Another Hurdle to Cross

You probably have been wondering what has happened to me. Well, I've been madly trying to weed the garden as when I came back from Connecticut, that which I hadn't gotten taken care of was a virtual jungle and that which I had still needed attention.

Then, there's the small matter of a quilt that I have been commissioned to make for a gentleman who has been diagnosed with Lymphoma, and there's the FFFC quilt which I am trying to finish.....

But, the biggest hurdle for me getting my work done and writing on my blog is my health. Not only did I fracture my radius (not a serious thing) this spring, and was diagnosed with a recurrence of breast cancer with multiple bone metastasis (for which we are trying a new bunch of drugs), but my pelvis has begun to hurt more, and somehow...somewhere, I got Lyme disease. It might have been in Connecticut that I picked up the deer tick, I don't know. I never saw it (deer ticks are tiny look here), I first thought the rash was a sunburn, until this last Sunday, when it developed into the classic bulls-eye rash . Lucky for me, it DID develop as it doesn't always, but it is a sure sign that you have if you see it.

I went to the Urgent Medical care center on Sunday because I wanted to get the antibiotics started right away. At present, the only issue I have with it is that I'm really tired. So...hopefully I'll be able to get back in the swing of things and post some real posts....

Oh yeah, and to top things off, I have some prodigious poison ivy rashes....I haven't had it in years, and I've got some really quite amazing patches on my skin right now...itchy itchy! I am going to have to go and carefully investigate the areas I was weeding as this is really vicious.

Aullwood: Debra Bentley on Art Quilting and Moss

Yet one more of my co-quilters from the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network has a piece in the Aullwood show. Debra Bentley did this absolutely fantastic piece based on moss. Deb has done some really interesting things lately, but this ithe first piece I have ever seen her do using photographs with filters, although she did do a little piece with a photo transfer before that I can remember....this one is absolutely spectacular.

Since I don't think I can say it any better, I'm including Debra's own words from her artist's statement:

"As I was cleaning my flower pots in early spring, I brushed some snow from the top of one and discovered some moss growing beneath it. I looked at it closely, amazed to find something so fragile looking and beautiful beneath the snow. I took photos of it and enlarged them with software. I also applied filters to them to produce the various altered images. I combined the photos with various batiks and other commercial fabrics to produce the quilt. The blue/white/black fabric reminded me of the snow on top of the flower pot with the moss hiding beneath it. This quilt is my homage to the tenacity of nature and its ability to endure and be green even in winter.


The art quilt represents a tremendous opportunity for expressing design ideas and themes. I make art quilts because taking something originally intended to be utilitarian and making it into art is a challenge, and is very rewarding."

Aullwood: Carroll Schleppi

Carroll Schleppi is another one of my Miami Valley Art Quilt Network buddies. Lest you think that the show only had MVAQN members, I assure you it had plenty of others as well....I just have an easier time getting permission to post photos from people I know.

Carroll has been making art quilts for quite a while and came to art quilts first by doing her own thing rather than working within the traditional guild structure.

This particular piece is entitled "Homage to Anne" and was done as a memorial piece to Anne Hubler (1929-2009) who was the president of MVAQN for many years and a force in the art world in Dayton and had influence across the country. Carroll tried to incorporate Anne's method of sewing little bits of fabric, often donated from other MVAQN member's scraps, onto a background by hand. I accidently incensed Anne ones for referring to this as "snippits."

Carroll considers Anne one of her mentors and had this to say: "I thought of the beauty of the Sun setting and leaving the beach darker but with the lasting memory of a glowing sunset."

This is Carroll's "Falling Limas." Carroll participated in a MVAQN "class" where we worked our way through Jane Davila and Elin Waterston's The Art Quilt Workbook. For her series, Carroll selected beans. Carroll is a rarity as she considers lima beans one of her favorite summer treats.

Carroll grew a lot with her workbook pieces, and one of the best things is that she sold her first piece which was part of this series.

She also practiced using flanges on the piece.






Her last piece in the show is "Out of the Depths." Inspired by a photograph of sea life from the Monterey Aquarium, Carroll "envisioned the creature rising from the depths and reflecting the beauty of the sun through the water on its 'blooms.'

Carroll is a retired mathematics professor from the University of Dayton.

Aullwood: Repurposing

The Theme at Aullwood this year is "It's a Green World." Joan Sterr, who I know from the Miami Valley Art Quilt Network, submitted this piece called "My Cup Runneth Over."

If I had to characterize Joan's work, I would say that she usually has an element of playfulness in her pieces....a clarity and simplicity which is fresh and fun. Something which was brought home today when I saw her felted pieces and small quilts she brought to our group.

Joan made this piece out of re-purposed materials. The background fabric was given to her, something which was being discarded. The flowers and basket, however are just too wild for words. The whole image is made from bras which Joan was going to discard.

Thg lines of the stems are the underwires. The little loops the strap adjustment parts. All of the other bits and pieces were from the decoration and body of the bras. I think that the black center is a button, but I can't clearly remember.













The woven part of the basket is made from the straps. Even the top and sides of the basket are made from straps and decorative parts.

Just great fun...and keeping things out of the landfill. Way to go Joan!

Visiting: Quilters and others!

Contrary to popular opinion, I have not died (yet) nor have I dropped off the face of the earth. I did, however, drop in to Connecticut where I visited lots of friends, family, nurseries, gardens and fellow quilters.

It is hard to believe that two weeks have passed since I went to a meeting of Sisters in Cloth in Guilford, CT. The Sisters are a group of 13 art quilters who meet, share their work, teach each other techniques, and exhibit. In fact, the exhibition schedule left me quite breathless and filled with feelings of ...well, envy!

Many of the venues are arranged by the Sisters, others are ones which the Connecticut branch of the Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) developed. I have finally joined SAQA after many years of contemplating it, but the Ohio group is deadsville compared to the Connectucut/New England bunch. Do check SAQA, you'll be glad you did!

It was wonderful to meet with the Sisters in Cloth, they are really quite welcoming, and their work is gorgeous. I really wish I could somehow commute from Ohio to CT regularly to join them. Check out their lovely blog (and the individual members too!) here.

I was just a tad embarrassed to discover that I had met Carol Ludington before....Carol participated in the one and only class I have ever taught.... I am filled with embarrassment as since it was the first time, I needed to polish the presentation and techniques of teaching. Cringe.

Visiting other quilting groups is always invigorating. If at all possible, when you are traveling, I encourage you to do so. Quite often, you can pick up ideas and just seeing how others work, run their meetings, and just generally do things.


Visiting friends and relatives, and offering my daughter the time to re-connect with her friends was the main motive in going. I also wanted to see what I term "Big Water." Ohio has no naturally occurring lakes. While we have lots of scenic rivers, I miss the ocean and the "big water" of the Great Lakes of my home...heck! I even miss the many inland lakes which dot my corner of Michigan.

So, we did take a short side trip to Essex. See the "helicopter" at the pier? That's a large dragonfly which decided to flit into my picture as I was taking it....it looks large enough to grab one of the fishermen on the dock!