Studio Notes

I've moved.

2008-11-19T09:20:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to post a quick message that I'vemoved this blog to TypePad. You can visit the new blog and read new posts at nancymurty.typepad.com. There is also a box where you can subscribe to receive emails of each new post at the new location as well.

So see what's new at nancymurty.typepad.com

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-20T11:54:00.004-04:00

Whew!! What a whirlwind of activity this past week and weekend. With the help of others (Mary, Toni, Mom, Dad and Paul) the AlphaBuddies quilt for Andover Fabrics it finished, several other quilts started and the preparations for the Murty Birthday/Halloween party were all completed. I even had time to make cupcakes!

Saturday Paul and I hosted the fall Murty Birthday Bash with a Halloween theme. Costumes were encouraged but not required. Because we live in a rural area we don’t get many (I should say not any) trick or treaters and we miss seeing all the kids dressed up. A lot of times we aren’t even home for the festivities because of attending Fall Quilt Market so this year we decided to sign up for fall birthdays and make it a Halloween party. There were lots of great costumes and it was a lot of fun, the perfect end to the business of getting ready for Quilt Market. I could go on with a list of the “special guests” we had but I’ll just post a picture of the cute little lamb that came to visit on the AlphaBuddies quilt that had been finished during the week.

Sunday Mom and Dad came out - while Dad and Paul installed a door, Mom and I started to sew on a few of the additional AlphaBuddies quilts. After lupper Dad and Paul helped for awhile in the studio. Dad fussy cut the fabric panel into 5 1/2" squares and Paul ironed and even took out a few of my mistakes with the "reverse sewing apparatus".

I leave for Quilt Market on Wed so I won’t be posting anything for the next week but will have lots to share when I get back.

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Oh, Happy Dance!

2008-10-13T17:01:00.002-04:00

It’s Here! It’s Here! If I could figure out how to post a video here you’d see my happy dance as AphaBuddies fabric arrived today. I won’t be dancing for long though as we have to get busy sewing quilts for Fall Quilt Market in Houston only a few weeks away. So it’s back to work I’m afraid. You can see the AlphaBuddies fabric collection on the website at http://beecreativestudio.com/fabric_designs/bee_creative_studio_AlphaBuddies_collection.asp

Have a great week!

Leaf Peeping

2008-10-07T10:57:00.001-04:00

Paul and I spent the weekend in the Adirondack region of NYS leaf peeping and touring the region. The fall foliage was just about in peek color and the little bit of snow we experienced while visiting the top of Little Whiteface Mountain was a sure sign of the cold winter months to come.

We spent Saturday in Tupper Lake at the new Wild Center and then headed over to Blue Mountain Lake and walked through the Adirondack Museum. The Wild Center is a beautiful facility with lots of educational displays on how the region was formed as the glaciers moved through the area and receded to leave the lakes and mountains. Of course I liked the information on the native dwellers of the region – those with fur, fins or feathers. My favorite exhibit was the river otters, what a fun to watch them swim and play as they retrieved pieces of apple from the surface and stones from the river bottom.

They were having a fall fest at the Adirondack Museum with pumpkin painting, hay rides, cider making and a bunch more activities including a big pile of leaves for the kids to jump in. I enjoyed sharing the cider making demo with Paul because as a kid we use to spend a day each fall making cider with an old press that my Dad had. For the demo they had the same type of press we used except they powered the apple grinder with an old steam engine and Dad had attached a motor to his press. The best part of the demo was the free samples of the fresh squeezed cider – that really took me back. We finished up Saturday with a hike on some of the trails at Paul Smith’s Interpretative Center as we headed back to camp.

Sunday we headed over to Lake Placid and took a gondola ride up to the top of Little Whiteface to see the mountains covered in their final glory before being blanketed in snow for the winter. The colors this year seem especially good after the last couple of years when due to drought and other conditions the leaves have just kind of dried up and fell off the trees. There was an October fest on the mountains so Paul had a brew and some german potato salad as we walked through the exhibits. We walked through the shops in town and then headed back to camp for the evening.

