The Opening

The opening for Quilt Evolution last night was fabulous! And crowded - way too busy for proper photographs. My DH did manage to capture the few images shown.

Here I am with my pieces Shrimp Creole, Toast with Jam and Orange Slice. All three have food names. Is there a subliminal message here?

My friend Jan Bode Smiley with Full Circle: Old Growth
Jan is the author of: Focus on Batiks, Scrapbooks on the Go, The Art of Fabric Books and Altered Board Books. jansmiley.com

Close-up of Jan's beautifully framed work. Don't you love the colors?

A Study
by

Susan Woodall
The piece is fused and machine quilted.

Harriet, Gayle, Louise, Ann, Dee
A very few of our many friends who came out to support us and the show! Thanks, y'all!

I hope many of you will have a chance to see this show before it comes down February 6. Designed to educate the public about quilts as art, the exhibition showcases contemporary works, mixed media, art cloth, framed works as well as some traditional quilts. Mint Hill Arts did a primo job of hanging a very nice show.

The gallery also has a small gift shop featuring pottery, wood, jewelry, silk and hand knit scarves and notecards.

All Photos: Bill Guerrant

Gallery Reception

Orange Slice
One of my pieces in the show.

Detail

Tonight is the opening reception for Quilt Evolution: Traditional to Contemporary at Mint Hill Arts (see right-hand sidebar). I'll try to get lots of pictures to share tomorrow. I think it's going to be a great show!

Stress-free Greetings

New Year's Greetings
Stamped and ready to go.

More than a decade ago during a very stressful year, I was late sending our Christmas cards. So many people said they loved our New Years letter, as it came after the holidays when they could relax and actually sit down to read it. Aha! A tradition was born!

Epiphany, January 6, is our 'mail by' date. If we'd had enough stamps we would have made it yesterday! But we didn't and it really was OK.

This Christmas we received a few E-cards. I completely understand why some have chosen to go this route. I sent about 12 myself to people for whom I had no address. Cards and letters are expensive as is postage. And if one chooses to include a photo, there is that additional cost.

But I'm not ready to give up sending real, as in hold in one's hand, letters and cards. I treasure them, especially the ones whose sender has scribbled a personal note. I love reading them again after Christmas. And the photos! They are precious to me, as I so seldom see my family.

I used to keep every single card and letter which came into this house but it got ridiculous after a while. Now I save them for a while, then pull the letters which are a written history in themselves, and of course every photo.

With a card or letter which someone took the time to write, stamp and mail I have something lasting. A card and perhaps a photo. With E-cards? Once it's out of your inbox it's gone forever. And then what do you have?

Things Erased

In yesterday's post I wrote about having a clean slate. Before beginning anew, it's nice to look back at what has been accomplished. Here are a few of the things erased from my 2008 slate.

1. Completed my Mother's queen-size quilt.
2. Finished my son and DIL's wedding quilt.
3. Had my studio painted.
4. Finally bought a Horn sewing cabinet.
5. Designed and had built a new cutting table.
6. Was the featured artist at Barnful of Quilts.
7. Had work in two gallery shows.
8. Like my great-grandfather and grandmother, continued keeping a diary - and in the same type of book.
7. Wrote more letters.
8. Tried to be a kinder person.
9. Made 181 blog entries.
10. Disposed of several car loads of 'stuff' from the house.
11. Got rid of nearly half of my cookbook collection.
12. Donated a many years' collection of quilting magazines.
13. Culled my fabric stash, giving boxes of it to charity.
14. Got rid of my old sewing patterns.
15. Scanned and copied to CDs dozens of old family photographs.
16. Began eating right following two heart attacks.
17. Completed 12 weeks of cardiac rehab and
18. Chose to continue the program.
19. Lost 20 pounds!
20. Following an intervention by my DIL - updated my look by getting new Ralph Lauren specs!
21. Changed my hair color.
22. Established a new perennial bed in our garden.
23. Worked very hard to get Barack Obama elected! Yeah!!!
24. Donated supplies to a high school art teacher.
25. I SURVIVED!

