Cold enough for quilts

    The sun is shining, but baby it's cold outside. Finally, an excuse to blog. David has his 5th birthday this month so it was time for another 12" x 12" quilted card to go with his present. I put a 5 inside the Superman logo instead of an S.  I am telling you that since most people didn't notice! I let David choose the fabrics (I have outgrown making these, but the children expect them." I was told more than once that "Mommy saves them!")

       I wasn't sure how to express a 5th birthday on the bright fabrics, but Joe suggested the 5, and I painted the new logo over the fabric. I "drew" the design with strips of 1/2" masking tape and then marked the edges with a white pencil. After removing the tape, I first used a white paint and went over it with the red and yellow. Finally I used Golden's liquid gold acrylic and brushed it lightly over the yellow and it is very pretty! Click to enlarge.

       On the back I fused a car, some dinosaurs and a cupcake. The objects didn't stand out enough so I used a gold puff paint once again around the edges, not being too successful, but good enough. David wouldn't let me keep it to take to my quilting BEE.

      Also, my Journal Quilt Connection quilted a shoe challenge. Stories accompanied each. I showed my dancing shoes the last posting.  Here are Donna Jean's, Tricia's two, Julie's, Elana's, Rita's. and mine. Next time, I promise better photos. Shoes have a long history.

Comfort in the Arts, a quilt challenge

       "Comfort" is a pleasurable topic to contemplate. The arts comfort me as on a Sunday morning when I sit down to play certain arrangements on the piano, pick up my ukulele after a long day on the computer before going to bed, or draw and paint at the kitchen table. I am relaxed and transported by the arts. But even more so, I have wings when I get to dance.

        In art school as at my Journal Quilt Connection, I was given the topic of “shoes.” I picked out tap shoes, stuffed some shiny fabric wings I had sewn, and glued them to the heels. My tap shoes would again be the reference for this month’s journal or art quilt. However, the creation of this “comfort” quilt for Material Mavens was totally UNcomfortable. 

       I chose the background and back fabrics spontaneously. I found a shiny black fabric from which I free-hand cut patent leather tap shoes. Problem. The black fabric cannot be sewn easily. I secured the shoes with a hot glue gun after stitching the silver “stage” to the background, batting and backing. I pulled the backing over the quilt edges bind them, a bit prematurely. I cut down the old wings from art school and glued them to the shoes, but the heat from the glue gun removed some of the color from the wings. No matter. I glued on beads for some glitz, trim, or taps. I wanted to stitch in free-motion my dance routine: One, two, three, four, five, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, One Kick-Hop, Two Kick-Hop, Repeat. However, my sewing machine didn’t like my writing with stretchy invisible thread, so I quit after a bungled line. Instead, I cut free-form notes out of the shiny black no-sew fabric and glued them down. I felt I should wrap the entire piece in pink tulle, sew it to the binding edge and pink it near the seam. Then I felt I should layer more beads over the finish. I put beads on the front and back.
    
    The quilt has sweet comforting memories encased. However, during a work crisis, I accidentally deleted this blurb on “comfort” which I had just written and had to rewrite it.   Time for COMFORT!

Children take the lead with elastic bracelets

      Bracelets are big time with the youngsters these days: colored rubber bands woven on a Rainbow Loom keep a wide range of children occupied. At beading, every grandmother but one had grandchildren quite engaged with elastic bracelets...and Chrissy's Charlie made $25 selling them on the New Jersey boardwalk! The basic kit comes with a bag of assorted colors, a loom, some instructions and a tool. Although I found a book of several patterns at Michael's, I find most children follow designs on You Tube.

 Click on the photos to enlarge..

       As a baby Hannah would put on all my crocheted bracelets up her arms...and even try to pull them over her head as in a necklace. Tonight I thought I would get a photo of the girls, now older, with their creations on their arms! David is trying to catch up so he goes to their room for help. Joe and David show bracelets they were gifted...Joe's for his birthday, from Hannah. The guy's are darker colors, sport team colors often.

