Grand Party

Well, since I've posted the work in progress, I suppose I should show the final product. The party was wonderful, the happy couple surprised and pleased, the cake and the quilt finished in plenty of time.

Uncle Joe wants to know how they both could fit under that quilt! I say, "What happens under the quilt~ STAYS under the quilt!"This was fun, we recreated the cake table from 50 years ago. See, there on the left, a picture of the bride and groom cutting the cake. We used the same mint and nut dishes and I tried my best to make the cake the same. Mine was shorter than the original.

I don't have any pictures of the best part of the party. Tambi, their daughter-in-law, set up a scrapbook, and took pictures of everyone coming in, printed them on the spot, and pasted them in. Each person recorded their well wishes beside their own picture. Very cool.

Okay.
We all know this is not the kind of quilt that I normally make. That being said...
I think that this quilt, that I have designed, made, then redesigned and remade, looks pretty good. The pictures are printed on Printed Treasures and sent to me from every corner of the country. The artwork blocks are painted and drawn by grandchildren of the recipient of this quilt. In the center is the happy couple, 50 years ago today! The pictures surrounding that (the first layer) start with one of the wedding pics from 50 years ago, then move around chronologically to the last pic, their son who will marry this weekend, shown with his new family. The sceond layer of pics and the corners have children and grandchildren and artwork, with each grandchild taking a corner position.
Here it is, last minute as usual, and I have decided that a nice pieced border will look so much prettier! SEE? It really pronounces the overall medallion pattern of the quilt and the borders are not boring. Now I just have to stay up all night a couple times this week to make sure it's quilted and finished by Friday! ugh.
Happy anniversary Aunt Cornelia and Uncle Joe!

Bunnies

Every morning and every afternoon the bunnies come out and munch in our yard. To them it's their yard and we are the intruders!

We try to leave them alone and not disturb meal times. But this time Duke wanted to go and investigate. Bunny hopped away.
But not too far. I think it must know that we'll go back inside so the munching can commence.

Quilts as Art

The very idea that quilts can be art is what I base all of my quilting, lecturing and teaching on. Why then, is it so very hard for me to hang my own 'art' on my own walls? I have sold various pieces to others, people I respect as having excellent taste, to hang on their walls. I lecture on the validity of quilts as art every time I speak to a group. I have even commissioned a piece to be hung in a prestigious executive boardroom, where they spent more to frame and protect it than they payed for the piece! Why then, pray tell, do I feel nervous about hanging it in my own home?
I don't feel nervous about hanging this quilt in my breakfast nook. Cherry Cherry made it. One day we negotiated a trade, I feel like I got the better end of the bargain. I love this quilt! I don't know if she ever named it, but having adopted it, I have. Java Java by Cherry Cherry.

This little quilt isn't hard to hang either. It was done by a student in fabric painting class. I love the way she painted it. I always offer in all of my workshops to trade mine for theirs if they don't like their results. In this case I asked her to trade! I liked her results better than my own! I gave her a finished and signed piece from the class and she gave me hers. I finished it and framed it. I love the piece, and I love the memory. Thanks Fay!
SO... I asked a friend to come over and help me hang all my art, to help me decorate. Her house is just beautiful, something from a magazine. Every time I walk into her home I am taken aback again at how pretty it is. She takes a great deal of pride in her home and works hard to keep it gorgeous. In non-gushy terms, I value her opinion.
These 2 paintings are from the same photo of a boat just down the creek from us. There is a third painting at Cherry's house.
Here it is!
I like sailboats. They're pretty. I didn't like the way the ferns looked when I painted them, so I cut them up and framed them in a collage. Not my favorite painting, but the size and frame are nice.
One of my first paintings. Acrylic on paper. Coconut palm from Grandpa's house in the Keys.
So after we went through the sailboats and other art, I took a deep breath and said I would like to hang a quilt on the immense wall above the stair landing. I pulled out the larger ones to ask her to recommend which one. She said, "ALL of THEM! The whole staircase is your gallery!" My heart started a staccato beat and I had to be convinced, BUT...I did it!
Looking down from the top landing, I can't get the quilts without that hanging light. It will be replaced with some track lighting, I think.

Gerald actually agreed to hanging the gator, as long as no one mentions U of F. This bird takes the best photos!

