Donation to SAQA Auction

Today I put my donation for the annual SAQA Benefit Auction in the mail. It's a continuation of my Scribble series, now up to 18. The background fabric looks like it's monoprinted on a gelatin plate with the impressions of a furnace filter (the turquoise blue circles) and a thermofax screen taken from a picture of a fence done with curlicues. Not totally sure about the monoprinting, it may be screen printed with thickened dye.

The Benefit Auction is the main money raiser for SAQA and I have donated every year that they have had it. That gets me a bunch of stars on the listing page. This year they are putting all the quilts on a pinterest page, I guess so that people can repin them to their own pinterest pages. I have a pinterest page, but I don't think there is anything on it. Occasionally I get a notice that someone is "following" me, and all I can think is that they are going to be pretty bored because I have not gotten into the pinterest thing.

I have been spending lots of time in my garden. In previous years, my garden was not very interesting since it was in deep shade. I grew lots of impatiens, hosta, and ferns. Last year all my impatiens died, due to a fungus, and so I had no color at all in the shade. (This year the garden shop is not even selling impatiens.) A few weeks ago we decided to take out the maple tree that was shading the deck and garden. It was a very messy tree and dripped sap and all kinds of other junk all summer long. The huge up side of taking this tree out is that my former deep shade garden is now a full sun garden. Yippee! There are so many more interesting plants available for a sun garden and I want them all! And because I had an electrical outlet put on the outside of the new garage, I was finally able to put in a water feature - this little fountain. I bought a fountain kit online, but it would be easy to construct this just by buying the parts locally. The only semi-difficult part would be drilling a hole for the tube though the rocks. The water drips over the rocks and down into a 5 gallon bucket buried underneath the stones. 

It makes the most pleasing water dribbling sound and I love it. I decided I needed a second water feature, but didn't have another available outlet that I could use. Guess what - they make immersible pumps powered by solar panels. Of course, this means the pump only works when there is sun shining, but I found one that has a battery that will store energy. I installed it yesterday, and even though it was a mostly cloudy day, the pump ran for the rest of the day and even after dark. It was still running at 10pm, so that's pretty cool. I hope to gets lots of bird visitors.

The Last Three

Here are the last 3 12" squares. These are great to make because they go together so fast. I've made 17 altogether. Since I donated one to the SAQA auction, I have 16 to put into the 2 shows I have coming up in June. Not making any more for the time being, since I only bought 16 stretched canvases.

Scribble 15

©2012

Scribble 16

©2012

Scribble 17

©2012

I'm working on bigger pieces in a style similar to these scribbles, except I'm thinking of them more as graffiti.

And it's time to start thinking about what I'm going to do in my class at QSDS. It's a master class with David Hornung. He hasn't given us any pre-class assignments, at least not yet. I hope he doesn't wait until the last minute, I hate feeling rushed. I bought the book he wrote about color and it's in the pile of books on my shelf. I'm hoping I will absorb the information via osmosis but it's not working yet.

Which one?

It's that time of the year again when SAQA asks its members to donate a small quilt for the Benefit Auction. I've contributed a piece in every previous auction and will do it again this year. I've been working on a graffiti-type theme and continued that series in these 12"x12" blocks. I will pick one of these to donate to SAQA, and right now I'm thinking about #6.

Scribble #1 

©2012

Scribble #2 

©2012

Scribble #3 

©2012

Scribble #4 

©2012

Scribble #5 

©2012

Scribble #6 

©2012

Scribble #7 

©2012

8 Weeks

This is the 8th week, not that I'm counting or anything. All of the cabinets have been installed and they are getting their hardware. The range hood is in its place, waiting for an electrical connection, and a range to vent.

To the right of the window are the cabinets that will hold the microwave and my mixer in an appliance garage. So I won't have to haul a heavy mixer out from underneath a cabinet, which will be nice. Maybe I will use it more often, like for making bread and other high calorie treats.

The plumber is coming today and I sure hope that he gets the sink hooked up because we are really tired of washing dishes outside, not to mention that it's now cold and dark at 7pm.

Over the weekend I gave a lecture and taught a class at a local guild. I took 25 quilts, the earliest dating from 1994 and ending with ones I just finished. It's really interesting to see how my work has changed over the years, at least to me. The group enjoyed the talk, and some even came up afterward and said they were inspired to get back into their studios and get to work. It's a good feeling to know that I've motivated people.

