Studio Threads

Purple Meadow Rue

2011-10-19T11:18:00.001-04:00

Purple Meadow Rue

30" x 30"

Purple Meadow Rue is a wildflower that is used in the production of anticancer drugs. I made this for a special cancer survivors exhibit at a local hospital. It will also travel to Auburn for an exhibit later on. This piece has special meaning for me as I lost my mom to cancer over 28 years ago. If only a treatment were available then to help her. It is my hope that the viewers of this quilt see the peace and hope that I want it to convey. It is machine appliqued, machine quilted and I used fabric paints. The Purple Meadow Rue is not an easy flower to depict in fabric. It sometimes grows 6 feet tall with long, purple stalks.

Still in Shock!

2011-10-18T08:35:00.001-04:00

Landscape 11-1

My quilt, Landscape 11-1, was chosen for part of the permanent collection of the Art Museum at Michigan State University. It is part of the SAQA "This is a Quilt" trunk show that is currently traveling. It will travel until 2013 and then reside at the museum as part of their collection. My artist statement is below:

A walk in the woods inspired me to create this art quilt. I decided the best way to interpret my memory of the many earthy colors was by the use of paints on fabric combined with quilting stitches to give it definition. The background fabric was the previous result of randomly painting, stamping and mono printing over a commercial fabric. As I looked at the fabric, I could see a forest background with a stream running through it. I painted a few more greens and added some brown grasses. The trees are painted on white PFD fabric using acrylic mixed with fabric medium and appliqued to the background using raw applique and machine stitching.

Doing cartwheels and happy dances. : )

Vivian : )

9/11 Quilt

2011-09-11T09:05:00.000-04:00

This is my 9/11 quilt, "Spirits Rising". My online quilt group, Fiber Artists for Hope, decided to create quilts in remembrance of 9/11. The size is appropriately 9"x11". "Spirits Rising" is currently being exhibited in Chicago as part of the "Reflections on September 11, a Decade Later" exhibition. Here is my artist statement:

"AsI watched television and saw the twin towers fall on September 11, 2001, myheart ached for the many lives lost. Thequilted, shiny lines on my quilt represent the spirits of the people who diedthat day. Out of the debris, theirspirits rose up in shining glory to be comforted by God. The spirit of our country also rose up thatday in unity."

The Sketchbook Project 2011 DC Tour

2011-05-03T08:34:00.001-04:00

What a wonderful time I had viewing my sketchbook and others at the 2011 DC Tour. It was at the Hillyer Art Space on a very rainy Saturday afternoon.

I also happened to be very sick with an acute sinus infection, but my hubby dangled fabric and paint brushes in front of me and off we went to catch the metro for the event. (Even though I felt so bad I am extremely glad I did not miss it.) When we entered, I was given a bright blue sticker that said "Participating Artist". The gallery was packed! There was a waiting line for people acquiring the library cards (necessary to check out a sketchbook to view) and a waiting line for checking out the books. All the books have a bar code on the back so they know who checks out what and how many times a book is checked out. (As you see, they use Macbooks : )

Here is one of my favorite pictures...this is Susan Nash's book on the left and mine is the red one on the right. Ahhhh, viewing Susan's book was like a visit with my bff! She is so talented! The pears on the front of mine is a picture of one of my quilts.
I also viewed Gerrie Congdon's book. Her book was so inspiring...my hubby thinks the same muse visits us...we both like trees.
As you see below, the sketchbooks are in these carts. We were so impressed how very organized and professional it all appeared. It was a first class show! Don't miss it if it comes to your area!

This is a Quilt--new work

2011-02-08T17:54:00.000-05:00

Landscape 11-1

This is a new art quilt I made for the SAQA "This is a Quilt" traveling trunk show, 2011-2012. It is painted, stamped and mono-printed. The background was a piece that I had stamped, printed and painted for another piece. When I looked at it, I decided it looked like a path in the woods, so I painted trees using acrylic paint and stitched them onto the background. I did some light free motion quilting and sent it on it's way. The edges did not have to be finished because it will be matted.

More Sketchbook Pages

2011-02-04T07:30:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pages from my Sketchbook Project for the Brooklyn Art Library. It will become part of their permanent collection along with lots of other artists. My sketchbook will be part of a traveling exhibit this year and one of the cities will be Washington DC! Yippee! I will get to see it again. It was kind of hard to let it go. My good friend, Susan, also participated. The sketchbook is a moleskine sketchbook and the paper is too thin for wet media. By the time I was finished, it looked like I had thrown it in the streets of DC to be run over by a few buses. My theme was Inside/Outside. I will post the entire sketchbook as soon as I learn how to add pages to my blog (if anyone knows, I'd appreciate the help.) I'm on a learning mission to conquer all these electronic marvels at the moment.

Watercolors & Sketchbooks

2011-02-03T10:16:00.008-05:00

on my work table

I'm taking a new class Sketchbook & Watercolor On Location taught by Jane LaFazio. It is so much fun! I know I haven't blogged in a while. I got a new Macbook Pro and I am trying to learn how to use it. Switching from a PC to a Mac isn't easy! But, hopefully, I have accomplished the pictures/PE/iPhoto problems so now I can get back to blogging. Back to this class...I love it! Our first assignment was to sketch keys and then paint them. I did this set of antique keys while I was in pain from a dental procedure...thus a little shakey when using the Pitt pen. But I'm trying to get over my perfectionism and just make more art.

New Work

2010-10-14T07:00:00.001-04:00

Moonlight on the Snow

Moonlight on the Snow(detail)

I made this piece for the Fast Friday Challenge group. The challenge was to make a piece using Chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and dark to create depth. I really like this new piece and it was fun to make. I used fabric paints to achieve the light.

Old Work Revisited

2010-10-13T16:45:00.007-04:00

I have been studying how to improve the piece below. I knew there was something missing that I just couldn't figure out. I decided it needed more depth. Since it was already quilted, I decided to use fabric paints to achieve the result I wanted. Although not a stark difference, it is improved to my satisfaction. I have other work I have completed this summer and will post it here on my blog in the next few days. I have been awfully absent this Summer due to travel, family visits and home improvement projects.

Ocean scene (Before)

Ocean scene (After)

Sometimes you have to look at old work with a new eye. Today, I painted lots of fabric and used Dynaflo to paint cotton pads and pull them apart. There is a new series in the works.

Another Landscape...

2010-07-03T09:03:00.004-04:00

Ocean Scene 2

I just finished this one...well, almost...it still needs a facing. I am also deciding that I may crop some of the sky to make it a more balanced composition but the verdict is still out on that one. This piece has some "thread painting" that I added for the crest of the waves. I also did a bit of painting on this one. I like to keep the painting subtle so it blends with the fabrics. Since it's Summer, I must be thinking of the beach (as you can see in the previous post) ...I have a few unfinished pieces on my design wall that are trees that need to be finished. But, the ocean and beach have captured my creative muse at the moment.

Machine Stitching...new work

2010-06-10T09:39:00.005-04:00

I have been remiss in posting my new work. I'm hoping to get back on track. This is one of my latest ocean scenes. I have been dreaming of going back to the beach lately, but it seems to be a busy time for us. I have my memories of the ocean and this art piece is composed of those memories. I always feel so refreshed after a trip to the beach. I love to watch the tide roll in and wash away the footprints in the sand.

This art quilt is raw edge applique and machine quilted. I painted the sky fabric using SetaColor paint.

I recently attended QSDS in Columbus, Ohio where I took a class taught by Rosalie Dace. She is an excellent teacher and I came away with lots of new ideas for creating texture. I don't usually use embellishments such as buttons, beads and hand embroidery in my art, but Rosalie also showed us how to use the sewing machine to get texture. We learned to use a twin needle for quilting and many more useful skills. I got to take the class with my good friend, Susan, who is so talented with her hand stitching and embellishments. Susan recently posted on her blog about staying true to your heart in creating our art. I must say that I have found that machine stitching and machine quilting is what I love. I did try to do hand stitching while at QSDS and knew I was going "against the grain". It just didn't feel right! I say if it doesn't feel right, then your heart isn't in it. It made me think of learning to sew when I was a little girl. My mother taught me and it wasn't hand stitching, she set me at the machine and taught me to sew. And when I think about it, I never saw her do any handwork...only machine work. She made her living by using the machine. It makes me feel good to realize that I am my mother's daughter after all.

More Trees! I see Trees!

2010-05-04T08:06:00.005-04:00

Late Winter

Early Fall

More trees! I actually finished these on March 8, 2010. (I love that adobe photoshop elements includes the dates in the properties of each photo...helps me to remember!) But I didn't get them posted to my blog until today. I made these immediately after I made Autumn Woods. I needed to do a bit more uncomplicated creations for a rest. I have plans and fabric for Spring and Summer but haven't started on them. These are also based on my photos of the woods in Ohio and Virginia. I did have to paint some of the fabrics as the original colors didn't suit my palette. I think the thing I enjoyed most was the machine quilting. When I quilt, I put my ipod nano on the speaker dock and listen to a BOT...usually a murder mystery...keeps me on my toes. I download them free from our library and I'm currently listening to the author Mariah Stewart.

After my stay in Ohio, I had difficulty getting back to the studio. I plan to spend the rest of the day there, today. I just read an article in the new issue of Art Calendar magazine that addresses the issue of being persistent in making art. Also, I received the new article by Alyson Stanfield about getting back in the studio. Both excellent reading for motivation.

Early Fall Detail

Late Winter detail

Quilting on Late Winter

Thanks for reading and I appreciate your comments,

Vivian

New Work, New Direction

2010-04-08T09:18:00.003-04:00

Autumn Woods I (Work-In-Progress)

It's been a while since I updated my blog. One reason is that I have been spending most days working in my studio on new designs. The new piece above is the new direction my art is taking me these days. I haven't quilted it, yet, but hopefully that will be soon. I have more designs of this type ready to create. These are all based on the photographs I took while hiking in the woods.

I just got home after three weeks in Ohio. I was babysitting our son's dog and house sitting while he was on military duty. I am still unpacking and doing laundry. I had to do yard work right away, it's like Summer here in Virginia and the grass was out of control.

I hope to post more soon.

Snow Dyeing & The Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-12T14:19:00.005-05:00

Snow Dyed Fabric

After pouring the dye over the fabrics

As you know, we got blasted with the Blizzard of 2010 as they are calling it here in the DC area. I spent a lot of time just watching it snow, watching movies and snow dyeing (not to mention shoveling). I have posted some pictures of some of my fabrics. It was so much fun! The neighbors probably think I'm crazy, for sure...running out on the deck and scooping up snow in buckets. Here is how I did it: I soaked fabric in soda ash water (about 20 minutes) and then squeezed the liquid out as much as possible. I placed them in little white tubs, packed snow on top and poured the dye over the top. I just guessed on dye amounts...usually 1-2 teaspoons per cup of water. Then I placed a clear garbage bag on top (so I could watch it) and set them aside until the next day...about 24 hours. Then, I rinsed, washed, dried and ironed. No salt involved in the dye because I didn't want to use up the dye the first day so I could make another batch the next day. It was fun and if I want to try it again, I think the snow will be here for a while.

Emma looking out the garage and wondering how she can go out in that. This is after shoveling 3 times that day!

Vern shoveling snow below and a view of our street during the blizzard.

