Lavender Grass

Back to the world of quilting and art. I had a wonderful month of August spending time with family and enjoying the summer. Now my creative mind is bursting with new ideas.

As we were driving along the countryside, the spent grasses along the ditch line caught my attention. They were forming a lavender cloud along the ground contrasting with the new growth. Today, I dug into my stash and found these choices to recreate this lovely image.

How could I create the dimensional floating look of the misty-looking grass? This is my challenge for the day.

Exhibit of Textile and Beaded Artwork

I wanted to share a few photos from the exhibit at The Alexander House in Port Edwards, WI. I have the privilege of showing my work in this stately colonial home on the banks of the beautiful Wisconsin River. I could not have asked for a more lovely setting. The exhibit runs from August 27 - October 12, 2010.

The beaded artwork of Christine Kysely shares the space. It is an interesting combination with the soft fabrics and textured quilting contrasting with the hard surfaces and sparkle of the beads.

Ready for the Opening

Potamogeton Rising

67" x 48"

Sharon V. Rotz

The beading is complete and the quilt has been delivered to The Alexander House for display at tonight's Opening Reception. I hope you will have a chance to attend and give me your comments on this quilt and the others. (If you can't make the opening, the exhibit runs through October 12, 2010.)

I look forward to the opportunity to meet other artists and all who love art and want to discover new approaches and techniques. As a textile artist, I have found my path, my outlet for expression and I hope to touch you, the viewer, in a way that uplifts your day.

Finished, Or So I Thought

Potamogeton Rising

67" x 48"

Sharon V. Rotz

There I was sewing on the rod pocket. All that was left was stitching on the label. I finally got to the end of this project. You have been watching and know it has been dragging on for a lengthy time period. (Of, course, I couldn't leave the center empty like I last mentioned.)

I layered the border over the quilt center and stitched in the ditch to attach the border. A little measuring and a chalk line to keep things straight and it was a pretty simple application. The piece truly looks like it was "framed".

So now, I'm done.

Well, like so many times in the past, God has other plans for me. He plants little seeds in my head. I try to ignore them because I'm DONE. These little seeds start to grow and I can't chase them away. Finally, I give in and I'm NOT done.

In this case, it meant sewing small beads all the way around the quilt border like tiny air bubbles in the water. Did I mention, I refer to Potamogeton by its nickname Pondweed?

Tomorrow I will post the finished, finished quilt. Or at least I think so, God willing.

Opening Reception - The Alexander House

You and your friends are cordially invited to

participate in the opening reception of an exhibit featuring

Textile Art by

Sharon Rotz

Mosinee, Wisconsin

with

Beaded Art Work by

Christine Kysely

Wausau, Wisconsin

Friday, August 27th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The exhibit will continue through October 12, 2010

The Alexander House

A Center for Art and History

1131 Wisconsin River Drive

Port Edwards, Wisconsin

The artists will be present.

Refreshments will be served.

The Alexander House is open from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.,

on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays,

or by special appointment.

alexanderhouseonline.org

The Emperor's New Quilt

Hurray, only four more corners to go (upper right in photo) and my border will be finished. I remember the day I thought I would never finish my quilt with its normal four corners. Never again!

I bound the inside and the outside of the border. The outside of the quilt binding was done in a very traditional method, wrapping a folded strip around to the back of the quilt and hand stitching. The binding on the inside of the border was just wrapped around to the back of the border. I did not have to clean finish this edge as it will not be seen.

I'm thinking I should just attach my border to boards and hang it as is and call it "The Invisible Quilt".

Have I been reading "The Emperor's New Clothes" to my grandchildren one too many times?

Corners, corners, corners

I've decided to sew the pieces of the border together in an uneven pattern and add the border after I quilt it. I'm wondering if this will work but I'm now committed to trying it. It is light weight, small and easy quilting since the center of the piece was not attached. At least that was one positive to this crazy experiment.

Was I thinking when I chose to make the edge uneven? Of course, not. At least I wasn't thinking about the 60 inside and outside corners that I would soon be binding. If this turns out, it better be super.

I will be binding both edges of the quilted border, the inside edge and the outside edge, before I add the border to the completed quilted center. Please, tell me this is going to work.

Adding Borders

I haven't posted anything about my pickle dish project lately but I have not forgotten about it. After I quilted the entire middle section of the quilt, I am now going to add borders around the outside of the quilt. I found some interesting decorator samples that I am repurposing into an unexpected border frame.

Because the center of the quilt design is quite simple, I thought a creative border was a perfect way to finish the quilt. I could piece all these together into a nice straight fabric border but wouldn't it be more fun to vary the positions of the pieces up and down to create an uneven edge? What do you think?

Weekend at the Cabin

Weekend at the Cabin

56" x 76"

Sharon v. Rotz

We've been enjoying the summertime with canoeing and fishing. What a perfect time of year to spend time in the outdoors. Well, almost perfect, we could do without the mosquitos.

Yesterday, I had a fabulous time fishing with two of our grandchildren. We caught a fish, successfully netted it and grilled it outside for dinner. How perfect was that!

For those cool summer nights, we can curl up all snuggly in a cuddly wrap. "Weekend at the Cabin" is a simple quilt made with flannel on the front and fleece on the back. It's a quick and easy project with no batting.

Freedom Quilting

It's always rewarding to see the progress of a quilt resulting from a class that I taught, so I was pleased to have Vicky S. share her quilt.

Vicky's quilting guild invited me to teach a freedom quilting class based on the techniques in my book Log Cabin Quilts with Attitude. We had a fun day finding a new use for fabric strips that were left from previous projects. Vicky did a wonderful job of combining them into colorful log cabin blocks which she then cut on an angle resulting in a carefree, playful look. When she gets enough to make full size quilt, Vicky can check the arrangement and then stitch them into a quilt top. I can't wait to see the finished product.

This is a fun solution to the problem of reducing your stash, especially those bits and pieces that don't "fold nicely" on your shelf. Lose the guilt of storing too much fabric and enjoy the freedom of making a quilt entirely from your scraps.

Quilted Tiles

Undergrowth

8" x 8"

Sharon V. Rotz

I am having so much fun creating these small works of art. I think they have become my daily paintings, (quilter style).

I can try different techniques, see how I like the process and then finish up in a snap. This is so much better than my previous method of trying things and then having a pile of unrelated, multi-sized scraps sitting in my UFO pile where I constantly move them from place to place. Not to mention the fact that when I want that sample of the technique, it is definitely hidden SOMEWHERE.

When I only have a small amount of time and don't want to get involved in a large project, I can raid my scrap bag. I can easily a new color combination. I can piece creatively. I can try a quilting option. I can enjoy some leisurely hand stitching.

Cheers for the small "finished" project.