Jean's Artful Spirit

Velda Newman

2010-05-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

I just got home from attending the West Michigan Quilter's Guild meeting. This was the first time I had attended one of their meetings, as they are about an hour from my home. However, I wanted to go tonight because Velda Newman was speaking about "A Painter's Approach To Quilting", and since I am taking her Creating Realism class tomorrow (nearly today), I wanted to hear her lecture and get a "taste" of her work.

All I can say is WOW! I was totally overwhelmed by the beauty of her quilts, but the size of most of them was humongous. Working so large allows her to make the parts of the quilt, whether it is a flower or a piece of fruit, the size makes it easy for her to put great detail in each piece.

Velda told us that she only works on one quilt at a time, and a really large on, like 8 foot by 9 foot, can take two years. She dyes all her own fabric, designs her pattern, does needle turn applique on all her pieces, and often hand quilts some, if not all of the quilt. She tends to use cotton sateen, which, even when dyed, has a slight shine to it, which helps to give her pieces a luminous effect.

I really loved her Foxglove quilt. The coloring she did on the petals was exquisite. I forgot to take my camera tonight, but I will definitely have it with me tomorrow! Hopefully we will get to see those quilts again.

Changes, Changes

2010-05-24T09:37:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted. I've had some problems with my recovery from the pulmonary emoblisms in December, and have not been up to much. However, I think I'm finally started to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I belong to the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters in Kalamazoo, MI and we just held our annual elections. Though I have been the editor of the newsletter for the guild for the past year, I was just elected to the post of president of the guild, and still plan to continue to do the newsletter.

I took jounalism in high school, and have been doing newsletters for organizations I have belonged to, since that time. I love the creative challenge of making all the information fit into a specific format, like putting a puzzle together. I have also had a passion for writing for a long time.

Our guild has approximately 300 members and we meet each month of the year. We have local quilters do lectures at most of our meetings, but have nationally know speakers and teachers two to three times per year. This month we just had Helen Squire, who writes the Helen's Hints column for American Quilter magazine. She also taught a one day class on how to decide what quilting designs to use on your UFO's. She was a great speaker, everyone enjoyed her class, and she also donated a book to our library.

Our guild also has service projects that we do twice a year. This year, our June project is wheelchair lap robes for people in nursing homes, and for the VA hospital in Battle Creek, MI. Every December we donate stuffed animals with a quilt for each one (usually lap sized) to a women's shelter, the local children's department, and the local mission for homeless people.

I look forward to the challenges and joys of leading the way to new adventures for our guild.

Long time no post!

2010-03-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Above is a picture of the quilt I made for my five year old granddaughter, Juanita. This was taken at her birthday party in September, when I was in Florida, visiting my daughter and the grand kids. It was a great visit, and a long time coming, I had not seen them since Juanita was born-5 years ago!

It's been soooo long since my last post. After an extremely busy last summer, I was a bit burned out during the fall. I spent most of the fall cleaning my home and reorganizing my studio.

Then, I ended up spending the week of Christmas in the hospital after suffering with pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) in both upper lobes of my lungs. Needless to say, that has taken pretty much all the wind out of my sails for a while. I'm now on a blood thinner and am starting to feel better, but I do get short of breath easily, so I still have to take it easy and portion out my energy output.

Now that spring is nearly here, and the weather is starting to get better, I am anxious to get busy working on new quilts, and watching my flowers grow and bloom.

My lilies are starting to sprout, and my crocuses around my pear tree are peeking up through the leaves. As soon as the ground and the leaves dry out I need to get them raked so my flowers will get more sun.

I have several new quilts in my head and they are screaming to get out. One of them started out as a zentangle. Zentangles are doodles that are done on a small square of heavy weight paper. You can find out more details and see examples of zentangles by going to their site at
zentangle.com

FAOL Memorial Raffle Quilt

2009-09-12T16:47:00.001-07:00

This quilt was made for the FAOL James Birkholm Memorial Raffle. The proceeds of the raffle, which includes many other items, will be used to purchase an engraved stone bench, honoring Jim.

The proceeds also will be used to pay for Deanna, Jim's widow, to come to the 2010 Michigan Fish-In, where the bench will be dedicated. The bench will be placed at Gates' Lodge, on the banks of the AuSable river, in Grayling, Michigan, the home of the fish-in.

This is a close up of the Heron, showing the thread painting of the feathers on the chest.

This close up of the turtles shows the quilting of the current in the water. The fabric used for the turtles' shells started out as a black and white leopard print that I colored with Prismacolor Markers. Each section of the shells is a separate piece of fabric, joined and sewn to the background fabric.

I absolutely love this quilt and have thoroughly enjoyed making it, I almost hate to give it up!

Dolphin Dreams

2009-05-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished the quilt for my granddaughter, Correen's birthday. Unfortunately, that was on March 26, but I was unable to get done before now because of health issues. Correen had requested a dolphin so she could hang it in their new house. I hope she enjoys it as much as I had fun making it!

The dolphin is done with needle turned applique and is padded to be three dimensional. The other fish and coral reef items are all fused applique, then I used a small zig zag stitch to secure them and quilt them at the same time. The seaweed is done with eyelash yarn, two pieces sewn down together, with the very tops left loose to blow in the breeze, to give motion to the quilt.

The dolphin is from the Jan/Feb 2008 Applique Society newsletter, the pattern, Sparkle and Friend by Kathy McNeil.

Here is a close up showing the seaweed, eyelash yarn.

I used the pillow method of finishing the edges of the quilt so that I could have the bottom follow the line of the coral wreath, which was fused and then stitched down.

Old but New

2009-04-11T08:44:00.000-07:00

I completed this quilt two years ago and had not put it on my blog because I had hoped to send it out to some shows. Unfortunately, because of my health issues, and being unable to work, I've not been able to afford to do that, so I finally decided to put it up here so that eveyone could enjoy it as much as I have.

It took me 18 months to complete this quilt. That's from it's the design, to finding all 23 white on white fabrics and 16 black on black fabrics for making the cranes. I actually spent 3 hours picking just the colors for the sunset background and the border. I'm sure the owner of the quilt store thought I would never get finished pulling fabrics and lining them up on the floor.

This close up shows the strip piecing of the background, all the strips were 1 1/2 inches wide. The sun was done the same way and then I put irridescent beads around the edge of the sun. I used a crystal bead for the cranes's eyes and then did black irridescent beads around the crystal to give them a lively look.

