Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
This quilt is off to be quilted and, thereafter, to a new home.
The variety of blocks does not appeal to my desire for symmetry, but I feel like I need to be able to use the 16 patch blocks I make. I am thinking that I might change the color choices I make for donation blocks going forward. Still, I know someone will like it.
I would not be writing this post or showing you the art, if it weren’t for my friend Cyndi. She told me about this exhibition, she dropped off my quilt and also did some work for the hanging mechanism. I am not sure what I would do without her.
The Women’s View exhibit is installed in the County Center & Courthouse to celebrate Women’s History Month. This is the 18th year. I have never been before, but everything lined up really well. I took the day off work for an extra Sew Day and Cyndi and I left early to go to the artists reception.
We arrived and only had a short chance to look around before there were presentations.
Mike Callagy, the County Executive gave the opening remarks. He was very complimentary about the quality of the art that was entered. He was also down to earth and funny.
Aimee Shapiro followed him. She is brand new. She has had her job on the Arts Commission for 3 weeks! She thanked a lot of people who helped and also announced the winners, of which I was one! Yes, I won one of the Honorable Mention awards.
I think Women’s Work 1 fit into the theme, but I was super pleased that my QUILT (women’s work) got honorable mention up against paintings. I was further pleased that Nancy won honorable mention as well. Her piece was a scene from her trip to the Yukon and beautifully done. It was not only stitched, but she painted some of the motifs and embroidered bits as well. It is lovely.
Some of the other pieces were wonderful. I saw Rebecca Archer’s piece soon after I arrived and I really like it. It is multimedia as well. She used fabric and paper along with paint.
The inside of the house is mostly strips of paper while the leaves on the tree are fabric. I don’t know how she decided, but the overall design is very cohesive. The imagery doesn’t look like she just added motifs or used materials just to do it. Rebecca won first place. I took this photo before we heard the results.
Some other interesting images are above. I like Dana’s piece because of the washi tape she used. The Old Stem is interesting because it is a still life all in one color – or mostly one color with its compliment. I am a sucker for cake and dessert imagery, so Savitha’s piece is very appealing, especially since she added flowers. Linda’s chair remind me of wanting an Adirondack chair when the YM was a baby so I could sit with him in the backyard. I admire Echo’s technique and the way she used watercolor. Also, she won Third place and I wanted to get all the winners, but missed second place and the other two honorable mentions.
It was exciting, but I was exhausted by the end of the day and almost didn’t cook dinner.
We were talking, at Sew Day, about all the work that military wives do when their husbands get new assignments and I might have inspiration for the next quilt in the Women’s Work series. I have never been in that life, so the idea might be too presumptuous for me to make. We’ll see.
The San Mateo County Women’s View exhibit has a Gallery Guide that includes all of the artist statements. I am so pleased that I am a part of this exhibit and am thinking I will enter Who Am I? in next year’s exhibit.
Admin
The Minikins page is updated with new Bluestem pouches, a new Piebald pouch and new I Spy pouches.
The Quilt Class and Teaching page has also been updated. Get in touch if you want to learn a wide variety of techniques. I am hoping to start a class at the end of July.
The Quilts in Print page has been updated with one new book.
Projects, Classes, Patterns & Tutorials
My friend, Carrie, is always sending me different tutorials and pattern ideas, mostly for bags and pouches. She recently showed me the IG feed of AtelierCoraCaoEmRetalHos. She has some great bag shapes and some clever ways of putting them together. Very inspiring.
Tools, Books, Fabric, Notions & Supplies
The Quik Hang Magnetic Quilt Hanging System is the new product from Sew Tites. As I have said before, those women are on fire! The product enables quiltmakers to hang quilts and wallhangings using magnets. I haven’t tried it, but it does look interesting. “The system has 4 metal strips with pre-drilled holes to install permanently onto your wall and 6 super-strong SewTites magnets. You can leave the strips white or paint them to match your walls before installation. You may use all four strips, spaced however far apart you would like them, or just use two or three to accommodate all of the sizes of quilts you make.”
Media, Books and Articles
The MQG has a catalog of QuiltCon quilts for purchase. Pre-orders are available now. Note: I could only find the link to purchase on the MQG’s IG page. It was not on their website.
Events, Shops, Exhibits and Shows
Women’s Work 1 is in a show called Women’s View, March 1-April 26, 2024. The page for this quilt has been updated as well.
There is an interesting exhibit at the deYoung called Lee Mingwei: Rituals of Care. It includes a part where the artist and/or his assistants will embellish torn clothes for you. The information about the exhibits is evocatively written in the article.
Other Artists
A friend of mine has become a master glass artist. Check out her website, Glass Art by Tracey, to see some beautiful pieces, such as bowls, cake stands (or footed bowls?) and wine racks.
None so far, but I am binding three projects, so stay tuned for the reveal.
