Artsy Chick Quilts

Be Positive

2012-01-12T06:37:00.000-06:00

I have a co-worler at Pizazz Salon who loves snowmen and her birthday was Jan. 2nd. I used the Be Attittudes book by Art To Heart and made her a little quilt seen in the second photo.. It was fun to make because I love blues and reds together and I love words on quilts. Sherrie loved the gift!! As I was putting the book away I flipped through it to see what the other messages where that I hadn't used before I found "be positive" and thought how appropriate for Pizazz Salon. I am a believer in Universal Law/the Secret and the salon I work at has had a loss of a few staff and morale is a bit low. I like the size and shape of the lettering in the Art to Heart book and I combined my image from my Angelina pattern to make the quilt in the first photo. I changed the mouth to a smile (she kind of has a Disney character face!), used rainbow colors and thread painted a sun in the upper left corner and hearts on her cheeks. (Rainbows, sunny disposition, have a heart etc.) I used the 'fancy" flower stitch from my Viking Sapphire sewing machine to a few of the borders. Miss Pizazz has highlights and lowlights in her hair and a layered inverted bob and some bronze glitter eyeliner. I hung it in a visable high traffic area in the salon and my co-workers seem to like it and it may be a reminder to change our mood if needed.

Be Joyful

2011-12-21T07:56:00.000-06:00

At the hair salon I work at we do a Secret Santa exchange and I got the same co-workers name I had 3 yrs. ago. I made her a wall hanging for the salon and it's still hanging there across from the shampoo bowls. I Facebook messaged her adult daughter and asked what her Christmas decor style was because I wanted to make a Christmas wall hanging. The daughter suggested golds and I decided to make a gold version of the "Be Attitudes" book of mini quilts by Art to Heart/Nancy Halverson. I have made several of these little quilts because I love the lettering/messages and they are whimsical, fun and easy to make. The golds were readily available at Pine Street Quilts, my Tuesday job, and I had fun doing a gold monochromatic color scheme. I don't have a lot of gold embellishments because I lean toward silver but I found a few gold beads for the end of the Santa hat and I had brown beads which became Santa's eyes. I used a Q-tip and some blush to add color to Santa's cheeks. We do the gift exchange on Friday so I get to enjoy this little quilt until then. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a creative, healthy and abundance 2012. Laurie :)

Cardinals at My Bird Feeder

2011-12-16T08:12:00.000-06:00

While working at Pine Street Quilts, I stared at the fabric with the cardinals and decided I needed (wanted) a piece of it for a wall hanging. Ken feeds the birds outside of my sewing room window and the male and female cardinals have been showing up and I thought a cardinal quilt was timely for the season. I gravitate toward florals but told myself that florals/girlie prints and winter do not go together and I chose wintery, outdoorsy and woodsy themed fabrics. My pattern is a free download from Blank Quilting called "Duquesa" which I tweeked a bit. I love this pattern-when it is in its original size from the pattern it has a 4' x8" flying geese block. This one is a 3" x 6" block and I have also done a mini 2" x 4" block. The math is pretty basic to convert the pattern smaller!! I used a piece of hand "rusted" fabric from my art quilt friend Pat Bishop from Appleton in the center area under the red silk leaves. She was at quilt retreat and warned me that it will be hard to quilt because it was such a heavy weight fabric. She was right and I had to do a minimal amount of quilting in that area. I usually add bling to my work but since this represents winter and the outdoors it didn't seem appropriate so I added a few silk leaves and in the close up photo I show the cardinal button I added to the center of the quilt. I tend to select bright colors and when chosing fabric for this quilt I found I was lacking in golds and rust tones but I made it work (Tim Gunn!!) and was able to pull fabrics from my stash to complete this quilt.

Card of Hope

2011-12-09T09:22:00.000-06:00

I have a customer in the hair salon that I have known for a few yrs. and she stopped in the salon last week on the day I am not there because I am at the Quilt store. She told the salon owner she just found out she had lung cancer and wanted an emergency short haircut. I wanted to reach out to her by sending her a card since I couldn't talk to her personally that day. I thought why not send an art card instead of a store bought card!! I found out online green is the color of hope and I happened to have some predone green batik strips to make her card. I free motion stitched "hope" in the cheekbone area and kept it subtle and did not add any bling. I then flipped it over and added lots of inspirational messages and dropped it in the mail. I received an e-mail from Sharon and she loved the card and the thought behind it. So art can be a form of inspiration and not just an aesthetic image.

My Newest Hat

2011-12-03T13:21:00.000-06:00

I discovered this funky hat pattern at Keep Me in Stitches Quilt Shop in Appleton WI, my hometown, and where my quilt friend Jacqi owns the shop. The pattern is called "We're All Mad Here" by The Quilted Fish. www.the quiltedfishpatterns.com. I decided to make the hat in Christmas colors and it called for 3 fabrics and double fold bias tape which you could have substituted bias cut fabric. There is Fast2Fuse or Peltex in the brim, sides and top of the hat and there is about 25% sewing and 75% hot glueing the parts together and securing the ribbons and do dads. I purchased some holiday wire ribbon and I had a large sequin Christmas thingie which I took apart and only used 5 strands to get the vertical frou frou!!. I need to get a plastic headband to actually wear it since a hairclip wasn't enough to hold it to my head.

The second photo is a different view of the hat from the top. This project went way too fast compared to the other hats I have been making. I said to myself "I'm done already?!!" I will wear it to work at the quilt store and the hair salon the week before Christmas and on Christmas Day with my family.

Back to Back Quilt Retreats!!!

2011-11-22T20:27:00.000-06:00

I work one day a week at Pine Street Quilts in Marinette WI and the owners treated the staff to a "sleep in your own bed" quilt retreat the weekend of Nov. 11-13. I made this cute hat for Jordana, my daughter, who requested pink, white and black. I had tons to of trouble making this and didn't like the instructions. I said I would never make another one and when I gave Jordana the hat she loved it and when we were in Joann Fabrics she saw the "tacky" Hello Kitty Christmas fabric and Xmas peace sign fabric and asked if I'd make another hat. She picked out red feathers and a lime green sequin flower for embellishments. The next 2 pics are the finished hat. I aplogize for the photography. It was easier to do this hat since I did it MY way not following the instructions

I will see Jordana on Thanksgiving and she plans to wear it shopping on Black Friday.

these little purses I made at the first retreat. I made one for myself and love the small size, zippered pockets and long shoulder strap. I made these 2 as Christmas gifts. I added the pattern to the picture in case you want to make one.

Then there is a boomerang pillow that Jordana bought and it came with a thin white yucky pillowcase. She asked me to sew her one-I did a few quick measurements, since I couldn't find any pattern or universal sizing, and used this great large scale Alexander Henry print. It looks kind of weird and I hope it is the correct size. I made it large and if I have to take it in that's okay.

I made 7 of my favorite postcards using Christmas colors and a bit of red glitter. They will be Christmas cards for my special peeps!!

I also nearly finished the 2012 Hoffman Challenge but that one is a secret until next summer. I am entering a wall hanging in the Milwaukee WI Public TV "Quilting is Art" Art Auction next spring and I started this project as well.

The second retreat was NOv. 18-20 in Door County WI at a beautiful facility that Lawrence University of Appleton WI owns. I get to see quilters from Appleton, where I used to live, sew my brains out and eat awesome food (too much!!) I was able to visit a quilt shop in Sister Bay WI and found some great batiks. It was a great time and now it's back to reality with responsiblities etc. but there's no place like home....

South of the Border Exhibit at Spies Library

2011-11-15T09:39:00.000-06:00

Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2010 themed "South of the Border" is on display at Spies Public Library Gallery, Menominee MI currently until Friday December 30, 2011 during library hours. This is a group of art quilters from both Upper and Lower Michigan that create a 20" x 24" themed wall hanging of their choice and the exhibit travels throughout the state and is free of charge to view.This years theme is "South of the Border" and of the 30 quilts displayed I am teasing you with 7 of the beautiful quilts. The warm tropical flavor of the exhibit is just in time for the midwest cold weather approaching!! Check it out if you are able. As a quilter I am amazed by the wonderful techniques especially the outer edges and bindings or lack of a binding!!This blue and white quilt has such awesome contrast

and the tile wall looks so real!!

What can I say-this quilt has all the colors of Mexico and South America!!

This piece got my attention because it wasn't bright and it created a calmness in me when I viewed it!!

This quilt has my favorite-circles in it and I love the fabric fringy lower edge!! What a great idea!!

This chihauhau quilt is called "Border Patrol" and has me laughing since I love the movie "Beverly Hills Chihauhau" and thought of the talking chihauhaus!!

This blue and orange wall hanging is by my blog friend Robbie Payne and needs to be seen up close since her detail work is mind blowing. You rock Robbie!!

This piece has lots of chenille which gives oodles of texture and very colorful!!

I hope you are teased and tempted and have the chance to see this colorful, happy and creative art quilt exhibit!!

Thread+Cat=Curtain

2011-10-29T12:40:00.000-05:00

I decided to tackle the sewing room and clean, purge and organize because it needed it and I am going on 2 quilt retreats in November and want to be onganized. So I have this lovely thread rack Ken made and I have the thread organized by color but...

there is my cat Mia, age 13, who has Pica and gets in my thread and then has to go to the vet for thread removal. She had 2 surgeries in 2003 when I lived in Appleton WI and I have to constantly my on guard with thread, tinsel, rafia, curly gift ribbon, threads hanging from towels amd fabric raw edges. Pica is eating non-edible things. The thread gets all tangles up in her intestines and could sever them which almost happens in '03. I quit sewing for 2 years because I was so upset by this but went back to it becasue I love to sew and quilt and I covered my thread.

I thought all was well in my house in Menominee until last January when the vet found thread wrapped around Mia's tongue. Now I have a cafe' rod and a curtain I made, a wastebasket with a cover, and a covered box to store my bobbins. Sometimes I still catch her going under the curtain for a snack but she knows when she's caught she's in deep doo-doo!! What we don't do to have pets in our houses!!

The Art Garage Project: Art Meets Heart 2012

2011-10-28T09:35:00.000-05:00

I did this fundraiser last year at the Art Garage in Green Bay WI and it was fun so here is my entry for the February 2012 exhibit. Each artist gets a 6" x 6" canvas to do anything they want with it and they are placed together to form a huge heart on the gallery wall. Then the pieces are auctioned off for the American Heart Association. Last year I did a mixed media piece with paper and minimal fabric and I am over the mixed media thing-I am a FIBER artist and why compromise!! Here is a picture of last years display:

This piece began with my fabric postcard design adding 2" more and some hair. I was in the mood for greens and orangey reds and strip pieced batiks. I fused and stitched the applique on w/o batting (weird) and zigzagged the raw edges. I stapled the fabric around the canvas then glued rhinestones near the eye, some Jacquard paint and some green glitter eyeliner (Urban Decay!!) to accent it and wha-la it was finished in less than 24 hours. There was no quilting or binding so it isn't really a quilt but a fiber art piece. I am calling it "Heartburn and Green Around the Gills!! I deliver it in November and the exhibit runs the month of February at The Art Garage.

Sapphire and Topaz

2011-10-26T14:44:00.000-05:00

This is the photo of the brain buster quilt!! It is big for me at 51" x 40" and I am entering it in an unknown contest based on a minimum size requirement. The design influence began with a small photo of a hairstyle in one of the beauty supply catalogs I receive. I have a female attorney as a hair customer and consulted with her about copyrights and using this photo. After the conversation I decided to mirror image the woman in the picture, change the colors of the hair, and I added things to the face and hair and took away the body of the woman. I feel it is okay now and is not a copy but an inspiriation. Any thoughts on this subject??