For the quilting in the sky I did wavy lines to suggest air movement.

I did free motion bamboo quilting in the border, using a variegate thread. I love it.

There are over 150 pieces in the three cranes, appliqued together and onto the quilt background. I had to put batting between the birds and the background to block out the background colors and to help give dimension to the birds' feathers.

Though it doesn't show up really well in the pictures, I also used colored pencils to help define the edges and shadows of the feathers, and to define the difference between the white parts of the cranes, like the head and the back.

The pebble effect quilting of the ground under the cranes' feet was done free motion, continuous line, with the pebbles being larger at the bottom and getting smaller the farther up I went, to give a sense of dimension to the "ground".

This quilt was truly a work of love, and had been talking to me in my head for over a year before I actually started gathering the supplies and actually working on it. I think this is one of my best pieces so far.

The Raffle Quilt Is Finished!

2009-03-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Whew! I finally have finished the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilter's 2009 Raffle Quilt! This was a real challenge for me as I usually do much smaller quilts. This quilt was adapted from Carol Doak's Michigan Star pattern, from her 50 Fabulous Stars book.

I chose this block to adapt since Kalamazoo is in Michigan. The way I adapted the paper pieced pattern was to eliminate the center part so that we could use a solid piece of fabric for the applique of the apple blossoms. I designed the applique pattern. Apple blossoms are Michigan's state flower.

Though they don't show in the pictures, because the quilter used blue thread, there are outlines of robins in the corners of the outer border. Robins are Michigan's state bird.

The paper piecing and applique was done by members of the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters. The quilting was done by Karen Kortman, a member and owner of the Bernina Store in Kalamazoo. She did a great job!

The proceeds from the raffle ticket sales will be going to local charities. This quilt will be given away at our biannual quilt show this October.

Raffle Quilt

2009-02-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in quite a while, but I had a good excuse! I've been working on the Raffle quilt for the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters, my local guild. I'm chairman for this year's quilt, which will be given at our show in October of this year.

The pattern was adapted from Carol Doak's Michigan Star, in her "50 Fabulous Stars" book. In the original paper pieced pattern, the blue block in the center of each square was pieced. Because I wanted the apple blossom (Michigan's state flower) applique there I had to adapt the block so we could use a solid piece of fabric for the applique.

The geometric outside portions of the block were paper pieced and were done by many members of the guild. I designed the inner (green) border so the red triangle would produce a diamond like those between the blocks.

The two pictures are of the top, draped over tables at the Bernina Store in Kalamazoo, MI. The owner, Karen Kortman, also a guild member, will be doing the quilting for us. She does really beautiful work and I am looking forward to see what she designs to enhance the pattern. She was really excited when she saw the quilt, and wants to own it herself, as do I. I'm sure we'll sell lots of tickets this year!

Productive Day

2008-10-13T13:17:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to the Quilts On The Grand quilt show in Grand Rapids, MI. While there we (hubby & I) saw a great cutting system and my husband bought it for me for my birthday (a month early!) It's called the Quilt Cut2 system. It has a board that the cutting mat is attached to, it also has a system for holding your fabric in place so that you can cut quickly. It comes with a T-square "bar" that you cut against (you can also set it at different angles), and an adjustable ruler that allows you to make repeated cuts easily and quickly.

Using this system I cut strips from 30 yards of fabric, in about two hours. The strips were for my guild's raffle quilt and they will be cut into smaller pieces to be used for paper piecing the blocks.

In two hours, three freinds from the Log Cabin Quilters of Kalamazoo and I cut all the strips and helped me to prepare the packets of parts for our 2009 raffle quilt, which I am chairing. It's surprising how fast you can get so much done. Once we had the fabric all cut, we lined all the bits up and stuffed the baggies, assembly line fashion. We had great time and it was a lot of fun working with good friends.

I adapted a pattern from Carol Doak's 50 Fabulous Stars book, and we are doing the Michigan star. There will be apple blossoms appliqued in the center of each block and we will have robins quilted in the corners of the outer border. This will truly be a Michigan quilt!

As soon as I have one of the blocks completed I will post it here.

Today's A Sad Day

2008-10-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

I'm very sad today because I had to have my cat Bouncer put down. He was fine when we left for a fun weekend on Friday. When we got home last night it was clear he was in great pain and very sick. He had a large swelling on the right side of his face and under his chin and had nasty drainage from his mouth. The vet said that she could not see any problems with his gums and thought that he must have had some kind of tumor that got necrotic and he became septic over the weekend while we were gone.

Bouncer was 4 years old and was a great, loving cat, though a bit on the stupid side. I often jokingly called him my rock, as in dumb as a rock, but I loved him dearly.

I still have one other cat, Peek A Boo, who is 12 years old and very healthy. Of course we thought he was, too. So today I'm cleaning carpets from where his drainage leaked from his mouth and washing all the bedding, since that was his favorite place to lay. It will take a few days, but I know life must go on.

Time for Quilting!

2008-10-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

Now that I've finally finished all my current home dec sewing jobs for others, I can get started on some fun things.

I'm chairman for the raffle quilt for the Log Cabin Quilters of Kalamazoo (MI) for our 2009 show, which will be held next October. I've adapted a beautiful Carol Doak pattern from her 50 Fabulous Stars book and we will be making a queen size quilt.

Carol spoke at our meeting in August, and I took her paper piecing class at that time. She has graciously given us permission to use her pattern for our raffle quilt.

I've used the Michigan Star and we will be appliqueing apple blossoms (the state flower) in the center of the blocks. There will be two borders as well, which will leave plenty of space for wonderful quilting to be highlighted. The main portion of the block is paper pieced. As soon as I get one of the blocks completed I will post a picture.

Right now I should be washing the about 30 yards of fabric I bought this week. I'm not looking forward to ironing it all so we can get it cut and put into packets for the members to work on. This is a big project, but I am enjoying getting everything organized and ready for everyone. (My husband says I'm a micro-organizer, so I guess that's why I like this part!)

Besides working on the raffle quilt, I need to get to work on a couple of small quilts that will be donated, with stuffed animals to a women and chidren's abuse center, just before Christmas. This is one of our annual charity drives that the Log Cabin Quilters do each year.

Finally Done!

