The Reveal

I seem to have lost a lot of momentum.  Posting a photo of my show quilt, Urban Oasis, now, two weeks after our Guild Show, seems anticlimactic.

I've been busy since the show because when I saw the quilt on stage, I realized it wasn't hanging flat. I wouldn't normally care.  After all it is a bed quilt. But I've entered it into the Vermont Quilt Festival where it will be judged.  I've never done anything like this before and I'm a bit nervous about how it will stand up to the competition. What was I thinking?  The largest and oldest quilt show in the Northeast!  The theme category this year was My Fantasy Garden and so it seemed like kismet.

Naturally I want to give it my best effort.  So I asked my friend Chris who also happens to teach quilting for advice. What's wrong?  Is there anything I can do? At first glance she thought that it was bound too tightly.  I groaned inwardly.  That's not happening, I thought. But when she examined it further she changed her mind, and suggested more quilting instead.   Where I wondered?  Her synapses were firing, she hypothesized that the batik fabric was the culprit.   Maybe the batik fabric hadn't shrunk as much as the other fabrics as it has a higher thread count, maybe more quilting in the batik sections might help draw them in. This made perfect sense to me.  And there is certainly nothing to lose. I don't think there is a such a thing as too much hand quilting.  

Fortunately there are still a couple more weeks before I need to ship it off to Vermont. My fingertips need a break from the keyboard and now have a date with a quilt.

You haven't seen the last of this one.  I hope the next photo will be the professional one I'll have taken when it's on display.  Wish me luck.

A Ray of Sunshine - Award!

I've been noticing birds all day.  Robins hopping on my lawn, pigeons trying to land in the oddest places, a pair of ducks bathing in a very large puddle in the park, cardinals arguing, sparrows taking dust baths and raucous jays. 

When I opened my inbox this evening, I discovered that someone whose quilts I admire and whose blog I follow, nominated me for a Sunshine Award.  It is for  “bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere”.  Thank you!   I visited the Brooklyn Quilter, to see what the award was about and found more birds. Flitting from her chandelier!  Go see for yourself.

As an award nominee, I'm supposed to do  a few things.

Post the award picture and write about it 

Thank and link to the nominating blogger 

Answer ten questions ( which varied depending on where I looked ) - I mixed them up to suit me - and
Pass on the Sunshine Award  to a " variable " number of bloggers you admire, link and let them know.

1. Favorite Color - Green. When I was a teen, I was obsessed with frogs.  I had clothing with frog prints, frog jewelry and green platform shoes.  It was a fairy tale thing.
2. Favorite Animal - Birds. They make me smile. 
3. Favorite Number - Lucky Seven. Go to Heaven.
4. Favorite Movie -  Too difficult. But I would be least likely to watch slapstick. Think old Woody Allen and the Three Stooges.
5. Favorite Author - Refuse to choose.   Annie Dillard and Barbara Kingsolver are my front runners. 
6. Comfort Food - Spaghetti and meatballs with parmesan cheese. Every time.
7. Favorite Drink - Gimme Coffee with half and half, no shuggah. 
8. Dream Vacation - Whatever National Park my son is working in.
9. Favorite Day of the Week - Thursday.  It is when the weekend seems so full of promise.
10.  Favorite Flower - Magnolias, even though they can break my heart.  In Brooklyn, they bloom in early spring and can fall victim to the vicissitudes of the weather. 

A bit like a chain so I hope that flattery gets you everywhere!

Blogs I'm nominating:
May at Confessions of a Fabraholic because it is her Anniversary and I was her first follower and now she has more than ME!
Sheila at Kim McClean Down Under because you will absolutely be blown away by her appliqué and productivity.  ANd it is a group blog.  Do you think if I had contributors I would sew more? Guest posts anyone?
and Nicky at Mrs Sew and Sow because she is intrepid, and always has something new and beautiful happening. 

