House of Blues

On Saturday, DH and I took my dad to see Nightwish. It was at the House of Blues Chicago. This quilt is inspired by that trip. If you have ever been inside the HOB venue, it has the neatest architecture. Their Vedic principles are above the stage with the Ohm, Star of David and a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe which all, of course, glow under blacklight. I enjoyed making this quilt, and think it could use some beads, or bottle caps.

The Divas bee was pretty cool. It is hosted inside the Naperville Art League building, which is a lovely space. I got to see results from their 14 to 17 things challenge, where members each brought "stuff" like earrings, ribbon, shells, strage fabric, stamps and more, and had to use all of the items in the project. I also saw results from the "lighted" challenge, which used lamps, fiber optics, and more. Not everyone is a fiber artist, not everyone makes "quilts" (there were a couple dolls, some felted creatures, etc.). But I had a great time. In addition, a local framer had gone out of business and gave the group all of the fabric used in framing. I got a great leftover bolt of cream dupioni silk. There's about a yard and a half on it, which will go great with the stuff I will dye next year. I plan to go back for sure.

I also decided not to go to the POP (Pride of Prairie) guild as I think these two groups (Riverwalk and Divas) are plenty to keep me inspired.

I have been sketching a bit in the past few days, trying to perfect a "cute skull". I also plan to crack out the watercolors this upcoming weekend.

A New Guild?

I went to a new guild this week, and I think I may stick with them. I attended the small quilt auction for the Riverwalk Quilt Guild in Naperville, IL. Right away members were there to greet me and I was invited to a "divas" bee. The auction was a great way to see what styles the guild members make.

Monday is the Divas bee, so I'm excited to see that. They want me to bring all 42 weeks of the series to show them.

Here is week 41. I ran out of time and used a fourpatch from a baby quilt I made ages and ages ago. Anyway, broderie perse. I only have a fat quarter of this fabric without the selvedge, so I don't know who made the flower fabric.

Week 42 is from the sketchbook. I love this fern like thing. Or is it a cartoony dragon? You decide.

I also finished some fall ATCs for a swap, and some dolls for a swap on ATCards.com. I love the dolls (at the top of the page). Wish I could keep them... They are themed after the 4 seasons.

Gimme Gimme...Gimme Gimme More

Last week I felt like I worked my butt off and went right back into a week of work. I was so glad for this weekend.

This week's quilt is made form vintage kimono fabric I get from Plum Blossom Kimono in Baltimore. She always sells scraps for $15-$25 a bag, and this year's bags were long beautiful strips. You can see original hand stitching from the kimono along the bottom. I really liked how this turned out.

My brother tried running the Chicago marathon in the heat, and was forced to stop along with thousands of other runners. We went to cheer him on, and it was tough to see runners run in that heat. However, they all had a goal in mind to finish the race.

I plan to see my year "marathon" of quilts out too.

Rainbows in your Mouth

My sister's birthday produced more vocabulary that I've incorporated into my lexicon. This time, while discussing her favorite show "Top Chef", she described the contestants naming the ingerdients of their concoctions and the sometimes inappropriate names. If she were ever on the show, she announced, she would never reveal the ingredients, and proclaim the name of the dish as how it would feel. Thus was born "Rainbows in your Mouth". This is now any good dish. It's "rainbows in my mouth".

This piece was completed in Baltimore, primarily at Quilt Expo 2007. It was great to see all of my quilter friends again, and we all busted our humps to get the show hung and taken down in RECORD time.

My sister has become quite enamored with embroidery since our trip to the Renegade Craft Fair and visiting with Jenny Hart. This is a bit of a tribute to her. I like "redwork" and have seen "bluework" and even "blackwork". But this is me. "Whitework" on a dark fabric. Very spooky with the cobweb. And the only pattern I had that was 6 inches square. Copied directly from an antique quilt. By copied I mean "put on a Xerox machine and copied".