Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

I have several projects in progress and a serious to do list, but I couldn't resist starting and finishing a new project: a life sized salmon fiber sculpture/pillow.  I used batiks and some lovely new Gradient print from Moda. I used a copy of this pattern which was well written and illustrated by JanLee Irving, who is an Alaska resident. She knows her fish. This one has all of the fins that a wild Salmon has. Hatchery fish have their dorsal fin clipped for identification. They may be kept, while the wild ones can only be gently caught and released.

36" from nose to tail. My name tag is on the belly. 

Pattern for sale in my etsy shop. Written by JanLee Irving.

"

You can see the embellishment details here: ribbons and rick rack. 

The fins are made from interfaced ironing board fabric, the metalic shiny gold stuff. 

One detail I'd edit: the original placement of the eye (see stitching lines?) looked odd. I used my seam ripper and moved the eyes forward. The mouth stitching also had to go.   

The gills are dimensional. The head is velvet remnant from a Sue Spargo tote that I made and wrote about in May of 2013. The center of the eye is black pleather, also from a remnant, from a Cat-woman Halloween costume I made for Caroline over a dozen years ago. See? It is important to save those cool remnants. They are still good. There is even a fancy word for that: mottainai, a Japanese word that means too good to waste. It is a beautiful term from Buddhism that is central to the mindful upbringing of most Japanese, (notably the elder, traditional people) that honors the preciousness of things.

Synchronicity. As I wrote this blog post , my sister, Pam, who is touring Japan, saw this at the Amuse Museum. 

This pillow looks great in our living room area, which has a Steelhead Quilt on the wall and a cotton fish blanket draped over the couch. For those of you who are not Idaho natives, Steelhead and Salmon are two types of fish that are anadromous. They hatch here on our Salmon River, migrate to the Pacific Ocean, and return to spawn. They have to navigate 4 dams and a serious assault by sea lions. It is no wonder their numbers are dwindling.

I have been working on several other projects, one a special commission. Someone in quilt club asked me a few weeks ago if I sew every day. Yes, I do. I am a lucky woman.   

Snail Mail

Snail Mail sounds harmless. Going Postal less harmless but kind of general. Photos of personal stuff private to some, less so to those of us who are not modest by nature. It is hard to decide how to warn viewers of some NSFW material to follow. So, I'll start with a finish that is sweet, grandmotherly, old timey, hand quilted and hand pieced and a long time in completing.

Vintage Stars

My mouth is puckered as I state, "this quilt is a testimonial of the amount of time I have spent sitting on my butt." I quilted it with a Baptist Fan pattern to compliment the 30's and 40's fabrics. A friend gave me the quilt top, found in an antique store in California. The back and binding are bleached muslin. Now it will be part of my collection for a future trunk show.

And now for the NSFW topic. A famous quilter, molli sparkles, has a pattern that I bought on Craftsy titled "Don't Be a Dick." I have a special friend who collects erotic and other gay art. He is an admirer of my work, which means a lot to me. I don't appeal to everyone and that is fine. But he needs a Dick quilt and one is on it's way to him. It is wandering around in postal twilight zone,  being tracked but giving meaning to the term, Snail Mail.

Don't Be a Dick, 24" x 28"

Circumcised, with velvet

Uncircumcised with velvet

My label with a tiny thimble. Beach rocks on the back, some of my favorite pussy willow binding. 

Batik and velvet dicks, who doesn't like that? Quilted with metallic hologram Sulky thread. I felt very happy making this art. The gift is a 'just because' gift. If not everyone likes my work, then bonus to those who do like it.

BFD = Best Friend Dog

Phew! The Christmas, Hanukkah, and December Birthday rush is behind me. I am sew relieved. Of course I know it is coming each year, and yet I don't feel motivated to make stuff until the last month or so. Sew. I want to share two sweet projects that were completed after the rush. First, a little wall hanging quilt for Mr. Thimblepie. It is a puppy picture of our now very old labradog, Abby. Here she was at 4 months old, wet and sandy faced on the boat. (Now she is 12 ½ yrs old and quite white, lumpy and lovely.)

Abby loves riding on the jetboat.

I chose fabrics that would draw attention to her pretty brown eyes. I quilted it with metallic Sulky in waves that simulate the Salmon River. I mostly piece bindings, this project is no exception.

