NATURE'S DOORWAY

 After several months of work, the finishing touches on this major new piece were completed today.  If interested, contact me.

NATURE’S DOORWAY

29” x 24”

Materials & techniques: Artist gelli printed cottons, batiks, vintage Shweshwe & Kashmel indigo prints, fused raw edge appliqué, hand embroidery, machine quilted, faced edges, ready to hang.

SEAT TIME

 The projects I designed for students who participated on my various quilt cruises and tours always factored in techniques that provided for 'seat time'.  It encouraged them to take a breather from all the activities and to sit quietly to do some hand stitching.

I'm now at that stage of this current landscape project which has turned into a big undertaking.....which I LOVE.

To provide more depth to the scene.....I'm adding hand embroidered 'grasses' to the lower flower filled sections. Closer up, bolder thicker varied Perle cotton thread, transitioning to smaller scale stitching pairing various colors of DMC embroidery thread.

I started at the top of that section....which took me an entire day and moved to the lower section the following day.....still working on it and will finish up in the middle area.  I don't remember working on a piece this long except for commissions.....yet this is the perfect project for now.

ONWARD

You all must be tired of seeing this never ending project. My art quilts are one-of-a-kind....you'll never see a duplicate. Design comes from my imagination, fabric often created with white cloth - dyed, painted, gel printed....etc. Lot's of auditioning motifs, false starts, & sometimes ripping out what I thought would work. In the end, for me it's worth the effort....every minute, every hour.....it's my happy place.

And right now that means hours of machine appliqué after all the flower images have been created. They are raw edge fused motifs, but I'll admit to being a bit of a construction snob so I prefer to finish the edges...yes each and every one which can take hours of patience.

I'll be back again soon.......hope you will be too. 

WHAT'S COMING NEXT

 Usually I work a faster than this.....but life here has gotten complicated with 'the husband's' recent health drama so I'm working when I can. Here's what's coming next....

I'm now auditioning some of my gelli printed fabrics, cutting into flowers of varying styles and sizes. Obviously this is just the starting point.

It's still pretty chilly here, low 40's in the morning, highs mid 50's most of the time. Because my 'studio' is a spare bedroom, it's carpeted......requiring me to gelli print in the garage since my enthusiastic approach is messy! I'm hoping my inventory of printed fabric will be enough for this project.

A note about why I love working with gelli printed fabrics.....#1. I can print on demand if I need just small amounts #2. The textures that can be developed are so appealing for my style of art quilting.
#3. My motifs are often fused appliqué, so there's no concern about fraying edges, the painted surfaces are tamed when cut. I'm a neat freak and really dislike the look of frayed edges so it's a huge bonus for me.

The last photo is a detail of one of my framed gelli printed pieces which utilized gelli printed fabrics.....note how nice and clean the edges are.

Thanks for all your kind comments......it does a gal good to get encouragement! Come back soon.....