WALL ART ON LOCK DOWN

It's certainly looking like the lockdown of Asheville's galleries will continue for awhile, which means I need to do some sales promoting myself if I want to stay in business.  The following are some of the quilts I have in my home inventory. They can be purchased from me and sent to directly to you.

They range in style, color, size and price (from $198 - $450).  For complete description/size/construction process/price, please visit: www.marystorishop.blogspot.com or click on this fast link

If you happen to see another piece of work that catches your eye, connect with me....it may be here as well. If it's already hanging in the gallery that's not problem.  I can put you in touch with the helpful Woolworth's staff who handle the sale & ship it to you.

I hope you might consider treating yourself to some new art...you are probably tired of looking at your familiar 4 walls by now!!

MAKING WORK

 I have quite a collection of colorful Japanese prints, along with some larger pieces of darker tones that caught my eye as I was rummaging through my fabric stashes for inspiration. However, one never knows what resources you'll need to tap into while designing quilts.

 After spending some pleasant hours cutting and sewing patches together I started considering how I wanted to incorporate the two styles.  YIKES......it occurred to me I couldn't tell which direction the pattern ran.  I tried seeking out similar symbols on the internet but it was fruitless.  Is this background pattern running correctly vertically or not?

                                         

 Is this one?  Thankfully, I realized I do have someone to ask.  I texted photos of the fabrics in question to my DIL's aunt Tami....who was such a dear.  She gave me her opinion (which turned out to be correct) & she followed up the next day with confirmation from an expert!    Thank you Tami!!

 The strips just didn't seem inspired enough by themselves, so I began testing whether a narrow flange would add a bit more spark.

I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how many fabrics I tried before leaving the studio for the day without a decision......so I won't tell you!!  Just know...it was a lot. (Including auditioning cording/ribbons, decorative threads.) I continue to be indecisive about what to do.....but I'm so ready to do something, anything.....I want to move on.

In fact, I'm now actually considering this layout which was not really a layout but rather a way to store the completed rows up against the background fabric on my design wall.  I had planned to have the background rows at least 5" wide....but am liking the color chaos of the rows close together with no flange. We'll see what my 2 AM thoughts will be.

What would you do??

UTTER FAILURE

When I was on my whirlwind of organizing every square inch of our house the first two weeks of lock down, I came across this 4 patch king size quilt top.  Well...it was actually going to be turned into a duvet cover but I ended up changing my mind.  I just didn't want to deal with lining it and then quilting the layers together, followed by a duvet backing.  

So....there it sat in my fabric closet for years.  I toyed with making a charity quilt from it, but again...quilting a king size quilt....no thanks!!  So I removed one row.

.....And sub-cut the squares, and stitched these two 14" x 21" sections.  Silly me, I actually had a few appliqué design ideas to feature on these pieces.  Well.....after wasting another full day trying to make something work.....I gave up!  Something I RARELY do. 

 I may divide the master quilt top into small pieces and share with anyone wanting to finish them for charity....it won't be me.  I'm sick of looking at them!!    Truly I can only think of a half dozen projects in 30+ years that I ditched....this will be one and I'm perfectly okay with that decision.  

BEST FACE MASK EVER!!!

For us winos.....perhaps a bottle and a straw?!?  Thanks to cousin Rick who posted this on his Facebook page!

NEW WET-FELTED VESSELS

**Update - I've had several inquiries about purchasing one of these felted vessles....thank you!!!  Yes, you may - prices are as indicated...shipping via USPS @ $6.00 (will quote price if purchasing more than one item) - US only - Pay via PayPal.....

It's been awhile since I've wet-felted because I was babying my shoulder. So I thought I'd give it a try again and was determined to be smart and NOT over-do.

 Here's the set up on my cutting table, I don't have a good space for wet work but with lots of old towel, the mess can be somewhat controlled.

As each is complete, I stuff them with old worn out napkins to maintain the shape while they dry.  

 All are made with natural wool roving, wet-felted and feature a beach stone from the shores of Lake Superior that a friend gathered for me.  Thank you Janet!!  -  $40

$38

$38

CHRISSY CRISIS MOTTO - SISU

OKAY.....We had to remind our Chrissy's of the motto that created them:  SISU -Finnish 'for strength in the face of adversity'      AND   'courage....be strong.'

 SSF's (Spritzer Sister Francie's) Chrissy decided to handle her stress like this.......

SSM's (Spritzer Sister Mary's) Chrissy is going bold.......she decided not to waste a good crisis!!!

