NEW COMMISSION

 It's always so gratifying to be commissioned to create a piece...this is the 2nd one I received from this couple.  The request:  a Growth Chart for their new baby boy.

I received some guidelines such as color, theme etc. and was sort of  surprised they strayed away from traditional pastels.  Instead they asked for a nature theme; trees, mountains, animals.  Colors:  browns, greens, tan etc.

                                      

The first step was to select a background.....I always feel my fabric stash is more than adequate but surprise....I only had two pieces long enough that worked.        

                      Next design ideas and colors are auditioned.

Using both fabric and paper motifs the design is beginning to develop.  Come back and see how it 'grows'.

Geli Printing

 A friend enthusiastically purchased a geli plate.  It was just the excuse we needed to do some playful printing.  Because she's a newbie to this method I introduced her to simple, but effective 'mark making'.

My goal was to get more constant & dependable results, especially the desire to fully transfer all the paint from the plate.  

The first photo is Dianne's fun prints.  Love her 12" x 12" plate....it yields more useable sized prints than my 8"x 10".

The rest of the photos are my experiments....you can see most of the prints are muddy and with very little texture.  THE REASON:  I over-printed some of these 3-4 times in an effort to improve (ha, then destroy) the original print.  No worries....today I discovered a valuable trick that I can improve upon as it pertains to printing on fabric.  

NEW WORK AVAILABLE

It’s not a surprise when I lose perspective over a project that required both a long design and construction process.  Relief at completion can be accompanied by uncertainty and delight!  This piece comprised both an immense amount of work and practiced skills.  Smaller complex pieces can often be extra challenging.  I’m very pleased that my geli printed stones inspired a walk through a woodland filled with tiny wild flowers.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

PATHWAY THROUGH NATURE -  21.5” x 16.5”

$325 - Free US shipping 

Cotton batiks, Geli printed stones, raw edge appliqué, machine & hand embroidery, and machine quilted.  Double fold binding, ready to hang with fabric sleeve attached.

STITCHING

A whole lot of stitching going on!!!
This piece has been worked on a layer of Hobb's Thermore Batting as a stabilizer. A backing will be added, followed by machine quilting.

HAPPY PLACE

Oh boy, I may be stitching French knots for days......This project puts me in a happy place with all the handwork I've been doing.

BEADS OF COURAGE

A community member asked for volunteers to participate in the Beads of Courage program in honor of a family member who is undergoing cancer treatment.

The mission of Beads of Courage, Inc. is to provide Arts-in-Medicine Programs for children coping with serious illness, their families and the clinicians who care for them. The bags are given to patients to store the beads that they receive throughout their treatment. Each bead signifies a moment of strength and courage.

Consider learning more here:  https://beadsofcourage.org/bead-bags/

She created charming kits containing the focus fabric for the outside of the bags, linings, labels to be stitched on the bag and ribbon.  Along with written instructions which assured all the bags would be uniform in size.  I spent 5 heartwarming hours creating 6 bags and look forward to contributing more stitching time in the future.

STITCHING AND STITCHING AWAY

 Yes, I am STILL working on this small tree art quilt which seems to have a mind of its own.

I've now spent way too much time hand stitching some of the background fabric's swirly design lines with 1 strand of DMC embroidery thread. That fabric was noisier than I expected, yet I still wanted additional texture.

3 strands of 3 different colors of embroidery floss became a grassy edging for the flagstone path. Yup, more hours spent, however I appreciate a quilt that provides surprises when viewed up close and I hope a potential buyer will too.

One more equally tedious design addition/s will be in the works starting right NOW!!

BIG BOYS OUT TO PLAY

 The long awaited for new club house complex began last week.....it's across the street from our fenced in side yard.  We bought a corner lot specifically to limit having houses on all sides of our lot and we knew the clubhouse would be built in close proximity.  

The developer has done a pretty good job of trying to tame the dust/dirt by having large water tanks follow the big earth movers.  Given that it hasn't rained here in about a month and we won't see rain for probably another 3 months....that effort is appreciated.

Look at these big bad boys at rest on this Sunday morning, but I expect they will be out in force like giant ants come Monday morning.  I will be happy when the outdoor pool, many patios,  pickle ball, tennis and bocce ball courts will be my view sometime early next year.  They do a fantastic job of landscaping here as evidenced by the first club house situated in phase 1 of our development.

At rest till 0600 Monday morning!

Overhead view of the first clubhouse complex.  This one has an indoor pool, the next one being constructed will have an outdoor pool and a bigger clubhouse.

GEL PRINTING ON FABRIC

The quilt world has been so good to me. My needle and thread has taken me to places I would never dreamed of, enriching my life with so many wonderful friends.

