Circle Quilt

 Started this many years ago and finally finally finished it:

Poor quality photo. It's very vibrant. Lots of fabrics, threads (machine and hand) beads and buttons.

Art quilt finished

In January I started this project, blogged about it here.  At the time I thought I'd do one a month. Well, here it is the middle of April, and I finally finished it. Distractions along the way plus sore fingers made this a much larger project than I imagined. 

Upper left: printed on fabric transfer
Upper right: finished
Lower left and right: details

The photographs don't show the vibrancy of color and texture and shine with all the sequins and beads. I know there will be another because this is is really pretty.

first project of 2015

I'm off to a fun start! I took this painting that I did a couple of years ago, scanned it and printed it on fabric transfer and ironed it to felt. 

 My intention is to heavily stitch and embellish it and create an art quilt.

Depending on how it works out, I may do a series as I have about 12 of these paintings.

The fabric is quite stiff so I can only work on it for a short while before my thumb is worn out. However, I love hand stitching and beading and this is so colorful that I think I'll enjoy working on it.

My inspiration for the paintings were Robert and Sonia Delaunay whose art I saw in Paris. My inspiration for the embellishment is Frieda Oxenham's journal quilts.

I hope you are off to a creative start to 2015!

Happy Flowers

This is what I've been up to ...

Happy Flowers I

These started as a black and white composition exercise ... several years ago. Just black lines on white background.

Happy Flowers II

 I decided they called for flower shapes. So I used the flowers you buy to make arrangements, took them apart and combined with fused fabric petal and round shapes.

Happy Flowers III

This one was a variety of black/white fabrics fused to black background. They all were stitched to craft felt which, after hand stitching, was backed by red craft felt. They both provided borders. They are approximately 8" x 10".

For all, I added buttons and beads and sequins. They were all heavily hand-stitched (I believe you can click on each to see details). I love the process of hand stitching ... quite meditative.

I'm thinking of listing them for sale. I'm also thinking of submitting them to a local exhibit. Both (pricing and exhibit opportunities) will take some research. In the meantime, I'm hanging them up so I can enjoy them. They make me happy! I hope they bring a smile to you.

from doodle to art quilt

A creative doodle from a few years ago

Happy Trees
7 x 5

Cropped, printed on canvas backed with canvas and made into an art quilt. I've mounted it on a canvas so it can easily be hung. This is to be gifted to a dear friend for her birthday tomorrow. Really enjoyed all the stitching and beading. I think I'll do more of this.

I wasn't feeling so great on Saturday -- too many Christmas cookies! So, I went into my 'studio' (i.e., kitchen/dining room) and put silk fabric on painted lutradur. I really like how the lutradur keeps a slight stiffness. I didn't add batting, just a silk fabric backing. So it doesn't exactly qualify as a "quilt".

Angel over Wonky Village

7.5 x 7.5

Painted lutradur, commercial silk fabric, craft flowers, lace, buttons, beads, sequins, charm, machine and hand stitching

I loved doing the embellishment -- took my mind off my tummy ache. See, arting really is a cure for what ails ya!

My husband asked me what it was for ... the wall, cover of a book, a card?? I have no idea. It's just a bright spot on my refrigerator right now :-)

Holiday art

I've really enjoyed getting back to 'arting' by making book tags for my book group and three mini art quilts. These were fun to make, and expressed my holiday desire for a peaceful home and garden. I gave two away and kept one for inspiration for a larger piece. They are 8"x10", commercial and hand painted fabrics on painted lutradur. Unfortunately I didn't photograph the book tags ... oh well.

Fragments of summer

As we leave summer behind, I pulled together these three pieces for a series called "Fragments of Summer." Included are photos, epherma from the Chinese restaurant where we like to take our granddaughter, sand, and shell fragments collected at the beach. Also represented is the music of the sound of waves hitting the shoreline, birds that come to visit the backyard, the colors of summer. This was a fun project. Starting with painted lutradur as the background, I added photos printed on organza, images, collaged papers, beading, and hand and machine stitching to tell the story. They will be a nice reminder of summer 2008.

