My mom is one of the reasons why I do what I do. Growing up we moved often. My dad kept getting promotions and that meant going to a new town.
One way my mom helped to intergrade us (me and my sister) into the community was to enroll us in classes of things that we wanted to do. For me it was art, for my sister it was athletics.
My mom likes to tell people she had to “push” me to do art. And maybe that is true. I was a very shy child, probably because I had to make new friends EVERY year for at least 10 years.
But I am glad that she pushed me and I love to make art.
My dad passed away when I was 21 years old of a heart attack. He was 51 years old.
I miss him everyday and wish that he had been around to meet and know my sons.
As a kid I made all kinds of stuff, I taught myself to sew, paint, do crafts and I feel so lucky that for my profession I get to do the same thing.
I also had a lot of great teachers along the way that just shared what they know and liked to do.
I like to work with fabric and color. And I like to try new things.
One of the new things that I have been doing with my small art is to find a way to frame it.
I have been using Timtex or Peltex to mount small pieces of art to.
This little landscape was completed quilted and then finished with a satin stitch around the edge.
I cut a piece of Timtex 2” larger all the way around then the finished quilt. I wrapped fabric around the Timtex like a package and fused it in place.
I added a hanging loop on the back and then I sewed the small quilt to the frame.
I have also used pre stretched canvas in different ways.
These three quilts where completely finished and quilted. I did a pillow case (AQS magazine article March 2013 issue) finish for each quilt.
I then attached flaps to each side of the quilt and wrapped the fabric flaps to the back of a pre stretched canvas frame and stapled them to the frame.
A hanging hook was added and they were ready to frame.
These are in one of my sons homes.
What have you done new lately?
Happy Quilting today.
7 comments:
I am always looking for good ways to display small pieces. Thanks for sharing your ideas.
Omg !!! My mom was a great part of my life , I still miss her very much !!! She passed away in 06, on the 4 th of July ,,, my Dad died 6 yrs ,6 days and 6 hrs After ,,,
Those are both great ideas for displaying small pieces of art. I'm glad your mom pushed you in that direction.
I have a really good relationship with my mother and my stepdad, though I don't get to see her/them nearly as often as I'd like. I don't remember my dad from when I was little (before the divorce), but had a good relationship with him from about the time that I became a mother myself, until he died about 4 years ago. I'm as close to my stepmom as I am to my mom.
We lived for 8 years with my maternal grandparents when I was in grade school, and it was my grandmother who got me involved with creating things. She not only taught me my love of learning, but also ceramics, embroidery, and crafts of all kinds.
I love the new finishes for your quilts. I'm going to do a small quilt for my mother in a week or two, which I am going to need to frame under glass. I'd like to put a double mat on it to not only give it a finished look, but to prevent the fabric from touching the glass.
I'm assuming that they have acid-free matting, but wondered if you had any advice on achieving this. How much of the quilt should I count on being under the edges of the mats? Should I do something to the edges and back to prevent contact with the frame and it's back? Anything else that I should know going into this before I begin the quilt itself?
My relationship with my mother got instantly better when I moved out of state to Pennsylvania. She always said I took after my dad - who died when I was 2. She never understood our creative nature and its been an annoyance my whole life. Still recently there were rumblings of her retiring nearby here in town - my husband looked at me and said - what are you going to do?? I said - as I itched from the hives that I had broke out in - "Move to Ohio?" (grin) Luckily she hates change so she's staying put and we are still getting along! My 15 yr old only daughter said she's never leaving me and that's fine with me - double grin!
My father passed away when I was 2 years old, so I have no memories of him. The rest of my family loved him dearly and always told me he was a warm and happy person.
I always had a wonderful relationship with my mom. She always was encouraging whenever I expressed an interest in something. She taught me to read before I started Kindergarten and I developed my love affair with books thanks to her.
When I was a grown man, we had great conversations and I liked nothing better than to make her laugh!
She passed away from stomach cancer.
I was so traumatized that to this day I am unable to tell the date or how old I was when it happened.
I am glad that I flew to Miami to see her when she was so ill. She was worried about me because I was "alone." I explained that I was not alone, that I had an extended family of friends and all my cousins.
I told her I was thankful she was my mom. I also thanked her because I felt that everything that made me a good, decent person, I learned from her.
She was stunned, but happy. She passed away two days later.
When my two brothers and I went to clear up her apartment, we all cried when we opened a chest of drawers, and it was full with mementos of our lives. Any little thing we had made for her as children. All our school art projects, essays, photos, valentine cards, and other things too numerous to mention. The chest was a time capsule of our lives.
If that was not love, what is?
My mom was the foundation of our life. With limited resources, she could put a fabulous meal on the table. My dad worked 6 days a week in a hardware store and sharpened saws in the basement after dinner for extra money. They truly were the "greatest generation." With limited money, and fewer complaints, they created a loving, stable family. They are my heroes ...
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