Hang in there everyone!  It can't last forever!  If it does we'll all be fat and have enlarged livers!

Oh....please don't think I'm not taking this situation seriously......I am.....which is why I MUST add some humor.

TIME FOR MORE CHRISSY CRISIS & THE SPRITZER SISTERS!

Perhaps it's time for more Chrissy Crisis levity, along with a look at additional silliness generated by the Spritzer Sisters.

Chrissy Crisis is longing to bond with her friends and wants OUT!!!  But will still honor the stay at home order to avoid passing anything nasty to her Spritzer Sister (SSM) guardian.

 Spritzers are fond of journals......they've been know to be made from paper bath mats (yup the quality of motels we stayed in during our jaunts were not 5 star...heck they were barely 1 star.  We've been know to use restaurant paper place mats, & the back of advertising flyers.....you'd think we'd be more prepared with appropriate paper?!?

So...let's take a peek at one, shall we??  No further explanation is really necessary......(not that this thought process could be explained!)

 Gosh.....this was the best of times......  Now my journal tends to be this blog....which truly isn't as much fun since it too is done with social distancing....much better to be sharing journals in person!

MORE NOTEBOOK COVERS

I think I found my creative gene again!  AND....the best part is I'm utilizing unique fabrics to make each book special. All measure 7.5" x 10.5".

 Left - Resist-dyed felted wool   Right - deconstructed screen printed cotton

Left - (first two) antique hand pieced quilt - circa appx. late 1800's
Right - Indigo printed & screen printed Japanese block - translation 'DREAM'

USING VINTAGE LACE AND LINENS

What started out over a month ago as a whirlwind of activity and accomplishments, has slowed these last few days to simply floating through my day.

So, now that every photo and all paperwork has been organized, every drawer & closet cleaned, and finishing an ugly brown lap quilt for the man cave, it's time to get back to creating.

 I pulled out a piece of rusted vintage lace, paired it with a hunk of ice-dyed damask table cloth to create a few filled composition book covers.

Since the galleries are still closed, they will be added to my growing inventory here at home and ready to add as replacements when shoppers are back in the stores.  Of course I welcome direct sales but given the cost of shipping for an item at a lower price point, I haven't added them to my online shop.  But, holler if you are interested.  **  Large book sold.

TWINS?!?

Did you know I had an identical twin sister?  Funny thing, despite being dressed alike till we were able to select our own clothes.....we always thought we were fraternal twins.  Yet, we did look very much alike.  

According to the birth certificates....we were 'multiple births....baby A & B, but somewhere along the way, the notion that we were identical was lost or never known. (Hard to believe right??)  It wasn't until my sister acquired AML in very late 2001 and almost immediately it was decided a bone marrow transplant would be her only hope that we learned new information.

My two brothers and I were underwent preliminary blood tests for compatibility. My results were so perfect the doctors began to have questions.  So a full DNA test was ordered for me, yup we were actually identical twins!  

Strangly it would have been better for her if we were a match, but not identical since the concern then was that my bone marrow/stem cells would be too close to hers and the cancer could overcome them.  This isn't a clinical explanation...rather one that is more easily understood.

 Mary on left Nancy on right....baby brother Chuck in center....taken about 1952.

My memory growing up was always of a sister by my side.....up until about when we were in high school...but even then we shared a room and did a lot together.

I hope more of you are going through your photos and enjoying good memories!!  

PHOTO FINDS

Like many who are staying at home....I've found time to go through a massive amount of long ignored photos.  Most subjects were related to the many quilt tours and cruises I hosted.

So, in no particular order I thought I'd share some with you....maybe you were even there in person as we traveled the world.

 Imagine trying to get a bus load of quilters suitcases onto the one gondola assigned to us as we arrived in Venice.  It was an incredible sight as the baggage piled higher and higher!

 Sorry for the dark quality of this photo.....but it illustrates how far quilters will go to enjoy their hobby.  We were in the lower bar area of the Mississippi Queen paddle boat which was our daytime classroom.  It was one of the three 'cruises' I led traveling the Mississippi River.  My workshop featured a simple red/white stripped pieced background with hand beaded blue stars (using various beading techniques).

