An education!!

I spent the entire day Tuesday at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake- scribing for a judge at least half the day. It's certainly given me a new perspective about the ongoing discussion on the QA list about "quilt" shows vs. "art" shows. For the most part, I think the judges on this one were open to more "art" quilts- although, this being Utah, I can't say I saw anything that really pushed the envelope. But most of the discussion was about bindings, quality of quilting, piecing and applique. Probably the most disappointing part for me was how every quilt I saw judged was given positive feedback for "Visual Impact and Use of Color" and . Sorry, I just couldn't agree that every quilt made a strong visual statement- and when everyone got that, it just made it meaningless for those that were visually strong pieces.

This show is judged, but not juried- and that was also obvious from the quilts, which ranged from superb, both from the quilt and artistic perspective, to amateurish. I took some pictures of the ones that struck me. I'm posting those for which I have the name of the artist.

What lessons did I learn? No stitch in the ditch, unless you can do it superbly, and work to get better control of my quilting. The manatee quilt didn't get a ribbon, but it did get some nice feedback from the judge. So I'm happy.

Best of Show went to Renae Haddadin, who was also a finalist in the most recent $100,00 Quilting Challenge. Her quilt was two-sided, and pretty amazing.



And the other side- -



Renae also had a smaller piece, which I found equally beautiful.

Her quilting is amazing---



Jessica Schick has taught here every year since the show started. This piece is airbrushed with Procion dyes, and heavily quilted.

Suzanne Hyland is here in Salt Lake, and belongs to the Surface Design and Art Quilt
groups. Having had the opportunity to see her work up close, I can say it is striking and beautifully made. If my quilting has gone up a notch this year, it is because of what I've learned from her. She designed this piece at Asilomar, at a workshop with Katy Pasquini Masopust.



I think this is a gorgeous example of taking a very traditional, simple design, and making it something special with metallic thread and over the top quilting.



Enough for now- but, I've got some hand-dyes in the washer, I'll post those results tonight or tomorrow.

I've been working on something. . .

but no pictures, for a couple of reasons. First, it's my 2007 Journal Quilt, which can't be displayed online until the show is up in Houston next fall. Second, most of the work has happened on the computer and in my head. I've had an idea, it's been tweaked and revised, but I think it will come together. Very different from the last two years' Journal Quilts.

It was also another excuse to spend more time in the Journal Quilt book, since I have to reference the techniques I'm using. I think I came up with five different ones, so no problem there.

Tomorrow I'm volunteering at the Home Machine Quilting Show in Salt Lake. The show doesn't open until Thursday, but the judging is tomorrow. I'm helping them, I think as a scribe. My hope is to learn about the judging process, and what they look for. I know that there will be individual idiosyncrasies, but I still think it will be an opportunity to learn. I go back on Friday for a short volunteer stint, and hopefully to try out every frame system there. I am really hoping to get a frame system this year- I'll start out with my Juki on it, then hopefully upgrade to an 18" throat machine down the road. I am making a solemn vow to not buy any fabric- don't need to add to the collection I'll be packing up sometime soon! Maybe thread- but mostly I want to sample frames and machines.

I got a new toy from my brother, a 5 megapixel Canon camera. Had to download the manual, but I'm slowly getting to know it. I'll try to post pictures from the show.

Other news- I may be traveling to Tampa in the near future for a job interview. Nuff said, don't want to jinx anything!!

Happy Easter!

I've almost got the last three Bird of Paradise cards done. The thread painting is complete, I've auditioned quilting patterns, and hopefully will get them quilted and done tomorrow night. Since we are having a group of realtors tour our home Thursday morning, I'd like to have time to clean the studio! But I'm pleased with how they are coming out, and feel I've learned something by doing this series.

I've also been thinking about the last journal quilt. I'd like to get it mostly done before we have to pack and move, and have a pretty good idea of what I want to do. It's totally different than past journal quilts- no flower or nature imagery. And, it should stretch me- but that's what the project is all about, no??

