How long has it been since I’ve posted about a fest? Has it been over a month already? I am remiss! Although, I do think I actually skipped posting about the Wine Fest in our town a week or two ago (what was I thinking?). Today was the Heidelberger Hersbt Fest/Market. The entire old town pedestrian zone was food tents, live music, street vendors, a Floh Markt, and performances. I wanted to see how “my” gallery, Bourgeois Pig was doing (better at the gallery itself, which was on the Flea Market route, than at their booth), so I grabbed the kids and off we went.

They griped and moaned on the Strassenbahn there but some free balloons cheered them up pretty quickly:

We had pretzels, bratwurst, apfelschörle* and gummi bears, listened to some big band music and then found the Mideaval section where there were jugglers and a fantastic face painter.

Check out those flames. And the tail goes down his neck. I really didn’t want to wash it off tonight. Katja chose flowers, of course:

Gotta bring out one of the local marching bands. I love that these guys just did their thing amongst the teeming crowds. No police trying to keep everyone back, no scheduled announcement, just the thundering of drums and some really big flags (no, not the ones on the trumpets).

When we got home from this, we went to an aquaintance’s house for birthday coffee and cake, and then when we got home again, other neighbors stopped by to say hi and invited us over for Mexican food (Honey, you have taught M well). Just as we were ready to finally go home for the night, waaaaay past the kids’ bed time, the skies opened up and dropped buckets of rain and hail. Can you believe from the pictures above that this is what we came home to tonight?

I really don’t want to know what these marble-sized atmospheric bullets have done to my car.

*BTW, Apfelschörle is apple juice mixed with bubbly mineral water 50/50. You MUST try it. It is very refreshing and besides, our local radio station would like Apfelschörle to seep it’s way into other languages just as so many foreign words have found their way into the german language (my fave: “downloaden”).

Katja got a magazine in the mail today with stories and puzzles and pictures and lots of sparkly pink things that little girls love. The magazine has a regular feature where they show readers’ pictures, and Katja was inspired to make a special drawing of her own. It wasn’t until after she had completed her masterpiece that I read the fine print stating that the picture should be of one one of the characters in the magazine. How creatively limiting is that? Katja didn’t “know how” to draw something from the magazine, and more importantly, wasn’t inspired to. So, I told her that if she wanted to share her drawing with other people, I would be happy to post it on my blog for her. We say “Pthbbbbbbbbbb!” to silly rules that only intensify brand imprinting.

Here it is — the official announcement of my show!

I am actually giddy right now. Since quitting work as a graphic designer to follow TS&WGH around the world, I’ve never been sure if I’d actually want to go back to the stress of creating “on demand” and meeting crazy deadlines. But I have had such a great time designing this card (and helping Dijanne get her book printed) that I’m wondering if design truly was/is my calling. (Not that I’m going to give up the quilting — no never!) I could be working on the border of Quiltstadt, but I couldn’t wait to make the final changes to the card and get the files to Kate. I have a great feeling of accomplishment burning the files to a disc and wrapping up a “package” for the printer. Now is the nerve wracking wait to see if I sent it all correctly and to see if it rolls off the press the way it looked in my head and on screen.

So, if you are in central Germany any time between December 2nd and February 2nd please stop by Bourgeois Pig and see my quilts in person!

After I finished quilting the houses, I set “Quiltstadt” aside to let my fingers heal, and to finish “Raps.” Then I got side-tracked by some hexagons I had hanging around as take-along hand-work. They were originally intended to be part of “Fliegenpilz I,” but were just too much. I think I have a good piece of fabric for them now, and I’ve had a couple of take-along opportunities in which I made significant progress.

Now I can get back to quilting the borders of “Quiltstadt.”

I also made a pincushion for the Pincushion Challenge today. This time, the theme is Recycled. I decided that I’d sacrifice the 80s Dress for the occasion, and pair it’s femininity with a now equally out-dated testosterone-laden uniform.