2008-10-04T10:39:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished this job! Figuring out the logistics on how to make the side skirts look like they are sewn to the top, and still make it removable for cleaning was a major chore. However, I finally accomplished it and am very happy with how the arm chair covers look.
Here is the back of the chair.

Here is the front.

The side chairs were actually a piece of cake compared to the arm chairs because I was able to sew the skirt directly to the top. I'm not sure these pictures show the back tabs with buttons that hold the skirt in place.

I always enjoy working with high quality fabric and this was a beautiful damask fabric that had a wonderful hand.

A Fat Quarter Celebration

2008-08-21T05:03:00.001-07:00

Recently the Fat Quarters gathered to celebrate the wedding of Janelle's daughter, Heather.

The Fat Quarters (from back row left) Janelle, the bride's mother, Jabeth, the bride's aunt, Nancy, Alta, and myself.

The happy couple, Heather and Kieth were married in the same church (in Sturgis, Michigan) as Heather's parents. The reception was held at Riverside Receptions in Centerville, Michigan (see the following post-Blogger was being problematic and I had to break this into two posts.)

Riverside Receptions

2008-08-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

Riverside Receptions in Centerville,
Michigan is a wonderful venue to hold any sort of party. It was perfect for Heather and Kieth's reception.

There are extensive grounds, wonderfully landscaped with many flowers blooming. This site is on the banks of the St. Joseph River, which was actually very low, down 18 inches because of lack of rain. This wonderful gazebo was down by the river and I couldn't resist getting it with the flowers in the foreground. This picture says "quilt" to me!

There are two beautiful waterfalls, each with Koi in their pools. These Koi were very hungry, and very personable. They got so excited anytime anyone walked close to their pool. However, there was a sign not to feed them. The owner told me it was to safeguard their health and to keep people from giving them food that would harm them.

Busy Spring

2008-06-09T07:41:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy spring and I haven't had much chance to get on the computer. I've recently completed my 2008 Grab Bag Challenge for the QuiltArt list. I can't put a picture up yet as the quilts haven't been sent back to their original grab bag owners. This quilt was a hat trick for me, I used the Drunkard's Path for this quilt, which I'd never done before, I also quilted with metallic threads and did feathers, both of which were firsts. It was a great challenge and I can hardly wait for my grab bag and it's new quilt to come home. The pictures from everyone's quilts are being put on a CD by Tomme Fent (the group leader) and it will be sold to support Fiber Art for A Cause. As soon as I have an email address where it can be gotten, I will post it.

I've also finished a large order of 11 cushion covers for outdoor furniture for a client and am currently working on 8 skirted seat chair covers for the same client.

As if June isn't busy enough, I'm also the chair for the 2008 FAOL Michigan Fish-In. FAOL is an online bulletin board for flyfishing, and a fish-in is a get together to meet people you see online. The fish-in will again be held in Grayling, Michigan at Gates' AuSable Lodge. This year we also took orders for t-shirts for the participants, which will be distributed when everyone registers upon arrival. It's kind of like having a family reunion, with everyone likeing the same things!

We will be leaving for the fish-in on June 28 and coming home on July 6. I've got my days scheduled on my calendar and I know it will get here before I am ready.

Studio Assistants

2008-04-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when working in the studio I regret having my trio of "assistants", especially when I am working on a deadline and need to move as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Between knocking off spools from my wall hung thread holder and trying to wrap their tails around my machine's needle (while it's moving up and down!), sometimes I have to just put them all out and work alone. I can't say work "in peace" because the constant scratching at the door and crying precludes peace of any kind.

Below are pictures of my studio assistants. Starting with Peek A Boo, she's my oldest cat and a bit set in her ways. She's not quite as bad as the younger ones, she only wants to sit on my feet, which makes it hard to use the machine's power control foot. She's 11 years old now and doesn't always appreciate the "closeness" of the others.

Now we move on to Miss Tillie. She's a beautiful ball of fur, who leaves it for me-everywhere! She loves to lay behind the machine as I'm sewing but her long tail tends to wrap around the needle housing and I have to continually push it out of the way to get any work done.

Last but far from least is Bouncer. He's one of the longest cats I've ever had and he loves to get up on my work table when I'm trying to accomplish anything. I've finally found how to thwart his tactics, if I go in the studio and just sit at the table and give him some loving for a while and give him some attention (actually more than he really wants) he'll be content and leave me to work for a while.

He always tries to be helpful, by moving things out of my way for me. Here he decided the tissue box was ready for the trash, but dang, he's having a bit of a problem trying to find the trash can!

Photo To Landscape Class

2008-04-23T11:24:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 19, I taught my first quilting class! I did this for the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters, Inc, the guild to which I belong.

Though I love doing landscape quilts, I was a bit nervous about teaching my techniques to others. My friend, Alta Dekema (who also took the class), was the chairman for our guild's Saturday workshops and she talked me into teaching a class. Boy was she good at begging!

Below are some pictures from the class, starting with the full class at work on their quilts. The class included Pat Shaw, Vickie Smith, Ellen Colston, Cathy Warner, Linda Mosher, Gina Irelan, Jackie Skarritt, Roberta Annsla, Alta Dekema and Sally Amador

Below are the students' works in progress.

In the morning's session we worked on the above landscapes. After lunch we worked on free motion embroidery(FME), using tulle between two layers of Sulvy water soluble stabilizer, to produce free standing appliques. The appliques will be added to the finished landscapes. I was inspired by the different looks the students produced, especially since they were all working from the photo I provided. Only one student brought in her own photo (from a book on Matisse-the piece with the bridge) to work from.

I did learn a couple of things teaching this class. It should actually be a two day class, with the first day doing the landscape and the second day working on the free motion embroidery. Everyone was having so much fun doing the landscape, we ended up breaking late for lunch, which made us late starting the FME portion of the class. Luckily, everyone was able to nearly complete their applique in the class.

I'm hoping the students will bring their finished pieces to the next guild meeting for show and tell, so I can see what else they did. All in all, this is a class I would teach again, and may decide to pitch it to several different quilt stores in the area.

Aids For Free Motion Sewing

2008-03-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

Since I love to do free motion embroidery and quilting and I was having some difficulty getting my fabric to move easily under my machines, I started looking for solutions. There are several professionally made items for this problem.

There are two different slider "sheets", one you have to tape and one you don't, that are each about $20. Then there is an electric motion slider thingy that costs $1000. Being of meager budget and a bit inventive myself, I first tried using one of those thin chopping mats you find in kitchen stores. This helped but it wasn't really slick enough, or really quite large enough.

