Wednesday, May 14, 2014
A Great Fundraiser!
HI
Tonight I was co-auctioneer at the North Parish Quilters guild who had 70 of the most spectacular bags I have ever seen filled with stuff! They also held a Silent Auction and a flea market table and refreshments loaded into, BAGS! There were family members modeling, many other members of other guilds were invited and all of us had a wonderful time and I got 2 great bags, one signed by Nancy Zeiman!
If your guild needs money, participation, new members or just want to have fun, try this!!! I am sure they will be doing this in the future as it was great!
Another guild, Quilters Connection will be having their quilt show May 30 to June 2 at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown, Ma. Check out www.quiltersconnection.org for times and events. We will be having a Silent Auction to benefit assorted charities among them New England Quilt Museum and the Textile Museum in Lowell, Ma plus others. Come and say hello and if you are wondering who I am, I am the one dressed up!!!!!
I will post pictures soon!
Jessica
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Mother's Day happy to all!
Happy Mothers Day to all whose Mothers are here or not and to all who are Mothers themselves!!!! My Mother, THE MEMERE, that is what we all call her, is missed but never forgotten. It has been over 10 years but every time I do my Selvedge Queen speaker program, she is there in quilts and in my appearance! Oh yes, the saying, "Mirror, mirror on the wall I am my mother after all" is true and alive in me and possible my daughter, Marisa! Not a bad thing just an eccentric thing!
We all have things in our life that are, not normal, so what is normal and why would we want to be that?
I have done my talk in 3 states, over 1000 miles in the last month. Thank you all for allowing me to strut my stuff as I make you "strut, my stuff"!
I am going to another state, NH, June 11, 2014 to the Cheshire Quilt Guild and I am always surprised at the different reactions to my show. Mostly, while I set up, people ask what is going on and do I wear this clothing?!. Then I ask them to model the trunk show and sometimes no one responds. So I have to lean against the table and say that the majority of my show is in the suitcases in front of them and if they don't help well…….. Never had to answer that question as once the first coat and model come out everyone wants to participate. A great way to include everyone in the process. I know I have trouble sitting through a slide show presentation with a speaker reading from her notes. I wear hearing aids and I need to be engaged, otherwise, I tune it out! Sorry!
I curated a quilt show with the Material Girls Quilt Guild of Leominster, Ma last weekend at the Fitchburg Art Museum during that annual Art in Bloom weekend and I must say the quilts and the floral displays complemented the museum and our guild. Showing your quilts at quilt shows and different places gives your guild recognition in your community and, also, to the quilter who has designed a wonderful quilt that needs to be seen! I am really sad when I go to a guild that has canceled their quilt show because of lack of volunteers. My own guild is also in jeopardy! We need to show how diverse quilters are and also validate that this is an art form worth pursing, We need to engage our younger generation to start quilting so that this art form, of pure personal expression and choice, has continuity! I also interpreted a photo from a revolving show of an orange on a carrot representing a man and his toupee.!!!!!
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Please, when your President asks and needs volunteers, say yes!!!! The only difference between you and the President of your guild is that she did say yes!!! I always volunteer first as I get to choose what I will do, knowing I will do something! So much better to just say yes, NOW! I will be doing an auction for a guild I just spoke to and they asked me to return and help them make money. You need money to get wonderful programs, like me, HA! so that members get engaged and bring others to help increase your skill level, to inspire you , teach you and to get new members. None of that happens without money!
Please volunteer. Come to the Quilters Connection Quilt Show the first weekend in June, date and website posted under my calendar! Go to other quilt shows and show your support and also spend money at local quilt shops and vendors, what would we do without them!!! Be inspired and you will be inspired!!!
Until next time.
Jessica
I thought I would post a Mothers Day picture from my past, possibly 25 years ago of the Memere, moms and future moms!
We all have things in our life that are, not normal, so what is normal and why would we want to be that?
I have done my talk in 3 states, over 1000 miles in the last month. Thank you all for allowing me to strut my stuff as I make you "strut, my stuff"!
