|
|
Name: Sarah Ann Smith Subscribe Here: Recent Posts Previous| Next | Random CURRENT MOON Waxing Crescent
A while back, I blogged about preserving leaves with glycerin and freezing for later printing (as in during winter when there are no leaves on the trees), here. I was fortunate to be able to demonstrate leaf printing at Open Studios, part of the Make It University section of the International Quilt Festival in Houston, on Wednesday evening. I’d like to share here what I did, and include some written directions for those who were able to stop by my table and who surf in to my blog.
Since the MIU is about mixed media, I decided I had best do something mixed media, even though that is SO not me…. When Deborah flew up to Maine and we all got together (see the post here), Hannah gave us all Ikea mirrors–the cool square ones with the wide wooden frames. I decided I’d do a mixed media thing, since that is what Hannah loves, and do some leaf printing on paper as well as cloth. I then used some papers from a journal kit Deborah made and gave us all one Christmas, then added a milagro Kate brought back from a trip to the southwest a couple of years ago. Finally, I asked Kathy for some of her dyed cheesecloth–I wanted to add something that was from each of the five of us. The result is above! I LOVE IT! Late note: after writing this post but before taking the picture, I remembered the sea glass and shells we collected this summer with Hannah down at a beach / cove not too far from her house. I decided to add some to the bottom of the mirror and love the addition (I used K6000 glue…the stuff that I think could hold up a roof). I also like the reflection of my camera and hands! Here is what the leaves look like soaking in glycerin… I use about a one part glycerin to four parts water solution, but I’m really slapdash about it… I pour the glycerin into the lasagna pan, add enough water that I’ll fit all the leaves. If the water feels watery and not slippery like glycerin, I add more of the latter. Very scientific. Ahem. The green leaves are fresh; the brown ones were collected brown about 4 years ago…they’ve been in the freezer all this time and still work for printing! truth about enzyte To do your own leaf printing, first you need your supplies: • Textile paints The last time I dyed fabric, I used paper towels to mop up some of the mess. They were so lovely I couldn’t toss them. Then it occured to me to use them in my leaf printing and get a two-fer! How-to:
• Roll sponge roller to create an even coating
• Cover with parchment or other paper–I used the dye-soaked paper towels! Hope you like! Thanks to Barbara Delaney and Pokey Bolton at Quilting Arts for the opportunity to participate in Open Studios, and to Cate Prato for inviting me to submit some ideas for the Embellishments newsletter. Click here to sign up for the free newsletter. Posted in Frayed Edges, art quilting, Techniques, Tutorials, The Frayed Edges, Art | No Comments » The Frayed Edges met at Hannah’s house in Harpswell, Maine, this month. We missed Deborah, but had a wonderful visit amid the autumny leaves and air. As usual there is a flurry of e-mails the weekend before about who’s gonna fix what…. Kathy asked if I’d share the recipe for the turkey kielbasa-potato soup, tho she was planning on making a pie already. I quickly volunteered to make the soup, which I’ve mentioned on this blog in years passed….. Hannah had sumptuous, blueberry-laden muffins and coffee, Kate brought a salad with fresh baby organic spinach (from the acreage next to her house no less…fresh picked…handy having a farm next door!), bacon, blue cheese and a raspberry-vinagrette dressing….she and I cleaned the salad bowl. Heck, I could have eaten the bowl myself! I’ll post the recipe (from Janet Wright on San Juan Island, who got it from the cook at the Cannery restaurant years ago, in Friday Harbor…the legacy of this recipe is long!) at the end of this post.
Last month, Hannah gave each of us these wonderful IKEA mirrors…they are about 12 inches square, with a 4×4 mirror in the center. I’ll share mine in the next post, on October 31…but for now you can revel in Kathyu’s wonderful mixed media piece made of painted 2×2 ceramic tiles from Home Depot, some stone tile (same place), and some Fimo clay tiles that Kathy made! I LOVE IT! I shared my leaves table runner and my Batiki bird, which shipped off to Lark books on the 23rd, for inclusion in a book that will come out late next spring…hmmm…. I see I haven’t blogged about it…OK, will do that in a week or so! Hmmm….only have in-progress pics of the table runner on the blog too…gee….you’d think I’ve been working instead of blogging LOL…OK, I’ll share that one too! Give me a chance to take pics and write the blogpost….. As always, Kathy shared her latest project, still in progress…. to get an idea of the size of it I’m including this photo, tho it isn’t the best:
Here’s a better picture of the quilt…..
