Accessories and Ornaments

Holiday Projects – Green Sewing

Guila Greer

Our kids in Minneapolis use only cloth napkins and I sewed a set of 6 colorful patchwork napkins for them. I lined them and used a pillowcase finish.  I didn’t think the fabric had enough body to just give them a rolled hem.

Aren’t they pretty?

I love the look of beautifully wrapped gifts but it always gives me a twinge when I see those gorgeous wrappings ripped off and thrown in the garbage.  So I decided to make some reusable gift bags.  I made a few little triangular shaped pouches and several larger drawstring bags.  I expect that the bags will be put to good use – even if it’s just to pass along with a gift to someone else.  I did some with holiday themed fabric and some that weren’t.  Then they can be used year round.

I saw the pattern for this online a few months back and haven’t been able to find it again. If I do I’ll be sure to give proper attribution.
I hope that my little great niece will like this bag as much as the gift inside

I have no particular pattern for these – pretty much custom made them to size considering the gift that was to go inside.

Accessories and Ornaments, Life

What’s Been Keeping Me Busy

Guila Greer

Happy Holidays everybody!  I hope you all are having a good relaxing day – We’ve been on the go most of the month and it’s great to be able to kick back today.
We spent some time visiting our son and his family in Minneapolis.  As usual it was wonderful – especially getting to spend some time with our granddaughters.  We even had a couple of bonus days because of the BIG SNOW!  It was such a heavy snow that they even closed the Mall of America – on a Saturday afternoon 2 weeks before Christmas!  And they closed the Minneapolis public schools for a couple of days – unheard of!

Well I got SOME of my special projects finished in time for the holidays-

A while back I may have mentioned that I was knitting fingerless gloves for my daughter-in-law.  Well, I’ve been knitting for many years and have done some complicated patterns but have never done gloves before .  All those fingers!   She wanted them to come up to her elbows – (remember – they live in Minnesota)

Well, they’re not works of art but they’re snugly and they’re DONE!

Life

Busy Week –

Guila Greer

I didn’t make much progress with my Art Quilting projects this week but nevertheless it was a good week.

  • I did make progress on a quilt that I’m making for my youngest granddaughter. Kind of a cute story – we were talking on the phone a few weeks ago and I was trying to explain the project that I was working on for a class.  It is a seascape and has all kinds of embellishments including cellophane. (It was an online class with Linda Schmidt – “creating the elements”. Great class!)  Granddaughter first asked me who the quilt is for – then commented that it wouldn’t be a very “softy” quilt. She proceeded to give me a detailed explanation as to how I could get all the special ocean effects that I wanted just by using fabric and thread. Thus ending up with a quilt that would still be “softy.”  So I’m making her a special “softy sea” quilt as a special surprise.
  • My “day job” is real estate and it’s getting more important than ever to get a special designation to list and sell so-called “distressed” properties – such as foreclosures and short sales.  So I’ve been busy taking a class that will culminate with the CDPE designation: Certified Distressed Property Expert. It’s actually quite interesting and I will be finishing up this weekend.
  • I am participating in an online group that was formed to bring Haiku and Fiber Art together.  The group was established this past week by A. Carole Grant, a Canadian Mixed Media/Fiber Artist that I “met” on the Quilt Art list.  I am very excited to be a part of this and am looking forward to some “stretching” and growth as an artist.
  • We had our Book Club meeting this week and a good discussion on “The House at Riverton”.  This was a very good read!  Kind of Upstairs Downstairs meets The Thirteenth Tale – with a little Remains of the Day thrown in for good measure!

It’s supposed to rain here all day tomorrow and I plan to sew, sew, sew!!!

Art Quilt, Art Quilts, Journal Size, Quilts

Spring Has Sprung

Guila Greer
Spring Has Sprung?
I know – Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks – so why I am titling this entry Spring Has Sprung?
A little while back I made a little quilt with that title.  Do you remember the little ditty….
Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz.
I wonder where the birdies is…?
So, naturally I had to make a “The Grass Has Riz” piece.  I just finished the beading  last week and got it done!
Spring Has Sprung

The center background is randomly pieced and the design elements are fused.  The technique is very improvisational and FUN! I was first introduced to it a couple of years ago at a class taught by Deana Hartman.  (http://chameleonquilts.com)   One of the best classes I’ve taken.

I hurried through all the basic construction so that I
could get to the BEADING!
The writing on the quilt is done with a free motion
zigzag stitch.

The Grass Has Riz!

.
And here is………….
The Grass Has Riz!
The pieced green background part looks
vaguely like an egg, don’t you think?
I guess the idea of Spring was working
on me subliminally

I’m thinking that I should have done the writing in a more contrasting color.  On the other hand, center stage belongs to the grass – and all the BEADS!!!!

I’m thinking that there are some birdies in my near quilting future……

Indispensable Tools, Quilts

All Things Fiber

Guila Greer

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In homage to the title of this blog I’m posting a picture of one of my favorite things –
Aren’t these luscious???  A couple of years ago I bought this hank of fibers at a quilt show.  I’ve used a few of them along the way but mostly I use them as decoration and inspiration….. YUM!

Along the way all knitters collect oddballs.  Now that I’m involved in making Art Quilts I have another way to use them.  THAT was very exciting to realize.