Monday was spent doing as much as we could to help close camp for the winter before driving back home. My Aunt and Uncle will finish closing it up on Thursday. I really enjoyed the weekend and have found that I am creatively recharged and anxious to get to work.

Have a great day.

Change is the One Constant

2008-08-26T11:35:00.001-04:00

It’s been awhile since I posted last but things have been kind of slow in the studio but busy for me. Paul and I went to Raleigh, NC to visit friends of ours and had a great weekend. Renee and I had lost touch over the years and it is so nice to reconnect and have her in my life again. We’ve taken a few trips out to see my parents. Paul helped Dad with a project on the house and Mom and I picked beans, tomatoes and cucumbers in the garden and talked about some new quilt designs. We had fun poking around in EQ6 as we discussed various layout options. I am working on a new fabric line and have been playing around with possible quilt projects to go with the line.

End of last week I got a call from Beth at “Quilting Now” which changes what work I will be focusing on in the upcoming weeks. I will be designing, making and writing a quilt project for their upcoming issue. My first thought when she called was to say no because I am trying not to over schedule myself but the other half of my brain kicked in and said “hey, this is a great opportunity” – so I am excited to be working with “Quilting Now” and looking forward to the project and with Mary and Toni’s help I’m sure we will have no trouble. I’ll try to keep you posted on the progress over the next several weeks.

New Work – YEA!!!

2008-07-16T08:46:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to be painting again. I had started to work on a new art piece just before receiving the news on Alex which put a hold on anything creative. After the good prognosis I am feeling especially positive and creative. I spent Friday at a friend of mine’s art studio painting and that really got the creative juices flowing. I ran around on the weekend gathering and buying additional materials and supplies (duct tape, plastic, stretcher bars, etc.). I will spend this evening working on the final composition/drawing and hope to start the final painting tomorrow evening.

Today’s a day when I feel the internal conflict of the double life. I have to spend the day working on the books, filling orders, answering emails, starting the next newsletter and answering to various shop’s needs when I want to be in the studio painting on either a new fabric line or new art piece. Because the table I draw at is right behind me as I sit at the computer typing, it is so tempting to just turn around and indulge my desires - leaving everything sitting on my desk until tomorrow.

My creativity seems to ebb and flow like the tide. It rushes in and fills me up with all kinds of creative energy and things just seem to flow. Then the tide recedes, leaving behind little remnants of the creative spurt in the sand. And right now, the tide is in.

Have a great day.

Update on Alex

2008-07-15T10:39:00.001-04:00

Alex was a real trooper yesterday as he went through the radiation treatment and he is happy to be back home in familiar surroundings. The spot where the radiation was done will get red and angry looking and then heal over the next couple of weeks. I’ll take him back down to Cornell in a month for a checkup and then several times a year for the next several years so they can monitor his health. The key word in that statement from the Doctor was “years”.

We're Living with Seniors

2008-07-12T21:27:00.002-04:00

Paul and I were faced with the reality that we own senior pets over the past couple of weeks. Alex, whom we have had since he was a kitten in ’97, had a bump removed from his lip several weeks ago. It was sent out for a biopsy and came back as lymphoma – cancer. I won’t go into all the details but we are lucky to have the vet school at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY about 2 hours away. I drove Alex down to be tested at the Oncology Department this past Thursday. The good news is that he doesn’t have lymphoma anywhere else in his body. The bad news is that they did not get all of the cancer cells when they removed the bump on his lip, Monday I will drive him back down to Cornell for a radiation treatment that will take care of the remaining cancer cells.

Needless to say, Alex is feeling a little tired as he lies on my desk while I type and he’s a little embarrassed to have the other cats see him. His belly is shaved from where they did the ultrasound, bare spots on each leg and a few shaved spots on his back from the other tests they preformed.

It just so happened that I was already making the drive down to Cornell for a follow up appointment for our other cat Simon who has been diagnosed with lung disease. Simon was a stray we adopted in ‘97 as an adult cat. We aren’t sure just how old he is but he must have led an interesting life before he came to live with us from some of his quirky habits. He sure belongs in this house though because he can sniff out the fresh fabric to lie on.

