Book Binding…!

Blue Ocean

Both Books

Paris with Pomgranates

Maker of the Kit

I’m so pleased with myself! I’ve bound two books! I found a kit at a yardsale last fall by Bandelier with all I needed – chip board for the covers, glue, brush, book block of recycled papers, and assorted odds and ends. The directions were very clear, and the glue worked great. But the must fun was coming up with the covers, before I ever got the book binding. You may recognize the sea gull from an earlier post – fabric over canvas. The other was map/napkin collage on paper, which worked better as a cover. Both, however, were acceptable. Now to come up with something really neat to do with them, and locate more supplies!

Minds Wide Open and an Artist Statement

Coming up March 4th is the opening of Fantastic Fiber: A MINDS WIDE OPEN Celebration of Traditional Arts at The Arts Center in Orange.  I mention it because I’ll have at least one and possibly four pieces entered as part of the VCQ participation: The James River – My Lyric Muse (rocks in the James); Beachcoming and Morning Ocean (the recent thread sketches); and Zinnias from My Garden (zinnias in blue bottles).  The show runs thru April 30th.

For more information on Minds Wide Open, Virginia’s yearlong celebration of Women in the Arts, see http://vamindswideopen.org/.

For The Arts Center in Orange: http://artscenterinorange.wordpress.com/

In preparation for the show, I’ve written my Artist Statement.  Or at least the first iteration!  My husband, a marketing expert, and Jane Davila’s article, The Effective Artist Statement in the August/September 2009 issue of Quilting Adventures, helped it happen.  Comments welcome:

I loved my grandmother. The memories of her quilts, her extensive flower gardens, goldfish flitting through her pond, her chickens hiding eggs in the grape arbor, are alive for me in the wonderful world of fabric and color. I’ve tried for years to capture those happy, exciting days in photography, watercolor and textiles. When I see or create a piece of art that celebrates the joy of our world, at the back of my mind I feel my grandmother’s pleasure in living beauty.

In the mid 1970’s I immersed myself in the charms and techniques of photography thru classes at Virginia Commonwealth University and participation in the Richmond Camera Club, gaining valuable insight into composition and the emotional impact of a good image. Thru the 1980s I was fascinated with Sumi painting, watercolor, sketching and drawing and honed my ability to paint what I saw. In 1992 I discovered that I could use my lifelong abilities with fabric construction to quilt, and my artistic life took wing. I’ve reveled in the glories of art thru researching and developing programs on artists from Matisse to Hockney. Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keeffe, art nouveau, the Arts and Crafts Movement have all influenced my work.

I strive to capture the tension between fleeting, ephemeral moments of natural time and the permanence of rocks, old trees, oceans of the natural world. I seek to portray nature in a way that celebrates its transitory quality with new perspective, adding texture and tactility thru fabric and layers of collage. Quilts based on photographs are my most recent voyage on this constantly changing sea.

Second Snow of 2010!

Accumulation Saturday AM

Blue Bird!

Cardinal!

More snow!  We’re not getting hit as hard as northern Virginia (20″ already in Herndon this morning!), but its coming down again.  I poked my nose out the back door to get a photo of the accumulation so far, and saw a bird at the back fence.  With my handy dandy Canon zoom, I grabbed the shot, then saw it was a blue bird!!  Spring soon?! 

The cardinal comandeered the improvised feeding area on the front walk – daring the snow birds to impede on his territory.  Now to try some book binding…

First Snow of 2010!

Looking Back After Sweeping Walk

Snow Just Getting Started

Almost a Foot!

Iced Creek

Snow Flowers

Only Snowmen to be Seen

Snow!  Twice in one winter!  We’ve had more snow so far this Winter than the past several years combined.  The before-Christmas snow was wet and great for snowmen. This one is very dry.  Works well for the sledders, and easily sweeps off of the cars.  However, since we’ve yet to see a snowplow or sandtruck in the neighborhood, our local streets are still strictly 4-wheel territory. 

Lovely full moon on the snow Saturday night; and the sun has been brilliant both yesterday and this morning.  For quick video of the nearby creek, check this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LVBaML9yVI

Blue Ocean

Book Cover Prep

Blue Ocean One – Wall Hanging

Book Cover

Blue Ocean Two – Wall Hanging

Post Cards

At a yard sale last fall I found a book binding kit!  I thought I might get Christmas presents made with it, but that didn’t happen.  Earlier this month my desire to do some thread sketching came together with the book binding plan: Beach Blues!

The thread sketches are based on photos I took at Sandbridge early in December.  You may recognize some of them from an earlier post.  The fabric is some that I dyed. I traced the image on the fabric; fused fabric to canvas; sketched the design using free motion quilting on the sewing machine; added shading with oil paint sticks; added highlights with Lumiere paint; couched brown yarn with a zig zag stitch for border; embellished with shells, beads, and feather.

I was pleased with the practice piece (Blue Ocean One), so went on to do several, hoping to get at least one or two that would work for the book cover.  Wound up with a cover (yet to be applied to the book), another wall hanging, and four postcards! 

