Getting Back to Work

I’ve been piddling in my studio lately and not being as productive as I usually like to be, but you have to have down times every once in a while. I have been busy organizing the Dallas Area Fiber Artists Annual Show that will be November 5 – 27 at the ArtCentre of Plano. I am pleased to say that the jury process is complete and three of my pieces were selected for the show. Kimono Jacket, Traditional Batik and Sunflower with a Passion for Color. I'm looking forward to the show and seeing all of our art work hanging all together in this 1920's home that has been refurbished and converted into a gallery and offices.


This past Saturday DAFA participated in NorthPark Celebrates Art in Dallas. It was a productive day, we were able to spread the word about DAFA and entice people to visit us and join! It was also a great day for me to spend with fellow members and get to know them better and talk about our upcoming show and education ideas for the coming year.

I’ve decided I like the way some of my smaller art quilts look on painted canvas, so I painted a few canvases this week to mount two of my angel quilts on. Here is the "Weeping Angel" art quilt that I just mounted.


I love the way the art quilt continues on out into the painted canvas. I had done this process with a couple of other art quilts and a gallery owner encouraged me to continue this technique, telling me that art collectors will see it more as "art" rather than a quilt hanging on the wall.

While I was piddling last week I designed and started a new quilt for the house. There is a dark corner in our family room that needs to lighten up. The wall is “blue suede” and next to the windows going out to our hydrangea flowerbed and a dark stained built-in entertainment center. I want to complement the blues and bring in the beautiful colors of the hydrangeas. Here is a picture background that I put together. I’m going to try out some new surface design techniques to pull in the blues, pinks and greens of the foliage. If you have any ideas of things for me to try, let me know! I’m open to ideas!!!!



Happy Stitching Everyone!

You Know You Are A Quilter of Habit When....

You know you are a Quilter of habit when you try to bury the knot you just made after sewing a button on your husbands dress pants....Yup, I just tried to do that! Guess you know where my mind is!
I have set aside the truck quilt for another week. My mind just too distracted to concentrate on painting highlights and shading right now. I have a little bit of time before my personal deadline for this piece.
I started a new quilt yesterday that I am going to put in our family room. There is a dark corner in-between the built-in and the window that needs an artistic piece. My vision is for it to pull the inside colors(white, light tan, greens and blues) and the hydrangeas just outside the window. I'm planning on using different surface design techniques to pull in the greens, pinks, blues and purples of nature, but in an abstract way...
Have a creative day everyone!

Clearing My Mind.....

I have to blog today to clear my mind. There is just too much going on and I'm not as organized in my daily routine as I use to be!

Today is the deadline for entries for the 2010 Dallas Area Fiber Artists Membership Annual Show. I’m the Show Chair, and this is my first time to be involved in this capacity of a show, so I’m going a little crazy. My work background, before I ventured into full-time fiber art, was in Church Finance and before that, the Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities Market, writing processes and procedures, doing a little bit of report programming and training and compiling lots of information to send out to someone else. I'm use to having a "To Do" list going and right now I have several lists! Lists that I made in meetings, lists that I made in the car/kitchen, lists from emails I've received... I feel like an applique' quilt should come together here somewhere! Okay, it's time for me to get all these lists in one place! I'm going to try out the Microsoft software "OneNote" and see how I like it. Maybe this will be the stitch, or fusible, to bring all my notes together seemlessly!




Okay, now that you have read my venting for the day….on to more artistic things. Here is the latest photo of my truck quilt. The grill will have the strings of sequin beads for a texture break and this morning I was reading some things about Mistyfuse that I hadn’t tried before, so maybe there will be some Mistyfuse techniques added. Hopefully later this week I will be able to spend a day painting on this quilt, I really love the way it is coming together!

Oh, and if you haven't been to StudioJules on Artfire lately, I'm selling Mistyfuse by the yard!

Better eat some lunch and get back to making my lists, checking them twice and putting them all in one list!

I haven't gotten very far.....

