Mixed Blessings

No sales whatsoever at the Art Show and Sale in Lacombe today.  That said,

• I wasn't alone.  One water-colourist for whom this was her twelfth show, said it was her worst year ever; the potter next to me has been in the show three years now -- ditto; the same for my favourite jewellers (third or fourth year at least; they were next-door to me last year) and  for three fellows who shared a booth of photography and framed paintings (their first year).
• I had 3 people very interested but all saw me late in the day today and had spent their $$.  One has just moved into a new home and wants fresh wall art.  I may get a call.  I will remain hopeful;
• I had lots of interest and positive feedback (no more laughable comments, though I'm still being compared to people's grandmothers, mothers and aunties, and to my SAQA colleague and predecessor as SAQA WC Co-Rep,  Patti Morris, whom I admire);
• I met several more people who'd seen my work in "Meet the Best of the West" when it showed in Red Deer;
• I had two gentlemen fascinated with The Burgess Shale exhibit now touring Southern Alberta through the auspices of the Alberta Society of Artists and TREX (one of them had hiked the excavation site!);
• I had compliments from a woman who'd already seen the "Western Threads" exhibit at the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton; 
• I had many opportunities for public education (shades of the SAQA Trunk Show, "THIS is a Quilt!"); and
• I got lots of hand-stitching done on the second part of my triptych.  (I hung the first section up with a note that read "Work in Progress: 'Deteriorating Civility' (a Triptych).")  It got some curious looks.  :-)

What's next?

• A day in Lacombe tomorrow -- meetings, errands, recycling, a doctor's appointment, and a funeral tea at the church for a dear soul -- 94 -- who passed away last week;
• When home over the next month, (almost) complete rest.  By this, I mean working in the yard and garden (front needs raking), reading, knitting (for a change), perhaps working on a pieced project or two with OPI ("Other People's Instructions");
• Work on my 15 x 15 group piece (due May 31) on the theme, "Nature";
• Work on a piece for the 2014 SAQA Benefit Auction (due June 1, I think!);
• Travel to Edmonton on Friday for my son's graduation, which is the next day (Dip. Digital Media and IT) and house-warming (new digs for himself, his fiancée and another couple).  This will include (I hope) a visit to an LYS (Local Yarn Shop) or two, a gallery or two, a quilt show in Sherwood Park (on the way there), a favourite used-book shop and cafe, some long walks and some total "chilling".  
• Oh -- and the opening of the Focus on Fibre Arts Biennial Juried Show, "Prairies", at Enterprise Square in downtown Edmonton on Sunday evening (May 4).

Rural Rhythms (C) 2014

Time to get into my jammies and curl up with  a glass of wine.  In the words of the legendary Lawrence Welk,

Altogether Great Fun

I had a very lovely two days in Edmonton yesterday and the day before, largely taken up by my volunteering to co-monitor the Focus on Fibre Arts Association exhibit there.  Here I sat late yesterday afternoon, focused on the prayer shawl on which I knit to keep my hands busy both while chatting with visitors and when it was quiet.  There were more visitors Friday afternoon -- and more of them were seriously interested in talking about the art.  Yesterday there seemed to be more 'gawkers' in the mix.  Still, it's all great public education, and we gave away many cards for the Association as well as ones about our next show -- "Prairies" -- opening in the spring of 2014.  In the photo, clockwise from bottom left:

• Rug, Large Traditional, Original Design - Delightful Wednesday, Winner - Best of Show and 1st in Category - a group project by Cec Caswell, Rita Alfrey, Nancy Byways, Shirley Davis, Dianne Goodwin, Jan Leahy, Judy Sachs, Pat Wig, Laurie Wiles and Val Wissinger;
• Quilt, Large, Original Design - Granville Island Bridge - Winner - 1st in Category - Elinor Burwash;
• Weaving/Tapestry, Original Design - Rusalka - Winner, 1st in Category - Vladimira Fillion;
• Quilt, Small, Original Design - Sinclair Canyon - Winner - 1st in Category - Mary Anne Kilgannon;
• Multi Media, Original Design - Lake View - Winner - 3rd in Category - Kathy Logan de Chavez.
• Quilt, Small, Original Design - Nobody Here But Us - Winner - 3rd in Category - yours truly;
• Quilt, Medium, Original Design - Day Break - Winner - 2nd in Category and Winner, Viewers' Choice - Birdie McLean; and
• Rug, Small Traditional, Original Design, Neko and Cleo - Winner - 1st in Category.