A Clean Slate

Whenever I've heard the phrase "a clean slate" I've thought, "A new start, a fresh beginning. Period." I'd never really thought about the more expansive definition found in The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: "The phrase comes from the use of chalk and slates in classrooms in the past. By wiping the slate clean, a student could remove any evidence of a mistake." Usingenglish.com refers to it this way: "If you start something with a clean slate then nothing bad from your past is taken into account." I prefer my more simplistic definition.

Now is the perfect time for it, no matter how you define "a clean slate." In our house, we begin by removing the Christmas tree, packing up the ornaments and holiday china and in essence, making "a clean sweep" of things. Only then do I feel I can begin something new.

My to do list for 2009 is long and unfortunately contains things I'd hoped to accomplish in 2008. Much time last year was consumed by important personal projects and serious health issues. In spite of that, I was able to finish many things. Tomorrow - the list! I know you're as excited as I am. xoxox

Upcoming Gallery Show

Toast with Jam
26" x 31"

I'll have three pieces in a show opening January 9 when Mint Hill Arts (near Charlotte) minthillarts.org hosts Quilt Evolution: Traditional to Contemporary. I'd decided which quilts to exhibit but had to wait for two of them (Orange Slice and Shrimp Creole - shown in the Oct. 24 post) to be returned from Piedmont Arts in VA. Thankfully, they arrived in time to make the entry deadline - noon yesterday.

I learned that each artist's work will be hung together. Had I known, I probably would have submitted quilts with colors which worked well with those in Orange Slice and Shrimp Creole. But Toast with Jam is larger and will hopefully make a stronger statement on the gallery wall.

The show should be fabulous, as it will have work from several area artists with growing national reputations.

Gallery Reception: Friday, January 9, 2009, 7-9 p.m. Mint Hill Arts, The Grace Building, 7714 Matthews-Mint Hill Rd., Mint Hill NC 28227
See right sidebar for additional information

Happy New Year!

I hope this has been a wonderful day for you! A New Year always brings hope and renewed good intentions for me. As food for thought on this first day of 2009, I want to share a couple of my favorite quotes:

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." Oprah Winfrey

"One resolution I have made and try always to keep is:
to rise above the little things." John Burroughs

My wish for you is this: that you enjoy good health, have abundant joy and find creativity in all that you touch. Most of all, I wish you peace.

Happy New Year!

Ellen xoxoxoxoxoxox

Itching to Stitch

Matthew's college quilt - 1999
Here it is draped over my new cutting table.

The replaced triangle is marked with a pin.

Detail
The aqua fabric next to the red pin came from a shirt Matthew wore in third grade. It has appeared in several quilts.

I've been itching to stitch and find I become anxious and unsettled without a project. Since completing two full-size quilts this year I've been in limbo. Having spent such long periods working on them, I haven't really thought about "what's next?" Just in the knick of time, the kids came to my rescue! Two quilts I'd stitched for our son Matthew were in need of repair.

His going away to college quilt, a twin-sized hidden stars design, had somehow lost a piece of fabric. That was a fun and easy fix. After taking out a bit of the machine quilting to give easier access to the seam allowances, I replaced some of the batting and stitched a replacement fabric using a reverse applique' technique. All that remains is to fill in the machine quilting and do minor repair on the binding. It felt good to sit and sew for just a few minutes.

I really enjoyed looking at all the fabrics used too. It is not quite a charm quilt (where no fabric is used more than once) but I tried my best. At one point I resorted to cutting up the ironing. Used in the piece were vintage and Japanese fabrics, repurposed shirts, aprons and linens, bark cloth, hand-dyes as well as quilting cottons.

The second quilt will be a bit more complicated. The shoo-fly design is the second quilt I ever made and was created when Matthew was three.

I stitched the date - 1982 - in the border.

Being a 'newbie' quilter, I merely brought the backing fabric to the front and stitched it down. This fraying shows why a double binding is so important in extending the life of a quilt.

The second problem is a hole which goes all the way through to the back. It looks as if the quilt caught on something.

A good sized piece of the original calico was pulled from the 'donate' box at the last minute this summer. I remember thinking, "You may need that one day." Who knew?

Although this quilt was never exhibited, it did have a hanging sleeve. Removed, it provided enough of the original muslin for the repair. I've been thinking about the best restoration method and will remove and replace one triangle and a section of sashing. I'll also add a new binding - properly done this time!


