Catch of the Day

Manitowoc, WI harbor at 4:30 AM

We left the harbor at Manitowoc, WI for a 6 hour salmon fishing trip on Lake Michigan at 4:30 AM.
This was all Jon's idea - fishing at 4 am during vacation. My teenager, Liv, wanted to bring the Kindle and I wanted to sleep. But, you know, sometimes you gotta roll with it.



"we're gonna need a bigger boat"

Holding it closer to the camera makes it appear larger than your wive's fish

1st fish was Liv's- with Tim, 1st mate

Jon, Jill, Tim 

Our catch: 15 salmon, one lake trout. Largest salmon about 16-17#

Steve and Tim cleaning the catch for us

Seaduction boat

Thanks to Captain Steve and 1st mate Tim of Seaduction Charter Services for a great time! And Jon, it was a good idea!! And, I caught the biggest fish. But we'll go again so you can have another whack at it. : )

Minnesota Quilters show

"Moody Blues" by Laurie Latta
Special exhibit- Cow Parade

The annual Minnesota Quilters was held in Rochester last week. We made it a family trip which means my teenager read "The Hunger Games" trilogy most of the trip there, there and the trip back.


The show was great, as usual, but (I think) fewer quilts than in past shows. My pics:

"Lambeau Snow" (detail)

"Lambeau Snow" by Janell Dahms  Cannon Falls, MN
Quilted by Sherry Reynolds
1st Place:  Pieced, Small

"B.S. I Love You" by Janet Stone   Overland Park, KS
1st Place- Applique, Small

"Grid Lock" by Jill Robinson

2nd Place, Art

Faculty Award

Here's my vote for Best of Show- photos truly don't do it justice partly due to all the people standing in front of it also trying to get a good photo:

"Cordoba" by Claudia Pfeil    Krefeld, Germany
3rd Place, Blue Diamond

People were literally OMG'g while admiring the quilting details and embellishments on this piece AND it's an original design. It's just gorgeous work. I took numerous pics to show all who couldn't make the show what Claudia does with a sewing machine. I don't think this is longarm quilting but I could be wrong. It looks like home machine quilting- either way, it's amazing!!!

This is the BACK of the quilt. If you're a quilter, you know the back is supposed to look this
 great but rarely does!

One of the things I like about quilt shows is the conversations you get to have with great people you don't know and may never see again. It's a very eclectic crowd that goes to quilt shows.

Meet romance writer and quilter Dianna Nicolai from Riceville, IA. Dianna saw me on my IPad at the show and stopped by to check it out. Since she is a writer, she's been thinking about getting some type of notebook. I showed her the Ipad and while showing her the camera feature, took one which is obviously candid. So, if you're reading this Dianna, it was fun talking with you!  Btw, all the pics on this post are from my IPad. The down side is that people don't realize you're taking a quilt picture and they keep walking into the shot! 

Candid camera  (Dianna Nicolai/Jill Robinson)

To see all the award winners visit:
http://www.cvent.com/events/mq-2012-quilt-show-and-conference/custom-127-a00fa6898b294dabb2da0725179c8ec7.aspx

I think it's fair to say I did some damage in the vendor area. Not as much as I used to since I also now buy bolts of white kona, silk, etc. Met a new vendor at the show, Michelle Young Crawford, owner of Flower Box Quilts. She was doing a nice business, lots of great colors displayed nicely and easy to reach. Don't you love her sign?!

Flower Box Quilts   Spokane, WA
Michelle Young Crawford, owner

 Also, Lucy Senstad, owner of Aunt Annie's Quilts and Silks from Avon, MN. She carries a lot of batiks (on purpose to force me into spending money) and also sponsors the Art Category awards at the show. Thanks for supporting art quilts Lucy!

Lucy Senstad
Aunt Annie's Quilts and Silks

Aunt Annies Quilts and Silks

As we were heading out of Rochester, we stopped at a great place for breakfast. It would be a good one for Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives but the food was great and it was cheap.

Stabbin & Stitchin

Working on City Block 5

I'm finishing up City Block 5. The buildings are chunks of soy batik cotton which I quilted individually. I debated how to attach them to the quilted background and decided stab and stitch was the best way to get a blind stitch effect. Basically, it's an up to the front side/down to the back side stitch which is good for stitch placement through several layers but takes a maddening amount of time.

Since I don't have 5 thimbles, when it starts getting ugly,  I take a break. . .I admit I don't have the patience for a steady diet of handwork but I do like having something non-caloric to do when watching TV with the family.

Searching for the Perfect Tomato

Our household was deep in tomatoes this past weekend. First, a bushel, then another 1/2 bushel because one bushel is ONLY 50#. We got 24 qts. tomatoes, 35 pts. salsa, 14 half-pts hot pepper relish and one sticky floor. The hot peppers were wicked-est I can remember. Jon and I took turns coughing, laughing and leaving the kitchen for sneeze attacks. These babies burned gloved hands. Even the dog stayed in her kennel.

