Things I Learned on Retreat on Off the Wall Friday

Rug Hooking Retreat at the Heritage Inn

 When I was in college, I belonged to the Newman Center group on campus.  The priest who was the moderator would take us on a spiritual retreat to a monastery outside of Elmira, NY.  My time there made a big impression on me. I loved the fact that we were getting away from campus.  I would catch up on homework, get up early (5 am!) to hear morning vespers, take long walks on the farm and explore the monastery.  It would center me.

That's why when I heard that Sauder Village offered rug hooking retreats at their pretty Heritage Inn, I quickly signed up.  The place is interesting with Sauder Village, a historic living museum plus a bakery, restaurant, quilt shop, blacksmith shop and a pottery.  Then there is the resort itself with an events hall and a new educational center.  Plus, nearby Archbold, Ohio is this pretty little midwestern town.  I mean who doesn't like corn fields and history?

Across from our retreat room, sunrise at Sauder Village 

I got a standard room in the pool wing which was spacious, quiet and very clean.  Breakfast everyday was held in their indoor park area and there were plenty of options for most diets.  I was struck by how clean all the common areas where including the ladies room.  Our retreat room was just a short walk down the hall.  It was a very comfortable room and only about 20 ladies were in attendance.  Most people knew each other, but thankfully Cindi Gay took pity on me and invited me to sit with her.  It was very sweet of her and it was super fun to meet some of my online classmates in person.  

There was one rule ...you could do as much or as little as you wanted for the whole weekend.  The room opened around 7ish and closed when the last person went to bed.  Since the group was small it wasn't unusual for there to be whole room chit chat or people would talk at their own tables.  You could easily listen to your own earbuds without seeming rude.   I made sure to get up and walk around to see what people where working all - plus stretch my leg.

And that's where I started to learn things...

I had a discussion with Linda Hershey about my next project.  I showed her my pathetic line drawing and we started talking about composition elements and things that could eliminated.  I made sure I wrote down the whole discussion, because even now a week later I can only remember half of it.  

Sue from my regular weekly class brought her spinning wheel and yarn.  It was the first time I got to hear the chatter of it and found it really relaxing. It was so fun to watch her work and she never got tired of answering questions.

Here's Sue who had to the nerve to tell me she
wasn't very photogenic! 

After spending the weekend hearing names of popular rug hookers who I had no idea who they were, I decided to go around the room and ask everyone their favorite hookers - live or dead.  So many names popped out and I busily wrote them all down to research later.  It was fun to see the people's names who showed up at every table.  After being a quilter for 30 years and knowing the who's who of the quilting world easily, it was unnerving to not know any of those names.  

I learned from my new friend Jodi about a band that could become a new obsession, The Arcadian Wild  which "blurs the lines between chamber folk and progressive bluegrass" (really that says it all).  Listening to it, I can't decide if I love the gorgeous melodies with the blended harmonies better or the instrumental parts.  Its the kind of music that is cozy, but still interesting.  Plus Jodi was working on a rug that was a replica of the rug that sit in Bilboa Baggins study in the movie version of the Hobbit.  (Another thing we both like!)

Jodi working on her Stainglass Piece 
She uses tape to keep her strips all in the order she wants to hook them. 

When a lady over dinner asked me what kind of work I wanted to do, I had to for the first time articulate where I foresee my rughooking going in the near future.  For the last few months, I've spent learning the basics.  It's kind crazy how you learn how to make a loop in 5 minutes and then years perfecting it.  There are so many avenues I could go down, but  I think I see myself doing what they call fine work maybe 3-5 cut and working on my own original designs.  Not too big of pieces but working with fine shading (that's what the fruit is teaching me) and playing with composition and value.  It was nice to say it out loud.  

I learned that there are still groups of ladies who can come together and just enjoy the company of each other and a simple years old art form...without drama, judgement, or division.  It felt like a true safe space.   Looking at the news today you wouldn't think that could happen could you?

And finally, I learned that what I like most in a vacation is a low maintenance, cozy creative time.  I loved the social time as much as the time alone.  I loved that for a full 3 days I didn't have to explain what rug hooking was or why I'm obsessed with it.  I love the "Escape" factor of it.  

