Another Crazy Orphan Quilt

Now that we have at least a bit of good weather in my neck of the woods I am in the process of taking my "orphans" out for their yearly airing and refreshing. This Victorian Crazy Quilt is one of my pride and joys. Scott found it at an auction about 10 years and and presented it to me as a gift. It is is in almost pristine condition. I had it appraised not long after I got it. The embroidery thread is silk - and there are only a couple of pieces of leaded silk that are splitting. This is an unfinished top - beautifully sew. Even the back that shows the stitching is well done and neat. There are quite a few umbrellas in this quilt - you can see one of them in the second photo down. I wonder if this was a commonly used symbol? I had not seen any before. I enjoy taking my time and really looking at this quilt whenever I take it out - ideally I would like to get it framed in a two sided fashion - but the money for this project will take a while to save !

FYI - A Great Place For Fabric

I'll begin with the usual disclaimer - I have absolutely NO affiliation etc etc ...but I love to share news of places that I find interesting or special on the web.....

Judy Perez - one of my favorite quilters - mentioned Sew Mama Sew in one of her blog entries and I had a look. Whoever owns this store is right on the money as far as my taste in fabrics goes. What a great selection of "up-to-the-moment" fabrics. I have to restrain myself and remember how very large my stash already is - or I would do serious damage to my spending habits ! Have a look and see if you too like her selections too !

A Well Worn Orphan Finds a Home

A friend at work told me that she was going to toss this well used quilt - but wanted me to have a look at it first to see if I wanted it. YES ! It IS in very poor conditions and most all of the leaded silks have disintegrated but there is still a lot of wonder to this quilt. Many of the pieces of the beautiful velvets are still in great condition and the embroidery is still mostly bright and is fairly well executed. The two most prominent images are two large and well ornamented crosses. Funereal ? Simply Religious? The backing is a rosy wool twill that was most likely red at one time - there had been a red binding on it - that has long ago been worn off. It was tied with what appears to be a possible newer embroidery thread - all of the ties are still intact. A young woman who once worked in our office had used this quilt on her bed and given the quilt to my friend when she moved! It's origin is Wisconsin. Most of my friends know that I am always going to take an aging orphan quilt and that I treasure having them. To me, each quilt is a historic document. I love looking at them - even those that are in tatters can tell many tales.

Little Hoppers

I don't know what it is about these little creatures that fascinates me so much. I am one of those people who truly is phobic when it comes to snakes and spiders - well, large spiders at any rate. These little frogs just always make me happy. I look for their arrival every year and spend more time than I should watching them. They love the Lamb's Ear plants probably because they are so soft !

I DID manage to do some dye painting today. It was a bright, warm day and I worked outside which was lovely. I finally started a quilt that has been simmering in my head since 1995 ! I took some photos but it really does not look like much yet - so I'll wait until it take more shape. In lieu of something more artistic from me I hope you enjoy these photos of my "little hoppers"- one of nature's finest little works of art !

Two Things Had To Try Yesterday

There have been two things that I have wanted to try my hand at. I decided that, although I was not very well equipped for options , today would be the day to give them a try with what little I had on hand. There are no stores any where near where I live - so going out to pad the selections was not in the cards for me

One of the "had to try" things is Silk Fusion. I got the book "Take Silk" by Judith Pinnell out of the library. I adore books - I can usually get a head start on what a want to learn by using a good book. I had little on to experiment with, but I just had to try. I did have a SMALL bit of glorious red tussah silk from Denise at Try our Designs and some Jo Sonya's Textile Medium so I figured what the heck - how bad could it be ?! I just good not get my camera to deal well with the luster of the fibers - the light - whether sunlight or indoor light - just bounced off....and I am too tired to fiddle with them in Photoshop - though I may try to take some better pictures again another time - when the painting is finished and I have it cut up or whatever it decides to become

The First two photos at the top show:
The silk fiber laid out on netting - two layers at right angles.
Covered in water and Jo Sonya's textile medium and then left to dry.