On the table at my right elbow you can just glimpse a fabulous container by Wanda Cracknell, Open Spaces: Freedom to Roam - 1st place winner in the Textile Design - 3D - Original category.  In the booth but outside the photo:

• Dolls Representational - Fooled You, Ghillie Guerkin! - Winner, 1st in Category - Carol Kokotylo;
• Quilt, Medium, Original Design - Echoes of Infrared - Winner - 1st in Category - Margie Davidson;
• Needlework, Surface Design (Stump work) - Wild Rose & Bee - Winner - 1st in Category - Catherine Challenger; 
• Mult Media, Original Design - A Moment in Time - Winner - 1st in Category - Laurie Sobey; 
• Needlework, Original Surface Design - Urban Spaces - Winner - 1st in Category - Stephanie Brand; and
• Wearables Accessories, Original Design, Weaving - a shawl - Spaces in Lace - 1st in Category - Elizabeth Holinaty.

You can see all the pieces in the FFAA 2012 Gallery.  Enjoy!

When I wasn't at the booth, there was lots to see.  The full name of this show is Creative Stitching and Crafting Alive, so a portion of it is for paper- and scrap-book artists.  Such fun at their vendors' booths, too, because many of their paints trims cross over to crazy quilting and other forms of textile embellishment.  My favourite 'cross-over' vendor was new to me:  The Steam Trunk Craftworks.   

There was funky, tweedy twine, some wound on recycled wooden spools.

And more recycled wooden spools with ribbons wound on them (I bought 3!)

There were these wooden weaving tools from which to buy ribbon by-the-yard.  (Yes, Canada uses the metric system but this shop dealt in yards -- even though they're based in Surrey, British Columbia.)

These skeins of sari silk ribbon came in at $25 CAD.  Because I couldn't afford more than one, and all the colours were so luscious, I opted for five packets instead (below).

I selected two greens, a gold/brown mix, and a deep blue-purple.  I have a landscape dancing in my head already!

I was also looking for water-soluble fabric, which is different from the products sold by Sulky in that it has a more fabric-like drape and can be hand-stitched.  No luck, alas, but when I toddled over the the Quilter's Dream booth I did decide to purchase a small bottle of deColourant discharge liquid which -- unlike the thick dishwasher bleach/detergent liquid I have used -- not only removes colour from natural fabrics, but, if you add colour to the deColourant, replaces the removed colour with that added colour.  This can create a wonderful background fabric for quilting, painting or stitching.

And no visit to the vendors would be complete without a stop at Copperfield's Books.  This vendor always does a brisk business at any show he attends, because he carries a grand inventory at great prices.  I got my "Beaney & Littlejohn - In Action" DVD from him in Red Deer in June; this weekend I added to my B&L booklet collection with "Fragile Fabrics" (Booklet 23 in their series) and to my DVD collection with one from Quilting Arts Workshop: Catherine Nicholls teaching "Drawn to Pen & Ink".   I love to watch DVDs when I spend long hours in Lacombe on Mondays, between meetings.  This one is right on time for tomorrow -- and what makes it perfect is that I already own the pens etc. mentioned in the supply list on the back of the cover!

In addition to the Focus on Fibre Arts Association exhibit, there was one by FAN -- the Fibre Art Network -- entitled "From Away"  I took several photos for my records, because I have 3 friends showing in that exhibit, but you can see all the pieces clearly here.  :-)  Enjoy!

And so ends my mini-tour of this year's Creative Stitches show, Edmonton.  While the vendors will be in Calgary in October, our FFAA exhibit will not.  I don't know about FAN.  My recommendation is that you check the programme for textile art exhibits and make sure you don't miss any on offer.  They are great sources of inspiration and are guaranteed to lift your spirits after a long day of seminars and shopping.

Another Opening...

Another show! 

