My blog has been nominated for a Liebster Award!

Of course, I had no idea of what a Liebster Award was, but I was grateful to Sandra Scott for my nomination.  A quick email to Sandra and I am even happier.  Someone thought my blog was worth sharing! 

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1.       Show thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them....  Thanks Sandra!!!

2.      Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

3.      Post the award on your blog

4.      Bask in the love from some of the most supportive people on the internet—other writers and artists.

5.      And best of all – have fun and spread the karma

The last 3 are easy...  I love sharing my quilt musings with my fellow bloggers and love even more being able to share theirs.  But to pick only 5 fellow bloggers that I love..  oh, so not easy...  but of course, I will give it a try!  Here goes, in no particular order:

1. Marianne Bos:  I love Marianne's quilts.  So full of fun and whimsey.  She has also branched out to fabric dyeing and fabric post cards.  Check out her Mother's Day cards...  but you better hurry they are going fast!
2. City Girl Quilts  A little more than just quilting, but you know how us quilters go.  We love to dabble!
3. Sonji Says:  Sonji's "architectural" quilts definitely belong on the wall!  Her unique style has ended her up in many gallery exhibits.
4. Sistah Stitch Alot  Boy oh boy, if you like portrait quilts, you just have to stop over at this blog.  Her work is amazing!
5. Kheli at Remember your Kharma designs jacquard textiles by day, but quilts for the fun of it.

Again a shout out to Sandra Scott for nominating me and I hope those of you who read my blog, enjoy visiting the quilters I have chosen to share with you today :-).  Please let me know if you met a new fellow blogger, by posting a comment back on my blog.

Cheers...  Renee

I am soooo excited!!!

First I want to make sure that everyone in the Lower Westchester, NY area knows about this great exhibit.  Not just because I am co-curating it with Donna Chambers :-). but because it is really a great exhibit, celebrating all types of quilting, at all levels, not just those that would make it into a juried show, but also the everyday quilter, enjoying this thing we call art!  It is a celebration about us!

So what is it....  Well my friend Donna Chambers and I were asked by the New Rochelle Council on the Arts to curate an exhibit together as the inaugural exhibit for their new gallery space in the New Rochelle City Hall Rotunda.  We were thrilled and the next thing we new it grew to include a simultaneous exhibit at the Media Loft Gallery, a gallery space in an artist residence/studio loft building also in New Rochelle.  With the added space we were able to accommodate not just our quilts, but quilts from fellow Pelham Quilters and a few other invited guest.   

I won't spoil it by showing pictures of the quilts here (yes, I want you to come see it in person :-)).  But here are the details.  The exhibit runs from March 11 - April 27th.

There are a few events as part of the exhibit and I am hoping you will be able to join me for at least one:

• Fellow quilters will be interested in a book signing with Claire Oehler and Nancy Mirman, who will be presenting their new book "A Constellation of Stars".  The book signing is March 11th, from 1-2:30pm at the Media Loft location (50 Webster Ave, New Rochelle, NY, with parking across the street).
• An Inaugural Reception at the New Rochelle City Hall Rotunda Gallery, 515 North Ave., New Rochelle, NY on Tuesday, March 13 @ 6pm.  We are fortunate to be the first exhibit to hang in the gallery space in the rotunda.  A light supper will be served.
• An Artist Reception at MediaLoft on Sunday, March 25th from 4-7pm.  This is an opportunity, not only to see the exhibit, but to meet the artists as well.  There will be music and light refreshments.

So please stop by the exhibits and enjoy our quilts.  There will be over 50 quilts between the two exhibits.  Admission to all events and both galleries are free, as they are sponsored by New Rochelle Council on the Arts and their sponsors.

Finally finished - Mom's Legacy

Well, after over 11 hours of frogging and then redoing the trapunto, I was finally able to get this piece done!

Yes, I took out all the stitching around the trapunto and redid it.  I didn't like the heavier weight variegated cotton thread I had initially used.  I had planned to do all the quilting with that same thread, but didn't quite like it once the trapunto was done.  So I decided to use it just for the trapunto and ended up using a finer Sulky poly thread to quilt with.  But once all the quilting was done, the trapunto just jumped out at you and not in a good way.  So as emotionally invested as I was in this piece, the piece that kept telling me how much like my Mother I was, I knew what I had to do.  Rip it out.

And now, with the hotfix crystals added, I know it was the right thing.  Otherwise, they would have been competing with the heavier cotton thread. 

I love the texture in this piece.  I used the wool felt under the batting in this piece, just like I did with "In the Spotlight".  It gives the quilting such a deep effect.

Since I didn't add a boarder, I used black cording to pipe the wall hanging.  This brought the black from the applique out to the edges of the piece, framing it nicely.

 This isn't a  good picture, but as always, I love the paisley.  This is the second piece that I have used this applique design on.  I love all the swirls and points mixed.  If it was a better picture, you would be able to see what a nice touch the crystals add :-).

 And I think this font is perfect.  The swirls in the P go so nicely with all the swirls in the quilting and applique.