Then when I got my new Babylock machine, I decided to use my "chopping" mat on my old White with it's extension table. Therefore I needed to find something to improve movement for my new machine. Then when looking around my local Meijer (like a super Wal-Mart) I noticed the For Sale & For Rent signs. I pulled one out, noticed the back is all white, and very, very slick feeling. This thing is 15" X 19" and cost only $2.49. It took it home, prepared to "make it work".

The first thing I did was take a piece of newsprint the size of the sign, and laid it on my sewing table, with the front edge at the front edge of the table, and the right side up against the machine at the throat's deepest part. I then traced the metal "plate", and the area for the bobbin. I removed the paper, cut on the traced line, and then layed the paper back where it had been, to check the opening. I also figured out where the switch for dropping the feed dogs (on the back, behind the needle on my Babylock) and drew in a square that I felt would be large enough for me to get my finger through, so I could switch it at will.

Once I was happy with my openings, I layed the paper over the plastic sign and traced the openings with a permanent marker. I then used a utility knife to cut the opening. I used an emery board to sand the cut edges smooth. When I was happy with the edges, I layed the plastic on the table, with the holes aligned in the correct position, and used masking tape to keep it in place. Please see the picture below for a full shot.

Below is a close up showing the opening around the plate and bobbin area, and how I taped it, so my fabric can't snag on it.

This plastic sign made sooooo much difference! It is much easier to move the fabric around. Because my machine is dropped into my sewing table (the opening was originally made for my White), and there is an open area behind the left portion of the machine's bed (because of the shape of the back of the Babylock), when I sew I sometimes get a bit of sound from the vibrations of the machine on the plastic sign. This is not loud, and is easily ignored, especially at a savings of $17.

I think one of the most important things anyone can do to improve their FME and FMQ is to have their machine set down into their sewing table, as this greatly reduces the drag on your fabric from gravity. Below are several pictures of my Babylock, set into my sewing table.

The legs and the lower shelf are from a computer desk that we no longer wanted and decided to remake into my sewing table. We first measured from top of my legs to the floor, to ascertain the minimum height (it could always be higher, more room is always better)to put this lower portion. Then I sat with my arms held at a comfortable position, (like I was sewing) and measured from there to the floor so we knew what the maximum height of the upper level would be. Then using the measurement on the machine from the top of the bed to the table, we figured what space we needed between the upper and lower decks, and what length the legs needed to be.

I would suggest that if you are going to err on the space between the two levels, make it a bit larger than needed, you can always put something under your machine to make the bed level with the top of the table(We used a premade shelf, 3/4 inch thick, with a bullnose at the front). NOTE: Be sure to take into account the thickness of the material you will use for your upper level when figuring out how much space between the two.

My White, for which the table was originally made, has the old style bobbin, that is put in from the front, so we made (and attached with hinges) an L shaped piece that went in front of the machine, and to the left of the machine. The front piece was kept in place by a latch (kind of like a wing nut, only larger) which kept the piece from vibrating and lifting during sewing. You can see the latch in the next photo, just to the right of the Babylock's base (under the table top, near the dark vertical line-which is the opening)

I know these discussions are a bit long for a posting (for me at least), but several people on the QuiltArt list had asked about my system, after I had talked about my "sign slider" and I had promised to put pictures on my blog.

Photo To Landscape Class

2008-03-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Above is the black and white photo I took in a park near my home. This is what the landscape quilt below was taken from. There is NO photo transfer in this project. This project was done for a class I am teaching on April 19 for the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters, which is my local guild. This is my first time trying this technique, and my first time to teach a quilting class. I have been fascinated with thread painting since seeing Nancy Prince on Simply Quilts and seeing her wonderful quilts at the IQA Quilt Festival in Chicago. She is my inspiration for this project and class.

This close up shows the first tree that I did thread painting on. I actually had it completely covered in thread and realized it looked too heavy, so I added the sky fabric with the branches toward the top, giving it a more airy look.

Below is a close up of the wall and the bushes. You can also see the thread painting on the path in the distance.

Below is the last of the close ups. This is of the bushes, flowers and grass in the lower right corner of the piece.

Now that the class sample is done, I need to go back and make the mock ups of the various stages, to help the students see the progression of the piece.

I am starting the students off with a black and white photo because I want them to use their imagination and make this their piece, and not an exact copy of mine. They will start off tracing the main components of the picture onto clear vinyl with a permanent pen, and then transfer that to a medium weight stabilizer. This stabilizer will act as the foundation for the fabrics to be built upon and will also assist in the thread painting.

The piece starts by blocking in the main background colors, working from the back (sky) forward (down). After that the background trees are added, using fused raw edge applique. Working forward, the path, the rear bushes and the wall are added. Then the two front trees and the front bushes/flowers are added.

The tree in the upper right corner had too much solid thread painting so I added a piece of sky fabric with a branch on it and then did some thread painting around the edge. I feel this made the tree much better looking. The main rear trees' leaves started out as a leaf print that I had put fusible web on, then I just randomly cut small pieces out and layer by layer fused them on. Then I used a variegated thread to do a generalized swirling thread painting over the top to unify them.

I did a lot more detailed thread painting on the trunks of the trees, trying to give them more texture. The wall is a printed silky type polyester fabric that I stitched over the printed lines, to give the stones more depth.

The grass fabric in the front had a lot of very light empty areas between the clumps of grass and I felt it would look better with lighter colored grass stitched in, and I am happy with the effect.

This was a great learning project for me, and only enhanced my desire for thread painting.

2008 Grab Bag Challenge

2008-03-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I received my bag of goodies for this year's Grab Bag Challenge, hosted by Tomme Fent for the QuiltArt list. I so enjoyed doing this challenge last year!

When I opened my package I was ecstatic, I LOVE everything in it! There's a lovely piece of batik, several quordinating fabrics, Angelina fiber and film (I need to get some Bonash), some lovely beads, and and absolutely gorgeous white sparkly organza fabric.

This package is making me see sooooooo many possibilities that it will be hard to decide on just one! I took the package with me to my applique group on Thursday morning and the other ladies were drooling over the goodies I get to play with.

Unfortunately, I can't get started just yet on this project, until I finish my class quilt sample and the "in process" pieces, and finish working out my notes. I also need to finish up and print out my supply list to hand out at the guild meeting next Tuesday. Yikes, time is just flying!

