Barker then and now

While I really liked the machine quilting that I did on this piece, I felt that there wasn't enough color contrast between the background and the beast.


So, 'what if' was what lead me to wetting down just the background with water applied with a foam brush and then adding more of the dark blue textile paint, dark at the outline of his head, and then lighter and I brushed out toward the border.


The neat thing was that when the piece finally dried, it became a lot puffier where the batting and quilting had become wet, so there was also a textural change. I'm so glad that I gave it a try. "nothing ventured, nothing gained".

YES WE CAN!!!

Questioin

Here is the 'formal pose' for the scarf that I showed you yesterday.

As I said, I'm very pleased with its outcome and versatility. And as promised, here is the scarf that I fell in love with from the get-go:

You may have noticed that the title of this blog post is 'question'. I was so excited about the above scarf that I couldn't wait to show C. He didn't like it. I told him that my client had asked for very bold and bright primary colors. He thought that was fine, but he hated that I let the colors bleed and run together, and also the 'salt effect'.

Now, I want YOUR painfully HONEST opinion (and I promise to still love you afterwards!): does this sort of silk painting appeal to you? I've snapped several pics of the portions that most excite me, so you can get the idea.



I just love that effect, and don't understand how it could not be appealing. It's freeing to me, totally off the wall, unstructured and just fun. Please tell me what you think..........I'm not asking for compliments, I'm asking for opinions upon style.

YES WE CAN!!!

All Play and No Work

makes me a very happy girl!

I'm trying to carve out a bit of time each day to be creative, even if it's just 15 minutes. It just makes my soul sing, and the more I allow that to happen, the happier I am.

Here is a scarf that was the result of a little more than fifteen minutes of play, but it was so much fun.


I was disappointed in it when I first took it out of the steamer, washed it and ironed it, but then when I wrapped it around my neck, I knew that it would be mine. There's no way that I can part with it. That said, I can't wait to show you the scarf that I dyed last night. WOW!!! And I've just finished painting another one, which I will pop into the steamer tomorrow morning.

I've finished my Barker quilt:

When I make another one of these (and I will do that...which is so unlike me as I hate to repeat anything whether it be reading a book or painting a scarf), I will make the background darker just around the subject's head, making him/her pop out more distinctly. Hmmmm: could I go back in now and add some more paint?

I'm using the hanging method that Gerrie has described on her blog, attaching a couple of beads on each side at the top and stringing them through a painted piece of bamboo (you can see the bamboo in the pic above). I couldn't find any beads that I liked in my stash, so I decided to make some out of painted paper towels, wire and little beads a la Sherrill Kahn:


So, there you have it: entirely too much fun!

YES WE CAN!!!

WIPS

I posted this pic the other day of the rayon twill (left) that I was attempting to coordinated with my '08 round robin rayon twill (right).

I decided that the white was waaaay too white, the red was too brown, and the background needed more yellow, so I've attempted to correct all three:

'My' fabric is now on the bottom (I apologize for changing the order!), and 'their' (the RR fabric) is on top. I'm liking mine better, but still not enough. I have yet to wash it out since applying the thickened red dyes, so I suspect that that will become less intense and perhaps more like the top fabric. We shall see. I don't want the two pieces to be identical, but just coordinating. What do you think?

My Art Quilt Explorations class with Jane LaFazio is going along splendidly and I just love it! This week we are exploring painting techniques, in which we first began with a photo of an animal. Jane had used her kitty cat Buddy, and of course you know that there was no question that I would opt for my beloved Barker Baby!


Here he is semi painted:
I got busy this morning, sandwiching him and then putting him under the needle of the sewing machine.




Here's a detail shot of my boy:



This is a great class!

We went to see the Oscar nominated Shorts, Live Action this evening.......great bunch. My favorite was the Irish, but they were all great! I'll be interested to see which one wins.

YES WE CAN!!!

The Postman Rangeth

Actually, I'm not sure if he rang at all, as I was at the gym when my package arrived in the mail this morning. However, when I arrived home, there it sat outside my front door, just calling my name! It was from my friend Jeannie - I'm sure you know her too, as she leaves the most wonderfully supportive comments here!

She and I had discussed using Tyvek in art stuff, and she offered to send me some, as she said she had more than she could ever use. Well, I took her up on it, and so I figured that the box contained the Tyvek. Sitting very prettily atop the aforementioned Tyvek was this:

It just kills C when I open a box and then grab my camera to document the event....but don't you appreciate it? Tell me you do, so that I can read him your affirming comments!

So, here are the truly wonderful contents of the prettily wrapped package:

I'm going to have to take another picture of the gorgeous ATC that is smack dab in the middle of the picture above. It is so pretty and you need to see the details! Jeannie is masterful! I love her work!! She needs to get her blog up and running, so that she can share photos of her lovely pieces with the world! Leave a comment here and tell her!

