Do Unto Others

I stepped out into a very hot morning, and was greeted by this adorable little mutt, who appeared to be a beagle/border collie mix.

Because of the heat, he was very thirsty, and I gave him water and some food.

He seemed very well behaved, and looked healthy.

I thought he must have run away, because he had ID tags on his collar. So I began making telephone calls to the number on the ID tag, and found that the listed owner lived way out in Okolona.

So I put him in my back yard, and drove out to Okolona, hoping to find his owner. The people listed were at home, but had given him away two years ago, so I was back to square one.

I then came home and called the Humane Society number, and tried to trace the owner through his rabies tag number.

That finally led me to another telephone number, so after one more call, I finally tracked down his current owner, who was VERY glad to be reunited with him.

Years ago, when I had golden retrievers, they escaped our fenced yard a couple of times, and I was very glad that other people helped me get them back home. So today, I was glad to spend the time, to get this cute little guy safely back home.

I was also very grateful that the Humane Society was so helpful in providing me with the information I needed to find his owner.

Art on a Hubcap

Since spring of 2010, I have been working, then volunteering at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. I love the atmosphere there, and I enjoy the people I meet. The people who work there are all interesting individuals, and not a day goes by that I don't meet an interesting artist or visitor.

They have a variety of exhibits through the year, and there are several events that they repeat every year. One is the Art Car Weekend.

This year it is the first weekend in August. They have a drive-in movie at the WaterFront, and parades of art cars from all over the United States. A new added feature this year is a display of artist-decorated hubcaps.

They invited all their regular artists to embellish a hubcap for the display, and they are hoping to get 100 entries. This is the tenth year of the Art Car weekend, and they want a 10 x 10 display. I agreed to embellish a hubcap, and found a plastic one at a shop on Preston Highway for $5. They also had a few at the Museum to hand out, and I took one for a second idea I had.

For the first one shown here, I simply cut my Sunbonnet Sue quilt into a circular shape and glued it onto the hubcap. I will put a black cord around the edge before I turn it in. Since it shows a car with hubcaps, I thought it would help them complete their goal of 100.

My second one, however, was more involved. I decided to do one of my birds with hundreds of feathers applied one at a time. I chose some of my favorite batiks, and cut feathers for a fat hen.

I left an area of the hubcap visible at the bottom, behind her feet. Although I usually use fusible for applying feathers, I used glue for most of this. It would not be my adhesive of choice, although it works well. I used FabriTak, which "bites" the fabric right away, and dries quickly. However, I tend to work quickly, and it got a little messy.

I am happy with the way it turned out.

I always like it when artists work from a common theme. It is fun to see the results, in fabric, paint, clay, glass, wood, etc. I reminds me of the "Heart" project we worked on two years ago for a charity auction. The variety of expressions was really fun.

I will try to get a photo of all the hubcaps in early August. If you are in Louisville, be sure to visit the Museum at 715 West Main Street.

Friday August 5 is a good day to see the Art Cars.

What's Your Pet Peeve?

I really enjoy the challenges we get in our Monday night group.

The one this month is to do a small quilt depicting one of your "pet peeves."

I am sure I share this peeve with you - drivers who are distracted by their conversation on their cell phone...

Yes, I am also sure that we have all been guilty once or twice. Even Sunbonnet Sue , out for a spin in her red Mazda Miata, is on the phone (talking to Overalls Bill?)

This was fun to do. I used it for more practice on free-motion quilting, and managed to use several of my metallic-like fabrics on the wheel, door handle, and the phone... I also used vinyl for the windshield...

I also tried out the monogram feature on my new machine, and it worked the first time!

Now, I will get back to my bigger pieces...

Finished a UFB (unfinished bargello)

One of the things I enjoy doing in the summer is to finish unfinished projects. They tend to be small projects, with just a few hours of work to finish them up.

This small bargello is the fourth of four I did with the same fabrics, several years ago.

I used eighteen fabrics, which is more that I usually do on bargellos, and I included some of my favorite fabrics that I had been "hoarding."

I appliqued a couple of faces of Japanese ladies, just to add a little texture to the piece.

I am also including a photo of another bargello in the group, and a couple of details from the other two.

As I have said before, I absolutely LOVE doing bargello quilts, and have been collecting lime green and black fabrics for my next one. I have done so many, that I actually find it relaxing to work on them. I love designing them, and no two are alike.

Practicing FMQ

I don't really have much to report.

I am working on a quilt that shows the beautiful Oregon coastline, and eventually it will have in the foreground, two puffins.

I am using my new machine, the Janome 6600, and I love everything about it. (I loved the basic Janome that I bought 14 years ago, and the transition to the new one has been very smooth.)

The quilting on the water may not show up very well, but I have also quilted the rocks of various colors and textures. I am using it to gain much needed practice on free-motion quilting.

All I have left to quilt on the background is the grass and the sky, then I can work on the puffins.

Several years ago, I had the privilege of driving along the Oregon coastline, and was struck by its beauty. On that trip, I came very close to actually spotting some puffins, but they disappeared behind a huge rock, just as the ornithologist let me look through the telescope.

One of my life goals is to see puffins in real life. They are admittedly difficult to spot, spend time in burrows, and have a short season on land. They spend a lot of time at sea.

I have tried to spot them on the west coast, the east coast, and even traveled to the Isle of Man, on the Irish Sea between Ireland and England, in hopes of seeing them, but missed them again...

In the meantime, this is my second puffin quilt.

I love the puffin quilt that is part of the permanent display at the Museum in Paducah. That is truly a masterpiece.

I will post more after this is further along.

Road Trip

We took a few hours today to enjoy the beautiful weather; we drove to Cincinnati for the 10th annual Paddlefest.

We had participated about nine years ago, when it was a much smaller event with a few hundred boats. My wrists were stronger then, and I paddled along.

Today, I was the photographer, and Bob joined over three THOUSAND canoes, kayaks, a "Dragon Boat". and a few other paddleboarders for an 8-mile paddle on the Ohio River from Coney Island to the Waterfront area called Yeatman's Cove. Yes, you read that right - 8 miles!

Here he is at the finish line...

When I visit other cities, I always enjoy seeing their public sculpture. This was near the river, not far from downtown.

I don't know the artist, but I found it very appealing.

We really enjoyed the trip, and felt very fortunate that we had such glorious weather.

The riverfront area was very beautiful, and the event was extremely well organized, considering the number of people involved.

Now, back to work!

Sunbonnet Sue

When I started making little mini-quilts for my "washboard" series, I thought that a Sunbonnet Sue image would be a natural.

What I didn't realize at the time was how much fun it would be!

I got some encouragement (and a pattern) from my friend Joan, and I think she may return to some Sunbonnet Sue designs that she started earlier.

I had so much fun choosing the fabrics for her dress, apron, and hat. I always enjoy projects that allow me to use scraps, and this one was perfect for that.

I needed an activity for her, and another friend, Mary Jane, had given me some kite fabric, so I used that for the backing, and made a kite for her, using some hand-dyed gold fabric.

The lower left of the quilt looked a little empty, so I made a rose bush, with fusible roses, and sewed a few beads on.

This also gave me a chance for more practice doing FMQ with my new sewing machine.

This was a nice diversion from the bigger projects I was working on, and the beads gave me some hand sewing to carry to my quilt guild on Friday.

I am sure I will be doing some more Sunbonnet Sues. The next one might be Japanese, with a kimono and obi from my Japanese fabrics.