At the Farmer's Market

If it's Tuesday, I've been to Roots Market (locally pronounced to rhyme with "puts"). This time of year there is an embarrassment of riches, with lots of summer produce still available and the fall fruits and veggies coming into season. I know I meet or exceed my recommended daily allowance of produce--it's all so good, and so reasonably priced, and I get the added pleasure of interacting with the farmers, that I buy a lot!

The colors and textures are an added bonus and a feast for the senses, as in the purple cabbage, above, and bunches of cockscomb flowers:




I love the intricate ruffles on these:

An Award at PNQE

The Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza was this past weekend, and I'm pleased to say that my Wood Poppy won a "Best Use of Color"award. It's particularly gratifying because when I finished this quilt and stepped back to review what I had wrought, my personal opinion of it was that I had got the colors just right. There's nothing extraneous there, and the balance of the elements and colors is just as I had envisioned it. I'm thrilled the judges saw the same thing and chose to recognize it!

I wrote a bit more about making Wood Poppy here.

My time at the show was limited this year, but as always I enjoyed the variety of work displayed. This show hosts quilts from the World Quilt Competition, and it's always interesting to see the what the quiltmaking gestalt abroad is. And congratulations to my friend Diane Doran--her beautiful Under the Rainbow took a third place. The complete list of winners is here.

More Catalpa Prints

The weather is spectacular, clear and dry and sunny, and I took advantage of it to make a couple of quick heliograhic prints. I'm using catalpa leaves I gathered some time ago. I don't usually use dried leaves, but when I gathered them conditions were not conducive, so it had to wait.



These are on silk twill, which has a bit more body than silk charmeuse, but still wicks the paint around in wonderful ways, and has a lovely sheen.

Fabulous Fiber

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of going to the opening reception of the Fabulous Fiber exhibit at The Monmouth Museum in Lincroft NJ. There I am, posing with my The Cul-de-Sac, and looking very happy! It is a wonderful exhibit, representing a wide variety of fiberarts, expertly chosen by jurors Joanie San Chirico and Geraldine Velasquez. The exhibit runs until September 21st--go if you get the chance!


The opening was well attended, and I had the opportunity to tell the story behind my quilt several times. I'm always interested to hear people's reactions to my work, and enjoy answering questions.

The best part of the evening, though, was meeting some of the other artists and hearing their stories. Below is Natalia Margulis, a Russian-born artist who does extraordinarily detailed embroideries rich with texture and color. Here she is with "Floating Oak Leaves":

Here is Joan Dreyer with her work "Mission Accomplished", one of two works she had in the show. My snapshot doesn't begin to do it justice--it's made from dental xrays, joined with stitches, and is really quite remarkable:
I also met Linda Friedman Schmidt, who has taken rug hooking as a medium to a new and unique place, using recycled clothing and plastic shopping bags, to create works with social commentary. Here she is posing with her "Plastic Fantastic Makeover":

Here is Jane F. Johnson with "The Breeding Blue Heron". Jane was a lot of fun to talk to, and her work is beautiful.

The evening went by far too quickly. It was so exciting to see such a variety of novel and creative and beautiful artwork; my pictures barely scratch the surface. I came away energized and full of renewed enthusiasm to get to work in the studio and see what happens!

My companion for the evening was the lovely and talented Mary Manahan, who is not only an art quilter and water colorist, but also a hostess extraordinaire, who navigated the wilds of Monmouth County and graciously gave me a place to rest my weary head that night. Thank you Mary!

Back in the Saddle Again

I'm back in the saddle, back on track, and back in the studio with the pedal to the metal, literally and figuratively. I spent the better part of the Labor Day weekend working, which seems appropriate, and finished the quilting and binding, etc., on Fireball. It finished out at 76" x 50", which is not the largest I've done, but still rather challenging to manuever under the machine for quilting.

At the end of a project I like to step back, look it over, and see if there's anything I would do differently. I'm very pleased with Fireball and wouldn't change a thing! It's a happy quilt, and a bright and energetic one, and I'm excited about sending it out into the world for other people to enjoy. I'll have official pictures up in a little while.....

A Brief Haitus

I'm on a brief blogging haitus while I celebrate a joyous time in my personal life.

I'll be back soon. Thanks for checking in.

Viewer's Choice!

I've received exciting news! My Mystery Fern received the Viewer's Choice award at the Images 2008 exhibit held at the Zoller Gallery at Penn State University this summer. I covered my visit to the opening of the exhibit previously on my blog here. At the time I commented on how grateful I was to the organizers for the way the work was displayed--it was well lit, and it looked like a million bucks (IMHO), and I'm sure that being properly displayed had something to do with the award. I'm very grateful to everyone who took the time to fill out a viewer's choice ballot.

I'm also very pleased to note that this was an exhibit drawing from all disciplines. This was the second year that fine craft was included, and there were only a handful of fiber pieces. I think this recognition shows how the textures and details of an art quilt can speak to the viewer. When I was at the opening I heard lots of surprised comments that quilt imagery could be this powerful. I see myself as part of a continuum of the many artists who have labored to change and enlarge the public perception of what a quilt can be, and hope that this award will in a small way help to pave the way for other quilt/fiber artists to receive acknowledgement of their efforts.

A Brief Respite

Summer is short. I took a day off from a too-busy schedule to go hiking in my beloved River Hills in southern Lancaster County, on properties preserved and maintained by The Lancaster County Conservancy. The pictures barely begin to convey the serenity and beauty of the experience.

We first walked a rugged, rocky ravine trail that winds along a clear, fast moving stream. The trail crosses the stream in several places--a good excuse to splash around-- and there are a few swimming holes, one where you can sit in a waterfall for a stimulating experience. Parts of the trail are bordered by extensive stands of towering native rhododendrons:

The main bloom is finished for the year, but we spotted a few late flowers:

No matter how many times I hike this trail, there's always something new to discover--a fungus, a rare native plant, a water strider:

This time I found a gorgeous caterpillar. I've looked through several guides, and haven't been able to ID it yet. If you know what it is, please leave me a comment:

At the end of the trail we took a short drive to another of my favorite places, Pinnacle Point, with a grand view overlooking the Susquehanna River. Last year I used a photo from here to make View From Pinnacle Point:

Here's the detail shot:

Summer is short. I hope you get a chance to get out there and enjoy it.