Crazy Challenge!!

I am on the board of my local quilt group, the Northwoods Quilters, and Dorothy J. showed this unfinished quilt top she received from an anonymous quilter. She was at a loss as to "complete" the top. I said I had a vision and Dorothy said "go for it!!" I know nothing of the quilter and their background. I mean no disrespect to this individual but the seams were large and bulky, it was misshaped and there was a large solid white square in the center of the quilt. The eye was drawn to this white square for no reason but it dominated the quilt top in the wrong way. I decided to fussy cut large flowers from printed fabric-mostly Kaffe Fassett fabrics. I raw edged fused appliqued the flowers totally covering the strange white blob. I pulled out the oranges, blues, purples and yellows from the fun print the artist used in the pieced top. I selected medium to smaller flowers sporatically over the top. The quilt top needed to be squared up and the seams trimmed to 1/4". I will outline stitch the flowers in place and show it to Dorothy at our January board meeting on Jan. 4th. I would like to finish this quilt because I see tons of fun quilting and embellishing overload!! In the end, the quilt I received became just the background for some fun applique! I understand as quilters we were all beginners and I can't judge this person's technical skills. She has a good sense of color coordination and I love the bright psychadelic acid-trip print!!

I'm a Proud Mom!!

My daughter, Jordana, is the sous chef at Republic Chop House in downtown Green Bay, WI and her friend Abbey is the executive chef at the restaurant. They are featured in the January 2010 issue of You Magazine which is a local publication from The Green Bay Press Gazette newspaper. They are special chefs because the two head honchos of this upscale restaurant are both female. The restaurant business can be a "old boy's club" according to Jordana so these two talented young women in these positions rock!!! The restaurant has a website www.republicchophouse.com to get more info. Girls Rule Boys Drool!!!!!!

Merry Kitschmas!!!

I purchased this funny book "Merry Kitschmas" five years ago and have laughed and paged through it numerous times. I have noticed while watching the TV show "What Not To Wear" the holiday sweaters with all the frou frou is a fashion no-no. This funny book had a take on the holiday themed sweater/sweatshirt by being comical. I bought a plain red sweatshirt, sequin trim, metallic rickrack, rhinestones, dangly trim with Christmas ornaments and some iron-on letters. I'm not sure if I crossed the line into having the sweatshirt gaudy enough. It was a fun exercise in good embellishing and being over the edge. I left the ribbing on the bottom and the cuffs unadorned because of the bulkiness factor and the back alone because I can't see that anyway. Do you think I should "gaud" it up somemore? Maybe the shoulder seams or around the sleeve seam could have added sparkle. Merry Kitschmas!!

Stained Glass Stepping Stone

I like to share any worthy forms of art I enjoy, so today I am praising the stained glass steppping stones of my boyfriend Ken. He has been making stepping stones and garden benches for several years. This stone is a commissioned piece for a Christmas gift. The process is very maticulous from cutting the glass the correct size, grinding the glass edges, trying to get a curved looking line from a straight cut of glass and sticking all the small pieces to contact paper and flipping it in the mold. It is like a pineapple upsidedown cake not a mosaic piece where one works from the top and glues on pieces. If one piece of glass shifts then the there are flaws in the design. The cement process has several steps and then after 20-24 hours of drying time it can be flipped from the mold and grouted. It is so different that painting a picture or sewing a quilt. I'm so used to layering fabrics one on top on another and with stained glass in contrete it in a flat surface made to look dimentional. It has such a smooth surface when the stone is finished you can't help but touch it. I have several in my gardens in my yard and they are all original designs Ken created. You rock honey!!

Commissioned Quilt

I was commissioned to make a small wall hanging for a local friend. His intention was to have two intertwined red roses and his name and his friend's name on the piece. He allowed me to havecreative control of the project. I Googled images of roses to get the best details. I freehanded the drawing and raw edged fused appliqued the roses, stems and leaves. I used three values of red for the roses and did a small amount of permanent marker to detail the flower. I machine quilted the quilt and then added the lettering. The lettering font I find from going to Word Document and then drawing it out on graph paper. I use the same technique to apply the words as the rose. I hope my friend is pleased with the quilt!!

