Friday, July 30, 2021

SNUGGLE QUILTS FOR THE OFF SPRING

 It's been ages since I made anything that wasn't meant to sell.....so it was extra special spending time creating two long lap quilts for our son's family (esp. their growing two boys!)

DIL has always favored the color green so I matched that up with the black and white fabrics I have in my collection.  The lower piece actually is very colorful, yet my photo doesn't show it...never the less I know they will be used and loved.



Wednesday, July 28, 2021

MOUNTAIN ART QUILT JULY MEETING

Our July meeting of the Mountain Art Quilters was so inspiring. This is just an overview of the terrific work members shared.  All the different techniques exemplifies the versatility of our members. 

New member Nancy shared her very successful mounted mask design.
Kathie has been learning the ins and outs of her new heat press while creating a large number of scarves with a varity of fiber content.



Susan brought another of her trademark colorful small art quilts.
Jenny brought this stunning landscape, creating it from a photo she took in her native home of Canada.
Lyn developed her piece to highlight some of her special fabrics, sashing them with hand dyed beauties.
Above and below:  Debbie has also been experimenting with botantical printing....combining it with other surface design techniques.

Sunday, July 25, 2021

EDITING MY INVENTORY

After 5 years with gallery space at Woolworth Walk, downtown Asheville, NC, I'm adjusting my current inventory in order to make room for more work and to obtain a more uniform appearance.

I was on the wool/embellishing wool band wagon before there was a parade.  MY book "Embellishing With Felted Wool" was published by C & T in 2008. Working with felted wool will always be a style I favor, however it doesn't quite fit with the look of my current display space.

So.....I've decided to greatly reduce the prices on all remaining pieces.  They can be viewed at my online gallery:  https://marystorishop.blogspot.com    Scroll down to the Wool section and see if any of the pieces might interest you.  They are all prepared for hanging and carefully finished on the back side.

Examples can be seen below.

Printed by Nature - 14" x 28"  - Botantical printed wool felt, embellished by thread work.



Furrows - 13" x 11.5" - Resist dyed felted wool, bead and thread embellished.



Impressions - 12" x 11" - Resist dyed wool, bead and thread embellished


Friday, July 23, 2021

UPDATING DISPLAY SPACE

 My pal Judy Simmons and I share a space at Woolworth Walk Gallery, downtown Asheville, NC.  Judy creates the MOST beautiful scarves as well as outstanding designed and crafted art quilts.

She just rearranged her area for better visibility of her art quilts while still showing off the splashes of color from her lovely scarves.


Here's a link to her blog where more photos can be viewed.


Thursday, July 22, 2021

NEW - "BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS AREN'T JUST BLUE"

 

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS AREN’T JUST BLUE - 13” X 13”

AVAILABLE HERE

Hand-dyed & ice-dyed cottons, Ultra-suede, hand appliquéd, hand and machine embroidered. Gallery wrapped canvas in black wood frame without glass.

Inspired by Jim Moore’s photography and created with permission.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

LANDSCAPE ART QUILT UNDERWAY

As I readily admit, I'm not art trained, can't draw and know little about the principles of landscape art.  Though I'm working hard developing those skills. 
Many of my ice-dyed fabrics lend themselves to this subject.
Although sometimes they need a little help.  The pinkish/yellowish 'sky' fabric had several undyed white areas which were distracting.  Easily transformed with oil pastel crayons.  

The 'mountains' will be hand appliqued rather than fused....I just plain like the softer & more finished appearance.
 

Sunday, July 18, 2021

"VIEW FROM THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY"

Work featuring our Blue Ridge Mountains seem to be of interest to customers. A good reason to create more.  This piece was inspired by a photo my friend Jim Moore took and used with permission.  


The ice-dyed 'sky" fabric from my stash was enhanced with purples and blues fabric pencils.  Blues (mountains) are from my indigo-dyed cottons and hand appliqued to Pellon light-weight non-fusible interfacing.

VIEW FROM THE BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY - 13" X 13"
SOLD
Ice-dyed & indigo dyed cottons, hand & machine appliqued, embroidered.
Wrapped on canvas covered frame in black wood shadow box without glass.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

"FLOWER POWER"

I continue to be inspired by the many gelli print fabrics I've recently made.
 
Working with limited colors has been quite beneficial, this grouping will be one of my next projects! 

For this one, pieces printed mainly with silver & golds were paired with commerical fabric and used a backdrop for a colorful fun flower.
FLOWER POWER  - 13" x 13"
Painted & hand dyed cottons, appliqued, hand embroidered, quilted.
DETAIL









Wednesday, July 14, 2021

PTA JULY MEETING

 It's been ages since members of our Professional Textile Artist group have met at my house.  The drive is about 2 hrs. round trip for most members.  Each year we take a turn hosting one meeting.  Because I organize our annual retreat, that's considered my hosting duty, thus I make the drive to their houses each month.  Bcause we are gearing back up from Covid, we don't have a schedule in place yet so I offered to host this month anyway!  Members had a beautiful day for a drive out to our mountain valley of Upper Crabtree, NC.  Some members took longer than others as they got a tad lost or turned around along the way! Winding, narrow mountains roads can be confusing!  LOL

Our show and tell was fantastic and inspiring as always, unfortunately many pieces were still under wraps since they will soon be in shows...thus not allowed to be publicized yet.

