Quilts...

A bed without a quilt is like a sky without stars.

Baby quilts...

nothing more fun to make.

I made this little quilt

for my great nephew Robbie,

 from plaid fabric a friend gave me,

and then I added some more plaids

from little boys shirts.

I haven't made many traditional quilts this year.

I've been concentrating on art quilts.

My Mermaid is now at the  

 Celebration of Quilts 2012

show at the Conner museum

at the university.

To see/read more of my art quilt

The Mermaid click

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2012/01/mermaid-art-quilt.html

The next few days I will be showing you

some photos of some of the other quilts.

Most are traditional quilts and all are lovely.

Here are a few to get you started.

This is Birds of Paradise

66" by 79"

June says,

"I had so much blue fabric in my stash

from a previous fish quilt I designed,

 that I will be quilting for the rest of my life!"

She is an art teacher and designs her own blocks.

Cats, cats, cats

49" by 49"

Nancy designed each block herself.

Each cat is looking out a window.

She said this was a fun quilt to make.

Really cute Nancy! 

Here's a close up of one of the blocks.

Be looking for more photos.

Savor the day!

Yvonne

Mermaid art quilt

2012 quilt exhibit

  Conner Museum at Texas A&M Univ. Kingsville

  Jan. 9th to Feb 29th

Reception will be held Jan. 19th.

Every year my friend Brenda and all the Conner staff do a wonderful job

of putting this exhibit together. 

The majority of quilts shown are

traditional bed quilts by a talented local quilt group

The Saturday Quilters.

There are a few art quilts, which mine will be one.

MERMAID

24 inches by 21 inches

The appeal of the mermaid; by and large, an unsavory lot.

There are many different legends about mermaids

throughout the world

as we all seem to be captivated by them.

This art quilt is made partly from my hand dyed fabric,

which some is soy wax batik...

 and partly from purchased fabric.

 I hand painted the mermaids face and torso

 using watercolor pencils and acrylic paint.

I used raw edge appliqué, beading (on her tail),

 and hand embroidery for this art quilt.

I finished it off with free motion quilting

using variegated thread.

My friend Karen suggested I do a mermaid quilt and

I really had fun doing this one.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

WIP's to Share

This week I've been working on several new projects.

I'm making some Fragment Fabric Collages,

each with a different theme.

This one is a cowgirl theme and says,

Cowgirls Promise--All Grit and No Quit

As you can see, I have each piece pinned on right now.

I will do some stitching and add some embellishments,

like the vintage buttons and lace you see here.

Then I will add batting and a back to it,

along with a way to hang it.

 Fragments are a fun and easy way

to use up scraps of fabric and lace.

---

I am also making

felted wool wrist pincushions.

While visiting my cousin Paula recently,

I saw that she was using one,

and how handy it was.

She had lots of felted wool and fabric scraps,

so I started making them during my visit with her.

I love using mine,

when I'm doing hand work.

My plan is to make plenty of handmade items

for the Christmas season,

that is quickly approaching.

Do you have any great ideas you would like to share?

If so, I would love to know how to make something new.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Many Small Pieces Make the Whole

On Monday, Sept. 26th the opening reception for

the Fiber Art Society gallery show called,

Many Small Pieces Make the Whole, took place.

We had 30+ pieces to show,

including art quilts, baskets, fiber creations and more.

The show is taking place at the

Parkway Presbyterian Church

in Corpus Christi until October 20th.

I wanted to share a few of my favorites.

To see the pieces better please clilck on each photo to enlarge.

Cornelia Morgan made this large colorful art quilt called

L.O.L. (lots of love).

She made it for her grand niece.

Cornelia used designs from the wedding invitation.

Bali jelly roll strips were used to make the background

The piece hanging was made by Happy Jonas, our FAS president.

It is called Peaceful Conversation #1 World Ark. 

She used decorator fabrics from sample books, plus cotton dyed fabric

and colorful threads.

It is one part of a diptych or possibly a triptych she told me.

The art doll above was made by Carlene Schleider.

It stands 20 inches and is made from cloth and wood beads for joints.

She calls this piece

Woman from Pibor, Sunday Morning

Below you can see my goddess tree art quilt called

Imagine Peace.

To see more of it click here.

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/08/imagine-peace-painted-and-dyed-fabric.html

Beside it is a piece by Lisa B.,

and this piece just glowed under the lighting.

