tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30189341208931385382024-02-07T16:20:10.722-05:00Laughing Girl QuiltsArt Quilts and More by Lori Gravley, Yellow Springs, OhioLori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-84278640835119459042012-02-29T21:22:00.000-05:002012-02-29T21:22:54.794-05:00Art House Refrigerator Photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWxzKgGdCSbUYJCo-YJzKZvbY8PH-X0o-VHsX-zdKI-_5YrQ9FR_C2p0-LFmKAdH8N8JdyMl8bEkbvJfxElcxPs9zAtuROUsONjR5ql9JUq-BGDeu6D6NweafrSH4XShQ8SR8LDUEMKI8/s1600/bottles+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPWxzKgGdCSbUYJCo-YJzKZvbY8PH-X0o-VHsX-zdKI-_5YrQ9FR_C2p0-LFmKAdH8N8JdyMl8bEkbvJfxElcxPs9zAtuROUsONjR5ql9JUq-BGDeu6D6NweafrSH4XShQ8SR8LDUEMKI8/s320/bottles+1.jpg" width="239" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpk_hG9ETQaEDSYi8JGsHaqbmOx79rWnTuwo_msGYtiM0TEkLlvc1p6Y_QZZ3Mah20jOWoWof-b5YOaMS4-sXAJwG9U7ZD1gUD9OGPqo8525ZBOm04tL0wZg8NaTAc9Wl31TZfdgEkYgW/s1600/lori+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfpk_hG9ETQaEDSYi8JGsHaqbmOx79rWnTuwo_msGYtiM0TEkLlvc1p6Y_QZZ3Mah20jOWoWof-b5YOaMS4-sXAJwG9U7ZD1gUD9OGPqo8525ZBOm04tL0wZg8NaTAc9Wl31TZfdgEkYgW/s320/lori+photo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Inspiration from the icebox. World Market used to sell French Lemonade in glass bottles with pressure tops (like Grolsch bottles), and we've used them as water bottles ever since. I must have been photographing in my fridge for too long as one of the bottles collected a lot of condensation (and the dog hair is nice, too). I love the image, both from Hipstamatic and from the normal iPhone camera. <br />
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I've been reading about contemplative photography, and practicing it with my iPhone. I like how taking photographs of everyday objects makes me slow down and really see the beauty that surrounds me. <br />
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Drink up.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-30475001674959592052011-10-03T20:44:00.002-04:002011-10-03T20:45:20.920-04:00I'm a Steamroller, BabyOr at least I'll be printing with one on Friday night when Dayton Visual Arts Center has their <a href="http://www.daytonvisualarts.org/content/steamroller-prints-flat-out-fun-2011">Flat Out Fun</a><br />
celebration at the old Greyhound Bus Terminal in downtown Dayton from 5-9 pm on Oct. 7. <br />
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I've taken a trip back to my flower period with this print. I've carved lots of Easy Carve before, but I've never done a lino print. Whew. It was hard. I finished it in one very long day, and I was sore afterward. I can't decide if I want to print it before I take it to test it to see if I've carved it deep enough. I've a few more days to decide. I'll repost a print if I decide to cheat.<br />
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Otherwise, I'll see you in downtown Dayton on Friday. <br />
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<br />Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-35151515625482193912011-08-30T17:38:00.001-04:002011-08-31T18:03:20.681-04:00HipstamaticI got an I-Phone before Tony headed off to Iraq so that I could be constantly available to him by phone or skype or e-mail or however the heck he wants to reach me. (And it works, we talk twice a day nearly every day. Thank God for my consistent husband ;-).<br />
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A few weeks ago I saw an online photo journal of pictures from the war in<a href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/07/25/the_war_in_hipstamatic"> Afghanistan</a><br />
taken with an I Phone using an app called Hipstamatic. I bought the app; I bought some lenses and film beyond what were supplied, and I've been having a blast. At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to download them onto the computer, but no problem.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John S lens, Alfred Infrared film</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libatique 73 lens, Claunch 72 Monochrome film</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matty ALN lens, Ina's 1969 film</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lucifer VI lens, Kodot XGrizzled film</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaimal Mark II lens, BlacKeys SuperGrain film </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John S lens, Alfred Infrared Film</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEe2SEpnYbz2B5nt4shPHJ7j8UhVqce8-Q0rcypI_6nQ4nz-tD03CksztFIIBzT1POGSEyV9lJFVVPLd9LmQ-fhiM5uupvb81o5giBGrvrU8ErTiJohW7vXOrGQ-CnBQrWDi8BLpHYv8v/s1600/IMG_0321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEe2SEpnYbz2B5nt4shPHJ7j8UhVqce8-Q0rcypI_6nQ4nz-tD03CksztFIIBzT1POGSEyV9lJFVVPLd9LmQ-fhiM5uupvb81o5giBGrvrU8ErTiJohW7vXOrGQ-CnBQrWDi8BLpHYv8v/s320/IMG_0321.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John S lens, Alfred Infrared film</td></tr>
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I'm still getting used to it. And obviously the last one was a mistake, but I love the texture of the concrete I was walking on.<br />
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You can't really trust that what's showing on your screen is what the lens is seeing, and that can be frustrating. The cool effects without ever stepping into a darkroom make that drawback something I can work with. Now, I always have a fun camera with me, even if I leave my DSLR at home. <br />
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I love the Alfred Infrared film and the John S Lens. I also love the Claunch film. I've done some tests with the other lenses, but I haven't quite figured them out yet. Summer's almost over, so it should be cool enough again to head into the studio soon. Can't wait. I have lots of yo-yos waiting for homes. Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-88320543397955378182011-06-28T21:07:00.001-04:002011-06-28T22:54:48.266-04:00Good Neighbors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSwcttsLiIDTxfBPildafFQcuBoYjZqNX3-3GacTYptYdPI7h5uVjYkOOvNjImk9YxrlQrgXy0_5DNUM75NLI2gyvZzqw0Jj80UIqUGTe8hmN4Mh-TGvqNNvd47ip599jb6r71aQDwCSg/s1600/bouquet+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhSwcttsLiIDTxfBPildafFQcuBoYjZqNX3-3GacTYptYdPI7h5uVjYkOOvNjImk9YxrlQrgXy0_5DNUM75NLI2gyvZzqw0Jj80UIqUGTe8hmN4Mh-TGvqNNvd47ip599jb6r71aQDwCSg/s400/bouquet+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I had a wonderful birthday. Got to see Cave of Forgotten Dreams, had a wonderful dinner with Connor and Jude at the Winds, delivered my quilt to Dayton Visual Arts Center, and got to see Connor play some great lacrosse, but the day after my birthday was great, too. The Aullwood opening was fun, and some good friends and I had a great dinner at Harrison's in Tipp City (Black and Blue Salmon Salad, yum). Best of all the wonders of the 2nd day of my 47th year were the beautiful flowers that Debra and her daughter Lara, my neighbors, delivered. They have an amazing yard, and the entire bouquet was from their wonderful gardens. I thought I would share. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZFDVnMCTbhCTsIoVkX1-O9_Ay7kG7P-_SNBkGvcA5EhOZFdE9h8dQY9BVjmE_NhowX2TRqO9WtC6Y0I0n2AxR8m1M9J8l477ZQQW7AHdDd-IJb949IJ8lJQp5onMAzMEovOrIRmWHfPA/s1600/bouquet+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZFDVnMCTbhCTsIoVkX1-O9_Ay7kG7P-_SNBkGvcA5EhOZFdE9h8dQY9BVjmE_NhowX2TRqO9WtC6Y0I0n2AxR8m1M9J8l477ZQQW7AHdDd-IJb949IJ8lJQp5onMAzMEovOrIRmWHfPA/s400/bouquet+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEOwceZO5ND2TL1ZVtCO_VXUXRDmc21XI9gygL_p2YNYnP6R2LA9GpClNYn1iuTgQZG4SWjGyCorH1MZp2UCEKjF8AeNahEvS9T0X_iDuxMumF0A1i-4NZitugLCy7GmZDQ9KzcAjqt0o/s1600/bouquet+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIEOwceZO5ND2TL1ZVtCO_VXUXRDmc21XI9gygL_p2YNYnP6R2LA9GpClNYn1iuTgQZG4SWjGyCorH1MZp2UCEKjF8AeNahEvS9T0X_iDuxMumF0A1i-4NZitugLCy7GmZDQ9KzcAjqt0o/s400/bouquet+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>My 47th year is off to a wonderful start--full of love and beauty. May I find both and love and beauty to appreciate in each day of the coming year. And, dear reader, may you, too.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-4757361138303619442011-06-25T17:03:00.014-04:002011-06-28T21:13:15.623-04:00Water, Water Everywhere at Aullwood in Dayton, Ohio<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hope you can stop by the Aullwood Audobon Center where three of my quilts from the Wrack Line Series will be on display with 33 other quilts in the theme "Water, Water Everywhere." The show closes on </span><span style="font-size: small;">August 21, 2011. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I say in my artist statement:</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Wrack Line Series is inspired by my childhood. As the daughter of a native Floridian and a Navy pilot, I seemed always to live close to the water. The frigid but beautiful beaches of the Pacific in California; the warm waters and bright sands of Destin, Florida; and the cool and interesting North Atlantic beaches off of Virginia and Maryland were all part of my childhood. But I'm not a sitter, so while my mom and friends sunbathed, I roamed the wrack lines, those lines where the highest daily tide deposits ocean treasures and human trash. Though the quilts are abstract, I hope they evoke curiosity and mystery and the desire to move in closer to see what else there might be to find. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wrack Line VIII: Tidelines</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqihQPBm0X-lMmzuF8BbKl_hlCX7b-Yh_6hBiNqrEsiYinkA7_d7kKeFGAoX_DG_i9eoNLfmK4a_AgRm-V9TcmG7catgDWE1iW_Ilql5_P3EkMjVKfm7mWThmMXtulyeE-dOVMVo6MwB2/s1600/Gravley_Wrack+Line+IX+Moonjellies+and+Starfish_32++x+32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqihQPBm0X-lMmzuF8BbKl_hlCX7b-Yh_6hBiNqrEsiYinkA7_d7kKeFGAoX_DG_i9eoNLfmK4a_AgRm-V9TcmG7catgDWE1iW_Ilql5_P3EkMjVKfm7mWThmMXtulyeE-dOVMVo6MwB2/s320/Gravley_Wrack+Line+IX+Moonjellies+and+Starfish_32++x+32.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wrack Line IX: Moonjellies and Starfish</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwgnVedO_6dKBWtulQnuQGnPGpLDyA5jT4Las_trSNUHZMqn6T9MyNp3nVxEEaKIJmGfppsKoQbFDz7wBIhkkNCgF00Ph9trFPIMyZT3NfRBjEXUlDTk4gOcWj82KE6XRTywfkCJy2uUe/s1600/Wrack+Line+X+Winter+Tides+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvwgnVedO_6dKBWtulQnuQGnPGpLDyA5jT4Las_trSNUHZMqn6T9MyNp3nVxEEaKIJmGfppsKoQbFDz7wBIhkkNCgF00Ph9trFPIMyZT3NfRBjEXUlDTk4gOcWj82KE6XRTywfkCJy2uUe/s320/Wrack+Line+X+Winter+Tides+full.jpg" width="278" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wrack Line X: Winter Tides</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On show at Aullwood are Wrack Line VIII, IX, and X. Soon XI will be on exhibit at Dayton Visual Arts Center. Since they are meant to be seen up close, the pictures don't really do them justice, but here's a preview of the three quilts at Aullwood. Hope you'll stop by to see them and works by fellow MVAQN members Deb Bentley, Pam Geisel, Fran LaSalle, and Mindy Marik along with quilters from across the US. </span></div>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-57026389081923472382011-06-24T14:28:00.002-04:002011-06-24T18:25:09.365-04:00Wrack Line XI: Tides in Godlight<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqo_fON9pofXGP_reMK8jdAChBcwqB4lXnn_5VumgKeSuf9Gjfo3XOoEmiWKbQrtM0GjogHQIlYJILFSiN8vF5rAL3TPMMW0PpfiNGHd5S2zHkGgKIV-luByqU0o-fmB6tYbyVfCrOLoEs/s1600/godlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqo_fON9pofXGP_reMK8jdAChBcwqB4lXnn_5VumgKeSuf9Gjfo3XOoEmiWKbQrtM0GjogHQIlYJILFSiN8vF5rAL3TPMMW0PpfiNGHd5S2zHkGgKIV-luByqU0o-fmB6tYbyVfCrOLoEs/s400/godlight.jpg" width="327" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrack Line XI: Tides in Godlight 33x26</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>This quilt began with the shimmery fabric that many of the yo-yos are made of. I started making yo-yos with that fabric, and then I found the lovely silk dupioni on the sale tables at JoAnns. As I worked on the quilt, I remembered a writer, I think it was Wallace Stegner, talking about that golden light that sometimes arrives at nightfall and makes everything seem golden and splendored. He called it godlight. <br />
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Godlight also deepens the shadows. The black chiffon ribbons are the deep shadows that seem to always lurk even in the most beautiful light. If I'm in the right frame of mind (and for me that right frame of mind happens when I've been consistent in my yoga and meditation practice), the shadows can make the light more beautiful. They also remind me of the kelp and seaweed that get tied up in the wrack the tides bring in. <br />
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I've been sewing yo-yos down now for nearly eleven hours. (I know because I watched the entire season of Drop Dead Diva while I was sewing them--listened really, my head only came up every once in a while. Yeah for Netflix on the Wii.). I'm not sure how long the yo-yos took to make, but on average, I can make fifteen in an hour. I'm not sure how many there are on this quilt, but probably over one hundred. I love how the machine quilting I did on the bottom ripples the fabric a bit and makes it look like the ripples the water makes on the sand as it pulls back into the ocean. <br />
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Off to put a label and a hanging sleeve on and then the quilt is headed to the Member Show at Dayton Visual Arts Center. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKK63KomgGj5SstGQbBkXCCEGDPz7-UnGPSNwFg23IQrTjhxo8bq6S38wxwkHVLVMpr3iJCx4rxk6zOFv_sRZFuYhnEVEqZJJuCYsrquQMv_eZQ-ggGSb6CTF_t2KV2VjNULWEMBISrGL/s1600/Godlight+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpKK63KomgGj5SstGQbBkXCCEGDPz7-UnGPSNwFg23IQrTjhxo8bq6S38wxwkHVLVMpr3iJCx4rxk6zOFv_sRZFuYhnEVEqZJJuCYsrquQMv_eZQ-ggGSb6CTF_t2KV2VjNULWEMBISrGL/s400/Godlight+detail.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">detail, Wrack Line XI: Tides in Godlight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-33475429085421298682011-06-06T22:59:00.001-04:002011-06-06T23:00:00.111-04:00Recyled Quilts, Wrack Line X: Winter Tides<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjktnVFKaQ6gswcnQFYBft6b-1hHFv8_jUId6TizsMv9Y7RA76DlkzP4BKQMj18RD9u23K1tr1nP4YQYY7r1jKRSwAGb39ut2MBmK9_mh5KAv1KyHmCuM-KkfYn6HCBNlD9Qf-hiGmHq06/s1600/Wrack+Line+X+Winter+Tides+full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjktnVFKaQ6gswcnQFYBft6b-1hHFv8_jUId6TizsMv9Y7RA76DlkzP4BKQMj18RD9u23K1tr1nP4YQYY7r1jKRSwAGb39ut2MBmK9_mh5KAv1KyHmCuM-KkfYn6HCBNlD9Qf-hiGmHq06/s400/Wrack+Line+X+Winter+Tides+full.jpg" width="347" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wrack Line X: Winter Tides</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I'm expanding the color palette on my Wrack Line series a bit. This quilt began as a Talbot's silk dupioni dress from Value Village in Takoma Park MD (best thrift store ever!) back in August 2010. Where else could I get a yard and a half or so of silk dupioni for $3.98? So I bought it. It was in my size, but the style wasn't quite me. I tried it on first, didn't like it, and then I began to cut it apart.<br />
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I knew I wouldn't have enough silk, especially if I saved some for the quilt top, so I decided to make yo-yos out of the lining as well. Since the lining was just a little darker and not as shiny, this added a nice contrast.<br />
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I had some cream dupioni sitting around to make other yo-yos with, but I decided to try a double layer back. I can't remember where I saw this technique of framing the quilt, but I thought it might work to make the ice colored yo-yos pop. It was a little bland with just the blue and white, but in a cleaning spree, I found some orange silk to add some contrast. <br />
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I pillow-cased the two silk quilt layers and quilted the larger one with a walking foot in a wave pattern (even dupioni is terribly slippery). The cream layer is sewed down only by the stitiching of the yo-yos. I'll add French knots when I find the right color thread. <br />
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Even though this photo is awful, this quilt and two others in the series have been juried into the Aullwood Show "Water, Water Everywhere." Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-80838048383936157212011-04-15T22:31:00.000-04:002011-04-15T22:31:19.596-04:00Bleeding Hearts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDay8v6x-sGvFeUtq-pLiEQHN2ftti_CWOOc71KdAL9rWaOolUCXdZ6BR4q_v_RxC3fcSnwdKYdJjSzhKOeRku8rMCv6lt12VFDok7-s9Z2mGlHgLItA_x8R2u_oQR6K13ozCIglCqVFLU/s1600/IMG_4773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDay8v6x-sGvFeUtq-pLiEQHN2ftti_CWOOc71KdAL9rWaOolUCXdZ6BR4q_v_RxC3fcSnwdKYdJjSzhKOeRku8rMCv6lt12VFDok7-s9Z2mGlHgLItA_x8R2u_oQR6K13ozCIglCqVFLU/s400/IMG_4773.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bleeding Heart, April 15, 2011, c. Lori Gravley-Novello </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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My kitchen floor is down and the molding is almost complete. The cabinets are back in, and things are almost back to normal inside, so now I've moved outside to take care of some long delayed chores. I was wondering just the other day whether the bleeding hearts made it through the winter since I hadn't seen them up yet, but when I looked, there they were. The Lilies of the Valley and Hostas shot up this week, and the peonies are looking beautiful. Lots more to do in the garden, but I'm almost done with my latest Wrack Line Quilt, so I should have a quilt to post soon.<br />
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Tony is in Iraq and safe, and since he's requested lots of flower pictures on our private blog, I'll likely post some of them here, too. <br />
