Fur Rendezvous Art Quilt

Anchorage Fur Rendezvous (20"x24") by Judy Wedemeyer

 
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Historically, fur rendezvous was a mid-February gathering of fur trappers to sell or trade their winter harvest, as well as a festive time of social interaction and competitive games to break up the monotony of winter isolation. Fur trade was Alaska’s second-largest industry but the lifestyle was remote and solitary.

Vern Johnson organized a three-day sports tournament in Anchorage called the “Winter Sports Carnival”, held February 15-17, 1935.  His desire to lift community spirit amongst 3000 isolated fellow residents was timed to coincide with the rendezvous.  The carnival was renamed “Winter Sports Tournament and Fur Rendezvous” and became just “Fur Rendezvous” in 1937.

The original Winter Sports Carnival events included basketball, boxing, skiing, hockey, a sled dog race for children, a parade and bonfire.  Present day events number over 100 yet  the World Championship Sled Dog Race remains the key event since 1946 and draws mushers from across Alaska and the world to race 75 miles over three days.  Fur Rendezvous has extended its traditional ten days from mid-February through early March since 2004, as a precursor to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Promotional pins were first created and sold in 1939 to help fund the event.  Early pins were not mass-produced and are highly collectible. During the parade, spectators without a Rondy pin were playfully detained by Keystone ‘Rondy Kops’ in a mobile jail until a purchased pin paid for their release. 

G. Mike Naumann’s 1954 dog mushing photo won a Blue Ribbon in the Fur Rondy Amateur Photo Contest.  Daughter, Judy painted the photo in 1978.  

1964 Great Alaska Earthquake Quilt

1964 Great Alaska Earthquake (20"x24") by Judy Wedemeyer

 

South-central Alaska was struck by the largest earthquake in the United States and the second largest earthquake ever recorded in history with a magnitude of 9.2 on the Richter Scale.  The quake occurred on Good Friday, March 27, 1964 at 5:36 pm Alaska time with a duration of 4 minutes, 38 seconds.  Nine Anchorage residents died from the earthquake itself.  A total of 139 deaths occurred from resulting tsunamis in Alaska as well as on the Oregon and California coast. 

As a ten year old, I did not fully comprehend the catastrophic power of this earthquake since our family experienced relatively little destruction to our home from its wrath.  Six hours after the earthquake I wrote a letter to my Godmother giving a first hand account of said event.  The letter and a photo of our kitchen described in the letter are on my earthquake quilt.  Although cupboards spilled their contents, our dinner remained on the table, however not a drop of coffee was left in any cups because it was all on the ceiling!  Some photos were taken by my father, Mike Naumann, who worked for the City of Anchorage, Sign Shop and had access to areas otherwise closed to the public after the earthquake.

Anchorage suffered property loss, both commercial and residential yet the death toll was small in number due to being a Good Friday holiday and dinner time.  Earthquakes can happen anywhere at anytime, but Alaska has several faults with a propensity of another high magnitude quake occurring in its future.  Not if, but when...  the ‘64 quake helps us remember our past and prepare for the future.

  

Beanie Baby Binkies

Working mostly from my scrap bins, I created quickie custom quilts for a dozen teddy bears based on theme and colors.  No specific patterns were used ~ I made them up as I went.  All were machine quilted and the edges were machine embroidered which drastically reduced fabric and time needed for traditional bindings.  

Star Spangled Beanies

Lucky Bears

Millenium and Princess Diana Beanies

Ladybug (non Beanie) and Peace Bear

Snowflake and Unicorn

Curly and Valentino

Donation Quilts

Our quilt guild will be sponsoring the annual Teddy Bear Tea on February 16th. Today was the last Thursday to turn them in.  I made three over the weekend and finished a fourth this morning before heading to guild. 

 A Teeny Beanie baby fish and crab have a storage pocket so they won't get lost.  My fat quarter of turtle fabric was just enough to create the undersea theme on the reverse side.

For those unaware, the Teddy Bear (and Wannabee's) Tea is a charitable outreach by Anchorage Log Cabin Quilt Guild members, to various child related social service organizations in Anchorage who are in crises of some sort or another.  The stuffed animal and quilt are given to a child in need as a means of tangible and intangible comfort as they weather the storms of life.

This year I focused on stash busting this blue teddy bear theme fabric I had hidden in my copious piles of fabric. I'm not even sure where it came from but it sure worked great with a pile of crazy pieced beige tone blocks on hand just waiting for a project.

A strip pieced top using up smaller scraps.

Simple but effective.

With a bit more abstract setting.  I recycled my Dad's torn flannel pajama shirt for the reverse side. Lightweight fusible stabilizer strengthened the flannel before piecing it into a backing.