Strength, No Fear

"When I dare to be powerful -- to use my strength in the
service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am
afraid."

~ Audre Lorde

This is a journal quilt that represents my current journey. I have not been making art because I am in the process of creating a dream for my future. I'm taking the first of several coaching courses, with the idea that my retirement could include supporting others along their creative journey. While I'm unclear as to what that looks like, I love the quote and was inspired to create this quilt. The tree represents strength, power, the shape represents female strength. The branches and leaves represent growth. The "arms" are uplifted to embrace what is to be. The moon shines clarity on the unknown. Beads represent seeds of ideas that are flowing at this period of personal growth.

Fun project

Scrap Art Village

10 x 9.5. A project created “just for fun.” Painted Lutrador base, paper and fabric shapes. Beads, buttons, sequins, stitching (machine and hand) and paint as embellishments. Lace, Angelina fibers and eyelash yarn add texture. All scraps. A fun and playful project – who says art has to be serious to be considered “art”?

pieces of scrap come
together on canvas new
meaning emerges

Connections 1

Inspired by Sonji Hunt, this piece has been a LOT of FUN! I was curious about how to make a quilt that had floating pieces -- how to connect them. I love Sonji's architectural pieces that are so connected and disconnected. I also had purchased some of her painted fabrics, which I added to some fabric that I painted and began playing. Each "block" is a mini-quilt with top fabric, heavy interfacing, and cotton duck back fabric. Because it's painted fabric, each of the mini-quilts were quite sturdy. I did some decorative quilting, not a lot because I wanted to focus on the connections. To connect I used eyelets and wire, floss, I machine stitched some sections together, and added hand cross stitches in other areas. Some sections are stitched to a heavy netting that a friend brought me from Brazil. I cut it away except for the middle section. I haven't yet thought out how to hang this. Right now it's attached to foam core board, which provides a nice black background. It's called Connections 1 because I definitely will explore further ways to creatively link "blocks." Thanks, Sonji, for being such an inspiration!

Cabins and Peace Angels

I'm finally finishing Cabins ... it seems like I've had this up on my design wall forever waiting for final construction. While I absolutely LOVE it, it is the most poorly constructed piece imaginable. I learned to save space for seams for piecing the blocks! I ended up with unnecessary layers (each block is several layers and they are attached to a backing fabric, which is of course sandwiched with batting and the back fabric) and very raw edges that looked bad, so I used embroidery stitches and yarn to cover most of them. I just have a couple more things to add (a key for one) and it will be completed! Yippee!

I feel the same about Peace Angel ... at one point I was considering entering this into FiberFest (after my visit there yesterday, I'm glad I didn't - it's too traditional and not artsy enough.) I've had a love/hate relationship with this quilt. I love the fabrics -- they are my international fabrics that friends have sent me from around the world. I love the peace symbol in each of the red blocks. I love the text in the center block. I am less enthused with the "angel." I chose that symbol because I feel there are peace angels working in the world -- boy do they have a tough job! But somehow the shape is "lost in translation" and it seems almost too naive. The final touch is to add black yarn around the edge because I'm unhappy with the yellow edge. Anyway, I worked on this for a long time, and I'm finally finishing it. Yippee!

Lots of "lessons learned" with both of these pieces.

This is the completed crinkle quilt that was inspired by Nellie Durand. It was an interesting process/project, one at times I didn’t enjoy much. I found the hand quilting soothing and relaxing at times and other times quite boring. To add some “excitement” I added strands of yarn and fibers, as well as sequins and beads.