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Happy Spring!!Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-91871273078234925512011-03-30T21:14:00.002-04:002011-03-30T21:16:33.498-04:00Wordless Wednesday: Lenten Rose and Snow<div class="post-header"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzOTfjj4ECikDD2AASlbJNQ9gu7vJ5jeTOPnuIPCk5xmEDLraITt-bYyQDF_ijsWOV7FKFwXm1MFUZ3KDHmolLpMTIEtWaUYdmnTXg8tax5RHC02O5wmbHLXGL2jJBUkJD07pBX_25cU/s640/snow+flowers+1.jpg" width="425" /></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibF5kSUGeDS_eojkm3DHJ1dSfw99W7xdw6L7obFIJBOx7JbZX6jYO99BzvIVf8j5ml0T_0sN0jd6Z5npMStytQur5klKmzcNBqO7oNRA5d7jJIo_00srQzvJZGprRD37PYGZytqz-p-I8/s1600/snow+flowers+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-73552560117191787432011-03-09T19:34:00.000-05:002011-03-09T19:34:28.019-05:00Laughing GirlIs it ironic that my blog is called Laughing Girl Quilts and I'm always whining?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkGXOT3PRJ0WNCFvEA9me1bO16POXNo6vs9iNBok1iYUq0Db-7iEtGzB_y9D8wsXH0EvzRE_HCGyqptfZFGdbmEYLP514rxRlAYUk31xAgCNLBPUpAKnN-eWYKU8wUxQ3gmdQZd5m-LXQ/s1600/me+laughing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkGXOT3PRJ0WNCFvEA9me1bO16POXNo6vs9iNBok1iYUq0Db-7iEtGzB_y9D8wsXH0EvzRE_HCGyqptfZFGdbmEYLP514rxRlAYUk31xAgCNLBPUpAKnN-eWYKU8wUxQ3gmdQZd5m-LXQ/s400/me+laughing.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lori, laughing. </td></tr>
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This photograph is why I've named my company Laughing Girl Quilts. I love this photograph of me, and about the time I started doing craft shows in Maryland, I unearthed it. Don't you love my little fingers gripping the bowl as if I'm afraid the camera wielder will yank it from me. Maybe my brother was close by. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJW-D1R9euR-VTnuRALju3ahMEncDsB1Ri1R_eVEy7A9OVgygEBZ5pADSyyIZjV5YwfbVoWf095UmoXl_ar4rqSvei0TSWaPdqsNlNawvfHszuHb7g8rEY7bLrXjQK2LEpeRR8eVyz94E/s1600/self+portrait+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOJW-D1R9euR-VTnuRALju3ahMEncDsB1Ri1R_eVEy7A9OVgygEBZ5pADSyyIZjV5YwfbVoWf095UmoXl_ar4rqSvei0TSWaPdqsNlNawvfHszuHb7g8rEY7bLrXjQK2LEpeRR8eVyz94E/s400/self+portrait+1.jpg" width="311" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-Portrait</td></tr>
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I based one of my self-portrait quilts on this photograph. My therapist might be able to tell you why I included only the laugh. Something about my invisibility in my family unless I was happy and pleasant, I suspect, but I won't go too far into that here, too whiny. <span class="content"></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58K3UVI-ncIr1yOgD4dFEEQR1hzwzWaFC9eWoyqB7mwcOJ1aMuHKBBfzBPmNKrAaJRJNseKD9gI-U-or64QVNLvK7LO35N82a5U3ZZPVsXdvW4deKK4Ys-yZPh4XONngTGobK3bHiGrRm/s1600/officer_and_laughing_girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi58K3UVI-ncIr1yOgD4dFEEQR1hzwzWaFC9eWoyqB7mwcOJ1aMuHKBBfzBPmNKrAaJRJNseKD9gI-U-or64QVNLvK7LO35N82a5U3ZZPVsXdvW4deKK4Ys-yZPh4XONngTGobK3bHiGrRm/s400/officer_and_laughing_girl.jpg" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Officer and the Laughing Girl by Johannes Vermeer from <a href="http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/officer_and_laughing_girl.html">The Essential Vermeer</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>There is also the Vermeer painting called "The Officer and the Laughing Girl," and since I'm married to an officer, I liked both the personal and the historical reference. I also like that the painting has the same yellows in it as my photograph, which is very yellowed with age. <br />
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I really am a cheerful person, but I often share difficulties here because I think we sometimes struggle with our creativity in silence and I want to give voice to it. But even in the struggles, I'm a glass half full kind of girl, and I hope that shows through. <br />
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Blessing to everyone who reads this; thanks for stopping by. May your lives be full of laughter.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-4505784650957470642011-03-02T12:41:00.001-05:002011-03-02T12:42:29.964-05:00Tilt a Whirl<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9m1DOlUqLhC_auG9MYDwy4iSCmvsR1FWOKFlvmYWejhNcZqWjcydPp5pAyLbYTlTyI2C1Q18g1qKH_H-iwUjDl6eUNTHdihMZJwGoTJRaglERgglhAE8EXb0NDkchF8yi8s1O-OyuYsCP/s1600/tilt+a+whirl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9m1DOlUqLhC_auG9MYDwy4iSCmvsR1FWOKFlvmYWejhNcZqWjcydPp5pAyLbYTlTyI2C1Q18g1qKH_H-iwUjDl6eUNTHdihMZJwGoTJRaglERgglhAE8EXb0NDkchF8yi8s1O-OyuYsCP/s640/tilt+a+whirl.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marshall and Connor on the Tilt-A-Whirl, Clarion County Fair 2005</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Okay, my son came home for a short visit, my mom is on her way here, Tony is getting ready to leave for Iraq for a year, the kitchen is torn up waiting for the contractor, and the sump pump dies, the basement floods, we have to wake up every few hours at night to run the pump, but even with that, mold starts to grow. Sometimes life is like a Tilt A Whirl, but if I can just learn to hang on and relax, maybe I won't puke my guts out at the end of the ride.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-22436854439647872572011-02-25T10:27:00.002-05:002011-02-25T10:28:14.014-05:00Any Day is a Good Day to Celebrate Love<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgnqMgFsadhkm0JIcb8PxAI-uWWVxE70CumrsnUfl9CBEwVC7RS8t4hLt_JpnwIA4MV3XrUqhDbrujBSitzZXshWidI_v4twzThIqzR6XeTsyGPmyrHn92Vtngpa9yCrhiZLl5NFCa1rA/s1600/outside+tin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTgnqMgFsadhkm0JIcb8PxAI-uWWVxE70CumrsnUfl9CBEwVC7RS8t4hLt_JpnwIA4MV3XrUqhDbrujBSitzZXshWidI_v4twzThIqzR6XeTsyGPmyrHn92Vtngpa9yCrhiZLl5NFCa1rA/s200/outside+tin.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Altered Altoid's Tin</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Tony has cleaned out his office, and he has a small bag of stuff I've made for him over the years that he'll be taking to Iraq. Included in the bag was this tin that I made for him years ago. The Cupid was from some battered sheet music. I'm not sure when I made this, but it must have been seven or eight years ago. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52DMZNXFQN7BT2A-K85n5s9FcguRXtmgSTULMaWMtcdtmK49c8si5gPE2ZP1iyATsyoC7P0nKGgX46889ZnPTH3Y_zwf4GK8q0A3QgFxmxHCiJelZoLgXsZ0QC8qobw3foX_bXTC78GnC/s1600/altered+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52DMZNXFQN7BT2A-K85n5s9FcguRXtmgSTULMaWMtcdtmK49c8si5gPE2ZP1iyATsyoC7P0nKGgX46889ZnPTH3Y_zwf4GK8q0A3QgFxmxHCiJelZoLgXsZ0QC8qobw3foX_bXTC78GnC/s400/altered+heart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tin with interior altered pages of "Sonnet 43"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<br />
<br />
On the inside on altered pages is "Sonnet 43: How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. </div><br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.<br />
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height<br />
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight<br />
For the ends of being and ideal grace.<br />
I love thee to the level of every day's<br />
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.<br />
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.<br />
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.<br />
I love thee with the passion put to use<br />
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.<br />
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose<br />
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,<br />
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,<br />
