Hello followers,

I am always amazed by the growth that happens every summer.  These beautiful flowers are at the top of some swamp loving plat that is nearly six feet tall.  They are annuals and the amount of energy it takes to grow from a small seed to this towering colorful plant just makes me stop in my tracks.

I have had a busy week as the kids are getting ready for a return to school and we all seem to be in a rush to do all summer activities that we have put off thinking there was still time for them in the future .    With that though in mind I will tell you that there were be no post next week as I am off for a trip to Ohio next week.

This week included a play day with my friend Cheri.  We painted fabric on Wed.   Cheri did the two pieces and I did the single one.  This is only the first step of many so we will be getting together again.  It is always fun to experiment with a fellow artist and we had a good time even though it rained off and on all day.

I am putting most of my efforts into preparation for the “Sticks and Stones” show at the Americana Winery now.  It will be hung on Wed next week.  I am doing a bit of rework and additional quilting to some of my Grand Canyon works for that show.   Images will appear in the next post.

 

Progress Report:   Wind Fall      I am very happy with how this quilt turned out.  All the twigs that I pick up after the wind storm work well on this curved pieced background.   I had a lot of fun doing all the hand stitching as well.  The only real problem with this quilt is it must be rolled and not folded as the sticks will break if it is folded.

 

I like all the color changes that are present in the tan twigs- from very dark brown to a cream color- some times on the same branch.

 

 

 

I machine drew in branches in the dark areas of this work to add  bit more interest too.

The Machine drawing came about because I  felt that the quilt needed a bit of horizontal action to  contrast the strong verticals present in the sticks and most of the other quilting.

Synapse Firing     I am happy with how this quilt came out.  I have found that when I am exploring new territory I can only go so far before I need to fall back to familiar ground were I know what to do.  Such was the case with this work that I created at QBL.  I was playing and working on all the rock/texture stuff and I needed to feel safe again- so I pulled out this fabric that I had purchased from Randy last summer and put this quilt together.   I quilted this with silver thread and then added a variegated around the out side of the work .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Road to Dry Falls
This is the work I was constructing when I did Synapse Firing.    It is highly textured with fabric that is wadded and then pressed in the wadded state before it is sewn to the surface.   I also used a satin fabric ( dark brown) that was shinny on one side and matt on the other to add additional texture.  I tore strips of fabric and left the raw edges exposed for a further texture.    I am enjoying the free motion quilt drawing process to continue the wrought feel of the rock too.  At this point I am more concerned with the way the eye does not quite flow across surface as I intended then I am with the texture parts.    There is always work to do.

 

   Blooming Bacteria   This quilt I started before QBL as I wanted to keep my direction with this idea.  I am adding the black  button wholes on top by hand now.  They really add a wonderful texture to the surface of this piece.  It will take a long time to complete it however as the hand work is quite slow.  I do think the time and effort it worth it however.

Please remember there will  be no post next week.

 

Keep Creating

 

Carol