Last Night's Event...Always try to find the positive

 I was invited to show my work at a local coffee house during a community event yesterday.  The peg board set up they provided worked out really well for my quilts.  They promised me that lots of art lovers attended their event.  Unfortunately most of the art lovers must have been washing their hair last night.

I brought samples of antique fabrics and a book of my publications to share with all the art lovers.  Here is a shot of the first quilt I ever got published.  It was in Country Quilts (by QUILT magazine), this title is no longer published.  The editor at the time, Jean Ann Wright, gave me my start!

A majority of the crowd at the coffee house was teenagers.   Now I have two teenagers of my own, but... I did not like teenagers when I was a teenager and I am not all that fond of them now.  Plus teenagers don't buy too many miniature quilts.  I sold nothing, but did enjoy the free coffee and pastries.

California Trip Part 3-Fairfax Ave. farmers market

Whenever we go to LA, my husband and I stop by the historic Fairfax Ave. farmers market.  Located at 3rd and Fairfax, it has been there since the thirties.  No fabric stores here, the visit is strictly for the food (and maybe a couple tacky souvenirs)!

They have all kinds of food and fresh produce for sale.  What is a Pummelo?

 Quesadillas are served by the same vendor as corned beef and cabbage.  Both are delicous.  The fresh-squeezed orange juice is a must-have.  I always get a fresh donut here:

If you know what a real Philly cheesesteak is like,  don't get the Philly steak sandwhich here:

More recently they have built  "The Grove" adjacent to the farmers market.  Filled with high high high end stores, it is sort of the antithesis of the original  market.  We walked through it once, but skip it now.

California trip Part 2 LA fabric district

On Sunday of our vacation week, my husband and I went to the fabric district of LA to check it out.   Funny, my 15 year old sons had no interest in going.  I had read an interesting article about the fabric district here:  http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?id=091608.  I was concerned that everything would be closed on a Sunday, but I was wrong.  The streets were packed with people and all the shops were open and packed with fabric.

 We walked around only a portion of the district.  I found one store with quilting fabric, and at $9.75/yd, I skipped making any purchases there.  What struck me was the immensity of the stores and the huge amount of fabric and related notions.

Most of the stores featured fancy, sparkly, shiny, silky fabrics, not my choice for a quilt certainly, but fun to look at any way.

 I call this photo Zipper Rainbow.  Need a zipper in any color, they have it here.

This article I mentioned above is from 2008--Notice the "everything for $1" photo in the article.  I have a picture of the same store I think, but now it is "everything $1.99".  Inflation in action.

For quilting, I definitely prefer the quilt shops in Temecula, but it was fun to visit the LA fabric district nevertheless.

Trip to California Part 1-Temecula

Happy Easter everyone!

We returned yesterday from our annual spring trek to visit my husband's family in LA.  While there, I took a day trip with my SIL and MIL to Temecula, CA.  It was about 75 miles from where we were staying in Glendale but the way my SIL drives, it didn't take very long to get there!  Temecula is a lovely town with lots of antique shops and the Temecula Quilt Company.  We spent a lot of time in the Old Town section shopping for antiques.

We had lunch at a local diner.  I can't remember the name but the food was great.

 I found this brown and white transfer ware pitcher in one of the shops.  Here it is filled with flowers from my SIL's garden.

Our last, and best,  stop of the day was at the Temecula Quilt Company.  If you don't follow Sheryl's blog already, check it out.  The shop is beautiful, filled with reproduction fabrics and sample quilts.  I loved every quilt in the place.  

I purchased a bunch of boxes that Sheryl's husband makes from yard sticks.  I gave one to my MIL and SIL.  Although they are not quilters, they admired the beauty of the shop as much as I did.  I also bought a few pieces of wool for a future project--don't know what it will be, but the colors are going to inspire something nice.

I'll share more about the trip later, including a visit to the LA fabric district and the Fairfax Ave. farmers market.

Antique PA pillowcase and offspring

I love this antique pillowcase that I found out in Adamstown, PA a few years ago.  It dates to ca. 1850-1870.  I made a little quilt, obviously inspired by the pillowcase.  My fabrics are antique, but not as early, probably ca. 1880

 

A couple readers were curious about what was inside the cabinet in one of my recent posts.  

Surprise...the cabinet holds antique textiles--pillowcases, doll quilts, homespun linen.  I am a textile hoarder, I admit it.

