Fabric Giveaway - Welcome to llinois

 

Welcome to the Illinois leg of the American Made Brand Blog Tour. I'm Kathy and I'll be your tour guide today. Using the American Made Brand fabric, here's the  block I designed to represent my state -

 

Our vehicle license plates say Land of Lincoln. You can see that my block incorporates President Lincoln, log cabins, prairie points, violets (state flower) and the Chicago skyline -  some of my favorite things!

 

 

 

I had a lot of fun making this,  playing around with all the different colors and then adding little details that represent my state. (That's the Chicago skyline embroidered on the top.) I'll show you how I made the block on Thursday when I announce the winners of the fabric giveaway.

*  *  *  To win a fat quarter bundle of some gorgeous, colorful American made fabric of your own, just post a comment and tell me which is YOUR favorite state to visit (other than the one you live in) and why you love it. Leave me an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win.
          

 

I was born and raised in Illinois. Chicago, to be exact. So you'll have to forgive me if I appear biased. Illinois gets some pretty bad press, what with the high crime and unemployment rates, not to mention the weather. Despite it's reputation for political corruption, "gangsters" and high taxes, it's actually a great place to live. I'm not kidding.  I'm still here so it can't be all that bad, can it? About 70% of Illinois residents live in or near the Chicago area. While Chicago may be considered the "Second City" by some,  to many of us living here it's the greatest city and we wouldn't trade it for any other. If you're traveling this summer and are lucky enough to be able to drop in for a visit, here are a few things that may interest you in Chicago and other parts of the state.

Illinois is the called The Prairie State (hence my prairie points on the block). It's also called the Land of Lincoln and has quite a few attractions revolving around the 16^thPresident.

If you love Lincoln history, you need to visit the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. 

                              

 

Or, you might want to walk in Lincoln's footsteps at the Lincoln Home Natural Historic Sites, a four-block neighborhood restored to the way it was in the 1860s and includes his actual home. There's also New Salem, a recreated pioneer village where you can see where Lincoln spent part of his adulthood. Period re-enactors are on hand for demonstrations, and you can even participate in activities from that era.

 

 

However, if you're coming to Illinois for even a short time, you have to see Chicago. It's a very nice city. Our Chicago museums are some of the finest museums around. Most of them border the shores of Chicago's fabulous Lake Michigan.

 

The Art Institute of Chicago  (scroll down and read my recent blog post from last week on this one).  

 

                         

 

The Field Museum   - Dinosaurs! Mammoths! Mastodons! We visited so often my son practically lived here as a child.

 

                    

 

The Museum of Science and Industry  Make sure you see Colleen Moore's Fairy Castle doll house.

 

 

The Shedd Aquarium has a wonderful aquatic show with dolphins, whales and sea lions.

 

                        

 

The Adler Planetarium has one terrific sky show.

 

 

 

Of course, you'll also want to visit downtown Chicago, Navy Pier and the Children's Museum, Millenium Park, ride the elevator up to the observation decks at the top of either the Hancock building or Willis (Sears) Tower to get some great views of the city, visit Michigan Avenue and Water Tower Place on the Magnificient Mile for shopping and dining, take in a show at The Second City comedy club, schedule a shoreline cruise or a drive down LSD - Lake Shore Drive - for some scenic views.

 

 

 

 

 We have a couple of nice zoos (if you happen to like zoos.)

 

 

 

Ride a fantastic Ferris Wheel on the lakefront. Did you know that the very first Ferris Wheel debuted in June 1893 at the Chicago World’s Fair?

 

Check out the heart and soul of Chicago by visiting its diverse ethnic and historical neighborhoods.

 

 

You may want to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in nearby Oak Park. Did you know that Prairie Style architecture has its roots in Chicago? I'm going on a walking tour this summer.

 

 

 

Also, make sure you try some Chicago-style deep-dish pizza before you leave.

  

There's so much to do here, it's almost impossible to tell it all. There are a few attractions I've never seen but I'm hoping to take care of that this summer. We live a few miles outside the city but I drive in often and feel lucky to be able to take advantage of all that Chicago has to offer. Sure, it's noisy and busy and traffic is always a pain but, afterwards, I get to go home to my quiet space and my little colonial in the (boring) suburbs where I can chill. I love the excitement and energy the city has to offer but I also love my home away from the city. Living in both worlds suits me just fine. Illinois - a nice place to visit and a great place to live.