Tina Turner (The Quilt) Back From Her Tour!!

My Tina quilt was ""on tour" with Quilting Arts Magazine at the IQA Chicago Quilt show in April, the IQA Long Beach Quilt show in July and the Biggie IQA Houston Quilt Show in October and is back home in my studio!! I sure missed her!! I have a request for all of you in blog and Facebookland-I wish for Tina Turner to see the quilt I did of her. I am wondering if anyone knows how to do that? I tried on her official website with a downloaded photo and got nowhere. It would be so awesome to have a connection of some sort!! Thanks for any help!!

Menominee Area Art Council (MAAC) Winter Art Exhibit

The Menominee MI Area Art Council has been diligently enriching the community with artwork from area artists. Menominee City Hall officials agreed and have allowed MAAC to put up a seasonal display of artwork on the city hall walls. The first display started on Tuesday, Dec. 1st and will have a winter theme. It will switch to a spring theme in March. I applause city government for supporting community artists. On top of everything else it is FREE!!! I have a quilt that I consider traditional with a snowflake and evergreen tree theme. The photos are various views of the exhibit. Check it out if you are nearby!

www.laurieceesay.com

I want to share the news of my art quilt website www.laurieceesay.com. I've been thinking about it, listed it as a 2009 goal and decided to quit thinking and start doing!! I hired a web designer because I knew I didn't have the computer skills to get the job done. I hired David Walker, of David Walker Web Design, from Cincinnati OH, to create the site. He is a quilter, web designer and photographer. His website is www.davidwalker.us. David is very professional and listened to my requests as well as made recommendations and he gave excellant photography advice. I even picked up some new computer knowledge. It was a learning experience and now I can get back to quilting!! Check it out and let me know what you think!

Bjorklunden Quilt Retreat

I had the pleasure of attending my first quilt retreat. It was in Door County WI at Bjorklunden which is owned by Lawrence University. Lawrence is located in Appleton WI where I used to live. When I lived there I was a member of the Appleton quilt guild and a frequent shopper at the quilt shops and met many local women who quilted. Through Facebook, I reconnected with Jacqi who organized this retreat, and she invited me to join the fun. The photos are of the lounge/dining area; the large sewing area with plenty of room and irons/ironing boards at our disposal and the photo on the right is of the pretty sunrise on Sunday morning. We were on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. We could sew are hearts out with no responsibliities to tend to. The food was prepared for us-we just had to walk to the dining room. I visited with ladies I hadn't seen in years and met some new quilters. Lots of beautiful fabrics, new patterns and ideas to wrap my brain around. It was an adjustment to get home and not be a little selfish with my time because I could sew whenever I felt like it!! But there's no place like home and I missed Ken and the cats and my personal space.

Reginald Baylor:Artist in Residence at The Pfister Hotel Milwaukee WI

I do not have a photo to share but I encourage anyone interested in great art to visit this website www.reginaldbaylor.com. My quilting friend Pat B. was at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee WI and discovered an Artist in Residence Program. She wrote about it on her blog. I was curious and found Reginald's awesome website. His artwork is so happy!!! All bright colors, squiggly lines that reminded me of our kitchen table in the '60's, paper doll fashionistas, black girls with blonde hair and happy suburban houses and gardens. Hopefully this will make you curious to check out his website. I do not get to Milwaukee much since I moved to Yoopertown so if I could I would go to the Pfister and see Reginald's paintings. I find his work inspirational and nice he chooses to work with area school children to create art enrichment for them.

Bras for a Cause/It Needs an Entry Title!!!

