My ATC in Quilting Arts Magazine

February/March 2013 issue of Quilting Arts, Page 80. Check out the ATCs! You'll see one of mine.

Marilyn League and I got our "What's in your Heart" ATCs
in the February/March 2013 Quilting Arts magazine. 

My September 2012 FiberAntics ATC swap theme coincided with a Quilting Arts Artist Trading Cards (ATC) Call for Entries. Some of my traders also submitted ATCs to the magazine and so far, two of us have been published, Marilyn League [Memphis, TN] and me. I don't have my copy of the magazine yet, so I've borrowed this pic from Marilyn's blog. Thanks for the nice write-up on the FiberAntics ATC swaps, Marilyn.

I also received this ATC jewel in trade from Ruth Lenardozzi for participating in the QA ATC swap.

Left: My "What's in Your Heart" ATC.
Right: "Swept Away" by Ruth Lenardozzi.

I'm celebrating my good fortune for having my ATC published with a glass of Bully Hill Banty Red to accompany my Chicken Spaghattini Con Crudo dinner from Tony's. I'm sipping the wine from a souvy mug from my grad school roommie, Patty. We roomed together in Rochester, NY, not far from the Finger Lakes region and Bully Hill winery. By the way, in addition to being a fab vintner, Walter S. Taylor, of Bully Hill, is an artist in his own right. He paints, draws and designs the labels for his wines.

It's all so very apropos. Prosit!

Artistically painted souvenir mug beside a bottle of  Bully Hill wine.
Walter S. Taylor paints, draws and designs the labels for his Bully Hill wines.

My talented friends, Forkner and Clabo

I had the opportunity to catch the opening reception of Alternate Realities, an art exhibit sponsored by the Knoxville Arts and Culture Alliance at the Emporium Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. My friend Geri Forkner, a talented mixed media weaving and felting artist, had several of her pieces on display in the show beside work by artists Elizabeth Porter and Carl Gombert.

Daily Weaving is a free-hanging woven structure comprised of small, daily weavings
made from found and discarded materials. This piece reflects 2 years of weavings.
Electronic components are incorporated throughout the piece.
See other photos (photographed in the daytime) here.

For the past few years, Geri has been studying and experimenting with electronic components and how to incorporate this technology into her weavings, wearables and felting art. The large installation above, Daily Weaving, incorporates battery powered lights within the free-hanging woven pieces. Below, Geri  is wearing a woven vest made from recycled papers and salvaged packaging materials. Her felted floral broach incorporates conductive thread and fiber optics. She is standing beside a weaving created from recycled coffee bags. The coffee packaging material offers a subtle reflectance that gives richness to the browns and copper tones.

Mixed media weaving artist, Geri Forkner.

I was also inspired by the Radiant Geometries exhibit of Carl Gombert's pen and ink and hand-stamped ink work. I found some potential fodder for my free-motion quilting experiments in his pen and ink drawings. Both exhibits go through January 25, 2013. Check them out, if you are in the Knoxville area. The Emporium is a great space with large upper and lower galleries.

The Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay Street, Knoxville, TN

Another very talented friend of mine is machine quilter extraordinaire, Margo Clabo. I saw this quilt during a recent visit to Chattanooga Quilts quilt shop. It is a sample piece promoting a Borders class that was team taught by shop owner, Kim Thomas, and quilting instructors Mellissa, Karen and my friend Margo. 

Medallion quilt at Chattanooga Quilts, Ooltewah, TN.

This beautiful medallion quilt employs a lovely red/green color scheme (who doesn't like this classic color combo?). It's spinkled with whites that add a freshness and sparkle and is complemented with a buttery yellow outside border. But what stopped me in my tracks... was the quilting. In true Margo style, the attention to detail was exemplary. I knew immediately (almost without having to ask) it was Margo's work.

Close up of the machine quilting.

What I love about Margo's quilting is that she steps beyond the pieced block and superimposes another layer of pattern and design with the quilting. She changes a sawtooth border into a chain of squares on point. Large squares are transformed into 4-patches, and two parallel half round channels (almost trapunto-esque conduits), travel around the center medallion to emphasize the geometry of this symmetrical layout.

Corner detail of the machine quilting.

The pseudo-Baptist Fan swashes on the wide outside border creates movement and dimension. Upon closer inspection, you can see featherlike flourishes superimposed over half-square triangle patchwork. Margo performs her magic using a long arm quilting machine, but her quilting design sense is inspiring to anyone—whether you use a sit-down, domestic or long-arm machine.

It's a honor to have friends with such talent. Gee, if they continue to let me hang around them, maybe some of their artistic flair will rub off. Ya think?

Doggie Jacket revisited

"Puppy Loves and Doggie Comforts"

One of the members of my quilt guild asked me about a quilted jacket I made in 2004. It must have made an impression if she remembered something from... (yikes!) 8 years ago.

This piece, entitled Puppy Loves and Doggie Comforts, was created in response to a guild Challenge. From there it traveled to shows and exhibits and received an Honorable Mention at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt and Wearable Art Festival XVI in 2005, a 3rd place award at the Smoky Mt. Quilt Show/Dogwood Arts Festival, and was juried into Artwear Celebrated, an artwear exhibit and fashion show at the Studio Channel Islands Art Center in Camarillo, California.