We spend a nice Easter weekend with the grandchildren. Saturday we colored eggs. I saw this idea on Gerrie Congdon's blog, and had to try it (even if it did come from Martha Stewart!) After a trip to DI (Utah's version of Goodwill), we came home with a bag of silk ties. I dismantled the ties, and ran them through the wash. Hint- if you do this, make sure you put the ties in one of those mesh laundry bags. When mine were done, they were a knotted mess, and had managed to wind around the washer agitator post. Took me fifteen minutes to unknot the mess and get them out!

You wrap pieces of the silk ties around the eggs, then wrap that with muslin or other cheap cotton. Wrap the cloth with rubber bands or twist-ties to hold the fabric close to the egg. Put in a pan, cover them with water, then add 3-4 tablespoons of white vinegar. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for at least 20 minutes. Drain the eggs- but don't rinse them. Let them cool, then remove the fabric. The result- cool patterned eggs! Most of ours weren't as bright as I'd have liked, but I think that was at least partly because I did rinse them. The kids thought it was neat, and we had fun doing it! Here's the results--


The black, white and red ones were our attempts to get Mickey Mouse onto eggs- mostly unsuccessfully. These two are my favorites--



On a last quilty note- the only big quilt show Utah has is in two weeks, and at the last minute I decided to enter the manatee quilt. Remember this one?



And, since I'm one of the volunteers that will be helping the judges prior to the show opening, I hope to learn something about how my work stacks up. Should be interesting! I'm also going to be test driving every mid-arm machine and frame there, in the hopes I can get at least a frame this year. Regardless of where we end up living, I will have room for my quilting!!

WOW!!

One day after my cataract surgery, and I am both amazed and grateful to be living in a time where such technology exists. The surgery went off without a hitch, despite the fact that I wasn't nearly as sedated (read, loopy) as I'd hoped and expected. If they gave me a sedative, I didn't much feel it. I'm pretty good at focusing and holding still when I need to- and all those skills were put to use yesterday. I head every word spoken in the operating room, heard the music and was tapping my fingers to it part of the time, and got a very interesting light show during the surgery. I was working hard to remember the colors and images- figured there had to be a quilt in it!!

But the best part- my extremely nearsighted left eye now has better vision than my right! My brain is still trying to figure out how to "blend" the vision from the two eyes, but it is pretty evident even this early that I will be seeing much better. Until the vision stabilizes, I'll be wearing older glasses with the left lens popped out. Looks weird, but it works!!

Just to be sure, I'm taking the week off from work. My vision may be funky at this point, but I was still able to color and wet another three bird of paradise postcards. This has been a real exercise in problem-solving. I've worked on what background looks best, how to blend colors in the images, what order to wet the colors to get the effects I want. Once the postcards are done, I'll take all that learning and do a journal-quilt size piece for my daughter-in-law's birthday this summer. She loves flowers, and I think she will like this.

Anyway, here's what the images look like after I color the fabric with the watersoluble wax pastels. I'm using pima cotton, which has a high thread count and smooth surface.



I don't wet the image all at once- I do the flower first, let it dry, and then wet the background. This seems to give me more control over the image lines. They bleed some, but not a lot. Here's some with the flower wet, but dry background.



Here's some after I've wet the entire surface, but before I begin threadpainting on the flower.



And, finally, here are some completed cards. I much prefer the lighter background to the dark ones I did on my first three cards. I did hand-stitching on these; the last bunch will have machine quilting on the background, with monofilament thread. I also found I'm less happy with the background quilting that competes with the central image- hence my decision to use monofilament on the last group.



I always seem to gravitate to flowers when spring hits. I love the colors, especially after our drab Utah winters. Since the bird of paradise is a tropical flower, I'll only see it potted indoors- but it's lovely nonetheless. And, I know Marly will like the bright colors.

If you have a yen to try these wonderful crayons, they are available at Dick Blick online. And, to see the different effects you can get with them, Holly Knott did a wonderful article in the Summer 2005 issue of Quilting Arts magazine.

Comments and critiques welcome!

Spring Fever!!