The piece was originally called “Bright April” because my godmother’s name was Nellie Bright. She did artwork for the book, “Bright April” by Marguerite De Angeli, one of my favorites as a child. As I was working on the piece in April, what better title? Then I visited cathedrals in France and realized it looked like a stained glass window. This was when I decided to add the rows of black beads. Once finished, I used oil pastels and Shiva paint stick to add highlights. So, the title is Cathedral Window 1 (because who knows, I may do more) …




I have no idea how to hang it … I’d considered a shadow box, but I love the way it feels and I want to be able to touch it. So I could attach it to foam core and then frame it without glass. Or I could add a sleeve and just hang it … any suggestions?
























I like the back almost as much as the front! Thanks, Nellie, for the inspiration!

Buttons

Why do I like to add buttons to my art?

They provide dimension to a flat surface
Curiosity – where did they come from? What is their history?
Tradition – women kept a button box or jar for mending or sewing clothing
Interesting to look at
Provide a focal point, or place for the eye to pause
Connections – between women; between lays of fabric
Closure/safety – “Button up your coat because it’s cold outside”




















For some unarticulated reason, I sometimes use a button to represent a face in a very abstract way.

I LOVE poking through my mom’s button box – a real connection to her.

Busy Intersections

I used painted paper towels, the ones that are under fabric, paper or canvas that I paint or use for brush cleanup, to cover a piece of burlap. I machine stitched a square grid to represent a “street map” of sorts. I fused leftover scraps of fabrics from other projects to represent colorful and diverse “neighborhoods.” The black lines represent the interconnections needed for a peaceful co-existence. I then stitched a diagonal grid to further represent connections and intersections. I used oil pastels to add a sort of gritty color in places and a Shiva paint stick to add gold highlights, coordinating with the gold in some of the fabrics. A bobbin had broken recently so I couched the black thread to form a semi border. Of course I had to add beads and buttons. You may not be able to see but I left the burlap showing in some places around the edges for interest. This is a quilt with only two layers. I’m probably going to attach it to black foam board and frame it. My husband’s reaction was “It’s busy”, hence the title, “Busy Intersections.” I love using scraps to create a piece of art!

Take Time for Love

Smell the roses
Listen to the music
Take time for love


This is a funky art quilt I made for my daughter and son-in-law's 5th wedding anniversary. The picture is really blurred, I know.

I had a lot of fun with this. Started with patchwork blocks pieced with a musical theme border. There is heavy Susan Sorrell influence with the emboridery and beading. I added lace and voile to represent the wedding dress and buttons from my mother's collection. It's approximately 13" square.

SOLD to the highest bidder!

"Happy Trees Grow in the Garden of Love" © 2006 $75.00 value





















"The Sound of Music" © 2007 $150.00 value


Not sure what the highest bids were, but there were multiple bids on each!

"Constellations of Hope" was a fundraiser hosted by Gather the Women to support women in Africa.

The invitation read, “Enjoy the "Constellations of Hope Art Show and Sale" featuring original art pieces created by area artists to celebrate our theme. Proceeds from the evening will go to Mama na Dada, to support leadership development for the rural women of east Africa.”

My friend, Odile Nicolette, invited me to submit some of my art. Imagine that! My first invitational. What to select. How to price. How to mount for display … all these things that I’ve not had to consider up to this point.

I did some research on pricing by checking out several artists works … but it became too cumbersome to determine a “formula” and in the end I simply went with a gut-level price. I’m sure I’m under-priced but how does one determine price for work with lots of hand stitching and beading? Anyway, because this was a fundraiser and an opportunity to get my work out into the world, I chose pretty simplistic pricing.

I mounted each piece on foam core, by sewing the corners with embroidery floss, so the lucky winner could just put it in a frame.

The other art was mostly paintings and a few mixed media. There was photography and a beautiful fused glass dish that I bid on but dropped out when it went over my budget. Beautiful work was on display!

I was the only fiber artist in the show. I got feedback that they loved the uniqueness of my work and the evidence of so much handwork. One woman said, “I love the beads!”

