Wooly Wooly Challenge

 

One Wooly -  MAQ Challenge

The first MAQ Challenge of the year was revealed this Wednesday.  The theme I chose was Wooly Wooly and since there was no further explanation, I could pretty much pick my own direction.  The center of this piece was originally an idea I had for the Davis Artery - 8" by 8" Small and Great exhibit but it just did not work.  So at a later date, I added the gold  metal mesh, black squares and punched it up with beads and gold.  It is so much fun to have a project without a due date or definition that allows me to just play.  Things would be laying on my table and I would just enjoy thinking of what I could do with the piece.  I am very pleased with it.  The name is a bit odd but since I only had the one piece of wool felt..... I called it "One Wooly".

A Prize for Pam

My Norwegian Coat won Second Place in the wearable art category at the Foothill Quilt Show.  Another prize for my coat which makes all the time I spend on those 1/4 inch diamonds seem worth while! 
What a great show.  The quality of the quilting was amazing and truly inspirational.  The MAQ Exhibit looked good and there were many compliments and ooo's and haaa's while I was there.  Lots of ribbons for the MAQ members.  I came away really impressed (again) with the wealth of talent in this area.  Thanks to Marylee and her team for such a fantastic show.

8 x 8 Small & Great - at The Artery

Three pictures of a really fun evening.  This was the Artist Reception for the show.  I think everyone in Davis took advantage of the warmer weather and came downtown on Davis - Art About - 2nd Friday event.  Here are my two pieces and even if I do say so myself, they looked good.  Thanks to The Artery and my sponsor TC for hosting such a fun event.  Hope that you can drop by before the show ends on April 19. 

A Hat - A Crown - A ????

This is a secret but I am showing you my entry into our LH Wearable Art Challenge.  The challenge was to use upholstery fabric to make an accessory.  First I tried a belt... well it started out okay but then I couldn't get the fabric to stop fraying and I realized I did not want to emphasize my waist!  I then saw a beautiful hat in a new book (I'll tell you about the book and give credit for my inspiration later).  It was only a little picture but I figured out the engineering and used prairie points vs tie folds and changed a bit more.  Lots of fun and I really like the hat.  Now if I don't sell it at the Davis Artery show I'll be able to wear it to the Challenge meeting, otherwise I will have to make another or bring pictures. 
This is another time that I am so glad I can just do what catches my interest.  Sometimes I cause so much stress with the competitions I want to do and gifts I want to make.  I know I am not alone in this habit and wonder if it isn't some left over thing from work!  The things I might have accomplished if I had just stopped to wonder and ponder.  This is something I am going to add to my "Remember This" list.

I'm Showing at the Artery

My friend TC has again extended an invitation for the Davis Artery's guest show titled "8 by 8 Small and Great".  Show dates are April 8 - 19.  The gallery is on 207 G Street, Davis, phone 530.758.8330 web site- .theartery.net   There will be an artist reception on the evening of April 8 between 7 -9pm.  This is the same night as the Davis Downtown "Art About" so there will be many other art venues to visit.  Of course wine, sparkling water, and tasty goodies will be available.  It would be fun to see you there.

Spring- Long view and detail during construction!

I decided to create a pedestal piece.  This is a new area for me and there were lots of engineering issues but I had great fun creating the three dimensional piece.  Does it remind you of Spring?

For those of you with a more professional perspective... I am work on the picture taking skills!

Now that you made it..What do you do with it!

Isn't this always the question after you try a new technique or dye a new piece of fabric?  Well since I needed a Wearable Art Show and Tell, I used the Tie Dye fabric (shown in a previous blog) for a scarf.  It went together in 45 min!  Just a simple tube with a channel down the center for some wired ribbon, plus a cool pin from the Stitches show.  It is comfortable and fun to wear.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with the rest of the fabric!

Tie Dying to Die For...

In the Oct/Nov 2010 Issue of Quilting Arts, Kathy Barinholtz wrote about her adventure with dying silk fabric with silk ties.  So last week, Cassandra, Carolyn, and I set up for our own adventure.  We were surprised with the color that transfers and pattern combinations.  The ties don't transfer exactly but often "bleed" components of the original dye.  Brown would give us orange, reds would go both bright and light, so the best part was unwrapping the bundles.  (I have not included the process here because of ownership concerns but read the article and you will find it is an easy and quick process that leads to beautiful muted shades)   The ties can be re-used so I have a full stock for the next adventures.  One note on the process - we could not find an aluminum pot but a friend's husband (a chemist) told us to line the pot with heavy duty foil.  This proved to be all that we needed.  Hope you can try this.  Let me know in the comment section how your adventure turns out!