Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2011: "Jello Anyone?"

This is my entry in the Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2011 "Art in the Kitchen."  The full schedule is is at www.saqami.blogspot.com. The exhibit begins in Flint MI in Sept. and my city, Menominee MI, will

have this exhibit in April/May of 2012. My inspiration was the 1950s pastel colors, pin-up girls, jello and aprons. I began with googling 1950s kitchen appliances. I was getting the 1940s and the 1950s style and colors mixed up. I realized that pastels with black and white were the colors of the '50s as in the '50s diners so the floor became black and white checkered and appliances were still white in this decade.  Pink is my favorite color and I chose the cupboards to be pink, the walls in turquiose and the counter top black. There is a ton of shiny chrome in the '50s so the edge of the counter and the handles of the cupboards, the stove hardware were all appliqued in a silver lame fabric. The clock was inspired by the game Yoville on Facebook when they had a '50s theme!! The woman is inspired by the pin up girl of the times but with a family friendly wardrobe! Aprons were hot then and I designed the top of the apron to be heart shaped. Rick rack was also popular and I added baby rick rack on the apron. I also noticed sleeves were gathered into the armhole and there was a pointy cuff. Pumps were fashionable in the '50s as well as rhinestone jewelry. Her hair is black to stay within the color scheme I had selected. The jello in the mold idea came about because it was a big dessert item at the time. I created the whipping cream decorations around the jello by "gooping" white paint around the jello and on the woman's finger. I embellished blue glitter in the hair, rhinestones for the necklace and earring, silver paint to accent the clock, salt and pepper shakers, and stove details. The woman's face was too small to applique so I drew it on the fabric with markers and detailed it with paint and cosmetic "blush." This was a total fun quilt to make because it was fun researching the details and then creating it in fabric. The quilts are sized 20" x 24". The title of the quilt is "Jello Anyone?" and is for sale on the exhibit tour. I can't wait to see how the other artist interpreted the kitchen theme.

Lady Liberty

This quilt called "Lady Liberty" is in the same style as my mermaid quilt in which I am able to have lots of background fabrics with a figure over the top. I like the image of the Statue of Liberty and I love red, white and blue fabrics and I didn't really have a 4th Of July quilt for my wall so it HAD to be made!! Most fabrics were from my stash with a few newbies. I was inspired by my local church's weekly bulletin from last 4th of July. But I changed the hat, the face, the clothes and added the stars and tablet. I used 30 different fabrics and places them with the light colors in the middle so when I placed the applique over the pieced background the image would be visible. I used patriotic  colors of Sulky thread to quilt the piece and sewed red, white and blue buttons in 3 sizes around the quilt. I added a bit of blue glitter to the edges of the gown and to the "I" because I didn't think it stood out enough. I may add a few rhinestones for the fun factor!! This quilt is for my wall and I don't think it's "juried" show material just a fun little project!!

Sacred Threads Exhibit

I have posted about "Venus Rising:Out of Addiction" in January for a local gallery exhibit. When I made it for the local show I also was planning to enter it in the Sacred Threads Exhibit in the Washington D.C. area which is June 22-July 4, 2011. My quilt was accepted into the exhibit and I just mailed it to Virginia!! I discovered this exhibit in 2007 and said I would enter in 2009 and then spazzed out and missed the deadline so I was alert for 2011. I knew I wanted to have a quilt representing addiction because addiction has affected several close family and friends. The reason for the exhibit is to have spiritiual ideas in quiltmaking. There are six categories-spirituality, joy, inspiration, peace/brotherhood, grief and healing. I chose to put my quilt in the healing category. I will not be going to the exhibit since I do not live near DC and I have a job etc. but they are creating a CD and many of the quilts will be on their website in the future. It is an interesting concept and I will consider doing this again in 2013. The website is www.sacredthreadsquilts.com for further information.

Are You Also an "American Picker"?

There is a television show on one of the cable channels called "American Picker" where two guys travel across the country and purchase used/vintage/retro items for themselves or they sell it and make $$. In Menominee MI, where I live, they do a Spring Clean-up at the curb in May. It's very tempting to find a few goodies on the side of the road for the garden!! I know of people who take vacation days to hunt for things!! My boyfriend, Ken, who is just as bad as me, brought home this table and I was way excited! I should have taken a before photo of the plain brown table but... I primed it white and then started painting. I am loving oranges in the garden this year and many of my annuals are orange mixed with pinks, yellows and blues. The first photo is the finished table with a few plants on it and the second photo is the fun wood details which makes it so special. I also discovered a new magazine called Flea Market Gardening and realized there are lots of "pickers" out there. Are you??  P.S. It is too nice outside to be in my studio and I will finish my statue of liberty quilt before the 13th of June when my guild meets.