New work finished

2010-02-05T08:26:00.003-05:00

Landscape #4

I've been fortunate enough to spend some time in the studio lately. This little landscape started with a small handful of fabric scraps given to each of us in my art group. The challenge was to create something using all the fabrics. We were allowed to add 1 or 2 fabrics. I had some of the blue which I used for the border, so that was one and then I added the dark blue water strip. It was tons of fun to create this. There was even a bit of blue lace which I added to the top of the mountains. A bit of green silk is in the foreground. This is just a quick snapshot of it while I propped it up on my fireplace mantle. I like it on the mantle, so it will probably stay there.

Landscape #4 (8" x 10")

Now, I'm thinking this would be such a fun idea to make sandwich baggie size bits of scraps to save for trips or those times when the creative muse is still sleeping.

I quilted the tops and bottom of the blue fabric with curving lines to emulate a feeling of a breeze. This piece is mounted on painted stretched canvas.

I so appreciate your comments!

Beach Landscape #2

2010-01-12T11:02:00.004-05:00

#2 in the series

While landscape #1 is brewing on the design wall after being quilted, I am starting to think how I want to quilt landscape #2. At this point, I think I will quilt all three first and then add the shading by painting or extra applique. These three maintain the same value in color so I think it will be easier that way. My creative muse is reeling in my brain with new ideas but I must finish these before moving to the next quilt idea. I had a little setback in finishing these...sick family members consumed a lot of my time. But I'm so glad at least a couple of them are feeling better. I think the nurturing part of me takes over when someone is sick and my creative muse keeps peaking out to see if she can come out, yet. I keep pushing her back and saying, "not yet". I'm also behind in updating my SAQA Visioning project, so I will also try to work on that update today. I am keeping up with my Artbizcoach.com class with Alyson Stanfield. It is a fantastic class called "Blastoff". It gives you the necessary kick to get your art business off to a good start. Thanks for reading! Thank you for the comments!

The Process...Part II

2010-01-05T10:49:00.012-05:00

Part II

A view of my Design Wall

This is part II of how I create my art quilts. As you read in yesterday's post, I now have it pinned to the wall. Since my iron is close to my design wall, I can gently fuse any of the fusible pieces while it is still on the design wall. (My design wall is insulation foam covered with cotton batting.) I only "touch lightly" with the iron as I don't know if it will melt or not. I pin the rest of the pieces. I don't want it fused too much as I am still tweaking as I go.

pinned and ready to begin quilting

tracing paper over sketch

The next part is the fun part...quilting it! I begin thinking of how I want to quilt it. One of the tools I use is tracing paper. Since it's a small quilt, I can easily place it over the pattern and sketch desired quilting lines. I never mark the quilt, so this is only giving me a sense of how I want to quilt it when I sit at the machine. (There are many ways to find the perfect quilting lines and I hope to blog about that soon. )

The thread I chose for this particular series of quilts is Mettler No. 60 and Sulky invisible polyester. Both are thin and blend easily into the fabric. I use a combination of free motion and regular machine stitching.

I also have wonderful light in my studio both from the windows and the energy efficient bulbs in my lamps. (I will have to blog about these daylight bulbs that are magnificent!) Then I quilt happily until I like it. As you can see below, the quilting is mostly finished. Now I will pin it back on the design wall and tweak it some more. If I don't like the quilting in a certain part I will remove it and quilt it again. I will probably add some shading, shadows and highlights using thread, paint and/or chalks. These will most likely be matted and framed. I would love to hear your comments about your creative process or a link to your tutorial.

My Process...Part I

2010-01-05T08:40:00.014-05:00

Below is a description of how I usually create my art quilts. I will try to do this in two parts.

Original photo

I like to start with one of my own photos. This one is a bit dark, but for creating an art quilt, it will do just fine. I print it out on plain paper and pin it to my design wall. (See the photo in yesterday's blog post.) I then think about size. Since these quilts are relatively small, 12" x 16", I first dig through my fabric scraps. I like to use a mix of my hand dyed fabric and commercial fabric. I'm not trying to match the colors to the photos, but rather for me, a feeling of beach and ocean colors. This could mean brighter colors to some artists. This is where you have to go with the "wow, I like this color" feelings. I then pin the fabric pieces to my design wall. I add or throw out some of the pieces as I go. Sometimes they start to fall off the wall but at least they are in one pile.

Sketch

I cut the backing and batting larger than my finished art piece and layer them and pin to the design wall. Then, I make a sketch by just looking at the photo. When I like the general sketch, I trace over my pencil lines with a Sharpie pen. If I want to keep it this size, then I use this for a pattern. If I want to make it larger, I trace it to transparency film and use my overhead projector. I would then have to trace it to a larger size paper. Now that I have the pattern sheet to the size I want, I place it on a light box. At this point, some of my pieces will have Wonder-Under applied and some will not. I place the Wonder-Under (lite) over the pattern and trace. I then iron it to the fabric and cut it out. Then, I pin to the wall and keep tweaking until I have the "first draft" of my art piece. Everything is pinned in place.

First Draft pinned to design wall

At this point, I let it sit for a bit while I do other things (like laundry, ugh!). I keep taking a peek at it though and may tweak it more for composition. Tomorrow, I will describe the quilting and more of the tweaking process, so stay tuned!

Work in Progress...a new series

2010-01-04T10:56:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year to all!! I have a new resolution to make more art and blog about it! Thanks to all of you who do read my blog. I recently joined the SAQA Visioning project which I think will be a great learning experience for me. It's time to quit procrastinating and make more art and enter more shows. The two works-in-progress above are beginnings from two sketches I did inspired by my photographs of the beach. It's a new series! I actually have a third one on the design wall which isn't in this picture. I'm still tweaking them before any quilting begins. As you can see, there are fabric "guts" stuck to the design wall waiting to be used or tossed. Tomorrow, I will post about my process. Just wanted to get started on the blog posting today.

At last...a finished piece

2009-11-16T16:20:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I am finally blogging again! This is a landscape piece I started at QSDS but just couldn't seem to get anywhere with it. I almost threw it away twice but grabbed it and tucked it inside a drawer. Now I am really glad I saved it because I really like the end result. Below is after quilting and before cropping. After I cropped it, I realized that was what it needed all along. It is made using my hand dyed fabrics.

Before cropping and detail below

The hand dyed fabric reminded me of a stream running through a meadow, so I just went with it when I quilted it. I had an old frame handy and decided I liked it framed. It is 8"x10" inside an 11"x14" frame.

New Work Revisited

2009-09-23T16:31:00.000-04:00

This is a work-in-progress of the start of my buildings and ladder series. I had started it before I left in June for QSDS and now that I re-visit it, I want to finish it! It is an abstract of a ladder against a building. I have done tons of sketches in my sketchbook recently of buildings and ladders. So, hopefully, I can get this one done soon. All the fabric is my hand dyed and then screen printed pieces.

Knitting Insanity

2009-09-22T18:52:00.000-04:00

I have been knitting a lot lately. Maybe because I traveled a lot this summer and I like to take a small knitting project along with me. Or maybe it all started when we suspected our cat had used the internet to order cat food. (We had cat food waiting in our mailbox when we returned from our trip to OH) You have to do something to maintain your insanity. Just like quilting, I can't settle on one thing to make and always have several projects brewing. The one above is going to be a throw using my yarn stash and sock yarn. One strand of any kind of solid color held together with one strand of sock yarn using size 13 circular needles. (29"). I love how the sock yarn adds surprises of color. It's a "scrap quilt" type of throw. I will just keep adding colors and yarn until I like the size. After it is done, I will crochet an edging to keep it from curling (it's done in stockinette). I like these kind of projects when I am watching TV. Funny thing is, I can knit in my sleep. I wake up and see some good stitches and a few bad ones that I have to redo.

This one is a scarf I started in a rib stitch using size 10 1/2 needles and chunky wool yarn. I must be expecting a blizzard this winter because look at the hats I knit below! I made two hats in two days. I love to knit hats and find them easy peasy.

This is my new tote bag to be knit from Noro Kuryeon yarn. It is wool, so the above picture is after I felted it. As you can see, I am using wool to knit I-cord for the handles. I hope to line it and use it for toting my knitting when I travel. (Or it will make a really warm hand warmer for winter on the metro). The picture below is before it was felted and shrunk so much.

Here it is knit before felting in stockinette using circular needle. It is called The Boogie Bag and the pattern is free on Ravelry. Time for me to end this post, the cat is eyeing me...I think I see a tiny credit card in her paw.

Machine Quilting designs and Other Important Stuff

2009-09-15T10:03:00.004-04:00

I have been thinking of making a whole cloth quilt using some of my machine quilting motifs. I keep samples of machine quilting designs and stitches (each about 12" sq. or so) pinned together. When I can't decide what stitch to use, I quickly flip through them to find something I want to use on a particular quilt. Lots of times, I start to quilt and end up with a totally different design. The design above is done on muslin using yellow thread. My inspiration for designs usually come from nature. There are so many intricate lines and curves and swirls in leaves and flowers or even the bark on a tree. I must get back to work on my art this week.

When I was in California, I bought Emma a yellow rain slicker at an Old Navy store. She looks so cute in it and even got to wear it once. This is a picture of her dad taking her out in the rain. (He reluctantly did so because any dog dressed in clothes is embarrassing to him). LOL! But she wore it and never tried to pull it off. She loves to wear her sweaters in the winter, too.

And if you can't get enough Emma pics, here she is in our back yard at our other house in Columbus, OH. It's a huge back yard and has a fence. She loves to run and chase her ball. I do miss having a back yard here...at this house, there is no fence and it's very small. So, we call the house in Columbus our country house.

This Quilt's For Me!

2009-09-10T08:06:00.007-04:00

My New Quilt

Quilted details

Quilted Details

Back of quilt

This is a lap size quilt that I made using Fresh Air by Chez Moi for Moda. I had bought a few packets of the 5" squares several years ago while visiting the Bernina shop across the way from Mary Jo's in North Carolina. I decided it would be my vegging out quilt...nothing but squares sewn together. I managed to piece it between art quilts and finally machine quilted it last month. The thread is variegated Star thread by Coats and Clark. I quilted it on my Bernina and loved the way the thread blended with the colors. The fabric design reminds me of the crazy 70's. I swear I had dresses that looked like this quilt. Of course those dresses were double knit or polyester. Maybe that's why I made it my own. It will be nice to snuggle in while watching TV and knitting. Hmmm...now if I could just find my pep squad pom poms...

What I did This Summer...

2009-09-09T10:25:00.007-04:00

Traci & me (in California) 3 Leaves (quilted)

3 Leaves (detail)

I did have a very busy summer! In fact, it was a very productive summer with lots of new work. I am now back from my whirlwind trips with a new mindset to keep my blog updated. I have way too many new things to put in one post, but I will start with the finished "3 Leaves". (I see I have to yet again update my photo lighting. The overall pic seems a bit off in color. )

In August, I gave a lecture/trunk show at The Tavern Quilt Guild in Heathsville, VA. What a nice group of quilters! It's too bad they are so far away...they do so many fun things! I gave them my "Top Ten Machine Quilting Tips" and showed them some of my quilts.

I visited my daughter in California and had a wonderful time! We did so many things! We took an open air jeep tour of wineries in Santa Barbara. We stayed at the luxurious Canary Hotel and the jeep tour guide picked us up. We took an old stagecoach road through the mountains to 4 different wineries. Fun!! I will have to post pics on my flickr site because there are way too many to show here. Paradise Cove was fun, too! It's where the movie "Gidget" was filmed. We even encountered rattlesnakes on a hike in the Santa Monica mountains!!