I shall but love thee better after death.</div>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-86581191333598974972011-02-24T18:04:00.002-05:002011-02-24T18:31:54.985-05:00Me Day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtthQtKDdNrSXoqfcHO7aRd0oUYpxEXi2SnYePIWwz29jOR55VfUN6RH2khKSvhsyl6SMKQKJY3EFaK9SaUHSxokYk7JQJ9Ic5vI3xGno7J43L3Wf4-c5htNOB2rcbBsKvPD80alFsNzm/s1600/maggie+wants+my+purse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRtthQtKDdNrSXoqfcHO7aRd0oUYpxEXi2SnYePIWwz29jOR55VfUN6RH2khKSvhsyl6SMKQKJY3EFaK9SaUHSxokYk7JQJ9Ic5vI3xGno7J43L3Wf4-c5htNOB2rcbBsKvPD80alFsNzm/s320/maggie+wants+my+purse.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maggie wants my new purse!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I rarely sew for myself. I sewed the <a href="http://www.zentangle.com/index.php">Zentangle</a> journal for myself because I wanted to give Jude one for Valentine's Day, but I wouldn't have sewn my journal cover if I hadn't been working on the one for Jude. So the other day, I took a me day and finally made myself a purse I've had planned for some time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXKdfWZyCteME-00BdmUEG4FUI9iHWpBoh_B8f1-p78AqKdFcSosxguei8TUvPHIwSxCJuAQ0IOPeekC7FcyozjiFh-XY9autMuSp3NolquyTR_q5URhddqnwVOc9Jz7p27p4gmRaCtOz/s1600/old+purses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJXKdfWZyCteME-00BdmUEG4FUI9iHWpBoh_B8f1-p78AqKdFcSosxguei8TUvPHIwSxCJuAQ0IOPeekC7FcyozjiFh-XY9autMuSp3NolquyTR_q5URhddqnwVOc9Jz7p27p4gmRaCtOz/s200/old+purses.jpg" width="162" /></a>I do usually make my own purses, but I don't finish the next one until the previous one has worn out. The two purses on the left have clearly been loved. The brown one is a <a href="http://www.lazygirldesigns.com/products/item/Sassy_Bag/236/c50">Lazy Girl Design</a>. I can't remember who made the pattern for the black one, but the fabric is from the wonderful <a href="http://www.mekongrivertextiles.com/about.html">Mekong River Textiles </a> in Silver Spring, Maryland. When I noticed a stain on my last purse, I decided I needed to make the <a href="http://www.heatherbaileystore.com/product-p/mp003-sg.htm">Heather Bailey</a> pattern I've been planning. Okay, I'm not normally a ruffle girl, but this was cute, and it looked to be just the right size, a little bigger than the ones I normally make. Maybe you recognize my Zentangle journal cover fabric. I love it, and I've been saving enough so I could use it in this project.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuogZM2dWEa0kJznS9DKpDPHQ1TkYHgagBIQVL6EccRDVjHWWFAB0YHD_FE83AIRegByIasG3iPFmGfQfaqbwDbg8DtC8vybcNQqXX8pyA5mFuEZjuceZQdY4_phJL3Oqn60-XpGDKX1uX/s1600/new+purse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuogZM2dWEa0kJznS9DKpDPHQ1TkYHgagBIQVL6EccRDVjHWWFAB0YHD_FE83AIRegByIasG3iPFmGfQfaqbwDbg8DtC8vybcNQqXX8pyA5mFuEZjuceZQdY4_phJL3Oqn60-XpGDKX1uX/s320/new+purse.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><br />
There weren't any pockets on her design, and I thought about adding one, but I never really use them anyway. I used some Robert Kaufman Virgin of Guadalupe fabric for the lining to remind me every time I open it of the divinity that is around us every day. <br />
<br />
Tony says I should make purses to sell, but they take a lot of time to make, and with the cost of fabric, batting or interfacing and my time, I'd have to charge too much for them, I think. I don't want to have to think about the purses I make, so I always by a pattern, but I haven't found one that's perfect yet. Maybe I'll design my perfect purse and then make a few for Studio Tour to see if anyone is willing to pay what I'd need to charge to make it worth my while. I'll post soon about my recycled Jean Bags, but I'm willing to make these because they are using things up that would otherwise go to waste and because I don't have to pay much for the fabric.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDQe15iTI9YjRJ9FuXK3nkRXg9t3VX5D5VIN62CVcAodUPRxRUZVIJ_HWymdqw13QCP15auV7Bhr_zpMfvzG5KxoS2rZyozcnYtkNdqWfld8afIg0S8mDA6AyluYxQePPGY2bV1ctPjNE/s1600/rice+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDQe15iTI9YjRJ9FuXK3nkRXg9t3VX5D5VIN62CVcAodUPRxRUZVIJ_HWymdqw13QCP15auV7Bhr_zpMfvzG5KxoS2rZyozcnYtkNdqWfld8afIg0S8mDA6AyluYxQePPGY2bV1ctPjNE/s1600/rice+bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDQe15iTI9YjRJ9FuXK3nkRXg9t3VX5D5VIN62CVcAodUPRxRUZVIJ_HWymdqw13QCP15auV7Bhr_zpMfvzG5KxoS2rZyozcnYtkNdqWfld8afIg0S8mDA6AyluYxQePPGY2bV1ctPjNE/s320/rice+bag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I also made a little lunch bag (I don't know if I'll keep it for myself or not) out of a rice bag that I got when we were handing out rice from our food coop. The bag must be durable, but it's woven with this plastic that wiggles and moves a lot, so I'm not sure how well it will wear. It carried rice from Bolivia to the US, so you'd think it would wear well, but I'm not sure. I think it's cute. I thought about adding a big button and an elastic closure, but I decided that simple is probably better for this recycled bag. If anyone has any of these rice bags sitting around, I'd be glad to take them off your hands. I'd like to explore a bit more with them. I have a coffee bag or two that are waiting for my inspiration, but for now, that's two more projects complete. Yeah, me.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-65282848254898314852011-02-21T10:06:00.004-05:002011-02-21T22:24:59.833-05:00The Quilt I Didn't Want to Make<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9-Voz_HXzMjWq3tZgc72mKf1br1_26995It72vbRkx5v7OVwkJz4oELQ4hWoJNaCt80nllWnUAc1LrD7ItJLCI3TvRbRyP_oXtP-pV8uX1JOs5chrmAgHZ0PwlkBCF-vxqni6zKTL-k_/s1600/tony+quilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9-Voz_HXzMjWq3tZgc72mKf1br1_26995It72vbRkx5v7OVwkJz4oELQ4hWoJNaCt80nllWnUAc1LrD7ItJLCI3TvRbRyP_oXtP-pV8uX1JOs5chrmAgHZ0PwlkBCF-vxqni6zKTL-k_/s400/tony+quilt.jpg" width="295" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deployment Quilt 102 x 80</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
It hasn't escaped me that I've been working hard on other quilts so that I don't have to think about the quilt I didn't really want to make.<br />
<br />
Now that Tony has his itinerary for Combat Training with a quick follow on to Kuwait, it seems as if he really is going, so now, I've had to quickly finish the family album quilt that I designed for him before his last deployment was canceled.<br />
<br />
I'll beg Chris to get it quilted before the other two so that he can have it soon after he gets there. I put a surprise for him on the backing fabric, and I'll post that in April after he's seen it. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. I hope it will make him feel wrapped in our love and at home even though he is far away.<br />
<br />
The quilt design is very loosely based on a design I saw years ago by Bill Kerr and Weeks Ringle of<a href="http://www.funquilts.com/index.html"> Fun Quilts. </a>I haven't been able to find an image of it, so I'm not sure how close it is to the quilt that inspired it. I tried to make it almost bedspread size for a twin bed, but since the design is simple, it wasn't too frustrating manipulating all that fabric.<br />
<br />
I noticed a couple of things as I was making it that I didn't think about before. My element is water, and Tony's is fire, so when we're together, there is a nice balance. Notice the teal of this quilt and the watery look of the marbling (Tony asked for teal). It will be good for him to be submerged in my element each night so that he doesn't get too out of balance. Also, I noticed that all the pictures I've chosen have at least two members of our family in them. I have plenty of lovely individual pictures, but without realizing it, I made sure that each of these pictures showed the importance of the group and not the individual.<br />
<br />
Since my quilt that has wool batting is just as comfortable in the summer as it is in the winter, I hope this quilt will be comfortable in Iraq.<br />
<br />
I sped through this quilt, so I'm glad the design was simple. I'll be happy to deliver it to Chris. Tony's leaving is painful and scary, but working on the quilt made it even more real to me. Now that it's done, I can settle in to enjoying his company for two more weeks before I have to wave goodbye for a year (he'll come home for two weeks at some point, but we're not sure when).<br />
<br />
Now that this is done, I'll get back to work on all the other UFOs awaiting my attention.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-60374224683849607832011-02-18T08:50:00.002-05:002011-02-18T09:09:24.060-05:00Journal Covers, Procrastination, and Perfectionism<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0-8MAVO2_Su9I7xlx_4B4cy46TUoMHWeAKXkJTR2GGwFEBX7Kupup5z8jkE5wx-cmRm2HML8Gjzy7-3_pToyoY7IDaH6LoB8HHert5YnHInnUzFMdRSiEH4xaUPJhriJMCWtwAdjpv-d/s1600/juornal+covers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0-8MAVO2_Su9I7xlx_4B4cy46TUoMHWeAKXkJTR2GGwFEBX7Kupup5z8jkE5wx-cmRm2HML8Gjzy7-3_pToyoY7IDaH6LoB8HHert5YnHInnUzFMdRSiEH4xaUPJhriJMCWtwAdjpv-d/s400/juornal+covers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reusable Journal Covers for Small and Large Composition Books</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'm not sure why it is I think I have to have a million items to finally put up my Etsy store, but I do. And, well, I already have a million items, but still no store. And, part of me feels guilt for spending time making journal covers when there is art to be made. <br />
<br />
There is the art vs craft thing. It's a good thing to have small items for studio tours and the like, but those items tend to be crafty. So, part of my desire for an Etsy store is to have some place to sell the things I make for Studio Tour at some time other than the fall.<br />
<br />
Also, it's sort of mind releasing (not actually numbing, but the sort of release you get when you're in flow) to just sew straight lines. So, I've been getting ready for my husband's deployment by using up old fabric and creating journal covers which I might, someday, put in my Etsy store. <br />
<br />
