Yet Another Day

spent outside the studio.  Errands in Red Deer and Lacombe...winter tires exchanged for summer ones.  Groceries.  Celebrant at Evensong in lieu of our priest who is on holiday.  Brief kaffeeklatsch with my friend, A, during which there was reciprocal show and tell.  Her latest hand-quilted applique quilt -- combination of applique and broderie perse is exquisite!

Now home to catch up at The Desk and move into the studio for some piecing of P's quilt (the Hunter's Star) during this evening's Quilt Cam.

Meanwhile, for your viewing pleasure, I have to thank my cyber-friend Pat of Altering Thoughts for sharing the wonderful work of Hilde Morin.  Enjoy!

However Long It Takes

Those of you who've followed me for awhile know that I often add hand-stitching, beading and/or embroidery to my pieces.  This was certainly true of "Trio", my Final Assessment Piece for my C&G certificate, and of the 21 (so far) crazy quilt blocks I created last year using recycled neckties.

I've also done needle-turn applique -- my sister can attest to that as she was the recipient of two hand-done pillow shams a couple of years back -- and belonged at one time to The Applique Society.

I say all this because, well...it means I know how long it takes to work by hand -- so much so that I thought of adding that phrase to my blog name when I updated my 'look'.

But...these hand-workers in needle-turn applique put an entirely new perspective on "however long it takes".  The video below, made by Bonnie Lyn McCaffery at the Festival of Quilts in 2011, gives you a glimpse into the work of the Tentmakers of Cairo, whose millennia-old craft is in danger of becoming extinct.  Why?  It goes back to what Seth Godin mentioned about the "scarcity-based" consumer attitude prevalent in the West today:  buy as much stuff as you can for as little money as possible, so you'll appear 'trendy' and 'current' without much effort.

Here in bedding box stores in shopping malls, you can find hand-quilted bed-quilts for as little as $150.00 -- made in China.  To make even a twin-sized bed-quilt with good-quality cotton bought locally, and to hand-quilt it, can take weeks or months, and costs that much for material alone (the going price for a metre -- 39" or so -- of 22 cm (45") wide cotton in Canada runs between $9 and $17.  Ten metres, and you have your $150, and you haven't even cut the fabric.

The same thing is happening with the tentmakers' craft -- people are devaluing it by purchasing cheaply-printed panels, imported...you guessed it...largely from China.

Now take a look at this work and ask yourself...which would I rather have?  A masterpiece, or a cheap knock-off?

You can learn even more about this work from UK artist Jenny Bowker, whose work has been influenced by the designs of these makers, and by her life experience and travels in the Middle East, and from her friend Kim Beamish, who is taking up the tent-makers' cause in a film he is creating, for which funding is badly needed.

"After [his speech in the Areopagus], Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.  There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla...Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them..."

Acts of the Apostles 18:1-3, NIV (emphasis mine)

It Begins With Research

Yep. Just as Module 6 -- the one with the Assessment Piece featuring patchwork/piecing -- began with a look into traditional pieced blocks and quilting patterns, so Module 8 -- with the Assessment Piece featuring applique -- begins with a requirement to research a favourite traditional form of applique.

An applique ralli
Photo: Khalid Mahmood via Wikipedia

Indeed, there are many applique traditions out there, the earliest of which includes a canopy dating from 980 BC, which was part of the funeral tent of Queen Esi-mem-kev and is housed at the Boulak Museum in Cairo.

Some traditions are relatively new to me: that of the Kuna Indians of the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama, which uses reverse applique to create molas which are used in pairs for the front and back of blouses; and Pa Ndau, or flower cloth applique made by the Hmong tribal people of the mountainous regions of Viet Nam, Laos and Thailand, used for both bed covers and various articles of clothing, including belts and hats!  Pa Ndau is also a form of reverse applique.  Then there is Ralli (or Rilli) from parts of India and Pakistan, created in designs individualized to the region of the maker.  These may use patchwork (piecing), applique and/or embroidery, and are specifically used as single bed covers.

Being of Scots/English descent, born and raised in Canada, it is the Western traditions with which I'm far more familiar.  I've learned that broderie perse (literally, 'embroidery of Persia) was the earliest form of applique to migrate across the Atlantic.  Shapes were cut from expensive hand-coloured chintz made in India and imported to Britain -- and then exported to America with significant import duties attached.  The shapes were appliqued onto a white or unbleached muslin background, often with decorative stitches drawn from embroidery -- blanket or button-hole stitch, for example.  Barbara Brackman has an informative article about this style, including what makers are doing nowadays to reproduce traditional broderie perse creations.  Another resource for the history of this type of applique in the US is womenfolk.com, ably assisted by The Quilt Complex.