Barbara surprised me with an older piece I gave to her several years ago.  It was a sample for my beading workshop that I was tired of.  She took it and hand quilted the background and returned it to me.  Now I'll actually have to finish it....or perhaps how about a give away!!?!?
Speaking of Barbara.....she is showing a small section of a super complicated black and white quilt that will be on display a Southern Highland exhibit held this fall at the Folk Center, located on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Several members of our group are participating in this black and white challenge.  I'll try to get photos when the show is up because each piece I've seen blows me away.
Dort's husband has hiked nearly all of the famous Appalachian Trail, but unfortunately had to stop just short of his finish due to health problems.  This is a commission wall piece for the local organization that oversees the trail.
Detail
Linda Cantrell who is widely known for her fantastic applique designs has been in a self admitted non-quilting slump now for about 5 years since retiring from travel teaching.  YEAH!!!!!  We were all thrilled to see her back at it again with this contemporary wall art design.  We can't wait to see more.

This is just a tiny peak at the talent of the 14 members of our group....I'm so thrilled to have been invited to join them after moving here in 2006! Love every minute with these super fiber artists and genuine good pals.

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

WOOLWORTH WALK RESTOCKING INVENTORY

I'm thrilled for what seems to be pent up buying by shoppers at Woolworth Walk, downtown Asheville, NC.  Restocking gives the artist such a lift though it's always a bit of a dilemma trying to fit new work into the empty spaces since my pieces are rarely uniform in sizes.

Thus, this wall is super crowded, with any luck a piece will catch the eye of someone and I can rearrange for a more pleasing eye.
My booth mate Judy Simmons and I share the back wall....and now my area is a bit sparse.....I guess I need to get my sewing machine humming again!
We are so fortunate to be able to present a few of our larger pieces on Woolworth's entrance railing to greet customers.  Judy has two pieces on the right.  My newly hung Japanese inspired quilt is on the left.
And on the third railing there are two more of my Japanese pieces.  Judy rarely makes large pieces so I'm the beneficiary of more space!

If you see a piece that interests you, don't hesitate to contact the super helpful staff at Woolworth's who can complete your sale, carefully pack and ship it direct to your home or office.  

Gallery # - 828-254-9234


Monday, July 12, 2021

LINKS NOT WORKING!!!

 I apologize to anyone who has used my link to my online gallery shop on the follow.it email that you are subscribed to.  If follow.it  can't get their software to work properly, I'll either leave their service or find a better way to provide links.

Just wanted you all to know I'm working on it!


3 HIGH WIRE BIRDS

Yup, I'm on a roll.......enjoying creating work that lends itself to framing. 

3 HIGH WIRE BIRDS - 13" X 13"
Pieced cotton background, hand and machine applique,
and quilted. White wood frame.

Sunday, July 11, 2021

GUTSY MOVE

There was always something about this piece that wasn't quite right....unusual colors yes, stretched design/setting....a bit of a failure.  I kept looking and looking to see how I could save it and the answer became clear.


GET RUTHLESS!!!!!


Out came the ruler and rotary cutter......
Holding my breath....I sliced it apart.  Then framed it...now I like it and I hope someone else will too.

TROPICAL FLOWER SEED PODS -  13" X 13"
Artist hand-dyed cottons, hand & machine applique, 
hand embroidered.





Friday, July 9, 2021

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN SUNRISE

     This art quilt is a combo of the techniques I used for my moon silhouette pieces and the recent Blue Ridge Mountain Breeze framed piece.  It was a pleasant & positive challenge to incorporate both approaches into one!    

                            

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN SUNRISE -  13" X 13"
 Hand-dyed cottons, hand and machine
appliqué, hand embroidered.

Monday, July 5, 2021

4 RED TREES

Funny how most of the time, my visions morph as the piece is created.  But this one did not.....so happy with the results and the challenge of working with my energetic hand printed fabrics.                           

     RED TREES - 24" X 14.5"

                                       AVAILABLE HERE

Hand printed cotton, Ultra-suede, hand and machine appliqué, hand embroidery, and quilted.

DETAIL

Sunday, July 4, 2021

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

 Hopefully celebrations will be abundant this year.  Star like images in the sky exploding with color....

Enjoy & stay safe.


TECHNICOLOR STARS by Mary Stori

Friday, July 2, 2021

LOVE MY GELLI PRINTS!

 My new batch of gelli printed fabrics weren't just calling me...they were screaming, pick me, pick me. Well...I had been musing over what my next art quilt would be....so I dug in.

Random sizes of all the green/gold fabrics were cut and audition not only for color balance but to determine the size of the project to utilize as many pieces as possible.
Which is: 25" w X 15" L
The next step was several hours of straight line quilting....then the real fun will begin as the motifs are created.