quilt-antics

2008-10-12T21:58:00.002-10:00

Hilary Pecis is a collage artist that is currently being featured in a show at the Receiver Gallery in San Francisco. I find her work to be unearthly and quilt like... like cosmic dude!

I imagine she must have been a quilter in a past life.

It's ironic her name is Pecis... almost like pieces...perhaps in a different language.

Also another cool image found on fffound:

2008-10-10T12:22:00.007-10:00

I'm listing my art quilts in my etsy shop.

I'm starting with this Black and White quilt.

It hangs nicely and is a lovely piece.

I've decided that someone else should have the opportunity to enjoy it.

eco-decorating

2008-09-29T11:59:00.006-10:00

We took the kids to a rocky beach on the north shore. Here all sorts of debris rolls in:

I gathered driftwood and now have some interesting decor:

Having these things in my house reminds me of the immense beauty of natural objects.

Fields of color

2008-09-26T13:14:00.004-10:00

Okay, so maybe the cardboard sheets didn't go over very well. Maybe you will like these! They highlight the use of color and irregular shape as design elements. I always love it when unusual colors are thrown together into the same piece! This one is from Matte Stephens:

And these are from Pottery Barn:

I'm also noticing the prevalence of strips. Putting a fresh spin on an old concept. Reminds me what someone once said, "It's all been done before!"

Bedding... I kid you not!

2008-09-24T22:06:00.004-10:00

Okay, this is a little freaky and waaay cool! Bedding made to look as if it were made from a cardboard box. It's printed cotton and supposed to be soft because of the 144/in thread count. Go to snurkbeddengoed. Hmmm, I'm curious....

September '08

2008-09-23T20:58:00.008-10:00

Enjoying the last days of careless beach fun... shaking sand from our feet before a warm shower...

Teaching my daughter how to make a quilt, allowing her try out new tools...

Cutting and drilling discarded branches, arranging them in a forest of light...

Noticing the beauty of everyday objects... looking at things differently...

Unloading

2008-09-20T09:32:00.000-10:00

Moving things around in my studio has motivated me to do some unloading. I've listed the following items on E-Bay:

Hawaiian Quilt Masterpieces, Quilt Treasures, and three Kaffe Fassett books, to bid click here:

Six issues of Selvedge, to bid click here:

Five issues of Quilting Arts Magazines. To bid click here:

These are listed at Amazon. I really like the used book program they have there. It makes me feel better to recycle these books than to see them waste away on my shelf.

These are the books with the links:

A Quite Spirit
A Communion of the Spirits (SOLD)
The American Quilt
Confetti Quilts

I have nothing for dinner, but the studio looks great!

2008-09-19T17:34:00.000-10:00

Okay, take a big breath before you look at this:

This is what my studio looked like in the morning. Yikes!! Now you can see why I haven't been creating anything... because of the renovation, the studio was used for a dumping ground and storage room. Over the past few days we have been moving stuff out, rearranging furniture and de-cluttering. Ugh, it just pains me to look at this:
It took me all day, but now look! It looks so much nicer! I'm not a big fan of having my fabric exposed like this, I worry that the sunlight will fade it. I'll just have to be diligent about managing the blinds. Also, the thread in the corner on top of the pie safe bugs me, but I'd rather have it there than on the floor.
Looking at this I can imagine once again working here. It's not as tidy or spare as I like, but I remind myself this IS a working studio. You can see the start of a baby quilt on the wall here:

New Blog

2008-09-18T12:38:00.006-10:00

I just discovered a friend's blog and LOVE IT!! Check out Gabe's blog at Funky Enough.

He and I met in our color class earlier this year. He appreciates color like me! Below is a video he put together highlighting "Halations." Way to go Gabe!

A good thing.... for bloggers!

2008-09-18T12:38:00.005-10:00

One of my favorite bloggers was featured on the Martha Stewart show! Check out Stephanie Congdon Barnes in this clip where they talk about her collaboration book "A Year of Mornings."

I think it's great that Martha has taken up such interest in blogging. It's a great way to connect with people and learn a thing or two!