Album quilts -- specifically, those created in Baltimore in the 1840s -- were originally made to commemorate a festive event such as a wedding, or as memory quilts, given to family or friends who might be moving far away (such as out West).  In recent years, Ellie Sienkiewicz has revived the Baltimore album style of applique, publishing her twentieth book on the subject in 2010 (that's what I call 'working in series'!); another well-known practitioner of this art is Marylou McDonald, who has been creating BAQ-style quilts since 1991.

Then there is the Celtic applique style, largely using bias tape, emulating designs found carved on ancient stones in Ireland, and used as well in the costumes of lively Irish step-dancers.

Photo credit - Jeff Muceus,
Portland, OR

And...Hawaiian and Tivaevae  (Cook Island) traditions, both in the South Seas.  It is believed quilting arrived in this area with missionaries, bearing Western cotton fabrics, in the 1820s.  However, according to The Quilted Planet (Celia Eddy, Octopus Publishing Group, UK, 2005), prior to the arrival of cotton, "an ancient method of producing cloth involved stripping a sapling of its outer bark, then soaking and beating the bark to make a strong and flexible fabric.  The resulting material, called 'tapa' cloth, was then elaborately decorated and patterned by stencilling."  It comes as no surprise to me then, that the patterns used in Hawaii and the Cook Islands in their cotton quilts are stencil-like in form.

My task now is to work out in my sketchbook an expression of one of my favourite styles.  For this exercise I've chosen the Hawaiian, and have created a stamp using a pattern of the Naupaka flower which I found at Martha Stewart.com, of all places! Once I finish my sketchbook study, I'll post here again with a photo or two.  Stay tuned!

P.S. This post is linked to WIP Wednesday on the all-Canadian Needle and Thread Network.  :-)

Sitting With It

I'm back in the classroom studio with my City & Guilds work, Module 7 now.  This module focusses on applique techniques of all kinds, beginning with 'bonded' or 'fused' applique design.  We're to re-visit our sketchbooks for intriguing shapes, creating templates in different sizes, and then auditioning shapes, fabrics and lay-outs for a fabric collage.

Here are my shapes, glued to light-weight cardboard (the back of a case used for cans of 'fake beer' -- the name my late hubby gave to my favourite soft drink, non-alcoholic beer).  I have 2 sizes of each of four shapes -- a leaf, a spool, a bottle with stopper, and a semi-circle that's really half a large washer I found on a road some time last year while out walking.  I've since found some full circles too.  Wonderfully heavy for tracing and using for sun-dyeing etc. -- but I digress.  :-)

This is the first composition I sent to Linda -- nothing fused, just placed.  All fabrics except the print are my own hand-dyes.  The print is just a wee piece of a large one given me by a friend who had a friend who was 'de-cluttering'.  (I never turn down donated fabric.  I can always find a use or another home for it!)  I wasn't sure about the pale pink version of the bottle on the right; I really liked the rest though.

Linda picked up on the leaf shapes, and suggested I do more with them, so I've just sent her this version, which I like much better:

(Pardon the cutting mat in the background!)  I realized the first version was 'nice', but not particularly ambitious.  This second version, I think, has more potential. You'll see I switched out the pale pink bottle for a print version (from whence came the negative shape on the upper left).  The larger leaf shapes at the bottom, in a finished piece, would actually dangle, perhaps from a pointed edge treatment (faced).  The quilting and applique stitches would deliberately unify the whole, suggesting stems and veins on the leaves, and echoing the curves in the shapes of both the bottle and the leaf motifs.  

For now, however, I have some other things going for the weekend, including a 50th Wedding Anniversary party for my friend B and her husband N (my cribbage buddies), and some time in my step-sis' garden at her cottage, weeding.  As for the collage, I'll be sitting with the design, and come back to it Monday or Tuesday with fresh eyes.

Oh...and I finished the beading on Block 19 for both Take A Stitch on (a) Tuesday (TAST) and the Crazy Quilt Journal Project (CQJP) -- I've submitted it for my June contribution.  Here it is in all its glittery glory:

TAST/CQJP - Featuring Half Chevron Stitch

Oh, and knitting?  Yes, there's some of that too.  Having enjoyed the soothing qualities of garter stitch for the past few months (the Dr. Who Scarf project), and having been given a shopping-bag-full of delightful, light-weight tweedy Patons Venus yarn in a yummy royal blue, I cast about for a simple cardigan for m'self.  I found the perfect pattern in Knitty's Spring-Summer 2011 edition -- the Corinne Cardigan.  It's a delightful knit based on a repeating short-row sequence, knit all-of-a-piece from side to side, and I was doing well till I split off for my first (the Left) sleeve.  Suddenly I wasn't all that certain I was going in the right direction.  I've found a helpful knitter on Ravelry who ran into a similar problem, and she's walking me through this tough patch.  Once I'm on track and have enough knit to show it off, I'll post a photo.  Promise!

