Daily Calm in a Jumbled World

Hi friends.  I know this is tough. I hope you are finding a place of joy and happiness in your home. I have been doing daily projects from making fabric masks for donation to painting and watching inspirational podcasts. Oprah's Super Soul Conversation series are excellent.

My studio is my happy place where I am at peace focusing on creativity. Today the rain on the roof provides an extra pleasant sense of tranquility.  

My word for 2020 is Connection. And although we are social distancing I can continue to communicate through letter writing, phone calls and texts, and of course social media. 

I am grateful to be home with my dear husband, Dominick, and our cat, Matilda. We are safe and have food, books, internet and art supplies. 

Mask Making

Painting 

Matilda 

How to Use Orphan Quilt Blocks

Abandoned blocks are just irresistible to me.  I found a few on the sharing table the other day. I was so excited I didn't even look closely, I just stuffed them in my bag!

Once home I spread them out. There were 4 stack-and-whack stars, 1 strip-pieced block and 8 disappearing nine-patch blocks.   The colors were diverse and I questioned whether this could come together as a cohesive project.  

Since I was short on table space I laid them out on the floor to audition fabrics that could be added to bring it to 5x5 block layout.  The photo below shows some initial ideas - but the green dot (upper left) was too bland and the orange florals (lower left and off the lower right) were too different (to my eye).  However the poppies on the white and delicate foliage fabric appealed to me and I thought they would work. 

Orphan blocks laid out on the floor - this is where my ideas can come together.

You may be questioning my sanity at this point, but I like a challenge and orphaned blocks can definitely present challenges. 

Below the finished quilt. My friend Joanne Sullivan quilted it. It is headed to the Shoreline Guild as a community service quilt. 

Free Quilt Block Pattern - Nine Patch Variation

This is my finished quilt top. A 9-patch variation. Simple to sew. I found the white blocks on the sharing table at the Shoreline Quilt Guild retreat in January. I am drawn to cast off orphan blocks made with OPF (Other People's Fabric).   

I picked up 13 perfect blocks on the sharing table - not my color palette (since I rarely if ever use white), but, they were lovely and excited my spirit.

My affinity for cast-off goodies is deeply rooted in my psyche. It comes from wanting to create and knowing the scrap bag in my mother's closet was fair game for anything I wanted to try.  The love of little pieces of fabric coincides directly with my love of quilting.

I didn't think 13 blocks were not enough for a small quilt and I wanted to add more color, so this is what I did. 

The block is a simple 9-patch variation:
center square, flanked by rectangles with cornerstones. 

Let's do it!  Dig into your stash and let's play.







For each block you need the following:

• One 5.5 inch square (A) (I used a floral.).
• Four 2.5 x 5.5 inch rectangles (B) (I used a med/dark fabric.)
• Four 2.5 x 2.5 inch squares (C) (I used a light floral.)

Assembly:
Sew one 2.5 inch square 'C"' to each end of 'B'. Press toward dark. Make 2.

Sew a 2.5 x 5.5 inch rectangle ('B') to one side of the 5.5 inch square ('A'). Sew another 'B' to the opposite side of 'A'. Press toward dark. 

 And there you have it.  Check back for the finished quilt top.

"Parkway Dawn" Juried into Local Color 4 Opening at the Windsor Art Center

I am honored and excited that "Parkway Dawn" was juried into the  regional SAQA exhibit opening at the Windsor Arts Center on March 21, 2020.

"Parkway Dawn" is an abstract representation of my morning commute on the Merritt Parkway as the the morning replaces the night.

I learned how to indigo dye with resists several years ago in the backyard of Carol R. Eaton. That fabric is the blue with 'headlights'.   The pink-orange stripes are artist-dyed cotton and the silhouetted tree fabric was made by Mickey Lawler's daughter (SkyDyes).

Windsor Arts Center - Local Color 4: Rails, Roads and Rivers
http://www.windsorartcenter.org/local-color-4-rails-roads-rivers/
The WAC is located in Windsor, CT, right next to the train station. Easily accessible by the CT rail or highway.

The opening reception is March 21, 2020 from 5-7 p.m. Hope to see you there.

"Parkway Dawn" 30" x 40"  by Mary Lachman

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More details from the WAC website:

From Saturday March 21 through April 25, 2020, the Windsor Art Center will host the art quilt exhibition, Local Color 4: Rails, Roads & Rivers. A juried show, artists in the Connecticut region of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) have submitted these quilts for display and judging. Participating artists have explored the theme’s variety of meanings, images and experiences and have interpreted the theme in their own unique way.

The juror for this exhibition was Martha Wolfe, an award-winning fiber artist and printmaker living in Northern California. 

Work in Progress - "Morning Commute"