Finally Centered

After several trial runs, I found a combination of thread and stitches that gives the feel of those lush, fluffy, dusty stamens that surround the center of poppies.  The black yarn is a silk and angora blend.  The deep navy is DMC perle cotton.  I couldn't make French knots with the fuzzy yarn but filling them in between with the embroidery floss worked very well.  Next step: layering the whole piece with the batting and backing fabric and starting the machine stitching.

January Bloom

I started a new piece today that seems to be a response to the rain and gray of our January weather. What could be further from winter weather than the warm colors of a poppy flower's silken petals? I decided to use silks rather than the usual choice of cotton. The petals are silk dupionni, the black base of each petal is silk organza and the black center is silk noil. The only cotton used are the little bits under the black poppy center. Those two pieces are hand-dyed cotton that have a slight gold glitter to the surface of the fabric. I'm still mulling how to make the individual stamens that surround a poppy seed pod while it's still in the flowering stage. It may need an application of hand embroidery using black yarn. Does it need beads, too? Stay tuned.

One of the machine accessories that I own is a needle felting attachment, which is shown above. It holds 5 barbed needles that, as they pierce through two fabrics, cause the fibers of each to blend with the other. It works best with wool, but many other fibers can be used as well. Silk seems to take to this process almost as well as wool. I thought that the needle felting process might give a realistic look to the black spotting that occurs in the center of many poppies. I do like the effect now that it is started. So back to the machine to make more petals and keep myself warm looking at this yummy, hot color of summer.

New Beginnings

It's that time when we all look forward and backward at the same time. Most of us look forward to renewed energy for the things that we strive for every day but lose track of in the daily rush. I'm wishing for many things, both personally and globally, but mostly I want more time spent in my studio. I know, I know, it's up to me to accomplish that. There's no fairy godmother to wave a wand and make it happen.

Another wish is to add to this blog more often. While you won't know if I'm succeeding in my goal for more studio time, you will know if I don't blog more often. So, here we go on the first day of a new year with a new post. I'm off and running. Let's hope these cranes, symbols of good luck, among other things, will carry me on wings full of fresh air and new creative adventures.

Baby, It's WAY Too Cold Outside!

The freezing rain tonight, after many days of below 32 degree temps, make me miss the days of warmth, regardless of season. In Oregon we usually enjoy comfortable temperatures all the way into October. This year things were a little colder and winter has been no exception. I love the days when I can step out onto my patio and the air is the same temperature as my skin. It always feels like a warm hug from the sun.

In anticipation of the return of those days, which are a long way off, I'm posting my one winter piece. It is called Waiting for Spring and is inspired by a Hokusai woodblock print. The printed fabric in the center of the quilt is an adaptation of one of his winter scenes. This quilt also incorporates some beaded accents and several three-dimensional elements.

Autumn is Upon Us

Well, most of the trees in my yard have shaken off their leaves for the year. The deep colors took a while to develop but in the end, Nature didn't disappoint. The reds and yellows lit up the inside of my house when the sun did shove the rain clouds aside. It's no wonder so many of us think this time of year is magical. My mother always has favorite trees that she watches go through their cycle each year, but especially in Fall when they are in full color.

The trees in this quilt were inspired by a much larger grove that grows near a local wetland and lake. This piece is made entirely with silk fabrics - mainly dupionni but also some pieces of shantung and noil. The printed piece in the sky is a very special piece of 4-ply silk that was hand-stamped and painted by textile designer Lonni Rossi. It is free-motion stitched using rayon thread.

Q is for Quercus

In the previous post you may have noticed that the flag in the St. Peter's piece looks like it is floating above the surface of the quilt. Your eyes don't deceive you. I frequently like to add dimensional elements to my quilts. I made the acorns and some of the leaves dimensional in this piece.

This small quilt was made for an international challenge several years ago. The theme was the letters of the alphabet. I was randomly assigned the letter Q. Besides 26 American quilters, we also had 26 French and 26 Japanese quilters involved. For some time I wracked my brain to decide what word beginning with "q" could have meaning to all nationalities.

One morning, walking through my garden, it hit me. Botanical Latin. Even when people don't speak the same language, if they are gardeners, plant names can be shared and understood as the names are the same worldwide. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that the Latin name for oak, Quercus, was a beautiful choice. Everyone can relate to the strength of the oak tree that grows over many years from the small acorn seed.

Here is a close-up of the dimensional elements in "Q is for Quercus". In my next post, I'll give a short tutorial on how to make 3D leaves. they aren't very hard but very satisfying to experiment with.

Green Tomato Summer?

Well, it's been a weird August in my part of Oregon. First, we had a string of blazing, record-setting hot days. Now, we're having cool, cloudy mornings. I don't think I will get more than a handful of ripe tomatoes off my plants at this rate. Good thing the framer's markets are in full swing.

Here is an art quilt I made in early spring when I was anticipating the fresh tastes of summer. I call it Fresh Vegetables. It was made for a show titled Line Dance which required each piece to have a lime green line running through it. It is constructed using my most common method: raw edge applique. I will have more on this in future posts. I had fun picking out a wide variety of printed fabrics to make each vegetable have a unique personality.

Here is a detail of how I stitched some of the roots. The stitching is always fun for me because that is when the detail really gets added. I do this using free-motion stitching using either straight or zig zag stitches.

Here's another detail shot showing how the carrot tops were put in, again using free-motion stitching. Who says you can't have your vegetables and eat them too? I'll be able to enjoy these even in the cold of winter.