A quilt from blocks

Last month I took a one-day workshop offered through the Genesee Valley Quilt Club by Joe Cunningham.

We sewed strips together, cut those into new strips and created random blocks.  From there, I added some more individual blocks.













Then I started adding more fabric around the center blocks and decided to add bits of the blocks so they would "bleed" through the outside borders.




There was a lot of rearranging at this point until the final composition below emerged.

Peeps and Divas

Members of two local art quilt groups gathered together at the Schweinfurth Art Center, and it was great to meet with both old and new friends.

There was lots of discussion, and we generated ideas on how we might work together as a group. 

Of course, we also had some Show & Tell, with lots of work pinned all around the walls.

Thanks to Carol Boyer for chairing the meeting  and to Donna Lamb for hosting us.

Sewing Day

A couple of friends joined me in the studio for a little sewing time. 

Jeanne had hosted her annual retreat last week, where she had given the participants a  demo and project to do with tree shapes. So she used some of her leftover samples to  create a small art quilt.



Anne worked on the binding for this quilt that she's making for her mother, using her own hand-dyed fabrics.

The quilt on the back wall is one of mine that's waiting to be put on the longarm machine.

Clean Up

We have several areas of accumulated "take downs" from our trimming and cutting activities.  We have added some empty boxes and other discarded burnable material to this pile.












A quiet fall day allows us to begin disposal by a controlled burn.












This collection is burning in our large horse pasture which is currently empty.  Bill stands ready with the bucket on the tractor to consolidate the burning pile if necessary.









The process is complete as the afternoon wanes.  Our recently refurbished barn in the left of the picture is shining in the sun light.  A fence in the perennial garden is in the center background.



The Barrel Room



Mary, Bev, and  I are showing some of our work at The Barrel Room in Victor, NY, from now through January.

The opening reception is Friday, December 4th, from 6 to 8 pm.  We hope you'll be able to join us!













We worked with Travis to decide which pieces to hang around the room.











And Travis supplied the hammer and nails and assistance with the hanging.

Ruth's Trunk Show

 

Ruth White is a local art quilter from Ithaca.  She was at the Schweinfurth Art Center to do a Trunk Show.


In this photo, Stephanie and Donna are holding two of Ruth's small art quilts.  (The quilts on the wall are part of an exhibit of quilts done by Victoria Findlay Wolfe.)









Ruth used all hand-dyed fabrics in this piece.





















Ruth entered her quilt in the National Quilt Museum's 2016 contest for innovative interpretations of traditional New York beauty patterns, and it was accepted! 

Congratulations, Ruth!

Fiber Arts Retreat

 

 

 

 

Priscilla and I went to the Fiber Arts Retreat at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY.   We had three days of open studio time in the newly-decorated sewing area. 

 

Priscilla is admiring the log cabin quilt that Donna is hand quilting. 

 

We had delicious catered lunches served to us every day, complete with wonderful desserts -- Yum!

All kinds of projects were being worked on.  Janet finished putting together this lovely red jacket.















In addition to those of us who were sewing upstairs, there was a group working in the downstairs "wet" studio area.   Pat showed us some of the fabrics she was dyeing, painting, and screening.

Liza was making her first quilt!  It's a king-sized piece for her bed, made from fabrics from her sister's stash.

And Norma was preparing for the upcoming Double Wedding Ring class with Victoria Findlay Wolfe by making blocks of fabrics.  The class will be held at Schweinfurth December  5-6.

Raspberries and Canna Lillies

Newly picked raspberries in November are very rare.  We still haven't had a killing frost and production continues.  The end is near!!










Our canna lilies make one last show.  They were hit by the cold, and the flowers and stems were done for the year.















After cutting the tops at ground level, the arduous job of digging the tubers is next.  The roots spread, the tubers multiply, and the ground reluctantly gives up the harvest.



















The tubers are trimmed with the tractor's bucket serving as a sorting platform, with more separation the order of the day.














After washing and drying and further sorting, we are left with a few hundred prospects for spring.  They will be stored in our root cellar for the winter. 

If you want some, let us know!