"Road Trip"

Just finished one of the projects I started in Jan.  This one is called "Road Trip" and measures 8" by 10".  All hand stitched.  I am into chopping up conversation prints (also called fussy cuts) and adding pieces from other things in my quilting.  I will ride this out until I have had enough, but so far it is just a lot of fun
.
This was an assignment for my art quilt group to create a landscape.  It is tiny, 8" by 10".  The only machine stitching on this is in the binding.  Every thing is appliqued and hand quilted with embroidery thread.

This little quilt was on display at Short Term Gallery in Baker City, Oregon  and sold to an  artist who design pottery sculptures  of vintage RV's.  She and her husband travel to shows in a refurbished Air Stream and they purchased the tiny quilt to hang on the wall of their RV.  Last I heard,  it was headed for a show in Denver in August 2012.

( Some of the projects listed below are still unfinished as of Sept 27, 2012, but I will finish them--hopefully before the end of 2012) 

 I have two more projects started in Jan. to finish and two assignments for the March meeting of my arts quilt group.  One is to create a study in lights and darks,
 (Note:  I did finish that one and named it "Cream?")
  and the other is to do a still life.  I got them both started.  The still life is using a fussy cut of a combine.

And then I found an old photo, ca 1900, of a dude operating an old farm machine.   I think it is a used for haying.  I made a line drawing  which I will embroider using dark thread on a light ground for my dark and light study.  I'll combine both assignments into one piece. 

  I am ready to start

And it will end up looking sort of like this...hopefully better.  My sketches are entertaining to say the least, but it gives me an idea for placement and I can note what fabrics and embellishments to use.  This needs to be a reality by mid March...Yikes!

But I am getting ahead of my self... I need to finish the girls first...

and the couple...

"Come Away..."

Finished Aug. 2012 and on display at The Short Term Gallery in Baker City, OR

This quilt features a 1909 post card that was in my grand parents stuff, and a leaf-print from my friend Nancy.  The rest are fussy cuts stitched to dyed wool.  No batting as the wool was thick.  It is hand quilted using embroidery floss and mounted on art board with a blanket stitch.

But right now, I'm headed downstairs to watch The Voice.





"Alert" Work in Progress, Acrylic on Hollow Door by Walt Wirfs

"Alert"  Work in Progress

It started on a summer visit to the water front of Newport, Oregon in 1972.  Walt took a photo of an old fishing boat, "The Alert".  He said, "I would love to paint this some day."  In the fall of 2011, he asked me to see if I could find the negative.  Digging up a 40-year-old negative is no easy task, but I found it and scanned it.  Next, Walt made a pencil scketch of it to work out values.

He decided to paint it using acrylics and prepared a hollow door for the canvas by cutting it and smearing the surface with Gesso.  Next he drew a line drawing on the door.

The next photos show the paint as he lays down undercoats...

This is what the "Alert" looks like today, Feb.21, 2012.  More to come...

Feb. 24

Feb. 27

Feb. 28

March 1

March 11...Revisions have started. Gesso goes on to prepare surface for repainting.  The sky has already gone through a revision, but it will get more.

Finished June 2012 and hanging at the Ryan Gallery in Lincoln City, OR.

This was a very difficult painting for Walt as he was learning to paint in acrylics after a lifetime of painting in oils.  Why the change?  Because I developed severe asthma triggered from the oil-paint fumes.  He has painted two other pics in acrylics since this one was finished and  have heard him muttering,

 "Man, I hate this.  I really like painting in oil." 

 Thank you, Walt, for making the change!



Leaf Prints on Muslin

Leaf prints, acrylic on muslin

Here are some of the leaf prints my friend, Nancy, makes.  I have known her for many years and she has made these for almost as long as I've known her.  She gathers leaves in the early fall and makes a batch in several colorways.  Over the years she has perfected the paint she uses, how to apply the paint, and the method of pressing them on the surface.  At first she printed them on cards and now she prints them on muslin and makes lovely quilted table runners.  