 Cruise participant Kathy Bruno (L) and myself (R) wandering the narrow picturesque streets of Oia in Santorini, Greece.........  Sept. 1999 (Me trying to keep weight off my donkey damaged knee...see below)

......AND......this is how we reached the top of that Volcanic island.  Yup....we took the donkeys!  Oh....I'd know the back side of a quilter anywhere (on the left - name withheld).  As we reached the top my donkey must have seen his girlfriend (or enemy) donkey because it banged with great force into it, jamming my knee between the two...honestly I hobbled the entire rest of the trip and to this day my knee still causing me trouble.

 I wish I'd have done a better job of dating and identifying my photos.....but this was Halloween on a (I think) Panama Canal Cruise.  I made a mask of black fabric and did some trick or treating (for adult beverages) while passing out candy to my students.

 I do know the time and place of this one.....Paris hotel room in 2001.  I hosted a tour to Iceland/London/Paris in Oct. 2001......only 1 month after 9/11.  Quilters are a strong bunch, not one person cancelled out of the trip, however I almost did!!  On 9/11 I started the first of a two day stem cell donation for a bone marrow transplant for my twin sister. I didn't bounce back very quickly, but I sure didn't want to miss this trip!  My motto....have suitcase, will travel.  Jan VanderHill took this picture.

I'll never forget walking to this quilt shop from our cruise ship and seeing a police car out in front. (Alaska - 1999 - perhaps Juno.)  Surely the quilters from our group that headed this way earlier hadn't been squabbling over fabric? Were they??  Of course not, the owner's husband (a police officer) was home for lunch!

While the world is whirling with this unimaginable pandemic, how fortunate we all are to have time to sit back and enjoy positive and fun memories.  We all have them.....and as the Spritzer Sisters say...SISU!!

BEING PRODUCTIVE

I'm accomplishing a LOT......but after my binge mask making I've switched gears and decided to tackle some long overdue tasks.

 There must have been 50 pounds of slides/photos/magazines with articles that should be clipped and filed, same with newspaper articles that I foolishly have been letting pile up.  Since slides are old technology, I had previously scanned most old images to use in my digital presentations. Never-the-less, I spent hours viewing them before disposing of what I no longer needed.

 It took me nearly 2 days to go through all the family photos....not to mention all my quilt related/cruise related ones.  They are now sorted (some scanned too) and organized in clear labeled folders.  WHEW!!

AND....I didn't stop there.  Several of my cookbook recipe binders were falling apart from 40+ years of use.  This baking one took about 3 hrs. to redo....but Yeah.....

Heck if this stay at home lasts much longer I'll be going through every drawer, closet, garage shelves.....hey...that's not a bad idea....

Hope you are using your time wisely or not...ha ha.....

CHRISSY CRISIS SOCIAL DISTANCING

SISU!!   Chrissy Crisis is doing her part!

MORE CHRISSY CRISIS DOLLS ADVENTURES

SISU - How are you all holding up?  Of course we are all anxious to get this behind us but remember: remain vigilant, it's so important.  So......I'm guessing another dose of Chrissy Crisis might help to brighten your day. 

If you don't know what I'm referring to.....scroll back to previous posts beginning March 28th. 

 At one of the Spritzer Sister's Annual Retreat, our executive committee met for the election of officers and other frivolous fun.  Chrissy & friends had their own fun in our vacation cabin when we were out for a walk.

Look!!  She's been captured by a gargoyle.....of course we rescued her when we returned.

 Her twin was living dangerously.....hanging from the railing of our spiral stair case.  Fortunately she got her feet wrapped up in the bovine party lights and didn't fall.....and of course we rescued her too.

The rest of the gang was being more productive by holding a group therapy session.....  

A fun time was had by all!

MASK MAKING

After making some masks to donate locally plus considering the newest CDC suggestion for everyone to wear a mask when outdoors....I've geared up.  I've got a roduction line to create them for family/friends, but I still can't help color/pattern coordinating for each person. 

 No elastic so I'm making ties.....finally turned off the steam on my iron after buring my fingers about 50 times.  Why did it take me that long to figure out such a simple solution?!?

KEEPING BUSY

Although I'm still sewing....I'm also spending time doing over-due tasks. 

  Next on my list.....get rid of all those out of date CD's that can no longer be played by any of my current computers.  Yes, I even have some on tape!!

In the past I have disposed of a lot of slides since this medium is out of date. Now it's time to get rid of the rest. AND...the stacks of photos I have need to be reviewed.  I have folders and folders of pictures, esp. from all the cruises and tours I hosted.  My scanner will be very busy, documenting and preserving these memories and freeing up cupboard/shelf space.

What are you doing to keep yourself busy???