The Cathedral Window Cross

When I moved to Lexington almost 6 years ago....I joined the "project group" at Hancock Church where my husband is the minister.  It's a wonderful group of women who gather on Monday mornings to stitch, knit, or work on a project...whether it be personal, for the church, or for a service organization. Some Mondays we just sit and visit.

One project that was in progress when I arrived was a familiar sight...a cathedral window quilt. Yikes!

As I posted about earlier here I was in the middle of my own cathedral window quilt and I knew how labor intensive they were. But I didn't run and I joined right in...and over time....with the help of many hands we finished the quilt which hangs in the sanctuary during "Ordinary Time."

Since I explained the basic process in the earlier post so I won't repeat it...but we approached this one a little differently.  I started with 6 inch white squares...and they were starting with 8 inch colored squares.








I am working diagonally on my quilt starting in a corner. For this one we worked in straight up rows.



It took a some planning but we wanted to get packets of nine background squares to send home for people to work on...many hands!

There are the folded and stitched background squares and smaller insert squares...we were constantly laying it out to plan.

Once we got the blocks of nine back....we started attaching those blocks together. Every time you attach two squares or blocks of squares you add another insert square(s) where the two meet.  It's endless hours of hand stitching.  

Ta Da!

Next time it's up I am going to take another picture with my better camera.
This picture does not do the colors justice.

I found a tutorial on line that had some good pictures for those who are interested.  

I know how to do it and I think it sounds confusing.

You can see here where you attach two folded and stitched background squares you create a new square.









The insert is just a bit smaller and you fold back and stitch the edges around the insert.

100th post

This is my 100th post....and I'm still having fun...so I will carry on.

This is another shot of that beautiful moon featured in that first post that Clarke called "Dreaming Out Loud."  Thanks for listening.

Stacks

I am quite fond of stacks.

 

There is just something about a stack of something that is pleasing to me. I take pictures of stacks and I decorate with stacks.  I cut out images of stacks and I use them in my art. There is just something pleasing about a stack.

This stack of books has been on our coffee table for weeks and weeks. The order changes...one book might disappear for a while...only to be replaced by another....and then show up again.  I don't mind...I kind of like it actually. After all, like I said....I am quite fond of stacks.

But if you take a look at this particular stack....you will learn just a little bit 

more about dear sweet husband Paul....and what he is currently reading.

From top to bottom:

The cultural importance of Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes 

The horror that was the great influenza

The Fifth Gospel....a mystery...thriller

A philosophical reflection of "time"

The Islamic Reformation...why Islam needs one

The story of fundamentalist Mormons

Americanah.......a finalist for the National Book Award...what it's like to be black in the United States

A collection of essays about Bob Dylan

Langston Hughes poetry

E.B. White essays

Another novel

More poetry....this time by Phillip Levine

The meaning of Christ in the secular world

I wonder what next month's stack will include?

Reinventing Easter...

....not the story...that already has a good ending.
Happy Easter, by the way!

Joan and I were at it again...this time tweaking our Easter banners and paraments for the sanctuary...and we are pretty happy with our result. Linda helped with installation today and we are ready.

The last several years we draped white fabric along with our "He Is Risen" banner and it was great....but it was time for a change.

 
Inspired by this design to the right I found on Pinterest we got to work. We wanted to reuse the "He Is Risen" for the center and build out with fabric and stoles.

Repurposing some beautiful fabric from Linda's old curtains we made two long stoles to mimic the red ones to the right.

We fused lovely brocade fabric for the accent stripes and edged them with gold trim to help them stand out a little more.  Our sanctuary is so big that details are often lost from a distance...to the "man on the horse"....so to speak.

We made white paraments (for the pulpit and lectern) a few years ago...but were never very happy with the one on the pulpit....so we started over.  Again, using the lovely brocade fabric for the background, we fused a gold lame cross edged in white.

Simple, but elegant, and looked good with
the lectern paraments we already had.

 

We changed from purple ribbon to white ribbon on the back window.  

Job well done ladies!

Good Friday

It's Good Friday...and, if you're a Christian you know what that means.

