Newest Symphony (In Progress)

I'm teaching Gloria Loughman's Symphony Quilt in  Gilbert in two weeks and I will be posting photos of it in progress for my students to see. This will be done in greens and related colors. Check back and watch it evolve.

Off to See the Quilter

Off to drop off a Photo Artistry quilt to Sharon Brooks, who does all of my quilting. This particular one is based on Beth Wheeler's class last year at Quilting in the Desert. www.quiltcamp.com. I took the photo at the San Diego Zoo some time ago and have prepared it for a small wall hanging. I'll post the photo of the quilt when it is completed.

Mouse Mia

Mia is my 5-year-old fabric designing granddaughter in Ohio. She loves drawing and loves sewing, so I'm teaching her to combine these arts. We sent a selected piece of her art off to Spoonflower to have a fat quarter created of her work. An 8" square sample of fabric has given her enough to make a fabric project, perhaps a pillow or purse.


www.spoonflower.com

Paint Chip Challenge

This is the product of the Paint Chip Challenge put  on  by my local quilt guild. The goal is to select paint chip samples in which the first letter of the color name corresponds to your initial. You can use only your initials and one other color. In my quiltlet, I used the paint chips for "Red Power" (the orange) and "Black River Falls " (the dark blue) for my initials (RB). I used the paint chips produced by Dunn Edwards Paints. This piece measures 21 1/2" by 16 1/2".  It was a fun challenge to create, but I must admit I was still putting on the facing as we were driving to the meeting when the challenge was due.

Lena's Tag Book

This is a photo of the tag book project, led by Lena Swenson, we did at the Mixed Media group that I belong to. It was a sampler of stamping techniques.

Wood and Wax Makes Art

Start your project with a bare wood plaque from your local Walmart craft department (99 cents). Tape off sections (2) to provide for color change variation. Next, Elmer's wood glue brushed over the surface and left to dry. Burn with a propane torch. Let cool, then cover with light coat of beeswax. Buff with old pantyhose when completely dry.

Voila!

Wood and wax makes art.

Embellished Encaustics

Here is my encaustics project from Mystic Paper after I have used Pearl-Ex powder mixed with water to "colorize" the piece. Call me Ted Turner, I like the painted piece. What's your preference?

Susan Carlson's Class

Susan Carlson has authored two books on quilting, Free-Style Quilts, a "No Rules" Approach, and Serendipity Quilts: Cutting Loose Fabric Collage, both available at Amazon.com. I fell in love with the first book and when I learned she was coming to my local area to teach, I quickly signed up...only to have to cancel through the magic of kidney stones. But, not before I was inspired to design my own piece, (thanks Patty.) I had a lizard on my design wall which i had developed earlier based on Highway 101 (also known as Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale). Here is a photo of the highway and you can see where I was coming from.

 And here's a close-up of the lizard I had in mind...

I only needed him (or her) drawn out with a Sharpie on freezer paper and I would be good to go...fast forward by about five years, and voila! I could do a Susan Carlson-inspired quilt.

Now to use her technique to put the collage together. Gather the fabrics, I picked hot pinks. Next, I began fussy-cutting the florals out of the hot pinks, placing them on the left side of the quilt.

Looking at this photo may help you to see how I began...
And this is how it began, filling in the background.

Oh, and did I say that this is a teaser? You have to check back to see the quilt once it is finished and quilted. But you do get the idea, don't you? What I'm not sure you can see from these photos is the raspberry sparkling tulle that is covering the pink collaged garden. It certainly adds to the effect when you see the quilt in real life.

Encaustic Painting

Another session in encaustics, this one using encaustic paints, which are just the beeswax with pigment added. It does make for an extended session, tho. I like the effect of the paint. Incising with metal objects provided the lines and swirls.

Encaustics Raven Project

Here is another encaustic project. This one is an Edgar Allen Poe / Raven inspired theme. It features a raven transparency in the lower left corner, a section of the poem in the upper right, an image of a Poe novel in the near-center. It also has a raven charm and a tatting shuttle featured for additional embellishment. Gold Pearl-Ex covers inscribed circles in the lower right. The piece is 12" by 12" on wood.

My son, Jason, shares my love of all things Poe and this piece is dedicated to him.