Art Quilt, Art Quilts, Fiber Art, Journal Size, Quilts

The First Sip of the Morning

Guila Greer

Do you love coffee?  I do – especially that first sip in the morning.  So what did I do?  I made a little art quilt in honour of that    AHHHHsome moment:  the first sip.

I pieced the background to loosely approximate my kitchen – yellow tile counters  – got the grid effect with a paintstick rubbed over a plastic utensil that I found in the kitchen drawer.

I paid homage to my very favorite coffee mug by using its image in this piece – printed then machine appliqued onto the background.  Thread painting, acrylic paint touch up here and there added texture and interest.
Added a little glitter just for fun
Glitzed up a few coffee beans for the full effect and free motion stitched my sentiments.
Photography, Poetry, Poetry and Photography

Eye of the Quilter Entries

Guila Greer

>I’ve been doing this blogging thing all wrong – waiting until I have enough time to catch up.  Yikes – at the rate it’s going that’ll be a long wait.
So – here we go – SHORT POSTS!!

I’m itching to get into the other room and sew but first…………here are the 2 photos that were accepted into the Eye of the Quilter exhibit in Houston.

Title: Putting It All Into Perspective
Statement: Travelling east in late Summer 2009, I found myself not only enthralled by the scenery but somehow comforted. No matter what else fate may have in store, there will be sights to delight and inspire.
Title: Still Glenwood, Still October
Statement: I love Autumn and its glorious color but there is also a tinge of sadness at the edge of all the beauty.

And here are the Haiku that will be in the Eye of the Quilter exhibit:

My 92 year old mother-in-law who has severe dementia was recently moved into a board and care from her beloved home of 40 years. 
 
 
 
Betty’s Empty House
 
Her house sits empty
A fog of forgetfulness

Pushes out despair 

I wrote this Haiku while I was recovering from foot surgery a couple of months ago.  I had very strict instructions to keep the surgical area dry in order to avoid a horrible  infection.  Taped on plastic bags were useless so that meant SPONGE BATHS! 
 
 
Post Op Lament
 
 
 
 
Sloppy sponge baths suck
I long for streams of water
Splashing on my head
Family, Life

Good Intentions

Guila Greer

My good intentions (last post in April 2009) went awry last year as life (and death) intervened. Upon reflection I realize that it wasn’t just the time spent travelling – it was more the accompanying state of mind that dampened any energy or enthusiasm I had to create art or talk about it here.
Not that things have returned to “normal” – or appear to any time soon. but I’m not waiting for that to happen. Too many ideas and too much to do! Fun stuff.

At the moment I’m in Minnesota helping out while my daughter in law recovers from knee surgery. When I was packing I wanted to make sure that I packed some work to do in my down time. And, as you all know, you feel like doing different kinds of quilting, art or needlework according to the mood you’re in.
Here’s what I packed (for a 2 wks plus 1 day stay)
knitting – a scarf in progress (easy for the plane)
fingerless gloves (in progress on the needles)
yarn to start a sweater for my oldest granddaughter
assorted fabric to cut out for a lap quilt
an art quilt in progress and needing the hand embroidery to be done
a little kit containing beading tools and beads (to make earrings for youngest granddaughter who just got her ears pierced)

My husband just shook his head when he saw it all go into the suitcase but I know you all understand. Today I actually cut out the fabric for the lap quilt. The scarf grew a little while flying out here; granddaughter’s sweater is on the needles; younger granddaughter has 2 new pairs of earrings. The art quilt has a little of the stitching done – the fingerless gloves haven’t budged.

Well, it’s almost time to take my granddaughter to circus school. The knitting goes with me.

Thanks for letting me ramble on here. Next post will include pics of some new work.

Art Quilt, Quilts

Art Trumps Work

Guila Greer


This Morning, Art Trumps Work!

It’s been way too long since I posted anything here. For that matter it’s been way too long since I completed a project! I’ve been very busy with “real life” work since the first of the year which I suppose is a good thing, lol.

A couple of months ago our little quilt art group decided to try our hand at a still life. Here’s what I came up with. I started with an arrangement of veggies from the refrigerator and took several pictures. This really helped me decide on which composition I liked the best.

I then printed the photo, enlarged it to the size I wanted and made some templates.have been in the look, don’t touch category for a long time. I selected a simple background, something with a grainy look for the cutting board and added some fusible web to the fabrics.

Then came the fun part of selecting my fabrics. For the very first time I decided to use some of my hand dyed fabric for the veggies. Believe me this was a huge step – those hand dyes

Then it was a matter of cutting, previewing, positioning and finally bonding. A simple quilting treatment added some definition and interest.

 

Here’s the (almost) finished journal quilt. (the edges need to be bound or ?)

Remember to “Eat Your Veggies”

Art Quilt, Quilts, Traditional Quilts and Quilts for People

Works in Progress

Guila Greer

We started our new art quilt group this morning and wow is this going to be wonderful. There were 5 of us at this morning’s meeting (2 more couldn’t make it) and our purpose was to communicate what we want to achieve with this group. We all agreed that we want to stretch ourselves creatively – to learn and try different things as well as refine the skills already learned. We started a list of topics that we want to be sure to cover.
This is going to be so much fun.
I have several pieces in mind to make – first I really must finish the quilting on my Spring Whispers throw (I’ll post a pic of the top) and get busy with my Hollow Cube Wall Quilt quilting.
A few months ago I made a little art quilt for my yoga teacher. It was very hard to part with it and I want to do another one along the same lines – just tweak it a bit.