Quilt Storage

Is anyone else out there running out of space to store all the quilts they make? It's a good thing I don't make really large ones. I just don't know what I would do with all of them. My biggest concern is fold lines so that's what determined my storage method. I actually started rolling my quilts many years ago, but recently I added some improvements. I used to roll the quilts around some archival paper, but that wasn't very effective because the paper flattened out in a matter of minutes. Now I sew a fabric tube and use it to cover a pool noodle and roll my quilts around that. That works much better. I wrap the whole roll in plain white fabric tie it with fabric strips and slip the roll into a long  6 x 48" box. Each box is numbered and labeled with the name of each quilt that lives inside.

Each quilt has been photographed and is entered into my inventory database. The info includes the year made, where it is currently located, whether it's been sold, amount of sale, etc. The only information that I need to enter into the database is where each piece has been exhibited.

That takes care of the larger quilts . . . . but what about the smaller quilts?? I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with these yet. They seem too small to roll, but too big to store flat. What do you do with yours?

I have one final dilemma. What do I do with the quilts I just don't like anymore? They are constructed well, they aren't really ugly. They just don't appeal to me at all. I'm thinking of removing the labels and putting them on the FREE table at the quilt guild. LOL The thought that I actually made this one cat quilt cracks me up. It would be a great one to show as a "Then and Now" type story. Maybe I'll take a photo of it for the next post. You'll crack up too! 

Happy Dance!!

Yippee . . . . I'm going to have an article published in the summer issue of Art Quilting Studio magazine! I won't tell you what it's about so you can still be a little surprised. I can't wait to see and hold the actual magazine. I love my computer, but it will never replace real books and magazines. Excited doesn't even begin to describe how I feel! If you would like to get a copy of the magazine, you can pre-order it from Stampington here or check your local newsstand around June 1st.  

Above is a small piece that I have hanging in the CPAC exhibit. It's called Swept Away. The opening reception for the Fibervison exhibit went very well. All of the art looked great and quite a few people were in attendance. There will be a guided tour of the exhibit on Saturday, May 18th. If you are within driving distance, stop by for a visual treat.

Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the guided tour because we have tickets to see the ROLLING STONES in LA. We saw them 25 years ago and I figured that would be the last time, but obviously, I was wrong . . . they just keep on going. Is anybody else going to see them at the Honda Center?

You're All Invited . . .

Over 60 pieces were submitted, many of them quite large. I only had three small pieces to submit, but they are all quite nice.
If you are within driving distance, I hope you find some time to see the exhibit. I would love to meet any of you, so let me know if you're coming!
Saturday, May 18th at 10:00 am will be the guided tour.

Beautiful Spring Day

This was the coldest winter in Southern California since I moved here in 1979. We must have had 20 frosts this year. We had to cover our newly planted avocado, grapefruit and lime trees every night to prevent them from freezing. For our extra effort, we've been rewarded with tiny grapefruit and limes.

We planted a garden before my surgery and everything is growing well. Our back yard is really filling in nicely. It is still a work in progress, but that's how gardening is. The bird of paradise, kaffir lilies, and angel trumpets are blooming and all the birds and bees are happy.

I'm still not getting much art done during my recovery, but I'll share a photo with you that I captured of a bee enjoying an agaphanthus.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Stuffed Chenille

It's been a rough week . . . I'm recovering from hernia surgery. I'm beginning to feel human again, and thought I would show you a a small piece that will be hanging as part of a group exhibit about embellishment at the Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center in May.
I still need to add a sleeve to the back. I thought I would do that while I was recovering, but I just wasn't capable of doing anything useful.

The finished size is 12" x 12". It was made by stuffing bits of fabric scraps between two solid layers of fabric and stitching lines through the entire stack. Once it was stitched, I cut the fabric between the stitching like you do for regular chenille. The difference is, this is stuffed with scraps, so you need to use small scissors and go slow. I do like it, but I don't think I'll ever do it again.

Painting with Dorland's Wax Medium

I first began oil painting when I was twelve years old and stuck with it until I went to college, then acrylic paint became my chosen medium. I still use acrylic paints, but I also use ink, watercolor, and dye quite often.
Now I've gone full circle . . . I'm playing with oil paint again. This time I'm combining it with Dorland's Wax Medium for a totally different effect. I'm layering the paint with a palette knife and scraping through the layers with  sharp tools. Basically, I'm having fun with it.

I think each of these pieces have three layer of paint/wax so far, including the initial white primer which you can see showing through is some areas.

None of these are anywhere near being finished, but it's interesting to document them in the process to see how much they change.

There are eight other pieces sitting on my table waiting for more paint. Some have fabric paper collage incorporated into them, and some have Dorland's Wax mixed with Pearl Ex. It's all a big experiment and I have no idea how they will turn out.

Exciting News!

Remember this Quilt?

Inside Out: Hormones, was selected to be part of the 2013 Fantastic Fibers exhibit at the Yeiser Art Center In Paducah, KY.

I was completely stunned when I found out that one of my pieces was chosen to hang in this special exhibit. Over 700 fiber pieces were entered from all over the world and only 54 will be part of the exhibit!

The opening reception is on April 6th from 5:00-7:00 pm and the exhibit will hang through May 4th. The AQS quilt show also takes place in Paducah between April 24 - 27. Sounds like a great time to visit!

I'm Back . . .

