Flora

Today is reveal day on the Art Quilts Around the World Blog. The theme for this challenge is "Flora"

In February I had a chance to take a class with Beth Wheeler and Lori Marquette about Altered Photo Artistry. I learned SO MUCH about my Photoshop Elements program, which fabrics are good to print on, printers and inks. There was even a little bit about rust dyeing. I really enjoyed this class and plan to play with this technique again and again! The possibilities are endless.

I took this photo last summer at our farm in Southwestern Wisconsin (in the US). This is the nodding thistle or musk thistle. Although it is classified as a noxious weed in many states I always looks forward to seeing these flowers each summer. They are so complex and interesting. Click here to see all the other quilts from this challenge.

Flora Preview

Here is a preview of the art quilt I have been working on for the Art Quilts Around the World "Flora Challenge". I love the way this project is turning out and I can't wait to show you more. Reveal date is March 31st.

Mandala Quilt

Happy New Year! I'm just back home from a few days with family to celebrate a belated Christmas. There was a new baby to snuggle and my son and his fiance flew in to join in the fun.

While I was traveling I put the finishing touches on my Mandala quilt.

The theme of the recent Art Quilts Around the World challenge was Mandala.

I used some of my favorite hand dyed colors, fuchsia with a touch of orange, an olive/chartreuse blend, golden yellow and two purples. I love quilts that have a "touch me" appeal to them. I used a purple hand dyed velvet to add texture to the quilt.

Click here to see more Mandala Quilts

Giant's Causeway

Today is reveal day on the Art Quilts Around the World blog. The theme for this challenge was "Where Sea and Land Meet" This is my interpretation. I have always marveled at the basaltic rocks that form the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. I hope to travel and see this ancient place someday.

I would like to invite you to to visit the Art Quilts Around the World site and see the rest of the challenge quilts. These ladies are so talented. I always enjoy seeing all the different ideas they come up with.

Finishing this quilt was the last big deadline I needed to meet. I'm looking forward to some down time soon. I cleaned 3 rooms of carpeting last weekend and still need to move the furniture back where it belongs. By the end of this coming weekend I should have my house back in order.

It is good to be back to a normal routine. I hope to catch up on my favorite blogs in the next week or so. It was really hard staying away and I have to admit I did a lot of lurking when I had free time.

The Big Day is Here

Here is a peek at what I've been working on for the last few weeks. Today is the reveal date of our "Brave New World" art quilts on the Around the World in 20 Quilts site. The quilts are A4 size and each is to contain recycled or re-purposed items. I really enjoyed the journey from start to finish. I had six different ideas and knew I had chosen the right one. But when I started my quilt something completely different came to mind and I had to follow that path. I love the diversity of the finished quilts. Stop by and see more here.

Thanks to everyone that entered my jewelry giveaway. I really enjoyed meeting you and visiting your blogs. The Internet has made this world so small and so much more connected.

And now for the winner..... Pamela S. who says: I love your creativity! Your colors are fabulous and I'm crossing my fingers I win your giveaway. P.S. I lived in WI for 10years and it is a marvelous place.

Pamela, congratulations. Please contact me via the e-mail address on my profile page to claim a piece of jewelry of your choice from my Shady Grove Studios ETSY shop.

Quilting at Midnight

Rule # 25 - Quilting at Midnight - NOT A GOOD IDEA.

Company is coming tomorrow and I had 2 projects to finish before I packed up my sewing machine for the weekend. Here is the "Pear" quilt finished and ready to go the the quilt show. I was too tired to notice I was backing myself into a corner and too tired to care. I finished the quilting with one mistake. I decided to leave it in to remind me to always have a clear head when I start a project no matter how great or small. I have to admit this is not like me. I usually rip out mistakes and fix them, but this quilt was a practice piece. It was an exercise to learn how to create light and shadow while reproducing a photograph. On the brighter side, I love my new King Tut thread. It quilted like a dream and looks beautiful on this piece.

Rule #26 - "If you have to rip out a seam more than 2 times the seam is perfect the way it is." I use this rule often so I don't get too obsessed with perfection.

