SOLD!

Yesterday was the first day of the Viewpoints Gallery "Celebration of Hawaii" show in Makawao (Sunday is the opening).

Marilyn called me last night and told me that "Honu" sold to a couple from Maryland!

I am still in shock! What an absolutely fabulous way to start the weekend.

I had actually been thinking, just yesterday, of where I would enter him next when he came home at the end of the show; now I don't have to worry about that.

It's a little sad to see him go. It was probably one of the quilts I was most attached to. Aloha, Honu!

Salvageable Classic

I started the Lady of the Lake quilt this weekend while I was waiting for the paint to dry on the bamboo quilt. I've wanted to make this quilt for years and decided I'd better start it or it would never get made. I like having these four blocks on my design wall as inspiration.

The pattern is from the fall 2000 issue of Quiltmaker. I'm piecing all of the triangles the standard way instead of foundation piecing, because removing paper foundations is a bother and I need to work on my piecing accuracy anyway.

These are supposed to be 7" finished blocks, but they are going to be slightly smaller. Why? Well, I went crazy and cut half the fabric into strips at 5" and 2" (after looking at the templates in the foldout) then, as I was cutting the half-square triangles, realized that they seemed kind of small. Well, duh, I should have seen the tiny rotary cutting legend showing that the squares needed to be 5 3/8" and 2 3/8"!! Since I had cut so much fabric already, I just left the 2" strips and cut down the center square to 3 7/8" so it would work. I wasn't about to waste all of that fabric, plus I didn't have any more since I was trying to use up my red scraps! UGH! It's OK...all's well than ends well.

Piecing those tiny half-square triangles is definitely a challenge for my long fingers, but it will work out OK. I have a renewed appreciation for my friends Shel and Teri who make miniatures, and this is a long way from mini!

It will be beautiful when it is done. I really love this classic!

Finished!

Hana Bamboo

Well, it's finished! Or at least ready to be finished. Bruce and I shopped for frames on Saturday, but none of them looked quite right. I couldn't find the shadowbox style, and the regular frames made it looked like I was trying to turn the quilt into something it was not. And they were expensive!

Since I wanted something dark, I decided to add a black border. It's a black-on-black swirl print, so it has some character. Flat black looked just that -- flat. I'm binding it in a black fabric with a tiny sparkle print that enhances the Lumiere stamping.

I find myself referencing this book quite a bit! Borders, Bindings and Edges by Sally Collins is a book that no quilting library should be without, whether you are a traditional or contemporary quilter. Getting things square, adding mitered borders, ending your binding so it's continuous, all helpful topics with great instructions. I just found out when I got the Amazon.com link for this book that she has a new book out (November 2006), called Mastering Precision Piecing. I've just added that one to my wish list. I've been waiting for her to do such a book, since her previous titles were focused on miniatures.

I added the smaller leaves (carved two more stamps!) to the background using a bright blue Lumiere mixed with black, so it has a more "midnight" look. I think I achieved what I set out to do.

It goes to the gallery along with Honu tomorrow for the show, which opens this weekend at Viewpoints Gallery in Makawao.

Will I ever get away from this 11th hour finishing? Probably not.

Cody's Girlfriend

This is Cody's girlfriend, Trouble. That's really her name, poor dog! Bruce and I think she is a German Shorthair/Boxer mix - she has boundless energy! Here they are taking a rest from their busy day. We are dog-sitting her for a couple of weeks while her master is on the mainland.

Surprisingly, having two dogs is not much more work than one (no wonder people have more than one kid!). They wear each other out and are fairly well-behaved. She needs a little more obedience training (she's a puller), but so far she's learned to sit better and waits for food like Cody does.

I hope Cody will do OK when she goes home. They play almost every day when her master is home, so maybe he will enjoy the peace and quiet of not having her around all day.

Hana Bamboo

Hana Bamboo
18"x24" (approx.)

Here is the quilt in its latest form. I added the shadows at the bottom and the stamped leaves at the top. The leaves are in two colors of Lumiere - copper and gold. I almost feel like it needs one more color, maybe black. Am I cheesing it up?

My friend Joan suggested that I frame this piece with a bamboo frame. On Pat's blog she has a wonderful tutorial. I think I will follow her format and see what happens. The shadowbox frames she uses are hard to find here on Maui, but darling Bruce said he would build a box if I found the right frame. It will have to be done this weekend, since drop-off for the show is next Wednesday!

IF I frame the quilt, I might not even bind it. I can't seem to find the right fabric and I've never done a facing before (I will learn that at Carol Taylor's class at Art Quilt Tahoe, but not till November!).

Here is a closeup of the leaves:


I like the sheer effect of the Lumiere paint, but I still think it needs a darker color.

I drew and carved the stamps myself:


I really like this! You can add whatever you want, whenever you want. I have a nice little stack of 4"x6" blanks for carving. Buying rubber stamps is so expensive, and this is much more personal.

True to my nature, I carved the stamps then boldly attacked the fabric. One of these days the fact that I don't do test runs is going to backfire, but I was lucky again this time.

Things Are Happening

I just haven't posted them here yet! I've been working on the bamboo piece for the gallery show. I carved some stamps of bamboo leaves and bravely began stamping on the quilt with Lumiere paints in gold and copper.

Pictures of the quilt and stamps coming soon!