Several years ago Paul and I were taking a drive and we just happened to end up in Harvard, Massachusetts. Not Harvard the University...Harvard the charming small town just northwest of Boston.  While there, we stumbled on the Fruitlands Museum....the site of an unsuccessful utopian community in the 1800's. The grounds have been preserved and are now open to the public. They host weddings and events and offer galleries featuring Shaker and Native American art as well as other rotating exhibits.

Off in the distance in a field we saw this ghostly, haunting figure...much like what you would expect to see on Good Friday. We had to get a closer look.

All I can say is Wow!

I tried to track down the name of the artist...but didn't have any luck.

For this sculpture he used an old dead tree, uprooted it, turned it upside down and used the natural tangled roots to convey his vision. It was unbelievable and haunting and left quite an impression.

I wish I had a picture with Paul next to it....because it was huge... and I'm not sure the picture does it justice.

It was breathtaking.  

Peaceful Panels...

...I told you I loved using these wooden paint panels.

I put this set together for my friend Becky for her new bedroom.

The four images are from a lovely calendar by the artist Anita Dore...who used to be a neighbor of mine in Portland. Anita used to design fabric and artwork for Maine Cottage Furniture.  I love everything from that company...and I love Anita's work.   I have 8 other lovely calendar images to use for another project.



"I paint to express my joy for the beauty in nature and the everyday details of life."  Anita Dore

"Give An Iota"

Certainly my hope is that anyone who checks out this blog finds something fun or interesting...or maybe even inspiring. But it doesn't really matter because it's a good thing for me. It's connecting me to my stories and memories as I peruse my photographs. It's helping me be more observant of my space...and the world around me. As I write about things I have hand made or collected I get to revisit, investigate, discover, and rediscover. My collections, creations, connections, and stories bring me joy...and working on this blog reminds me how lucky I am.  

The story behind the iota paper used on these squares is a perfect example...I would never have investigated it had it not been for this blog...and what I learned made me love it even more.

The Story of the Squares

I mentioned these squares in the post about Denyce's doodle art and I wanted to give a little more information about them.

Like I said before I used paint panels...wooden canvases for oils, acrylics or any kind of art. They come in all sizes and are very reasonable. I get mine at Artist and Craftsman Supply in Portland, Maine.  They come in standard and deep profile.  You can stain them, paint them, or cover them with fabric or other material.  I often stain them....but these are painted black.

Because they are wooden they are ideal for adhering paper, photos or anything else....an easy and inexpensive way to frame something.

The wrapping paper is from a company called "iota"...and I have loved and collected their products for a long time.  I am drawn to the bright but earthy colors and the patterns just make me happy.  As I was searching for a website I came across an interesting article found here called "Give an Iota".....we all have heard the phrase "I don't give an iota."  The article talks about the journey of Kelly Alford, the designer and company creator.  She believes it's the little things that often mean the most....and creating the colors and patterns for her line brings her joy...

"I have created iota to be a wake up call to beauty, to fun, to being bold and taking a chance, and to remind you that this is and can be a well designed world, if we allow ourselves a colorful life," Alford said. "Our hope is iota designs - on any surface - will encourage you to think about the little things. And how, if they are recognized, treasured and combined properly, in time, they might just move mountains."

The iota brand is now marketed under the name C R Gibson and the products can be found in a variety of stores.  I know them when I see them....and I am always drawn to them.

Here is some of my collection of iota products...tags, napkins, notepads and notecards....and this dear little expresso cup.  I actually use this to hold small tools on my craft table.  And to be honest...I mostly use the other things to cut up for projects...but I do keep one of the notepads in my purse.

This bright little iota pouch doubles as a camera case and a little purse when I walk downtown for an errand or a movie.

Dear little scraps I can't 

bear to throw away
that I use for
collaging.

I used some of the scraps to cover this Altoid tin for my friend Janice.  She uses it for her small knitting tools.  Thanks Janice for texting me the photos.

And yes...I have fabric.  The quote at the top of this post is on the salvage edge...."every iota makes a difference."

This is a bundle of heavier weight iota papers that were given to me by 

my friend Becky...used to make the squares.

A glimpse into my wrapping paper bin...most of it iota.

Yes, I have chosen a colorful life.