The using up fabric part has been good. Last year when I folded all my fabric into 6x6 inch squares for storage on my narrow shelves, I set some fabric aside with the caveat that I had to use it within a year or get rid of it. So, I'm using fabric, mostly, that I've had for a long time and whose original purpose has been lost. I'll admit that some of this fabric I bought new from the sale tables at JoAnn's because, well, it was on sale, and, well, it would look nice as a journal cover. My childhood hunger does truly come out in a desire for fabric.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I've been working on journal covers as I finish up other projects, and I've finally used up all the notebooks that I buy cheap when school starts. So now maybe it's time to put them up on Etsy.<br />
<br />
No, wait. I was going to type up some journal prompts and make really cool labels. Also, I haven't decided what my packaging will look like. So, I guess I'll wait until I get that done. There is truly always something more to do before the stars are perfectly aligned and I'm willing to let go. Perfectionism, anyone?Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-48516583350012590172011-02-16T08:09:00.000-05:002011-02-16T08:09:29.834-05:00Zentangle JournalsMy dear friend and writing buddy Judy Whelley (of the fabulous <a href="http://www.sensuouslysixty.blogspot.com/">Sensuously Sixty </a>blog) and I took a <a href="http://zentangle/">Zentangle</a> class together in January. I bought the <a href="http://www.zentangle.com/products.php">Zentangle </a>box some time ago, and I've been tangling on my own irregularly for a year or so. When we saw a class at <a href="http://www.lorettapuncer.com/gallery.html">Gallery 510</a>, we decided to sign up.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVY3A5ZI5v1yDl9ax1H7GV261BZGC_rUeuZHBtogk91BfhlPEf7Jx0ukKJAIqia_Zb5xO-jRs8YptkWcECHXOhGT8UbBb-4439yf3vhFJ7cF-saxmRfgCOfpsbYD6TKrz3kP1DWBat8hl/s1600/zentangle+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVY3A5ZI5v1yDl9ax1H7GV261BZGC_rUeuZHBtogk91BfhlPEf7Jx0ukKJAIqia_Zb5xO-jRs8YptkWcECHXOhGT8UbBb-4439yf3vhFJ7cF-saxmRfgCOfpsbYD6TKrz3kP1DWBat8hl/s400/zentangle+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 x 6 journals for <a href="http://www.zentangle.com/">Zentangle</a>s and my Zentangle practice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>What fun! Our teacher was CZT, <a href="http://openseedarts.blogspot.com/">Carol Ohl</a>. The class was inspiring, and I've been tangling nearly every day since then. I usually do a tangle with a cup of tea in the morning. I'm more confident in my free motion quilting because of it. Also, it may just be the source of all that finishing energy I've found. It's pretty awesome to finish a lovely little doodle every day. I tangle in a 6x6 journal, and I decided to make a journal cover for it.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKZfVeJPLibYLSiRQbfkej3kVOeIb_8hsO961sLjjN-Tkx6DPB65cnvE3fMXgheiJ5XBSgekZmuh1c9sl8iR5JLYBr2xzqVJeUiPd75qTTGMc5ypIWWPiDMqZlEAQHW3E3Q_2gXGsvzkJ/s1600/zentangle+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKZfVeJPLibYLSiRQbfkej3kVOeIb_8hsO961sLjjN-Tkx6DPB65cnvE3fMXgheiJ5XBSgekZmuh1c9sl8iR5JLYBr2xzqVJeUiPd75qTTGMc5ypIWWPiDMqZlEAQHW3E3Q_2gXGsvzkJ/s400/zentangle+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 x 6 Journals for <a href="http://www.zentangle.com/index.php">Zentangles</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
I made one for Judy, too. Next time the 6x6 journals go on sale, I'll buy a bunch of them and make some of these for my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/people/LaughingGirlQuilts">Etsy </a>shop, which is still not up yet, but I'll get there.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-74565516733910196532011-02-14T15:45:00.004-05:002011-02-14T15:46:42.618-05:00Celebrate Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLy3sUO5u-UEl9ToCKW4Qa7o6hT6Siq-YkPxsl3kE7YARXS4UrciRprgKD-VKZXPFT1Z18VizDxH6p8tQoUJLbVmNz0SJtxnsfE7Y7cVjEJ5rTFNSuZLVpJ8Q6bgOhDKYjIXNGIt3EqCA/s1600/valentine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcLy3sUO5u-UEl9ToCKW4Qa7o6hT6Siq-YkPxsl3kE7YARXS4UrciRprgKD-VKZXPFT1Z18VizDxH6p8tQoUJLbVmNz0SJtxnsfE7Y7cVjEJ5rTFNSuZLVpJ8Q6bgOhDKYjIXNGIt3EqCA/s400/valentine.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-43739450279023204222011-02-10T20:40:00.004-05:002011-02-13T08:14:51.890-05:00Taking a Class, Hesitations<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoswGp709-xOAf-PlrLNX1qRPap3_i1b0botst1Un4Bff0AtFNfBrXihTYo2h8bNRnGXw4Wc0GQyYFwgKlDvGsw6YptWXipG9bKVNWH6Grkd7tv8bliBSHhGntg-HAfM3pMyIZ5TY90w0H/s1600/LW+flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoswGp709-xOAf-PlrLNX1qRPap3_i1b0botst1Un4Bff0AtFNfBrXihTYo2h8bNRnGXw4Wc0GQyYFwgKlDvGsw6YptWXipG9bKVNWH6Grkd7tv8bliBSHhGntg-HAfM3pMyIZ5TY90w0H/s400/LW+flowers.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Blue Garden, begun in a Laura Wasilowski class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I taught myself to sew. My grandmother was a seamstress, and we lived with her for a time. Since there was nothing much to do at her house, I would gather up scraps (often the hems of dresses she'd cut off for short society matrons) and sew hideous but lovingly made clothes for my Barbie dolls. I don't remember anyone teaching me to stitch a seam, to take a backstitch, or any other handsewing techniques. I think my aunt Regina taught me to make a cheater's knot, and my mom taught me how to slipstitch, but that's about it.<br />
<br />
So, when it came time to learn to quilt, I had no problem just figuring it out on my own, mostly. A quilter from the base where we were stationed taught me how to baste a quilt, and I hand basted my first quilt (my youngest son's baby quilt) and that was it. I've never hand basted another quilt. <br />
<br />
I started making art quilts before I knew that people made art quilts, and it was a revelation to me when I went to<a href="http://www.dominienash.com/index.htm"> Dominie Nash'</a>s show at Glenview Mansion in 2001 that what I was doing had a name and scads of devotees. <br />
<br />
So a couple of years ago, after teaching myself quilting for over ten years, I took my first quilt class. <a href="http://www.artfabrik.com/">Laura Wasilowski </a>came to teach a class for a local guild, and since I liked her work, I signed up. I enjoyed the class. I mastered fusing and learned some cool tricks. And I made some very Laura Wasilowski quilts, but I'm not sure I'd sign up for another class about technique or product again.Laura gave us beautiful fabric and her thread, and that was fun, but it did mean that all the quilts had the same look to them.<br />
<br />
When I first got the fabric, I started playing, and I began this sort of city scape. But everyone else was making flowers, so I quickly thought, "Beginner's mind, Lori. You're taking her class; you should do what she's teaching." So I put the cityscape aside and did two lovely flower quilts that vaguely resemble quilts that Laura Wasilowski makes. She encouraged us to try our own shapes and to explore, but even with our own shapes, most of our final quilts looked as if we were imitating Laura Wasilowski. I prefer the cityscape that I started in the class to the two floral quilts, and I think it's probably important that I've used my own handdyes in this quilt as well as Wasilowski's Artfabrik. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXoB_T4MOaSUs7n5b4uGbvbvFUfWGhV5WxnuA19kLQhjVRDK_dDRZPsBNh4PWvgNceLkz-dvgrIAWY_X5M2Jb5yMNPgVmlQxMiEWSWr1uswez6-pHlub304owG09TuEZ1YFtjZ9c9-2ymL/s1600/LW+city.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXoB_T4MOaSUs7n5b4uGbvbvFUfWGhV5WxnuA19kLQhjVRDK_dDRZPsBNh4PWvgNceLkz-dvgrIAWY_X5M2Jb5yMNPgVmlQxMiEWSWr1uswez6-pHlub304owG09TuEZ1YFtjZ9c9-2ymL/s400/LW+city.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windy City Reflections, begun in a Laura Wasilowski class </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Imitation isn't bad. You can learn a lot by mimicking someone's style and process and I do think that's how style develops in many artists, but I think maybe I just waited too long to take a class. It was a charming diversion, and it was fun. And the finished quilt tops have given me some good free-motion and hand-stitching practice. Maybe that is a good enough reason to take a class. <br />
<br />
Oh, and in case you're keeping track, that's two more unfinished quilts that are now finished. Yeah.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-34751128912109337602011-02-07T10:32:00.002-05:002011-02-07T10:37:34.883-05:00Finishing Energy<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiJcYodXCizBdrG1wOUO_a2EqMbQrd3Chly4ehJLn4X1NXsHlB8lJBrcyHeKeZ-VdZ41dyu-K97hTLfMSf8l8tuXlysVez_soO_Vpn7FaYUcZxushwFBab9oaztXAg3g39I7-7zWz7lwu/s1600/rust+entire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXiJcYodXCizBdrG1wOUO_a2EqMbQrd3Chly4ehJLn4X1NXsHlB8lJBrcyHeKeZ-VdZ41dyu-K97hTLfMSf8l8tuXlysVez_soO_Vpn7FaYUcZxushwFBab9oaztXAg3g39I7-7zWz7lwu/s400/rust+entire.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Permanence/Impermanence</i> 58 x 46</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I have tons of starting energy. I have three unfinished mid-grade novels (and one that's done but in the process of revision). I have several picture books that are nearly perfect. I have a huge pile of quilt and fiber projects--not to mention jewelery, paper, and other craft projects--that have been started but never finished.<br />
