Red and Pink
18" x 24"

color, rich and saturated, evocative,
softened with stitching,
machine and by hand.
and brought to life with simple shapes

It feels good to be working again. This is my first quilt of the new year. Yes, it's small, but a palpable start. I love repetition in design. I cut circles around the center of the window crosses for the center of the flowers. Then I used the windows in the inner border, and once again repeated the cross shape in the hand stitching on the background of the flowers (see closeup below). I'm saving the edge finish for a workshop. I am teaching at the end of February on finishing techniques for small quilts at the Austin Area Quilt Guild.

I have to laugh that the red and pink IKEA couch is still inspiring me. Maybe I should call it the IDEA couch?

Inevitable

Inevitable
12"x 16"

Hope this one makes you laugh, or at least smile!
I've joined Malka Dubrowsky's mini-Monday quilt group. This is my first entry. I've had this sitting around awhile, unquilted, and this was just the motivation I needed to finish it up. I had fun with the design and the fabrics, but I was so indecisive about the quilting designs. That's when I decided I was thinking too much. Just DO something and move on! Now, that it's done (well, except for the binding), I am finding that I like it, and it was a good learning experience. I used a number of my hand-dyes, hand batiks, and a few commercial fabrics for the table. Enjoy!

Three Cups of Tea

Three Cups of Tea

 What do Greg Mortenson and Pamela Allen have in common? Probably nothing, but they got linked in my mind. I was reading this book, Three Cups of Tea, when I took Pamela Allen's class, Think Like an Artist back in May of this year. For me, the class was like a focused mini-retreat, as I got to create for 3 solid days, culminating with my self-portrait quilt that won a prize in Houston. This quilt was one of my unfinished quilts. Pamela-la-la-la gave each of us a scrap of fabric and told us to create a picture with it. I remember doing that in grade school, drawing a line and then trying to create a picture from it or with it. It's a fun exercise. We didn't stop to fuse, just cut and paste (yes, literally with glue). Quickly. I struggled, struggled with this quickly part. The absolute best thing that came out of the class for me was the astute realization of what my son feels like every single day in school, that everything was hard and moving way too fast. It seems my process is much slower. But I did want to finish this little piece.

I finally got to it this last week. I was trying to think of a name for it, that's when I decided to call it 3 cups....that's when a bell of recognition starting ringing in my head. I had no idea in May that the cups I placed on it had anything to do with Greg's book. This week I remembered that I had been reading it at the time I made this quilt. An especially appropriate timing, the week of Thanksgiving. What do I have to be thankful for? Well, lots of things, but especially people like Greg Mortenson who remind us that a single person can change the world and that you can fight hate with love. He inspired me, and really I only picked up the book because I thought it was a climbing adventure survival tale. It was so much more! I highly recommend it!

Juicy Fruit

Juicy Fruit
19" x 19"

A bit of humor and rebellion. I took Pamela Allen's class, "Think Like an Artist" about a month ago. Our assignment was to make a still life, in black and white. Rebel that I am, I had to add some color, just couldn't stand it, not have any color at all....ugh! For the composition, I also wanted implied movement in the captured "still" frame. Hence, the orange, spontaneously filling the juice glass. I know it's a bit subtle (I think the squirting juice still needs to be more easily seen), but it cracks me up!

 Also, the only hand made batik, the black and white fabric for the orange, has a starring role. Congrats little orange! I used window screen fabric for the placemates, and colored threads to hold down the edges of the applique.