I then decided to work in a blue and orange color palette because I was doing the lecture on the elements of design and these colors kept popping up in the research. I also have not worked in this color combo so why not. Pink is my favorite color but orange is my new favorite and I had fun with these colors. They remind me of Appleton West High School colors and the orange reminds me of summer, sunsets and warmth!!

I chose a realistic color palette for the face and suprisingly I kept the face fairly simple without glitter and rhinestones because I thought it turned out nice the way it was. The way the batik was cut I was able to get great shading without trying too hard!!

For the hair I found this great metallic which had both blue and orange and a batik that was interesting. for the highlights/lowlights.

The background was made of various oranges cut into squares and I sewed many, one weeks worth of, circles to look like a bullseye using an orange variageted thread. The blue outer border repeats the circle motif and is free motion quilted with a freeform flower design using a Sulky Blendables thread. I always block my quilts when they are finished but this piece became very distorted from the circular quilting and I "preblocked" the quilt and then added the flowers, binding, and embellishments and blocked it again when it was completed.

Next I used three different large scale florals and fussy cut them to add to the outer border, the hair, cheeks and a few scattered. I then sewed blue felt and regular buttons to repeat the circle theme and orange flower buttons, both felt and regular, to the quilt. I have beads in both colors in various sizes to accent the flowers using Silamide thread which is awesome!!

This quilt took me so long mostly because of all the machine quilting and hand stitched beads/buttons. I named it after the color theme and "Blue and Orange" seemed a bit bland so it became "Sapphire and Topaz" since topaz is my birthstone so it seemed fitting.

Sunflowers and Cat Tails

2011-10-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

I have been unable to post any finished projects because I was working on two things at once and nothing was getting done. The intense quilt which I am making for a quilt contest had to be set aside to give my brain a break. During the brain vacation I worked on this wall hanging. It began as a pre-printed South Seas Imports panel which I stared at while working at Pine Street Quilts. The manufacturer had a pattern for it but I wanted to make it "artsier!" I usually poo-poo panels but this one spoke to me!! I went into my stash and found many oranges, golds, yellows with a few greens and browns for the outer border. I did a gradation of color around the panel placing the browns at the bottom and the brightest yellows near the top. I stitched a decorative flower stitch in the black area of the panel and free motion quilted the remainer with one of my new Sulky Blendable threads called Sundown which is a beautiful rich gold/yellow combo. I embellished with the fun felt sunflowers from Hobby Lobby, a few rhinestones in the pieces border, some glitter nail polish on the flowers and some beading on the flower centers using my new Silamide thread (thanks Robbie!). My boyfriend Ken thought it should run horizontally-I showed him the manufacturers example which ran vertically and that's why I placed the quilt vertical like a banner. Horizontal or vertical?? Here a some close up photos. I love the beautiful autum colors in the quilt!!

I Can't Stop Making These Things!!

2011-09-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

I love batiks and all the color combinations you can create with them and I love the new felt buttons available to us and I can't stop making these postcards!! These two cards are made as birthday cards for two of my friends who have upcoming birthdays. I will mail them in envelopes to avoid the post office drama of trying to explain hand cancelling and them being confused and overcharging me postage. I added some glitter to enhance the eyes area and added a "pretend" nose piercing! Now back to the brain busting quilt!!

No Brainer and Big Concentration Projects

2011-09-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

The photo above is the no brainer project. I love making these strip pieced and raw edged fused appliqued fabric postcards. I have made many and was in the autumn mood and plan to send a few to my friends with fall birthdays. I found the fun felt buttons in a leaf shape at Joanns. They came in three colors and I sewed one of each to the postcard for a bit of texture and dimension. I added some orange glitter/glue to the eyes and to make it look like a nose piercing.

Then the other photo is a teaser of my entry in the 2011 Joann Fabrics Quilt Challenge. It is the huge brain buster project that I only do 2-3 times a year because i want it perfect for a conpetition. I was one of the top 20 last year and my goal is to be in the top 10+. The rules for the quilt size is 36" x 36" minimum and this one is horizontal at 53" x 43." I have this attraction to orange since gardening season began and it's overflowed into my quilts as well. I wanted to work in the blue and orange color combo and it was a "challenge" finding fabrics that I liked at Joanns that had prints with these two colors in them and finding enough batiks to do at least the face. I also was trying to find florals in blue-not easy! I went to the Madison East, Green Bay and Escanaba MI stores and finally felt like I had enough fabric selctions to work with. I'm used to going to my stash and/or purchasing extra at the local quilt stores and not relying on just Joann Fabrics for my fabric choices-perhaps that's part of the challenge!! I have all the applique pieces stitched in place and I am quilting the orange background in a circular "bullseye" pattern at the moment. I have plenty to do but the deadline isn't until January 2012 so I'm good. I setnit aside and do the no-brainer sewing. I plan to make another hat soon and more cards and the list never ends...!! I am never bored and that's a good thing

SAQA Auction Piece is Sold!!

2011-09-18T14:15:00.000-05:00

This quilt sized 12 x 12 was my donation to the Studio Art Quilt Associates 2011 Auction. I call it "The Woman with Copper Hair." I have been a member of this art quilt group for two yrs. + and thought it would be nice to donate a piece for their yearly auction which raises money for thier educational events. A lovely individual from Mountain View CA purchased my little lady and the woman with copper hair lives far from me in California.

The first part of the auction is done and Section 2 begins on Monday Sept. 19th. This is the website to access the auction-www.saqa.com

I would like to share my good news of me now being a PAM (Professional Artist Membership) which I had to apply for through the SAQA webiste. I did this in March and was not accepted. They didn't care for the borders on several of my quilts. I thought about what they said and I agreed and the majority of my new work has no borders. I reapplied in August with newer/borderless art quilts and I was accepted. This is a competitive thing for me that doesn't mean much to many outside of this group but I wanted it bad!!

Wisconsin Quilt Expo 2011

2011-09-09T09:26:00.000-05:00

I want to share this book by Joen Wolfgram. When I spoke at the WI Quilt Expo on the Element and Principles of Design someone in my class asked about a great color resourse. I didn't think to bring the book so I'm hoping they go to my blog and see this post!! This book is a awesome and very visual and well worth a purchase.

This is a sample of the items I purchased at the expo. I love Sulky Blendables Thread and I got to share an elevator with the company owner and I told him how I loved his thread!! When I got to the Sulky Booth I was way excited to find they had created 42 new colors to join the already 84 colors. I bought 5 colors but wanted all 42 but couldn't justify $189!! I finally found the Silimide thread for sewing beads on quilts. The vendor I purchased this from is Bead Ranch from Oklahoma and it was a very fun and inspirational booth. The owner Sherrill and I had good karma!! I found these great floral prints in my favorite colors-pink and red. I have no idea as to what I'll do with it but I purchased a necklace/earring set at the West Towne Mall at Charming Charlies in these colors so maybe a funky hat or a garment.

I am having visual overload from my purchases and all the literature I grabbed. Then I also decided to buy my fabric at Joann Fabrics for their next quilt challenge. I am working in blues and oranges (complementaries!) I discovered these colors together are not common at Joann but I will go to my "local" store in Green Bay. Until next time..

Funky Hat Pattern

2011-09-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

I was in Appleton WI on Monday and had a chance to visit Keep Me in Stitches, a colorful fun quilt shop, and my daughter Jordana spotted this cute hat with a ruffle on the band and a flower pin with a button in the middle. Jordana asked me if I would make her one in hot pink, black and white and I wanted mine in greens. I was pleased to discover the pattern was sized from infant to adult. There is fusible fleece for the brim and fusible interfacing for the body of the hat.

So here is my finished hat modeled by the lovely Erica-my hairdressing manniquin with my pink/red Halloween wig!! Once I read the directions the construction went well and it wasn't difficult. There is a buttonhole in the band to help anchor the flower and I've had my sewing machine 3 yrs. and didn't know how to do a buttonhole!! So I got out the owners manual and learned something new today. The flower went together in 10 min. and I used a large purple felt flower shaped button, a medium hot pink flower shaped button and a green small shank button to the center of the flower. I hand stitched a pin back to the flower and pinned it to the band where the buttonhole is. When I make Jordana's hat I will tweak it a bit to my liking. I really like the flower pin idea and plan to make oodles of them since Christmas is coming...

Altered Couture:Fun and Finished

2011-08-27T17:36:00.000-05:00

Here is the finished project in which I posted last Sunday with the original jacket and now the jacket is a vest. I used the flowered fabric on the front and back yokes and the striped fabric on the collar and the inset belt. I chose to hand sew the fabric to the denim because I had more control than with the sewing machine. I added a multi color trim to the armholes and a multi color flower theme trim to the collar with hand sewing as well. I then took these fun flower shaped buttons and added them to the front band area. The hard part to decide when to quit adding embellishments.

In the back I decided to not add buttons beauase they can rub on things and break and/or fall off. I didn't add the flowery trim to the waist area because I didn't want to draw the eye to my waist!! I kept the interest up high and away from the parts of me that I don't want to accentuate. I thought it had enough doo dads and quit!! I can wear it this fall with a short sleeve t-shirt and when it gets cold I can wear a long sleeved t-shirt or in the summer with a sundress. I will wear it to the WI Quilt Expo and be able to use parts of my vest as a learning tool for my lecture. Below are two close ups of the vest.

New Project: Altered Couture

2011-08-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

I went to the Green Bay St. Vinny's Store to find jackets to alter and embellish. I found this srtetch denim jacket for $3 and will slice and dice and add to it to take it from boring to fun and colorful!!! I plan to finish it and wear it for my lecture at the WI Quilt Expo on Sept. 8, 2011.

I chose these two fabrics to add some color, pattern and ruffles. I will add plenty of embellishments and variegated threads. I have already cut the sleeves off and am excited to do some "altered couture" like the magazine and Project Runway!! What would Tim Gunn say???

Wisconsin Quilt Expo 2011

2011-08-17T10:04:00.000-05:00

I am posting about the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison WI on Sept. 8-10, 2011 because it is a fantastic regional quilt show and I am presenting a lecture on Thursday Sept. 8th. I will be lecturing on "Create Better Quilts Using the Elements and Principles of Design" My lecture is at 1pm. I am excited to share my love of art and design and a bit nervous too! I have made a decision to pursue the workshop/lecture process and have a nervous excitement about this!!

I have a quilt in the show and I chose "Bubbly Blonde" because I am rebellious toward the typically traditional judges at this show and thought this would be a good choice!! I few of my Appleton WI art quilters are not entering in the Madison show anymore because they feel the judges award ribbons to the traditional quilts and ignore the art quilts. I like the huge traffic flow and the fact that my quilt is viewed by 1000s is awesome regardless of a ribbon. I find quilters may not want to create their own art quilt but they enjoy looking at them in a quilt show. I chose this quilt because it is so oversized and bold with the crazy blue eye shadow, frosty lips and circles. Perhaps it will get at least a chuckle out to the judges!!

The website for the expo is www.wiquiltexpo.com. Go to classes to register for my lecture or any other one. Hope you can attend!!

Quick and Easy

2011-08-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

This was a quick and easy Mary Engelbreit panel I picked up in the Sturgeon Bay, WI quilt store last November when I was on my quilt retreat. I purchased it for my sister Wendy whose birthday is today. We both love Mary Engelbreit, she is also a gardener and has a three seasons room with these colors. I machine quilted the borders by using two decorative stiches from my sewing machine using flower motifs. I added baby blue rick rack on the small blue border and a few yellowish rhinestones on the background. I didn't want to get carried away. Sometimes it's good to free the mind and do some easy projects to feel accomplished yet not overwork the brain!! It is cutesy but I like cutesy/whimsical sometimes. The second photo is details of the quilting and embellishments. Wendy is not a follower of my blog so it's safe to post this and have the gift a surprise.