We also too several trips to Ohio to work on our house there and visit our son. I feel like I've been gone all summer!

OK, I'm off to take more pics of the new work. I will post again tomorrow!

New Quilt and What I have been doing

2009-07-20T10:18:00.006-04:00

New quilt in progress

Layout on my design wall, WIP

We are just a metro ride to the Capitol

Begonia at Botanical Gardens in DC (love the Polka dots)

Me at Botanical Gardens in DC

Vern at Botanical Gardens in DC

Westmoreland State park in VA where we went hiking

George Washington's birthplace (1732) formerly known as Pope's Creek Plantation

Birthplace of George Washington right on the Potomac river

Squirrel at GW birthplace (compare this skinny little squirrel to the one below)

Squirrel on the National Mall (who stopped to pose for me as squirrels always do that)

Emma, having fun

More QSDS

2009-07-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

detail above of a purple/yellow piece

Here are a few of the paintings I did at QSDS...I made painted fabric, not pictures. I really like the effect of layering paint. It is all done on 7 oz. canvas using fabric paint and thus is easy to sew to other fabrics. The top piece has many layers and was an experiment. It might be hard to cut these up and use them in quilts.

QSDS (Quilt Surface Design Symposium)

2009-07-02T08:00:00.004-04:00

my board (above) with photos of my previous work and some new paintings

on day two (yes, the boards are bowed)

my board in the class on day seven

here I am getting ready for a presentation to the class

(I look so serious)

my friend, Susan Nash, and her board

QSDS was 7 wonderful and intense days of art composition, painting and fun! I took a master class with Elizabeth Busch. I highly recommend her as an instructor if you ever get to take a class with her. I came away feeling refreshed about my art work. I can see me going in an almost different but better direction with my art. This class really made me think about composition, color and how to better interpret my designs in fabric. I ended up putting away the two pieces I had planned to work on and started a new design. The board shows my paintings and some pieces of the new work. I got to room with my good buddy, Susan Nash, who is a very talented art quilter and always inspires me. Each day, we did little 4" x 6" studies on index cards...the designs aren't in these photos. I will save those for a later time when they are made into quilts.

It's good to be back home, but it was nice to be in an artist environment for a while. (no cleaning, no cooking and big, fat chocolate chip cookies or cheesecake at each meal).

Check back tomorrow...I will have some details of the paintings.

Sacred Threads

2009-07-01T14:54:00.004-04:00

me & my quilt at the opening reception

my friend, Susan Nash and her quilt, at the opening reception

The Sacred Threads exhibit was wonderful once again! I was so honored to have my quilt juried into the show. I can't describe how great it is to see the quilts and read the artists statements in person. It was so nice to meet fellow artists who also have a piece in the show. I also got to see friends who I haven't seen in a while. It does a heart good!

New Quilts

2009-06-18T23:10:00.003-04:00

Beach Landscape #1

Beach Landscape #2

I just had to use the rusty color hand dyed fabric, so of course I had to use it for a beach scene! The multi-colored fabric was just the right color for a sky with sun rays quilted in. Beach Landscape #1 was quilted with feed dogs up and using my 1/4" foot on my Bernina. I really like quilting narrow lines, but it is time consuming! The next one has a bit of free motion quilting added.

I thought I better post since it's been so long since my last post. I have been crazy busy in my studio getting ready for QSDS! I leave tomorrow! Yippee! Saturday, I have the Sacred Threads Artists Reception to attend. I hope my quilt made it there without too many wrinkles.

I must finish packing my projects tonight and it's late already! I have some cool new pieces I am excited about. QSDS will be so much fun but really hard work, too. I will try to write a blog post while I'm there.

Fabric Dyeing

2009-05-30T11:15:00.005-04:00

I dyed a little over 18 yards of fabric this week. (Doesn't look like 18 yds when folded, does it? Well, when you iron it, it sure does!) I think gathering my supplies, bringing them to the kitchen and doing the prep work of protecting my counter tops, etc takes more time than the actual dyeing process. But I love the results. I used three different types of fabric. One is Kona Cotton PFD which I really like and another is Kauffman Pimatex PFD which has a tighter weave and the feel of batik fabric. The other is one I don't like but had a lot of after taking a dyeing class. It is a coarser type muslin that wrinkles like crazy, so not my favorite.

This is another shot of the folded fabric...mostly 1/2 yard pieces. Below are my favorites...it's always hard to cut into your favorites. I used Procion MX dyes. I did get better color by first soaking my fabric in the soda ash solution, premixing the dyes and adding the fabric to the dye vats (rubbermaid and various plastic containers with lids). No salt added this time and I let them sit overnight before the rinse out.

I pour teal over antique gold to get this effect.

Screen Printing

2009-05-29T10:18:00.004-04:00

Screen Print with Mono Print

Screen Printing is fun! The fabrics above are printed using Jacquard Fabric paint and a produce bag. There was enough paint left on the produce bag to do a mono print, too. The fabric is some of the fat quarters I hand dyed last year. I sort of ripped and stretched the vinyl bag so I could get better texture and design when I printed.

This piece is the first print using the produce bag. It does use a lot of paint, but I love the results.

This is a screen print done on a commercial fabric using a freezer paper stencil I cut. The red print below is an abstract leaf that I cut from newspaper. It was my first print. Sorry about the photo quality, I just snapped a picture while it was drying on my design wall. I love the crisp quality of screen printing...maybe I should do it on a T-shirt??? Nahh, got to save the fabric paint for quilts!

Yesterday, I dyed some more fabric using three types of fabric. I am ironing it this morning and will take some photos to post tomorrow. I'm getting ready for my master class with Elizabeth Busch at QSDS, so for the next three weeks I will be working on some new pieces and some old ones in my studio. I was bogged down for a while and realized it was fabric colors I needed to inspire the muse, so hopefully the dyeing session will help in that area.

Two of a Kind

2009-05-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

Pears Two

Pears Two (detail)

Here is another pear quilt I recently made. Techniques used: machine embroidery, fabric painting, chalking, machine appliqué and free motion quilting. Materials used: textile paint, acrylic paint, cotton batting, hand-dyed fabric, commercial fabric, fusible web and chalks.

These remind me of the giant pear tree in our neighbor's yard when we lived in Altus, Oklahoma. Our neighbor didn't like pears, so I got to harvest all I wanted. I made lots of pear jam and jelly.

Thanks for reading my blog and I welcome your comments!

New Work and happenings...

2009-05-11T12:50:00.004-04:00

Three of a Kind

Three of a Kind (detail)

This is one of my latest works. This is inspired from a photo I took of the pears that grew on my little pear tree when I lived in Ohio. I took many photos of them, rearranging them in singles and pairs and by three. When I finally got around to cutting one to eat...they weren't that tasty. But they did make wonderful subjects for art quilts. Techniques used: machine embroidery, fabric painting, machine appliqué, free motion quilting and chalking. Materials used: textile paint, acrylic paint, chalks, hand-dyed fabric, commercial fabric, fusible web and cotton batting. Tomorrow, I will post another pear quilt in which I used painted fabrics.

When I woke this morning, I had ten reasons why I haven't blogged sooner, but the number one reason was a hard drive crash. Luckily, my hubby had just built me a new computer. He was able to transfer the files from my old computer and after a few tweaks, I'm back again. This new computer is so much faster which makes blogging so much easier! So, I look forward to sharing lots of new creations and happening with you.

As always, I welcome your comments and thanks for visiting my blog!

Canvas & Cherry Blossoms

2009-03-31T14:15:00.004-04:00

Cherry Blossoms in DC

I finished quilting my Ladder pieces and mounted them to painted stretched canvas. Above is one of the first pieces I mounted to canvas. It is always hard to see the canvas with a front shot, so I shot this one a bit skewed so you can see the side. This is such a small piece, that I think it looks better on the canvas...I always worry that what if in the future someone thinks it is a "pretty potholder"?! So, canvas it is...but I still haven't named it.

This is what I used for the canvas...readily available in art supply stores everywhere. First, I brushed on a coat of gesso and let it dry. Then, I used Golden and inexpensive acrylics mixed to achieve one of the colors (or close to it) in the little quilts. Below, I painted it on the canvas. I realized I didn't have to cover all of it...just the edges and part of the front. I used my heat gun (careful...it can burn) to hasten the drying process. I think it took several coats of the acrylic to cover well.

Painted canvas, drying.

After the canvas dried, I used invisible thread to stitch in various places through the canvas and the the little quilts. This is the hardest part...I really hate to use glue on them, but if I can't find a better way...anyone know a better way?

Here they are finished...The Ladders...hanging on my design wall

Cherry Blossoms 2009

On Saturday, we hopped on the metro and spent the day in downtown DC. We first went to the National Archives where we saw The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, The Declaration of Independence and various other historical documents and exhibits. Then, we went to the National Gallery of Art for lunch. There we saw the Small French Paintings exhibit and a magnificent special exhibit called Heaven on Earth which is all Illuminations. Very cool to see! We decided to walk over to the river basin to see the Cherry Blossom festival since it started that day. Did I fail to mention that the day was dreary, rainy and overcast most of the day?

The Washington Monument with cherry trees in the foreground

The blossoms were not as magnificent as last year. But nice to not have the large crowd, too.

The Jefferson Memorial

Love was in the Air

Can you see the female duck? She almost blends in with the ground. Her hubby was waiting patiently while she chose the best worms and played in the water. (Kind of like my hubby waiting for me while I'm in the fabric store or yarn shop.)

It's All About Aqua...

2009-03-25T16:30:00.003-04:00

Detail of Ladder( I started the quilting)

As you can see below, I have been rather busy. I moved my studio to the third floor! I really love it there...yes, it's a bit smaller, but it actually feels roomier because I'm not sharing the room with my computer desk or HQ16 table. And, the best part...I painted it a color I love...a lovely aqua color. It's bright, cheery and makes me want to create. I also have my machine in front of the window so the light is terrific! One of the nice things about moving an entire room is that I can organize it. I know what I will use for my art quilts and only those things went in there.

New Studio with Emma

My sewing machine in front of the windows

I will have to include a picture of the other side with the closets...seems I missed taking that one. Below are pictures of the before dark color when it was a guest room. (We moved the guest room to my old studio). I probably failed to mention that the move to the third floor was my birthday gift from my hubby. : ) That's all I wanted and wow, was it hard work! Carrying all that stuff up the flights of stairs was tricky and gave us a workout! We did it all in a weekend, including the painting. I still have a bit of tweaks such as painting over spackling where I filled nail holes, but it's ready enough for quilting.

Vern & Emma prepping the walls for new paint

Hmmm....what is that thing?

And finally, a picture of the Incredible Edible basket of fruit my daughter sent me for my birthday. My birthday was St. Patrick's Day and I received wonderful cards and gifts from friends and family. Thanks! : )

Happy Dance...Sacred Threads

2009-03-10T11:09:00.002-04:00

Moonlight On the Water (detail)

Yippee! I am very honored to post that my quilt, "Moonlight On The Water" was selected for the 2009 Sacred Threads exhibition! Above is a sneak pre-view of the quilt. I will post the entire quilt later. I hope to attend the opening by extending my stay in Ohio when I go to QSDS. June will be a busy month for me!

More Ladders...