The other dog project was an item from my etsy shop donated to a silent auction fund raiser for a dog rescue group, handsome dan's rescue. The woman who purchased the item sent my a lovely photo of her now deceased dog, Rylie. She gave me artistic license to create a wall hanging and here it is:

The wonderful fabric for these two quilts is Moda fabric, mostly "Woof, Woof, Meow," designed by Stacy Iest Hsu.  The dog rescue group said they raised over $20,000 from donated items. I am glad I could help. I can't imagine life without a dog.

Quilt Hospital

Some people help others by adopting, counseling, healing, laughter, friendship, sharing, mentoring, well, you get the idea.  My way of helping is to run a quilt hospital.

This quilt top was made in 1992 by my daughter's mother-in-law, Nancy,  for her husband Bill. The quilt top gathered patina in a box until this winter. I offered to finish it for Nancy and Bill. He is now in a rest home, but back in 1992 he coached kid's baseball. The quilt is covered with compliments and signatures from kids Bill coached.

The back of the quilt is flannel. It will be a nice, cozy, snuggle quilt. They are all Boise State University fans, and my son-in-law Tj was a foot ball player there.

I love flanged bindings. They are a great way to frame the quilt, and if the colors are well chosen, your eye is drawn inward to the quilt.

Here are the kind words Tj wrote to me about the quilt. This is why I love to finish and restore quilts: Jane, what you created was an absolute masterpiece for me and my family. It makes me so happy that I will be able to wrap him up in that quilt before he passes on. His life was all about coaching me and many kids that didn’t have the opportunity to have a dad to coach them. These memories were his best and brightest moments of his life and what you made brings me to tears. I can’t thank you enough for all the work you put into that for me, for him, for my family. Truly special and know I love you!

Happy to have the Holidays Behind Me

   I did a lot of holiday sewing. Various pillowcases and a couple of minky quilts, some tote bags for hauling quilts, and then pillows, quilts, and more quilts. One project was a cross stitch patchwork angel pillow, the embroidery done by a friend:

I made it to accompany a quilt my aunt asked me to make, using some of the left over fabric. She sent me a Henry Glass flannel quilt kit, and wanted double thick washable wool batting, which made it super fluffy but was like quilting a sleeping bag on my domestic machine, lol.

The individual pictures are very cute.

I then made Mr. Thimblepie a flannel pillow with a pattern from Sew Fresh Quilts. I chose a critter that lives along our Salmon River, a big horn sheep. I used black pleather for the eyes. The pillow fits our cabin home decor perfectly.

And then, I wanted to make something fun to acknowledge the Fiona the hippo craze I have shared with my daughter, Ainsley. Fiona is a baby hippo who was born prematurely at the Cincinnati Zoo last summer to mama Bibi. Fiona is very friendly, having been bottle fed and reared by zoo keepers. When animals interact with people they develop interesting communication skills.

I asked Lorna, of SewFresh Quilts to adapt her hippo pattern to make mama and baby, and she did! Here is my finish, with some tweaks. I added 3-D flannel ears with tiny tucks so that the hippos would have wiggly ears, and again used black pleather to give the eyes shine.

I posed my little Steiff toy hippo with the pillows, and tucked it in the gift bag. That toy is 55 years old and was one of my favorite toys as a child.

This week I am in Seattle. I went to the Seattle Art Museum and spied this hippo mask in the African mask display.

Another fun finish was 2 grizzly bear quilts, each 60"x70" from a Moda Big Sky kit. I had some extra Big Sky fabric, and managed to get both quilts from the combination. I quilted them in wavy lines with my domestic machine. The eyes are appliqued. I gave one to my cousin Marc, as a surprise. He loves to photograph grizzly bears in Yellowstone Park, and has followed one mother bear for years who had 4 cubs a few years ago. The other bear quilt is for my daughter Diane, who chose the name Ursula for her SCA (historical reenactment) persona.

pink and brown minky

NE Patriots, a commission

T shirt quilt, 80"x 90"

 These chintz bags are from an old pattern. I especially like the 2nd bag, with the puppies and kittens on the fabric.

I am still not a wild fan of kits or T shirt quilts, but they each served a purpose, and the recipients were all thrilled. Phew! The holidays are over, and now back to some selfish sewing.

