Turning Old Into Bold, Part One ....

It was headed for the trash bin, but instead it got new life in this eye-catching wall quilt! "Out of the Blue" is a quilt is made using cardboard, packing paper, and bubble mailers. Security envelopes form the "binding". It's "tied" with twist-ties! Tasha Strigle is the creative maker. New life from discarded items is exactly what happened to every bit of second-hand "stuff" seen in Upcycle 3: Turning Waste into Wonder, an exhibit currently at Brick City Center for the Arts in Ocala, FL. At first glance, you might think this traditional-looking Log Cabin quilt is fabric. But no, the maker employed plenty of skill to stitch scrap paper into her piece!
 

The greeter- this guy really stands out in a crowd. Justin Alsedik crafted "The Legend of Cool" from wood scraps and leftover house paint.

High end jewelry? Not at all! Discarded glass bottles, jars and trinkets were used by Adele Lane to make "Expressions by Adele: Sea Glass and More."

This racoon sculpture captures the message of repurposing and the theme of environmental responsibility. In fact, the title of Brittany Craven's entry is "Reflect Responsibility." She incorporated eco bricks (made from plastic waste), zip ties, aluminum foil, plastic utensils, and paper towel rolls. Racoons know what to do!

The imagination alone is impressive in this piece, but the title made me laugh out loud. "Tetanus Guitar" is the entry of Andrew Nichols. There are scrap metals, gears, washers, and wire. A horse shoe (the headstock) and a farrier's rasp (the fretboard) are both appropriate to Ocala- the Horse Capital of the World. Strum at your own risk.

While not an entry in the exhibit, this welcoming sofa at The Brick could certainly fit the Upcycle theme. Got a stain on your white sofa? Cover it up with art and turn it into a statement piece.

In her Easter bonnet... with all the frills upon it! Nicole Upton started with vintage taxidermy and used discarded jewelry, spray paint, and silk flowers to make this statement wall art. Taxidermy sometimes startles and creeps me out, but his one is very viewer-friendly in my opinion.

Me and my gal! This is my entry- "Boot Scootin' Remix". I blogged about it in my last post here. Here we are, together again! She looks like she's floating, doesn't she? I like how the staff added the tulips for display. There's lots more to see at Upcycle 3! If you are in the area, stop by The Brick at 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala, FL, to see the fun local artists had with trash. There's a special display there, too, with the artist's story of life in The White House. It's on through April, and you can check the hours on their site. I'll share more in my next post.

Fashion Remix...

It's once again time for the Marion Cultural Alliance to hold their exhibit featuring repurposed pieces. Titled "Upcycled 3: Turning Waste into Wonder", the display will be held throughout the month of April at The Brick City Center for the Arts in Ocala, FL. Very happily, my entry was accepted into the show. It's titled "Boot Scootin': a Denim and Lace Remix." The thought for this boho-style entry came to me last December and took shape over the weeks we were moving into our new home. I knew I wanted to put it together, and a lot of it unfolded in my mind only as we were pretty busy. But once I had the time, I "shopped" through my lace scraps, fabric scraps, and embellishments to come up with the basic trims. The jacket is a thrifted one, and so is the gray lacey scarf that forms the peplum. A little paint, some garment labels and fiber rope trim for the cuffs, and it took shape. Unfortunately for me, the jacket is a petite, small, and is too snug on me. But the items in the show are for sale, so hopefully someone will fall in love and wear it home! It was such fun to make and decorate.

The repurposed trims include this back inset. I made it by layering small pieces of curtain lace, doilies, and sheers on Sulky Solvy, a soluble sheet. After stitching by machine over the layers, I put the pieces in a bucket of warmish water to soak and remove the Solvy product. What was left was an interesting web of combo lace which I trimmed and appliqued to the jacket. The cowboy boots and flowers are fussy cut elements from fabric scraps. I applied fusible web to the backs of the elements, trimmed and cut them out, and ironed them in place, securing the edges with a narrow zig zag stitch. And a $1 thrifted chiffon scarf plus some scalloped lace edging are gathered and stitched to the jacket to form the peplum. There are pieces of the combo lace web added to the cuffs, along with lace edging, and hand-twisted fabric rope trim. Fabric paints and stencils added some fun peeks of color as does the polka dot fabric stitched behind the rips in the denim.

Creating this piece took some time and I added bits and pieces to it each evening. More lace edging accents the collar, and an arrangement of fabric yo yos, beads and charms decorate the shoulder. I added a hangtag so viewers might consider if the jacket would fit them and their free-spirited style. Even the little fiber flower accent is handmade with found materials. I hope this jacket finds a new home and owner to wear it. I'd love to see it out and about town someday! I learned a lot while looking into fashion and textile waste in our landfills as I made this jacket. Here's a recap below if you can take time to read and reflect on it. It's quite sobering I think. I'll certainly think twice about my fashion purchases, and what gets tossed or donated. Meanwhile, happy upcycling- it's an environmentally friendly step to take and you'll have a one-of-a-kind garment to express your personal style! 

