This will be our seventh year attending middle school wrestling:  first three years with Joshua (they could begin in 6th grade then) and now four more years with Eli (by which time they could begin in 5th grade).  With occasional wrestling breaking out in the living room since he was barely as tall as the dearly-departed dog-beast, Eli has had a good bit of time to learn.  And learn he has!  Last year, devoted readers may recall, the boy was Eastern Maine Regional Champion and came in a close second in the state.  This year, Eli’s hoping to do at least as well if not better!  He’s off to a good start…

Yesterday marked his first meet of the season (he had the stomach flu for the first meet).  He had three regular matches and one “exhibition” match.  He won four matches.  In the first period.  ALL by pins.  Two of the four in 12 seconds or less.  Ahem.  Glad I’m not facing him on a wrestling mat!

For his first match of the season, Eli (in red, on the right) faced a boy from Bath. He let the kid grab his ankle/leg at the start, so it took a moment to get his bearings and decide to dominate.

The meet was….erg…. in the Western Region.  The Pine Tree Wrestling League (to the dismay of many parents) has decided to expand the regular season meets across regional lines to give the boys more experience.  That is good.  Driving on twisty turny two lane snowy roads, well…not so much fun. It was a good two hours each way to Dirigo from our home!  At least the nasty weather ended early enough for the roads to be mostly plowed/cleared.

The boys moved out of bounds, came back to the center, and Eli went after the win. Here, he is pinning the kid--the aim is to win. The best win (in terms of points for the team) is a "win by fall" or "pin" where you get the opponent's shoulders on the mat. The ref is down on the mat to get a straight-on view to make sure both shoulders are down before the welcome (if you are the one doing the pinning, and not the one being pinned) slap on the mat to indicate pin! Match over! Opposing coach is now looking glumly resigned. Mama-Smile!

At Eli’s mid-weight-range the competition tends to fall into two groups:  really good—really competitive, and rank beginners.  When your kids are young or somewhat plumpish, it is disconcerting (to say the least, for moms, kids, coaches), to see some very muscular and skilled 7th or 8th grader walk onto the mat looking determined. For those who aren’t intimately familiar with wrestling:  kids are grouped by age (in this case 5th-8th, next will be high school) and by weight class.  In our league, it is (in pounds)  75, 82, 89, 96, 103, 110, 117, 124, 131, 138, 145, 155, 170, 190, 210, 240.  And yes, there really are middle school boys in the 210 and 240 range.  So a 131-pounder can be lean and strong or small and plumpish.  Guess who wins, especially with experience.

This dear boy in blue didn't stand a chance. Took all of ten seconds for Eli to grab him, get him to the mat, onto his shoulders, and the win called by the ref. In a RARE event, I managed to get the ref holding up Eli's hand for the win.

And an even more rare photo, Eli with dad (asst. coach) and True Bragg, a Maine State Champion in high school and head coach:

Eli and coaches (dad on left, sitting, and True on right, teammates behind)

When teams meet up, there are often “defaults” where only one team has a kid in a given weight class.  At regular season meets there will often be “exhibition” matches to give the kids more  opportunities to wrestle.  These are good for learning and bragging rights, but don’t count toward the kids season-end standings as they go into regionals and states.  Eli wrestled Spencer Vaughn from Dirigo again…. he wrestled him last year at states and pinned him.  This year, Spencer is a weight class heavier than Eli, but since he, too, made States, it means he is a good wrestler. General rule of thumb is that it is harder to wrestle someone heavier as they have more muscle.  But not always. And skill counts.

The Dirigo boy is arched up trying to keep his shoulder blades off the mat and avoid getting pinned. He did not succeed. Again, the refs need good knees to get up and down from being on the mat to see what body part is where!

