Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Dandelion Wine

Our first challenge is in for Twelve by Twelve. The theme word was Dandelion. I tried drawings of dandelion flowers and seed heads, but I wasn't happy with any of them. I instead went with the color, Yellow. I searched high and low for yellow embellishments and just kept adding them until I ran out of time. I'm not sure I could find much more. They include: Yellow cotton fabric, yarns, glass and seed beads, brads, artificial flowers, raffia, wire, embroidery floss, metallic thread, ribbon, and buttons. There may be more if you look hard enough. I had a lot of fun adding everything, but I don't think this is a path I will go down often. Often when I asked my husband what he thought of the piece I got a strange look. At an early point he said it looked like the seventies. I don't think you can even see the swirls of needle felted yarn anymore though. My daughters have a better appreciation of over embellishment. The under eight crowd thinks anything with a little sparkle is beautiful.
My original thought for the compostion was a yellow river with fields of flowers on either side. I added the beaded river, but probably could have used more large glass beads. I used all I had and didn't want to spend more money. It then turned more into a wetland with the bits of raffia poking up. The fake flowers, button and ribbons are the fields of flowers on either side.
I lost track a bit of the dandelion theme. I had the impression that everyone else was taking a more literal approach to the topic. Finally, I decided that the title "Dandelion Wine" fit the piece. My great-grandmother would tell of making dandelion wine when she was young. The piece looks somewhat like the craziness of having too much wine.
You can check out all our Dandelion Quilts on the Twelve by Twelve blog.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Untitled for Today

My kids have been kind to me the last twenty-four hours. They have played nicely and given me some free time to sew -- an unusual occurance lately. I made this piece from the fabric I had previously quilted and painted. I tried to use a range of value. Now that I see the picture there are a few squares that I probably would have switched. I'll have to make sure to look carefully next time. I really like the color and the texture in the piece. Of course, it will go perfectly in my living room. Maybe it will draw the eye to the walls instead of all the clutter. Probably not, but one can always hope.
I haven't thought of a name for the piece. I'm open to any suggestions. Now that I've spent most of the day on fun stuff, I should probably try to tackle some of that mess.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Inchies Away

I made a series of inchies from my quilted, painted fabric. I sent them off this morning to Quilting Arts for their Fat Inchie trade at the International Quilt Festival in Houston. They also had a call for art created using inchies. I made a wall hanging and a little box. The wall hanging is inchies wired together with black wire. The little box is inchies zigzag stitched together. Cloth Paper Scissors will be displaying some projects at their Make It University booth. Hopefully one of my projects will be included. I have so much fun working in a small size, I couldn't resist the call.

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Raw Materials

I've been having a lot of fun free motion quilting fabric and painting. Both are relatively mindless activities that are a nice break from all the other craziness in my life. I can work away at the sewing machine and my only worry is that one of my kids will run up to me and push my finger under the needle. Thankfully it hasn't happened yet and they will eventually learn they need to be gentle around Mom. The painting I do on a piece of plexiglass laid over my kitchen sink. With the fabric on top I don't even see the dirty dishes underneath. I then cheat and dry it in the dryer on a rack. Instant gratification and I can't even feel guilty about not doing the laundry since the dryer is already in use. I'm excited to have a chance to piece these fabrics into fun creations. Hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon!!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

Where Are the Kids on Bikes?

A few more of my mini quilts. Next I'm going to try working a little larger. I painted some fabric last night and this morning. Maybe this afternoon or weekend I will get a chance to set up the sewing machine and get to work. To get this far I had to pull out a science video. "Okay kids. I know this is rough, but we get to watch TV for school this morning. Don't worry there will be plenty of reading and writing later." Off to work.
End of a Good Book
Wet Stockings
Swanky
Forever

Hop, Skip and Jump

Corridor

A Night Out

Together

Winter Kiss

Rapids

Fish Ladder

Waves

Celebration

Desert Sun

Dusk

And The Parade Goes On

Here are more of my mini quilts. They are so much fun to make that once I get started I tend to keep going until all my scraps are used up. I let nothing go to waste. Okay, if it gets under 1/4" I'll throw it away. I'm not that desperate to sew through my finger.
Broken in the Field

Bruised

Paint Brush

Bent on Redemption

Anxiety on a Night Out

Crossing
Holes in the Modern Age
Horizon
Information Highway Inside Out

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Parade of Mini Quilts

I created a collection of 2" x 3" mini quilts to show off the technique of quilting before painting and piecing. My husband and I then had a fun time celebrating Octoberfest and naming these little pieces of art.
Shared
Worm Hole
Smooth Sailing
Invisible Bars
Unified
Tulips on the Moon
The Bold and the Beautiful
Zip Line
Almost to the Top
Pre Dawn

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Autumn Charms

I made these little charms for a trade. I'm really not a fan of orange, but the color says "Fall" to me. Maybe that has something to do with why I don't care for the color. So far, Fall has been cold and wet around here. Contrary to so many mom's who have more free time when the kids go back to school, I'm back to the grindstone of being teacher mom. Combine homeschooling with everyone being trapped inside because of the rain and we all miss the carefree days of summer. It isn't really as bad as I'm making it out to be. I'm just missing the sunshine. Like every winter, I'll just have to create my own.