We have had a stretch of glorious weather- in the low 70's, sunny- the kind of weather that makes even adults want to play hooky, especially when we're all glad to see the end of winter.

Shannon and I took Sadie and Dieter for a hike up Spanish Fork Canyon- not as picturesque as Provo Canyon, but closer to home. We got both dogs worn out pretty quickly- Sadie from chasing her ball, and Dieter from chasing Sadie. Since I had someone else to man the camera, here I am with the dogs for a change!



I couldn't resist taking a picture of this disintegrating sandstone- makes it very easy to see how it got its name. Lovely layers and texture--



Our view off to the side looking up the mountains was beautiful. The grass is starting to show, and some of the sage is greening up.



Off on the river side was a very old car graveyard. I didn't go exploring this time, but made a mental note in case I ever want to try rust dyeing- lots of rusty metal down there!



I've also been creating this weekend. I decided to get out my Caran d'Ache neocolor water soluble wax pastels. I want to create a flower quilt for my daughter-in-law, and at least one flower on it will be the bird of paradise. Don't have any easily accessible here to look at (although I have ordered one from a nursery), but I downloaded some pictures from the web, and used them as a basis for drawings. I chose two, and then did some cropped closeups as postcards. Here's the results of the first three:



I learned what gives the best results with the wax pastels, and was very happy with all the flowers. I'm not so happy with all the background quilting I did- the thread is too dark on one, and I think detracts from the flower. So, next time I'll use monofilament for the background. And, I think I'll try my Tsukineko inks to see how they compare with the wax pastels. I should be able to complete three more this week, so I'll have my April Art2Mail cards done before my eye surgery April 3. Not Lasix, but cataract surgery-

All in all, a nice weekend. Too bad it's supposed to snow here on Wednesday!!

Well, I tried

to get this posted earlier in the week- but "new" Blogger wouldn't cooperate, I couldn't even sign in. Tried to comment on a couple of blogs, and couldn't do that either. Here's hoping the issues are taken care of and I get my pictures posted without problems.

I've finished and sent off my third group of postcards. I had no brilliant ideas for this month- I ended up choosing some of my hand-dyes, and going from there. I've noticed that when I'm feeling uninspired, I end up with something simple- no bling, nothing but beautiful fabric and thread. I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't my "voice" trying to assert herself. . .

Anyway, I chose these because the colors reminded me of what we see here this time of year- the brown of winter, but sparks of green beginning to show. I was simply playing with line and shape, seeing what developed. I quite like working in these small series- none are identical, but they have similarities. I also tried quilting with polyester monofilament thread, something I don't use often. I hope the recipients are happy with their cards!

It feels

like forever since I last posted-I haven't usually gone more than a week. I have been working on the red, black, and white UFO I mentioned in my last post. I got all 27 blocks done, then managed to screw up the size when I was squaring up one. So, now I have 18 in one size, and 9 slightly shorter (but same width) blocks. I hadn't a clue what I would do with them- and then a co-worker gave her notice, she's leaving for greener and less stressful pastures. So, this week I took 3 blocks and made them into a small wall hanging. I think she'll like it.

Since I had 1 block a slightly different size, I decided to make the hanging wonky. I added an extra border to the smaller block, put different lower borders on all three. And since I didn't want to mess with inset corners and binding, I used Melody Johnson's escape hatch technique. It was easy, and I quite like the results.

I came up with my own quilting patterns, most of which I think turned out very well. I used red, black, and white thread- sometimes, I had a hard time seeing where I'd been while I was quilting! Got some good ideas for backing fabrics for future projects- mostly, the busy calicoes I quit buying years ago. Here's a look at the quilting:



I particularly like the 'spiral vine' I used to quilt around the hearts.

Not much else going on. No offers on the house, but the market is just starting to pick up after winter. We're managing to keep it clean, just in case we get a call that someone wants to look at it. At this point, I'm rather hoping we don't get an offer for another month or so. I've just scheduled cataract surgery for my left eye, that happens April 2. Even though it's a relatively simply procedure, it would render me useless for packing for a week or so.