Next - I have begun to paint a design... once again you can see the camera woes I was experiencing !

I DID get a bit to antsy and peeled it off the netting a bit too soon - probably why I got some ripples in the finished sheet . Oh ! What a beautiful thing to behold though. The shine and the colors are awesome. I ca't wait to order some more silk and make some more!


The other, rather simple thing, I wanted to explore was simply using tissue paper with textile medium. When my order came from EQuilter it was wrapped in this divine yellow tissue paper - so once again I figured I would try it - and see what happens . Maybe it will become a round file addition - or maybe I can cut it up. I really cannot imagine what I might do with this one - but I am sure I will find something .

I love playing - just doing things that make no sense to see what happens. Sometimes magic and sometimes not.

Sliced Paper Doodling

Not that time ever weighs heavily in my hands - but I thought I would try doodles with sliced, rainbow colored Origami Paper. making this reminded me of Tibetan Sand Painting since a slight breeze "improves" the design so easily! I am not sure how many of these I will do but I am using this one as a small study for a Chakra related quilt theme I have in mind.


This spider mum bud amazes me - I want to paint it ! I can feel the tension in those petals as they strain to open. Talk about nature's doodles ! Brilliant ! Hope everyone has a wonderful day - or evening as the case may be !

Garden Visitors

I don't do much gardening anymore and would shame my fellow Master Gardeners. Our soil is just too rocky for these aging bones to mess with. The other, more compelling, and most honest reason is that I simply prefer to be mucking about with fabrics, paints, wool and my other toys more than I want to be pulling weeds. Honesty is always the best policy - though on this one I sometimes feel guilty when most of my friends are gushing about their fruit laden trees and their gloriously blooming rose bushes. Sometimes I feel guilty about using ALL of my time for textiles - though I DO work outdoors - dyeing, felting and even sewing.

Some of my roses are still producing glorious beauties for me ( I originally planted 25 bushes). Our house gets too much shade for them though and it was an ill considered plan when I started it I suppose. The scents of Damask and Old World roses intoxicates me - and for a time I put in the effort to have them. We have a huge overgrown pot of Lamb's Ears (they were part of a set in the movie "Practical Magic") that are thriving and I really DO need to get them in the ground. They are a favored spot for the tree frogs that I enjoy watching so much. The Wysteria, although planted in another ill consider location, is lush and growing wildly - despite having one half of it demolished in a storm two years ago. The Jacob's Ladder is taking over, along with the Bluet, Mints, and Bleeding Hearts - and some wonderful low growing plants whose name I have forgotten. The summer yard still looks lush, fertile and blowsy .

It's raining again today - the first official weekend of summer is not making a stellar appearance here - but I am sure the warmth will be here before too long - and then those of us who thrive more in cool weather than in hot -will be complaining about the heat and dithering about getting the garden watered ! For today I'm going to enjoy my textiles, maybe even take a nap, and I am not going to need to feel guilty about not being gardening ! Not one bit!

"Quilts Fill Our Lives: An American Legacy"

If you happen to be in Muncie, Indiana this July stop by the Minnetrista Museum. The Museum, in conjunction with The Quilter's Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana is having a show entitled "Quilts Fill Our Lives: An American Legacy". THe show will run from July 6th to August 4th. I was privileged to have three quilts accepted into this show !

The small quilt shown above is painted on natural colored linen. My friend Ingrid gave me yards and yards of this amazing fabric and it has become my favorite thing to paint on - or print on for that matter. This is the Courthouse where I work - right through those doors and to the left is my office. The ourthouse step blocks are made from silk ties that were donated by local attorney's and judges - I will be using many more of these to make a full sized quilt. I discovered that I really enjoy working with ties - and friends have graciously donated many more of them to add to my collection. What a treasure trove they are !

The other two quilts that were accepted are full sized, traditional quilts.... made with many vintage fabrics. They have stories too !