After the lecture I taught a mini-workshop of hand stitching on quilts. When the group asked me to do this class, I thought it was sort of odd because I don't really do a lot of hand stitching. At least I didn't think I did, but when I went to my quilt database and searched on hand work, I came up with quite a few pieces, more than I would have thought. I tried to include as many of those pieces in my lecture as possible, but it seems that a nice percentage have been sold. Can't complain about that. Anyhow, in preparation for teaching this class, I got out some hand dyed threads and a little book of embroidery stitches that I bought years ago, and began experimenting with stitches. It was fun using the basic stitches and playing with variations on them and I think I have inspired myself to include more hand stitching on my work. 

I need to get back into my studio and get to work. This remodeling has been disruptive, but I am feeling the siren call of my fabrics and thread and sewing machine. The place is pretty straightened up and I still need to sew on some sleeves and other maintenance work, but it's time to just get in there and do the work.

This is my acquisition from the SAQA Auction. It's by Deborah Boschert Deborah is the SAQA co-rep from my area, and she and I worked together for 9 months before I "retired" and she got another person to co-rep. I've been really fascinated by Deborah's work and I'm very excited to own this piece. 

Counter top and floors

The first coat has been applied to the floor. We decided to not have a stain put down, so it is a natural finish to the oak. Today is the second coat, and tomorrow the third.

See how nicely we have taped shut the opening to the rest of the house. Trying to keep the dust to a minimum. Seems to be working pretty well.

I have been impressed by the specialized equipment that the workmen bring. They have machinery that is designed to do a specific task, and to do it well and efficiently. Time is money. This is the thingie that was used to measure for the countertop. I wasn't home at the time, but Jim took pictures and a video. It's fascinating. It has to be accurate because there isn't any ease in stone. Not like cotton fabric that can be steamed into submission.

Here is a video of the measurement action.

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The appliances will be delivered on Thursday. The automated message from Sears Delivery came this morning with the warning to make sure the appliances will fit through the door and into their designated spaces. I already knew that the doors to the house and the doors to the refrigerator will have to be removed. But I thought I would check the space. A moment of panic - it's only 1/4 inch wider than the refrigerator. I called the cabinet lady and she reassured me that that will be just fine. It was designed to give the refrigerator a built in look and it will fit. She's been right every time before, so I am trusting her once again.

Yesterday I mentioned the start of the third section of the SAQA Benefit Auction. If you were waiting for the price on my donation to come down, you're too late. !!!!! It was purchased at the top tier price and I am thrilled. And a bit stunned. Thank you, Ms. Private Collection! There are still plenty of wonderful pieces available. The price drops to $550 today at 2PM. Further reductions as the week goes on.

SAQA Benefit Auction Starts Today

Nothing going on in the kitchen remodel today. Tomorrow the carpenter will put up trim and then the painters come in and then the floor gets laid. So by the end of the week it will look like a room instead of a garage.

Meanwhile, the SAQA Benefit Auction begins today at 2:00PM. This is the fifth (I think) year that SAQA has held this auction of one foot square quilts. It's a reverse auction, so the prices start today at $750 and you might be surprised at how many pieces get sold at that price. Tomorrow at 2pm the price drops to $550, and each day there is another price drop, $350, $250, $150, and finally $75. Next week a second set of pieces go up for sale, again starting at $750. My piece is in the third group and they will go up for sale on September 26. There is always a bit of apprehension about whether one's piece will sell or not and what price it ends up going for. I've contributed a piece every year and the price people will pay for my piece has steadily risen. That's a very gratifying feeling. And I hope I haven't jinxed myself with saying that.

This is my donation for this year. I posted it right before I sent it in and asked for suggestions for names. Jamie Fingal suggested "No Way Out", several people seconded that, and I liked it also. So there it is.

Back from QSDS

Last week I took a 7 day Master Class with Judy Hooworth at QSDS. This year the symposium met at the Columbus College of Art and Design instead of in a motel conference site and just that one change made it feel much more like an art event. The campus is in downtown Columbus, Ohio and within walking distance of the Columbus Museum of Art and several art galleries. We were surrounded by art and even the students were highly decorated.

We stayed in the regular dorms, which were decent. Four people to a suite, with single bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Better than any dorm I ever lived in, but that would have been back in the dark ages when women had to be in by 10pm. The classes were held in a former car dealership building which is in the process of being renovated. My class was held in the garage area, a huge cavernous space which dwarfed our little group of 9 people plus the teacher. The lighting wasn't great, the power kept tripping when there was one too many irons plugged in, but it was terrific to have unlimited space in which to work. When I needed an extra table to support what I was quilting, I was able to go get one and set it up, no problem, and I didn't infringe on anyone else's space. Occasionally the garage door would open and a truck drove in to load up or unload, but that also meant that I could drive my car in and load it up right next to my work space. Talk about convenient!