I have been busy with entering upcoming quilt shows such as Road 2 California and the Bonifas Art Center in Ecanaba, MI and prepping for teaching in Sept. and Oct. Lots of paperwork, computer time and CD prepping. It's a necessary part of the process but not my favorite. I will post later about the teaching gigs!!

Heaven or Hell Exhibit

2011-08-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

I belong to an artists group in Green Bay WI called New Art Council and they posted a Call to Entry for an exhibit called Heaven or Hell. Green Bay Community Church is hosting a non-juried art exhibit with a heaven or hell theme. Since I practice Universal Law/The Secret I thought I would stick with the positve and explore the Heaven theme. So what is Heave to me-a perennial garden that had no zones or seasons except summer??!! I used my Angelina pattern and made it in my coloring but my hair isn't that big, my glasses are off and my lips aren't pouty like that!! Then I fussy cut flowers from my large scale floral stash in a rainbow gradation of colors. I added a applique of Opie,my orange tabby who is in cat heaven, on the lower right. I embellished with my collection of flower buttons, felt flowers, beads, rhinestones, glitter, nail polish and fabric paint. I added some funky flower trim to the bottom because I liked how it looked. The exhibit runs Aug. 28-Oct. 15, 2011 at Green Bay Community Church, 600 Cardinal Lane, Green Bay WI.

I Went to the Dark Side-Traditional Quilting!!

2011-07-29T20:28:00.000-05:00

While working on tuesdays at Pine Street Quilts I kept sharing at the large floral print and loved it. I realized I could not use it in my portrait quilts except in a border and that seemed boring. So I used one of my favorite tradional patterns from www.BlankQuilting.com and is a free download. I have always switched up the design a bit but love the symetrical balanced look of the quilt. I skipped the extra borders and used more of the large floral. I found a fun stripe, which I love to have in my quilts, and the rest of the fabrics are from my stash. I like to buy the dollar store hawaian leis and take them apart and sew them on to quilts-I have some of those in this quilt. I found a large colorful lei at Hobby Lobby and that's where the large hot pink flowers come from. I have three colors/sizes of rhinestones, some flower themed beads, and some purple felt buttons as embellishments. I added a little purple glitter nail polish on the pink flowers for fun. I call the quilt "Fiori de Magenta" which means magenta flowers in Italian. I am fascinated by Italy and things Italian so that how it got the name. The quilt is 48" x 48".The second photo is a detail view of the flowers, glitter and felt buttons. I think I will enter this quilt in the Road to California show in a category I usually I don't enter. Then it's up to the jury people to decide if it's worthy. Back to art quilts!!!

Bubbly Blonde Heads to Madtown!!

2011-07-27T06:55:00.000-05:00

Bubbly Blonde has been juried into the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison WI which is Sept. 8-10, 2011. I made this quilt because I love the 1960s fashions-Twiggy, pop art, Gucci prints, crazy eyelashes and frosty lipstick. I didn't plan a secondary them of circles but it just happened. I used an awesome Kaffe Fassett circular print and started cutting it up and appliquing it around the quilt. About the time I was going to quilt this piece I received a judge's comment about me not quilting enough on the face of the woman in that quilt. I purposely leave certain areas to show depth and dimensions but since she was a traditional quilter...I have a rebellious side that said "I'll show you quilting on the face!!" so I went nuts and the close-up view shows the details. I have flowers, rainbows, sunrises etc. Very free spirited!! I embellished with pale yellow nail polish, vinyl for the earring, large sequins from Christmas garland, Shiva Paintstiks and glitter. I have not had this quilt at a show yet besides my local library gallery so I am excited to display it and the Madison show and for the judges to be amused!! Those poor ladies just don't always get my vision and that's part of the mystery of my work. I hope everyone can attend this regional quilt show sponsored by Nancy's Notions is wonderful!!

Hoffman Challenge 2011-Follow Up

2011-07-25T06:48:00.000-05:00

This blog post is an update on the 2011 Hoffman Challenge. My piece "Tahitiana" has been selected as part of the traveling tour for 2011-2012. YEAH!!! It is in Group C and when I looked at the current schedule this group will be at the International Quilting Assoc.( IQA) shows in Long Beach CA, Cinncinati OH and a variety of other shows. I like this because many people will view the quilts. In about a month Hoffman will annouce the Challenge fabric for 2012 and I can see if I like the fabric and then I can "challenge" myself to a new quilt. This photo is a close up of Tahitiana's face. I was challenged by the fact that I couldn't glam her up with glitter eyeliner and jewelry etc. because she was fresh faced and on the beach. So I had to let go of the "photo shoot/everything is perfect look!" I hope the Challenge tours are well received and Hoffman continues to do this. www.hoffmanchallenge.com

Part Two: THe Gardens

2011-07-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

As requested these are a few photos of my garden. The lighting may not be the greatest but the sun is out and it looks like a nice second day of the garden tour. The turn out was great for a Friday evening. This is my garden shed Ken made in 2009 from recycled materials. A pink theme prevails!!

This is behind the garage. A porcelain vine on a handmade twig trellis, bee balm, lilies, coneflowers, false sunflowers, russian sage, zinias and plenty more. There are blue birds nexting in the red birdhouse.This is the east side of my house. The twig chair Ken made from dead cedars, there are old wash tubs, a magnolia and all kinds of perennials and annuals. In the background is a flowering crab tree and a trumpet vine that formed an archway to the backyard.

This is my fairy garden using an old Weber grill, a few small rocks, a fairy and a gnome. Ken hand painted stones and Super Glued them to hardward screws for mushrooms. Crazy guy!!

"Quilt Garage" during Garden and Gallery Tour, July 15-16

2011-07-15T08:56:00.001-05:00

The Marinette WI/Menominee, MI area garden and gallery tour is this weekend, July 25-16, and my garden/yard is on the tour. This in itself is very awesome sharing my flowers, garden art and the fun finds I have in my garden from my "picking" and shopping. I decided to turn the garage into a art gallery. Ken rigged some wire to hang the wall hangings and I have some tables etc. to display the smaller items such as fabric postcards, framed art and my two new quilt wall hanging patterns. This photo shows the quilted banner I made in the past which is my vending banner to idetify my quilt display. Did any of you ever watch the TV show "Malcom in the Middle?" The font from the credits of the show is so cool and I used it for my lettering. I have used this font in some of my other quilts because it is so funky. The font name is actually Funky Font 2!! The other photos are pics of the garage ready for the tour. Check it out if you are in my neighborhood. The Marinette Chamber of Commerce has info on their website about the garden and gallery tour..

Hoffman Challenge 2011

2011-07-05T19:48:00.000-05:00

This is my entry in the 2011 Hoffman Challenge which I will mail tomorrow. The fabric was a large scale floral with a two tone muted green background. The flowers were purple and rose and there was gold metallic embossing. It was definitely a challenge due to the size of the print. I used some in the background piecing, the flowers in the borders, I cut the small flowers out of the print and made a crown of flowers and the green background fabrics became leaves to go with the flowers. I used a raw edged fused applique technique and machine quilting. I thought there was enough activity so I did not embellish this quilt very much. I added some gold glitter to draw the eye to the flower crown and I used fishing line and attached a ready made shell necklace which added a three dimensional affect. I used several fabric markers to define details in the face, clothing and hands. I call it "Tahitiana" after the tahitian women which inspired this quilt. This challenge is different from most challenges in that I send the quilt and if they like it, it is part of the traveling tour. And if they don't like it then they sent it home in Sept. My 2010 entry was accepted and I will get that one back in October of 2011. Wish me luck!!

Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational 2011: "Jello Anyone?"

2011-06-24T08:18:00.001-05:00

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

2011-06-16T12:25:00.000-05:00

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

2011-06-10T20:03:00.000-05:00

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"?

2011-06-06T07:24:00.000-05:00

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.

Yes, I Do Other Things Besides Quilt-I Garden!!

2011-05-25T11:09:00.000-05:00

Since it's May and my 2011 flowers are still babies I am showing you a photo of last yr's garden because I do other things beside quilt!! I love to garden and this is a photo of the awesome garden shed Ken made using recycled materials such as weathered wood, windows from an old milking barn, old rust hinges, old chair, old bear trap on the wall, old garden tools, old door, a rusty horse shoe to hook the door etc. I just found out the Landree/Ceesay Gardens are selected in the Marinette/Menominee area Garden Walk on July 15-16, 2011. We live on a quiet street and not a lot of people see my flowers, Ken's stained glass stepping stones and benches, the pond with fish and frogs, our many flea market/"American Picker" finds and my funky garden art. So here's our big chance! I'll post more about this in July when I get the details.

I have a gardening friend, Jennifer Larabbe,who manages the flower shed at Walter Brothers True Value, and she lent me this awesome gardening magazine "Flea Market Gardening" and I discovered they have a website, www.fleamarketgardening.com and a Facebook page, www.facebook.com/fleamarketgardening. Very cool to see other people garden in the same style as Ken and I. Check out the magazine, blog and Facebook page!!

My Quilts are in Quilting Arts Magazine!!

2011-05-23T06:09:00.000-05:00

This is the best snail mail I could have received-three complimentary copies of the June/July 2011 Quilting Arts Magazine is which my article on my portrait quilts is in!!!!. I saw a Call to Entry on the Facebook page for Quilting Arts Magazine in January when they were looking for people who do portrait quilts. I filled out the necessay info and emailed it and about a month later the Editor-in-Chief, Pokey Bolton, had left a message on my home phone asking me to call her. Holy crap, I was on the phone in no time. I had a 2 week deadline to write the article and mail 5 of my quilts to their facilities in MA. Pokey specifically asked for my Tina Turner quilt and then went to my website and picked the other 4. I wrote a bio which is in the beginning of the magazine and I am first because my last name is first alphabetically!! Then "Tina" is on the Table of Contents page and my article is on page 42. They did a beautiful job of photography and used 4 out of the 5 quilts in the article. I have to say I assumed they would write the article but I understand now that I needed to write my process to creating my art and only I can do that. This was a good example of stepping outside of my comfort zone and I now feel more confident as a writer. This was interesting though to take what is in my head and put it in instruction form and hope others will understand. The whole process happened very fast and the magazine's assisant editor, Ellen, was wonderful to word with. This put a fire under my tush to add my workshops/lecture page and info to my website. I am offering 5 workshops, both half and full day, and 2 lectures. Check it out at www.laurieceesay.com. A shout out to David Walker my web designer for the awesome work. www.davidwalker.us. He unfortuneately is not taking any new clients because he is slowing down his work schedule but check out all the great work he does-he is a quilter, web designer, photographer and former teacher.

I do not think the June/July 2011 issue of QA Magazine is out yet beauase I have not received my subscription issue in the mail but I had to share my news!!

Artist Blog Hop

2011-05-18T21:04:00.000-05:00

Sorry no picture this post just a comment about another great blessing that I received today. Mary Nassar who has a blog, www.marycnasser.com/blog, responded to my blog and introduced herself. She found out about my blog from a blog called www.mizkatie.com who is a painter who specializes in portraits (Yeah portraits!!) Miz Katie took the time to look over many artist blogs and chose 500 of them to be on her artist blog hop. My blog is in the 400s and I thank Mary C. Nasser for bringing it to my attention. So I am very thrilled to have my blog and my art quilts getting attention and people liking my work. I hope to have lots of free time to check out all the blog!!. It seems to have a lot of portrait artists. Check it out and Miz Katie and Mary are also on Facebook.

Back to Sewing!!