Colorful Summer Solstice Rainbow

Isn't this beautiful ?! Thanks to an E-Quilter gift certificate from Lauren I was able to stock up on some solids that I had been wanting ! More and more often, I find that I want to use solids rather than prints in my work. What a rainbow of inspiration this will be! I picked colors that seemed to be lacking on my shelves. I seldom seem to buy blues and purples - so they figure heavily in this selection. There were, of course, some of my favorite oranges, yellows and reds that I just HAD to have too ! What a wonderful gift ! Thank you L!

Block enhancing

In betwixt doing the laundry, cleaning and cooking that are a regular part of my " before I go back to the day job" ritual on Tuesdays, I took some time to play with one of the blocks I did yesterday. This block was was printed with the dessicated stamp pads (read: dried out) and it was pretty pallid looking all in all. I wanted to keep it fairly monochromatic and low key. When I started adding some color though before I realized it - time had flown by. It's a bit more vibrant than this photo shows but still gentler looking than my usual work. I think my next big investment will be in a better digital camera....though I love my small Olympus. I tried fiddling with the white balance too - and that did not seem to make any improvement. Oh well - you'll get the idea and this is not too far off to begin with. First I guess I will have to stop buying paints ... and that's a bit too hard to do !

For some time now, I had been wanting to get some Golden Fluid Acrylic paints to try.
The darn things are really pretty spendy though and I thought that I was never going to be able buy them. I generally use Blick for my art supplies - but found a set from artsuppliesonline that has 16 one ounce bottles - on sale no less. I splurged ! Now, I will get to try them out ! I'm also planning to place my next order for Stewart Gill paints really soon too.... end of the month I hope. I HAD to order some more stamp block material and since Blick did not carry Speedy-Cut from Speedball - which Joggles carries - I am going to try the Blick EZ Cut material this time. Uh oh ! This really could be an obsession I feel coming on ! Now how to combine it with glass, wool and photographs ?!

More Block Printing Fascination

Well - I am really hooked on block printing now.

I had been saving two 'smushed' egg cartons just because I liked the way they looked. I decided to draw something similar and try making a stamp from the drawing. I like the results and now have to order more block - fast!

Below, the photo at the top is the egg carton that was my inspiration - it's beside the drawing I did. The the next photo on the shows the cut block material next to the "proof" of the stamp in my sketch book.



















Finally, here is a piece of fabric printed with the block. The left side was printed with some rather dessicated stamp pads I had from long ago & the right side is done with some textile paints. Why did I not know about this FUN long ago??!!

First Block Print

I was eagerly awaiting the Fourth Lesson from the "Personal Symbols" on-line class taught by Susan Sorrell. I have never cut any type of block - or done any block printing- ever. I was eager to try. As with many things in life , I had somehow managed to think that cutting a block was difficult. The reality was so different. What FUN ! I can't wait to get more cutting material and do some more ! Now I can see endless possibilities in store !

The picture on above is the "Speedy-Cut" material. It is buttery soft rubber that is a breeze, and a pleasure, to cut. Below is the first "print" . I just pulled a scrap of muslin that had been the drop cloth for a painting on Lutradur... so it does not look like much. There is potential though!
Below are photos of my sketchbook pages showing the original drawing and the prints from the blocks . My very first - ever !

I love learning something new - it really energizes me. My wish list for classes - if money were no object - would be: Carol Soderlund, Jane Dunnewold, Anne Johnston, Velda Newman, Rayna Gillman and something in mixed media - since I feel this is a weak spot for me. I suppose I should not list these classes either - since I know there are others that would strike my fancy too - I know, I know - I'll take the classes in my dreams ! Dreaming is good !

A Creative , Albeit Small, Atelier

There has been a lot of talk on one of the lists I read daily about sewing areas, clutter, remodeling and revamping. This is where I sew. Obviously, I did not plan to use these photos - and did not 'tidy' before I took them ! It is a small nook tucked into the "attic" of the house. I can't stand up in it, but it is quiet (very important to me)- and as organized as I can make it for now. There ARE two small skylights - so I get some natural lighting which is nice ! My friend Lauren is moving off island and she gave me two large cabinets that her master woodworker husband, Carlo, had made. Now I am able to sit at the computer and sit when I cut fabric - two things that had previously not been possible.