Heritage Inn's Lovely Lobby 

Onto this week's Rug Watch....I'm getting closer to the end!  I probably could have finished this weekend but I didn't bring quite enough background strips! 

Looking at the picture I can see where I would like to adjust some things, but I'll wait till the background is done.  I'm interested to see how the background is going to look once its all done.  I still think it might be a bit too busy, but we'll see.  One thing about rug hooking its much easier to pull loops out then to unquilt something! 

Oh and finally .... Sauder hosts MANY quilt retreats .... tempt ...tempt...tempt!

(Linking to Kathy's Slow Stitch Sunday)

What are some of your favorite retreat spots?

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Subversive Fiber Art by Women on Off the Wall Friday

Wonderland, Miriam Schapiro, 1983

 Over the years, I've written posts ranting about how nobody gets what we really do.  I'm mean sure people might understand what a quilt is.  What they don't get is the blood, sweat and tears that goes into a quilt.  Okay, so that's a little dramatic...but really have you met me?  Realistically though, it's that extra "something" that makes quilt making much more than a simple craft.  It's definitely an art form no matter if you do

detail, The Bitter Nest, Part II

traditional or modern or art or a mixture of all three.  

And that's what was celebrated at the Renwick Museum's exhibit, Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women.  This was the final stop in our recent visit to Washington DC art museums. Looking back at the experience, I spent my whole time investigating how each woman made her pieces, wondering what her creative process was like.  I looked at the mark of the hand that was on display and marveled at the artists' choice of textures.  

What I didn't do was really look into the backstory of each piece.  For me, it's normally one or the other.  I can look at a piece as a form of independent art or I can see what the piece is trying to express to me.  Normally, I can't do both in one sitting or at least not on the first visit.  I figured that there would be plenty of the story of each piece on-line, so on my visit, I focused on the art by itself.  

The Bitter Nest, Part II: The Harlem Renaissance Party,
Faith Ringgold, 1988

And I wasn't disappointed.  I only recognized a few of the names I saw.  Most pieces were more than 30 years old, only proving that fiber art has always been around. (Which by the way the world seem to discover when the Gee Band quilts made such a splash)   The one that left me in awe was I finally got to see a quilt by Faith Ringgold in person.  Her quilt, The Bitter Nest, Part II: The Harlem Renaissance Party tells the story of an imaginary family.  The story is depicted through the figures in the center, while written in words around the edge.  Another thing checked off my  life's bucket list....see a Faith Ringgold quilt in person.  

The exhibit wasn't just about the art pieces themselves, but the stories that went behind them  To that end they held an open house where the artists and visitors got to mingle.  Gosh, I would have loved to been at that. Please click here though to see the pictures, because it will show you how amazing the exhibit looked in person.  They also produced a 10 episode podcast, Backstitch to feature each artist talking about her pieces in her own words.  Plus they even have a lecture on YouTube, that I haven't gotten a chance to watch.    So I was proven right - there was plenty of information about each piece online for a deeper dive into the meanings of the art.  

Besides the pieces themselves, the highlight of the exhibit was a small room that featured a peak into the work product of the artists.  When I'm doing an art quilt, I tend to have all sorts of "research" before I create.  Apparently, I'm not alone.  Not often is the viewer treated with peak behind the curtain.  Lia Cook was kind enough to show us her thought process. 

The piece I liked the most was Carolyn Mazloomi, Family Embraces (1997).  When I saw it, I said, "OMGosh!  It's hand quilted."  A voice behind me, countered "Oh it can't be.  Nothing that modern would be."  Luckily my back was to the woman because I literally rolled my eyes.  Seriously, the stereotypes of our art will never cease.  Anyways, I digress.  I thought Mazloomi's use of line in such a strong graphic statement really masterful.  And yes, the hand quilting was amazing too.  

The Family Embraces, Carolyn Mazloomi, 1997

Needless to say, it was a fitting end to our visit to DC.  The Renwick never ceases to disappoint.  I just wish it was bigger.  