I'm including a few closeups of the three wonderful dark chocolate bars that she sent. This is the one I chose to open first...........did I tell you I'd just been to the gym?

I'm so glad that I spent 40 minutes on the eliptycal trainer this morning, because otherwise I couldn't have eaten nearly half of that wonderful bar all by my own self!

Here's another of the adorable bars - it will have to wait to be sampled for another day!

And the wrapper on this bar just calls my name:

Wouldn't you like to paint that!!!

And here's the Tyvek........there must be enough to wrap an entire neighborhood! (I need to get busy!)

Thanks Jeannie!!! You are the best!!!!

YES WE CAN!!!

Studio Works

I had started this ComplexiTee last Fall and then got busy with other things and it just hung around out in the studio. I was doing some other things today, and decided to use Marga's wonderful Thermofax screen to discharge the tee a little bit. Then I thought it might be kind of fun to add a bit of my cityscape screen. So here's how it's looking:


Watch for more updates on this tee, because I'm going to really doctor it up!

Speaking of Marga's lovely Thermofax screen (which is on loan from it's Mama way down in warm and sunny Florida: thanks Marga!), the main reason I had borrowed it was to make a companion piece for my round robin fabric. I purchased more of the rayon twill, dyed it in some of the dyes that were used in the round robin, and then discharged it and also printed with Marga's screen.


I am liking what is happening here. As with the ComplexiTee, stay tuned, as there will be more to see of this fabric!

We saw "The Reader" the other night........highly recommend it! Kate Winslet certainly ought to win the Best Actress Oscar.

YES WE CAN!!!

Ruby Red

This week's lesson in Jane LaFazio's Art Quilts Exploration class over at Joggles covers Geometric Felt Quilts. One of Jane's examples was of pomegranates, and that got me to thinking about our great annual love affair with Texas' Ruby Red grapefruits.



sorry that these guys appear to be falling off of my countertop: I did turn the photo, but blogger refused to cooperate!

(C and I spent about a week birding in the Rio Grande Valley several winters ago, and went wild when we first tasted those Ruby Reds. Now we just wait patiently for the first ones to appear in the market. We are now on our second case of the season....we buy them at the Dekalb Farmers Market. MMMMMMMM!)

So, here is my cute little felt quilt:

I really enjoyed working with the wool felt....my needle just slipped through it like butter. I dragged out all of my old embroidery floss and my basket of beeds.....it was great fun and totally different from anything I'd ever done before. Thanks Jane!!

YES WE CAN!!!!

Pretty in Pink

Friends of ours just had their first baby, a little girl, and I wanted to dye something for her as a gift. Dharma had lots to offer and I couldn't decide on just one thing, so I ended up batiking and dyeing all three of these:

Our church's preschool is also having a silent auction fundraiser in the not too distant future, and I like to give them a little something, so I dyed another set, but in a larger size, for them. Here's a closeup view of the adorable little hat:


I always like to have some handwork to keep me busy in the evenings. Knitting is a recent obsession, but since C gifted me with the Alabama Stitch Book at Christmas, I've been having fun with a lot of reverse applique. This is a dish towel that I made from two recycled tees that I picked up for 99 cents each at the thrift store:

YES WE CAN!!!

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to You!

I always love seeing Google's holiday offerings on their homepage (thanks Becky for introducing me to this!). Here is today's, and it seems particularly appropriate to me, as I often sign emails and blog comments with 'xo':

I signed up to participate in a fabric Round Robin over on the Complex Cloth group. I received the piece of cotton below from my friend Judy Sall, without the turquoise lines. Yesterday was warm and breezy so I wrapped the fabric around a wide diameter piece of pvc pipe and painted on some discharge paste to which I had added a bit of turquoise dye. After steam ironing and washing, here is how it turned out:

It reminds me of marsh grass coming up through the water, with sun reflecting on it.


I wasn't sure how the hot iron would work on pole-wrapped fabric, but I'm pleased with the outcome. The purpose of these round robins is to experiment, and I'm happy for the opportunity. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

YES WE CAN!!!!!

The Queen Mother

While I was visiting my Mom at her skilled care home today Eleanor, the Activities Director, pulled me aside and asked if I was planning to attend their Valentines Dance this evening. I really had hoped that I wouldn't 'have' to, and Mom is usually very good about saying that she doesn't want me and C to come to such events. Eleanor said that she thought I'd enjoy it, as Mom was going to be crowned Queen! Oh Boy!!! So of course I wanted to be there and share in this momentous occasion! The place was all decked out: there was a fabulous (and I really do mean fabulous) man singing those great old love songs, the staff was dancing with the residents (even those in wheelchairs, like my Mom), and there were lots of yummy refreshments. It brought tears to my eyes to watch these folks, so many pretty much locked inside themselves, smiling and even singing along. It was a great experience and I'm so glad that I went!


This is Josh, the Maintenance Man, dancing with one gal who was all decked out!


