What I've been up to-sort of, part 4

flip side of another journal-size rock & roll quilt. Hand painted fabric.

Quilt the Swamp 2009: Focus in the Swamp-New Photos

Quilt the Swamp, an annual fiber show, opened at Bluebonnet Swamp in Baton Rouge on January 13 and runs through February 8. many of the artists are members of the Contemporary Fiber Artists of Louisiana. The show was curated by Michael Young of Baton Rouge. This year's theme is "Focus in the Swamp." Each piece was inspired by a photograph by John Hartgerink, a local photographer who has taken hundreds of (wonderful) photographs in the Bluebonnet Swamp. Each piece was hung with the corresponding photo.

Convict Caterpillar by Sharon Crary (new pictures) The trim on the vest is fuzzy caterpillars end to end. The vest is felted, and the caterpillar feet are tiny red beads.

Toad on Toadstool By Lucy Landry

A Cedar Waxwing Made with Love By Joyce Lafleur

Snails Seeking Trails By Barbara Hoffman

Taking Leave by Melanie Bourne


Gulf Fritillary Flitting Through Bluebonnet Swamp By Mary Felder



The Armadillo Speaks By Rena Kroll

The Emperor's New Clothes By Sally Gordon

Springtime at the Swamp By Judy Momenzadeh

Dining Out By Paula McKenna

Caterpillar Confetti By Louise Regan

My piece, Summer Breeze

My piece, The Secret Swamp: Late Summer

My piece, Fire and Ice

Ladies’ Tresses By Caroline Derbes

Muscadine By Carol Goldsmith

Hindsight By Lisa Ducote

Looking Glass By Melody Greenberg

Spots & Dots By Lisa Ducote (left)

Giant Leopard Moth By Jane Olsen-Phillips (right)

Trillium By Joyce Lafleur

Muscadine Muncher By Janet Condiff

Blue Mist Flower By Michael Young

Swamp Red Maple Seeds By Michael Young

Puzzling Raccoon By Lucy Landry

Red Fox By Lucy Landry

What I've been up to-sort of, part 3

Another reverse side of an 8.5 x 11 quilt with a Rock On theme. #4 is almost finished.

More than one way to hang a quilt

I make a sleeve (same idea as a rod pocket for a curtain) that measures 4" when flat. It starts out as an 8.5" strip, which is then sewn into a tube. I've decided that I prefer to hem the ends after the tube is sewn and turned right side out. The sleeve is sewn to the quilt back and left a bit shorter than the width on the ends. The bottom is sewn so that there is room for a rod or slat to be inserted in the sleeve while still allowing the front to be flat. I use wooden lattice from the lumberyard, cut slightly less than the width if the quilt. There are holes drilled in each end near the end, but not so close as to split the wood. The sawn and drilled parts need to be sanded.

I like to put the slat at the very top of the sleeve, and make a hanging apparatus from thumb tacks (not push pins) and heavy fishing line. I use a yardstick to find the center of the quilt, and stick the tacks through the sleeve and the wood only about 4" apart. For wery wode quilts, you might need several sets of tacks. Start at one end of the line of tacks and wrap the fishing line all the way around each tack from one end to the other and back. Make sure everything is as tight as possible. Tie a tight knot and trim any ends that want to pop up above the top. The quilt can be hung on a single nail unless it is very wide, and then it can be hung on two. I leave the tacks in the wood for quilt shows when I provide my own slat as it increases the chances of getting my wood returned to me.
Should have used flash for this pic. You can see the ends of the slat sticking out from the sides of the sleeve and also a pair of thumb tacks stuck into the wood. The leaves at the top are the front of the quilt where it was folded over. No cats were skinned to make this quilt, although Oslo is doing a good job of licking herself bald at the moment from flea allergy dermatitis.

What I've been up to-sort of, part 2

Another part of the Rock On challenge-from the back.

The weather says Winter but the paperwhites say spring

grapevine

paperwhites already


camellia, a winter flower. Something is always in bloom here. Downside: neglect the yard for more than a week or so and it becomes a subtropical jungle.

What I've been up to-sort of

I just finished three little quilts - 8.5 x 11" for the Quilting Arts Magazine Rock On challenge. All have felt as the batting, and all were made with stuff I already had in the house, and machine quilted. The magazine would prefer entrants not publish images of their entries, so here is the BACK of one before I put on the hanging sleeve and label. Can you name that tune? I'll save the other two for future entries. I've also been taking photos for an "Urban decay" challenge: lots of urban and semi-rural decay in this area. Best time to photograph in downtown area - Sunday afternoon. You can park almost anywhere and there is almost no traffic.

Narcissus

Photo taken on January 4. Daffodil leaves are already several inches tall. Spring seems to come earlier every year. Of course, there could be an ice storm any time in the next month or so .