Blessings on Easter Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.