324/365 Hanging charm

Continuing the Look Up theme, this charm hangs from the ceiling fan in Mom's quilt shop. It has a bead in the middle that says "Creativity," so it's an excellent fixture in her workspace.

She has several hanging charms in the shop that have been given to her by her friends, and while I love this one, there's a small glass wind chime that I really like. It's no more decorative than this, but the reason I like it is that it hangs within Buster's reach. So every once in a while, he'll wander over to where it hangs, bump it with his nose, and the light tinkling of the glass is a very happy sound.

I hope he's doing it because he likes the sound, too.

Camera: Canon 40D with 60mm macro lens, 1/60s, f/4 at ISO 1250

160/365 A beautiful new lap quilt

I admit I'm spoiled. I've become accustomed to having handmade quilts, crafted with quality fabrics, using cotton batting, and finished with a truly artistic quilting design.

Blame it on my mom. Now that she's introduced me to this kind of quilt, I can't imagine having anything else!

She just finished a lap quilt for me that incorporates the colors in my living room, and I have to say, it's gorgeous! Yes, I'm biased, but even when you correct for that, it's still beautiful.

It's the perfect size -- big enough to cover me from chin to toe when I'm snuggled up with a book on the couch, and small enough that I'm not wrestling with extra feet of fabric that you find in a full-size bed quilt.

The only thing I can think of that will improve it is to make it well-loved and broken in after running through the washing machine a few times.

Some people prefer for their quilts to remain like new and a little stiff. But I'm the opposite: I want my quilts to be soft, malleable, and ready to conform to every book-reading, movie-watching, or nap-taking position. I plan to get plenty of use out of this one!

Camera: Canon 40D with 60mm macro lens, 1/125s, f/2.8 at ISO 1000 in fluorescent lighting

314/365 Work in progress

I love art that incorporates language. As a writer, that really doesn't surprise me, but I've just become conscious of it in the past year or so.

Mom is working on a new quilt for me, and with that in mind, she chose some cream-colored fabric that has words printed on it.

She began cutting out pieces last weekend, and she's been getting a little done each night this week.

Cutting with a rotary cutter has always made me nervous, even though her rulers are thick enough to create a decent barrier between the blade and my fingers. She's a pro, though, as comes with practice, and I always enjoy watching.

Now I can't wait to see the quilt come together.

Camera: Canon 40D with external E-TTL flash, 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 250.

240/365 Sneak preview for the holidays

Forgive me, I'm going to brag about my fabulous mom in this post.

Beginning with an unveiling ceremony on Friday, November 28, the Indiana State Museum will house a 92-county ornament tree.

The tree will feature an ornament made by an artist from each of the 92 counties, made with the intention of representing each unique area.

And my mom was chosen to design the ornament representing Hendricks County.

I'm more than a little proud. (I promise I'll get photos of the event and make that a future post.)

In the meantime, you get a sneak preview of her ornament. She finished it on Sunday evening and mailed it -- early -- to the Museum.

It's two-sided, created using fabric, crystals and tulle netting. The front side is a winter landscape scene, common to Hendricks County.
The back is a pineapple quilt block, which is a traditional symbol of welcome.
I especially love the landscape scene, particularly the snow-covered pine trees on the left side. Dad and Chase love the birch trees on the right.

When the holidays are over, the ornament will become a permanent part of the Museum.

It's beautiful. I can't wait to see it hanging on the tree.

Camera: Canon 40D with external E-TTL flash, 1/250s, f/5.6 at ISO 100 under fluorescent lighting, with the flash bounced off the ceiling.

237/365 Rayon thread

Mom has a drawer of thread that sucks me in whenever I open it.

It's filled with shiny rayon thread of every color of the rainbow. For this photo, I just picked out a selection of five that mimic fall foliage.

I don't think there's a single color in that drawer that I don't like. I'd love to see a project made only out of this thread. It's elegant, vibrant, eye-catching... beautiful.

Camera: Canon 40D with external E-TTL flash, 1/250s, f/2.8 at ISO 100.

201/365 Binding by hand

As part of her quilting business, Mom offers hand binding of her customers' quilts as an extra option.

She sits and watches TV while she meticulously adheres the binding to the rough edge of the quilt.

Not too many people elect to have her bind their quilts for them, but last night she had one to complete. I knelt and stood on the couch next to her to capture her hands as she worked.

I feel calm when I watch her work like this. I suppose it's because it's an old art, it's a repetitive motion, and the thought behind it is very homey.

Camera: Canon 40D with external E-TTL flash, 1/125s, f/5.6 at ISO 200

66/365 New thread

When I got home from work this evening, my mom and my aunt were in Mom's quilt shop opening their new box of serger thread.

The people in the thread industry love customers like these two women. They each have a serger -- and one takes four spools of thread at a time, and the other takes five or six spools at once. So when they order thread, they order thread.

The colors are beautiful. I love when Mom is making something new and I need to go find a thread in her stash that matches perfectly.

This photo shows them comparing reds. I love seeing the difference in their skin tones, their textures, and character showing on their hands.

Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR 1/60s, f/5.6 at ISO 400 under fluorescent lighting.

40/365 Artist at work

My mom has owned and operated her own custom quilting business for nearly 10 years. She does her work on a longarm machine, which differs from a sewing machine in that instead of feeding the fabric through the machine, you move the machine over the fabric.

Before she started doing this, I had no idea the actual stitching on the quilt could add so much to the piece as a whole. It truly is an art form.

And Mom really has an eye for design. She free-hands nearly everything, knows when not to make lines cross, how not get stuck in a corner... it really amazes me. And she knows when a quilt needs a fancy, complicated design or when an all-over simple repeating pattern would complement it better.

In these pictures, she's working on a customer's quilt. Her goal is to eventually do only her own quilts, focusing mainly on art quilts, but until that day comes, she has a steady stream of customers lining up for her work!


Camera: Canon Rebel DSLR under overhead fluorescent lighting.
First photo: 1/60s, f/4.0 at ISO 200
Second: 1/60s, f/5.6 at ISO 200
Third: 1/60s, f/5.6 at ISO 400