The first quilt I ever designed and made...

Was this little wall hanging I did for my late mother-in-law, Juta.  Tom and I had just started dating in 1993, and, while I'd known both Tom and his mother since I was a little girl, I hadn't seen either one of them for years.  In visiting her at her home in Chicago, I learned she loved her garden, and the color pink.  Meanwhile, I was just learning about quilting and reading everything ever published about the subject. 
So--when I saw a flip-and-sew technique in a magazine and saw it could be applied to creating flower shapes, I tried it to make this roses quilted wallhanging.  It was given to Juta for Christmas. 




 

 

 



I used the flip-and-sew method for the roses, and raw-edge applique for the stems and leaves.  I guess, even though I'd taken numerous art classes in my life, I didn't yet have an eye for value.  The stems and leaves are pretty muddled.  I also had no idea about doing a binding or a hanging sleeve.  My techniques for those were pretty primitve.  But, at the time, I thought it was kind of cool. 

She never hung it up. 

(BTW--I can't for the life of me figure out how to flip this photo so that's it's upright.  Grrrr....)



 

A new craft idea!

Found this in a funny little shop in Fond du Lac.  I can make one, too. 

Colin's Leaves

My friend Colin lives in Chicago, and a while ago he  took a picture of three leaves on the hood of his purple car and posted it on Facebook.  Having a particular Fast Friday Fabric Challenge in mind, I asked if I could use his photo as inspiration for an art quilt.  The challenge called for making a quilt using high contrast, which the photo had.  He said OK!  I wanted to make the quilt shiny in some way to reflect the car surface, so I pondered on it for a while.  Months, really...

Recently--another friend of mine, Lynne, who is a seamstress, gave me a chunk of the most gorgeous purple raw silk...perfect for Colin's Leaves!   Then, while cleaning out my closet, I decided to retire an old blouse of mine as it was probably 10 years old and had frayed cuffs.  It's ivory silk--perfect for Colin's Leaves! So I took it apart and saved the pieces.  With these two fabrics, I got the feeling the universe was telling me to finally make the quilt! 

So I used the two silks and quilted the back ground with black and silver metallic threads.   The leaves were marked with a silver paint pen and quilted in silver as well. 

I like it.  It's the first pure art piece I've done in a while.   Thanks, Colin! 

New Year's Day Mystery Quilt

Planet Patchwork (http://www.planetpatchwork.com/) does an online mystery quilt every year on New Year's Day, along with other days of the year, where participants can choose their fabric , follow instructions that are posted each hour and end up with a fun quilt top. I've done this a couple of times with mixed results. The first one, called Sno Business, I loved and The Hubs uses it all the time. The next one I disliked and took it apart right away.

This one is called Chips and Strips. It's very fun and I like it! This is a crappy picture, but when I finish this I'll take more. I already know how this will be quilted (geomterically along the zig zags) and I know it'll be used.

Naaaahhhh it's not art...but it's fun!

My word for 2012

Two years ago, I joined the Quiltart mailing list, and there was a discussion about choosing a "word of the year." My first word was "Freedom." I was having a hard time dealing with a lot of things in my family life and I wanted freedom from my negativity about my situation. I even wrote out the word and stuck it on my wall.

Last year, I chose another word, but I never wrote it down, nor did I blog about it. So, days later, I completely forgot it, and have not been able to remember it since.

Well--the Christmas celebrations are over, and a new year is coming soon. I've been thinking about a new word for the coming year. I wrote about my search on the QA list, ending with the phrase "it'll be a brand new year with fresh hope", which paraphrases something that Mrs. Griswald said to Clark on their drive to California in the movie, "National Lampoon's Vacation."

One of my fellow artists pointed out that my new word sounds like..."hope!" So there it is, then. "HOPE" is my word for 2012. Thanks, Diane!

Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. It is an expectation and a longing; it is to look forward with confidence.

There is hope that I will complete a good number of old projects and UFOs this year.

There is hope that I will do at least half of the Fast Friday Fabric Challenges. There is one challenge each month--last year I didn't complete any of them! I'll shoot for six this coming year.