2011-05-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

My entrepreneur class ended last Monday and the last thing I needed to do was complete my business plan. This was detailed, time consuming and parts were quite difficult. But I finished it on Saturday since the weather has been yucky and I have not felt this relieved in a long time. So it's time to get back in the sewing room because I missed it a lot!! I want to do a modernized funky Statue of Liberty for 2 reasons. One, my daughter, Jordana, loves her-she said she was going to grow up to be the Statue of Liberty. I hinted that her arm would get kind of sore holding the torch up all the time!! Second I like blues, reds, stars and stripes. I plan to do the same technique as my Menominee Mermaid and have cut 30 6" squares which you see in the photo. I have some fun 1940s pin up girl fabric from Cher Alexander which will be on the corners (I think). The raw edged fused applique will be in a dark blue batik.I next step is to draw the Statue of Liberty and make my applique pieces then piece the squares, fuse and quilt with red, white and bule varigated thread. I have some fun star embellishments and plan to have it done to put it up in my house for the 4th of July.

Menominee Mermaid

2011-05-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

I have been collecting these great blues, greens, teal and turquise fabrics to make a wall hanging and then I decided to do a mermaid quilt. I started with wanting her to sit on a rock but then should I do a realistic mermaid or a "line drawing" mermaid with the pretty fabrics showing through?? I went with the second choice. The size of this piece is 22.5 x 25 which made the face too little for any applique except the mouth. I drew and painted the face to complete it. I cut 25 different 5" squares in blues, greens, teals and turquiose and added the bottom row of browns to get a rectangle and to have more of a "rock" color going on w/o deviating from my original color theme. My co-worker Sherrie at Pizazz Salon, where I work, said "don't you ever do a lighthouse in your quilts?" I then make a Mr. Yucky face since that motif is everywhere in Menominee because we have a lighthouse on the Bay of Lake Michigan. But I needed something in the upper left corner and thought that would be funny and I had to go no further than the cover of the local phone book to figure out how to draw a lighthouse!! Miss Mermaid is embellished with a blue starfish in her hair which also has strands of blue gliiter. Her face is painted with nail polish, Smooch paint and fabric paint. There are beads randomly sewn and I made fish buttons out of Sculpy clay and painted them with teal nail polish. Every summer at Spies Public Library in Menominee there is an art exhibit for any local artist to display their work. I will be putting this piece in the show and will not be doing Show and Share at Northwoods Quilters first because of the timing. The exhibit will be on display until the end of August.

Here is a close of Menominee Mermaid's face and hair.

Northwoods Quilt Show Demos

2011-05-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

My local quilt friend, Lisa Thoune, was camera happy on Saturday and took this photo of me doing my fabric postcard demo at the Northwoods Quilt Show this weekend. I did one on Saturday afternoon and one Sunday late morning. I had a nice group of ladies come to the table. I printed 5 copies of my new Intro to Portrait Quilts pattern "Angelina" and thought I'd try to sell them while I was demoing. I sold 1 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday including one to an area quilt shop that seemed interested in me teaching my techniques. Hooray!!! Lisa has a blog http://www.gitdownkitty.blogspot.com/. I plan to do an story soon about Lisa but if you want a sneak peak check out her blog.

Lisa also took a picture of my new pattern. I named her after a flower because I also love to garden and I thought this was a logical way of naming future patterns and then I began with a "A." So the next pattern will be a "B" name. So if you are interested in a pattern I would love to send you one and even teach a class on it. E-mail me!!! Also a shout out to Glenda Banta from Marinette WI who was my Print Shop instructor!!

Blessings on Easter Weekend

2011-04-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

This is my quilt named "Venus Rising: Out of Addiction" which I made late last fall for the 4 women exhibit at my local library. I also knew of a national quilt exhibit which in every other year called Sacred Threads Quilts (2011). http://www.sacredthreadsquilts.com/. The theme of this quilt exhibit is spirituality and has subcategories such as peace, joy, healing etc. I received notice by e-mail yesterday that my piece has been selected to be part of the exhibit which will be this summer in the Washington DC area. The website has all the details. Eventually the quilts will be on their website as well.

Then a few weeks ago I received an e-mail from Marina and Dale at a quilt blog http://www.quiltinspiration.blogspot.com/. They viewed my quilt blog (YEAH) and loved my Homonym/Mad as a March Hare art quilt and asked permission to use it in their quilt inspiration blog. I said yes and it is on their blog today. They were so kind to pick my quilt and it say such nice words about my quilts etc. So I am very blessed to have these two forms of abundance come my way this weekend. Happy Easter!!

The Ever Changing Quilt

2011-04-20T10:26:00.000-05:00

This quilt started as an idea for a mixed media piece that was to go on a 16 x 20 canvas. I drew out the picture and realized I needed to make this into a quilt which I would staple to an art frame for an upcoming exhibit at an art gallery. I thought it would be more gallery ready if it had no binding and was mounted on a frame. The design took up a lot of the 16 x 20 space and I added extra for the roll over of the stapling process. I then put the mixed media project on hold. So I get to the point were I feel I'm done with the quilt and ready to mount it to the frame and decide, ever though I used fleece (thinner) instead of quilt batting, it was too bulky to staple to the frame. I was getting used to the extra background when I looked at it and stared at it for two weeks and decided I was a quilter and make it a quilt with a binding and utilize the extra fabric. I still like a binding that is hand sewed to the back of the quilt instead of a machine or fused binding. I added coloful beans to the binding edge and some glitter on the yellow highlights, green eyelids and the lips. I added two wool flowers and a wood button for in the hair. My design is similar to my "Hera and Aphrodite" quilt I did last year with the mosaic fusing technique. Several people thought "Hera" was too stern so on this piece I softened her by changing her brow position, gave her pouty lips and "Barbie Doll" eyes. I named this quilt "Rainbow Avatar." The mixed media piece is still on hold because I really like to fuse fabric to fabric and sew and not glue things to things. I had an a-ha moment where I realized I love my sewing machine and there is a reason I do what I do and not paint on canvas. Hug your sewing machine if you have one!!

Why I Have NOt Been In the Studio

2011-04-15T09:11:00.000-05:00

I have not been in my studio as much because I am taking an 8 week course in Green Bay (WI) on entrepreneurialship. I want to have a small business related to my art quilts and want to do it the RIGHT way. This photo is the cover of my text book. I am enrolled at Urban Hope Entrepreneurial Center in Green Bay and having a blast-my head explodes after each 3 hr. class from all the info I am learning. There are guest speakers from the community explaining how to write a mission statement, the legal and tax part of a small business etc. and my favorite part is marketin! so I am new to LinkedIn. I have purchased Print Shop to help me create my quilt patterns more efficiently and cost effective. My local friend, Glenda, has been kind enough to give me a 2 hr. lesson on how to do Print Shop- so now I have another obsession!! I have my 2011 Hoffman Challenge quilt finished and my Michigan Art Quilt Invitational piece finished but can't post until July went it gets closer to the mailing date because I want it to be confidential. And I've been tickering with a mixed media project which has been shelved because I had an a-ah moment that I love to sew my projects not attach fiber etc. to a canvas!! So I hug my sewing machine daily and show gratitude toward it as my favorite sewing tool!! Take care and I want to make a mermaid next!!

I am Making Patterns of My Designs

2011-03-27T18:31:00.000-05:00

Ta-Da!! I made my first pattern and here is the finished sample which will be on the pattern as the example of the finished quilt. I enlarged my postcard lady to an easier size to work with. It is a "beginner" level pattern to get people started who may think this is rocket science!! There are only 4 applique pieces and the eyes/lips-the eye brows could be drawn in instead of appliqued. The eyes are drawn in and thread painting and a few embellishments give the quilt its zing!! I added a few borders which are optional or do a different border. I am not rigid and say" it's my way or no way"-I prefer to inspire people to just start and add to the piece as they like it. The finished size is 18" x 18" and I have two optional hair style appliques. I will charge $8.00 for the pattern. So is anyone interested in making a small portrait quilt?? If so, let me know and I will mail you one!! This pattern is called "Angelica" for two reasons-I am going to name them like real people and I thought I'd start with an "A" name and I want to do names of flowers since it's gardening related!!! Give me feedback!!

Earth Mother

2011-03-14T18:47:00.000-05:00

This Quilt called "Earth Mother" is the quilt I made for my local quilt guild, Northwoods Quilters, quilt challenge. There were three challenge fabrics-the gold crackle I have in the background, the small print with the cream background, which I also have in the background, and the dark green batik which I used for my applique. I stared at these fabrics through the summer of last year and made a Mr. Yucky face since all I could see was the green/gold of the Green Bay Packers. I love the Packers but already have a football themed quilt. Then in the fall of 2010 I found a new line of fabric at Quilters Haven in Menominee, MI where I live. It seemed to go with the challenge fabric because it had fun florals in various scales and an interesting stripe. I had a renewed interest in this project!! I decided to go with a mother nature style figure as my raw edged fused applique. I have normally used black or dark brown for the applique but I figured why couldn't I use the nice rich green batik. The pattern I used for the woman's face was one I adapted from another pattern I had made-I changed the pattern by giving this woman long hair, a dress, a necklace and leaves in her hair. I began with a Ricky Timms Comvergence style pieced background using two of the challenge fabrics. I prefer to off center the figure because it is more aestetically appealing. I embellishished with silk flowers and leaves, leaf shaped buttons, rhinestones, a wooden button and felt flowers with glitter. I had a blast with this project and feel it is "earthy" with the greens and browns and it has a calming affect on me. I won 2nd place in the local guild judging of the challenge quilts and all of these quilts will be included in our upcoming quilt show April 30-May 1, 2011 at St, Thomas Aquinas High School, Marinette, WI

Fundraiser Quilts

2011-02-26T19:58:00.000-06:00

I made this quilt for the Studio Arts Quilt Artists

(SAQA) Benefit Auction which begins in Sept. 2011. If you got your piece finished and mailed before March 15th then your piece received more publicity on their website and was part of the display at the IQA Quilt Show in Cinncinati OH. SAQA had the requirement of a square piece 10 x 10-12 x 12-I prefer to NOT make square quilts but rules are rules. I used raw edged fused applique and embellished with fabric paint, fabric markers, glitter/glue, nail polish on the lips and hair and a felt flower in the hair. It is called "The Woman With Copper Hair"

I made this quilt for the "Quilting is Art: 2011 Great TV Auction" for Milwaukee Public TV in Milwaukee WI. The participating quilts will be on display at the Greater Milwaukee Realtors Home and Garden Show March 25-April 3, 2011. I used raw edged fused applique' and embellished with fabric paint, rhinestones, glitter/glue on the eyelids and nail polish in the hair and on the lips. It is called "The Woman in the Blue Halter"

And last, this quilted wall hanging is my donation to the Twin Counties Free Clinic's fundraser on March 3, 2011 called "Taste of the Town." This clinic is in my community Menominee MI and the adjacent community, Marinette WI, and helps low income individuals receive medical care. This is a great organization and I have donated to this fundraiser before because it is supported only by donations. I did a strip pieced background and raw edged fused applique over it. I machine quilted it with a varigated thread in green, yellow and orange. It is called "The Layered Flip."

Art to Heart Exhibit at The Art Garage

2011-02-17T18:13:00.000-06:00

I went to Green Bay today to view the Art to Heart Exhibit at The Art Garage in Green Bay WI. It was a fundraiser in which 300 people are given a 6 x 6 artists canvas and could create anything they wanted. There was an artists reception earlier in February in which people purchased the pieces and the $$ went to charity. It was quite large in size, very colorful and impressive! Can you find mine??

Here is a close up of my piece. The woman has a heart shaped face and a heart silhouette to her hair. I embellished with gliiter in the hair and rhinestones on the face as well as painted the canvas black. This is my first mixed media piece since I used paper, colored pencils and paint and worked off a canvas and not quilt batting and a sewing machine.

