Amishland

My husband and I go down to Amish Country a couple of times a month. This time I needed to go to Miller's dry goods for some black fabric for discharge dyeing. I bought several yards of P&B textiles, and RJR Black. I usually use Kauffman Kona Black, but I thought it would be an experiment which one I like the best.
We went to an auction which gave new meaning to one man's junk.. another's treasure. As you see, I saw the Amish version of a car show. I have never seen so many buggies in one place.. Come to think of it, where where all of the horses? I did see something that would have the politically correct crowd swooning... bunches of little boys lined up at a gun dealer's table, with rifles up to their shoulders looking through the site down the barrels. My camera battery was dyeing, or I would have snapped a picture.

Here are a couple of a line of buggies and horses parked beside Mrs. Yoder's, a restaruant that Bill and I eat at when we go down. It is the only time we have fried chicken. There's is pressure fried and not greasy at all. Best chicken I have ever had.

We took a back road to avoid Berlin, which is pretty much a busy tourist trap. We drove past this interesting barn along the way. We like going the back ways because you see so many interesting things.


While we were down, my husband stopped by his Amish friends new mill. I have seen the old mill which was beside his home. It was nothing compared to this one, but he made over a million a year at the home based mill with the generator driven machinery. He saids he expects that he will be able to triple his out put with this new mill.. My question, what the heck happens to all of the money? He has been really good to my husband, and lets him purchase great hardwoods at bargain prices.. That's how I have my solid oak kitchen cabinets, and hickory floors, and cherry furniture.. inexpensive wood, and a talented husband.


Just down the road from Charm, (Millers Dry Goods) is Hershberger's Truck Patch. We stopped and got a bunch of tomatoes, zucchini, sweet corn. They also have canned food made in the area. I picked up some mild salsa that I swear is just like the salsa a co-worker makes... she has a secret recipe.. you know.. one of those people that won't give out their recipes.. I was going to trade a quilt for her recipe.. but never got around to making the quilt. She lives down around Amish Country.. I wonder if she buys one of these Amish made salsas and says it is hers? Hmmm... The Salsa is kind of a cross between tomato sauce ( like spaghetti) and salsa. I can't wait to try it..
Anyway, we had a good time as usual. It was an overcast, but cool day, and it is nice to spend some time away with Bill. Almost like dating again after 24 years of marriage.
We stopped at Homestead Furniture, one of the many furniture

stores down there. I wanted to check the price of a very comfy mattress. It priced out at over 3,000 dollars.. won't be getting that one soon... I could have this nifty kitchen set for less..

ROAD TRIP!!!

A group of friends and I meet once a month to sew. We started primarily to work on miniatures. We call ourselves Third Friday /Twisted Stitchers. Third Friday.. so we will remember the meetings.. Twisted ... well because..
There are seven members. Nancy, goes to NY State to her cottage on the lake for the summer. So six of us took a road trip to Quilt National at the Dairy Barn in Athens Ohio

I have seen, and like many innovative design quilts. I would have to say that quite a few of these were truly 'art' quilts. Because, for many of them, you would have to really use the term quilt loosely. But I did get to see a Jane Burch Cochran quilt called Deviled and Angel. It can be seen on her website http://www.janeburchcochran.com/Pages/Gallery3.html that was a fun quilt. I also saw a quilted sculpture by Susan Else called Bingo. http://www.susanelse.com/images/bingo.jpg Take a look at her website at that sculpture, and her others which are amazing.

There were 3 quilts I absolutely loved. They were bright, and used surface design teqniques such as discharge and over dyeing, cyanotype images, shibori.. very beautiful. Unfortunately, none of the artists have websites, so I can't show you. I also liked the 'quilt' (one of the loosely based quilts I mentioned) High Fiber. It can be seen here http://www.lindamccurry.com/ . No photos are allowed at the exhibit, so if we wanted to have something to remember it by, we had to buy the $25.00 book. None of us wanted to remember it that badly. Here is a peek of the Bathroom stained glass

We took a parting shot of the Dairy Barn as we left.

We also visited a small bead shop in Athens. I think it was called Beads and Things. I spent %50.00 and walked out with a tiny little bag. It always amazes me how much I can spend and it will only go into a bag that will fit in my purse. I bought some beads from Peru, and a bunch of embelishments.. not any seed beads. I can get those anywhere. Maybe I will get them out and take a photo of them.