The class itself was terrific. With so few people, Judy was able to spend lots of time with every one of us. We went on field trips to the Museum of Art, The Wexner Center, and an exhibit at the Jewish Community Center. Of course, there was the trip to see Quilt National and all the fantastic art there (and some that I wondered why they were there, but that's always the case). We also went to the Riffe Gallery, where I have a piece in the show. This is a terrific gallery right in a downtown Columbus office building and it gets tons of foot traffic. The show is on the first level and it's hard to miss.

Back to the class ... I worked on a piece that was nearly finished but had some problems. I was able to resolve these, do the work, then put that aside to work on something else. I have been using small pieces in my backgrounds and had been thinking about using bigger ones instead, and I put together the beginnings of a huge (about 8'x8') piece. I have to think a lot about how I am going to proceed with that one.

I also worked on another small piece and painted the graffiti line in white on it. Judy suggested that I add more graffiti lines to give the piece more depth. I took a picture of the piece with the white line with my iPad, then imported it into a drawing app (ArtStudio) and was able to try out various new graffiti lines. This is the drawing I did. I've done it on the piece itself and of course couldn't quite duplicate this exactly. I like this effect and will continue to experiment with it.



There were some interesting sights in the building. The CCAD students do fashion design and here are some of the mannekins lined up in the storeroom.

Looks like they were experimenting with dripping paint. Cool design.

And have you seen one of these? We called him "Flat Man" because he is on the street in the crosswalk. There were 3 that we found on the campus, but I've also seen one in Chicago, and heard about them being in other cities. He looks like he is cut from pavement marking tape. I've used all sorts of search terms in Google but haven't found anything that is pertinent to this guy. Anybody know anything?

Thanks for all the suggestions for the SAQA piece title. I decided to go with "No Way Out". I've sent it off and it should appear on the SAQA site within the week, I hope.

SAQA Benefit Auction

It's time again to support the SAQA benefit auction with my donated 12"x12" piece. I really wanted to get one submitted in time for the early deadline to be eligible for the publicity stuff, but nothing I did was pleasing me. And I certainly don't want to have something up for auction that might not do well. I guess that is everybody's fear - that her piece will be unsold at the end. Even people that I think should not have to worry about that still worry about that.

There are quite a few pieces already donated. You can view them here. The auction doesn't start until September and then they do the reverse auction thing. Bidding starts at $750 the first day, then drops on successive days to $550, $350, and so on. I would love for someone to want my piece badly enough to buy it on the first day, but that's a pie-in-the-sky wish, I think.

Untitled

©2011

I need to give it a name. Untitled just doesn't cut it for me. I can't fill out the donation form until I come up with a name. Suggestions?

Starting today

is the SAQA Benefit Auction. This is a reverse auction, with prices starting at $750 at 2:00 PM today. The prices drop every day to $550, then $350, then $250, $150, and $75. My piece will be in the auction that starts October 3. If I did it correctly, there is a slide show of the pieces above this post. I have my eye on a few pieces, so I hope nobody else bids on them until they come to my price range!

SAQA Auction quilt

It's time again for the SAQA Benefit Auction. You can read more about it here but essentially the way it works is that members donate 12"x12" pieces and they are auctioned off in a reverse auction starting in September. My piece is on page 3b, since I just sent it off this week. Take a look at all the pieces already listed. You would be hard put to not find something you like amongst all those works of art.

Ventanas 21

©2010

It's another piece in my Ventanas (or Windows) series. The background blue fabric is the result of hand dyeing and painting multitudes of fabrics, cutting them into strips, sewing them together to make a piece of fabric, then cutting that into strips and sewing them together. I've been doing this because I'm working on a commission piece that is going to have this style of background and wanted to figure out just how I wanted this to look. And also how to work with the strips. Everything is raw edge, so each strip is zigzag stitched to its neighbor. It sort of looks pieced from a distance. Overlapping produces less bulk than seaming, I think, which makes it easier to stitch over the joins. And I don't have to worry about getting curved seams to fit. An added benefit, which I haven't yet figured out what to do with, is that when I trim away extra bulk from the back, I get a pile of skinny strips of fabric.