Almost a Quilt Show

Back in January I  joined Rhonda at  Quilter in the Gap's  FAL.  That's Finish- A- Long.  Given that my bird quilt has been in the works for such A - Long time it surely qualified.  It was Project # 1 on my short list for  Finishing Up in 2012.

 I've been a 

My guild show deadline was last Monday, so I've been working like mad to get done in time.  More quilting, less blogging.  Mishaps along the way.

Mysterious Stains

and Obvious Ones

Appliquéd Butterflies still need antennae

A border of quilted butterflies 

 then up and down the dog toothed triangles

little details 

I JUST WANTED TO FINISH THIS ONE

Magnolia

My mother grew up in Brooklyn. Every spring as we walked past her elementary school on the way to mine we noted the stately magnolias.

Twenty-four years ago, the local nursery delivered a balled and burlapped magnolia to the curb in front of my house. I wrestled the heavy sapling into my son's little red wagon and we pulled it down the driveway to the far corner of the backyard. It was to be the first garden project of many.

I'd read that you should dig a hole several times larger than the rootball in order to give the roots space to stretch and establish a firm foothold. Even though the rootball was no bigger than the bed of my son's little red wagon, I dug a hole five feet deep and four feet wide.  The bigger the better I thought. I unearthed a plastic ring from the 1960's, hand  wrought square nails, two medicine bottles and clay marbles. I also realized that the reason the soil was suddenly so rich was likely because I was digging in the spot where the outhouse had been situated. The magnolia thrived. It now towers over the yard and is almost as tall as my three story house. My son has grown and left the city for a career out west managing wild land fires.

   
This year the tree bloomed three weeks earlier than usual. One afternoon, I heard a chainsaw and discovered the neighbor on the other side of the garden wall pruning branches from our tree.

The following night, my son, who claims he never dreams, called to tell me that he'd dreamed someone had cut the tree down.  I sent him these photos so that he could be certain he was really dreaming.

Debut

I used to swim laps and when I reached my goal, I often swam a few more just for the joy of it.

I promised I'd put what I've been calling my bird quilt in the Guild Show this year. 

The binding, sleeve and label are sewn on the quilt.   Now that I've met the deadline,  I've been adding a bit more quilting. 

I don't want to let go just yet.

I'm going to show it at the Guild Meeting tomorrow and then I'll show you. 

I can't wait.

the label

Seeing RED

I pre-wash all my fabric.  And if a quilt is to be used, I give it its first bath. I use Orvus Quilt Soap and follow the instructions for very delicate quilts which means the quilt goes into the tub.

The water turned brown which wasn't terribly surprising given that I've been carrying the quilt  around for the last ten years. I rinsed it twice.

Goldfinch

I used a sheet to gently lift the quilt from the bath, and as the weather was (unseasonably) warm I carried it to the deck table to dry, covering it with another sheet for protection.  Night came too soon, so back indoors it came.  It spent the night loosely folded and draped over my ironing board. I'd have to wait until it dried to see how my hand quilting stitches transformed as the batting shrunk. 

In the morning I saw red instead.   

The quilt was still damp so I ran another bath and added Synthrapol.   I use it to remove excess dye from fabric I've hand dyed so fortunately I had it in the house. This product removes excess dye molecules that haven't formed a chemical bond with the fabric.

Scarlet Tanager

  I can't recommend it highly enough as I am very happy to report that it worked.  

Brooklyn Public Library Quilt Show

Libraries have a special place in my heart. 

Built in 1941, the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library was designed to look like an open book.  Since I was a teen I've loved going there and I've spent many hours inside its hallowed halls researching, reading and dreaming.  But I never dreamed that one day, I'd have a quilt on display there. I've posted before about the quilt, 72 Degrees. Now it's on display in the Grand Lobby in the show Botanical Inspirations through April 28th. 

 

The Main Branch of the Library bears many inscriptions, both inside and out. 

One of my favorites is "Of all men's creations, books are the nearest to us, for they contain our very thoughts, our ambitions, our indignations, our illusions, our fidelity to truth, and our persistent leaning toward error." (Joseph Conrad)

72 Degrees 

detail