Exhibition Hopping!

This week is the Contemporary Handweavers of Texas bi-annual conference being held

in Houston.  Always, an exciting time to shop, attend seminars, workshops, 

meet and greet new friends, hugs from 'old' friends/

Before I jump into the festivities of the conference, I

attend the special fiber exhibits being held in the city to

coordinate with conference.

First, stop is this excellent display of Ikat fashion pieces at Museum of Fine Arts--

entitled

"Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats showcases nearly 50 ikat robes and panels from the renowned Murad Megalli Collection of the Textile Museum in Washington D.C."

is a perfect connection the theme of CHT conference,

Crossing Threads:  Connecting Cultures.

Next stop is Houston Center for Contemporary Crafts, where the Handweavers of America is

sponsoring their Small Expressions--art at its smallest!

24 Artists will highlight the show, using their medium of different fiber techniques.

The pieces can be no  larger than 15" in any direction!  A major feat for any

artist.

SugarLand Art Center is hosting a special exhibit with items on

loam from Contemporary Handweavers of Houston members.

Busy day of exhibit hopping and then finishing up with my assignment

at the  conference check-in desk at Marriott to greet attendees!

Look What I Have........................

The text read, "your quilts are finished and ready for pick-up"!  Oh, so excited!  When I hand off my quilt tops to the quilter, Judy M, they are out of my mind and off my plate into the hands of someone who will make those tops shine!

Huray!  My fall stitchery pattern!  I didn't expect them to be returned

so quickly-- I'm happy!

The quilting is so fun!! pumpkins around the border--

And yes, Happy Halloween!  These blocks have been

resting for some months--so glad to have them 

assembled into quilt top

Love these faces by Amy Bradley

Mr and Mrs. Monster!

gather together with spiderwebs--so fitting!

Ready to be bound for the fall!

And One Christmas hanging--another panel that

aged well before I thought of a setting for it

Perfect quilting pattern for this joyous quilt!

Thanks Judy--once again, creative work!

Embroidery Threads?

I'm sitting in my favorite chair, stitching away on my Christmas snowmen; pulling embroidery through my cloth, I'm in a calm zone!   All is right with the world--stitch, pull, stitch again.......and my mind wanders--just how is the embroidery threads made ?

Oh, I know the basic principals of spinning the cotton or silk as it may be, but how did DMC come up with their idea of making such massive threads of color?  Lo and behold, there is a video about just the thing!
so, I present to you this interesting video on how DMC threads come to be in my stitching!

Memorial Day

Memorial Day in my mind was the last hurrah of school season and the beginning

of summer--ahh, holiday for three months!

Fun story:  when we were growing up, you could go to the store and purchase

these lovely 'plastic' wreaths to take to the grave of your loved one.

These wreaths were in the stores before Mother's Day--one year, my youngest

brother who was about 6 at the time, wanted to buy one of these wreaths to

give to mother on mother's day!  My father let him and so there was a

small chuckle from my mother when she received it with honor!

The custom of honoring ancestors by cleaning cemeteries and decorating graves is an ancient and worldwide tradition, but the specific origin of Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was first known, are unclear.

In early rural America, this duty was usually performed in late summer and was an occasion for family reunions and picnics. After the Civil War, America’s need for a secular, patriotic ceremony to honor its military dead became prominent, as monuments to fallen soldiers were erected and dedicated, and ceremonies centering on the decoration of soldiers’ graves were held in towns and cities throughout the nation.

After World War I, the day expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars.

And the poppies!  Vets would sell these little paper poppies on the street corners

and we would wear them as a sign of our dedication to the veterans.  Do we see

that today?  

The wearing of poppies in honor of America’s war dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day (not Veterans Day). The origin of the red poppy as a modern-day symbol of this day was actually the idea of an American woman, Miss Moina Michael. Read more about the inspiration for the poppy.

In war-torn battlefields, the red field poppy (papaver rhoeas) was one of the first plants to grow. Its seeds scattered in the wind and sat dormant in the ground, only germinating when the ground is disturbed—as it was by the very brutal fighting during World War 1.

The practice of wearing of poppies was further inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by Canadian soldier John McCrae. He saw the poppies in burials around his artillery position in Belgium.

Today, poppies are both the symbol of loss of life as a symbol of recovery and new life, especially in support of those servicemen who were damaged physically or emotionally. 

More Black and White.........................

This is one block that I had to remake--the first batch of fabrics didn't read

medium and dark--to me, that's the hardest thing to see in black and white

fabric or any monochromatic--but this combination worked!  

This is a large block--soon we'll be finished and ready for assembling!

Just as I finish, another Wednesday rolls around and another 

block appears--another one bites the dust though!

Happiness is.....................................

What makes you happy?  A good book?  A nice meal?  Time well spent?

My happiness begins when I see my friends and their quilts!

To Me Happiness is 

Feeling the warmth grandmother Camilla has for her

senior grandson

who is going to Texas Tech this fall.

Happiness is 

Sandy and her bubbly laugh!

Happiness is  

being with Linda as she stitches on her Christmas window panel

Happiness is 

giving of Judy's time and expertise for those

in need as she creates and shares

Happiness is 

Karen as she trims away excess from her small blocks,

much as we have shed our outside selves for the

short time we gather to encourage each other

in our daily struggles and successes.

Happiness is

the soft English accented voice of Annette as she

works on her English Paper Piecing.

Happiness is 

being a Texan

Happiness is

the freedom to sew what we want when we want!

Happiness is a state of mind and on this day I will fill

my life with lots of happiness as I surround myself

with positive reinforcement from my friends.

Islamorada Shawl For YOur Knitting Pleasure

Islamorada Shawl is such a lovely piece of work--love the colors!  There are several other free patterns on their website.  Be prepared to knit your summer away!



The name Islamorada (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈizla moˈɾaða]), "The Purple Isle," came from early Spanish explorers in the area. Its pronunciation has been anglicized to /ˈaɪləmoʊˈrɑːdə/.