My Quip – Is Beauty In The Eye of The Beholder?

Morning,

Is seems to me that I have been mildly chastised, to a degree, for using the word “Ugly” to describe our first quilt… It’s the one on which I am very comfortably sitting, on my chair at my PC.

As a side, I can say that maybe this first quilt has provided me with a stroke of luck… My chair at my PC desk has not exploded… and Bella certainly likes to rest herself with me, as I attempt to type.

Well this morning I received a Twitter message regarding a piece of art for sale on Etsy. The message is “So ugly it’s beautiful. I think.” I checked out the link and the Twitterer is correct.

The objet d’art is, how can I say… in the eyes of this beholder… is not too appealing to my optical senses. The item, labeled “So Ugly Its Beautiful Jar” looks to me as if someone in the kitchen was making their annual fruit cake, and the fruit peel concoction exploded… and this white container jar just happened to be in the way. I, personally, tend to agree with the Twitterer. (Here’s the Etsy link to the “So Ugly Its Beautiful Jar”…)

And where am I leading with this finger-pecking rambling? Our next quilt, OP Ornament may just fit into the category of, “Well is it, or isn’t?” It is our original design and it also is our “Mystery Quilt”; that is for the moment. The fabric cutting has been done and not including the border, binding, and backing, there are 960 pieces to sew together. The largest piece is 10" by 10", and the smallest is 1" by 1". Should prove interesting, to say the least.

Stay tuned.

And enjoy,

Jim

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My Quip - Thanksgiving Aftermath - Our First Quilts: Images Found

Afternoon,

I actually was good on Thanksgiving, and did not gorge myself into gastronomic oblivion. And thanks to B&J for the great family get-together.

I mentioned some time ago that I had been searching my files in my multiple folders, and recovered drives, looking for wayward images and files after the number of crashes I’ve had since 1998. And lo and behold, in the recesses of a folder within a folder within a folder within a recovered data file I discovered some images of the first quilts that we ever attempted and created. It certainly proves the adage that one does get better with time.

The images aren’t that great and I cannot remember the dimensions of each quilt, but here goes.

Our first quilt has the file name of Ugly 1, and I can honestly say, it is UGGGGGlyyyyy! This quilt was our endeavor at the point we decided to venture into the world of fabric art… and that was in 1995. It was constructed on a Singer Sewing Machine.

I know where this one ended up. It is now under my butt, on my chair at my PC, and it has been patched many a time. And it is ugly.

Our next attempts were the results of the first class we ever took in the making of quilts. The class was taken when we decided that we had better learn how to make quilts.

The one the left is Andy’s first and my first is on the right. These two were sewn on our Singer and our new Husqvarna machines. Both of these two quilts were given as gifts. As you can see these were very simple quilts that gave us the first lesson in piecing, sashing, and borders.

The next quilt was our first challenge, and we wanted to create a quilt with the elements of a modern day Amish quilt. We donated this quilt and it was auctioned-off at the annual supper celebration of the Hillsborough County Center of Excellence.

Our next creation is a quilt we created in memory of the accidental passing of a friend’s brother.

We have since gone through a number of other sewing and quilting machines. Are current machines include those of Baby Lock, Husqvarna, and Viking... and there is fabric in just about all rooms in our house.

I will be adding all of these, our first quilts, to the Grid shortly...

Enjoy,

Jim

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My Quip - Happy Thanksgiving

Morning,


Happy Thanksgiving from Us, the Pack, and the Greys.

That's it... Happy Thanksgiving!

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Q69 - Christmas Quilt - OP Nöel I

Afternoon,

And before I settle in to make our contribution to tomorrow’s Thanksgiving feast, I thought that we had better post our latest quilt addition to ourOP Nöel Series. Ladies and gentlemen, our newest quilt, OP Nöel I.

OP Nöel I is our original design, and as you can see it is of similar festive and holiday fabrics as Nöel Diptych, OP Nöel II, Not Til D25, and OP Angel. OP Angel has found a new home in Seffner, Florida.

The geometric pattern design of OP Nöel I is identical to that of Starry Nights, squares in parallel lines. And once again in the glorious sunshine I have taken images of OP Nöel I. The top is composed of two fabrics; Peace Love Faith of MMFab, Inc. and a solid Burgundy Red compliment. The backing is Tone on Tone Maize fabric blend.

The dimensions of OP Nöel I are: Width – 57” (144.8 cms) and Length – 70 ½” (179.1 cms). The quilting is a series of parallel lines three-quarters of an inch apart, comprised of 53,400 stitches. The binding is Tone on Tone Maize and is hand-stitched the complete distance of the border.

Here are some images of close ups and the backing.

