New Sketch

Dual Layer sketches for QU class. This piece will finish to 16x20 or a little larger. The flower is still iffy as far as colorway and technique. The color blocked layer will probably be made with paints like the surface design pieces below. The colors will change some, with a more albuquerque - adobe red - for the bottom left corner. The other blocks may change to lighter shades - still staying in the adobe family. *Maybe a little resist and dye for depth. +Stamping and stitching for texture. After the background is pieced I will start on the flower, keeping with the what if game. _OR_ This will all fall apart and back to the sketch book I go!

Surface design

After cleaning my studio space a little bit, thanks Linda, I decided to paint some leftover pfd yardage. This white fabric was calling me away from tree scapes and challenges, round robins and postcards. Calling loudly. Okay, I know, it's an excuse not to get busy but it sounds better this way. Anyway, I painted the squares with setacolor paints and decided to sun-print them. I had bought a package of those flat glass pebbles not long ago and thought they would be perfect for the print. I like the way both pieces turned out. Not sure yet what they will become but I had so much fun painting them I already have plans for more.

After taking pix for the blog I tweaked them in photoshop a little and got this nifty colorway below. Now I may have to try it with paint.

Spring Fever

Spring is starting to peek into my world. High of 71 today and I didn't get any sewing done! I spent some time outside enjoying the sun and thinking of what to plant. Last years gerbera daisies are only a memory and a file on my computer. Everything is still brown as far as the eye can see but it shouldn't be long now before some greenery comes along. After I came in from looking at all the brown scenery I needed a dose of color. The afternoon was spent cutting up sample paint booklets into a tiny 3x5 sketchbook. I like all the tiny color ways on each page. Now each page is getting a list of ideas that each color way reminds me of. This tiny little sketchbook is now overflowing with ideas and suggestions for all sorts of projects!

Diving Deep into Ugly

The challenge - make an art quilt with the ugliest fabric in your stash. How about this lovely parrot fabric? I have been wondering what to do with this colorful bit for quite some time. As soon as I heard we were to use fabric we found unattractive and hard to use this fabric came immediately to mind. At first this was going to be a flower quilt because the feathers could be made into petals. Alarmingly bright petals for flowers, I admit. Finding a background was not working at all. The primary parrots fought with all but the most bland of fabric. Doomed, these crazy birds were not going down without a fight. Aha! Take all the blue parrots and make a background fabric. Still alarming to the eyes, this fabric was becoming better suited to a dark closet than the light of day. What now? A layer of white organza toned down the wicked blue but now it looked like water. Flowers floating out to sea? No more flowers. Going with the flow, waves stitched in blue went on next. Drowning two of the red parrots by turning them into a fish was the next step in saving this fabric. After a little sea grass I couldn't resist a fish hook bent from copper wire. My own parrot was even happy with the results of this quilt.





This was a challenge for me but a very humorous one. This quilt makes me smile everytime I look at it. Perhaps because I got to drown the parrots?

No flaming, please, I love most birds. I am owned by a very loud green parrot by the name of George. *Even George was happy to see the other birds go away.*

Newest work

This piece started with a sketch and the gorgeous batik used for the background. The sketch was just a guideline and this is the result of just going for it. I feel as if I am struggling with value when I start with such a dark fabric. The balance would not have been acheived if I had not deviated from the sketch. The original circles would have been to heavy for the feel I wanted after I made the sun. The sun is painted with lumiere paints on silk dupioni and fused to window screening. I love the metallic look of lumiere paint and wanted this for the sun. All the circles are stamped with cookie cutters and jacquard neopaque fabric paint.

Mud tray

This is the picture of the mud tray/postcard holder. The reflection from the mantle makes it look as if the tray is made of wood. This was the best place to take the picture because the surface of the tray is so reflective. It was like taking a picture of a mirror. Doesn't the tray look nifty? The postcards can all fit and be seen because of the width and depth of the tray. The left most pc is the front of my 17 swap book. The card was made by SuZ Widecrantz, she was our moderator and so I put her pc as the first page. The pc in the middle is one of my Time themed cards from Threads of Sanity. This hand-painted work of art was made by Linda E.W. (Edzellinni). The pc on the right was made by Kate a.k.a. Flutterbugartgirl as a fabulous b'day surprise. Thank you guys!