minimalist materialsism

I'm proud of myself for not snagging the free bedside table in Shadyside. I was also on my bike, so it would have been a little ridiculous. It was pretty dated, looked to be from the 60/70's, but it had beautiful bones and potential...

Must stop. Else I hop in car and fetch a piece of furniture I have no space for. Decor wise, I seem to be going for a blonde wood, white trim - okay, the paint color was called "Silver Chalice". Looking around, I would say I could do a better job hiding the clutter. One thing at a time.

The To-Do pile keeps growing, and some things I will have to resign myself to not getting done this year. I can't paint indoors because I don't have a garage or the proper ventilation. So this puppy might have to wait for spring.

I bought it in May at a garage sale. I just replaced the original(?) painted wood knobs for white ceramic ones. A little on the lamesauce side, but you work with what you got sometimes.

I started looking up furniture stenciling, wondering if maybe I could incorporate the knobs into the design somehow, and I came across foiling. Oh dear. What is foiling? I asked self. How does it work?
Holographic-metalic-metal-rainbow? What?

One thing at a time, broke grad student, one thing at a time.

Butler Quilt Explosion

Starting today at 10 A.M. is the Butler Quilt Explosion! This year's theme, "A Journey Back in Time". 


First of all, it was a day for a drive. The trees are just beginning to turn, and will probably peak by next weekend. But who knows what the weather will be like next weekend, right? Last weekend I camped in the Laurel Highlands, and we got rained out. Today was picture perfect. 73 degrees, not a cloud in the sky. Aside from the fact that one of the street Google tried to send me down was one way in the wrong direction, it was very easy to find (and apparently, the police officers were turning a blind eye to the parking meters in that section of town)

So I got parked, and first thing there is the requisite basket of scraps, fill a ziplock (and seal it) for $.50. For $.50? oh, yes, please and thank you. So here is the addition to the stash - some nice reds, a mishmash of batiks, oh, happy day.

Moogie thinks, of course, that they are all for her.
Silly kitty.

There is also the raffle table, with baskets and a quilt. I have not heard anything as of publication... but the show goes for 2 more days, so there's still hope, right?

And then, to get to the quilts, you had to pass by the concessions. I will not regale you with tales of tasty pyrohi and apple dumpling. But it was fresh, homemade and TASTY.

Entre vous!

First up, on the left, was the display of Hoffman challenge entries. I, being biased and the only person in my party, took pictures of my favorites - and this goes for the pictures of the rest of the show, too.

Hoffman Challenge 2011 Fabric H8709 Moss Gold #98G

                                                                     

 Clockwise from top left
Asian Garden,  35"x40", Marcia Brown, Prineville, OR
Who Hoo's There? 27"x38", Vinda Robinson, Colorado Springs, CO
Ovals, Circles and Squares, Oh, My! 37"x37", Diane Whittier, Shawnee, KS
Weeping Cherry, 24"x33", Chris Davis, Antioch, TN

As aforementioned, these were my four favorites. Now to the rest of the show, and I will attempt to give proper credit where due. Remember, these are my personal favorites.

                                                                           

Peppermint Patty, 88"x99"
S. M., Pittsburgh, PA
Quilted by R. M.
Honorable mention


"I'm a beginner quilter and came across this pattern and instantly knew I wanted to make it.  I had my eye on bubblegum pink and chocolate fabrics and decided to challenge myself with the pattern ("Peppermint Patty" in American Patchwork and Quilting, 8/2008) Choosing all of the scrappy pinks and browns was fun; with the corners of the quilt my favorite parts. This was my third quilt. I designed the back unsil log cabins out of leftover fabrics"

 Sunflower Illusions, 80"x91"
J.K., Zelienople, PA
Quilted by M.T.
Third place, best use of color
Machine pieced, Long arm quilted


It's a Judy Niemeyer design. Paper-pieced with "piping hot binding" by Susan Cleveland. Most fabrics are batiks. 

My View, 88"x88"

T.M., Irwin, PA

Quilted by self

Third place, Novelty

"I started this quilt for my mother because it was her favorite pattern. When she died I put it away for about 5 years. This past January, I took it out and finished it."

Together Forever, 96"x116"L.S., North Lima, OHQuilted by self

Original design
"This wedding quilt was inspired by the couple, who are very supportive of each other and yet true individuals. The yin and yang was a perfect symbol. The blue/green background reflected the universe."