I had grand ideas of adding something with popsicle sticks, then it just became a fabric bowl actually cut out of the uniform with a peachy cushion inside. Then my time alloted I decided on pure simplicity and ended up with this:

As long as I was sitting at my sewing machine with pretty fabric, I decided I could make a desperately needed bag for my camera so it doesn’t get scratched in my purse(s). I checked one of my Japanese craft magazines for inspiration and was inspired to add a strap to hang it on my jeans as well. It’s a little big for the camera as I wasn’t sure how much ease I should allow for he thickness of the now-quilted fabric, but oh well. Better too big than too small.

Following Sidney’s advice on where to find big ants, and knowing that our week of sunny weather would probably be coming to an end soon, I planned to take the kids to the “woods” today. The rest of the neighborhood kids went to the movies, and my deeming the movie unsuitable for my delicate flowers is probably a major cause of this:

He’s also upset because we’re going to the woods and he’s left his “feste Schuhe” (tennies or other non-sandals) at the neighbor’s house and they have already left for the movie which he can’t go to. Lucky for us, I forgot my camera and when I went back for it, I saw that Oma was still home and she retrieved the shoes

Things are improving slightly, but he doesn’t want to walk with us:

A certain other child IS, however, enjoying communing with nature:

We happened to stop to picnic at a bench which was coincidentally surrounded by ants about twice the size of our previous ant farm inhabitants. Zavi was, by now, into the whole adventure and we rounded up ants by the dozen. Unfortunately, these forest ants are quick and after collecting a dozen or so, it was hard to add any more without a few escaping at the same time. I think our final count was 18, including two that got injured when I put the lid back on.

It wasn’t long before we realized that these, too, could escape through the air holes as well. Having read that ants use little oxygen, we resolved to tape over the holes and just open the lid each day for air exchange. Not being much of a Supermom I didn’t have tape on me, so I had to sit on a rock with my fingers over the holes while the kids played in the playground near the woods. Hopefully, these ants will work out for a while and I will be able to post pictures of cool tunnels soon.

This is how I spent my day today:

OK, you’re right, neither of these ladies is me, but imagine two more at the table and you have our day today. The weather was gorgeous, so we spent a very gemütlich Craft Day sitting on Silke’s balcony stitching. Sorry that I forgot to get the camera out before Tanya had to go, though. Tanya worked on a Christmas cross stitch, Silke organized some fabrics and knitted, Sidney cut out squares for a swap and showed off her first attempt at free-motion quilting (excellent results), and I sewed binding on “Raps.”

Sammy thinks it looks pretty good! I didn’t want to have to bury the ends of all that wavy line quilting (and I didn’t have my top fused or otherwise attached to my batting), so instead of Melody’s Escape Hatch finish I decied to try Marla Hattabaugh’s invisible binding which I found through a link on Brenda’s blog, Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt. I’m quite pleased with how it turned out, and happy to have another tool in my bag of tricks.

Here’s the back kinda close up. My busy backing fabric really makes everything disappear. Basicly, it’s your usual French binding, but instead of wrapping it around the edge of the quilt, you pull it all to the back of the quilt so nothing shows on the front. To facilitate this you don’t go around the corners with the binding, you just sew on two opposite sides, pull the binding to the back, and then sew on the other two sides.

“Raps” is the german name for the rape seed plant that canola oil is made of (it sounds nicer in German than the word rape which has connotations not applicable to my quilt). The crops bloom in spring and late summer/fall and the bright yellow color is really dramatic. I especially like the contrast of it against the often-grey skies in Germany, and the ocassional red regional train going by really makes the colors pop. On this quilt I have sunprinted actual raps flowers, log cabins in raps colors, and seed stitch which could literally be the rape seeds or just look like the scattered blossoms.