Then as you head down the stairs, these two will greet you. I figure if you've been upstairs for any reason, you're a good enough friend to see the Beach Ladies.

It is quite nice. I like seeing the Road 9 quilt as you come in the front door, just enough that it draws you to take a more complete look.

After a few days at the Lakehouse, I may be able to sew more! YEA!

I found this bookshelf at the Salvation Army on Wednesday, which just happens to be 30% off day for furniture. Solid and sturdy, got it home and look on the back~ It's been signed by the maker, even has his phone number! If it was good enough for the maker to sign it, I should treat it with the respect it deserves! I want to make a dry bar for the sunroom to match these two pieces of furniture:

Which were not purchased together, nor do they match exactly. So to cover the back of the bookcase with something similar would work, don't ya think?

I shopped for some paintable wallpaper with a basketweave texture. The texture is too small and it runs up and down as opposed to diagonal. No prob, I'll just paste it on diagonally. A couple of small pieces of trim and I'm off!
I paint a solid coat of yellow ochre.Then a 'wash' of raw sienna, blending it in while the yellow ochre is still damp.

After a coat of varnish I paint a coat of burnt umber, then use a damp sponge to pull most of it back off, leaving the dark brown in the cracks and crevices of the basketweave.

I want it to look old and worn so this part is very uneven. Another nice coat of varnish. Paint the trim to match the shelf. The hardest part for me is to wait for each stage to dry, I'm so impatient!

Add the trim and a baseboard at the bottom.
Stock it with drinks and mixers and music and... Wall-AH! A dry bar! (without alcohol, I do have teenagers, ya know!)

Very pretty.

Sarasota

I went to Sarasota, Florida to the Friendship Knot Quilt Guild and taught this class, the bleach discharge class and presented my 'clothesline' trunkshow. I have been through Sarasota, but never stopped there to take a look around. What a beautiful little city! Very chic, sophisticated and (my favorite) artsy. It didn't hurt that I got a driving tour of the area with my hostess, Ellen Simon, who just happens to be chic, sophisticated and artsy!

I came to her shop on my last day. I wish I had taken the time to go there first! I fell in love! The Coastal Quilter is located in the "Village of the Arts" in Bradenton, FL, in a little cottage on a quiet street.

As you can see, it's more gallery than shop. As you come into what was once the main living area the long arm quilter takes up much of the space on the right. But that leaves all that wall space for art quilts!

The small fireplace and mantle on the left are covered with several different mediums, including pottery from Ellen's husband, Len. This picture was taken after I purchased 3 fabulous pieces of that lovely pottery! The dark green and purple piece in the foreground is one of Ellen's pieces made with beautiful silk ties. She also has some nice easy piecing patterns called 'Simple Simon'. Very clever.
This is one of Len's first fiber art pieces. I like it!

I also partook of some of the lovely fabrics the Coastal Quilter has to offer, some banana colored batik, and a couple of nice greens. I would highly recommend a visit if you are in the area, such a wonderful shop.

The 'real' Crandall Pasture

(Photos stolen, err...courtesy of Lee Parker)
Just before you get to the Georgia state line there is a place called Crandall Pasture. My Granddad brought his family here in 1944. Grannie had a general store at corner of Crandall road and US17, way before Interstate 95 ever came through. Parker Road now begins at that same intersection.

When Daddy and Mama got married they lived in this little house until they built their own. It had one room plus a bathroom. The kitchen was in the back and the bed/living area in the front. My uncle still uses it to house an old tractor and some lumber.

Almost all of my nature and landscape quilts are inspired by Crandall Pasture. If you saw the quilt I had in the Florida Museum of Natural History you might think these photos pretty familiar.

This cedar tree right beside the boat ramp might still have my initials carved into it's trunk.

This nice flat cleared spot was once a very long time ago part of the town of Crandall. It had a general store, church and school, a sawmill and post office. Here's one of the nicer houses (taken from one of my favorite local history books).

And here's one that I remember, Preston Nix was a friend of my Dad's.

Another trailhead, this one headed into McQueen's Swamp.

Hope you've enjoyed the virtual tour. These pictures can't even come close to the real beauty of Crandall Pasture for me. That may be because I have a lifetime of memories that accompany me through every trail and down every road.