Note: I was amazed at how little fading there has been on this quilt despite several washings and repeated use. The dyes in textiles made in North Carolina nearly 30 years ago were far superior to those used overseas today, IMHO.

The Bees Knees

A few years ago I fell on a plane. Yes, they wanted me to see a doctor but I was rushing to a family funeral. The injury to my left knee was very painful and became increasingly worse. I was able to be wheeled to a rental car and make the 100 mile drive to my sister's, but was not able to get out of the car. So I called her from my cell. My nephew and BIL were able to roll me into the house on an office chair. It was a sight to behold. Believe me.

With rest and care, my knee eventually got better. But if I'm not careful, it will go out as they say in the south. A couple of months ago it decided to do just that. But this time it not only went out, the pain caused me to fall down. Not a good thing - but it did keep me off the treadmill at rehab for a couple of mornings.

My primary care doctor, guessing I had a torn meniscus, decided it was time for me to see an orthopedist. That was in early November. My appointment was not until today.

I arrived 30 minutes early only to find the doctor was running over an hour late. When it was finally my turn, both my knee and right hip were x-rayed. I was then seen by three different doctors who pronounced me fine - no abnormalities found. Well, people who know me well would disagree with that!

So what caused all the pain? I was told we can sometimes just twist a little bit wrong and pull part of the knee. I was also told that, given enough time, a torn meniscus will heal itself. Now that's news I could have used BEFORE the appointment! If it happens again? Buzz right over for a cortisone shot! And my hip? It is assumed the pain is coming from a ruptured disc suffered nearly 20 years ago!

Good grief! I feel as if I wasted my entire morning and the doctors' too. I'm going to rely on home remedies only for my joints: RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation. I'm going to heal myself!

Moravian Sugar Cake

The beautiful Moravian star is reflected in a window
of Peace Moravian Church

Photo credit: Bill Guerrant

Grandmother Crouse's Moravian Sugar Cake

I've had requests for the sugar cake recipe. This is from my DH's grandmother whose family has been Moravian for generations. Grandmother Crouse's home in Old Salem (NC) stood until recently when it caught fire during renovation.

1 C. hot mashed potatoes*

1 package yeast
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. shortening
4 T. butter
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
4 C. flour**

Topping:

2 C. brown sugar
Butter
Cinnamon***

Mix sugar, butter, shortening, salt and potatoes. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C. warm water and add to potato mixture. Set this aside and allow to rise until spongy. Add slightly beaten eggs. Add flour to form soft dough. Put dough in clean, greased bowl, cover bowl with saran and allow to rise overnight or at least 5 hours. Spread out evenly on flat, greased pans after kneading (stirring) slightly. When dough is light, make depressions in it for butter and brown sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake in 350-375 oven about 20 minutes. Makes three Baker's Secret pie pans.

I use a Kitchenaid mixer when making this, with the regular wire beaters for the first step. Switch to the dough paddle when adding the flour.

*I use an old-fashioned potato ricer rather than a masher
**I get a much softer, moister product with a soft flour such as White Lily. Gold Medal is too heavy.
***I like to mix the cinnamon in with the brown sugar before sprinkling it on the dough. Drizzle butter which has been melted and cooled somewhat over the cinnamon/sugar.

Speaking of Pillows

I once bought a redwork embroidered quilt top which had been used as a drop cloth. Yes, you read it correctly, a drop cloth. At the time, redwork was all the rage. I was stunned that the cloth had been so disrespected. Cutting carefully, I was able to salvage most of the motifs. Many of the larger ones were sold. I kept these wise owls as they reminded me of those we had in our barn when I was a kid. Keeping watch from their small pillow, I hope they'll impart wisdom to my design efforts!

To view redwork designs and read about its history, go to:
http://www.quiltbus.com/redwork.htm or
http://www.prettyimpressivestuff.com/redwork.htm

Christmas Pillow

My Mother was working on a sampler quilt at the time of her death. As many of my readers know, I finished the quilt for my sister Sue. Amongst the patchwork blocks was one Mother had quilted in the whole cloth manner. This block, being so different from the others, was not included in the quilt. Instead, I made it into a pillow as a Christmas gift for Sue. Here it is shown on my old Windsor chair - recently painted red. Be sure to click on the image for a closer view.