I Made Some Pretties at the Art Crawl

For the Art Crawl this past weekend I worked on 5 pre-layered fiber art pieces. The Crawl was very enjoyable being able to share a taste of what I do as a quilt artist. Viewers were able to see my traditional work and art side by side.

Some of the pieces that were quilted are going to be finished in these pretty resin frames and on hardboard canvases that I will paint and stencil. I'm always looking for fresh ways to present my fiber art. There still needs to be a little beading and maybe a little hand stitching with pearl cottons.

Overall, I am pleased with my days of play, and I hope I was able to spark a little light bulb moment for some of the quilters that came to visit me.

Art Crawl Demo Samples

Today I'm working on some art quilt sandwiches to demo during the local Art Crawl this weekend. I will be demonstrating my techniques all three days. And if you love one of my samples, I might be convinced to sell it to you. Come see me on hiway 27 South this weekend.

2014 Art Crawl in Hayward Wi

2014 Art Crawl. I'm at site number 4 under the big tent at Stephen Ross's home on hiway 27 South of Hayward. Nice parking and we promise to have many things for you to see. I will also be working on some small art quilts so you can see me in action. Would love to see you there.

2 Girls, Fabric, and Sewing Machines = 2 Really Cute Aprons

Today was 4-H quilting/sewing day at my home for Cali and Sami. They worked on ruffled aprons and their sewing skills. The ruffled apron is a pattern from www.clover-usa.com and designed by Becky Hansen.

This is a project that I picked the fabrics for the girls. Some times picking the fabric can become a meeting in it self so I saved lots of time doing it myself. Each girl had fabric from 8 different fabrics to give them a fun variety. They were the same and yet different because they get to choose the order of their ruffles to mix it up. The girls are 8 and 9 and are capable of the different stitching required with supervision.

We had fun and they rocked.

Glass for the Day

This is the beautiful result of a day of glass play in my front yard. Friends Anisha, Sonya, and my daughter in law Shiloh and I made our stained glass creations after being inspired by a Canadian teacher that I saw on fb. We had a few moments of hairy, gusty winds that compromised our shelter from the sun, but we recovered.

We used stained glass purchased from a friend, Paulette, and flat back glass beads, and glass epoxy. Thank you to my guy, Mike for finding old panes that he saved in the shed.

Fun day.

What Am I After When I Create My Art?

My simple answer is depth. I've been in love with creating layered fiber art quilts for years. My art has changed in that time from some simple layering of a few fibers, to a more complex layering using many fibers to create an almost fuzzy composition until it is quilted. Using these different fibers has allowed me to make the illusion of depth with the more dissipated fibers blending and disappearing into the background and the more detailed solid fibers behaving as if they are close to me. My chosen base fabric also plays a factor. I prefer batik or batik like fabrics that are a bit blurred. And yes, the way I choose to quilt it helps to create an organic movement. Think of the wind gently ruffling the flowers and leaves.

It's really not rocket science. I just love to play.

I love a bit of Salmon

Today was a lovely day to stay inside while the 4 inches of snow outside melted. Yes, it is April 30th and we had more snow. I know it is a tired subject, but I really have to say...enough already.

I finished organizing for the class I'm teaching this weekend in  Elkhorn, WI at The Quilting Connection. Saturday is a Lecture and Demo for the Great Lakes Professional Quilting Machine Association Guild and Sunday is a hands on fiber art class. 

As a professional procrastinator I felt it wouldn't be a great idea to wait until the last minute to pack. So as a totally wonderful side effect of doing things on time, I was able to quilt on another sample. The batik I chose for this was a bit ugly and I think it came out of some stores sale bin. Sometimes the things that you may feel are going to be unsuccessful will smack you around a bit reminding you not to over guess your art. Salmon was successful. I brought in soft subtle colors to compliment the contrast in the flowers and leaves.

Tonight will be a time to finish the binding and admire a new favorite. Tomorrow, I'm breaking out some of my rust dyed fabric and some distressed odd colored silk leaves to quilt up a more organic looking runner.

I feel refreshed.

Fabric Ramblings

Why do you need so much fabric? What could possibly make you want to buy fabrics you might not live long enough to use?

Such silly questions pumpkin. If you want to ever receive a quilt from me you might want to keep such personal questions in check. I make quilts because every fiber of my being says I have to create or I will explode. I make so many that they need a home when I'm finished with them. Yes, that might be your home if you are nice to me and suck up to me a little bit. I also need that much fabric because I don't shop for a project outside of my home. I shop from my shelves. Always have and probably always will. It could be a throw back from my poor frugal years. I have a huge stash and I'm pretty proud of it. Because I'm a longarm quilter I also need big amounts of backing fabrics. Because I'm self employed and my income is limited I also sale shop looking for the best that I can buy at the best price for me. I'm proud of that also. So, I'm not a fabric snob needing the newest, best, or brightest. I don't purge myself of old fabric unless it is really inferior in quality and then it makes it's way into a bag for the local churches to make charity quilts that usually get sent to some foreign country. I'm okay with that. I also make as many charity quilts as I feel I have time for. I hate the thought of making something out of bad fabric so I make them out of the good stuff I got at a good price. It's an all over win-win for me and those that get them.

So, what am I getting at? I quilt because I have to, and I give because I can. My stash makes me feel good, and the riot of color brightens my day. I look at it all the time and I don't hide it in boxes. I don't hide it from my husband, even though he hasn't a clue as to how much I spent or it's value. That means I don't have to sneak anything into the house, or hide it in the car until the time is right. The fabric is a clean vice and one of the few that I have. I have something intrinsic when it's used to make something. And if I play my cards right the thing that I made with it can brighten the day of someone else or night if they sleep under it or hang it on a wall. I have "quilts" all over my home, in many different states, and in several countries. Some of that fabric has made it into award winning quilts that have a very big monetary value. But, most are just for the bed because that is what makes me the happiest.

There you have my answer. I plan to maintain this healthy stash and burden my survivors with having to deal with it when I'm gone. I should probably warn them.