REQUIRED ATTENDENCE

Petit Lemans, a premier 10 hour road race, is held at Road Atlanta every October. It's always an exciting race because there are 4 different categories of cars running at the same time...requiring the super fast prototype vehicles to navigate around the slower classes.  Car enthusiasts look forward to this very competitive event, while wives like me dread the 3 days of loud cars, terrible food, either too hot or too cold weather.  Alas, we go every year.

Porsche has now teamed up with Coca Cola thus a new look for their two factory sponsored cars.  Personally, I'm not a fan, preferring their old school styling of the past.  Unfortunately, the new look didn't bring them a win....they came in 4 & 5th of their class.

The saving grace of these type of car races is the Porsche Club of America's hospitality tent and their Porsche only parking for about 200+ cars.  A very impressive site.  It's so large I couldn't get all the cars in just one photo.

On my personal "keep myself amused' list is license plate viewing. I'm very late in coming to the TV series Black List.....I'm guessing this owner is a fan too.

You could hear a pin drop as this very respectful huge crowd stood with hands or hats over their hearts, as the National Anthem was sung while two sky divers carrying American flags, landed on the start/finish line just before the race began.

That was followed by HUGE, numerous bangs of fireworks to mark the start of the race.

We stood on the medical helicopter pad overlooking the last turn as the cars made their first lap around the track....this driver ended up sideways but fortunately got himself straightened out without further incident.

The weather was actually perfect this year and surely I must have lost a pound or two with all the miles we walked around the track.  Back home now....and ready to sew again!

MAKING PROGRESS

Applique is all complete....and a new finishing idea is taking form.....

The idea is bold but I'm having trouble executing it......wasted about 8 hours yesterday - stitching & ripping......  BUT.....I am not easily deterred....so....check back soon to see if I conquered the technical problems.

SLUMP

YIKES......I fear the home refresh distractions I've been experiencing most of the summer has now allowed 'design brain freeze' to take over.  All I seem to be doing is shuffling fabric....the design is not developing.

This is a totally new situation for me......ideas have always been easily forthcoming.  Naturally, developing them into a one-of-a-kind piece takes time and patience.  Given my slow start, I guess I simply need to allow more time and lots more patience for this project to move forward!!

PACKER FANS ARE IN LOVE

AWESOME -  Packers 34 -  Dallas 24

Season4 - 1

A new superstar has emerged  - # 33  Aaron Jones  - a 4 TD game

GO PACK GO!!!!

WORKING SLOWLY

WOW....who knew?  Starting with a clean, almost pristine studio should be invigorating with design avenues wide open.  Instead, I spent two days shuffling piles of fabrics, notebook ideas, and mental images not being able to settle down and select one direction.

Perhaps this rather uninspiring piece of hand hand silk noil is a reflection of the mood??

 It got more interesting when I pulled out this deconstructed piece and decided to marry the two.

  I tend to drift toward uncluttered whole cloth as backgrounds for my designs.  Hopefully not boring, instead the goal is to create pieces that can hang in a room and be enjoyed for a long period of time. I prefer to avoid making the big shiny star piece that wears out its welcome too quickly.

For this project's background, I chose a nearly tone on tone batik with the appearance of a woodcut.  To provide the stitching control and accuracy I desire.....painter's tape strips are cut, measured, and positioned on the stabilized fabric.

This will become a double straight line pattern......after sewing along the left side of the tape, it's removed and my pressure foot becomes the guide for line #2.  

Check back here won't you??

In the meantime check out these links to explore what other artists have been working on this week:  Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday, Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday.

BLANK SLATE

Now this is a sight rarely seen in a quilter's studio! How mine came to look like a blank slate is a mystery to me.  I don't ever recall not having 2-3 projects in the works.

Now that all the home projects are complete I can concentrate on developing a few of the many ideas (always) brewing in my mind.

I'm sure the fabric will be flying soon......check back in with me won't you??

SHE'S CALLED THE 'GRAND DAME' OF AMERICAN QUILTING

Our very own Georgia Bonesteel continues to wow us with her energy and design talents.  Most appropriately her work was featured at the Asheville, NC Quilt Guild Show this weekend. She's best known for inspiring legends of new quilters through her PBS series "Lap Quilting" and the many books that followed.

 Her show began in 1979 and she's not slowing down, even after all these years. Georgia's newly released book "Scrap Happy Quilts" is sure to be a best seller.  She shares updated methods for making 25 classic quilt patterns along with her wit and humor, emphasizing the importance of creating memoirs.        