Well, I haven't gotten as far as I would like on my truck quilt. I've suffered for three days with a sinus migraine and I just don't create very well with the pressure and pain. To cure the ache in my head I had a mani/pedi yesterday and a massage today. My body is sore, but I think after I have some lunch and my power drink, I should be good to go this afternoon.

I love, love, love the fabrics I'm using for this truck. The interior fabric is hand dyed silk I bought from Frieda Anderson. The tactile change in fabric is giving it a nice texture. I’m enjoying combining different fabrics and right now my studio is starting to look like there was a fabric explosion. There is tulle, organza, organdy, and cotton fabrics strewn about, along with sequin and other ornamental fabrics. Who knows what I’ll finally end up using on this quilt.

My daughter-in-law has already said that this quilt is hers when I'm done! We'll see about that, I may have to make two, one for her, one to show/sell. Maybe I'll make the one for her in fabrics that will go in Hudson's room, so he can grow up with the truck. Yesterday when I was talking to her on the phone he was playing with a train and choo chooing in the phone. So cute!

I'm listening to Lori Copeland's book "A Case of Crooked Letters". Blogging is making me feel better and ready to get back to work!

Starting the Truck Quilt

Yesterday I Misty fused my fabric for the truck quilt.





I’ve pulled additional fabrics out to include also, but won’t decide on those until I get further in the project today.

I also traced out the pattern onto freezer paper and placed the original underneath my appliqué press sheet.



Last year I special ordered this press sheet from Bear Thread Designs. They have stock sizes on their website and in their booths at the quilt shows, but I wanted a custom size. Mine measures 42”x36”. Since most of my quilts are approximately 30”x30”, I wanted one that would accommodate my quilts appropriately.
Today I’ll start “auditioning” the different fabrics for the various pieces of the truck. Here is the background fabric. I dyed it earlier this year.



It’s one of those pieces that was squirt the dye and see what happens. I love the colors and the abstract results.
Until later!

Exciting News!

This morning I received an email with exciting news! My Old Alton Bridge quilt was selected for a book to be published next year "Lone Stars III: Texas Quilts Today, 1986-2011". This book is the third in a series by Kary Bensenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes. The book is being published by the University of Texas Press and will be released Fall of 2011 to coincide with the opening of the Texas Quilt Museum. To be included with so many nationally known Texas Quilters, well, to say the least, I'm in awe and am inspired to continue working on new art quilts and new surface processes.


This are the latest two art quilts in my Mailbox Series - "Fall Mailbox" and "2010 Cardinal Way". I completed it "Fall Mailbox" yesterday and "2010 Cardinal Way a couple of weeks ago.
Today I'm going to start on a new quilt. It's a pick-up truck. I'm using a picture of my grandfather's truck that we all learned how to drive in out in the pasture between fishing ponds.
I loved this old truck! I have wonderful memories of going fishing with my grandfather and just riding around in the pasture with him. We called him "Foxie". His favorite newspaper cartoon was "Grandpa Foxie", so that's what we called him! The nickname fit him much better than Grandpa, Grandfather, or Grandad.
I'll keep you posted on the progress of this quilt, it will be fun to work on it and try some new processes. I've already dyed, discharged and over dyed some fabric for it. We'll see what else I come up with.

Iraqi Bundles of Love

I think I posted this last year, I'm doing it again! One of our courageous servicemen is collecting "Bundles of Love" for the Iraqi people. What's a "Bundle of Love", FABRIC! Here is the link to his website, he is also on Facebook, so just search for "Iraqi Bundles of Love".
IBOL website
I'm spending the day getting ready for a community garage sale and trying to finish a small art quilt. I've worked on this small quilt for a couple of days and have started over three times. I just couldn't get the fabric, batting and fusible to cooperate very well. Kept getting the "wave" or "puckering" effect when I fused the background fabric on. Some people will say it's the batting, I say it's the fusible. From now on I'm only using MistyFuse, the other brands just don't compare!
Have a great day everyone and I'll post pictures of my IBOL bundle and my small art quilts when I'm done!

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!