2009-03-06T10:19:00.003-05:00

WIPs...More Ladders to be

I have delayed, procrastinated, pondered and finally did it! I didn't know if I should continue my "Ladder Series" I started last year because I found out after I started the series( more here) that other people were doing the same series. I suddenly stopped because I didn't want anyone to think I copied the idea. But no, my Ladders came from my own creative muse. I was really amazed and a bit shocked when I first saw that others were doing the same thing. I think this may happen to lots of artists...they find that their idea is not unique. I think it sometimes discourages artists to continue with certain ideas but I had so many drawings already done and I felt I just had to get them into fabric. I wonder if the Creative Muse sometimes flutters by more than one artist giving them the same idea. I took the smart advice of a brilliant artist friend of mine who assured me it is OK to continue on these because it happens all the time in the art world...artists get the same ideas without even knowing or seeing what others are doing. So, I will get these done. This set of three (I seem to be stuck on sets of three lately...hmmm) will be mounted on stretched 4" x 12" canvas. As you see them now, they are not trimmed and I have just started the quilting. One of my first ladders (the black/white one below) had "paint chips" added as a color feature. I may leave these plain except for the quilting. I think it is the quilting that I love on these little pieces. The background is my hand dyed fabric. I also spent a day trying to get the correct colors I wanted to use. I finally threw out the color wheel chart and decided to go with my heart on this one. I love this color combination...sort of beachy. Who knows...I may embellish these with more "paint chips" of fabric or...oh, an idea just hit me in the head...more later.

I started the fun part...machine quilting

Ladder #1

Machine Quilting...The Thread I Love

2009-03-03T13:23:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, I love to machine quilt! Here is one of my favorite threads to use. It's Mettler Fine Embroidery No. 60 wt. It is strong enough to do the job and thin enough to sort of melt into the fabric. It is cotton and comes in yummy colors. My Bernina loves it and she is very finicky with most threads. I use it in the bobbin if I have enough of one color, or I use size 50 cotton in the bobbin. If I don't have enough size 60 in a certain color I need, then I will use the Mettler no. 50 on the top which also comes in even more colors.

I have been working like crazy on some new designs that I can't post, yet. I'm also looking forward to QSDS in June. I am taking a 7 day Master class from Elizabeth Busch. Any one else going to QSDS? One of the nice bonuses is that it is in Columbus, Ohio where I use to live. I get to visit with my friends and our son who lives there.

I guess you saw on the news where we had snow here in the DC area. Funny how 8 inches or so can shut down the city. I didn't even bother to shovel it this time. The sun is out, but brrrrr....it's still cold. I remember in Ohio when we didn't see the pavement for over 30 days at a time.

I am working on some more of my ladder series today. In my spare time or down time while watching TV, I am knitting. I just finished a bag to felt and am starting a cropped short-sleeve cardigan. Anyone else on Ravelry.com? As I said before, great inspiration and wonderful free patterns.

Emma is asleep dreaming sweet puppy dreams after a fun playtime of playing fetch with her toy. Taylor is sleeping in her basket dreaming of mice.

Please leave comments...I love to hear from you! : )

My interview

2009-02-22T15:45:00.002-05:00

I recently did an interview with the The Alliance for American Quilts. You can read it here: http://www.allianceforamericanquilts.org/qsos/ It is now archived in the Library of Congress Folklife Center to be used for research. If you want to see the other Obama quilter interviews, click on Projects on the right top and then the Barack Obama QSOS.

I am currently working on some show quilts so that is why I haven't blogged lately. But I will very soon!

New Work for Exhibit

2009-01-26T12:38:00.003-05:00

Pods III

This small piece is for SAQA's 20Th Anniversary Trunk show, "Meet SAQA's Artists". It will travel for a year and then a portion of the small works will be selected to become a part of an international quilt study at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. For the trunk show, I decided to make another one in my "Pods" series and it is named "Pods III". The piece had to be less than 11" square to fit in an 8" sq. mat. Pods III is 9 1/2" square, so not all of it will be visible in the frame. The work was to be a good representation of my work as an artist. I thought this was a good way to show my favorite part which is machine quilting. I used my hand dyed fabrics and also commercial fabrics (got to keep those quilt shops going).

New Quilt for Exhibit

2009-01-13T11:04:00.004-05:00

44 Equals Change

44 Equals Change (detail)

Here is one of the quilts I have been working on. I made it Andy Warhol style using Photoshop Elements. It is now at the college and the exhibit details are below. I saw Mr. Obama on TV giving a speech and took a snapshot with my Casio Z77. I turned it into a sketch and added details. Then, I printed it on fabric. Good thing the college is taking professional photos, mine did not turn out too good...the colors are off a bit. Guess I need more practice on taking quilt pics.

The exhibit “President Obama: A Celebration in Art Quilts” will be held at The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center at Montgomery College’s Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus

President Obama: A Celebration in Art Quilts
Location: Cafritz Art Center, 150 King St., Silver Spring, MD
Dates: February 9 - March 5, 2009
Opening Reception: Friday, February 13th

This show, organized by Susan Walen, comes from an all-volunteer,
grass-roots, multi-ethnic group of fiber artists from all across the
United States and as far away as Australia. Our work is in tribute to our
new President, in gratitude for the hope and inspiration he
has brought us. We present these art quilts at an unforgettable
historic moment in our country's history.

Studio Views

2008-12-11T12:34:00.007-05:00

Today, I thought I would take pictures of my studio just to document that it is sometimes, somewhat clean. So, this is where I create. I know you have seen other pictures of my studio, but this is a new arrangement. View from the door

View to the right of the door

Behind the curtain is my outside patio.

( BTW, Taylor cat is a great quilting cat )

Another View

Emma likes her little bed in the studio

OK, I'm off to sew!

Ladder #2 & Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T18:17:00.004-05:00

Work-in-progress of Ladder #2

I have been creating art, but took a few days off for a nice Thanksgiving vacation in Ohio. Emma got to play with Maya & Barley, the Boxers. She got to be a dog for a few days and loved it! She slept most of the way back to Virginia and most of the day today. On the way there, we went through snow in the mountains as you can see in the picture below. On the way home to the DC area, it took us an extra three hours of travel...it was cold, rainy and foggy. The traffic was so thick, it was bumper to bumper, stop and go, on the interstate. I guess everyone decided to go home on Sunday night like we did. I almost got a scarf knitted in the car!

The work above is my Work-in-Progress of Ladder #2 with Ladder #1 beside it. I am using my stamp designs and sketches that I did way back in the warm months of Summer. (Summer sounds like such a nice word on a cold day.) I am also working on two quilts for shows that I can't post, yet. I will post more of Ladder #2 as I work on it.

Thanksgiving snow in the mountains

New Series

2008-11-19T14:07:00.002-05:00

(Ladder #1 detail)

(Ladder #1)

I am finished with this quilt! And I can't wait to start another one for the series. If you scroll down to November 7th post below, you can read how this one came about and see my final revisions in the one above. It all started with a stamp that I carved. The size is 9" x 22 1/2". I added more quilting lines after I found more of the same black thread and rearranged the squares falling.

And today is.....Happy Birthday to my good friend, Susan! She's an amazing artist!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2008-11-14T14:48:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday!

Today is our son's birthday! Above is a picture of him that we have always loved. He is getting a haircut from a Japanese barber when we lived in Okinawa, Japan. This was his first "official" haircut and he was about 2 years old. He wanted to get a haircut just like his dad's. He sat so still the barber was amazed. He is now 34 years old! Wow! time flies! Happy Birthday, Matt!

New Quilt

2008-11-12T17:31:00.002-05:00

Here it is, all quilted and finished. I will mount it on stretched canvas to hang it. (I have two canvases painted and drying..different colors.) You can click on the picture for a detail. It's only 5"x 7", hand dyed and commercial fabrics. I machine quilted heavily. I don't have a name for it, yet, but this is the one I kept thinking of each morning and never got around to making. I really like this one! It was fun to quilt, too. I may even rotate it before I'm done, haven't decided, yet.

Today was the day of freaky Fridays and it's not Friday. My hubby's car lost a headlight and then, when he left work late last night, the car had a flat tire. Luckily, the security guard had a can of fix-a-flat and it got him to a gas station to air up the tire. So, poor car with a broken leg and one eye missing, went to the shop today. Two weeks ago, it had to have a major organ transplant...we had to call the medics (AAA) to put in a new battery (for the car, not the hubby). I met him this afternoon to switch cars and prepare to sit in the repair shop until it was fixed. We had lunch and he got a call it was all fixed before we finished. That was good news. But then, Freaky Friday continued...when I got home, ready to stitch, I noticed my lamp in my studio wouldn't stand up, I picked it up and the entire bottom fell out and was broken into a million pieces. Weirdness...it is one of those lamps that has a weighted bottom. So, half of my studio is dark until I can get a new lamp. At least the mystery is cleared up about what is really inside those pole lamps. (You don't want to know.)

Update on Basket Weave Pattern

2008-11-12T11:48:00.005-05:00

I received some emails asking about the basket weave throw I am knitting. I am using a pattern from a book, but I found lots and lots of free patterns for it on the internet. Here is a pattern that is similar to mine. Basically, (with disclaimers for my "oh, no, I hope I explained that right") this is it with changes for a larger size: Acrylic yarn, worsted; size 9 circular needles, 29". CO 164 sts. For the border, I first knitted 9 rows of garter stitch. Then, I began the basket weave pattern. Basically, it is: k6, p4, k4 until 6 stitches left and then knit 6. The k6 on each end start the side borders. (You could do a seed stitch border, instead.) You can make the basket weave rows as wide or long (tall) as you want. I think mine has 6 rows of basket weave stitch and then three rows of garter stitch between. Mine is not really reversible, but that's OK with me. I would suggest alternating the sets of k4, p4 after 6 rows instead of putting garter stitches between them. Then, it's reversible. I hope this explanation helps. Here is a blog that has a really good picture and pattern. Anyway, it really is an easy pattern. It's fun to knit, too, not boring. I'm still knitting it, but loving it. Let me know what you think.

Hat & New WIP

2008-11-11T16:23:00.003-05:00

Whew! What a day. Yesterday, in the middle of finishing the first of my ladder series, I ran out of black thread. You would think any black thread would do, but no, of all the many spools I own, it all looked grey compared to the #105 Mettler silk finish 50/3 cotton thread that I had used. So, being so late in the day, I couldn't just get up and run to JoAnn's to get more thread. Not here in the DC area. For one thing, we don't have a JoAnn's Etc....only the regular JoAnn's who mostly store fabric and trashy things on the floor. This area is so large that you would think they would open a JoAnn's Etc. Instead, I put my project away until I could go to G-Street fabric today for the thread. So, I knitted last night and finished this wool/acrylic hat for a surprise for someone having a birthday this week. This is my first hand knit hat, ever! First time to knit in a circle using circular needles and double pointed needles. I really like using the double pointed needles...there are 4 needles going at a time...amazing to me that I can keep them straight. Really, if you knew how klutzy I am, you would know it is a feat.

Back to the thread...When I do get out in the traffic, I like to make a day of it and run all my errands, so that is what I did today. I went to Target for supplies, got gas for the car and dropped off cleaning at the cleaners. I was tired when I finally made it home. Actually, if I time it correctly, the traffic isn't too bad...usually. But it does make me miss Ohio where I could run to JoAnn's for thread and run back home and back again if I wanted without delays. But, good news is, I get more art accomplished here in VA. The piece on the machine above is being machine quilted. (Emma has to jump in my chair whenever I get out of it). I will hopefully finish the piece tonight to post tomorrow and tell you how it came about. Ever have one of those designs you just had to make to get it out of your thoughts? Well, this is one. That's why I started it as soon as I got home today.

