Ahhhh, Back in the Studio...

It’s hard getting ready for vacation and it’s hard getting back in the Studio when you get back… I’m finally getting back into the Studio and getting caught up. It feels good to be back in my Studio, surrounded by my fabric and paint….
First, let me tell you what I did BEFORE we left for the coast. I’m a one of those obsessive, compulsive people that likes to have a new purse before I leave on vacation and I usually make it. Rushing around, stressing out and making it worse by adding in a “personal deadline”. One day I was in the mood to paint duck cloth and be very abstract about it. This is what I came up with.






I used a pattern that I had borrowed from my friend, Lu Peters, and this is what it turned into!



I lined it with fabric I had bought from Frieda Anderson and used my own fabric for the binding and handles. Great Spring and Summer purse and all my junk fits in it perfectly!
Last night the Dallas Area Fiber Artists held their Annual Pot Luck and Artwork Exchange. Darn if artists are good cooks too! I was fortunate enough to receive this wonderful piece by Connie Akers.




I love Connie and she and I are “carpool buddies” to the meetings, so it was funny that the artwork I road to the meeting with, also road home with me. This happened to 3 other people last night too! Guess it shows that DAFA members are good artwork and carpool buddies!
Today I am back to work on my current quilt and planning out workshops to teach and catching up on computer work. And it’s time to get off the computer and pay attention to the design board!
Happy Creating Everyone!

Thursday Eye Candy!

New Fat Quarters are posted in Studio Jules on ArtFire. These are just a few of them, I didn't want to overpopulate the post today with pictures of fabric. It's a little cloudy today, so hopefully these colors will brighten your day!

Hand dyed Fat Quarter Show and Tell

The weather cooperated this morning and I was able to take pictures outside of the fat quarters I hand dyed the past couple of days. Blues and greens are usually very difficult to photograph, but the clouds were working with me today and I didn't have to do any color adjustments!

The first one I want to show you is the one that was the one I had rolled with a hand painted fat quarter and then threw into the dye bath. I love it! I have posted it in my Etsy shop, click here to see it in the shop.



I've only been able to post the ones I've selected to sell on Etsy today. I'll post the ones I have selected for ArtFire tomorrow. Here are the ones on Etsy!

A Wonderful Way to Wake Up!

This morning when I checked my email I had one letting me know that my "Sunflower with a Passion for Color" quilt has been accepted into the Lowell Quilt Festival! Yup, I'm a little pumped about it. Other than having a quilt travel with the International Quilt Festival, this will be my first out of state quilt show.
I have spent yesterday and today playing in the studio with newly dyed fabrics. I have a special order for hand dyed hankies and I just took the last ones out of the dye bath and they are so yum! I can't wait to send them to my customer, I know she will be pleased with them. Since I was dyeing hankies, I had to throw some fat quarters in to take up space in the dye....it's easier to add fabric than decrease the amount of dye you make up, right? They are all beautiful. The last piece of my "Show and Tell" yesterday that I said I would throw in a dye bath today, well it turned out very interesting! I can't wait to ponder what to do with it. Pictures to come later, I know you all love "eye candy"!
Have a creative day everyone!

Sunshine, Cool Breeze and Paint All Over My Hands!

I had a great day today, opened up the window to the Studio and enjoyed the sunshine, singing Cardinals and cool breeze. What an inspiration! Being in such a great mood and feeling very artistic, I spent the day dyeing fat quarters and hankies. While those were in the dye bath I painted duck cloth and PFD. Oh what a wonderful feeling to be back in the Studio and paint all over my hands! Kathy Mayhew influenced me to paint duck cloth, I’m hooked! I love the way the paint flows and the results. I’m anxious to quilt these pieces!
The first five pictures of painted duck cloth. The rest are painted PFD.


