New Favorite Website

When I finish a quilt top and am ready to start quilting, I get nervous. Trying to decide what to quilt where, making sure the quilt design will enhance and not ruin or take over the quilt. I look at quilts quilted by my favorite quilters, my friends, etc. I stay nervous and seem to fall back into the same motifs I always use. With this new quilt (here's a peek), I'm really nervous.



I expressed my frustration with my fiber arts buddy, Kathy Mayhew, she reminded me of the website of Leah Day, The Free Motion Quilting Project. Oh my goodness, I have gone to quilting heaven. I would have never thought of all theses quilting designs. With these at my disposal, I should never, ever, be scared again. Now I'll just have to make decisions, decisions, decisions.....
Thanks Leah for your time, talent and willingness to share!

Quilt in Progress

Just thought I would post a few pictures of my quilting and mixed media techniques on my current quilt "Outside In". As I posted earlier, the initial intent of this quilt was to mimic the hydrangea's outside the window, but my husband thinks this quilt looks more like the depth of the ocean. My quilt, I win....it's "Outside In". I'm not done yet, but I"m getting there!

Hugs and Kisses Mixed Media Art Quilt

Just finished this great little art quilt! My thanks go to my friend Kathy Mayhew who let me use one of her screen prints to start this project. Really, I started this back in August when I had my birthday "Dye Party". Kathy taught us how to screen print and this is on the pieces I started. After I screened it, I soaked it in a bath of turquoise dye. I then accent painted it, added some mixed media items, hand wrote some phrases, hand quilted it and then had stitched the binding. This week I hand painted a canvas to mount it on and I'm really pleased with the way it came out!
So, if you really love this piece, it's for sale in my Etsy shop, StudioJulesArt.

Early Happy Valentines!

On to Other Things

I finished the binding on the Traditional Batik Quilt and the Pumpkin Quilt yesterday. I was able to get this picture of the batik quilt, and had to wait for the wind to quit kicking up before I could get one of the pumpkin quilt. The batik quilt measures 65" square and the pumpkin quilt is 71"x73".



Since I finished these quilts I have taken time to hand paint on some fabric that I screen printed at my "Dye Party" a few weeks ago. Both of these will be 9"x12" and will go to the SAQA-Texas exhibit at the Houston show.



I'm calling this one "Hugs and Kisses". I hi-jacked this screen from one of the other ladies at the party. I'm going to hand quilt X's and O's on it.



"Feelin' Groovy", my Red, White and Blue Themed quilt. Hand painting this one was fun, going in waves and circles, controlling the paint...very relaxing.

I'm listening to books written by Susan Wiggs right now. Just finished "Lakeside Cottage" and today I started listening to "Table for Five". Listening to books is so relaxing and I'm able to escape to another world while I'm enjoying my art in my studio. Life is good!