Eleanor is in the center, dancing with an elderly gent whom I'd never before seen out of his wheelchair.


And here's my Mom, as they were presenting her with her bouquet and crown:

James, one of my Mom's best buds, was crowned the King, and the happy couple was wheeled around the dance floor to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart".

I remember my Dad singing that to my Mom many, many years ago, and I wondered if she remembered it too!

Do you remember when the Beatles came out with "When I'm 64" and we all that we'd never get that old? Well, honey lamb, if you aren't there yet, you're fast approaching! And 64 isn't old anymore!! My Mom will be 92 in May, and she's lovin' every minute of life in her skilled care home! You Go Girl!!!!

(I found out later that the staff elected the Queen and King, based on their willingness to help others and reach out to their neighbors. Mom and James keep their crown for 4 months and then must choose their replacements. Such politics!)

YES WE CAN!!!

The Incurable Romantic

This lovely box arrived at our house this afternoon!

I've been married to the same old wonderfully romantic guy for 38+ years now! Ain't it grand!!


These are by far the most gorgeous roses I've ever received...and they came from our friends Troy and John's shop!

Here's what I've been working on in dribs and drabs over the past couple of days.

It is pretty large (maybe 48 x 36) and is textile painted and screened cotton. I plan to either quilt or hand stitch on it (or perhaps both!) and it will hang on one of the as yet bare walls in our Midtown condo.

YES WE CAN!!!

Hearty and Arty Stuff

Elizabeth is having a lovely heart giveaway in celebration of her 250th blog post. Go take a peak, leave a comment, and link her on your blog so that you can be in the running for her stunning heart! But don't expect to win...........because I am going to be the big winner!!! LOL

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes concerning my most recent biopsy. Just after Barker and I returned from our early morning walk, the phone rang and it was the Dr's office. Amy, the nurse, sounded bright and chipper, and then delivered the fantastic news that all is well! YIPPEE!!! I'm rejoicing in my good fortune!

I am taking an Art Quilt Exploration class with Jane LaFazio, over at Joggles. I adore Jane and her beautiful work. She is such an inspiration for me, so I hope that some of her ideology and techniques will rub off on me over the next few weeks! It's been several days since I've had a chunk of time to devote to real fabric play, and I was getting antsy about getting behind in our assignments. Before I could begin this week's landscape quilt, I had to do some serious cleaning of my work table:


Can you believe that I can let things get so darned messy??? I can always find 30 minutes or so to explore more bead making techniques a la Sherrill Kahn, and that seems to be where the total lack of organization is coming from! I just love, love, love making the beads and painting the paper!!!

I really wish I had taken a picture after I had the entire surface clear of debris, but I was so excited over the prospect of actually getting started on my landscape quilt that I forgot...and then there were piles of fabric everywhere!

Here was one of my auditioned layers of fabric:

Jane told me to bump the yellow/orange that I was putting second down to the bottom, so I did that, and then left it for a while. When I returned, I started cutting and playing around a little bit more. Here is how it is looking now:

I still think it needs a little something before I begin sewing all of the layers together. What do you think? Is there too much 'sameness' in the middle of the quilt?

YES WE CAN!!!

Such Eloquence!

I've just finished listening to President Obama's first press conference, and I am STILL so very proud that we have finally elected this most intelligent and eloquent man as our President! Regardless of your party beliefs, surely you must admit that this man has all of our country's best interests at hand and also has the intelligence and foresight to make it happen!

I woke up this morning excited about a new day and couldn't wait to get out into my sewing room to work on a few new techniques from Sherrill Kahn's book. Time got away from me, and I was late leaving to go to the gym to work out and then run errands. Dr. Sock was scheduled to make a housecall after lunch, so I needed to keep moving!! Poor Dr. Sock: she had a lot of messes to untangle this afternoon, and I don't think that either of us ever thought it would take so long to fix my mistakes! Thanks Roberta, for setting me straight once again!!! You are the best!!!

What the mailperson delivered today:

a darling Valentine from my dear friend Marga! Isn't this bluebird of happiness just wonderful!!!!

Here's Marga's envelope:

I feel so fortunate to have such thoughtful and talented blogger friends! Thanks Marga!!!

What was for dinner:


C had been intrigued by a black beluga lentil soup recipe several weeks ago and had shared it with me. We went to the Dekalb Farmers' Market last week and actually found black beluga lentils there, so it was time to make the soup! This particular recipe is interesting in that it has a bit of a Tuscan twist to it: adding greens (they suggest kale, but I used spinach) and elbow macaroni. Both were added after I snapped this picture. I served it with some Pumpernickel bread: MMMMMMM! As you can see, I prepared this soup in my pressure cooker (20 minutes under pressure), and even then the lovely black lentils maintained their shape, but they were soft and supple. I'll try to get this recipe copied on my cooking blog some time this week! So much to do, so little time!!!

YES WE CAN!!!!