STITCH - THEN UNSTITCH

 Gosh, and I was making such good progress...... The top is pieced and as usual I tend to add texture and movement by stitching through the pieced top and its stabilizer before many of the foreground motifs are placed.

My preference is to sew with a walking foot, rather than FM (of which I am terrible at). Following simple drawn lines would/should/could have provided a sense of motion for the sky area. NOT....it wasn't fluid enough. Fortunately, the realization came quickly before too much 'unstitching' had to be done. Because each of my pieces are original, one-of-a-kind, ideas and methods are constantly evolving. AND that's what keeps it fun and challenging for me.

GEARED UP TO CREATE AGAIN!!

 Normally there aren't many lulls in my creative process........life has kinda gotten in my way lately.  It happens!!

Often I begin with only a vague design idea............declaimer, unlike many who claim their designs come from dreams, my projects DO NOT COME FROM DREAMS.  Frankly, I have to work harder than that!!  This idea has been in the back of my mind (I call that passive designing) for several months.

Take a look at the progress so far.  My goal was to feature some of my indigo dyed and Ice dyed fabrics.  Piecing is not my usual approach for the background of art quilts, but in this case it worked well to utilize the colors and textures of these hand dyed fabrics. 

XMAS COMMISSION PIECE

 It's always so very flattering to be asked to create a commission (slightly nerve wracking too!)  Normally I don't do small personalized pieces, but who can resist creating a holiday theme?

It begins by pulling potential fabric choices.  (Photo #1)

And since black labs are near and dear to my heart, ideas came quickly and with a couple of days in my studio, it's ready for my customer.  I hope you enjoy this sneak peak.  (Photo #2)

JOYFUL SLEDDING

12” x 12”

Original design - made by Mary Stori - Roseville, CA

Commercial & gelli printed cottons, Ultra-suede, gelli printing, raw edge 

machine appliquéd.  Secured on a canvas wrapped wood frame.

FALL 2026 ARTISAN FAIRE WRAPPED UP!

 The Heritage Placer Vineyards community has outdone themselves again.  Our Fall Artisan Faire was bigger and better than ever!!!  The location changed to the new clubhouse facilities right across the street from our home.  No packing or unpacking a car, plus having an indoor space was super.  A friend (thank you Teddy) and I rolled my large cart to my space in about 5 minutes.

My set up with new display equipment is shown below.  Many thanks to the supportive residents who purchased all but one of the many art quilts that were sold.  The other one was claimed by another vendor...which is always flattering!

Naturally, quilt sales & shipping (if you aren't local), can be arranged directly with me.  Visit my online gallery - link on right side bar for available pieces.

INSPIRATION CHALLENGE

 It's been fun getting to know other quilters who live in this development.....7 of us now meet monthly.  The focus of this little group is not 'play dates' to learn and experiment with surface design techniques as my group of 6 in NC did.  Instead, we participated in a quilt "challenge".

Teddy suggested we create a 12" square block/small art quilt inspired by a picture/photograph. We gave ourselves 2 months to complete one.

When we first moved to the mountains of NC, we took lots of walks into the vast vacant rural areas surrounding us.  Documenting the treasures we found became a habit for me. So I chose one of my photos #1 as my inspiration.

Photo #2.   OLD BARN WINDOW -  Barn wood printed cotton, designed by Mary Stori for Kona Bay Fabrics, artist ice-dyed & gelli printed cottons, & screen material. Pieced, appliquéd, thread & acrylic painted.  Secured in a wood frame without glass.

AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

PHOTO # 3.   Another approach to utilizing these unexpected finds was to print their image on fabric which became the subject of "Off The Beaten Path" -     41" x 34".  (SOLD & in a private collection.)

MY DISAPPEARING ACT

It's been two weeks of drama in the Stori household. We said goodbye to the best companion ever....our black lab Sooty....followed by another heart surgery for 'the husband'. Therefore, my sewing machine and I have not been bonding and my normal fiber posts have been interrupted.

A reminder to local followers..... next Saturday, October 24th, I'll be participating in the Fall Artisan Faire at Heritage Placer Vineyards. My art quilt inventory is fully stocked and I'm hoping for brisk sales. Pre-sales are welcome....check my online shop for availability. Shipping available.