I can't wait to see the difference after the surgery. My left eye is extremely nearsighted- to the point that I joke with the doctor about being able to see the chart on the wall, forget the letters on it. And the nearsightedness has gotten significantly worse, which the docs say is how my cataract is making its presence known. Post surgery, I should have similar vision in both eyes- slightly nearsighted. I'm younger than most cataract patients- but, I'm grateful to be living in an era when the technology to deal with these medical issues is so advanced. I'll probably experience more anxiety as the day gets closer- you'll hear about that!

Someone on the QA list posted this test- which I found very interesting, and promptly asked my daughter and son to complete also. It came as no surprise to me that I am (ta da!!)

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

That would explain why I often feel like I am trying to learn a new language (visual), that doesn't always come easily.

We had our last drawing class on Saturday, and there was a "showcase" from all the classes Saturday night. The drawing, painting, and lettering classes all had student work displayed, the theatre group did scenes from three different plays, some of the songwriting students performed their compositions, and we heard bluegrass music from two classes. A fun, interesting evening. Yes, often a lot like amateur night- but I am so glad that Spanish Fork is supporting art education for adults. With the good turnout we had, they are planning another series of classes in the fall. I think I'll take watercolor painting- I think it would help me with my dye painting. Seeing some of the paintings on display was also motivational- most were very good.

I also feel like I have a chance to get to know someone in the arts community. The woman who taught my drawing class has a gallery in town, and I showed her some of my small fiber works. She was interested, asked questions. I think if I can develop a larger body of work, in sizes bigger than the journal quilts, I will approach her about showing them. And, they are expanding the gallery to include space for lessons. She knows I dye and paint fabric, and teaching that might be a possibility. Too cool!

I've already posted the drawing I did of my daughter Shannon. Funny how you see things in a photograph that you don't always see in the actual object. I saw things I wanted to fix, and I did on Saturday, before the show. I fixed the too-dark shadow over her left eye, and complete re-did the nose so it doesn't look like she has a gargantuan upper lip. I like the finished result much better. I've now got it mounted on an 11X14 board, so I can actually frame it. Scary, framing a drawing I did! But, here's the new and improved drawing:


Here's some of the other work. The large painting is by one of the teachers, the others are student work. We actually had a lot more work displayed, I was taking my pictures early in the set-up.


I am sewing again, although it is on a (horrors!!) pattern quilt that I cut out 3-4 years ago and never got any further. It's in my favorite colorway, red, white, and black- and it feels good to be working with fabric again. I'll end up with 27 blocks, which I think I'll turn into several small wallhangings. Pictures maybe later!

Look, PJ- I can draw!!

Only one more drawing class to go- and I can say that it has been worth it. Not that I'm going to be a Michaelangelo or da Vinci after a six week community ed class, but I now believe something my brother Paul (PJ!) has been telling me for years- that drawing is a learned skill that anyone can do, with teaching and practice.

I haven't produced a lot of drawings, but I'm pleased with what I've done. The little paper smudgy things are wonderful, I never knew you could get effects like I've gotten with that little gizmo! I finished the one of Shannon, and learned a trick for transferring a drawing from tracing paper to drawing paper. I'm getting better at "seeing"- and at least know that's a skill I will continue to develop.

So, here's the two drawings I will probably display for the open house next weekend.



And my completed one of Shannon. Seeing the photo, I think I will be re-working this one. And, I know I didn't get the eyes just right. But, for someone who swore she would never be able to draw, especially people- I think this is a good start.

It has been a crazy couple of weeks weather-wise. We've had gloriously warm days, and then we've had snow. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Sadie, blissfully ignoring the snow as she chews on her bone. Total focus!

Two lookers at the house this week, no offers yet. And I am feeling incredibly unmotivated to sew anything. I'm just using the sketchbook, hopefully something will inspire me!

Changes, changes. . .

