Cinque Terre Wins Another Ribbon

Cinque Terre triptych had some good news from the Smoky Mountain Quilt show in Knoxville, Tennessee, last week, where it won a third-place ribbon in the Alternative Techniques category. We love opportunities for the three 24" x 52" sections to be displayed together. The picture below is from the Gulf States Quilting Association show in April earlier this year.

By Martha Ginn, Rita Warnock, and Cathy Reininger

A special treat this week was getting to visit with dear friend Ana Maria Diaz Herrera, a talented viola player who returned from two years at the Julliard Institute in China and is on her way to Rutgers University in New Jersey to pursue her doctorate. 

Lunch with Ana Maia at the Salad Station

Despite Elizabeth's passion for eating thread, I was able to finish several art quilts recently. Some of my Southern Fiber Artist group makes 8x10 pieces to exchange with each other on a rotating monthly basis. Here are pieces I made for Julia Graber, Jackie Watkins, and Karen Arzamendi.

Climate Change for Julia Graber

Leaves for Karen Arzamendi

Lime and Leaves for Jackie Watkins

Elizabeth reaching for the thread

"I'll just lean up against the machine."

April and Springtime

Azaleas before heavy rains

I'm glad I took pictures of the blooming azaleas because these frequent and heavy rains have really beat them down and shortened their flowering season.

My croton is still alive but very straggly, so I bought a new plant and could not resist this hydrangea while waiting for my bed of them to bloom. The wisteria put on a brief but beautiful show.

New pots of croton and hydrangea

Wisteria

I'm pleased that all three slices of the Cinque Terre fabric collage got to be seen together at the Gulf States Quilting Association (GSQA) show April 8-9, where it won a second place ribbon in the Art-Landscape category. My section is on the left, then pieces by Rita Warnock and Cathy Reininger.

Cinque Terre at GSQA show

Working a 500-piece puzzle of the same scene was so much fun and not nearly the challenge of interpreting it in fabric. I also have a 1,000-piece puzzle that I might try after so much study of this famous photo.

Elizabeth helping 

Cinque Terre 500-piece puzzle

Music has filled my life with joy as we rehearsed and then sang a concert of 25 years of Meistersingers favorites this month. I'm looking forward to preparing the Brahms Requiem for a June 12 concert. More music enjoyment was provided by Marlene Gentile at her senior violin recital and the string quartets and quintets at USM's string honors competition. 

Marlene Gentile and Dario Martin

Alejandro Junco, Marlene Gentile, Ana Sofia Suarez, Franco Galetto

Sewing lately has consisted of making NICU isolette covers with the help of Linda Ginn, Barbara Hartley, and Linda Hudson. When I could not get either of my machines to remember how to make buttonholes to fit over the pegs, Jackie Watkins came to my rescue. 

All Three Sections of Cinque Terre

Since completing my section of the larger Cinque Terre picture, I have located pictures of the other two sections, made by Rita Warnock and Cathy Reininger, to show here. Each section is 23" wide x 52" high. We look forward to being able to display the three pieces together. Click to enlarge for details.

Reference Photo

Left Section by Martha Ginn

Center Section by Rita Warnock

Right Section by Cathy Reininger

Interesting Fabrics for Cinque Terre

Sometimes the most unlikely fabrics are just what are needed in fabric collage. This is the case in my hillside, olive groves, houses, trees, foliage, rocky cliffs, and water in my section of Cinque Terre. Overall size of the quilt is 23" x 52". Here is the full piece, which can be enlarged to see details.

Detail photos of some of the fabrics that became the greenery, villages, iron fencing, rocks, and foamy water in the quilt:

Crochet covered with dull green mesh

Cutting hand-sized pieces of greens

This organza piece was used in several places

Large rocks, tiny houses

The green/blue/yellow piece is drapery weight

Yellow, rust, brown, black found in animals

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is finished. The quilting is done and facing and sleeve added. My piece is 23" x 52" and can be considered as one-third of a larger piece. Here is a picture of the entire area we are depicting in our three sections. Mine is the far left. Rita Warnock's section is in the middle; Cathy Reininger's is the far right. I will locate pictures of their pieces and post them later.

Reference photo of entire scene

Still on design wall before finishing

 

Showing backing and sleeve

My wool pressing mat is so helpful

Another 9/11 has come and gone

We never forget where we were when major events happen--some of them good, some we wish we could forget. We can choose to celebrate the ones that bring joy. I'll make it simple by just dealing with positives from the past week.  

My kitchen remodeling project that started a month ago was finished. We removed the shelf-like extension, wrought iron post, and drop-down shelf, replacing with a much wider counter.  Corbels were needed (I learned a new word!) to support the wider counter, and I wanted a wooden post under the hanging cabinet. I had to select these, order and stain them and get the installer back. 

Before

After, with wider counter top

View from dining room

With corbels and post installed

Post

Another neat happening was The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show Virtual Experience 2020. What a treat to get to "attend" and enjoy a big quilt show without all the crowds and aching feet and knees! After the two quilts came back from this show I am hanging Interleave Symphony for a while. 

It is time to work on my section of the Italian hillside piece that three of us are making. I am doing the left third of this photo. Rita Warnock and Cathy Reininger are the other participants, and they have finished theirs.  Quoting Wikipedia: The Cinque Terre, five towns, is a string of five fishing villages perched high on the Italian Riviera in the region Liguria, which until recently were linked only by mule tracks and accessible only by rail or water.

Photograph of Cinque Terre