More postcards

In a previous post I mentioned that I had joined the Snowflake Postcard exchange hosted by Brandy Lynn of Canadian Quilt Talk Radio.  Well this is what I found in the mailbox after trudging through the snow.

This one is from Gemma in New Jersey,

and this one came all the way from Australia from Judy.

Aren't they wonderful?  But that's not all.  I got a surprise I was not expecting.  A Christmas postcard from my Tangled Textile friend, Judy.  Isn't it a beauty?

I wish I could get a closer picture.  The "rays" are delicate gold threads that have been couched in place, and the star itself is crazy patched.  Lovely!  

A concert and signature

Back in January of this year, I revealed my Tangled Textiles challenge piece for the MUSIC theme.  I posted about it here and here.

Well last week Mr. Mills had a concert here in my home town.  I had tickets and you guessed it, I took my little quilt with me to see if he would sign it.

The concert was fantastic!  It was just as advertised..."An Intimate Evening with Frank Mills."  He spent the evening playing the piano and talking about the various periods of his career.  As with most concerts, there was an opportunity to purchase some of his CDs.  Those were doing a brisk business even before the concert began.

At the end of the concert there was an opportunity to have Mr. Mills sign CDs so I took a chance.  I managed to remember to bring along a fabric pen and stood ready.

This picture was taken just before he signed my quilt

This one was while he signed it.  I was so nervous (don't know why) that the picture turned out blurry but you can just make out the quilt in the lower portion of the picture.  (apologies for the very poor quality.)

and here is the final result.  Definitely a keeper!!!

Process Reveal Day

Well it's finally done!  If you've been following this blog you know that I've been working on several things, but most recently a piece for Tangled Textiles.

Here it is.  Dad's Spirit Pillow.

Briefly, there is Celtic knotwork representing birch, cedar and willow; hand embroidery of wheat, and thread stitched cedar bows.  The maple leaf was from a friend who tried several different renditions for a project she was working on.  she chose not to use this one and gave it to me.

You can read more about the full process of this piece at the Tangled Textiles site.

A forest of pins

I've been busy trying to complete my challenge piece for Tangled Textiles.   I had written about the process here and here and here.  I've added some embroidery and done some cedar boughs with free motion stitching.  I just need to wash away the stabilizer on the cedar boughs.

I had already done some of these, but forgot to pin the boughs down.  I ended up with a jumble of thread.  Each needle on the bough had to be pinned down.  Looks like a forest of pins, doesn't it?

Reveal day is November 24th so I still have a day or two left.  The quilting and binding still need to be done.  I'd best get going.  Stop by to see the end result.

Sharing the process

I had been thinking about how I'm going to portray my inspiration for the current challenge from my Tangled Textiles group.  This is my inspiration:

Some twigs of cedar, birch and willow,

I like these for my spirit's pillow,

Then intertwine them, make a wreath,

adorn it with a maple leaf.

Then place the same upon a hill

and know, my spirit is here still.

-- © A.H.E.

After designing Celtic knots, it occurred to me that I could design one to use as the "wreath".  I could use different fabrics for the bias strips, or I could free motion the knot.  Here are some of the knots I'm considering.

Sorry the pictures aren't clearer, but it was difficult photographing tracing paper.  These are not quite what I'm looking for, so I'm off to design more.

Till the next time,

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination -- Jimmy Dean

Collaring some mugs

It's been a busy few weeks with several things on the go in the studio.  In addition to the small pouches that I posted about here, I've finished off some mug collars, at least that's what I'm calling them.

Here is a different picture that might be better.

Unlike the cardboard ones that you find in your local coffee shop, these are washable, and reversible.  These will be going to the boutique at the quilt show hosted by Blue Mountain Quilters' Guild.

I've also been brainstorming to come up with various methods that will portray my inspiration for the next Tangled Textiles challenge, "Process".  You can read about that inspiration here.

I've just received the next installment of Superior University projects.  This time it will be working with Kimono silk, but that is for another post.