        When Hannah finished making a duct tape bag and wallet, I asked her to write down some of the names of bracelets to look up on-line: Sailor's, Fishtail, Triple, Mohawk, Double X, Starburst, Butterfly, Blossom. She says likes them all and learned to work so fast with her hands by folding origami birds when she was younger. Erika left for a Halloween party and David sang Happy Birthday to Joe in Hebrew. I spent the day making Ina Garten's carrot cake to take to Beth's spectacular dinner for Joe. Grandmothers probably should think twice about adding walnuts and raisins. Strike two!

      

My Weekend Quilting Binge

     Unfortunately, I missed my trip with the Beadsprouts to NH, so Joe drove me there a few days later to a quilt store I wanted to visit. We hoped to observe colorful leaf activity, but the lakes are what got to me! And the batiks at Keepsake Quilting.

      In the car, I stitched on a world map quilt I just sewed together for the grandchildren. I had put this aside because the world cities blocks side was longer or wider than the panel world continents map side or vice versa. I had to figure out the wild math and cut a mix of blue borders so that I could stitch the sides together to make a quilt. Now I will hand-sew along the printed stitch lines in the design (to the batting on both sides) and let the grandchildren decide what they want to do with it. The piece is colorful and educational.They can do the hand-sewing or I can finish it at a bee.

Click to enlarge photos.

     Keepsake Quilting is only a couple of hours away and there are some neat stops on the way. In the store I found Tonga Treats Table Runner batik squares that make up to a finished size of 16" x 52." That would be the biggest quilt and the most old fashioned quilting I have ever done. I usually make journal quilts and a 12" x 12" is big for me! It would have helped to have had lessons. But I had experience making quickie nine-patch blocks for Katie's Project Hope quilts. I tore into the first blue runner. It has some problems, but daughter in law loves it and feels it is perfect for her new dining room table.

     Artists never give up. I made another runner the next day. Although it was not groomed for its photo, with a little ironing the green one is perfect for my dining room (but only color-wise). I will gift it as well. The fun was in the ease and speed of the craft. According to the directions, you make 4 nine-patch blocks from thirty six 5" batik squares. Next, you cut each of those squares into four equal pieces, cutting horizontally and vertically. You then arrange the blocks into two rows of eight blocks and sew together. You add the 2 1/2" border and sandwich the backing, batting and top. Next, stitch the edges around, turn and hand sew the opening. You can quilt, but they are super without. This project kept me out of Joe's hair while he was grading law papers.

PINK Day at the MFA

        Recently, 75 pianos appeared on the streets of Boston in Luke Jerram's public art project, Play Me, I'm Yours!  Citizens donated the Boston pianos to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Celebrity Series of Boston. Artists or community groups embellished the pianos, inviting all to sit down to play them. The grand piano below, decorated by Hilary Zelson, is near the Huntington entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts through October 14.

Click on photos to enlarge

       Many young relatives of museum staff dressed in pink on Tuesday to visit the museum for photos. The group enjoyed "tea" in Bravo after a preview of the Think Pink show which coincides with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After treats, Erika and I went outside where the children gathered on the steps at the Huntington entrance for more photos and balloons. Off to the side, Erika and I happened on a young man's playing Gershwin at the wonderful easel piano above. Erika took her turn.

        Erika and I had arrived very early for this PINK event and parked on the Fenway side. (At my age, what is the difference in the designated Huntington Entrance and the Fenway Entrance? A parking place on the street by the front door.) Before our 3:45 PINK date, the two of us visited the shop and the contemporary art areas. I found she was quite taken by the sculpture at the different spots in the museum, especially statues of people and Tara Donovan's undulating styrofoam cup cloud.

         By the end of the day, outside with others on the steps of the Huntington entrance, Erika still did not want to leave the museum. I noticed the MFA doors were starting to close, but the guards let us in. We moved extremely swiftly to the other side of the seemingly empty museum, to the doors where we had entered on the Fenway side. Thankfully, that entrance was still open.  I told Erika we must read the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. I understand it is about two children who run away and hide in the Met Museum. Once outside on the Fenway side, Erika and I examined the new installation of Paul Manship sculpture: a Native American hunter and his prey, an antelope. What a day! Huffa Puffa.

