Houston Quilts

This is my friend Alice and her beautiful daughter. I always see them every year in Houston even though Alice lives near me in Sacramento. This time they introduced me to their friend that just happened to win First Place for Roses of Shenandoah - RITA VERROCA of WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIFORNIA . You will be seeing a lot more of Rita. Her designs are great and she is a really nice person.

The 3 quilts above are from Prize winning quilts from International Quilt Week Yokohama 2008. They where fantastic. I wish I had taken more pictures.
This pear was really cool. I still can't figure out how she did it.
These are just some of the different quilts that caught my eye in Houston at the IQA show.
I didn't take as many pictures as I wanted because I bought the new CD that had all the quilts on it. Well, not all of the quilts, it only had the winners. That was disappointing because we will get our fill of them over the next year including my own but I wanted to see all the other quilts on the CD.
Oh well, here are some that I really liked and was wise enough to take a picture of with my phone. Love the iPhone.
I loved the installation piece from the German guild that lives in the Black Forest. It represents a fabric forest.
Then there was this Baltimore Quilt all done by hand. It just happens to be the same one I am doing. In fact, on the bottom row is a vase with a flower. That is the same block I put on my Baltimore Album Vase quilt. Mine doesn't look anything like hers. She was a lovely lady and she had done this all by hand. Wow, is right. Can't wait to get mine done. Only I will be machine quilting mine.
I loved this whimsical quilt. I don't know the maker or the name but those birds are so cute.

Houston and the Shuttle Bus!

How do I explain the experience of being in Houston? It's an overwhelming experience that has so many fun and interesting turns.
So I will start at the beginning. For those of you who have gone, you know, but for those of you that have never been I will try to paint a picture of the Worlds Largest Quilt Festival.
My journey started with a flight at 0 dark hundred Sacramento time. (I now speak in all military lingo since the kid is a Marine). You go to bed the night before knowing that the morning is going to come too soon. Thinking you could actually get any sleep is a joke. You just lay there in despair. One year I slept with my clothes on. It didn't help - I woke up tired AND wrinkled. The Sac airport had some familair faces but I was so tired I just wanted to get on my flight.

When I arrived in Houston my eyes were somewhat open and now the excitement hits as I wait for my very oversized and now expensive, due to being overweight, bags. I look around and see what I think are other quilters. I don't know any of them. They just look like quilters. 6 of us jump into a shuttle bus that takes us to our hotels. We introduced ourselves. I was right, they where here for the show. One was from corporate Bernina, 2 where setting up the Quilts of Valor exhibit and one looked very familiar. I think she was an editor of a quilting magazine. I am in some very nice company.
As we drive through the airport we stop at another airline to pick up 3 more people. This slim well dressed lady opens the van door and hesitates to get in the van. She not sure she wanted to be squished in between this group of strangers. I didn't blame her, but her husband said "get in" and we said, "we promises not to bite". So she got in.
I can tell right away as they begin to talk , they are probably from New York. We quilters start talking and laughing and soon she become more relaxed. She asked us what we are in Houston for. We excitedly explained about the International Quilt Festival. She had no idea about this quilting thing. I guess knitting is the big thing in New York, but quilting? she says. I explain that quilting is a $4 billion industry. She is blown away. We ask her why she is here in Houston? She is giving a lecture to the Cancer Society. WOW!
We all stopped, looked at each other, then all at once we share that the quilting industry raises big bucks for Susan G Komen breast cancer research. She is blown away again. She also raises funds for their cancer group and never thought about quilting as a fund raiser. I tell her about the quilt auction and how big it is in Northern California. I think I saw a light bulb go off above her head.
While this is all going on in the front seat, in the back seat with her husband, are the operation officers for the National Quilts of Valor project. They are explaining about their project to honor every wounded veteran returning home from war with a quilt. She then tells her husband, "we have to see this show." I handed her an extra program that I just happened to have. Then we start up again laughing and telling stories. We are just a bunch of stranger in a minivan.
Then the van stops at a hotel and to our surprise, out of the very back of the minivan, is this lone man that has been with us the whole time. We didn't even see him there, poor guy.
I was starting to think this wasn't a shuttle bus at all, but more like a circus clown car. Who else is back there?
We finally arrived at our hotel and all the quilters got out. The once reluctant New Yorkers gave us all big hugs and promised to see the show. I have no doubt in my mind that they did.
In that short 20 minute bus ride from the airport to downtown Houston, 8 strangers and a mystery man became bonded by quilting, war and cancer.
And to think, its just little bits of fabric and thread (and the clown car) that brought us all together. More adventures to come.