And that leads me to say...

What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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American Art and Portraiture on Off the Wall Friday

Scenes from American Life, Beach, Gertrude Goodrich, 1914
(Treasury Dept, From the Cafeteria, Section of Fines Arts Mural!)

 

Our recent trip to Washington DC also included our first visit to The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture.  It is better known as the National Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  To tell you the truth, until I got home and read the Wikipedia article, I didn't quite understand where one museum started and one ended.  Apparently, the way it's laid out now, it just flows together seamlessly, which is what I observed.  It's such an interesting museum since it's not really laid out in a gallery setting, but more, like it actually is...a reuse of the old Patent building.  

Cape Code Morning, Edward Hopper 

The art is ... well... just astounding.  Since it's not set up like a conventional gallery, there is art everywhere- every hall - every little room - next to the staircase.  You never know when you're going to turn the corner and see a painting that you only thought you'd see in books.  At one point, I spotted my husband after looking for him for 10 minutes and walked right past a treasure that I caught out of my perifacial vision. I stopped dead in my tracks.  OMG!  There was Cape Code Morning by Edward Hopper.  I've always loved that painting because of the great use of color blocking and PLUS I want to know what the woman is so urgently looking at.    Anyways, it made me gasp! out loud.  So much so that the docent laughed.  I had to apologize and say, sorry I just didn't expect to see a Hopper just hanging out here in the hall.  She laughed harder.  

Barack Obama, Kehinde Wiley, 2018

The Presidential Gallery was amazing.  It was fun to go through the chronological order of the portraits and see if you could remember who would be next!  If you're wondering, Obama's painting looks much better in person - way more depth - less characture.  Really it's quite breath taking and I didn't expect that at all.  Trump had a somber powerful photo in place till his painting is done.  He'll probably have the numbers 45, 47 next to his in keeping with Cleveland's 22,24.  Lincoln's portrait was nearly as impressive as his monument.  

One thing I did notice was that there a concerted effort to feature previous marginalized artists through the museum.  On that note, I found a new favorite piece, Three Figures by Lorna Simpson which is an ink and screen print portrait of a race riot being hosed to dispersed.  

Gorgeous right?

I would call this just an intro visit since we only saw 2 floors before I called "uncle" to my husband.  Apparently, 15K steps is all this ole gal could take for one day.  I do love that the museum is open 11-7, so you can see another museum in the morning and this one in the afternoon.  It does have a great art museum gift shop but no place to have lunch of a snack.  Plus, it this amazing atrium which was all lit for Christmas.  I love that it's become vague to put in gorgeous atriums into museums, especially those that are in winter climes.   It always feels like summer in there.   

Obviously, we'll be back.  

So What Have You've been Up to Creatively?

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DC on a Dime on Off the Wall Friday

The Renwick Gallery, The National Museum of Craft

 So this past week, I got spontaneous.  Yep, you read that right...the princess of plan decided at the last minute to take a quick trip to Washington DC.  Two of our favorite art museums, the National Gallery and the Renwick Gallery had some great exhibitions that are going to close in the beginning of January.  We've been trying to make time to see them, but with our early winter here on Lake Erie, it's been hard to find a few good weather days.  I saw that it was going to be 65 in DC this week, so I thought it was now or never. 

Washington DC is a wonderful place to visit.  Still when I talked to my friends, so many people haven't gone because they found the whole trip a little intimidating.  It's not.  No, really, it's a pretty easy place to plan an inexpensive, interesting trip.  My version of ....

DC on a Dime...warning what follows is purely my opinion and anecdotal experience

1.  Choose a date.  Since, I don't do hot, humid very well I shoot for fall or spring (not cherry blossom season which varies year to year).  I will also do warm winter days because DC will get spells of 40-60 degrees in the winter which is actually pretty nice for walking. I also check when Congress is not in session, because with all of Congress AND their staff, the hotels are booked and more expensive.  
2. Drive.  I personally love a nice road trip and we are only 5.5 hrs from DC which is very doable.  Driving through Pennsylvania is a blessing and a curse though.  The blessing is that the Turnpike takes you through the north end of the Appalachia region which is gorgeous any time year. The curse is that the PA Turnpike is literally the most expensive toll road in the world...yes ...THE WORLD. Anyways, if you're within 8 hrs of driving, I suggest take a ride.

