Technology to the rescue!

Sometimes, technology is terrific!!

I have been working hard on getting the patterns ready for the bicentennial Red Hook Quilt. It seemed to take forever to get the reference photos, and I did end up taking some myself, but converting the photos to line work and getting the drawings to size are so much easier using a good program and a printer. It has been a huge time saver at just the right time. With a family wedding this weekend, and the kickoff meeting at which at least a few block kits need to be handed out, I have very little time to mess with and even five minutes saved is something to be thankful for.

I will share more about the wedding and the reactions to the wedding quilt when we get on the other side or the event and I can think clearly again.

Last and NOT Least

Well, two weddings are now history. My sisters is this weekend. Once that is over and they are happily on thier honeymoon, I can get back to my own things a bit. Red Hook Can is having a Pop Up Gallery on the 15th here in town and I hope to have a few pieces ready. I will mount some of the Journal quilts on canvas so they can be hung with a normal picture wire, and hope that a few of them sell. I do need to talk to the committee and find out what thier requirements are. Of course, they have not done anything that reaches beyond the Insiders yet. Have not seen any announcements and the link from the chamber of commerce is not to be found.

In the meantime the 2012 Red Hook Quilt is finally moving along, and I even have plans for next years block of the month.

Time, and Significant Ephemera

In my last post I talked about Time, a resource I have had very little of lately. With three weddings in three weekends, two of which demand Art gifts from me, I have been really busy. My sisters quilt just needs the label now, and the other "Significant Ephemera" piece is done too, just needs hanging wire. Unfortunately Blogger is being fussy about photos right now so I will have to put it in the gallery later. I have had such a good reception to these Significant Ephemera pieces that I am now taking commissions. The little bits attached to important events tend to land in boxes and drawers once the event is over, and then years later get discarded. I use these pieces of paper, announcements, invitations, ticket stubs, photos, and other Significant Ephemera provided by you for the piece, to create a wall size quilted artwork that is then canvas mounted for hanging or framing. A Gift of Significant Ephemera will preserve a moment in time for all time. Those ticket stubs might just be from a great show, but if they were from the night on which you proposed to your wife, how much more meaningful they are. If their significance is honored they become part of your personal symbolism.


I am a symbolist at heart. The storyteller in me loves to find the hidden meaning behind an image, the use of a color, motif or style. As an artist I am happiest when creating work that is full of hidden meanings, like plants that have medical uses, Animals that are symbols of certain character traits or abilities, colors that create a certain reaction, you get the idea. I love to look at artwork of all kinds that includes this kind of content. When we put a heart in a wedding quilt, or a Forget Me Not on a Memorial, then you have not only enriched the piece visually, but in terms of content also. As I have gone through my life, I have embraced different symbolic images as life has changed. Ultimately each of us finds their own meanings for the symbols in our lives, What are your symbols, and have you quilted them? -or can I Create a Significant Ephemera Piece for you?

QN and Time

Well, there are now pictures online of the quilt national '11 quilts -at least the award winners. Once again it was my goal just to get an entry done in time ( which I didn't), can't imagine how excited the award winners must be. The Dairy Barn website has all the info on this years show. Unfortunately, it is not yet touring anywhere near me geographically, so I will have to be content to search online for photos until I can get a copy of the catalog. And maybe for 2013 I will make the deadline with a piece I think is good enough.

I have been thinking about time and creativity alot lately. Time is a resource we cannot get back, that spends no matter what we do with it. If we do nothing, time passes, if we schedule so much in our day that we can't find time to sleep or eat, time passes. Like any non-renewable resource, we should keep our eyes on the big picture when portioning it out. And what is worse is that for many women, time for creative activities is low on the priority list. Much of my sewing time is centered on class samples and other shop related needs. Portioning off time for working on an entry for a show gets pushed down lower on my list on a regular basis. I have at least ten projects in various stages that need to be worked on before I get thinking about a QN entry. Of course I do have some time before the deadline for the next one in 2013.