Winter White Challenge

Our latest challenge was due at our March Meeting. The subject, selected by Diane Steffens, was "Winter White."

Here they are individually:

Emmie Seaman - Winter Oxymoron

After a 20" snow storm, this large pile of snow was pushed up in front of our local gas/convenience store named Hot Spot.

Diane Steffen - Tranquility

Dianna Callahan - Snowy Egret

Cathy Jeffery - Almost White

 Donna Olson - Winter White with Snowy Owl

 Kathy Kansier - Snow Angel

 Lettie Blackburn - Winter White With Shadows

Roberta Ranney - Juncos On A Winter White Day

 Sheryl Schleicher - Winter's Kiss

 Lucy Silliman - Iceberg

Lucy has been on a trip to the Antarctic

Maureen Ashlock - Winter White Snow Bright

Maureen has memories of living in Alaska

Carol Bormann - Nebraska Interpretation

Photograph of Carol's grandparents from a journal "Prairie Saga" by Wilma Heers Christiansen 

...."One winter there was so much snow that the wind created a snow drift between the house and the barn. It was as high as the garage roof and Dad had to tunnel his way to get to the stock and milk the cows.".....

Merrilee Tieche - Winter White, Summer Sands

Is it so small a thing To have enjoy'd the sun,

To have lived light in the spring, To have loved,

To have thought, to have done,

To have advanced true friends....

Lily Kern - Ice Storm Sunrise

 Carol Bormann - Dare To Be Different

Several people made more than one, but I chose this second one of Carol's to balance the group shot!

SPOTS - with buttons

All it needed was a sprinkling of buttons.....done.

The actual name of this piece is "Resulting Pain".

SPOTS- Give it some quilting

This is the final result (I think).  I actually felt like I was" on fire" with pain after the first dermatology visit.  The nurse told me next time I should take advil before I come in.  Believe me, that did help.   My next appointment is scheduled for July.  I can hardly wait!

SPOTS - Give it Some Color

                        This is after fusing it to the background.

Had to show the place where the doctor did the cutting.

And now the real fun begins.   To the sewing machine I go!

SPOTS - The Second Phase

I attempted to draw, which I'm not very good at, a body shape.  I wish mine looked this nice!

Then I cut my body apart....to be reassembled at a later date.

SPOTS by Cathy Jeffery

Of all the cancers that humans can get, skin cancer is the most common.  People with light skin who sunburn easily have a higher risk, but anyone can get skin cancer.  Some of the risk factors are:  sunburn, exposure to x-rays, weakened immune system, scarring caused by a disease or burn, exposure to cancer-causing compounds such as arsenic, using indoor tanning beds or sunlamps and in my case a family history of skin cancer. 
Since almost everyone in my family has had it, I thought it was best that I get checked.  So off I went to my friendly family dermatologist.  I didn't know what to expect on that first visit.  I was thinking it can't be that bad.  Boy was I wrong.  The doctor proceeded to freeze 30 spots all over my body with liquid nitrogen.   He could tell just by looking that these were places that could turn into cancer.  One of the spots, however, was suspicious to his talented eye.  He numbed that spot and cut it out for biopsy.  The results were Basal Cell Carcinoma.  I was lucky to have caught it before it grew into something bad.
On my second visit he found 18 more spots.

Of course, being a fiber artist, I am inspired to make a piece about this experience. 

So I dug out some of my spotted fabric.

I have a plan and I will share on this blog as I progress.
.......to be continued........

12 x 12 CHALLENGE: ABUNDANCE

The Uncommon Threads group has been interested in the projects done by the Twelve by Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge.  http://twelveby12.blogspot.com/.   We decided to make 12" square quilts every other month during 2011.  Merrilee Tieche chose the first inspiration picture shown above.  She selected the picture based on the copious food and wine consumed at the annual Uncommon Threads retreat in October.

 Kathy Kansier

 Carol Bormann

Cathy Jeffery

Dianna Callahan

 Donna Olson

 Diane Steffen

 Emmie Seaman

 Lettie Blackburn

 Lily Kerns

 Lucy Silliman

 Maureen Ashlock

 Merrilee Tieche

Roberta Ranney

The next challenge is due in March and was suggested by Diane Steffen.  Our quilts will be interpretations of the phrase "Winter White". 

