Thursday, April 26, 2012

PA Class Projects (aka Or did I just sign up for more UFO's?)

I did tell you in the last post that a Pamela Allen class is the most fun a quilter could have with scissors and a glue stick.  But this went way beyond that.  We had a blast and have the scraps to prove it. Pamela led us with fearless abondon, though never recklessness.  All these pieces by my fellow classmates are in various stages and none of these representation should be considered the final rendition.  You should also know that the titles are mine, as I have intrepreted them.  What story are they telling me?


I wish I knew who she belongs to...maker unknown...but I think she is gorgeous
One of my favourite things about this class was seeing the intrepretation of each artist when it came time to do our assignments.

Jester Meets the Joker...Cathy T's horse is a paint named Joker.

Cupcakes for Mama by Cathy T.  I know she did some editing after this picture was taken, so the finished product will be a variation on this.

Love the Hair...by Christine
Zoo Train...by Christine
Cousins...by Diane S.
Summer Shopping Gals...by Gerda
The eyes have it ...by Gerda
Shark Bite...by Kathy L.
 Andes Village Farmers...by Lise
Happy Couple...Marg H.
Central Park....Margaret M.
Mama and that Peacock...Maureen D.
O. My. Hair...by Marg H.
She is Some Body...by Selma
Porch swing couple (or not) ...by Selma
At the Beach...by Sandra H.
Yellow Skirt...by Sandra H.
Lead Precussionist...by Sheila J.

Borat in Love... byYvonne W.

Meeting my daughter for Drinks...by Birdie M.
 I look forward to seeing these at guild or better yet, at the EDQG Festival of Quilts 2013.

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Day 2 of 3 with Pamela Allen

Pamela Allen is a guest of the Edmonton & District Quilters' Guild this weekend.  One more day of the most fun a quilter can have with just a pair of scissors and a glue stick.  We are creating fabric art: the human shape and how we relate to it.  Twenty artists in the class with twenty different interpretations.

Each day with are given a pop quiz.  We are given a portion of a piece of art and the exercise is to finish out the painting with our own fabrics

Two fish with Poppies: modified by Wanda Cracknell

lemons on table: modified by Kathy Strawson



Exchequer: modified by Sheila Jones



Gal with chicken: ?


2 Above: Women in chair (one seen from outside!): modified by ?
Day one we were to create some original art using fabric, scissors and a glue stick (a few samples to follow).  A lot of hand stitching using  a ladder stitch to be layered on.  I got a lot of pictures but of everyone's but my own Day 1 project!!  More to follow.
Bleeding Hearts: by Gerda deVries

Patio Table: Maureen Devich (knuckles shown here)

Fantasy Tree: Sheila Jones

Guinea Fowl: a Pamela Allen original got to hang in our studio space first day. There was another one today but I didn't take a picture...

A yet to be named fantasy bird: Kathy Logan de Chavez

Turtle: by Lise


Bikini  Snowbird (incomplete): by Kathy Strawson

Kathy L's got the blues (incomplete) : by Kathy Strawson

Tribal mask: by Gerda deVries

Happy Couple: by Marg Hryniew

 We are having a lot of fun and I will be posting again tomorrow night with the group works (with their permission)


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

What's on your bed?

Bonnie K. Hunter over at Quiltville.com is having a "What's on your bed?" linky party. While these two have been on the bed, it was time for an airing yesterday so out on the line they went.
The grey and rose medallion quilt on the left was made for my oldest son's Larry's graduation in 1987.  The quilt on the right, "Remember the Calico' was a more recent endeavor in 2011.  Both were hand quilted.
Cropped "fuzzy" shot of corner quilting.  I quilted 4 big game animals, one in each corner setting triangle: Elk (shown here), deer, moose and grizzly bear.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Button Bracelets

The Endowment Committee of the Edmonton and District Quilters' Guild met on Wednesday night (April 4) at Sparrow Studioz.  After a very brief business meeting, our very good friend Karen O gave us a very brief tutorial on making a button bracelets.  Every crochet skill level was in attendance, but enthusiasm was the main ingredient.  Regrets that Marg Landon and Kathy Logan de Chavez couldn't be there.

Start with 60 of your favourite shank buttons laid out in three rows of 20.  Place your feature buttons in the middle of your second row. Please be sure to have your buttons vetted by a button enthusiast  to identify the celluloid, veggie ivory and glass buttons.  For instance Karen O gave us an aside tutorial on how to clean the mold off your metal buttons using a HB pencil.
Carole Hunter stringing her buttons onto the two strands of elastic thread.


 we have every crochet skill level...the ideal hands belong to the "do not know how to crochet" end of the skill level scale.  Our instructor Karen O giving a one on one tutorial.

Sharon Rubuliak concentrating on refreshing her crochet skills.

make a chain of stitches long enough to fit your wrist and then do two rows of single crochet into the back of the stitch.

keep pulling your buttons back down along the thread so that you always have enough thread to keep working with


Margie Davidson has some great buttons and charms to add to her bracelet.
If you wish to keep your thread(s) from becoming hopelessly tangled, you must put them into a glass or jar.
I mentioned we were meeting at Sparrow Studioz, and while we were stringing buttons, Kim Caskey was quilting a beautiful filigree onto my "Fresh Fruit Salad" quilt. I love the tension, stitch length and the orange thread.  Going to be my June quilt.  You do change your quilts every month too?

Lou Punko, master crafts-person of every thing but crochet, but always brings a heap of enthusiasm and joy to the gathering.





and this is what we woke to on Thursday morning...a foot of heavy wet snow and still falling.  Not sure what the total accumulation was, but oh was a sloppy mess once the sun came out.  Most of the paved surfaces were dry by 5 pm when I came home after work.


To sum up...I was going great on my own bracelet.  Until I brought it home and then it became hopelessly entangled when Bob jumped into my lap and ...well you know it all went down hill from there.  I am starting over. Will have pics to post very soon and the finished bracelet as a donated button item to our Button Challenge Raffle in support of the EDQG Founders Graduate Scholarship at the University of Alberta.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Farmers are a Blessing Quilt



I continue to sow along on the Farmers are a Blessing Quilt. I apologize to Randy, the Master Sower who is shepherding quilters from around the world as I quilt out of turn.
35. Ozark Maple Leaf...interesting construction and layout.

36. Fruit Basket...another great basket block.


37. Pine Tree...introducing a pine tree that has not been infested with the nasty pine beetles.

38. Whirlwind

39.Palm for Easter (paper pieced that I found on Just Takes Two)







 
 40. Steps to the alter

41. Cups and Saucers..Randy taught us a very quick and accurate way to make tiny (1" x 2") flying geese.
42. Propeller...bonus of an adaption the propeller block I saw on Bonnie Hunter's posting today.