Some July Art

Taking down the FestivalFibers exhibit seemed a good time to rotate some artwork on my walls. Silk with Stitches is in the LR where Elizabeth is usually hung. Twisted Tree II is a favorite along with the Stitched Lemons. I made a second Burlap Linen Flower but quilted in opposite places than the first one. 

Burlap Linen Flower I
Quilted in petals

Burlap Linen Flower II
Quilted in leaves and background

Silk with Stitches

Stitched Lemons

Staying inside during this punishing heat with near 100 degree temps allowed time to finish three Pine Belt Quilters community sewing projects. Two of these were pieced by others and I added the quilting and binding on all three. I see that Elizabeth made a few biscuits on the batting while it was out on the table. Then just for fun I made a few more pieces of postcard art.

I'm glad this batting was going to be cut away.

Even with the heat wave, my hosta, coleus, and basil plants are happy as long as I keep them watered. I should cook more dishes requiring basil.

Hosta blooming

Coleus, with vinca and begonia

Basil, with dill (lower L) and parsley (lower R)

June is Bustin' Out All Over

 So much is going on that I can't keep up with posting on my blog. I'll try to hit the high spots.

The SAQA Prism Play exhibit (containing two of my quilts) opened in California May 21, 2022. I received the beautiful catalog showing all 62 quilts in the exhibit, which will travel through 2026. 

The exhibit catalog (my Violet quilt is in the R corner)

Cara Gulati, curator, at opening at Peninsula Museum of Art, San Bruno, CA
(my Chartreuse quilt on far Left)

Hattiesburg is treated with Festival South every June, a three-week celebration of music for all ages. Singing the Brahms' Requiem with The Meistersingers was a moving experience (after months of pleasurable rehearsals). It was an honor to have three of my quilts used as backdrop during an afternoon of chamber music by women composers. There are more concerts this week to enjoy. Thanks to the Hattiesburg Concert Association, the parent organization for Festival South. I LOVE Hattiesburg.

Rachel Ciraldo

My local quilt guild, Pine Belt Quilters, held a very successful Pine Belt Quilters 2022 Exhibit: Living and Giving, co-hosted by the Hattiesburg Arts Council at the Hattiesburg Cultural Center on June 14. We displayed member quilts, presented exhibits showing who we are and what we do, gave away beautiful door prizes donated by Martha Williams, and drew for our Home Tweet Home quilt, surprising Rosalie Schoell as the winner. The quilt was originally made for our 2020 judged quilt show, which had been postponed because of the pandemic. 

Home Tweet Home, 84" x 84"

Alehandro Wooten, executive director Hattiesburg Arts Council

Quilts by Missy Lee, Martha Ginn, Jackie Watkins

Quilts to be given to children on upper rail

Ashley from Forrest General Hospital NICU receiving isolette covers

Councilman Jeffrey George with Linda Ginn and door prize
stitched by Martha Williams

And June still has another week for picking blueberries and enjoying music by Festival South.

I might finish this puzzle if I can get Elizabeth to sleep elsewhere.

Searching for Good News

 After days of storm and hurricane tracking, worrying, preparing and then being bypassed without even a few drops of rain on our dry ground, I find myself trying to be thankful that my life and home were not damaged. Seeing news reports of 200,000 deaths, tragic fires in the West, and more uncivilized treatment of each other, topped off by the death of the champion of rights for all, the Notorious RBG, I am searching for positive thoughts. What a great loss to our country.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg, 1933-2020

Okay, something good to report--Mississippi's flag, the last state flag to bear the Confederate battle emblem, has been retired by act of the legislature and a new design has been chosen which will be up for vote in November. A nine-member commission settled on "The New Magnolia" flag from hundreds of submissions.

This weekend the Hattiesburg Arts Council celebrated its 50th anniversary by displaying all the works in its permanent collection along with historical scrapbooks showing activities through these years. Pine Belt Quilters had a beautiful crazy quilt in this display, with this interesting history: In about 1995 Jane Heidelberg and other members of the Pine Burr Sewing Club began making a velveteen crazy quilt. After making some squares and cutting patches for the other 12 squares, they saw this was more of an undertaking than they wanted to finish. The materials were offered to Ella Lucas and other members of Pine Belt Quilters. Over the next couple of years, quilters who loved embroidery and hand embellishment finished the blocks and assembled them into a quilt. The end result was an example of fine neddlework and  embroidery that was unique, as crazy quilts were rarely made after the turn of the century. We felt that it should be donated to a museum or organization for preservation as part of Hattiesburg's history. Patty Hall, executive director of the Hattiesburg Arts Council was happy to receive the quilt when it was finished in 1997, and it remains a part of HAC's permanent collection. 

And Then Everything Changed

I've been home from my Arizona/Grand Canyon trip for a week today. It was a wonderful experience that I enjoyed with son Mark and wife Melody. We flew to Phoenix and drove to Flagstaff, Sedona, and Grand Canyon from March 10-15, coming home to self-quarantine for control of COVID-19. (Self-quarantine to a quilter is not as hard as it is to other people.)
   Yes, we took a helicopter ride to see the canyon from several vantage points. This was my first flight, and I highly recommend the helicopter ride for the best experience. Words cannot describe the sense of wonder that we were overcome with at the sights of this wonder of nature. Smiles, tears, and prayers!

  Melody and I were sitting in the front seats beside the pilot. We could even see below our feet.

 

 

 Only one of the spectacular views. This one reminds me of a caladium leaf, one of my favorites.

At a lookout post there was a relief map of the canyon. 

On the last morning at our Airbnb Hidden Hollow in Flagstaff, we woke up to a beautiful snowfall. My room was on the third floor, up in the trees, so the view was quite spectacular.

   We took all precautions for washing hands and wiping surfaces during the trip, but the Phoenix and Dallas airports were "business as usual." As the news worsened, we knew we could have been exposed unknowingly, so we were glad to self-quarantine when we got home. 

   My kitties were glad to have me home. They looked rather pitiful as I was leaving.

   I've been taking walks in my neighborhood every day for exercise. The temperature has been between 50 and 80 with one day of rain, which really beat down my azalea blooms. Other bushes will bloom for us to enjoy, though.

    Linda and I finished a Quilt of Valor top I had started several months ago. A Pine Belt Quilter member will quilt it on their longarm machine.   

  I put the facing on a large free-motion quilted flower and worked on a smaller one. Quilting was a great stress reliever during the week.

 

 

   There is a desperate need for medical supplies, and quilters and sewers all over the US are pitching in to help. We cannot make surgery-grade N95 masks but these fabric ones can help . In light of the horror of the situation, it is helpful to think we are doing something--anything--to ease the burden. Our doctors, nurses, technicians, EMTs, first responders are putting their lives at risk. We are ever grateful and humbled at the dedication and service they provide.