Houston AQS Quilt Show

Quilt Show review by Diane Steffen


This year I attended the 2010 International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas for the second year. Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger. There were 40 Special Exhibits including some exhibits where photos were not allowed such as art quilts from the book 500 Art Quilts and Artbra where fiber artists embellished bras for a calendar that was available for purchase. The following photos are a few quilts that were my favorites and, of course, I included two of my own quilts that were on display.

Ruffled Feathers by Roxanne Nelson

Roxanne is a Canadian quilter and this quilt has earned several Canadian awards including Viewers Choice and First Place - Excellence for Representational Wall Quilt in the 2010 Canadian National Juried Show.

Hope by Michelle Jackson

Special Exhibit - Text On Textiles: Words as Design in Quilts
This exhibit showcases quilts in which words and fabric come together to form a unique statement. This is the second year of a 3 year project.

Innocence by Hollis Chatelain

 

This quilt portrays a boy that Hollis saw in a dream, 37 images of children's faces are quilted on the face of Earnest. Hollis also showed an exhibit titled "Imagine Hope, Awareness through Art". The exhibition is comprised of 11 textile pieces by Hollis, and 22 black and white photographs from five prominent photographers. The exhibit addresses key social and environmental issues facing our world today.

Yes, I Am by Deborah Sylvester

"Yes, I am strong" is the inspirational message that Deborah wanted to portray after a divorce.

Soul of Art by Mary Fisher

Special Exhibit - Art & Soul
This collection of art quilts includes Mary Fisher's mixed media, fiber and handmade paper. As an international speaker, she travels the world advocating for those who share her HIV status.

Wings & Feathers by Mark Sherman

Mark created this quilt for his daughter Sara, who loves butterflies.

High Heel Daze by Diane Steffen

Special Exhibit - Celebrate Spring! 2010
Quilts from the annual spring edition of the IQA Judged Show in Chicago. Both winning and finalist works featuring a wide array of interpretations were on display.

Rare Catch by Diane Steffen

Special Exhibit - Quilts: A World Of Beauty 2010
Both winning and finalists quilts from the annual fall Judged Show of the International Quilt Association in Houston were on display. "Rare Catch" is in the Art - Pictorial category.

 

Retreat at Creek's End

Seven members of Uncommon Threads took off for our annual retreat on October 15.  Emmie, Donna, Diane, Dianna and Merrilee are pictured here, with Cathy taking the picture and Susan on her way from the other direction.
Our destination was the beautiful Creek's End Retreat near Jasper, Arkansas.

We stopped for a great lunch at Neighbor's Mill Bakery and Cafe in Harrison, Arkansas, and took time out on the way to do a little shopping at Emma's Museum of Junk and other fine shops in Jasper, Arkansas.

We stopped at the Buffalo River to take in the amazing cliffs and gorgeous surroundings before proceeding on to our destination.

The drive to Creek's End was beautiful, though the fall foliage was not as colorful as we'd hoped due to the prolonged drought in Northern Arkansas.  Driving on the back roads was sometimes a challenge, but always lovely.

Creek's End was delightful!  Neat as a pin and plenty of room for everyone to spread out. The retreat was situated on the banks of the Little Buffalo River (which was mostly dry at the time), and we were eager to hike and explore the stream bed. A beautiful sheer cliff bordered one side of the stream.  This afforded everyone  a real "photo op"!

Saturday's time was spent as each person chose - sewing, knitting, catching up on quilting magazines, hiking, doing yoga, or just plain relaxing!

Each participant provided a meal for the group.  The food and wine was fabulous and most abundant!  Many of us (no names, please) ate too much  and even enjoyed the wine a little too much!

On the way home Sunday morning we made a stop at an overlook of the Buffalo River Valley, where one could see only wilderness from horizon to horizon.  Then on to enjoy the view and the little gift shop at Cliff House.  We had planned to lunch there, but everyone was just too full.

It goes without saying, "A Good Time Was Had By All!" and we look forward to visiting the lovely little "Fairy Cottage" again.