This feels so good! 1) To support such a neat cause. This fundraiser was to send three women from Africa to the GTW conference in Australia. They will be able to share what they are doing and learn and bring additional resources back to their communities. 2) To have my work out in the world. Even though I submitted postcards to FFAC, I don’t know if they sold or not. Last night, “The Sound of Music” left with its new owner before I got to meet her. “Happy Trees” now lives with Odile, how cool is that! 3) To know that my work is unique (at least within this group) and of interest.

This makes me want to go into the “studio” and start creating more! This was a very neat experience.

Angels for Peace #1

After the last posting where I showed how it got all bunched up, I added more hand stitching using embroidery floss (6 strands) to try and make it more quilted. While it is still more scrunched up on the left side, I’ve decided to let it live. After all, it is a practice piece for one I’m considering submitting. Lots of lessons learned in this one. In addition to the construction issues discussed in an earlier blog, there is too little contract in colors with the center piece, the four blocks.

Frustrated No More ...

This is the piece that emerged from the one I posted a few weeks ago where I was frustrated because one section had shrunk and shriveled. Well, I took Nellie's advice and went on a deconstruction journey.

I got out my heat gun (which I'd been given last year for Christmas and never used, I'm talking Christmas 2005) and tried to burn and shrink and shrivel as much as possible. Actually, it was a lot of fun. I couldn't believe I was trying to "ruin" something that had started out so "pretty."


This was the original "boo boo" area that had caused me such ansgt.

After burning and slashing, it now fits with the rest of the piece.









Here's another section that was seriously melted.

Then, once I'd finished the burning and melting, I drizzled glitter paint all over. I also added some sheet artist paper in places. I like it. I didn't finish it in time to submit it, but I certainly learned a lot on this piece.

Another mess ...

Construction:

1. Cut and machine piece four squares to form background fabric
2. Cut shapes; raw edge machine appliqué shapes to background fabric
3. Add two borders to form quilt top
4. Cut batting and lay quilt top on batting
5. Hand quilt (stitch in the ditch) center lines and seam between background fabric and inner border
6. Machine stitch over shapes (again)
7. Hand embroidery peace signs using embroidery floss
8. Hand embroidery center heart shape using silky thread
9. Sew seed beads around wing shapes and to face shape
10. Backing: cut backing fabric and batting (because I didn’t have interfacing and someone said that if there wasn’t going to be a lot of quilting to add interfacing to keep the back of the quilt from sagging)
11. Quilt backing and batting using grid design (because I was using batting, I felt I should quilt it). Sew on sleeve and label.
12. Using pillow construction, sew front and back together. Turn and iron.
13. Stitch along edge
14. Hand quilt seam between two borders.
15. Hand embroider heart shapes on sides
16. Hand embroider lines within center heart

BTW, I used contact paper cut in the heart shapes and attached to the fabric as my guide for hand embroidery. Pretty brilliant, eh?




But oh, what a mess! The quilting is terribly bunched up and I have no idea how to fix it.

The only thing I can do is to try and understand where I went wrong. If anyone reading this wishes to help me here, I’d truly appreciate it. So, I think I should have followed this path instead:

1. Cut and machine piece four squares to form background fabric
2. Add two borders to form quilt top
3. Cut batting and lay quilt top on batting
4. Hand quilt (stitch in the ditch) center lines and seam between background fabric and inner border
5. Cut shapes; raw edge machine appliqué shapes to fabric & batting
6. Hand embroidery peace signs using embroidery floss
7. Hand embroidery center heart shape using silky thread
8. Sew seed beads around wing shapes and to face shape
9. Backing: cut backing fabric and interfacing (lite)
10. Sew on sleeve and label.
11. Using pillow construction, sew front and back together. Turn and iron.
12. Stitch along edge
13. Hand quilt seam between two borders.
14. Hand embroider heart shapes on sides

This way, the quilt sandwich would only be connected with one large boarder and the smaller hart shapes.

Boy, do I need to back up and learn some basic quilting techniques!!