Treasures Unearthed

Years ago I bought an old kitchen cupboard at a yard sale. It now sits in the upstairs hall just outside the studio - turned upside down as that shelf configuration suited me better. Because I'm not putting much furniture back in the newly painted studio, I need storage elsewhere. The last two days I've been culling the cupboard contents, purging actually. In the process, I found these treasures hidden away.

These cigar boxes were hidden in the back of the cupboard.

I'd been looking for the stencil and calico buttons (right side of photo) I knew I had.

I have a huge collection of vintage buttons and sewing paraphenalia.

All of my other buttons are stored together in the studio closet. I can't remember why I decided to keep these in cigar boxes as they've been there so long!

I have a very small collection of old stamps. The set on the bottom was once owned by someone named D D White, as the name is stamped inside the box lid.

I love the circa 1950 graphic on this box.

If you look closely, you'll see the comic book characters on these stamps purchased at an estate sale. I recognize Little Orphan Annie, Popeye and Olive Oyl. Does anyone know the other two? Please let me know if you do.

Veterans' Day

Bill Guerrant

Chu Lai Vietnam 1967-1968
Our son Matthew now has his combat boots.

On this Veterans' Day let us honor all of our service men and women. My husband served as a journalist and combat photographer with the Americal Division in Vietnam in 1967 - 1968. He remains forever changed.

The armband Bill wore in Vietnam along with his Vietnam service ribbon.

Happy Anniversary, Matthew and Suzie!

Matthew and Suzie

Today is the anniversary of our son Matthew and his wife Suzie. Surrounded by family and good friends, they were married three years ago today on the beach at beautiful Emerald Isle NC. We wish them many, many more years of happiness together. Happy Anniversary!!!

Photo credit: Claire Corbin

Studio Update

The studio is completely painted - walls, ceiling and trim! Yeah! Chip did a beautiful job, even returning to push bookcases back in place and reinstall hardware. It's so wonderful to have at least one room fresh and clean.

My sister was upset and tried very hard to convince me to paint the room a color instead of white. But I was adamant about having a totally neutral background against which to judge color. This will be an art quilt studio with color coming from my textiles.

I'm currently at a standstill as my Horn cabinet has not been delivered. It's in town, but the dealer is waiting for the acrylic insert to arrive. I want the largest piece of furniture to be in place before making final decisions on placement of anything else.

In the meantime, I'm sorting through boxes and boxes and boxes of things - deciding what I absolutely will need. I do not want the room to be crowded and/or cluttered. I'm finding that I don't want to mess up the newly painted walls either. But I must eventually have a bulletin board and a large design wall.

Ours is an old house built in 1926 with hardwood floors throughout. Before doing anything else (after a thorough vacuuming by Chip) I washed those in the studio and then applied two coats of wax. I love the shine! It makes my happy.

This is the wax I used. It does a nice job on old wood floors in need of refinishing. And it's the closest thing I've found to Glo-Coat, my favorite wax from the 1970s. Both it and the product above are Johnson products.

Unloading the bookcase gave me an excuse to cull the contents.
Selected works are being placed slowly.

I also emptied one area of my fabric shelves.

I purchased one more ClosetMaid drawer system at Lowe's.

We'll use a hollow core door for the top once final placement is determined.

I straightened the contents of each drawer, removing what was no longer needed. My hand-dyes are stored together.

I have a growing vintage fabric collection.
These are just a few of them.

YES HE DID!

Barack Obama
44th President-elect of the United States

I am OVER THE MOON about this election. YES I AM!!!!

VOTE TODAY!

My niece Kari chats with Michelle Obama who held a rally in Las Vegas yesterday at the college where Kari's daughter attends preschool.

For more photos and politics, visit my blog: http://yellowdogdemocratrants.blogspot.com/

Photo Credit: Josh Chenier

Studio Revamp

I emptied the studio except for the fabric stash. Thankfully, the shelves were movable as is. An empty room always looks so much bigger than it actually is!

My cellotex bulletin board shown here was removed.

The wall behind the ladder is my design wall. Using adhesive velcro, I'll hang new flannel once the room is completed.

As you can see from the windows, these photos were taken on a very cold morning last week.

I'm taking advantage of this time between quilts to revamp my studio. I began about a year ago, but didn't get very far - mainly because I had SO MUCH STUFF in the room. Our nephew Chip, who'd come by to give me an estimate for painting, suggested very politely, "Aunt Ellen...........have you ever considered getting a pod?" A pod???? Moi????? That was in March.