Fried Chicken with Asparagus

Its been a week of hand dying and painting on fabric. i am getting ready for my classes I will teach in Houston.

The pictures are of some of the fun things I have been playing with and the big mess i have also made. Last night for dinner it was fried chicken with asparagus and chartreuse green fabric on the side. I think Joe is getting use to dying while dinning.

Yesterday I received an Emil from a girl in Ireland asking me about why so many artist are working in fabric now.

The funny thing is that woman have always worked in fabric. If you look in the Bible, the Proverbs woman was a creative woman (Prob 31:10-31) wearing purple cloth (my kind of babe) and made cloths and fine coverings to keep her family warm. She was a quilter.

I explained that the principle of color and design are the same in whatever field of art you work in.

As I lecture and teach around the country I tell my students that no matter what kind of quilting you are doing it is all art and should be approached in the same way to create a beautiful quilt. Some people don’t like to hear that in the quilting world, but it’s true. You can’t tell me that a beautiful Baltimore Album quilt is not art.

I am painting a painting when I create my quilts. I even say, I will be up in the studio painting”. I am using my scissors instead of a paint brush and my fabrics and thread are my paints.

I shared with her that I have been working with fabric and sewing my art, since I was a little girl. I studied art in collage and worked at a fabric store at the same time. I would take trash (which was never trash to me) and make my art pieces at school with the things I found in the trash can at the fabric store. I was doing conceptual art at the time. Most of my piece had a sewing theme. I was also making my first traditional quilt at that same time, all by hand.

I have also been playing around this week with paint sticks. They are so much fun and so messy. part of my job.

But as I am dyeing i find other things are catching my creative eye. The string balls I get out of the dyers are full of color. what can i do with them? And the paper towels i use to wipe up my counter. Ahhhh! so full of color.

The art of quilting can take so many forms.

To me the best part of working and creating with fabric as my medium of choice, is that it drapes when it is hangs. It can blow in the wind, can be warped around a child and can wipe away a tear. It can keep you warm and protect you from the sun. It can be shown in a famous museum and hang on the wall in a well appointed dinning room admired by a prestigious crowd. You can't do that with Metal!

Start The Bidding Now !

This quilt is called Small Aloha. It was inspired by the sweet years I was able to lived in Hawaii. I am a beach girls and no matter how old I get that will never change. Someday I will go back there to live but for now I have to be content with my memory's and making quilts of the things I love like flowers, beaches and bouquets. I made this quilt for the SAQA auction that started this week. Each artist made a 12"x 12"sq. quilt to be auction off to raise money for the Studio Art Quilts Association. This is the first time I have entered a piece. There are some amazing work up for auction. I never have had the time before. Still don't. But I made time. Its very exciting to be on the same web page with some of my favorite quilt artist. They will start the bidding for my quilt on Sept 24, @ $750. Then each day after that, the price go down from there. You can see an up close picture of my quilt with all its thread work if you go to the web link above and click page 3b. that is where you will find me. I seam to always on the last page or last in line. I guess I am learning how to be patient. So if you would like a Small Aloha from me. Here is your chance. Happy Bidding.