   

   Ballston Neighborhood, Arlington, VA

   
   
3. Stay in the Suburbs.  After a bit of research, I decided on staying in Arlington.  It's a quick Metro ride to the capital and it always feels clean and safe.  We stay in the Ballston neighborhood which is walkable and there are a ton of places to eat.  We stay at the Ballston Comfort Inn because they have free parking, clean, reasonable rates (this trip my hotel was $99/night - taxes included!), breakfast included, super friendly staff and a shuttle to the Metro station.  It could use some updating, but for just a quiet place to sleep, it was fine. (I like how Comfort Inn website will give me the prices for the calendar year so I know not to book my stay on January 20th when it would be $600/night)
4. Use the Metro.  The Metro is DC's subway.  Unlike what you might see on TV, this subway is clean, safe and easy to navigate.  Traffic in the area is so horrendous, I'm not sure why anybody would drive to work.  It has a great website, which makes it easy to plan out your day.  You put in where you are and where you want to go and it tells you how to get there.  Rides are usually
   
   
   somewhere between $2.50-$5 each way.  You can pay with your phone, but we just bought cards that can be reloaded at the stations or online.  They have stations everywhere and it's always fun to see where you are going to pop up.  Also, a lot of stations in the suburbs have parking lots so you can drive to an outer station, park and ride into city. (This is handy on days you're driving home).  If you've never used the Metro, I suggest you read the New Rider Guide.  
5. Pick 1 - 3 Places.  There is a TON to do in DC, a lot of which is iconic and free.  So, it's easy to get carried away and want to see it all.  I highly suggest you just do 1-3 places a trip because it can be overwhelming and exhausting.  We keep an eye on the websites of our favorite museums and venues and see what exhibitions are being offered.  We also try to visit mid

   

   Courtyard,
   National Portrait Gallery

   
   week because it's all quieter then.   I keep wanting to take a Monuments by Moonlight tour, but I'm always so exhausted when the museums close, I haven't made it yet.  
6. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes.  I keep saying this trip is low maintenance and inexpensive but it's a lot of walking.  I usually do about 10,000 to 15,000 steps a day there and for this office girl who normally does about 4,000 that's a lot.  Still, most of it is very flat, there are elevators at all the museums and there are plenty of places to sit and people watch.  I definitely suggest you do that.  There is no better place to sit and take in your surroundings than on the National Mall.  
7. Use TripAdvisor/Smart Phone.  Between TripAdvisor and your smart phone you can easily find food you want to eat, places you want to go and facts you want to look up.  We always find meals for $10-$20/each.  We have a habit of one big meal a day and one smaller one.  I used Google Maps to get me easily from place to place, but really it's all in one central area so it's hard to get lost. 

What did a day in DC in December cost for 2 of us?  For a 2 night/3 day stay...$200 for our hotel, $150/food (breakfast is free, we brought snacks and we ate one big meal out a day), $30 in metro fees, $0 for the museums and $30 for a new t-shirt.  Plus our gas & Tolls where $120.....$530.  For you math people that's about $88.33 per day per person.  I'm thinking for a vacation in big city, that's not bad at all.

I felt comfortable and safe the whole time.  The only thing that made me sad, was that everywhere we went outside, we would go in and out of the smell of marijuana.  Since, it's legal there, it has a tendency to be smelling the city up.  I guess it's a sign of the times. sigh

I promise to do posts of the exhibitions over the holidays..

Does Anybody Have Any Washington DC Trip Tips?

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Zink's Fabric on Off the Wall Friday

 So, this week I was blessed enough to spend a couple of days in Amish country, Holmes County, Ohio.  Since it's only a couple hours away, it's become a favorite when we need a quick getaway.  Plus, summer is hanging on nicely with 2 weeks now of sunny weather in low 80's.  Anybody who's ever lived on a Great Lake knows what a blessing that is.  What does one do in Holmes County?  Well mostly shop,
browse, explore, chat.  It's quiet and fun.  

