DAFA Workshop and Being Creative Today!

Everyone is being creative!

Our wonderful Program Director
Linda Disosway

Suzanne Morgan
working on her abstract creation

This past Saturday I spent a wonderful day with members of the Dallas Area Fiber Artists, teaching my Painted Cheesecloth and 12x12 Sunflower workshop. Here are a few pictures of the members and their creations!

Valery Guignon
also working abstract

Valery's painted cheesecloth

DAFA President - Janet Jelen
working on Sunflower placement

Karen Fischer and Pam Patton
sharing creative ideas

My work schedule this past week hasn’t allowed me to be in the studio very much, but I’ve made some progress today and have the basics to three art quilts in progress and the thoughts of several more are written down. Here’s a peek at what I’ve gotten started. Hopefully I can finish these next week before I leave for the Trinity Valley Quilt Show in Fort Worth. If you are in the area, don’t forget to come by, see the show and say Hi!

While I have been working in the Studio today I have been listening to "Sister's Choice" by Emilie Richards. I love her books and to my wonderful surprise there is a quilter in this book. One that, like me, wanted to venture beyond the traditional quilts and enjoyed exploring art quilting. I appreciated the way she expressed the way quilter's are. Paraphrasing, they always have a quilt in process, a quilt on their work wall, a quilt under the needle, quilts in our heads, quilts waiting to be bound, quilting until our final breath. Isn't that how we all feel?

Continue to be creative my friends!

Another Busy Day

Today was another busy day, running errands, hair appointment and shipping my Old Alton Bridge Quilt off to the International Quilt Association. It has to get ready for the release of Karey Patterson Bresenhan  & Nancy O’Bryant Puentes' third book, Lone Stars III:  Texas Quilts Today. I am honored and blessed to have this quilt included in their book, recording the history of quilting in Texas and how it has evolved over the years. Karey and Nancy released information to us earlier this month that the book has been featured in the September issue of Texas Monthly. I am thrilled for them that the book is getting such wonderful press and recognition. The Old Alton Bridge Quilt will travel with the book exhibit to the new Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, Texas and other shows and museums this next year. I will dearly miss this quilt hanging in my home, but I am so excited that it is getting to travel and be viewed by other people.

For those of you who don't know the history of this quilt, I'll tell you. The Old Alton Bridge is a historic bridge in Denton County, Texas, close to my home. I took a picture of it before I left for a workshop. it was late in the day, sunset, and it was early enough in the Spring to where there wasn't any vegetation emerging yet, so my picture was blah, boring, but I had a great subject to work with. When I got to the workshop, I had taken an enormous amount of commercial fabric and three yards of fabric that I had hand painted a week or so before. I ended up using just my hand painted fabric, as you can see. I took the week long workshop to jump start me off of traditional quilts and into art quilts. I think I made a good jump, leap and hurdle!

Oh, and have I told you, this was my first art quilt.

Painted Cheesecloth Workshop - September 17th

Good Morning! I am teaching a workshop on September 17th for the Dallas Area Fiber Artists at The Point, C.C. Young Center. The enrollment is now open to Non-DAFA members!

This is a fun, messy and easy workshop. In this workshop we will learn how to paint cheesecloth with textile and/or acrylic paints and various ways to dry the cheesecloth. Then we will create the above sunflower 12x12 Art Quilt.

The workshop fee is $35 for DAFA members and $40 for non-DAFA members. Click here to go to the flyer with information regarding the workshop. Sign up today because the workshop is in a week!!!!

Looking forward to a creative day with you!

Nancy's Crystal Fantasies

Yesterday, I posted about some of my favorite blogs to read. Well, Nancy of Nancy's Crystal Fantasies has this great bracelet that would be fantastic to go with my work clothes.

Oh, did I tell you that I'm working part-time for Soma Intimates at the Shops of Highland Village? Oh yes, and I love it. The ladies I work with are beautiful and a joy to work with and the customers are the best! The store just opened last week and we can only wear white, black or cream. Oh, I know what you are thinking...Jules is an artist! A child of color! My words exactly to my manager!

Anyway, this bracelet of Nancy's would be PERFECT for work! You know, when you have to wear the same colors over and over the key is to accessorize, accessorize, accessorize.
So take a peek at Nancy's blog and her Etsy shop! She has some great pieces full of color!

Overwhelmed and Moving Toward Being Creative

Have you felt so over whelmed that you just want to crawl back in bed and play Scarlet? You know, "worry about it tomorrow". It's Tuesday and I feel like it's Monday... I'm sitting in my Studio, finally, after running the morning errands, needing to input the receipts from our purchases from vacation and this past weekend and desperately wanting to get my hands in my fabric and create a new quilt. Good things come to those who wait, I know, but I really need some "quilt therapy" today. It has been over two weeks since I've had a chance to enjoy my studio!


With that said, I had a great surprise yesterday. One of my Blog Readers gave me a "Favorite Blog Award". I'm told "Liebster" is a German word for "favorite" or "beloved" and have received this Liebster Award from Betty at the Arts and Crafters Supply Community.

 

The idea is to link back to the blog who picked you and then add give the award to 5 of your favorite blogs with less than 200 followers.  Then they can do the same.  We of course are looking to promote each others blogs and get more followers.  So join in the fun to help promote not only your blog but help others too.

If you visit each blog and follow each one you like the numbers will increase dramatically and you will have made numerous new friends and contacts!

Without further ado, here are my favorites:

Fannie Narte

Kathy Mayhew

Suzan Engler

Nancy's Crystal Fantasies

Bear Chick's Journey

So, I'm off to clear off my desk, find my studio table and start on a few new quilts! The 2011 International Quilt Festival is coming up and the Texas SAQA members are putting together another display of 9x12 Art Quilts and this year they are going to be for sale! 

The SAQA Benefit Auction starts on September 12, 2011, so click here to see the mini-quilts up for auction and don't forget to bid!

Have a Creative Day!

Jules

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted! I've been busy, we went on vacation to California for a week to see our daughter and her family. Played on the beach with our precious granddaughters and played at other parks and amusement sites. While we were on the beach we collected sea shells, sand dollars and rocks that the waves brought in. I was collecting the sand dollars for art quilts and put them in my husbands pocket...when he took his swim suit off, he rolled it up to squeeze out the water...and crushed the sand dollars and sea shells. There are some large enough pieces left that I think I might be able to do some things with them and I'm sure it will involve painted cheesecloth.

While we were in CA we had family pictures taken by our friend Paul Kawabori. Paul and his wife, Amy, are wonderful friends of our daughter and Paul is the most fabulous photographer. Paul shot new head shots for me and they are just wonderful! The family pictures are great. The girls were in more of a playful mood and weren't always wanting to cooperate, but hey, their 2!

The day after we got back from CA I started a new part-time job at Soma Intimates. So far this week it has kept me busy and I'm learning my time schedules and trying to balance this position with studio time. I'm sure it is going to take me a few weeks to balance my time out and I'm anxious to get into the studio. I have a few quilts in my head and I need to play with fabric!

Have a Creative Day and enjoy your Labor Day weekend!