Based in no small part on my frustration the other day, I was desperate to finish a project. So, when I made my weekly trip to check our mail box on post and found that the white fabric-covered wire I finally broke down and ordered had arrived, I dropped everything to make button flowers:

My little felt vase has been sadly empty since I made it last winter in a frenzy of felting. I always envisioned a simple, graphic arrangement like this in it, but didn’t want green wire. I haven’t been able to find any around here, so I finally ordered it. I hate leaving my little town since it has almost everything I need within walking distance (my needs are pretty simple, especially since I don’t need a fabric store soooo much anymore), so internet shopping fills in the blanks well for me.

On the quilt front, I finished the hand stitching on “Raps” and started machine quilting the log cabins that weren’t seed-stitched. I wasn’t satisfied with how it was going and spent the afternoon yesterday picking out the stitching. Yes, there seems to be a theme here. But, after the kids went to bed, I sat back down at the machine, slowed it’s speed down and mine, and finished off the quilting! I plan on binding it at Craft Day tomorow and checking that quilt off my To Do list!

Speaking of stuff arriving in the mail, this neat birthday gift arrived from a way-cool auntie:

What, you don’t recognize this? It’s a high tech ant farm and it was the huge hit of the week. We filled it with ants from our front walkway as soon as it arrived and they quickly went to work enlarging a starter tunnel. But, they are small ants and they seem to have escaped out the small air holes. By today we were down to about 6 ants from 20. (I don’t want to know where the others are in our house!) Our task now is to find a colony of larger ants somewhere to re-populate the farm.

I’ve had a frustrating few days. My son is back in school (finally), but daughter had Monday off AND a friend over. Today my son brought his friend home with him. Between birthday and friends and no school, there hasn’t been much time for me to work on projects lately. Yesterday, my son had his first homework of the season and it took him THREE HOURS! We go through this at the begining of every something (I’m not exactly sure what the trigger is, but it has something to do with newness). He whined and cried and stomped and said NO to every suggestion I had. He actually sounded a LOT like me when I was in High School and College (and probably befre that too, but I just don’t remember). Sorry Mom and Dad. On top of that frustration, I decided that one of the projects I’ve actually been making progress on is not turning out as I want it to. I slept on it and decided that the only fix is to start over. This morning was eaten up by running errands and then the afternoon was all kids all the time. I desperately want to finish something because I feel like I’m barely treading water here; or at least taking a step backwards for each one forward. I hate project angst. On the up side, one of my errands this morning was to deliver patterns to the Arts and Crafts shop on post which eventually means some money for me. But they had just marked down a bunch of fabrics 60% AND gotten a bunch of new stuff in. Pretty stuff. Oh well, it is all lost on me who swore off buying new fabrics. Yea, me who is also envisioning projects with wide expanses of a single fabric. The kind of pieces which are not in my stash of half yard cuts, or the size of a back of a thrifted shirt. What was I thinking?! Who makes up these stupid rules anyway? I decided that if it is my rule, then I can break it. I bought a few yards of something I swear I need, although it is neither 60% off nor one of the new arrivals. It is however essential to the project which I am starting over. And I need a flea market — QUICK!

WARNNG: Lots of gratuitous kid pictures. Those not related to my kids may want to skip this post and come back another day. No quilt content!

My son just celebrated his 8th birthday — twice. On his actual birthday, we invited the neighbors over for cupcakes and juice (coffee for the moms — this was an afternoon event after all).

Zavi liked the shark cupcakes in an issue of Martha Stewart Kids. We thought the plate full looked like a feeding frenzy:

Yesterday, we celebrated with his school friends. This was rather clever of him. I told him he could only have 8 guests. If we invited the neighbor kids, then he’d use up his quota pretty quick. But, he said that he didn’t want to have to translate, so he would rather have a party with just his German friends. Since I didn’t want the neighbors to feel bad, he got two parties out of the deal! Lucky dog. He wanted pizza from our favorite Italian restaurant, but since I was to be the only adult there, I told him we’d have to make our own. I suggested frozen, but he wanted everyone to have the opportunity to make their own. I set up a “pizza bar” and it actually went over really well!

While the pizzas cooked, Zavi encouraged everyone to open the present we had put at each plate and they all tucked into making their own Bionicle.

