Celebrating Onam 2011

We were in the Indian state of Kerala for the celebration of their holiday, Onam.

According to wikipedia, Onam  is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It falls during the month of Chingam (August–September) and lasts for ten days. Intricate flower carpets, elaborate banquet lunch, snake boat races, Puli Kali (the tiger dance I had previously posted about, and the Kaikottikkali dance all play a part in the festival.

While we were in Kochi, we stayed at Sajhome. Saj and his family were celebrating Onam and I was able to help decorate their pookalam, a flower carpet,  assembled on the sidewalk outside their home.

Have a peak at its construction:

Some pookalam are quite elaborate. Here is the one in lobby of our hotel in Alleppey - that is my daughter and son-in-law in traditional dress.

Another Scrap Project Completed

This must be my week for using some of my stash. Our quiilt guild, Genessee Valley Quilt Club, has an on-going project of donating Comfort Quilts to local hospitals, nursing homes, etc. I always try to make a few quilts each year.  Here is my latest:

It was really fairly simple to make and, once again, came out of my stash. The pattern is Bento Box. I had used it before to make a quilt for my son. This time I simply gathered some of my stack of random 'busy' pattern fabrics and then look for some solid color complements. You simply pair light and dark fabrics and then cut and sew.

If you like the pattern, you can find it on Tracey Brookshier's website.

A Quick Project

Yesterday, I made another bag that I can use when I am traveling. I am tempted to call it a 'half-yard bag' as you can easily make it with two quarter-yard scraps and some left-over quilt batting.

The outside is some silk fabric that I had in my closet (I can find things now!) and I lined the bag with some cotton that was also left over from another project. Since one of my resolutions for this coming year is to use up some of my stash, I expect that this is not the first 'Scrap Project' that you will be reading about.

The bag is so simple, it is silly. Cut two pieces of fabric the width that you would like the completed bag plus about an inch. Next, decide on the depth of bag you want to make, and if you want the top flap to cover part or all of the front of the bag. Based on this, cut the length of your  two fabrics.

I decided that I wanted to play with my embroidery side of my Bernina so I put a motif on the front panel of my bag.

You need to have a clear idea of where you want a motif before you start to sew! This one was centered about three inches from the bottom of my outside fabric.

Once you have embellished the outside of the bag, it is a quick sewing task to sew the batting, outside and inside (good sides of fabric facing each other) together, leaving an opening to reverse the bag which you then sew closed after reversing. You could quilt the entire bag at this point, though I chose not to.

All that remains then is to align the bag so the overlap of the top flap is as you wish and then sew the two sides of the bag together. The sewing portion of this project took less than an hour.

I love my little bag. It will be perfect to store some of my neck scarves on my next trip!

Finished!

Here is my finished piece, Outside the Box. I strongly suspect this will be my donation for the 2012 SAQA auction as it is a 12" square.

  I had a good deal of fun playing with various stitches to embellish my sketch.

You may remember, the idea came from my appreciation of the importance of getting 'outside of our boxes' by traveling, stretching ourselves. It is then that creativity flourishes.

A Unique Quilt Raffle

A fellow member of our local quilt guild, Chris Wickert, has donated one of her quilts as a raffle fundraiser for a local hospice, Isaiah House. Chris is a truly exceptional quilter whose workmanship we have all come to admire for its high quality.

The quilt she has donated is called "A Rose is a Rose... " It is hand appliquéd and hand quilted, queen size (81 X 94), and was made by Chris in 2001.

Isaiah House performs an incredibly valuable function in our community here in Rochester, NY and is in threat of closing if it cannot raise sufficient operation expenses. 

The raffle tickets cost $2 for one ticket or $5 for three tickets.  If you would like to help out, you can  send a check (made out to Isaiah House) along with your contact information including phone number to Chris at Christine Wickert, 94 Camberley Place, Penfield, NY 14526. She will fill out your ticket(s) and put them in the ticket pool. You can contact her at cwickert@frontiernet.net if you have any questions.

The winning raffle ticket will be pulled some time before Christmas 2011 (date to be determined).  You need not be present to win.

As I said before, Chris' work is amazing. This is a great opportunity to give to a good cause and perhaps win a truly special quilt.

Rioult Dance

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend a performance by the Rioult Dance Company. If you ever have the opportunity, they are really amazing. The company is based in New York City but travels throughout the year.

Their precision, their artistic ability, the interplay of movment, set, costuming and music is absolutely stunning. They performed three pieces in Rochester, NY and each was more impressive than the last. The final piece, "Bolero", based upon the well-known music of Maurice Ravel, was choreographed with the same compositional characteristics as the musical score - their dancers repeat small repetitive movements over and over in a way that is totally mesmerizing and really builds to a climax.

Equally impressive to their dance performances are their outreach efforts in the New York City schools. Through DanceREACH, an arts-in-education program, the company offers performances and workshops in both dance movement and choreography.

Here is a brief promo video of the company that I found on YouTube.

Great start to October!

I received word this weekend that my art quilt, Homeless, was a finalist in Infinity Art Gallery's online Political and Social Art exhibit. It will be display on their website for the remainder of the year. What a nice way to start October!

And, if you happen to be near LaConner, WA this weekend, my quilt, Wintergreens, is on display at the La Conner Quilt and Textile Museum Quilt Fest.