Just a quick post from Edmonton.  Arrived here yesterday afternoon, fresh from a pit stop in Camrose for a fabric fix at Quilting From the Heart (more about that another day), and stayed over with my daughter.  Unloaded the car-full of my son's stuff into his new living space in her basement lower level.  Spent a lovely evening "solving all the world's problems", and now she's off on a week's holiday at Qualicum Landing on beautiful Vancouver Island.

Meanwhile, I'm checking in via her old PC, prior to heading home...through Sherwood Park, where I'll be attending the latest opening of the Focus On Fibre Arts 2012 exhibit, "Spaces & Places", at the Loft Gallery at 590 Broadmoor Boulevard.  The Gallery is open weekends -- 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 12 - 4 p.m. on Sundays -- and our exhibit runs through the last weekend in July.  If you're in the Edmonton area this month, do be sure to drop by!

Posting from Edmonton...

on my daughter's laptop, so no photos but some news.  Came up last evening for the opening of the first exhibit in the 2012 Biennial Show put together by the Focus on Fibre Arts Association.  Found that my piece, "Nobody Here But Us" took a 3rd-place ribbon in the 'Quilt: Small Original" category.  The show is smaller than the one in 2010, but hey -- a ribbon's a ribbon!  ;-)

And...found out two fibre artist acquaintances had pieces in the same show, in different categories!  Margie Davidson had a piece in  "Quilt: Medium Original" and Kathy Logan de Chavez, on in "Multi-media: Original".  Both gals were there so we were able to congratulate each other and chat over the refreshments. 

Added to the fun: I won 2 of the door prizes!  One was a sack of fabric goodness -- stay tuned for photos, as some pieces are really funky! -- from Marshall's here in Edmonton, and the other was a pack of 15 balls of Paton's yarn in a DK, a glorious blue with coloured flecks, privately donated...from one knitter's stash to the enjoyment of winning attendees of the opening.  I sense a 'go-to' cardigan comin' on -- perhaps the "Sit-com Chic", a long-time favourite of mine from Bonne Marie Burns.  Because I won it, it doesn't count as stash, right? ;-)

On the way home later today, because it's Friday, and because I got the last 3 pieced red-and-white blocks of the Centennial Quilt quilted yesterday before I drove up here, I've decided to have an Artist's Date in Camrose, visiting a bookshop (I hear there's a new one!), a yarn store (Liv with Yarn) and Quilting from the Heart.  Ta-ta for now...

My Day Was Made

Nobody Here But Us (C) 2011

by 8 a.m. this morning, when I opened an e-mail to find that my piece, "Nobody Here But Us" has been juried into the Focus On Fibre Arts biennial competition out of Edmonton.   Exhibit dates etc. should arrive by Canada Post in the next week or so.  :-)

What's more, Anna Hergert, the SAQA Western Canada co-rep who runs the SAQA WC weblog, has just told me that my turn as 'Featured Member' is coming up at the end of April.  This calls for an updated photo of me at work in my studio.  I've asked my daughter to do the honours, so stay tuned!

C&G and FMQ

Today I focused on two things, which happened to complement each other perfectly:  my C&G Module 5, excercises 15 & 16, and the Free Motion Quilt Project, for which I'm playing 'catch up'.  

Yep.  I began by trying to catch up a bit with Leah Day, and made it through the introduction and the "Wiggle" exercises.  This is the stack of practice blocks -- with the best one on top, of course!  I have more squares of muslin and batting paired and ready to go as I continue this project.

At the same time in the C&G...

My current assignment for Module 5 of the City and Guilds Level 2, Creative Techniques: Quilting, involves Free Motion Quilting (FMQ).. First there were exercises in my sketchbook:

 You can see in this first one that I was stiff and stilted, even as I tried to draw a favourite design without lifting pen from paper.

 The second one was a bit easier to do -- in part because I've done it before on fabric, and in part because now I was getting warmed up.

 Now we had to try to fit a design around a central motif.  See how the scale changes to accommodate the motif rather than detract from it?

This was another example of trying to scale a quilting design to a motif -- to create texture and interest without overwhelming the motif.

