A BIG ruler

This is one of my favorite tools. I don't get it out of the closet very often, but it's very handy for trimming up finished quilt tops (and any other job where a 6-foot straight edge is needed).

When our local Chase-Pitkin home improvement stores were closing a while ago, a friend from our quilt club found a great sale on these in the hardware section and shared the tip (Thanks, Anne!).

A little hand sewing

I had a little company in the studio for some hand sewing and a bit of paper work. Pat was working on sleeves and signatures for some of her newer quilts, and I was finishing a facing.






We had some rain, and even a little sleet, and then the sun came out at the end of the afternoon.

We were admiring the shine on the trees in the hedge row, but had a hard time capturing it with our cameras.















I did capture a few of the beautiful pink clouds though.

Phelps

On a recent trip to Auburn to pick up quilts from Schweinfurth, I took my favorite route that goes right through the town of Phelps.

It's pretty easy to drive right over this little creek without realizing how beautiful its falls are.

Check it out the next time you're on Route 96!

Visitors - continued

These are a few more of the quilts that were shared by the group.

Bev has been finishing up the quilting on this piece, and we like the circle shapes she added with her quilting.






This is a new piece that Bev started recently.









And Bev also has started quilting this piece.

















Karen shared this piece that she recently completed for a guild challenge.


















Denise finished this piece, but is thinking of taking it apart and using sections of it in new compositions.











She's also been making random blocks in two shades of teal and red for a red quilt for her home.

Studio Visitors

We spent a lovely afternoon looking at the fiber art that everyone brought in.

Jeanne has set up a challenge for herself  and anyone who would also like to participate to create a 20" X 12" quilt each week.  She issues the challenge on Sundays, and you can get the details on her blog,

http://www.quilt2012.blogspot.com/

These are the first three quilts she's made for the challenge.










Jeanne also finished up a quilt she started in the fall that uses hand-dyed and discharged fabrics.

These are Pat's quilts made for two of the challenges.











Pat is using her challenge quilts as inspirations for larger pieces.

Fiber Art Now

Have you seen the new fiber magazine, Fiber Art Now?


It's well worth checking out.....






And not just because the current issue includes an article by Pat Pauly reviewing the recent Quilts=Art=Quilts exhibit at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY....

And which just happens to include a picture of my Whirlpool quilt that was in the exhibit.

Winter is here

Here are a few pictures for our friends and relatives living and traveling in warmer climates.

While we did not have a major storm by most winters' standards, this was our first snow on the ground.

And it felt like there was plenty of wet, heavy snow to shovel!

GVQC meeting

Yesterday was the January meeting of the Genesee Valley Quilt Club. More than 200 members attended.

The activity of the January meeting is called Demo Derby. Eight stations were set up around the room, where a topic was presented for 15 minutes. Each topic was presented three times, so participants could choose three areas of interest.








This is Pat Berardi's lovely quilt. She talked about "Manipulating Silk Fabric" and showed how to make the fan block in the corners of the quilt.














This is Chris Wickert's quilt. Chris's beautiful hand quilting is well known, and she talked about trapunto work.

January yard work

 A very cool day framed our January Monday.

 We tackled a spring job with leaves and small branches being gathered and placed in large receptacles.

The handy old bucket on the tractor was loaded many times, and the branches were hauled off to the burn pile.

Usually we are moving snow at this time of the year.  We prefer today's job!











There are very large willow trees that contribute to today's task.  They provide a nice row of shade in the summer, but provide lots of work with clean up of dead branches and leaves.

There have been some cold nights, and one of our large ponds is at least partially frozen.

The long-range weather forecast is for more normal winter weather arriving soon.  After all, the N.A.O. is heading negative, and the Artic oscillation is moving polar air pressure!!

Sunset

As non-snow lovers, we are enjoying, beyond words, our mild open winter weather.

The sunsets have been just gorgeous, as the tree line to the west of our property, sans leaves, opens up spectacular views.


The corduroy skies are another special treat. (Double click to see the detail above the trees.)

They are caused by wind currents and the temperature differences at various altitudes.

Let's hope this continues until spring!

Studio Visitors

Priscilla is starting a new project using a beautiful cross-stitch piece.

She's making some seminole strips and trying out additonal fabrics to add to the piece.

Jeanne is busy working on her challenge pieces.
She's started a new blog (http://www.quilt2012.blogspot.com/) and would love to have anyone interested join her.

From her blog:
Challenge: Make a quilt measuring 20"x12" each week for the year 2012. These "sketches" should be experimental in nature, approached intuitively and completed quickly. A random theme/inspiration will be decided on each Sunday with the deadline of completion each Friday. A quilt shall be loosely defined as a product consisting of three layers. Join in every week or at will. Send a picture to me by Friday morning and I will be happy to post it.

The theme of the first challenge was "The Kiss,"  and this is her piece.