CHANGES

Jason is beginning to settle in and our dogs have been quick to figure out that having him here is a very good thing. 

 

Sue is on the road again today heading home and we all miss her already. It has been a busy time together, a lot of things have been accomplished and as usual there is never quite enough time to do it all. We played, traveled, learnt, created and worked together. We looked at more colors to add to Sues line of wool threads with Tristan. Watch for a color chart of the current colors to be posted on her website soon. They are wonderful to use and luscious to look at. 

A few projects have been left to be completed at a later date but we have managed to finish one of two quilts from our workshops with Kaffe Fassett and Brandon Mably.  Mom is wrapped up in Sue's version. Boiki, mom and dad's adopted dog has adapted quite well to his new life of luxury.

  

Our Vietnam trip is further along and in between all the other projects Sue managed to finish this, a beautiful knitted beret from the latest Rowan magazine. I swear she has ten hands. 

Wendy

Color Play

I collaborate with my sister Wendy on many aspects of my business so I am very excited that she is going to blog alongside me. We have endless creative ideas and this will be a great way to let you see what we are up to behind the scenes.

Today we have been working on some photographs for my books to be released at spring market. We will be posting some teasers soon. We were planning on taking a walk through the woods to photograph but the clouds stormed over and kept us inside. There was even a chill in the air and we wished we had finished our latest knitting projects, lovely colorful wraps to keep away the cold. I am feverishly working on my Brandon Mably wrap (right) while Wendy is busy trying to finish her Kaffe Fassett wrap.

We have collected lots of yarn for the Brandon Mably wrap and Wendy has dyed quite a few skeins as well. It has been interesting to play with color, using hand dyed and variegated yarns and playing around with light and dark contrasts.

I go through a similar process when I choose colors for applique often finding that the fabrics I use for images need to be highlighted. I accomplish this in many ways, shadowing with darker colors, couching contrasting fibers and even beading edges of applique.

We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful materials available for embellishment enabling us to make our projects unique. Here is a glimpse of what I am bringing home. Who can resist these!

I also could not help myself when I saw this and of course it had a bird on it.

Sue and Wendy

Vacation in Spokane

I am having a wonderful break with my family in Spokane, WA. The weather has been warm and I have been able to spend time in Wendy's lush flower gardens. Life has been a little slower so I have had time to think about new projects for next year as well as finishing up some handwork on up coming pieces.

 

We spent the weekend in Canada driving the Selkirk Loop. What an amazing area! I was able to find a few wonderful pieces of hand made pottery to add to my collection as well as a lovely green handwoven shawl.

Wendy and I will be spending the rest of the week finishing up our quilts from our Kaffe Fassett class as well as planning our trip to Vietnam. We leave in three weeks to teach for a non profit organization in Ho Chi Minh City.

My son Jason is relocating to Spokane and arrived today. I am very excited for him and wish him well with his new venture, I will miss him greatly.  

Martha Stewart - Dreamers into Doers Contest 2008

I am excited to share that an essay of the growth of myself and my business was submitted to Martha Stewart's 'Dreamers into Does 2008 Contest', by my daughter Kelly.

I will be highlighted as 'Doer of the week' as of July 30.

To read my story, leave a message and meet others who have turned their dreams into reality you may go to http://www.marthastewart.com/dreamers?lnc=58bcbb90f0c79110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=breadcrumb_community

July in New York

This month I have travelled to upstate New York and New York City. Very contracting places but I loved both for there own special qualities.

I first taught in Saranac Lake at the Adirondack North Country Quilt Camp. It was very hot but set in a beautiful area around Lake Placid. I taught 3 full day classes. We had great fun creating pincushions, the Victoria Tote and the Thistledown Table Rug. Here are some of the projects in progress to entice you to get out your needle and thread.

I just returned from a fun filled week in New York City. My son Andrew is interning in the city this summer so I just could not pass up a visit. My quilting friends Kim and Cathy joined me. We spent many hours in the trim stores and came home with enough trims to embellish for the rest of your quilting careers. We also visited the Folk Art Museum as well as many interesting new stores. We took in a cruise around the city which gave us a very different perspective.

We found a wonderful park under the bridge in Brooklyn which was full of inspirational art.

My son Jason would have loved it!

We finished our evening standing in line for 1-1/2 hours the famous pizza from Grimaldi's Pizzeria. As you can see Andrew and Kim had to pose for me before getting stuck into the garlic and cheese pizza we ordered. It was delicious! Well worth the wait.

Aimee is due back this week from her 3 week stay in Spokane. It has been a very productive visit. Wendy keeps sending me photos of all the projects they have been creating.

I just hope she made some for me! They know I love handmade wares.

She has been dabbling in handmade pottery, cement flower pots and bird baths, picking strawberries, learning to dye wool and even been kayaking a few times.

I think life will be very boring once she returns!

Primitives of the Midwest

What a fun filled week we all had in Missouri. As usual Rita and her staff from Quilters Station in Lee Summit, MO went all out to make everyone feel very welcome and at home. Opening night on Wednesday evening was filled with many laughs as Jennifer Erbe Keltner from American Patchwork and Quilting entertained us with a sneak preview of many quilts that will appear in upcoming issues of the magazine.


I was very fortunate to have Jennifer as one of my students in my Folklore class on Thursday along with many other creative quilters. We used many ribbons, velvets and beads to create the blocks from this quilt.


The following day we created a new needle roll using many textural fabrics, making roving balls by hand and embellishing with beads and buttons.



On Saturday was my Altered Textile class and I was delighted with the results. We first wrote in our journals drawing different shapes and ideas for embellishment.


My students had appliqued some of the block ahead of time and then we embellished with layers learning about the use of ribbons, fabrics, velvets and wools to make each piece unique.


I can't wait to see the finished result of each block. I am very excited about the possibilities of teaching this class in other locations.



Here is a sneak preview of the start of some of their creative pieces. They all had different ideas to make a one of a kind block. I encouraged them to use it as a sampler to try new stitches as well as colors and textures.

Jason arrived home from India on Tuesday. Rather tired but full of many entertaining stories.

I have so enjoyed being home for a while. The weather in Ohio has been great. I have spent many evenings in my garden and on my new deck stitching. I am packing suitcases again and will be on my way to teach in upstate New York on Wednesday.

Looking forward to some more designing time as well as new projects to stitch when I return.

Gardening and Graduation

I find it very hard to focus on work and quilting when my garden starts to bloom. We have such dreary winters here in Ohio that I just love to spend as much time outside with my hands in the dirt especially when the weather is sunny. We have had a wet summer but the temperatures have been great. For once we experienced a spring and then followed by a mild summer. We normally go from winter to summer with not much good weather in between.

I am very fond of perennials and have large flowerbeds filled with color. One of my favorite things to do is sit out in the early morning with my coffee and watch the birds.

I have four children and my third child Jason just graduated from high school. Andrew and my mom and dad flew in for the celebration. It was great having everyone home.

Andrew is now back in NYC and Jason is in India. It is amazing how quickly time together passes. I am just so delighted they are all doing so well and experiencing life to the fullest.

I am travelling to Primitives of the Midwest tomorrow so will keep you posted on all the classes at Quilters Station. It will be good to see a bunch of my friends again.

Once again I am over packed, I am finding it very hard to pack with the new restrictions on baggage!