Sigh, it looks like I am going to be stuck inside sewing when it's finally warming up and the sun is shining. :>)

Is it Spring Yet?

2008-03-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a heron, taken on the AuSable River, during the 2007 FAOL Michigan Fish In, near Grayling, MI.

Spring must soon be here, despite what the weather is doing, because this Saturday is the Flyfishing Expo in Warren, MI. This is always the first event of the year, and is a good way to relieve cabin fever!

Bill, my DH, and I are the chairs for this year's FAOL (Fly Anglers Online) Michigan Fish In which will be held June 30-July 5 at Gates AuSable Lodge, in Grayling, Michigan. We will be holding a committee meeting at the Expo on Saturday. FAOL is an international group and getting a committee together is difficult, so we do it either at Cabela's or at shows, just to sweeten the pot.

This year we plan to sell T-shirts to commemorate the event and any profit from the sales will be given to a fishing charity. There will be casting contests and a nice picnic for the attendees on July 4th. The rest of the week will be taken up with lots of fishing, visiting, fishing, and telling fish tales.

Creativity and the Winter Blahs

2008-02-24T13:03:00.000-08:00

Do you find your creativity lagging in the winter? Mine surely does. I'm not so sure it's just the seasonal affect disorder causing it. I think those of us who live in the northern realms are meant to hibernate in winter! That way we wouldn't have to put up with freezing snow, never ending clouds and feeling like the house is closing in on us. Can you tell I hate winter?

Below is a picture of the tree in my yard, taken last spring. I can hardly wait for it to warm up so my bulbs will sprout and begin to bloom. I long for the glorious greens to return! I think I know why I never make brown quilts, I get so sick of just the brown tree trunks and limbs in winter that I crave using color, magnificient color.

I've not started anything new, creatively. I am working on writing up and fine tuning a class I will be giving to the members of the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters in April. The class is on doing landscape quilts using a photo, but not using photo printed fabric.

Here's a quick sequence of what I do: I start with a picture I have taken and print it out in black and white. I then put that picture in a clear cheap report cover (get it at the dollar store), and using a Sharpie or other permanent fine line marker, trace out the main lines of the picture. Essentially at this point you are only doing a blocking of the areas, don't trace out all the leaves, just do big loops around an area of leaves so you know that is for a specific tree.

Next, I turn the picture over so the blank side of the paper is under your traced lines. Put a piece of non-fusing medium weight interfacing over it and trace those lines on the interfacing.(if you want the landscape to be larger, take your traced piece to get enlarged and then trace on the interfacing over that. Hint: Be sure your interfacing is of good quality and medium weight, and not fuzzy, because you will build your quilt on this foundation and be doing free motion embroidery on it. If the interfacing has a soft texture and is sort of fuzzy, it will catch in your machine. Trust me you don't want that, ask me how I know :>)

Now that the foundation is ready, you can begin by adding fabrics to block in your colors, starting with the distance and working your way forward. You can either fuse these down, do raw edge applique or sew and flip the fabric. After this is done the fun begins!

Working on the details is next. I fuse small pieces of fabric in multiple prints/colors (like Snippets) to create the effect of different leaves, then I go back and do free motion embroidery over them to secure and integrate them. For the distance I don't do a lot of FME, just enough to give some stability to the pieces and to add to the depth. As you come forward in the piece you become more detailed in the pieces and FME.

I also like to add dimensional details like bushes, tree trunks, and flowers, using netting layered between two sheets of Sulky water soluble stabilizer and doing FME to create the item. I love this technique for the depth it gives to the piece. I am not the one to create this, but Nancy Prince has great instructions on her website at http://www.nancyprince.com/

I'll post pictures with more details of the steps after I've done the class, and I have all the steps done so I can get them photographed, to help explain my technique. Check back around the end of April, as my class is on April 19.

Hot Chocolate

2008-01-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

This inspirational/instructional treatise was sent to me by a friend. I don't know who actually wrote it or sent it originally. I think it truly is the way we Americans need to start looking at life, instead of always looking for the next great thing.

Hot Chocolate.A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups -porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the bestcups... And then you began eyeing each others cups.

Now consider this: God is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us.

God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your hot chocolate

Current work

2007-12-28T12:49:00.000-08:00

This is a picture I took of Milham Park, not too far from my home. I am currently working on producing a thread painted wall quilt of this picture, though I will make it a fall picture, not a very early spring one as here. I am in love with Nancy Prince's work, and also the work of Ellen Ann Eddy, and have wanted to be able to produce something similar. Nancy's website and the Bernina website both have really nice tutorials on thread painting.

I played with this picture in my Kodak Easy Share software, made it black and white/grayscale and then changed it into the "coloring book" mode. After that I took a clear acetate sheet and drew the outlines with a black Sharpie. I then copied that drawing on plain white paper (at Kinko's) and had them blow it up so it was quite large (about 20 X 30).

I then layed a piece of lightweight stabilizer over the drawing and lightly drew the main lines. Then using raw edged applique I blocked out the main areas in fabric, stitching them down with clear thread. I am using a lovely embroidery thread that has a nice sheen (I believe it's rayon) for doing the water. I plan to thread paint the whole stream and waterfall, and then just do some embellishing of tree trunks, leaves and plants and flowers for the rest of the picture.

Somehow, my friend has talked me into giving a class in this technique for our local guild. I don't know how she managed that! The class is supposed to be April 18, and I haven't even finished my piece yet, let alone started doing it in a smaller size that the students can nearly finish in a day. I need to do the different steps out in separate pieces to make it easier to show the students.

On top of the stress of trying to do all that, my main machine has gone on the fritz! And, unfortunately, I cannot afford to get it fixed until I get my income tax return back. Sigh, it looks like I'm going to have to postpone my class (oh, goody, more time to make it better for the students).

Though I have discovered I can do free motion embroidery on my mother's old tinker toy sewing machine, it doesn't work as well as my White did, and I don't have a table extension for it. So I am definitely going to take the time and reschedule so that I can show the students what I mean when I describe the different steps during the class.

Quilt Challeng Idea

2007-11-12T10:54:00.000-08:00

I just had an idea for a quilt challenge to do with my small quilt group, the Fat Quarters (see picture in 6/7/07 post).