Since I no longer teach on the quilting highway, I decided it was time for me to give back by sharing some of my knowledge with quilters who are interested in art quilting and surface design. Two of my new buddies visited today. Living in a HOA community can be tricky, leaving garage overhead doors open are generally a no no. However, since our yard is tiny, I set up in our garage for a morning demo session of gel plate printing on fabric. We did traditional methods like adding texture with bubble wrap, stencils, etc. Next we moved onto some of the new techniques I've been trying to conquer. Printing on fabric is loads different than paper.....here are a few "grunge" prints I created with the help of mineral oil, rubbing alcohol, baby powder........so fun!!!

CONTINUING EDUCATION!

 As many of you know, along with some of my quilting buddies....spending a day printing/dyeing or other surface design techniques is total bliss for me. It's never too late to learn!

Our new small yard isn't conducive to these methods however, the generosity of fellow art quilter Michelle Peerson, has provided friendship and outdoor space to play. Lately I've been exploring creating the 'grunge' look on fabric using gel plates. So, three of us grabbed our plates and paint and "had at it"! Photos below....

Michelle is also sharing her talents as she leads numerous Surface Design Workshops. It's the perfect introduction to a variety of methods you may have heard about and are ready to try. All details are provided below.

ARTISAN FAIRE

 Our community Artisan Faire was bigger and better than ever with 40+ artists, food, & music.  The organizers and volunteers do an outstanding job making it an excellent venue for both attendees and vendors.  A grateful thank you to all!

Much to my delight, 4 art quilts (1 before show opened!!) plus a great many covered books and notecards found new homes yesterday.  I'm already looking forward to another event in the fall.

I was unable to find a way to display my hanging fabric storage pods. Available in small and large made from wool, cotton, or linen for a reduced price (because it's not an item I foresee being able to display in the future.)  See photos below.

A reminder:  For those of you who expressed interest in specific pieces, I offer "Try Before You Buy - In-Home Art Sampling.  Contact me for details.

Hanging fabric storage pods special sale...available small and large in cotton, wool, or linen.

THE QUILT WILL TELL YOU......

 How many times have you heard....."listen to what the quilt says?"  It's a comment that might be dismissed if it wasn't so darn true.

My current project is small, only about 22" w x 17" L and yet it has been yapping away at me from the beginning.  And yes, I am listening, maybe not fast enough but I am paying attention!

My current in-progress step has been to add hand embroidery to the background.......when yet again, the quilt started speaking very loudly.  I - 'the quilter' wanted to add dense embroidery, but 'the quilt' didn't want me to continue, no matter which approach I tried.  

Sorry about the inaccurate color but you'll get the idea.....three different stitching styles that only served to compete against the trees.  I'm back on track now.....coming soon.

LET THE HAND WORK BEGIN!

 Hours and hours have gone into stitching these trees......in part it's because I don't free motion stitch so lots of turning of the quilt is required.  I achieve much better results this way so for me it's okay to take the time to do it right the first time.

Now some serious hand embroidery will be the next step.  I've always enjoyed handwork and am looking forward to some peaceful stitching.  Check back won't you?

STITCHING BRANCHES

The process continues as my trees 'grow'.....crazy how long it takes to stitch branches!! 5 hours in and only 3/4th of the largest tree have been completed. I'm using two solid color threads in the needle (dark brown and goldish brown). All threads are pulled to wrong side, both at starting and stopping point, and tied off.  

So...... I need to remind myself....this isn't a race!  

Art Quilt Rescue & Sip & Snack

 The struggle to rescue my latest art quilt design. continues.  Several more attempts to make something out of the gel printed stone path have not be satisfactory.  New approaches are either too much or too little additional texturing of the stones.....so....I'm covering them up.  Well not totally but they will no longer be the emphasis.

A fellow quilter invited me to join her for what she cleverly calls Sip & Snack.  This isn't ordinary snacking......it's actually worthy of a classy restaurant.  thank you Toni!

 

ANY EXCUSE FOR AN OUTING

 My newly purchased eyeglasses had to go back to the manufacturer to replace the defective coating. That required  purchasing another pair to tide me over for the 2+ weeks the original pair would be gone.  

Circumstances caused a mix up and my new snazzy red glasses also had to be remade, but finally both were ready for pickup....and an outing was born.  

My neighborhood pal Susan & I headed to Eye Chicks in Loomis, CA (I covet their extensive selection of cool 'specs') with a side trip across the street to High Hand Nursery. (No wonder we get along so well...she's an Appleton, WI native!!)

It's a fabulous garden nursery and cafe where their creative displays made me smile and lunch in the garden setting was wonderfully relaxing and delicious.  Enjoy our discoveries. I even posed for a photo or two donned with my new red glasses. Susan, and avoid gardener was talked into modeling too.

Does anyone know what kind of tree this is....beautiful!!

PLAN B

An idea was brewing to utilize some of the gel printed fabrics recently created featuring a pattern from a plastic sink mat. After some trimming to highlight their shapes, they became a stone path. Okay that worked....but the next design idea didn't..... So, I'm now on a pause trying to come up with Plan B.