Oscar is Finished

Oscar is now finished. It took ordering more Kaffe Fassett fabrics from both Hancock's of Paducah and Missouri Star Company, but the appropriate finishing fabrics were located and he is now complete.  I used a simple gridwork for the quilting design and a facing instead of a binding.

Remember When

Here is Remember When, based on Gloria Loughiman's book "Symphony Quilts".  It took a long time to get to the quilting stage but its very worth it. This, too, has been quilted by the very talented Sharon Brooks of Glendale, AZ. It is one of my favorite pieces with the muted colors and crochet pieces from the past.

Diva Wallet Class

This is a "Diva Wallet" I made in a class at Cholla Chapter of the Arizona Quilters Guild in Mesa, AZ. This purple, turquoise and green batik fabric wallet holds credit cards, bills and change. It is a gift for my daughter and only took two hours to create. The snap closure holds everything together.

Spiral

This is the beginning of a Susan Carlson-inspired spiral from her book, Serendipity Quilts: Cutting Loose Fabric Collage. I took her class at Quiting in the Desert in Phoenix in January, 2016. This is how the spiral begins. Two colors of scrap fabrics (opposite on the color wheel preferably), glued down on to muslin. I experimented with Roxanne's Glue Baste-It and found it very useful. Next you add more fabric strips.   

Spiral Beginning

This unique blend of purple and orange goes great

together, don't you think? This spiral of colors is 

really a very satisfying effect. The tulle, which is

added later, makes it appear multi-

dimensional.

Finished base

Stitching down the tulle

I used my walking foot when stitching down the

tulle. It helps to glide over the surface in a circular motion.

Trimming away tulle.

Oscar

When you look at this colorful piece of work, doesn't it inspire you to make a quilt? I love the bold, bright colors. I can imagine this turtle taking off, swimming through the water.

I named him Oscar because I worked on him during the Academy Awards show. It is a Susan Carlson project and I loved being in her class at Quilting in the Desert. I've made many of her patterns and this is my latest one in progress. You can see that he is only laying on top of the hand dyed fabric.

Image printed on muslin

Included are some of the images of the progression of the piece so you can see how it went together... As you can see, he isn't finished, but I am mid-move to Ohio and he is in one of the many boxes. He will reappear in a later post in all of his glory.

Turtle Paw

Alternate background

Marianne's Dragon Quilt

This is the dragon quilt I made for my nail technician, Marianne, who loves dragons. She recently left Beauty Brands to become an insurance agent. We wish her well. She and I shared many stories of our aging parents. Love you, girl.

I used the same fabrics from Jason's "Frenemies" quilt to make this smaller version for Marianne, used a nine-patch center and surrounded it with piano keys of varied lights and darks. It's 30" x 30".

Natalie's Lime/Black Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead
for Natalie, my colorist

This piece is for Natalie, my colorist, who shares my love of the Day of the Dead theme. Natalie is responsible for the purple hair which I adore so much. 

The piece is about 20" square. 

Self-Portrait Class with Terry Waldron

My dear friend Barbara and I decided on a whim to take a self-portrait class during AQG Quiltweek in Phoenix at the end of January. I have mine started, but alas not yet finished, however I'm including a work-in-progress by my friend Barbara. It's a wonderful beginning and I'm so proud of her efforts. Now I need to get back to mine.

Barbara Jansen Landscape Art

Barbara Jansen landscape art

Took a class with an award-winning local art quilter Barbara Jansen. We've been friends for years and I took a class from her many years ago also. A group of us "buds" wanted to spend a Saturday afternoon together over at Scottsdale Quilts so we worked on these small pieces. I framed mine on an 11" x 14" artist canvas so that it would be off-set from the wall when hung. I was very pleased with the end result.

Petunia has also been quilted!!

Petunia has also been quilted by the masterful Sharon Brooks. Petunia is such a fun novelty fish. She is 29" x 22". I have included some close-up shots so that you can see how she has been quilted. This piece was embellished with Shiva Paintsticks and fern and bubble stencils over a soft pastel batik. You are familiar with my love of intense, vivid color so you must realize this was a stretch for me. I do think she turned out well, however. The plants at the bottom are fashioned from Kaffe Fassett fabrics and add an element of whimsy to the overall look. Isn't she a fashionable fish?