“Motherhood”

This is “Motherhood,” a group art quilt by the Pandoras. Last year, we decided to do a quilt as a group and chose the theme of motherhood. We designed the shape of the panels so that they would fit together, but could still stand independently. Each panel is 12" on its short end, 24" on its long end, and 36" long. Each has a sleeve at the top and bottom, so they can be displayed together, but are not sewn together.

The panels are by (from left:) Grace Howes, Lushorn Millsaps, Susan Brubaker Knapp, and DeLane Rosenau. Each of us chose a different aspect to motherhood that was important to us. We decided that we should all use some blue in our panels so that there would be some continuity, but other than that, were permitted to do what we wanted.

Grace's panel deals with issues surrounding motherhood in Africa: maternal and infant mortality, war, rape, and famine. It shows a woman holding the continent of Africa on her pregnant belly, and is embroidered with tears done in a metallic thread:


Lushorn's panel is about generations of women, and is done in a family tree. Images of a baby, an infant, a young mother and an old woman are embroidered into the tree trunk. This was Lushorn's first experience free-motion threadpainting and quilting!


My panel is about nursing, one of the great joys of the early years of my motherhood. It shows a breast-feeding infant, and has the word “communion” threadpainted in the arch. I tried to replicate the sleepy, drunken, satiated look of the baby that I so loved seeing when nursing my two daughters. Nursing truly was a kind of communion for me, a holy connection between mother and child.






DeLane's panel deals with the issue of infertility. A woman stretches her arms up to heaven begging for a child, while a trail of beads connects her heart to her womb. DeLane also quilted some important words into her piece.


I am so proud of the work our group is doing! Each one of us is pushing ourselves to try new things, and getting better with each project.

Another lover of the Glasgow Rose

Yesterday, I got a really nice e-mail from a woman named Kelly, who had just ordered a pattern for my "Glasgow Rose" quilt (see photo above). She wrote, “I want to tell you HOW excited I am to find this. I grew up in East Aurora, NY where the Roycrofters are. I have always loved their rose so much. Even from such a young age. When I decided to get a tattoo that is what I got. [See her photo below.] To honor my home town which I miss dearly. I cannot WAIT to get started on my very own quilt.”



I wrote back to tell Kelly that I am a huge Roycrofters fan, and a fervent admirer of the Arts and Crafts movement. About 15 years ago, a wonderful Roycrofters exhibit came to the Virginia Museum of Art and my husband and I, who were living in Charlottesville, VA, at the time, went and enjoyed it very much. We have some reproduction and some antique Craftsman furniture, and I actually made this quilt to compliment my living room furniture.

The Roycrofters were a handicraft community founded in East Aurora, NY in the 1890s. It became a well-known center of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States.

Kelly included some websites of things to do and see having to do with the Roycrofters:
The Roycrofters at Large Association and the Roycroft Festival

Roycroft Shops, which carry Roycroft china

The Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, furnished with original and reproduction Roycroft furnishings

Roycroft Pottery, which carries gorgeous one-of-a-kind hand-thrown pottern in the Arts and Crafts style by Janice McDuffie

Here's the story behind Kelly's tattoo, in her own words:
“I wanted something to really show who I am. Not to mention it is permanent so I MUST love it. Not an option otherwise. I had a very hard time finding anything I wanted and the couple tattoo artists I went to just couldn’t grasp what I was looking for. I happened to work with someone who dabbled in painting and art. So I told him what I wanted. Something girlie, Celtic hearts and has to have THIS rose.(The Roycroft/Glasgow Rose) So this is what he came up with.

“I am of Celtic descent on my dad’s side. It is just uncertain to whether we were Irish or Scottish. (I have red hair, fair skin and blue/grey eyes), but I have always been drawn to the Celts. For me it represents my heritage.

“The heart to represent my love for most everything. Family, friends, animals, nature, etc. The Rose wasn’t an option. I always LOVED that rose from my days growing up. For me it represents home.

“Being my birthday is 6-26-76 and my mom always called me her demon child (too many 6’s she said. LOL ..) my friend decided to put in 7 hearts to give me a little added luck. The little heart above the rose originally was a swirl pattern. But it was too tight for the tattoo artist to do. So we changed it to another heart. Never can have enough.”