Please remember that the actual shades and tones of the colors may or may not appear as clear and crisp in the images.

To see previously posted quilts, there is a visual Grid presentation at the bottom of the Quilts SB page. Move your cursor over any mini-picture found there and click to see an enlargement. Move your cursor to the "Q#" link to see the quilt's details. If the quilt’s title is highlighted in yellow or in red, it has found a home in a collection and is no longer available.

Please let me know if anything on the Blog site does not properly work, or do what it says it is supposed to do. I’m always striving to make sure an ease of use.

If you are interested, and would like some more information of the available quilts, regarding costs, shipping, and insurance, please check our Quilts SB Etsy shop.

Stay tuned for our new quilts – OP Ornament. Check out our recently announced Christmas Quilt sale and discounts. As mentioned above, OP Angel, as well as Isle of The Misfit Toys are on their way to their new homes in Florida.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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Q68 – Quilts – Starry Nights

Afternoon,

It has been at least 10 days since I lasted posted to my Blog, and I’ve received a number of emails asking if we had quit quilting? The answer is very simple. Nope! And that’s with a capital “Nope”!

We’ve been working on a number of new quilts and today, in the glorious Tampa sunshine, I took pictures of our new quilt, Starry Nights. This, our new quilt is a very simple one and we think it is one of the best quilts we’ve made to date.

As you can see from the images, taken on the patio by the pool, and in the sun, and in my bare-feet, the top of Starry Nights is composed of two fabrics. The two fabrics are Rustic Christmas Twinkle in a deep royal blue with gold stars and China Blue Ditzy Dot copyright to Makeover UK. The backing is Tone on Tone Grey fabric blend.

The dimensions of Starry Nights are: Width – 57” (144.8 cms) and Length – 70 ½” (179.1 cms). The quilting is a series of parallel lines three-quarters of an inch apart, comprised of 53,400 stitches. The binding is Rustic Christmas Twinkle and is hand-stitched the complete distance of the border.

Here are some images of close ups and the backing. I do like the way the Tone on Tone Grey backing blends in the sunshine and from the reflection of the sunlight from the pool waters.

Please remember that the actual shades and tones of the colors may or may not appear as clear and crisp in the images. They are bloody close, this time.

To see previously posted quilts, there is a visual Grid presentation at the bottom of the Quilts SB page. Move your cursor over any mini-picture found there and click to see an enlargement. Move your cursor to the "Q#" link to see the quilt's details. If the quilt’s title is highlighted in yellow or in red, it has found a home in a collection and is no longer available.

Please let me know if anything on the Blog site does not properly work, or do what it says it is supposed to do. I’m always striving to make sure an ease of use.

If you are interested, and would like some more information of the available quilts, regarding costs, shipping, and insurance, please check out our Quilts SB Etsy shop.

Stay tuned for our new quilts – OP Noël I and OP Ornament. Check out our recently announced Christmas Quilt sale and discounts.

Enjoy,

Jim and Andy

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My Quip –Quilts In Progress – Holiday Sale and Discounts Continues

Morning,

This past week and a number of few days was certainly a whirlwind… and rising up in the wee, wee hours of the frigid Tampa mornings certainly t’ain’t my expression or thought of living in the Sunshine State.

The Cypress Creek Quilters Guild Quilt Show As Your Garden Grows at the University of South Florida Botanical Gardens certainly was an experience. Hanging quilts in the trees, in the early hours of the morning, under the guidance of battery-operated light was never a thought that entered my head when I thought of taking up this hobby of quilting. It was different and an experience… I was enthralled with the level of organization and tenacity of the members who participated. Next Show will be in 2012.

Christmas is approaching very fast. The sale of Christmas and Holiday Quilts continues. You can see the now 14 available quilts at our Quilts SB Etsy On Sale site. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Four of our quilts have found new homes. White River Rafting has made its journey to Alabama with a final destination to Maine. Christmas Harlequin; Christmas Harlequin Classic; and Renaissance One all have found their ways to homes and collections in Delaware.

The top to our new quilt, OP Nöel I has been finished. If you want a mental picture of this new quilt of our OP Nöel Series, take a gander at the colors of Nöel Diptych and the design of AD I and that sort of gives you an essence of our new quilt. All-things-being-equal we will be repeating our basic design in another new quilt of blue, gold and white fabric, hopefully in time for the celebration of Hanukkah.

And the time does not stand still. I am working on a new commission which will incorporate the design of Beige Bargello and Christmas Cosine and the colors of the waves of the North Carolina seashore. Also there are the thoughts underway for the design and construction of a 100 Good Wishes Quilt.

The sun is rising. Tampa should hit 80 degrees today. Now that’s Florida.

Enjoy,

Jim

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