It was a cute little shop.. and I emphasize little. But, they had a porch swing which I sat on while I waited for the girls, and then they had this brick path with stars. I guess there was a place in town that used to make them, but you can't get them anymore.. they are all over the place.

We had a great time. There was a new quilt shop in town. They hadn't quite opened, but, we were able to visit. I think when it is finished, they will have a great place. I didn't take a picture of anything but the ceiling. It is high and long, and has these great original tiles.

It was in a town called Nelsonville. If you are ever there, don't forget to put money in the meter.. because they have these guys just walking through town ticketing everyone.

We don't have meters anywhere near us. towns around us want the tourists, and look at ticketing people who park to shop as an unfriendly gesture. I guess the good people of Nelsonville haven't gotten that memo. Athens is about 3 or more hours from our house. We spent the night in a motel that had 3 queen size beds. The six of us were up until late laughing and talking. It was so much fun! On the way home we stopped at a big store to look for the new ziplock super bags which are big enough to hold a quilt. They only had two boxes left, and I got one of them. I wish they would get them by me, I haven't seen them anywhere. While walking through the store, I came across this rack of children's books . Only in America....

Moving on

I got a request today, to post something... they couldn't look at the critter quilt anymore! My next project will be a coondominium. A tall building with racoon heads sticking out of windows.. Seriously...NOT.
My mini guild has another birthday coming up. I usually come up with the appropriate quilt for the birthday girl. I was going to do applique, and made ONE 3" Oak Leaf and Reel block. Nope.. too small, and I am one of the more experienced hand appliquer's in our group. So I came up with another plan. Lindy likes leaves. I got on EQ5 and came up with another idea. We will paper piece the leaves, because each block will be 2". I think that it will look nice. Now I have to put together little fabric kits to give to them, since we are traveling to the Quilt National show for out meeting this month, and Lindy's Birthday is next month. Then, we have 2 more birthdays, and I need ideas. This quilt will finish out at 11" Square.

Word Quilt and Textile Show

I went to the World Quilt and Textile Show in Columbus yesterday. I really liked it. The show was unlike any of the other bigger shows that I've gone to this year. Quilts from all over the world were displayed according to country of origin. There were a lot of innovative design quilts which I love to look at. Jane Hall had a display called "Logging On" which had many different log cabin type quilts, new and antique. Next to the New York Beauty, I like log cabin variations best. One of the great things about this show was that you could get right up and look at the quilts. There were no barriers to them unless they were so long they touched the floor. Then they put a barrier by that quilt so that it wouldn't get stepped on. It was also unusually slow.

I went on a Friday, which I supposed made a difference, but, it was weird to say the least. The vendors were standing around looking lonely. I can't say I helped much in that department, I didn't really spend much. I bought Frieda Anderson's new book. A little pair of tweezers with tiny sharp points, a packet of Angelina Fiber. The only thing I spent a larger amount on was something that I have been thinking about and researching since I saw them in Paducah.
A Tutto case to tote my sewing machine to workshops etc. This is the case folded up for storage. I was drawn to the bright lime green, but decided to go with the purple. I like purple, and I thought that I might get tired of lime green after a while. This is a great case. There are so many things I like about it. If you get a chance to look at one, do it. As I said I saw them displayed in Paducah. Knowing I am attracted to bright colors, I DIDN'T purchase it in April because I have been known to buy things I don't need just because it is a bright color. Since I am turning over a new leaf in that regard, I am glad that I waited, because now I don't have buyer's remorse.
My favorite thing about going to shows in Columbus, is the North Market which is a block away from the convention center. If you take your life in your hands trying to cross the street, you are in for a treat. There are tons of vendors selling food of all types, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Chinese. There is gormet candy, baked goods, produce.
The first time I met Melody Johnson, was in June at the NQA show. I only recognized her because I read her blog. She was being a conscientious dieter and was buying an apple at this produce stand. I was picking up some fruit also, because I was cheap, and didn't want to buy restaurant food in Columbus. I could take fruit back to my room at the Red Roof Inn.
Yesterday was different. I was only there for the day. I went to the Italian Food stand and got Stromboli. It was so GOOD. I'm glad I don't know of anyone around here that makes it.


