What is it?

Now that Christmas is over, I can share photos of gifts that I made. Can you guess what this is? This is what it looks like flattened.

Here's another view. I gave it to my friend Linda.

This is the one I gave my daughter. She had no clue what it was!

Okay, it's a pie carrier. I used the cute pattern in the latest Stitch Magazine, except that I changed it a little. I didn't use bias tape as they had suggested, and I used shoe laces instead of twill tape, their suggestion. I dyed the shoelaces green for the green one, because I thought it would look better than the plain white. It's Color Silk, the same stuff I have used on silk and wool.

Honest, I am still making quilts. "Sweet Dreamy Dreams" is almost ready to machine quilt. My head is spinning with ideas for two more, due in March. But I can't show any of these for a while, sorry.

oh happy day

I received an early gift, a couple of days ago. My daughter is pregnant with our first grandchild, due in late June.

Then I found out today our niece is pregnant, too. How cool is that!

Of course, one of the first things I thought of was: must make baby quilts!

Fine Arts and Craft Faire at the Muckenthaler, Fullerton CA

Sunday, Dec 20th from Noon-5pm; Fine Arts & Craft Faire at the Muckenthaler
Cultural Center's Annual Holiday Festival; Stacy Hurt, Terry Waldron,
Peggy Calvert, Jamie Fingal, and I will be selling our fiber artwork at this
show. Vendor booths, art exhibits, children?s art activities, music and
dance performances, and tours of the facility on the 8.5 acre grounds of the
Muckenthaler Cultural Center, an historic 1924 estate and cultural center.
This event draws about a thousand people each year. Admission is free.

*Please come by and say hello!*

* 1201 West Malvern Avenue, Fullerton.
http://www.themuck.org/



and while you are there - check out this exhibit

Contemporary Quilts - Oct 11th to Dec 31st The Muckenthaler Cultural Center,

1201 W. Malvern Ave, Fullerton 92833; Museum Hours: Wed-Sun - Noon to 4pm;

Artists: Charlotte Bird, Loris Bogue, Joanell Connolly, Cindy Cooksey, Jamie

Fingal, Melissa Frankel, Sumi Foley, Carol Henke, Susan Hart Henegar, Rose

Hughes, Stacy Hurt, Jeannie Moore, Cindy Rinne, Julie Zaccone Stiller,

Deborah Weir, Susan Willen

Christmas Goodies

Well, the house is decorated, I've started shopping, and I've run out of Christmas cards. So I'm feeling relatively secure, although I still have lots to do. Here are some photos that show what I've been up to.  I gave away my cookie stocking at the ornament exchange, but I made another one to keep.

This is the cute Santa that I received in the ornament exchange, made by Darla. I just love him.

The tree's up. I go for the eclectic look, so there are lots of wonderful homemade ornaments, many made by friends, mixed in with ornaments that my kids made when they were little.

Small ornaments get lost on the tree, so this year I hung my favorite little guys on this branch in the dining room. It looks very cool. You may recognize a few of the felt balls I made last year.

Here are a few of the felt business card holders I've been making. I made some similar to these to give to my Cut-Loose friends. I'll have some available at the Craft Festival at the Muckenthaler on December 20 (more info in previous post). I dyed white wool felt with Silk Color and other silk dyes that I had. It's fun to make each one a little different.

I was so happy to get my "Go With The Flow" quilt back after its trip to Quilt Festivals in Long Beach and Houston in the "Detours" exhibit. I hung it up, and it looks great with my Christmas stuff.

My "Fifteen Selvedges" quilt also recently returned home, and I happily hung it up also, in the midst of my Christmas decor. It was part of the "Edges" special exhibit that also went to Long Beach and Houston Quilt Festivals.

Fine Arts & Craft Faire at the Muckenthaler

Sunday, Dec 20th from Noon-5pm; Fine Arts & Craft Faire at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center's Annual Holiday Festival; Jamie Fingal, Terry Waldron, Peggy Calvert, Cindy Cooksey and Stacy Hurt will be selling their work at this show. Vendor booths, art exhibits, children’s art activities, music and dance performances, and tours of the facility on the 8.5 acre grounds of the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, an historic 1924 estate and cultural center. This event draws about a thousand people each year. Admission is free. 1201 West Malvern Avenue, Fullerton. http://www.themuck.org/

I will have notecards, felt business card holders, fiber art balls and art quilts for sale. Maybe other things if I get my act together! Mark your calendar if you are in the area.

Also, remember that Muckenthaler also has an art quilt exhibit which includes two of my pieces; this exhibit continues until December 31.

Recent Creative Pursuits

I've been creatively busy. Can't tell you about everything, but these photos show some of the things I've been up to.  I made some Christmas cookies, inspired by the stocking I made recently. (No, they're not edible. They're fabric ornaments.)

I made new changes to my summertime cat's face. I think it's finally finished this time. As usual, Matilda (not Olive, the cat who inspired the quilt) had to get in the picture.