So while it seemed to take forever to make, I am quite happy.  I think my Mother would like it as well.

Love you Mom!

Proressing nicely

Well the quilt in my last post is progressing nicely.  I am quite pleased.  It started with one idea in mind and as it progressed it became a quilt more about what my mother taught me then anything else.  So while doing all the machine quilting, and yes there is quite a bit, I decided that the wording added next would have a purpose. 

If you know me or my family, you know my Mom is a strong women.  She raised us all to be strong, independent women.  I hope I have instilled half of what my Mom instilled in me, in my daughter, but that is another story.  So as I quilted, I thought of words that would be fitting to describe what my Mom taught me.  I came up with Confident, Proud and Passionate, but after looking at the words written down, I knew I wanted another word for Confident that began with a "P".  Without revealing the reason why, I asked both of my kids, separately, for another word for Confident.  Well believe it or not they both suggested Poised.  Robert said that one of his football mantras is "Poise is Confidence under Pressure".  Hmmm, I like that expression a lot.  Even if it had nothing to do with the piece, I thought it described both me and my Mom really well.  When I told him why I asked, he agreed (as did Raven) that Poised was the right word for their Nana!

While this photo does not show the lettering in their current position, it does show the font I used.  I have moved the words around to make them balanced, but don't you love how the curls of the "P"s resemble the curly ques in the quilting of the hair and the curls of the applique.  I think they are a perfect accent!

I stitched the letters in place 2 days ago.  Next, I have to determine what type and how much quilting I will add to the face.  I want to reduce some of the puffiness, without too much quilting.  Then I will make some piping to use as the binding.  I have to run out and get the right size cording, what I have is too thin to properly frame this piece.  The binding will be made out of the same Kona Black as the applique to frame the piece without adding a heavy boarder or binding.

Well Happy New Years everyone!  I hope 2012 is a great year for you all!!

Renee

One of my newer projects ...

Here is a piece I started at CG Fall Retreat 2011 a few weeks ago.  I am loving this piece...  I know, I love them all :-) 

This will be a tribute to my Mom who has taught me to be a strong, confident woman.  As you can see the profile is generic in nature...  it could be me, Mom, or even you.  The message here is that Women every where can all possess these traits.  






I have already added the quilting to the hair, using just a touch of grey.  I think such knowledge is viewed as wisdom.    And NO, I do not think you need to age or be grey to have wisdom, it just seems I was greying before I appreciated my Mom for what she was and what she taught me, so I thought it only fitting :-). 

I also added trapunto to the piece in the corners not occupied by applique.   I echoed the paisley applique shapes for the trapunto and created sort of a trapunto boarder in those corners. 

I am now in the process of quilting the piece.  Unfortunately, last night after an hours worth of quilting, I realized the tension was off, so I spent the next 1 1/2 hours ripping it all out.  I still have about another 1 1/2 hours of ripping tonight before I can get back to quilting.

Once the quilting is done, I plan to add wording down the center along the striped lines.  Right now I am thinking:  "Proud Confident  Passionate", each on their own line.  They will be in a heavier, darker thread than the background quilting to give them prominence. Since I added a layer of wool blend felt in the sandwich between the batting and backing, the quilting is pretty pronounced, so I want the wording to stand out as well. 


I will post more pictures as I progress.  Hope you enjoyed!

Hugs, Renee

CQ Retreat Fall 2011

Well, it has been a busy month and I had a lot going on, so I guess I am going to have to start posting more regularly again :-)....  I finished the clown quilt that I started during Hurricane Irene, I have finished a top I started over a year ago at Mary Anne Ciccotelli's 3D workshop and I am almost finished quilting a piece I started at this falls retreat....  but I will share all of those in separate posts, hopefully within the next week :-).

Today's post is about the CQ Fall 2011 Retreat two weeks ago at Interlaken Inn, in Lakeville, Ct.  As always we had a ball, just laughing, eating and quilting away!  A little smaller group this year than normal, only 48 of us, but still a wonderful time was had by all.  Somehow I forgot to take pictures of quilts in progress until Sunday, so sorry if I missed sharing some of the masterpieces of the weekend.

This is Claire Oehler on the left, the former owner of the Country Quilter, our hostess and her daughter, Jane Davila on the right...  both all smiles for the camera.

Here is Nancy Mirman, another of our hostesses for the weekend.  She is very talented and has her own pattern line for quilted clothing, bags and accessories.  Nancy is working on a paper pieced star from the new book she and Claire have just released!  Those of us at retreat were fortunate to be able to order a copy and they will be signed by both Claire and Nancy...  WooHoo!!!






Somehow I missed getting a picture of Noreen Lipolis, another one of our hostesses busy quilting, but I did get a shot of her from our Saturday night, Red Carpet themed dinner...

Noreen, is in black on the left.  Sorry Noreen for not getting a better shot.  But thanks to all 3 of you for a wonderful weekend!!  P.S...  no I don't dress up for theme nights..  so I played the roll of Paparazzi and took photos :-)....





And here is Donna Chambers working on her one of her mosaic pieces....