This is far from my ideal studio - and one day, before too long I hope, my DH promises me I can move to a real room. For now, I'm happy to be able to create in a small but quiet nook where no one can fit but me --- and my feline buddy "Mr.B". I have managed to make many good things in this space - so in some ways I think it is an odd blessing. The thing that I miss the most is having design wall. My friend, Sarah, suggested using 1" insulation board (pink board) - and I did get some & it works pretty well! I still can't get much perspective - maybe that's why I am working smaller than usual at this point in my life ! We work with what we have and count our blessings. I am grateful for the inspirations I am given and the security and peace that I need in order to create... our minds can know no limits - and space will not constrain my hopes !

The Land That I Love

I am feeling a bit uninspired today - in that I have nothing art related ready to post.
I thought that some photos of the enchanting island that I call home - the land that I truly do love - might please those of you who happen to drop by my bit of cyber space. You can readily see that inspiration is always really close at hand here !

Finally - an IPod Cover

I won't bore you any more about my IPod cover. It's finally done and this is the result of the felting, splicing and quilting. I am happy with the result - and think it is one of the best yet.
A friend suggested that I add a LONG cord to these covers so that they can be worn around the neck. Sounded like a good suggestion - what do y'all think? I can't wait to make the next one!!

Quilted Doodles

Since I am rediscovering the fun of doodles - today I enjoyed "drawing" quilted doodles on my felt piece. Now I'll need to position the pieces to preserve the doodles when I cut it up !

PS: It's cut up and made into my IPod case - it's my favorite to date . Photo will follow.

Frenzied Felting

This was the alternative piece of felted fabric I made for my IPod case. I am blocking both pieces of fabric now and of course either one will yield more than I need for a small IPod Nano ! I'll quilt them and decide which one - yesterdays or todays - get sliced up !

Fire on the Land - Felting again

Needle felting has become a new passion, restrained only by the amount of available fibers on hand. I have wanted a new IPod cover and decided that I would make one. Below you will see a couple of different kinds of merino prefelts. I really like the stability that using them as a base gives to the finished fabric. The prefelt on the right is probably my favorite. It's not too heavy and not too light. Available from Fine Fiber Press. The only potential drawback is that it comes only in white - but can be dyed very easily. The other piece is as light as a feather and is available in an array of 14 gorgeous colors from Outback Fibers. Outback also sells a wonderful sample pack of all their colors in generous ten inch squares. That's a great was to both see the colors and experiment with the prefelt. You can easily see how gauzy the Outback Fiber prefelt is compared to the heftier one from Fine Fiber Press. They both have advantages and I have been using both equally as much lately. Outback Fibers also carries a dizzying array of other fibers - it's very hard to be restrained when I get to their website.

If you have not seen the wonderful work of Pat Spark (the co owner of Fine Fiber Press) you owe yourself some eye candy by looking at her work. She does amazing hand needle felted 'water color' pieces that are breath taking. She is also a truly fabulous teacher. A lucky chance to take one of her classes locally is what led me into this latest fine obsession. Thank you San Juan Textile Guild for sponsoring this class

They next two photos are a sampling of the wool rovings I will use and then a photo of how I loosely laid the fibers on the prefelt to begin the felting. Fibers being brushed out and blended on the brush (aka card) and another photo of the first bit of felting being done with my trusty new Pfaff... which I am appreciating more and more. Below those are pictures of the felted fabric from the front and from the back.

When I finished doing the felting on this piece it looked like Fire on the Land to me .. and now I am wondering if I should keep it to use as a full piece or make my desired IPod cover ....next step is wet felting. I'll see how that turns out before I decide. I think felting is a magical process - I love never knowing what the final result will really be like.