The best part of it  - at least for me that is - is that there are several quilt shops in the area.  Now, I do take pity on my poor husband and don't drag him to all of them.  This trip I just asked to shop at Zink's Fabric

Outlet.  The thing about Zink's is that you're never quite sure what you are going to find there.  In the past, I haven't had much luck with finding quality quilt cotton but have found some AMAZING garment fabric that had great potential in art quilts.  Plus, they have decorator fabric, trims, notions, some thread and a big bin of discount patterns.  If it relates to sewing, you'll find it there.

This trip though there was a TON of quilt fabric.  They definitely have added more.  Plus, I saw some lines that I'm not seeing so much in the quilt shops like Benartrex and P&B and Marcus Brothers.  All bolts were $5-$8 a yard.  There was something for everyone's taste, but I was looking for the different.  With my fabric collection full of nice basics, I was on the hunt of interesting patterns. And I wasn't disappointed.  Here is what I found:

Cool huh?!  I have a rule that I can't buy fabric without buying a stripe, yellow, red, dark, light  - I did come home with a little of all of those...buttttt.... these patterns were what my stash has been craving.  I've been itchin' to do some improve piecing and a good pattern will make a world of difference in adding interest. Besides these, I brought home this huge bag of decorator fabric scraps for $5.  I have a collection going and I thought I would add these to it - plus it seems to be you should be able to cut them up to hook rugs too.  

One last thing...for all you panel sewers....Zinks has the largest collection of Panels I've ever seen.  I mean like hundreds large.  I'm not one for panels but seeing them all hung out like that and so many - well let's just say it got me thinking.  I saw this one Christmas panel with a 60's flair that caught my eye.  It reminded me that I've been wanting to make a big Advent Calendar wall hanging ... something a bit different than the normal Manger based ones.  Since the panel also had a matching set of blocks panels I thought it would be perfect.   I have a good idea of what I'm going to do with it but I'll keep it under wraps until I start it.

So What is Your favorite Get-Away Fabric Shop?  Do Share...I'm always looking for suggestions.

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Improv Piecing on Off the Wall Friday

Hard at Work

You know sometimes all you want to do is sew and boy, have I done that.  Taking Improvisational

Piecing with Veronica Hofman-Ortega at John C. Campbell's Folk School was one of my better ideas.  I love a class that starts with design exercises that will lead into bigger and better ideas.  Not to mention the ladies in my class were great!  There was a full range of quilters in the class  - from the very experienced to the beginner.  All were traditional, so this was pushing pretty much everyone out of their comfort zone.  But let me tell ya, they were up to the challenge.  After the first day our design walls were already starting to fill up.  By the end, it was amazing what we all got done!

Sewing  + Challenges + Great Company = Perfect Class.

We learned all sorts of improvisational shapes - strips, triangles, curves.  All design exercises were pretty loose, and Veronica told us that we could play with them as much as we wanted.

The strips were to be made with black, white and a color.  This is where it took me...

It definitely needed some zing so I added lime green which I thought was much better.

The triangles gave me the most problem since the colors were #1 solids and #2 chosen from a limited palette.  I ended up with a design wall of pretty sad triangles.  We tried some improv curve piecing which I liked marginally better...but still sad.  

What's a girl to do?  Well, cut them up and try piecing them back together.  The most interesting idea was taking two triangles and curve piecing them together.  With a few of those units and more curves piecing, I ended up with this.  Interesting, but not completely finished.  

Finally, we could explore on our own, so I did some brainstorming which led me to these simple ideas (by this time, I was pretty tired)

This time I picked a palette I loved - orange, golden yellow, purple and blue.  By then end of the day I got what looks me to me like a Dr Suess house  - which makes me smile. All it needs is the roof!!  I'm kinda diggin' this idea.  I can see it leading to bigger and better things for sure!  It's fun to play something representational but still give it that improv twist.  

