Here’s some of the art I’m in the process of creating:
I’ll be posting more as the time goes on!
June Art Show preview!!!!
Category: Featured
Roycroft Art Show – June 26 & 27
I was recently accepted into the Roycroft Artisan Group. They are having an art show in June and I am busily making art to sell as well as painting my display for the show!
Mark your calendars to come to the show and see all of the wonderful artists!
Applying to Roycroft Artisans
Since the November, I have been on the fence as to applying to The Roycrofters-At-Large-Association, Inc. (RALA). From what I understand, RALA is a group of very skilled artisans who help educate and foster the continual growth of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Why do I want to be in it? (I really struggled with the answer.) I feel that I am in a very unique spot between quilting and fine arts that I can help inspire other people/artisans to grow as well as them inspiring me. I am imagining that I would teach, be taught, continue to grow, and sell my art all in one group! I know that I love to teach and see people grow in a field that I am so passionate about.
So, why was I on the fence? It’s that old, whinny me saying “I’m not good enough – That might not be the right path – It’s too much”. Yesterday, when I saw the deadline to enter as 3/10/21, I really made a conscious decision to just go for it! I might not be accepted on the first attempt, however, I should be able to get good criticism to apply again next year and maybe the year after that! This could be the place that will help me grow in the way that I need to!
The jurying process is April 10 and below are the pieces that I submitted to them. I will keep you posted as to the results, and I can tell you now, that I am so excited to go through this journey!!
Please send me a message of your favorite piece!
Peace –
How to Adjust Your Face Mask
It has been brought to my attention that some people may not know how to adjust the elastic on their mask for a custom fit. Below is a link to the CDC Guidelines of how to wear a mask. It has some great information.
The masks that have the elastic can be adjusted easily by tying the elastic for a custom fit. Here’s a video I did to show you how to do that:
I make the double fabric masks with flannel on the inside and elastic to go around your ears. There are three sizes that you can choose from to help fit your face perfectly. Please click on the link below to see the sizes available.
Please make sure you like this page and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me!
Stay safe and healthy!
My Virtual Craft Show!!!
At 6pm today, I will be live on my Facebook page showing all the items I have been making through the quarantine so far.
Here’s the link: https://www.facebook.com/events/646125319349205
Below are some of the items I will be showing and ready to sell. I will be talking about my custom items as well and some will be great Holiday gifts!
You can shop at my Etsy store if you are ready to right now!
Hope to see you there!
Getting Healthy!
For a long time, I have been thinking about writing blogs on my getting healthy journey. Today is the day that I decided to start, and the inspiration is that there are other people out there struggling just like I am. Maybe I can make a difference in their life while changing mine.
A little history: I was following the “American diet” of high carbs, refined and processed foods, high sugar, large amounts of food. This lead me to a very unhealthy mind, body and soul. I have tried a lot of diets and paid good money with little or no results. I was feeling exhausted, depressed, anxiety was setting in, not able to concentrate, and no motivation to do anything including excecise. Doctors take one look at me with these symptoms and basically said: loose weight and exercise. I got to the point that I was giving up with myself.
Over the summer I discovered that a friend has been studying to be what she calls a “health coach”. I was excited to start and as always I pray that this time will make a difference. During our initial appointment, she taught me a ton! This is the stuff that I want to share with you as well as recipes that I have tried and adapted to my nutritional needs.
One of the biggest things I have learned is that life style change will happen slowly. It is not all at once and cold turkey. I found that I’m good for a while, then slip into bad habits for a few days, feel my old symptoms creeping in, and then I change back to the good habits. No beating up myself, this is just the process. The good habits will take time to get use to and I’m ok with that.
There’s a lot of basic foods I cannot eat: Gluten, Dairy, and Sugar are the main items. My stomach right now cannot tolerate any type of peppers, eggplant, or tomatoes. That may be for the time being while I’m healing.
When I was eating these foods, my digestive track (esophagus, stomach, intestines) would get all inflamed and cause problems like reflux for example. So, I’d go to the doctor and they told me to take a pill. Even though it stopped the symptoms, it was causing another issue in my body. This would eventually cause my body to not be able to absorb nutrients from the food I eat. Leading to other symptoms, more pills, higher strength of pills because I was not able to absorb them.
So, with Sharron’s help, I have been working through what foods my body needs to function. I will be explaining in my next blogs about my continued journey to health.
Have a great day!
Keeping Busy!
Since I posted last with my wonderful plan of projects to do, I saw on the news that masks are being made with cotton and flannel. I was all over it and started making them like there was no tomorrow! To date, I have made over 300 masks and still going.
I was making them at a rate of 50 per day which totally wiped me out, energy wise. I realized I needed (actually craved) my art quilting and time to be creative.
So, today I did a piece that is a quick “sketch” in thread, painted, and put onto a frame. It helps me get focused on the masks more.