Charms, Feathers and Mardi Gras

Lisa, my friend over at Tangled Textiles, mailed us an envelope that had hand dyed fabric, charms and fiber and challenged us to create something.  Her words were " use some (or all, if you choose) of the fabric, and at least one of the charms.  If you find some fibers in your packet, please use it/them in some way..."  Okay this was somewhat daunting for me.  I've been accustomed to working from a "theme" as in "music", "architecture".  Get the picture?  I had to really think about what to do with these materials.

 Here is a close up of the charms,

and the fibers.

I thought about what to do, sketched ideas, thought some more, and came up empty.  As months went by I was running out of time.  I pinned the items to the design wall and about three weeks ago, it came to me. The colours were bright, joyful, and vibrant.  Ahhh!  An epiphany!!  These materials conjured up an image of Mardi Gras for me.  I had to get that image down on paper before it disappeared.  Now to get the piece done in time.

I needed to find some background fabric to act as a canvas for my idea.  I chose a neutral piece that would allow me to add some stenciling.  I had the perfect stencil to use and chose to use blue and green Shiva paint sticks.

You can see the stencil in the backgound, or here or on the Tangled Textiles site.  Next I pressed the fabric to Misty Fuse and after some fussy cutting and a template I had this.

I slashed the blue and green portions of the fabric to give me strips.  It ended up looking like this.

It was time to layer the pieces together on the background and do some free motion stitching to hold things in place.

But before I could completely fuse everything embellishing was the next order of business.  I added some feathers and then fused the remaining piece in place.

Additional feathers were added and then the charms and fibers.  Some hand embroidery and machine stitchery completed the picture. There was sufficient fabric left over to create the binding.  

Voila! The final result!

As for what was left, here is a picture of the remnants.

Charms and Feathers

Tomorrow is reveal day over at Tangled Textiles.  Let me say that it was down to the wire for me. Yup just finished today!  Pressure of a looming deadline is a great motivator.  LOL!   Here is a sneak peek.

Stop by tomorrow for more details.

Tumbling with Artistic Licence

It's taken me some time to come up with an idea for the Tangled Textiles challenge theme "Artistic License".  From the time it was announced by Judy, several events have intervened and now I'm late.  I've been away (more about that in another post).  Oh well, best get on with it.

I had attended another session at Asilomar this year and took a class with Sue Benner.  Her class was a study in rectilinear, curvilinear, and cut and collage design.  It was while working on my rectilinear design that my idea came to me for Artistic License.  My rectilinear piece had blocks that looked like they were tumbling.

The way my mind works, one thing lead to another and before I knew it, other block settings were brought to mind, in particular Tumbling Blocks.  I viewed many settings of this particular quilt block and even noticed that the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky has a contest entitled "New Quilts From An Old Favorite".  Tumbling Block had been chosen for the 2002 contest.

Artistic License gives me the freedom to take something, change it, and still have it be recognizable.  How to portray Tumbling Blocks differently and still make sense.  At the same time use what I learned in Sue Benner's class and change it.

First I made a staircase using rail fence blocks with this fabric.

 

Next I chose a variety of fabrics like jacquard, gold lame and fabric I had painted.  I cut these into squares and frames, fused them together

 and fused them onto the background.  

Although I had placed some of the blocks to appear as though they were tipping off of the edge of the stairs, it still needed something more.  Quilting would do the trick and perhaps a few smaller squares to look as though they were tumbling out of their "parent".

 So after some initial tweeking (read that as reverse stitching) here is the resulting piece.

Taking artistic license a bit further, I've called it Blocks Tumbling...go figure... Oh well for what it's worth, there it is.  Go on over to Tangled Textiles blog and see what the others did.

A Tribute and a Reveal

I can now show you what I have been working on for my MUSIC challenge.  It took some time to come up with the idea and after some researching on the web I decided a tribute to Frank Mills' melody Music Box Dancer was in order. 