It has been a crazy, eventful week and a half since I last posted. I haven't been near my sewing machines since I finished the Valentine cards. I have been cleaning like a crazy woman, and painting the red wall in our master bedroom boring beige, like the other three walls. We've decided to take advantage of the strong real estate market here, and put our house up for sale. With Shannon moving to Florida in a few months to live with her brother and sister-in-law, it just seemed like the right time to downsize. And, unlike our last home, I do NOT expect this one to take nine months to sell.

We have some decisions to make over the next few months. Maybe we will end up buying a smaller home here, maybe not. I am at peace, despite the fact I honestly don't know where or what I'll be doing in a year. We will likely be renting for at least a few months, and I'll need to have at least some space for creating- I'm in the Journal Quilt project for the last time, and I know being able to make fiber art is the one sure way for me to maintain my sanity in the midst of chaos. I'm even thinking of investigating outside studio space- although, I'll be first to admit I haven't a clue where to start with that one.

I am two thirds through my weekly drawing class. It is going better- I now know I can recreate something with a grid, and found a wonderful tool for pencil drawing- a simple little paper blender. Works great! Hopefully I will get a drawing done this week I can post.

Our first prospective buyers will be here to look at the house tomorrow afternoon. I'm off to shovel yellow snow in the backyard. Having two dogs with a very small yard does have its downside!

Well, I got the message that Blogger has decided I need to switch to the new version- so I just bit the bullet and did it.  I'm still playing with a Wordpress blog I've set up- but the learning curve on that one feels steeper to me than Blogger has been, and there are not many outside resources to help the process.  So we'll see.

I have finished a total of 16 Valentine theme cards this week.  Five I've already sent off to Karey Bresenhan's Heart 2 Heart project, 5 are for my Art2Mail group, and the rest are for family and friends.  In my last post, Nellie commented about ways I can deal with the flatness I disliked about some of my hearts.  I decided to do an experiment with one card.  I'd already outlined the hearts with beads- and was not happy with the result.  So even though I'd already backed the card, I ripped off the beads.  I had some Bling Bling yarn in a color that went well with the card, so I couched it around the hearts.  While I think I will avoid yard with intermittent blobs of fiber in the future, I am still happier with this.  And, since this card doesn't 
have to go in the mail, I just covered my threads with more hearts, fused on.  Here's a picture of all three versions:

And, a selection of the other cards I finished:


I think I am done with hot pink and red for awhile.

I am now halfway through my six week drawing class. I wish the teacher had done more basics, but I am still pleased with my first drawing, one of my daughter. I've still got work to do on it- but for someone who's been convinced her entire life she can't draw, this is a major breakthrough. With some coaching from the teacher, I was amazed at how her eyes came to life under my pencil.

Like I said, still work to do on it- but Shannon is recognizable!

I'm in one of those "what next?" stages. I think it is time to move beyond the ideas floating in the brain, and start committing some of them to paper. And, I know what I want to do for the last year of the Journal Quilts- totally different from past work, and it will be a stretch for me. For that one, I'm signing up for Marilyn Belford's portrait class at Quilt University. You'll hear about my progress- or lack thereof, since I can't post pictures before the Houston show!

Sorry, Sean

but 2 minutes left, the Colts just intercepted again, the Bears are 12 down- so I don't think this is Chicago's year-- again.

I have been working on Valentine postcards all weekend. I got five mailed off Friday for Heart 2 Heart- I want to send some to a few family, and I have my Art2 Mail group too. So I'll probably be working on more cards this week.

Here's the five I finished and mailed--





I tried a different edge finish on every one except the black, and I think I like it. I also did not end up using hardly any of the thread painted hearts I did last weekend. The metallic ones worked, but the others just went flat on the background fabric. Even the trilobal polyester!

I added glitz with paint, foil, beads, and some neat metallic embroidery floss I found.

These are a nice distraction, and quick gratification. I have a quilt floating in my head, but it hasn't gotten beyond that point yet. Somehow, I just haven't had the motivation to start something big.

I started a drawing class a week ago- we did our second class Saturday morning. I really want to improve my ability to draw my own designs, and I'm hoping this will give me some tools to help. I am a bit frustrated, the instructor seems to think we should move into drawing faces pretty quickly, and I find that rather intimidating. So I've dug out a drawing book I bought awhile back, and I'm trying to work through some of the exercises. When I have something worth posting, you'll know.

