Another Glass Plate!

Isn't it fantastic to see how Ted interpreted our work? I just love thinking about these classy glass works of art in the homes of each of the Twelves all over the world. Again, thank you so much, Ted!

Here is mine. It's inspired by my chartreuse 12x12 quilt titled Approaching Departure, pictured below.

 

You'll see that Ted included my loose red thread tails and my tiny square sequin grid near the top. 

My plate is sitting on the sideboard in our living room. I love the graceful curve of the plate and the bright colors!

Metamorphosis

Ch-ch-ch-changes — some of us revel in them and some greet them with kicking and screaming. It has taken some time, but the Twelves are ready for a change.

First up, the size will now be 20 X 12 inches. Do you notice a number relationship there? (Note: the orientation will be vertical.)

Secondly, since the size is larger, we are going to do 5 quilts this year. The dates for our reveals are: Feb 12, May 1, July 12, Oct. I, Dec. 12.

And lastly, how will we select our themes? Diane drew five names at random. The five will have the honor of choosing the themes. My name came up first. I thought of a few words which have to do with changes and moving on, but ultimately, I kept going back to metamorphosis.

The dictionary gives the following definitions of met·a·mor·pho·sis

1. Biology. a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism, as from the caterpillar to the pupa and from the pupa to the adult butterfly.

2. a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft.

3. any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc.

4. a form resulting from any such change.

We have not made a drastic change, but I think this word is a great metaphor for us as we move forward.

So, Twelves and friends of Twelves, let the creativity begin, again. I will be looking forward to your interpretation of this challenge.

Excuse me, I have to sit down!

Karen told me to look out for a parcel and I knew that her husband Ted Rips is a talented glass artist but, even as I carried the heavy package up the hill from the Copacabana post office, I had little inkling of its contents. This is what I found inside - wow-o-wow! I had to sit down and catch my breath.

I've always liked the graphic lines of Stacked, my piece for the Chairs theme challenge and it is such fun to see the design rendered in another medium. Ted even captured the quilting lines. Thank you Ted for this very special gift.

Terri's Plate

I was minding my own business one day when I noticed a delivery truck coming up my driveway.  I scanned my brain, trying to figure out what I was expecting and couldn't come up with a thing.  I was baffled from the moment I took the package from the delivery person up until the moment I saw this beauty inside the box.

Ted did a wonderful job with these plates and I'm thrilled to be in possession of one.  Below is the quilt he based mine on...from the eggplant reveal.  He truly is a glass artist!

Thank you Karen and Ted for such a beautiful gift!

Kristin's Glass Plate

Everyone has been so quiet about these fabulous plates. Apparently they had reached even the international Twelves weeks before mine arrived in Hawaii and no one let out a peep, lest the surprise be ruined. And what a wonderful surprise it was. I recognized my Grey Parrot quilt right away. I think that it is even better in glass than in fabric! We joked about Helen's husband Dennis being named 13 for his book hawking talents, so I propose Karen's hubby Ted be named 14 for his wonderful glass work and obvious dedication to the project!

Another Glass Quilt

This is my beautiful plate, made by Karen's husband Ted. Isn't it wonderful? I really love it! It is based on my Kilauea quilt for the colorplay challenge.

I have a little story to tell about mine. The first time I met Karen, a couple years ago, she brought beautiful gifts of Ted's specially designed glass plates to me and Gerrie. Gerrie's was very clearly based on her "mathematics" quilt. It wasn't until later that I realized that mine was based on my "water" quilt. Some designs are clearly much more difficult to render in glass than others. My plate was beautiful, I thought, but not as close a match to the original as Gerrie's. I loved looking at it, displayed on a shelf in my dining room. A couple of months ago a box arrived in the mail with the plate you see above and a short note from Karen. She said Ted had never been happy with the piece he'd made for me and had made another! I was speechless. When the subject of the plates came up in Houston I didn't tell my fellow Twelves that I actually have TWO of Ted's beautiful pieces. I knew they'd be jealous! Now the secret is out. What a very special gift.  And while I still love the first plate, this one just knocks my socks off.

Thanks, Karen and Ted!

A Fused Glass Quilt

As everyone knows, nine of the Twelves had a rendezvous at IQF in Houston. As part of this meeting, we exchanged some lovely gifts. They will not be shared until those who weren't there, get their packages in the mail. 

Karen's husband, a fused glass artist, made each of us a fused glass plate that was inspired by one of our Twelve by Twelve quilts. I received mine some time ago when Karen came to Portland for a visit. She has shipped plates to all of the twelves by now, and I hope they will share theirs, soon. I am anxious to see them all.

My beautiful plate was inspired by my mathematics themed quilt. A big thank you to Karen and Ted.

Signing books!

I'm still amazed when someone wants me to sign their copy of our book! It's such an honor. We gladly signed tons of books during our time in Houston.

I loved seeing our books in Cathy's Quilting Books Unlimited booth!

Terri, Kristin and I especially enjoyed chatting with this 8-year-old who was a HUGE fan of our project! She saw the exhibit and came all the way over to the vendor floor area to see us. When she arrived she recited the names of several of her favorite quilts, especially Terri's quilts including kitties!

I love this shot of all our signatures. (Oh, I see Karen's signature is missing. Bummer.) We are eager to hear from someone who is able to get all TWELVE signatures in a copy of our book.

12 x 12 x 2 = 288 Art Quilts!

The International Quilt Festival at Houston was the first time that the Theme series and the Colorplay series were exhibited together. That's makes a total of 288 art quilts!

Our Missing Twelves

I made these replicas of our missing Twelves - Helen, Kirsty and Francoise. Many people got a kick out of seeing them there in our photos and at our exhibit table. Too bad they could not hear the love we heard about our exhibit or sign book after book. We all missed you three so much.

We are all tired and catching up on our lives at home. We promise to post more pictures as soon as possible.

Travelling On

Today, Sunday, is the last day for you to view our exhibit at the International Quilt Festival Houston and to meet some of the Twelves:

If you can't join us, keep the following exhibition dates in mind:

• International Quilt Festival, Cincinnati 13-15 April 2012
• Internationa Quilt Festival, Long Beach 27-29 July 2012
• Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, Australia, April 2013

Dinner with the Twelves

Here we are at dinner last night minus Kristin who took the photo. I brought Helen, Francoise and Kirsty with me. Can you find them in this photo?

We are having an amazing time and getting rave reviews on our exhibit. It is mind-blowing and exhilarating.

Nine by Twelve Connections

What a joy for nine of us to gather in Houston. This is how the meeting matrix looks now:

 We miss you Kirsten, Françoise and Helen!

Twelve by Twelve Connections

When Diane first formed our group back in September 2007, only three or four of us had met in person and many of us had not even encountered each other online. Fast forward 4+ years and that is all about to change in Houston. This is how the meeting matrix looked after Helen, Diane and Françoise met up at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham last August. Just imagine what this will look like when it is updated in 24 hours or so when nine Twelves gather at the International Quilt Festival!

Colorplay Postcards

If you are attending the International Quilt Festival in Houston this week, or know someone that you can send a shopping list with!, you may be interested in buying a special postcard set from our Colorplay series.  The limited edition set contains thirteen cards - a quilt image from each Twelve and a mosaic card showing a quilt from each challenge made by the Twelve that selected that challenge. The price is US$12 (inclusive of tax) and we'll be selling them in our exhibition area.  Here's a floorplan so you can easily find us.