NIGHT SKY

I was so pleased to receive a commission to create two small pieces in my silhouette series.  This is the 2nd piece.  The buyer expressed a desire to include a black lab in each....which was easy to do since we have our own black lab that we love. 

NIGHT SKY -  13" x 13"

Hand-dyed cotton, layered sheers, Ultra-suede, hand appliqued, hand embroidered, and hand beaded.

Note - this is the first one:   

SHOOTING STARS  - 13" X 13"

Hand-dyed cotton, layered sheers, Ultra-suede, hand appliqued, hand embroidered, and hand beaded.

TAKING PRECAUTIONS

One of the many perks that came my way while I was a full time instructor on the quilting highway, was the generosity of the many businesses that supported our industry.

20-25 years ago hand-dyed fabrics were rather new.....small companies popped up and were eager to share their products.  Now I work mostly with my own, but coming across two dozen bundles of gradations of a variety of colors in my stash perked my curiosity.  What could I do with them?

I realized from past experience that most of these fabrics probably had never been washed more than a casual rinsing, (not so much the case now with dyers).  

The project I had in mind was for a family member and would certainly require washing from time to time.  So before I began, I selected two colorways to test.

Sure enough, they bled like crazy......and I spent the rest of the day washing and pressing as many bundles as I expected to use.

You all know how time consuming that can be, especially when many were 6" squares.....  But it was necessary and so now...let the designing begin!

COMMISSION!!

I've been hunkered down......working away on a commission for a pair of small art quilts...in my silhouette series. I purposely have stayed away from 'developing a series". Of course working in a series can be very helpful for artists looking for their own voice and to refine techniques and ideas. And honestly, I am sure I could benefit, it's just that after 30+ years as a professional in the quilt world, not to mention my age, it's not how I want to spend my time. My choice is to just get on with whatever ideas come into my head. My work is now made strictly for sale and it's clear (at least in this area) that one needs a variety of color, size, themes, style, and prices in order to stay out of the red.

1 of 2 is now complete and framed: SHOOTING STARS - 13" x 13" - Hand-dyed cotton, layered sheers, Ultra-Suede, hand appliqued, embroidered, & beaded. 

A NONE FIBER RELATED POST!

As we ramble along, realizing we are now officially senior citizens our food choices become even more important given our less active lives.  We've been chatting about air fryers for a long time.....but after reading reviews....we were lukewarm about actually making the switch from the occasional use of our deep fryer to this new fangled appliance.

Today at our 'in person' PTA (Professional Fiber Art group) our hostess Barbara recently bought one and gave us a 15 min. demo making tater tots (a fav. of 'the husband') and french fries.

 

WOW.....Impressive!  Besides the unhealthy aspect of deep frying the mess is such a negative.  I was not terribly impressed with the french fries....feeling they were too dried out...but I imagine timing could fix that. However, tater tots were just like out of the deep fryer.  Will one of these fryers be coming to our home.....not sure yet......stay tuned.

SPRING FLING IN THE MOUNTAINS

 Our recent large car club outing was enjoyable, despite the cold weather, rain, & fog!  So......a few of decided to repeat the same route in reverse.  It was a sunny day, chill was still in the air.  There were permanent grins on the faces of the guys as they threaded their 'machines' along the S curved roads.  It's a bit early for most of the trees to be leafed out, so our views were nearly uninterrupted.  Bliss.....

ATTENTION EMAIL FOLLOWERS OF THIS BLOG

 Blogger has announced that Feedburner's service, which sends you emails of my posts, is being discontinued.  I'm trying to find another option so your messages with my posts is not disrupted.  This is the case for anyone using Blogger's email subscription service......shortly you will no longer receive automatic emails.

If anyone can help me by pointing me to where I find "Analyze & Select Subscribers" to start the process of finding a replacement it will be much appreciated.  It the first step in their instructions to set up something new but I can not find it anywhere.....not on blogger and not on Feed Burner...  HELP....

Personally, I use Vienna an RSS reader for all my feeds.  It's an app that when opened, lists all my subscriptions in one place.  So much more convenient than getting contant emails or hopping from site to site. Learn about it here. 

Feedly is another free service, both are easy to set up and use.

You may wish to explore these options for not only my blog, but other sites you read.  In the meantime if anyone can guide me through the process of getting my subscribers list, I'll try to set up a seamless email notitication for you.

"PLAY TIME"

 Creating small silhouette art quilts continues to intrigue me. Here's my newest piece.

PLAY TIME SOLD

Art: 13.75" x 8" - Framed: 18" x 12".  

Artist's hand-dyed cotton, Ultra-suede, layered sheers, machine & hand appliqué, machine & hand embroidered, hand beaded. One-of-a-kind - Original design.

"INDIGO" - FEATURING VINTAGE SHWE SHWE FABRIC

Who doesn't love indigo and white....rare vintage fabrics with a modern twist.

Example of pairing the art quilt in a mid-century Modern setting.

"INDIGO" - 37" x 37" - Made from hard to find rare authentic vintage Shwe Shwe; South African Indigo dyed cottons by "Three Cats" for London's Spruce Manufacturing Company. This material has been printed with the 'block and discharge' method which began to flourish in 1652 in the Port of Good Hope. Machine pieced & quilted. Faced edges & prepared for hanging with fabric sleeve.

AVAILABLE HERE

GIRL ON SWING

I just completed framing my newest piece and happily it's already found a new home.  Working with silhouette images is so inspiring to me!! Already have another idea....whoop, whoop!!!

GIRL ON SWING 

13" X 13" - Framed

Hand-dyed cottons, layered sheers, machine applique & embroidery, hand embroidery & beaded.

Detail

ALWAYS WORKING ON SOMETHING NEW

For quite awhile now I've gravitated toward silhouette images....here's another one underway.