It is made from one inch square pieces of batik fabrics.

On the table above is another art doll and also

a fiber art basket made from wet felted wool.

The felted backet was made by Laura Davidson.

Laura also made this piece below.

It is called

Fibers Trail through New Mexico.

You can actually go to this site and find out more about the fiber art trails.

http://www.nmfiberarts.org/

Laura's piece was created using dried cholla cactus that she stained

and that she collected on the New Mexico hiking trails.

Laura did some weaving with various yarns, ribbons and fibers,

using the cholla as a frame.

I think the leaves are made from Angelina fibers.

This piece just sparkled and was very unique.

Another unique and beautiful piece

was made by Laura O.

Laura used quite a few different paper napkins

that she shredded and then reassembled into

"Sunshine and Flowers".

The paper was glued down on a muslin foundation

creating 'paper fabric'

and then free motion quilting and French knots were added.

She wrapped it around a canvas

to create a beautiful piece.

It sort of had a transparent look to it,

which I loved.

This final piece,

I'm sorry to say,

I can not remember who created it,

or what it was titled.

I loved it, and it was one of my favorites of all.

Every piece in the show was wonderfully creative.

All in all the reception was a great success,

with lots of people attending.

So congrats to all of you!

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Moon Tea and fiber arts

Happy tea day!

In celebration of September's full harvest moon

I wanted to share with you a simple how-to

of making moon tea.

You have all heard of 'sun tea',

well there is 'moon tea' as well.

It is said that,

"Just as the sun represents the masculine,

  the full moon will bring

 a feminine (lunar) quality to your tea

 that will help awaken your creativity

 and extract a different healing energy of the herbs."

Directions for making Moon Tea...

Place fresh or dried herbs of your choice

 and water in a jar or glass bowl

and cover with a screen to keep bugs out.

Put it out with the full moon

and leave it while you rest.

Drink upon waking in the morning.

Have a happy tea day everyone

and if you want to read more tea post

visit Kimmie at

http://artinredwagons.blogspot.com/

***

The Fiber Art Society met recently

so today while I am having my moon tea with you,

I thought we could look at photos

of our show and tell.

Meet Laura!

She is a very talented fiber artist,

who dyes fabrics of all kinds.

She does some beautiful felting projects,

and I wanted you to see the hand dyed and felted purse she made.

It is gorgeous!

Wonderful job Laura.

I'm always excited to see her creations,

and she always has many.

Below is Happy, our Fiber Art Society president.

She is holding her unfinished art quilt she is creating

for our next show.

It is a bit hard to tell now,

but it is a bird riding on an elephant.

I know it will be beautiful,

as Happy always creates very unique pieces,

with beading and more.

Below are more pieces that were brought to show and tell.

Janet is entering this one in our World Peace show.

I love this mostly all black piece that Janet created for the show also.

These are gourd pins made by one of our basket makers

in the group. 

Aren't they lovely!

She sells them at shows,

and you would not believe how lightweight they are.

How to hang?  Vertical or horizontal?

That is the question!

Pat put lots of work into this piece!

Don't these curves look hard to do?

Cornelia made this bright and beautiful art quilt.

The leaves are 3-D.

Thanks Cornelia for loving and purchasing my

Imagine Peace art quilt.

This last photo shows Laura holding up

her nuno felted scarf.

The holes in it make it beautifiul, in my opinion,

and very unique and interesting.

She also hand dyed the wool,

and hand dyed her shirt and tie/scarf she is wearing.

The meeting was wonderful as always.

It is always fun to get together with women

who enjoy the same things as you do.

It's yet another way to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

"Imagine Peace" painted and dyed fabric

For Paint Party Friday

I am sharing

Imagine Peace.

It is hand dyed fabric and also

 painted with oil pastels

and watercolor crayons.

I also used paper fabric, beads

and free motion quilting.

The face was painted on a piece of muslin

with watercolor crayons.

Here it is pinned to my design board.

Below is a close up of the face.

I sewed leaf beads around part of her forehead.

The next picture shows detail at the bottom.

I stenciled the words on with oil pastels.

The little butterfly on the 'A' is just stamped on.

I stenciled/stamped/painted on some flowers here and there,

and some tiny blue birds in the canopy of the tree.

The stars are stenciled and then I used metallic thread on top

to bring them out a bit more.