Greetings from South Dakota

The name of my blog inspired the idea for the art quilt above. When I started my blog I thought it would be fun to treat my blog entries like postcards to friends and family members. This is a continuation of work for our local Art Quilt group. We are working from "Art Quilt Workbook" by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston. One of the first activities in the book is to recreate a photo using fabrics. The buffalo in this quilt was reproduced from a photo taken at Custer State Park. I decided he (or she?) would make a great postcard. I surrounded the buffalo with photo transfers of postcards that I collected from our travels and two vintage postcards from my grandmother. The vintage postcards are actually souvenir folders. Each includes 20 photos of the area. They were published in the 1930's. Postage to send these was 1-1/2 cents.

I have two more quilts completed and a 4th to start and finish before the mail goes out on Saturday. These mini quilts will be on display along with others from the Wisconsin Quilters Inc. Guild at the Madison Quilt Expo. Dates for the show are September 11th - 13th.

This quilt is called "Iron Mountain Road".

Here is "Roots in South Dakota" completed.

The Iron Mountain Road

This art quilt is a recreation of a photo from our trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. We took the Iron Mountain Road approach to Mt. Rushmore. I had seen old postcards depicting this route and was pleasantly surprised when we ended up on this road by chance.

I scanned a print from one of those old postcards to recreate Mt. Rushmore in the distance. The pine tree on the right is my first attempt at thread painting. If you plan to visit this area make time to take the Iron Mountain Road and the Needles Highway.


The photos below are from the Needles Highway:

Art Quilts Continued

Our Art Quilt Journal group met last night. I had a mad dash to get this piece and a couple others ready for show and tell. This journal "page" is a compilation of early family settlers in South Dakota. Our trip out west earlier this year gave me a chance to see where my father's family came from. The women in these photos were quilters and sewed most of their own clothes. Great Grandma Gertie gave me a baby quilt which I still have. Great Aunt Delia worked as a seamstress on her land claim in Reliance, SD. My Grandma Virginia married Leslie in 1927. She was a school teacher, naturalist and artist. She traveled the world extensively after her husband passed away in the 1970's. She has a wonderful sense of humor and great stories to tell. In the 1990's she wrote down memories of her childhood to share with her children and grandchildren. She is 104 now. She started to lose her memory when she reached 100. She lived in her own apartment in a retirement community until then. She is a treasure and I cherish my time with her.

My baby quilt from Great Grandma Gertie:

Many naps were spent awake marveling at the varied fabric in this quilt. My favorite has always been this satellite fabric. I'd love to find some more of this some day...

Art Quilt Homework

I've always been a procrastinator. I think of this as one of my greatest assets. It has taught me how to manage time and work very productively when under a deadline. A few months ago I and some members of our local quilt guild started working from a book called "Art Quilt Workbook" by Jane Davila & Elin Waterston. The book is used to create a series of 9" x 12" quilts while introducing new techniques and exercises to improve skills. I have 3 projects due on Tuesday evening. I have two projects well under way and I started the 3rd just before dinner on Sunday night. The first exercise was to create a pear following the steps and pattern in the book. We will each have our version of pears on display at our quilt show in October along with our other finished projects.

Each of the remaining quilts will have a related theme. I chose to work from memories and photos of our trip to South Dakota. The second project is to recreate a photo using fabrics. I chose a shot of a buffalo taken by my husband at Custer State Park.

My Favorite Project

My girlfriend Jean is a collector of mermaids. For her birthday a few years ago I told her I would make her a mermaid quilt. I thought about making Sun Bonnet Sue mermaids but that just didn't work for me. Two years and 4 ideas later the project finally gelled. I found a picture of a mermaid in a magazine from Carol Mead designs and adapted the picture into a wall hanging design. I then hand dyed the fabrics for the quilt (excluding the border). I was trying to replicate filtered sunlight through water in the top of the quilt. Her hair and the seaweed are embellished with couched yarn and metallic thread. The machine quilting took about 8 hours. The tail alone took 3 hours. This was an extremely rewarding project and sparked ideas for two more projects. I named the quilt after her daughter "Marina was a Mermaid"