In the end, I had to select a free-motion design and stitch it around a motif.  I managed to dig out a sample I'd created for an earlier module and activity, and use it for my sample.  Not my best 'pebbles' work (I have done this before, 2 or 3 years ago...)  but it got me back into the groove.  At the same time, I was able to follow Leah's advice to modify my stippling foot, to test out various threads, and to adjust my chair (by adding a cushion to raise me just a bit) so that future exercises will be a bit more fun and relaxing.

Although I may move on in the C&G (I think foundation piecing is next on the agenda), I'll be continuing with the FMQ Project, so stay tuned for new designs and photos of practice samples as I continue to learn and to "Polish the Process".

P.S. The following pieces in the 3F shop have been submitted for juries' consideration to up-coming exhibits:

"Nobody Here But Us" - 16.25" W x 13.75"L - for "Spaces & Places", the 2012 Biennial Exhibit of the Focus on Fibre Arts Association, Edmonton, Alberta

and...

for the Gallery at the 2012 Lacombe Art Show & Sale, running April 20 -22 at the Lacombe Memorial Centre:

Snippets: A Quilt Artist's Learning Curve

A Beach, 3 Boys

Hay Bales

Saturday Stitching

Today's been windy, snowy and grey, so I stayed inside and stitched.  Apparently a Chinook is moving in, but it doesn't feel like it here -- yet!

First I tackled my Feather Stitch for Take A Stitch (on) Tuesday, Week 3.  This is just the start; since this photo, I've added some more to the white section in the lower right corner.  Because the tie pattern is so bold, I've decided to hold off on more than that now -- it's time to audition some beads and buttons!

Empty Space is a Place - Detail

Next I put on an episode of The Quilt Show that I hadn't seen, and finished my City and Guilds sample -- hand-quilting the almost-10" square piece that I'd stamped in a previous assignment.  This is a close-up shot (right).

I call the piece "Empty Space is a Place", based on the fact that this piece was stamped with triangles that were the 'negative' of the original design -- and because I've had on my mind the Call for Entry to the Focus on Fibre Art Association's biennial show: Spaces and Places.  


No, I'm not entering a sample into a show! ;-)  But I did, in the end, spend part of this afternoon preparing an entry.  I decided to submit "Nobody Here But Us", a piece I finished last spring based on a photo of a stand of trees near my home, taken in the winter.  I got busy and re-photographed it -- both a full and a detail view -- saved the photos to a CD, filled out the entry form and a cheque for the fee, etc.  It will go in the mail Monday or Tuesday (Early Bird deadline is Feb. 3).  The last time I entered this show (2010), my piece, "Picked for the Ripening", won third place in the Small Wall Quilt category!  That quilt was sold at the SAQA auction last fall, and now lives with a dear friend and SAQA colleague in her New York home.

Ah, then...we shall see what we shall see...

More than a month...

has passed since my last post -- but there's a good reason! I've been busy, with a capital 'B'. Where shall I begin? Since April 9th, I've worked part-time at our local Library, gone to the 11th annual Lacombe Art Show, volunteered at Superfluity, the thrift shop in Stettler, sung at church (and had practices for same), gone to Calgary and to Edmonton twice each, endured two spring blizzards, and won a prize at a gallery show. It may have been over-the-top busy these past few weeks, but it's also been a great deal of fun!

The Art Show in Lacombe is a true 'Artist's Date', and a delight for the eyes. This year my favourite booths were those belonging to the Ponoka Potters Guild, and to a young woman named Sally Towers Sybblis. From the Guild, I bought a tall, slender mug fashioned in brown and blue glazes by Noni Chalmers, the wife of the fellow for whom I'm making the kilt hose. She does most her potting in caramel-coloured glazes, but this mug was very different, and I had to take it home with me. :-)

Sally is a calligrapher and artist who paints and writes on both paper and fabric -- mainly canvas. From her I bought a very pretty little canvas tote that was inscribed with one of my very favourite sayings: "Bloom where you're planted." It was decorated with a pot of purply flowers -- the name of which I forget at the moment! She and I had a long chat about painting and working with inks and dyes on fabric, and about showing work. She had a single booth, the cost of which was so reasonable for the 3 days, that I have decided to use next year's show as my Firm Visioning Goal -- and prepare my body of work with the show in mind. I hope to see Sally again then, if not before!

