Brown Block #3

Two days behind but I will catch up. It’s snowing outside and I can’t go anywhere. The skinny strip is twisted and sewn down flat.  I love the frayed, feathery edges of the larger strip.

Hey Nancy, will a little red purple do?

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.

Brown Sunday (although it’s snowing outside)

After a week of cleaning and sorting in my studio, I’ve thrown away several large garbage bags of stuff and feel ever so much better. Going through all that led to surprises and new discoveries. Here’s one:

It’s a mono print on silk that I did in a workshop with Jason Pollen years ago. Now I think I may try to work it, whole or cut up, into a new QAYG quilt that’s been perking in my brain for the past month. Here’s the beginning of a possible block:

Once again I repeat, “I don’t like brown.” What’s this working with a color you don’t like? I did a quilt in browns in 1995 and it was a real winner in AQS, FL Craftsmen, S.E. American Crafts.

ROAD TO THE SUN

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.

Printing on Fabric

Just when I think I’m getting smarter in PSE, I perform dumb, dumber, and dumbest things.

I’ve printed on fabric many times, but this time nothing goes right. Gets hung up in the printer, smudges of ink on the sides, etc., etc., etc. I had a small piece of hand dyed gray fabric to print on and messed it up.

See the big smudge on the right? And I had no more hand dyed gray. Once I use a hand dyed fabric, a commercial fabric just doesn’t do the job. What to do? Ah-Ha! I turned the above fabric over and scanned it and put it in PSE. Then I scanned my drawing of the trees on tracing paper and put that image into PSE  on a transparent background. Then – moved the trees onto of the scanned gray background and printed it on a paper backed silk purchased from Dharma Trading Co.

The background is a little lighter but I can live with it. And if you look very closely you can see the trees that were on the back.

I also wanted to use an image that I saw on the internet. I asked the photographer for permission but got no answer. So I altered the image by putting my head of “her” body. That wasn’t so hard, but every time I printed the image there was something wrong. Too green, too big, too small, too something, Took nine tries to get it right.

Wish I were really that slim.

Visual Inspiration in a Farm Supply Store

 

Echinacea

Purple Cone Flowers excite me almost as much as Poppies. Maybe I’m just a flower nut. The latest issue of the Missouri Conservationist has an article stating that there are five species of cone flowers. Which are these?? There is no answer at the bottom ’cause I don’t know! This  big cluster is over by the State Park.

 

 

 

A Bee In My Bonnet

Have fiddled with this all Spring. Finally finished. The background is a photo of a poppy printed on fabric. It has been manipulated in Photoshop Elements to mirror both horizontally and vertically. The head is a sheer fabric and small flowers are cut from commercial fabric and fused. Embellished with beads. Can you find the bees?This piece will be entered into the Art Quilt section of the Bloggers Quilt Festival.

Spring Fling 12 x 12 Challenge

Here is the last 12 x 12 challenge. It was titled “Spring Fling.” My inspiration was a photo taken at Jamie and Natascha’s wedding rehearsal three years ago by their friend, Yevette.

In Spring A Young Man’s Fancy Turns To Love

It was a lovely wedding.