Accomplishments

I feel accomplished! I have had a basket in my elfa stand labeled "Quilts to Quilt" and now I can proudly say, it is empty! Yesterday I finished quilting the Traditional Batik quilt and last week I picked up my Pumpkin Quilt from being quilted (I wasn't going to tackle this one on my Bernina, I'm not that industrious). Today I am cutting off the excess batting/backing and cutting the bias binding for both of these quilts. They turned out beautifully and I'm so proud of the piecing, applique and quilting in each one. My friend, Connie Keller, quilted the pumpkin quilt. She does awesome quilting and I'm so blessed by her friendship.
As soon as I get the binding on these quilts I'll post full pictures.

What I've Been Up To Lately.....

It’s hard to believe that it has been two weeks since I have posted, but when I look back to all that I have done…..
After my fun day of dyeing fabric, I invited several friends over for a Party to Dye For. Here are some of the pictures. We had such a great time sharing and learning from each other.



I manned the Parfait Dyeing table while Kathy taught us Soy Wax Resist and Screen Printing. Michelle brought natural dyes, Tumeric, Marjoram and I provided Avocado.
Many Thanks to Diana for taking pictures for us!

Most of the fabric that I dyed is now in my StudioJules ArtFire Studio. There are Fat Quarters, Half Yards and Full Yards of fabric. The colors that came out in the dye are wonderful and variegated. Some of the pieces are subtle, some are striking. Take a look, be enticed!

I just have the outside boarder left to quilt on the Traditional Batik quilt that I started quilting a few weeks ago. I’m hoping to work on it this weekend and finish the first of next week. I also got my pumpkin quilt back from being quilted. Just need to put the binding on it and I can hang it in the stairwell gallery. Okay, Jeff will hang it….

The planning and organizing for the Dallas Area Fiber Artist Annual Member Show is taking a lot of time right now. Contacting sponsors for prizes, working with the ArtCentre of Plano and our membership. Luckily most of my pieces are already complete, photographed and ready for submission.
Last week I also joined the Textile and Fiber Art List (TAFA). There are wonderful artists on this list! I'm inspired and in awe of what other artists accomplish and blessed to be listed among such wonderful people.
Well, that is it for today. I’ll try to be better about posting, but you know how time can just get away from you!

Dyeing and Quilting Day

This morning I got up in the mood to work on my Traditional Batik quilt and to try Parfait Dyeing (this is layering the fabric and dyes in a container for those of you that are new to dyeing like I am). I layered tank tops, 100% cotton fabric and a few pieces of silk from my stash. The dye colors I used (in order) were Indigo Blue, Chartreuse, Fuchsia, and Yellow. I love the results! I'm addicted now and Parfait dyeing will be my norm!








So, what did I learn? Well, be careful how you layer shirts to get the varieties in color and if you pull pieces out of your stash, make sure they don't already have MistyFuse on them. Yup, the silk piece did. It dyed wonderfully (picture not up yet), I just have to see if the MistyFuse is still fusible. Hey, if we don't make a mistake, then the learning process isn't as much fun!
So, I'm still working on my Traditional Batik quilt, almost done! I'm stippling, so it is taking some time to quilt and I'm taking a lot of breaks so I don't break down!
Wednesday some friends are coming over to have a Studio/Dye Party with me. Watch for pictures and what we learned in the process!

Project for the Week

Ever have a hard time starting a new project because you keep thinking about the projects you haven't completed? My answer - Constantly! So I told myself that this summer I have to complete my "Unfinished Projects" in between the new projects. This way I'm taking care of all the mental and visual road blocks that keep me from having a free mind to create. This week I'm quilting the "Traditional Batik Quilt" that I pieced two years ago. I participated in a Block of the Month with Cabbage Rose in Fort Worth, TX in 2008. We had a choice of traditional or batik fabrics. When the blocks were complete I designed my own quilt instead of using their pattern. I love Flying Geese so I chose this block to join the other traditional blocks together. Yesterday I started quilting and I'll spend today working on it too. I'm stippling the quilt and using coordinating thread colors for each block.

Here's a picture of the quilt top after I finished it two years ago.
I'll post again when I'm finished with the quilting!