Once I'd delivered the wedding quilt to Rebecca, I got serious about clearing the room - a process which took me six days! Everything came down from the walls. Boxes and boxes of things were gone through. A car full of fabric and art supplies went to an art teacher, others were taken to the thrift store. Tons of files and papers were put into recycling. Then I began moving furniture out, placing it across the hall in Matthew's old room. I did leave a path so that I can continue going through things this week while the studio is being painted.

You really can't appreciate how much stuff was removed from the room unless you see photographic evidence. Brace yourselves. Below are photos of the studio before it was cleared for painting.

My DH asked if I really needed to keep the desk, barely visible in this picture. "Yes" I replied. "It holds my stereo equipment!" The Spic 'n' Span bottle is proof that I once thought about cleaning.

I'd used a printer's type tray for thread.

Once every flat surface was covered, I had to use the floor for storage.

There Goes My Baby

This morning I delivered the wedding quilt (my baby) to Rebecca Verrier-Watt, a very talented long-arm quilter in Harrisburg NC - about 25 miles from me. She and I spent lots of time discussing which design elements to use for quilting. There will be pebbles and spikes and feathers and other motifs appropriate for a bright, contemporary piece. I'd initially thought feathers were too traditional, but Rebecca shared new designs which were more modern in feel. She will use a variegated King Tut thread in oranges and yellows from Superior.



Trying to think green like the kids, I chose a Nature-Fil 50% bamboo and 50% organic cotton batt by Fairfield. I'd read about it and was delighted to feel its softness. Although an expensive choice, it seemed perfect for the quilt. I can't wait to see it finished! I know it will look great.

For more about Rebecca click here:
http://www.thequiltersstation.com/

The Art of the Quilt - An Invitational Show in Virginia

Orange Slice
19 3/4 x 23"

Detail

Shrimp Creole
18x22"

I'll have work in the Sixth Biennial Invitational Quilt Show: The Art of the Quilt in Martinsville VA. November 7 - December 27. An opening reception and gallery talk will be held Friday, Nov. 7 at 5:30. Location: Piedmont Arts, 215 Starling Ave., Martinsville.

Curated by Linda Fiedler and Tina Sell, this is always a very nice show with work from artists throughout the southeast. For further information, click here:
http://www.piedmontarts.org/exhibits.cfm?gallery=4

Something Else I've Finished

My sister Sue sent these photos of the quilt I finished for her earlier this year.

Sue chose the bedroom paint color based on the fabrics in the quilt.

I love the new Mission-style bed!

Another major accomplishment this year was finally finishing the quilt my Mother was working on at the time of her death. Mother had started it after my father died, wanting something she could work on during trips. She'd pieced and quilted each block by hand and had completed many. I made and quilted five more blocks, assembled the quilt and added borders.

The quilt was delivered to my sister Sue, who lives in IL, at a family reunion in MN last July. I think it looks great on Sue and John's new bed. I'm really glad I made an extra wide border.

Ray of Life

New York Beauty
84" x 98"

Corner Detail

Matthew's favorite number is 11 - and he likes to play pool.
I found the perfect fabric amongst scraps I had.
He and Suzie chose Nov. 11 (11/11) for their wedding day
nearly three years ago.

Border Detail

I've just completed my largest and most technically difficult quilt project ever. My nearly three-year labor of love is a wedding quilt for my son Matthew and his bride Suzie. The New York Beauty is in their favorite colors of blue and orange with added yellows and acid greens. Its title is Ray of Life.

I spent nearly two months fooling around with the border, changing my mind about colors and design several times. I ended up removing the border I had my heart set on, and am now glad I did. I'm very happy with the final choice of orange and blue which helps set the color scheme more strongly. It was definitely the best choice.

I was going to have the piece hand-quilted, but in view of my life-threatening cardiac event two months ago, I know time is of the essence. So, off it will go to be long-arm quilted. I want the kids to have the quilt now! I know how close I came to not being able to finish it for them.

Photo credit: Bill Guerrant

Playing with Photoshop

I'm a member of the Art Quilt Network, a group which meets twice a year in Columbus Ohio. Several years ago Mary Bartok came to teach us to make different types of books. I was amazed at the different types of materials Mary used - most of which had been scavanged.

Since that time I have been selectively saving different types of paper including junk mail. Using my scanner and Photoshop this morning, I decided to play with a couple of the more interesting pieces. It was great fun, even with my limited knowledge of the capabilities of the tool. I can already imagine all sorts of applications in my art.

Here are the results:

Original black on white

PhotoShop adjustment to cyan

Photoshop adjustment to green

Photoshop adjustment to magenta

Original number two

Photoshop adjustment to yellow