Sunflowers & Me

Preliminary MAQ Challenge

Well, I am back and fresh off a great week of sewing at Tahoe.  Did the majority of the work on the MAQ Challenge.  Next step is to put all the pieces together and figure out how to make it my own.  That is always the quest.. to make it my own.  It does drive you to push the borders and find something just a little different.

We had a wonderful time on our trip back to Colorado and saw such beautiful country.  Lots of inspiration, really fun co-travelers and too much food.  Hope you all enjoyed your summer and are ready for more fun this winter.  I know it is 95 outside but you have to think ahead.

If you have the time, you might want to see the Blue Line Gallery in Roseville.  The show is photography but with a great twist and a lot of imagination.  Try to see this gallery when you can.

I'm getting excited about Houston and my two pieces that will be shown.  It is sometimes hard to imagine that this has happened.  It just pays to dream and try.  After all I wonder how many people just thought about entering and then talked themselves out of it. Lets all make a pack to not let ourselves talk in a negative voice.... to just go for it.  Eat that chocolate, drink that wine, enter that contest, just have a great time.

Summer is here and relaxing

Just a note to my blog friends, the summer time is for having fun.  While I think spending the day in my sewing room is the best kind of fun (other than going to lunch with friends), I am going to slow it down a bit.  So if you don't see an entry don't worry, the fall will have lots of fun stuff to talk about.  Take care.

Houston Here I Come!

 

Leaves of Costa Rica

Great News!  I just received notice that my Leaves of Costa Rica will be in the Houston Festival this Nov.  A friend and I are attending the show so this will be lots of fun.  They even give you a ribbon to wear, that says  Finalist.  At least that will explain the grin I will have on my face. 

My Johnny Appleseed in Sebastopol is included in the West Coast Wonders Exhibit and that too will be at the Houston show as well as in Long Beach.

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement.  It is scary to create something and then put it out into the world.  You feel very protective of each piece and your feedback is so very valuable. 

Johnny Appleseed in Sebastopol

Almost Done with Challenge

No Name - MAQ Challenge

 
This piece has changed and it's been quite a trip. First I completed the center with beads, couched gold thread, and paint.  Looked okay but rather ordinary, so I decided to add a background.  Still ho-hum.  It needed curves but since the challenge selected was "Whole Cloth and Beyond" I wasn't sure a pieced border would qualify.  Great news, the other challenge option was "Illusion of Motion"!  Off I went and added the curved boarders using the Joan Dyer's technique.  But wait, the cotton batt had been cut off.  Well, I won't go into detail, but the additional batt had to be added by hand and the facing became the backing.  The final piece will have curvy edges for the top and bottom and the quilting lines will be extended over the border with beads.  This was definitely a challenge and I will have a difficult time answering the question of --
                                     "How long did it take you?".
I have to figure out a name so if you have any suggestions - let me know.

The Before Pictures

Some of you have mentioned that you enjoyed seeing a piece develop.  Seeing it start at one point and watching me struggle!  Well, here are two projects I am currently working.

First is the MAQ Challenge - Anything but panels.  There are five of us.  We chose a picture of sunflowers on a blue checked table cloth.  The picture was divided into five section using curved lines. (We didn't want to make this too easy)  We all agreed to not make pink sunflowers but that we were encouraged to use our own techniques.  This is just one of the sections.  Doesn't look like much but since I now have the "engineering of the process" done, I feel like I can really go to town.  Just need to settle down and dedicate some time.

Second is also a MAQ Challenge that is due at the end of this month!- Whole Cloth and Beyond.
My whole cloth is more of my Sharpie work.  I made a stencil design and  added some fabric paint.  The quilting gave me trouble.  The circles were so pretty that I was afraid that heavy quilting would cover the watercolor movement of the piece.  Cathy helped me with this and made several suggestions that spurred me in the right direction.  Of course I had to add beads and might add more.  As you can see, I am auditioning a couple of colors for a separate background.  At the last MAQ someone suggested that a black background would show off the work on my Leaves.  Since I can't really piece this whole cloth, I will just make a separate background piece and see if that works.

More to come later this month.

blue line gallery - Juried into the Fabricated Exhibit

Just wanted you to know that I have had three pieces juried into the blue line gallery - Fabricated Exhibit.  Yes three of them.  Pumpkins, Birch Tree Sunlight, and Nuggets.  It is very exciting.  A friend, Susie, had three of her gorgeous dolls accepted.  I am proud to show along side her work.
The show is July 9th to August 3rd, at 405 Vernon Street, Ste.100, Roseville.  Phone is 916 434 7368.  The Artist Reception is on July 16 at 7:00 - 9:00 PM.  Hope you can drop by. 

I have been working on two pieces.  One is a whole cloth with my Sharpie colors and the second is a MAQ Challenge.  The Sharpie is coming along but need to add embellishments to create a line for your eye to follow.  The MAQ Challenge is for the five of us to create from the same pictures, then each will be cut into five pieces and exchanged.  The artists will then re-join them how ever they want.  We will see what happens.  I just love the sunflower so far.  The reveal will be in Oct.



 

Two for One - or the Tale of Two Landscapes

Here is something a little new.  Suzanne (friend that creates Glass Art) gave me a beautiful glass tree, and earlier she let me play in her studio where I made a black/purple stick tree.  The question was how to use them.  I kept thinking of wool roving and felting so out came the boxes of roving and then the fun began.  Using a pizza pan as a template I cut two 12" black felt circles.  The different colors of wool were used like paint but it was too bold.  Remembering a  felting class, I mixed the wool - blue and steel blue for sky, brown and white for distant hills of snow.  Some wool  is "raw", which means there are still twigs and unknown brown stuff.  Sounds weird but it makes great snow.  Some greenish brown yarn made the furrowed hills.  This was getting to be a lot of fun but then the hard technical stuff came up.  Like how do I attach the felt circles to the felt board, how do I make sure the trees are both going in the right direction, and finally how do I attach the trees.  In the end everything worked out.  My new plan is to make round design using my favorite fabric - Quilter's Lame'.  I have ordered two more round  and square base.  Hope you like it.... do you have any suggestions for a name?