Latest Moutain Art Quilter's Challenge

The challenge theme was "Anything but Cotton" and it was so much fun.  Ardy's piece was made from her husbands garage scraps!  Mine is made of felted wool, hand made paper (I purchased this), temtex painted and foiled, window screen material made into background and beads, more beads and ribbon.  Just about everything but the kitchen sink.  I wish I had been able to record all the decisions made in this piece because it just took on a life of it's own.  The mistake of making the background too large turned into a better composition, the mistake of not enough paint on the window screen turned into just the right amount when folded and rolled.  Every time there was a problem, I had more fun fixing it and going in a different direction.  Hope you like it.

I enjoy working with the small pieces and adding embellishments but the whole whole piece does not get very large.  Most of the competitions want larger pieces.  So there is something for me to think about.  If you have an opinion, please use the comment option at the bottom of this blog entry.

A Winner!

Norwegian Coat

Third Place Winner

PIQF 2010

Along with two friends - Vicky and Sue, I was a winner at PIQF 2010!  I can't believe I won for a coat that I sewed and I'm sure my Mom would be so surprised.  The coat above which started as a Rachel Clark challenge, won Third Prize for the Coat & Jacket competition.  You can imagine how excited I got when I walked up to the display?  I checked to see if maybe the ribbon had blown over from another coat, but no it was mine.  Life is good.  The bus ride home was really great because there were five of us that had been juried into the show and then there were three of us with ribbons.  Friends shared in the excitement and made the whole thing just that much better.  Again I have to thank my friends for all their support and I think of you often.
There was more good news from SAQA because they sold my donation (12 x 12" square) in the Annual Benefit Auction.  Thanks to the good friend Betty who purchased it.  She saved me from having it mailed back.  Betty was the friend that first brought me into SAQA and I thank her for all the wonderful things that have come from that kindness.

I'm Back from Tile Heaven

Hi Everyone,  I have just returned from Spain and Portugal and what a feast for the eyes.  After a 1000 pictures I am showing you just two.  In the last city I visited - Porto Portugal - all the walls were covered with beautiful tiles.  Every little building had something different in both color and design.  I would love to spend days just taking pictures.  Too bad I don't do detailed applique because I would never lack for inspiration.

Now I have to get back to work/fun and finish up the different challenges that are due.  The one for MAQ - Everything but cotton, is still wandering around in my brain; Jan's challenge to create a piece from a cup design is almost done so you should see that soon; and the SAQA challenge is waiting for loads of embellishments.  While it seems like lots of work it is really lots of fun with just a ting of stress!

Hope you will forgive the lack of updates but the wanderlust of travel calls.  More later.

Play Date

Did we use to do this in Kindergarten?  What fun to have all sorts of toys and to just play.  How does this work?  How does this look?  What if I do this... or that?  Then it looks good or maybe it needs something more.  All that my friend Debra and I did was to enjoy the day and let our left (?) brain have a field day.  Whatever your choice of fun we all need to just turn off the production mode; due date; and "I have to get this done".. mind set and enjoy the fun.  So have a end of summer fling and see what come of it.

Oh I forgot to mention we also had a wonderful salad.  I didn't include the great sugar cookies.  They were gone before I got the camera out!

Just a note, I get to go off and have some fun but won't be near a machine to update my blog, so don't worry I am not losing interest just off getting inspired.

I'm In!

Well I got the news that PIQF has accepted my coat for judging at the upcoming Pacific International Quilt Festival in October.  I also have a piece in the Mountain Art Quilters (MAQ) Special Exhibit.  Now you friends that remember me back when.... and remember how we would go to this show and just be overwhelmed with the size and beauty.. will appreciate just what this means to me.  Never would I have believed this would happen.  It makes me want to jump for joy!
I get to share this excitement with Vicky A, Susan M, and Pat P that also have work in the show.
Hope you can see it . 

You might want to look at the SAQA web site and at their Benefit Auction starting Sept 20.  Each year the artists (really great and big names) donate a 12 x 12" block.  Auction is organized first by the professional artists and then in groups of lesser known artists and then they get to my group.  Go see the site if for no other reason than to enjoy the wonderful work. 

I find it amazing and inspiring that so much art can be created.  For those of you who say you are not artistic... you need to understand that fiber and paint are not the only mediums for artistic expression.  You look around you right now at how you have decorated your space, the food you cook, the gardens you tend or just the way you decide on your clothes.  Every day and in every way, you are using your creativity.  We are all "artsy fartsy"!

Just a Little Hint

Here is just a hint of the SAQA Whisper Quilt Challenge!  As you can see I have begun my favorite thing and that is to embellish the work with beads and stuff!  This would have been further along but it is impossible to bring all the fun and inspiring treasures up to a quilt camp.  Heavens knows there was enough stuff.... stuffed in to the SUV but it still was not all that I needed.  Since the reveal of the Challenge won't be until next Feb, it will be some time before you can see the whole piece. 
That brings me to a request.  If any of you see or have fabric called Quilters Lame, I would love to hear from you.  It has been discontinued!  How could they do this to me.  So I am on the hunt and would be willing to buy any fabric you can spare. 

Needle Arts Retreat = Fun

Sewing, Knitting, Eating, Talking, Quilt Stores, Eating, and more = Loads of Fun!  Thanks to Nancy, our wonderful coordinator, all thirty of us had a wonderful time.  I am so tired I can hardly stand so that might explain why there have not been more blogs.  But I came back with lots of inspiration and excitement for my art quilts.  So just watch out now!
Thank you to everyone for a great time.

Here are some of my friends. 

Top - Vicky with her purse.  She was working with paint on fusible web.

Center - Mary Ann and Linda.  Mary Ann was working on a beautiful piece of applique.  As is the Needle Arts way, she was getting lots of help from Sue and Margie.

Left - Sue and Susan took time to look up and smile!  The beautiful quilt behind Vicky is Sue's masterpiece.  It has over 2000 leaves! 

Behind are Margie, Rebbecca, and Gretchen.

There were other pictures, but a couple were "X" rated!  The guilty person knows who I'm talking about!  More great fun!