photos series, you'll see, that it's quite a destination. I brought my Grandma and Great-Aunts, who live nearby, had never been in the shop, but were able to spend a half hour reminiscing with the owner about the old school, getting out maps, recounting stories of their youth and all the folks they know in common. These photos were taken standing on the entry mat to the shop.

 

 

 

 

 

Here's me and my tour guide!

 

And here's what was waiting for us back at Grandma's house:

 

Quick Quilt Study in Brown and Green

 

Made as a gift for my Mom with about 2 weeks notice (to myself) before a trip to Montana, I was really excited to play with triangles and color.  I started out using green, yellow and blue and almost abandoned the whole project after cutting fabric for an hour and feeling like nothing worked.  Then I let go of the yellow and blue, leaving me with just the green, which felt too monotone. When I remembered that my mom really likes brown, and that I have built up quite a stash of unused browns, I threw them into the mix and was delighted with the results.  With a splash of pink and yellow here and there, the quilt now holds together and feels warm and cozy to look at too.  I washed this one before giving it away- the first time I've washed a quilt! and it turned out great- it had just the right amount of shrinkage to look softened and welcoming. 

 

 

I was surprised to find the secondary shape of hexagons (my favorite!) created by the triangles and also relieved to have the back come together really easily.  My daughter's unedited response was: "That's nice Mama.  It's pretty simple with just triangles, but it came together really quickly, didn't it?" 

 

Hands Across the Valley Quilt Guild Quilt Show 2011

A beautiful quilt which I call Saw Tooth PinWheel in Red and White, made by my Grandfather's Grandmother, Anna Bosch, dated 1915. Hand pieced and hand quilted. Sorry for the less than adequate photo. It's the best I have from the show. C'est la vie.

 

The final version of Golden Tip, a quilt I made in 2010. I love it, and I also have things I would certainly change were I to start over.  That's how we learn!

Four Square Dragon, flanked by image contributors. I favorite amongst the children at the show.

 

Click here for more info on HAVQG.

Kamisa Sisters~ small wall quilt

Kamisa Sisters

 

This is a small wall quilt that I made during the preparation for my black belt test.  The circles represent myself and two others I trained with side-by-side intensely for a few months.  The black beadwork (a little hard to see in these pictures) represents the guidance and witness of the black belt judging board and the colored beadwork (to the bottom right) represents the support of the color belts- all the women training beside me and challenging me to work my hardest.   When you earn your black belt, you join the rank of the Kamisa sisters, on the black belt board of teachers.

 

The quilt is traveling to the Hands Across the Valley Quilt Guild show in March and will be auctioned off in the small quilts auction.  You can come and bid on it if you like!

Meet Ms. Bernice

Ms. Bernice Bernina

 

After five years of increased quilting, sewing, experimenting and playing with fabric, I have acknolwedged that the role of fabric art is here to stay in my life and I've made the plunge of buying myself my own machine. Happy Birthday Audrey!!

I'll always have many fond memories of "Kenny", the borrowed Kenmore, but am super happy to welcome "Bernice" into the studio! She comes with bells and whistles, loads of stitches and lots of really welcome things like needle up/down, a hands-free foot lift and four mounted thread cutters.  I think it will be a life long relationship and I can't wait to see what we make together. 

"Kenny", my borrowed reliable workhorse will be returnign to the Bromberg family, possibly to his true owner in PA or perhaps, if wishes come true, will take a long-term stay in NY on his way home.  (Catherine wants a sewing machine...)

 

Here'a  photo too, from the Easthamtpon Small Works show where my two pieces are holding their own.

Vixen in the House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vixen in June

Panda in the Jade

These two pieces of mine are part of the Easthampton City Arts Small Works show which runs from now until mid January.  Please check it out!

On exhibit NOW!

Easthampton City Arts presents the 2nd Annual Small Works Show, featuring the works of over 25 different artists from the area. There is a lot to choose from and many great gift giving ideas from $28 to $450! There is something for everyone on your gift list.

Gallery hours
Come and visit the ECA Gallery. Hours are:

Tuesdays 1-5:00 p.m.
Thursdays 1-7:00 p.m.
Saturdays** 11-4 p.m.

**Second Saturday Art Walk hours are 3-8 p.m. ONLY

Mama Snail and Baby Snail

mama snails

 

baby snails

Love Triangle (Two People In One)

a collaborative piece between artist Audrey Hyvonen and her youngest daughter