Black Gold: A Quilt Show

On Sunday afternoon I hiked on up to Leduc -- just south of Edmonton and the site of the Big Oil Strike in February of 1947 that put Alberta on the map, and gave birth to an industry that, while controversial, has kept generations of Canadians warm in our less-than-hospitable winters.

I was in search of warmth-providing gold of a different kind -- the 'quilty' kind, that is -- and I found it at the Black Gold Quilt Patch Guild's annual show, being held in the Leduc Composite High School.

It had all the components of a perfect Sunday afternoon Fibre Artist's Date: quilts -- both 'art' and 'traditional -- refreshments (coffee, tea, lemonade and an apparently endless supply of home-made cookies) and ...yep, a small Merchant's Mall.

Blue Days of Summer - Cathy Tomm

I behaved myself and bought nothing -- although I admit I was sorely tempted.  However, I was able to monopolize local quilter, Cathy Tomm, for quite a long chat about her work as a dyer, long-arm quilter, and exhibitor of art quilts.  I was particularly fond of her indigo-dyed piece on display in the exhibit hall, and gave her my card, just in case she decides to run a class on dyeing with indigo (which, I confess, intimidates me in a way that commercial dyes don't).

And then there was the artistry to be found in the more traditional quilts.  The show, as I mentioned, wasn't large; still, I viewed almost half of it before I found any that struck me as stunning enough for photographs.  The first of these was entitled "Stars Forever More" -- a very large quilt in creams and brown with a touch of black that bowled me over with it's 3D work, its quilting (machine done) and its design (including piping as one of the borders):

Stars Forever More -Gerri Smit

See the fabric folding?  The Piping?

In her statement, Ms. Smit says she was inspired by the original piece she saw, "Mexican Stars" by Annette Ornelas -- a piece that was a 36' wall quilt.  Ms. Smit has transformed it into a queen-sized bed quilt!  The one on display is the second that she's made.  The first was created for her granddaughter's High School graduation; this one on display was the one she made for herself -- and yes, she long-armed it herself too.

Then there was the unassuming Christmas-themed quilt by Pat Markley -- essentially a reversible, quilt-as-you-go piece done up in Christmas-tide fabrics:

'Tis the Season - front

Reading Pat's statement, I came to see that there was more to this quilt than meets the eye..."The reverse side was like a blank slate and I puzzled for a long time about the solution."  In the end, this is what she did:

'Tis the Season - back - sprinkled with star-flowers!

Continuing my journey through the last half of the show, I arrived at this charming contribution from Adeline Bilsborrow, incorporating hand embroidered blocks she created while recovering from surgery in 2010.  The pattern is "Aunt Bea's Parlour" by Judy Reynolds.  To set off the blocks, Ms. Bilsborrow chose 'Thirties' fabrics, which enhanced the delightful floral embroidery, and then she quilted it by hand.  A yummy stroll down memory lane to a simpler time!

Nostalgic Fragrances

The next one that caught my eye really shook me up!  Entitled "Medieval Earthquake", it was created by Diana Aponiuk in a 'Fractured Images' class.   Although there were another couple of pieces from that same class later in the exhibit, in my opinion, Ms. Aponiuk's was the best for her use of fabric and design to illustrate the technique.  It's hard on the eyes, though!

Medieval Earthquake

Another one that caught my eye was this original design -- "Gift of the Holy Spirit" by Myra Fraser:

Gift of the Holy Spirit

In her statement, Ms. Fraser didn't provide the impetus for making this piece -- simply that it was a challenge, and that she believes the Spirit guided her throughout the process.  The piece is machine applique and machine quilted by its creator.

 All of these were wonderful...but I was quite sure that "Stars Forever More" would be my 'Viewer's Choice'...until I saw this beauty:  All the Things in my Garden by Marge Hiller.  In her statement, Ms. Hiller writes that the pattern for the first block (not specifically identified) was inspired by a book on applique by Nancy Pearson.  Three more big blocks, four small ones and the side panel -- and the robin, upper left -- were her own design.  It is all hand applique -- and exquisitely hand-quilted by Ms. Hiller in what she describes as "Carol Armstrong style".   No matter that I am an 'art' quilter with a 'looser' style -- the artistry and skill in Ms. Hiller's work is clear!

Detail 2

All the Things in My Garden

Detail 1

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!

It's Taken Over a Year

But I finally finished Sham #1 of a pair for my DearSis:






It's my first full needle-turn applique piece, and the best stippling I've done to date. :-) I'm trying to keep my halo from pinching my ears, as Mom would have said.

Now for a breather till at least the end of January before I start Sham #2!