Sarah's Kaleidascope, 92"x92"
S.D., Butler, PA
Quilted by J.M.
Machine pieced, Long arm quilted

 Inspired by a quilt shown in a Fons and Porter Love of Quilting magazine.

Florida Curves, 108"x104"
L.S., North Lima Ohio
Quilted by self
Pieced by machine, long arm quilted.

"I began this quilt in Florida while visiting with my newest grandchild. My husband and I went to 6 different quilt shops gathering fabricsI had wanted to do a stack-and-whack with curves because this was the Tri-County Quilter's Guild challenge for 2011. I made my own pattern with freezer paper. I got directions from a friend on how to re-stack. To add interest, I reversed one half of the stacks."

Big Fish, 21"x18"
B.R., Lower Burrell, PA
Quilted by self
Appique


"I bought the pattern at a quilt show while in Naples, Fla. I had fun embellishing it with netting and stones."

E. Pluribus Unum, 48"x48"

L.A., Mars, PA

Quilted by self, hand quilted

First place, Best Hand Quilting

"This Quilt was inspired by one half of our nation's Great Seal. I drafted it from the version which appears on the back of our one dollar bills."

detail with seed bead embellishment

 Well, no one is perfect, and I goofed on this one. So enthralled was I at the ensy-weeeeensy ickle pieces that I forgot to take a picture of the description beside it. This may yet be in my possession, as I saved the brochure provided by the guild. 

Uluru / Ayers Rock, Australia, 25"x18"
L.S., North Lima,OH



Quilted by self
Third place
Original Design
 "This quilt is based on a photo take while on vacation in 2010. It was created to comply with a warm color scheme challenge for the United Quilt Guild in Salem, OH" 

Pittsburgh
N.R., Pittsburgh, PA
Quilted by N.R., C.A., A.D., P.G.
Original Design

"A snapshot of Pittsburgh was cut up into 4 slices and four people each got a slice to use for inspiration. The four quilts were then sewn together."

Sunflower, 26"x31"
D.C., Slippery Rock, PA
Quilted by A.G.
Applique


"It's a Phil Beaver pattern and fabric. Using fusible web and pattern for applique technique to achieve desired coloration in petals and leaves."

Anita's Jacket
G.K., Sewickley, PA

Quilted by self
First place
Novelty

Lucky Me, 56"x"70
J.B., Eon Valley, PA
Quilted by J.R.
Machine pieced, long arm quilted


This quilt grew from the extra blocks from my granddaughter, A----'s quilt. It's Terry Atkinson's "Lucky Stars" pattern. I love using batiks and I'm lucky to have this quilt for me."

Dear Margaret, 50"x77"
M.C., Pittsburgh, PA
Quilted by self
Hand quilted
Second place, best theme quilt

"Blocks made in a class by Terry Benzo at Quilters Corners. I named it Dear Margaret since I pieced all of those itty bitty pieces, not Jane."

[Jane, for those of you who don't know, is in reference to an actual woman named Jane who's quilt, after which this is modeled, was showcased in a book for quilters. Quilts in this style are typically referred to as Dear Jane for that reason.]

Hunting in Blue, 52"x67"
G.K., Sewickley, PA
Quilted by self
Pieced by machine, long arm quilted.

"I tried to use as many blues and creams from my batik stash as I could find."

Magic Carpet, 55"x55"
B.H., Freeport, PA
Quilted by self
First place
Pieced by machine
Domestic machine quilted

"A fat quarter collection and a selection of batiks came together with a paper pieced pattern to make this multi-colored hanging that looks like a carpet"

Wizard of OZ, 50"x62"
E.E., Murrysville, PA
Quilted by S.W.
Original design


"OZ is a favorite of a niece. I will present it to her... some day."

Mariposa Beauty, 36"x51"
B.H., Freeport, PA
Quilted by self
Pieced by machine
Domestic machine quilted

"A variation of New York Beauty blocks done with a Lonni Rossi group of fabrics from her Mariposa collection."

Show times: 10A.M.-5P.M. Fri/Sat, 10-4 Sun. $5 Admission.
Family First Resource Center, 216 N. Washington Street, Butler, PA 16001

chocolate, like temptation...

I told myself when I started THIS blog I would try to steer clear of all things personal, but this is has become a font of frustration. My institution of higher learning doesn't offer bus passes to students. They have a shuttle which goes to one area in the city, which you have to purchase a pass for every semester. i have, ahead of me just this semester, a 30 hour field experience, and the check engine light came on in my car. I already can't afford to fuel/park my car or take the bus, since my workable hours are now consumed with course work. Dear Administration - what am I supposed to do, exactly? Even if I moved on campus, it would not solve the work issue - I have to earn money to pay for the tuition and fees my scholarship and loans already aren't covering. Would you like to pay to keep my car going so I can get to class and continue to pay your salary and support your lifestyle? I didn't think so. Bus passes. Please.