Here's a little history about the Glasgow Rose:

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was part of "The Four" — a group of artists including Mackintosh, Herbert MacNair, and Margaret and Frances MacDonald — that grew out of the The Scottish Movement at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland in the late 1880s and 90s. They are credited with popularizing the Glasgow Rose, which became one of the most famous motifs of the Arts and Crafts movement. It was adapted from Aubrey Beardsley, and used on furniture, pottery, stained glass, metalwork and other decorative arts. For more information, go to the website for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society.

Follow me!

I just added a new feature to my blog called “Following.” If you look on the right-hand side of my blog, right at the top, you'll see it. It says, “Followers,” and then “Follow this blog.” If you click on those words, you can sign up to subscribe to my blog, and you'll be notified whenever I post something. It's one more way of building a little community online, which is what I love most about blogging.

I'd love for you to follow me! – Susan

Fabric bead necklaces

The Pandoras and a few friends had great fun this morning making these funky bead necklaces. Lushorn organized this project. We took 20mm wooden beads, wrapped them in fabric (smeared with a glue stick on one side) and stuffed the excess into the holes using knitting needles. Then we strung them on ribbon and added toggle clasps. Cute, no?

What a great way to use up some of your little fabric scraps! (Each bead uses a 1-1/2" x 3" strip.)

Here's Rhondi, wearing her first necklace and starting on a second:

and Grace:

and Lushorn:

And Liz (concentrating VERY hard):

and Alisan:

and DeLane:

I didn't get a photo of Michele or her beads because she had to skip out early.

The “Four Pieces Project:” Grace and DeLane

The Pandoras met this morning, and turned in the “Four Pieces Project” for Grace (above). The artists are (clockwise from upper right:) Susan, Grace and DeLane.

For this project, we each chose a photo, enlarged it to 16x24" and cut it into four fairly equal pieces. Then each person got one section, and had to make that part. For each, we were supposed to try a new technique, or stretch ourselves in some way. It has been very interesting.

DeLane’s project is shown below (clockwise from right:) Susan, Grace and DeLane. Lushorn is still working on her pieces. We will finish up this project next month, when Lushorn’s project pieces are due. She used a photo of a lighthouse, and I got the long horizontal section at the bottom, which is water, rocks and lots of seafoam and froth. Should be fun.



And here's my project, which I blogged about before, just in case you missed it. (from left: Lushorn, DeLane, Susan, Grace).

Bohemian Bouquet is done!

Bohemian Bouquet is done! (Well appliqued and pieced, at least!) I know that the last two blocks are technically supposed to be a mystery, but since I exhibited this at Barnful of Quilts yesterday and about a thousand people saw it, is seems only fair that everyone who is stitching it right now gets to see it.

This is my “mystery block-of-the-month quilt” that started in January. Each month, I’ve finished and shown a new block. The October block is the one with the blue flower and vine at the center of the top and bottom. The November block has a red flower with a vine; it’s at the middle of the left and right sides.

After I had sewn all the blocks together, I decided to add a small black border to give the designs a little “breathing room.” I think I'm going to bind it in red (right now I just PhotoShopped it in so I could see how it would look). But first, I’m going to hand quilt it using red thread. I am so excited, because it has been waaaaaaay too long since I hand quilted. I think I’m going to quilt around all the applique, and then do an overall grid pattern in the back, maybe 1" apart.

I have decided that although I do machine thread-painting and quilting on my contemporary art quilts, I really love hand quilting on the quilts where I have done a lot of hand work, especially the ones that look old fashioned. Yes, it is going to take a lot longer.

At Barnful of Quilts I had several interesting discussions with people who came into my stall, looked around and asked me, “Who quilts your work?” “I do!” was my answer. “Really? All of them? Even the king-sized ones?” “Yep. And I do them on my home sewing machine... I don’t have a long arm.” I’ve never sent a quilt out (even though I know several marvelous long-arm quilters and love their work) because #1) I’m too cheap. #2) I like to do it myself, and I prefer the look of free-motion motifs. #3) Quilting is the part of the process where the quilt comes alive for me, and I’d hate to miss that wonderful experience. #4) It would feel like cheating to me... like sending my kids to boarding school!

Still, I’m not going to say I’ll NEVER have someone else quilt my quilts. I’ve learned enough to never say never! But for now, I’m very happy to be quilting them myself.

And so, now, I’m off to baste and quilt!

Barnful of Quilts

The rain stayed away, and the 2008 Barnful of Quilts was wonderful! Here are some of the photos I took today.

