Pinwheels

About two weeks ago Teodo of Appunti Patch weblog generously posted the pattern and instructions for a

3-D "windmill".

I have always loved pinwheels. So of course, I just had to play when I saw the instructions. Two pinwheels are made using the dimensions of 2 1/2 inches for each square that Teodo gave. The other three pinwheel's squares are cut 3 inches. I was also pleased to be able to use a few buttons from my collection. This little wall quilt was easy and fun to make.

Pinwheels - 13"x16" -2007

*All photos are clickable for you to view a larger version in a separate window. Click the back arrow icon of your server to get back to this post.
*The red highlighted text is also clickable to take you to the link or posting that is being referenced.

Pretty Postcards

Pretty, but not Monet's flowers.

These postcards are collages built with silk flowers, roving, angelina fibers, and silk threads that were shed from fabric edges. The foundation pieces are cut from an old nightgown with lace edging. The gown had been used to clean up paint from a T-shirt painting project by my friend, Alicia. What's the saying? "One person's cast-off is another's treasure" ... or something like that.

Last evening I used these fabric cards to demonstrate to our quilt guild members how I couch yarn. Five of us each gave five 15 minute demonstrations of techniques to small groups. The groups rotated so each member saw all the demonstrations. I suspect there will be a bit more couching going on now that they've seen how easy and effective it is. I made up an instruction sheet based on the posting I wrote last fall about couching yarn.

These six postcards will be donated to our guild for its small quilt sale at the Smoky Mountain Quilt Guild show in mid-May. Now to get my entries for that show finished up.

*All photos are clickable for you to view a larger version in a separate window. Click the back arrow icon of your server to get back to this post.
*The red highlighted text is also clickable to take you to the link or posting that is being referenced.
*Click on a label to see all postings featuring that subject.

Monet's Flowers

When I was working on the Vincent's flower studies a friend asked if I had ever considered making flowers in Monet's style. At the time I hadn't. The primary reason I "played with Vincent" was to interpret the atmosphere around his flowers into fiber. The air in Van Gogh's paintings that I saw at the Art Institute seemed so vibrant and full of life.After three studies, "Vincent's Flowers" was the resulting piece.

During the next summer that suggestion niggled around in my brain until I gave in. My first attempt was definitely not Monet. It ended up as the fun and playful background in "May Day Tea Party".My next attempt was closer. The flowers were painterly, but the pure colors as well as the quality of light that the impressionists achieved was not there. This one is soft and lovely and it was finished as a present for a friend.
The third try surprised and delighted me when it ended up with the pure colors dominant plus the quality of light of a sunny day. To get this effect there are multiple layers of cut apart silk flowers, roving, and pulled apart batting in this piece ... so many I lost count.
The backing, as well as the foundation layer which is not at all visible, is fabric I had hand-painted. This was a warm-up ... a way to get myself into the spirit.
The piece is quilted with the word, "Monet", in script. The paper on which I had doodled the quilting pattern is pinned to the backing in the above photo. This study is still unfinished.

PS: Here is the "unfinished study" finally finished in 2009.

"Imagine Monet" 30"x 32"

To read about its construction process type the title into the search box in the Blogger bar at the top of my blog.

*All photos are clickable for you to view a larger version in a separate window. Click the back arrow icon of your server to get back to this post.
*The red highlighted text is also clickable to take you to the link or posting that is being referenced.
*Click on a label to see all postings featuring that subject.

Bent Needle - March Edition

I'm delighted to have my artwork made in a technique I call "Ortwork" featured in the Bent Needle - March Edition. This month's topic for that online journal is scrap quilts. There are many wonderful ideas for making and links for viewing scrap quilts in this edition. Go here to check it out. To view all the weblog postings about this method in which I use orts (scraps of fabric and thread ends) to create quilts, click on the label attached at the end of this one.

To see a slideshow of the pieces I've made featuring the "Ortwork" technique go here and click on the slideshow setting.

*Photo is clickable for you to view a larger version in a separate window. Click the back arrow icon of your server to get back to this post.
*The red highlighted text is also clickable to take you to the link or posting that is being referenced.
*Click on a label to see all postings featuring that subject.

Stitching Tools

Last week Finn posted about old needlework tools and asked about those the rest of us may have. This folder of needles had belonged to my husband's grandmother.This tiny silk sewing kit was found in an antique shop in Michigan a few years ago.
I especially like the tiny scissors that came with it and the cork affixed in the center for a thimble. The thread holders are ivory.
This old wool pin cushion came in a sewing basket I also bought from an antique shop at the same time. I like that it is hand made of wool fabric and stuffing. It obviously has a history and it's small.
It fits nicely in my favorite sewing box which holds the supplies that travels to bees, or wherever I go to stitch or quilt.
This beautiful wooden box was a gift from my younger son and daughter-in-law. It came from the Art Institute in Chicago where both of them had jobs at the time.
The decorations of buttons and threaded needle on the lid are engraved and stained into the wood.
This looks like a tube of lipstick ... and it used to be.
It's now my favorite needle case. A few years ago there were instructions in Threads Magazine about converting a lipstick tube to this clever and beautiful tool. Clean out the residue of lipstick and fill the opening with wool batting.
I like that with a quick twist, the selection of needles is right there without having to empty the case to find a desired needle.

Albums

These two photos are new additions to my sidebar. They are the covers to albums of photos for artwork done with the two techniques that are unique to my work.

Crinkle Quilts

Ortwork Collage

Click on each photo in the sidebar to access 59 Crinkle quilt pictures and 60 Ortwork collage pictures at Picasa Web Albums. Each can be viewed with a slideshow presentation. Enjoy!

Click on the Picasa link above to check out how to go about adding one to your weblog.

Quilt Adventure

A wonderfully related adventure about creating a quilt can be followed at this website: Spirit Cloth ... quilting a story. It is the journal of the making of a quilt for the creator's uncle that began October 15th, 2006. Here is a copy of her first posting:

The quest

i have recently experienced a transition where my hobby has become my life. in order to explain this transformation to myself i have set up this blog to record my thought process as i create what i no longer call a quilt but a spirit cloth. my approach is always very scattered and i hope this journal will help me in my quest to understand the nature of my creative thought and the magic it seems to conjure. i am not a good photographer or a writer, but it seems i might be able to communicate something through cloth making. i hope so.

I very much enjoy reading this weblog daily. To be reminded that a quilt and the process of making one can embody our art and soul as well as be embedded with meaning and emotion. The author chooses to keep herself anonymous, but I cannot help but feel I know her through these postings.

*The red highlighted text is a clickable to take you to the link or posting that is being referenced.