Wall Art #5

Today's project:

This print has been ready to mount as long as all the others, I just couldn't decide on the right background.  Today I was looking through my stash and pulled out this piece and decided it was the right balance for the blue.  It is a piece that was originally dyed green, and this summer I over-dyed it shibori style in blue, just using up some left-over dye.  I'm happy with the result.

Additional Wall Art

Previously in some August and September posts I shared some screen prints that I was making into wall art.  As shown before, these are some of the prints I started with.

I have now finished the 4th piece in this group.  (I know, slow progress.  I have been working on some other things, but several of the projects I've done this year have been for exhibits and can't be shared.  So while it may seem like I haven't been doing much, I continue to work on these "secret" projects.)

The piece at the bottom right is the one I have just completed.  I really like the look of the "stitch print" fabric as background - it really goes well with the simplicity of the prints.  The fabric is stretched over a 9x12 canvas and stapled to the wood frame.  The prints are layered with batting (no backing) and thread sketched around the image, then the edges are satin stitched.  The size of the print fabric was trimmed so it would fit inside the wood frame of the canvas, in order to be able to hand stitch the print to the background/canvas.  The hand stitching is done with #5 perle cotton and a running stitch.  I have a few more covered canvases ready and waiting for prints to be stitched on, as soon as I do the machine work.

Walking Williamsburg

On our way back from the beach we detoured to Williamsburg so my husband could attend a meeting.  While he was meeting, I spent a few enjoyable hours walking Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg.  Such a beautiful, peaceful place.  Thoroughly enjoyed the stroll and taking pictures.

Beach Week

I was fortunate to spend a a quiet week at the beach with my family last week.  It was a time for reading, sitting on the beach and just relaxing  - a needed break.  It was sunny most of the time, but also windy so even though the temps were warm, the wind was chilly.  But my daughter and I still enjoyed sitting on the beach and catching the rays.

Studio Art Quilt Associates Benefit Auction

Studio Art Quilt Associates, or SAQA as it is commonly called, is an organization that supports the art quilter.  From their website: 
"Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the art quilt through education, exhibitions, professional development, documentation, and publications. SAQA defines an art quilt as "a creative visual work that is layered and stitched or that references this form of stitched layered structure."
Founded in 1989 by an initial group of 50 artists, SAQA now has over 3,000 members: artists, teachers, collectors, gallery owners, museum curators and corporate sponsors. A dedicated core of volunteers and staff keep the organization vibrant, dynamic, and progressive."
 
SAQA holds an annual Benefit Auction which provides support for exhibitions, publications and educational outreach as well as increased recognition for art quilts and those who make them  This year's auction begins September 15 at 2 PM. View the quilts and consider if you would like to bid on a gorgeous piece of fiber art. Please read the directions for bidding carefully, it is a 4 stage auction. http://www.saqa.com/memberArt.php?ID=3220

  

Click on the link above the picture to go to the auction pages to view the quilts.  Even if you choose not to bid, there are lots of amazing quilts to see!

More Wall Art

I've worked on a couple more pieces of screen printed wall art.  I've also got a few "secret" projects in progress so I've been going back and forth between projects.  Here are 2 more of the prints.

What do you think? Worth adding to the Etsy shop?

Wall Art

During quilt camp this summer I used a technique for using up the excess paint on a screen before washing it. Using a slightly damp sponge to print not only gives you additional prints but helps clean your screens without washing a lot of paint down the drain. I had a scrap bag of Cherrywood fabrics I used for these prints - pieces that are approximately 6x9 inches.  If you are not familiar with Cherrywood, they make beautiful hand dyed fabric with the look of suede. I ended up with quite a few of these and decided they would make Great Wall art.

I took a 9x12 artist canvas and covered it with a contemporary piece of fabric that I thought would pair well with the simplicity of the print.  I layered the print with fusible batting and quilted around the print, then finished off the edges with a satin stitch. Originally I intended to attach it to the canvas with an invisible stitch, but then got the idea to do a visible running stitch around the edge - and luckily had the perfect color of perle cotton.  I think it really enhances the piece. I'm happy with how it turned out and excited to make more!

Row by Row

Almost finished!!  I finally sat down a few days ago and quilted my row from Artistic Artifacts. 

The binding is attached and half-way stitched down on the back, but here you can see what it will look like when finished.