Paula, I see the man fishing too! Thanks for your comments! Susan, I will post my version of that pattern or email it to you. What's the scarf like that you are knitting? Cheryl, a sweater! That is one of my goals, too. I'm off to make veggie soup for dinner (cornbread, too...yum).

Pods Revisited

2008-11-10T10:01:00.002-05:00

Pods Revisited

Today, the SAQA auction opens and "Pods Revisited" is up for sale. It can be found on this page. Bidding starts at $750 and it is a reverse auction. There are lots of beautiful quilts (all 12" x 12") on the auction pages, so please take a look.

Worktable Surprises!

2008-11-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

As I said yesterday, I was quite surprised to see the images that were left on my worktable covered with freezer paper. This is after a day or two of using Golden acrylics, gesso, glazes, etc. I cut the freezer paper up. In the image below, I outlined the birds (one on a tree limb and two blue birds in the grass below), mountains and tree.

The image below looked just like a bottle with a cork.

I haven't figured out the one below...maybe just an abstract. I wonder if I can get these onto fabric? I do have the ink jet fabric transfer sheets. I will have to get a new printer cartridge and try it.

OK, I had fun with these...maybe I need to get out more.

Work Table

2008-11-08T12:50:00.003-05:00

Here was my work table before I cleaned it up. When I took up the freezer paper that is covering it...Serendipity! See how painted and stamped and covered in paint? I cut it into usable pieces to stitch and glue onto quilts. Then I began to see images in the painted freezer paper. There are three birds, at least. Tomorrow, I will post the piece that looks like a forest scene with mountains and trees and birds. That bit of aqua netting on the right is a piece of plastic net bag I cut from a bag containing Vadalia onions. It made a great stamp. I put paint on it and then flipped it onto the canvas and used a brayer on it. OK, I know I posted twice today, but had to show off my work table. I'm off to work on a quilt (or two).

What's on My Needles

2008-11-08T12:25:00.005-05:00

This is a wool scarf that I am currently knitting for a Christmas gift. It is 100% wool...warm! I am knitting the ribbing stitch, so it is slow going, knit one, purl one and sometimes is a bit boring.

This is the other knitting project...a throw. It is really a soft gold color knit in a basket weave stitch. Soooo easy! If anyone wants to know how it's done, leave a comment. I am just a beginner knitter, so believe me when I say it's easy. It makes it's own border on all four sides. The nice thing is after I had started this one, I saw one just like it in the new Better Homes & Gardens magazine in a decorating article. Who knew?

The nice thing about my knitting is that it doesn't take away from my quilting. I usually just knit at night after a long day in the studio. Any other quilters out there who knit? If you like free patterns and inspiration, then go to http://www.ravelry.com/. It is a knitting, crochet on line community that is so cool. When I do go there, I get lost in all the neat things to see or make.

New WIP

2008-11-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

This is a beginning of a new series. The one above is just an audition pinned on my design wall. It is already machine stitched and quilted. I don't know if the "paint chips" (just pinned on) will stay or go. I may try something else all together. But it has been pinned to my wall for about a week, now and I need to finish it. Below is the "blank" version waiting for another audition of added accents.

I'm still working on the composition and will add a focal point.

This is the stamp I carved from an eraser that is the start of my new series which I will call the Ladder series. Sorry, the above picture is a bit blurry as the eraser is only 7/8" x 2 1/2". The quilt is 10" x 23". I used one of my favorite tools to enlarge the stamp into a quilt design...my overhead projector. You will see more of this series later as I work on it. Leave me a comment if you want. I love reading them!

More Backgrounds

2008-11-06T08:00:00.002-05:00

These are all backgrounds made on 140# watercolor paper. I used the same process as making the canvas backgrounds yesterday. Fun! Can't wait to stitch these into a collage.

Backgrounds

2008-11-05T12:35:00.004-05:00

Because we will now have changes for the better in the USA, I thought of what changes I could make in my own life. Wow, too many to list here. So, I thought of what changes I can make in my art life. It's a long list too, but hopefully it will inspire me to make more art. Speaking of inspiration, I am taking a class, Mixed Media with Paper and Cloth at Joggles from Jane LaFazio. I have taken classes with Jane before and always am inspired to keep creating. Below are the backgrounds I created for this class from untreated artist's canvas. I bought it at G-Street fabrics, but most any fabric chain sells it by the yard. I didn't bother to pre-wash it, just tore it to 10" x 10" pieces. I hung it up to dry. (An indoor clothesline would be nice, but I hung them from baskets sitting on my shelves.)

These are made from artist's canvas, painted and stamped with Golden Acrylics, Golden's Acrylic Glazing liquid and the "other" acrylics which you can buy for less than $1. I even used some of the stamps I carved which you see in the photo below. The large circle is the lid from a baby food jar dipped in paint. It's easy to machine stitch on this canvas, too, which will come later in the class when we build collages. Tomorrow, I will post the ones I painted and stamped on 140# watercolor paper, so stay tuned for more fun creations. You can stitch on paper, too.

What to Do While Watching the Debates

2008-10-22T11:28:00.003-04:00

My favorite yarn...Noro

Emma's new sweater (She's 16 mos now!)

Knit! I recently got interested in knitting again. So, I made a scarf (nice red wool tweed) and a new sweater for Emma. Her sweater is acrylic. The scarf was the first actual knitting project I ever finished. I find it very relaxing to have something to do while watching the debates or news or movies on TV at night. I don't like to do quilting when I watch TV as most of my quilting involves machine work. This weekend, we found a new to me yarn shop that is packed with the most delicious yarn!! Lots of hand dyed wool and lots to pet. As you can see in the picture below, I found some of my favorite which is Noro Kureyon, a Japanese yarn. It is 100% wool and comes in the most wonderful variegated colors. I so wish it were sold at AC Moore or Michaels as it is easier to get to those stores than the yarn shop in Vienna. Saturday, we went on an adventure looking for the yarn shop (Vern was driving). We found it after a beautiful detour in the country. He waited in the car (with his laptop) while I ran inside. When I came out, the car wouldn't start! This is a Honda Accord, only two years old! Never an indication that the battery was low, but yep, we were stuck. Not having our kids to call, we called AAA. I was expecting the traditional tow-truck driver with a cigar stuck in his mouth and all that goes with that scene after waiting an hour. But no, within 10 minutes of our call to AAA, a nice young man, probably college age, drove up in his nice car with a AAA panel on the side and gave the battery a jump. We were soon on our way to the dealership where we purchased a $new$ battery. Maybe the world has changed. We need more changes like that.

Yummy Yarn

Finally, a New Post & New Work

2008-10-21T14:41:00.003-04:00

Sunshine Dreams

I realize I took too much time off from my blogging! I have been designing and creating quilts, studying art theory and doing lots of reading. So, here is a very whimsical finish of a quilt that I did for my local art theory group. Below is a detail shot. I really should take a better photo, but it is now hanging at "The Artful Quilter" in Centreville. So, hopefully, this one will do for a posting. You can't see all the details, but if you look at the photo with all the challenge parts lying on my sketch pad below, you will see why I made it a "whimsical" quilt. Our challenge for the art theory group was to use all the parts in an art quilt. I used them all except for the feathers. There were beads, buttons, ribbons, papers, wire (which I curled and attached) and I can't remember all of it. I don't normally like to use so many embellishments so it did stretch my brain. I cut up as much as I could and added it to the sun which has a layer of tulle. I'm glad this one is done, my assignment is done and I can move on to things I really like.

Detail (the buttons and yarn were white and I painted them)

Challenge parts from art group

I'm currently working on a new design that I hope to finish up this afternoon and I will post tomorrow. I'm writing myself a post-it note to remind myself to blog tomorrow. I have to tell you about my adventure to the local yarn shop which involved AAA.

Fun Photo:

Here is a picture of Traci & Matt, our kids, at a petting zoo. Wow, they grew up fast! Now they are grown and out on their own.

Fun Shapes & Quilt Exhibit

2008-09-30T08:38:00.004-04:00

These are paper shape cut out exercises in a book that I am currently studying. "Finding Your Own Visual Language" , a practical guide to design & composition by Jane Dunnewold, Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan. I highly recommend it if you are an artist who wants to move forward, dig deeper and create more art. My paper shapes started as a square, rectangle and leaf shape. I then cut and expanded them, still trying to maintain the general shape. I will expand, shrink and combine them to use in my quilts.

My quilt, "Taffy Cat" is now at the Breaking Traditions exhibit in Novi, Michigan. If you click here, you can see a close up of him and read my statement. The online catalogue is here. There are some amazing quilts in this exhibit which benefits the American Cancer Society. Click on each one to read their statements. The theme for 2008 was "With One Voice".

What I've been Stitching

2008-09-26T15:43:00.008-04:00

Just wanted you to know that I have been busy. I have been in the creative process...sketching, planning, etc. This one is an ocean scene that I am currently machine quilting. I'm sure it will have embellishments...yarns, beads and shells before I'm finished with it. The two below are on my design wall waiting for a few more pieces to be added and then I will quilt them. It all started with the one below ...the one with the sun. We had a challenge in my Art Theory group to use a lunch bag full of goodies (embellishments) in a quilt. There were yarns, ribbons, candy wrappers, beads, gold threads, wire, paper, etc. I put it all in a dish and painted it ocean colors, of course! I still have most of the bag of embellishments left that I have to put on the quilt. It will have a center in the sun that is made of tulle holding the shiny beads, ribbons, etc. I couched some of the ribbons in the waves. This will definitely be a whimsical, fun quilt. While making the background to this one, I cut backgrounds until I had several ready to make into quilts...a new series. It was truly improvisational. I usually use one of my photographs and sketch out the design. I found this method really fun. I hope to do more like this. I did use Liqui-Thread on the edges (liquid fusible) which I applied with a brush. I really like that stuff for raw edge applique. I hope to finish these soon and I'll post the results.
Work -In-Progress
Work-In-Progress

We went to Ohio over the Labor Day weekend. Here are some pictures below. Emma was soooo tired after a wonderful weekend of hard dog play with Maya & Barley that she slept all the way home and most of the next day! We had a great time visiting them.

Vern playing baseball the easy way...Wii.

We went to the Greek Festival and had yummy food and enjoyed the colorful festivities.
Emma had someone (Maya) to play tug-o-war with her.

Taylor in her "cat house"

Finished Quilt!

2008-08-19T12:37:00.002-04:00

Taffy Cat

Taffy Cat (detail)

"Taffy Cat" is now finished! I just need to get it in the mail. Hope he likes Michigan. The quilting detail didn't photograph as well on the canvas, so you may have to click on the images to get a larger view. I think it's time to move my photography lights and tripod to the guest room. I keep tripping over the light stands in my studio.

Thanks for the nice comments left on my previous post! I appreciate all of them. Now I'm off to try some screen printing...

New Quilt in Progress

2008-08-14T09:57:00.002-04:00

Here is a preview of my latest work in progress. It will be a 12" square quilt. The cat is my old cat, Taffy, who we adopted from the Humane Society in Ohio. Taffy was such a sweet, sweet and lovable cat! He passed away about 2 1/2 yrs ago. This will be for the "Breaking Traditions" Art Quilt Exhibit in Michigan. The theme is "With One Voice" which is to give a voice to all those people and organizations that do good in the world. My quilt will honor all the Humane Societies that care for homeless pets. I have to thread paint it, quilt it and send it on it's way. I used Golden acrylics on canvas. I will post another pic of the finished quilt when it's done.