There is great hope, because I've made it a true goal, that my studio will finally be painted and organized by the end of January--a goal with which The Hubs will help.

There is also hope that I can concentrate on new work with limited distractions.

I'm looking forward to 2012; it'll be a much better year than 2011. I'll be sure to write my word down on a slip of paper so I don't forget it.

Addendum: I recently visited a blog by a fellow Quilt Art poster: Terry Grant in Portland, OR (http://andsewitgoes.blogspot.com/2012/01/intention.html) and she makes little banners for her yearly words. I decided to do the same thing. Stay tuned.

Another attempt at organization...

Lately on the Quiltart email list (http://www.quiltart.com/) there has been a discussion about re-organizing sewing studios and spaces. Which made me think of my own studio space.
Since I haven't been doing too much in the studio lately--it's become as though a tornado has blown through. How does that work? I'm not in there, so it gets messy??
Well--I know that I'd run in there, quickly do a project and run out without cleaning or straightening up or putting things away. That's what happens when you're the Queen of Procrastination and you're always rushing to finish something. And now--in the throes of making Christmas gifts and decorations and such--this is not the time to clean either.

So I promised myself that, in January when all the holiday stuff is done and gifts are given and deadlines are met, I would reorganize the place. I need to empty out the studio, have the ceiling fixed, paint the whole room, clean out the closet and rearrange things so it's much more manageable and efficient.
(Ahahahahahaha.....sigh. I have said this to myself about a dozen times since we moved here--there are still boxes and totes waiting to be unpacked...But--it'll be a brand new year with fresh hope. )

Well, this is before:












My room is our spare bedroom with lot s of windows--one in a charming dormer--with a good sized closet. I can't get to the closet right now--too much stuff in front of the door. I have a sewing table and another desk at which I make my jewelry, a tall table that is my cutting table and my ironing board. Most of my fabric is kept in plastic bins in "kits", meaning they're projects for which I have fabric and an idea or pattern.
The biggest bugaboo is how to store batting and pillow forms. They take up a lot of room...

Anyway--that's my beginning. Tune in to see the end. (The end of clutter, that is....!)
Oh--I am sorry. I'm watching "The New Girl" with Zoey Deschanel while I write this, and I was compelled to say something kinda dorkey.

Oh ok....

Well--it's been almost 19 months since my last post. Did you miss me? Nah--I know.

Since my last post, a number of things have happened in my life, and I've allowed them to derail my artistic efforts. That's right--I've ALLOWED myself to be distracted and divert my attention away from making art--indeed--even sewing or quilting anything! I haven't been in my studio, save for making a few pairs of earrings or to iron table linens, for months!!

A few things have been significant: The birth of my first grandchild, Lukas Brian! The death of my father, Benedikts (here they are together last year.) My mother-in-law, Juta also died earlier this year. The growth of our business (good news!) The deterioration of the condition of my back, despite an attempt at physical therapy this summer.

All these events and conditions have served to frustrate and distract.

The family issues have come to close, with the resolution of estates and probates, so I can put that behind me. Our computer business is humming along nicely with the addition of new employees and some new management software, so all is well there. My back...well it's still a pain in the arse, but with more PT and some weight loss, I can live with it.

I also kind of dropped out of the Milwaukee Art Quilter's Group. I love the concept of all these great fiber artists getting together to do group challenges and show their work--but the deadlines for the challenges and show were killing me. And this is driving me crazy!

On one hand, I like having deadlines--they force me to have a bit of discipline in finishing some art. On the other hand--they've becoming quite stressful for me, so I've just let them go by without making anything!

(I did make a commitment to finish one challenge so that it can be shown with all the others at the Wisconsin Quilt Museum this coming winter--I will definitely finish that!)

Anyway--this goes back YEARS! I have started and not finished probably dozens (DOZENS!) of projects. Is it that I have no discipline? Am I afraid of finishing for some reason? Are the things I make not good enough? Am I just nuts?

I just don't know.