The two cats became fast friends and often eat, sleep and play together. They have a mutual respect for each other as neither cat will play with the other one’s toy no matter how enticing we may make it look. It’s been a couple of week with ups and downs but we are glad both are on the mend and will be with us for awhile yet.

Now you can Subscribe

2008-07-06T19:57:00.003-04:00

I've added a subscription option that appears on the right side of the page, you can now receive emails of the new posts to the blog. It's pretty simple, click on the link, enter your email address and confirm the security code. You will receive an email of the new posts. What fun.

Fun in the Sun!

2008-07-03T12:01:00.003-04:00

I’ve kind of taken this week off for a vacation of sorts. The phone still rings, emails need to be answered and orders have to be filled - but I’m not in the office all day and that makes it a vacation of sorts. Some friends of ours are in town visiting family for the week and yesterday we spent a relaxing day hanging by the pool and catching up. Another one of our friends and his kids were able to join us later in the afternoon. It was the perfect day, hot enough to enjoy the water but not to hot to be sitting outside - much better than today's rain. Playing in the pool brought out the kid in Paul (center) as he was jumping in. It's so nice to have a day to spend with friends, hope you all have a chance to spend some time with friends and family this holiday weekend.
Happy 4th to everyone.

Best Dad!!

2008-06-26T17:01:00.003-04:00

I am so lucky to have the absolute most wonderful Dad in the world. He built storage for the fabric I’ve designed for Andover that also gives me a much bigger cutting surface to work on. In the first photo, Dad and Paul are working on the installation of the new studio furniture. The four cabinets are in place and they are making the final plans for installing the top.

Here is the finished cutting table from the side after installation. There are 12 cubbies on the two sides to hold bolts of fabric or bins which I haven’t purchased yet. A 2” x 22” open space is also located on each side to slide rulers in for storage. A bookcase style storage shelves are located on the end where I can keep the most recent fabric collections stored as I work on quilt patterns to feature them. A couple of stools will tuck under the end for company.

I am so excited to have this furniture in the studio and I’ll be baking something special for my dad soon to thank him for the hard work.

A Silver Lining

2008-06-18T08:40:00.003-04:00

Lately it seems that there is more excitement outside the studio than inside. Recently my roles have included the exciting job of “the maid” - cleaning and organizing the office and studio spaces or being a “Nurse” for the two cats (Simon and Alex) who have had a few vet procedures over the last few days. So I am finding much more excitement looking out the window. What weather we have had the last couple of days, temps are like spring (60’s) thunder and lightning storms. We had a storm move through the other day that brought some hail the size of moth balls with it. I snapped a picture of the hail just to show Paul when he got home from work.

But what I really found amazing were the clouds. The sky got so dark as the thunder and lightning rolled in and as the storm move through Mary and I could see that just beyond the storm clouds was a silver lining and blue sky. I grabbed my camera to take a couple of pictures. You can see how dark the sky was and how it just opened up to blue sky. And of course what summer storm is complete without a rainbow at the end. You can almost make out the double rainbow in the picture.

As the storm passed and the silver lining in the clouds and rainbow appeared - I started to think about life and the saying “There’s always a silver lining” which I have heard my parents say more than once. It does seem to be that after every storm in life the sun shines to reveal a beautiful rainbow. After completing quilt market, getting to the jobs I had put off and tying up all the loose ends, I guess as I look toward the next few days my rainbow is coming – Thursday I start painting a new piece. I hope your rainbow shines through soon as well.

Open House

2008-06-16T14:03:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday Delphi where Paul works had an open house where employee’s friends and family could take a tour of the facility. In the 12 plus years Paul and I have been married I have never had the opportunity to see where he spends his days – this was very exciting from me, to get to share in that part of his life. Paul is a mechanical engineer and works at Delphi in Rochester, NY.

We walked along a 1.2 mile track seeing all the different departments and how automotive parts are engineered, manufactured, quality checked and sent off to various customers. We watched a punch press shape a piece of flat metal into a part, screw machines take a piece of metal rod and turn it into another car component and Injection mold machines create nylon shells. The floor space of the facility is 1.9 million square-feet, no wonder it takes Paul 15 minutes to walk across the plant.