It has been a while since I posted to my blog, I see. I have been busy, busy with setting up my website and enjoying a family vacation in Hot Springs, AR. We had such a wonderful time there. The weather was like being in an oven! I actually had a bit of a chill when I stepped into the much cooler weather here in Virginia.

I made a website: Thread in the Studio. It's in the "soft launch" stage...meaning not many know about it. I still have some tweaking to do on it and pages to add, but it's a start.

I better get to work. I have lots of new ideas.

New Work

2008-07-02T17:41:00.004-04:00

I've finally started working on my "Pods" series again. The quilt on the left is the first and it is also part of my banner on this blog. The one on the right (WIP here) is my auction donation for SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates). I will have to make another one if possible to add to this series of pods. Tomorrow, I say goodbye to it and mail it to CT. As you can see in the background, I like to use the 3-in-1 Color Tool by Joen Wolfrom. It makes it so easy to find the right complementary color or plan a color scheme.

"Pods Revisited"

Here it is finished with the binding added. I used some of my recent hand dyed fabrics and some commercial fabrics. I found a really neat thread that seemed to pick up whatever color it was quilted on. It is Metler 60 wt, color 903 which is a lime green. I didn't discover it until I tried it on the last part I machine quilted which is the top part...the green, yellow and orange batik. Sounds crazy, but it shows as orange on the orange and green on the green and yellow on the yellow. I haven't tried other colors, yet, but I suppose it's simply the fact that it is a size 60 wt.

Thanks to all of those who left comments on my blog for the hand dyed fabrics! I really appreciate it! It's been a busy, busy time. Our little deck garden has already given us squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, mint, and bell peppers. We don't get bushels or quarts, but it's fun to find a ready to pick cucumber or a couple of squash to add to a meal. I did make pesto for the first time and it was the most delicious recipe! It can be frozen in ice cube trays and used later, too. Great on pizzas! (Veggie, of course).

Making this quilt has rejuvenated my creative muse. Only problem is, you should see or not see, my cutting table...covered in fabrics, rulers, scissors, threads...it always takes me longer to choose the colors than to make it. I drew the designs last winter, so that helped a lot. I'm off to pick some more basil for pizza tonight.

Fabric Dyeing

2008-06-17T10:31:00.003-04:00

I have been busy! Here is one of the things I have been doing...dyeing fabric. Actually, this is the third try for some of these fabrics. Seems I kept getting a gray or heather look after dyeing, so I would try again. This time, I got out my "Color By Accident" book and did the process a little different. I used Robin Egg Blue Procion MX Dye. I left it in the dye solution for about 15 minutes and then poured a soda ash solution over it and mixed. Then, I left it covered for two days. This is really what i was looking for...soft ocean colors. Some of the previously dyed colors that were grayed aren't so gray anymore. I can use them in the ocean series of quilts or in some landscapes. I don't know what caused the graying effect...if you have any ideas, let me know. Most of the fabric is Aurora Muslin and some is Kauffman PFD. I like the PFD better because it seems the colors were clearer than the Aurora. But it may just be this batch. I guess it's like baking cookies...some are OK and some are delicious. Hopefully, all the delicious fabric will be gobbled up in a new quilt. The bonus I got was all the dyed threads that tangle from the edges will make a nice material to couch.

Landscape Quilt

2008-05-30T06:33:00.004-04:00

On The Way

I finally got it out of my basket (it's a large basket) of unfinished quilts. All it needed was to be appliqued, quilted and binding added. I decided to use different quilting designs for each hill (or mountain). I think this piece depended on the quilting to give it life. Now, I love it! It's a small quilt, only 8" x 9", but it has a big impact. I am calling it "On The Way" because it reminded me of the mountains we use to see when we traveled to the beach from Ohio. Once we got through the mountains, I felt like we were finally on our way to my favorite place. After I quilted it, I discovered it had another meaning for me and that is I think I finally feel like I am on my way to discovering what I'm suppose to be doing in my art work. It seems I have been at the start of my journey for a long time. I keep trying out new ideas, taking classes, reading lots and always waiting for the right moment or time to come along. Waiting for that right moment has kept me from moving onward toward my goals. Of course, taking classes, and discovering new techniques have all helped me and I will continue that. But I have been using them for an excuse to "stay in my mountains" and not move forward toward my goal. At some point, you have to step on the gas and see where the road takes you. Hopefully, it will take me to the beach. : )

Fun In The Sun

2008-05-23T08:38:00.003-04:00

This is a new ATC I recently made, "Fun In the Sun". I decided to combine stitching and paper on this one. I love this stamp by Time To Stamp. I added some ric rac and punched out a gold star. The bubble on the star is one of the clear rain drop stickers.
I hope everyone has a fun, safe Memorial Day weekend!

Happy Birthday!

2008-05-22T12:04:00.003-04:00

Today is our daughter's birthday! Happy B-Day, Traci! I made her this card but couldn't post it until she received it in California. While she was here visiting recently, we gave her her birthday present. The picture of her is either her first or second birthday. I will have to find the original to be sure. (This is one I had on the computer). She's still our little sweetheart.

Happy Birthday, Trace! : )

Almost Connected

2008-05-07T08:25:00.005-04:00

"Almost Connected"

detail

While looking at on-line pictures of a current quilt exhibit, I saw a quilt that reminded me of my quilt, "Almost Connected" (Sold), that I made in February, 2005. So, I perused my Adobe Photoshop Elements and found the picture I had taken. I was really into circles at that time. I think I may make another one because I liked it so much. I made it for the "Keiko and Friends" exhibit by Laura Wasilowski. It's posted on this website with the other art quilts if you want to take a look. There are some wonderful quilts there to inspire you. Sometimes, it's nice to be reminded of the good things you made in the past.

I just finished cleaning out my studio closet. Someone could write a book on studio closets. Mine is actually a bathroom to be...meaning all the waterworks pipes and vents are there. But if I turn it into a bathroom, where would I put those necessary things like board books (I may alter them one day), latch hook rug canvas (it makes a cool stencil), empty heart-shaped valentine candy boxes (I saw something somewhere on the web for turning them into something), boxes of Easter egg dye (it dyes tags and other things), and other necessary items? I did use my label maker and labeled the clear stacking drawers and containers. One nice thing I did let go of was all my old quilt magazines (some from the 90's!). I just tossed them all in the recycle bin. I won't let go of my Quilting Arts or Cloth, Paper, Scissors. There is always an article or two that I re-visit in those publications. Maybe I have Spring fever.

Stencils...and Masks

2008-05-02T09:15:00.007-04:00

This pear stencil, of a photo I took, was cut using freezer paper. I then ironed it to canvas and painted the pear using Golden fluid acrylics. Then, I masked it and sprayed the background with Tsukineko's Walnut Inks and added more Goldens. I machine quilted it and then added a binding. The tag is painted canvas and stamped. Above: The pear stencil

This one is done on canvas, also. It is a mask of my beach bird taken from one of my photos. The background is painted with Golden Fluid acrylics and I added some swirl stamps. Then I place the mask over it and sprayed it with the Tsukineko Willow Walnut Ink. (Thus the green bird mask below, which actually gives me more ideas as I love green birds). I don't know what I will make from this piece, maybe a journal cover.

Too cute green beach bird...wouldn't it be cool if God made some real ones this color? : )

Deck Gardening

2008-04-28T11:33:00.005-04:00

Some of you asked about my deck garden, well, here it is. I am a believer that you can grow anything in a container given the right soil, proper amount of watering and good drainage in your pots. This is just the beginning as you can see. Most of the plants are just seedlings. I try to use the best potting soil. I don't use Garden soil...just doesn't work well in pots. Always drill extra holes in the bottom or sides. Now, I hope this year's garden makes me look good after saying all this! I do have a really large deck, so that helps. I also have a potted Crepe Myrtle that gives us pretty blooms in the summer. There are containers of herbs and containers not yet planted due to the rain. On the side against the house, I have an old wrought iron bread rack that hasn't received it's little plants, yet. And, I haven't touched the patio downstairs, yet. Good thing we have a nice nursery and Home Depot nearby. Good thing it's raining so I can work on my art inside. : )

Winging It

2008-04-25T10:06:00.003-04:00

This is a little Fairy ATC I whipped up this morning trying to re-coop some creativity, thus the reason I call these "creativity starters". The image is from Artchix Studio. I cut it out and edged it with chalk. The word, also chalked, is an image from a box of 4500 words "Words To Go" by K&Company that I purchased at ACMoore (my new hangout, me and my credit card, that is : ) I don't remember who made the card stock, but the swirls are a stamp by Autumn Leaves. My scanner doesn't show, but there are bits of swirled fairy glistening glitter on the card. I do so sound like an advertisement this morning.

I am currently working on a plan to get back into the studio more and actually create. I think I have been in a slump lately. I have been studying different techniques and making sketches of new art work I want to create not to mention the gardening. Our deck garden is about ready to be launched into it's debut. I think we amaze (or entertain humorously) the neighbors at what we can grow in containers on our deck. I am talking veggies, here! I do throw in a few flowers to throw them off. When you first look, it looks like flowers growing in pots, but no, wait, is that a cucumber? And now, I have to stop to mow our lawn and finish the deck garden. Did I mention that we have a beautiful Japanese Magnolia surrounded with purple phlox blooming in a pot on our deck? Yeah, we do aim to please.

Note: I so appreciate your comments on my blog. I don't always get around to personally answering you and sometimes blogger won't provide an email so that I can. But I do want you to know, I love the comments, so keep them coming. I hope I can inspire at least some of you to want to create more. More later...

New Quilt

2008-04-18T08:32:00.002-04:00

" Strawberries"

Here's my latest little quilt. I actually finished it two weeks ago and then lost it! I finally found it between two magazines that I had put in a cabinet. LOL! It is stamped with rug hooking canvas and the background has a stamped image I carved. I decided to take a journey on my machine quilting. I usually do curves or some sort of curve. This time I wanted to try straighter lines, so this one incorporates that adventure in machine quilting. I like this and will try to quilt more like this. The size is 7" x 8".

Strawberries is my abstract version of a field of strawberries. One day it is green and then suddenly it all changes into a beautiful field dotted with white blossoms, red and pink berries, and bits of gold. And because this quilt represents change, I am using it for the April theme, "change" for the Take It Further Challenge.

Time for an ATC

2008-04-07T17:02:00.002-04:00

Here's my latest ATC, "sassy". I just finished my taxes. Hard to believe I was an accountant in my past life. I remember working long, hard hours and weekends until tax season was finished. I'm just glad they are done for this year.
I had so much fun carving my rubber stamps last week that I must find a way to put them to use. I have several quilt show entries that are looming so that would be a good way to use them. I find that I am slacking off on my duties of art quilter lately. I must have Spring Fever or something.

New Work!

2008-03-31T18:51:00.002-04:00

"Inch by Inch"

This is my latest work. It is fabric "inches" mounted on stretched canvas (5" x 5") that I painted and stenciled. The theme for the Take It Further Challenge is "little details" so I thought a way to use my inchies would be great. I had made the "inchies" while I was visiting my daughter in California last year. They were for an "inchies" swap (1" x 1"). Not all the people who were in it completed their inchies, so I had this many left. They are fabric bases sandwiched with batting between the layers and beaded centers. The edges are buttonhole stitched. I finally found a way to display them and it creates a nice memory of my visit to California! It is always nice to have mother/daughter time. Sometimes it's the little things that count. I love the look of using the stretched canvas because it gives the piece a 3-D look.