Here's the view from our hotel in Pacific Beach last weekend, when we were visiting our son. I played with it in Photoshop a little, can you tell?

Here I'm trying to find inspiration in the koi swimming in the dirty pond next to my gym.

I've been working on finishing the Christmas cards I started in the Experimentations in Letter Press class. The words of the inside message were done in class, and I made a block print of the Christmas Cactus design.

I made a few of this design, too. The "Noel" is Letter Press. The red design is screen printed using paper snowflakes. Each paper snowflake wore out after about 12 cards, so I needed to use two snowflakes. I still need to glue them onto cards.

Man, these cards are work! Can't wait to get back to quilts.

First Place, Large Wall Quilt, Pieced

Did I remember to take any photos of "Garden of Earthly Delights" at Flying Geese's show this weekend, with its blue ribbon? Nope. So I took one at home.

Flying Geese Quilt Show 2009

Here I am at the Clothing Dolls and More Special Exhibit at the Flying Geese Quilt Show this weekend at Soka University.  The show exceeded our expectations attendance-wise, so we are grateful in this economy.

It was wonderful that so many of my friends showed up, and I enjoyed seeing each and every one of you!

Here's the ballot box I made for my exhibit. Just remnant mystery fabric I bought at Joann's years ago and didn't know what to do with. I'm happy how it turned out. A little boy at the show wanted to vote for it.

I' m also excited that my "Garden of Earthly Delights" quilt won First Place in the Large Wall Quilts, Pieced. It's currently wearing a pretty blue ribbon.

Happy Halloween!

Things I finished recently

I have been busy and finished four things recently!

Here is the letterpress book that I made in collaboration with my classmates, during "Experimenting in Letter Press Print Making" at the Irvine Fine Arts Center. It reflects the diverse personalities of each person. The quote is "Ink is the blood of the presses." - John Milton

I also finished this jacket. About half of the fabric is recycled from an old, dated jacket. It was fun!

Here's the back.

The button was made from an old, rusty, flattened bottle cap. I backed it with cork because the bottle cap was so thin. Now it's thick! Seemed like a good idea at the t ime. The cork will protect the fabric from the rust. I drilled the holes with a drill bit for metal.

Here's the stocking I made for my annual ornament exchange. The cookies were inspired by the tree cookie ornament I made for my very first ornament exchange in the early 90's. I embellished each cookie with various beads to imitate sprinkles and red hots. I added green rick-rack around the edges. Now I want to make one to keep!

I also finished my Summertime Cat quilt. At least I think I finished it - I have been struggling with the face. This is the third version of the eyes. I may change it again - it doesn't have to be turned in until the end of December.

Here she is, finished for now. As I've said before, it portrays my very shy cat, Olive. She's so shy that most people never get to even see her. She's quite a gorgeous, fluffy cat who likes to murmur at the birds.

Flying Geese Quilt Show

Here's the scoop on my guild's upcoming quilt show. My friend Carol McDaniel is the featured quilter. Her art quilts will make the show a standout!

I'm in charge of an exhibit called Clothing, Dolls and More, from guild members. There will be some wonderful items.

If you're in the area, I hope you come to the show.

Visalia fiber exhibit

Visalia, CA







Oct 7-31, "Layer Upon Layer" textile art show by the California Fiber Artists is showing at Arts Visalia Center, 214 E. Oak Ave, Visalia, CA. I have two pieces in the show.

Houston Quilt Festival 2009

 

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my photo of Matilda on my fabric was selected to be in the "Eye of the Quilter" photographic exhibit at Houston Quilt Festival!   I also have two quilts at this festival in special exhibits, "Detours" and "Edges." Here's a photo of my "15 Selvedges" which is in "Edges.

Pacific International Quilt Festival

On Thursday, I went to the "other" quilt festival that's currently going on, Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, CA. I flew up just for the day with Terry, and we met her friend, Sherry, who now is my friend, too. It was fun, but by early afternoon we were pooped! We each had at least one quilt there, so it was fun to see as many quilts and vendors as time allowed.

This is me by my "Hope is the Thing" quilt. It's been touring with the "Unfettered Letters" special exhibit from Quilts on the Wall.

This is SherryKleinman in front of her beautiful quilt.

Here are Terry and me in front of our quilts in the "Spring" Noble Seasons special exhibit. Mine is on top, and hers is on the bottom.

It's been a busy week! Tuesday night, I finished my Experimenting in Letter Press Printing class at the Irvine Fine Arts Center. I never did get around to printing words on fabric, because we were kept so busy with other projects. There were so many new terms to learn, my head was spinning! But now I know what a quoin is, do you? (It helps to lock the type into the proper position on the printing press.)

We made our own business cards in assorted colors, including cardboard. We also made note cards with our names and a motif on them.

I got a head start on some Christmas cards! The inside message is letter press. The front of the card will be printed with two block prints as shown on the left; one was made from a rubber block and linoleum cutting tools; the other one I made with fun foam, because it was getting frustrating cutting the flowers with my ancient lino cutters.

So this is just a sneak peak.