 

Don't forget  - in order to be a winner in this giveaway - you have to post a comment telling me your favorite state aside from the one you live in now. If you live outside the states, just make something up, LOL. Make sure you leave me an e-mail address so I can contact you if you win. There will be 2 winners. I'll also be giving away a smaller bundle with some of the fabric I have left over from making my block. Winners will be picked after comments close on Wednesday night. I'll announce them on Thursday. That's when I'll show you how I made my block. Good luck to all of you! And don't forget to follow along the Blog Tour to see all the other fantastic state blocks and chances to win even more fabric.

 

 

 

The Power of Art

All this talk about the American Made Brand Blog Tour got me thinking about fun things to do in my state of Illinois. So, the other day I decided I would try to do a tour of museums in Chicago and other surrounding areas this summer and then blog about them. If you're planning on traveling around this summer and happen to be in the Chicago area, maybe you'll get some ideas.

Yesterday, I kicked off my tour and went to Number One on my list -  the Art Institute of Chicago - with my husband, daughter and sister-in-law. Nothing revitalizes me like being in downtown Chicago.

Some of the wonderful things you can see at the Art Institute if you're ever in the city -

First, we saw the  Arthur Rubloff paperweight collection. Over two thousand (!) glass paperweights, filled with gorgeous color, pattern and design. Some paperweights are antique French (Baccarat); others are contemporary with an antique look. All are mesmerizing.

I've had  a glass paperweight collection for years - but with only one paperweight, sigh. . . . Time to add more I think.

According to the Chicago Tribune, paperweights also have an interesting link to Chicago.

"They're part of Chicago history, which makes this very exciting. Chicago is where the skyscraper was invented. And skyscrapers were without air conditioning, so you opened the windows. Sullivan and Burnham would have had stacks of pieces of paper, and open windows everywhere. How do you keep those papers in place? Why, with paperweights, of course."

 "Honey Bee Swarm With Flowers and Fruit" - honeybees floating over a cluster of flowers and around a honeycomb. The only place I would consider getting close to bees - when they're in a paperweight.

Next we went to see the Thorne rooms -  the miniature rooms I know I've talked about here before. The Thorne rooms were the "creative endeavor" of Mrs. James Ward Thorne, a Chicago socialite who began collecting antique miniatures at a young age. Inspired by actual rooms in historic houses and museums, the permanent collection features 68 rooms that were made (commissioned by her) between 1934 and 1940, constructed on a scale of one inch to one foot. As a child growing up in Chicago, I remember visiting and drooling over these tiny rooms and furnishings, my nose pressed up to the glass, and my daughter did the same (still does). I could have spent hours here.

 

Continuing on, we saw the Modern Art Wing, the American Art section, the Medieval Art section and much more.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Actually, I was more struck by this young woman and how she seemed to match the painting.

The museum also houses one of the largest and most significant collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art in the world. Second to the Louvre in Paris.

It's hard to get near this famous painting - A Sunday on La Grande Jatte  by Georges Seurat. 

It helps if you're persistent, tell everyone in your group to go on ahead and then just wait it out (or push your way up to the front).

I love learning about how famous art is acquired - In the summer of 1924, Frederic Bartlett and his wife, Helen, had the opportunity to purchase Georges Seurat's masterpiece A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. Writing from an ocean liner en route to the US from Europe, he enthused:

"We had wonderfully good luck . . . as we were able to get almost by a miracle what is considered to be almost the finest modern picture in France, La Grande Jatte by Seurat."

Bartlett began assembling a collection of "modern" (at the time) paintings and in 1926 he gave the collection to the Art Institute in memory of his recently deceased wife. 

This painting has been one of my favorites for years - Paris Street; Rainy Day by Caillebotte. The people in the foreground look like they're going to just continue walking and step outside the painting right in front of you.