Cherry Blossom Festival in DC

2008-03-31T18:13:00.003-04:00

Wow! I had seen pictures on TV, but the actual sight of the Cherry Blossom Festival was awesome! The trees were spectacular! The blossoms were so thick, the branches hung down. We took the metro (crowded was the word!) to downtown DC and got off at the Smithsonian. Over a million people also went that day. I have never seen so many cameras, ever. We charged right into the crowd and when we got to the tidal basin, the trees were so beautiful that there seemed to be a reverent hush over the crowd. The trees were given to us in 1912 by the Japanese. There are over 3,750 of them (different varieties). I will add a few pictures of the trees, but I could not capture the magnificence of their beauty. If you ever get a chance to go, don't miss it. This was our first time to see it, maybe this year was just a great year for the blossoms, but we loved it. We walked around the entire tidal basin which includes the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial. Awesome sight to see!

After we saw the trees, we hiked over to Pennsylvania Avenue and had lunch. Well, our lunch was at Potbelly (one of my favorite places to eat) next to the Renwick. We went to the Renwick Gallery to see the new exhibit which was "Ornament as Art", a metal jewelry exhibit. After that, we walked across the street to the White House and took some pictures. There was a pick-up truck parked in the driveway which we decided might belong to the President. We couldn't tell if it had Texas plates or not, but it did look funny to see a pickup truck parked out front. As we got there, a group of people were exiting the visitors' gate. We found out later on the evening news that Laura Bush had held a High School reunion there for her Midland, Texas classmates. There was also a war protest going on right out front. The protesters are always interesting to see with all their signs and such. I just love all the interesting things we get to see in DC. There are so many more places and events to explore. It was a fun day!

New Camera & new Pictures

2008-03-31T17:59:00.002-04:00

My new Baby

I have been having so much fun with my new camera, that I haven't taken the time to blog about it, yet. Stephanie and Matt surprised me with this Casio Ex-Z77 for my birthday present. Wow! Was I ever surprised! Since they are in Ohio, I called them and opened while we were on the phone. Don't you just love the color? It's a periwinkle blue, which is a purple/blue color. It takes photos in a snap. I have taken lots and lots of pictures of Emma as you see below. This camera has a Best Shot setting that gives you tons of options for taking good pictures. We took it to the Cherry Blossom festival this weekend in DC. It took great pictures of the beautiful trees with the blossoms. I will blog about that in a separate post. It takes movies with sound and has a special You Tube video setting (Haven't tried that, yet.) Anyway, I love this little, compact (fits oh so nice in my purse) camera.
Emma, age 9 months, my Sweet Baby

I can quickly take snapshots of Emma before she moves and makes the picture blurry. I'll be adding more pics of Emma later.

Happy Spring!

2008-03-26T16:08:00.003-04:00

I forgot to say it on the first day of spring, so, "Happy Spring!" I just finished this little bird ATC. This is my first time to use gamsol and colored pencils. In case you don't know, gamsol is odorless mineral spirits.

It blends the colored pencils so you can achieve shading. Fun!

Crusade for Art

2008-03-25T15:35:00.010-04:00

Here I am joyfully carving stamps and I find Michelle Ward's Art Crusade # 18 which is carving your own stamps! I love carving my own stamps! I am addicted to it! I can't wait till next month...stencils! I'm so happy she has this crusade I can join! There are others out there like me!

Freshly carved stamps. These will be used in my journals and art quilts. They work great with fabric paints

Here is how I transfer my designs: I draw or trace the design onto the back of a Post-it-Note with a 0.7mm #2 mechanical pencil. Then, I flip it over, sticky side down onto the rubber. Use a bone folder, edge of a ruler or whatever to rub the image (carefully) onto the rubber. Presto, your image is transferred. I use the pink and white carving material that comes in blocks. I also use the poly white erasers. Another hint, sometimes the material has a lot of loose, carved tiny bits that keep getting on your ink pad. I use cellophane tape to remove it. Just press it onto the newly carved stamp and it removes all those tiny bits.
Remember, I carved stamps and posted the fabric in this post? Fun!

It's Here...St. Patrick's Day!

2008-03-17T11:13:00.003-04:00

St. Patty's Day is here...when I woke up, I actually forgot it was my birthday...but maybe it was because we celebrated my birthday on Saturday at Tyson's mall. My husband and daughter cooked up a nice surprise for me at the Coach store. They schemed together to have a new purse waiting for me to pick up. Here is the pretty box below with aqua satin ribbon (quilt fodder, of course). Then, the purse inside...it even comes with a drawstring satiny bag for storage. Cool! Anyway, it's my first Coach bag. I think this would make a nice tradition every year. (hint...for hubby reading this). I also had a huge slice of my favorite double chocolate cake at Gordon Biersch. Oh, and we had pizza and salad, too. But the cake is the yummiest!

"The" purse

I received a really cute card from my friend, Susan...it has a Boston on it! Also a cute card from my daughter and a cute froggy fabric ATC from my cyber friend, Diane. It's a nice day. I am going to do a bit of shopping today for fabric.

I am so into crocheting while I watch movies on TV, now. I just figured out a cool hexagon pattern and I'm making a new afghan using pottery barn colors.

Vintage Fashions & Sleep

2008-03-11T16:29:00.005-04:00

Emma asleep under the sleep inducing afghan. It's almost instant sleep for her when the afghan touches her.

Vintage Fashion ATCs

These are Vintage Fashion ATCs I made for a swap. I had some scrapbook paper with these tiny vintage ladies on it, so I enlarged them and used them on an ATC.

Emma (our Boston Terrier) and I were lazy today. We laid on the sofa and watched chick flicks. We were wrapped in the sleep inducing new afghan that I crocheted. I haven't crocheted an afghan in many years. I forgot how warm and cozy they are when the weather is cold outside. Above is a picture of Emma asleep in the chair with the afghan. Of course she has her little chew bone nearby just in case she needs it. Emma will be 9 months old next week! We will both have a birthday celebration!

Journal Quilt

2008-03-10T19:29:00.007-04:00

Mom & MeMom & me (detail)

This is a journal quilt I made using the theme of "What are you old enough to remember?" from the Take It Further Challenge. I found this challenge hard to start as it brings back too many memories. This quilt is a picture of my mom and I shopping. I remember we would always dress up for the trip to town. My mom sewed most of my clothes, thus the sewing notions attached to the quilt. I remember the sound of the taffeta full skirts swishing as I walked. The plaid fabric on the side and bottom are taffeta. I remember the photographer who would snap our picture on the sidewalk...this is one of those pictures. I'm so glad my mom bought this one! I remember her black and silver scissors which she used to cut fabric and paper dolls for me from a newspaper! I remember how much I wanted to sew and iron just like her. I did sneak to the ironing board one day to iron my doll clothes...I still have the scar where I sat the heavy iron down on my hand. It burned all night and she kept a bowl of ice water beside my bed to soothe it. I remember the large flower prints on our drapes which is similar to the background fabric in the quilt. OK, I could go on and on with remembrances but I must stop because I have to iron...ugh...I hate ironing! But I love sewing and cutting paper with my scissors!

Party Dresses!

2008-03-06T09:22:00.003-05:00

Here they are! Party dresses! These are made from sturdy cardstock using a vintage dress pattern. I traced the dress pattern and enlarge to the desired size (4"x6"). I then traced the pattern to clear template plastic so I can make more later. What fun it was to embellish the dresses! I guess I was imagining that three sisters were going to a Spring tea party. (It's a Southern thing) So, I had to use flowers, velvet ribbons and of course, a tulle overlay. The cardstock is Wild Asparagus. I like to use this brand because it is so sturdy.

I just have to make more of these! And if I can just find the pattern for my wedding gown (35 yo), I think it would be fun to make. I really wish I had saved my old patterns. These three are going for a swap. I just have to make more.
I can't believe it's March already...my B-day is coming up on St. Patrick's Day. I even bought a St. Patrick's Day T-shirt this year. I need to work on taxes today so I don't have to worry about them on my b-day, but I may just have to run out for more cardstock. : )

Stamping Fabric & Carving Stamps

2008-02-28T15:03:00.004-05:00

This is the fabric I stamped using a stamp that I carved. I have found that I love carving my own stamps! If you click on the scanned picture to enlarge it, you may be able to see the white berries I added using the eraser end of a pencil. This is just done on some unbleached muslin and I used Jacquard Textile paints, undiluted. After several tries of painting and dabbing, I found that a sponge brush worked the best to dab onto the stamp. After one good stamp, I immediately stamped again to get a shadow effect on the fabric. Then, after it dried (and it did dry fast), I heat set it with an iron. I didn't even put a pressing cloth over it because I was in a hurry. There was no bleeding onto my ironing board cover. The picture below shows the stamp I carved using my Speedball carving tool. I won the tool in a drawing at one of my art groups one year. It has interchangeable blades in all sizes. The block I use to carve the stamp is made by Speedball, too. I buy them in a local art store or they can be ordered. They feel just like an eraser and are very easy to carve. I draw my image onto paper using a pencil. Then, just lay it on top and rub and the image is on the rubber, ready to carve. I also made some small ones using the white erasers. Fun!
After I carve the image, I use a regular ink pad to stamp it onto paper. This method shows you where you need to carve more rubber away so it won't stamp onto the fabric or paper where it shouldn't. If you look at the stamped image I did on the paper, you can see some spotty ink that shouldn't be there. After using the textile paints and the dye ink pad, my stamp was no longer a pretty pink color...it become permanently stained, but still works just fine. I mount it on a clear 1/4" acrylic block that my hubby cut from Plexiglas we bought at the Hardware store. He cut several sizes so I can use them with different stamps. The repositionable dry adhesive roller tape is great for holding the stamps onto the acrylic.
Now I have to find something to make from this fabric. I really like it and may just keep it like it is and add a border...instant art quilt. It would also make a nice pillow top.
We had a great weekend with our son and his girlfriend visiting us from Ohio. We went to DC (Metro trips) for two days and saw lots of good sights and museums. They are fun to hang out with. I don't think I cooked at all while they were here. It was a fun time!

"Quilting" ATC with a mini-quilt

2008-02-21T09:52:00.002-05:00

This is my version of the theme: "Quilting". This one is for a swap. I decided to make an actual quilt to glue onto the ATC (altered trading card). I have a queen sized quilt made from this fabric so I decided to use the left over pieces to make this ATC. I tried scanning it, but it kept moving around on the scanner. I then tried taking a picture with my camera but Emma was jumping up on me blurring most of the images. So I just gave up and went with the pictures I had taken. Hopefully this picture will give you the idea. The scissors are stamped with black ink and then outlined with Gelly Roll glitter pens. I cut out a spool and wound green thread around it.

It's a very cold day here in Virginia. We even had a bit of snow last night. If you look closely, you can still see some on the ground. So different from Ohio with our usual foot or more of snow. Because of the tiny amount of snow, it makes it more difficult to shovel your driveway and sidewalks. It just freezes and makes ice if you don't remove it. Last time it snowed, we left it thinking it would melt, but no, it froze and we had more snow on top of it which made it impossible to shovel. Now that I have learned the secret of shoveling in Virginia, we won't be the "only" house in the neighborhood that didn't shovel. But tomorrow, we are suppose to have lots of ice, freezing rain and snow. I'm so ready for the beach.