Some took the task seriously..

…others didn’t

After lunch we proceeded to the games. They had a lot of fun popping balloons tied to each others’ ankles.

No party is complete without a game of “Topfschlagen.” For each kid, I hid a small bag of gummi bears under a pot, then blindfolded the kid, spun him/her around, and sent him/her off in search of the pot by banging a wooden spoon on the floor while everyone else shouts “warmer” or “colder.” Once the kid bangs on the pot, he’she gets the traet and it’s the next kid’s turn.

We had a “Schatzsuch” (treasure hunt) as well. Now that the kids can read I hid eight papers with clues for finding the next paper. Check me out: I made each clue a simple rhyme in German. OK, they may not have been totally gramatically correct, but the kids liked it. The Schatz was a box of gummi bears for all to share.

I sent the kids all over the house and outside as well.

By the way, thanks Auntie Erin for the cool “Seilbahn,” it’s been very busy sending notes and small animal up and down our stairwell!

After all the games and presents and more palying, we sang Happy Birthday and had ice cream.

Zavi wanted an ice cream cake and again, chose something from Martha. This “watermelon” was actually pretty easy to make a day ahead, and was pretty tasty too.

And tomorow my big boy starts Second Grade!

Stay tuned next month for a perfectly princess birthday (or maybe more sharks — you never can tell).

12th Carrefour Europeén du Patchwork is the big annual quilting show in the Val d’Argent, France. It is centered around the former silver mining town of St. Marie aux Mines, but there are also exhibits in the nearby towns of St. Croix aux Mines, Liépvre, and Rombach le Franc.

I went with a guild friend and a friend of hers, and dragged my long-suffering children along with us. We started in the actual town of St Marie aux Mines. First up was the Théatre where there were Japanese quilts, either by Yoko Saito and Suzuko Koseki or collected by these two women. I appologize that I was so in awe of the quilts that I forgot to look at names and give credit where credit was due. About half the quilts were bright, with wonderfully odd color combinations, and the other half were the taupes that the Japanese do so well.

I loved that this one was basicly traditional, but not really. Each and every brick in the border is about the size of my thumb, and hand appliquéd onto a plaid background that subtly shows through as “grout.” I liked the gradation:

I’m a sucker for fabric with text in it!

Ah, the details in these Japanese quilts. I loved the embroidery on the peacock in this quilt:

And look, a whole table straight out of the Japanese craft magazines I’m currently in love with! (Oh, and I broke a little rule — I bought a kit for an apron, with lovely linen and cotton fabrics; I’ll post the finished product if/when I get around to it.)

Next, we visited the works of the Austrian guild at Eglise de la Madeleine. Most of the quilts were made around the theme of Austria’s Daughters. My absolute favorite was an omage to the Venus of Willendorf, which I remember well from art history class (although it’s Austrian origins had escaped me) she is indeed mother of all daughters. (“Venus-Godess-Mother of all Great Daughters” by Irene Sutterlüti-Austria)

I am so happy that the quilter chose to hand quilt this piece. It fits the handwork of the original goddess so well.

Here’s another quilt in the same exhibit. Although I don’t know who these daughters of Austria are….

…I really liked the quilted text (“Austria’s Greatest Women” by Elfriede Bohle- Austria). It’s pretty, AND so well done:

Lastly, I thoght this quilter was clever in her use of maps for the dress and background (“The Great Daughter” by Ria Braspenning- Netherlands):

After the Austrian exhibit (or was it before?) we saw a collection of Molas at the Eglise St-Louis. I was suprised at how many utilized European imagery. For the tourist trade, I expect.