What I do know is that I better do SOMETHING or I really will go nuts. I have a need, as all artists do, to express myself through fabric, painting, something. Many years ago, I read "The Artist's Way" and did alot of the exercises to bring out the artist in me. I don't remember a lot of it, but I do recall that our art ebbs and flows. There are times when you are filling your vessel, and times when you are pouring it out.

I've been filling my vessel for a couple years now, and I am ready to let it flow out. With some self-discipline and some serious studio time, I can make art. I can.

Meanwhile--here are just a couple pics I've taken over the last 18 months to inspire some art in me:

It's not art, but it was fun

I just finished a little baby quilt for my friends Heli and Erik who had their second son, Laas, in January. I can post a pic now, as I finally sent it to her last week.
It was made from two packs of charms squares that I received as a gift at our last quilt retreat in Reedsburg. I used the squares to make pinwheel blocks and added some yardage as borders and backing.
The funny thing is, the very first quilt I EVER cut and sewed into squares was given to Heli at a baby shower before her first son, Juhan, was born. It was flannel cut into strips and made into a rail fence pattern. At that time (about 5 years ago), I knew nothing about machine quilting--just a little about patchwork. So, I tied the quilt and used satin for the binding.
After that, I started reading magazines and books about piecing and sewing...and the rest is history.





















While I am thinking about or working on art quilts, I find it fun and relaxing to do a little something like this, especially for friends. It's wonderful just to finish something, it gets me out of my head and into the world for a bit, and it cheers my heart.
I just learned another friend will be having her third daughter this summer, so I have fabric all ready for her baby quilt. And, of course, my own grandchild is due in July, so I'll have a few things to make for that little rug rat as well. Fun!

A Good Trade

I almost forgot to talk about my trade! A couple weeks ago when I posted my first batch of snow-dyed fabric, I mentioned that I did not care for one of the pieces:

I got a lot of nice comments about all my snow-dyed pieces, but a lot of people liked this one in particular.

One person, in particular, loved it: Diane from Texas, who had posted some snow dyeing of her own on her blog. And I loved them! I loved her oranges--she loved my fugly. So...we traded. I sent her the burgundy/yellow/blue piece, and she sent me...a gorgeous hand-dyed silk scarf!

Here it is hanging on my workroom door (right ext to my QA calendar...) Even though it would be excellent for a quilt, I can't bear to cut it . I'm gonna wear it!

More snow-dyes and other stuff

Right now its snowing like a summbi*ch, and it won't stop for another 6-8 hours. So I already have more fabric soaking in soda ash to do yet more snow-dyeing. Here are a couple pieces I did last weekend before the old snow melted away:

Looks like great sunset/sunrise fabric. Or something else!

I also got a "commission" this week--to make 12 pairs of black, white and pink earrings and three bracelet sets for my daughter, Julie, who is the manager of a White House Black Market store in Seattle, WA. She'd like to give them as gifts to her staff. So, I whipped 'em up and packed 'em up and they are on their way to Seattle right now. That is, if the Fed Ex plane can get out of town with all this snow flying...

Her store sells only black and white clothing, along with an accent color that changes with the seasons. Right now it's pink. Hence the pink beads.

I am very happy with the lot of them. I hadn't done any beading for a long while. A few summers ago, I made a load of jewelry and hit the art/craft fairs around southern Wisconsin. It was great fun. I had a canopy and tables and all. I sold a fair quantity and made a little money--enough to pay for all the fees and travel and even had some leftover to buy more beads.

Notices have been coming in about the art fairs scheduled for this summer. I have half a mind to do it again. We'll see...

