Sewing and Beyond with Mary Anne Ciccotelli

(a day late - computer problems).

We welcomed Jennie to our home 24 years ago.  She is a wonderful daughter and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to be her mother.  She is planning on celebrating her 25th birthday at the hospital where she was born (I hope the head nurse has a sense of humor) and I want to be there to welcome her next 25 years in.

Take care and I am glad that you had a GREAT Birthday Jennie !!!!!!

Yesterday was a Snow Day here in New York.  Tom did have to go to work but the office closed at 2:00. 

I really love having an excuse to stay in and just be at home.  We decided to have a special dinner.

After dinner the party was over and there was work to be done! 

The official measurement for the Ciccotelli’s home was 10″ of snow.  Even though I didn’t get to the gym yesterday, I think I got a pretty good workout shoveling snow.

At our last mini group meeting Susan Wolman taught us how to make Hexa-flexagons in paper. 

Being the Hexamaniac that I am I decided that I wanted to make one from fabric.

This Hexa-flexagon along with many other hexagons items will be for up for auction either Feb. 16 or 23 at -

Back in 2004 when I started having the Annual “Sew” Show for my sewing students we had the first couple at the Pelham Art Center.  It was a great locations, except we outgrew it.   Since the Pelham Art Center is just a few blocks from my home, having taught a few classes there, and have the association of the “Sew” Show held there I really wanted to support them and submit a piece for this exhibit.  (I am not sure how their jury feels about quilts as art – but I was hoping to find out.) 

Everything ALWAYS takes LONGER than I think it will. 

And the quilting was exception to this rule.  But, I wanted to be true to this project and give it the quilting it deserved and not just some lines to get it done.  Anyway, on Friday afternoon I could see that I was not going to get all the quilting comleted in time to get pictures taken and submitted by the Feb. 5 deadline and make it to volunteer at the Manhattan Temple that evening/night.  I decided to call Lisa (the director) and see what she suggested.  After talking with her she thought that I since I had the top completed I should just submit a picutre of it. She felt this should give the juriers a good idea of what the piece would look like.

Overall picture submitted.

Detail of one of the presents.

Detail of the quilting.

Stay tune for what I have planned for the edge of the quilt (that is if I can get it to look good).

I had better get quilting!  (Life is rough – but somebody has to do it.)

I have about 14 more hours before the deadline.  I am going to bed now for awhile.  I am tempted to not go to the gym in the morning and if I have time tommorow afternoon before going to the temple I will go then. 

Anyway – here is the project so far.  I am trying to think of what I want to call it.  Any suggestions.

Just a funny story.  Early this week Emily show the pictures from this project to Autumn (her picture was the design inspiration.  Autmn’s first comment was “Mine DOESN”T have a BLACK background.”  You win some and you loose some.

Take care.

mac

Yesterday was a very busy day so I didn’t get to work very much on the Birthday Quilt.  Time is a ticking – I think that I can spend most of today working on it. 

I have a couple of the presents pieced together. 

Off to make three more persents.

A while back I was on the Pelham Art Center’s website looking for information on how to submit a proposal for an exhibit for the mini group that I belong to.  While there I found this blurb:

PELHAM ART CENTER presents a juried exhibition entitled, “Birthday!”  In simultaneous celebration of the Art Center’s 25th anniversary at its present location on Fifth Avenue and the 40th anniversary of its first event as the Pelham Art Happening, artists are invited to submit artwork to be considered for exhibition in a group show on the theme of birthday. All media are eligible. Entry fee: $20.00. A $1,000 cash Juror’s Prize will be awarded. This exhibit and award are made possible with generous support from McClellan Sotheby’s International Realty of Pelham. 

I immediately thought of the drawing my 6 year-old granddaughter had sent me for my birthday and wanted to use it as inspiration for a quilt for this exhibit.

My thinking was that I could use my 3-D fabric folding to make the bows on the presents.   

I also want the presents to glisten.  Therefore I selected satin for the boxes and an organza for the ribbon and bows.

Last Friday Queen of the Last Minute Projects decided it was time to get working on this project since the entries have to be submitted by Feb. 5.

I have decided that I wanted the boxes to look demensional.  The 3-D fabric folded bow was not really working out very well on the box.  So I decided to use fabric folding with out piecing in the background pieces.  Same technique as my folded hexagons, but I started with a dodecagon (No I did not know this term, I had to goggle it) (12 sides) shape.  I think it should look pretty cool.
 

I have this really neat sheer fluorescent colored ribbon….. 

and I am thinking of doing some kind of fringe around the outside edge of  the quilt with it.  What do you think?

Autmn’s picture had little hearts on it and so my quilt must have little hearts also.  I am thinking the sheer fabric will be just the right thing.

And of course it needs some fun lettering.  Originally I was think that I would have to cut each of these letters out and zig-zag around them.  But, now I am thinking of doing the letters on my embroidery machine.  Here is the ROUGH mock-up of what the wall hanging will look like.  All I can say is – I HAD BETTER WORK FAST!!!!!!!   Should be  a fun week.

Until next time!!!!

Mary Anne

Just wanted to let you know that I am the guest blogger on Quilting Gallery today.  Pop over and read about my quilting legacy. 

To add to the fun I am going to have a Give-a-way for one of my Hexapins.  Leave a comment to be entered into the fun!  The deadline to enter will be midnight on Feb. 3, 2010.

Where has more than 24 hours of productivity gone the past two weeks?

Equinox Fitness Club – Marmaroneck, NY.

I am hoping that by alotting this much time each week to my physical health it will help me achieve my New Year’s goals for 2010 of loosing weight, exercising regualarly and getting in better shape.  

The details of  my goal:
1.  Loose 31-41% of my body weight.
2.  Exercise at least 4-5 times per week.
3.  Walk/run a 5K this Spring.
4.  Achieve a body size that will fit comfortably into the rides at Disney World this Fall.

Last Saturday while I was exercising I was thinking about the 12+ hours I have spent at the gym or getting there and wondering about all that I could have accomplished on my quitling “To Do” list if I would have spent that time in my studio.  But then I decided that I was giving up the 12 hours right now to increase my productivity in the future.   (Beside, I am more comfortable working in my studio because I can get up and down alot easier, am not as stiff after sitting for an extended amounts of time and just feel better.)   So the moral to my story – I am going to continue to invest in my quilting future by spending a decent amount of time working on my physical health.  I am sure that the time I am spending on my health will give me alot more benefits than the few extra projects that I could have finished.   Also, I am thinking (and hoping) that by having a more healthy life the odds are that I will live longer and have more time to finish those extra projects anyway.

In case you are interested I have lost 3.9% of my body weight.  Exercised 5 times the first week in January and 6 times the past two weeks.  I am doing 40-45 minutes of cario exercise at least 3 times a week and am able to do some jogging on the treadmill (around 30 minutes of walking/running in increments of 3 minutes walking/2 minutes jogging (fairly slowly)).  I am much more flexible and am developing strong core muscles. 

Stay tuned for occasional reports on how I am doing on my New Year’s goals!