Well, that's it - you've seen a portion of what's there. We had a great time. As usual, I hope many of you weren't bored since it was not about quilting. I have a life too you know, LOL. This was a nice cap to my week and I wanted to share. There's nothing quite like a nice overdose of culture to make you feel good about life and art. Studies have shown that viewing works of art can not only give your brain a boost but give the viewer as much joy as gazing upon a loved one. Even art you don't like still sends a message to the brain and increases blood flow. So now this means there's scientific truth to what has been known for a long time – that beautiful paintings have the power to make us feel good, about ourselves and life. 

Made in America

We're coming up on Memorial Day, blogger friends. Many of us in the US get sentimental about our country around this time of year for the holiday honoring those who died in service. Our thoughts turn to honoring our country in some way too. Some of you will be making or displaying red, white and blue quilts or other projects. Here's an idea - how about making something from fabric totally made in America? Can't get much more patriotic than that. As a quilter, I do love this idea.

 

 

 

Clothworks Textiles has begun a blog tour to promote their new line of fabric - American Made Brand -  featuring 50 quilt blocks designed by 50 bloggers to represent all 50 states.  Visit 2 blogs per day, learn about the states, then leave a comment and get a chance to win a delicious fabric bundle as well as other goodies. That's 2 winners per day. Follow the schedule here. Then, follow the directions on each blog to make sure you're included.

 

 

 

I was picked to make the block for Illinois and so you'll get a chance to win something here on my blog too. I'm enjoying playing around with all the wonderful colors while I slowly work on my block.

 

 

Coming up with a block that represents my state is turning out to be a little harder than I thought it would be  . . . . I've already tossed my first two ideas.

  

But I hope to have it finished sometime this weekend. Remember to stop by on Monday, June 2, to see my big reveal, post a comment and win something cool. Something Made in America.

 

 

 

 

 

Be Still My Sentimental Heart

I was anxious to finally get out and work in the garden today for a bit. Every year around this time I almost explode with optimism at the thought of a fresh start in the garden. It's always a challenge to get things back into shape and every year I learn something new. It looks like a few of our plants and shrubs did not survive the bitter winter; others show signs of significant winter burn. But I'm hopeful and waiting to see if they recover. Anything can happen at any time I've learned. You almost have to trust in miracles.

 

I read that if you shave a little off the stalk with your nail and it's green underneath, then it will recover. This rose bush has some green and a few buds growing so I'm not giving up on it yet.

Maybe I'm naive, but there's no way you can have a garden and NOT be optimistic. Remembering that only fifteen years ago there were no flowers and few pretty plants at all in this backyard  - just grass and dirt and a few hostas - keeps me going every year. Despite the shade and poor soil, I was determined to grow a garden and I did. Every year I try new things, new plants, and it evolves into something different. Some year I hope to have a cottage garden in the sunny front. I figure if  I can hang onto my optimism it just may happen.
 

  

The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something good for the world.

-Charles Dudley Warner

 

I was pleasantly surprised a few weeks ago to see one of my Bleeding Heart plants peeping up from the ground. It's a plant I've always loved (Romantic me. I'm a Sentimental Gardener too, I guess.) and while I've bought more than a few of them over the years and tried planting them in different locations, I've never had one that would bloom for me. Yet, for some silly reason I've never given up. So, even though I've have had a hard time growing them successfully, I tried it again two years ago and bought a few from a trusted local gardener at her perennial sale. Plants from a real gardener's garden and not from a greenhouse - how could I lose?  For the first time, I was able to grow them. They seemed to be doing well and flourished for 2 years in a row. But I was still afraid they were too delicate to have survived this winter's Polar Vortex. 

 

 

Then, a week after the plants appeared in April, a bright green spot in the brownness of my yard, I let the dog out and in her excitement at chasing a squirrel she bypassed the path and trampled one of the plants. Ran right over it and broke the stems.  Oh!  You can imagine how my heart sank. I didn't yell - it was my own fault since I should not have planted them so close to the path in the first place. Looking at the little crushed thing it had become, only a portion of it salvageable, I was sure I'd get no blooms from it at all this year.  In a fit of  hopefulness though, I put up a small wire garden fence to avoid any more puppy mishaps. A few days ago, I noticed the perfect little pink hearts bopping around on the stems. They're back!