A fun project finally finished

Sometime last summer, I agreed to take part in a quilt challenge on a quilting message board of which I've been a member for upteen years. Most quilters on the board do traditional quilts, but a few of us have ventured into the art quilt world. So--this challenge was for an art journal quilt. The challenge moderator, Cie from Florida (http://cieangel.blogspot.com/) sent us a little packet of stuff to use--a piece of calico, an assortment of trims and buttons, a couple teeny crocheted pieces and even some beads. We were to use 70% of the fabric and all the trims. The piece was to be merely 8 1/2 by 11". I honestly don't remember when this challenge was due, but I'm sure I had plenty of time to do it. It was, unfortunately, just one of my little projects that got pushed aside for other things.
Anyway, I was inspired right away by the calico. It reminded me of my mother--not that she wore calico often--but it had a retro/old fashioned feel. It also reminded me of full-skirted shirtwaist dresses woman wore in the 50s, so I had my idea.









This is "Washday". This is the whole piece, and a pic of the detail.
The calico is used as the grass in the background. I wanted it to look different than it does in the dress, so I painted it. I made the clothing from scraps, and used the trims in the packet to embellish them. The little bloomers are my favorite, although I like the way the dress turned out. The sky and cloud are commercial fabrics.
It does remind me of my mom, as she hung clothes on the line every week, even in winter, when the clothes would freeze stiff then dry. We had a ringer washer, and that, along with the clothesline, made washing a full day chore. As a child, I helped her by handing her the clothes so she could hang them on the line using those old, one-piece clothespins. When the spring-types ones came on the market--she was very excited. They were more fun!!
I still miss the scent of my clothes after they'd hung on the line all afternoon. I do not, however, miss the scratchy towels. Mom never spent money on fabric softener!
Even though I have a modern washer and dryer, I still try and hang sheets on the line very chance I get, to re-capture the feeling. I now wish I could find the old clothespins--I liked those better.
I managed to use a little of most of the trims. A piece of yellow ribbon, a few buttons and the tiny bugle beads were all that I didn't use. The pic is my leftovers.
This was a fun project. It is also my very first journal quilt, and I thought it fitting to honor my mother. She died more than 12 years ago, and I still miss her every day. But--I know her spirit is well and is with me.

Snow Dyeing

I've wanted to try snow dyeing ever since our MArQ meeting a few weeks ago, where Nancy Kimpel showed us her snow-dyed fabrics. They were really gorgeous. So, since I had a free weekend, and since we still have several inches of snow on the ground despite the warm temps last week, I tried it.
Now--I took a fabric dyeing class with Nancy back in August, but I have not done any since. Fortunately, I found my notes! So last week I scrambled around town looking for dyes and soda ash and urea.
No one in town carries urea (even Farm & Fleet!), so I never did find it. Now I'm wondering if my results would be different if I had. Looks like I'll have to get it online.

I checked with Nancy to make sure I had the steps right, and plunged in.
Here are the results:
These two, I thought, came out really nice. Good marbling and nice color. Since I want to do a few sunset/sunrise pieces, these will come in handy. But then...I saw this one:






Fugly.
Note to self: Never again try to combine burgundy, bright yellow and navy blue. I guess I'll be able to use bit of this--the red into the yellow is kind of interesting...but...well, we'll see. These were done by the method Nancy and others have used: fabric in the bin, snow on top, pour dye over, wait. When they were finished, I had a goodly amount of dye left in the bottom of my bins, so I threw a couple more pieces of fabric in them. Only one came out:








The others were pretty muddy. But, again, I may be able to use bits of them for something.
I now realize what it is about hand-dyeing that is so compelling:
Random reinforcement!
You try a few techniques, and things don't turn out exactly as you pictured. So you keep trying. Now and again, you produce a beautiful piece of fabric. Then, thinking you can duplicate it, you try again...and again...just knowing that the *next* one will be perfect! Just like gambling! You just never know when you're gonna hit that jackpot!

I am totally addicted!

The Word for 2010

For a few weeks now, people on the Quiltart list have been discussing words for 2010. The question asked was: What word would inspire you, drive you, excite and motivate you as an artist in the coming year.
Many responded with really good words; words with which I would agree: create, forward, joy, anti-procrastination (which I think we agreed was accomplishment or energy...), explore, stretch, play, ME!
My word for this year is

I wrote it on a piece of paper and stuck it to the wall just next to my (Quilting Arts) calendar and above my ancient radio/cd player. Since I cannot work on anything creative without music, I will be sure to see it every day. The reasons I chose this word are very personal, but mostly it's because last year, I found myself stymied and bogged down by obligations and responsibilities that were not of my own making. I didn't create as much as I wanted to, and even though I attended two retreats and a couple of classes, I feel like I didn't accomplish enough, art-wise. It was a frustrating year in many respects.