Thank you, reader, for staying with me, and I apologize. If I knew where to hold a sit in and launch a peaceful protest, I would have done it yesterday, and would probably still be sitting there. Moving on.


We are in the middle of my favorite time of year. Labor day is passed, and suddenly wearing a tee-shirt doesn't feel like a lead weight. This is the time of year when the temperature doesn't spike 90 or 100 in certain pockets of the city [due to excessive amounts of surface concrete and asphalt]. Suddenly, we're at a comfortable 70. Well, except in the paint your own pottery studio I work in. Our A/C has been on the fritz all summer, and with a kiln that reaches 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, we can get a little toasty. In addition to phone calls about what, exactly, it is that we do at a PYOPS, I'm always a little saddened to admit that there really doesn't seem to be any non-specific art creation venue in the city. 


What city? Oh, yeah,
 YINZ IN DA 'BURGH, N'AT!!!


I'm so not a yinzer. I wear proudly wear brown and orange to church two Sundays every fall. Yes, I know, you don't need to tell me, this is not the right city for me to be habituating. Artistically speaking, there are quite a few options. There is a monthly gallery crawl in Lawrenceville along Penn Ave, always the first weekend of the month, however it happens.

There's Natural Stitches, also on Penn Ave, but much further down in East Liberty - near Trader Joe's. They are a fantastic, full service yarn shop. They offer classes. 

There's also (and this is the worst picture ever, my apologies to the proprietress) Needlepoint Breeze, which isn't terribly far from Natural Stitches further into the East End. The Make Your Mark Artspace is a vegan/vegitarian cafe. No makings going on there, I checked their website.


And there's KnitOne, which is in Squirrel Hill, and very near the 376 Squirrel Hill Tunnel (For those of you that don't know, 376 is referred to as the Parkway - Parkway East, in this section of town). I've never been there, but their website indicates that they do offer classes. I was extremely excited to see that they were offering a free class for a no-prior-experience knitter... but it was from last year. Here is their blog. The website said they had a knitting group on Tuesday afternoons at one, and I have a hat that needs finishing... 


Also in Squirrel Hill is the Artist And Craftsman Supply. Where you can buy things like paints, brushes, canvas, charcoal pencils, fabric dye. They're at 5603 Hobart Street, Pittsburgh PA. I've never been there either. Maybe it's time for a field trip...


These establishments are all well and good, but are product specific.


No, the sort of thing I am talking about would be more of a make-it, take-it lounge/studio, working in partnership with other local, small art and craftsmen supply businesses. Ideally, the space would have two separate classrooms - a "wet space" [with plenty of appropriate sinks] where one could paint, construct and grout mosaics, or hold ceramics and pottery classes. The other class room would be dry, catering to fiber arts where one wouldn't want to discover acrylic paint on the work surfaces. In the front would be a little drop-in sitting area with comfortable chairs, plenty of natural and appropriate artificial light, where one could sit down and work on a small project with out worrying about the sugar residue on the table surface or someone else accidentally knocking over their mocha latte on a project. And a list of events and potentially other classes being offered in the area, organized by activity. Because if they're really that interested, and can't take it at my studio, they're probably going to go elsewhere anyway. 


Maybe you, reader, are the one to put this plan into action. Places like this are springing up across Europe.  Here's a report from decor8 about such a place in London, England, called the Make Lounge. I, I have a graduate degree to complete, and I have one and a half years to do it, so I'ma be a little busy. But if you need a crafty employee...

shekere

I never would have thought of making this except that I actually made it to my parent's house this weekend, and they had some gourds kicking around. Now that I've made a small one, I'd love to make a larger one. I used wooden beads and cotton string such you would knit with. Eh. Next time I'll go for nylon cording and try to find some different beads, maybe even some cowrie? The instructions I found on YouTube from StanfordTaiko that pretty concisely explained how to make one of these instruments from scratch.

Anyway, here's what I'm handing in for class tonight

my mess, your mess, my mess, your mess, MY mess. YOUR mess.

Just because we're crafty [and perhaps cluttered...?] doesn't mean we're slobs!


