January 2009 Archives

Last night I took the last stitch on the binding of Winter Circles. In November, Amy and I challenged each other to each make our own fabric art piece with only one qualification, we had to use strips of fabric. We have been working with strips in our last few pieces, and we were both wanting to do something more. We each worked on our own center panel, and then exchanged with each other to finish the framing or borders. Amy's challenge piece, Promise, was posted last week. And mine was finished last night. As I worked on mine, I thought of the trees in my woods...the fir, alder, and maple trees...some with and some without leaves...the dark colors against the snow...and the life that is nestled there within the trees...the birds snuggled for warmth, the buds of new leaves, the remainders of nests, a haven for many in the cold. I really like these challenge pieces. I think we aren't finished working with strips yet. It is addictive.



Yesterday I taught a class on making small quilted journal pieces...or "Littles" as I call them. The room was full and filled with creative energy. I think I learned as much from these participants as they did from me. The best moment was when a woman who owns an online fabric store, specializing in Asian and batik fabrics...put out a bag of cutting scraps on the table. There was a lot of excitement as we admired the strips, pulling out this and that one that caught our eyes. Another lady shared with us how to make embellished fabric beads. Remember the beads we used to make out of paper, that little triangle shape that you roll over a pencil? Well, this is similar...and then beads and yarn are sewn on the fabric bead...they are easy and fun to make. The day went quickly, and I left inspired and motivated and anxious to get back to my studio.

My companion in my studio is KittyBoy...or kb....he has his favorite spots...this one, a plastic box which use to hold fabric, now has quilts folded up with a heating pad on top. He sleeps here most of the time. But he also likes to sleep on top of my keyboard where it is warm...and this causes many problems...a few days ago there were 64 windows open because of his movements....of course he likes to lay on any new project I am working on...and in my closet, the top wire bin on the right, is his hiding place when the grand boys are here.

Right now I am working on an orange theme tote that Amy pieced. I am quilting the panels, and will seam it together. These totes are wonderful...so colorful and whimsical. You can see more of them at our store at Here2There.etsy.com

We have many projects coming up...some shows here in the Skagit Valley area...all of which we will share with you as we get closer to those dates.

Two packages arrived in the mail, both of them expected, one from Amy, the other from a company that sells good quilting thread. I laid them both on my cutting table, and felt a bit like a kid on Christmas morning. Yes, I did know what was inside of each one, but still, the anticipation of it all...well, I opened the box from the thread company first. You can see my color preference for quilting thread. Several shades of orange, one each of black and white (for when I have to!)...each one was touched, and held in my hands. I counted them, and made rows,and columns, and smiled at the possibilities in front of me. This thread will define in line and swirls and circles and loops the many quilted projects yet to be...the ones that will be sent from me to Amy and from Amy to me...for the next steps....a box of possibilities...but really, just thread, and mostly orange thread.

The other package was the one from Amy. I was expecting it..and anticipating it's arrival. I knew what was inside, and I wanted to have the time to see it completely, with no distraction. Working so closely with someone - not in proximity, but in long distance collaboration, allows us to follow the progress of a project in a different way. We can bounce ideas back and forth (well, we try!) and get feed back on ideas, give and receive constructive critiques (remember those?) and support for what we do.But we do it mostly by emails and phone calls. So much I already knew of this project. I knew the original idea, the revised idea, the layout of squares, the placement of birds, the colors, the doubts and the hopes, the good day followed by the bad day, the ups and downs, the first tentative pieces on the design wall, the misgivings, the 'woohoo' when it worked...I knew the story...and I saw the photos in progress...and yet, I didn't know the piece. I knew what was in the envelope.

When the house quieted down, and I claimed some time to myself, I opened the envelope, carefully cutting off the end, and pulling out the little plastic bag. Amy had carefully folded the top to fit a sandwich bag, and all I could see was a fragment of color...the oranges and terra cotta reds, the bits of green, a bit of bird....I unfolded it carefully, and laid it out on the cutting table. It was perfect. I put it up on the design wall and stood back so that I could see it from a distance. I could see how the color palette worked, how each bird was gently enfolded by a nest of soft colors. I saw that each bird looked into the quilt...drawing the viewer to see that center block. I saw how the birds were symmetrical, and yet with a bit of freedom in their placement. I saw how the seams met at the corners. And I smiled. Amy's Birds are now living on my design wall. I pass them numerous times throughout the day. I can see them from my chair if I look slightly behind and to the left...and I ponder the next step. What will I bring to Amy's Birds? How will I quilt it to give live to the birds?