<br />
When people say, "I don't know where you get all your ideas from," I can only think, "Oh, and there are plenty more where those come from." I have more ideas in notebooks, on scraps of paper, on napkins, and just wandering around in my head like Terry Pratchett's "inspiration particles" that have gotten trapped there and are just waiting for me to get off my duff and do something about them.<br />
<br />
But finishing can be difficult.<br />
<br />
First, I think finishing is hard for me because once I'm done, all possibilities are closed down. What was once open to all sorts of shifts and changes has now been fixed in time. It's finished. As a poet, I can overcome this locked finish. Marianne Moore, Robert Frost, and other poets changed their poems between editions, continuing to revise their work until their deaths no matter how many other versions of the poems were out there. Certainly, painters do this, too. But it seems a bit harder with fiber art. I can add something on top, but I can't change things much once the works are finished and bound. I like to "dwell in possibility"; I'm not so fond of feeling stagnated.<br />
<br />
Also, finishing brings it's own sadness. My older son is a singer/songwriter and all around amazing young man, and he and I were talking about this the other night because he had just finished two songs he was pleased with and was feeling a bit blue about it. "They're good songs. I like them, but I'm feeling kinda down now," he said. And I knew just what he meant. When I finish something, I often feel a quick burst of elation--"That's it. I'm done. Ta da!!" But that is quickly followed by an emotional downturn. "Well, that's over with, what next? Blah, blah, blah."<br />
<br />
Of course, because my head is full of inspiration, I don't stay there too long, but it's a bit disconcerting to have that blue wash of sadness over every sunlit space of completion.<br />
<br />
I think because of that, I don't always like to finish things. Even if they are going well. Even if I can see the end, and I know that it will be wonderful when I'm done. Even if I'm just sick of it and want it out of my life. Finishing something takes a courage and energy that we don't often talk about.<br />
<br />
But this month, I"m trying to gather that finishing energy around me so that I can clean out my closet of all those nearly done projects.<br />
<br />
So far, I'm three big projects down.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqU8OLGYPhAcjvP9e1_Tnv9fAhLtIM-UdPIyfil3lJXHt1jFEqMqADPGM1fBcYrM2cNA2jJJJKeqnBRQi5WizoAx8qn6Q8YC-Bc_bncn0fzCtLxaBPvEQ2R00QgEK8-rCG6g8ocFntAK8/s1600/jack+amish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFqU8OLGYPhAcjvP9e1_Tnv9fAhLtIM-UdPIyfil3lJXHt1jFEqMqADPGM1fBcYrM2cNA2jJJJKeqnBRQi5WizoAx8qn6Q8YC-Bc_bncn0fzCtLxaBPvEQ2R00QgEK8-rCG6g8ocFntAK8/s1600/jack+amish.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I finished this quilt. It isn't a prize winner. It's just to keep a little extra warmth around, but I love the playful sparkles and the spots. It's called "Jack Amish" and it's my design based on a Chinese coin variation with fabric gifted to me from <a href="http://artventures4mindy.blogspot.com/">Mindy Marik</a> when I was just beginning my circles exploration. I don't like to work on "big" quilts, so I know that's one reason why I didn't finish this. Also, I wanted the outer border, but I didn't have all the colors from the center, so I'm not thrilled with how cool the outer border reads as opposed to the entire quilt. But now it's done, and I'm sending it to Chris Landis to long arm. Yeah.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0DiO8uExdKSVP73dElPuAApTs19J6WuPpo2Vf4GdeV3IHZ1rANufwOGtVLGWzq7d641FBM3NQyJgPlOb053eWlnl1rU9HnlckcOf4n8SfWP3YxfVoaluYTjERMrODxQV0VilpyDY5Pck/s1600/summer+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0DiO8uExdKSVP73dElPuAApTs19J6WuPpo2Vf4GdeV3IHZ1rANufwOGtVLGWzq7d641FBM3NQyJgPlOb053eWlnl1rU9HnlckcOf4n8SfWP3YxfVoaluYTjERMrODxQV0VilpyDY5Pck/s400/summer+bed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I've also finished another big quilt. I think of it as my summer quilt. This is a pattern by Janelle Cedusky of <a href="http://www.njquiltdesigns.com/">Nellie J Designs</a> from the Dec. 2009 <a href="http://www.mccallsquilting.com/index.html">McCall's Quilting</a>. I wanted a summer quilt for my bed, and so I started this a little over a year and a half ago. It wasn't a hard quilt, but it's big and since it's not my design, I didn't feel as invested in it. But now it's off to Chris to be quilted. <br />
<br />
The final quilt I've finished is another big one. (Can you see a pattern here.) It's one of my rust dyed quilts, and thankfully MVAQN has a show coming up at the Dayton Library that I wanted to show this quilt in, so I had to get it finished. You can see the entire quilt up top in the opening picture. And I've taken a close up of some hand stitching here. The quilt has been a challenge because it is all Peltex on the inside, so the hand stitching that I wanted to add was challenging (as was the hanging sleeve, ugh). But now it's done, and I love the way it hangs. I'm not sure I'll work this big with Peltex again, but it was a fun experiment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFyj-mDevgQ-iT0zaEgTuqBOKfA9PO4WI1D6UN6iGEsQiE0CuOB0ZbsFNI9g9baXbXFCY9-nb8EnHuOIlBoNOwubzfYqW5Xv_FfvILtu-YJZGpKYuQV0HvhchMouqoYti_m7tcgRXV5l9/s1600/rust+close+up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrFyj-mDevgQ-iT0zaEgTuqBOKfA9PO4WI1D6UN6iGEsQiE0CuOB0ZbsFNI9g9baXbXFCY9-nb8EnHuOIlBoNOwubzfYqW5Xv_FfvILtu-YJZGpKYuQV0HvhchMouqoYti_m7tcgRXV5l9/s320/rust+close+up.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Permanence/Impermanence,</i> detail</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
So, I celebrate a new month, a new year, and a new phase in my life by learning to cultivate and honor finishing energy. And, of course, finishing things leaves me lots of energy to start something new!Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-20152856448792705462011-02-04T08:04:00.001-05:002011-02-04T08:04:07.730-05:00The Inner Dome of Heaven, Fallen.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCFOWIs5fRscxuSj9IOIT__HCCdirg3NezoKfz3xbKnH3N6er6gqdxsJ03ymUGS7HzPb7v02liD22uDnJo7iU_XDTQIzXwCWW8beOpkjJ56U8bJWN0W5cycUF4Oi9boT2qSPPOa36dCjE/s1600/license+plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCFOWIs5fRscxuSj9IOIT__HCCdirg3NezoKfz3xbKnH3N6er6gqdxsJ03ymUGS7HzPb7v02liD22uDnJo7iU_XDTQIzXwCWW8beOpkjJ56U8bJWN0W5cycUF4Oi9boT2qSPPOa36dCjE/s400/license+plate.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Besides the ominous cracking of some unwieldy trees in our yard and the 18 hour power outage, I enjoyed the ice storm. One of the first things I noticed was the lovely irony of our Florida license plate shrouded by icicles. Since my husband in in the miltary, we maintain our residency in Florida. The ice was so thick, I couldn't open the trunk without a bit of help. <br />
<br />
It was fun to have to snuggle in and the freedom from technology creates a beautiful silence. I got out handwork that I had put away long ago and sat in the front window where there was more light to watch our Yellow Springs neighbors pass into town (where, thankfully, Sunrise Cafe was open, yum).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBU8kBTPE0a0aQxQaxDOM2R3xMYwYySNYSNHrT5xKG2s9GxgKUzT5AMeUJ04Fb04UPWrgd7KZV__CuPSZmYrZmw8ZMZy5wZMRt8GRYnOD1RAs31deL_3JGh9nj6gMtKobx34M075sIj8t-/s1600/iced+berries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBU8kBTPE0a0aQxQaxDOM2R3xMYwYySNYSNHrT5xKG2s9GxgKUzT5AMeUJ04Fb04UPWrgd7KZV__CuPSZmYrZmw8ZMZy5wZMRt8GRYnOD1RAs31deL_3JGh9nj6gMtKobx34M075sIj8t-/s400/iced+berries.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I couldn't help but think again and again of Robert Frost's poem "Birches." <br />
<br />
Often you must have seen them<br />
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning<br />
After a rain. They click upon themselves<br />
As the breeze rises, and turn many-coloured<br />
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.<br />
Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells<br />
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust<br />
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away<br />
You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.<br />
<br />
In my mind again and again, as I stepped on broken icicles or maneuvered around a batch of ice I thought of his "heaps of broken glass." <br />
<br />
