Bear Lake Wall Quilt

We took the finished quilt to the spot on Bear Lake where I had taken the photo that was my reference for making it.
It is now hanging in the living room of our friends who live in Estes Park.

Bear Lake - 45"x 34" (2008)

From the moment I began creating this piece I knew it belonged in Colorado so it wasn't difficult to part with. I'm pleased to leave a bit of myself in a place that is dear to my heart.

Illustration Friday ~ Canned

When Velma heard she was getting a pink slip she was delighted! She didn't realize she was being CANNED.

Knowing Velma, she'll argue age discrimination.

© Nancy Lefko

The Back of the Mountain Lake Quilt

The fabric I chose for the backing is full of bears. One of the reasons is to represent my close encounters with black bears in our cabin. Go here and here to read about those.
The other is that the name of this depicted lake in the Rocky Mountain National Park is Bear Lake. So, of course, whatever else in the world would I choose.

The front of the piece is machine sewn and quilted. That was finished before I left the cottage in Michigan. All the handwork is done in the construction details on the back side. I've been working for days in one of my favorite spots ... along the Big Thompson river, the stream that runs past our cabin here in Colorado.
A facing (double width and folded) was machine sewn to the edge of the quilt before the yarns were to couched to finish that outside edge. The fold is hand-stitched in place. This facing helps to stabilize that edge since there is no binding which functions to do that to most quilts.
A tube of fabric covers the machine zig-zag stitches that connect the border to the quilt and the decorative yarns that hide the seam on the front. It is hand sewn into place leaving space for a narrow piece of wood doweling to be inserted. This will help the sides to hang straight with no flipping up of the corners.
A little trick that would not be allowed in a quilt show ... at least, not in the SMQ show.

A double thickness fabric sleeve is made in two parts ... the method I use for all larger quilts so it can hang from the center as well as from the ends. Here you see the flat piece of wood with a drilled hole that the nail it will hang from will fit through. There are also holes drilled in each end so it will hang from three points.
Soon it will be finished and hanging in its new home.

Inspire Me Thursday ~ Beach

There couldn't have been a more perfect topic at Inspire Me Thursday for me, as we'll soon be preparing for our beach vacation in Coastal Maine.

I can assure you I will be spending hour after hour wading in the tide pools with my youngest in search of hermit crabs, green crabs, clams and baby lobsters. These creatures are given comfortable homes during each day at the beach and even get to snack on dad's fishing bait. At the end of the day they are lovingly released back into their homes by my son, the steward of nature.

© Nancy Lefko

Happy News

Perseverance pays off!

I am happy to say that my collage piece entitled "tea for 2" was selected in the Tea Party challenge at Cloth, Paper, Scissors.

I am not sure how it will be used (published, displayed or both) but I am thrilled to have been chosen.

And yes, "Nancy Leeko" is me...I knew I should have kept my maiden name...it was never so frequently misspelled :)

A New Friend

I met someone today through an Etsy forum filled with wonderful and talented mixed media/collage artists. I have enjoyed chatting back and forth and it becomes quite addictive...so much great information and support to be shared.

Alisa was kind enough to immediately add one of my collages to her new Etsy Treasury and I am so grateful for that! I do so appreciate the kindness there is to be found in the online art community.

Please make sure to visit Alisa's blog and her wonderful Etsy shop...you won't be disappointed.

Change of Pace

As a little surprise for my cousin's upcoming wedding, I have put together a memory book AKA paper bag album. Her bridesmaids will be wearing black and silver and carrying neon flowers...sounds very chic. I have created this album with that color scheme in mind.

The ribbons to the right are attached to squares of cardstock which can be used for journaling. They slip into the bag openings.


In addition to the pages for the toast, cake and first dance, there are also pages for photos of the bride, groom, wedding party and families.




To personalize the album I incorporated parts of the wedding invitation.



Do you think she'll like it?


© Nancy Lefko

Treasures Arrive at my Doorstep

The multi-talented Fannie Narte is also among the most generous and kind art bloggers I have met since my arrival in this blog world.

Fannie celebrated her one year blog anniversary with an incredible ten day giveaway. She gifted lucky bloggers with the most astounding gifts of art and I was indeed one of the lucky participants. The spectacular art quilt, "Words Can Make the Heart Sing" was my prize and I couldn't be more thrilled. The scan cannot possibly do justice to this amazing piece of art. The stitching is incredibly intricate and the colors sublime. You must visit Fannie's Etsy shop to see her art quilts for sale, in addition to the other fine work she offers.