Color Color Color

I have been dyeing fabric like a mad women for the last 3 days. I have always known that it could over take my world someday. When one of your only gifts is picking colors, there isn't a lot of jobs out there for the artist except maybe arranging the scarves at Nordstrom. I've been they're and done that.
So to mix, plan and try to control color is so thrilling and making me very happy, even though my feet hurt from standing on hard tile for 3 days and my back and hands are sore from wringing out and ironing 90 yards of fabric. It is so worth it to get just the color and to be surprised by the color accidents that happen. It's always a surprise. Remember, you have to suffer for your art, but being up to my elbows in color is hardly suffering.
I am working on making hand dyed fabric packs for the classes I will be teaching at the IQA this October in Houston. I thought it would be fun to give my students something special for their flower class. Each hand dye fabric packs are a little bit different and they will have a choice of fabric packs. I can't wait to see what they do.
On Tuesday when I was up to my neck in color, beautiful color, I got a phone call. I saw it was from Houston and my heart jumped. When I heard it was the International Quilt Festival I started breathing fast. Then I heard the words that my Baltimore Album Bouquet quilt won something at the upcoming Houston show and would I be attending the awards presentation? That is when my feet floated off the ground. I can't believe it. It is really hard to win in Houston. Just being accepted in the show is a big deal. This show represents the best of the best in the world.
Of course I will be at the awards presentation, but what will I wear?
I have included the quilt and the original silk flower bouquet that I made for this idea. All quilts start with a picture. I had been trying to make this quilt for 2 years but it just wouldn't come out. Then one day when my girl friends Dawn and Peggy and I where on a flower outing, I had the idea. I saw these perfect red roses with large pink peonies. When I added the turquoise pot, and it had to be the perfect turquoise fabric (Hoffman California) with the red and pink it was magic! Then I just needed the sweet time. How precious time has become and how hard recently it has been to find.
When creating this quilt I wanted to see if I could replicate a lacy table cloth all in fabric and thread. As I was staring at the quilt one day doing a little hand work on my real Baltimore quilt I realized that the block in my hand went perfectly with the quilt on the design wall. Light bulb! So I pinned my applique block on the my quilt and knew they belonged together. It hangs 3rd dimensionally on the quilt with raw edges and all. It's like it is waiting for the lady of the house to come back and finish it. I made a spool of pink thread with a needle and a pair of scissors laying on the table along side. I thought I was so tricky, I even giggled out loud.
The only problem with this brilliant idea is that now my Baltimore album quilt is missing its block.
You can't see it in the picture, but the stack of books the cat named Scrambles is sitting on are all named after real quilt books that I own. Including my own Cutting Garden Quilts and, of course, the queen of Baltimore, Elly Sienkiewicz.
The funniest thing is that there are no hand dyed fabrics in this quilt.

I Will Never Forget This Day.

When you see your son for the first time as a United States Marine it is the most overwhelming feeling in the world. Standing before us were 350 dedicated young men that wanted to be Marines. They were not drafted or forced but there is something inside them that drove them to serve our country. Some wanted to get out of the house, maybe away from a bad situation and start a new life, but most where there to serve and protect. You don't become a Marine to work an office job!
At our graduation there were young Marines representing 15 different countries. Wow! That amazed me. They had immigrated to the U.S., become Americans and now where going to fight for her. There was one young man from Nairobi and when asked what he did their in Nairobi he replied "just tried to survive." Then I really understood what America is all about. It's our freedom that others want. Some have risked it all to come to America. The dream to be free and pursue a life of prosperity, to raise their family in safety and practice their religion freely. Most who come here want to be American and their sons and daughters were raised to also love this country and be willing to fight for it. Too bad you don't see that on the news.
Then the Sargent said that 99% of the new Marines had graduated high school and 2 were college graduates, one of those being my son. That made me cry and give thanks. I am so proud (and short about $70 grand) but it was worth it.

Then there are what I will call the spoiled Americans. I saw a lot of them at graduation. Not in the Marines but in their family members, the rude and disrespectful who where born here. Some where even second generation Americans and how quickly they forgot what their grandparents had sacrificed. That made me cry also.

