Gone fishin'

I had a lot of Dupioni silk I had ordered for my charity heart project, so I decided to make another heart for the auction.

Like the first one, I wanted my heart to be oriented in an unusual way, so this time it will be sideways, and feature a fantail goldfish.

This was another opportunity to practice my machine embroidery, so the fish scales and details got a narrow satin stitch (aka zig-zag)

I love the way the scales turned out!

All I have left to do now is sew some more beads on, and stretch it over the wooden heart. 

I want to thank the people who have written me to offer to do a heart for the auction. There's still plenty of time (November 17) and it's a really good cause. The number of families needing to take advantage of the Food Pantry for the homeless has multiplied many fold this past year, and all the money from this auction will be donated to that cause.

Cardinal Creeper

With the cool nights and lots of rain, my cardinal creepers have really taken off, both in the front and by the side porch bird feeders.

In addition to the beautiful color and plentiful flowers, they have finally attracted hummingbirds, who have been scarce this summer.

They fly to each blossom, and when there are several birds, it is fun to

 watch their territorial behavior. They dive bomb each other, as if there were not enough flowers to share.

As the days get shorter, and the nights get cooler, I am enjoying every trace of summer, and hoping that this winter will not be as harsh as last winter's devastating ice storm.

Have a Heart!

I am writing today to see if I can get anyone interested in a very worthwhile charity project, but one which has something in it for YOU, too!

A downtown church is holding a charity auction which will benefit their food pantry for the homeless. The need for this has grown by leaps and bounds during the past year, and they are asking local artists to create Heart-shaped art that will be displayed at Pyro Gallery, and auctioned off on November 17, 2009.

The hearts which are provided to the artists are 11" x 11",  and are made of sign board that is 1/2" thick. You may do anything you want! 

When this event was held two years ago, mine was the only entry that was composed of fabric or fiber.

My hope is that, this year, there will be more entries with fabric or fiber to make the show more interesting.

Here's the bonus for the artist:

You may choose an additional piece from your collection of things you have created, and it will be displayed in a gallery at the church, and will be for sale. In addition to getting more exposure for your work,  if it is sold, the church will keep only 15%, and the rest is yours. In any case, it is good exposure for your work.

The auction itself is an enjoyable event, and it's a lot of fun to see all the different things the artists think of to do with a shape that we take for granted.

I wanted to do something with the heart in an orientation other than the usual one, so my "Love Bird" is made with the heart upside down. I am working on a second piece in which the heart will be sideways.

If you are interested in making something, leave me a comment with your phone number or email address, and I will bring a heart to you for you to work on. It's a good cause!

 

Finished a fragment for a fragmented quilt

                                                          

I have mentioned before that, for about 10 years,  I have been wanting to participate in a  "fragmented" quilt. 

I suggested it to my Monday night group, and they liked the idea. We brought in photos and calendars and cards to choose from, and there are about four groups of us, each with a different picture to chop up and collaborate on.

My group chose this barn picture that was taken in North Carolina by a friend. I like the colors and the composition.  We divided it into four sections, and I drew the right hand section. 

We discussed a few 'ground rules",  and one person in our group offered to use her overhead projector to draw an outline drawing for us to work from.

It has been several weeks now, and I decided to get my section as far along as possible before we meet next Monday.

Since the grass and trees show Fall colors, I used a yellow green fabric, and did some thread painting to simulate grass. I found great fabric for the barn and the fence. All I have left to do is some thread painting on the trees and trunks.

 

The only change I made from the original photo was in what was hanging on the clothesline. The photo showed three white sheets, and I decided to replace those with three colorful quilts. I used some scraps of fabric with small scale prints, and I think they add some nice color to this section.

Now I can't wait to see the other three sections, and see how they look together.

In other fractured quilts I have seen, the elements common to two adjacent sections don't necessarily match up perfectly, but, the whole quilts still "work" and are fun to look at.

 

                                              

Sew Many Details!

I'm working away at my Prague quilt. I have almost everything fused on, except for the chimneys. I found the perfect brick fabric the other day, just the right terra cotta color, and the right scale.

There are so many details to finish, but I am really enjoying it. I take an occasional break to work on smaller projects, but it is really fun to see this take shape. 

Prague-ress (progress)

In case anyone is still looking at this blog, I thought I'd post a few photos to show my progress on my quilt of the 13th century buildings by the Prague Castle.

 It is for a Christmas gift, but I'm trying to work steadily on it now, while I have the time...

I started by having my photo enlarged at Kinko's, and then made my pattern from that. I traced it onto onesided fusible. (This is a mirror image, because I traced it onto the back of the fusible)

I started by fusing the cobblestones on, and I still have a lot of quilting to do on those. I had several different stone fabrics, and I hope they give the appearance of depth.

One of my challenges here is perspective, and so far, I think it is working.

I then fused several buildings on, and I am beginning to realize just how much detail there is in this photo.

It's too soon to tell whether the whole thing is going to work, but I am enjoying the problem-solving that I have to do every day. 

I absolutely LOVE the colors in the photo, and have enjoyed choosing the fabrics to capture that. I have used some of my own hand-dyed fabrics, and it's been fun shopping for other fabrics that read solid, but have the appropriate textures.

And now, back to work!!!