Ta Da!

I forgot to show the results! Our one little blast of winter was just enough to net some good results. I especially love the tshirt...wasn't sure how it would turn out since it wasn't 100% cotton (has a little spandex) but it did fine! Great way to stretch your wardrobe - buy white shirts and when they start to look dingy, dye them!

I Could Just DYE!!!

It snowed!!! You know what that means....

A Look at the Quilt Show

What a whirlwind the last five days have been...but what fun! It was the biennial Forsyth Piecers and Quilters Guild Show, themed this time "The Art of Comfort." There were around 145 gorgeous quilts on display judged by Linda Fiedler and Linda Cantrell. There were lots of great vendors too and the BIGGEST guild boutique I've seen since I've been a member (it was amazing!). The show chairs were my bee-mates Laura Patridge and Lisa Alley and they did the most fabulous job ...the venue was beautiful and well attended. Hats off to them for making it all happen!

I jumped into the vendor arena for the first time with my hand dyed fabrics and handcrafted buttons and was very lucky to have the best booth neighbors. They were so kind and fun to hang around! They were Annie's Keepsakes (wool felt, rovings, patterns, tools etc.), Shakerwood Woolens (hand dyed felted wool, patterns, threads), Empty Pockets Alpaca Farm (yummy yarns and rovings), and Karen Gray Design (fresh modern quilt fabrics, patterns, etc.She has a shop in Reynolda Village, Winston-Salem).  I didn't really have much time to visit the other vendors but my favorite LQS was there - Sew Original of Winston-Salem...they were demo'ing one of the Bernina embroidery machines, making these really cute "Hot Stuff" coffee sleeves (and you know I love coffee!). Next to them were Justi Ard of Witch Hazel Handmades (she makes cool glass pendants encasing all kinds of images), and the newest Bernina dealership, Studio Stitch of Greensboro.

Do visit their websites and see all the wonderful things they offer!

Here is a look at just a few of the quilts and scenes around the show:

The Flower Garden
By Jane Houser, Quilted by Theresa DeWalt
Best Long Arm Quilting, Best Hand Applique, Viewer's Choice, and 1st place in  its category

Southern Comfort
By The Beecassos
Row 1: Linda Worsley, Sara Nutter, Cathy Bogan
Row 2: Wanda Norman, Karen Fridy, Vickie Clontz
Row 3: Joan Lowder, Gail McNeill, Penny Sharp
Row 4: Marlene Land
First Place, Red and White Challenge, Judge's Choice Award

Top: Night With Sunflowers by Anna Reich, 1st place Art Quilts
Bottom: Shimmering Vine by Penny Sharp

The Art Quilts!
I won third place for "How Do You See Me"(winking at you now, bottom left), and Honorables for "Cracks Where the Light Gets In" and "Kay Oss". The portrait piece top left is also mine.

This One's Mine
By Gina Boone
Best of Show!

Butterfly Garden
By Susie Oulette, Quilted by Winnie McCrary

Bali Dancing
By Debra Voigt

Hop To It
By Carmen Cannon, Quilted by Jan Strubble

The Red and White Challenge
(I especially love the upper right with sewing terms made by Ava Lewandowski)

Left: Southern Star by Lisa Alley, quilted by Gina Boone
Right: Tinker Belle's Neighborhood by Rosann Davis, quilted by Rosemary Cushman

(I'm guessing this must be Tinker Belle :)

Christmas Quilt by Anna Reich

Part of my booth - handcrafted buttons

More of my booth - hand dyes and patterns

View from my booth
(Shakerwood Woolens has such a pretty booth!)

In my fortune cookie Saturday night...that pretty much sums it up :)

Now it's time to unpack, clean up, regroup, and get ready for the next adventure!

Catching Up

Things have just been hopping around here lately! What have I been up to? Let's see...

I've been teaching...