So, for all the animal lovers and those that appreciate light-hearted wearable art pieces, here is a revisit of Puppy Loves and Doggie Comforts. I hope it makes you smile!

Wearable art jacket, front view.

The jacket is pieced and quilted with cotton flannels, has a cotton lining and is trimmed with a hand-knit collar and cuffs in a novelty eyelash yarn. It is embellished with hand embroidery, dimensional folded fabrics (prairie points, fabric origami and flat piping) and buttons. It has looped buttonholes and front button closures.

Jacket back view.

This was one of those guild Challenges where you blindly pick 3 crayons from a bag and you must use 2 or 3 of the colors somewhere in your piece. I recall that two of my colors were turquoise and dark brown. The third may have been the burgundy red (or the one that I dismissed). I think the turquoise was very successful in this piece—it offers a punch of color.

Back detail of "dog" houses.

All the houses have dogs which can be seen in the windows, doorways or in front of the houses. The idea behind this piece is that it was created from the perspective of a dog. The "puppy loves" and "doggie comforts" (things that dogs like, or like to do)—walks, big yard, chase cats, chew toys, dog treats—are embroidered around the mid section of the jacket.

Back yoke with piping.

Other details include functioning front pockets, dog-themed cotton fabric for the lining, and bound edges.

Left: front pocket. Right: lining of left lapel.

I pieced the flannel fabrics used on the bound edge so they would match the jacket fabric. It was a challenge to make sure the piecing aligned. The fabrics used for the button loops correspond with the color of the base fabric. I did not want a contrast between the loop and the jacket to be a distraction to the eye.

Bound edge, looped buttonholes and hand knit collar.

The left and right sleeves are different. Bone buttons are sewn to folded origami puffs on the right sleeve. Prairie points and more buttons adorn the left sleeve. Three red hearts are pieced into the left sleeve—one for each of my dogs.

Jacket sleeves.

The interior seam allowances are bound as well. Below shows the shoulder seam allowance bound with a novelty dog collar fabric. Another novelty fabric (black with dog bones) is used as a lining.

Inside lining with bound seam allowances.

The jacket was quilted in pieces (fronts, back, sleeves) and then assembled. The label is sewn inside the jacket on the back.

Jacket label.

I hope you like my wearable art doggie jacket. It was fun to collect the fabrics and then share the finished piece. I hope seeing it makes you want to hug one of your furry friends.

Our little kitty

Yesterday was a very sad day. Our little kitty, China, who was barely 5.1 pounds, went to heaven. We are missing her terribly.

Our little China kitty.

This little kitty had a will of steel, the courage of animals 10 times her size, and the most even-keeled disposition of anything or anyone you'd ever meet. She just wasn't afforded a strong enough body to match her exceptional and determined character.

China found her way to our house from the far end of the neighborhood. Over the course of several weeks, while walking our two big dogs, we'd see this stray little skinny calico escape into the bushes as a big, curious Husky dog charged to investigate this "cat-thing." Making her way down the street in the dead of winter, this cold, undernourished (and most likely abandoned) kitty completed her homeward search at our house. Having two big dogs, I was concerned about keeping a little cat, too. In true "China style," however, she easily charmed her way into my husband Larry's heart, and then won me over by exhibiting her mouse-killing skills and fearless tolerance of Yuki, our Husky dog. The rest, as they say, is history. She became part of our family and Larry named her after the Grateful Dead song, China Cat Sunflower.

One little kitty and two big dogs.

China didn't get a fair shake from life but hope she knew she was loved and always number one with us. We initially thought she was deaf, only to find out she had a build-up in her ears from being out in the cold, wet winter weather. They luckily found and removed some internal anomaly when she was spayed, and she took medicine for a chronic runny nose. In spite of all this, she was such a sweet little cat with a bad-ass determination and tough-broad spirit.

She found hide-aways and little niches in the house to curl up and sleep—the top of the sofa, on a sunny window sill, under the dining room chairs, in the middle of the shamrock potted plant, behind my drafting table next to the heating vent. She slept soundly and sometimes you'd have to make two sweeps through the house to find her. She didn't meow—possibly due to her hearing disorder early in life—and a note in her chart at the vet indicated "cat chirps." She was a special kitty!

China

A year ago in December, she lost weight and got down to less than 5 pounds. She couldn't eat because a cancer attacked her digestive and intestinal tract. She was a very sick little kitty then. Doctors did not give her favorable odds, but we were responsible for this sweet kitty that warmed our hearts and home and did not give up on her. China slowly rallied after an operation and managed to fill out to 5.6 pounds. She had a great summer and we got another full year with our baby kitty—beating a timetable that the doctor allotted. If our love and her will power could have made her well and cancer-free, she'd have another 8 lives. 

China liked to go outside and occasionally went "visiting" to places unknown. If she wanted food [hot roasted chicken from Bi-Lo was a favorite; and after all she went through, we gave her whatever kind of food she would eat], she'd find me and paw my pant leg or my hair until I got up and followed her, stopping periodically to check that I was still behind her. Her favorite spot of all, however, was on Larry's shoulder. They had a special kitty-daddy bond. We know that she is now with her big dog brother, Carbon, waiting at the Rainbow Bridge until we all meet again. We love you and we miss you, little China! 

Larry and his China Cat.