New Fabric Postcards

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

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

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

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

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

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!!

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.