I would call this challenge the "Reduce My Stash" challenge. Each quilter would bring five pieces of fabric (no smaller than a fat quarter) and at least five items for embellishment. Then the fabrics would all be put in a bag and the embellishments in another bag. (bags would not be see through)

Then after drawing cards to see the order for picking, each person would take turns pulling out a piece of fabric and an embellishment. The challenge is they would have to keep and use at least some of each fabric in their quilt. They could choose which of their embellishments they want to use, but cannot use any of their own stash of embellishments at home.

Due to the size of the fabrics, and the choice of the quilt size made, the quilters would be able to add only one fabric from their stash to make the quilt (to possibly make the backing, etc.). Pictures would be taken of each person's pulled goodies, to check against the finished quilt. Then there would be a set time period in which to finish the quilt.

Does this sound like a fun challenge to you?

Time for fall reorganization

2007-10-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

Now that the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters' show is over I am ready to get busy and do a bit of fall reorganization in my studio. I've come to realize that I have many fabrics that I will probably never use. I have decided to clear those out, taking them to the next Fat Quarters and KLCQ meetings to share with my fellow quilters. Whatever is left after that I will donate, most likely through the Freecycle group I belong to.

I love the idea of sharing the things I no longer need or want. It's much better than just sending them to the landfill, adding to the destruction of our environment.

I'm currently in a bit of a creative lull, I think it's just a bit of burnout after the push to finish my show quilts, and preparing for and working at the show. Since then my fibromyalgia has been in a flare and it greatly depleats my energy, both physical and emotional. I have had MS like symtoms for a long time and even though I still don't have the "plaques" showing up on my MRI's, I don't know that I don't have it. I've also this years started having symptoms of Meneire's disease, which is an inner ear problem. I'm currently in the middle of a swarm of doctor's visits. I'm trying to peg down exactly what all is wrong with me so that maybe, if I can get the correct treatment, I can maybe get back in the workforce.

Otherwise, I need to seriously look into filing for disability, before I have been out of work too long to qualify for it. I have been putting off doing that, not looking forward to the stress of going through all of the hoops to just get turned down (since nearly everyone is the first time around).

I was really kind of hoping my most recent MRI would actually have the "plaques" show up, just so I could finally say, see, here is what is wrong. I have been formally diagnosed with fibromyalgia and arthritis, and I am currently taking part in a drug study for a medication called Minalcipran, to see if it can block the pain path, turning the pain receptors off in the brain, relieving the constant pain that firbromyalgia often produces.

I don't often write here about how my health affects my creativity and my art, but a current discussion on the QuiltArt list has made me realize how often the stressors and and limitations in our lives actually guide us to the things we create. The design of my quilt Spring Dance (see close up in previous post) is inspiring to me because I love to dance, with complete abandon, and I am now unable to because of my health. This design allows my spirit to dance, even though my body no longer can.

Kalamazoo Log Cabin Qulters' Show

2007-09-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

This is a close up of my newest quilt Dance of Spring. This quilt has been a work of love for me, taking 18 months from inception, through production of the piece.

I knew that I wanted the cranes to really stand out from the background and decided that a colorful sunset/sunrise would be the ticket. I used eight different fabrics for the sky and sun, deciding that piecing 1 inch strips would give me the best control over blending the colors to give the effect I desired. I used orange crystal beads on the edge of the sun to give it the sparkle it needed and to help separate it from the sky.

I chose the dark green border because I knew that color would make the sunset/sunrise colors stand out and the dark color would make the wings extending over it, to stand out and give a sense of depth to the piece.

There are 145 pieces, of 16 different white on white and 6 black on black fabrics, in the three cranes. I used needle turned applique for these, putting the birds together before placing them on the background. I placed a piece of batting under the birds to block the background colors from bleeding through, and to help give the birds more dimension. I used jewels and beads to make the eyes seem more alive, and give a sense that they were really looking at you.

I used variegated thread to freehand free motion quilt the bamboo in the border areas. I used invisible thread to quilt the pebble area around the birds' feet, and also around each of the individual feathers, to give them dimension.

I did not show a full picture of either of these quilts because I hope to enter them in upcoming national shows that require that the whole quilt not to have been published prior to the show.

If you live anywhere near southwest Michigan, come to the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters' biennial show on September 22 and 23 at the Kingdom Indoor Center (KIC). It's easy to find, off I-94, exit Sprinkle and head south to Centre Ave. Turn right onto Centre, and go to the first street on the left (just past the Stryker plant). You will see a quilt show sign and the KIC sign out front. There is free parking, admission is $7 for adults. We will have about 350 quilts, 33 vendors, a concession stand, and will be having demos and lectures going all day on both days. There is also a quilt raffle and silent auction (whose proceeds go to charity).

This is a closeup of Colliding Galaxies, which will also be in the quilt show this weekend. It was inspired by a fat quarter of the starburst fabric in the center of the quilt. The circles are appliqued onto the background. I did freehand free motion quilting on the whole piece. There are jewels in the center of the large starbursts, just to give it a bit of sparkle.

Cat Antics

2007-08-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

I've been quite busy this summer, with vacation and finishing two quilts for the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters show in September. I've also been trying to completely fill my schedule of demonstrators for the show since I am the chair for that area. I only have one slot left and hope to fill it by the end of August.

Yesterday, while I was sitting in the living room beading on a quilt I heard the most God-awful racket coming from my studio. I jumped up, nearly spilling my beads and spotted one of my cats banging his way out of the studio door. I was laughing so hard as I ran to get the camera I thought he might escape before I could get a picture. Here's what had me giggling so (sorry the pictures aren't the greatest, he wasn't interested in posing and I was having trouble holding the camera still because of laughing).

This is Bouncer, he's four years old and is the nosiest cat I've ever had. After I got the Puffs box off his head I discovered why he had his head stuck in it.

The other day I had a cookie when I was in the studio and apparently I had left part of it on the shelf above the Puffs box. I'm thinking he was trying to get the cookie when it fell into the box and of course he just had to have it! I bet he doesn't stick his head into a small box anytime soon.

Best Friends

2007-06-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my best friends-The Fat Quarters! We are a small informal quilt group that meets every other week at Alta's home.

The ladies are, left to right: Alta Dekema, Nancy Ahmadi, Janelle Jones, and Jean DeSavage (me!) This picture was taken at our 2006 Christmas party.