I just had an update from Nancy...it is now fall of 2012 and she is ready to do another batch of leaf prints, but is having trouble finding the paint colors she likes to use.  Isn't that the way...find a product you like and guess what...they change it or stop making it!

The golden paint color did not scan well, but you get the idea.  The top is a maple leaf, bottom right a white oak, and bottom left red oak.  I purchased a batch from her and cut them into individual pieces.  These are being embellished with felt tip markers and dark brown embroidery floss.  The red oak is ready for me to use as an applique, the large maple is halfway done, and the white oak leaf has had nothing done to it.  These will be used in two different quilts.

I used the largest leaf print in a quilt I named "Road Trip" and one of the smaller prints in a quilt I named "Come Away..."  Both finished quilts are shown in my entry "Road Trip" dated Sunday Feb. 26, 2012.

Char

What's Next? Altered Textiles

Pets.  Yes, there are two cats and a dog.

This is a 22 inch square wallhanging in the making.  The background is a hand-pieced Drunkard's Path traditional design I made about 2006.  The ladies with their pets are appliqued on batiks and quilted using embroidery floss.  Sequins and seed beads, ribbons, and trims are hand stitched on and all three will have felt backings.  Small fussy cuts from a novelty print will be appliqued on and at the top are two hand-painted leaf prints using real leaves.  I will finish this wallhanging with traditional binding.  I call this one "Cosmo".

My pets sleeping on Christmas Day, 2012.  Natalie and Jena, both age 10.

My grandson, age 4, enjoying his pet, Toby.  Nov. 2011.

Very tiny altered art textile in progress using dyed wool, a vintage postcard that has been cut up in two pieces, printed novelty fabric, ribbon and trims--hand quilted on to a wool background using a thin batting and  muslin backing.   It will be finished with a traditional binding and mounted on a muslin sleeve stitched to an artist board and displayed on a shelf stand.  I call this one "Come Away With Me".

The project in the center of my work space is a challange assignment for my quilt group that meets once a month at Ruby Street Quilts in Tumwater, WA.  We are to design an art quilt using a landscape theme.  Not much to see yet but I got a great start on this.  I will need to finish it by our meeting on Jan. 19.  It's called "RVing:  Indian Summer".  I am excited about all three of these projects and will get them finished soon.  I have vowed not to move on to any other textile projects until these three are completed.  Wish me luck.

Char

Mini Quilts Valentine Cards

Week of Jan 20 to 27, 2012 

At The Beach

Among several hearty wind and rain storms and some really nice sunny days, I was able to create 9 mini quilts using batiks, novelty prints, embroidery floss, ink stamps, and some paper appliqued and quilted in layers to a fabric foundation. I used Steam-a seam-2 to bond them to note cards and packaged them with an envelope and seal sticker. These were fun to make and sort of like eating potato chips---just can't stop with one. While there Matt hiked out to Cape Lookout and around the area nearby, lifted weights, swam in the pool, and skim boarded. He found plenty of sunshine to enjoy and we traveled or stayed in and worked Sudoku or jigsaw puzzles when it stormed. We feasted on steamed oysters and crab dishes at Mo's Seafood Restaurant in Taft, OR. Not bad eats and drinks in Pacific City at The Pelican Brewery, the Mexican restaurant, and the local bar and grill in town.

These were mailed to The Temporary Gallery in Baker City, OR to sell at their Feb. Art Sale.  I was very pleased to get these completed.  I have three more similar cards on sale at Fleur de lis Antiques and Collectables in Lacey, WA.  One has sold there to date.  I am selling them for $3.50 each.  They don't sell well for me on eBay/  I think people actually have to hold them before they can buy one.  What doesn't sell will get mailed out to friends and families for Valentine's Day 2013.



From Journalist to Blogger Snow Storm, Pacific City, Oregon

So, I was entering stuff in my 2012 journal and started thinking about blogging instead of journaling this year. So I Goggled around a bit and found this. Let's see how it goes.

Jan. 1, 2012

Happy New Year: Normally I start out my journal with a list of activities I completed the year before. As a quilter, completed projects of any sort are rare. So I like to see what I actually managed to complete during the year.