As you know, I don’t quilt much. I really enjoy the collaborative effort of making a top and allowing someone else to quilt it. Thus, the quilts below are mostly tops, but I will include a finished quilt once someone else finishes it for the group.
This category covers bags, toys, aprons and knitting as well as other non-quilt projects.
WIPs are projects on which I am working. This means that I am past the cutting out of pieces stage, some sewing has taken place.
I still have UFOs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled, it hasn’t been worked on in awhile or it is waiting its turn to be worked on. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
I am annoyed that some of these are still UFOs. I have to give myself credit for completing some of them last year.
I don’t know if I started off strong or not. I am diligently using 2.5 inch squares as leaders and enders, so I am slowly working up a nice stack of blocks.
This Pink Piebald went really quickly and I am pleased. There are a couple of techniques I need to practice and some other things I want to do differently to make this pattern more to my liking.
I am super pleased with the fussy cutting on the front. The flap is big enough for a whole spray of flowers, which I think adds a nice look to the pouch.
The front panel has less space, but I was able to center flowers on the whole piece.
The back requires a much larger piece of fabric and I didn’t really fussy cut it. I didn’t think it needed the extra care since the back is partially covered by the strap. I did try to center one of the motifs, though the strap means you can’t really see it.
As mentioned, the strap is longer than the pattern shows. I tested it out as a wristlet and I think it will work. SIL#4 knits and I thought it might be a good project-on-the-go bag. I am going to ask her. The audience for this bag won’t really care or notice, I don’t think. I think they will be pleased they can use the pouch as a small purse.
I ended up making the inside (lining) from the fabric I originally planned to use for the exterior. It is a little darker than I usually use, but I didn’t want to waste the pieces I had already cut. I think next time, I will see about fussy cutting a surprise onto the flap lining.
As a reminder, this pattern is from Sew Sweetness and is from Minikins Season 3.
If you ever watch the TV show Ghosts, you will know Flower. I watched the beginning episode of the season and decided that some Tula owl fabric would be good for this latest I Spy.
I know I always say that I don’t want animals looking at me from my quilts, but these I Spy pouches seem to be immune. Anyway, the owls will most be covered by the Vervain templates that now live in this pouch.
I know I have said this before, but these pouches make me really happy.
I started the fourth QST donation quilt. I wanted to use the pink 16 patches I had been making and this pattern is still interesting enough for me to want to make another top.
I am quite enamored of pink lately, for some reason. I am going with the flow and not trying to fight off the urge to use some pink.
I thought about using something other than white for the background, so I did a little testing. It didn’t really work out, so I ended up going with white.
I am glad I used my mantra “make visual decisions visually”. Even a solid (lower left hand corner) was a little too much pink for me. I could have tried other pinks, but decided just to get it done, so I cut up some white.
My dog-sister, Tootsie, was caught on camera sitting on my stepdad’s Windmill quilt. She is a piece of work!
My mom thought that I would be angry seeing the dog on the quilt. I wasn’t. I knew that the dog wouldn’t have been on the quilt for long as one of the Parental Units would have shooed her off.
I started sewing the newest Piebald pouch with a little trepidation. I remember finding the project hard when I made it before.
I started out with the fabric you see as the exterior. I wasn’t super happy with it, but couldn’t think what else to use. I didn’t want to use the pink dots again as I didn’t want to feel like I had to use them in every project. I am super happy I thought of the Flea Market Fancy from Denyse Schmidt for the exterior. It is working very well, especially because I wanted to fussy cut the flap and the front panel.
I am also happy that Sara uses the same size pieces for the lining and the exterior. I just switched the exterior fabric to the lining with no problem.
The sewing is going much better than I expected. Quickly I had the exterior standing up and ready for the lining.
One thing that was confusing was the handle. I think I measured correctly, but it came out much longer than the picture shows. I decided to keep it and call the extra length a wristlet.
I finally made something for myself.
This is the Bluestem pouch pattern from Sew Sweetness. As mentioned when I made the pink one recently, it is part of Minikins Season 4.
I plan to use this pouch for my pens, post-its and other bits an pieces that I take to guild meetings and Sew Day.
I decided on the fabrics as part of the latest President’s Challenge at the guild. I have had some of the Chrysanthemum fabric for awhile, but I got another piece for my birthday. The goal of the President’s 2024 Challenge is to get people to ‘use the good stuff’. I have been trying to do that, but it is difficult. When I started this pouch, the day had come to do it.
I am taking the President’s 2024 Challenge a bit farther in that I am also using the fun zippers I have been buying. I really like those rainbow zippers. The new zipper pulls also look great.
I used the orange stitch fabric, because I like it. I have used some of it, but also tend to hoard that particular print. I decided I could enjoy looking at it as I used the pouch just as well as when I came across it in my fabric closet.
I remembered to put a label on the lining before I sewed the lining together, which makes me smile.