Homonym Quilt Challenge

2011-02-07T12:03:00.000-06:00

I have Quilting Arts Magazine on my Facebook page and they posted a quilt contest using words that were homonyms and homographs. So I learned a new word that day in order to see if I wanted to enter the contest!! Homonyms are words that sound the same but have different meanings such as red/read or pray/prey. I enlisted the help of my friend Glenda Banta who is great with words and challenged her to help me find a good choice. She had the best homonym of hair and hare since I'm a hairdresser and do portrait quilts. Instead of hair I used hares for the hair. So I asked myself what is the difference between a rabbit and a hare? A hare has longer ears and bigger feet (kind of like people!) So when I made the applique' for the hare I made the ears/feet larger. I thought of another homonyn of carrot and carat and I made 5 Scupley molding clay carrots and made them into buttons to attach to the quilt. I finished the necklace with orange rhinestones and some shimmer paint on the carrots. I was feeling like this was very Alice in Wonderland like so the woman's make up was influenced by the Mad Hatter's make up. The woman took on a "mad/crazy" look so it came full circle. I added fabric paint, Sharpie pens, glitter nail polish and a few green rhinestones to the background as embellishments. The piece is called "Mad as a March Hare: I Put My 'Hare' Up to Show Off My 5 'Carrot' Necklace!" I had a ton of fun making this quilt since it was out of the ordinary and a bit crazy!!

Kids and Quilts

2011-01-27T15:56:00.000-06:00

Carla Anderson is a 3rd grade teacher and goes to my church. She asked if I would show my quilts to her class at St. Mary School in Peshtigo WI. They had read a book on quilting and she knew I was a quilter. I have spoke to children before and it's a lot of fun. The question they kept asking me was "how long did it take you to make that?" So here is the class, Mrs. Anderson and me holding my "Tina" quilt.

Chanel Jacket Part 2

2011-01-17T07:38:00.000-06:00

This is the photo of the completed jacket. I was not able to "quilt" the boucle to the lining because of the pattern instructions so I did a traditional lining with a back pleat and the extra room at the sleeve and bottom hemline. It also has the shoulder seams and the under sleeve seams be tacked together. I will add the chain to the inner hemline arfter the trim is attached.I look at this jacket like a new house ready to decorate!! It's sort of blah and I can't wait to add the froufrou fun stuff!!

Look What Happened When You go To Quilt Retreat!!

2011-01-15T14:52:00.000-06:00

This story begins with me at my quilt retreat last November. The seating arraignment put me next to Ellen Polenske. Ellen is more of a seamstress/garmentmaker than quilter and does beautiful work especially childrens clothing. She was working on a pink Chanel jacket for her 6 year old niece. I of course was drawn to the pink and inquired as to what she was making. She explained and showed me the Threads Magazine and her couture sewing manuals about Coco Chanel and couturewear and I was sucked into the Chanel jacket aura!! I had a flashback from when I was a high school senior at Appleton East in Mrs. Goolsbey's sewing class when I made a wool lined plaid jacket with pad stitching and bound buttonholes. I had another flashback of me at UW Stout when I was going to be a fashion designer when I grew up and before I knew about quilting. I took tailoring and draping class and did a lot of gament construction. I was also attacted to the pink color of the tweed of Ellen's jacket. I realized the Chanel jacket was a classic item which I could wear many years if I were to make one and it would be versatile enough to wear with dressy clothes or with jeans. I picked pink fabric since pink is a neutral for me!!!! I went to a few Chanel sewing blogs and learned about appropriate fabrics (boucle) and all the fancy trims that make the jacket Chanel-like. There is also a row of metal chain across the inside hemline to weigh down the jacket so it hangs nicely. So in the photo there is the start of the jacket front construction, a sample of the lining, the metallic trim which will go around the neck and front edges, the hem and the top of the pockets. Then I will use the darker pink fringy selvage edge and add the trim I bought to conplete the decorative trim. I'm not used to the 5/8" seams and using these fabrics and measuring the grain line but it is making me think outside the quilting box and I am remembering how to construct garments. Keep you posted!!

12 Busy Sock Monkeys

2011-01-10T13:12:00.000-06:00

I consider myself an art quilter but this sock monkey block of the month was calling my name at Quilters Haven in Menominee, MI where I live. It began in May 2009 and I began a back log of 6 blocks at the Nov. '09 quilt retreat. In the summer of 2010 I added the black dot sashing and it has sat since then until recently when I figured out what I wanted for an outer border. The "kit" came with a solid light yellow to sash the blocks. I love the yellow Moda dot but it was yellow overkill. I thought blue would calm it plus pick up the blue in the sky of the blocks. It also became a teaching tool for color theory to demo primary colors. I machine quilted myself which was another reason I was procrastinating!! I do not plan to make any big quilts in the immediate future! And my phography is a little dippy since I usually use my clothesline to display the large quilts and the backyard is full of snow at the moment!! Therefore it got photographed on the living room floor. How many months until spring??

The photo above is the close up of the January block.

And this block is the close up of the June block. I am living the January block right now and wish I was at the beach like the June sock monkey. Anyway, I will display this quilt in my local quilt guild's, Northwoods Quilters, spring quilt show April 30-May1, 2011.

Venus Rising: A Celebration of Women in Art at Spies Library Gallery, Menominee, MI

2011-01-03T06:49:00.000-06:00

VENUS RISING:

A Celebration of Women in Art

Spies Library Gallery

940 1st Street

Menominee, MI 49858

January 4-31, 2011

Glenda Banta

Laurie Ceesay

Kathleen Eaton

Patricia Johnson

Artists Reception:

Thursday, January 6. 2011

4 pm to 7 pm

Four female artists featuring their portraits of women in oil, acrylic, mixed media and fiber.

*this piece is my contribution to the theme of the exhibit which I spoken of this fall on my blog. It has lots of activity and looks way cooler up close so check it out in January!!

Marilyn Monroe

2010-12-16T16:15:00.000-06:00

My quilting friend, Cher Alexander asked me to do a quilt of Marilyn Monroe for a gift and I was up for the challenge. She wants to frame and mat the finished piece like a photo and put it in a 11 x 14 frame. The quilt is 8 x 10 plus a bit extra to tuck under the mat. Cher wanted Marilyn to have on a red halter dress and after agreeing to the picture I chose I went for it. Since it's small that means it doesn't take much fabric and there is not a lot of space to cover but the eyes, teeth etc. are too small to make out of fabric. I painted the white of the eyes and used a fabric marker for the dark almost black iris. I thread painted the teeth and went over them with white paint to define. I little white paint on the lips and as extra highlight were added also. I added just a smidge of light yellow shimmer nail polish to Marilyn's hair for sparkle and shine. It's a challenge to create a quilt of a famous person since everyone knows what they look like. I had a blash making this piece and kept thinking of Marilyn Monroe and her movies and her breathy airy voice!! I will give it to Cher asap.

Holiday Pets Photo Contest

2010-12-09T20:39:00.000-06:00

I have signed up on Facebook to be a fan of the business called Art Chix Studio. I find their embellishments are fun and intriguing. They posted a "cute holiday pet contest" and I entered Mickey, age 13, who in not dainty, but thought he could fit between the buildings in my Christmas village and Mia, age 12, who used to climb the Christmas tree and act all cocky. At age 5 she started eating raffia, thread in my sewing room, tinsel etc and had emergency surgery in Sept. '03. At Christmas time that year I discovered she was munching on the artificial Christmas tree needles and had another surgery. The vet told me Mia had PICA which is a disorder when people/animals eat non-edible things. So no more Christmas tree-real or fake. Some people say to get rid of the cat but she's such a fun little character I will give up the Christmas tree. I still decorate with table and wall items, lots of lights and lots of quilts. The website for this contest is located at http://www.artchixstudio.com/.

Christmas Postcards

2010-12-09T15:50:00.000-06:00

I had a moment when I organized my studio and found this great Christmas themed batik. I decided to make 10 postcards since the Fast2Fuse was already cut out to size. I machine quilted and edged the cards with Sulky Blendables thread in the Christmas colors thread. I then had fun with gliiter nail polish and glitter/glue and flashed them up a bit. The back is a solid white with a hint of glimmer. I find that it's just easier at the Post Office to mail them in a envelope than to have the drama of hand cancelling and freaking the front desk people at the P.O. Each card is slightly different depending on the fabric cuts-some are more green and some are more red.

Circles

2010-12-07T12:27:00.000-06:00

This wall hanging started at quilt retreat. I picked some on my favorite fabrics and I like to work in reds and greens. I picked up the red with lime green dots this fall and just kept adding polka dot fabrics. I have one stripe and a tone on tone green that is a Kaffe fabric. It is not intended to be a Christmas quilt but more of a study of color complements and circular shapes. When the top was pieced I started playing around with two sheer fabrics as overlays. It was fun to use nontraditional quilt fabrics because it added transparency, shimmer and color changes. My quilting friend Mary Ann Provancher lent me her tool called "Cut a Round" which made circle cutting the sheer fabrics very easy-I may have to buy my own tool. I then pulled out of the embellishment drawer the Angelina fibers to create more yet different circles. I purchased a product called Bo-Nash Bonding Agent at the International Quilt Festival to bond the angelina to the quilt. I didn't think it really bonded the angelina to the fabric like they claimed. I ended up using fabric glue to re-enforce it. I added felt buttons which balanced the shimmery fabrics with texture and because I can't help myself-red and green rhinestones in 4-5 sizes!! I plan to hang it on the wall at work at Pizazz Salon in Menominee, MI.

Playing Around at Quilt Retreat

2010-12-04T15:14:00.000-06:00

I made this small wall hanging with a lime green background and a red dress and chose to make another one while I was at quilt retreat. I intend to donate it to a art quilt auction next spring. It is raw edged fused applique and machine quilted. I have embellished it with traditional colored rhinestones, fabric paints, glitter/glue on eyelids and lips, and OPI gold glitter nail polish in the hair. I'm still contemplating something red in the hair-any thoughts on that one??

Quilt Retreat In Door County WI

2010-11-23T12:35:00.000-06:00

I went on my second quilt retreat and have a few pictures to share. Ellen P. from Appleton sat next to me for the second yr and she is a garment seamstress and not really a quilter. She made this "Chanel" jacket in my favorite color. The crazy part is that it is for a 6 yr. old niece. I learned about Chanel couturewear and all the details like a quilted lining, chains on the hemline, 2-3 piece sleeves, trims and buttons. I was so into it I have to make one for myself. So the next time I am at Joann Fabrics I will look at tweeds. trims and patterns. I figure it will be putsy but will last a lifetime.

This is a quilt top that will be hugely king size. It is very graphic and eye catching. There are center squares of various jeweltones scattered about. Barb B. from Appleton is making this for a nephew's wedding next yr. I love the results but would never make this because it's too large.

This quilt top caught my attention because I love batiks, it was very graphic and I colo the gradation of color.

I did alot at the retreat and I will show the images next time I blog.

Playing Around

2010-11-14T10:39:00.000-06:00

I was paging through a magazine at work and saw a Ray-Ban ad which had a face that was black with a rainbow colored lines that looked to me like a neon lite. I am attracted to all art forms where a face or portrait is viewed. I saw this ad as the opposite of the art I do where I have a colorful background and black "line drawings" in batik. I thought what would it look like to do the same image my way and then the opposite way as in the magazine add? So I was playing around and the photo above is the end result. I was dying to use some of the wonderful brights from the new fabric line by quilter Jan Mullen from Moda Fabrics. And I used my favorite Hoffman batik that's black with hints of blue. The two images are exactly the same except for the placement of color. The left one ended up looking like Haley Berry and that wasn't planned. I call this piece Positive and Negative" since it reminds me of a photograph. I'm surprisedIi only used two fabrics and two threads since I'm the scrappy type!! It became a study of color, line and shape and how positioning color in certain ways changes the whole look of the project. I chose to not embellish this piece because I didn't think it needed it.

Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational

2010-11-09T08:41:00.000-06:00

The photos I have added today are of the Art of Nature traveling art quilt exhibit created by the Michigan Quilt Art Invitational. This is a group of Michigan fiber artists formed by Mary Andrews and Marti Calhoun 15 years ago. There are 60 quilts in the exhibit all sized 20" x 24" either vertically or horizontally. The artists are juried into the group based on their body of artwork. Each year a theme is chosen such as Italy, space travel/astronomy, south of the border and this exhibits theme of nature. The exhibit travels across the state of Michigan and I wanted it in Upper Michigan besides Marquette since I feel we are occationally overlooked as being part of Michigan! This exhibit, of about 30 pieces, is in Menominee, MI, where I live, at Spies Public Library Gallery. The exhibit is on display until December 30, 2010. If you are in the area check it out during normal library hours and there is no fee to view the display. For more information on Michigan Quilt Art Invitationl go to http://www.maryandrewsartquilts.com/.

Venus Rising

2010-10-27T12:12:00.000-05:00

This quilt has a long story to tell so gets begin. I was at the Menominee, MI public library to check on the gallery area for another exhibit and I was told there was open gallery space for Jan., Feb. and April of '11. I thought that it would be a shame to leave it empty so I mentioned this to my art friend Glenda Banta and was brainstormed and with two other local artists, Kathleen Eaton and Pat Johnson, we plan to do an art exhibit of women by women for the month of January 2011 at the Spies Public Library in Menominee. (More on that to come). Then me quilter friend, Mary Ann Provancher, lent me this great quilting book from a class she took from Ricky Timms while in Florida. I have done several of his "convergence" quilts but never saw it on point. So the combination of naming our January exhibit "Venue Rising" and the new convergence technique a fresh idea was born. I wanted Venus to rise up out of something besides the traditional water and I thought of her rising out of addition. I thought of alcohol, gambling, smoking and food additions and thought if I could find enough printed images of these subjects, I could fussy cut and fuse them around the base of Venus. I was very fortunate to have another quilter friend, Cher Alexander, who has an arsenal of "theme" fabrics and contributed about 80% to my cause. I nixed the smoking addiction for this quilt because there were no fabrics available which is actually good and I probably wouldn't have had room. As the eye travels upward "out of addiction" there are images of change like better foods, spirituality, happiness etc. I thread painted words of encouragement in the "sky" area like recovery, peace, love, karma, wholeness, grace etc. I should mention the Venus figure is raw edge fused appliqued over the convergence top and the images of good and bad stuff is fused in a collage type quilt. It is supposed to be chaotic and crazy on the bottom and open and serene as Venus "rises" out of her addictions. I had a piece of Luella Doss' Free Spirit line of fabric called "Hot Flash" which I used at the bottom to add the lettering to. It is a very fun and colorful fabric and the circles of the border print could be seen at bubbles from a beer or champagne or hard candy. I didn't embellish this piece because it had enough going on. It was a fun project with a social issue which is not my usual style. I was thinking of donating it to a place were there is a recovery program etc., after the library exhibit, but am not sure where that would be since it covers more than one addiction.

Second Place Ribbon in Marquette

2010-10-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

My quilt "Hera and Aphrodite" won 2nd Place in the Marquette MI "Autumn Comforts" Quilt Show held on Oct. 16-17, 2010. I placed the quilt in the Original Design/Art Quilt category which ended up with 17 quilts. This guild has many awesome art quilters and I thought my chances were slim for a ribbon. This quilt technique was a new one with a mosaic style of applique placement. I was exploring the "golden ratio" of facial proportion when I designed this piece. I selected cool tones for the skin and warm tones for the hair. I went out of the box and chose a white background instead of my normal black with brights. All the applique is done with batiks. The background figure is all thread painted with rainbow varigated thread and some white shimmer paint. It was a study of contrasts in female strength vs soft and upon completion of this quilt my boyfriend, Ken, declared it wasn't my normal stuff and he really didn't "get it or liked it". He even asked me to remove it from the wall in our living room because it was staring at him. He now says he likes the quilt because a quilt judge found something artsy in it to give it a quilt ribbon. The Marquette Guild also made very fun and colorful ribbons with streamers of colorful yarn which was creative and decorative !!

Beauty School Flashback

2010-10-14T16:16:00.000-05:00

This is my latest finished project. I found a cool picture in a salon magazine of a mohawk hairstyle and thought about a girl I went to beauty school with back in the late 1980s who had a fakey jet black mohawk and that's where I got the title for this quilt. After the face was finished, I think she looks like Christina Aguilara (spelling?). I am intending it for an undisclosed contest and was limited to certain fabrics. I have selected commercial cottons and two fabrics from the Halloween costume section. The black/red background print is a weird knit which I backed with interfacing to stablize it. I used the reverse side which was solid red for the bikini top and the lips. The little jacket is a black with red sparkly tulle used for fairy/princess costumes. I created seam allowances and added a decorative stitch to the jacket front and sleeve edges like a real garment might have. The hair has two textures of yarn which I hand stitched to the quilt. All the applique is raw edge fused. I have embellishments of rhinestones, glitter, 3 colors of nail polish, an earring from Claires Boutique at the mall and the yarns in the hair. This was a fun project from start to finish with no glitches. I contemplated a tattoe on the arm of the woman but left it off because I thought it might be too distracting. Should I add one and if so what should it be-a flower, guitar, bird, skull and cross bones....?

SAQA Auction Piece is Sold!!

2010-10-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

I am a member of SAQA (Studio Arts Quilters Association) and they have an art quilt auction which raises money for art quilt exhibitions and outreach programs. They encouraged each member to make and donate a 12 x 12 art quilt of their liking to be auctioned off in September/October of 2010. The auction raised $52,000 and I found out my piece was purched by a woman in California; I am thrilled to have a complete stranger choose my art quilt and it's fun to know my piece is in sunny California!! I will definitely make a piece for the 2011 auction.

Halloween Pin-up Witch

2010-09-26T18:29:00.000-05:00

I decided to make a new Halloween wall hanging since this is my favorite holiday. I found the outside skull batik this fall and the majority of the other fabrics I had in my stash. I wanted to make a pin-up girl that was a sexy witch. I love using the combination of orange, lime green and purple for Halloween. I also try to use a stripe and a polka dot in all my quilts. I could not get the correct affect of the striped stockings so I used a Pigma pen and drew them on. I raw edged fused applique the witch, pumpkin and broom and embellished with fabric paint, fabric markers, glitter and glitter glue and a few rhinestones.

Commissioned Artwork

2010-09-23T13:20:00.000-05:00

I was approached by an area woman who say my artwork at the Old Church Gallery in Cedar River, MI where I display and sell my art. She e-mailed me and requested two fabric postcards, one was a gift and the other was for herself, in which she could choose the hair colors. I suggested she could choose different eye color as well. So the one is of warm brown hair with hazel eyes (I had to be careful not to have her look like a vampire in the "Twilight" movies!) and the other is a whitish blond with blue eyes. I embellished with fabric paint, nail polish, glitter glue and loose glitter and even a little blush on a Q-tip-it's a hairdresser thing!! It was fun to change it up a bit and not do the normal purple, orange and yellow.

Artists Studio Tour

2010-09-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

I was invited to participate in an Artists Studio Tour which has five artists from the Marinette, WI and Menominee, MI areas. The artists are Glenda Banta, Kathleen and Chuck Eaton, Ken Marsden and myself. Glenda is a mixed media artist, Ken does watercolor, the Eatons paint in oil and acrylic and I do fiber art. The tour is located at N1446 Autum Wood Lane in Marinette.There is an open home tomorrow from 5:30pm-8pm. The tour is on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18 from 10-3 both days. The photo above is my piece called "Purple Rain" which is on display at the tour and is for sale. An advantage of having a studio tour is that potential buyers do not have to pay the commissions that galleries change the artists to display their work in the galleries. Hope to see you there!!

The Art Garage Project

2010-09-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

In Green Bay, WI there is a very cool art gallery/coop and I receive their weekly e-mails. They are having a "Art Meets Heart Mosoaic Project" in which up to 300 artists can receive a 6 x 6 canvas to do what ever they want on the front of the canvas. The mini canvases are then put together in one picture and displayed at the gallery. Each piece will be auctioned off in February 2011. They chose the heart theme to go with heart health month and Valentines Day and I chose a heart theme in the silhouette of the women's hair and her heart-shaped face. I painted the canvas black then glued paper neck and face pieces to the canvas and fused a piece of fabric for the hair and lips. I drew the facial feature details with Sharpie pens, colored pencils and Smooch paint on the eyelids. I can't go without glitter so the hair has two types of glitter nail polish, and the lips have a pink nail polish and the dots above the eyebrows are glitter glue and loose glitter. I finished with white paint on the eyes and highlights to the face. I was nervous to make a mistake-if I am sewing and make a mistake I get out my seam ripper or just cut another piece of fabric. Am I a mixed media artist now??

Michigan Quilt Artist Invitational

2010-09-07T13:47:00.000-05:00

I was invited to join the Michigan Quilt Artists Invitational last fall. It is a group of fiber artists from Upper and Lower Michigan curated by Mary Andrew and Marty Calchoun. Each year there is a theme such as Italy, nature, space and sky etc. The 2011 theme is "South of the Border" and the exhibit begins this Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 in Flint MI. I live many miles from lower Michigan and will not be attending the opening reception which is sad to me. My piece is called "Frida" and I love Frida Kahlo's artwork. I chose warm tropical "mexican" colors for the background. It is embellished with fabric paint, a pendant of a cross which appeared vintagey and it was made into Frida's earring. I also have rickrack and black beads sewn around the outside on the border. I rewatched the move about her in which Salma Hayek played her to experience her life and her art. The dove in the upper lefthand corner represents the nickname her husband had for her. I have this piece up for sale as it travels through Michigan in 2010-2011. My daughter, Jordana, loved it so much I made a similar one in her apartment colors.

NASCAR Baby Quilt

2010-08-30T06:53:00.000-05:00

My co-worker, Brenda, at Pizazz Salon in Menominee, MI,where I work, is having a baby BOY in about 4-5 weeks. I was invited to her baby shower which was held yesterday afternoon. Brenda and her family are huge NASCAR fans and I thought I would make a NASCAR themed baby quilt. I googled nascar fabric and dicovered one could choose their favorite driver. I Facebooked Brenda's sister Jennifer and fould out Dale Jr. was the man. I have checkered flag and flamey exaust fabrics, a few NASCAR style pieces from my quilter friend Cher A., black, red and greeen fabrics from my stash and the Dale Jr. fabric I found on e-bay. I love the colors and giggled through the whole process since it didn't look like a baby quilt. I hope Brenda and "Larry" like it!!

Fall Quilt Season

2010-08-25T15:48:00.002-05:00

No pictures this time. (Sorry!!) I have decided to enter in three regional nonjuried quilt shows. I chose Appleton WIs Darting Needles Quilt Show because I used to live there and my parents still are there and it's nostalgic.This show is Oct. 2-3 and has a fun name "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Quilting.Then I chose the Autumn Comforts Quilt Show by the Marquette Quilters in Marquette MI. It's a two hr. drive to Lake Superior but their group is very artsy and it's a fun show. Marquette has a wonderful quilt shop, Alley Kats, and a great public library which is at the same time sponsoring a traveling art quilt exhibit. This show is Oct. 16-17. And last is the Treasures of Tomorrow Quilt Show in Marshfield WI Which is Oct. 30-31. I have entered twice and last year my quilt received a 3rd place and some $$ so I thought maybe I had a decent shot at another ribbon. Marshfield is too far away to do a day trip but the other two shows I will attend. I am entering two quilts in the Marshfield and Marquette shows and three items in the Appleton show. Can't wait to see all the quilts and shop at the vendor booths!!

