More Alzheimer's Gelli Quilts

Here are my two latest ALZ quilts to be donated. Both are made from Gelli prints. The yellows and green grid was made with yellow and green inexpensive acrylic craft paints found in your local craft store. After applying the paint, I pressed needlepoint canvas down into the gel surface very carefully so as not to accidentally injure the gel but with enough pressure to create an indentation. It was further enhances by yellow quilting stitches using Masterpiece Thread on the surface and Bottom Line thread in the bobbin. Both threads are made by Superior Threads.

The gridwork began with a diamond stencil from The Crafter's Workshop pressed into the acrylic paint on the gelli plate. That pattern was further enhanced by a quilted grid on the surface using a lime green thread. I added jumbo rickrack for added enhancement.

Thanksgiving Gellis

As a family, when we gather together for Thanksgiving, we have begun a tradition of doing artsy projects together in the evening. This year was no exception. My little gals, all four of them, had heard me talk about  gelli printing and how much I enjoy the process. Of course they wanted to try it when we all got together. I packed my gelli plate and flew off to Indianapolis for a fun-filled weekend.

Here is a photo of one of the babes in action. See the right arm go? She's making a peace sign.

Such fun!

AAQI Quilts Sell at Houston

Alzheimer's Art Quilts Initiative sold a record $75,000 worth of quilts last week in Houston at the International Quilt Festival. 1597 quilts were sold, including three of my donations. I am a proud member of the $1,000 Promise group of quilters who have pledged to donate $1,000 in donations for their quilts. This $75,000 raised represents the largest amount of money ever raised at one time, and it exceeds last year's total by $13,000. This, of course, means more monies for Alzheimer's research. For more information on how you can bid on a quilt or donate, go to www.alzquilts.org .

Here are my latest quilts sold at Houston.

Raven art

Here is an image of my Raven art made to celebrate Halloween. I found an image to copy from the internet, put it onto muslin and then tinted the muslin with walnut ink and Tim Holtz distress inks before placing it over a black heavy cheesecloth-type netting (only heavier) and a piece of shimmery copper organza-type fabric. This was set onto an illustration board covered with old copies of "The Raven" poem, authored by my personal favorite, Edgar Allen Poe.

I used a black vegetable-type netting for the hanger, completing the textural look of the piece.

Bride of Frankenstein

My friend, Ingrid, made me a Halloween gift of a Bride of Frankenstein plaque that she made. It is backed by black foamcore. The image itself was cut from her Silhouette cutter, which is a fabulous tool. She has used black wire in a twisted fashion for the hanger and added a piece of black lace for embellishment.

There is a link to Ingrid's blog on mine. It is called "Living in a World of My Own"if you want to see more of Ingrid's work.

Autograph Quilt from Prickly Piecers

Prickly Piecers Autograph Quilt 

This autograph quilt was made for me by my friends at Prickly Piecers Quilt Guild of Ahwaukee and was presented to me by my friend and the President of Prickly Piecers, Lynnita Knoch. The members of Prickly Piecers all signed the blocks and I will cherish the quilt as I do all of the people who were part of its making. Many thanks to the members for their visits and cards, calls and emails during my recovery from my recent heart surgery. I look forward to rejoining the group and participating in Fall Camp next month.

Thanks again to everyone for this special remembrance.  

Skull & Cross Bones

This photo is of my latest mixed media piece which features a skull and cross bones design printed on muslin and colored with distress inks by Tim Holtz. The skull and cross bones made me think of old time medicine bottles. I

It started with a piece of Soho Board from Jerry's Artarama, covered with old dictionary pages which were "glued" onto the surface using gel medium. Next, a layer of Weathered Wood crackle medium by Americana covered the surface. Distress ink pads by Ranger/TimHoltz were used to add color to the background. I used several colors including vintage photo and my new favorite, at least for this project, "black soot". Next, I used a Distress Crackle around the edges of the dark frame and again colorized it with distress inks.

Two layers of dark tulle were used and then two layers of muslin which had been stamped with archival ink and colored with more of the distress inks. The image of the skull and cross bones was an ink jet image transfer.

All layers were stapled together across the top. A hanging ribbon was the finishing touch. Voile!

Zoe's County Fair Quilt

Zoe is my 9-year-old granddaughter in Ohio and this is a photo of a quilt that she and I collaborated on over the past several months. She entered it into the Montgomery County Fair this week and won a first place ribbon on it for her efforts.

The quilt is made of 25 eight" blocks of multicolored fabrics which are enhanced by machine embroidery in a silver glitter thread by Sulky. After all, girls of all ages love glitter.

You go, girl!

Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Box

Here is my new Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Box that comes in oh-so handy on my travels and quick trips. It features 24 fine quality transparent watercolors including Chinese White and Ivory Black. It comes with a re-usable waterbrush and an adjustable mixing palette for either right- or left-handed painters. It's approximately 5" by 7" and weighs just over 8 ounces. It's the perfect traveling companion and it sells less for under $30. I found mine at my local craft store.

"Happy Birthday to me...Happy Birthday to me..."

Art Unraveled 2012 Inchie Swap

These are my thirty inchies from the Art Unraveled 2012 inchie swap. Each one is a reflection of the artist who participated. The techniques ranged from image transfers to zentangles and from polymer clay to shrinky-dinks.

To learn more about Art Unraveled and what's coming to Phoenix for 2013, go to www.artunraveled.com.