AAQI Auction Continues

Mom, is this a new pillow???

 

Oliver is back ruling the house, now from his new pillow that quite possibly could become a horizontal scratching post as it is needlepoint and the texture is exciting all his scratching sensibilities.   He has his tail up, he is running and squeaking and doing all his cute routines. 

 

The purple pillow was purchased by moi because I did like it, but it shows my Celtic Bubbles designs done in concentric circles with a small satin stitch.  However, the building of the design, the overlapping circles, is exactly how I teach mine.  Very pretty!

 

I am doing much better, have had lots of time off resting and getting better, and tried a very tiny bit of quilting the other day and it went well, although my machine needs oiling for sure and was a bit noisy starting up after several months idle. 

 

I have an Ask/Answer column at the very last page of each issue of American Quilter Magazine, and just wrote a column for the March '13 issue about "Where is the Puff?"  so had to try and quilt some samples where the puff disappeared. 

 

This was not easy.  I have worked so hard to get the right combo of quilting ingredients to create puff that I had to scrounge around my recently purged sewing room and find a scrap of a flat batt to use, and really it was not nearly flat enough.  However, that and a few other tricks made the puff go down substantially, and it was fun to get it back again with all the right techniques on a flat batt.  When I quilted on Pellon Legacy Wool, wow, the puff was back again :-)! 

 

I did get a flatter look even on wool batt by doing some things wrong on purpose, so I hope this column will help all of you who are looking for more filled very small designs.  Not easy to accomplish.

 

 

 

It is dreary here in Wisconsin.  I believe November is the month with the most cloudy days, and it is also cold and wet.  Oliver looks for anything at all moving in the quiet yard outside the windows, and even a small bug will interest him for awhile.  Then there is always a nap to fill the day.

 

Thanks for the incredible support for my little quilt on the AAQI auction page, it truly is overwhelming to see bids come in to support this great cause.  To see all the quilts, go here.  There are a few days left to call one of these special quilts made by very special quilters your very own.  Good luck everyone, and thank you.

 

Diane

 

 

AAQI Celebrity Auction is ON!

 

"Joy Remembered"

 

The Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative Celebrity Quilt Auction is now online!  I am proud to be part of this extremely talented group of famous quilters who have made special quilts expressly for this online auction to benefit AAQI and their amazing, and I mean AMAZING, work to help find a cure for this horrendous disease.    

 

Please do not hesitate to bid on any of the beautiful pieces, knowing you will be getting something wonderful and your dollars will be doing so much for this cause.  Click HERE to go to the auction page, it's easy, and you can browse the quilts and think about it for awhile yet.

 

For a YouTube video, click HERE.

 

 

Here is a detail shot of the approximately 19" square quilt, with a penny.  I used Gradations Benartex fabric in the center by Caryl Bryer Fallert and that's why there are variations of beautiful autumnal color.  This is a rich piece, saturated, glowing.  I hated to see it go, but I know it will go to a great home and will earn some money for a cause so close to my heart.

 

The border is gold silk dupioni.  I used Pellon Legacy Wool batt, YLI silk threads for the quilting, and a touch of YLI Sparkle (silk and metallic) to outline the central design.  The design is one I used many years ago called "Joy," and it was reduced in size for this small quilt. 

 

Artist's Statement:  The remembering joy, happiness, even the little things in life is slowly lost for those with Alzheimer’s.  I chose to fill the entire quilt’s space with an abundance of flowing designs, adding one small bird singing just for the joy of it.  It reminds all of us to embrace each moment, look for joy in life, and help work to find a cure for those who no longer can remember joy.

 This was the last quilt I made before being injured while rescuing Oliver from a dire situation.  I still am unable to quilt for more than a few minutes, but I am optimistic I will regain full use of my hands as healing takes place. 

 

I want to thank everyone for their wonderful messages and comments and emails; it has made all the difference to me.  I am doing well, Oliver is doing well, we are almost back to our old selves. 

 

I am so very disappointed that I was unable to teach my fall classes.  I know many of you planned a year in advance and I do hope to reschedule the NQM class in Paducah if they can find a time that will work.  A huge thank you to Joanie Poole who subbed wonderfully for me at Des Moines on extremely short notice.  