Eating My Hat, One Bite at a Time

   Scoffing at T-shirt quilts is how I roll. They seem so humdrum. Why use T-shirts when there are so many other wonderful fabrics? For that matter, why collect T-shirts when there are other much more wonderful things to hoard? For the memories? Really? This collection of T-shirts from 1995 to 2015 does hold some memories for the mom who commissioned it and her son who is the intended recipient, in honor of his 30th birthday.
   This isn't an especially creative quilt. Sports-mom picked the fabrics. She and the quilt shop owner planned the layout.  I tweaked it a little bit, changing the sashing color from maroon to the chosen lime, and the inner border from lime to celery. There I go, pushing neutrals again.

   To commemorate running marathons.  I suppose as a statement to self torture and testimony to endurance a T-shirt does the job. I didn't think there were many hills in Lewiston, ID or Spokane,WA  but the T-shirts tell a different story. I really love the wheelchair images.

   As a travelogue. Well, it is an alternative to watching a slide show.

   Because T-shirts are so comfy and available. My sister was asked to make a memorial T-shirt quilt with a package of white T-shirts. WTF. Well, it was what the dude wore. And who doesn't like to see a guy in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt?
  Let's face it, you can only wear so many T-shirts, and you can only wear them for so long before they wear out. Or in this case, you outgrow them. The early T-shirts were small, and now the quiltee is a grown man.  And Sports-mom can only store a son's stuff for so long. She said this freed up a drawer.
   One interesting color theory I learned from Pam Rocco in QNM was about how certain border and binding colors pull our eyes out to the edge of the quilt, and others draw our eyes to the center of the blocks. It is not about the print size or wildness of the fabric, it is about the colors. I auditioned dark green, blues, pink, greys, black and white print, and they all wanted to lead my eyes astray. When I tried a medium orange from Riley Blake, it was that moment when flowers open and angels sing.

I added a teensy bit of celery to make a quick, flanged binding. The quilting thread is lime Glide.

So, that is how you eat a hat, just like an elephant, one bite at a time. Sports-mom loves the quilt.

Hen and Chicks

Said the first little chicken,
With a strange little squirm,
"I wish I could find
A fat little worm."

Said the next little chicken,
With an odd little shrug:
"I wish I could find
A fat little bug."

Said a third little chicken,
With a small sigh of grief,
"I wish I could find
A green little leaf!"

Said the fourth little chicken,
With a faint little moan,
"I wish I could find
A wee gravel stone."

"Now, see here!" said the mother,
From the green garden patch,
"If you want any breakfast,
Just come here and scratch!" 

My daughter Diane has a most exciting WIP; she is expecting a baby girl in October. Upon hearing the news, I wanted to plan and make the best and most adorable baby quilt. After considering Diane's favorite color (red) and a favorite pet (chickens) I decided on a pattern featuring hens and chicks, found here at  Sew Fresh Quilts. Lorna, the pattern designer, shows several color ideas that are modern and cheerful. I opted for more realistic colors and used some super fun Moda samples I have. I like the technique that Lorna uses, pieced shapes and triangles sewn on the diagonal and trimmed. Easy and precise.

The first two sets of hens and chicks, life size.

I decided on a soft grey background for a modern look and to soften the colors. I had fun looking at different hens and chicks, and choosing fabrics that gave variety and fanciness seen in a flock of chickens.  Here are the blocks, awaiting a few chick heads and rooster legs.

Fancy wings and a big rooster in the center.

The hen on the bottom left has eggs instead of chicks, and the fabric is sparkly. Diane and I talked about a 3-dimensional rooster tail for textural interest. I played around and came up with prairie points. Durable, and fun.

I set my reading glasses under the points to show the 3-D effect.

Yes, a green rooster. His comb and wattle are black. The tail and wattle were my designs.

I set a goal to finish this quilt in time for the Council Quilt Show which has the theme this year, "Feathered Friends." It was good to have a goal, the quilt is finished way ahead of the baby's birth. I used other ideas from Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts, wavy line quilting, and a flanged binding. The binding is attached exclusively by machine. Here is the quilt at the quilt show:

Ready to welcome baby.

The back of the quilt is a fabric line named, "Babes in Farmland" by Timeless Treasures. I bought 5 yards. 5 yards. Keep in mind, the baby quilt is 40" x 50." That is how I buy fabric.

cute details.

 I also made a challenge block with the same theme, "Feathered Friends," and blue green fabric as the challenge focus fabric. My block is entitled, "Gertrude McFuzz," after the Dr. Seuss book about the little bird with a plain tail, who wanted a fancy tail and ate pill berries until her tail grew too big for her to fly. I used a paper pieced pattern called Teeny Tiny Feather and a bird block from Sophie Junction. The bird pattern is found on her blog. And, the pill berry bush is my improv from a Gwen Marston class.