They take thin dough and put 3 different types of cheese, salami, pepperoni, ham, fold it, bake it, and cut it into strips. Then they give you this wonderful tomato sauce to dip it in. They put Parmesan on top of the sauce. It was greasy and really good.
Anyway, I had a great time. Took TONS of pictures, I will be able to look back on, I have many thoughts about the techniques that I saw used, and will comment some other time about them.
Now, on this humid, stormy looking Saturday, I am going to clean my house, yuck, and try to finish piecing my pineapple mini.. Have a good weekend

My Guild Challenge

As promised, here are a few pictures of my guild's challenge pieces. The bottom picture is of the entire wall of entries.

The top picture is my friend Kathleen's piece. (She is the skeleton on the left on my Day of the Dead Quilt) Kathleen has a collection of work that centers around antique textiles and window screen. Her self portrait is a drawing of her eye, but the rest of her face is a black and white fabric collage. There is an antique dresden plate to the right, and everything is sandwiched in between 2 pieces of screen and 'quilted'. Isn't it great? I used to tease her about her use of screen, saying she needed to wash it in rustoleum instead of orvus... of course the whole joke was off base anyway concidering the screen in fiberglass.
T next photo is my friend Lindy's. She is a traditional quilter, and she loves fall colors, leaves..hence.. leaf head.. That's about it. Gotta get dressed to go to Quilt and Textile show with my friend that makes me laugh all day.. Everyone have a good day to!

Second Thursday!

Yes, this is a gratis picture. I have been doing nothing exciting except trying to get ready for guild tonight. It is our annual picnic, and since I am in charge of programs I have been busy with a bunch of stuff. Tonight, I get to finally see everyone else's self-portraits. Remember, we are doing challenges along with Quilting Arts Magazine. I will post pictures later.
Speaking of pictures, I am going to a quilt show tomorrow, The World Quilt and Textile show... .. look out copyright quilt police... I am going with my camera! There has been a lot of discussion on about.com, and on the quiltart list about copyright infringement. I am just about sick to death of it. I admire artists that actually share their work. I only marginally understand artists that have a cow because someone takes a
picture of their quilt and posts it on webshots to share with others. I'm guilty... haul me away. I have done it only with the intention of sharing with internet friends that live in other countrys and can't get to the US to see these quilts. I made the mistake of putting Paducah show photos in a public album... won't do that again, or post quilts from any other major shows. Anyway, I enjoy taking pictures. It is nice to look back and remember how wonderful a quilt is.
I just think that ever since quilting has become a big money ..(at least for someone) venture, people are getting greedy about every aspect of it. All of this just proves to me that 'the pursuit of money is the root of all evil'.
Personally, I think that art is meant to be shared. You can't take your quilts with you. You can covet them and go after people who are unfortunate enough to innocently share a photo of your quilt.. but in the end, when you are standing before God, no one down here is going to give a flying fig if your quilt has a copyright...actually, you won't care anymore either, since you will finally know what really was the important thing in your life, or should have been. Someone on the quilt art list had a quote by an author names Stross: "I'm a mid-list author. My biggest enemy is not piracy, but obsurity. Anything I can do to get my name in front of readers is an investment in the future". And like Karla of Austria said " I'm much more likely to be obsure than financially damaged by having a picture of my quilt on the web without my permission. Is that the truth or what? For all of those hysterical quilters that scream "copyright" at every turn.. For God's sake get over yourselves, you are only quilters.
By the way.. this blog is copyrighted because I have posted it... don't copy my wonderful thoughts...... or else... :)

Oh Well

Now I see what you mean.. sorry to leave you hanging.. I don't know what happened. I wrote stuff here, but it didn't show up. Anyway.. was just posting to say that I did not get my skeleton quilt into the Houston show. I didn't figure it would get in. There are other shows. I talked to Caryl Bryer Fallert, who spoke to our guild tonight. She said that she has been rejected more than accepted into shows.. I think she was probably lying but it was nice for her to say it. She spoke about her design process. And after seeing it, I have a long way to go before anything of mine would ever be even within waving distance of her league. I'm glad the art quilt world has her. I sat with her for lunch yesterday, and after talking to her, I don't know how she can stand to travel all of the time, and make her art her means of living. I couldn't do it. She did say that she enjoys the process, and after she is done with a piece, it is just stuff. She hangs on to a few special pieces, but the rest she sells. She is going to have a beautiful studio in Paduach. I can't wait to see it. Well, I hope that this shows up!!

Proof: You CAN Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

I took a class with Caryl Fallert today. It was a class in Applipiecing Here is a link to a photo:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/64381211/415711936pkMIaV

For some reason, the add photo button isn't working on my blog today. Anyone have any ideas? Am I the only one having a problem?

