Quilt Auction

A recent trip to old stomping grounds was multi-purpose.  Mostly I soaked up some quality time with dear friends.  I also sang in a friend's wedding and attended the Michiana Mennonite Relief sale where a quilt I designed (about 250 quilts/afghans/comforters were sold that day) was sold to benefit MCC.

Here it is in line to be sold.  The black, pink and white one.

Here it is waiting to be the next one on the display.

Difficult to fit a King size quilt on such a small display piece, but they did what they could.

They stretched it up high enough to cover the auctioneer... (Still not showing the whole diamond in the center) clearly that wasn't going to work!!

I was disappointed to note that it sold for only $550.  I guess it's the economy, of course it's a size that most people can't use and it's feminine... but I thought it was a pretty quilt.  It sold at 9:05 am.  Shortly after that they got an auctioneer that was much higher energy and then people started to focus a little better, I sure wish he'd been the auctioneer just a bit earlier!

Here are some of the other 250 pieces auctioned off.  From small wall hangings to the large ones.  There were some really pretty ones in the mix but mostly ultra traditional stuff in very federal colors.  (Not exactly my thing.)

The front row showed some of the quilts unfolded, this was an especially pretty one.

Lots of time and detail in these two!

I was pretty amazed with how low things were going, people bidding that morning were getting bargains.  But it's all for charity and every bit helps.  I designed and cut the the fabric as we went along, my mother-in-law pieced it and I don't remember who worked with us at the ironing board.  It was hand quilted by a group of Mennonite women from her church with help from the sewing circle at another Mennonite church nearby.  I never did actually get to study the quilting, things just went by a little too quickly for that.  I wish I had a good photo of the whole thing, but it was a little big to get good photos.  I also wish I knew who bought it, but like I said... it just went by a little too quick for that.     

I'd like to do this again some year, a smaller quilt that is less gender specific and hopefully in a season when money isn't so tight for everyone and it can go for a little more money.  I would use hand dyed fabrics this time, no commercial fabrics.  I don't have any interest in hand quilting it though, which may explain why I have so many unquilted quilt tops in storage.  So maybe some day I'll find sewing and quilting buddies once more that can make projects like this possible once more.

Time will tell.   

Happy Quilting,
Carmen Rose

Floral Quilts in Full Color

Here's another series of quilts from my show that is currently up at Oasis Gallery in Harrisonburg, Virginia:

The top piece is called
"Dance of the Periwinkle"

Hand dyed cotton, buttons

Hand Embellished

Fused and machine quilted

17 x 15

$245

The Long Narrow one on the right below that:

"Windswept"

Hand dyed cotton

Hand Embellished

Fused and Machine quilted

$170

The smallest one on the left:

"Petit Four"

Hand dyed linen & commercial batiks

Machine pieced and quilted

Hand embellished

8 x 8

$79

And finally, the one on the pedestal with the art glass is this one:

"Buttoned Down Wreath"

Hand dyed cotton

Machine pieced & quilted

Hand quilted, fused and embellished

12 x 12 on gallery canvas

$235

Here is another shot so you can see how dimensional the flowers are on the surface of this quilt.

I hope you are liking these little snippets of photos from the exhibit.  

I'm kind of enjoying spreading it all out like this.  

Of course your comments are welcome.

Happy Creating

-Carmen Rose

I Carried out my Quilts on Stretchers...

No silly, the quilts aren't ill... they've just been hanging out in the art department, that's all.  I found these quilts in an unfinished pile of unfinished work.  Every self respecting ADD artist has these unfinished piles full of projects started with the best of intentions... languishing somewhere.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Sometimes when they're IN sight they are still out of mind... or perhaps I'M the one out of mind... but I digress.

Here they are, two small quilts wrapped around a stretched canvas.  They are 12 x 12 and the canvas is "gallery style" which means it 1.5 inches deep.  Again, I'm loving the dimensional quality of these.

The quilts are hand dyed fabrics, cotton, linen and silks.  Machine pieced, machine quilted. 

I'm coming down home stretch on work for the exhibit I'll put together on Monday.  I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose

Framing a Mini Quilt

I had a hair brained idea the other day, why not put this ready made frame together with this small quilt:


And when I tried it, I LIKED it!

Now this is one of my new favorites. Now whether or not I'll ever let it leave my house, I do not know. Right now I think I'd just like to enjoy it myself for a while.

I love the dimensional quality of this frame, I came across it by accident and bought all I could get my hands on.  I love the look of a small framed quilt.  So... I think it works. 

