Fiber Artist
My last posting was on Christmas Day. From there daily events took over and I missed my usual schedule of posting. It happens. I’m over it. I’m on to the new year now. I know it’s official because I just took the first images of 2015 and created a folder for them. Here is a […]
I love using Setacolor paints to create sunprints, however, during cold or rainy periods it can be more of a challenge than I’m willing to endure. I’ve done it once and it was not very much fun. So I went to my local art store and gifted myself with a gel printing plate from Gelli […]
These two are a natural — rain and quilting. Here in Northern California we’re well into our worst drought on record so we’re especially happy to see the rain. Everything in the garden looks hopeful with a clean face. Click on an image for a larger view. And while the garden was getting a bath, […]
I’m in the midst of a couple large projects and seem to be moving slowly on them. In the course of working, though, ideas keep crowding my mind. I truly believe that the more one creates, the more ideas come to mind — sometimes, though, it’s a bit overwhelming. One of the ideas I was […]
I’m still working on my Native California plant series. I completed the top for Black Oak which will finish about 26″ x 60″. I really enjoyed putting this one together using some of my ‘radiator series’ fabric created in Lonni Rossi’s surface design class at Asilomar, some rust fabric experiments and some sun prints. Once […]
Finally! I’ve completed the fourth of five lessons with Carla Sonheim and her method for creating a small book from junk mail. This step was extremely challenging for me — each drawing extended beyond its page to pages behind creating a puzzle to solve: what the heck can be created from the partial marks here?? […]
I learned about Carla Sonheim from my friend and fellow-artist Priscilla Read and I simply could not resist trying her Junk Mail Artist’s Book class! In just five lessons at Silly U I am turning junk mail — the stuff usually tossed straight into the recycle bin — into a book. I can’t see a […]
There have been unforeseen interruptions that kept me away from quilting this large piece. I last shared progress on it here. Sometimes a long period away from a particular work can mean that new layers of inspiration have the time to fully develop. In fact, I’ve made a change to the original plan by adding […]
Progress, though slow, is being made. I decided to add a few large motifs in the background fill quilting. Here is the top portion of the quilt where I’ve added a leaf and berry spray (click on the image for a larger view): I have a variety of designs and design sizes with the dominant […]
It’s not usual for me to step away from a large project the way I have with the sunflower scrap piece, but I certainly did. Time to refocus and move this project forward. Progress may continue in a slow manner, however, because I do have several small projects that are time sensitive and need to […]
I’ve completed the on-line course at Craftsy with Carol Waugh. I have thoroughly enjoyed working through her methods, constructing my own machine stitch reference and doing some needle work I haven’t done in many years — embroidery. I used a fat quarter of fabric to create my surface design. There is extensive machine work in […]
Done! Fun! And I’ve already used it. There are 135 different utility and decorative stitches in this reference guide for the Janome 6500. My Janome 11000 has 419 stitches and symbols. Time to start stitching! See the start of this project here.
When concentration eludes, it’s time to dig into some basics. Lucky for me, I’ve just begun an on-line class through Craftsy with Carol Ann Waugh. Stupendous Stitching focuses on using the decorative and utility stitches on your home machine to create your own personal surface design. It’s not surprising then, that the first assignment is […]
The first stage of quilting on Sunflower Scrap VI is done. Here the fabric is still moist from the spritz I gave it to eliminate the blue marking pen guidelines. The moisture makes the fabric appear to be slightly darker than it actually is. I will let the quilt dry on my design wall. If […]
Once I’ve made design decisions and have the large elements marked, I have a sense of accomplishment. Of course, there is accomplishment in getting that far, but actually the work has just begun. So here I am making some progress on quilting the sunflowers and vines. When the large designs have been quilted, I will […]
I so thoroughly enjoyed the series of foot-square sunflower quilts begun in 2012 that you can imagine my delight in learning that the common sunflower is native to California. I’ve launched into a new piece featuring the sunflower but this one will be much larger — I’m envisioning at least 5′ x 2′. I enjoy […]
I’ve completed the quilting on the center portion of this piece and have begun quilting the border. As often happens to me, I have a plan when I start but as I work, more ideas come to mind. I have learned to listen to the conversation that begins between myself and the work. I’m always […]
I completed this quilt top in May and have had it on my design wall while I thought about how to quilt it. Having decided upon a plan, I got down to the business of quilting a few days ago. Unfortunately, a ‘quilting romp’ — as my friend Jenny Lyon would call it […]
About 35 years ago I needlepoint stitched a single K design and used it to reupholster a chair purchased at an antique shop. The needlepoint piece still looks new. Do they every wear out? Just wondering. The chair has been used in nearly every room of my house by now and, frankly, I’m pretty bored […]
One of the tricky things about stitching multiple designs when one has to rehoop is alignment. I tried that with the square design and was unhappy with the results. So I decided to think outside the square and do some deconstruction of the design. I think this has real possibility.
I recently took a digitizing class at my local Janome dealer and came home with this nifty circle design. I’ve stitched it out on an upholstery fabric used for a couch in our family room. This design could be the answer to a fresh look. I can see using it several ways: as a single […]
For me, the beginning of every art quilt with a cyanotype is threadpainting the print. And as soon as that happens I become excited about how the print will look when it is quilted. It’s hard for me not to jump ahead imagining the great definition that the quilting will provide, the real puff of […]
It’s time to start something new. I’m auditioning fabrics for possible use with a cyanotype print I did last year. I shared the original printing of the oakleaf hydrangea here and the learning experience that came shortly after here. There is only one commercial fabric in what I pulled (fabrics on the right). Most have […]
If I want to harvest any rhubarb this year from this front-yard plant, I’ll have to remove the blooming stalk. It has reached 58″ tall and competes with the Eddie’s White Wonder Dogwood. Once the stalk was removed I could get a nice shot of the fully opened flowers. The stalk is a full inch […]
I have been invited by Dinner at Eight Artists to submit work for a juried invitational exhibit which will premiere August 1-4, 2013 at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, California. Though I’ve been working on it since December, I haven’t been able to share it here because one of the stipulations of the […]
When I put this small quilt on my design wall for further consideration last week, I thought my dilemma was the next step in the background quilting design. Yesterday I realized it wasn’t the background that needed clearer thinking, it was the foreground. Here I have added a leaf and tendril to the bottom right […]
I’m making progress on the 4th sunflower art quilt in a series. The background fabric is a beige upholstery cotton left over from a window seat project. The weight of this fabric will enable me to quilt with fewer stops to block during the process. This sunflower is the largest one yet, so it dominates […]
My holiday cards arrived yesterday. But having just rescued my muse from captivity in Illinois (If this sounds confusing, become enlightened here.) I am more keenly aware of her bidding so I’m in the studio. Another scrap of sunflower fabric has presented itself for audition. I have appliqued it to a soft peachy fabric and […]
And here it is! Top portion. It measures 54 1/2″ x 20″ and will eventually rest in my entry way. But first it will hang in my solo show beginning Monday, October 1st and running through October 31. If you are in the area, I hope you’ll stop by to see it and all the […]
While Forget Me Not is being blocked I returned to work on another sunflower scrap piece. With just one flower on this one I said to myself, “Be bold with the quilting!” So here we are — I’m not confident enough to free-motion quilt and design the quilting simultaneously. Someday perhaps. Meanwhile, the blue sketch […]