Initially I printed the sheet music and was going to incorporate it in the piece.  After a few attempts to stitch the paper to a backing fabric and having it shred, I gave that up.  How was I going to portray music.  Ah yes, I was going to need considerable bias tape to create the image that the melody was producing in my head.  I printed some musical notes,

made plastic templates, appliqued a musical staff in place and overlaid the notes.

Buttons gave the notes dimension.  Next came boxes.  I had some jersey in my stash with music notes on it, but had to stabilise it.  It was far to "flimsy" to stitch to the heavier weight cotton.  I also wanted the boxes to look three dimensional.  Stitching together diamond and triangle shapes gave me the look I was going for.

One small box and one larger box were appliqued in place.  I hoped their placement would give depth to the piece.

Now I needed a dancer.  I found a ballerina silhouette, created another template and fused her into place.  She seemed a bit flat and really needed a tutu.  I had some blue organza and black tulle that would do the trick.  The organza was layered between two rectangles of tulle and gathered together to form the tutu.  Hopefully the picture shows you the effect.

With all the pieces in place, it just needed some free motion quilting, binding and it was done. 

Here is my tribute to Frank Mills, and my interpretation in fiber of his Music Box Dancer.

Why not hop over to the Tangled Textiles blog to see what the others in the group have created for this challenge.   It's reveal day.

A Fresh Start

By now most of us have shared holidays with family and friends, eaten enough to keep us going well into mid-January, and savored memories of Christmases past.  2014 gives us each an opportunity to reflect on what we have accomplished in 2013 and what the future may hold.  It's like a new beginning; a clean slate; a fresh start.

As you can see, I've made a design change to my blog.  Hope you like it.  I didn't realize it, but I reached 125 posts.  I figured it was time for a change.  They say it is as good as a rest.  (Hmmm, ever wonder who "they" is?)

Speaking of rest, I have not been idle.  I have finished off my Tangled Textiles piece for the MUSIC challenge.  Reveal day is January 12th.  Here is another sneak peak.

I've pieced together my "Coffee Borders" quilt.  I posted about it back in November.  This is what the finished top now looks like.  Just need to sandwich it and FMQ it.

So, I've made another fresh start of tackling my WIPs.  Some are long overdue and I will just need to delve deeper into the boxes to see what else may be lurking about for far too many years.  Each of them deserves to be completed and given a fresh start. 

Till the next time, happy creating.

 

I hear music, music, music

Among the many challenges that I have on my plate, I really need to continue the work on my piece for Tangled Textiles.  The theme, MUSIC, was to have a reveal on November 30, but as you can see from the blog over there, it's been postponed till January 12th.

This gives me a bit more time to add some finishing touches to my piece.  In the meantime, you will have to be happy seeing a sneak peak.

I'm off to sing some more and see if I can stay in tune.

Unlocking the Muse for an Open Challenge

You may have been wondering what I’ve been up to since the last post.  On the other hand maybe not.  Nevertheless, today is reveal day over at the Tangled Textiles blog for the challenge theme OPEN.  That’s what I have been busy doing; working feverishly on my piece.  I was initially drawing a blank on where to go with this one. Various suggestions, such as OPEN mail, parcels, presents, OPEN doors, policy, and eyes wide OPEN; were not ringing any chimes for me, so to speak.

Okay out I went for a drive to the park, passed several homes, and an industrial park.  Sat on a bench for a while and came home passing that same industrial park.  This time however, I noticed a gate with a lock and thought to myself, "you'll need the right key to open that one."  Bing.  An idea was beginning to germinate.  I had painted some fabric that resembled an industrial park and posted about it.  Remember?  It looked like this.

 

If I cut it in half and use the lower half, it might work to represent a chain link fence.  Keys?  Will they work?  How will I portray them?  I remembered a stenciling technique I had seen done with Shiva paintsticks.  I also remembered a pointillist technique I had learned.  I found an image of an old key and went to work.  I also gathered up old keys around the house, traced them onto freezer paper, cut out the shape and pressed the resulting stencil to the fabric.  This just might work.