VCQ Visits Berry Hill Resort & Conference Center

Last weekend our VCQ quarterly meeting was held at Berry Hill Resort & Conference Center, South Boston, VA.  Wow! Can you say gorgeous?  What a beautiful place!   An antebellum plantation built in 1728, Berry Hill is one of the few surviving examples of classic Greek Revival architecture.  It is a National Historic Landmark that has been transformed into a resort and conference center without detracting from it's period elegance, and one of the premier wedding venues in VA and NC.  It is a place I would love to go back to for a get-away, to relax and enjoy the amenities.  Unfortunately for us, it rained all day Saturday, so most of my pictures are from indoors and through the rain drops.

 I should have driven up to the mansion to get a picture with an unobstructed view, but there is a better picture on their website.  The view through the window is the back courtyard. On the bottom left is the courtyard between the mansion/conference center and the hotel.  The view of the goose is from inside the front door of the mansion looking down the lane that approaches the mansion.

It was a lovely facility for our workshops; our participants were thrilled to have plush, wheeled, adjustable chairs to sit in all day!  The dining room/ballroom was a beautiful locale for our buffet lunch, and what an elegant, delicious lunch it was!  We had a salad, soup, sandwiches, homemade chips, and brownies & cookies for desert.  It was lovely to sit in the elegant room with table linens and wait staff to serve drinks and remove tableware.  A nice change from our usual box lunches!  The ladies on the bottom right were showing the results of their fabric origami class, butterflies and poinsettias.

At the end of the day we had class show & tell as well as other projects members had completed.  The photos above are from the non-class show and tell.  As part of our workshop, one group worked on our community service project making comfort pillows & totes for mastectomy patients.  We completed 24 sets of pillows & bags, plus some additional pillows.

Row By Row Experience

I've been having fun this summer collecting row patterns for the Row By Row Experience.  If you're a quilter, you probably know what this is.  If you're not, you can read about it here.  In a nutshell, this is a shop hop for summer travelers in the US and Canada.  1250 shops in 34 states are participating.  Simply visit any participating shop for their free row pattern.  Some shops also have kits available for their pattern, as well as fabric license plates with a slogan picked by the shop.

While I was in New Hampshire in July, I collected patterns from 8 shops in NH and 2 shops in Maine.  If you follow my blog, you might remember some of the shop hop posts from July.  I also had patterns from 2 local shops in Virginia.  Last weekend, I was heading to a VCQ meeting down in South Boston, VA, so planned the trip to collect some more patterns.  I stopped at 2 shops in Fredericksburg and 3 in Richmond.  On the way back Saturday, I stopped at another in Boydton.

Then on Monday a quilting friend and I went to 5 more shops. I forgot to take pictures of those shops, so instead, below is a collage of their patterns.

That brings me to 13 patterns from Virginia.  So, you might ask, what am I going to do with all of these rows?  The point of the shop hop is to make a quilt using at least 8 rows.  The first person to bring a completed quilt to a participating shop wins a prize from that shop.  I'm not going for a prize, still haven't decided if I will use some of the rows to make a quilt - that remains to be seen.  Since the rows each focus on a season, one thing I'm considering is putting rows from the same season together for a "summer" or"fall" quilt.  There are some rows I'm completing as table runners.  My row from Artistic Artifacts is waiting to be quilted, and I have the materials to do the same with my Keepsake row. 

No matter what I end up doing with them, it's been fun collecting them and visiting the different shops.

Garden Bounty

So far getting back in the swing has meant hanging out in the kitchen taking care of the garden produce.  More kitchen time = less studio time.  I'm up to 19 quarts of tomatoes canned in the last 2 weeks.  Have also frozen green beans, made zucchini bread and fritters, zucchini quiche, and fresh tomato salsa.  The tomatoes show no signs of slowing down.

 The last picture is today's pick.  That's in addition to the 5 quarts of tomatoes I canned today.

Back in the Swing

I'm trying to get back into a routine, and after almost a week, I think I'm getting there.  Exercise is back on the agenda (Curves is my workout routine).  I've filled 3 screen orders in as many days, so that's back on track.  Yesterday I canned some banana peppers, and used 2 zucchini for dinner.  Still some beans, yellow squash and tomatoes waiting and there will be another trip to the garden tomorrow. 

I took some time to complete a readers' challenge for Quilting Arts, so that's the only quilting I've done, but I guess I can't show it until after finalists are selected. (Instead I have a preliminary photo and the finished back.) 

And I'm taking some time to enjoy this beautiful weather we are having - would love it to stay this way!  Who would have expected it to be so cool in late July??