How I like to hang quilts

2008-09-17T09:45:00.007-10:00

Over the years I've played with many ways of hanging quilts, this just happens to be my favorite. First, cut a slat (ideally something flat) that is roughly 3/4" shorter than the width of the quilt. Ideally one would use a nice hard wood that is untreated and sanded smooth. The piece I'm using today is just what we have at the moment. Insert screw eyes into each end:

Measure the wall and figure out where you want one end of the slat to go. This is where the first nail goes:

Using a level, after hanging one end of the slat on the wall, figure out where to put the second nail:

Using the screw eye as a guide, nail the second nail into the wall:

Insert the slat into the sleeve:

Hang the quilt:

The slat and screw eyes should be completely hidden. Notice how the bulge of the slat will translate to the front. To avoid this you can add some "give" in the sleeve, and it helps to have a big sleeve. The sleeve for this quilt was made before I paid attention to all that. I also, usually work with thinner slats, but....

VOILA!

Lately I've been a big fan of a double sleeve - one on top and one on the bottom. The top I use for hanging (of course), and the bottom one is used to house a slat that helps the quilt hang flat.

I seal the bottom sleeve shut so the slat doesn't migrate out, and wee-beasts don't migrate in!

Just my opinion; THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH USING A SLAT ON THE BOTTOM. The difference between one with and one without is sometimes amazing, and IT ADDS VALUE TO A QUILT TO HAVE IT HANG FLAT (unless your name is Regina Benson!). This is a hand and machine manipulated art form and in the end, it's bound to need a little help lying flat. Happy Hanging!

2008-09-14T21:19:00.002-10:00

Slowly but surely we are taking our house back. Furniture is finding it's way back into the living room. I still have nothing to sit on but that's a task I'll tackle long from now.

The kitchen is pretty much done except for the tile which is being shipped. The tile which I blogged about here was not in stock, on back order, or whatever... so after a painful week of looking at tile again I decided to go with something from Walker Zanger. In hindsight it was a good thing I had to go through that again; this time I chose something much more fitting with the 1920's style kitchen that I'm going for.

I sooo have the renovator's blues - wish it were over, wish I were moved in... wish I could get ON with my life!!

Another BIG time consumer for me is my participation in our school's parent teacher organization. This year I'm sharing the presidency with another busy mom. Within the last week we had our first meeting of the year, our annual potluck and our first fundraiser - I got up at 4am this morning to man an aid station for the marathon. NOW THAT THAT'S OVER...

I can finally get on with my life as an artist! Well not just yet - I've promised to do some classroom sewing for a new teacher. Ever read the book titled something like "Women Who Give Too Much?" I didn't but the title intrigues me. Is this me? Am I sick? Seriously, does Donald Trump volunteer in his kid's classroom? Did Picasso even have kids? Right about now I'm questioning whether I have the capacity to be self-absorbed enough to even be an artist. I know I have a good eye, and I can take a pretty picture, but being an artist also requires a substantial commitment of time and focus. Now that the kids are young, I'm happy to be living my definition of a "plugged in mom." I ask myself, is this just a temporary arrangement, or will I always find something else to distract me away from becoming the artist that I want to be?

Those LINES!!!

2008-09-05T07:31:00.003-10:00

I just love LINE. I think it's often overlooked where color and shape get all the attention. I know I don't incorporate line into my work as often as I should... could... it's such a beautiful touch to see a hand-made line. These I found on ffffound.

Nice Visits

2008-09-02T14:02:00.005-10:00

I had two very nice visits recently from people urging me to GET BACK INTO IT!!! First, Dianna another Maui Quilt artist stopped by to tend to unfinished business and to check in. She urged me to get back into dyeing as resources for dyed silk are hard to come by. This summer she was in Denver and was able to see an exhibit of the Gee's Bend quilts. Ooh, I wish I could have come too! She gave me a magnet and this lovely card! Thanks Dianna.

Today, an Internet friend came to visit. I know that sounds creepy, but it really isn't. I've met many nice people through this blog! Anyway, Diana (hmmm, same name, how weird) from Davis, is visiting in Maui and drove all the way up to my house to see me! She looked past the mess and clutter of the renovation to just chat! We talked for a while, shared stories and she too urged me to keep it up! She really admired this black and white quilt so I took her picture in front of it.