TO CONSIDER (info courtesy ChatGPT ): 

• The textile and fashion industry is a major contributor to global landfill waste, with millions of tons of discarded clothing and fabric waste piling up each year.
• Fast fashion, which promotes rapid production and consumption of low-cost garments, has significantly increased textile waste, as many items are worn only a few times before being thrown away.
• Synthetic fabrics like polyester, commonly used in fashion, take hundreds of years to decompose, releasing harmful microplastics into the environment. 
• A shift toward circular fashion emphasizes durability, reuse, and responsible disposal of clothing and textiles.
• According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), textiles account for about 5-10% of landfill waste in the US.
• Global estimates suggest that up to 10% of total landfill waste comes from textiles, including discarded clothing, fabric scraps, and household textiles. 

On The Road Again....

 This road trip took several quilting friends and me to the AQS show in Daytona Beach, FL. As I walk the aisles of wonderful quilts, I find certain ones stop me in my tracks. I photograph them, and then later take a look to analyze what especially caught my attention. For this one, it was color and form. I love the bright, clear colors; improvisational piecing, and curved lines in Tara Glastonbury's "Multifarious Me".

Color, form, and stitching did it for me in Jane Schiemer's "Mobius Reflections." It's quite an intricate achievement in piecing, too.

More of these three elements appeared in this fun quilt. Marla Varner titled her entry "Squircle Party." Those are definitely squirrely circles. I hope you can see her intensive hand stitching in them using Big Stitch.

This quilt entry was really astonishing, both for it's intense color and masterful stitching.

You need a close-up to see the wonderful details on Estela Mota's "Fish Forest". 

Simple curved lines, minimal elements, and more masterful quilting made this quilt an attention getter. It's "Broken Circles" by Claudia Scheja.

Such a complex and colorful composition in LeAnn Hilerman's "Pumpkins and Gourds" quilt. The realism of the leaves and elements is quite amazing.

I'm also intrigued by special techniques, sometimes pondering "How did she do that??" Such was the case with "Burnt Log and New Growth" by Lori Wisheroop. It's her entry in the annual Cherrywood Challenge. 2024's challenge was The Poppy. Entrants purchase a bundle of Cherrywood's hand-dyed fabrics that have the look of suede, interpret the theme in a 20" square wall quilt using those fabrics, and enter it for jurying into the competition and traveling exhibit. The texture she achieved was impressive.

And I found this entry very poignant. "My Grandfather's Story" is told by Laurie Loasby in her entry. Photo transfers and artful use of the gray Cherrywood hand-dyed cotton gives an appropriately vintage look. A number of entries depicted WWI and the commemorative poem "In Flanders Field". So I was struck by color, form, stitching, and technique among this year's entries. Do you have a favorite quilt among these?

How's Your Heart?

 

It's heart month. It's Valentine's month. It's Arts and Health Exhibition month at the Brick City Gallery in Ocala, FL! So of course I wanted to enter this art call with a small quilt expressing hearts as "The Rhythm of Life." That's the title of this piece. The exhibit is sponsored by Marion Cultural Alliance in partnership with HCA Florida Healthcare.

My artist's statement included with the quilt says this: "Our hearts beat continuously, often without us even noticing it. Therefore, caring for our hearts can be easily overlooked. Because heart disease is the leading cause of death, I wanted to underscore that we can be mindful to take steps towards improving our heart health and reducing the risk."

The EKG line is couched rat-tail cord and it ends in a hand-painted puffed heart. I tried something new in designing the entry. I consulted ChatGPT and Canva to find an image of a healthy EKG to base the quilt on. And I asked for some AI help in writing the artist statement above. That was a fun adventure, and eye-opening, too, mainly for the speed of response time.

Quite a few entries had a theme of heart health, perhaps because some of us have experienced heart problems. So that makes the theme ... ahem... "near and dear to our hearts". Pardon the pun. Join me for a look at some of the other entries on display.

"How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", oil painting, is the entry of Ellen Hosafros. She noted that experiencing heart health issues recently prompted her to reflect on personal responsibility for health and wellness.

This striking wood and brass sculpture calls attention to the center heart formed in the wood!

I always enjoy seeing stitching incorporated into media other than textiles. Here it is in wood! This is Brad Martin's entry titled "Mended Hearts". Brad stressed that art is a therapeutic healing process for body, mind, and spirit.

In this ink on paper entry, Joan Elizabeth illustrates her love for hand stitching on felt as a calming and meditative practice. I agree with her- I find it soothing, too. It's entitled "Open Heart."

