Oh my, just what is a quilter to do....

In the quilting world there are many ways for a quilter to get the materials he or she needs to practice the art of quilting.... JoAnn's, WalMart, even the internet. But to a true quilter, there is only one place to truly get everything they really need... a Local Quilt Shop. The LQS as it is known in the quilting cirlce, is so much more than a fabric store. The LQS is what inspires us, encourages us, transforms us from a sewer to a quilter. A good LQS manages to make even the beginninng quilter or fiber artist believe they can transform bits of fabric and thread into works of art. They are there to quide us, to teach us, to share a wealth of knowledge, to bestow all the tips and techniques the art form has to make quilting easier, to make it fun.... in many cases they are our muse.

So it is with much dismay that I learned this week that my LQS (well, if local means a 45 minute drive) will be closing their doors. The owner Claire Oehler, will be retiring. Yes, Claire's daughter Jane Davila, will be carrying on the Country Quilter tradition with an online store, but with all the cyber world has to offer, it can not replace the feeling that walking into that store created for so many. We will miss the staff that greeted you with a smile and by name as you walked into the store... the staff that somehow managed to learn not only your quilting personality to serve you better, but became an extension of your quilting family and even felt like or in some cases became a close friend. In short we will miss them for what they are to the quilting world, as their philosophy on the web site so simply states: "Our Philosophy: To provide quality products at a fair price in an inspirational and creative atmosphere. To offer a supportive environment for quilters to learn and grow."

I know retirement is something that Claire will look forward to, after 18 1/2 years.... what stamina it takes to run a business like this. The brick and mortar store, the classes, the pattern business, the online store and even their fabulous retreats (thank goodness they are continuing the retreats twice a year!)... I am exhausted just thinking about it. So I do wish her good health and happiness in this next stage of her life, enjoying their country home, travel and grandchildren.... but I will miss her smile, her laugh and they way she says 'well... I don't know Renee'. Thanks Claire for all your positive responses to my pushing, prodding and even pleading over the last 10 years for just the right class or gadget I needed to improve my quilting skills. Oh yes, thanks for being my dinner partner before evening classes. I will miss this time as well!

Yes, Jane and I became 'friends' on Facebook last night and I will continue to stay in touch with the retreats, our blogs, the Country Quilter newsletter, and her workshops. But to me, loosing the Country Quilter is more than loosing a local supplier, it is like loosing a member of my family.

So for the next two months, until the sign comes off the door, I will have to make sure I get my fix of all things 'Country Quilter'. Just like I did with 4 other quilting friends yesterday, who got in our car and had a 'road trip' and made a day out of our visit to our favorite LQS!

Please Pardon my appearance: Blog under construction

I decide I wanted a background that was more me, but in doing so I haven't been able to figure out, how to either make the background borders narrower so you can read all of the post text, or my post section narrower, so it doesn't bleed into the background.

So, please pardon my appearance, while I am under construction. I will play again tomorrow night.

Thanks!

UPDATED: 1/30/09: OK, had to change the template, as I couldn"t get the text to show properly. Not sure I like this one as much, but it will work for now. Thanks for your patience.

Not sure if I like the sun and sky (New Challenge Post #4)

Ok, I was so inspired after my mini group left Monday, that I had to get right to work on moving this piece from paper to fabric. Last night I created the floor. I love the fabric choices. It really does have the slate/marble look.

Tonight I played with the sun and sky. I say played, because I made two of them and I am not sure I like either. This one is the best, but I don't think that by bringing the sun fabric up into the sky, to create that morning sky effect, that there is truly enough contrast once the two fabrics are woven.


I am going to have to sleep on this for the night. Maybe tomorrow night I will make one with the sun, but with a true blue woven into the blue/pink/orange stripe for the sky.

Well I know this piece would be a challenge, so I will take it slow and easy and see where it takes me. Remember from the sketch that the appliqued ladies will be standing in front of the sky, so maybe I won't be able to decide on the right sky, until I decide on how they will be dressed. Oh, that is what makes this so fun and adventurous!

