Sewing Day

It was a busy sewing day in the studio today. 

I don't have a picture of the seminole strips Bev was making for a jacket that's in process.

Nancy was working  on her quilt with the Japanese blocks and symbols.







This is one half of Pat's newest quilt.

Pat wasn't happy with some of the quilting that she had done on the second half of the quilt, so she was busy with the seam ripper "un-sewing" it.

Linda worked on a piece that uses some fabric that she made this summer.













Priscilla was close to finishing a beautiful new vest that had been in her closet in a box of UFO's.

The Studio Quilt

"The Studio Quilt, No. 6:  State of the Art" by Sandra Sider is now available from Amazon for $15.  (Search for Sider Studio Quilt.)

 

cover photo: Melisse Laing, Seeing the Light (2009, photo by Bill Bachhuber).

(See the blog entry of June 14 for a list of all the work included in the book.)




 

 

 

The following quote is from Martha Sielman, Executive Director, Studio Art Quilt Associates:

“The Studio Quilt, no.6: State of the Art is a stunning showcase of 60 studio quilts, with works ranging from realism to abstraction. Each piece brings some new delight—sweeping lines of stitching, unexpected bursts of color, surprising juxtapositions of imagery. A must-have for the library of anyone who appreciates contemporary art.”

  
My quilt, Jet Trails #10, is on page 46.

Holiday Lights

We are not traditionalists when it comes to holiday celebrations, but we do put up lights on the bushes in front of our house each Christmas season.

  Trying to remember placement and sequence from year to year becomes more of a problem as time goes by.  We tend to move some around from spot to spot after initial placement.

The weather was a pleasure this year, as temperatures in the low 60's framed our efforts.

The evening brought forth the light show.  We'll do some 'tweaking' tomorrow. 

The windows on the north side of the studio appear at the upper right.  The warmth of the timberframe studio adds to the festive impact.

Gourds on Display

We managed to field a good display.

The dominant goose gets to overlook the studio from a perch above the bookcases and under one of the great recycled Douglas Fir king beams.  A handsome spot indeed.

 

Four other arrangements are proudly part of the late fall season.  These two are in the studio as a lower level for viewing and enjoyment.

 

The final two are in Bill's office, where he can contemplate their majesty and be benefit of consequent inspiration.

We like the wire baskets, which we found last year at the Schweinfurth Museum gift shop in Auburn, NY.

Harvesting gourds

Our long growing season allowed for extended time for our crops.  This is not always a good thing, as this summer did not favor our ornamental gourds.

Here the entire harvest is spread out on the barn floor to facilitate cleaning.

The harvest was contained in three five-gallon pails, while a good year fills the whole tractor bucket.

We'll try to do better next year!








The ever-popular swan neck variety gourds are always a bit difficult to grow and somewhat unpredictable. 

Many seeds and plants produced only a moderate crop.

We will try to do better next year!!!

Sunday at Schweinfurth

The Sunday trunk shows are part of the activities that are on-going during the Quilts=Art=Quilts at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY.

Today's program was presented by members of the Quilt Inspiration Group from the Syracuse area. Here are four of the group's 12 members, and I'm not sure I have their names right (corrections are welcome!) -- Carol, Linda, Sally and Corrine.







We saw quilts from all the members of the group and heard abour their group challenges.

Our friend Liz Anderson is at the podium on the right side of the picture, and she is telling us about her Christmas quilt.














We had a chance after the presentations to look over all the quilts.















In the center of the picture, Caris and Pat are chatting with Linda from the Syracuse group.









I think this quilt was made by Carol.

Sewing Day

We gathered today to work on projects we had under way.

Jeanne, Pat, and Bev are focusing on what Nancy is putting up on the wall across the room.

Nancy has nearly finished her Japanese-inspired quilt.

Priscilla has completed several blocks for a new piece that she started at a recent quilt retreat.

Bev shared some of the pieces she worked on in a recent QBL2 class at Schweinfurth on Sets and Variables.

Here are two compositions she developed using her motif.

 

And this is a composition Bev made by elongating and enhancing her motif.

 

These are fabric blocks I constructed by adding to some leftover fabrics.

After moving the blocks around in many configurations, this composition seems to have some possibilities.... 

Pink and Red

Sweet, pink blossoms this spring from a bush in our side yard.....







And wonderful red leaves last week in front of the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY.

Caris at Schweinfurth

This Sunday's program at the Schweinfurth Art Center was a trunk show by Caris Burton.

Caris is a member of Genesee Valley Quilt Club and is well known for her applique and hand-quilting skills, as well as her beautiful wearables.

The first quilt she showed us was worked on by her grandmother in the 1940's, by her mother in the 1990's, and that she completed.

This is her Tree of Life quilt, which has won awards, including a ribbon at the Lowell Quilt Show in Lowell, MA.

The quilt being held up was made in Pat Pauly's Slash and Burn class. 

The quilt hanging on the right is one Caris designed for her son's office.

Caris showed us several of her wonderful garments, and I especially liked this silk vest.

Beautiful November

We've been enjoying many mild and pleasant days for early November.

Bill took advantage of the warm weather to hose off the tarp that will cover the Jeep in the barn for the winter.

I captured this view from the outside of the perennial gardens with my iphone.

And I found lots of lovely plumes on a walk through Bill's ornamental grasses gardens.

Sunday at Schweinfurth

In conjunction with the Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibit, the Schweinfurth Art Center is hosting a series of trunk shows/talks by regional quilters on Sundays.

Today's program was "Quilts: What's Their Worth?" given by Genie Barnes who is a certifed quilt appraiser. Genie is also an Executive Consultant for Schweinfurth and has been involved in organizing and supporting this yearly exhibit since its inception 31 years ago.

It was a beautiful sunny day for the trip to Auburn, and the sun was setting as I drove home. The skies were full of jet trails, and I tried to capture them with my iphone through the car's windshield.