A Betsy Ross incarnate joins the group

This is a cryptic clue for my interpretation of 'Seeing Red.'

Love to you all

New 'rules' for group

The week together has been and gone all too fast.  I wish we could repeat this with the whole group - a retreat together where we could chat and get to know each other.  We did manage to squeeze in some rust dyeing - not wholely successful - strange French vinegar or the water? - and some mono printing on gelatine.  We have challenged ourselves to come up with a holiday piece - so watch this space.  I had taken along a book I received just as I packed - Charlotte Ziebarth's 'Artistic Photo Quilts' which I highly recommend if you have a photo editing programme (Adobe Elements or Paint Shop Pro) and you are interested in manipulating photos.  I wouldn't be surprised if  a few of the things given in the book didn't pop up in these pieces...

As you can imagine these was a lot of talking and we chatted about the lack of banter on the 12 by the Dozen blog.  So, because nothing is cast in stone and we should be flexible when it is possible to improve things, let's drop the secrecy 'rule'.  Whatever you are working on let's hear about it.  Maybe one of the group can solve a problem with a suggestion - or pick up inspiration from a different perspective from someone's idea.  Just let's get chatting together and sharing our successes and our woes (hopefully not too many of those!).


I hope this suits everyone and takes a bit of pressure off not knowing what to share, how much was too much and worrying about giving anything away.  This is our group and we should suit ourselves and not follow exactly in other's foot tracks.

Cheers,

Hilary (who is sadly back home while the other two are cycling/driving around France)

I'm done!

Well, while some of our members have been sunning it in glorious Brittany, I have been working. Just got the binding to finish now. Inspiration is a mixture of typical Canadian farm architecture, plus a dose of Rayna Gilman. Work that one out. Meanwhile Mick and I will be leaving Montreal this year around September time, at the moment to a destination unknown. Possibly a new source of inspiration??

The Tri This Design Group - Together Again

Here is the Tri This Design Group, together again, in France :) working on Seeing Red!!  LOL!!

Plogastel-St Germain

We have been having a great time catching up on news, touring the area and on one rainy day, doing some gelatin plate printing. I have no idea how to post pictures on this computer but will do so on my return.

If I'm to stay on the red theme, there are so many wonderful flowers in bloom. The reddest are mesembryanthemum. Hilary knows this name, I don't! They look like an osteospermum which are also in bloom, but are fuller, and oh so red! Up against all the stone walls, they look spectacular.

What are you all doing for the end of June? I started quilting mine, but think that I may have to start over as it's not quite working the way I want. Which means gelatin plate printing some more white fabric. Oh well. Another play day!!

Let's hear from you and let's gear up for our next unveiling!

Dianne

A trio get together

I can't tell you how excited I am as Rosie, Dianne and I are to meet up and spend a week together in Brittany, France, after Rosie's daughter Lindy's wedding to the lovely Antoine on Saturday.

Photos to follow of what we get up to which includes some sketching, photography and gelatine mono-printing.  Watch this space!

Hilary

more red

We've been doing a lot of biking in anticipation of a biking holiday in Brittany. This is a pond that we go by, and this is a red winged blackbird. The trail is an old railway bed which has been converted to a bike path and in winter, cross country ski trail. Lovely to go through the woods and past these ponds.

Last fall I planted some tulips at the cottage. I can't at the house because the squirrels will get them - either the bulbs, or the flowers once they've opened - very frustrating. Even at their end, these were gorgeous. Now fingers crossed that they come up again next year!

And I've started on my square. Think old newspaper joke.

Connections goes public!

Marion has asked me to send this picture of the Connections quilts made by the Montreal members at the Beaconsfield Guild Quilt Show.  What a lovely idea to give them an airing and to spread the word.  Let's hope they might have inspired a few more people to try this kind of  project out.

Anybody 'seeing red' yet?  It's all in my head at the moment but I have ordered some supplies - well, that's my excuse!

Hilary

REQUEST

Request! When posting pieces other than the challenge can we all include the sizes of the pieces unless very obviously large and bed size.

Seeing Red - for a nephew

This challenge is a most appropriate one for me - I've been collecting red fabrics for a project for a while - trouble is, I've used most of them. My nephew is getting married in 2 weeks time, to a lovely girl, Louise, and we've had many a good holiday with them in the past. So, being in the middle of making a blue, fishy, quilt, I asked them if they'd like it for their wedding. Cut a long story short - they wanted a quilt, but not that one. They have a red bedroom and wanted something for the wall that they could later put on the bed.

Well, I don't often do commissions, but this is family! My idea for a wall hanging was not going to work as a bed quilt, so I ended up making them two items. 'Going Home' is made using the confetti technique. I wanted the feel of a Canadian autumn, and think have got it. Many thanks to Dianne, Colleen, Pam, Heather and Helena who critiqued it half way through construction, and stopped me mucking it up!

The bed quilt is much less imaginative, and much bigger. Hope they like it! Entitled 'Free Wheeling', there are 11 bicycles hidden in the quilting.

So I've 'seen red' for the last 2 months - there will be a pause before I make my piece for our latest challenge. Think I'll do some nice restful pieces in blue, green, yellow - anything but red!

The intro. Unfortunately I will not be able to give you more later as it will be a dead give away. There are two elements left out, again, so as not to give it away.

The background I dyed yesterday using 100% cotton and again my silk dyes as they are in liquid form and quick and easy.

Challenge with a difference

Have a look at a different kind of challenge:  take a bunch of very ordinary/going nowhere blocks (from a garage sale perhaps?) and challenge friends to reinvent them into something exciting.

http://studio78notes.blogspot.com/2010/05/ugly-block-challenge-results.html

Hilary