Simple Fabric Postcard revisited

   Surprise is a good element for parties and just about anything. Often one can excite people with the unexpected. One doesn't expect a thank-you note to arrive as a quilted postcard...or a mug rug. Whatever, I like them; and the US Postal System has not let me down.

Click photo to enlarge

     Type the word "postcard" in at the top left of this blog where you see a magnifying glass, an area next to the orange and white Blogger symbol. Many blog postcard postings will come up for you to scroll different ways of making fabric postcards. I often check back to see how to make them. I wanted to get these off fast. 

     Today I needed two on the topic of art. I took Seurat's pointillism, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte to symbolize the gorgeous day and beautiful reunion luncheon many of us enjoyed on Thursday. Georges Seurat had other intentions. For me it stands for many paintings this group has supported as well as the lovely, perfect gathering.

      To make the postcard, cut front and back fabrics, as well as fleece, flannel or batting to 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Postcards are 4 x 6 inches and go at a postcard rate. I always put on a full- rate stamp, since I will take to the post office for hand-canceling. You need to write with a fabric marker. I used Fabrico. I have a "Postcard" stamp, but you can write out the word and should. Run over any ink with a dry iron to further set it.

       Put the front and back fabrics, right sides facing each other, the fleece on one side or the other to pin the three for sewing.  Leave a 2-inch opening on the side so that you can turn the postcard out after trimming corners. You will need to iron the postcard at this point and slip- or blind-stitch the opening closed. Sew or quilt around the card with a  1/4-inch stitch from the edge. In this case I also quilted a line down near the center from the word "Post Card." Quilt as much as you like keeping a thought to legibility. I read somewhere that mug rugs or fabric coasters are better with fleece interiors which is more absorbent. I used fleece this time along with invisible thread. Timtex makes a firmer card, but I like soft. Speed was important here. I hope they arrive in the morning.

More Journaling: three new quilts

     Summer passed too fast; and I was not very productive. So I decided to make three journal quilts in a weekend. My Journal Quilt Connection had invited the president of our guild to visit; and I hated not to do my part to contribute.

      I always look for a subject that is memorable or I don't want to forget. These journal quilts are supposed to be sketches, hopefully with an edge. On the back of last week's blog's self-portrait (September 3), I added an embroidered hypodermic needle (lots of lidocaine that day) and clock (8 to 5 off and on in surgery); and I will surely add more details to the quilts I am showing this week:

      Coming up is the 25th anniversary of my group at the museum. Almost thirty of us will meet to lunch in Boston this coming week. I found a fabric with paintings (a mix of artists on the front and Seurat on the back). On the reverse, I added a duplicate fabric for a pocket into which I will insert a DVD of all our earlier reunions along with a music fragment of "I'll Be Seeing You." I used a clock again to remind how fast time passes when you are having fun. A glue-gun helped attach beads to the clock to form XXV (25 years). Then I got busy designing a menu.
 

      One day Joe and I found we could leave Boston at noon, get to Portland ME to see a show at the art museum, stop in Ogunquit at the Oarweed for lobster on the water and return to Boston early in the evening. With Joe's teaching a law class (he never stops laboring), I fear I will lose my September or fall trip to Maine and the many art destinations there. I got those pretty fabrics at the City Quilter in NYC and had been wanting to use them.  The easel is made of bias tape.

Click to enlarge all photos

     And speaking of Joe's non-retirement, he has been gathering little $3.50 pots of cactus at Home Depot that grow to form a little house of horrors. He says cactus is the one plant he can't kill. This quilt commemorates two. A very little one started growing a long, long stem and we didn't know what it was or if we should cut it off. Recently it sprouted lots of little white flowers at the far end. I gave Joe the strange 4 long finger variety. It was his birthday and I needed a present. I saw this bizarre cactus in a window of a Chelsea NYC florist. The four long spikes have grown to four extremely long arms that are loping and encircling all the other cactus...as I suggested...a Little Shop of Horrors.

 More quilting and details could be added to each.