I stumbled on this, and it made me laugh. My closet and my sock drawer and my desk are nightmares to behold - I covered this problem in yesterday's post. Mostly though, my problem is effective storage. It also got me thinking about ways I can effectively clean up the  clutter without feeling like I spent the whole day dealing with it. That just sounds like a drag - 'dealing with it'. I've got other things to be dealing with - 40 minutes of cardio a day, homework, cooking, work, kitteh-attention-time. Who has time to deal?


But I'm making an effort, right? I did a web search for a monthly chore chart. A great place to start - I'm ADD and forget to include things on my list.  I found this one over at moneycrashers.com. Unfortunately for me, there isn't an Adam [or a Josh or a Desmond or a Max...] to go through the bills and check the smoke detectors and kill spiders, but the bills are fairly infrequent and I don't care so much about the spiders. [But I do hate after-cooking-clean-up.]


 The thought also occurred to me, since I do a fair amount of living in my car, that I ought to include that on my cleaning list - shaking out the floor mats, vacuuming in there, dusting off the dash. Maybe start leaving the church bulletin in the basket at the back to recycle instead of dropping it in the passenger seat and throwing it out weeks later? Baby steps. I think we'll just start with the chore chart.


Did we mention I'm ADD? 




via Shelterpop.com, in the storage and cleaning department.
If you have messy: Closets
Chances are you are: Nostalgic -- perhaps a bit too much.
Sam Gossling, author of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You notes the connection between old items and our ties to their past. If you've got an out-of-control closet, it doesn't mean you're a pig -- chances are, you're trying to hold on to past events and people through those small mementos.
How to change it: Letting go can be hard. Don't put pressure on yourself to empty out the closet during a quick cleaning session. Instead, take some time to go through the items and identify what justifies keeping in a special place and what you can part with.

If you have a messy: Desk
Chances are you are: Creative. [ha! we crafty people knew this, we just needed someone with a high tone degree to tell our loved ones it's okay!?]
"Messiness is related to creativity because it tends to juxtapose things that don't normally go together." says Columbia University Business School professor Eric Abrahamson, over on Penelope Trunk's site.
How to change it: In the same article, Illinois-based career coach Kelly Crescenti suggests setting up a filing system and then spending the last 15 minutes of every day organizing your piles and clutter into that system.

not yet dead

School - aka graduate studies - began last Monday, and despite a towering To-Do list and a whopping 4 day migraine, I'm still here. Still kicking. Still twitching at the sight of craftiness that I say, "Oh, geeze, I could do that!", and realizing I haven't got the time to cook, much less be crafty. Even the teeniest little bit.

So, what have I learned this week?

1. My mother is, I suspect, actually Wonder Woman. No kidding this time. I don't know how she managed, but she did, and she always managed to look put together, and make tasty food, and get to work on time despite the daily shenanigans of her children. I fail on all counts, and I don't have kids. I have regressed to eating Ramen simply because it's... simple. Add hot water. Poof. No thinking required.

2. If we could figure out food replicators, the world just might be a better place. Or at least, people wouldn't be hungry.

3. A shuttle bus to one part of the city is not the answer.

4. I've changed my mind about menu planning; how does this work again, and how do i get started?

I also discovered a need to apologize anytime someone comes to the hobbit hole. My work table is a disaster of scraps of paper, novels and bits of fabric and computer nonsense. The desk is equally as bad, but that's because the shelves on the bookcase all fell down, and a massive cleanup has yet to be wholly completed. This is not a mancave with science experiments growing in drinking glasses. It's clean, it's just disorganized... okay, there's cat hair on everything. But besides that, clean. There just happens to be a hamper of unfolded laundry in the middle of the sitting area. All this serves to remind me that I've accomplished nothing thus far today. Grr.

pushing daisies

I can't believe this didn't make it on here.

The windup: A couple summers ago, when I was less overworked, and there was more than one quilt show in the summer to attend locally, and my car was cooperating, I went to the Meadville Quilt show and the Westminster (Erie) quilt show. And as a thank you for coming, they both handed out English Paper Piece kits, complete with little bits of fabric. It was an advertisement for a die-cut paper piece company. And since I went to two shows, I got two packets.