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose

Rainbow... Green

Ok, so these are starting to feel a little predictable. Next one gets changed up somehow!
Green... in with the rest of them so far. My design wall is full of lots of wonderful color!

Rainbow Series - Yellow

Well, I’ve gotten a little behind on posting these. I think yellow was next, right? This is the third one in the ROYGBIV series. It’s the yellow one.
Here are the first three together... though in order to crop them it throws off the line that runs through the series. At this point they are only pieced, not quilted and I'm not sure if I'm done or if I'll be adding some other stuff yet. They are hand dyed cotton, linen and white on white fabrics plus a bit of commercial batiks. They are roughly 18 x 18 though the first one is the smallest one and it seems like they get bigger and bigger as I keep working on the series.
If you want to join in the challenge, it's not hard. Just make one small quilt for each color of the rainbow - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. Let me know if you decide to play along.

Magenta

I’ve started a new quilt series, this one inspired by my quilting hero Melody Johnson. It’s based on the traditional “ROYGBIV” rainbow, otherwise known as Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet. I’ll be focusing more on Magenta rather than Red, Cyan rather than Blue and beyond that it should be pretty straight forward. I expect to use this series of seven quilts as the focal point of my living room gallery space when they are complete.

I started out by hand dying and painting a series of cottons, silks and linens. I’m thrilled with how they turned out and have had them laying out on a table in my studio for the better part of a month or so, just waiting for the time and emotional energy to sink myself back into them. May was a difficult month around here. It has been some time since I’ve found “the zone” where the work consumed me and brought me the joy it once did. One of these days the mojo will return, until then I am no less an artist. And so I create.
I’ve started with the Magenta and have an about 18x18 square pieced. This is hand dyed cotton, linen, and white on whites plus some bits of commercial fabric - mostly batik. I am considering all my options at this point so it will be interesting to see where the creative process takes me this time.

Please pass the bracelets.

Three ladies stepped up to the counter at the Oasis gallery, so I laid down my project to help them. One was trying on a bracelet by the amazing Ms. Sarah Lock. The other two were rather distracted by my project. This is how it sounded:

Two: Is that a quilt?
Three: It does look like a quilt, doesn’t it.
One: *admiring her bracelet along with the new one* I think these look good together.
Me: Oh, I do to.
Two: Can we see what you’re working on?
Three: Maybe she doesn’t want to show it.
Me: I don’t mind showing you. *I take it over to the sofa and spread it out so they can see the whole thing.*
Two: *gesturing* What’s it gonna be?
Three: Well, I think it’s a quilt.
Me: It’s a wall hanging.
Two: You’re going to hang it on the wall?
Three: Well sure, you suppose you could figure out a way to hang it on the wall.
One: *fingering the bracelet* I wore it all the time, never took it off.

Three: Oh I remember that bracelet, what happened to it?
Two: it’s funny shaped.
Three: Why yes, it does have an odd shape.
One: *Holding out her arm* I don’t know what happened to it, and I never got another one to replace it.

Two: are you going to hem it shaped like that?
Me: I’ll add a binding to the edges.
Two: She’s going to hem it and hang in on the wall.
Three: Well yes, it does need to be hemmed, now doesn’t it.
Two: It has a funny shape.
Three: Why yes, I believe it does.
One: *gangling her bracelets together* I like this one, it goes nicely with the one I’m wearing. (She’s saying this about one gold bracelet and one silver bracelet that are widely divergent styles.)
Two: Oh yes it does
Three: Oh yes, they are pretty together.

Two: Now what kind of fabric is that?
Me: *Pointing again to different sections of the work* These are hand dyed, this is hand marbled fabric, these are commercial fabrics and this is linen and this is silk.
Two: That IS linen, and that IS silk, I didn’t even notice them until you pointed them out.
Three: Oh I didn’t notice them either, but you’re right, there they are, right there.
One: *moving her arm around in the air* I paid a lot for that one and wore it for years, I wonder what happened to it.

Three: Did you lose it?
Two: Did you use Rit Dye?
Three: Why yes, I suppose you have to dye it to get it to look like that.

Me: No, I used a professional dye called Procion Dye.
Two: Oh, see? She used special dyes to make the fabric those colors
Three: Why yes, those colors are very pretty.
One: *toying nervously with the price tag* It really is pretty isn’t it and it’s only $50.
Me: That’s a good price for a silver bracelet made by hand.

