A DOZEN SHADES OF GREY

On May 15, the Uncommon Threads Art Quilt group that I belong to, had the opening of our exhibit entitled “A Dozen Shades of Grey – The Art of Aging.” This occurred at the Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin MO and will stay up until July 6. Following is the cover of a small book that was put together showing all the pieces in the show. It can be purchased for $10 and if you are interested just email me.

LIFE LINE

This is my Life Line – BUCKET LIST

ACT YOUR AGE

STILL STANDING

And you’ve seen this before – THIRTEEN MOONS

Wild and Crazy is finally fishished

The last couple of weeks have been more than frustrating. I finished the Wild and Crazy quilt and was very proud of it. Laid it out on the bed and thought it looked super; pillows excluded.

Then I washed and dried it to get rid of the cat hair and to puff it up. Oh Woe. The hand dyed red fabric (which had been previously washed) faded on to the narrow white strips making them a dull pinkish-grey.

There is no contrast between the “white” strips and the grey pieces. What I thought was going to be a great quilt was now a disappointing quilt. I tried to get over the disappointment but it was always in the back of my mind. A few days ago, I wondered if the strips could be painted. Not practical. Then I woke up two days ago and said, “Dots.”

So – by dipping a half inch wooden dowel into white fabric paint and touching it to the strip the quilt turned into this.

Detail:

Now, I think I’m happier with the quilt than I was in the beginning.

 

MAY FLOWERS

Although the weather has not been the greatest, and Spring has been late in coming, it’s been worth waiting for. I have never had more beautiful flowers. I really don’t think I need to say anything, just enjoy.

Quilting Spirals

The Brown/Moon blocks are being quilted in spirals. The centers of the first two were a little bit wobbly and I wondered what I could do to improve. Then I remembered that Donna Olson, who says she has trouble free hand quilting, showed us at the UT retreat how she draws designs on “Press n’ Seal, a GLAD product, presses it onto the quilt top, sews over the design, and peels the “paper” away. Decided to try it.

First draw the center of a spiral on a piece of paper. Doesn’t have to be much.

 

2. Raid the kitchen for the box of Press’n Seal

 

3. After you’ve traced the spiral onto the Press’n Seal, place it onto the quilt top

 

4. Needle and foot down at exact point of spiral center. Set stitch length to 1.5 (I am sewing on a Pfaff) It’s easier to make this tight turn with very short stitches.. Move the needle to the far right if you are sewing around the spiral clock-wise and making the lines 1/2 inch apart. With the needle on the far right I can use the edge of the foot as a 1/2″ guide.

 

5. As the circumference begins to enlarge, gradually increase your stitch length to what you plan to use. I gradually increase the length to three (3).

Once I stitch just the part that is drawn, I stop and tear off the Press’n Seal and continue the spiral using the edge of the foot as a guide.

Quilting a spiral free hand is a tutorial on The Quilting Edge. Marianne has a lot of tutorials, besides her beautiful quilts, on her blog. I urge you to check it out.

Brown Blocks 6 & 7

These two blocks were created rather quickly, but now I’m stalled out while I paint and re-shuffle some of the furniture in the studio.

Brown Square #2

I have some of the mundane stuff out of the way. Now I’m going to try to make at least one brown square a week. Maybe two.

Resolution for 2014

I’ve just received the blog stats for 2013 and it shows me, in black and white, what I already know – I’ve been very lax in blogging this year. So, my New Year’s resolution is to be a better blogger. 

I’ll start by posting a couple of images of art work that I’ve made recently. These are details of pieces that I’m working on for an exhibit in 2015. Yee Gods! 

I might also add that I’ve gotten a new computer with a new operating system and it’s a love/hate relationship. If I can ever get the printer to print images in Photoshop Elements correctly I’ll jump for joy. Perhaps that should be my second resolution. Get the printer and PSE to talk to each other MY WAY.

Wishing you a joy and peace in the New Year.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2013

May your Christmas be merry and bright.

Signs

I could make a book of photos that I’ve taken of signs. One of these days I’m going to sort through all the pics and put them all together as a collection. These three were on the side of an old church pointing to parking space in the rear.

Trip to Joplin

This week included a trip to Joplin to meet other art quilter friends for lunch and to see the traveling SAQA exhibit “Sightlines.” Lunch at the Red Onion was delicious and “Sightlines” at Spiva Art Center was exceptional, in my opinion. I would urge you to see it if you can.

On the way home we passed this sidewalk exhibit and couldn’t pass it by without making these two photographs.