The holidays will be here before we know it. I have started making some items for my December sale. I’m not waiting until the last minute this time! I’ll have tote bags, theraputic body warmers(a.k.a. “rice bags”) and bibs as usual. My newest addition is a reusable coffee cup holder made with fabric and a product called “Fast-2-Fuse.” I’m having fun picking out cool fabrics for these. Here’s a shot of a completed one and 8 others in the works.
Coffee Holders in Process
I believe that cooking is an art form. When I went veggie shopping at Berkeley Bowl West, I came across a bag of Key Limes from Colima, Mexico for $1.89. I have a friend, ( Hi Diane!) who lives in Colima so I had to buy them. Now, I’ve never made a Key Lime Pie before. I used a recipe by Emeril Lagasse on the Food Network site. I don’t care for Graham cracker crust so substituted regular. My crust slumped, so it is now “rustic.” It took quite awhile to get the juice out of those tiny limes! Baking is an art, and playing photo shoot was my “Make Art” for today. Oh, the pie was absolutely delicious! ( I also made a Barley and Mushroom ‘Risotto,’ Pasta with Garlic and Kale, and something I call Mexican Lasagna made with chili, flour tortillas, cheese and sour cream – a big hit.) Whew!
The First Piece
Key Lime Pie
Today in between working on my quilting projects and other duties, I finished decorating a box I started several days ago. I have a large supply of these blank boxes, well mostly bottoms, which come from a ceramic ornament business in my building. They are perfect canvas for me to do my art. I use Faber-Castell permanent India Ink pens for drawing on them. It is very meditative to just let my brain do what it feels like without trying to over think everything. FUN! I plan to use these to house my small accordion books. I may even sell them with blank accordion books inside. too. What do you think?
Inked Box
Rosemary's Irish Chain Quilt
My latest finished project is Rosemary’s Single Irish Chain quilt destined for a little girl whom she knows. I was told to do whatever I wanted in terms of how to quilt it. Sometimes I find that daunting and take my time until I find something that just feels right. This time I found an old Amish pattern that I scaled up to fit in the alternate blocks. Here are pictures of the whole quilt and a detail.
I am sorry to say that I have been away from the blogosphere due to my husband’s very scary trip to the ER and subsequent hospital stay. Pneumonia and a soft-tissue leg injury are keeping him in recuperation and me on nursing”duty” ’round the clock. Hand work in the evening is all I can do for the time being. I am hoping that the PT and OT will be able to help his leg get better soon.
My computer is on the fritz, so I am using my son’s laptop. I had pictures ready to post of the latest projects completed, however they are entombed on my hard disk and await resurrection as soon as I can get the computer doc to diagnose the problem. And just the other week I was thinking how even though it is “old” my computer was still going strong and had enough power for my needs… and maybe I should do a backup anyway. Why does that always happen?
On a lighter note, I am a finalist in the Cloth Paper Scissors “Home Sweet Home” Challenge. My entry is “My Little Cozy Shack. Check it out.
Here is a photo of my latest T-shirt Quilt finished recently for a client’s son’s graduation present. I had the usual challenge of making the randomly sized shirt parts fit together in a balanced and pleasing manner. I think that the red binding really sets off the whole quilt. My client was very happy with the outcome.
T-shirt quilts have unique requirements when compared with woven cotton quilts. The t-shirt material must first be stabilized with a lightweight fusible interfacing to minimize distortion while piecing and quilting the quilt. Much of the time that it takes to make a quilt of this nature involves the preparation of the shirts, fusing and designing. Even though this type of t-shirt quilt is more demanding than a straightforward block set, I enjoy making it and find it more rewarding from an esthetic point of view. The best part is seeing the response I get from my client when I show the finished quilt! That is it’s own reward.
If you get the chance, visit the Central Branch of the Berkeley, CA Public Library. The 30th annual quilt show is on now until early June. There are some wonderful quilts, several of which are “out of the box” creations that use unusual materials like paper,wood, metal and plants. Shredded bark as a batting in a paper quilt is about as unusual as they come. Many of the quilts are post card size contained in display cases so you can get a close-up look.
I took a shot of my quilt “Sunshine” draped over my bed. Sorry that the whole quilt isn’t shown. I was in a hurry to deliver it and will have to wait until the show is over to take a better one. My inspiration came from a book on decorative painting. I started it several years ago and had a much bigger quilt with several borders, pieced and applique´d in mind. The quilts could be no larger than 36″ square. I needed to finish it in a hurry, so there is minimal quilting. I will add more later. I am glad that I completed it in time!
Sunshine
Below is a shot of a quilt I completed recently. String quilt blocks are made of many small strips of fabric sewn to a foundation, most commonly newsprint, and in earlier times, muslin. Plain alternate blocks and sashing set off the string blocks. The more fabrics used, the better. It’s a great way to use up fabric scraps.
I am working on a client’s T-Shirt quilt for a graduation present and another ALN art challenge altering a city guide-book with 2 folded flip out maps, (I chose Paris).
Detail of String Quilt
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