Quilts – many of them for sale — hang on the fence outside the barn:







The barn is really amazing:



Ellen Guerrant was this year’s featured contemporary artist. Ellen is a very talented quilter, artist, teacher, photographer and blogger. And a warm, caring person to boot!



Aimee Griffin is a big supporter of the Charlotte-area quilting community. She has a darling quilt shop called Overall Quilter in Indian Trail:



Karen Wilson McWhorter and other UCo Quilters (Jane Beamer, Rose Giacchetta, Judy Jewell and Joyce Walker) made this sophisticated quilt to raffle at this year’s Barnful of Quilts. I bought $5 worth of tickets… and WON!!! Isn’t it beautiful? I was really thrilled. I am sure that I have bought hundreds of quilt raffle tickets over the years, and I have never won a quilt… until today!



These llamas were a big hit with the crowd. Check out those eyelashes!









Sara Furr offers “fine fibers for your projects, therapy for your soul” at Cottage Yarn:



Alisa Deshields (below) of The Prim Merchant makes wonderful primitive dolls and holiday decorations. She has an Etsy shop that is empty right now, but she told me she'd be restocking soon. I bought the cute angels she is holding.



Catherine Hawley crafts ”“artful, functional carry-alls” from recycled billboards for The Things She Carried shop on Etsy.com.



Pam Wittfeld of Constructive Designs creates wonderful contemporary silver jewelry that had me drooling:



Stephanie Quattrini’s business card says she is the “Resident Guru” at The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Dye For. And they were. Check out the beautiful collar she is wearng:







Fuliva Luciano was in the stall next to me. She creates spectacular fiber art that is painted, printed and stitched. She also spins and hand-dyes yarn and creates fluffy batts that look like cotton candy. Here’s one of Fulvia’s pieces, “Which Way to Rock Hill,” which is for sale on her website:



I bid on (and won) a shawl at last year’s silent auction made by Susan at Cowan Welch, and was glad to see her again. Her she is with some of her elegant woven wraps:



Willa McNeill makes one-of-a-kind purses, totes, quilted journal covers. Here she demonstrates using Shiva Paint Stiks:



A beautiful quilted jacket by Willa:

Setting up for Barnful of Quilts

Friday was the day to set up for Barnful of Quilts, a fabulous one-day celebration of quilting and fiber arts in Waxhaw, NC, south of Charlotte. Valerie Fox hosts the event at her family’s farm, and the proceeds of the ticket sales benefit Waxhaw Presbyterian Church. This is the second year I’ve participated in this fun exhibition. (To view the flier below, which contains directions, double-click on it.)



My good friend DeLane Rosenau helped me set up my stall. Yep, my stall. The horses moved out (temporarily), and the quilters moved in. Here it is, ready for the big day:














Women in the stall next to mine were busy setting up their space:





This is Deborah Langsam (below), a fellow member of the Charlotte Quilters Guild. Deborah’s company, Barking Dog Fabric Art, donates all profits to SupportWorks, a nonprofit organization in Charlotte that helps people find and form support groups and research medical information.

Her mosaic quilt, “Under the Eyes of Queen Charlotte,” is composed of thousands of tiny photos of the city of Charlotte, superimposed on an image of the "Queen Charlotte" statue that stands in uptown Charlotte. It is so cool!



The barn is spectacular. Check out Valerie’s lovely roses, still blooming in October:



I have a great view from my stall of one of the horses we bumped outside:



Ellen Guerrant is this year’s featured artist. Here she is with her husband hanging some of her work:



This is one of Ellen’s best known pieces:



After we had finished setting up, DeLane and I drove into Waxhaw to check out the bead shop, The Bead Merchants (wonderful, tempting stuff!) and talk with owners Van and Gayle Eyre, and then into a new quilt shop, The Quilting Nook, which is right on the main drag at 103 West South Main Street. What a darling shop! It’s in the old grocery store, and has wonderful light and very high ceilings that give it a wonderful, spacious feel.



Co-owner Beth Suerdieck is only too glad to help a customer with a selection:



The classroom is spacious and filled with light:


Co-owner Kim Profitt fields a phone inquiry from a customer:



The shop carries more than just fabric. They have beautiful ribbons and lots of notions and books.





Downtown Waxhaw has managed to keep many of its old, charming buildings. It has lots of antique stores, and is a fun place to visit and linger: