The Sketchbook Challenge

Looking back a the old year, looking ahead to the new one, even though according to MY calendar, it shouldn't even be October yet. humph.

Starting tomorrow, I will be participating in the Sketchbook Challenge. I've taken an online class with Sue Bleiweiss before, so I know this will be a wonderful learning experience. Loved that class!






When you make your resolutions, keep this in mind...  “The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had means, time, influence, and educational advantages, but what he will do with the things he has.” Hamilton Wright Mabie.  Plan to make the best of what you have, not what you don't have!

Happy New Year, everyone!

Holographic fiber art

Took a class yesterday from Wen Redmond on her Holographic Memories technique. Had a great time, such a great group of ladies and Wen is a wonderful teacher. She has the best laugh (which is an important skill with our group). We all went home with a finished, ready to hang work of art. I wrapped up mine and gave it to hubby who LOVED it. Wen put it on her blog which you can see here, it's the one at the top. It's a picture from a hike up Kearsarge in 2006. We had never hiked this one before, so we weren't familiar with the terrain. On the way down the kids went ahead to this point. I looked up, saw what seemed to be my precious children on the edge of a precipice. After panicking for just a split second, I thought, "What a fantastic picture!", and whipped out the camera. Priorities. When we caught up to them it wasn't nearly as dangerous as it had looked from the previous vantage point, so I was very glad not to have trusted my first primal instinct to protect my babies and instead had taken some snapshots! I love this picture and it carries with it some great summer memories.

It's done!!
I need to get better pictures, but this is the gist of it... I know the letters are hard to see, that was intentional. I want people to have to look closely to figure out what it says and what it's made of. This is actually pretty close to what I had originally envisioned. I love the look of rusty metal and peeling paint, and I wanted an aged, neglected look to the paint. There are some changes in the process that I would make if I did it again, so I may make a series of ones like this or smaller, experimental ones. Would love to play with the colors and the streaky/smudgy effects.

latest quilt

My current project, started in July... the letters were not staying stuck, so I finally decided to stitch them in place. I didn't want the texture of stitching, so I will have to figure out how to cover that up. Just an added challenge and an opportunity to play even more!

Solarfest!!!

Getting ready to go...
Solarfest

Fun, educational... and I'll be there... what more could you ask for?

thoughts

No pictures today, I need to find my card reader. I was thinking about the baby quilt that I just finished and is now hanging on the back of a chair waiting to be gifted. It looked really awful as I was pushing and shoving it around the needle to quilt it. Now it looks beautiful. I love the soft shades of browns, the wrinkles and the poofies. What has changed? Not the quilt. Is it because I'm not looking so closely? Because it's finished?

Not Destroyed!

It's quilted and bound... just have to check for loose threads and it's done! Look out Harriet Hargrave, here I come! Maybe in another 50 years or so...
The fabrics are organically grown and not dyed, the top quilting thread is organic. I used a conventional backing and bobbin thread because all I had left of the organic fabric was the plain off white. My machine quilting is not up for that yet.




Immediately after finishing this I started in on another slowly progressing project...this is kinda how it looked before..


I used an upcycled shirt from Listen, stenciled on some gesso, then painted with metallic paints. Now it is cut up because I didn't like how the shirt melted under the heat gun, but i really like the texture of the gesso on the shirt (velvety). Stay tuned!

new quilt ready to destroy, uh, quilt

The top and batting are organic fabric which had been purchased a few years ago. Organic fabric, or this stuff anyways is much thicker and stretchier than quilting cottons. So don't look too closely. (the back is a conventional cotton)

I really really wish I had been able to line up the little strip of white in the skinny border with the off center points of the center. But it went like this:
Me: Ok, I have this one narrow strip of the brown check left. If I cut it just right I can get a skinny border to go all the way around. No problem. I got this.
Rotary Cutter: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The Rotary Cutter always wins.

As does the sewing machine... We will see how the quilting goes.

Anne Gallo and Susan Raban classes

www.YankeeQuilts.com

for more info about taking the classes email michelle@mainstreetmagpie.com

Batik Wedding Quilt, Saturday, March 13





Trip x 2, Friday March 12