I saw 3 young Hispanic men acting tough and stepping on the parade ground which is sacred. The Marines keep that ground sacred in respect for all the men and women that have lost their lives serving our country and walked on that ground. They are our grandfathers, fathers, sons and neighbors. So you don't step on it, especially if you are a civilian. But these punks were playing a game of Look, I can do anything I want including disrespecting the parade grounds and breaking rules on a very important day. It made me mad. So in typical Melinda fashion, which drives my husband crazy but he wasn't there, I said to them, "Hey, I thought the parade ground was sacred!" to which this lowlife replied "Hey, I did my time," showing me his tattoo that appeared to be done in crayon. So I said. "Then why don't you show it?" At each corner of the parade ground a Marine was stationed and as we walked past the young man I said "Watch these guys - they are disrespecting the parade grounds" to which he said, politely "Ma'am, there are a lot of them here today." My heart sank and again I wanted to cry.
Not every one there had the same emotions I was feeling about their son, husband or brother. But I still saw the best of America standing before us on that sacred parade ground. We are the land of the free and the brave because Americans from many countries have given the lives for her throughout our 233 year history. It's just more precious to some than others.

Starting A New Project.........

I am starting a new quilt in honor of my son, the soon to be Marine. I have been going through pictures on the web studying what a Marine is, and stands for, to get design inspiration for the quilt. Getting some background will help. Plus, I wanted to use my new hand dyes. I had no idea how awesome the Marines are. I have been avoiding the subject because i was afraid I would lose it.
I first had to get over the shock of my only child wanting to give his life for our country (and all the assholes that are running it). Sorry, did I say that?
But I am so proud of theses Marines.
When I was 10 or 12 the Viet Nam war was going strong. I knew nothing of war or politics, only what I heard on TV. If it wasn't about Barbie, the Flintstones or the Beatles, I had no idea.
I thought all Marines were jar heads and I still don't know why. We lived close to the El Toro Marine base. It's closed now. My Uncle Donny was a Drill Sargent at Camp Pendelton after his time in Nam. I had no idea as a kid what my uncle did. I just knew he was a jar head and that wasn't as cool as the Flintstones. I was a deep and thoughtful kid.
I have a whole new respect for Uncle Don. I think of him a lot now that my son will soon be a jar head. Its funny how life turns. Let's just say God is Good!

Today, I have trouble watching the news because its either all fluff or all lies. Have you noticed that they never talk about what is really going on in the middle east in any detail? It's like it doesn't exist any more. Denial is a wonderful thing! America has a lot of it right now.
I want it all over more than anyone. August 21st would be great!
OK, if you have made it this far in my rambling, bless you.
Here is my baby. You put your son or daughter here in the pictures.
Take the time and read up on the History of the Unites States Marines and voice your opinion! That is what they are fighting for: freedom. It will make you so proud to be American.
And thank you, Uncle Donny for what you did for our country. OohRah!

To Dye or Not To Dye

I have try with all my power not to go there. I have always known it would be trouble. "Stay Away", I would say to myself. "You might get addicted. That's the last thing you need,"would go through my head.
Well, it happened 2 days ago while I was cooking dinner at the same time. ( I like to multi task) We where having pasta of course. It started with, I will just tack this fabric over the stretcher bars and see what happens.
I let my guard down only for a minute and the next thing I know, I was up to my elbow in the most beautiful color you have ever seen. Paint and dye were flying. I was in true artist heaven. Yes i said it. I am now painting fabric. OK, fine. I truly can't stop. Then I hear Joe say, "is dinner ready yet?" which brought me back to reality.
The feel of the paint brush in my hand, watching the color flow across the fabric was the best. Even the washing and ironing, was all a thrill. That's when you know you are in big trouble.
Now what do I do? I have been the queen of commercial fabrics. All my art quilts have been made with store bought fabric or I have bought from other hand dyers.
But I haven't been able to find just the right colors for my color palate. So the only way to get just the right colors is to do it myself. Which has been dangerous in the passed. That is how I started a wallpaper and fabric design business 15 years ago.
So now I can't wait until my next bolt of white fabric comes in. How fast you go through 12 yards of fabric while making pasta, is amazing.
Last night Joe asked me if i saw the patio chairs on the deck? That is where I was painting.
Can you believe that somebody got green paint on them. Oops!


Today I will be cleaning up my mess with bleach. But after that, I am going to the studio to make my coneflower and sunflowers with my NEW hand dyed and painted fabrics.
My motto has always been, "If you can't find it. make IT!"