I am struggling a little with covering the inside raw edges. Still practice makes perfect, right?
Knowing other librarians is a good thing! I have a new acquaintance who works at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. These museums include the deYoung and the Legion of Honor. I recently saw that the deYoung was exhibiting Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style. It is about haute couture worn in San Francisco. I love seeing these types of dresses, so when we were emailing back and forth I mentioned a forthcoming (mythical) trip. My acquaintance offered FREE tickets. I was thrilled and took her up on it right away.
Of course, the day we chose turned out to be one of the worst weather days of the season. We went anyway. We drove carefully and at a moderate speed. We had no problems on the way there or back. I appreciated the all wheel drive of my Subaru and the fact that I didn’t have to drive on dirt roads.
The exhibit was nominally arranged by time period. That was clear at the beginning and at the end, but the time period of ball gowns are hard to pinpoint.
I really liked the use of sheer fabrics such as tulle in the various dresses. I think the technique provides structure and wearability to gowns, but also adds interest. Skating dresses use this technique a lot to show off skin without encouraging a wardrobe malfunction.
The neck insert in the dress above on the right gives the idea that cleavage is being shown off, without providing any access. Am I slightly prudish? Yes, a bit. I don’t like men leering at me and that affects the type of dresses I like and want to wear. I prefer an air of mystery when I dress up.
I am definitely a Christian Dior girl. I really liked the simple lines of the designs they exhibited.
The dress in the center is wonderful! I am not a fan of the color, but really like the design. I’d love a cocktail length dress with the same design as the bodice.
I also like the dress on the left. I can do without the color, but the simple lines in turquoise would be fabulous.
I also like Little Black Dresses. There was a description of how they came about, which I thought was interesting. I liked most of the more form fitting examples of these LBDs. I could do without the center dress that is super drapey. I know these are all art, but I can’t help, but think about wearing them. All of these dresses were worn, but I can’t imagine wearing the cream and black one in the center above without a couple of pages to hold up my hem.
When I was running my most recent quilt class, I wanted to add more classes so my students would be well prepared for designing their own quilts. I kept trying to think of quilt blocks that required different techniques. One block they did not want to learn was Cathedral Windows. Next time I teach the class, I’ll teach that technique as a pincushion rather than a block. I think that will be more appealing and pincushions are also fun.
One of the dresses made me think about whether or not I could add a technique that looked like the hem of the dress. First, I love the simplicity of this dress. While I don’t love strapless dresses, this one has structure, so I might even wear it.
I suspect, however, that the star is the skirt and that someone taller than me would really do this dress justice. What embellishment does the skirt remind you about?
I wasn’t a fan of the more modern arty dress designs. One dress had no stitching. It was held together with staples and grommets. As mentioned, I can’t help thinking about wearability. That being said, I did like this Alexander McQueen mini dress.
It looks fairly wearable. It is short, but not TOO short. I like that it has a rounded neckline close to the neck, isn’t strapless and has sleeves.
I also like the texture of the lace contrasted with the red ‘coat’ over it. The shininess of both materials make it look perfect for a black tie event.
I had to look at the gift shop. I am always on the hunt for postcards. I found a few, but they never seem to have the ones I really want. I did see a display of 1940s style HATS in the gift shop. I was amused, but also tempted.
The beige hat, right side, in the photo above would be great in black. It has a fantastic bow on the back. I took a photo, because I wondered if I could use the shape as an embellishment for a bag or pouch.
Yes, I wanted the catalog, because it was big lush and fabulous. Also, I love these kinds of books that mesh fashion or pop culture with history. I knew I would only look at it a few times and wouldn’t really read it until I was old and grey. I’ll check it out of the library.
I mourned the loss of sewing time, but really got inspired by viewing the exhibit. I did enjoy spending time with DH as well.
I had to go to the office twice last week. That sound so weird to say after years of going 4-5 days per week. Anyway, I always sit near a friend so we can chat if either of us can get a break.
She had her Enigma with her and was using if for all the computer bits and bobs we have to haul around.
I am so glad she is finding it useful.
Am I on fire? I don’t know. I just keep cutting out bags and sewing them together.
I am doing a series of pink bags and pouches for a project that I will tell you about later.
This one is the Piebald pouch. I made one for my friend before and have been wanting to make another. As I was combing through my I Spy pouches full of templates, I came across the Piebald templates and thought it was a sign.
I cut out most of the pieces at lunch one day this week, including some Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy in pink. DH was out on Wednesday night so I started sewing. The more Sew Sweetness bags I make, the easier the new ones are.
The other day I talked about working on La Pass. I was feeling some kinship with women who worked on large projects in small spaces as I worked on it after laying out the border.
This is what it looks like when I work on it in our living room. The quilt takes up the whole coffee table and my supplies are on the table next to where I sit. In the photo you can see my Sew Together bag in the bottom left. A larger table would be better, but it works as is.