I am going to another state, NH, June 11, 2014 to the Cheshire Quilt Guild and I am always surprised at the different reactions to my show. Mostly, while I set up, people ask what is going on and do I wear this clothing?!. Then I ask them to model the trunk show and sometimes no one responds. So I have to lean against the table and say that the majority of my show is in the suitcases in front of them and if they don't help well…….. Never had to answer that question as once the first coat and model come out everyone wants to participate. A great way to include everyone in the process. I know I have trouble sitting through a slide show presentation with a speaker reading from her notes. I wear hearing aids and I need to be engaged, otherwise, I tune it out! Sorry!
I curated a quilt show with the Material Girls Quilt Guild of Leominster, Ma last weekend at the Fitchburg Art Museum during that annual Art in Bloom weekend and I must say the quilts and the floral displays complemented the museum and our guild. Showing your quilts at quilt shows and different places gives your guild recognition in your community and, also, to the quilter who has designed a wonderful quilt that needs to be seen! I am really sad when I go to a guild that has canceled their quilt show because of lack of volunteers. My own guild is also in jeopardy! We need to show how diverse quilters are and also validate that this is an art form worth pursing, We need to engage our younger generation to start quilting so that this art form, of pure personal expression and choice, has continuity! I also interpreted a photo from a revolving show of an orange on a carrot representing a man and his toupee.!!!!!
.jpg)
Please, when your President asks and needs volunteers, say yes!!!! The only difference between you and the President of your guild is that she did say yes!!! I always volunteer first as I get to choose what I will do, knowing I will do something! So much better to just say yes, NOW! I will be doing an auction for a guild I just spoke to and they asked me to return and help them make money. You need money to get wonderful programs, like me, HA! so that members get engaged and bring others to help increase your skill level, to inspire you , teach you and to get new members. None of that happens without money!
Please volunteer. Come to the Quilters Connection Quilt Show the first weekend in June, date and website posted under my calendar! Go to other quilt shows and show your support and also spend money at local quilt shops and vendors, what would we do without them!!! Be inspired and you will be inspired!!!
Until next time.
Jessica
I thought I would post a Mothers Day picture from my past, possibly 25 years ago of the Memere, moms and future moms!
Friday, May 2, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Pain
Hi and signs of spring are here!
Sorry it has taken a while to write again but I had knee replacement on February 25, 2014 and all I see, feel and have is pain. It is getting better and more manageable but it is my right leg so no driving or quilting yet! I have finished a binding on a past UFO and also hand sewed button centers on this 3rd Petal quilt from a Material Girls Quilt Guild Petal Swap over 10 years ago. To say that some of the colors and patterns are not ones I would choose today is an understatement but I do remember that colors and patterns come and go and anything you create is actually timeless! It was great to finally be rid of these and now to move on to another project.
I am knitting some selvedges into a small bag and realize that they need to be under 3/4" wide otherwise it is harder to knit and also must have large needles. Also knitting every row creates too much bulk and makes a heavier bag so much better to knit and purl alternating rows. It is a great way to keep busy and experiment because when do you ever take the time to experiment?????
Quilters are the best!! Friends have come and brought their projects to show and tell and also lots of food and goodies! So glad I have them in my life to share the pain and the fun and also help motivate me to move forward or to just move! Waiting for my favorite Long arm quilter Kathryn to bring me back some of the 4 quilts I finished and gave her before my surgery so I would have something to do. Very motivated to get going and driving again and back on the road with my Selvedge Queen talk and also all the big and local quilts shows coming up in April.
Pictures will follow and so glad that the snow has melted somewhat and now just waiting for more to arrive sometime this week. The best thing about this is 2 days later it will be 60 degrees! Spring in New England always has surprises!
Keep quilting
Sunday, February 9, 2014
White, I hate White!
HI
Not the greatest Blogger, too busy looking at all the white! White is not inspiring. It could be clean, pristine but to me it is boring and constricting. Just stop the snow and I will appreciate , white, again!
I have been busy.
January is the month of resolutions, not to buy much fabric and get rid of multiple small bags of leftovers projects that have been completed but the "green" quilter in me can not throw out! So I made a bag with a bag of chenille wraps that I made a Dragon Jacket 3 years ago. One bag gone. The next bag in that African basket was scraps from multiple boys quilts I have made over 6 years. I did my "Hack and Sew" method and sewed all of them together and made a "Transportation" quilt for my new grandson, Mason! He will love it, pee on it, throw up on it and I will be glad I could supply a quilt that will make him smile! I also started a girl quilt for someone so I can use up the 3rd bag in the basket. I them took another basket full of, well, junk, and did indeed throw it away.