Dyeing to be Creative

Here is my 1x1x1 Challenge piece that April Soncrant put out on her blog, Spice Drop Soup. I'm calling it "Dyeing to be Creative". I used fabric that I had either hand painted or hand dyed, hand quilting, buttons, beads, and stamps. One I got started, this was a fun piece to make!
Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks April for putting the challenge out there for us!
I'm off to finish my two angel quilts, postings to come!

Backing to Blogging.....

I know, it's been a while since I posted. My life has been a little busy with the Studio window being installed, getting the house put back together, family coming in town and now trying to get back into my "routine".
Last week I received Jane Dunnewold's new book "Art Cloth". What an awesome book! I decided that I have to go through it, step by step and do the steps as if I was in a class or a workshop. I've started with making my "sample notebook". I didn't like some of my dye samples, so I have done them over, a few times.
Before I start on the next step I think I will do a quick challenge. One of my fellow Dallas Area Fiber Artists', April Soncrant, has a blog, Spice Drop Soup. April has put a challenge out to create a 1x1x1 Art Quilt. I'm taking the bait and working on my piece tomorrow. Check out April's blog and join me in the challenge!

Window Installation Complete!

The window installation in my Studio is complete! You just would not believe the difference it makes. Every time I walk into the Studio, I just take a deep breath and smile. The window faces south, so I will have great daylight all day and all year. I told my husband that when I’m sitting at my sewing machine I’ll be singing the old John Denver song, “Sunshine on my shoulder makes me HAPPY!!!!” Here are a few before and after pictures.
This is the wall where the window will be.The window is going next to my thread and fabric cabinets.We had to move the thread cabinet over to make room for the workers to install the window. It's leaning up against my work wall.During Construction ~ After they cut the sheet rock and realized there were wires in the wall and needed different lumber to secure the header of the window it started raining! At least the rain stopped in time for them to cut the Hardy board and set the window.Ahhhhhh....Daylight!Window and cabinets, back in place. And no, this is not all the fabric I own. Some of it is stored away.

This is my work and ironing tables that Jeff and Ben made me for Christmas. My flat files are underneath, storing my patterns, current projects, beads, buttons, stamps, and other mixed media items.

We have been enjoying our daughter and her twins being here for the past week. They are still in town and will be here until almost the end of the month. Last week while I was feeling a little displaced with the Studio cleared out ready for construction, I made a few doll quilts for them and one of their play friends. I used the scraps from the quilts I made the girls when they were born for these.
The rest of this week, I am going to work on finishing the angel quilts that I have started. I’m anxious to finish these and get on to some other projects. When Jeff and I were at dinner last night he asked me what I was going to work on and what my design plans are. After I told him my plans, then others popped up in my brain as I was talking!
So, I guess it is time to get a few things done on the computer, shut it off and get busy!
Have a great week everyone!

Weekend Project

Reupholstry Project Complete!!! Remember my last post and the ugly chair that I showed? Well, here is the finished project! Thanks to my wonderful husband, Jeff. I just don't know what I would do without him, and I don't want to find out either! Reupholstering this chair that I brought home from his aunts' house last year was a challenge. I'm an artist/quilter, not a home dec person, even though I've made most of our curtains and a few other things around the house. Home dec items frustrate me, but I always end up doing them instead of paying someone to do them for me...and I always wish I had paid someone to do them at some point during the project. I'm very proud of this chair and can't wait to sit in it and read to my grandkids, and watch them sit in it while they are playing. I've put it in our playroom, flanked by my antique quilt collection. It is at the top of the stairs, so I can see it and smile everytime I walk up the stairs or come out of my studio.
Now, on to other projects. The construction company guys are to be here any minute to put in my window. The Studio is cleared out and ready. After they are finished drying in the window this afternoon and the Studio is cleaned, I'll start putting everything back in the Studio. Our daughter and her twins arrive tomorrow night, so I have to get organized and get their rooms cleaned out for them!
While the guys are working on the window I'm going to quilt three little doll quilts I put together last week out of scraps. I moved one of my sewing machines down to the family room so I can work on them.
Have a great day everyone! I'll post window pictures as soon as I can!