Two of the things I found most impressive were the white room and clean room. Knowing that this plant within a plant was built in a short period of time and some of what went into the construction of it – I just wasn’t prepared for how clean and sterile it looked. I am so proud of Paul and was so happy to get a chance to see him in his element.

A big thanks to Delphi for holding the open house.

Garden Containers

2008-06-11T10:58:00.002-04:00

Well I had promised I would post a picture of the containers I planted awhile back…so here they are. I picked up a couple of solar garden lights at the local grocery store - if you can call Wegmans a grocery store. The lights are fun as they gradually change from one color to another at night - a fun little addition as we sit on the porch at night. The nasturtiums (smallest pot in front) are some that I started from seed earlier this spring. I just love the nasturtiums and have set 5 containers around the house, can't wait until they start blooming here in another week.

Wegmans is a food store chain that started locally in Rochester, NY, you can visit their website at www.wegmans.com to learn more about them. They have prepared food to eat-in or take home, coffee shop, catering service, wellness center, magazine with good recipes and of course food. The joke around here is "What would we ever do without Wegmans".

Have a great day.

Caught in Mid-Flight

2008-06-09T14:52:00.002-04:00

Summer hit like a blazing fire, we went from temps in the 60s to 90s this weekend. Cleaned out the air conditioner and went for the first dip in the pool this weekend. Last night the heat got broke by a quick thunder shower but before the rain came I got to snap a few pictures of the tree swallows as they fed their young. It would have been better if the sun was out – kind of a grey sky but the pose is what I was after. I don’t get many opportunities to snap pictures of the birds in flight and wanted to take advantage of the situation. I can change the lighting in my painting but the reference for the wing position is invaluable. I had my camera (Cannon EOS digital) set to “machine gun” as Paul likes to call it and got lots of pictures I will use in a future art piece. Here is one of my favorites, you can click on the image for a larger view.

I started out taking picture to the side front of the box to capture the tree swallow as it exited the nest box and then moved to the back to capture the bird as it approached the nest. It was funny each time as it would land on the front of the nest box it would peek around the corner to check if I was a threat.

Out the Window

2008-06-03T14:43:00.002-04:00

Okay I know this is supposed to be about what is going on in the studio but this week it is much more interesting what is going on outside. My excitement has consisted of paying the bills, answering emails and putting together the next e-letter. But, outside the tree swallow’s eggs have hatched and there are seven naked chicks with their mouths open and a “Where’s the food?” for a greeting. A second set of tree swallows is sitting on their clutch of eggs. Their nest is so pretty – all lined with feathers. It’s fun to watch them carry these big white goose feathers from down the road and maneuver to get the large feather into the small next box hole.

The bluebirds that fledged May 19th have been back around the last couple of days. Papa bluebird has started to build the second nest in the Peterson Box while mom gives the “This is how we hunt for bugs” lesson from the fence around the pool. I snapped a picture of one of the juveniles.

A family of wrens has moved in to the next box by the driveway. Their nest is so funny because they make it out of twigs, lots and lots of twigs. There are twigs sticking right out the hole of the box. They are such a pretty bird and have a pretty voice. Paul and I sat on the porch steps last night and watched the pair put more twigs in the box.

Okay enough looking out the window, time to get back to work and run to the post office.

A Weekend Alone

2008-05-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

Paul is off this weekend playing golf and catching up with his college friends in Flint, MI this weekend which leaves me a weekend to play and eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I don’t just eat pb&j but I opt for simple meals that don’t require much prep or clean up so I can spend time doing other things. It’s nice every once and a while to have a weekend that can be like that.

I got a terrible cold a couple days after returning from quilt market that took me out for a couple of days but my energy is back and that means I’m feeling alive again. I just sound funny as the cold has settled in my chest - I’ve got that deep raspy voice.