The tree goddess roots and canopy

form the peace symbol,

as shown in the first picture above.

This fiber art piece will be entered in a show

in September for the Fiber Art Society

that I belong to.

The show is

"Much Made from Small Pieces" A World View.

This piece measures 24 inches by 34 inches.

To see more PPF art

click on the PPF logo in my sidebar.

Savor the Day!

Yvonne



Elizabeth Barton plus my musings

'Art and Quilts, cogitations thereon' 

is the name of the blog written by Elizabeth Barton.
http://elizabethbarton.blogspot.com/

She says in one of her posts....

"We need some repetition in our lives, rhythms like the rhythm of the seasons, the daily routines and rhythms of our lives…and we do need to be able to predict what will happen…But again, a little variety and syncopation keeps us interested and alert. “They” used to think that human beings required perfect balance – stasis – to function best, but now it’s realised that being a little off kilter is actually much better for you! Don’t always stand 4 square on 2 feet – try balancing on one leg for a while!"

Being a artist and instructor,

her posts touch on subjects

that are all very interesting.

To check it out
click on the link above and

just go to her archives in her sidebar

to find what interests you.

***

MUSINGS

It has been a wonderful week.

Most of my most recent posts are ones

I wrote beforehand

and then scheduled to be published

on a certain day.

This makes it much easier,

and I don't spend as much time every day

on the computer.

Who wants to be inside

when the weather is so gorgeous,

and the birds are calling.

I have noticed that many out there

have stopped their blogs,

and some don't post very often.

Doing your posts ahead of time

really helps, in my opinion.

But it is most important to enjoy

and experience your everyday

however you can.

***

I spent 6 days with my sister Lanette,

and yes, she did laugh when she saw

her picture on my 'sing' inchie art.  LOL

http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/04/sing.html

I hardly ever got on the computer those 6 days.

Went to Corpus with my friend Karen,

and my sister,

and had such a fun time.

Ate lunch at the veggie Tango Tea Room

where they say

"It takes tea to tango."

Will get photos next time!
Learned about the first Friday art walk downtown,
and will be going next month.
I'm excited!

***

I finally got time to try out the

caraway tea bread recipe and

it turned out wonderful!

Here it is cooling on the counter...

I couldn't wait to try it!

It was great just by itself!

The castor sugar makes a big difference.

To try it,

go to my post...
http://inkspillersattic.blogspot.com/2011/03/caraway-tea-and-bread-recipe.html

***

I'm working on another watercolor
for my merit show in August.
I will show my progress tomorrow for
Paint Party Friday.
You can see lots of wonderful art
at Paint Party Friday.
If you are an artist,
why don't you join us.
Just click on the logo in my sidebar.
***
It's that time of year for...
art walks,
Botanical Garden events,
the Sand Fest,
Farmer's Markets!
All great fun!
Hope you visit again for photos of all!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

She won a Ribbon!

Congratulations to all the Fiber Art Society ladies

who were involved in this collaboration.

At the 2011 Corpus Christi quilt show

we were awarded an Honorable Mention

for our 'Exquisite Lady'.

Here it is at the show,

with the HM ribbon.

When I first came up with the idea

of doing a collaboration quilt,

about a dozen ladies

 wanted in on the challenge.

It was done like the old parlor game called

'exquisite corpse'.

Each person created a different part

of the chosen design,

without seeing the other parts

in the process.
Each used their own fabric
and embellishments.

This type of work

was the first for many of those involved,
and some were very hesitant in the beginning.
BUT...

Everyone did great!

Laura did a wonderful job

creating the life size pattern
from the Gustav Klimt print
Donna con Ventigliano.
She also constructed the quilt
after we were all finished with our blocks.

I think everyone is pleased
with the results of this project.

Now, at the next meeting
we will discuss
what will happen to this quilt.

This project was dedicated to
our dear friend Darlene,
who did get to see it almost finished
before she passed away from cancer.

Job well done ladies!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

 



Donna and more pretties

Remember my Fiber Art Society project?

Well, here is an  summary of what is happening...

We are doing a collaborative art quilt,

a variation of the exquisite corpse,

based on a Gustav Klimt print.

Since it was my idea,

they gave me the head. 

This shows my finished block,

with hair, hand stitching here and there,

painted face,

and quilted.

This is Donna!

Each one of us (11 women I think),

are doing a different part of the print,

not seeing what the others are doing.