 

Altered Surfaces - rust dyeing, stamping, discharging, and gelatin plate printing

(Here Deb and Lynn show off their awesome creations!)


Silk Scarf Dyeing...

I've been making clay buttons...

which have now been glazed and fired and I need to go pick up :)







I've done 2 festivals...

One the weekend of the hurricane and one the weekend it turned cold and rained! LOL! Yes, outdoor festivals are a hit or miss kind of thing. I can't say that it's been a highly successful adventure yet, but it's been on my list of things to try and I want to do a few more before I make a final judgement on their feasibility as part of my studio business. I don't like the unpredictability of the weather...


After all, gallery exhibits are climate controlled! I've had two openings in recent weeks...

"Courage"               
This is a traveling exhibit curated by my friend Kathy Brusnighan (seen left). A gift to the community, these inspiring and encouraging pieces debuted at Circa Gallery in Asheboro, NC on Sept. 15 and will be exhibited in hospitals and galleries throughout central NC through the end of 2012 where the exhibit will conclude at the Center for Creative Leadership. For more information on the exhibit and a schedule of locations visit Art With Purpose.

We all had a great time at the reception! Thanks Circa Gallery for hosting us!

 

(my piece is in the lower right..."Consider the Lillies (Even When the Sky is Falling)" hand dyed fabric collaged to canvas with dimensional flowers)







"Faces"

 
 Another fun reception! This show is at Sawtooth in the Davis Gallery and will run through November 17.





My pieces from L to R:
"Rest" and "Relaxation" (stacked)
"Sam"  (daughter of a longtime friend)
"Faith", "Kay Oss", and "Clara T." (whimsical)
"How Do You See Me?"  (interactive, changeable piece)
 

I've been hard at work on a memorial commission piece...but I can't show it yet...


The boys and I enjoyed an evening at the Dixie Classic Fair. My favorite part...the fancy chickens!

And of course, there have been lots of soccer games...

And baseball games, including a FUN! trip to Myrtle Beach for a tournament at The Ripken Experience!



Well, that's it in a nutshell!
(Did I mention I love coffee?)

:)

Snow Dye Results and a New Year!

Just before the turn of the new year I snow dyed (previous post). There was a bit of a delay in photographing some of the results because on a whim we decided to go here for the last half of last week:

This was the view from the house on the Intercoastal Waterway on Oak Island, NC where we rang in 2011. Well, most of us. SOME of us decided they couldn't stay up! No not me...I was the liveliest one of the bunch. I won't name names... ;)

It was a nice get away even if the fish weren't biting.

Now that we've returned and I've washed, dried and ironed, I thought I'd post a few of my snow dye results. I think I dyed about 5 yards or so, so this is just a small sampling, but I LOVE how they turned out! Serendipitous dyeing is the most fun to me...usually the surprises are good ones. Aren't these yummy? Each one is unique...

This one reminds me a bit of this :)

 And one last thing to share that always makes me giggle when I drive by it...this is on the way to the beach. Click on the picture to see the unique offerings at this little shop. One of these times I'm going to have to stop there...

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that 2011 has lots of good things ahead!

Snow!!

I remember having them growing up in Virginia, but I can't remember one since I've lived in North Carolina...a White Christmas came to us!! It poured all day and through the night. Beautiful!!

The boys spent a good bit of yesterday out in it sledding, building snow forts, and having a snowball fight between our yard and the neighbors to the side. I stayed in and made hot chocolate :)  And...preparations...

Today it's my turn to play in the snow!

Results in a few days.....I think I'm going to like this winter. We rarely get this much snow and never this early! I'm thinking I'll get a good bit of snow dyeing done this winter.

Taste of Art

Tonight I taught silk scarf dyeing at Sawtooth's Taste of Art. This class is a 2 hour make and take where participants can bring in snacks and beverages and enjoy a creative, fun night out. I'll be teaching it again on October 22 ...come join me!




Aren't these great?



This group knows how to have fun!!!