 

Life goes on, we are OK, I hope to get back to blogging and giving you information about quilting very soon.  Again, my heart is filled with your caring messages, cards, and gifts,  and I believe that the power of all of your thoughts and prayers helped carry both of us through this successfully.  Thank you, thank you.  You are all special to me.

 

Hugs  and love from Diane and Oliver

 

 

 

 

 

Update, Oliver and Me

We are doing fine.  Oliver had a setback this week, some infection flared up unexpectedly, and after another vet trip and more meds he is doing great.  What I think happened is he was very carefully waiting until he was released from his liquid meds dose on the kitchen counter, running off, and saving the medicine in his mouth to spit out in another room.  He hates, abhors, detests this liquid antibiotic. 

We are now wise to his ways, and he is MUCH better, almost completely recovered.  Soon I will post a photo of his new look sans fur on one leg and explain what has happened, plus some valuable tips for all cat moms out there to keep in mind when a crisis occurs. 

I too am doing much better finally.  Almost all the damage to my hands is healing well, my right hand is good but I do have one area on my left hand that needs some reconstructive surgery.  Because it is on the side of my thumb I use for quilting I won't be able to quilt for awhile but I am optimistic at the final outcome and will keep you posted about that too.  I will share my information with you.  Many of you gave me valuable advice on what to do with hand injuries, and I thank you for that.

I can't tell you how much all your caring messages here and in emails have meant to me, and truly how much they have helped.  I know you as quilters understand that my health and recovery are more important than teaching, and forgive me for cancelling classes. 

I do hope to try and have some classes next year to accommodate disappointed students.  Believe me, I would much much rather be teaching than dealing with injuries and feeling so wretched for the last ten days.

The autumn leaves are beautiful here, Oliver is chirping at me again, and better days are ahead.  Thank you all again; am sending you all a warm hug of thanks.
Diane

Update on Des Moines Teaching

I am sorry to report that due to injuries to my hands that  I sustained earlier in the week in rescuing my cat Oliver from a very serious household accident I will be unable to teach at the AQS Des Moines Show this week. 

I apologize to all the quilters who have signed up and were looking forward to time with me to improve their quilting.  ER doctors as well as my internist have assessed the damage to my thumbs and hands and said I must rest them until healing is complete or risk further damage to nerves.   I am on a strong antibiotic cocktail of several meds and the side effects are also giving me some serious symptoms.

Travel would be too difficult and I can't use my hands normally now.  No scissors, picking anything up, much less actual quilting at the machine are in my future for awhile.

Oliver is doing well after surgery.  I hope you all understand that accidents just jump out at you from nowhere and happen to all of us despite our best intentions to fulfill our obligations. 

AQS has found another teacher, Joanie Poole,  to fill in at very short notice and she will do her best for you.  Take a look at her work at www.heirloomquiltingdesigns.com  Her students have given her excellent reviews. 

Please send some healing thoughts my way, and thanks for understanding.
Diane

Classes at AQS Show in Des Moines

"The Fine Art of Echo Quilting" ~ Warm-up exercise

My classes in the upcoming AQS show in Des Moines Oct. 3-6 are almost filled.  Thanks everyone for signing up, and I hope you will love what I have to share with you about machine quilting on a home sewing machine.

The photo above shows one of our warm-up exercises for echo quilting to get you comfy and ready to do some more challenging quilting.

Sometimes these warm-ups turn out so well students have gone on and used them in quilts, with pretty threads, as focal point quilting.  Some have expanded them to fill entire spaces around other designs as wavy, lyrical background quilting instead.  Once you get the hang of even echoes and even stitches, it's fun and easy to do this.

Remember, don't "lazy susan" or turn your quilt sample, even if it is small enough to do so.  You'll be at a loss when you quilt a larger quilt in a home machine and cannot turn it.  It's best to learn right from the start to quilt in all directions, deal with the visibility problems you face in a home sewing machine, learn to adjust machine speed so you don't overshoot or make mistakes in blind spots.  And there will always be blind spots.