Uhh, yes, they are laid out on the grass. Outside. I didn't think I was going to like EPP-  it seemed way too tedious to sit there and stitch those tinsy pieces together, but having done it, I think it's the only thing I would have made, if I'd lived 150 years ago. It's actually been really relaxing. I can take it on the bus and work on it while I'm waiting for someone or thing to start. I'm modeling it after a quilt that my paternal Grandmother owns. It was actually a gift from someone else, not anything anyone in the family made, but all the quilts my grandmother owns were spoken for long before I arrived on the scene.Getting the EPP packets nudged me into making a copy. It's not an exact copy - the origional has flowers with red centers and mix-match petals, solid electric blue sashing and plain white background. Mine will be sashed in a low density sage green calico, with (obviously) coordinated flowers and white print background. I just kept an eye on the remnant bin and grabbed what ever I saw there, so there are four different patterns. A lot of the daisies are made of scrapped fabrics from other projects. In a way, it's a time capsule of almost every project I've made to date. It's also something I made with my mom. She would baste the hexagons to the paper and I'd stitch them together.

anniversary

Mystery quilt! I can't say much about it. The person to whom this is being gifted may in fact read my blog before I give it to them. Can't take any chances, can we? But I did want to put it out there, before it's done. I suppose it qualifies more as a coverlette than a quilt since there is no batting. Did we mention The Cheap? I was sorely grieved - one of the Big Boxes was running a massive sale on batting, but due to entire lack of funds, I had to pass up the sale. Sorely. Grieved. I could have picked up the batting for three separate projects at the cost for one, but alas. I'm not a violent person, but I kind of want to punch someone.

Anyway, here's a picture. I sewed together large 9 Patches, stacked them, and cut through the middle, then had fun rotating the sashed squares. I hope they like it. The back is a flannel paisley, which will stick to clothing with any kind of nap. Oh well. Obviously it's on the hoop now. It's a signature project, so I'm quilting around the blocks with autographs, and then some of the squares with out as well, to keep everything balanced.

Little Black Book [Cover]

Thursday night, and the Moogie and I are being decided homebodies. Well, Moo is always a home body, little bugger jumps at her own shadow. Perfect Hobbit Hole dweller, never goes on any adventures or does anything unexpected. I on the other hand...

I made progress with the patio! There were cardboard boxes left over from moving out there, and I knew there was brick paving, I just didn't know how much of it was covered with verge. So I hacked it back with my bare hands, and I rearranged some plant pots to help define the space... and then my legs started to itch. 12 mosquito bites on my left calf, all centered close to the knee. I scurried indoors pretty quickly. The nice part about pushing back the verge was I uncovered some pretty awesome soil chock full of earthworms, so I was able to do a little plant re-potting on the cheap. We love the cheap [not to be confused with The Cheat] right now since our lovely friends at PPS have apparently decided it's a great idea not to hand out any money to some of it's employees until the middle of September. How the school board would like to work for five weeks, not get paid for the duration AND THEN get to wait two weeks or move before being compensated, I'm not sure. They probably wouldn't like it. Just a guess. So it's living on The Cheap.

Made a Little Black Book [Cover] for my Address book this evening while educating myself on how, exactly, the Federation met up with the Borg in the first place. LBB[C] is exactly what I've been mumbling about making for a long time - it has pockets (four total) for stamps (and maybe postcards), a pen pocket in the back, and a strap to keep it closed. I wish I could say I had a plan making this, but I mostly made it up while Riker ran around a Borg Cube with Data and LaForge. I was going to use the ever classic B/W French Toile for the whole project, but I messed up on the cutting dimensions. Too small to use. Plan B: make the whole thing black. Except for the pockets.

what has it got in it's pocketses?

I think my favorite thing about this is the cuppycake fabric. I found it in a scrap box, and the three pieces looked like they wanted to be pockets layered over one another.They weren't very big pieces - all about as wide as the strip across the bottom, so it took a little fussing to get them layered such that the lot of them were spread out as efficiently as possible. The address book itself was a gift from a big when I rushed a sorority. She included the names of all the sisters inside, and their phone numbers. I love that it's a mini ring binder. Being a huge fan of planned redundancy, I back up my iPod and cell phone when I think of it. And now, after I've gone hunting for an address, I don't have very far to look for stamps. Success!

tie it up tuesday

why tie-it-up-Tuesday? Because tomorrow is Wrap-it-up-Wednesday - last day of PPS Summer Dreamers!

 Today was our gallery crawl. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but somehow we missed the whole walk-around and look at everyone's stuff memo. But we did. A few of my student's parents came, which was nice.

Here are a few of the ceramic things which came in at the VERY last minute:

Shaving cream + glaze!

I'd really like a lesson on how to arrange pictures on this blog in a more compact fashion that doesn't leave a few football field's worth of space between them, so if  you have any pointers on that, I'd love to hear it.