Sunday, December 27, 2009

Great Quilters and their Websites

In our last guild newsletter, there were a number of quilt websites that the editor had asked us to review. I took the time to look them up, as I am always intrigued by what others have to offer. And yes, I do always look at their resume to see if they have had quilts accepted into IQA Houston and Quilt National.

I have listed my favourite picks out of the list and invite you to take a look at some of them:

www.carolkrueger.com... This woman is fantastic, what she can do with stripes , squares and dots… it is worth looking at just for ideas, and her handle on colour gradations is fabulous.

www.eileenlauterborn.com... If you want to see a woman who can take a line and bring it to the extreme in quilting, this is the site for you.

www.annelullie.com here is a quilter that can take thousands of 1” squares and arrange them into such a wonderful colour mosaic, it leaves you stunned.

www.dominienash.com still life, and abstract work are the predominant characteristics of this artist. The work is subdued, quiet like but good, judging by the bio, this quilter has done very very well.

www.lorilupepelish.com can do people art fantastic, and so many

www.pamrubert.com you may have seen her work, she does caricature of a woman doing all sorts of crazy things… it is like looking at a cartoon clip in the form of a quilt.


www.suebenner.com... Sue Benner is phenomenal. Those that follow quilt competitions know that the most elite competition in the world is Quilt National. It is held every 2 years. And Sue Benner has made it in 7 times. Her work is unusual, changing and has an incredible depth to it. Her colours are fantastic.

I also think www.janeburchcochran.com is a good site to check out. I don’t particularily care for her type of quilting, but it is good and if you think you can’t cram stuff into a quilt, think again. How she can jampack so many ‘items’ into a quilt and still make it look great, is mindboggling. Her work is nothing short of interesting.

www.susanelse.com If there is a woman who has a similar interest in 3D art quilting like myself , then this is her. Of course she is well known, well travelled and won several competitions, but barring that, we have similar interests=) You absolutely have to check out her site if only to look at her home page. I am not even going to say what it is, but it is absolutely nothing you could ever imagine would be considered ‘quilting’. This woman is a great quilt artist and has the vision to take quilting to the next level, and leave the flat surface that has stagnated quilting for so long. ( only the opinion of me, of course=)

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Happy Holidays




Just wishing all my followers a wonderful holiday. I hope Santa was good to you and all your goals be met in 2010.

My goals include a bit of weight loss. Doing well in the provincial swim meet in March. Doing some great quilt art that I am proud of. ( and of course hoping it gets into a juried show=) And not giving advice unless asked. But this does not include my swim partner's strokes=)

And trying to be the best mom possible for my beautiful children. Oh, and I better say being the best wife too.

And a great friend.

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Last Minute Gifts


I was busy making some last minute Christmas broaches for family today. I had purchased the polished rocks in October and had waited to get the right backing for them. They are all ready to be wrapped and distributed.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Buttons

Okay, here is where I am at.
I have one quilt being quilted between Christmas and New Year's. I have to drive 4 hours to get it, bind it, take pics of it, get it on to a CD, do a write up and drop the package into the mail to arrive by January 8th. I am doing this with 2 of my quilts to see if they get accepted into the National Juried Show in Canada.

I haven't posted pictures of them anywhere, and won't until I hear whether they were accepted or not.

So the time line is a little stressful right now.

And I discussed starting another art quilt, with a lot of sentimental meaning.

Well, I started it, and now half way through the background I am switching the shirt worn by Gram. Mostly because I have an idea of what I want to do on it with buttons and it just wasn't working with the blue shirt that I have posted below this post.

Now Iam going to search ebay and etsy for about 400 buttons in 3 colours. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

A Recycled Christmas



Several of my children's presents this year have come from a second hand store in the nearest city to us.
I admit, it is a gamble when you buy an electronic device and don't know if it is going to work when you get it home. But I have not been disappointed yet. Last year I purchased two keyboards for $7 each and they both still play with them. I recently came across one in a store and it retailed for $40.

This year, one of them is getting an electric guitar that I picked up for $6 and it works great. I priced a similar one out in a catalogue for $35.

Most of their clothes are either purchased second hand, hand me downs, or made by my mom. Very rarely do they get new clothing.

And no, it is not just them. My clothing is either made by myself or purchased at the second hand store or the local church rummage sale. I used to just have 2-3 pairs of jeans, but now I have several more, as I only pay between $1-$7 for them.

It is nice to reuse, plus the kids get a few more gifts with the money I saved. And they do love opening presents!

Friday, December 4, 2009

December Is Here


We always put up our tree on December 1st. Except for this year. The kids just couldn't wait to do it. We did it at the end of November, and they decorated the whole thing themselves. It certainly brings the Christmas spirit into the house now!

And onto the baking, wrapping, mailing cards, more baking, more wrapping.........

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Traditions....



Traditions.... when do they start and when do they stop?

I have lived on the island, full time for 11 years. When I moved here permanently, I unknowingly started a tradition. Every year I would drive to Sudbury at the first of December and go to my favourite greenhouse. They are my favourite for several reasons. First, when I moved back to Ontario and didn't know anyone in my old city, they took a chance on me and gave me a job. Then they turned around and treated me like one of the family. And when it comes to plants, they don't import their poinsettia plants, they grow them.

I started buying poinsettias as I never could figure out what to get my grandparents for Christmas. They had everything they needed. Really. Gram would never want you to spend money on something fancy for her kitchen. She would be thrilled to get a new spatula. They never indulged on themselves. Never. So I would go out and get them the largest, most beautiful poinsettia I could find. And while I was there, I would buy some for other family and friends as well.

This year, I haven't gone yet. I haven't marked a day to go, or made plans to go. I don't know if I am going to go. This year there is no Gram to buy a poinsettia for. This year, I can't deliver the biggest, most gorgeous plant I can find. This year I don't get to hear her tell me 'that I shouldn't have.'

Does the tradition continue without the most important woman in my life?

This year...