SOLD!

SOLD!

Okay this feels REALLY good! Off to a private collection, this lovely piece goes. You can read more about Dreamy Tulips here.

I can never really thank my benefactors enough. So far, I have sold 3 journal quilts, and one small piece. You never really know when you are working on a piece if it will come out well, or even good enough, or if it will appeal to others, or touch someone in a meaningful way....yet still, you HAVE to do it. It really gives back to me when I found out that my work has affected someone else, especially to the point that they want it in their house! So if I haven't said it before, THANK YOU! Thank you to those of you have purchased my work. And thank you to all of you who write me or leave comments. I really appreciate you!

Happy Dance and Inspiration

Happy Dance and Inspiration
I guess it's safe to announce my good news now! Though I don't believe it has hit the newsstands yet, I did get my complimentary copies in the mail this week, and the editor, Pokey Bolton, has posted this on her blog.... YAHOO! My quilt, Vertigo, is on the cover! And even more pleasing, the colors are right!! My quilts are sometimes so bright that prints of them look bad, the colors come out wrong. But when I saw this one, I knew they got it right! I even held it up to my quilt and BINGO! It was right on! Fantastic! Good job Quilting Arts!

My article looks good too! And even better, I am in the esteemed good company of Laura Wasilowski, Deborah Boschert, and Jane Davila. It's a fantastic issue, check it out when you get a chance!
Also, I was checking in on some of my favorites, and Ann Flaherty had this youtube on her blog this morning. I absolutely love it. I love what it says about making art. I was surprised at the number of universal themes that artists ask themselves that were so true for me. It was kind of like when you really connect with a song, it rings true for you. That's how this video affected me, and it's all about passing along the inspiration. Enjoy!

Art as a Gift

Art as a Gift

 This one is called Flamingo Babies. As in....did you know that flamingo mommies carry their babies on their backs? The blue easter egg looking thingy is a baby pond for the baby flamingo. There are many other details, but I will save them for later.

This is a collaborative piece I made with my daughter. She drew the picture in art class at school. I transferred it to fabric by scanning and printing. This is when I learned, though I think I already knew, that my printer does not print colors like I see on my monitor. I know better, my printer is not calibrated, but alas, did it anyway. So, back to my story. I had to color in a lot with Tsukineko inks and fabric markers to make the colors truer. Then I quilted on top of the black lines with black thread to make it look more distinct. I asked my daughter to draw some fish for me, and I copied her fish designs around the border (her idea!). It is hard to copy another artist's designs exactly, but I tried. The border fabric is one of my hand dyes. I found the project to be more work than I expected, but it was really fun and rewarding. We gave it to her grandparents for Christmas.

Winter Scarves

Winter Scarves 

I am not really a knitter. I have knitted perhaps two things, and that was 20 years ago. They weren't particularly successful, but I remembered it was fun doing it.

I got inspired when a group of friends got together for a gift exchange for Christmas. We were each supposed to bring a hand made gift. I gave a beaded felted ball, a la Judy Perez. It was beautiful, unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it. Several people made scarves. They were awesome, all beautiful. It made me want to try again.

The first scarf did not look that great, even though I did it twice, but my son took it because he loved it, and now I can't find it. Then I made one for my mom, then I made one for my daughter, and then I made a nicer one for my son (but he doesn't like that one, so it's mine now). It is really more fun than I ever thought it would be. I love all the new yarns. The chenille one above in blues and purples was so incredibly soft! I am making another from nubby yarn, in aqua and browns, I guess there is nothing wrong with having more than one scarf!

Anyway, hopefully these attempts will amuse you until I can share my good news

Box Fan Deconstructed

Box Fan Deconstructed

So, I was trying the same technique I used on the construction fencing in Falling Through the Cracks. While I was working on that piece, I noticed this box fan in my garage, so I thought I'd give it a try. I put the soda ash soaked fabric on the fan (unplugged, and lying on it's side), and began squirting the dye on. It was interesting, but nothing to get too excited about. I decided to cut it up and put it back together. I hadn't tried that before. Though there's nothing wrong with this piece, there's nothing that really appeals to me either. Perhaps it will be the background for something else.