My first trip to Calgary was to my mid-April meeting of the Wild Rose Stitchers, the only Alberta Chapter of The Applique Society, which meets on the third Wednesday of each month -- year 'round -- at 10 a.m. at Addie's Creative Fabrics. That particular meeting was full of our last-minute plans for Quilt Canada 2010, which began shortly thereafter (April 24) and ran through May 1. Suddenly, the Week was upon us -- and we were ready!

Here's one of our members, L, sitting at the table at our 51-piece exhibit on the morning of April 28 (the exhibits were open from the evening of April 27 through to 5 p.m. on May 1). I was volunteering with her that day, and it was a full one indeed. We had lots of visitors, asking questions, and were thrilled to be able to link people up with TAS chapters near them, from Dawson City, Yukon, to the 'Cyberspace' chapter at Yahoo.com.

That night we had a spring blizzard, complete with heavy, wet snow, howling winds and icy roads. We awoke to 10 inches of snow on our vehicles and virtually impossible side streets. Still, the show must go on, and most of us volunteering managed to get back to the show. In fact, by the time I finished my second day as a volunteer (April 29), you could hardly tell we'd had the storm. Alberta in April; ya gotta love it!

Thursday, April 29, from noon through almost 6 p.m., I worked at the SAQA exhibit, Synthesis, which up till Quilt Canada 2010 had been travelling in Eastern Canada and the Maritimes. From Calgary, it's scheduled to go to Fibreworks on the Sunshine Coast of B.C. later this summer. I was blessed by J, one of the exhibit's other volunteers, when she took my picture next to my piece, "Snippets: An Art Quilter's Learning Curve". This was the first time I'd seen all of the pieces in one place -- and it was a thrill to be there with my heroines, Anna Hergert, Pamela Allen, Laurie Swim and Karen Goetzinger!

Another thrill came when a total stranger told me that as far as she was concerned, my piece, "Prairie Autumn" , was the best in the show! She asked me what I'd sell it for and when I told her, she said, "...reasonable, for a piece that size. I was over the moon to have my work validated by someone who was not a friend, colleague or family member. This, and my experience at the FFAA Show (see below) have given me renewed confidence, energy and motivation for my work, and for my future.

I had introduced myself to Pamela Allen at the Opening Reception on Tuesday evening, and we kept bumping into each other thereafter. This was great, because I felt we were well acquainted by the time I served as her "Class Angel" on Friday and Saturday. The name of this 2-day workshop was "What Makes a Good Composition?" Because there were only a few others in the class, I was invited to play too -- quite unexpectedly -- so I had to go to the Merchant Mall and buy some fabric (all together now: "Aw-w-w-w-w"). I participated in the first 2 exercises -- a black and white study, and a colour study -- but spent Day 2 stitching while the others worked on the linear study. Here are a few samples from the other participants (who shall remain nameless):

Left to Right: Black and White Studies ; a Colour Study; a Linear Study under construction

Stay tuned for forth-coming photos of my efforts!

I arrived home Sunday to no phone service. Turns out the storm had knocked out lines in the area, and my land line was affected. Blessedly, anyone I needed to contact was on e-mail!

Bright and early on Thursday, May 6th, I was on my way to Edmonton for a 3-day version of Anna Hergert's workshop, "Cause and Effect". As it's usually 5 days, it was a pretty intense time! There 11 of us had a great deal of fun melding layers of painted plastic wrap, and testing Tyvek, acrylic felt, used dryer sheets, paper napkins and landscape fabric with stitching, paint, heat guns and irons. I started a new sketchbook for this class; though I have expanded my horizons already with those 3 days, I know I have more experimenting to do -- and I have some great ideas for the next piece in my 'nature' series.

On the evening of May 7th, most of our class -- and Anna -- were present for the Opening of "Green", the latest show from the Focus on Fibre Arts Association. What a thrill to find that my entry, "Picked for the Ripening", won 3rd Place in my division: "Small Wall-hanging, Original Design"! (That's it next to me, the bottom of a trio of small hangings.) Even better, at least 1/2 dozen of us in Anna's workshop had entered -- and won -- so Anna was thrilled and proud of and for all of us. What a great group of which to be a part!