Around the World

  One of the things that I love about blogging is that the world is so near.  I see that people from all around the globe have visited, some from very unexpected countries.  There are so many things that unite us, many more than separate.  So I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have visited my blog, with all of the countless blogs I am grateful that you have stopped in to take a gander at what I am showing you.  Please come back soon for another view of more of my artwork.  Peace to all of you.

What's In A Name?

In the Stairway 

   Well here is another small quilt recently finished, bound and sleeved.  It is not pieced but rather painted and then quilted by machine with hand embroidery enhanced into the rows of machine stitching using black embroidery floss.  Binding is black, corners are mitered.  Cotton batting is used with a plain white backing.

Digital Splash

   Looking at it in a vertical versus horizontal orientation my desire to give it a different title is dependent upon that orientation - go figure.Pictured here with both titles you can see that it is a graphic design with bold color.  It is actually part of a series that I am working on, being the first in the series.  The rest of the series is only on paper at this time and will present at a later time before this year is out.  Enjoy!

Shibori

This bright pink piece is dyed using the shibori method of dyeing.  It takes a little bit of time (not too too much) but it is well worth the efforts.  This particular piece was immersed in only one dye bath, but you still can see the depth of color and contrast giving the piece it's character.  The dyes do not penetrate into the fabric completely as the fabric itself is used as the resist, only the fabric in the outermost areas where the dye actually comes in contact with the fabric does the dye take hold.  The less the color saturation the less the dye was able to penetrate.  (I hope I am not getting to wordy with the explanation.)
I used a variegated thread to quilt this piece and a black binding to frame it. (more on this later).

Dye Process

Fabric wet with dye

Fabric in dye left overnight (2 times) until dry

I thought I would show my readers one of the dyeing processes that I utilize once in a while.  Here I have used dyeing red and turquoise on opposite sides of cotton fabric.  As the dye soaks into the fabric it leaches towards the middle (with a little help) where the two dyes intermingle, creating a third color.
I left the saturated fabric to sit for a day and of course a day turned into two as I had other things to do.  No harm done though as the fabric just dries, you can see the crystals that formed when the fabric was dry.  Just soak it again, or even easier pick it up and toss it into the washing machine and rinse away.  The nice thing about the fabric being dry is that it doesn't drip all over the place or on you as it is transported to the washer.
I haven't taken a photo of the finished piece of fabric yet.  It turned out just as I had hoped.

One of My Fabric Gardens

Full view "Garden of Flowers"

detail of "Garden of Flowers"

  This small quilt is made from 100% cotton and hand dyed by me.  The flower design is printed on with my own hand made stamp using fabric paints.  It is quilted by machine using variegated threads.  It has a hanging sleeve on the back which is hand stitched.  Batting is cotton, edge is bound with bias strip.  What do you think?

  The kids came over today in celebration of Father's Day today.  We had oven fried chicken, macaroni salad, corn on the cob, cornbread with rosemary, watermelon, green beans sauted with scallions, some unknown kind of pasty, lemonade, soda, kind temperatures, lots of sun and a great time.  It was a perfect day.  Happy Father's Day Dad.

Monarch Larvae Completed

 Previously I wrote on this blog some time ago that I would be posting some pictures of the Monarch Larvae Quilt (small works) once it was completed (See post from March 20, 2011).  Well it has been finished for a bit now and finally I have gotten around to taking some images so here they are.

 I thought that it needed some texture and ran it though the machine a few times here and there.  Let me know what you think.  The colors in this small piece as photographed have a bluish cast on them, as I am no photographer (!), but they are white black and bright yellow (even though the monarch butterfly larvae is more of a chartreuse).  I am sticking with the name though.

 This is made of high quality Kona cotton fabrics which have a smooth texture and are quite buttery to work with - yummy.  There are three more quilts using the same fabrics with a somewhat different configuration.  They only need to have binding sewn in place, and a hanging sleeve, then they are finished. 

Full view of Woodpecker

Head detail

Have you ever wonder why you are in the right place at the right time?  Unexpectedly home from work a little early today and what is waiting in the middle of the street?  A baby woodpecker! (At least I think it's a woodpecker.) Just sitting there chirping, calling out to it's mother perhaps.   After prompting onto the grass out of harms way, into the house I ran like a flash to get my camera (please let the battery not be dead) and hoping that it would not fly away.  Of course it had hopped off a wee bit, but I was able to catch a moment in this little birds new life before it is truely able to fly away.  Here are a couple of the pictures that I captured.  It did manage to "climb" up into my neighbors rather large evergreen and I can hear it chirping still as I write this post.  Enjoy these pics.

Rest Day?

Today we can relax a bit - but just for today.  The weather is not co-operating very well, but we do need some rain (?).  I have a short to-do list for today, but mostly taking it easy. 

Yesterday the Festival Fete was much fun, saw some old friends, made some new ones and touched base with some recently made friends.  Some family members stopped by many thanks to them :-D.  Not many sales but it may be the wrong venue for me, however there was a lot of great vendors with great products for sale.  Next to me Lynn Lovely with her truly lovely beach glass stained glass pieces.  Miss Dotty and her pretty daughter were there with her wonderfully sewn place mats, coasters and aprons under the banner Freshly Sewn.  There were vendors selling plants, food and other tasty treats.

It rained off and on during the morning and stayed generally gloomy, but people still came to see.  Thanks to all of you who braved the rainy slightly windy weather to see what we all had to offer.

The planners of this event did such a wonderful job in creating an organized and fun day that I must make note of them.  They came around with water, coffee, and change if anyone needed it and even gave a Vendor Survival Kit to the vendors (thank you).  Big Nazo was there entertaining the young and old alike.  The fairies flitted all around, they were very cute with great little costumes.  The Chinese dragon group was just great.  Kudos to Jennifer and Rachel for an event that seemed to go off without a hitch.  Applause, applause.  Unfortunately I did not bring my camera so have no pictures to show anyone - you'll just have to take my word that it was a lot of fun.

My to do list includes picking out some envelopes, looking at some stickers, straightening up my neglected house a bit, a quick trip for some coffee an', a bit of sewing some unfinished items, squeeze in a load of laundry, more eating, straighten up my dinning room (which happened to be a make shift temporary art studio for the Festival Fete) and I am sure that I will find ten other things to do on my rest day (lol). 

Overdue Gardening Equals Forgotten Muscles

  With big family events coming up a little spruce up was needed in the garden, so we spent the day outdoors this past weekend raking, mowing, cutting, planting and avoiding some poison ivy that has decided to settle in with out invitation.  Mr. P. Ivy has been promptly sent packing.  The day was clear and sunny, with a comfortable temperature range perfect for getting some work done outdoors.

  The yard is a good size so we are taking a little bite at a time.  So far it is looking nice.  The variegated hosta have been replanted here and there to add light to dark areas as sell a few perennials and many annuals.  The window boxes on the deck are now completed.  It is nice to look out the kitchen window and see the bright cheery flowers flowing from them.  They remind me of my trip to Europe a few years ago with my son - every building there has foliage of some sort dripping from windows, around doorways and even rooftops. 

The Window Box

Garden View

  With all this comes sore aching muscles that have been long forgotten.  It is two days since my garden expedition and those muscles are still reminding me that they are there!  Thank you- I remember.  My plan is to use you again as there is still work to be done, so don't be too cocky.  Smarty pants muscles.