This got me thinking about my favorite tomato recipe:

3 T. Coral (Pro MX #301) dye concentrate
1 T. Scarlet (Pro MX #300) dye concentrate
2 T. salt
3/4 c. warm water

Add one yard scoured 100% cotton- Yield: one yard tomato

For a more orangey, bright tomato I use:

3T. Scarlet (#300)
1 T. Golden Yellow (#104)
1 T. Sun Yellow (#108)
1/4 t. Bright Blue (#404)
2 T. salt
3/4 c. warm water

If you're not a regular hand-dyer, the low water immersion instructions at Pro-Chem website are:

http://www.prochemical.com/directions/MX%20PDF/Low%20Water%20Immersion.pdf

Next, the search for the perfect pepper.

2011 IQA Mini Quilt Celebrity Silent Auction



"Sunblock"  2011

Each year the International Quilt Association’s Celebrity Mini Quilt Silent Auction is held during Quilt Market and Quilt Festival in Houston. "Sunblock" is the quilt I will be donating to the auction. It's a wholecloth cotton, soy batik piece with a lot of free-motion quilt stitches and measures about 15" W X 19" L.

"Sunblock" (detail)

The money raised helps support the activities of IQA, including the annual judged show, Quilts…A World of Beauty.  The quilts are auctioned on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Festival, November 3-6; however, they will be on display and available for bids from the beginning of Quilt Market, October 29-31.

If you go to the Houston show, hope you're able to stop by and take a look at the auction quilts and possibility bid on one to support IQA.

"Portals" Soy Batik Series



"Portals"  2011

After several months of experimentation (aka playing) with soy wax, I've completed a piece!  "Portals" is the first of a series using wax, fiber reactive dye and cotton cloth.  . . . This technique keeps generating new design ideas which is why I started a journal. And I don't keep journals. I barely blog but we already know that. .

I used 50 wt. cotton thread in a coppery color to do most of the free-motion stitching- there's also some very dark navy in there.  Portals 2 is in the works.

Els Van Baarle-- Fiber Art

See SDA interview with Els Van Baarle at:  www.wisconsinsda.blogspot.com

Batik Workshop photos- November 2010

Soy Batik Workshop with Els Van Baarle

An unexpected email last fall changed my art life. Vicki Jensen from ProChem asking if I was still interested in taking Els Van Baarle's soy batik workshop in November. What?? How could that be?  I was third in line on the waiting list- besides, it's the middle of October!!

Of course, I went. Electric fry pan, pre-washed fabric and all.  There were 11 of us which allowed each to have a decent work area and share a fry pan of hot wax.  But what would Barbara Billingsley think of using fry pans, irons,  and clothespins in this high-handed manner? If she'd known, she'd probably be doing the same thing.

Els is natural teacher, making a point of explaining further when she saw puzzled faces.  She shared some of her successes and failures and often reminded us "Have fun- no stress- yes?" Yes.  She is soft-spoken but gets her point across, giving constructive feedback without hurting feelings. That's not easy.

Els uses a layering process which begins with white/light fabric followed by layers of soy wax and fiber reactive dyes.  Simple exercises to start using 2 layers of color and moving into using tjaps, wood stamps, tjantings, paint, and silkscreens. We used paper, silk, cotton and other fibers in layers with the media.  Warning: this is addictive. The more you do, the more possibilities you see. Els stressed taking notes on each labeled piece of fiber and I did. At first. It got too fun to stop and write. Much of it is learned by doing although it is nice to know which layers of colors produced this great coppery color or that muddy green. 

I took this class because I love Els' work. (How much? I bought one of her pieces at the workshop.) I'm incorporating the techniques into my studio work and enjoying every part of the process.  Be sure to look at her website and the amazing gallery:  http://www.elsvanbaarle.com/. Here's something you won't find on the website--- she loves the smell of hot wax.  

Now I'm thinking about picking up another electric fry pan.  I have to try the more traditional batik wax mixture of paraffin and beeswax. No mixing these 2 types of waxes because soy is water soluable and the mix isn't.  Two fry pans in my house and still no one's cooking. That's cool.

If you're wondering why it took until March to write about a fall class, I injured my shoulder around Halloween, had rotator cuff surgery in January. Two months of physical therapy so far- no end date yet. . .  the sling and I are one.

Els shared a favorite quotation in class:

"It is an artist's job to get lost. If you always know where you are, you have missed the point."

Isn't that a relief??


Here are a couple photos from the workshop, I will post more in the coming days as the server can't handle all this art at once:

"Grid Lock" 2010