In addition, every participant, win or lose, had their choice of an ATC hand embellished print and I chose the glorious, "Take That Leap." It will serve as a wonderful inspiration in my studio.

Having run out of superlatives to describe Fannie's work, I leave it to you to visit her website and blog and see for yourself the magic that lives there.

My sincere thanks, Fannie, to an artist with a heart as big as the sky.

Featured art © Fannie Narte

On Top of the World

Thought I'd share some photos taken from Trail Ridge Road, the highway that crosses over the top of some of the Rockies highest peaks. It's the longest continuous highway in the United States that's over 12,ooo feet high.
The road is narrow with hardly any shoulders and has steep drop offs.
There's more snow than we've ever seen at this time of year. A lot more fell in the high country than than the valleys last winter. Great for the skiers and good for the winter golfers. I find it difficult to believe that the courses are open all winter here in Estes Park.

There are resident herds of elk down in the valleys and even in town. However, most of them go up to the high country for the summer.

Monday Artday ~ Opposites

This is my first submission to Monday Artday.

Please visit this wonderful blog for a peek at some outstanding art.

© Nancy Lefko

Featured in a Treasury

My sincere thanks to the talented artist Debra Linker for including my artwork in her "Living with an Artist Can Be..." Treasury on Etsy. I am always deeply flattered when someone of great talent takes interest in my art.

Thanks, Debra.

Illustration Friday ~ Enough

For Celia, Norman's love was always ENOUGH.

© Nancy Lefko

Rocks and Borders

Back to the mountain lake piece. The edges of the rocks had been left loose so the shrubby trees and flowers could be tucked between and behind them.
The raw edges of the rocks are free-motion quilted into place with a brightly colored variegated King Tut thread. I drew more stems and trunks with oil stick pastels, water color pencils, and felt tip pens ... in other words, I used whatever worked to get the effect I desired.

Here's a photo of the huge boulders along that lakes shoreline.
The quilt's shoreline is greatly influenced by the one along the stream that flows past our cabin.
The borders are done in my "ortwork" collage technique.
Lengths of various yarns were laid across a base fabric that has words pertaining to forests printed on it. I had made two long extra wide pieces ... one for the sides, the other for the top and bottom. A layer of black tulle was laid over the top and then I machine quilted and couched other yarns through all the layers.

The borders were cut to size and the corners mitered. They were zig-zag stitched to the main part of the quilt. Various yarns are couched over the outside and inside edges over the border.

Now the not-so-fun part of hand-sewing facings and a sleeve to the back begins.

Inspire Me Thursday ~ Polka Dots

This is my first submission to Inspire Me Thursday and what better way to start than with Polka Dots! Gotta love 'em ! I know I have great fun adding them as texture to my backgrounds. And I do believe they even conjure up a bit of childlike innocence.

© Nancy Lefko

Check This Out !!

There are some wonderful and generous people in this blog land and I have just found another by way of Karen Mowrey's blog (thanks, Karen!) This is a giveaway for the most delicious quilt imaginable and it is presented by the Old Red Barn Company.

For a chance to win, enter by leaving a comment at the Old Red Barn Company anytime before midnight, Tuesday, July 22, 2008.

Please see my side bar for a picture and direct link, by posting it there I receive 5 extra entries!

While you are at the Old Red Barn Company blog, make sure you read on and enjoy a number of wonderful posts and photos.

First Morning in the Mountains

This morning we awoke to this scene out of our bedroom window ...
and this just outside out door.
Getting here takes a lot of effort. The cleaning and clearing out of our Lake Michigan cottage is a huge amount of work. Then there's the stress of traveling which included lots of road work on our drive around Chicago and a delayed flight out of Milwaukee. But we made it and now my vacation begins.

Illustration Friday ~ Foggy

Sissy often felt FOGGY after one too many.

© Nancy Lefko



**available as a coaster in my CafePress shop**

Back to Etsy

I tested the water over at Ebay...and it was cold...this time. So my new ATC's are back in my Etsy shop and hopefully will receive a warmer welcome.