Night!

I just had to try it!

OK, last night Teri made those swirling feathers look so easy that I had to try it! Well, while mine aren't as smooth as Teri's or as close together... it definitely is easier than it looks and this is without my normal pencil to the paper first. Here take a look, Teri's is on the left and mine is on the right....



























Then I had to try my hand at the regular feathers that she has mastered, and while I had swore I could never do these freehand, without any markings, well I did one! A little bit of practice and I may just have to start incorporating these into my bag of quilting designs!

Pelham Quilter's Round Robin Top #2

Last night at our mini group meeting, Teri Lucas was working on (or should I say) unworking/unsewing her applique round on the second round robin top our Quild has going on. I was happy, as I got to snatch a picture to show everyone the progress of this piece.... (I posted the other top over the weekend).

Those are Teri's fingers (:-)).... she said she doesn't like her applique on the butterflies for she is taking them off and will redo them.

Mary Anne Ciccotelli gets this piece next.... I can't wait until these are finished... it is amazing to see them take shape, albeit slightly differently with each person's hands!

New Challenge - Post #3

Ok, so none of the previous sketches (post #2) made the cut. Instead I am going with this one:

Tonight at my mini group gathering. Sandra Parrott helped me fix the arch from a visual perspective and gave me some ideas on fabric choices for the sky, considering the design is that of a rising sun. Sandra, Ann and Giovanna are very good with perspective, etc.... from an artist point of view and helped me think of how I wanted the various aspects of the piece to work in relation to the other.... for example the stone wall receding from the scene of the two women, standing in front of the rising sun and the rays of the sun and it's affect on the color of the morning sky. Me, I am just a struggling crafter turned quilter, trying to move into art quilting. So tonight was extremely valuable in more ways than one.

Thanks ladies, now I am all fired up and ready to begin actually working on the piece vs scribbling on paper :-)!

A Real Treat

Tonight my new mini group met at my house. What a treat! There were six of us, all from different backgrounds... all coming to quilting from different places. Some of us meeting for the first time. To me there is nothing better than a group of people with a common interest getting together and sharing their talents. It was absolutely wonderful!

Sharing talents we did.... Giovanna started us off with a snowflake piece she has designed that actually uses images of real snowflakes that have been digitized and that she has turned into applique. The piece has the white on white snowflakes on a background of deep blues. The 5 or 6 different blues are pulled together in a swirling pattern to give the effect of the wind blowing the snowflakes around. This is an original design that she drafted on the computer.

My friend Teri Lucas shared with us, her new machine quilting technique for spiral feathers. It was amazing to watch... she just sat down at my machine (which she never used before), pulled out a quilt sandwich and starting free motion quilting. Take a look:

Teri will be teaching this and other techniques at our local quilt shop, Quilt Cottage, in Mamaroneck, NY soon. You should head to Teri's blog and see some of her work, it is just gorgeous!




Mary Anne Ciccotelli shared her progress on her Generations Unite quilt. This quilt will have hand work from 4 generations in her family (her mother, herself, her daughter and grand-daughter) and she is using a pattern that her grand-mother used in many of her work. Wow can you imagine, having a quilt that represents 5 generations of your family, all tied together by a common interest... quilting. To me, a first generation quilter, that is simply mind-boggling. You can see pictures of the quilt in various stages on Mary Anne's blog.


Then Sandra Parrott helped me with a few artistic tips on a piece I am working on. It is a woven piece for my design workshop at Country Quilter. More on that in another post (New Challenge series of posts).

But the sadest news of the day was to learn that after 18 1/2 years, the Country Quilter will be closing it's doors in April. They will be continuing their online store, with patterns, notions, fabrics, etc... but the brick and mortor store itself will be no more. Oh, how I will miss these ladies.

OK... back to a more uplifting topic. We had a blast tonight. Thanks to Teri, Mary Anne, Giovanna, Carol and Anne. I can't wait until March 9th (too many of us will be out of town at the end of February, so we have pushed our monthly meeting back two weeks... whahh...)