Life in Calamity

Well, I have had a week that dealt with water, not as a cleansing but as a calamity!  My Horoscope said "don't go overboard" does that mean don't jump in!  I live on a lake and I have told everyone that if they see me in the water to rescue me!  To get back to the story, my Quilters Connection Quilt Show, www.quiltersconnection.org, was awesome and so inspiring, but tiring so I stayed home on Saturday.  I should back up, Thursday we set up  the show, then I babysat and I won't talk about the potty chair nightmare, and I went to another guilds quilt show meeting at night.  I went to get my pen and realized that the opened bottle of Diet Coke had opened in my rubberized pocketbook and it was half full of soda, covering my wallet, loads of $20"s to spend at the QC show, all my new guild membership cards, credit cards, well you know what we all all carry.  So I had a money  laundry, literally going on, so it would dry out.  So I worked at the show Friday and took Saturday off to "relax".  Waterworld revisited occurred!
My daughter in law came over so I could see the grandchildren and when I went to look for something for her in the only closet I have, I realized everything was wet and ..............moldy!  I take a Zyrtec in the am and Singular in the pm so the minute I opened that door I saw stars, as I could not breathe!  I then removed everything and found black mold growing because the water heated had been leaking!  Panicked, Nadine and I removed my vintage fabric, all our coats, winter and summer, and assorted batting! I told her to bring them out to the car and I would bring to the Storage unit I rented because I was tired of being called a "fabric hoarder"!  Did I mention it was raining, buckets of water?  It was and I had left my sunroof ,in my SUV, open.  Now there were 3 water incidences!
I drove to the QC show with the heater on, heated seats on and thermostat set at 80 degrees with the offending sunroof opened so I would not pass out and pray that water runs away!  While my pants were soggy my spirits soared because those awesome quilts were there!
Tomorrow I rest no more going "overboard!

Which one is ?

My group Round Robin for the QC show!, minus Deborah!

me, again!

Add caption

Petals in My Garden 2

Isis vest, I know it is tame for me but I used the pink silk fabric donated by Nashua Sewing and Vac that I won at the Quilters Gathering Show for my 1st place win in the P J's contest!!

My Round Robin, Dragonese 2, did you know this was stared in the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Calender, and finished in the year of the Rabbit?!

Calamity Jessica

Quilters Connection Quilt Show June 1-3,2012 a Must See!

HI

me, of course

2500 yards of fabric

I did another talk for Artful Hands Quilt Guild in Mansfield.  While small in size, by choice, they were welcoming and warm.  Beautiful area!

HEMAN

Another plus was the Fitchburg Art Museum, FAM, flower quilts hung during their annual Art In Bloom. A success and I will do it next year!!!  Also my interpretation of an African statue and I call him "HEMAN".  I had the idea but the husband made it!

FLower quilts

Iphone APP, me again mot the FAM

Coming up is the 34th Annual Quilters Connection Quilt Show at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown , MA, June 1-3, 2012 www.quiltersconnection.org.  This is a must see show as this guild has over 400 quilters and they are a mix of every style you can think of, from Contemporary to Traditional.  This year we did a Round Robin and you have to see these as they are beautiful, strange, exciting, perfect, to die for, traditional, strange and wonderful to see how a collaboration of quilters can meet each others theme and expectations.  We also have a fundraiser:  Baskets and Bags with the proceeds going to various charities!  Come and find me in the Atrium and say hello!  I have an "Isis" vest, a Round Robin, a couple bags for the auction and 2 quilts!


I went to a getaway coordinated by a friend and we told to "dress up" for Saturday dinner.  Don't ever challenge me, the Selvedge Queen, to dress up, as this is something I can do...........maybe sometime I will talk about my "red neck" wine class!

red neck bride

Another awesome sunset here!  I think everyone should live on a lake, facing the western sunset!

another night................

Art In Bloom, Quilted Blooms at Fitchburg Art Museum May 4th - 6th, 2012

Ok I love the Fitchburg Art Museum, FAM, and I love quilts, maybe more.  So I thought I would combine the 2, in one of another things I love, Art In Bloom at the museum.  Once a year we have this show, as I am a Docent and I can say I love it, and also because I asked if I could have a  quilt show and they agreed.  I do help with some stuff there.  The reason I thought this was a great idea is because most of us quilt something with flowers in it and all of us love flowers so the 2 mix well.  Museums need other ways to attract you to them because the art alone can't sell itself unless you know it is there.  You should check us out as we have wonderful paintings, sculptures and events at the FAM and you need to see it to believe that a city such as Fitchburg, Ma could have such a wonderful collection, especially as it was started by a woman, Eleanor  Norcross.  If  you don't support these small private museums they will cease to exist and that would be awful.  Just as if you don't support your local quilt stores they will disappear and you will be left with the chains, that are good but not special.