Thank you so much ladies for showing up and urging me on. I am in a bit of a funk now because of the renovation and the fact that my life is a bit disorganized. I do know that someday I'll get back in the studio to just relax and create, but how soon... I don't know. I'm going to take Diane's advice and work on the renovation, but not make it a priority. It will get done... eventually. For now I need to get back to myself. It really is nice to connect with an old friend and make a new one. Right about now, I'm feeling lucky to be an artist with a passion that connects me to others.

The Island

2008-08-31T19:09:00.004-10:00

As promised I wanted to tell you more about the island we are installing. It's an old table top I found in a used furniture store. I'm not sure where it came from or what type of wood it is. The guy who sold it to me said it is Teak - of course, everything around here is Teak, but after working with it, my DH swears it is Monkeypod.

After it was installed, it was clear to us that we needed to trim it down about 4". Since there is a seam down the middle, that meant they had to cut 2" off each side. Here it is just before they cut it.

This left us with two unfinished sides that were perfectly square:

I really love the irregular edges of the ends. Looking at it I think it could only have been shaped by human hands.

So there was only one thing to do - strip the whole thing and sand down some character into the sides:

Many hours later... we are in search now for the perfect finish. Something which will protect the wood, yet not make it look like someone poured clear nail polish all over it. I also want to bring the wood back to the rich dark color it was.

To be continued.

New sites

2008-08-29T04:38:00.004-10:00

A couple of friends e-mailed me telling me they started a new site!

First is Lisa's blog. Lisa is someone who found my blog and contacted me to tell me she has been inspired. Right now she is posting some of her mosaic work, but I'm sure she will get to the fabric sometime soon!

Next is a friend Candy's website. She also has an etsy shop you should check out too! Candy is someone who has been following me for a while. We even went in together for a little while on another blog - "Side by Side" - but that soon lost it's steam and has been removed. Ahh, live and learn. Anyway, it's been great getting to know her, she is such an inspiration and her work is fabulous!

I want to thank all of you who commented on my last post. Gee was I surprised! Your voices were heard loud and clear and we are going with the glass tiles. Thank you so much!!

It's hard to believe we are nearing the end of our remodel. I'm happy to say my work is mostly done! Everything has been picked out and ordered so all that's left is the execution! My DH and I claimed a room yesterday. We removed the paper and put the rug back in. No furniture yet, but at this point it doesn't matter. I'm just happy to have this room back!

This weekend we hope to refinish that island. I'll talk more about it later. Thanks for keeping up and supporting me through this LOOONG and tiresome process! Just know, my passion still lies with making quilts!

The tile

2008-08-26T20:30:00.004-10:00

I must have visited all the tile stores on Maui at least twice, one of them a dozen times. Choosing tile doesn't come easily as I am quite the novice. I'm afraid if I make a mistake not only do I have the tremendous expense, but also the nightmare of ripping it out and installing new stuff. Okay, that will never happen. A more likely scenario would be that we would just live with my bad decision for years until we are fed up enough to redo it.

First up is this sweet honey colored tile mixed with a neutral grey in a basket weave pattern. Seeing it next to the marble, I realize the browns are too much for the grey and white:

Next is this tumbled Emperador marble. This is closer to the texture of the marble, but still too brown:

Just to be safe, we are considering plain white subway tile. Many of the kitchens I've seen in the style of ours have white subway tile on the walls. I like it, but frankly it's a little boring.

So to add interest, we are considering marble tiles. I like the differing sizes of the subway tiles. It's safe, it matches, and if the next one doesn't work out, this one wins.

Finally, I brought this one home upon the urging of the saleslady. When I saw it in the store, I thought it was too contemporary for our traditional kitchen, but when I saw it in our kitchen it really grabbed me. It's a recycled glass tile from Lunada Bay Tile. I just love the variation in color, the visual depth it has, and the subtle sheen it has in the light. The fact that it is a green product is a plus too!

Anybody with an opinion here? I could use all the help I can get!

2008-08-25T20:04:00.003-10:00

The painters aren't quite finished, but I couldn't resist. I just had to hang a quilt to see what it would look like. It's such a warm welcome to these bland walls. I'm not sure I'll keep this here, but seeing it up makes me happy in this stressful time:

The pulls are installed! I did it myself!