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted anything here. A lot has happened to me in that time. Probably the biggest news is that I have two brand new eyes!
I'll try to keep the story short. About five years ago, I was told I had a cataract in my left eye. The doctor said it would be at least 10 years before I would need surgery. Within two years, I had a cataract in my right eye too. By the time five years had passed, I was almost blind in my left eye.
Obviously, it was time for the cataract surgery. The surgery itself went well, but the variance between the two eyes was too different, and I had to have the right eye operated on the following week. So, now I have two brand new eyes. Pretty amazing! The #1 comment I've heard is, "You're too young for cataracts". Apparently, that's not true. I have several items put aside to make a cataract quilt, but so far, it hasn't risen to the top of the list. Stay tuned to see if there is a cataract quilt in my future. LOL
I've been back in the studio for a few months now and am loving the new eyes. Everything is much brighter and super sharp. Very exciting.

Here's a small piece that I just finished. The center section is painted fabric that has been quilted and embellished. It's mounted onto a painted canvas.
More to come soon.

Painting, Painting, and MORE Painting

This was an experiment. I managed to change the look of the fabric, but I don't think it was necessarily an improvement.

It started with a piece of dyed fabric that had some type of Chinese characters stamped on it. I didn't create the fabric and I didn't care for it. I wanted to improve it with some layers of paint.

I pinned the fabric to my print board, and wrapped ribbon around the pins to create a grid of sorts. I screen-printed the large circles using a Photo EZ screen, and stamped the smaller circles. The ugly background fabric continued to show through.

Once the paint was dry, I removed the ribbon to see if the ribbon resist created much of an impact. It's noticeable, but not too impressive. Oh well! Sometimes, the best lessons are learned when the experiment doesn't go as planned. Some things can't/shouldn't be saved.

Fortunately, the next painting project is an improvement. As you can see, progress was made on the patio covers. Looks nice and neat, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it didn't last very long.

This is what it looks like today. A mess! These 2" x 2" pieces of wood need a layer of primer, then 2 layers of red paint. There are 4 tables full of these wood pieces, that's over 120 pieces that need 3 coats of paint! Sheesh, we spent all weekend painting and still need to spend one more day to finish the painting. By the time we finish, we'll have two nice shady areas on the patio. We definitely need somewhere to escape from the CA sun.

Current Distractions

Here we go again . . . more backyard fun, and work. I'm not sure what to call this pile of wood. Pagoda sounds much too elaborate. I'm not sure if we can call it a trellis because it won't be supporting vines. And a patio cover sounds pretty boring. Whatever you want to call it, we're building two of them. It'll be great to have some shade in the back yard. I'll be able to set up tables and paint for hours, instead of minutes.

It seems like I find great line and texture everywhere I look. I couldn't resist capturing the cross grain of this stack of wood. Here's a peak at some pieces I recently added to my design wall. I bought an Epson printer, and am having fun manipulating photos, and printing my own fabric. Not quite sure where it's going yet, but it's evolving. Stay tuned.

Hormones Revisited

Looking back through my blog posts, I realized that I never showed you the finished "Inside Out: Hormones" quilt. I wanted to wait until the special exhibit at PIQF opened. Unfortunately, many deadlines hit at the same time that required many hours of work. I made all the deadlines, but stopped blogging for a while. So now I'm going to backtrack and show you some of the work I finished during the time I was MIA.

Here they are, hormones in their hot flash mode! A fair amount of tulle was used throughout to force color changes. The whole section through the middle has a layer of tulle, and the circles are also cut from tulle. Some of the tulle is blue, some maroon. Some areas have very dense stitching and that created an uneven surface. It was a challenge to get it to lie flat, but I did it with careful stitching in strategic areas, and lots of steam! LOLHere's a detail shot where you can see the cheesecloth that I used to create the diagonal lines. I love the texture of cheesecloth, and it's so easy to mold into any shape you want. You should give it a try it next time you need a special texture.

I've made a lot of colorful work over the years, but this hormone piece may be the most intense colors I've ever used. I guess it was time for a change, time to work in calmer, cooler colors.

This piece is called Afterglow. The leaves and small circles are made from hand-painted silk. The large circle and the second leaf from the left is made entirely from salvaged thread clippings. I'm always pleased when I find some cool way to use materials that are generally thrown away.

The inspiration for this piece came from an aerial photo of Salt Lake City in the winter. The photo was very graphic, very black (roads) and white (snow). After 15 minutes of using the photo as a reference, I put it away and abstracted the design even more, then I added color. There was no plan, I let it evolve, and this is what happened.

These last two pieces (plus 60 others) are currently on exhibit at the Cabrillo Pavilion Arts Center in Santa Barbara through the end of January. It's a great facility that is used for many weddings and conventions.

With a view like this, it's easy to see why this facility is so popular. Stop by if you get a chance, you won't be disappointed.

Dryer Sheets and Tangled Threads

Everything is starting to get back to normal after the holidays. We've almost recovered from the nasty cold going around. All the kids have gone back to their respective homes across the country. The house has been cleaned, and my studio is calling my name.

I'm been having some fun combining tangled threads, bits of fabric, and dryer sheets. This piece was photographed before it was stitched and I forgot to take a photo afterwards. I turned it into a pencil bag that contained Inktense pencils and ATC canvas paper. It was a gift for my boss, the woman that owns almost everything. Every year, I come up with something handmade for her. She likes to draw and loved the pencils, so we'll see if she gets hooked on making ATC's.

Here's a postcard made with dryer sheets, and tangled threads. These are so much fun to make. I'm warning you though, they are addictive!

This is a postcard sized piece made entirely from tangled threads.

This piece has tangled threads, dryer sheets, and bits of fabric. Before it's stitched, it is really thick and difficult to get under the presser foot, but once you stitch it into submission, it is much thinner, probably the thickness of Timtex, and just as stiff.

Check out this fun Boa Scarf that I'm knitting. Isn't it a riot? Very organic, sort of like seaweed or octopus tentacles.