So--now it is 2010--a brand new year with fresh hope. While the same obligations and responsibilities still exist for me, I have decided that I shall grant myself a sort-of freedom from them. Certainly, I would not shirk my duties, but neither will I let them get in the way of what I want to do for myself. Just a different way of looking at them...not as barriers, but simply necessary chores which I will be happy to dispatch.

In this year, I will have freedom.

Freedom from fear, failure, doubt and self-pity.

Freedom to create, accomplish, enjoy and take joy in my art and my life.

A little perspective, maybe...

2010 Mystery Quilt

So, even though I decided to devote 2010 to making more art quilts, I spent the first day of this new year making a traditional one. I participated in the Planet Patchwork's (http://www.planetpatchwork.com/) New Year's Day mystery quilt, where instructions are posted every hour, and you make the quilt top not knowing what it will look like when it's finished. I've done one of their one day mysteries before, for New Year's Day, 2007.

I used commercial fabrics by Moda; the Berries and Twigs collection from last year. I like the way it turned out.

This is a quick pic. This weekend I'll try to sandwich and quilt it with a leaf motif. If I don't get to it, it'll be a good project to take to my quilt retreat in April.

Christmas Roses

OK--so I haven't finished any kind of a quilt in the last few months. It's been busy at work. The holidays were hectic. I had other stuff to make and finish, none of it particularly artistic. But--since I've done a little bit of floral design, I thought I'd make a centerpiece for my Dickens Christmas party this last Saturday.

Since the Dickensians were really into roses, I got gorgeous red roses from my friend Monique, owner of Rose's Flowers in Wauwaotsa, WI (http://www.rosesflowershop.net/ --a shameless plug...) along with some ornamental cedar branches. I also used a few pheasant feathers, ostrich feathers, pine cones and faux berries that I had lying around.

So, this is how it came out:

This was atop a four-foot tall glass tower that I put in the center of the table. I wanted something spectacular that didn't take up any room on the table, as we were serving dinner family style and needed the table space. I like the way it turned out. Maybe a new career for me??

Christmas Wallhanging Contest

One of the nice quilters at the Quilts Your Way forum mentioned this website and their Christmas contest. Since this is generally for traditional quilters, and I have a lot of traditional quilts laying around, I thought I'd enter. http://www.quiltinggallery.com/ I also have their logo here on my blog.
The small wallhanging I entered was one I made last year during the fall Reedsburg retreat. I found the pattern and fabric at one of my favorite shops, Homespun Fabrics in Endeavor, Wisconsin. http://www.homespunfabrics.net/
It's a very cool place in a small outbuilding next to a big barn on a working farm. The owner and her daughter design patterns under the name "Contrary Wife Designs". I found the most gorgeous and elegant Christmas fabrics there--way nicer than anything I've found here in the "big city".
Its one of the few times I've ever bought a pattern and fabrics all at the same time, and actually followed the pattern! It was paper pieced, and the pieces were sewn together in pie fashion. It's the first time I've ever done that as well, and I have new-found respect to those who do kaleidoscope and Lonestar quilts. I confess I had to beat the middle into submission with my iron...having all those seams coming together was a real challenge. So--I looked at that as a "design opportunity", and added the jewel embellishment.

Its all about the dogs!