Beyond that, not much else going on. Consolations to all you Chicago fans out there, I don't know of any city as sports-jinxed as they are.

Postcard Mania

I've been plugging away this weekend on postcards for Karey Bresenhan's Heart to Heart project and my own Art2Mail group. And, I suspect I have done enough to mail some to family.

I have plenty of reds in my stash, so I'm using those. I've got my thread painted and Angelina hearts, which I posted last weekend. This weekend I've been quilting the cards. I'm going at this project a little backwards!

I dislike intensely trying to quilt around applique- and when you are doing a 4 X 6 card, it becomes even more of a challenge. So I've quilted my backgrounds, and now I'll fuse the hearts to them. Here's a sample of what I've completed, with brightness tweaked with so you can see the quilting better.

Here's a closeup of my first-ever quilted feather. Could be better- but could have been a lot worse, too!!

I've done it this way before, and it works better for me. I'll also probably be adding some hand stitching and beads to the cards, just to make sure those hearts stay down. Oh, yeah, I think I'm going to stamp some hearts on them, too- already made a stamp just for this, and I have plenty of metallic and pearlescent paint. So, by next weekend, I should have the cards done.

I think we are all depressed or sick here. The inversion, the worst I have seen in years, is just nasty. It is no fun going outside, and I sure don't want to breathe the crud. So, send some good vibes our way that we get some good storms to blow out the valley. I'll even take snow as part of the deal, as lousy as our snow removal has been!!

I have been tagged. . .

by Ferret, to list five things about myself I haven't previously disclosed on my blog. Now that I've had 48 hours to think about it, here goes!

1. I've been sewing and doing needlework all my life, as did all the other women in my family. I was making most of my own clothes by the time I was in high school- back in ancient times when girls had to wear dresses to school! I was introduced to quilting in the 1970's by my ex-husband's aunt, who owned a quilt store at the time. I loved filling in for her at the store.
After my husband and I split, quilting went by the wayside for years. I remarried. Then in the early 90's, my then 6 year old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. A friend re-introduced me to quilting with Margaret Miller's Strips that Sizzle, I think as a way to help me maintain my sanity. I cut dozens of fabric strips using a hospital meal table- and yes, it was a wonderful form of therapy. I got two quilts out of those strips, gave them to my two sons. And the daughter is now 19 and healthy.

2. The Beatles were my introduction to rock and roll as a young teen. I grew up in Southern California, and saw them live in concert three years running. Unforgettable, and yes I screamed my way through it all.

3. I've spent most of my life in the American West, and deeply love the incredible landscapes and wilderness we have here. I only hope my grandchildren have some of those same landscapes to wander in and appreciate when they are grown.

4. I love almost every form of music, from all over the world. I especially love almost anything Gaelic, African and Latin- I've got Shakira playing as I write. (Saw her in concert, too!) Listening to Latin music is a great way to improve your Spanish!

5. I got my piece of Andy Warhol's 'fifteen minutes of fame' at the ripe old age of 22. I volunteered for the Peace Corps straight out of college, and went to Zaire (Congo) in Africa, with 50+ other volunteers. En route there, we stopped at Entebbe to refuel- and were detained for four days. Idi Amin claimed we were a bunch of terrorists come to fight in a nearby civil war. Diplomacy got us out unscathed- but that was an interesting learning experience, to say the least! We were covered in newspapers across the US, and my younger sister had her picture in the paper holding "the last letter from her sister being held hostage!"

So there's my five. Well, at least I've had some very interesting experiences in my half century on this planet!

Not sure who I'll tag next, stay tuned with the next post!

BRRRRRR!!!!

It has been bitter cold all week- I doubt it got out of the twenties. And, because there was a high pressure system sitting over us, we also have the dreaded inversion- or what anyone who has ever lived in a large city knows when they see it, SMOG!! I grew up in Southern California, and I certainly know the stuff- I'm just not used to seeing it in winter. In California, the usual smog season is summer. Here, it's worse in the winter. But it's yucky air not matter where or when.