I first posted this subject with all the materials laying on a table together ready to put together. So, ta-da, it is finished. The rules stated the bra had to be covered both inside and out and also the straps. I received FREE fabric from Christey S. from Pizazz Salon in Menominee MI and it began with the piece of brown and pink fabric which I used on the back of the bra. Then I felt like using pink, my favorite color, not even thinking about the color for breast cancer research etc. I added ribbon, flower trim, sequin dangly trim on the bottom, felt/rhinestone flowers on the top of the cup area and a ribbon/tulle trim on the straps. I hand sewed the fabric to the bra and hot glued all the frou frou. I do not have to send it off until mid-January so I can enjoy it for a little while. I am donating it for a silent auction. I am having a brain drain with naming it-any possiblitities would be appreciated.

Thanks, lol

Sally Zimmer at Northwoods Quilters

Sally Zimmer on the Cedar River MI area was our guest speaker this morning for my local quilt group The Northwoods Quilters. We are from the Marinette WI/Meniminee MI area and we meet the 2nd Monday of each month. Sally had a ton of show and share. She seems to prefer batiks and has a love of nature quilts. She lives on the water in the woods and has a lot of quilts with bears, fish and birds. She had a large collection of quilted jackets and gave excellent advice on sewing jackets so they fit nice on the body and some construction tips. She was very inspriational. It is nice to have such talent right in our area. Thank you Sally!!

Take 5 Birthday Cake

On Sunday my family met in Green Bay WI to celebrate my birthday which is actually Tuesday. My daughter, Jordana, the chef, baked me this awesome cake based on the candy bar Take 5. It had chocolate, peanuts, peanut butter, caramel and pretzels. I call it Take 5 pounds to each hip!! It was good but rich. We had the run of the restaurant, Republic Chop House, since they're closed on Sunday. It was nice to get together with my family. We all used to live in Appleton WI but my parents are the only ones left there.

Bras for a Cause

I have decided to enter the "Bras for a Cause, Art Stitching Lives Back Together". It sounds like a fun project to do besides quiltmaking. Everyone starts with a bra and decorates it any mixed-art media likefabric, quilting, paint, beads and any type of froufrou. There will be a Best of Show,1st, 2nd and 3rd place and the bras are donated for a silent auction. The proceeds go toward the Florida Patient Assistance Foundation. The dealine to enter is Nov. 30. 2009. For inquiries go to www.lemonststudio.com. I have the bra, a pink floral print, a brown/pink print for the back, a couple of trims, some felt flowers, some pink tulle, a few silk flowers and I'll top it off with some shiny stuff of glitter and rhinestones. I'll post the finished project asap. I had a '80's flashback when I hand sewed gold coins and chains to a bra when I used to bellydance. One had to jingle when we shoulder shimmied!!

I Won Third Place in Marshfield!!!

I entered my quilt "Violetta" at the last minute in the Marshfield WI Treasures of Tomorrow which was held last weekend. Marshfield is too far to travel when I'm working so I mailed my quilt. I received it in the mail today and found out I won third place in the Wall Quilt Art Category!!! I am in the process of having a website created by David Walker Web Design and the $$ won will go towards my upcoming website.

Love This Painting

I was in Marquette MI on Monday. I went to see the Michigan Quilt Art Invitational at the Peter White Public Library. I stumbled upon the Marquette Arts and Culture Center's exhibit in the library as well. I fell in love with this acrylic painting by artist Donna DeLoughary. I tried to find a website/blog for Donna but was unsuccessful. In my own work, my favorite sublect is the portrait and this painting just caught my attention. I love the bright colors and the contrast of the white background. I will continue to search out Donna because I want to tell her I love her painting

Meanwhile I checked out the MQAI exhibit. The theme was "Italy" and there were Tuscan, Venetian, Vatican, and italian cuisine quilts. The two photos are of my favorites.

The photos don't do them justice. The quilt on the left has amazing feather design machine quilting and fun sequins. The quilt on the right was embellished with all kinds of religious trinkets, symbols and crazy quilt embroidery. It was a fun day to enjoy some art whether it's an art quilt or a painting!!