Paper Dress

2008-02-16T10:39:00.003-05:00

Here it is, my vintage paper dress. It is one of the three I am making for a swap. We are suppose to use a vintage dress pattern and make our own version of it. No faces, arms or legs, just the dress. This is tons of fun! I use to love paper dolls (OK, I still do...I got The Lennon Sisters for Christmas last year). I cut the dress from sturdy scrapbook cardstock and made a net overlay for the skirt. The buttons are tiny rhinestones. Fun!
The next thing I am going to do is use the pattern (from the 70's) of my wedding gown and try to re-create it...too much fun! If anyone tries these, I would so love to see them, so leave a comment. Advice: Never act your age, always find time to play.

Valentine Flowers

2008-02-15T16:27:00.003-05:00

My Valentine brought me this beautiful bouquet of roses yesterday. It even has a beaded tie around the vase (future quilt use) and the vase was wrapped in pink, printed pelon fabric (future quilt use). They are so pretty that I just had to share!
Tonight we are going out to a movie and maybe dinner. I spent the afternoon cleaning and clearing the clutter in my studio. I have several projects to finish for quilt show entries coming up soon. So, I'm off to do some planning and creating.

Winter Storm

2008-02-13T15:39:00.002-05:00

We are currently having a winter storm like a lot of the country. What to do when you are stuck inside? Well, I am crocheting when I'm watching the news or American Idol. (Yes, I'm an AI fan) My daughter and her friend are crocheting so much in California that I have caught the fever, too. This is going to be a throw for the family room sofa. Emma really likes to lay on it while I'm trying to work on it. She is all into staying warm during these icy days. As you see in the picture below, she is all snuggled up in her little bed in my studio. She will be 8 months old on friday!
I also made a card today for my Valentine. Isn't it sweet? I hope he doesn't read this blog today before I give it to him.
We had a great 35th anniversary this past weekend. I always get a card and I've saved all 35 of them. Hey, pretty soon they will be vintage!

I'm currently working on the cutest paper doll dresses! I'll post them when I'm done. I still love paper dolls.

Painted Clay Creations

2008-02-08T14:42:00.000-05:00

I couldn't think of a title for this post, but maybe it's because I'm listening to a Sci-Fi book on my MP3 player as I type. I love mysteries and this mystery turned out to be a Sci-Fi, too.

This picture is after the air-dry clay dried (the next day) and was painted. First, I just used regular acrylics, but it seemed to rub off. So, I used the Lumiere paints (dry brush) and they really adhered. You may see these little buttons and charms in various future quilts. My favorite is the rectangle one with star fish (of course).

The long leaf near the top is from a stamp that I carved from an eraser. On the flip side of the eraser, I carved a flower. That's another fun thing to do. I have a bunch I carved from wine corks, though I don't know where I got the wine corks : )

Clay Buttons & Charms

2008-02-07T15:53:00.000-05:00

Today, I played with air-dry clay and polymer clay. The first picture is the ones I stamped and shaped out of Creative PaperClay. The picture shows them drying on a piece of paper. When they are dry, I will paint them and use them on my quilts. These are polymer clay buttons I made and painted with Lumiere paints.

This pewter one is my favorite.

New ATC

2008-02-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

Here is an ATC I made yesterday. It is for a lottery I am participating in on a Yahoo Group, Stampers Corner. I have learned so many neat techniques in this group that can be applied to paper and fiber. It's a fun group to join. The theme is Asian, so this is my version. You can't really see it too well, but the tree and script are embossed with copper. I used colored pencils to color in the cherry blossoms.

I'm off to try some more techniques. I just bought the new book by Sherrill Kahn, Creative Embellishments for Paper, Jewelry, Fabric and more. I'll post them as I make them.

Our 35th anniversary is coming up February 10th! I was a teenager when I got married, though. I was 19 and hubby was 20. We both looked 14.

Finished! TIF Challenge

2008-01-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

Here is the finished "Petunias". It is all machine appliqued and quilted. This is for the Take It Further Challenge for January. The theme was to use a certain set of colors or someone you admire. I chose my mom as I stated in the previous post below. She loved petunias.

Below are two detail shots and of course, as I was photographing it, Taylor decided to jump up on the stool I had the board propped on. She is just too cute. What a ham...seems she loves to get her photo taken.

Work-In-Progress

2008-01-23T09:53:00.000-05:00

This is a WIP of a quilt I am creating using one of my photos. This is for the challenge...Take It Further. One of the challenge options is to create art that represents someone you admire. The pink petunias represent my mom. She always grew a pot of petunias on her front porch. I still grow a pot of pink petunias to always remind me of her happy attitude no matter what life deals to you. She went through great adversity and suffering and still found things to laugh about.

This piece is ready to machine quilt and applique. The white lines are the marked lines for quilting. I try to follow the lines I mark, but usually I go by what feels right once I get it under the machine needle. The good news about the lines is that they iron away. I used the Clover White Marking pen. This picture was also a test of my new lighting system using the daylight fluorescent bulbs. I didn't use a flash and shot it rather quickly. But I think it still looks better and the colors are true. I will post more about the details of the lighting system later. I'm off to machine quilt this piece.

What to Do Today...

2008-01-16T09:11:00.000-05:00

I am currently having an artist's block. I don't know what to do today. I could do this: machine quilt. I have several tops that need to be finished. These are a couple of practice pieces that I hang on my design board.

Or I could paint some fabric with Setacolor like I did for the pear below. Or I could paint some paper towels and create some paper fabric and make something from it.

Or I could paint and stamp some ugly fabric so I will use it (like the fabric below.) I found a tub full of old fabric scraps from the 90's when I first started quilting. I can't believe some of the colors! Either I use it or toss it. Today, it would be nice to invite a few quilting friends over and see what we could make out of this. But my quilting buddies live too far away.

So, I will print out my 40% off coupon for the local scrap book store and go shopping. : ) When you are undecided, just shop.

New Banner

2008-01-09T15:38:00.000-05:00

I did it! One of my goals was to add a personal banner to my blog. My "Pods I" piece contained some of my favorite colors, so I used it as the background. If anyone has trouble with it loading, let me know. I tried to keep the pixels small. I know it could probably use a few tweaks, but hey, it's up there and hopefully it won't fall down! (corny : ) So, this is my creative venture for today! I would appreciate any comments or hints if you have any. I also managed to hem curtains today and add more for privacy to my family room.

New Work

2008-01-08T10:39:00.000-05:00

Pods I

This is the beginning of a series. This piece is machine pieced, machine appliqued and quilted. Most of the fabric is my own hand dyes and there is also some commercial fabric used. Trying to photograph this quilt made me realize I have to do something about better lighting. I took it outside to take the pictures this morning, but it was too chilly to spend too much time out there. I have several sketches I drew this past fall which I hope to include in the series. After visiting the Smithsonian galleries, my creative mind is humming wildly. Shapes and textures abound in the museums.

Little Emma had her "necessary" surgery this last weekend, so I have been sitting with her trying to keep her quiet as much as possible. But that is not easy to do with a very active Boston Terrier. She is recovering nicely and is asleep in her little bed as I type this.

I got a new little desk for Christmas and it is so wonderful! Here is a picture of it. I needed a place just for writing, sketching and designing. Now, everything is within reach. My colored pencils, pens, scissors, rulers are all above the desk in the hanging containers. I confiscated the set of drawers on the desk from my husband's office. They fit perfectly on my desk. Most everything here is from IKEA! The beads in the spice jars are in wooden spice racks from IKEA. So inexpensive! OK, off to creative again!

Holiday Fun

2008-01-08T10:03:00.002-05:00

The National Tree

Me & Vern at the Smithsonian castle

I have been busy creating for the past few days and failed to post my work. First, I will add a few pics of our wonderful holiday with our kids here in DC. On Christmas Eve, we hopped on the metro and did a walking tour of DC. I have loads of pics but will only show a few here. We all had such a wonderful time together. I think it was the best Christmas ever! We toured the Smithsonian museums, galleries and the decorated White House (well, outside the gate, of course). After dinner downtown, we went to see the National tree. I think we all thought, wow, big hair, big bows! I will say it wasn't the prettiest tree I have seen. Those new big red bows (lights) by GE were sort of gaudy. I would have chosen nice, white lights. How about solar powered? Let's save energy. On New years Day, we went to Georgetown. We decided to hike the unimproved trail in Deer Creek Park. How beautiful it is! It is amazing that it is in the middle of town.

Deer Creek Park in Georgetown

Do Something Creative Every Day

2008-01-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

My New Year's resolution is printed on a mug that I found in a shop in Georgetown (DC area). "Do Something Creative Every Day" will be my motto this year. We have had a wonderful visit with our children. They fly back to California today and we will miss them terribly. I will have to light the fire on my creative muse and follow my new motto. I have several challenges to start and some to finish. We did so many things and explored DC this holiday season. So, I have lots of pictures to post later...But on to my bit of creativity I managed to squeeze in on New Year's Eve. Below is a picture of our grand dog, Betty. I made this little scarf for her. It has Velcro on it so it is easy to remove and she seems to really like it.

Betty Boop wearing her new scarf

Our creative daughter designed and made this dog sweater. Emma is modeling it here. We may start a new business designing doggy wear together.

Emma wearing her new sweater

One of my resolutions is to post pictures of my artwork everyday. After all, I will "Do something creative everyday".

More Creativity Starters

2007-12-27T13:43:00.000-05:00

Christmas flew by with our kids visiting us from Ohio and California. Little Betty Boop (Boston Terrier) is here for a visit, too. She's a sweetie and it's nice having two Bostons in the house. I will blog more later on our holiday excursions to see the National tree at the White House and the Smithsonian museums on Christmas Eve. I still have to download and edit my pics first. I had a little quiet time last night while watching our new HD TV that our kids got us for Christmas. I made a few ATCs (Artist Trading Cards). I always call them Creativity Starters that jump start my creative muse.

Silk Fusion

2007-12-17T10:45:00.001-05:00

Silk Fusion I
Silk Fusion II

This weekend, my Art Theory Group met at The Artful Quilter in Centreville. We had a class on how to make silk fusion. Wow! So much fun and so many possibilities. We used hand-painted silk fibers, screening, textile medium, dish soap and water. I plan to incorporate these into some art quilts. The fibers separate with the dish soap/water solution and then fuse or meld together with the textile medium so you have one solid piece. My creative muse is really wanting to work at the moment, but I have to make some drapes for the guest room and finish shopping today. Maybe if I get all my work done, I can reward myself with some play time.

I've been Tagged!

2007-12-17T08:14:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Debi.

Here are the simple rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).

4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Here are my random facts:

1. I use to work and teach in a quilt shop before I moved to Virginia.

2. I have moved 21 times in 34 years of marriage...mostly military moves.

3. I am a vegetarian.

4. I graduated from the same high school and grew up in the same town as former President Bill Clinton--no, I didn't know him...he was older.

5. My artwork is published in 1,000 Artists' Trading Cards by Patricia Bolton.

6. I love Boston Terriers and I have one named Emma Mariah Michelle.

7. I belong to a wonderful group of friends and we call ourselves "Quilt Monkeys".

I tag the following people:

Michelle
Cathie
Susan C.
Diane
Kim
Vicki
Susan

Please visit these wonderful artists blogs.