The cold has kept the snow firmly frozen. Our HOA has hired a snow removal contractor that does a marginal job at best, so leaving home is sometimes an adventure in slip and slide. And the dogs continue to wade through eight plus inches in our tiny backyard!

I have gotten my first five postcards from my Art2Mail group. From top to bottom, they are from Josephine Edge, Tina Marie Rey, Betty Alofs, Judi Corrado, and Carol Thompson. I love how the styles are all so different. It really does brighten a day to find one of these gems in your mailbox!!
And, since it is hard to see on the group photo- here's a closeup of Josephine's. Her machine quilting is exquisite. I learned about feathers at the individual class I had with Suzanne Hyland, and I have a whole new respect for those who can do them well. As yet, I can't even draw them well, forget quilting them!

I'm working on my February set of cards for the same group, and doing some extras for Karey Bresenhan's Heart to Heart project, sending fabric Valentines to injured servicemen and women from Iraq and Afghanistan. Whatever my feelings about this war, I do not want this generation of military to experience what my generation did after Vietnam.

Here's my backing fabrics:
And here's all the hearts I have spent this weekend making. Some are threadpainted, some are Angelina fabric. I used cotton, rayon, and trilobal polyester thread, and a couple of different metallics. I rather like the lacy effects I got!
That should make for some nice projects to work on during the week, when I am normally tired and don't have a lot of time. I'm also thinking I'll include some interesting yarns I have with the hearts.

I got a couple of very nice comments from Nellie and Vicky about the postcards I made and mailed last week. Working in semi-isolation, I often wonder what others think of my creations. Feedback that is specific is helpful, and has told me that my minimalist emerging style is working. I really do appreciate it when surfers on this blog leave me comments!

And, speaking of surfers on this blog- I like to read my sitemeter and find out where people reading my blog are from. I seem to have regular readers from Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, and several locations within the US and Canada. Who are you? I would love to know! I've encountered some interesting people and work by following comments back to the person's blog. Come out from hiding!!

Return of Ms. Muse

Well, I think Ms. Muse has decided to come back out of hiding and play. I completed the first five postcards for my Art2Mail group, and can honestly say that I am happy with the results. My theme did not change from my original idea, but rather the way I 'solved the problem.'

I've come to recognize that my art is heavily influenced by my surroundings and the season of the year. I live in the high desert surrounded by mountains, and we have had plenty of snow so far. We haven't been dumped on like Denver- but I have at least 8 inches of the stuff in my very small backyard, which is creating some problems for our dogs! So, I was attempting to abstract snow on the mountains, using the cool colors of winter. I used my hand-dyed fabric for the backgrounds, and commercial for the mountains. I also was finally successful in figuring out how to cut fused Angelina fibers with a scrapbooker's diecut. We had one of a snowflake- and I tried a number of ways, all unsuccessful. We got it to work by making the Angelina fabric thicker than I normally do, and backing it with paper when we cut it. And, some colors work better than others. We had the best luck with cobalt. Ayway, here's the five completed cards.

I also found these cards to be a good way to practice machine quilting motifs and skills I learned after Christmas with Suzanne Hyland. I did a half-day semi-private class with her, and it was wonderful. I've known for some time that my machine quilting is the weakest part of my work, so I've been looking for ways to improve what I choose to quilt. (Believe me, I already know that the key to improving the quilting itself is practice, practice, and more practice.) I've been "practicing" on paper since the class- this was an opportunity to practice on fabric. I also used her Quilter's Preview Paper to design motifs specific to the cards before quilting them- the stuff is great!

I reach a milestone this week- on Tuesday I turn 56. I now know exactly what my mother meant when she talked about seeing a stranger in the mirror. I certainly don't feel that old. I've been blessed with good health all my life- now I'm having to pay attention to that. I want to live long enough to have a quilting career after my social work career!