The dimensions are elusive in these photos.  The animal quilts were approximately 20" give or take but the flannel backed quilt above was 26" square and made for Providence Hospital's Spiritual Care Center.  Throughout the year I will produce more quilts for PHSCC as time allows.  I enjoy using up fabric and batting scraps for these smaller projects and they enable me to play around with free motion stitching ideas where it's not a big thing if they aren't perfect. :)

In the past, I usually attached a separate binding but that is labor intensive.  Now I keep it simple, fast and fun with pillow style construction, sometimes rounded corners and quilting enough to stabilize the particular batting inside.  Practice for me, comfort for kids.  Win ~ Win.

Vikki Pignatelli Class

Vikki Pignatelli

My first quilting class in 1988 was wrought with high expectations, nervous apprehension, and absolutely no clue that I would be hooked into a lifelong passion that eventually superseded the full gamut of my creative endeavors.  In those early years while learning the basic construction techniques and various block patterns, my penchant for perfection ranked higher than ever in my new found hobby.  


Perhaps the cost of fabric, a total dislike for ripping out stitches, and the wasted time of doing things wrong were even bigger motivators, but I have relaxed myself on all accounts these past 23 yrs.  


One undeniable truth is that I am easily inundated with learning new things, especially if the material comes at me fast and furiously, so I now enter every class situation with an attitude of listen carefully, watch closely and don't sweat it if you do absolutely nothing during class!  As long as I have written material to use at my own pace after the class, I can systematically work my way through just about anything at home when there are no distractions.

I'm certain that this philosophy no doubt served me well during Vikki's two full class days (April 31 & May 1) covering Improvisational Quilting and Fabric Manipulations.  Vikki proved to be an exceptionally gifted teacher not only for the material she presented but the fun and relaxed approach she delivered her techniques with.  This class was suitable for choosing what you wanted to experiment with while having her expertise available to trouble shoot.  Our class of 2o or so was the most enjoyable quilting class experience I've had in ages.  I know there were others who felt 'out of their depth' at times, but I don't think anyone was left feeling they couldn't execute Vikki's techniques shown in her book:

With the new tricks I learned in class, my art quilting will most certainly benefit from more complex looking compositions and the ease in which to realize them.  Hopefully I will be posting some of them soon.

ALCQ Silent Auction Quilts & Round Robin 2009/10

I didn't have the foresight to photograph our finished quilts individually but at least this photo shows our Round Robin Chicks group display at the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters annual show last  September.

Round Robin Chicks 2009/10 ALCQ Show quilts

Small Treasures Silent Auction is the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters guild's major fund raising event which takes place during our annual September show.  One married couple travels from Ireland each year, planning their vacation to coincide with our show, to specifically bid on our auction quilts.  I think they took home five this year to be given as gifts.

Louise and Irene chairing the auction quilts

Tribal Dance

This was the first Shattered Circle piece I created in Larkin Jean Van Horn's class last Fall, but it's the third of four to be completed.  These fabrics wow me more than the design on this one.  The colors and abstract print felt 'tribal',  so I continued with that theme throughout the construction.

Batik rust colored fabric was backed with fusible web.  A plate sized circle, (including the inner design) was drawn on the paper side, then cut apart on the lines like a puzzle.  After removing the paper from each piece, I laid the fabric fused side down on top of the black print background fabric and ironed them all carefully in place.

Tribal Dance (21" X 29")

My finger joints are too arthritic for the hand stitched embellishment I would like to have done on this project.  I would have preferred a more organic approach using rustic threads, and larger tacking stitches.  I compromised using a machine button hole stitch around the applique and invested the handwork on the beaded fringe.

During my trip to North Carolina I found a loose weave fabric in the bargain bin at a Fabric Outlet.  Actually what caught my eye was where the bottom edge was unraveling ---- a portion of which I sewed into the bottom seam of this wall hanging.  The fringe reminds me of grass skirts (Hawaiian or African), hopefully conveying the 'dance' idea in my mind.  Beaded components consist of bone, seeds, and shells.

Our Guild Quilt Show will be displaying any completed guild sponsored class projects from the current year.  The first two Larkin Jean Van Horn class pieces I made have been donated to our silent auction.  Tribal Dance doesn't fit the size requirement so this one will actually make it in the main body of the show.    I created this fourth Shattered Circle design after the class and believe it is my best.  Results on that one, soon to follow.

"Rosewood" (auction quilt)

Yes indeed, I finished my third auction quilt for the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilter's annual fundraiser. 

Rosewood  (19.5" X 20")

This piece originated in Larkin Jean Van Horn's Shattered Circles class last September.  It was an experiment to deviate from her design method and try fracturing a circle using the traditional 'snowflake' paper cutting method.  I discovered cutting multi-folds of fabric was challenging and frustrating.  Hmmmm, I wonder if Larkin already discovered this herself?  I also discovered I had to chop up pieces to create a semi-balanced composition.  In addition, the blaring background color left me wishing I had made a different fabric choice altogether.