Eli pinned him again!  This photo was moments before the match was “win by Fall” for Eli!  I must say, I DO like it when Eli wraps up the win promptly and it doesn’t come down to the final seconds of the final/third period!  Next on the blogging list:  painting the house and (get ready….) quilting…yes, I ‘ve actually done some quilting!  Now Eli needs the laptop for homework, so those posts must wait.

just to let you all know I’m still bubbling along busier than ever…. painted the kitchen ceiling, painted the stairs to the basement (where my studio is) both walls and ceiling, made a quilt for a special exhibit, made another small quilt for the chapter challenge, Eli’s wrestling season and meets have begun and it is spring break…can you say WHOOOSH?  Time has evaporated.  The good news is I got both quilts done, and will blog lots soon.

And I’ve begun working out–taking a “Bodyforging” class two days a week that is a combination of yoga moves and pilates, and also riding the exercise bike.  The great news is I am getting stronger and more fit and feel great, but the bad news is the amount of time that eats.  Oh well…worth it!  AND This is Winter Vacation week in Maine, so Eli is home and today we are  driving south to Portland (almost  2 hours) to go shopping…fun stuff!   Anyway, back with lots to post and share SOON!

and ends tomorrow!  So move quickly if you’d like to participate!

Four Ways to Win with Foto/Fiber 2012

A quick reminder that Foto/Fiber 2012, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, TODAY, February 15, at 10 a.m. Central.  I am honored to be part of this event and hope you will support our efforts.  Prizes are donated by many artists and will be sent directly when someone makes a set donation to the ACS.

There are 4 ways to win with this fundraiser – one of which is that 100% of the funds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society through
Fiberart For A Cause. The other three are detailed here today.

For full information go to Virginia Spiegel’s website page dedicated to this fundraiser here.  Over the past few years, Virginia’s efforts to raise cancer research funds have surpassed US $215,000….that’s all because of one woman helped by a whole lot of women and men.  She called it FFAC:  FiberArt For A Cause.  I know that every one of us has been touched by cancer in some way, and I’m proud to help.  Here’s to Daddy, Charlie, Linda W. and to my many friends who have had cancer of some sort and survived.  Even hubby Paul had a skin cancer on his face… Daddy had lots of them, they are fairly benign most of the time, but that’s what too much sun on too pale skin does…. even if you can’t afford to participate in the event by donating today, DO go take a look and pass the word to your friends! Thanks, Sarah

Hi all…great news this week:  I’ve been selected to be on the Faculty at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, Texas…as in: I’m teaching at the best show in the world! (I taught there are few years ago, and am thrilled and considerably less terrified now return… I know I can do it!)  I will have full-day classes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, will participate in the Machine Quilting Forum on Thursday morning, and may well do a 30-minute “Meet our Teachers” demo on the quilt show floor (schedules permitting)  and participate in the “Friday Sampler” from 10-Noon.  If the scheduling for the latter two works, I’ll be demo-ing my fused collage technique at the “Meet our Teachers” and on Friday will share/demonstrate free-motion quilting!  And as always, Janome-America will be able to lend me a machine for my demos…yeah and thank you Janome!

Here’s my Festival schedule:

• Monday, October 29:  Fine Finishes–edge finish techniques; full day class
• Tuesday, October 30:  Birch Pond Seasons–fused collage landscape; full day class
• Wednesday, October 31:  Decorative Stitch Applique–learn to use all those fun stitches on your machine! Full day class
• Thursday, November 1:  Fun with Fancy Threads–the trick to metallics, holographics an other fussy thread; 9-Noon
• Friday, November 2 (tentative): Friday Sampler–free-motion quilting; 10-Noon
• Thursday afternoon or Friday afternoon (tentative)–a 30 minute demo at the Meet the Teacher area on the show floor
• Thursday afternoon or Friday afternoon (likely)–demo(s) at the MistyFuse booth again… love MF and Iris (the owner)!
• Saturday:  PLAYTIME!

Not sure yet if I’ll stay and see the show on Sunday, too… I just may given how busy my schedule has become!

I sure hope to see some of you in Houston and, even better, in my classes! When the show/class catalog comes out, I’ll post to the blog with pictures from the classes and links to previous classes I’ve taught so you can see student work.  FUN!

