Snow Day

Snow days are fun for adults too, unless you have to go to work. Almost everyone I know was looking forward to being stranded inside during this much predicted snowstorm - whether it was to spend the day sewing, or organizing tax forms, or reading or just vegging.

Although it doesn't seem fair that we have been back from Key West for less than a week, I have to admit that it sure does look beautiful - but 2 feet?

Trip To Mexico

A few months back I received an e-mail from QSDS. They are a non-profit group, based in Ohio, that encourages the creation of quilts as art through symposium, museum exhibitions and trips. The e-mail was about a trip to Mexico during The Day of the Dead celebration, October 23- November 2. The stated focus is to study Mexican art and culture through visits to Mexico City, Oaxaca and side trips to Puebla and Cuernavaca. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. My love of Mexican folk art is only surpassed by my love of Puebla, "City of Tiles". The trip also includes visits to the studios of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

I had been to Puebla last March with my husband to see the many buildings adorned with Talavera tiles. We also took cooking classes at Mesones Sacristia, which is famous for their Mole Pablono. It would be great to go back.

The trip looks absolutely fascinating. To view the Mexican culture and folk art during a celebration like Day of the Dead is just too tempting for me. I'm saving my pennies. Anyone else? e-mail me.

Fabric Postcard Tutorial

I admitted in my last post that I got carried away making these small Key West houses. Since I had some extra ones after making my book and based on their size, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to experiment with fabric postcards. In creating these small pieces, first I fused the pieces onto the sky background fabric. Then I backed them with a scrap piece of low loft batting. I then stitched around each of the houses and finally added the house's posts and railings with a small zig zag.

First I trimmed the little house using a piece of parchment paper so that I could see where I was cutting. To make the postcards stiff, I used the stabilizer, Timtex, that was available at the local quilt shop. I then applied fusible web to both sides of the stabilizer. (I prefer to use Pelltex that comes already fusible on both sides to eliminate this step, but it wasn't available.)

For my first postcard I used a piece of fabric for the back and used a Sharpie pen to label it as a postcard.

For the next postcard I decided to try using watercolor paper instead of the fabric for the back. I used a purchased postcard to make sure that the template I was making was "legal" - although I don't really know what legal is. But I thought better safe than sorry. Using my word processing program I prepared a word document to print 2 postcard backs on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper. (Click here for a free downloadable template - Trim to fit your size).

After trimming the one large sheet of watercolor paper (130LB weight) to 8 1/2"x11" sheets, I printed the backs and trimmed them to 4 1/2" x 6 1/2". Then I fused the top, fusible Timtex and the postcard backing and tried different methods of finishing the edges. I used a blanket stitch, a zig-zag stitch and then I also bound the edges. I really preferred the watercolor paper. The postcard was nice and stiff and it was much easier to write on.

Normally, I am not a scrap saver, but there were so many little pieces of fabric that had the fusible on them, I couldn't resist. So I decided to make scrap postcards. To do this, I used a piece of parchment paper, with an outline of the correct postcard size and started layering the pieces, ironed, layered some more, ironed and layered some more until I thought there were very few holes. Just to make sure, I removed it from the parchment paper then fused it to a background fabric. To make sure that none of the little scraps lifted in transit, I covered it with tulle before stitching around the sandwich.The final test was mailing the postcards. My experiment involved sending one of each type to myself to meet me when I arrived home in PA. The PO in Key West charged 64c each and informed me that they had to be hand stamped. Again, the watercolor paper was better in terms of how it took their stamps. The one on the left is the watercolor paper and the one on the right is a fabric backing.Those postcards were waiting for me upon my return in excellent shape. Hooray!
Now that I'm back in Pennsylvania , I really miss those houses and the warm weather.

Key West Houses

I have Key West fever. I decided that I had to make some of the typical conch houses that are all over the island, out of fabric. I went to The Seam Shoppe, which is the local quilt shop. It's actually the only quilt shop for 150 miles. I bought a charm pack and a few quarter yards and some sky fabric. I also had some fabric that was usable from another project.

This is a photo that I took of one of the house styles that you see everywhere. The hard part is getting a clear picture without cars or foliage blocking the view. The roof is metal.

This is my rendition:

It's small, about 4"x6".

Here's another house style,

and another.I made 15 of these little pieces. I couldn't stop. I turned 8 of them into a fiber book. The cover I made separately. I did the printing using WordArt with the computer. Timtex was used as a stabilizer to make the book rigid. It's constructed accordion style so that it can be displayed on a table or shelf. I plan on doing some beading along the top edge.

I am making the rest of the houses into postcards. I have also gotten carried away and started making postcards out of the fusible scraps. Stay tuned.

Key West Folk Artist, Mario Sanchez

This cover of the Yellow Pages in Key West caught my eye. It is a folk art rendering of a Key West scene from the artist's childhood. Mario Sanchez is the signed name. I saw there was an exhibit of his work at The Custom House Museum down by the seaport. I had to go and see his art in person.

First (and of course, most importantly) I was amazed that they let me bring my little dog into the museum. Then I was blown away by Mr. Sanchez's work. He was born in Key West in 1908 and lived here until the age of 96, passing away in 2006. He was the son of a cigar maker and a self-taught artist . From the phone book I was under the impression that it was a primitive painting. I was extremely surprised that these pieces were hand carved wood and then painted. The detail is impeccable. I wish that I could find photos with a high enough resolution so that you could see the actual carving.

Each piece (and there were many) was accompanied by a placard with a story about life in Key West, really stories about his childhood. From the time that their neighbor, Ernest Hemingway, brought over some sailfish to showing his father at work as a "reader" in the cigar factory. While the men rolled cigars, his father would read to them - the news from the newspapers in the morning and from a novel in the afternoon. You can see him standing on a podium towards the left side.

There was a short video showing Mr. Sanchez at work outside of his home with his chisels and paints. What a great exhibit - a hidden gem.

There isn't much on the web about Mario Sanchez , but if you would like to see more of his work, this is the best website that I have found.
http://http//www.keyshistory.org/artmariosanchez.html

Sunrise #6

This is Sunset #6. If you happen to be keeping track, you'll notice that Sunrise #5 is missing. It was raining yesterday morning. Pouring, actually. I walk a litle bit over a mile to take my sunrise photos. I was pretty sure there would be no sunrise in the rain.

Sunrise #4