I spent most of today working outside in the yard planting but have been chased inside by a passing thunderstorm. I’ll have to take pictures and post in the next several days so you can see my handiwork. All week I had thought I’d spend today in the studio painting but there is something I find renewing about working in the dirt. As I place each plant and cover it with dirt - I feel my creative self being reseeded with lots of new energy and potential. I have always thought of my creativity as…well, kind of like a plant. The seeds are sewn, lie dormant until the right combination of nurturing elements are present where they then sprout and grow into something unique and wonderful. I’m continually collecting the seeds but never know when conditions will be right for them to sprout and what direction the ideas will take as they develop.

Well the sun is out and I’m on my way back out to continue renewing my spirit.
Happy weekend to you all.

Back from Spring Quilt Market

2008-05-21T09:34:00.003-04:00

This year Quilt Market was located in Portland, OR and Paul and I had a terrific time visiting with our customers and meeting new people. There is a lot of work that goes into preparing for market and I’m never quite sure how it will all fit together until we are there. This year went especially well. Our Schoolhouse session was in the morning; we got the booth set up in the afternoon and met my sister for dinner in the evening. The day of set up doesn’t usually run so smoothly. Anyway here is the booth.

Starting on the left side of the booth, hangs the new O’ Christmas Tree Quilt constructed in a brighter color palette with plain borders and next to that is the scrappy version of the same quilt.

Moving to the center back of the booth is the Holiday Chorus quilt that is part of the HoneyBee Club program. A list of participating shops is on our website www.beecreativestudio.com in the HoneyBee Club section if you are interested in purchasing a kit for this quilt. I also designed all the fabrics for this project with Andover Fabrics. The bird blocks are part of a printed panel and I found lots of inspiration at the bird feeders out the studio windows.

Working around to the right side of the booth are three small holiday wall quilts and the 5 Golden Sunflower project. On the last wall of the booth are the three projects included in the Holiday Dressings pattern. The tree skirt and table runner can be made with a pieced quilt block (on the wall) or the bird blocks from the panel (over table and under tree). For a slight twist, I made stocking hats instead of the traditional toe stocking – very fun and easy to make.

For the past several years we have had the same booth neighbors however this year several new businesses were located near us. It was nice to meet new people.

I’m always looking for something fun to give out at market and this year Toni Foster found chocolate bees. The chocolate bees were a chocolate egg covered in foil to look like a bumble bee. I’m sad to report that on the journey to Portland a couple of bees got naked and Paul was forced to eat them.

Hope you all have a great day!

TV Time

2008-04-26T11:56:00.003-04:00

Last night I found myself wanting a hand project to work on while watching a movie with my husband, Paul. Ever get the urge to do something that is fast, easy and fun to do? That’s what I was looking for. I had recently picked up a copy of Cloth-Paper-Scissors’ special publication “Studios” at the local bookstore and remembered there was a yo yo pincushion project I liked. The pattern called for three different size circles made into yo yos with two yo yos left flat and the third stuffed. This is it!! A quick, easy and fun project that would give me a little boost. I cut out my three circles, grabbed my needle, thread and scissors and headed off to watch a Harry Potter movie.

The larger pin cushion is made following the circle sizes given in the article. I like to have a little smaller pin cushion next to the machine to hold just a few pins that I use as I am machine piecing – so I decided to reduce the size of the circles and try a smaller version. The smaller pin cushion fits my needs much better but both were fun to make.

It's Here! It's Here!

2008-04-21T13:43:00.003-04:00

Excitement is in the air here at Bee Creative Studio as we are having fun paging through the new issue of Quilters Newsletter’s “Quilt It for Kids” magazine that just arrived. I designed a quilt project called Snips and Snails especially for this issue and is one of 19 projects in a publication with projects geared towards ‘tweens, kids and babies. It’s been hard sitting on this news but I didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag before I was supposed to. You can click on the image for a larger view.

To get your copy of “Quilt It For Kids”, visit the Quilters Newsletter website at http://www.villagequiltshoppe.com/ or your local bookstore's magazine section.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2008-04-15T13:13:00.004-04:00

I’ve been buzzing around the studio for the last couple of weeks filling in for Mary and Toni as they have been out on vacation. Toni took a wonderful trip to Hawaii for a week and Mary made a trip to Panama but both are back and that means I get to get back to creating again. In addition to filling in for them over the last couple of weeks I’ve been sewing together a new quilt call “Songs of the Season” that will be featured in a special publication to be released in August of this year. I will post more on that later but thought I’d post a couple of pictures before it gets sent off for photography.

