More BMQG quilts at LQF

BMQG exhibit in the Lowell Quilt Festival

Today, I’ll begin to share with you the quilts from the Lowell Quilt Festival, starting with our quilts, The Boston Modern Quilt Guild, which were exhibited at Appleton Mills, which is a mixed use building that houses apartments and studio space for artists.  We were fortunate to have our works there in a very well lit and accommodating space!  And I’ll add to the “show” each day until you’ve seen it all!

First – I love the 2 Bee quilts, both great examples of the traditional “quilting bee,” but modern renditions!

Busy Busy Busy

I got my quilts back and took some photos.  Here they are!  I have been a busy quilter!

RIP Brother!

Hello from my lost blog. No sooner did I start to blog when my brother Paul became gravely ill.  On Sunday night he went to heaven and on Wednesday his body was laid to rest.  My sister Marie, my cousin Betty, his best friend Fran, his daughter Steffi  and I sat by his hospital bedside almost every day for 6 weeks.  He got to see all my quilts as I worked on them to finish them up for the Lowell Quilt Festival. God bless him, he cheered me on even as I stuck myself with needles. So did all the docs and nursing staff at the Winchester Hospital ICU – the best ICU in the world as far as we’re concerned!  A big loud cheer for them and all their loving kindness!

Finally, as a member of the Boston Modern Quilt Guild, a few of my small art quilts are now exhibited at Appleton Mills on Jackson Street in a fabulous exhibition space.  Unfortunately my big quilt, “Candy Stripes,” didn’t make it into the exhibit because at the last minute in no state of mind to think clearly, I forgot to put the sleeve I made to hang it on, or even to send it with my quilt with the pins I had planned to pin it on with. I had originally planned to be with the set-up crew and bring my own quilts with me. Instead, I was a complete train wreck preparing for the wake and funeral by putting together photos for a slide show and music for the services.

Nevertheless, I did get to go to the festival on Thursday and Friday (It is still showing today.) and I totally enjoyed the whole thing!  I saw most of the small gallery shows as well as the exhibit at the main auditorium.   I also attended two great lectures.  Wonderful people were everywhere. I hopped along from one gallery to the next with a woman I met along the way who was looking for directions, whose name I already forget but she was originally from the UK and she and her husband were travelling by boat – she was a fine day companion.  I especially enjoyed our BMQG exhibit, of course, and a couple especially good venders. At the Brush Gallery we met a friendly and talented Cindy Hughes who is a resident textile artist/weaver/dyer and from her, I purchased some remarkable discharge dyed cotton.  She told us to come back in a bit to see a woman who goes there on Friday afternoons and we were glad we did!  She had some gorgeous vintage kimonos and I picked up some Japanese silk scrap pieces from her.  Also, Paula Lavender from Brattleboro VT sold me some of her beautiful marbled fabric I can’t wait to put to good use!

And now, I’ll always get to think of my brother Paul as I embroider and hand stitch!  Rest in peace Bro!

“…Brother, brother, brother
There’s far too many of you dying
You know we’ve got to find a way

Tea For Two

Small art quilts for the BMQG “challenge.”

To bring some lovin’ here today – Ya…”

• Artist: Marvin Gaye

More or Less?

Cleaning and reorganizing have been taking a lot of my time lately.  I can’t function in chaos.  Things have to be in their place where I can find them to work happily so my fun gets interrupted from time to time to regroup.  It’s also often a time for idea incubation. When my mind is at rest I’m more likely to have sudden flashes of solutions to problems at hand or completely new insights into some artwork or for future art projects.

Last week I was having some problems with a collage I was working on.  I liked part of it and hated apart of it so I gessoed over what I hated and that, in itself,  was freeing, so I left it for a bit and came back to it later.  My goal was to make it simpler – to add less to make it more.  What do you think? Is it more or less?

Inspiration

I know, I said no more posts until I got better at it….and this is where I’m at:

…BUT,  the one who inspired my focused interest in eco dyeing is Arlee Barr, and if you want to see what I’m aiming for in this eco dyeing pursuit, tahe a look at her blog here: http://albedoarlee.wordpress.com/

She’s the best!

Baby steps in this eco dyeing process.  No more posting until my results improve.

Good news is that the berries are ripening on the mulberry tree.  Bad news is that a huge half of the tree fell down.  Bill has lots of sawing to do.  I’m drying some of the leaves for mulberry tea. It’s loaded with good stuff- minerals and calcium and more!  I’ll let you know how it tastes!

A lone bloom popped out this morning!  I think it’s an evening primrose(?) but it’s so tall, I’m not sure.

Evening primrose?

I received a bonanza of fabric from freecycle  but it meant that I had to do a lot of laundry before I could put it away.  It’s clean and sorted now. It’s all upholstery fabric but I can use it all in quilts and maybe some placemats if I get to it.

Meanwhile I did complete a new collage and am working on some background or collage papers. The influence of Sue Pelletier’s class is still with me – thank you, Sue!  More burlap and, although most of it got covered up, I did start out with some crinoline in there.  I also added some  Crayola “Portfolio” water-soluble oil pastels.  Here’s a pic.

along the stream