In order to escape the new smarmy t-shirt ads (and ads for who knows what in the future), I am moving gwenshouse to Wordpress. I have just posted this new project over there:
Come visit me at my new address and see the whole thing:
http://gwenshouse.wordpress.com/ All my old posts are there now and this LJ account will remain open so I can continue to check in with all my friends. I hope to see you on Wordpress!
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The last mini swap quilt for the year is finished. Some people think I will not have the power to resist signing up for more swaps but they are wrong. There are holiday gifts to be made! Must. not. join. any. more. swaps. this. year.
The recipient of this quilt did not specify any favorite colors or any preferred patterns or fabrics. Hmmmm what to do? Well, she lives in Norway so I made her a scrappy Norwegian flag. This one came together pretty well except for the binding. I had to rip and reapply one binding piece three times before it was right!
In October I will be taking a free motion quilting class! I have tried it on my own with heinous results. But I really really need to master this technique - or at least get decent at it.
Hopefully, looking forward to this class will help me forget the undercurrent of panic caused by McCain's choice of Vice-Presidential candidate. If he wins and he dies - aaauuugggggghhh just thinking about it makes my head explode.
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Not long after the dolphin quilt arrived in Australia, another Australian quilt arrived in my mailbox. This was my "booty" from the Miniature Booty Quilt Swap. (That's booty as in treasure. We are not swapping les petite derrieres.)
This geometric beauty is from Vickie C. from the Northwest Territories. Look at all those sharp corners lining up perfectly! Her design was inspired by the indigenous country in which she lives. She also packed in some fabric, a hair stick and a little book with stunning photos from around Australia.
I always ask to be paired with swap partners from other countries in hopes that their quilts will reflect some of their cultures. This one really fits the bill. Thanks so much Vickie!
My outgoing mini quilt will also cross an ocean but I'm not telling which one. It is going to be really cool when it's done. Here's a peek:
I know- it's an ordinary looking log cabin block. But just wait!
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New baby beans
And new baby cousin born on Monday in Oklahoma!
That's his big sister admiring him.
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In May, Memphis has a month-long festival and salutes a certain country. There are ample opportunities to learn about the customs, culture, food and art of the featured country all around town. The business people stay busy establishing new commercial relationships, but the rest of us just enjoy the ride at events like the Beale Street Music Festival, the Memphis in May Triathlon, the Sunset Symphony (held on the riverbank) and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest that draws entrants from all over.
This year's honored country is Turkey. One of our local public gardens participated by highlighting Turkish plants and garden design. I made sure to take the walking tour since my lj friend ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) an_su is Turkish and loves gardening. I learned that Turkey has three main zones, a rainy foresty one in the north, a Mediterranean section along the coast and a larger desert part in the middle. It was interesting to find out that the garden staff did not have to bring in many species because they already had many of them growing there! Turns out the Turkey has an incredible number of different plant species within its borders. Here is some more from the museum's website.
Historically, the people of Persia and Turkey had a profound impact on horticulture and garden design. The Persians were among the first to develop and codify priciples of garden design, and their influence still exists today in gardens around the globe. Moreover, plants native to Turkey and plants valued by the Turks have yielded important medicinal, agricultural, and ornamental crops. Surprisingly, some of these plants are cultivated here in the Mid-south--even by the staff and volunteers of the Dixon!
Most of my pics didn't turn out too well, but here are a few:
Foxglove- they had a myraid of colors but this pink one was my favorite. And how cool is this giant allium! I am SO getting this for my yard.
 
Speaking of the yard, our back yard is getting a big renovation! Gwensdad designed it. There will be a workshop for Gwensdad, a new cool patio, access to to the back door for Gwen's wheelchair, and lots of places for plants including a giant raised bed for growing food and flowers. The noisy construction is very intrusive but it will be worth it.
This is the trench for a concrete barrier to keep the neighbor's cane out of our yard. Gwensdad has had an ongoing battle with this tenacious creeping plant ever since we moved in. Plus the neighbor is a real jerk. One day he saw Gwensdad cutting some cane that had grown through the fence into our yard and started yelling at him not to bother his fence. Yeah, that lovely chain link thing. Then he said "I hope you get a brain tumor". We tore down a rotting wooden fence to make room for the barrier and when it is done we'll cover up the ugly chain link with something much prettier.
This is the first major work we have been able to do since moving in and it is so exciting!
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It was the best of times and the worst of times. It was the Spring edition of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap. My quilt was going to be awesome. It was going to be different, a true work of art. Not like the floral theme quilts that everyone else would be doing. I would use a variety of hand dyed fabrics with undulating patterns and curvy flowing quilting stitches for my masterpiece. My inspiration was a samara, the spring fruit of a maple tree as in this pic from Wikipedia.
There was a trip to the quilt shop and considerable money spent. There was tracing, cutting, fusing and rearranging. Then there was another trip to the quilt shop and more money spent. Finally the quilting began and things went downhill. That darn pile of fabric would just not look like I wanted it to! And there were poufy places between the appliques because I didn't pull the layers tightly enough before pinning them together.
Two days after the due date, amidst much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments, this whole project was ditched. The hard ugly truth is that my artistic ability is not far enough advanced to create the sublime piece of pulchritude I had intended. This is where the misery ended:
There was still a quilt to make, and Plan B was to do what I do best right now- geometric shapes and straight line stitching with really great fabrics to add some pizazz. And naturally, these were floral prints.
With new humility, I raided and chopped up my thrifted clothing stash,
 
spent a pittance on some solid background fabric and matching thread and made this instead
Here is the back with triangular sleeves that will hold a dowel for hanging. A tutorial for this technique is here.
My recipient said she did not like cats, cat hair, cat designs or cat fabric. But I hope she likes pink.
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