Now, the ice is melting and it's safe to walk again, but I'm thankful that weather can remind us to slow down: to walk more slowly lest we slip, to do work with our hands because that's all we have, to snuggle with our loved ones because there is no heat and the human furnace burns hot. Perhaps a little bit of heaven did fall.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-4017529131822137822010-10-14T10:12:00.002-04:002010-10-14T10:16:23.956-04:00Artist's Studio Tour This Weekend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdjRemHpSJDjafLJ4Hn67Nnnzd11dLha3qMaelovFg5wPlIs7SUj5bAZCN41FHzIAHW6FIFjnp7lsYSWO6XA2-mcYxzU78r3sjdveluwquJvA5Mt8GY6rC8PeCgv8QHcAT2HasrKXNzKf/s1600/Gravley_Wrack+Line+VIII+Tidelines_28+x+28+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdjRemHpSJDjafLJ4Hn67Nnnzd11dLha3qMaelovFg5wPlIs7SUj5bAZCN41FHzIAHW6FIFjnp7lsYSWO6XA2-mcYxzU78r3sjdveluwquJvA5Mt8GY6rC8PeCgv8QHcAT2HasrKXNzKf/s400/Gravley_Wrack+Line+VIII+Tidelines_28+x+28+web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>This is the eighth in my series of Wrack Line Quilts. These quilts and others as well as bookmarks, journal covers, needle books, and other work of mine will be for sale at the <a href="http://www.ysarts.org/">Yellow Springs Artist's Studio Tour </a>this weekend.<br />
<br />
I am fortunate be a guest artist at <a href="http://www.mvpottery.com/">Miami Valley Pottery</a>. Naysan is sharing his space with me and with <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/NinaCarina">Alice Young-Basora</a>, who makes beautiful jewelery. <br />
<br />
Of course, fellow Quaker <a href="http://www.alicerobrish.com/">Alice Robrish</a>, fellow quilter <a href="http://www.forquiltssake.com/">Pam Giesel</a>, and many other excellent artists are on the tours, so I hope you'll find some time this weekend to pop in to Yellow Springs and tour the studios of our many talented artists.<br />
<br />
If you come in to town, don't miss <a href="http://jafabrit.blogspot.com/">Corrine Bayraktaroglu</a>'s show at Would You Could You in a Frame and <a href="http://www.ysartscouncil.org/events/">Karen Russell</a>'s show at the Yellow Spring Arts Council's ArtSpace. And while you're in town, stop by the <a href="http://antiochcollege.org/glen_helen/home/">Glen Helen Building</a> for Miami Valley Art Quilt Network's Show at the Glen. Fiber, fiber everywhere. <br />
<br />
I hope you'll come out and join us in Yellow Springs for a wonderful weekend. <br />
<h6 class="uiStreamMessage"><span class="actorName"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=583564925"><br />
</a></span></h6>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-27636751225406874732010-09-08T16:10:00.001-04:002010-09-08T18:41:22.474-04:00Wrack Line VII<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHttZPJ3ewKt6-PqO92PzoWcmwpQbE5hArdanNPtDWLDLQ5BlMtJzs7Hn-rJyUb3PsZddJi-CzQdwZS84lthgJq_xawNn2p9xLMzXNEWWv9RdUKMlm7y5mfnptGa7dI3o38VCv-pzRcjI/s1600/WL-VII-blog.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNHttZPJ3ewKt6-PqO92PzoWcmwpQbE5hArdanNPtDWLDLQ5BlMtJzs7Hn-rJyUb3PsZddJi-CzQdwZS84lthgJq_xawNn2p9xLMzXNEWWv9RdUKMlm7y5mfnptGa7dI3o38VCv-pzRcjI/s400/WL-VII-blog.gif" width="400" /></a></div>This is the seventh quilt in my Wrack Line Series. I've submitted some of the other quilts for jurying at shows where they prefer you don't publish them anywhere first, but this one was a quilt that I played with to enter into Visceral Gallery's Color Restrained II show. None of the three pieces I entered got in, which is disappointing, but I think that the work I'm doing now is strong and innovative, and I'm not done with yo-yos yet. <br />
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I grew up on the panhandle for Florida near Destin. My mom and stepfather's favorite beach was in Destin by the Back Porch restaurant. Back then, the restaurant was a little A frame building, and you did indeed eat your food on the back porch. The beaches were so white. I started this series before the oil spill, but working on this series has made me long for the beautiful pristine beaches that I grew up with.<br />
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I could walk down the beach from the Back Porch and not see anything else for the longest time. Now, it's condo after condo. There is a lovely state beach on the other side of the barrier blocking Old 98, and when we go back, that's where we go, but once money found Destin, what made the beaches lovely to me (being an introvert and a bit of a loner) quickly disappeared. Condos do one sort of damage, and oil spills take that damage up several orders of magnitude. So far, Destin's beaches remain white and beautiful. Check out the web cams on the <a href="http://www.destinchamber.com/destin/webcams.asp">Destin Homepage</a> if you want to see what I mean.<br />
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I haven't been back to Destin in years, but the beach was so important to me growing up. It was my wild place. It surrounded me with healing water, and it reminded me that I'm one part of a really big world. The way it made itself new every day also told me that all would be well, that a new day would bring the tide, new treasures, and would clean the footprints, leaving everything wide open again. <br />
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In this quilt, I've included yo-yo's in the water wash section of the quilt under the sheer overlay, you can see them on the left hand side in this picture. I also added seed stitching on the left in the water wash, in addition to the French knots on the sand area, the area not covered by a sheer overlay. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6RyEi8Fr1n_Xgq1iVZFx61M0as6rHukbVwxBUMwN8IPdc5E-kvLL8Nap7TN8uVX0Ei_HdzqQybJE0g_8DHGUrW5NvCOT7zdU6Bd_oIpsEoC7TLIZXAYuSDVBSRQ-ulcBWNu6heNN8veG/s1600/WL-VII-detail-blog.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6RyEi8Fr1n_Xgq1iVZFx61M0as6rHukbVwxBUMwN8IPdc5E-kvLL8Nap7TN8uVX0Ei_HdzqQybJE0g_8DHGUrW5NvCOT7zdU6Bd_oIpsEoC7TLIZXAYuSDVBSRQ-ulcBWNu6heNN8veG/s400/WL-VII-detail-blog.gif" width="400" /></a></div>Photos by Park Bench Photography, David LorenzLori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-91187411883416803592010-06-26T06:57:00.000-04:002010-06-26T06:57:44.360-04:00Dealing with Rejection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUNC_r3L7YL7Y8l9mrqpTt4BebeitnrAExrQFr7fvzsU0uut2-wuF0v67oWLKp5UcRGMtvWDvLJ0huz1dGA4bDbnXa3-nY6IyL2DMzV2ikXwHoDjxzeXwYiXf0uBuJNnfD7y-LvRMuu1U/s1600/L-Gravley-View-Full.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="390" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUNC_r3L7YL7Y8l9mrqpTt4BebeitnrAExrQFr7fvzsU0uut2-wuF0v67oWLKp5UcRGMtvWDvLJ0huz1dGA4bDbnXa3-nY6IyL2DMzV2ikXwHoDjxzeXwYiXf0uBuJNnfD7y-LvRMuu1U/s400/L-Gravley-View-Full.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I always thought of myself as a resilient person. Like most of us out there, I've had my share of sorrow, and I've allowed that sorrow to strengthen me.<br />
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But I still hate rejection. So, when I wasn't selected for two juried shows I entered over the winter and when an agent who had looked carefully at a couple of the picture books and novels for children that I'm working on decided not to represent me, I shut down. Sort of. I stopped posting. I stopped completing quilts. I stopped working on my novel. This has happened before. I've been rejected before. I've shut down temporarily. I use all the excuses in my arsenal for why I "can't" do the work right now--work, family, technology, etc. Thankfully, so far every time I've felt knocked down by rejection, I've come back from that rejection stronger and with new visions and ideas. (Cue <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LODkVkpaVQA">Chumbawumba "Tubthumping"</a> and dance in your seats.)<br />
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I hate that what other people think of my work can make me shut down. I want to be one of those people who say, "Oh, well. That's one person's or panel's view, there is someone out there who will see the value in this." But I'm not, yet. I'm working on it. <br />
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Now, I'm starting to think that the cocooning I go through after some rejection is the way I work on it. I go inside for a little while. I start to listen to my own voice instead of rehearsing what I imagine other people will think, and I continue to work in small ways. In quilting, it might be creating sweet little yo yos out of a variety of fabrics. In writing, it might be writing a blog post or working on the letter to the next agent or doing research for the next book.<br />