Art in the Park at Henes Park in Menominee MI

2010-08-19T16:40:00.000-05:00

It is three days until Art in the Park at Henes Park in my community Menominee, MI. The art show is on Sunday August 22 from 11-4.I have done one outside art show and thought I'd give it another try especially when some of my artist friends are in it. They have helped me with displays and we have cheered each other on. This small art quilt (24 x 24) was inspired by the original fabric postcard design which I enlarged and made a framed piece with one woman with blonde hair and flesh tone skin. I decided to pick by favorite colors of lime green, hot pink and red with black and white and do a Andy Warhol style piece. The four images are the same-I just changed the colors of the face, hair and lips. I went a little traditional and sashed the small squares with a fun stripe and then a chose a polka dot outer border since I love dots and it picked up the colors in the quilt. I embellished the quilt with glitter, Smooch paint (love this stuff!!) and fabric paint. It will be for sale at the art show and I call it "Four Funky Divas." I like the woman with the white hair the best because it reminds me of the white queen in "Alice and Wonderland"

It's Been A Good Week!!!

2010-08-12T21:05:00.000-05:00

It has been a good week for me and my art quilts!! This photo of me is from the opening reception in Escanaba, MI at the Bonifas Art Center. Today began a SAQA (Studio Art Quilters Associates) traveling show as well as Fabrications II: Art Quilts of the U.P. I have my Tina Turner quilt from the 2009 Quilting Arts Magazine "Rock On! Challenge in this exhibit. I have not displayed her locally yet and I won 3rd place in this exhibit!! Then earlier in the week I found out my "Geisha" art quilt has been accepted into the 2010 Hoffman Challenge. It will travel across the country to various quilt venues into the summer of 2011. The websites for the Bonifas and the Hoffman Challenge are http://www.bonifasarts.org/ and http://www.hoffmanchallenge.com/.

Channeling the 1960s

2010-08-09T10:05:00.000-05:00

Here is my newest "baby." It is larger than most of my art quilts at 39 x 48. I needed a change from the usual- I was having a 1960s/Twiggy moment and I felt like working in pastel yellow/pink/blue tints. I have discovered I like circles and used the circular Kaffe Fassett fabric in the outer border and cut apartto look like free floating buubles. The figure is raw edge fused applique and I actually hand appliqued the curved background to the black background! I didn't want to because I'm not a hand sewer but it seemed the best method. The large earring is appliqued vinyl to give that 1960 feel (another circle). The face is machine quilted to the max as a rebelion of the judge at the Minnesota Quilt Show telling me in my ctitique I didn't have enough quilting of the face of the woman in the quilt. I purposely leave the cheekbone area free of stitching to make it push outward like a real cheekbone. So I was pi#*%d off at the traditional judge for "not getting my vision!" This situation with the judging has moved me in the direction of the art community. I intend to enter in gallery displays and frame more of my pieces. Also I plan to stay away from traditional quilt show entries that do not have a art quilt category. Anyway, back to my new piece which I call "Bubbly Blonde". The face is stitched pink on pink with a sun, some rainbows, a few hearts and loads of swirls. I have embellished the hair with pale yellow gliter, the lips with Shiva Painkstiks and the background has large sequins flowing around it. I will enter in a art quilt show in the future.

New Garden Art

2010-08-01T19:22:00.000-05:00

I had this weird size old window screen from my former home in Appleton WI and I painted this woman with the Marilyn Monroe vibe. I had it in my garden in Appleton and moved it to my yard in Menominee MI but the screen started ripping after a few years and I stuffed it in the garden shed. When I went on the garden walk last Tuesday in Door County WI there was a painted window screen on display in one onf the gardens. I remembered the one I had in the shed and asked Ken, the MacGyver of the Midwest, if he could replace the screen. He also tweaked the frame to be more stable and I repainted my "Marilyn" lady. I changed the dress to a halter style but I liked how I had painted it originally and did not change anything else. I also repainted the frame-it needs to weather a bit and I hung it on the outside door to the pond area. It was a beautiful day in the yard and I painted it in the sun and the drying process went quick. My quilting projects aren't quite that speedy so it was a refreshing change!!

Art in the Park Projects

2010-07-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

I enlarged my 4 x 6 fabric postcards and changed the hairstyles to an inverted bob and a rocker "Kat Von D." style. I mounted the images on Fast2Fuse and eliminated batting. I decorative stitched with varigated thread to finish the outside edges. I have fabric paint and glitter as accents and they will be mounted in 8 x 10 picture frames for the upcoming local Art in the Park at Henes Park in Menominee, MI. The date is Sunday August 22, 2010 from 11-4. I will have fabric postcards, these pictures here and a few larger pieces. I am testing the art show waters with the help of my art friends Glenda Banta and Pam Sahlbom. They are encouraging me and also providing some of the displays to show off my art. When the four pieces are put together they have a Andy Warhol look to them!!

Kelvin Motsinger Fundraiser Quilt

2010-07-22T07:33:00.000-05:00

On May 29, 2010 a 9 year old boy named Kelvin Motsinger from Menominee, MI passed away from drowning at Red Arrow Park Beach in Marinette WI. I did not know Kelvin or his family as I read about this story in the local newpaper. In early July I had the pleasure of meeting Kelvin's mother, Miranda, when she was a new guest at Pizazz Salon where I work. She spoke of Kelvin and the fundraiser that was to be held on Saturday, July 24, 2010 to defer the funeral costs. I have a soft spot for single mother since I raised Jordana on my own and I immediately said I would made a quilt for the silent auction. I asked Miranda what were Kelvin's favorite things and she said baseball and his dog. I chose the baseball idea and purchased a few baseball themed fabrics and my quilter friend Cher gave me one from her stash. I machine thread painted "In Memory of Kelvin" in the turquiose rectangles. I found a package of baseball themed buttons which I thought were cute and added to the quilt. I hope the family enjoys it and they all want it so much that it is a success for the fundraiser!!! RIP Kelvin.

Menominee Art Council at the Bonifas Art Center

2010-07-10T19:28:00.004-05:00

I am a member of the Menominee (MI) Area Arts Council. It is a local group of artists and people who love art and want to promote art. We had the opportunity to have gallery space at the Bonifas Art Center in Escanaba MI from June 30-August 3, 2010. The Bonifas is an awesome art center about one hour north of Menominee. I wish Menominee had an art center like this with continuing art classes, exhibits and musical performances. Anyway, there was an artist reception today and here I am with my piece "Woman with Red Lipstick 2". Like my superwoman shirt?? There is a SAQA (Studio Arts Quilts Association) traveling exhibit of national art quilts coming to the Bonifas this August and September. In the upper gallery there will be art quilts of the Upper Peninsula. I will hear this coming week if my three pieces are accepted into the show.

Jordana's FRIDA Quilt

2010-07-04T10:49:00.003-05:00

Jordana liked the wall hanging I made for the upcoming Michigan Quilt Art Invitational of Frida Kahlo. She just moved across town in Green Bay and is redecoratingand she asked if I would make her a similar quilt in different colors. I have used mostly batiks and the "Frida" name stayed the same. I stitched on black silk leaves and flowers and have buttons in the center of each flower. There is some fabric paint to give Frida brown eyes and an actual earring pierced through the fabric to resemble Frida's big earrings. I will see Jordana tomorrow and give it to her.

Class I Taught in Escanaba

2010-07-02T10:40:00.003-05:00

I taught a facial design workshop in Escanaba MI last Friday. I am a bit late posting this. My computer skills frustrate me and I was mad at myself. I wish I knew more then I could fly through this. Also it's summer and I'm enjoying my flower gardens!! Back to the class, the photo on the left is the work of Amber. she chose a self portrait and being "Amber" she chose amber tones. I wish my name was a color!! The photo on the right is of Glenna who chose a photo of a child. Her photo had the hair blending into the background. There were photos of children, elderly, self portraits and even Albert Einstein.

My bike Has Been Overhauled!!

2010-06-21T18:19:00.003-05:00

My bike is a used 20 year old Schwinn that was a sad looking lavender before. It is very nice free bike from a friend of my boyfriend Ken. He decided to take the thing apart and spray paint it pink my favorite color! He is a perfectionist and he thoroughly cleaned every part of the bike-it now has white walls and no rust or crud of the wheels, spokes or anywhere. He was way more meticulous than I would ever have been. He admits to having trouble putting it back together but he did it and made some flashy "PeeWee Herman" handlebar streamers and he bought a pink and purple horn which sounds like a dog squeekie toy!! Ken and I enjoy bike riding alot when the weather cooperates and now I can look fashionable in my "signature colored" pink bike!!!

Hoffman Challenge Quilt

2010-06-13T19:45:00.003-05:00

I decided to do the Hoffman Challenge for 2010. The challenge fabric is the turquoise fabric which I saw as kimono fabric. I wanted to have an image of a geisha girl but didn't really know much about the subject. My daughter suggested I rewatch the 2005 movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" and I did some research at the local public library. I used the challenge fabric in the kimono, the tiny inner border and I made some two-sided flowers for the hair accessory. I used a raw edge fused applique technique for most of the images. I thread painted the little yellow daingly flowers and glitter covered an actual hair comb from the drugstore to get the look of the geisha adornments. I was fortunate to receive the black with blue asian village print from one of the ladies in Eagle River when I was there in May teaching. It was a great choice for the background!! I mail the piece and by Sept. I find out if it made the cut. If it does, the quilt will travel to various quilt shows until the fall of 2011.

SAQA Auction Piece and Postcard Entry

2010-05-25T10:15:00.005-05:00

This is a fabric postcard I made for a postcard exhibit due in July. I embellished it with a new glitter I purchased at the IQA Chicago Show in April. My thread choice was a variegated yellow, orance, pink and red. I like to back the card with a light colored batik because it is opaque.

This 12' x 12" size quilt is my donation to the SAQA (Studio Art Quilting Association) 2010 Auction. The quilts are made and donated by its members and then auctioned to raise $$ for the organization. I call mine "Do I have pink or yellow undertones?" which is a cosmetology thing!! I used the same variegated thread as the postcard. I embellished it with tiny pink rhinestones along the lashline like eyeliner, a bit of pink glitter on the lips and a felt flower and jewel in the hair. This was a fun little project which I plan to explore when I do the Menominee MI Area Art Council's Art Show this August.

Red, White, Blue and Happy Birthday!!

2010-05-24T17:20:00.003-05:00

When I taught a Convergence class earlier this month I needed a class sample. I chose a tie-dye of red, white and blue with embossed stars, a red and white polka dot, a white background with small blue and red stars and a Alexander Henry print with patriotic pin-up girls. I used a mini stripe for the inner border and a cool peace sign print in red, white and blue. I made this for my daughter, Jordana, for her upcoming birthday in June. Jordana was a history major in college and the loves the WW II era. I thought the pinup print looked like from the '40's. She also loves peace signs. I quilted it wth Sulky Blendables in the Americana colors. I embellished it with sparkly foamy stars. The back of the quilt is this crazy "democrat" fabric. I found it fitting for Jordana since she is a liberal democrat. The fabric line also had a republican fabric to keep it "fair and balanced"! (And if she reads this she will know one o her birthday gifts)

Mucho Gratitude!!

2010-05-18T11:46:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of teaching a design/drafting class to a group of women in Eagle River WI yesterday Monday May 17th. Their quilt guild, Cranberry Country Quilters, were kind enough to invite me to their small but eager group. The guild president, Joan, "J.P.", was very hospitable and lived in this awesome house on Bass Lake. It was fun to step into her studio and see ALL the things she was doing or planned to do. Her husband was a big Tina Turner fan and he liked my "Tina" quilt!! The weather was cooperative and sunny, Christey from Pizazz Salon where I work lent me her GPS (thanks again!!) and it was a blast!!