On Saturday Paul and I went over to Braddock Bay along Lake Ontario for their birds of prey migration and banding days. We got to see a Sharp Shinned hawk that had been caught and then banded as well as a Northern Harrier. I snapped a picture as they released the Harrier. It was a bitterly cold and windy day unlike the beautiful sunny day we are having today. In addition to the hawks we saw a Bald Eagle, about 200 Turkey Vultures as they migrated overhead and several swans in the marshes.

I started some nasturtium seeds a couple of weeks ago and most of the seeds are up and getting their second set of leaves. All of this puts me in the mood of spring and if you were here you’d see my “it’s spring! It’s Spring!! IT’S SPRING!!! dance around the studio. Have a great day.

One Sure Sign of Spring

2008-04-01T19:15:00.003-04:00

We have had an unusually warm day today, reaching 67 degrees and that has released the peepers from their winter freeze to sing their songs of spring. Hearing their song always makes me smile and think of the warmer weather to come.

Growing up we counted the number of time the peepers came up and went back down into the mud as the temperatures fluctuated between warm and cold. After three times up and down spring was here to stay. Living in the northeastern part of the United States, winter and the cold weather always seems to stay around a month too long.

Now starts the trips out the door each night to listen for the peepers and count the number of times they come up and go down. Happy spring to each of you!

You can see what they look like and hear their song at the following website: http://www.naturesound.com/frogs/pages/peeper.html

Happy Anniversary to Ivy Thimble!

2008-04-01T15:25:00.005-04:00

One of the local quilt shops in the area, Ivy Thimble in Victor, NY, is celebrating their 5th anniversary. Trish, the shop owner, asked if I would design a project for them to help with the celebration. During the conversation she mentioned her favorite flower is the sunflower and she wanted a smaller sized project. This is the final design that she and I settled on – 5 golden sunflowers for 5 terrific years.

This is my version of the project but they have made up a very cute quilt in the shop and have both fabric kits and patterns available. If you are in the area, stop by and check out the sales they have this coming weekend or visit Ivy Thimble’s website at http://www.ivythimble.com/

What a Week!

2008-03-13T14:39:00.003-04:00

All the fabric arrived – 4.2 miles of it. You can thank my mother for the mileage figure, she’s one of those people that likes to count things. She asked me how many yard there was and my answer was “A lot”. The studio is turned upside down at the moment and will be for the next several weeks as we cut and ship the kits for the Block-of-the-Season program. I snapped a picture of Paul and Mom doubling and rolling the yardage in preparation for cutting. I am so blessed with a wonderful family and friends – my parents came out and helped unload all the fabric and stayed to get started on the cutting. My Dad figured out the mechanics and built the equipment to make it possible. Toni and Mary were real troopers as they also helped unload and carry.

In addition to the fabrics arrival, I've also been working on artwork for the new childrens fabric line for Andover Fabrics. I hope to have something scanned in and ready to show you this next week or two.

The program guides have arrived from the printer and we will begin shipping those out on Monday.

I finished up a quilt for the upcoming issue of “Quilt It for Christmas” published by Quilters Newsletter. I have a few embellishments to add to the surface and then I’ll be ready to send that off as well.

As you can tell there is a lot going on right now and I’m not getting much time to paint and create but just you wait - when this is all behind me I’m going to be creating like mad.

Have a great day.
- Nancy

Throw Out a Life Line

2008-03-05T09:41:00.001-05:00

Did you ever have a day when it feels like...BAMM, everything needs to be done right now. This week has been building to it and today’s the day when it all hit or feels like it all hit anyway. I know in my head that everything is okay and the situation really isn’t that bad. Yes there are a lot of things coming up with deadlines but they all have their time line of being completed and that they all will be completed – on time. But I still have to fight that feeling of all a sudden being overwhelmed with responsibilities. I know we all experience it from time to time and it always passes, especially if I get a few things crossed off the list. So that’s my goal for the day, finish up a few things.