Three: That's a good deal.
Two: And are you going to leave it that odd shape?
Three: Yes, it is a funny shape now isn’t it.
Me: Yes, I’ll leave it.
One: *dropping her arm to her side in resignation.* Well, I’m not going to buy it, guess I should put it back.
Me: Oh, and it looks so good on you.
Two: You’re not going to buy it?
Three: Oh, I think you should buy it
Me: Oh yes, it’s lovely on you.
One: Well, alright, maybe I will.

I go to write up the ticket to sell the bracelet to the woman who is already wearing it.

*sigh*

So here is my oddly shaped quilted wallhanging (that I shall hang on the wall) with the hand dyed fabrics (but I don't use rit.) Please pass the bracelets.

I've started the binding, and all I have left is the sewing by hand part and then it will be finished unless I decide to add something else.

In the zone

It started with this new chunk of fabric

And then I added a few others, mostly hand dyed with a few commercial ones thrown in.
And I was just minding my own business making something for my kitchen to replace the winter scene that just has to go.

And something really unexpected

started to happen

and I found the flow

and I got lost in the work

and remembered...

why I do what I do.

Yeah.

Quilts in the Sun

The sun came out finally, and I was able to catch a few snaps of these quilts. This red and white quilt is one I worked on all during the musical “Shenandoah Moon.” The red is a reproduction of a vintage red from the 1930’s and the play was set in 1933 so I felt like it was a good fit. There are also ecru parts in the design that are a little harder to see in this photo. I consider it a modified Irish Chain pattern.

I hand quilted it during practices and hemmed it during dress rehearsals between my scenes. I did about half of it by hand and other parts are machine quilted, which may seem a little strange but it actually works quite nicely in person. I will keep it as a reminder of the amazing people I enjoyed getting to know. I would come in to the green room, sit down and quilt, and my new friends would come and keep me company. It was good. The show is over and I miss them.

Baby quilt for Harlen (and Misde, my constant companion)

I used the quilt during the show. I entered folding it a number of times, as if it just came off the laundry line. It turned out to be too much to wrap the baby in, so I never was actually able to use it for its intended purpose but that’s ok. The second to last show it was draped over the porch railing in one scene. By the final show it remained on that porch railing through a number of scenes. I made a rag doll for another scene in the show out of the same fabrics. I think I’ll see that back one of these days, at least I hope so. They said they’d mail it. Thankfully the character that I played is long gone but the quilt remains, along with the memories.

These two small pieces are the first ones to come out of my first experimentation with procion dyes. They are a combination of cotton, silk and linen plus some dyed white on whites and I’m delighted with what the added texture does to the composition though it’s difficult to tell any of that from the photos.

The silks... oh they are soooo pretty! They are not finished, I need to bind them and that should do it unless I decide to add something more but I don't think it's needed at this point. I would like to name them but their mood perplexes me, not sure what all is there emotionally in these two. I was surprised at how somber they looked finished.

Strong Defenses, Vibrant Heart

I’m not sure what to call this piece, it’s one of the most personally expressive pieces I’ve done for a while. I started with a chunk of linen in a silvery blue mottled charcoal color, cut a door shaped slice into it and began layering fabrics into that opening. Then when I closed the door I ironed some wrinkles into it and layered some fabric over and through it.

As I created this piece I was thinking of what it was like to play Molly, the 18 year old young mother in the musical production of Shenandoah Moon this weekend. I had a conversation with the director about how she saw me vibrant in auditions and watched me shut down at times during rehearsals and I become “flat.” That wasn’t easy to hear but it was certainly true. There is an intense scene where one character is standing at my knee shouting over me at the man who plays my husband. I was catching the full brunt of a loud and intense energy while holding a (fake) baby in my arms. It made me shake involuntarily. One evening we had to do that scene repeatedly to work out how the details. By the time we were through that night’s rehearsal my defense mechanisms were at their highest and I was vacant and detached. My vibrancy was gone, I was flat.
My very favorite men from the show. Danny Lee to the right (Jesse Shifflett) and to the left Bill Martin (Howard) Ed Smith (Cliser) and Johnny Stoll in the hat (Erman.) Love these guys!

I began to see that if I was going to play that scene well, I was going to need to bring down the defenses. But one doesn’t just decide to lose something that has been useful in self preservation. So how to do this?

Work at it.

By the time the show rolled around I was able to do the scene, getting better and better with each performance. I knew I could engage with my character and experience her full grief but I didn’t know how long it would take me to come back from that dark place. After one performance I had to closet myself as the emotions brought up in that scene ran their course.

My situation wasn’t all that unique, there were others dealing with aspects of their characters that were too close to home. And I grew to respect actors for what they are willing to share with an audience, and what it costs them to do so. This is in some ways a sacrificial offering. I will not look at Community Theater the same way ever again.