Lorri Terbilcox relies on Scripture to inspire her art. This acrylic painting is titled "Matthew 5: 14-16" and depicts Jesus saying, "You are the light of the world..." 

The exhibit is up all month long at 23 SW Broadway St., Ocala. It features many more lovely paintings, photographs, and mixed media pieces. I was pleased to learn that my quilt was purchased and will hang in a local health care facility. 

Meet the Party Animals...

This is Helene. She was stitched during the summer hurricane of the same name. And she was stitched in response to a fun little challenge issued by our Fiber Art Bee. She's pretty dolled up and ready for a party. Do you love her bow and fancy twirl skirt?

Helene from the back- every bit as fetching!

Bee member Sheila Hiss crafted Spotsalotte for her challenge project. I believe she began as an empty bottle that got slip-covered. Cork legs, snout and a magnificent hair bow make her quite irresistible.

A damselfly was the creation of member Merri McKenzie. Merri favors soft sculpture projects of the flying kind. I'll share the cute damselfly she gave me at Christmas in a later post. But this one needed to meet certain parameters which you'll see below. 

It all began at a guild meeting at a table of yarn for sale. I knew I didn't need any yarn, but that never stops me from looking. Lo and behold I saw a skein of the spotted chiffon ribbon shown in the photo. I purchased it, thinking that I'd bring it to Fiber Art Bee to see what they might do with it. After showing it to a couple of other members, Merri commented that we could do an animal challenge. It struck Sheila that she had just passed up a length of giraffe print fabric on our "free table". She ran back to get it and our challenge took shape. Members who wanted to participate each got a 10" square of giraffe print and a one-foot length of leopard ribbon. One of our favorite things to do in FAB is to make up rules and then ignore them. So while we titled this the "Animal Challenge", members were encouraged to create anything they wanted as long as it included some of each print provided. They rose to the challenge and there were more than 15 entries. Unfortunately, I had to miss the meeting where they were revealed, so don't have pics of all of them. Suffice it to say, the creativity was over the top and included quilts, quilted bags/totes, wall hangings, a whimsy house, an owl, and even a sleep mask! Such quilty fun with friends.

The Rural Life...

 

Rural life is coming to an end. This gift quilt, titled "Hoof Prints", is one Jack and I recently presented to our friends Carolyn and Ron. It's a thank you for Carolyn's very generous gift of her time and effort in inviting Jack to trail ride with her each week, using her horse Guy. They've enjoyed many rides on the state-land trails near her home. It meant a lot because, as you may know, Jack lost his last Quarter Horse Freckles last summer. And his passing precipitated a huge change for us- that of moving away from our beautiful farm near Ocala and into a smaller home closer to the city. It's been a bit wrenching.

I didn't get a good photo of the quilt before giving it Carolyn, so I asked if she would take one to share on the blog. She and Ron live on their own beautiful farm, and she takes some lovely rural scenes of their place. I knew she'd get a good shot, and this is just what I envisioned- the quilt on a fence with the backdrop of sunlit landscape. So pretty. I pieced and finished the quilt with binding and label, but the longarm quilting was done by Debra Johnston, who does lovely work. Panel quilts are pretty simple to make and work up quickly. And surely the panel design does much of the work! Fabric panels have come a long way and are available in so many lovely prints.

We knew a quilt was just right for Carolyn because I'd seen her colorful barn quilt in pictures before. I think it's a Pieced Lily in a Basket design. Hers is made from metal and was quite a feat of engineering to install. It involved a son-in-law and a bucket truck!

Here's how I'll remember the view from the front porch of our farm. I will both miss it and be grateful for it at the same time.

This was our view coming up the driveway to home and barn. Always a pleasure to come home.

At rest on the farm is the beloved Freckles. I shared more about him and another panel quilt I made in this post, done just about one year ago.

We also left Abby at rest in the grove of trees you see beyond her yard. It was one of her favorite places to play and romp. She passed at the age of 11 in August. Abby was a sweet girl with lots of energy who was another rescue pet. Nobody was more surprised than Abby when someone's pot belly pig came to call! He's actually on the other side of her pen, but she was unclear as to how to treat this uninvited guest. 

And speaking of surprise visitors- this handsome Gopher Tortoise plodded up the sidewalk one fine day. Our area had lots of these endangered animals who tunnel underground in pastures and fields, along with a very uncommon squirrel known as the Fox Squirrel. It's been a wonderful place to live and enjoy nature for nearly a quarter-century. But, as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end." Our farm was a lot of work and maintenance for us as we age. And with an empty barn, the work was mostly, well, just work... no horses to ride or to enjoy seeing out in the pasture. So the time has come... sadly but providentially. I'll share more about our new place, and the much smaller sewing room in future posts. It's, shall we say, still a work in progress! Happy 2025 to all.