Painted Duck Cloth with Textile Paints

Painted Duck Cloth with Acrylic Paints

Painted Duck Cloth with Acrylic Paints

Painted Duck Cloth with Acrylic Paints

Painted Duck Cloth with Acrylic Paints

Painted PFD with Textile Paints
Over Painted with White Acrylic

Painted PFD with Textile Paints
Over Painted with White Acrylic

Painted PFD with Textile Paints
Over Painted with White Acrylic

Painted PFD with Textile Paints
Over Painted with White Acrylic

This is PFD that I rolled with another painted piece. I have heat set it and will throw it in a dye bath tomorrow.

Hope you enjoyed my "Show and Tell for today. I had loads of fun and wanted to share my "art excitement"!

Back from Vacation!

We took some time off from normal life and spent a week in Galveston. Sunshine, the beach, lots of seafood (well, I ate the lots of seafood, Jeff ate lots of cow and chicken - just refer to us as "Surf and Turf"). We really enjoyed relaxing and getting some good sunshine. On the drive home we took the scenic route and stopped at the Antique Rose Emporium for some perennials. I've missed my Butterfly Bush that we had at our last house, so I bought one of those, Shasta daisies and a few other perennials and wild flower seeds. Got home and needed more for the yard, so off we go to Lowes for Knockout Rose Trees and herbs. Jeff is awesome when it comes to planting and only had to kill two snakes in the process. I'm anxious for everything to start blooming! Spring and Summer is going to be very colorful in my yard this year! Today while we were finishing up I walked across the patio and saw a future butterfly! Jeff came over and scared the poor caterpillar, so he curled up, but here he is!




I just love the little guys, they are so cute and fuzzy!

Well, tomorrow I'll be back in the studio. Right now I'm watching the Texas Rangers vs. the Angels (The Texas Rangers ROCK!!!). We have tickets next month to one of the Ranger games, sooooooo looking forward to it. Jeff is sitting here reading the latest "Popular Science", there was a UPS truck that turned over in Boston back in March and made a very pretty painting on the freeway it shut down with all the ink that was in the trailer. He also showed me an article of a mini ink jet printer called "PrintBrush", that is a handheld printer, only 8.8 ounces and prints a full page in 10 seconds! I just did a little web surfing for more information and yes, it prints on fabric!!!! Can you just see all the advantages and techniques the quilt art world can use this for! Quilt labels, surface layers, oh my, I think this just went on my "Gotta Have It" list! The article said that by the end of the year it will be developed with a camera for click and print capability. Oh my.....

It is Always Good to Sleep on it

When in doubt about certain fabrics you have put in a quilt, it is always good to sleep on it and have a fresh view the next day. And that is what I did. The blue in the middle of this quilt just seemed too dark and a little off. The colors of the swirls are more in harmony now. As I was working today I just wasn't feeling the paint trails I had made with the dark blue organza (see previous post for picture with the paint trails), so I removed them and will test later, on other fabric, the paint trails that will come off the blue fabric in the middle through the other colors. There are a few other places that I'm just not 100% happy with, but that is what I will sleep on tonight.
Well, Mr. Wonderful is on his way home, time to start dinner!
Happy creating!

Feeling Good

Feeling good and feeling creative today. After two days of a thunderstorm headache, today is a great day! Oh, it feels good to be pain free and feeling creative. I've been working on the first quilt of a triptych series. All the fabrics are ones that I have hand dyed, specifically for this series. I have just a little bit of fabric left to fuse onto the quilt and then I can start painting and quilting.



This past Saturday I had a great day with my friend Kathy Mayhew! We started the day with manicures and pedicures, stopping by Oxide Gallery and then off we went to the Denton Jazz and Arts Festival. What fun! The weather cooperated with cool breezes and the sun peeking through the clouds on and off. The shopping was fantastic! I found two great pairs of earrings, a summer dress and homemade jellies. Kathy bought some great jewelry too!
Okay, time to start dinner for Mr. Wonderful! Have a great evening everyone and keep on stitching!