Carmen Rose (Molly Shifflett) in my "about to bust a baby any day now" gear and Danny Lee (Jesse Shifflett)

So I thought of defense mechanisms and raw emotions as I created this piece. I wanted to show the contrast between the soft and vibrant part of me and the strong harsh shields and defenses. I used a bit of the fabric that I used in Molly’s quilt, it’s a red reproduction 1930’s style fabric. I kept the fabric edges raw and frayed. I love how the textures of the course woven linen, the smooth cotton and the fine glossy silk work together. I used a bit of the tangled vibrant fibers from the dryer and worked that into the design. The olive and magenta silks are wrinkled and mistreated but they manage to be catch the light beautifully and feel lush even with this treatment. (though it is so hard to capture this with a camera!) There is lots of texture to this piece with the frayed bits and purposeful wrinkles and I like how that worked.

I’m not sure it’s quite done. I may embellish it a bit yet, not sure. It’s expressive of this journey, there is a bit of Molly in here and a whole lot of me. And as Molly fades from view and I settle into my own skin more fully, I embrace the vibrancy, even if it is wrinkled and a bit frayed. I am not “flat.” No, not any more.

For the Love of Color

I’ve got 26 colors of procion dye and instructions from the amazing Ms. Melody. I’m dangerous now, nothing in my house is safe at this point.

I did the little chemist thing, mixing all the stuff together and loving those colors as they soak into the fabric. I’m working with silk, cotton and linen. Oh, and some white on white as an afterthought.

I’ve got these laid out but they are not dry yet. I wanted some texture and color blending in these and I just can’t wait until they are dry enough to iron so I can see how they turned out. And I have one batch of all the fire colors in the washer and I’ll tell ya, I’m really impatient. I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

A quilt for today

This little bitty quilt is no more than 7.5 x 7.75 inches. I’ve used one of my old art prints on watercolor paper in there which adds an interesting texture. The rest of the fabric is hand dyed plus a piece of batik. I was pleased by how quickly it came together, that fusible stuff is pretty amazing and works on paper as well as it does on the fabric. This little quilt taught me that sewing through paper will require some adjustments but at this point I don't mind the purple bobbin thread showing. It seems to fit with the other intentional imperfections such as the fraying edge.

I think I’ll call it “Catharsis.” There is a sense in which the beautiful parts, the poetry and vibrancy is in the distance framed by the present reality that requires moving through the current grief and fraying edges. It is fitting for a new round of personal and private grieving that has become an assertive companion of late.

“She was no longer wrestling with the grief, but could sit down with it as a lasting companion and make it a sharer in her thoughts.” ~George Eliot

Shenandoah Moon Quilt

Yesterday I started a project that has been running around in my head quite a bit. I’ve done some research into the people who were displaced by the building of the Skyline Drive here in Virginia back in the day. (All brought on by the production of Shenandoah Moon that I’m in.) And I’ve struggled with it some because I am not crazy about some of these old colors but I wanted to keep a kind of old fashioned feel to the elements. I used two of my fabrics dyed with fabric paints for the sky and moon - that ended up being kind of an interesting combination. I found some photographs on the Library of Congress site of the actual folks and a photo of a cabin as well. I printed them out on fabric and gave them some quality time with my iron to set the ink. The woman is as close as I could come to a photo of someone that would look like my character should look. The little cabin kind of looks like a tombstone, which I didn't intend but I don't mind.

So I started by fusing up some fabric and starting to play around with the options. It came together fairly easily and before long I was digging around in my box of vintage lace for something that looked really old that I could use to suggest fog. It’s been foggy here in the mornings for the last few days and I remember that when we lived on the mountain many mornings would find the valley below us fogged in nicely with the folds of the mountains showing above the blanket of fog. I happened to find an ancient bit of ultra fine cotton, very worn and stained in places with freyed edges. It was a nice addition.

I got everything fused down and started with some machine quilting. I toyed with the idea of adding an apple tree, since the people who left had to leave their orchards as well, the government took their homes and their profession away from them. I debated and considered… and then took the iron to that tree and that was that.

A bunch more quilting and then I started into some hand quilting and I’ve been adding some buttons to suggest the apples and I don’t know what else I’ll add. I have a small bag of vintage buttons that I’m using, there are some really cool ones in here!

I’m babysitting a gallery today so it is unlikely that I’ll get much more done. Who knows. I would love to finish the binding today but I don't know when I'd fit it in with everything else. We'll see.