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I've been pretty tough on myself over the last few months for not working, but really, I have been working. Not big splashy work, but the little incremental work that can lead to things like a quilt with 150 yo yos or a new idea for a book or a new little poem that sparks many more. I have been working, not in the big, "look at me ways," but in the small ways that build my craft and create the foundation for new growth. Next time I'm rejected, I hope that I'm able to be a little more gentle with myself as I go inside to recollect and renew my vision. Hey, maybe it's time to send that work out to a new agent. And though it isn't juried, I worked up enough courage to take my quilt "Wrack Line III: The Treasures Darkness Brings" to DVAC for the member show. Baby steps. <br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Also, I realize that somtimes I might finish a quilt and it may look just like I planned it, and it still might not be good enough. That's okay. For your enjoyment, I'm sharing the work that was rejected from the RustTex collection. The four square quilts at the top of this post seem finished to me. The do what I set out to do, but people in my groups have felt that they are somehow not quite right. Since they feel finished to me, I'm having a hard time seeing my way through to work on them further. The larger quilt is based on the serendipitious quilt I made from scraps, but it's much bigger. Indeed, it was too big for Rust-Tex. Next time, I'll read the size limitations before I work on a quilt. Silly me. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDzZmdtyH2KjIFfhHTp9g5DR846F6pZUvvmYsT1W9W2zJF8S1PbX27REvhIqqANgAXb7evF3MeHr6WmaSEOQACaQCKJh67kK3b2pbvF1yMXrj7VDUpofjVf_tT5yesXrjsbAe_CNJnOKu/s1600/Gravley-L-Persistent+Impermanence-Full.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDzZmdtyH2KjIFfhHTp9g5DR846F6pZUvvmYsT1W9W2zJF8S1PbX27REvhIqqANgAXb7evF3MeHr6WmaSEOQACaQCKJh67kK3b2pbvF1yMXrj7VDUpofjVf_tT5yesXrjsbAe_CNJnOKu/s400/Gravley-L-Persistent+Impermanence-Full.JPG" width="346" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Don't worry if I don't post for the next week or so, I haven't gone back into a cave, I'll be cooking at Catoctin Quaker Camp and visiting my Mom. When I get back, I'll share the weekly quilts that I finally started working on. </div>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-9255832998189543692010-06-22T12:40:00.000-04:002010-06-22T12:40:13.370-04:00I'm Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48LkGUhj-3DzHJd5GxZHjqvBGMxhwU8TorOkEoLfW5NOLg_euPTlkLeFOveIvAZbEpm_thyphenhyphenOslkgadtcZeIhIaupRppbpMblYsmozMqu6bl6kYZ3NB0k2MFscw0hIWW1oKTKS2tTl08SM/s1600/yo+yo+quilt+blog+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg48LkGUhj-3DzHJd5GxZHjqvBGMxhwU8TorOkEoLfW5NOLg_euPTlkLeFOveIvAZbEpm_thyphenhyphenOslkgadtcZeIhIaupRppbpMblYsmozMqu6bl6kYZ3NB0k2MFscw0hIWW1oKTKS2tTl08SM/s400/yo+yo+quilt+blog+copy.jpg" width="286" /></a></div>Wrack Line III: The Treasures Darkness Brings 21.5" x 30"<br />
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I blame Mindy M. for showing me a picture of the quilt with yo-yos that has partially kept me from completing anything but yo-yos for the past six months. Okay, teaching two classes, being a mom to a kid with special needs, managing a store for a friend who escaped to Hawaii, a new computer without Photoshop, and various other commitments and excuses might have had something to do with it. And also fear of rejection, but I'll get to that in a later post. Finally, I completed (well, not totally, but sort of) my first yo-yo quilt last weekend for the <a href="http://www.daytonvisualarts.org/content/future-exhibitions-jy">DVAC Member Show</a>. The theme is Darkness.<br />
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The inspiration for this quilt is that area on the beach called the wrack line. According to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the wrack line is "<span style="font-size: small;">A line of debris, above the mean high tide line, which has been deposited by previous higher than normal tides." It's the place where beachcombers look for cool shells, mermaid's purses, driftwood, fish bones, and the many other treasures that collectors gather from beaches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">After my brother committed suicide when I was 18, I had a hard time sleeping, so instead of sleeping, I would drive to the beach, usually someplace far from the more populous beaches of Okaloosa Island or Destin. I would just walk. The sound of the ocean, and that feeling of being small but not insignificant soothed me during my grief. I couldn't pick out individual shells or beauties during that darkness, but the darkness and solitude became a treasure in themselves. I would walk, sometimes by the water, sometimes up further, sheltered a bit by the shadow of the dunes along the wrack line, and I would feel peace. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">As I've been working on the quilt, the broken oil well in the gulf has been pumping gallons of oil into to ocean. Eventually, the tar balls will make their way to my beloved white sands, so the work on this quilt also became a meditation of healing for the ocean, its creatures, and for the beaches. Some of the fabrics I've used for this quilt are actually petroleum products--acrylic, nylon, and polyester are all petroleum based fabrics, so the irony of making my own shiny little tar balls to sew to this celebration of the beach wasn't lost on me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The title of the quilt, then, has layered meanings. It hints at the beauty of the wrack crashed in by the highest tides that somehow seem to happen at night when no one is there. It reminds me of the solace and comfort that come to us from the strangest places when we most need them. And it symbolizes the hope that out of the darkness that is this terrible and preventable spill will come some treasure and benefit that we can't yet imagine. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span> <br />
The yo-yos for this quilt are a made of a collection of fabrics: recycled and new, cotton and synthetic, shiny and dull. It has cotton base and backing fabric and a cotton/poly blend batting. The binding is satin, and the overlay fabric is a polyester sheer. Cotton and polyester threads were used. The quilt is primarily hand sewn with some machine stitching to hold the layers together and to bind the quilt. There are over 150 yo-yos in the quilt.Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3018934120893138538.post-14463346623643808702009-12-29T17:17:00.002-05:002009-12-29T17:20:07.142-05:00Oct Weekly Quilts--done in Oct, really, but just now mounted!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfypoei3N4scikKAPN_wpuWa2ptAzTEQ-Dz1iifhkVFek-pBlPdAyuwNv4kSH8R_wilsAOBYITHMrEQfEwa53_-NOTvPq77Iw6arDmzEvaBdZL8ExxkbfQelz3olqDmyHn0o6PzmSe6XV2/s1600-h/oct+quilts.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfypoei3N4scikKAPN_wpuWa2ptAzTEQ-Dz1iifhkVFek-pBlPdAyuwNv4kSH8R_wilsAOBYITHMrEQfEwa53_-NOTvPq77Iw6arDmzEvaBdZL8ExxkbfQelz3olqDmyHn0o6PzmSe6XV2/s400/oct+quilts.JPG" /></a><br />
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October Weekly Quilts 6x6 (individually) 24 x 6 (all together). <br />
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So, I totally cheated on these quilts. I had fun back in August, making the weekly quilts connect, but I designed them at the beginning of the month, and then pieced/fused/quilted them each week. <br />
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Well, in October, I got a bit behind, so it was the perfect time to cheat. I layered the background on a piece of 25 x 7 batting, and then I stitched the layers down and added a bit more quilting.<br />
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Thanks to Ginny Smith for talking about this method oh so long ago and for being so amazing that her quilts were in Quilt National and at the Ohio Crafts Museum in their <a href="http://www.ohiocraft.org/exhibition_conversations.html">Conversations in Fabric</a> exhibit. Seeing her quilts this summer reminded me of the technique, and I've been using it for some of my quilts ever since. <br />
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I used non-melt plastic to create the circles and then did some needle turn applique to attach them to the background. The starth had turned the lighter circles yellow, so I hand washed the quilt and then put it in the dryer. I love how that made the unfinished fabric edges begin to ravel a bit more. Then, I cut the long piece into smaller sections and attached the binding and backing. Once I'd sewn them to the backgrounds I would use to mount them in their frames, I added seed stitches and French knots.<br />
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I did them so long ago, I can't remember which way is up. The seed quilting is in the medium orange section behind the lightest blue circles, so it seems like that should be the front by the more detail in the foreground rule, but I think I like it better with the medium orange and the light circles at the top of the frame. Any comments? <br />
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</div>Lori Gravleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04346626540498460234noreply@blogger.com2