Searching for the Muse

I did not spent a lot of time in the studio over the holidays- I finished the house quilt, gave it to the intended recipient, and pretty much turned the sewing machines off. I did spend a day dye printing with my brother- but I was singularly unhappy with the results. I won't even post them, they've already been tossed in the overdye pile. For the foreseeable future, I'm done with wet on dry printing.

So today I got out fabric, WU- and started making my first five postcards for my Art 2 Mail group. I had an idea, one I was reasonably certain I could pull off. I spent most of the morning crazy-piecing backgrounds, cut them into cards, and started machine embroidering the first one. Ooh, it was looking good!! After that was all done, I decided I needed to paint a shadow in- so I grabbed my Caron d'Ache watercolor crayons. No, I did not test on scrap fabric, of which I had plenty. I went at the card, wet the color- and knew I'd made a massive mistake. Wrong color, it bled more than I thought it would, and the white on white fabric I'd colored did not take it evenly. It ended up in the trash.

Then I started looking at the other pieced backgrounds I'd made. One fabric kept screaming at me, "I don't belong here!!" I finally decided it was right, and ended up chucking every single card I'd pieced. I did manage to pull them off the Timtex, and salvaged that part of the cards. Good thing, because I didn't have enough left to make any more cards.

I did make a good start on five cards- very different from my first attempt. But it was a struggle. I'm wondering where my muse has gone on vacation, because she doesn't seem to be residing in the studio right now.

I did complete something over Christmas, however. I used to knit a lot, then gave it up. When my boys were young, I happily designed and made them sweaters. I hadn't touched a knitting needle in years. Then I found myself in the predicament of not being able to find a cream colored vest to replace one I've had for years, and literally wore out. I hunted for over a year, and finally decided this fall the fashion dictators were not going to permit stores to carry anything even close to what I wanted. So I bit the bullet, found a pattern on the internet, and dug my needles out of storage. And I finished it!

I grossly overestimated the amount of yarn I'd need- so I knit my daughter's dog Dieter a sweater too, thanks to a pattern I found on Judy Perez Coates blog. So, here are Dieter and I in all our sartorial glory!

Mine has vertical diamonds done in moss stitch next to the border. Dieter's has horizontal diamonds done in seed stitch, with cables on either side of them And, a lovely 2 X 2 rib turtleneck, which, surprisingly enough, he doesn't seem to mind.
A closeup of Dieter's sweater-

It was nice having a portable project- so, I'm looking for yarn for a second vest for me. But I sure hope Ms. Muse makes her way back home before long, I have a four-day weekend coming up. And I need her to play with!

Taking Stock

The craziness of Christmas is over, and 2006 is winding down. I'd have to say, it was a better year than the previous one, for reasons that range from the personal to the not-so-personal. Here's hoping that all have a happy, healthy, and productive 2007!

I like Terry Grant's idea of posting a collage of the work she completed in 2006. I spent some time with my new Photoshop Elements to do the same- not all on one canvas, however! I was actually surprised by all I completed during the year. It was definitely the most productive year ever for me. And, this doesn't include all my dyeing binges!

I never did post my Journal Quilts, so the first two are eight months of them, with the last month alone.






Next are a couple of other small works and postcards, mostly done for Fiber Arts for a Cause. I actually completed more than I'm showing- but this gives a good sampling of what I completed.



Finally, the large works I completed. Some of these were started prior to 2006, but all were completed this year. I think I have overcome my fear of quilting, now I am on to working on free motion technique, and improving my choices of quilting designs.

It has been a good learning year for me, and I have plans to continue the learning in 2007. I've got a drawing class planned for late January, and a design class through Quilt University. And, I'm waiting impatiently to find out how the Journal Quilt project will change for the final year. Blogging has helped me journal, something I've never been able to manage before. And I've made some online friends through this network.

Personally, I'm looking forward to a trip to Florida to finally meet my new daughter-in-law in person. She has been a delight to get to know by phone and over the computer- but that only goes so far.

I've had some goals in mind for 2007- once I have them a little more concrete, I'll post. I think that will be a good way to track my progress, and make it harder to let them slide! So, what goals do you have planned for 2007?