Tuesday This ‘N That…

Here is the piece I started the other day. The quilt is red orange and blue green.  So I used blue green rayon thread on the red orange part and red orange thread on the blue green part.  I quilted a pattern and left parts of it unquilted, which, in the end, made another design, because the unquilted parts “pouf” a bit.  Can you see the “stripes” in the red part?

They are very subtle… if you click to enlarge, you might see it better.

Full view.

I’m not sure that it’s done…I was thinking of doing something in those “poufs” but I don’t think I want big contrast, so I may just let it be.

On another note, I am working on a lecture/demo on Journal Quilt techniques.  This is a sample I did today using painted fusible web and dryer sheets on a gessoed quilt block.  The two metal pieces aren’t attached, but I like the looks of them.  I may use them…I may not.  I’ve been hoarding them because I couldn’t get any more.

I shut the phone off today.  I can’t stand it when it rings while I am trying to concentrate.  And I only have two weeks left to plan this lecture and workshop.  I have to be able to think.  So I left a very polite message that I was working very hard on a class and wouldn’t be able to answer the phone today…it was heaven.

New thermofax screens arrived in the mail today…then I remembered…I forgot to send her toner copies.  Well…they still worked…printed on my Epson inkjet printer.  I guess there is carbon in that there black ink.  Lucky day for me indeed.

Friday This ‘N That…

Today I was up early and got some fabric dyed to fill out my inventory. I am preparing for the quilt show next week. I will also have painted dryer sheets for sale. Since all my art that uses painted dryer sheets is either in the arts council show or sold, I decided to make a couple of samples so that quilters at the show can get an idea of what they can do with those painted dryer sheets. That’s what I have been working on…that and getting my brain organized of what all I have to get done before I leave. I’m still waiting on important orders to get here! I also spent a good part of yesterday trying to get a hotel room. Who knew a military graduation, the Rider Cup (?), and a Coca-Cola convention would all converge on the town the same time as the quilt show?

Canvas, ink, coffee stain, painted dryer sheet, home dec sample, dyed scrim, photo transfer, old buttons, perle cotton stitching, dyed cheesecloth, very old ribbon.  The next one isn’t totally finished.  I am going to put some more stuff on it, but here’s where it is now.

It’s got pretty much the same stuff as the other one, except I haven’t done the embellishing yet.  These are not quilted, in the interest of time, so they have raw edges.  The home dec samples are the perfect size to use in a small hanging like this, and I have so many of them…I should really use them more in my work!

I am also watching this hurricane as it comes closer to shore and praying there will be no loss of life.  My sister lives in Dayton, TX and has already evacuated to Louisiana, although they could find no hotel room or campground to park their camper.  This morning they were still in the Walmart parking lot in Alexandria with their two dogs.  The news is saying this one is bigger than Katrina.  And that would be a shame.

Hand Stitching….

I have been doing some hand stitching. Who…me? Yeah. It’s something I don’t do a lot of, but there was a project in the 2007 Quilting Arts Gifts issue that caught my eye. As Christmas approaches, I am thinking about a present for a certain friend. It’s a quilted bag by Linda and Laura Kemshall on page 21. I figured the hand stitching is something I can do in the evenings while watching tv…and then there’s election day coming up. I will need some handwork to do!

I don’t do much hand quilting…like, none, to be exact. Not thinking, I layered my layers with a piece of cotton batting, since I use that exclusively in my quilts and only have that around. I will have to remind myself not to do that again! Hand quilting with cotton batting is not good. It will take much longer, I can tell. And I’m only working on a 14″ square. Here is the full view of the first stage in progress…layered paint rag, polyester sheers, dryer sheets, painted cheesecloth…

…and the close up view…

…this is kind of fun…I just have to remember to use some poly felt for the batting next time!

…And The Winner Is…

….Marilyn Davis! There were 243 total sheets.  I counted them several times to be sure. A few of you were very close, but Marilyn’s estimate was 247 and she came the closest.   Congratulations, Marilyn! I will be sending you a bundle of these painted dryer sheets as your prize. If you will send me your snail mail address, I will get these out to you pronto.  My appreciation goes out to all of you who participated!  I will be putting some bundles of these sheets in my etsy shop this week if you are interested in purchasing some.

Dryer Sheets….

Thanks to everyone who has made a guess.  I plan to announce the winner and final total at 6 p.m. central  time.  27 of you left a number.  You still have time as of this writing if you haven’t posted one.

Here are some pictures of some of the individual sheets.  You could lay these out flat and paint them and get more paint on them.  For my use, I don’t want a block of color, but just a bit of color and transparency for layering. They can still have paint added to them as well as stamping, and I’m even wondering how they would take a gel medium photo transfer…hmmmm, I may have to try that!