This little sample is not perfect, lines are not perfectly spaced, it was done in a class as a demo. You don't have to have perfection to create something beautiful and unique. Instead of making a new sample to show you here that would be a bit better, I used this one so you will feel confident about class, and look forward to coming and exploring quilting with me.

There are a few openings left in "It's Bananas," a 3-hour class that will focus on this design, below, that many have tried from my Quilt Savvy book.  If you want to perfect it, get it to look its best, this class is for you. 

Beautiful Bananas

However, it is also for those of you who simply want to improve all your quilting designs, as much of what I will share with you is what I've learned over the years working with so many talented quilters who have taken my classes.  These important things will be included in all my classes to help you improve your own free motion quilting, be more at ease and more confident.  I want you to love your own quilting.

To register for this class, go to this weblink at AQS.

Fall is in the air here finally and quilting is as well.  I'm packing my teaching samples, preparing handouts, and planning my trip to Des Moines.  I hope to see many of you there, even if you aren't in my class, please say hi.

Keep quilting!  Your work gets better every day,
Diane

Taken Aback

Last winter I retrieved a "never finished" quilt top from the year before, fixed some piecing errors, added a border and skipped anything more I had planned.  I wanted it DONE, kept it simple, layered it, and quilted it.  I pride myself on no UFO's.

The quilting was a chore.  The fabrics fought me.  The metallic/silk thread sounded bad when I quilted and did strange things right before my eyes.  It was distracting and I didn't enjoy it.  The background fabric with tiny piecing added huge knots of seams underneath.  The sewing machine broke, a spring fell out as it tried to get over the lumps.  I kept quilting.  I didn't need the presser lifter, I had the knee one to use.  The lever kept falling off and landing on my quilt.  I kept going, I wanted this thing DONE.

Knowing it already had problems, I spent way too much time quilting it. 

After it was finished and I dipped and swirled it in tepid clear water to remove marking, I had more problems with a hand dyed fabric that bled.  Then there were some skewed tiny triangle pieces from the quilting process so tips went in all directions.  Generally I thought it was not the best, would keep it for a class sample maybe.  I haven't even given it a name.  It is a Delectable Mountains pattern, about 43" square.  Detail of quilting, below, and from the back.

Last week while doing some photography I needed a warm neutral backdrop, and saw the back of this quilt rolled up in the corner on the floor, in total rejection.  I picked it up, pinned it to the wall, backside showing. 

I was so taken aback!  I love the back as a wholecloth and I have left it hanging on my wall and enjoy it so much.... from the back.  I think this fabric might work for a wholecloth design and might give that a try on another quilt. 

Meanwhile I'll enjoy the lumps and bumps of thread here and there on the back, lots of traveling where the thread build-up is a bit much, but the look of it is very pleasing.  Somehow the feather fronds look so elegant "in reverse." 

Lesson:  Try to make the back look as good as you can.  You never know when it will be the front!

Hope your Monday brings you a tiny bit of quilting time, and maybe some fresh veggies.

Diane

Oliver was actually yawning here, after I woke him for his birthday photo, but he does look extra fierce!

Oliver is 3 Years Old!

We made it!  Oliver turns 3 today, despite eating thread, escaping to the wilds of our yard once, eating tape, eating styrofoam, eating whatever isn't normal for cats to eat.  Oliver is our dear adopted cat from the Wisconsin Humane Society, and he has finally figured out we are his forever people.

Last year we celebrated with a delicious fudge cake and a #2 candle.  This year it is all about Oliver, so his favorite food (he is a cat Vegan) is Brussels sprouts, so I hollowed them out, added candles (his Dad wanted to light them, NOT!) and woke him up from a nap for the photo op.

He looks tired and crusty, not his usual pink-nosed self, but he perked up immediately when the delightful aroma of fresh sprouts wafted about him.  Tuna?  No way.  He loves his veggies and dry cat food and lots and lots of water from any faucet in the house. 

What a wonderful cat he is, and how happy he made us, two retirees who were worried we were too old for a cat.  He keeps us young and gives us love and fun and joy. 

Happy, happy birthday, Oliver.

Diane

Oliver at WI Humane Society

One Year Old

Oliver at Two !