Donna, a goldsmith by trade, is so talented and has her own jewelry line.  Check out her jewelry website for a little quilting inspiration :-) 
This is Donna's mosaic technique.  She will be teaching it to some lucky quilters at The Storytellers Retreat coming up this weekend and at Hartsdale Fabrics this winter in December and January.  Her workshop filled up so fast at Storytellers that I am going to be her assistant.  This shall be fun, can't wait until Friday :-).

Gay sat next to Donna in the Patio room (we love the sunlight and view of the garden during the day).  Gay is part of the gang from The Pelham Quilters guild I belong to.  A bunch of us (Donna, Lorraine, Margaret, Jeanne, Evelyn and I) have been coming to retreat for years.  We even sit in the same seats.

   
Gay worked completely by hand this weekend.  She does stunning hand applique and hand quilting.  We were all so jealous when it was time to pack up.  No machine, etc... to load up!









Here is Lorraine busy at work...

Lorraine was working on Christmas presents for her grandchildren this year. Sitting next to her is Margaret.  Margaret always finds such lovely panels to incorporate into her work.  This year she was working on a Dahlia piece for her sister.

Remember, in my last post I mentioned I had won 2nd place in the Art Quilts category at the ViewArts Show in Old Forge, NY.  Well Marie won 1st place in the Wallhanging category and her lovely piece was used as the cover image for the Exhibit's Program.  Way to go Marie!!  Marie always works on very complicated paper piecing patterns.  Here she is taking the easy way out, doing a 'simple' cat paper piecing pattern....  lol.

On the design wall behind Marie is Ashley's circle quilt, seen here..

Ashley is my long time buddy and retreat roomie.  Can't believe I didn't get a picture of Ashley, but her gorgeous colors will have to represent her :-).

I also didn't get pictures this time of Jeanne or her Mom, Evelyn.  Guess I was so focused on quilting this weekend that my picture taking duties seem to have taken a back seat.  Sorry Jeanne and Evelyn.  I will remember to include you in April for our Spring 2012 retreat!

Well, now let's go next door into the room where we always here the most laughter coming from.  On the design wall right outside our door was Dory Higgin's house piece, made from all striped fabrics.

Actually, Dory sits in our room, but the design walls were all busy when she went to lay out the piece so she slipped next door.

Also in the room next door is Jane Davila.  If you are a quilter you know Jane's name.  She is the a well known quilter, teacher, speaker and author.  She teaches across the globe, has a great quilt pattern line and has written a number of "Sew Simple" quilt pattern books.  Not sure how she will use this pattern, but I believe it is being created using a Jelly Roll....








Barbara comes every year and works on very interesting patterns.  This year, she is turning a photo into a stunning floral piece...

 You can see her pattern on the table in front of her in the first picture.  It is an enlarged version of the photo in the bottom left hand corner of the picture below.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in the spring, at our next retreat!

Here is Jenny intent on laying out a nice blue and white top...  

I believe those are called tumbling blocks.  There was another quilter working on a tumbling block pattern, but I didn't catch a photo of it.



Just like I don't remember whose top this is, I just loved the daisy fabric.  I think it is one of those BQ block patterns...

Love the polka dots fabric as well!

 

Here is my piece.  I stated it in a 3D Workshop with Mary Anne Ciccotelli over a year and a half ago.  The mariners compass as well as the circular flying geese are all 3D, using Mary Anne's folded fabric method.  I completed the circle after the workshop and then it just hung on my design wall, waiting for me to figure out what to do next.  It finally spoke to me a few months ago, so I drafted out the rest and packed it up for retreat.  The side boarder geese are folded as well, using the one seam flying geese method.  They aren't sewn on at this point, but I have finished the top since coming home.  More on that in another post.

Well I hope you enjoyed visiting with me today.  As you can probably tell, we have a great bunch of quilters who retreat with the CQ ladies every 6 months.  It is such an inspiration after a busy summer when I get so little quilting done.  

I hope to bring you up to date on my other projects soon, but until then, Happy Quilting!

Hugs!!

Doing a happy dance!!

I am grinning again!!  I just got an email letting me know that "In the Spotlight" won a 2nd place ribbon at the 25th Annual Northeast Quilts Unlimited Exhibit.

This is the first time I have entered this competition.   It is sponsored by View Arts, at the Arts Center in Old Forge, NY.  This is not a typical show, instead it is a 2 month quilt exhibit held at the Arts Center.  Info from their website states:  "The quilts are hung gallery style and include quilts from all over the United States.  This competitive exhibit features both traditional and eclectic quilts and wall hangings.  Over $1,800 in cash and prizes are awarded."  The exhibit runs from October 8th to November 30th, with an opening reception on the 8th.

Thanks go to my friend, Claire Oehler (who owned the Country Quilter in Somers, NY before retiring), for letting me know about the exhibit!

P.S.  This is the 3rd ribbon for this quilt :-).  It won second place ribbons in both the Empire Quilters Show, in NYC in March and the Northern Stars Show in Somers, NY this year.