One of the postcards will go off to Cloth Paper Scissors – they’re having a reader challenge, Pass it on: Mail Art Affirmations” Reader Swap.  For more detail, see  http://www.quiltingarts.com/cpsmag/cps_challenge.html  Should be fun!

Spring?

 

One Robin

Two Robins

More Robins!

Drowsy Goats

Sleepy Bear

Gray Fox

If the robins come, is it Spring?

62 degrees yesterday!  The sun was shining in a sky of fluffy clouds. I wandered thru magical Maymont and enjoyed watching the drowsy animals basking in the Winter sunshine.

90th Birthday Gift Book

Wooden Cover by David

First Page – Text by Donna

’40’s and ’50’s; paper dolls by Devon

’70’s, ’80’s and ’90’s; Page Construction by Cathy

Things We Learned

Last Page with pocket for photos

For our mother’s 90th birthday celebration, we three of the next generation made her a gift book – a brief look at her life titled Stitching Our Lives Together.   We’ve made books before, but in the past they relied heavily on my sister’s graphic talents.  For this one, we wanted to focus on Momma’s lifelong sewing abilities and decided to go with a fabric/sewing theme.

Donna provided the inspiration and text; her daughter Devon made the paper dolls; David made the cover; and I did the page layouts and construction.  All spread out across the country! 

David sent us the precise measurements for the pages so that they would fit in the cover.  I was a bit concerned about placing the first page so what we wanted would be visible thru the heart cutout – it worked like a charm!

Donna sent us the text. I drafted a layout and sent them photos of it.  Donna placed text and suggested pictures in the layout and sent out a .pdf file.  I played around with fabric and canvas and settled on the recent Sew It Book fabric line by Amy Barrickman with Red Roosters Fabric.  The designs for the fabric are based on a charming 1929 vintage sewing book. 

For each page of Momma’s book I fused fabric to both sides of a piece of canvas, then embellished with a strip of contrasting fabric and zig zagged around the edges.  For the paper dolls I included vinyl pockets.  Side note – in order for the vinyl to feed properly thru the sewing machine, I placed a piece of wax paper over it as recommended by Betty Sanderson at Quilting Adventures. 

I printed the text on cream colored ink jet fusible fabric, and the photographs on white, then cut them out and fused to the pages. 

For the paper dolls, Donna printed full figure photos of Momma at 7 inches tall.  They traced the figure and Donna photoshopped photos of Momma’s head onto the doll.  Then Devon designed the clothes based on photographs of various outfits Momma wore in the various decades.  When all was ready, Donna printed them on cardstock and we cut them out and inserted in the pockets. (After we played with them for awhile!)

The morning of the Celebration was the first time everything was in the same place! David fitted the pages into the cover and with Daddy’s tools and assistance in the Covenant Woods workshop, drilled holes to attach it all together.  We used scrapbook pins in the holes for a nice finish.

I’ve included above photos of most of the pages – a job well done!

Family Week

Lily (3) and Eli (almost 5)

Family Photo for Momma’s 90th BD Celebration

We’ve had a wonderful family week.  My mom turns 90 this week, so we celebrated with a reception at Covenant Woods on Saturday.  Our younger daughter and her husband flew in from Hanford, my sister came from LA, my brother and his clan drove down from Herndon. Us local folks were thrilled to have them all here, and to have both our parents entering their 90th decade in good spirits and living independently.

Lily and Eli, older daughter Julia’s two sprites, gave up their naps with good grace and ably represented the next generation.  It was a lovely afternoon!

Happy New Year Everyone!

New Bag

Doll Making Notions, and Lost Treasure!

Travel Treasures

Old to New

Happy 2010 to all of you!  May it be a good balance between safety and adventure! 

On our beach retreat in early December, I asked each of my travel buddies to sign a shell for me as a travel treasure.  I packed it up carefully, I thought, so it wouldn’t get crushed, but could find no trace of it when I got home. Drat it all.  Not something that can be replaced.  I consoled myself with the photos of the trip.

In going thru Christmas supplies, I found a large stack of Christmas fabric cut in 2″ squares waiting for use in a Cathedral window piece.  So I got some green fabric, but was distracted by other whimsical material – so the Christmas squares are still waiting.  But I do have a new notions bag, and in dumping and transferring notions, I found my shell!!  Happy Day!

An auspicious start to the new decade!

David’s Quilt

Cutting Calculations

Blocks Finished, Ready to Assemble

Top Assembled

Ready for Machine Quilting

Finished Quilt!

Always add a Label

I’ve finished my brother’s quilt!  Almost in time for Christmas!  He should have it by now, so I’ll post these photos.  He kindly made me, and each of our daughters, quilt racks for Christmas last year.  And mentioned several times that his quilt from 1993 was wearing out, and it would be nice to have a qwillow, so there’s a pocket to keep his feet warm!  This one folds into an 18″ pillow – so the pocket is plenty big for his larger size feets!