GEORGIA BONESTEEL

Our fiber group (PTA) is so fortunate to have Georgia Bonesteel as a member......she's of course is the creator of Lap Quilting (books and her own PBS TV series) that was responsible for so many of us getting the quilting bug.

At our retreat, Georgia shared 3 quilts that will become part of a new book that features Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina. This unique project consists of more than 140 quilt blocks which blanket the sides of barns and buildings in six continuous counties in our area. During my Great Smoky Mountain Quilting Tour this August.....we will spend a day with Barbara Webster, the driving force behind the Quilt Trail project as she escorts our group on a bus tour of these sights. It's just another reason why you should sign up for this incredible tour...space is limited so if you are thinking about joining the fun, don't delay. Info can be downloaded at Traveling Together.

Georgia shared several of the quilts she's making for Barbara Webster's upcoming book. Here she's photo transferred pictures of a barn and applied them onto her fabric barn.

Detail

This one depicts the sock factory in Burnsville, NC.....which we will also be visiting on my tour.

Georgia's in progress clever and striking retreat project......

MORE PTA RETREAT EYE CANDY

Here's more show and tell and some fabulous projects that we all oohed and aahed over at our recent PTA Retreat.

Have you ever seen one of these? Janice brought this unique bag....it's made entirely with zippers....obviously, zipped together. Name brand: Zip It.

Lynne Harrill comes all the way from Greenville, SC to be in our group..... She's excels in creating her own hand dyed fabrics which are transformed into well designed and executed contemporary wall quilts. This piece is for sale......anyone interested can contact me and I'll put you in touch with her.

We made a group quilt awhile back using Georgia Bonesteel's Grid Grip papers......fast and easy. We will be selling this one and using the funds to support our next retreat. (Ya, it's self serving....but sometimes that's okay!)

Kate Weston did a masterful job of machine quilting it!

This section appeared on one of the design walls within an hour of beginning our retreat (though it was made previously). I was blown away when I saw it up close. This is NOT a cut from a piece of fabric......oh no......Barbara Swinea pieced it.....

Every patch is perfectly straight and even!!

Here's Barbara on the right.....looking dazed! (and Linda Cantrell studying her laptop.....I'm guessing she's looking at photos of Boston Terriers!). This isn't bragging about my friend....just the facts....Barbara has a wall full of award ribbons. She's never entered a show where she hasn't been awarded a ribbon. Her designs are superior and her construction skills are top notch. This is just one of the 3 pieces she worked on at our retreat. See why I love this group....inspiration galore.

Here's another....love it.....reminds me of Argyle.

And her third.....oh, did I say this gal is a fast sewer??

More to come tomorrow......

PTA RETREAT SHOW & TELL

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble getting photos uploaded to Blogger......yet again probably due to our slow satellite service here in the mountains. Never fear, what I have completed, you'll love seeing.

The following 4 photos are the creations of Linda Cantrell.....a super talented and well known instructor who just happens to be a PTA member. She's famous for her often humorous and always detailed applique quilts. She's so generous to allow me to share her newest project with you.

It will be called Sam And Ella's Cafe. Each of the 24 blocks will a depict a specific hour of the day. Linda hasn't assigned each a time yet....but the first one could be after the morning or lunch time rush, when the waitress is trying to take a well deserved break.

Ladies (transvestites) are ending their evening at the cafe.....

Adorable.....Grandpa and Grandma are having a bite to eat. Notice the Boston Terrier in her purse. Linda is an absolute Boston Terrier lover and is a tireless volunteer for their rescue program.

This looks like a lunch break....where the kids are out of control.

Mary B. has been reorganizing and recyling some of her treasures. She allowed us to take as many of these vintage hankies as we wanted....tx's Mary!

More wonderful work will be shared as soon as I can get them uploaded......stay tuned.

2ND ANNUAL PTA RETREAT

I just returned from our 3 day PTA sewing marathon....and of course since we are quilters.....practically before our machines were set up......our snack table was in place!

YUM!!!

Connie Brown played hostess with yet again another vintage apron.....she's got quite a collection growing.

We stayed at Lake Logan Retreat center near Canton, NC ....with this fabulous sewing studio......

This year we each brought a photo of our first quilt......and proceeded to have a guessing game to match quilt with the maker. It was more difficult that you'd imagine!

To shake out the aches and pains of speed sewing.....Georgia Bonesteel led us in a bit of dancing....
Linda Cantrell is famous for her humor......she had us in stitches as she imitated Michael Jackson's crotch grabbing dance steps. Maybe you had to be there....

To pamper ourselves....we hired a masseuse to attend to us on our 2nd day.......

Hummmmm......... You don't even want to know the bottle count...... Fun was had by all.....I'm pooped and am off to bed.......

2nd ANNUAL PTA RETREAT

Preparation underway......this doesn't look much like the beginning of a quilt project, but this is what my table looked like after 75% of the fabric I pulled had finally been reviewed and returned to its 'closet-in-waiting'. The color scheme and pattern selection have now been made.

Today I'm heading to the 2nd Annual PTA (Piecer's, Talker's, and Appliquer's) Retreat....when I return on Thursday afternoon I expect to have a quilt top finished. Now you all know I'm not that much of a piecer......love the look, and I did start out as a piecer focusing on reproducing the look of antique quilts. However, an off ramp along the quilting highway led me to other areas of design instead. So now I'm looking forward to some dedicated hours with me and my machine....and of course the fun and laugther of 12 other girlfriends.

Hope you are enjoying working on your current project too.

SO SAD

Well.....my lucky socks didn't work quite enough.......we are sad, all of Packerland is sad, all Cheeseheads are sad......but like a true fan.... They gave us a thrilling game, even if the defense was asleep.......I have only one thing to say.