This is it!!

2010-05-10T13:21:00.002-05:00

I showed a photo of this quilt when it was just the top and now it is finished. It is as traditional as it gets for me!! I am no longer committing myself to 12" block exchanges because I want to be creative and make art quilts. In addition to this I have become displeased with the quality of the workmanship in these exchanges. So I am glad this quilt is finished and I will probably enter it in a future quilt show in the traditional lap quilt size category. I have one more block-of-the-month quilt top to complete which I will show you later after I have fun with my next project the "Hoffman Challenge 2010". I can't think of a name for this quilt-any suggestions??

Keep Me in Stitches Quilt Shop

2010-04-30T11:33:00.006-05:00

My quilting friend Jacqi Levy just opened a quilt store in Appleton WI called "Keep Me in Stitches". She wanted to fill a void and have a local shop that had contemporary fabrics. I was in Appleton yesterday and checked it out. I love brights and batiks and this shop has both-I saw beautiful fabrics I had only seen online!! It is very clean and pure with the white walls, tables and shelves. The brights look wonderful in this shop and there is nice lighting coming in through the windows. It is easy to find on Richmond St. (highway 47) riht off of Highway 41. She plans to be on Facebook and have e-mail updates as soon as she is more settled.I encourage everyone who quilts and is in Appleton to check it out!!

I Love IKEA!!

2010-04-20T10:05:00.004-05:00

While in Chicago for the quilt show our bus driver, Dan, was kind enough to give us a side trip to either Woodfield Mall or IKEA in Schauberg IL for 2 hours. I LOVE IKEA and since it's 4.5 hrs. away from where I live I couldn't wait. They are hooks that were in the pet section and came in a variety of colors. I intend to use them in my garden some how. They are so cute and remind me of a cartoon dog!!

Going Traditional; International Quilt Festival-Chicago

2010-04-19T13:51:00.005-05:00

I signed up at Pine Street Quilts in Marinette WI for a 12 month long block-of-the-month called Fair and Square. 12 people sign up and each month each person chooses 4 coordinating fat eighths and the 11 other people make the block for that person.This is my third and last Fair and Square because some people have a different idea of what a 12' block should be sized and the pressing isn't always very good. 6 of the 12 blocks couldn't be used so I decided to make 6 of my own using star blocks from http://www.nancyrinkdesigns.com/. Nancy has a FREE BOM which can be downloaded and I made 6 star blocks using red backgrounds. I added this fun grass green print with yellows and red/orange dragonflys to connect the blocks and add a border. I will quilt the quilt with green thread.

I attended the International Quilt Festival in Chicago last Friday and Saturday. It was so fun to see what quilters are creating nationally, be able to purchase more goodies and visit with new and not so new friends. I was visually overloaded!! And I,like many other quilters from MI, MN, and WI, are sad to see the show move to Cincinnati OH-too far to travel.

Good News!!

2010-04-07T08:54:00.003-05:00

My wall hanging "The Blue Wig" has been juried into the Denver National Quilt Festival V" which runs April 29-May 2, 2010. I originally made it for the Michigan Quilt Network's quilt shows color challenge. I won 1st place on it last Sept. so I entered it in another show to see how it will do. My quilt will be there but I will be stay in Menominee. April is a crazy month for regional quilt shows, hairshows/classes and I'm trying to get tickets to a Pat Benatar concert later in the month!!

Project Sock Design Contest

2010-03-31T08:10:00.002-05:00

I am a patterned sock junkie and found a sock company called Little MissMatched. They sell 3 sock packs of similar but different designs so they don't match on purpose.. They are having a Season 2 sock design contest from people who wear their socks and/or visit thier website. I took a stab at it and the photo above is my entry. The deadline is April 15th and the company chooses the finalists then the public votes for their favorite on Little MissMatched website. The winner receives money, free socks and the ability to help design their socks. I have no idea how many people enter this contest and what my odds are. This was a fun project and I bought a new large box of colored pencils to color in the socks. I had a flashback of when I was a child when I drew and colored pictures all the time before sewing entered my world. P.S. according to Stacy and Clinton from "What Not to Wear" it is tacky to wear patterned socks if you are older than 5 but I stil do but under jeans and not with dresses, capris or shorts!!

New Fabric Postcards

2010-03-28T09:10:00.004-05:00

I decided to make a few (12) more fabric postcards to sell or use as greeting cards. I used the same technique of strip piecing gradations of one/two colors but laid the strips on the diagonal. I used the same pattern pieces from the quilts in my last post to create the eyes and nose. I embellished the eyes with glitter nail polish (hooray for OPI and Creative Nail polish!!!) and finished the edges with a decorative stitch and Sulky Blendables thread. I do six at a time so it's not a Oshkosh B'Gosh factory job flashback!! They are filled with Fast2Fuse and I used a beige batik on the back because the batik doesn't have a transparency like some solid woven fabrics do. I keep the background fabric very simple so if the card is actually used as a postcard with writing the lettering is visable. These postcards are easy to complete and you feel like you accomplished something in a short amount of time.

Two Flips and Two Inverted Bobs

2010-03-23T13:39:00.006-05:00

I displayed two of the quilt tops of the funky women wall hangings last week. I used a variety of colors to hopefully appeal to the shoppers at The Old Church Gallery in Cedar River MI. I had fun with these small quilts and
have an idea for a hippie chick and a lady ga-ga fame monster!!

New Work for Art Gallery

2010-03-19T12:20:00.003-05:00

I have explored this style before and am having fun with these smaller pieces (aprox. 15 x 18 ). I have had my work displayed for sale at the Old Church Gallery in Cedar River MI near Menominee where I live. I struggle with randomly making things that I hope people will purchase but I decided to stay smaller and have fun. I have four pieces in various gradations of colorful batiks. I have two hairstyles and my mind is spinning with other hairstyles like punker girl or retro flapper or afro disco chick!! I may use neutrals or pastels but I want to stay with the brights because that's what I gravitate towards. They are ready to quilt, bind and embellish. I like this technique because I like the contrast of straight and curved lines, contrast in color and the fun of the hairstyles choices.

Convergence Class Sample

2010-03-12T10:20:00.004-06:00

I hope to teach a Convergence construction class at Quilter's Haven Quilt Shop in Menominee MI and this is my class sample. I had attempted to teach this class before and the owner thought people are afraid of it thinking it is too difficult. I want to show it is easy with straight stitiching and rotary cutting. My sample is in fabrics more subdued that I would normally chose with contrasting borders. I fussy cut Kaffe flowers and fused them to the top of the quilt. I embellished the quilt with some fun felt flowers I found at Joanns and a few rhinestones and glliter nail polish. I liked the contrast of the fuzzy felt and the shiny rhinestones/glitter. The weather here in the upper midwest has gone from beautiful sunshine and above normal temps to damp, rainy and foggy. I have managed to get the mother of all head colds. This cold has caused me to miss work and not be in my studio until late yesterday. I think I'm going to be able to taste my food today and not have to blow my nose every second.

My Artists Reception

2010-03-05T08:09:00.003-06:00

I had my artists reception yesterday in the gallery in my local public library. This is a photo of Jordana, my daughter, and myself at the exhibit. She is the food goddess because I could have never pulled off the wonderful food she created. It's not just the food but the platters and display (art of food!!) that makes it. Jordana used pieces from my fabric collection, in my favorite color pink, to decorate the table. She even add hints of pink and red in the food!! I had a variety of people from my local quilt guild, my co-workers at Pine St. Quilts, Pizazz Salon customers, even a couple from my church! It was nice to have people see my work that I have never met. It was fun, I loved chatting with everyone and Cheryl Hoffman from Spies Library was amazing in her hospitality!!

Seasonal Art Exhibit

2010-03-02T14:17:00.002-06:00

The MAAC (Menominee Area Arts Council) Seasonal Art Exhibit has switched from winter to spring as of March 1st. The display is at the Menominee MI City Hall. I have my Dandelion Fairy quilt on display which is the photo on the left. On the right, I chose the photo of a lily, which was photographed by a area high school student, because spring reminds me of the upcoming flower season. The display is there until May 31st during business hours.

I'm Having A Quilt Exhibit!!

2010-02-26T13:29:00.003-06:00

I want to announce I am having an exhibit of many of my art quilts. The exhibit is in Menominee Mi, where I live, at the Spies Public Library Gallery, 940 1st Street, Menominee MI. My quilts will be on display from March 1-31, 2010. I am having an artist's reception in the gallery on Thursday March 4, 2010 from 4-6 pm. If you live near by or are in the area or want to sample my daughter Jordana's yummy munchies I would love to see you!! Jordana has freed up her work schedule and will be there from Green Bay to be my lovely assistant. When she was a "youngie" (she's in her 20's now!) she would always accompany me to quilt shops/shows and has witnesses the trasformation from traditional quilter to art quilter. She even took some crap when she was in high school, when she was hostessing at her part-time job, when this woman says "That girl's mother uses those BRIGHT fabrics. How could she!" I still laugh at my use of lime green and fuschia bothering this woman!! Anyway, Ken helped me hang the quilts and it was fun to see so many quilts on display at once.

Quilting Arts' Reader Challenge

2010-02-19T12:07:00.002-06:00

I have decide to enter in the Quilting Arts Magazines' "How Entertaining!" Reader Chanllenge. The deadline is May 3, 2010 and I am about 3/4 finished. Just like my "Tina" quilt, this challenge is the size of a piece of paper. I can not show anybody yet (secret!!) The theme is entertainment-music, movies or TV shows which was quite broad. I chose one of my favorite TV shows from the md-70s-a little fun, fashion and funk!! It has been enjoyable making this quilt and will post the photo when I feel appropriate. The small size makes for a quick project but difficult to get your message across in that amount of space. :)

New Quilt

2010-02-09T10:03:00.002-06:00

I have finished the quilt I have been showing on my blog. My goals were to work with a white background, instead of black my normal choice, and to create a portrait using a new technique. I usually layer fabric on top of each other to get the look of shading and highlighting. This time I went with a "mosaic" look. I wanted to use brights so I picked warm tones for the hair and cool tones for the face. I wanted the figure offcentered as well. This left me with a large white background area to fill because it wasn't balanced. I chose to do a thread painted figure behind the woman. I wanted it noticeable yet not to overpower the woman. I have done minimal embellishing because I think it doesn't need anymore. I probably will sew beads or french knots on the binding edge. When I showed the finished quilt to my boyfriend, who is an artist, he freaked out. "It doesn't look like your normal work!" He was confused by the modernness of the woman in the quilt. "It was way out there" and he didn't really like it as well as my other work. So that got me thinking about "is that what art does-provote emotions-good or bad?" I then chickened out of show and tell at my quilt guild meeting last evening. The women are traditional quilters for the most part and I wasn't sure if I was ready for the same reaction as my boyfriend. Maybe art can make people angry or sad not just happy.

AQS Lancaster PA

2010-02-02T09:59:00.004-06:00

I have been notified my quilted wall hanging "Violetta" has been juried into the American Quilt Society Lancaster PA Quilt Show. The show is March 24-27, 2010 and my quilt is in the wall quilts-pictorial category. I am way excited!! I will not be in Lancaster but my quilt will be!!

No More Caca Yucko!!

2010-01-27T08:08:00.003-06:00

This is the reworked quilt top after removing the golds that were bugging me. I replaced them with magenta/orange batiks with hints of gold. I left a few of the golds but the quilt lacked depth and I am happy with the changes. To me, the thread painting with define and create the zing in the quilt. I chose to off center the figure which leaves a far amount of background which needs quilting. I'm leaning toward a doodling affect. My schedule does not allow me to get in my studio until late Saturday so I can't work of this project until then. Peace out. :)