Tag Archives | Travel

Maitland Art Center

Surrounding Orlando are several quaint neighborhoods and Maitland is one of them.  With sprawling oaks, brick streets, and old buildings, this tiny neighborhood is full of charm. Perfectly in step with the area, the Maitland Art Center sets the standard.  It’s a cluster of small buildings and it was built in the 1930’s as an artists’ retreat.

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

 The buildings and outdoor spaces are designed in the rare Mayan Revival style and are as interesting as the art held within.

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A visit to the Maitland Art Center. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

The grounds are beautiful, especially on a perfect spring day.

In the next post I’ll show you the art that was on exhibit.

Ellen Lindner

0

Coastal Piece Continuing

I’m continuing to enjoy working on my quilt which was inspired by the beautiful scenery of California.

Here it is at 14 blocks (plus one in-progress.)

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I’m really happy with the way it’s progressing.

Check out how much the in-progress block, above, changed in the photo below.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I think I probably sliced and diced that block more than any of the others.  It’s a constant balancing act for me as I make decisions about what to retain (mostly just very general color positions,) and what to abstract.

You may have noticed that many of the blocks have curved edges.  That’s because I’ll probably use curved seams to join them together.  I’m keeping them all a little large and wonky to allow for t hat.

The photo above shows 19 blocks, about half of the number needed.

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot to tell you:  I scorched it!  Controlling all the curved seams requires a good bit of pressing and I apparently over did it.  See how the seam allowances look sorta  yellow?  Yep, I burnt them.  I’m not panicking, though.  Worse case:  I’ll make a new block.  Best case:  I’ll use some of my art products and cover it.  (But, I AM pressing more carefully now!)

How not to press. Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Hope you’re enjoying seeing this piece in progress.

Ellen Lindner

See the start of this quilt.

2

Coastal Cut Up

Remember the great scenery I saw along the coast of California?  I couldn’t get those strong water colors out of my head and knew I wanted to make a quilt inspired by them.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Amazing, right?  And, yes, the water was actually that color.

I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to represent this idea, but I knew I didn’t want it to be overly exact.  I’d have to do some experimenting. But first, I started by auditioning my fabrics.  (It would need some white and black, don’t you think?)   I had many more fabrics in these colors, so I jumped in.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Remembering the fun I had piecing improvisationally, I wondered if that technique would work here.  I knew I’d need to divvy the project up into units, so I drew divisions on my inspiration photo and got to work.  This was my set up.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I jumped in and made these six blocks.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Hmm.  Yes, the colors were working.  And the white inserts added interest.  But, it didn’t have the excitement of crashing waves and rushing tides.  It would need something.

At about this point I had lunch with a friend and showed her In the Moment.  I excitedly told her about improvisational piecing and she wanted to try it.  She showed me some perfectly lovely abstract blocks later and you know what I wanted to do with them?  Cut them up, insert pieces, and rearrange things!  I told her and she actually liked the idea.  A fun conversation.

I came home and looked at my six blocks and then it hit me:  I needed to take my own advice!  I need to slash, insert, and rearrange!  I tackled this with glee and this photo shows 5 of the 6 altered.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

MUCH better, don’t you think?  I was very excited!  Now, it had the energy I wanted!

I continued on, very loosely copying the color placement of the photo.  I had to keep telling myself, “not exact, not exact, not exact.”  After a few more days I had this.

Ellen Lindner abstracts a coastal view. AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Yes!  Now I was getting somewhere!  Can you see that rocky outcrop that’s beginning to appear?  Loving it!

I hope you’ll follow along as I continue with this exciting project.

Ellen Lindner

2

California Dreaming

We had a wonderful visit to Santa Barbara for my niece’s wedding.

Amy in windowsill

Doesn’t she look great?  She and the groom were very relaxed and happy.  It was a very fun event!

The next day, my sister-in-law and I headed off for a few days of exploring.  Having never been in the area before, we found the scenery mesmerizing!  (I was driving and the views were really distracting.)

We didn’t take that many pictures, but I think we got some of the highlights:

Hearst Castle

Ellen Lindner's blog, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

A beautiful view of the ocean scenery

Great view

Can you believe that water color?  I live on the east coast and our water is NOT that beautiful teal.

Sea Lions in San Francisco

Ellen Lindner's blog, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Redwoods in Muir Woods

Ellen Lindner's blog, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

And, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge (on a cloudy morning.)

Ellen Lindner's blog, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Everyone likes to get their picture taken with the bridge.

Ellen Lindner's blog, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I mean EVERYONE likes to get their picture taken with the bridge.

Ellen Lindner's blog, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

It was a great trip with family fun, extraordinary scenery, and interesting activities.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  As part of revamping my blog I’ve dramatically increased the size of the images.  What do you think?  Do you like them or do they load too slowly?

5