AND….. drum roll…. the portrait of my son, Joshua, has been juried into the AQS Lancaster show (March 14-17)!

The quilt is too small to fit into the categories for Paducah (must be 40 inches wide, and this one is 36 inches wide by 48 long), so this is the show for which it fits into a category.  I’m thrilled, as I think this is probably the best quilt I’ve ever made.

The Quilters Heritage Celebration show (now defunct) used to take place in Lancaster in March, and it was the first major quilt show I ever attended, driving up from when we lived in the metro DC area.  I love going there and hope some day to be able to teach at AQS Lancaster (which picked up the show-in-Lancaster after QHC ended/retire).  If I can just get my schedule clear for March then I can apply (currently there is a conflict with son’s wrestling season!).  Anyway, it’s been a good quilty start to the year!

The two most recent additions to my small collection of books on Welsh Quilts came from the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre.  Jen Jones, by the way, is an expat American who moved to Wales, married and has made her life there.  The first is A Towy Guide (according to the acknowledgements, the idea is/was a series of guides covering various aspects of Welsh heritage) called Welsh Quilts by Jen Jones.

Jen Jones' 1997 book on Welsh Quilts

Sixty-six pages and about 7×9 inches, this small book has a LOT of great information.  I just checked Amazon.com, but the price is a ridiculous $68 (US) and up, and you can get it for a reasonable price even with postage from the UK and a foreign transaction fee!  The chapters include:

• Introduction
• History
• Making a Quilt
• Method
• Types of Quilts
• Joining and Finishing
• Provenance
• Buying a Welsh Quilt
• Caring for Quilts
• Conclusion
• Blankets
• Types of Blankets
• Public Collections of Quilts and Blankets
• Bibliography

As an aside, I’ll note that Wales also has a wonderful weaving tradition, and for EONS I carried a Welsh tapestry (woolen cloth) coin purse that I think I bought in the UK in 1978; I recently found the little mousie made of the same cloth, and he’s now sitting on the small table on our stair landing.  Photos in the Towy Guide are both color and some black and white, but in all cases the detail of the stitching is wonderful, as is seeing the old implements used.  Antique quilts in the photos date back as far back as 1830.

The second book, Welsh Quilting Pattern and Design Handbook by Marjorie Horton,  is one that covers what I had most  hoped to find:  information about the most typical motifs and designs of the quilting.

Marjorie Horton's book on design for Welsh quilts

To my utter surprise, when I opened it up, Marjorie Horton lives in Rainier, Washington!   I googled her and found several mentions, and it appears she is still active in the Pacific Northwest and  giving lectures and teaching, but could not find a website or blog for her.   Although there is an Amazon listing, it says the book is currently unavailable.  Not quite–I bought mine a month ago, albeit from Wales.

Table of Contents and inside cover

This book, at least the incarnation that I have, is published by the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre.  From what I’ve been able to gather, the book was originally self-published with a comb/spiral type binding.  All black and white, the illustrations are hand-drawn, which I find refreshing after all the slick graphics you see.  I love seeing the designs in Marjorie’s hand!  There is a TON of good information about designing your own, special things to note (like parallel lines to define segments), and a lot of visual imagery for various widely used motifs.

Sample pages from Welsh Quilting Pattern and Design Handbook

If you want to design your own Welsh-inspired quilt, as I do,this book is JUST what you need.  Now I realize that this may be a niche of a niche within a niche of a small corner of quilting, but oh what a find!  And if you love the quilting and traditional Amish-style quilting, I’m guessing you will find LOTS of inspiration in this book.

So I guess I might be well advised to read these books carefully, take notes, and start sketching, eh?  And oh yeah…dye that fabric so I have a 105 x 105 inch (about 3 metres to a side) top to quilt…EEEK!   On a sit down machine?  Am I nuts?  Clearly the answer is yes.  A hazelnut, please.