Another Event April 29

Out of the blue, I received a call inviting me to show my quilts at a local event.  I will be the "featured artist" at the Fresh Ground Coffee House on April 29 in Willow Grove, PA  They have live music (this night it is bluegrass), fresh coffee and homemade pastries.  In addition to my little quilts, I am going to bring some antique quilts and fabrics to illustrate where my inspiration comes from.  I anticipate this to be more of a night to chat about antique textiles and show my work, rather than a retail event.   I am really looking forward to it because I love to talk about antique quilts!

• Where: Fresh Ground Coffee House, 213 Everett Ave, Willow Grove, PA 19090
• Date: April 29, 2011
• Time: 8:00pm

• Straight from WXPN, and area concerts, Group W also performs as Peanut Butter Jellyfish at Musikfest. We are again pleased to bring to you the best in music and fun at FRESH GROUND Coffee House!

  Featured artist for FRESH GROUND Coffee House: Ann Hermes    "Little Bits of History, Miniature Quilts made from Antique Fabric"

  http://www.annhermesquilts.com/index.html

  Bio: "I  find inspiration for my little quilts from the past--sometimes from a glorious antique quilt but just as often from a worn-out quilt fragment.   Originally from Illinois,  I moved to southeastern Pennsylvania and became addicted to collecting antique quilts and textiles.  My current interests are antique doll quilts, doll aprons, quilt blocks and fabrics.   I make my quilts using antique and vintage fabrics from my collection.   I reside in Ambler, Pennsylvania with my husband and wonderful twin boys.   When I am not in my “quilt laboratory” at home designing new quilts, I am in my chemistry lab at work designing new molecules. "
• Features: Families, Free, Open to All, Seniors

• Website: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=144291422294050

First iMac flaw I found--boo hoo

I tried to update my website (I use homestead.com and it has always been great) only to find that the site editing software is not compatible with Mac. And they make no guarantee, that if I purchase software (for example Parallels) that is supposed to allow Macs to use Windows, that it will work.

Anybody out there with experience on running/editing websites on an iMac?

Easter Bunnies

I put out only a few Easter/Spring decorations this year amidst the chaos of home improvement projects.    I bought this primitive bunny from Lori of homespunprims blog http://homespunprims.blogspot.com/.  Love the carrot.

A whimsical chick by Thomas Panneta.  I see Tom twice a year at the North Penn Craft show.  The spring show features bunnies and chicks, while the November show features turkeys and Santas.

 Tiny bird's nest on doll-size rocking chair.

Bunny rug by Annie Hayes, bunny in a basket from Stein's Country Collection.

Small Quilt Invitational Opens this Saturday www.campbellpotterystore.com/

www.campbellpotterystore.com/

Opening Saturday, April 16th in the Stonewall Gallery, the Small Quilt Invitational.

This exicting new group show was inspired by the love of fiber that so many of us share. Invited artists were only limited to small works, with no other boundaries in sight. The variety and creativity that has been unleashed is remarkable. Come and enjoy this presentation of small quilts by local and national artists in both traditional and contemporary styles.

Please join us for an opening reception to be held on Saturday, April 16th, from 1-3pm.

Artists participating include: Ann Hermes, Cecile Armor, Susan Stone, Deborah Sementelli, Lori DeJarnatt, Susan Catanzarito, Pooja Mehta, Shirley M. Davis, Lynn Fizel, Sandy Yurcak, Charlotte Newhard, Victoria Brogdon, Phyllis Wilson, Lainie Addessi, Carol Posch Comstock, Michael Kashey, Peggy J. Spaulding, Jill Meszaros, Mary Spicer, Judith Stoll, Sandy Lord, Virginia Cole, Dorothy Brown, Betty Rositer,Evelyn Boeson, and Marie Novak.

The show continues through May 15th.

antique textiles around the house

I am in photography heaven with this new iMAC.  Downloading and editing photos is sooooo fast--compared to our old computer.  I wanted to share some antique textiles I have displayed in the house right now.  The photos above show two antique doll quilts in a basket on the wall of the quilt lab.  Both are quite early, some of the fabrics in the larger quilt could be as early as 1830.  The latest fabrics in either quilt is probably 1870.  The smaller quilt is 6"x9" and each square is roughly 3/4".  And yes, I plan to reproduce this one in both antique and reproduction fabrics for future publication.

Another interesting textile that I have on display in the living room is a PA German show towel.  These were hung on doors when guests came to visit on Sunday.  Many textiles have survived in good shape for this reason--they were put out for show only.  This one is dated 1841, I guess ma means May.  The name appears to be Eosaph B. Eby.