                                                      
A room filled with quilters.....nearly hushed to complete silence absorbed every word of her lecture.  Several of her quilts were shared with the audience.  She and Linda Cantrell designed and stitched "Roots", an homage to our small fiber art group.  Linda is another award winning entertaining quilter who is also a member group.  We are referred to as the PTA group.....which stands for Professional Textile Artist. This 'family tree' design features hand appliqued black Ultra-suede motifs.  A silhouette of each member of PTA is surrounded by personal icons that depict that person's style/tastes.

Mine is a bit lower of center left....see the word "Bluegrass"....and next to it is the image of the dining hall at Lake Logan.....a retreat center where I organized our annual retreats for 10 years.  If you look really closely....you might want to count the number of wine bottles on this quilt, a definite theme among all our members.  Yes, what a perfect memoir.....roots have grown and generated a close knit fiber group of 14.

 I snapped this pensive photo of Georgia just before she was introduced to the crowd.  It got me wondering just how many times she's quietly stood off to the side, waiting to be introduced to her adoring fans.

Georgia, along with Charlotte Warr Anderson has taught workshops at a small ranch in Wyoming for many years.  She created this fun quilt of her many workshop projects and 4 or 5 using Charlotte's inspiring designs.

Georgia and I had been friends/collages when we both taught on the national quilting circuit....and now I consider her a very special personal pal as well.  One I admire greatly.

NEW LIFE FOR VINTAGE QUILT TOPS

Now that nearly all of our house renovations are complete and the new updated industrial railing is installed, I decided to scale back on the number of quilts I planned to display on it.

 Several were actually just tops and had been hung over railings both here and in Wisconsin.  None were in great shape to begin with and now they were pretty tattered with deteriorating fabrics in some areas.  Look at this unusual design change of this bed quilt.  Elongated hexi patches with an abrupt color change at about the halfway point.

 Fortunately most of this area, with careful cutting, was still quite useable.

But in many other sections.....it was truly falling apart, allowing me to use this as a cutter quilt guilt free.

 I set about making more bookcovers for Woolworth Gallery, downtown Asheville.  Of course this was far more time consuming than I wished but to preserve the fabric, it was important to securely stitch it to a batting foundation.

I don't even want to admit how long these took me......certainly no profit left after a sale if I counted my time!  However, I suspect they will find homes since my first batch of red/white composition bookcovers were sold in about a week.

Visit these links to see what other artists have been working on this week:  Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, Sarah's Whoop Whoop Friday.

CREATING ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

It's another football Sunday so I was glued to the Internet listening to the Packer/Bronco game which left me leaping for joy -  PACKERS 27 - BRONCOS 16

Can't say I'm a fan of the throwback uniforms but I sure am of #12 and the team he leads.  Finally, a Packer game will be broadcast here in the mountains....as they face the Eagles on Thursday night.  But why oh why are these games sooooo late in the evening!?!?  

 Just sitting idle isn't my style so I decided to make shams for two pillows that came with a piece of furniture we purchased awhile ago and never used. 

We've been using our lower level space for evening TV watching all summer. Recently I blogged about the protective couch quilt I made for Sooty (our sweet rescue lab).  And because 'the husband' insists on running the ceiling fan at the highest speed, I made a lap quilt for myself.  Now there are companion pillows for further comfort.

ASHEVILLE, NC - OR IS IT ARTISTVILLE, NC??

Most folks have heard of Asheville, NC as the home of the famous Biltmore Estate and because of its location along the historic Blue Ridge Parkway.  But it's also known for the many excellent independent restaurants and the ever growing artist community.

Apparently the folks at the Boston Globe recognize our amazing city too.  I'm flattered and proud to have my work represented at two of the places mentioned in their article .

For nearly two years my work has been found at Woolworth Walk - stroll the steps to # 235.   The restored interior of the 1938 F.W. Woolworth building now showcases the work of almost 200 local artists on two floors, and includes a 1950s-style soda fountain serving club sandwiches and ice cream sodas.

Another gem of early 20th-century architecture is the Grove Arcade, a gorgeous, glass-topped indoor marketplace that spans an entire city block.  My felted wall art is carried at Mountain Made Gallery.

Okay....this is a bit of an advertisement but how else is a gal to sell work?  Oh....of course....you can also visit my online shop.