Kath is using this cool technique of printing the birds onto tissue paper, fusing them to the quilt, then stitching the daylights out of them….yields a very accurate, realistic and stunning bird. You may have seen this picture already over on Kathy’s Studio in the Woods blog:
And here’s the crockpot soup recipe: Scrub and cube the potatoes into pieces, a small potato can be cut into four, a larger one into pieces that are about 1 1/4″-ish square-ish …just cut them up! Place into large crockpot (turned off at the moment). My crockpot will hold a 5 pound bag minus four or five potatoes–this brings the potatoes to about 1 inch below the rim. Slice kielbasa in half lengthwise, and again so it is in four quarters. Cut into 1/2″ chunks. Add butter and the dribble of oil to skillet and saute onion until clear. Push onion to outer edges of skillet Add some of the kielbasa and brown. Push that kielbasa to the side and brown more…if pan is too full, dump onion and kielbasa into crockpot. Brown remaining kielbasa. Pour a cup or so of the chicken broth into the pan to deglaze. Turn off heat under skillet and pour contents into crock pot. Add enough broth / stock to cover the potatoes…pretty much up to the very top of the crockpot. While adding the broth, stir to mix up the onion and kielbasa througout the potatoes. Add 2 bay leaves, pepper and whatever else you’d like to season with. Turn on low for 12 hours; OR turn on high for 1 hour, then to low for 6 hours (or low for 6 hours, then high until the potatoes are tender). When I make this for the Frayed Edges, I make it after dinner the night before and let it cook all night. It is obviously not on while in the car, then I plug it back in at our destination for the day. Just before serving add a large dollop of stoneground mustard, to taste, and mix. I love the tangy goodness (this is the secret ingredient that makes this soup glorious)… I know it is odd… you don’t actually taste mustard, just flavor! I’m SO GLAD they like this soup, as my family pretty much doesn’t, and an entire crockpot full is too much even for me (it’s about a week’s worth of meals!). Posted in Inspiration, Frayed Edges, Food, Blogging | 1 Comment » Oh what FUN! I’ve been hearing about these Moo Cards for a while now on the QuiltArt list. When I got the opportunity to participate in the Open Studios (blogpost here), I decided it was time for something a bit fancier than business cards made on my printer at home. If you stop by my table at Open Studios on Wednesday, October 29th, I’ll have them there for the taking! Also when I demo in the Misty Fuse booth on Thursday and Saturday mornings, somewhere around 11 or 11:30 ish……. See you there I hope!
I had not realized the cards were printed in England, but even at that the cost for 200 2-sided (color both sides) business cards and sixteen easel notecards was only $120 including shipping! The quality of the cards is astounding…. in the photo above, you can see the selection of cards (I had 24 different images, could have had more but decided just to go with these). One side of the heavy, glossy cardstock is one of my quilts. The reverse (and of course forgot to include that in the photo) has another photo… I used the yellow-blue Hawaiian quilt since it is also the background for my website and blog plus all my contact info in a coordinating turquoise ink. They also include a nice black card holder box (on the left toward the back). The notecards, seen at the back, have a square photo and a trapezoid-shaped white “wing” that bends back, allowing the card to stand up on a desk. The sixteen cards plus envelopes cost about $25….(that was included in the amount above). Anyway, I am thrilled with the quality, and will order from them again. Here’s a closer view of the business cards:
Here’s to hoping the cards will, eventually, lead to some contacts that might lead to some teaching jobs! Posted in art quilting, Fun stuff, QuiltArt e-list, Professional quilting | 5 Comments »
A few months ago, I did a trunk show for the Assisted Living unit at Quarry Hill, the retirement community near me and where my mom now lives. It went so well, they invited me back already! Patty took pictures this time, so I have a few to share of me in action. I began with my very first quilt (photo above), from Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! by McClun and Knownes, which is still one of my favorite beginners’ quilting books. The quilt is a Wild Goose Chase variation…for those not familiar with traditional quilting, the triangles are thought to look like geese in flight. This quilt was made TWENTY (shriek!) years ago, and is still in regular use in our living room. It has a few rips and wear spots, some fabrics are more noticeably faded than others, but it’s still a good quilt. I progressed through my journey as a quilter, sharing a 51×51 inch log cabin I made for an exhibit (it didn’t get in!). This quilt used four EXPENSIVE (but glorious) yards of Judy Robertson’s hand dyed fabrics (click here to visit her website, Just Imagination)
This fabric is why I decided to learn to dye my own fabric! Tho, as Judy says, dyers are some of her best customers…they understand what it is that she does that is so special, and why it costs so much! I also shared my two-sided quilt Koi:
The Coastal Quilters Chapter Banner, which I designed, our group made (I did the top border, a fair part of the center and the quilting), is a perennial favorite, with folks identifying various local landmarks…the person who spots Beech Hill preserve’s blueberry barrens wins brownie points!
Like my rudimentary PVC pipe quilt rack? Very easy… two 90 degree elbows, three long pieces of pipe, two “T” Connectors and two more small bits of pipe (four would be better) for the feet…. It was fun to go and share…now, to get ready for Houston!!!! Festival starts next week! Posted in art quilting, Exhibiting, Family | 1 Comment » No, I have not died, fallen prey to a disease (other than possibly slothfulness where blogging is concerned) or any other horrid thing…just been really busy working, getting ready for Houston, teaching, meeting with my Frayed Edges friends and other sorts of good things. Today, I thought I’d share some of what I got to see on my way home from teaching on Saturday the 18th…glorious! (PS..photos are clickable for a larger view)
This photo was taken from the driver’s seat, window down, in Hope, on Route 17. Route 17 is a 2-lane highway (by-way) that runs from Rockland to Augusta and beyond. I take Route 90 West to 17, then turn north/west to Augusta, the state capitor. On the way home, at about 5, the sun was low in the sky and the air was golden……
Farther up the road, closer to Augusta, the trees on my side of the road cast their shadows all the way across the road and into the open field bordered by these trees:
And a closer view:
And that hill from Hope down to west Rockport….
Posted in Photography, Maine, Inspiration, Blogging | 3 Comments »
|