I have finally been catching up with some emails and postings and such, and discovered that Lynn Krawczak, fiber artist and curator of the "Breaking Traditions" quilt exhibits, has posted pictures and information on her blog about the "Home" exhibition shown last month at the American Sewing Expo in Novi, Michigan. Read it here:
http://www.btaqe.blogspot.com/

For me, it is very exciting to have my quilt, Beau and Georgie's Excellent Adventure, hanging with all the rest. It was a fun piece to do, and I was happy to donate the quilt for such a good cause, A Place To Bark:
http://www.aplacetobark.com/

On Lynn's blog, you'll also find stories of people and their rescued animals. There's a story about out dogs, Gracie and Georgie, who were rescued by two different animal shelters and found good home with Tommy and me. Read that here:
www.btaqe.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-beginnings-sunday_21.html

Tom saw the pictures of the exhibit and told me I am now an internet celebrity! Hardly, but I feel one step closer to calling myself an artist!

Eye of the Quilter

The good folks at Quilts, Inc. have a great idea for a special exhibit at the upcoming International Quilt Festival in Houston. Instead of quilts, they are calling for photographs that inspire quilters. I wasn't paying much attention to it, but since today was the deadline, I did send in one photo. It's one that I posted several weeks ago--a February sunrise that I manipulated in Photoshop.

I have a few more that I considered, but I love this one. Here are more!

I've already started on a quilt using the February sunrise. The others...I don't know. Stay tuned....

"Darjeeling"

My new quilt, "Darjeeling" is finished. I delivered it to the Anaba Tea Room yesterday. http://www.anabatearoom.com/. It will be part of group show by the Milwaukee Art Quilters. The theme is "To a Tea", and all the quilts are inspired by...tea!
At first, this theme was not particularly exciting to me--I don't drink a lot of tea. Coffee gal here. Also, at the last couple of meetings, a lot of the members were showing their quilts, most of which involved tea-dyed fabrics. They were all gorgeous and I was rather intimidated by the creativity and workmanship. But, again, that's something I don't do, either--tea dyeing. I had nothing in my head for this theme, until I saw a number of pictures of workers picking tea in both India and China, and was inspired by those. I chose to do a quilt of an Indian woman, mostly because I love the saris they wear. (So, really, this quilt was inspired not by tea, but by fashion!)

Doing a portrait quilt is something I've never done before, but I wanted to figure it out. I got a lot a great instruction by reading a couple of books. I started with "The Art Quilt Workbook", by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston. http://janedavila.blogspot.com/ Such a great source for a beginner art quilter such as myself. Then I got a copy of "Portraits for Fabric Lover" by Marilyn Belford http://www.marilynbelford.com/content/start/ and used a lot of those techniques. I learned a lot about threadpainting from that book, mostly that it's really fun!!

Of course, I appealled to the vast knowledge of the people on the QuiltArt mailing list wen I got stuck.

The background, basket and most of the leaves are commercial batiks, and her scarf is also a commercial quilt frabirc. The rest of the fabrics are scraps of different silks I had lying around. While choosing them, I found fabrics from which I had made ball skirts, tunics and vests. Pieces of my entire "after five" wardorbe are in this quilt!

The sari is accented with a blue trim I had, and a piece of gold trim that was sent to me by Janice Paine-Dawes (see the above post). Thanks, Janice. I also used a bit of the green fabric I had dyed in my class last week (see the post before that). Thanks, Nancy!

Detail:

I'm happy with this. But I am most excited about actually having a piece, for sale, in a gallery with real artists.
If it sells, I'll not be able to live with myself I'll be so ecstatic! Crossing my fingers...

More Dyed Fabric Pics...and a nice surprize!

I have another picture of the cool fabrics I dyed in my class last week with Nancy Kimpel. As I mentioned before, we dyed one fabric in one color (the yellow), did some dye diluting (the greens) and then used two colors on one piece of fabric (the green and yellow together). I have all sorts of stuff in my head for which I can use these.

Also, a few weeks ago, I offered two Unlimited Possibilities magazines to the first person who sent me an email. The winner was Janice Paine-Dawes, an art quilter from Arkansas, http://www.blogger.com/profile/07627735016408777385 . She (being the sweet person that she is!) then sent me a package chock full of fun things: tulle, FQs, embroidery floss, vintage rick-rack (which is the most fabulous warm gold...) and a length of gold trim cut from an Indian sari. That trim was perfect for my tea quilt. Thanks so much, Janice!