Summer Solar Eclipse QAL

How exciting to have this quilt along to coincide with the

upcoming eclipse!  This isn't a mystery--the reveal is here

and step by step instructions will be given

All the blocks are Ohio Stars!  I love Ohio Stars!

well, I like anything that is a star in a quilt!

There will be lots of Flying Geese...............

here is her video to show how to make four geese

from two squares of fabric.

What's for dinner.

What's for dinner?  Always a dilemma--sometimes I like to cook, but in these hot days of summer, I just want to lounge, drink a glass of ice tea (unsweetened, please) and wait to see if the dinner fairies show up--never have, never will!

On this particular day I pulled some shrimp from the freezer and thought about what to prepare-- the first day, hubby said let's go for a burger--who am I to say, but honey, I need to cook those shrimp.  So, I put the still frozen shrimp in the refrigerator to thaw--they'll be good tomorrow.
Tomorrow comes, and we had a late breakfast and mid day meal--no shrimp there either.  Finally, the third day, I KNEW I had to fix those shrimp.  Besides, they were completely thawed--what to make?

We really like Paula Dean's Fiery Cajun shrimp, which takes butter and Texas Pete hot sauce--good ole Texas Pete was nowhere to be found in the pantry.  Alexa--add to list--Texas Pete.

Another shrimp dish that is easy peazy is just to boil them--or sauté with butter and garlic,but I wanted something different-- how about shrimp and grits?  Never made that before and I'm in a cooking mode.  Gather ingredients, which I do have on hand!  Here is the recipe from Bobby Flay

• 4 cups water
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup stone-ground grits
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 slices bacon, chopped
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 large clove garlic, minced

Yum, Yum!  

Now, I'm back in my mode of not cooking again for awhile!

Dished up and served and 15 minutes later--all gone!

Another Free BOM

Here is another chance to sew through the long month of August.

Jacquelynne  has a special I Love Home sew along for you.

Head over to her blog and sign up to receive the information.

I didn't see a start date, just know it's in August.  And it looks like

fun.  She has some fabric suggestions on her blog along with a coloring

page--love that idea!  You can plan ahead or let the youngsters do

the deed for you!  

Along with this one, I'm planning to join in Bee In My Bonnet's

August sewing event.

Each week there will be a tutorial--the instruction manual (yes, manual--24

pages of information!) is already on her website!

Gather those fabrics and let's play!

Chinese Quilts

And there it was!  The Chinese quilt banner hanging on the entryway to the

International Folk Art Museum in Santa Fe

I walked in to find the most fascinating pieces of fiber arts all from

Southwest China!  We have visited China and saw first hand the lovely works

of art--I even bought a few small pieces, which I think have been

taken off larger pieces.  But, I never saw such a collection as this.

Take a walk through this vast array of quilts and

read some of the history

Here is a whole paper on this type of work, coming from

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, which has one of the nicest

quilt museums

Chinese patchwork, also known a Hundred-Families robe (Chinese: 百家衣, baijiayi), is made by sewing scraps of fabric together to form design art. This technique is still used in Chinese quilting. Silk or cotton is used to make the patchwork.

There is much symbolism in each of the quilts 

And colors burst forth in all blocks

Silk embroidery is used most often to decorate

This was a joyous journey through some of China's greatest works.

Fridays Just Got Better..............

Bunny Hill Designs presents Sugar Plum Stocking Treats

each Friday--of course, I'm behind as usual--my disclaimer--

I saw this pop up on my feed a few weeks ago and gave it a look

and thought "how sweet" and I do love Bunny Hill Designs.

Each of these blocks were winners in a contest and I thought, in

my own defense--I'm not much at doing such small appliques-

to aside this KAL went!

Then the day, my brain functioned like it should and I

figured out a way to NOT do the small applique and still

get the same results!  

I'll just stitch the small areas--okay!  Fine and dandy!

We have a few blocks to catch upon though--such fun

designs!

Would You Give Away Your Art?

Would you give away your art?  Just give it away?  No payment?  Ask nothing in return?

This artist, P. M. Neist, is doing just that.  She is calling this Project 105:  Radical Giving.

"She donates art to connect and reach out to people who either do not know her, do not usually purchase art or simply want a piece for no reason at all.  The donated pieces are smaller and designed to fit into affordable standard-size frames.  All work is signed, executed using archival quality paper and vintage embroidery material and it is shipped for free in the U.S."  

P. M. Neist is giving away her art, but she has a message about each piece she gifts.  If you would like to be a recipient, give out her website.

This brings me to the artist we met in a Paris Starbucks--He makes art pieces

on whatever he can find--like this cardboard flap; signs it and gives it away.

We were sitting next to him and a conversation began--he is trying to

spread love instead of hate throughout the world with his 'give away' art.

With this piece, he was making a statement about the deadly shootings in

Orlando nightclub

He is a well known graffiti artist in the US--his message is clear and

reads strongly!  Here is another artist giving away his art that

includes a timeless message.

We, as artist, have a platform for our work and each piece we give

from our hearts carries over to the receiver.  That is greater than any

money we could receive.

Tramp ART!

What the heck is tramp art?  Never knew this type of art existed until we visited the Santa Fe International Folk Art Museum--what an eye opener!

A coffee table book that features numerous tramp art pieces

I focused my photos on sewing items found made

during the tramp art era  This is a sewing box 

made by David Schump, 2013

pedestal sewing box from early 20th century

sewing box clamp with pincushion, 1896

sewing box with pincushion and

openwork woodland scene--late 19th-early 20th century

another view of the detail--just awesome!

And what is Tramp Art?  A brief description.....................

"Tramp Art was an art movement found throughout the world where small pieces of wood, primarily from discarded cigar boxes and shipping crates, were whittled into layers of geometric shapes having the outside edges of each layer notch carved, or in the technique of a Crown of Thorns. It was popular in the years between the 1870s to the 1940s when the art form started to decline.

The artists used simple tools such as a pocketknife to carve the wood and assemble mostly utilitarian objects. It was made in prodigious numbers around the world but it prospered in the United States. Examples can be found in every state. The most common forms were the box and the frame and although there were no rules or patterns to lend commonality in the artists’ work there were objects made in every conceivable shape and size including full sized furniture and objects of whimsy.

Tramp Art was a democratic art form made wherever the raw materials used in its construction were found. In the United States there were over 50 different ethnic groups documented making it. It appealed to men who might have made an important body of work such as ‘Sunflower’ artist John Martin Zubersky (active c. 1912 – 1920) or the wonderfully expressive wall pockets by John Zadzora (active circa 1910) but also to men who might have made one piece in their lifetime. It was easy to make and appealed to anyone who had a desire to take a pocketknife to wood.

There were countless men, some women, and even children who historically constructed tramp art. Tramp art was mostly made in home based settings and by men who were factory workers, farmers, and labored in just about every conceivable occupation. There were tramps or hobos who made the art form but not in the numbers the name suggests. The name tramp art was a contemporary invention and had nothing to do with the art form as a whole.

Tramp Art was first discovered in print in 1959 by Francis Lichten in Pennsylvania Folklife, Volume 10 Spring 1959 in which she termed the art ‘Tramp Work.’ In 1975 Helaine Fendelman published the first book on tramp art, Tramp Art an Itinerant's Folk Art. The book acted as a catalog to the first museum show on the art form sponsored by the American Museum of Folk Art"