Keepsake Quilting 2007 Revisited

In the fall of 2007 I entered this quilt The Woman With Red Lips" in the Keepsake Quilting "Black, White and Red" Challenge. All participants purchased the same 6 fabrics and were challenged to make a quilt 30"x30". I had never done this challenge thing before and it was the first quilt I mailed off. I received 2nd place out of over 100 entries which was wonderful!!! This shop/business has in their rules 1st and 2nd place become their property for traveling exhibits. I went to a local quilt show in Escanaba MI today knowing the Keepsake Quilting traveling exhibit would be on display. All week I prayed my quilt would be there and I was so happy to see it displayed!! It was like an old friend I have been missing and got to see again. This quilt represents the turning point of my journey to enter regional and national quilt shows and step outside the box. I have several photos of this quilt but to see it again made my day!! I have decided to make another one for myself to replace the one I saw today. I have the original face pattern but plan to tweek it because I can (no rules) and I prefer scrappy quilts to using only 6 fabrics. I will make this quilt the same size and colors.

Pat Bishop

Pat Bishop from Appleton Wisconsin spoke at my local quilt guild, Northwoods Quilts, last evening, Oct. 12, 2009. I know her from when I lived in Appleton and noticed she was excelling in the art quilt qorld. I was impressed with one of her quilts at the Quilt Expo in Madison last year and another quilt at the Appleton Art Center. Her work features nature themes, lots of thread painting and she is currently exploring abstract art quilts. My camera was being stupid and I do not have a photo to share with you. Pat has a quilting blog. www.patbishop.blogspot.com to check out. She is doing lectures for area quilt groups. Check out her beautiful quilts and her informational lectures. Go Pat!!

Can one quilt w/o being a packrat????

I'm hooked a new T.V. show on A & E called "Hoarders". It shows people with hoarders disorder. They have so much stuff they are ofter court ordered to remove their "stuff" or they will be evicted or their children will be removed from the home. It gets me thinking about my quilting. There is a standard joke among quilters that the one with the most fabrics wins!! Also if you are a quilter who embellishs your quilts, don't you need a supply of frou frou and bling?? And I have to have the varigated thread in every color!! I am fairly tidy because I have a small area in my studio and my significant other is a minimalist. So after watching "Hoarders" week after week, I decided to go through my fabric totes and downsize my stash. We all make fabric purchases that later we shake our heads at. I intend to donate this fabric to my local quilt guild The Northwoods Quilters. There is a group of ambitious women who make many quilts for charity and they can use the fabric. I figured my leftovers would be better served than at a thrift store. It was a good feng shui moment!

Violetta

I showed this quilt in it's earliest stages and now it is finished. I am pleased with the contrast of light and dark. I like the gradation of greens in the background and love the spiky hair. I used batiks for the raw edged fused applique because of the tightly woven quality of the fabrics. I embellished the quilt with beads in the green background, rhinestones in the outer border, blue glitter eyeliner and some pink, green and purple paintstiks on the hair to highlight areas. I intend to enter it in upcoming shows in 2010.

Ist Place!!!!

I entered this quilt in the Michigan Quilt Network's Quilt Show "Show Your Colors!" in Lansing MI on September 10-13, 2009.I call the quilt "The Blue Wig". I was not at the show so I mailed my quilt to the show and it arrived back home today and I was pleased to see I had received a blue ribbon.

Wisconsin Quilt Expo

I just returned from the regional quilt show in Madison WI. It is sponsored by Nancys Notions and Wisconsin Public Television. I entered a quilt for the first time after attending it the last two yrs. Iwas thrilled to have been juried into this show and not at all sad/mad I did not receive a ribbon. As my quilting friend, Jeanne P. from Kaukauna WI, calls the judging a "crap shoot". This is a great philosphy to take or you would made yourself crazy. I used a pattern from a book called "StrataVarious Quilts" for the background. I used 48 rainbow colored batiks. They are strip pieced and then cut into squares on point in various sizes and sewn back together. Then I drew a picture of the woman and raw edge fused appliqued it to the quilt. I went crazy with embellishing from beads to an electrical cord to felt to tulle. This quilt wil be exhibited at the AQS IOWA Show late October.

Should Quilts Be in Museums??