We were to finish it,

including quilting,

within 1/4 inch of the edges.

Then Laura,

brave and talented Laura,

is going to put all the blocks together.

I will continue to update you on our project

as we go along.

Now, on to more pretties...

This is a necklace and earrings

that my dear sister Lanette

made and gave to me.

She is just getting into jewelry making.

I just love this piece.

The pendant is Roman era glass,

which I just love!

Then she used jade and shell beads

for the rest of the necklace and earrings.

Thank you Lanette,

I love it!

Keep up the great work!

Lanette is doing this for fun she said.

Her primary work is

being a musician...

bass guitar player and singer.

Congrats to her and her band,

as they are 2nd year members

of the very hard to get into,

Texas Commssion on the Arts.

Find many ways to...

Savor the Day!

Yvonne

Blue Chair

This photo of the blue chair was taken by Bea at Dog in the Hole Studio.

I knew right away that I had to make

an art quilt from this photo.

This was back in August '09 I believe.

Bea and I said

we would both make an art quilt

from this picture.

I think she is about finished with hers.

I just finished mine today.

It measures 17 by 18 inches for the entire piece.

Right click to enlarge in order to see the detail.

I made it from fabric, polymer clay and paper fabric.

The chair is polymer clay

which is attached using E6000 glue.

The door is some of my hand dyed shibori.

My batik is used for the window glass.

There are a few black beads on the side of the door.

I did some free motion stitching on it and

added some color and texture with oil paint sticks and also acrylics.

The edging is fabric paper that I painted turquoise,

but let the paper underneath show through a little bit.

I then sewed the fabric piece to the fabric paper.

The writing on the bottom says

"Down in the Blue chair...we can watch our troubles rise!"

That is part of a song titled

Blue Chair

sung by

Elvis Costello.

Kenny Chesney does one too called

Blue Chair.

There are a few Blue Chair songs out there,

all different from each other.

Well Bea, what do you think!!!!

African mask blocks

My quilting Bee had a fun project lately.

We made African masks using a picture as a guide.

Each one of us made either one or two each.

These two are the ones I made.

The top one is made using fabric paper.

The other one I just used African looking fabric,

and my bleach discharge fabric for the background.

It has a bit of my hand dyed fabric in it too.

Then we had a drawing to see who won

all of the blocks.

There were nine blocks total.

Judy was the winner and she was thrilled.

Here are all of the blocks.

Click on the photo to enlarge it,

so you can see the detail more easily.

Aren't they wonderful!

Next month we are doing a

tree block.

Each block will be 12 inches square

when finished, just like these.

Then we do anything we want,

any kind of tree,

any kind of embellishment.

Then we will draw again

to see who wins them all!

This is FUN!

Sister Corita's Rules # 6 and #9

I always try to remember Sister Corita's Rules. My favorite one is Rule #9 which says "Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think." I used to have her rules up in my room while I was in college and now, thanks to Bea reminding me about them, I have them up in my studio.
Rule # 6 has been standing out in my mind lately. It says "Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail. There's only make."

Here are some unfinished projects that I am working on at present. I never throw anything away and will always make a mistake work somehow, someway. In a previous post of mine, Paula Gron made a "blow-out" in her basket work for her. She didn't do it over or throw it out, she worked with it and everyone thought it was supposed to be that way (they never would have known it was a mistake if she had not told them) and they loved it.

All of these projects have so called "mistakes" but I'm making it work. All of these WILL be finished, that's one of my goals, and then I'll post the end result later.

This one is my Blue Moon piece. It has my hand dyed fabric and paper fabric. I have not stitched anything down yet. It's just all placed like I want it possibly. I may change it. Who knows. The Blue Moon this year was an inspiration to me and on 01022010 I started this piece. That date is a palindrome and that along with the blue moon I know this one will be good in the end.
This one below is a feather bleach discharge piece. Just have ideas for this one so far.

This one is my own soy wax batik bird piece with fabric paper around it. Quilted around the bird but that's as far as I've got so far. Have more ideas for this one.

This one with the Goddess and Hummingbirds will have lots of stitching, probably hand stitching on it. It was inspired by another piece I saw. It uses shibori fabric that I made and some more of my hand dyed fabric.

So, all of these pieces have "mistakes" in them but I didn't throw them out or redo them. I will continue to work on them and they will more than likely be some of my favorites.