When trying to decide on a name for our little group we were going through different quilting related items and terms and since we were "4" the Fat Quarters seemed a natural "fit". We also made a decision that we would have NO rules, that we would just get together to have fun. There are even some nights we don't even do any sewing.

My life is so much better because of these wonderful, creative ladies!

Life's challenges and joys

2007-05-23T03:59:00.000-07:00

Life offers us many great joys and challenges. This month we welcomed our newest grandson, Michael David! He looks much like his father, except for the color of his hair, he gets that from his mother.

As I was recovering from surgery myself when he was born, we didn't get to see him as soon as we would have liked. This gives us 12 grandchildren (ours, 9, and 3 pre-assembled [step] ones). They range up in age to 19.

Our oldest granddaughter is in college taking nursing, and our oldest grandson is graduating from high school this month. He plans to pursue an architectural career. As he is currently first in state in wrestling, we expect he will be offered several scholarships. We're proud of all of our grandchildren.

Works in Progress

2007-05-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I am currently working on, though I now have it ready to quilt. The two blue panels are from a silk scarf I picked up at the Chicago IQA show in 2006. The white showing is freezer paper patterns for the rust colored applique.

I plan to quilt with matching blue thread in the silk panels, around the patterns in it. I also plan to use a beautiful blue bead around the edge of the panels. I will be using an irridescent thread to quilt the rust colored "waves". I'm not sure exactly what pattern I will do in the green background, but I'm thinking of using a slightly darker green thread and use a Sashiko stitch to complete this piece. I'm hoping to have this done in time for my guild's show in September.

2007-03-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm looking for this fabric for a friend. She had already discarded the selvedge so I don't know what brand or style name it is. If you have an idea where I can look (besides the places I've already looked), I would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks

Time Flies

2007-01-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I didn't realize it had been so long since I had put anything on here. November is not a particularly good month for me, since my mother died shortly after I had had cancer surgery (I'm cancer free now!) and we buried her the day before my birthday. Though it's been three years, November is still a bit difficult for me. Besides I was quite busy trying to finish up a quilt for my grandson's birthday in December. Then of course, the Christmas rush was on.

One great thing I did do in November was to attend my first meeting of the Kalamazoo Log Cabin Quilters. What a large and great bunch of quilters! There was such a diverse range of quilt types shown in "show & tell" that I was blown away. When I had first heard of this group I had "assumed" that it was just for tradiitonal quilters. Luckily my friend Alta, who belongs to LCQ diabused me of that notion. I'm glad she persisted. Now I have more outlets for fun!

At the LCQ Christmas party I was told about a small group within the larger group that is dedicated to art quilts, and I have since hooked up with the coordinator and plan to attend their next get together. Hopefully it will also be a good match. I love learning and sharing with others.

This is a piece called Colliding Galaxies that I did as part of the Fast Friday Fabric Challenge which is part of the QuiltArt internet group. This is a challenge group that puts out a "theme" on the last Friday of each month and we have to complete a quilt and submit our picture by noon on the following Saturday. It really keeps me from procratinating. This particular challenge's theme was whatever we wanted, but we had to make it a non-traditional shape.

The center fabric (galaxies) is from a fat quarter I had and was inspired by it's sense of movement. Since I've taken this picture I have added a bit more quilting and a few crystal stones at the centers of the galaxies, to enhance them a bit. I'll be taking another picture in next few days and will put it up as well.

2006-11-03T09:29:00.000-08:00

This is Bouncer, he's 3 year's old and is a real lover. He's great fun and weigh's a ton, all muscle. He loves to have me scratch under his chin, while he talks to me. He and Tilly (see below) came to us from a nice lady who recently married, was moving and couldn't take her two cats with her. They had both already been neutered and declawed and are a great addition to our household. Our original cat, Peek A Boo (Boo for short) was a bit lonely after Kaylee died (see previous post), so we decided to get her a friend. We couldn't resist either of these two, especially since the previous owner really wanted them to go to the same home. Boo and Bouncer have become friends and have started playing together.

"Where's my toys?"

This is timid Tilly. She's 2 1/2 years old and is a real sweety. She's still a bit shy, but is growing bolder. She's still a bit afraid of Boo, who still hisses at Tilly. The one thing Tilly is, is a begger extraordinaire! It's so hard to refuse her anything when she looks at you with her gorgeous green eyes and that cute dirty looking nose. The little black bit on her nose makes her look cute, whereas I think if she didn't have it she would look a bit hauty. Her fur is as soft as a rabbit's, and she is a real chunker, she weighs about 10-12 lbs. and it is all solid muscle. When I first saw her I thought it was all hair, but it's not. Her previous owner took her to the groomer every six weeks for the "Sylvester" cut, but that won't happen here, I can't wait to see how she'll look when her hair is all grown out. She likes to sit and look out the studio window, and lay on my cutting table and stare at me down the hall, when I'm in the living room. I love her already.

"What have you got for me Mom?"

2006-10-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday Oct. 3 our darling Kaylee (a long haired Tortie) passed away. We never knew exactly how old she was because we were her third owners. We do believe she was over 10 years old because we know she was definitely older than our other cat Peek A Boo(the calico) who is just turned 10.

Peek A Boo has seemed so dispondent that we looked for a new friend for her this week. We actually found a pair of lovely cats, both younger at 2 1/2 and 3 years old. Luckily both have already been both neutered and declawed in the front, which will keep things equal amongst the three of them. As soon as they are more acclimated, and come out of hiding I will post pictures.

Opinions Needed

2006-09-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is something new I have tried. I'm really not much of a traditionalist when it comes to patchwork. I took three coordinated patterns of decorator fabric samples and cut them like a 9 patch, but with curves. Then I put them back together trading the parts around. Below are the three sewn pieces arranged in five different ways.

Please give me your opinion on which one looks best or what else I could do to make this a better piece (other than just throwing it in the trash!). I kind of like #3 and #5. What's your pick and is there anything else I should do with this?

I do have these same three samples in navy blue, should I do the same thing with them and then put the six together into a piece? Should I have sashings of some sort and a border? Your opinions are welcomed and appreciated.
Arrangement #1

Arrangement #2

Arrangement #3

Arrangement #4

Arrangement #5

Part of the reason I did this set is to jump start a bit of creativity, waiting for the start of Fast Friday Fabric Challenge this Friday. I'm really looking forward to it.

Party!