A bird after my own heart, eating pill berries to make herself feel better. 

How is your summer shaping up?

Word for the Day

I have been committed (yes, it's true but this time I mean MY intention, not other peoples') to daily writing ala  The Artist's Way. But my faithful and patient blog, named after yours truly has been sorely neglected for a very long time. I have been waiting for just the right inspiration when I know it happens in the writing, not so that I will be inspired to write. I have been writing longhand every morning and coming up with ideas. The discipline is in the doing. Procrastination comes from perfectionism, waiting for everything to be JUST RIGHT. I still struggle with artistic anorexia, avoiding the creating while wanting to have created. Sometimes I get epic shit done despite my best avoidance.

Here are some of the projects I have been working on since my last post:

I finished two UFOs this spring and entered them in the Palouse Patchers quilt show in Moscow in April. Some of us took a road trip to see the show. This is "Strawberry Ice Cream," my wonky churn dash made from blocks I received when I was in Stash Bee, an online block exchange. I quilted it on my domestic machine with lots of straight line grids.

Wearing a glove so that I can touch the quilts: I chose a fancy satin dress up glove. 

 The silk folded log cabin quilt was hand pieced by someone's grandma in the 1940's and 50's. These were the throw away ugly blocks. I can't resist a challenge like that and laid this blocks out in a streak of lightening pattern. Some colors are both lights and darks. The silk was pieced onto flour sacks and I hated to cover them up. One sack had a harvester carrying a sheave of wheat. But, it had to get covered up to become a quilt. I hand quilted the hell out of this quilt and it glows with inner light. Kaffe artisan fabric made a perfect binding, blue grey with wild bright flowers.

Here I am with the one that almost got away.

This little charmer is a study in purple. I have always liked the Chinese Puzzle block. I made this from leftover half square triangles. I put a flanged binding on it to use a teensy strip of mustard for neutral pushing. I love the effect. Here is a simple tutorial for flanged bindings. Super quick and easy way to bind.

Another creation that doesn't want to be adopted out.

Truly Scrumptious.

I held my second Spontaneous Outdoor Quilt Show but was preempted by Mr. Thimblepie, who had to water the garden. I was crushed. Couldn't it have waited a few hours? I loved seeing how prolific I have been, my inner artist was thrilled.

I learned a new word: ootheca. It is the egg case of praying mantis. Mr. Thimblepie redeemed himself by noticing and calling me out to witness this hatching. The little guys scatter so quickly, and we won't see them again until they are at least double that size. A hummingbird came nearby to watch the hatch but I needed some photos so no snacks for him.

About 4 mm long.

What is happening in your neck of the woods?

Hold 'Em or Fold 'Em

March appears to be going out like a lion here in the Seven Devil Mountains of Central Idaho. My log cabin home is shrouded in clouds and the snow line is just above us. I am going to cover the flowering apricot tree tonight since the forecast is high 20's.

Chai waits for a junco to land. 

I have been working on my Ugly Christmas Sweaters as promised, and have proof of my progress. I am having a blast with this pattern and my Christmas/Holiday scraps. I have seven completed sweaters and five in the works. The pattern can be found on Sew Fresh Quilts, under the quilt-along tab. Theirs are made with tropical solids. I have halfheartedly attempted to choose prints that are low volume. In this photo they seem to work. Yay!

Abby has a round butt. 

My Stash Bee block exchange month is March, and it is more fun than a rodeo clown in a barrel. I picked the pattern Cowhands, designed by Pam Rocco for June 2014 Quilter's Newsletter Magazine. She adapted the cowboys from the traditional tin man block. Then she made a cow block. The creativity and generosity of my fellow quilters is over the moon. One gal is even sending a purple cow block!

I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.

That was written in 1895 by Gelette Burgess and has been favored by lots of silly people ever since. So far I have a dozen cowboys and two cows, and I have also got a cowgirl block coming. Here is a layout of the blocks so far. My new pal, Susan sent a fun print of a cow and calf that looks to be from a feed sack. It might go on the back, where I like to piece the rest of a quilt's story. 

On my queen sized bed. Quite a posse! 

I will have a good time with some free motion quilting on this bunch of cowhands. Happy Trails.