Finally, everyone in the class made a page for a book that we collaborated on. We each were assigned a word to print, and we added our own background and our own print from a rubber block. Can you guess? Mine is the one with the baby hummingbirds in a nest! I haven't put my pages together yet, because I was busy printing my Christmas cards. I'll show you when it's done.

In the bottom of the photo I showed where I printed the new hummingbird block on Dupioni silk. I'll probably do more of that.

Anyway, the teacher, Madeleine, was really good, very knowledgeable and patient with those of us who were slow to catch on. :-) And the students were really friendly and eager to learn. It was a great experience, and I recommend it.

Muckenthaler Artists' Reception

I just came back from the artists' reception at the Muckenthaler, and it was wonderful. It was well attended, and the exhibit was hung very nicely. Lots of food, friends, music outside from the outdoor stage, all at this beautiful old mansion in Fullerton. I'm thrilled to be part of this. "Contemporary Quilts" runs through December 31.

This photo shows my two quilts.

Here I am with Stacy, Jamie and Peggy. Great photo of everybody! Jamie and Stacy also had pieces in the exhibit.

A nice man offered to take my photo by one of my quilts, "Slide Ahead."

I hope you get a chance to see the exhibit!

See you at the Muck!

On Sunday, October 11, I'll be at the artists' reception, 12-3 pm, at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center for its Contemporary Quilts exhibit. The address is 120l West Malvern Avenue, Fullerton 92833. Check it out at TheMuck.org. I will have two quilts in this exhibit, "All My Hexes" and "Slide Ahead."

what I've been up to lately

I've been busy doing a variety of things. I still have to finish the face of my summertime cat, seen in previous posts.  And I'm also working on something for an ornament exchange. Here it is so far. This is what I do in the evenings in front of the tube - handwork!

I'm putting beads on all the ornaments to look like sprinkles. I made Christmas tree cookie ornaments for my very first ornament exchange, just like the one on the stocking.

I also made some jam, of all things. It's my first experience, and I found out how much work it was! I made strawberry-rhubarb jam with homegrown strawberry guava juice. It only made six jars, and one of them didn't seal so we have to keep that one in the fridge and use it up. :-) Hmmm, I think it would taste good on cornbread. Maybe I'll make some for tomorrow night.

I'm also working on a jacket. Half of the squares are recycled from an ugly old peach-colored jacket. The jacket was silk - I dyed both the silk and the inner acetate lining, first with Koolaid and then with Jacquard silk paints. I also did some stamping on them. The color turned out better than the photos. I was amazed at how pretty the acetate lining colors turned out.

 The photos show the unfinished shell, and I'll add a red lining and a big arty button. I'm thinking of making a button from a rusty old flattened bottle cap! I'll put a cork backing on it, so it's not so thin. Notice I kept some details from the jacket, such as buttons from a cuff. Elsewhere there are buttonholes and a tag sewn into the lining fabric. I'm having fun with this project!

Two quilting events in Fullerton coming up!

Two events coming up: this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, is the Orange County Quilt Guild Show at Cal State Fullerton. I'll have two quilts there, one in the main exhibit and another in the "Best of the Best." I'm looking forward to it!

Then October 11 - December 31 is a Contemporary Quilts exhibit at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center, also in Fullerton. The address is 1201 West Malvern Ave., Fullerton, CA 92833. Artists include Charlotte Bird, Loris Bogue, Joanell Connolly, Cindy Cooksey, Jamie Fingal, Sumi Foley, Melissa Frankel, Susan Hart Henegar, Carol Henke, Rose Hughes, Stacy Hurt, Jeannie Moore, Cindy Rinne, Julie Zaccone Stiller, Deborah Weir, and Susan Willen. There's an opening reception on Sunday, October 11, from 12-3.

ch-ch-ch-changes

Some of you may notice that my blog has a new look. Many thanks to Stacy and Jamie for lots of expert advice. I was in the old version of Blogger and needed to switch to the newer version, so that I could easily add gadgets, etc.

There are still things to do. The header is probably temporary - I want something that says "Cookseyville" on it. I have other additions to make. In the meantime, I hope you like what you see.

what I've been working on lately

Here are two work in progress photos for my "Summer" quilt. Still have to finish the binding, attach the facial features and give the bird some legs.

It's my cat, Olive. What's summery about it? The sun. Olive is an indoor cat, but if she were outside on a summer's day, I can imagine her murmuring to the birds, just like she does when she's inside.

She's a rather large cat, very fluffy, so I wanted her to take up most of the quilt. She's really quite beautiful and special, but very shy, so I've enjoyed making this quilt to honor her.
















Another thing I've been doing is decorating the ballot box for the clothing, doll, etc. exhibit at the Flying Geese Quilt Show in November. I'm in charge of this special little exhibit, and I'm excited that we got a lot of submissions. Plenty of variety. Craft is cool!

I've had this fuzzy fabric forever and thought I'd make a funky ballot box with it. Now my fingers are covered with dried glue and pink fuzz. Oh well, it was worth it.