I have to make cushions for the breakfast nook. Here I'm trying out a piece of Guatemalan fabric I had stored away. Guess I'll have to brush up on installing zippers!

Renovation update

2008-08-22T10:43:00.004-10:00

Not having much to blog about "quilt-wise," I figure I'd just as well accept it and post about the remodel. Much was done these past few days, the painters have been here, the island and oven were installed, and the island sink was set into place:

The little room off the living room got a fresh coat of paint. It took me many samples until I finally decided. Of all the decisions I've had to make with this remodel, this one gave me stress. Don't know why either... maybe I'm all out of decision making ability. The color I chose is very similar to the one before. I figured I couldn't go wrong with this one.

My DH and contractor both tell me we are "Almost there!!" I just don't see it. How could this be? After months, no, years of planning, are we really almost done. To clear my mind and to prove my point I made a "to do" list:

Still, I'm sure more will be added to this, but at least I can think a little more clearly now. Anybody who tells you "I'm busy with a remodel, I can't help you" isn't really BUSY with a remodel. After all, there are contractors and subcontractors for the actual work. What they mean is they are busy hanging around the house for when the tile guy shows up, or they are on the Internet ordering door hardware, or running to the supply store to pick up this and that. What they really mean is their head is so full of tiny details, they can't possibly find space for a new thought, let alone a new commitment. The other night on the McNeil Lehrer show, they had a brief mention that a new branch of therapy was in bloom - therapy for remodelers. I'm not there yet, but in some strange way I'm comforted by the fact that remodeling drives other people crazy too!

2008-08-14T18:49:00.008-10:00

Things are moving along... the crown molding is done, looking better than I imagined. Here you can see it on the top of the shelving units:

I am still in a quandary about what to do with the fireplace. My contractor told me I can't put wood directly in front of the fireplace, so I've been interviewing stone. I've written about other stone before, but each one has issues. My latest thought is to go with one called "Emperador dark." It pulls both the browns of the wood and the white of the cabinets.

I got to thinking, choosing stone is much like choosing fabric .... only much more expensive!!

This week the painters are here. For us that means everything is covered in plastic and we have to be extra careful with what we touch. It's right about now that I wish for a week away somewhere....ANYWHERE!

The marble has been installed. Let me just say it's like touching a cloud! I'm so in love with the honed finish! It's dewy appearance makes it irresistible to touch. I run my had over it and feel it's cool, soft and solid surface.

The floor in the laundry room has been installed. Have you ever seen limestone? It's a wonderful stone, very organic and smooth yet not slippery. One small issue though - there are two tiles that are significantly lighter than the others. I've been told there is a stone enhancer that I can purchase to darken the stone up, but I'll go to the supplier tomorrow to see what can be done. It's the kind of thing that I think will bother me for years to come, so I might as well deal with it today than let it go.

In the meantime, my studio is an utter mess! I've been completely UN-INSPIRED working in this CIRCUS!!! I, for one, thrive in an organized space. I've always admired people who can work in chaos.

With that said, I haven't been completely "dry" with quiltmaking. Here is the starts of elements #5. Quilting it will be a no-brainer, if and when I ever get around to doing it! My chaotic life is clearly evident in this piece!

2008-08-12T10:39:00.006-10:00

I remember years ago when I moaned to a friend about how frustrated I was not knowing what I was to do with the REST OF MY LIFE... should I become a nurse, social worker, do something with business.... he told me very wisely one thing which nipped my funk in the bud. He said, "At least you have choices!" Now, years later, I'm listening to that little voice in my head which tells me "summer is too long, the kids are driving me crazy, the remodel is dragging on, I hate washing dishes in my garage, this is going to cost an arm and a leg..." on and on it goes. Hearing this in my head and feeling this way, I stop myself and remember my wise friend's words: AT LEAST I HAVE CHOICES!!!

The kids I know are mine for a while so getting rid of them is not an option, and pretending they aren't there, although tempting, is not viable either. Trust me, I've worked all this out in my head. So the choice lies in what to do with them. Tomorrow we will see THE VISITOR. It looks like a good movie and I think we will all get something out of it. Today is still a mystery. If I make it until 5:00 without a glass of wine, I'll consider it a moral victory.

