martha summa educator, musician

blog

27aug
2017

moments of perfection

I had cause to travel a lot this past summer, and two of the trips took me back to Hartford and the days of my undergraduate degree at the Hartt School of Music. It was a huge honor to be named as the Hartt Alumni of the Year this year, but the real moments of perfection (which are very few in life) were made in reconnecting with dear friends. I will never take such moments for granted.

06jan
2017

another miniature quilt completed

I love creating miniature quilts, the amount of detail and tiny perfect seaming can be frustrating on old eyes, but eventually it all gets there. This is the largest of the minis that I've completed, 31 three-inch blocks each have 71 pieces in them, all having to be meticulously created using a method called foundation paper piecing.

23JULY
2016

my first "Be Colourful" pattern

A quilt designer named Jacuqeline de Jonge (out of Denmark) has had patterns created that have become quite popular but are not for the faint of heart. Her "Be Colourful" line of quilts is amazingly gorgeous, each using 24 different colors going through the realm of the entire color spectrum. I recently completed my first design of hers, it was both challenging and exciting to see it come together.

Just for smiles

Taking some time with the alpaca crias

There's a beautiful alpaca farm just down the road, and it's been my privilege to not only be able to hang out with these beautiful critters but also to play some music to them. They seem to really love the piano, I personally think that music can be as therapeutic to animals as it can be to humans.