How Many Dryer Sheets…

…can one collect? I have been saving them for quite some time. I painted these this morning. If anyone wants to take a guess how many there are in this picture….when I iron them, I will count them and the person who gets closest to the actual number will get a prize! So leave your guess in the comment section. How many painted dryer sheets are in these 6 containers?

Stuff I’m Working On….

I am working this week. I am preparing for a fabric dyeing class this weekend at the Rend Lake Visitor’s center. I have been studying and writing my handout and getting kits ready.

I have also been playing/working in my room. My new best friend is gesso. A friend of mine had given me several books of home dec samples. Being the little hoarding and can’t-waste-anything person that I am, I have found a use for some of these pieces. I usually work fairly small, so these do come in handy. (When, oh, when will I work larger?) I am taking the large florals and painting them with gesso, then painting over that with the Adirondack iridescent paints. I love the whitewashed feeling the gesso does to the fabric. The paint is not put on solid, but a bit randomly. You’ll see. I am using these pieces to frame other small pieces of art. I like the look. Now to find a way to mount them for hanging. I glued (PVA, acid free) the gessoed, painted home dec fabric to matboard, but have stopped there so far. These pieces are not stitched yet. The only problem I see so far, is that the lovely gessoed florals are mostly covered up, but I do like the “framing” look of it.

I am thinking “Fragments of a Life”. What do you think?

Again using scraps…home dec fabric, gesso, acrylics, stamping, dyed craft paper, torn paper from a photo, screening, painted dryer sheets, hand dyed fabric, calligraphy pen. This started with a georgous earthy hand dye I wish I could repeat.

I think I will be adding more to this one. I am thinking more background texture. The home dec fabric pieces have a lovely ragged edge on one side (shown here on the bottom), from cutting them out of the book. I would like to utitilize that.

I am looking forward to soon spending a few days dyeing, painting and screening with soy wax out in my patio…if this cold, rainy weather ever clears up!

Friday This ‘N That

It’s time to blog again and I feel a little bit lost as to topic. This week has mainly been a week of just doing a little of this and that and tying up loose ends on stuff. I can’t say that I have accomplished anything major.

I did manage to get a tote bag sample made up for a class in June so that I could deliver it when I went to Evansville on Thursday. You can see it at the bottom of the page, Classes In Evansville. I like how it turned out, all bright and cheerful. And yesterday I worked on blocks for another class I am planning for the fall, the 4 Patch Posy. You can see those blocks on the Coming Soon page. I have this group of girls from Indiana that are keeping me quite busy. You see, they have full time jobs, and they just love getting out for a day and coming to the shop, taking a class and learning something new. So it’s keeping me hopping, planning classes and making the samples. But they help out quite well. They choose the class and usually the date they can come. I just schedule it and get the sample made if I don’t already have one. Does anyone want to buy samples? I am getting quite a collection! I do schedule the classes several times to maximize the use of my samples.

I did do some playing around with some art earlier in the week. You see, I will be in a group exhibit at the Arts Council gallery in Evansville in August and have been mulling over what I will plan to put in and what I should make before that time for the exhibit. My workroom is full of scraps of cloth. I am such a hoarder. I even have started keeping the plastic tabs from potato bags, because when I look at them I think, I just know something can be done with that in my art! But my room (needs to be cleaned) has a tableload of “stuff” laying around so I played.

See? Discharged cotton, scraps of painted dryer sheet and painted white cotton with writing on it, a scrap of joint tape, black cotton, dyed paper. I must not forget the scrap of plasticized (from heat) onion bag. It was laying around…can’t let it go to waste. It’s too cool for texture. I really love the challenge of using my imagination and the scraps on my table. I think I could do it all day long and use up the scraps, but then I realize they multiply way faster than I can use them.

I am also working on this. I really like the red free motion zig zag stitching and I think I will find other ways to use this technique.

So what artsy things are you doing today?

Wednesday This N’ That

Ahhh…..it feels good to be home and working in the, ahem, “studio” (aka the 9′x 9′ shrinking spare bedroom). The Arts In Harmony art festival is this coming weekend. I have been experimenting with some ideas, altering fabric, and going back to some pieces that have been started, but somewhere along the way I had gotten lost and did not finish it. First, the cloth, because it led to what I did with an unfinished piece.

I took this rather dark clean-the-brush-cloth….

….and turned it into this….

…took this fabric….

…and turned it into this.

See my new stamps in there?

I started this piece back in the winter (not so long ago). It is mostly painted dryer sheets, but there is some cheesecloth and scrim and painted fusible web in it too. I got to a place where I was not satisfied, but lost interest or got busy with other things. It needed more….more depth…more something.

Yesterday, I gave it a go using the same technique I did on the cloth. When you are a week away from a show, starting new work is not an option because of the time factor, but pulling out unfinished pieces and finishing them is! A show is a great motivator for getting stuff done.

I am much happier with it. I’m not sure it is done, but it sure is better!