I want to clean out the studio a bit, so I may list some collages on SALE over at Ebay. I don't want to close that door completely, but I certainly seem to be having a better reception in the Etsy world right now.

© Nancy Lefko

Quilting the Lake

Determining a quilt pattern for the lake was the most difficult for me. I didn't wish to lose the wind wave patterns created by the crayon rubbing, but I could see no way to accent them. So, I just did ripple patterns. Now that it's finished, I see that the quilting does not obscure those crayoned patterns.
I began at the far shoreline with a small scale free-motion ripple pattern using a dark variegated blue King Tut thread. The water's edge is shaded with watercolor pencils (my first experience with them).
Then I switched to a medium value variegated blue K.T. thread and free-motion quilted a larger scale of the same ripple pattern in the foreground.
The middle of the lake reflects the light sky and is stitched with a light value variegated blue K.T. thread with a medium sized ripple pattern.
I don't know how excess top fabric got in the middle of this lake, but it did. Thankfully, it ended up there where wind waves do occur rather than on either bank. Although if I had worked sequentially across the lake from the far bank, I could've tucked the wrinkles behind the rocks. The lake is a bit more "sculptural" than I had intended.

The scrubby trees and flowering weeds came next.
The back sides of the individual pieces were sprayed with a temporary fabric adhesive to hold them in place between and behind rocks. I cut over-sized pieces of aqua tulle netting for each "grouping" and pinned it in place to do the quilting. Free-motion stitching along the stems and branches was done with a beige variegated K.T. I used a variegated K.T. green for the leafy areas. The excess tulle outside the quilted areas was trimmed away.

I wish to thank Anne for suggesting the tulle layer so that a minimum of quilting would suffice. It's amazing how difficult it is to see the tulle layer. The aqua color blends into the color of the lake between the foliage.

Next is the border.

A Sweet Award

The kind and talented Karen Mowrey of Beelieve, has bestowed upon me a lovely kindness...this sweet award. Karen and I have recently "met" in this wonderful blog land and she, her art and her blog are a treat! Stop by Beelieve and you will see what I mean.

The rules of accepting are as follows:

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

It is always difficult for me to choose a finite number of bloggers to award because I always feel badly for leaving out other amazing people. But I am a rule-follower, so here goes.

This award goes to the fabulous...

Diana Evans
Fannie Narte
Elizabeth Parsons
Kathy Hare
Lisa Rivas
Lisa M. Griffin
Anastasia Christou

Visit these blogs and you will be hooked!

NOTE: I have since received this award from Ginger and Connie also. Please visit their wonderful blogs as well. Thank you ladies.

Quilting Mountains & Sky

Machine free-motion quilting of the mountains and sky was done much more quickly than that of the trees.
Tomorrow the mountain lake ...

Etsy Update

A visit to the little "shop" at the town recycling center always yields some wonderful old hardcover books. They are not only a resource for vintage letters and words for use in my collages, but the covers offer a perfect base on which to create.

The collages featured here are among those that are listed in my Etsy shop tonight and have all been created on vintage book covers. I had an especially good time working with paints and stamps and textures on the backgrounds of these, and I hope that you are as pleased as I am with the outcome.

As you close down your holiday weekend, stroll on over and take a peek.

© Nancy Lefko

Thank You, Fannie

I am often reminded of the supportive world through which we bloggers frolic. My heart is warmed by the many artists who offer up genuine support and encouragement. I do not think I could traverse the art world waters without the lift those artists give to me. It surely wouldn't be a journey quite as bright and joyful.

One such artist is the delightful Fannie Narte, who offered up this kind post on her blog about me and my collage art. Fannie is very talented and creates beautiful works of art in paper and fabric. Please visit her blog and Etsy shop to share in her magic.

It has been my distinct pleasure getting to know Fannie, and many others I will never "meet" but with whom I have a very real connection.

Illustration Friday ~ Sour

Lulu may have been crowned the Lemon Drop Princess, however she was anything but SOUR.

© Nancy Lefko

Ebay Update

After a lengthy absence from listing my artwork on Ebay, I have decided to test the waters again. Realizing there may be some people who would be more likely to shop there, I am willing to give it another try. Plus, my Etsy sales have been flat, so why not? I prefer to sell through Etsy, but there is no harm in saturating the market, as it were.

The featured ATC's are among those I have listed on Ebay. Stop by and take a peek.

© Nancy Lefko