Playing With Paint

I had a scrap of PFD fabric and thought I would try a little Tye-painting. I pulled up and gathered sections of fabric then wrapped string around each one to secure it. When tied these looked like fingers sticking up. I then painted different colors around each section and also painted the ends with a different color. I used Setacolor paints diluted with about 50% water. I had to really push the paint into the folds and you can see that there still is quilt a bit of white. I let it dry for a couple of days and then carefully cut away the strings and ironed the fabric. I have an idea in mind to use this little piece and I am happy with the results. Give this a try it was really fun.

If Only This Art Could Talk - My Flea Market Find

This weekend I was at a flea market in Murphy NC and came across this work of art. I loved it so much that I had to ask the price and when the stand owner said $15 I immediately offered $10 and he accepted. I guess that it would qualify as fiber since it is leather stretched around a wooden frame and very neatly stapled on the back. More leather comprises the rest of the work and it measures 16x12. On the back upper left is printed in pencil 'I Want to Fly by Grazyna Pielat Oct. 89 Leather'. I've done a little research and could not find out anything about the artist. I did find that the name is Polish and in the fall of 1989 the poles defeated communism and took back their country. Could this be an artist expressing his feelings about this through his art? The name of the piece 'I want to Fly' could be interpreted as such. One of those things that I will never know. How did this work end up in the flea market in the small town of Murphy NC and what has happened to Grazyna? If only this piece could tell us its history. My great grandparents came from poland to northern IN in the 1880's so I feel this work has somehow found me. Makes me wonder what people will think of my work in 20 years. Another more practical question is how do I clean this? You can see from the close-up that the folds are embedded with dust. Any suggestions would really be appreciated.

Judges Choice in New Hampshire!

I had 2 quilts in the quilt show in New Hampshire last weekend and just checked the website and saw that my small quilt (17x17) won a judges choice award! This little piece has really surprised me since it has also won a 3ard place in MN earlier this year. I guess this shows that a quilt does not have to be big to be recognized.

Experiment With Texture and Thread

When I got back from Houston I was all excited to start something new. I also found waiting for me on my porch 20 spools of Superior Thread ($150 worth I had won for a 3rd place finish in a quilt show). I had the beginnings of this piece on my design wall and just started adding stuff. I used 14 different things including yarns, Angelina fibers, tulle, cheesecloth, melted and painted tyvek, painted mistyfuse just to name a few to create the textured surface. I then free motion quilted it with at least 10 different threads. I really tried to pay attention to how the different threads stitched and required tension adjustment and even different needles. I feel like I really learned a lot from this and improving my free motion quilting is an area I need to focus on to move to the next level in quilting. I love the results. This piece is 20h and 17w. Click on the image to see a closeup.

Back From Houston

I finally have a chance to post about my Houston trip. What an incredible show! The quality of the work was so amazing and inspiring. This is me in front of my quilt 'Birthday Wishes' that was in the portrait category in the judged competition. This my second year to enter and second time in the judged competition. The quilt is a portrait of my granddaughter based on a picture taken on her 4th birthday. I put her in a Disney type setting since she loved our visit there last year. I feel very lucky just to have been in this show with all of these talented artist.