2006-09-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Below are the pictures of my Tiny Textiles Challenge quilt-Party! I loved the pattern on a decorator fabric sample I had and used it with a coordinating pattern of just circles to create this piece. The original fabric reminded me of balloons floating on the wind (the black lines) and that inspired me to add the four appliqued circles from the coordinating fabric.

I had a hard time deciding how to quilt this. Originally I thought I would just do an all over stippling technique but felt it wouldn't really add to the wind blown quality I wanted. I ended up just doing a repeat of the printed lines and I think it definitely gives more sense of movement. The piece that is mottled yellow is actually the back of the quilt. I really like the way the quilting really shows up on the back.

FiberArt For A Cause

2006-09-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

These four fabric postcards have been sent to Virginia Spiegel for the FiberArt For A Cause sale to be held at the IQA show in Houston in October. All the proceeds from the sale of donated postcards goes directly to the American Cancer Society for research. Virginia has set a goal to have 1800 postcards to sale at the show.

FFAC was started a year ago and originally the postcards were sold over the internet and then premiered at last year's Houston show. In April of this year they were also sold at the IQA show in Chicago and so far the postcards have brought in over $53,000 for The American Cancer Society. It is hoped that with the sales from the October show in Houston we will have donated $100,000 to fund research, saving many lives in the process.

My Studio

2006-09-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

My studio is 10' x 13' and has one north facing window. It originally had a small poorly placed closet which would have made it nearly impossible to have a decent sized cutting table in the room. We tore out the closet and used the door (78" x 24") for a worktable (attached to a wall and my sewing table).
My design board is 4' x 4'. It is homosote covered in gray felt. I chose the homosote insulation because it is heat resistant. This works great because I often do fused applique in my quilts and this allows me to spot fuse the pieces to the background fabric while it's still on the design board. That's much easier than trying to pin small pieces on the design board and then move to a flat surface for fusing. Once I have my applique pieces spot fused I move the piece to a flat surface for more thorough fusing.
This is my lovely cutting table which is 56" x 53" and 36" high. I can't bend easily because of my MS and fibromyalgia so this works really well for me. The top was covered in an old thick mattress pad and then covered with plain white canvas. Since I often sew for decorators I keep a sheet over the top to keep as much cat hair off the canvas.
Though I have an ironing board hanging on the wall to the left of the cutting table, I usually just iron my fabric on the cutting table. It's much faster since I can have the fabric out full width.

This view shows more of the "door" work table. You can also see some of my stash on the shelves up above.

The low "box" on the left corner is a non-functioning scanner that my husband turned into a light box for me.

My sewing machine table has a dropped section for the machine and butts up to an intrior closet door that is attached to the wall for a work table. This work table (wood tone) is great when I am doing large pieces as it holds the weight of the fabric, making it easier to sew and quilt.

This is the view as you walk into my studio. You can see my rolling carts with my stash. The black cart is actually a wheeled tool box that I take when I go to my quilt meetings. It allows me to take a small machine and all the supplies I need to work on a project.

The white cabinet behind the cutting table is actually four pieces stacked. They are all available in the storage areas at most discount stores and home improvement stores. The top cabinet is basically a divided box with two doors. The middle cabinet has three shelves behind the two doors. The bottom is actually two, two draw units. We anchored the whole stack to the wall for safety.

My husband actually has a small corner workspace in the room as well. He is an avid fly fisherman and he joins me in the studio and ties flies as I am quilting. It's great because I don't have to feel guilty for not spending time with him when I want to work on a piece. The only problem with his hobby and my quilting is that we now are often shopping for similar products. Which means that we tend to spend a lot more when we go to the fabric stores and craft stores(he didn't use to go in with me), and the fly fishing shops (they have great things for embellishing-thread, beads, feathers, yarns-lots of neat things!)

2006 Grab Bag Challenge

2006-09-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

The first picture is of the fabrics in the bag that I received. The part that looks like a stripe is actually the back of the the quilt I made. I pieced two of the bag's fabrics to make the 20" x 20" size required. The second picture is of the front of "Dawn's Chorus".

For the front I used some hand dyed fabric and then fuse appliqued most of the parts of the picture. The fairy's body I painted using Tsukeniko inks for the skin and fabric paint for the dress. I drew the shape of the wings on sparkle organza with a water soluble marker, stitched over the marks with clear nylon thread and then cut close to the stitching. I then went back over that with a narrow zig zag stitch.

Once I got over the immediate fear of what to do with the fabrics sent to me I had a great time with this challenge!

2006 Quilt Swap

2006-09-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of this year's quilt swap. The center panel is an old handwoven Japanese silk. The background is cotton. I used machine quilting in clear nylon on the center panel and then hand quilted and beaded the background. It now resides in an internist's office.

2006-09-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Above is my very first art quilt, which I made for the first QuiltArt group quilt swap. This was also my first venture into free motion quilting. The Kanji is the word love, which is appliqued in silk. The flowers are done in broderie perse.

In The Spirit of Creativity

2006-09-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've wanted to create a blog for some time now and am finally ready to share my joy in creativity with everyone. Though my health keeps me from working outside the home, I keep my spirits up by being creative.

My passion is creating art quilts! I love pictorial quilts, but also desire to try my hand at abstract work. I am a member of the online group QuiltArt and the wonderful people there continually inspire me to greater creativity and higher technical standards in my art and my quilts.

I love challenges and recently took part in the Grab Bag Challenge on QuiltArt. It was fun receiving a bag of assorted fabrics and embellishments and having to create a 20 x 20 quilt for someone else, even though I didn't know who that person was. The anticipation, waiting to see what was created for me , was high and I was finally pleased to see the pictures of "Lunatic Fringe", the quilt that was created for me by Cindy Cooksey. She did such a great job the quilt was selected to travel to exhibits for the next year. Sigh, I guess I will have to be content with the pictures until it comes home to me.

I've also taken part in the last two QuiltArt quilt swaps. It was fun getting to pick choices from a bevy of absolutely beautiful quilts and then be surprised with the one that became mine.

I'm currently signed up to participate in the Fast Friday Fabric Challenge which will once a month challenge us to create a small/medium quilt, following that month's challenge topic and to complete it and post a photo, in only a week! If this doesn't cure me of my procrastination, nothing will. Seriously, I know that this challenge group will be a great help in increasing my creativity, technique and types of style.

I will try to get some photos up of my work shortly. I am new to this and it may take me a bit to get it all figured out. Thanks for visiting me!
Jean