September Twlight

The last Sunday of September is the annual Franklin Street Neighbors Association Picnic, the one and only event the neighbors have. We have lived in this fine neighborhood for ten years, finding new faces at the picnic every year. Everyone takes a dish, the planning committee supplies utensils and lemonade and the whole thing happens rather spontaneously. Perhaps its me but the number of citizens under the age of 8 seems to have increased considerably. Of course the senior population was well represented too. Don't ask about my gourmet contribution, I learned long ago that a frozen lasagna works for any type of pot luck and the empty tray proved my theory once again.

The main topic this year was "rain" or lack thereof and what the town council proposes for watering limits. September was sure to be the start of the rainy season and end the summer drought but October is nearly here and the reservoirs are lower than ever.

Many folks asked what I had been doing all summer. I never have the answer for that. In fact I could not think of any project that I have finished in recent months. Back home searching the photo archive I found Flora Dora, an applique exercise made using Jude Spacks' technique of small scraps in abundance (glue stick ready), with machine over-stitching. The overall dimensions are: 38" high by 15" wide. Two details and the hanging are shown in the photos.

The fictitious flowers are first drawn from circular templates, then cut from various colored and printed fabrics and then trimmed, detailed and defined with scissors. For me a small and very sharp pair of scissors works better than a template or pattern, I just cut and keep going. Can you believe the circle templates I use are lids from "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" [aka ICBINB] margarine tubs? Well they seemed good for something and this is the first task that they fit.

Once the cut-away circles are fused on the base, the fun begins. Every snipped of fabric, every crescent of a petal can be and will be added, auditioned and re-tried for a number of positions until the choice is made. Once made, pressed into place there is no going back. Onward to the next blossom.
The background is a rayon check that was pre-washed; the blossoms are all cotton fused, glued and stitched. Those pale blocks of white behind the flowers are used dryer sheets. Starched and pressed flat, they are non-wovens with a transparent quality, the intention was a layered-depth but I am not satisfied with the result. Layers of colored organdy would have been better except for the fact I had none to use.


Two suggestions will aid this process immensely. First, try if possible to use a ground fabric of grid, stripe or gingham. Not that you have to use a black & white check but having the grid for both proportion and placement makes life SO much easier. Second, get a Teflon (brand), pressing sheet for use with any fusible webbing. The nuisance of having to wait for the iron to cool, then scrap off melted webbing -this you do not need. Press over the Teflon layer with a dry iron, the heat fuses the layers, any exposed fusible web melts on the sheet, let it cool and peel it off. It's magic.

Jude Spacks is the wonder colorist and mentor to a number of Triangle quilters, artists and creative minds. We look forward to her annual trek south from her Maine residence bringing new inspiration and new exercises asking "..can you do this?" In my efforts to reduce the size of work [those heavy 6'x 9'wall hangings are a thing of the past], working in postage-stamp-sized pieces to create the image is a process that requires focus, time and determination.

Flora Dora's debut was last May at the Durham-Orange Quilter's Show in the Hillsborough Historical Museum. No inquiries for purchase but I will find a good home for the work before long. Have to, need the room to make something else.

The 'scrappy jacket' project is falling behind. Too much distraction at the moment. Tomorrow and Tuesday look to be quieter and perhaps I can get a start on the next step.
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