Saturday, December 31, 2011

Six before the clock strikes 12

Jennifer Whitten completed her block and it's now on its way to Ruta Marino.

Jennifer Whitten, completed kantha-stitched blind block, 2011
J. Whitten, detail
J. Whitten, detail
Nice stitching Jenn. The stitching creates a fluidity and the 2 empty places evoke serpentine shapes.


We now have six done before the end of the year.
Well done group. 

There are only 14 more to go.

By the way....
Ruta and I were thinking that the prize for the last one to send in her block has to put it all together and do the stitching.


Fair?


What do you say?





Thursday, December 29, 2011

Diana's Block Has Arrived

Diana Angus, Completed Kantha-stitched block, 2011

Diana Angus' block arrived from Columbus, Ohio to Ruta Marino's mailbox today.


I'm looking at Diana's blind stitching...and wondering how she was able to get her blind stitching (in white) so evenly spaced!
Nice stitching my friend!


My stitching was all over the place.


What does yours look like?


No worries, there's still plenty of time. 





Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Tag, you're IT!


Christine Mauersberger, Full Block
Christine Mauersberger, Detail
Tag, you're it...who will be next?

I completed my block, now all I need to do is to stitch my name onto a separate piece of fabric and mail this to Ruta.
Yeah!




Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Two for One Day!

Announcing the next block.

 Barbara Schneider completed her block yesterday, Dec. 26, 2011. (Mary Ann Tipple completed hers on the 25th)
Barbara Schneider, Detail

Isn't this just grand? I like the geometric shapes that almost look like an arial view of a piece of land. 
Nice work Barbara!

Who is next??????

p.s. I'm still digging in my stash for something special to offer as an incentive.

Stay tuned.
Christine

We Have a Winner!


Mary Ann Tipple, Completed Kantha-stitched block
Mary Ann Tipple, Detail
Mary Ann Tipple, Detail

We have a winner!
 
Second block is done and a third is almost there as well. We are on our way to a really successful piece.  We will show all those naysayers!
 
Mary Ann Tipple's block is pictured here.  She certainly did a great job of working the blue stitching off the blind. 
 
Barbara Schneider's block will be right behind.  Can't wait to see it. Can't wait to see who will be next.
 
Will we have more 'incentives' to get them done?
 
Happy New Year!
Ruta

Well done Mary Ann.
p.s. I'll check my goodie-box to see whether I have something to offer as the next incentive!
Yeah!- Christine

Comments? Anyone? Feel free to share your thoughts. 

Friday, December 23, 2011

Unfair Advantage


1st block completed, Ruta Marino, 12.22.11
Ruta has completed her block.  Don't worry, she can't win the book as she had an unfair advantage, not having to wait for the mail to deliver her block.
Too bad, she is kicking herself for not buying a copy of the book from Dorothy. 
 
Question to all:  why did the embroidery threads develop 'fuzzy's" while stitchiing?  ick!
 
Next question: Who will be done next?

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Instructions for completing your Block


Each person kantha stitches her own block. 
Ruta Marino is mailing your blocks back to each of you.

1.    BLUE thread.Use any color blue, be mindful that DARK blue might not  show well against the black fabric.

2.     June 1, 2012 -Date blocks are due back to Ruta Marino. (SEE return envelope sent to you).

3.    Extra blue thread. Send extra some extra blue thread when you return your block. (to be used for the final stitching in-between blocks)

4.     STITCH your name on a separate 2" x 6" strip of fabric.Use a separate piece of fabric (color of your choice) to stitch your name for a signature block on the back.

5.     Optional: 
     Document your process with photos and send to Christine and she will post.

6.     Optional:  
     Document your feelings about the stitching while blindfolded experience in words for posting as well.

7.     Incentive to get your block done: The first person to finish gets a copy of the book Dorothy had at the workshop:

Stitching Women's Lives: Sujuni and Khatwas from Bihar, India
Curated by Dorothy Caldwell and Dr. Skye Morrison
Sept. 29, 1999 - February 27, 2000
(courtesy of Christine Mauersberger)

Front cover        and      Back cover

We will post finished blocks as they come in and send regular, friendly, email reminders.







Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Gesture, Shape, Dialogue, Organic, and Intuition

On December 3-4, 2011, Twenty-one women participated in The Expressive Stitch workshop by Dorothy Caldwell at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio.

Day one was filled with stitching small blocks using the ubiquitous "Running Stitch". 

Samples of different blocks using the Kantha or Sujuni stitching method. 
I posted an entry about this activity on my own blog here.

During day 2, Dorothy lead us through a stitching exercise to help loosen-up our stitching and gestural mark-making.
Each participant was asked to blindfold herself and then stitch in an "interpretive manner" on cloth whilst Dorothy read five words out loud.  We were to create stitches that evoked the word itself.  
Dorothy read these words: Gesture, Shape, Dialogue, Organic, and Intuition

Mary Ann Tipple captured a picture of some of us 
when she lifted her blindfold to take a sneak.
Five words we were asked to stitch while blindfolded.
Notes from Sue Copeland Jones' notebook.
Blindfolds removed, we placed our blocks on the wall to admire the 
wildly expressive marks:

21 individual blocks

Approximately 8.5" x 8.5" square (each)

(photo: Mary Ann Tipple)

Dorothy shared a sample of a completed quilt that was made by a group of women in Australia who had also been in one of her workshops.



When we saw this piece, there was an audible gasp in the room. The women had completed the quilt in the Kantha (or Sujuni) method. The red embroidery floss created unity for the piece.

Such lovely expressive stitching!
Each woman hand-stitch her name onto a piece of cloth which was then stitched onto the back of the quilt. 
They call the piece Seeing Red

And now, we will create our own blind-stitch quilt, using the color blue to unite the work.

Let us begin!