I went to a Quilters Getaway in January and finished the 40 small bags I am making for another guilds getaway this month. I embroidered their names, a face and a clear plastic holder for their assorted name tags. No ugly generic ones for them. Of course the guild getaway I made them at wanted to know why they did not get one!? I guess , while recovering, from Knee Replacement surgery this month I will be embroidering more names and faces!
Yes, we make result ions in the New Year but don't we also reflect on what we have accomplished, UFO's not finish, how blessed we are to be quilters and look around to see who we could help?! I made pillowcases for a Battered Women's shelter, NICU incubator blankets for babies all at another guild's Charity sew. I made, not the prettiest quilt, but the most functional quilt, for a vision impaired 9 month old. I mended, at the Memere hospital, a monkey tail and a blankie for 2 of my grand children and still need to remake a Rapunzel dress for another!
I made 11 Minkie blankets just to get rid of a large trash bag full of Minkie scraps and now need to give them away because I filled another bag with the finished ones! I found an ethnic quilt that my niece had given me to remake, 3 years ago, and finished it and mailed it to the little toddler!
I now need to look at the guilt ladder and finish some of those UFO's plus others hidden under my bed. I should go shopping in my stash and find the fabrics I probably bought to finsh those, thus freeing up more space to buy more fabric or maybe rearrange the fabric, again, to see what marvelous taste I had in the past!
More white outside, maybe shoveling is on the agenda, maybe, maybe……….
What have you been doing?
Jessica
Not the greatest Blogger, too busy looking at all the white! White is not inspiring. It could be clean, pristine but to me it is boring and constricting. Just stop the snow and I will appreciate , white, again!
I have been busy.
January is the month of resolutions, not to buy much fabric and get rid of multiple small bags of leftovers projects that have been completed but the "green" quilter in me can not throw out! So I made a bag with a bag of chenille wraps that I made a Dragon Jacket 3 years ago. One bag gone. The next bag in that African basket was scraps from multiple boys quilts I have made over 6 years. I did my "Hack and Sew" method and sewed all of them together and made a "Transportation" quilt for my new grandson, Mason! He will love it, pee on it, throw up on it and I will be glad I could supply a quilt that will make him smile! I also started a girl quilt for someone so I can use up the 3rd bag in the basket. I them took another basket full of, well, junk, and did indeed throw it away.
I went to a Quilters Getaway in January and finished the 40 small bags I am making for another guilds getaway this month. I embroidered their names, a face and a clear plastic holder for their assorted name tags. No ugly generic ones for them. Of course the guild getaway I made them at wanted to know why they did not get one!? I guess , while recovering, from Knee Replacement surgery this month I will be embroidering more names and faces!
Yes, we make result ions in the New Year but don't we also reflect on what we have accomplished, UFO's not finish, how blessed we are to be quilters and look around to see who we could help?! I made pillowcases for a Battered Women's shelter, NICU incubator blankets for babies all at another guild's Charity sew. I made, not the prettiest quilt, but the most functional quilt, for a vision impaired 9 month old. I mended, at the Memere hospital, a monkey tail and a blankie for 2 of my grand children and still need to remake a Rapunzel dress for another!
I made 11 Minkie blankets just to get rid of a large trash bag full of Minkie scraps and now need to give them away because I filled another bag with the finished ones! I found an ethnic quilt that my niece had given me to remake, 3 years ago, and finished it and mailed it to the little toddler!
I now need to look at the guilt ladder and finish some of those UFO's plus others hidden under my bed. I should go shopping in my stash and find the fabrics I probably bought to finsh those, thus freeing up more space to buy more fabric or maybe rearrange the fabric, again, to see what marvelous taste I had in the past!
More white outside, maybe shoveling is on the agenda, maybe, maybe……….