Last year I loved the Gymnasium turned exposition space “Espace des Tisserands” which this year had exquisite cross stitch on linen, ATCs and work from the French guild. I think this is where we saw the quilts made for the Expo X in Lyon with a silk/light theme. I liked the chenille on this one (“Reflet due Soi” by Ewa Guerlin- France):

The ombré silk has such a nice look when it’s frayed like this, and look, she’s added some little red knots as accents:

I liked the simplicity of these prairie points as well, somehow with all the color and the crosswise quilting it looks more complex than it really is. It was made by Teresa Gai from Italy and won first prize of the France Patchwork competition “Soie et Lumière” (thank you Françoise for the info):

This year the vendor’s tent moved from an actual tent in Liépvre to a real building in St. Marie aux Mines. I specifically wanted to purchase some body armor from Miller’s Quilting:

I only have the border left to quilt on Quiltstadt, but I’m ready for my next project (perhaps a UFO started several years ago?). I got some glider tips from Esther Miller as well. It seems to be all in the angle you hold it. Now that I’m (trying) not to buy fabrics, I can breeze through the vendor areas much faster. I was quite focused and only stopped by one hand dyed fabric booth as she was the one I bought some silk from last year and I wanted to be able to credit her as I used it for Katja’s Owlz. That doesn’t mean I didn’t buy anything though! In addition to the thimbles, I bought thread for my Raps and Fliegenpilz II quilts, two Japanese craft magazines (what mother of a girl doesn’t need instructions to make kitty purses, or those little cylindrical and cone shaped ones?) I also bought two copies of Dijanne’s book to share with members of my quilting group, and a catalog for Léa Stansdal’s installation (more on that below). Oh, and 4 little off-cuts of silk (I’m not perfect).

In the next town of St. Croix aux Mines we visited Eglise St-Nicolas to see Priscilla Bianchi’s work. It is a wonderful riot of color! Check out her website for good pictures of the quilts, but here’s one of my favorites (“Rainforest”):

We loved the way the simple quilting really complimented the simple piecing, and all together it just looks lush and lovely! (“Holiday in Nebaj IV”)

No trip to the Carrefour is complete without a stop at Villa Burrus. I mean, how French is this scene?

Inside was an exhibit of Antique Australian quilts. Although I’m not really one for Bible verses, I was struck by this one because of, you guessed it, text on fabric!

In the Espace Exposition in St. Croix aux Mines were a dozen or so artists selling their wearable art. The lady I bought a patchwork belt from in Lyon was there, as well as several artist with wonderful felted hats, scarves and jewelry. I held myself back and didn’t purchase anything, although I was quite tempted by a pom pom necklace.

We ran out of time for Rombach le Franc. In Liépvre I stayed at the Espace Exposition to see this years challenge: Fashion, Reflection of an Era (only OK in my opinion), and an exhibit with the theme of time curated by Dörte Bach. There were lots of interesting works in this collection:

“Vegetationzeit” by Claudia Kreuzig – Germany

“Im Blauen Wunderland” by Anita Leutweiler – Germany

“Abgetragen” by Rita Maria Lerch – Switzerland

In the same space was also Changing the World One Thread at a Time curated by Thelma Smith where I also got to see Dijanne Cevaal again and fondle a few WIPs, and meet Sandy Marcoux in person. I love how small blogging makes the world! Thelma has assembled many interesting pieces but of course, it was Linda Colsh’s work (“Brittle Silence”) that caught my eye.

Finally, I was blown away by an installation by Léa Stansdal. She accosted me to look at my Orange Revolution backpack and I took the opportunity to ask her about her work. Unfortunately my French sucks, and she doesn’t speak much English or German. As far as I can tell, she has used quilts, soft sculpture, and assemblage to create dioramas of sorts to tell the story of “Sweet Girl.” I’m not sure what the story is, but it is very feminine, kitschy, and magical like a fairy tale. I bought her book, which not only has lovely photos of the pieces in a woodland setting, but also instructions to make your own cottages, Fliegenpilze, caulifowers, and flowers. It’s like a Japanese craft magazine and a fairy tale all wrapped into one beautiful package. Léa said she’d email me an English synopsis, so I’m waiting hopefully. My pictures don’t do Léa’s work any justice, so check out the links to see nicer pages from her book and a better idea of her vision.

I can’t wait to see what visual treasures await us next year!