Two packages arrived in the mail...both expected. It was a very good day. Next week you might see Amy's Birds completed, and you will smile.

We have several really wonderful new things finished or almost finished in 2009 already. It's exciting to see some of these things coming into being... a few challenge pieces... and the completion of pieces we worked on during Opal's visit in November. But the opening of the year also marked the move of some of our pieces to a new retail location. Our work is now being displayed and sold at Sheelys, a floral and gift shop in Anacortes, Washington. If you are in that area of Washington, stop in and take a look. I love how this small selection of Here2There pieces looks nestled in among the eclectic range of items in their shop.

And... our first collaborative quilt... the one we call BQ1. Well, just minutes after it was hung on the wall in the store to see if it was a good fit for it... someone fell in love with it and took it home. Just like that.

BQ1 has a loving new home. And we're working now on a replacement (or two).

My studio has been a busy place this week...as evidenced by my work table..of which I still don't have the nerve to show a photo...maybe next week...I keep thinking it will get better. But this week there have been several projects in various stages of completion. The photo above is the challenge piece Amy talked about earlier. Our challenge to each other was to do a piece with strips of fabric, and that was it...wide open with endless possibilities. I think both of us worried at first having so much leeway in which to move about, but both of us found our voice in our solutions to the challenge. The photo above is Amy's piece...you have seen it before as she finished the top. She then sent it to me. I added the borders, made a backing, and quilted it. The color and vibrancy in these pieced flowers set amongst the field of black and white and providing a protective canopy is stunning. My challenge arrived in the mail today. Amy added a set of borders which bring the center panel to life. It took my breath away when I unfolded it from the package. Now it needs to be backed and quilted. Next week you will see it finished.



The new year is off to a busy, creative start. Already there are several Here2There projects lined up on my table....a new quilted art tote, work on a new bird art quilt Amy is designing, completion of my challenge piece, and quilting another bird art quilt...and other this's and that's that we are working on collaboratively...I'll post some photos next week.

Well, it seems I've been absent for some weeks. I had good intentions, but life (and the weather) got in the way. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I find many weather issues I never had to think about when I lived in Pasadena, California. We've had record snow fall and freezing temperatures and many power blackouts...we were snowed in for almost two weeks. So the holidays were very different this year. I did have plenty of time to work in my studio. Amy and I have projects we have been working on including a special challenge to each other. The two photos above are projects that we worked on together when I visited her in November. "Sunrise" on the left was Amy's inspiration. She completed the center panel, and I added the first border, and she the second...then it was layered, backed, and quilted. The photo on the right is "Canopy." This was so much fun to work on together. This was our first try at working with strips in this way. I love how it turned out. Both of these pieces are quilted fiber art of which we are very proud.

Just this morning I was telling Amy that my work table is beyond help. I have piles of many projects and bits and pieces waiting to be put on this or that. This photo is all I will show you today. It is the trimmings of a bird art quilt we are working on now. Now, I look at this photo and think, surely there must be a use for all those bitty pieces of fabric....

We are looking ahead to this year and all the beautiful fiber art we will make. Soon we will post photos of the two challenge pieces we are both working on....I am quilting Amy's now...and maybe next week I'll be brave and show you my work table which may or may not be cleaned and organized.

Happy New Year everyone! I don't know why Opal and I have both been absent here. We've both been busy with "Here2There" things even as the holidays unfolded around us. My mom was here for two weeks, which was wonderful. So, I didn't spend every moment at my sewing machine as I've been wont to do in recent months. But, I did work on several projects, and I spent a good bit of concerted time and energy on the piece you see here.

Opal and I both decided to work on projects over the holidays that we would then mail to each other, letting the other one do the next round of bordering. We gave ourselves a single and simple constraint. And nothing else. We were free to do whatever in terms of color or size or pattern or even theme. The constraint? Strips. We had to use strips somehow in the piece. (This ties back to our work on a recent piece called "Canopy.")

There's a story behind what I did and how it turned out different than what I first envisioned... and on and on and on. The day we talked about this swap on the phone, I found myself feeling unsure what I'd do with such loose guidelines, and then all of a sudden I saw something in my head. By the time I started many days later, I took a slightly different approach, but this is a piece I loved working on.

I also got to use my new "Design Wall" for this, a holiday gift. It's quite large, and I used it folded in half and draped across the doors of an armoire in my dining room. Even in half, it's many times larger than the makeshift board I was using, and I had such a great time working on it. It's wonderful! So, this piece is fairly large for my work with art quilt piecing. I mailed it off to Opal the day after Christmas, and she mailed me hers.

Now we're both pondering each other's work... and deciding how to take each piece to the next level.