Being less than thrilled with my result at this point, I pawed through my bucket of sheer fabrics until I settled on a light green shade with gold flecks dispersed over its surface.  It was enough to subdue the neon lime background without depressing the contrast excessively.  I'd intended to cut the sheer fabric overlay to reveal the flower petals full color, but after it was quilted I decided the gold flecks made it look dew kissed and the muted color blends nicely with the corner fabric.  Adding corner blocks with woodsy moss undertones framed and complimented the bright center block which was set on point for additional visual interest.  (I guess I like diamonds better than squares.) ha!

Hopefully this third auction piece will attract some interested bidders during our guild quilt show at Conoco Phillips, September 11th and 12th.  I'm happy to have redeemed the project and donate it to a worthy cause.  Proceeds help fund our guilds education efforts, bringing fun teachers like Larkin to share their quilting expertise with Anchorage quilters.

SUNDANCE

SUNDANCE  reflects the bright, joyful mood captivating me this past weekend when I completed this art piece.   Anchorage was aglow in sunshine for several days,  the trees are budding and finally all the snow in my yard has melted!  In addition, the completion of a few art projects with deadlines, left me with a heady feeling of accomplishment and lightness.  My previous quilt project, LIBERATION was somber and meditative for me to work on, so the brightness of SUNDANCE offered me a welcome reprieve.  

Sundance (16" X 21")

Those of you who have followed this blog may have recognized the 'sun' is familiar.  I created it in Larkin Jean Van Horn's Shattered Circles class last Fall.  The foundation fabric is a commercial batik print, the sun rays is a recycled bed sheet I hand dyed, and the mask appliqued in the center came from a design I made and silk screened in a Jean Ray Laury class so many years ago I'm thinking hmmmm.... perhaps mid- 90's?  Do I hang onto stuff or what?  ha!

Since the sun itself is rather bright and over powering, I sewed a three inch top and bottom border from hand woven Guatemalan fabric my daughter brought home from a school mission trip.  I liked the horizontal lines which provided a sense of sky and horizon and elongated the overall dimensions of the quilt surface.  Stitching was done in black rayon embroidery thread with a programmed wavy machine stitch I radiated around the blades.  The mask is free motion zigzag stitched around the feather like face ruff.  Originally my mask design was loosely based on native Alaskan dance masks.  Thus the title of this piece --- Sundance.

This small quilt was made for the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilter's annual Small Quilt silent auction to be held in September in conjunction with the guilds show at the Conoco Phillips Atrium, Anchorage.

Teddy Bear Tea 2010 Quilt

Anchorage Log Cabin Quilt Guild will host its 7th Annual Teddy Bear Tea Party February 18th, 11-12:30pm at Central Lutheran Church on the corner of 15th and L Street, Anchorage.  Our members choose one or more stuffed teddies or teddy 'wannabees' from a pile of newly purchased, donated or recycled stuffed animals with the commitment to make an appropriately sized small quilt that reflects the personality of each animal they take home.  During the tea a representative from several local non-profit child associated organizations will receive a share of these teddy/quilt combos, to be dispersed as needs arise. To date Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters have produced and given more than 1000 such quilts.

These children are generally facing challenges either internally or externally as displaced, abused, or wards of the state in transition to a more stable home life.  Willingness to trust and communicate with adults is often compromised in these situations.  Stuffed animals provide a friendly face to talk to and huggable form to cling to.  The small quilts assist the child to snuggle with a 'security blanket' or act as a caregiver to their newly acquired 'baby' while they navigate whatever their personal challenges happen to be.  The stuffed animal and quilt are usually chosen (adopted) by the recipient and are theirs to keep.  This is one of the many tangible expressions of loving compassion from our quilt guild members toward the helpless victims in life.

I've included a before and after photo of my contribution.  I fell in love with the soft rainbow colors covering this plush Ty Peace Bear.  I used hand dyed pastel solids I purchased from Alaska Dyeworks several years ago, and combined it with my own hand dyed fabric - which actually looks better cut up!  The border and backing batik material was purchased locally as well.  These small projects are great for using up scraps and leftovers.  The 100% cotton batting required a maximum of 2" between stitch lines and since I knew the quilt would most likely be washed often, I made sure to comply.  I bound the edges with a bright solid yellow fabric.  This quilt/teddy combination is cheerful and sure to provide immeasurable comfort to a child in need. 

Larkin Jean Van Horn Classes

My first introduction to Larkin's fabulous beading was through the Bead & Button Magazine. I love Larkin Jean Van Horn's work, but was especially won over with her heavily beaded art quilts. The Alaska Bead Society and Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters, Inc. shared Larkin as a featured guest teacher for our separate guilds. I enrolled in both classes.

