WINTER BIRCHES

New work, available now.....

WINTER BIRCHES - 13" x 13"

Acrylic mono-printed cottons, appliquéd, embroidered, and quilted. Wrapped onto canvas covered frame and secured in wood frame without glass.

WORKING WITH MONO PRINTS

Having great fun working with some of my mono prints! Since they are stiffer than traditional quilter's cottons, a 90/14 machine needle works best when adding thread textures.

In keeping with my current goal to keep my sewing sessions short while my shoulder recovery continues.....this will be a small framed piece. That doesn't mean it's a quickly completed project.......perhaps the deliberate pace helped to develop a well thought out design. Stay tuned......it will be available very soon. 

HERE COME THE HYBRIDS

 A follower pointed out that my new quilt "Roots" - posted on Oct. 13th reminded her of my earlier embellished quilts....especially "Here Come The Hybrids' - 45" X 45". Made with commercial cottons and specialty fabrics, 3-D hand appliquéd, machine quilted, & mixed media embellishing. This quilt was published in my book, "The Stori of Beaded Embellishment", featured on back cover & page 42. It was also published in numerous magazine articles and traveled with the "Enchanted Garden" exhibit.

I've decided it's time to offer some of my well known quilts at affordable prices to folks who can enjoy them. If you are interested in owning this piece, DM me for further information.

Watch for more posts of available pieces.

                     Here Come The Hybrids - 45" x 45"

4.5 LOOK AT FALL

After several yucky days, we woke up to a picture perfect day.  As is typical in the fall, the interesting image of fog in the lower valley is visible.....almost appearing as a lake.  Today it will burn off before traveling up to us.

The leaves are changing almost overnight.....with the sun sparkling I decided to document this day, rather than wait till the weekend.

Enjoy the beauty of Upper Crabtree valley, in Clyde, NC.

SILHOUETTES

 I've had an obsession working with silhouettes as a focus for my art quilts for quite some time. Additionally the continual use of a sun or moon sneaks in. Here are 3 - 13" x 13" framed pieces I made inspired by the theme. And of course my one time all consuming passion of beading everything that stood still!!  

The pieces are currently for sale and can be shipped direct to you. Contact for info if interested.

4th VIEW - FALL APPROACHING

 4th look at Fall approaching...we live in a mountain valley...near the end where there are mountains on 3 sides......it's amazing to watch the fog roll in from below as a layer of gauze covers our small garden log cabin. The last photo is a view of the back end of the valley, where color is appearing almost overnight.  I've tried for 30 minutes upload a movie of the fog moving in.....blogger will not allow it to load.....sorry...it's so cool to see.

ROOTS

 Hooray....it's finished. "ROOTS" 18"X 18.5" - Featured fabrics are mostly Mono printed. Raw edge appliqué, hand embroidery, & quilted. Faced edges and fabric hanging sleeve attached.  SOLD

ROOTS  18" X 18.5"

DETAIL

FOLLOWING FALL

 This is the 3rd look this year at fall's approach to our mountain valley in Western North Carolina. I was astonished when I noticed another photo in my files that I'd taken almost exactly a year ago. I thought that fall was early this year, but apparently not....or at least we aren't getting the fabulous color this area is known for. Had it not been necessary for me to slow down my activities, I'd never have noticed this interesting contrast.

SLOW AND STEADY PROGRESS

 Plugging away, not as efficiently as in the past since my sewing time is still being done in short shifts as my shoulder heals.....but I'm enjoying every minute. Here's a detail view of my current project.

Nearly all the fabrics are mono prints I've created. Their hand can often be a bit stiff but I appreciate that the acrylic paint helps to prevent frayed edges.

NEEDLE AND THREAD

Beware, this is a long heartfelt look back.......with special thanks to my pal Kathy A. from Bethel, PA.  Skip this post if you aren't interested in memory lane thoughts.

I'm always amazed that my needle and thread turned into a magic carpet that has taken me all over the world.  Quilting has added so much to my life, can't imagine my world without it.

My career got a huge boost early on from my pal Doreen Speckmann (sadly probably only you old timers will know who she was.....a tragedy as she was the most talented, kindest, funniest, happiest, person I ever knew.)  In 1997, Doreen invited me to be a guest instructor on one of her famous quilting cruises.  I was fortunate to be invited many times afterwards on both cruises and tours. In 1999, due to the demand for these trips, we both started hosting separate events. 

Sadly, she passed away that year in Ireland while I was on a Greek Isle tour with a group.  No one could ever fill her Berkinstocks, but to my surprise travel company hired me to carry on with future trips.  

My magic carpet has provided an opportunity for me to teach in every state of the US, EXCEPT Mississippi and North Dakota.  The highlights of my travels tended to be the cruises/tours to destinations such as Iceland, Paris, London, Panama Canal, Venice, all over the Caribbean plus Hawaii and Alaska, just to name a few.  I would never have imagined visiting these places!!

This long winded look back is to emphasize that the very best part of my quilting travels were the dear friends I've made along the way!! 💕 I love how we keep in touch and the thoughtfulness of these treasured friends.

Kathy A. just sent me a box of Asian fabrics she had collected and found she no longer had a use for them.  I'm still shocked I'm working in this style....which began because an elderly quilting friend gifted me her entire stash. (Seriously it came in a 10" POD all the way from Illinois!!) A big majority was Asian fabrics.  The pieces I've challenged myself to create using these fabrics are a far cry from my whimsical embellished pieces that were my trademark for many years. Now I'm so energized when I see these theme fabrics as they truly spark my creativity.  

So........ be sure to take the time to reach out to some of your quilting buddies to tell them how much you appreciate their friendship!!