 

I went on a hunt through antique stores, thrift shops and found an old skeleton key and decided that I would do a rubbing.  I didn’t like the result, so I set the key aside. The piece needed some hand stitching along with the machine quilting to add what I thought would give it some depth. 

 

It still needed something else, but what?  I added just what an old key would need; keyholes.  Next, I added the keys.  Everyone needs THE RIGHT KEY to open something, don’t they?  There you have it.  I hope you enjoy my resulting challenge piece. 

Hop over to the Tangled Textiles blog to see what the others have produced.

???

Yup!  That's what I decided to title this particular post.  As I sat trying to come up with a title, I thought, why do I need a title?  Why not just write the post?  So here I go.

Let me backtrack a bit.  In April I attended a weekend retreat hosted by my Guild.  It was a "UFO" retreat.  You know the kind.  You complete some UFOs, see other's UFOs, get inspired, start a new UFO...you know.  I did manage to get a few things finished.  Here's the first one.

It was my Guild's "paint chip challenge".  The challenge: create a quilt no bigger than 36 inches square; colours used must have a matching paint chip; colours used must begin with the first letter of the name you are commonly known by.   Here are the paint chips I chose,

and here is the resulting quilt.

On another note, I've just about got my sewing studio unpacked.  Remember what it looked like?  You can see the before pictures here.  This is what it looks like now.

As you can see I was able to finally get the both sewing machines up. Just in time too!  I had to get a postcard done for a creative studies course that I have been doing.  Here is the postcard.

Interesting what a few scraps, some hand embellishing and machine stitching can do, huh?  I have since attended another session and did some interesting drawing on fabric at that one. I'm supposed to come up with a piece that incorporates the pen and ink technique that we learned and present it at the next session on September 29th.  But that's for another post. 

That reminds me, I also have to get going on my Tangled Textiles challenge piece.  I'm "open" to any ideas.

Till the next time keep creating

Remnants are revealed

It was reveal day over at Tangled Textiles yesterday.  Go have a look! Everyone is showing off their interpretation of the theme "Remnants".  This is my piece and yes, it still needs to be bound or faced.  I am waiting to see what my TTs suggest.

My initial idea was to rust fabric.  I had never done that before and thought using some rusted fabric would add to the idea of a remnant piece of cloth.  Well the rusting did not happen.  Instead I decided to go in a different direction, which I  suspected would take a little less time.  I scorched pieces.  The quilt has a pieced background, FMQ (which is hard to see in this photo), and applique. 

This piece represents the remnants left after a fire has roared through a home leaving behind the remainder of furniture, appliances, photos and family heirlooms.

A Blue reveal

It's reveal day over at the Tangled Textiles blog.  You can see what others are revealing today relating to the "blue" theme.    Here is mine. 

TA DA!!! A Blue Delft Tragedy! I learned some valuable lessons with this one.

I found this fabric and thought it was perfect. With a bit of fussy cutting it could work for the images on the mask.

It was tricky cutting all those tiny shapes, but here is a close up of some of the pieces that I fussy cut.

 

I had to figure out how to get the shadow on the mask and at the same time have the blue flowers on the mask show up.   I tried several different fabrics but thought I would be able to get the best result by using organza for the shadow.  I could fuse the organza, but what to use.  I experimented with Wonder Under and Misty Fuse. 

 If you look closely, you can see that the Misty Fuse piece shows hairline webbing and I didn't want to have that showing on the organza.  But how do you cut up the organza so that it doesn't fray....

with a wood burning tool. It works beautifully. But I learned that it was easier to burn it if the fusible web paper was left attached to the piece.  So now I had all the pieces for the mask, but what about the background. A sense of tiles for the background would be good. The grid created with blue satin ribbon, looked a little flat.  Some FMQ helped.  Here's a close up.

It was time to apply the mask to the background.  I fused the mask to the background and discovered that I not only had "shadow" on the mask, but some shadowing from behind too.  Look closely....

See it there on the forehead?  Oh well...I'll know better next time.