As I turn toward art quilts ,and away from traditional quilts, my thoughts lean toward artsy things. I want quilts in museums and art galleries!! They have categories when there is a call for artists called "fiber art". Isn't a quilt fiber? I think quilts can no longer be considered blankets that just keep us warm. I have had people assume if I was a quiltmaker then I made blankets. After doing show and tell at the local quilt guild, and displaying a wall hanging with lots of embellishments, a member asked me how I planned to wash it. I explained to her it was to hang on the wall like a piece of art and wouldn't need laundering. I have been entering a few of my art quilts in area art shows and exhibits. I want to share art quilts with everyone-especially those who would never see them at a traditional quilt show. I hope to show that art quilts are justified as art and belong in the galleries and museums along with the oils, acrylics, metals and sculptures. On a side note, I was reading in the SAQA Summer '09 magazine about should quilters study art? Some art quilters come from an art background, say as a painter, and have studied these things. And some art quilters start as traditional quilters where they have relied on the quilt store to choose their next project (kits). To learn the principles of design is important in all aspects of design be it quilting, gardening, decorating or fashion design. So yes, study the arts--it can only move you to a higher understanding of why your art quilts are improving and are more pleasing to the eye!!! Maybe your next masterpiece will win a ribbon at the national quilt shows!!

MICHIGAN QUILT NETWORK

I am submitting my quilted wall hanging called "The Blue Wig" in the Michigan Quilt Network's "Share Your Colors" Quilt Show in Lansing MI on Sept. 11-13, 2009. I am entered in the challenge quilt category. Each of us who wanted to be challenged were given 2 crayons and the rules were to use only these colors in any value and black/white and 1 other color. I will not be attending this show because I live closer to WI and will be attending the Quilt Expo in Madison WI the same weekend. Each show has a website: www.wiquiltexpo.com and www.michiganquiltnetwork.net.

Site Activation

Site Activation: "
Power By Ringsurf"

Site Activation

Site Activation: "
Power By Ringsurf"

How I begin a new quilt

It is time to start a new project. I found the photo on the upper left in a salon hair magazine. Igrided the design then enlarged it. Then I draw the design on the enlarged grid. The middle photo is the enlarged drawing which becomes my future pattern pieces. I flip the paper over and draw the images in reverse. These reverse images are then drawn on fused webbing. I felt like working in purples and blue greans. I love scrappy quilts and I pull from my stash those colors in all values, lots of batiks and small and medium scale prints. Then I chose which ones I want where. I chose greens for the background; light purples for the face and dark purple for the hair. The photo on the right is most of the pattern pieces cut out, layered and fused to the background. I added two borders with one to go. I've learned the small fused pieces fall off if I put them on now, like the nostrils and eyelashes, so they will be fused at the last moment before I sandwich the batting and backing to the quilt. So far so good. I look for balance of the two color families, value of each color, scale of the fabric prints, placement of the figure in the background and size of the borders. time to sew on the final border.

Hi Everyone!!!

I finally did it and created a blog!!!!!!!! I am a contemporary quilter and am exploring the internet as a way of marketing my artwork, showing the process I use to develop/create my quilts, and spir interest in quilt guilds, shops and shows to invite me to teach and/or lecture about my quilts, art, fashion, color theory and karma. I have a degree in Clothing, Textiles and Design and have been a hairdresser in Wisconsin for 2o yrs. and for 2 yrs. in Menominee MI where I currently live. Being a hairdresser inspires my interest in hairstyles, fashion, make up. I love retro prints and fasihon, flowers and fairies!

The photo is of my latest quilt. I call it "1974" because I planned to do a quilt with a '70's theme, awarm colors and a female image. of a black woman. I was working on the quilt around the same time I attended my 35th Class Reunion hence the name of the quilt. It is an original design using a raw edged fused applique technique for the woman's image. I drew a large foundation paper piece to create the sunburst background. I embellished the quilt with yarn, paint, glitter, rhinestones, beads and sequins. It is machine quilted on my Viking Sapphire sewing machine which I hug daily!!

With my blog I want to show the steps I take to ge to the finished quilt. I am starting a new quilt and will show some photos soon. Peace Love and Art!!!!