The Embellishments Class held on Friday Sept. 18th, covered many techniques I've become familiar with recently through my personal art quilt explorations. No matter how much you think you know, there are always little tips and tricks and nifty time saving ideas that pop up in casual conversation if you listen closely. This class was geared to try several different techniques just enough to get a sampling. Full blown experimentation requires more time than classes allow, so I have a lot of playing to look forward to in my own studio this winter.

The Shattered Circles Class held the following day was one I didn't have much expectation of. To my delight, I had the most fun learning Larkin's design method using circles. Like she stated, creating one design is like trying to eat one potato chip from the bag.... can't be done! I drew, cut up and rearranged 4 designs in class. On Sunday the light bulb warmed up in my brain and led me to create what I believe is my best of 5 designs. Just like potato chips... I will have a bag full of designs by the time I finish experimenting with my 'what if I do this' ideas.

Visit Larkinart.com to see the originators work by clicking on her name in the first paragraph of this posting. We were allowed to photograph her quilts with the stipulation to refrain from posting them on our own web pages. When I have a series of my own Shattered Circles completed, I will post photos. I've been doodling ideas in front of the TV at night, including different shapes besides circles. I'll probably call my series De-constructed Shapes or some such moniker. I'll let you know when I post photos.

ALCQ 2009 Best of Show

This past weekend was our quilt guild's annual show. I was compelled to record this years Best of Show because it is truly an eye popper. QUILT MAKER HOLLY (LAYTON) ROTH designed and hand quilted this massive quilt entitled INTERWOVEN ELEMENTS. In speaking with Holly about her conception for this remarkable design, she told me about the message she meant to convey visually. There is and has been an ongoing battle of the minds regarding Art versus Craft. Holly feels there isn't a strong delineation between the two because creativity is an art regardless what the artist/craftsperson is engaged in. Even in the quilt realm, there is the divergent views between art quilt, quilt art and traditional/contemporary quilts. But I digress....

Upon closer examination of the quilts design, the right hand side represents the 'Becky Homecky' crafts type artist who is involved with traditional designs, various craft involvement (depicted by the formed flowers and beading), and the movement is from the right heading to the center of the quilt - arrows of pieced fabric blocks. From the left side of the quilt, the paisleys and free-form design appearance is representational of the 'art movement' in quilting, which promotes innovation, new ideas and a contemporary statement. The pieced fabric arrows are pointing toward the center of the quilt as well. The opposing views can be looked upon as clashing in the middle or culminating in a meeting of the two mindsets. Holly appreciates the divergent interests and abilities through all areas of art, craft and quilting and hopes to broaden the perspective in this ongoing controversy of Art versus Craft - particularly in regards to quilting.

High Five for Holly and her beautiful quilt. I'm not sure what the dimensions are but it was the largest quilt in the show -- some was hanging over the railing. Holly had to hang it from her deck rail just to get a photo of it since she has no place to display it in her home. Interwoven Elements will be traveling to New York or Germany for showing but at the time of this posting - the schedule is undetermined.

ALCQ 2009 Show & Silent Auction

Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters Guild is hosting its annual Quilt Show & Small Quilt Silent Auction in the Conoco Phillips atrium September 12th and 13th. Charter Member, Louise Bremner made and donated this years stunning raffle quilt entitled "Trail Mix". I'd be in quilters heaven to win this one! This quilt is currently displayed at Seams Like Home in the University Center, Anchorage for anyone wishing to take a closer look. Tickets will be on sale at the Show until the drawing on Sunday.



I've donated three small quilts to the silent auction this year. The small medallion style block was given to me by someone who'd pieced it from a Jinny Beyer class long ago. I added the outer border and hand quilted it. This photo doesn't show any details.



The irregular shaped piece of bear fabric was given to me so I dug through my scraps to crazy piece what I hope appears to be the viewer looking through a dilapidated cabin. It is machine thread painted and machine quilted.



"Butterfly Dreams" measures 16" X 19". I fused various brightly colored ribbons in a diagonal layout onto background fabric. With leftover fused cotton fabrics from my Tranquility quilt made in 2008, I layered a woven grid on top of the ribbon. As an experiment, I placed a purchased sheer overlay with colorful foil butterflies already stamped on it. The wall hanging looks best in a well lit setting where the ribbon and grid work can be seen underneath and the butterflies glow and sequins sparkle across the surface. The blue reminds me of night - which inspired the title.



The Silent Auction is our Guilds annual fund raiser and all proceeds go into our Education Fund. The money used to sponsor guest teachers (usually from out of State), enables those unable to travel, a chance to learn from famous quilters. Usually 50 to 60 small quilts (no larger than 24" square), are available to open the bid at $30. and may climb to $300. or more if it is exceptional or there is a bidding war. Closing bids are tallied Sunday afternoon. If you are in the area, come view the show!