$20
I will be doing some small pieces like this to keep my creativity (aka: my happy place) flowing while still helping during this crisis.
They will all be for sale. If you would like to purchase one of these pieces, please message me. Also, if you have an idea of a subject to sketch, please pass it along to me.
Thank you for reading my blog. Stay safe and healthy!❤️
What’s Happening!
Happy New Year everyone!!!🎊🎉
I’ve been working on the wedding quilt for my son and daughter-in-law over the past couple of weeks. I’m happy to say……I’m almost done with it!!!
I used a cotton and wool batting for the first time and I like the results. I did learn that I probably needed to pin baste closer together to avoid fabric shifting (like every 2-3” would have been perfect). It turned out nice and has a good weight to it! It will keep them warm for those winter nights!
I’ll be finishing it this weekend by squaring it up and binding.
That’s what’s happening! Thank you for reading my blog. I will be doing some quilt tutorial blogs in the near future. Please tell me if there’s anything you’d like to see!
Have a wonderful day!
Starting 2020 with New Adventures!
As 2019 ends and 2020 begins, I can’t help but reflect on the past and make plans for the future. I have been blessed this year to have several teaching occasions to share my quilting journey and knowledge with eager fellow quilters! Met some wonderful people and made new friends in this wonderful quilting world.
I look forward to making more competition quilts this year and currently have 2-3 in mind (we will see how many I can complete by the end of 2020). Entering them into AQS shows, International Quilt Show in Huston, as well as Quilt Consortium of New York State.
I will also be continuing to teach wherever I can. I will be updating my event calendar soon so you will all know what’s happening.
Also, I have started a new adventure that I expect to take a few years to accomplish. I am beginning to study to become an AQS Certified Quilt Appraiser. I have already started to read books that will increase my knowledge of fabrics, history, patterns, etc. In April, I will hopefully be able to attend the appraiser class at AQS Paducah for more knowledge of the “steps” I need to do to accomplish this certification.
In preparation for a bunch of books being added to my current library, I am organizing all of my books. Here’s how I am doing this: I used Numbers in my iPad to start my spreadsheet.
There are a few general subjects in my collection: Quilting, General Sewing and Crafts, Craft Business, and Miscellaneous. (Column #1)
List sub categories: (ie: Under Quilting would be History, Free Motion, Techniques, Patterns, etc.) (Column #2)
Column #3 would list the title of the books
Column #4 lists the author(s)
Column #5 lists a brief description of the book
Column #6 has a note if it is borrowed from someone
Column #7 lists if the book was loaned out and to whom
I will definitely keep all of you posted on this journey!
May you have a very blessed and happy New Year!
Thank you for reading my blogs!
T-Shirt Quilts – Custom made vs Manufacturing Companies
There are a few manufacturing companies that will be more than happy to make a t-shirt quilt out of your t-shirts. Then there are private professional quilters like me who pay attention to details and the customers vision.
I looked into those companies a bit. Yes, they are less expensive (considerably) than the private professional quilter; however, you are getting a different quality and not as much attention to details. Here’s what I found:
- The manufacturing companies will take your shirts and use a die cutter to cut the design part of the shirt out. I’m not sure if they stabilize the shirts or not which in my opinion is a must when sewing knit (stretchy) fabric to woven (non-stretch) fabric. It produces a smoother seam and stronger end product. The other part…the die cutter cannot adjust for a shirt design that is larger than the size of it. In just about every t-shirt quilt I have made, there is at least one shirt design that is bigger than the size of the square I use and I have had to make adjustments. That is what you are getting with a custom quilter……creativity in adjusting square size to the design. Plus, I sit with the customer and ask if they want the back of the t-shirts if there’s a print on both sides. I don’t know if the manufacturers do that. My guess would be they don’t do that personal touch.
- I (as the custom quilter) give you a choice of how you want the back of the quilt to be. Traditional (batting and fabric), more t-shirts with batting between, or fleece alone. The one that I saw had just fleece which is much faster to work with.
- Once the front and back of the quilt is sewn together, the manufacturing companies don’t sew the layers together (or known as quilting together). That is a very labor intensive process. You do pay for the quilt to be quilted. In my opinion, the quilting together bonds the layers together to provide a stronger end product. The quilting together is important to prevent the t-shirts and other fabrics from sagging through the years, and when it’s washed the quilt is all bonded together and it’s easier to fold and put away.
- My thought is that the quilting together will overall last longer than the not quilted one. You’re getting a stronger quilt.
So there you have it, the pros and cons to custom t-shirt quilt and a manufacturer t-shirt quilt. Same end product in general, different quality of work and attention to details. If you are looking for a custom t-shirt quilter, please contact me for further details.
Thank you for reading my blog, and have a wonderful day.
Pam
pamelapandolfi.wordpress.com 