Improvisational quilting is really so freeing creatively.  It was extra fun watching the class see the joy of it.  So although tired ... I do have a full design wall!

So, What Have You Been Up to Creatively?

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Mission: Pack 4 Class on Off the Wall Friday

Okay, show of hands, who out there gives a small groan when you get the supply list for a big quilting class?  25 years later and many, many 5-day quilting classes and I still get intiminadated when I first read the list.  You think to yourself, "Self!  Does she really want us to bring all this stuff?  Are we really going to use all of it? And how much fabric is actually enough?"  I mean nobody wants to get to class and think, "Gosh I wish I had  "insert the most perfect fabric here" with me."  But also you don't want to be THAT gal who brings her whole stash.

Now in all honesty, Veronica Hofman-Ortega, did a very good job with her supply list for my upcoming class in Improv Piecing.  Here is our mission ... if we chose to complete it...

Fabric

• Choose solids, textured and tonal blenders (fabrics that read as solid), hand-dyed fabrics (only if you have hand-dyed).

• Bring a good variety of fabrics in light, medium, and dark values. 

•  a minimum of a 1/2 yard piece of each fabric (cut selvedge to selvedge from the bolt).
• Try to have colors in values of at least a 5-step range from light to dark: lights, light mediums, mediums, dark mediums, darks.

• bring more yardage (2-4 yards) of fabrics you’ll use as a dominant color or background.

• 3-4 total yards of “zinger” fabrics: brights, saturated or neon-like colors (neon yellow, lime, turquoise, bright  red, bright orange, pink, etc.). Stripes, plaids, checks, and geometrics can be considered zingers and will add interest. Some of these zinger fabrics can be fat quarters or large scraps.

• 1-2 yards each of white, black, cool neutrals (greys) and warm neutrals (cream, beige, taupe)

• Optional, if time permits and you want to experiment: a larger scale print, orphan quilt blocks, or a UFO (unfinished project) you’re willing to cut up.

 Now when I first read the requirements, all I saw was the "a minimum of a 1/2 yard piece of each fabric (cut selvedge to selvedge from the bolt" part and thought  - Oh! Oh! - I mean I hardly EVER have half yard cuts.  I mean they might have been a half yard cut at one time but who knows if they are now.  Then I thought - well the class is Improv Piecing so if I really need a bigger cut I can always just sew a few quick seams and I'll have a bigger cut.  Right? 

Then after 2 weeks - yes 14 days  - hemmming and hawwwing  - I still couldn't make up my mind for a palette.  I originally was just going to pick an abstract quilt or painting I like and pull the colors from that or even go to my pinterest color board and pull from that.  But nope...couldn't make up mind.  The fabric supply list seems to imply that I will know what dominant color will be - sigh - it's like they haven't met me, ya know?  Sooooo I pulled all the colors!

Pulling from my stash by Hue and Value .... this is what I got

Let me just say that putting fabrics into 5 step value piles is harder than it looks when value is relative as well as color!  One thing I notices is that I own a LOT of Jennifer Sampou's gradated fabrics so I do have half yards that have like 3 values in them.  Anyways - I did my best!  Next was the neutrals so I added a full range of lights  - greys - blacks.  With that accomplished, I dove back into my stash and pulled any cool fabric I thought was interesting.  That way I won't get to class and regret leaving my most interesting fabrics home.

Now how to get it all to class.  I have two containers (I actually have 3 but that is truly an obnoxious amount of fabric!) I bought years ago just for that task...they fit nicely into the car and under your table.  And this is what I ended up with!

After getting it all done, ya know what I thought?  OMGoodness this is going to be a pain to get back into the right bins when I get home!  (PS...now that I'm looking at the picture - I have a lot of dark navy - that would make a nice dominant or background fabric! Gotta pull some more - 'cause ya know I got more)

I'll pack the rest of my supplies and I'll give my stash one good look through - that fabric goes into a smaller tub labeled .. "Just in Case".  Also, I like the idea of bringing UFO that I'm willing to cut up.  That sounds theraputic in the very least!

So How Do You Pack for Class?

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