But now.....WAIT.....ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL??? Our son's family adopted an oh so sweet Golden Lab. Ellie has now inherited Sooty's Packer Jersey.....she will be ready to cheer the Pack as they take on the Cowboys Sunday evening.

We too will be outfitted in our Packer gear and thanks to my friend Teddy's gift, our rough past couple of days will be sweetened.

GO PACK GO!!!!!!

THE MAGIC OF SHEERS

I enjoy sharing construction/design tips as my art quilts develop. Hummm.....seems I posted the completed piece prior to this tidbit. However, perhaps this technique will come in handy for you someday.

In order to achieve the appearance of transparency of the water, I resorted to covering the blue batik cotton print with sheer fabric. Often I'll dye or otherwise alter sheer fabric for color enhancement. This time I used just a white sheer. I began by fusing wonder under directly onto the 'water' portion of the quilt top.

Next, using a long handled fire starter lighter, I quickly and carefully ran the flame along the top edge of the sheer to melt the fibers, preventing them from fraying. When attempted with cotton fabric, it will burn, but polyester's will melt. Beware it must be done quickly or your fabric will disappear like the Wicked Witch of the West before your eyes! Once the edge was prepared, it was fused to the water section of the quilt top.

The difference will be easily seen in the posted photos.

Note - For locals who would like to play with sheers, my pal Jenny Lyon will be teaching a "Blooming Sheers" workshop at Ridge Quilters Guild in November. Contact her for details: jenny@quiltskipper.com 

SAYING GOODBYE IS HARD TO DO!!!

 We said goodbye to our fabulous, best dog ever, 16 year old black (rescue) lab on Monday. Because for 3 days, our regular vet was unable to 'fit her in', I finally called VEG ER VET on Roseville Parkway - Galleria area. One issue we had was Sooty could no longer jump into the car and I can't lift her. VEG emailed a registration link to speed up the intake info and met me at the door to get her inside. (Our always helpful neighbor Randy got her in the car for me at this end.)

I could write pages about what an excellent company this is. I now understand there are 140 office around the country. Walking in you'd think it's a people ER...WHO KNEW??? The staff, every single person and there were many, were kind, helpful, knowledgeable, & compassionate. Dr. Dutton was an angel!!

About 60 mins. later the inevitable was faced and they got her back in the car (she loved the car) and I drove us home to get my husband so he too could say goodbye. They encourage families to participate if desired. Once we returned we were given a private room....like a small den with snacks, books for kids to help them understand the process, couch, candles, even small vials to store a keepsake of the pets fur if desired. One could stay as long as they wished, you rang a bell when you were ready. They thought of everything to make the experience less painful.

Anyone who knows labs knows they LOVE food, Sooty was no exception. She enjoyed a huge bowl of whipped cream, chocolate kisses, Cheetos, and later chocolate cupcake and more whipped cream and yup....plenty of Cheetos. If you want more details I'm happy to sing their praises even more, feel free to ask. However my reason for this post is to make others aware if you are in need of an excellent 24-7 vet service....VEG ER hands down will not disappoint. I posted as few photos to provide a little overview.

https://www.veg.com/locations/california/roseville?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=google_business

PLAYTIME - FISHING - new work

 After completing several long time commitment  pieces, it was time for some whimsy fun.

FISHING  -  13” x 13”

$90 - plus shipping

Batik cottons, sheer overlay, machine appliqué, thread painting machine quilted, secured in wood frame without glass.

JUMPING AHEAD

 Looking back I see none of the in progress posts about this piece made it to my blog.  I'm sorry as there were many step-by-steps......I feel it may be too confusing now to post.....so I'm jumping ahead to the finished piece.

My long time (1960's roommate who married 'the husband's roommate) sent me a photo of a watercolor she painted.  I was awed and though I've only tried to recreate a photograph a few times before, decided to have a go at this. 

 It was HARD!!!!  The construction method was quite different from my norm.....but as you know, I do like a challenge.....so here's my piece. It's available for purchase. Contact me for further details.

ADOBE BY THE SEA 

17” x 14.5”

Artist’s altered white cottons by ice-dyeing, grunge gelli printing, hand-dyeing, Prisma colored pencils, wax pastels, distress inks, thread drawing, appliqué & machine quilting.  Inspired by a watercolor painted by Sandy Smith, used with permission. Faced edges with handing sleeve attached.

Watercolor inspiration by Sandy Smith