meadow's ebb

"meadow's ebb"

completed october 8, 2016

Do you remember the "ebb" workshop I took with Carolyn Friedlander in July? I hadn't taken a class or workshop in ages, and I was so excited to gather with friends and learn some new techniques! I remember the fun of packing up my sewing supplies and setting off for Burlington early in the morning. You can read about the beginnings here. What started out as a practice piece for her class has turned into a 30"x 40" quilted wallhanging.

Ebb tide is the time between high tide and low tide, 

when the water drains away from the shore.

I tried to create a bit of that with some denser quilting (above). 

It was fun creating negative space (a common feature of modern quilts)
by piecing neutrals from my fabric stash.

(hello ginkgo leaves!)

I even incorporated a worn out bit of Marimekko bed sheet.
(The light grey and white).

Some old linen found it's way in to the wallhanging,

adding a bit of texture.

 

It's no wonder the ebb wallhanging and the table runner 

I stitched a while back get along so nicely,

They share some fabric bits and pieces.

Earlier this fall, our Vermont Modern Quilt Guild was invited by the Champlain Valley Quilt Guild to mount a special exhibit at their show. Thirteen of us had quilts hanging at the Champlain Valley Expo Center last weekend.

I struggled a bit with the decision to show my wallhanging. I'm still haunted by an experience I had in high school. I had worked for ages on a collage made of tiny squares, each hand painted a different shade. I was really happy with how it turned out, and was delighted when it was selected to hang in a show at a local mall. Then I had one of the greatest disappointments of my young life.  My art teacher, Mr. Quincy (we all remember the special ones, don't we?) called me in to his office. He said, "Karen, I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that your collage piece was stolen. The good news is that someone liked it enough to take it with them". I'm not sure I actually agreed with Mr. Quincy's take on things, but I know he was trying to soften the news for me.

I did hang a piece in July and it stayed put, so I am working on this trusting-the-public thing.

Long story short...check out this wonderful piece from our Vermont Modern Quilt Guild website. You will be blown away by the stunning beauties that "meadow's ebb" hung alongside. Be sure to scroll through and read about all the talent in our guild! 

still sewing, 'cause there's no sowing yet!

FIRST- Please know that I have not been ignoring your comments! I have not been able to leave comments on other blogs, either. I am in the midst of a technologic snafu that I cannot figure out. I plan to head down to our library on Wednesday afternoon, where there is a tech guru available for free help. I may bake her some goodies if she has the answers to my problems!

Recently, a small gallery space was created in the lobby at the gym where I work hard. There are three of us who work out together in the morning who are also quilters. We were invited to hang some of our work for the first installation in the space. Above, you can spot some of my quilted wallhangings..."Up on Braintree Hill", "Orion" and "Meadow's Ebb".

 "Be the Light" hangs close to the front door of our gym space.

This stunning bed quilt was stitched by my friend Lee. She calls it "I Miss Belmian's", and we all miss that sweet little five and dime store that closed on Main Street down in town. It sold fabric, underwear, embroidery floss, kitchen goods, cleaning supplies, cards, office supplies (and maple creemees from a window in the summertime).

This little quilt was sewn by my friend Susan, who works down in Woodstock at Billings Farm . Susan is part of the book club I enjoy, and dang, she knows how to cook for our potluck suppers.

This is Susan's too, above. I confess my heart skips a beat when I come in from the cold and stomp the snow off my boots and catch sight of these quilts hanging together, evidence of deepening friendships I have here in Vermont.

This week I sewed up the next block for our VTMQG block of the month. It's called "Half-Timbered".  I see those pesky puckers where the paper piecing had to be "unched" just a bit to get things to line up...and I plan to tame them when it comes to quilting time! 

I saw somewhere that today is National Quilting Day, for what it's worth. Just like "International Women's Day" I think one single day a year is entirely inadequate to handle the energy of both women AND quilting. But, hey, no one asked me. :-)

meadow weaving

 my second try at weaving bits of the gardens and meadows.

 the thinner string broke when i tried to pull it tight

as i set up the warp.

so i went with a softer version of the highly twisted string i 

used on thursday's version.

(nice to have three different types of string on hand!)

 birchbark, feathers, bits of lichen, a birch twig, 

grass stems and some aromatic sage.

 a stem of indigo, more birchbark 

and some rosemary.

tansy blooms and more rosemary.

It really was such fun, walking the gardens and meadow, clippers in hand, gathering bits to weave into some sort of homage to late summer. I have yet to figure out how to get the weaving safely off the loom and arranged to hang it. I hope it may hang somewhere in the house so that in midwinter it may remind us of the abundance of these August days. This weaving echos the quilted wallhanging I stitched some years ago at just about this same time of year..."meadow's ebb"

I have tried a few times to get into Robin Wall Kimmerer's book, Braiding Sweetgrass, and I am trying again! It's funny how some books sort of wait for you to find them, while others just jump into your hands.

A few of the things on the "to do"list this weekend

• tidy up the root cellar, remove cobwebs, air the sand from storage buckets, spread out on a tarp in the sunshine.
• prep the garlic, which has been curing in the woodshed, for storage.
• sort the potatoes by size and let them air out for another day or two.
• try winging a recipe for a crustless quiche topped with Black Krim tomato slices.
• process the rest of the chard for the freezer (sautée with onions and garlic).
• double check on dye supplies. what needs mordanting? what is ready to go?

I'm thinking of the week ahead. What would you like to see here, friends? 

xo