My show at the FAM, May 4th - 6th, 2012, will be inspiring and all about Art in Bloom, truly Quilted Blooms that are beautiful, wonderful, inspiring with techniques you want to copy!
You must come and experience all the Blooming arts in one place
Jessica

Herring Run Quilt Guild

Well, I wrote an entire post and never saved it so that is why there was a title and no info for the last post. I am speaking at the Herring Run Quilt Quild in Norwell, Ma Saturday, April 7th as a fill in speaker. So happy that people remember that I am local to Massachusetts and call me if they need a speaker in a hurry! Almost a glitch as I broke one of my hearing aids today and this was the first time In 41 years of wearing them that I broke one. Freaked out as. I am talking tomorrow at the Herring Run Guild! Luckily I called all around as, of course, my dealer was away, and found a dealer in Shrewsbury who not only fixed it but but didn't charge me. An angel!
Finally started my Material Girls Quilt Guild year long challenge "if you were a quilt what would you be"! We may think we know ourselves but try to quilt that idea.
 I also finished the final round in a Round Robin challenge for Quilters Connection Quilt Guild and I can't wait for the big, 32 participants reveal at Monday nights meeting! I wish everyone a safe and wonderful holiday and hope the warm weather remains warm!

Quilt or rake?

Well, the weather has been so wonderful that I am torn between quilting and raking. I have just done both. Sew in the morning and rake a while in the afternoon then sew some more. I am still working on UFO's and have finished another Petal Swap quilt used all the selvedgesand just found a box of leftover 2" and ranom witdh cuts and I am making strata to cut into blocks. This will make a lot of new fabric from the usable throwaway strips after a project is done. Remember recycle! I did 2 Selvedge Queen talks and will do a workshop on Saturday on Hack and Sew and Collage. It's also the season on Quilt Show, so off to be inspired!

Selvedge fabric

Well, I couldn't stand the laundry basket full of Selvedges so I used them up!  That's right, all of them.  I did throw some of the very narrow out but I was amazed at how beautiful they look when sewn in a rag rug in a previous post or this one that may turn into a bag!

rag rug or bag

The remaining selvedges I stripped pieced into  eighteen 11 1/2" squares and trying to use up the left over batting, given to my by my favorite Longarm quilter Kathryn, more strips.  I have enough to make a quilt or a jacket or one of each!

Selvedges!

more

all used!

What? huh?

I have a carved Santa made by Uncle George that is dressed in "lakewear:" and he is seriously considering my latest projects!

I have also been making animals, so far 2 elephants and  2 bears out of reproduction Kente Cloth for an upcoming exhibit at the Fitchburg Art Museum.

Kente Elephant

Need to finish something that I am supposed to finish instead of  playing with other stuff.

WHAT have you finished?

Well, Valentine's Day has come and gone and husband gone again.  I went out with another wife whose husband is out of the country on Valentine's Day.  My husband did bring flowers and card and maybe I will get a bauble too on his trip home! He has always traveled and probably has been home for 5 Valentine's Day in 38 years of marriage!

 I have been busy working on my UFO's.  I finished the chicken bag, the Twists and Twirls bag, the Marci Baker " Tiny Boxes" open Tumbling Blocks quilt, used all the 1/2 square triangles and 3/4 of the Petal swap, although they are not completely quilted yet!  I got distracted by all the Selvedges I have and felt I should do something with them as I do bill myself as the Selvedge Queen.

As you can see from the pictures I made a rag rug on a Locker Loom that my husband built for me last summer.  All Selvedges!  Thank you to all who added to my stash but especially to Sylvia Einstein because she gave me 10 years of selvedges from all over the world and some are quite exciting!

I always tell people what I like and what they could give me if they find some when cleaning out their houses.  I have gotten the fabric for the blinds, Selvedges, an antique Crazy quilt Fan design quilt top from the 1900's, an offer of beads from a mother- in -law;s broken necklaces, all this month! Think of me when cleaning as if it a textile, button, beads, or strange I want it!

I am also cutting up batting that a long arm quilter, Kathryn Amadom, hire her as she is the best, gave me! Anyway, she recycles her leftover batting and I have used it to put 3 small quilts together and also to zigzag stitch down some of these selvedge to an 11 1/2 square of batting.  It doesn't even look like I have used any so I guess I will have to make more!

Check out where I am giving my talk and come and see me!

Jessica