Wait till next year!!!!!

GO PACKERS!!!!!

CALLING ALL CHEESEHEADS.......THIS IS OUR YEAR........ GOOOOO PACKERS!!!

You can be sure we will be glued to the TV cheering on Rogers and the crew......as they attempt to do what that turn coat Brett what's his name couldn't.

I've got my warm sweatshirt ready (and we need that here again today......the weather is freezing!) and my lucky socks.....

The flag is flying....

And we are praying to St. Vincent for a big win against Arizona...... Thank you Lizzie and Jenna for this great photo of you two at Lambeau Field.....sure wish the game would be there....another ice bowl surely knock off the Cardinals......

Let's hear it.......GO PACKERS!!!

WOOLFELT JACKET

SNOW AGAIN.....it's number 5 so far......unfortunately, it's combined with wind chill factors of below zero....almost unheard of in this area.......we are getting cabin fever.

But....on the bright side, that's allowed time to get into the studio and begin some projects. Normally I like to post the entire process from start to finish when I share my projects, but due to other upcoming commitments I may not get this completed quickly.....so here's what I have so far.

The Xotic Felt jacket I created last summer was so well received....sadly, this new bamboo/rayon fabric wasn't color fast and it pilled too much. National NonWovens has fixed that problem, so I'll try again later with their updated fabric. Right now I've decided to see what kind of results I can achieve working with their 100% wool felt.

As a precaution to prevent distortion or shrinkage during the construction process, I use squares (for the back) and rectangles (fronts and sleeves) of fabric, marked with the shape of the pattern piece. Then, I do all my designing and sewing on this section of fabric.

The margins are a great place to experiment with ideas. Such as....I was considering simple stitching to add background texture and interest. Here's a detail of some stitching I did near the arm hole area.

In another area (outside of the marked pattern line) I tried a different look. The overall idea was that I'd add the applique motifs after the background was sewn. I learned long ago to test my ideas on the cutaway areas of the fabric, rather than jumping in and being sorry with the results on the actual garment. It paid off here again.....because in the end, I decided the grid and line stitching reduced the drape of the fabric far more than I could accept. So instead, I'm going to add some individual machine embroidered units after the main design motifs are attached.

I prefer to design the fronts, side by side on my design wall. Sadly, my dress form didn't make the trip here from WI.....the moving van was full.......so I had to say goodbye to my old friend! But, this works fine and takes up less space.

The next step will be to applique the motifs to the wool felt, add some machine embroidery....and when satisfied, I'll remark the pattern pieces to assure accuracy in case of shrinkage. The sections will be cut out and assembled. The woolfelt jacket may require a lining......I'll probably baste the pieces together first, try the garment on and see how it wears without one before deciding.

Happy sewing to all of you who are also freezing in this cold snap......which seems to be affecting not only most of the US but Europe as well......

HISTORIC RCA'S STUDIO B

Here's a final look at what helped to earn Nashville its name, Music City.

During our recent visit, we toured the historic RCA Studio B, home of 1,000 hits, in the heart of Music Row.

The place looks like it did when it closed, the day before Elvis Presley's death on Aug. 16, 1977. Check out the tile floor and the antique looking reel to reel recording equipment.

The building is now referred to as Studio B......but this was the actual studio. Many musicians liked to record in this specific studio....(rather than Studio A). The entire facility is really small....and far less techy than one would imagine.

This piano was reported to be Elvis's favorite...he always warmed up by playing it before his midnight sessions....he loved to record late at night, often ending when the sun came up.

Among the many artists who recorded there, you'll probably recognize these names: The Everly Brothers, John Hartford, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, Dottie West, Waylon Jennings, Roy Orbison, Ann-Margret, Connie Francis, Willie Nelson, The Browns, andFloyd Cramer.

Apparently Elvis loved the mood these 4 colored 60's looking lights created. He often directed that all of the other lights in the studio be turned off, making it quite dark. Some of the fixtures hung down and the story goes that when Elvis was recording "Are You Lonesome Tonight"....he hit his head on one of the lights and if you listen carefully.....you can hear the thud.

NEEDLE IN HAND

SNOW # 4 is currently blanketing our area.....along with a record making cold snap......we are grumbling!

However, now that the Fiber Arts Alliance meeting was canceled today.....I'm going to get into the studio and get some work done!!!

I still enjoy my passion of hand quilting....combined with hand stipple quilting/trapunto and am delighted that more of my upcoming bookings have selected the workshop, "Improve Your Hand Quilting". This small piece is 'Spring Green'.....and yes, the spots of light you see are tiny seed beads..... The design is part of a collection I created for my book, "The Wholecloth Garment Stori", which has been out of print now for several years, though you may still be able to find some on Amazon or ebay. It's fun to translate these designs to create beautiful wholecloth garments.

Quilting Creations manufactured my line of quilting designs as stencils. This is one that I've decided to use as a beading motif. As usual, I traced the design onto a Pellon non-fusible, lightweight interfacing, positioning it to fit within the boundary of the desired finished size.

White basting thread secures the layers together and transfers the design to the front of this National Nonwoven's 100% wool felt fabric.

The beading begins......here a combination of bugle and seed beads make up the center stem of the fern motif. I've removed the design from the Q-snap frame for this photo. However, whenever I bead, I use a 11" x 11" or 11" x 17" Q-snap frame to help maintain proper thread tension and to prevent distortion.

We will be hunkering down this weekend to watch the NFL playoff games.....so I expect there will be ample beading time. GO PACKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Creekside Ferns 11" X 13" $250

(with hanging sleeve - includes insured shipping)

Contact Mary using link on upper right side bar.

Inner Strength 9" x 12" SOLD