Anyway, I had a basic idea of how to do this, but it was a nice workshop. It was only 3 hours, a plus. And I like technique classes, don't really care about project classes. Caryl has one tomorrow on her Illusions quilt. Mondays are super busy at my job, because we have to catch up for being off the weekend. But I am looking forward to her lecture tomorrow. And I hope (and so does she) that her new studio is open in Paducah when I go down in April. I would like to take one of her advanced design workshops.

Pineapples and Beaches & Hobbits

It was a dreary morning when I ventured to my basement studio, but it has turned out to be a bright cool summer day, a great break though from the oppressive heat and humidity. I am back to work on my pineapple miniature. Yesterday, while at Sam's Club, I found one of my favorite old movies 'Beaches' on DVD. So I popped that in the player and started working on blocks. I know the movie well enough to know what's happening without looking at the screen. I only got 1 1/2 blocks done through the whole movie. That's how long one of these takes to make. Next, I am going to watch my extended version Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and finish piecing the next 8 blocks. That should just about do it. I should name this quilt something like '22 Movies'. I don't need another tearjerker movie, what I need is some hot, dirty, long haired men with swords.. yeah baby - off to Middle Earth!!!

QNM Request

I got a totally unexpected request in the mail today. I got a package from Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, requesting a quilt that I made be mailed to them to be photographed for their magazine. No, not my Day of the Dead quilt. I doubt that is their style. They want me to send my Baltimore Treasures quilt... the quilt I sold. Actually, Marcia Hohn of www.quilterscache.com designed the pattern and I tested it for her. She really deserved to own the quilt, and I'm happy she has it. I am so excited that a quilt that she designed and I made was requested by one of my favorite magazines. They saw it at the Vermont Quilt Festival where it got a third place for appliqued bed quilts. It's funny, I had a thing about this quilt. Being a die hard hand appliquer, I took on this project and thought I could finish it by hand in less than a year. It can't be done. Not by me anyway ( you understand the reason behind my Flight of Ideas piece now don't ya?). When time was running out, I decided to start over and make it all by machine. Even that took several months. Marcia asked me to enter it in the VQF, and I asked her if she wanted to buy it. So they mailed it to her from there. I am working on the 12th block of a hand applique version. Eleven of the blocks are blocks that I started with. The 12th is my own block with a fabric version of my own hand, appliqued on holding some of Marcia's flowers. It will only be a wallhanging size. But a sweet remembrance of this quilt. I took the picture to.. and Marcia uses it for her pattern cover. Cool huh?

Rian got me thinking about copyright issues. She was talking about this on her blog http://rianammermanstudio.blogspot.com/2005/07/now-i-feel-bad.html

I have a hard time with the copyright thing. I have tried to get away from using commercial patterns as much as possible. There are too many strings attached. Now that I am having fun entering quilts, I don't want to jump through hoops asking permission to put a quilt into a show. I have had contact with a fairly famous designer about making a miniature of one of her full size quilts. I will be drafting it, but I will use her ideas for color placement. She has been very gracious and helpful to me and has given me her permission. She made a replica of an antique quilt and won ribbons for it in a large show. I noticed that a miniature version of it was in the AQS show this year. When I sent a picture of the quilt to this designer, she was thrilled.
I must say, it is so refreshing to come across someone that is helpful, knowing that she doesn't have the market cornered on this traditional style of quilt.
That's why I am sticking with art quilts, or traditional design quilts with my creative stamp. You can only make a New York Beauty, or log cabin block so many ways. I would think a traditional pattern would have to be totally out of the norm to be able to lay claim to those designs, although, I'm sure that wouldn't stop some designers from trying to say a block is only theirs.
On the other hand, I will admit to worrying about posting photos of on going projects, or projects I plan to enter in shows. There might be people out there that would see them, copy them and enter them before I get a chance. But what fun is that? I can't imagine copying a quilt. I made Moonglow by Jinny Beyer. I loved the quilt, but it looks just like every other quilt like that one. I did learn a lot making it. I got really good at making Y seams. But, I know it can never be anything more than a couch quilt. I can't put it in a show. Wouldn't want to.

Anyway.. this Day of the Dead stuff is taking over my brain. I never heard of the holiday until I started making my Skeleton piece. I have ideas for 2 more pieces. Just had inspiration hit me about a second one today. I guess they say artists should make a series of quilts.. I guess Dia de Los Muertos will be my series of quilts.