1. Completed another year of day care for my grand kids, Rosalee, age 8, and Derek, age 4.

2. Joined a neighborhood book club and completed these books:

a. The Hunger Games trilogy

b. The Jewel of Medina

c. The help

d. A Heart for Any Fate

e. Honolulu

f. We Need to Talk About Kevin

g. The Dove Keepers
h. Mrs. Pariquin's Island
3. Enjoyed the following activities:
a. Finishing several sewing and quilting projects.
b. Walking and bike riding and lost seven pounds.
c. Six weeks (one week at a time) stays at our second home at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City, OR
d. Arranged two art gallery shows for husband, Walt, at Pacific City, OR and Lincoln City, OR
e. Displayed four quilts at gallery in Baker City, OR
f. Maintained a booth at Fleur de lis Antiques and Collectibles in Lacy, WA
g. Attended 6 family therapy sessions with daughter, son-in-law, and husband.
h. Displayed quilts in two shows in Lacey, WA and Aurora, OR
i. Bought and sold quilts and sewing related articles on eBay.
j. Went on 5 spring and summer RV camping trips with husband and grand kids.
k. Got both grand kids through two sessions of swimming lessons.
l. Attended a family reunion in Kings Valley, OR
m. Published two articles in the King Folk newsletter
n. With my cousins we opened a site on Ancestry.com called King Folk and entered data, pictures, and now have over 9,000 family members recorded.
o. Have had house guests living here since Halloween.
p. Participated in a Celebration of Life for my ex brother-in-law at Taft, OR
q. Visiting neighbors and taking many trips to the park with my grand kids.
r. Helped my granddaughter with two sessions of eye therapy.
s. Organized my parents photo collection on to Cd's.
Plans for 2012:
More of the same and looking forward to whatever comes down the line.

Whopper of a Storm

The first few weeks in Jan. brought some cold weather and small snow flurries. any accumulation quickly melted, which is very typical of winter here in the Puget Sound area. We began to hear news of a snow storm that would drop almost 12 inches of snow overnight, but everyone was skeptical. Our studded snow tires went on in Oct. so we thought we were prepared. We gave the snow blower away when we left Eastern Oregon two years ago, but still had a snow shovel. But, we neglected to take the canvas summer gazebo down. It was heavily anchored with large boulders to stay up through the gale-force wind storms we get here, but we did remark that we may need to get out and remove snow off the top.

Sunday, Jan. 15 We had 14 inches of snow fall overnight. Unbelievable. Everything stops here with that much snow as there are limited snow removing vehicles owned by the cities of Olympia and Lacey. Even if you dug your car or truck out....well, few vehicles could maneuver the streets.

So, you know what happened to the gazebo...

It was sort of fun shoveling the snow...

.......... but it snowed another two inches that day.  It was more fun sledding.

Then we had trouble.  Temperatures started to warm up and ice pellets started to fall and we had a

silver thaw

and a four day black out.  We cooked on the grill outside on the ice-slick patio, put snow in the refrigerator, kept the freezer door shut, stored ice in the snow, had hot water but only heat from one gas fireplace and it was very dark when the sun went down.

Friday Jan. 20, 2001

Walt, Matt and I bailed the power outage and left for warmer climes.  It was about thirty five miles of driving South on I-5 before we found any electricity and  had our first hot meal in Centralia, WA.  As we drove towards Oregon, the snow and ice quickly disappeared and we had a sunny drive to Pacific City where we have a beach cabin at Cape Kiwanda overllooking Haystack Rock and the Pacific Ocean.

Cottages at Cape Kiwanda

View of Haystack Rock from our beach cabin balcony at Cape Kiwanda.  I shot this photo last summer, 2011. 

Walt made an oil painting of it and it is displayed at Ryan's Gallery at Lincoln City, OR

Here is my favorite rendition of Haystack Rock...

Artist's view of Haystack Rock at Cape Kiwanda beach, Summer 2011.  Photo by Walt Wirfs.