 

 

Gardening is a humbling experience.  -Martha Stewart

I love my bleeding hearts more than any other plant in the garden and what a thrill it was to see that this one came back from near decimation after all. All hearts should be this resilient after being trampled . . . . There's a multitude of life lessons in a garden.

 

Grow what you love. The love will keep it growing. 

-Emilie Barnes

Now, let's see if the lilacs make an appearance again. They were stupendous last spring for the first time in years and I'm counting on them to give me another lovely show very soon. My heart is depending upon it.

At the heart of gardening there is a belief in the miraculous.  -Mirabel Osler

 

Feeling Humble

Do you ever feel humble when you see a beautiful, perfect quilt? Made perhaps by someone with more talent than you possess? I've been studying antique quilts lately and to be honest I haven't felt very talented. I think many of us feel this way at times.  (I hope I'm not the only one!) Seeing antique Baltimore Album quilts or quilts with a lot of applique do this to me. But - when I do feel this way, I always try to put it into perspective. This quilter probably had many more years of sewing experience than I do and started quilting early as many women did in the 19th century.

 

 

(Courtesy: American Folk Art Museum. Artist unknown. Found in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, 1845–1850. Cotton with wool embroidery)

 

I know I will never be able to make a quilt as intricate or beautiful as that one if I live to be 90.  Despite my excuses, I guess I still have a difficult time reconciling THAT talent with MY talent. But it makes me wonder - did the maker of this quilt have a humble beginning too? What was her story?

 

Looking at my own early quilts always humbles me. But it's a rewarding kind of humility. I don't feel humbled in a bad way or ashamed that my early quilts leave a lot to be desired artistically. This little quilt below was probably the second or third quilt I ever made. (Will I show you the first one? Nah, don't think so. THAT would truly be a humbling experience . . . .)

 

 

I look at this quilt and I feel okay with my humble beginnings because I know I am a better quilter now than I was then. Like a child, all I could do then was make four patches. Putting them on point was a huge challenge for me I remember. I wasn't born a quilter. It wasn't a gift or a skill that was passed down to me either. I learned the hard way, all by myself, making the most of what I was able to do when I was able to do it. At first, I didn't really know how to use a rotary cutter or understand that you should not cut off block points, LOL. Early on, I was often too proud or embarrassed to ask for help, feeling humbled when I went into quilt shops or attended shows where I viewed perfect quilts. But I sure didn't let it stop me from going forward. I am always amazed that I persevered, considering how lacking in talent I felt. Here's what I found: quilting made my heart sing. And because of that I was humbled into trying to do better.

 

Although I've made some nice quilts, pretty even, they're hardly spectacular in any way. I often wonder . . . . what would it feel like to make a spectacular quilt like that Baltimore Album quilt? Despite all my negative ramblings on perfection, sometimes I think I really want to make a spectacular quilt one of these days. Just to see if I can.

 

When I teach, I often get asked by students how I come up with designs and color combinations for my quilts. How am I able to put fabrics together so that the pieces turn out pleasing? How can they learn to design their own quilts? Here's what I tell them: Study quilts. A lot. For me it was antique quilts. (I'm still studying.) Find quilts you like and try to figure out what it is about them that makes your heart sing. Is it the colors, or a certain color? Is it the complexity of the design? Or the simplicity? Is it how the blocks dance or flow throughout the quilt? Then, incorporate those qualities into YOUR quilts (but don't copy). I happen to love simple antique quilts and I think what I love about them most is their inherent humility. Or maybe it's that simple quilts are more in line with my talents right now. But, who knows, I may make spectacular quilts someday. I just made a promise that I will still be humble if I ever do  : )

 

I feel humbled when my quilts are on display at a show. (Apparently, I feel annoyed too, judging from the look I was giving my husband while he took photos . . . .) How on earth did I get here from that little four-patch doll quilt?

  

Sometimes I feel like it's a race. With myself, to make spectacular quilts, like so many others. I have to stop myself from going too fast, pushing too hard.  It will come in time. Remember: Quilters, it's a journey, your journey, and each one of us is trotting along at a different pace. If you dream of making spectacular quilts, well then, persevere and never give up. Remember and honor your beginnings and be gentle with yourself. Don't rush the process and don't compare. And stay humble when you get there.