The renovation is a reality, stopping it would be a mistake so we have no choice but to continue on and deal with the bills later. I might as well enjoy the choices I have in selecting paint color and stone for the fireplace.

Wanting my sun room to light up in the afternoon sun, I am "interviewing" a couple of yellows. Problem is, when you look from the yellow room into the other part of the house, the yellow does not flow nicely with the grey I've chosen. So now I'm looking at a blue and greenish-grey.

Another mitigating factor is the rug that goes back into the room will have to be taken into consideration - a small detail that I managed to forget when I started this process. Looks like the only swatch I did not get a sample jar of is the one that matches the best - the color is called "trade wind" and it's in the swatch family on the second card on the right. It's a fitting name for a room on the north side of our house.

We went to the stone place again yesterday and saw this neat slab:

It's called fossil stone and full of very cool shapes! It would add a decorative touch that isn't generic and they have enough there to do the job. Problem is the surface is riddled with imperfections and it would take a little work to bring it up to snuff. Even after all that, the granite guy wouldn't be able to guarantee it's durability.

Plan "B" would be this mosaic of river rock. Here too are interesting shapes and color that goes well with the rest of the remodel. This stone is much more reliable but not as interesting as the one above. Ahhhh, choices, choices, choices.... It's all good!

2008-08-07T21:45:00.004-10:00

Decisions, decisions... there are many when remodeling. Like our fireplace for instance, it needs tile around it and something for the hearth. When my contractor told me it couldn't be wood, I started to think of our options - tile, cement, stone... the stone won out. Now it's "which one?"

We LOVE this fossil-embedded deal, but it has a lot of green in it:

Okay, so this one is a little more monochromatic, but the repetitive circular shapes may be too loud after a while:

This one looks a little like wood, has interesting lines but may be too white:

I wish I could find something that just grabs me like this marble did a couple of months ago. I visited it today in the shop. It's almost finished!!!! It's silly, isn't it? How something so unromantic like a slab of rock cut out of a mountain, could make a girl go weak in the knees! Ahhhh.....

We've been busy

2008-08-05T20:45:00.001-10:00

I've been busy sewing for the kids' school.... like these little serving napkins which the children will use to serve each other midmorning snacks:

The kids have been busy photographing the dog in silly poses. Sometimes I wonder what she thinks.

2008-08-03T21:02:00.002-10:00

The dog watches a Japanese White Eye that we rescued from the cat:

My son stirs my latest batch of dyeing fabric:

Hoping his baseball gets dyed too:

Ahhh, my favorite time of day to take pictures! I just love how the sun lights up the leaves and casts shadows...

A girl can get excited about the silliest of things!!

2008-07-30T11:23:00.004-10:00

EXCITING THING #1: I'm down to 5 quilt top kits in my Etsy shop! Not only does it feel good to make a little income, moving fabric out of the studio for others to enjoy is a bonus!

EXCITING THING #2: The sink is in! Well not entirely in, it still needs to be hooked up, but it's at least out of the box and in it's space. It's a cast iron farm sink from Kohler and the finish is called "Sea Salt" giving an appearance of densely packed sea salt. It's soooo beautiful!

In the sunlight it sparkles. Cast iron is cool to the touch and the surface is smooth. I find myself petting it when I walk by.

EXCITING THING #3: Glass knobs. Years ago I purchased antique glass knobs on E-Bay and installed them in my laundry room. They brought a little bit of character to an otherwise sterile and new room.

Now that the cabinets have been installed, I'm on the look for more glass knobs but my kitchen requires more than I can find on E-Bay. Thankfully Restoration Hardware has these:

Heavy, luminous and clean... can you tell I'm a sucker for anything that sparkles? It's like jewelry for the kitchen!

EXCITING THING #4: Polished Nickel pulls from Restoration Hardware! I've spent countless hours on the internet searching for the perfect pulls. So much time... I was driving myself crazy. These pulls offer the best balance between affordability, beauty and weight. Again, it was the shiny surface that sold me - these are going to polish up beautifully!