What have you been doing?
 |
| We put a red metal roof over our camp in the dead of winter, why not! |
 |
| Ethnic quilt redesigned |
 |
| Bag made with Chenille Dragon coat scraps |
 |
| Mason's Transportation Hack and Sew |
 |
| Back of Mason's quilt |
 |
| Took a class with Jo Diggs and made grand daughter another Gish quilt! |
 |
| Found 10 year old bag of fabric and sewed them together in assorted stripe fabrics |
Saturday, January 11, 2014
New Year, new issues!
OK
I use this as a diary to self and to keep track of the crazy life I live as you! Nothing goes to plan. I will be having knee replacement surgery in February, have adjusted one talk and begged family members to drive me to others, Life is good.
Do you ever wonder what ore we can achieve in our quilting or our creative lives? I do. But I have decided that life decides that. Life interferes, life cannot be controlled. Life is what we make it and how we adapt to what is given us. My new handsome, black fussy haired grandson, so cuddly and warm was born with a cleft lip, minor but still unexpected. People ask is this depressing and my my daughters response it could have been worst and this is minor in the scheme of volunteering to hang a basketball hoop for children in his struggling town, fell off, and life will never be the same again. Ask to be on y Facebook page and the info is there if you feel this could have been your family!
My house, camp, is under siege by my husband who always decides to renovate Christmas Eve. My children always though that the sawdust on the tree was the best part of the holiday! Teachers wondered about how we live, as I still do.
Those of you who have Blogs, does your family read them? Mine, mot! I write to keep track of the many things and ways that my life twists and turns and evolves!
So, I took a workshop class with QC with Jo Diggs! So much fun and made a small landscape that I will handset, kill me, and also a fish collage, which was so easy as I live in a lake and know fish! My sewing room, along with all rooms are under siege by my husband who will be leaving on a business trip to wherever with the results, not mess, progress for a new bathroom, closet, roof and chimney flue. Should have done in the warmer months but o challenge to do it then. Much better to do it in subzero, rain and ice storms! And, have your contractor son to help. Not sure my blood pressure is happy but Paypal is because for every stress, New purchases get delivered!
Back to sewing!
I am going to one of my guilds getaways nest weekend, thanks the heavens and will try to finish a UFO or many as I have many, not counting because between the knee replacement and family stuff and renovation I need a no brainer, thus UFO!
I will post pictures at some point soon, not now and hope that this post find all of yu well, creative and at least rested!
Jessica
I use this as a diary to self and to keep track of the crazy life I live as you! Nothing goes to plan. I will be having knee replacement surgery in February, have adjusted one talk and begged family members to drive me to others, Life is good.
Do you ever wonder what ore we can achieve in our quilting or our creative lives? I do. But I have decided that life decides that. Life interferes, life cannot be controlled. Life is what we make it and how we adapt to what is given us. My new handsome, black fussy haired grandson, so cuddly and warm was born with a cleft lip, minor but still unexpected. People ask is this depressing and my my daughters response it could have been worst and this is minor in the scheme of volunteering to hang a basketball hoop for children in his struggling town, fell off, and life will never be the same again. Ask to be on y Facebook page and the info is there if you feel this could have been your family!
My house, camp, is under siege by my husband who always decides to renovate Christmas Eve. My children always though that the sawdust on the tree was the best part of the holiday! Teachers wondered about how we live, as I still do.
Those of you who have Blogs, does your family read them? Mine, mot! I write to keep track of the many things and ways that my life twists and turns and evolves!
So, I took a workshop class with QC with Jo Diggs! So much fun and made a small landscape that I will handset, kill me, and also a fish collage, which was so easy as I live in a lake and know fish! My sewing room, along with all rooms are under siege by my husband who will be leaving on a business trip to wherever with the results, not mess, progress for a new bathroom, closet, roof and chimney flue. Should have done in the warmer months but o challenge to do it then. Much better to do it in subzero, rain and ice storms! And, have your contractor son to help. Not sure my blood pressure is happy but Paypal is because for every stress, New purchases get delivered!
Back to sewing!
I am going to one of my guilds getaways nest weekend, thanks the heavens and will try to finish a UFO or many as I have many, not counting because between the knee replacement and family stuff and renovation I need a no brainer, thus UFO!
I will post pictures at some point soon, not now and hope that this post find all of yu well, creative and at least rested!
Jessica
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