Hello,

It is cold here in the north east and that has kept me indoors more than normal.  I really enjoy  the ice crystals on the storm door and I tried to take a photo- but they are not at all satisfactory.  So I will use the old fashion method  and just keep the selected sections of the patterns in my memory.  Staying inside means I worked a lot in the studio however.

Progress Report: Charlotte’s Shadow III   This is the last of the quilts made with Charlotte’s fabrics.  I even used her stuff on the backs.  These quilts are not for sale as I intend to give them as gifts to the three gals who were her sweet mates at Quilting By the Lake for many years.   I feel I got better and better at doing free motion flowers by the time I reached this third piece too.  One does hope that is what happens at any rate.    I did start out copying the printed image and then progressed to creating my own flowers and leaves to fill the rest of the quilt.       I did take creative linces and created some of my own flowers near the end too- mostly due to the space limitations and I did not want to compete with the images too much.     I also did lots of swirl and free curves in the quilting to cross over areas and pull things together.  The whole process was pleasant and I enjoyed myself. 

III Foundations VII- Fragments

I am happy with how this quilt looks.  The full shot does not show how it flows for me but the color patterns are very visable.  This quilt has yarn, silk paper, organza and nylon netting on the top of a base built with cottons, parts of a wool jacket, a section of one of my husbands shirts and some very old taffeta.  I really enjoyed mixing all these fabrics to get the colors and textures I was seeking with this piece.   The back has been dry brush painted to seal the threads created by all the free motion work.   I did the free motions work with nylon threads and cotton ones to get the colors I wanted in this area too.               The more I practice sewing with the free motion the easier it becomes.  I am espically happy with the ability I am building sewing down the yarn without trapping it under organza first.  It means that I must move very slowly- but it is worth the effort.

I also did some used some colored pencils in different areas of this top to add more texture and detail to some sections.  There is a little paint on the surface too.  This new direction makes me  I feel like  I can employ any tool to create the texture and colors I want with these work.  Very Freeing!

Maya’s Tee Shirt Quilt   I am starting to build the units for this quilt.  Yellow – for Yellow Jackets- is the main color.  I have various patterns and shades.  Then for interest I have inserted narrow bits of black patterned fabric at random locations.    The process is very slow- but I think it will be worth the effort.

Stenciling with Shaving Cream     I spent a few hours on Monday afternoon using my stencils to create some new images on fabric.  I created these and several other screens  in October.  I like to do the printing of them in the winter when things slow down a bit at this time of year.  I am espically pleased with the white print on the dark fabric  of these thisel inspired images.  I mix ink with shaving cream and push the mixture through the thermo fax with a credit card.    I  like the slender lines of branches in the gold on the white fabric on the left too.  That image is older- but I always find it very useful in my stash.  I will print a second color on top of some of the images in a day or two.

New Work  I decided to do another collage quilt.   I started out with a drawing based on a photo of fungus growing on a rock wall.  Then  is the source of the colors.  I also decided to work smaller this time and the work is only 18″ X 24″.  The fabric is somewhat pinned to the  burckrum and I will start free motion work to tack it down tomorrow.  The   fungus will be added  at a later date.

  Daily’s     I was surprised to realize that I was at the end of my fifth mouth of creating Daily’s.  Well perhaps it is more accurate to say my fifth set of thirty blocks.  I finished the last red circle with a black L last eve and the next series is a half red circle and two black strips.  New challenges await me.   

Keep Creating

Carol