Next Challenge: Out of Africa

I thought I might have to pass on this one.  I've never been to Africa, never felt a particular interest in it, never given it any thought.  Then I remembered that I have read and enjoyed a number of books from the series written by Alexander McCall Smith, set in Botswana.  He portrays the Batswana as peaceful, polite, gentle and perfectly charming. 

I think my little quilt will be all about color.  The national flag is azure (symbolizing water) and black and white (for the zebra).  Hot and hazy desert colors--the Kalahari covers about 70% of Botswana.  And, of course, bright colors of textiles.  I think I would like to create a doll in traditional dress, but I did that for the last challenge. 

See those Botswana diamonds?  They aren't really.  They are swarovski crystals.  I did, however, find a few fine specimens of Botswana agate (found nowhere else in the world) in my gem/mineral collection and hope to work those in somehow.

Self Portrait Challenge

This little figure is about eight inches tall and is a true and accurate portrait of me.  I really do have wiry, corkscrew hair, a face like a mirror, a cheerful outlook and a light heart.  And so on. 

Orange/ Blue/ Purple Challenge

I wasn't happy with this one so I stitched up another one.

I plan to submit this photo to the flickr group, Charley Harper Quiltalong. 

LATEST CHALLENGE

The next challenge for our art quilt group, Challenging Ourselves, is a palette:  orange, purple and blue, with orange predominating--a requirement I'm not too worried about.  I expect the orange to predominate on its own without any help from me.  In my experience, even a little bit of orange will do this quite decisively.  I wasn't too hopeful that I would have very much in my stash that I could use but just a few minutes of searching yielded some very pretty sky and water blues, soft lilacs and lavenders and oranges in many shades, tints and values.  Thanks so much to my beautiful daughter Erin for the fibers, yarns and beads.  See those lampwork beads in orange and royal blue (University of Florida Gators colors)?  She made those and if she doesn't want me to use them, she needs to say so now.   As I arranged these bits and pieces, a plan began to form.  Happily for me as I'm not one to wait until the last minute when there is a deadline. The date for revealing these pieces is, I believe, March 31. 

Thank you, Bern, for this palette and for being such a good sport and taking some teasing.  Actually, I'm enthusiastic about it and planning to do a respectable job of it!

Postagestamps

I'm hoping to finish one UFO per month this year and this one was finished in January.  It has been too cold and rainy-grey for me to get a photo until today.  The little fabric squares were mailed to me from all over the world.  I have collected them for years and years.  And pieced them together for more years and years.  I'm not sure it was worth it, though it's warm enough--I know because I've been wrapped in it since it came out of the dryer a couple of weeks ago.  This has been the perfect winter for testing it.  It is made of 1560 teeny tiny one-inch squares and measures 75 x 55.

Challenge Quilt--Favorite places

Here's mine.  You can see the others at Challenging Ourselves.  It's the big old apple tree that grew in the first backyard I remember.  I have a clear memory of a full moon through bare branches.  That and the yellow apples brought to mind the Yeats poem "The Song of Wandering Aengus," which accounts for the metallic gold and silver apples. 
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Another Challenge, Another Journal Page

The topic for this challenge was the Four Elements but I couldn't work out a piece to include all four elements except for a landscape/seascape/thunderstorm sort of piece.  Fine ideas, all.  I just wasn't in a mood to do any of those.  Instead I was in a mood to practice curved improvisational piecing.  I was a chemist in a former life and I'm claiming scientific license (instead of artistic license) to adapt the subject to fit my interests.  So I found these shiny, metallic fabrics which could be taken to represent four actual earth elements--copper, silver, gold and cobalt.  The curvy logs represent the elements as building blocks occurring in veins. 



This was intended for the back of the page but I got the shape of it all wrong and didn't notice until it was quilted.  I can't claim a learning experience as I have no idea how it happened nor how to prevent it in the future.  I should have flipped it once for a mirror image but worked an extra twist into it somehow.  I cut stencils from freezer paper and filled in with a paint stick.  A quick and easy technique for a simple design to be used only once.  I didn't think it was worth doing over as I had the experience and that's all I really care about. 

September 15 is the reveal date for this challenge.  You may see all the submissions at Challenging Ourselves.

Delia Held a Giveaway and Look Who Won

What luck!  This lovely piece was sun-painted by the generous and talented Delia of Delia's Place.  The photo is hers, too.  While you're there, look at her thread-painted lorikeet.  Think I will try something similar-an applique of tree frogs?  It measures 20 x11.5 inches, a perfect size.  A good thing as I know I couldn't cut it.

My First Art Quilt Challenge

I'm a member of a group of twenty art quilters, Challenging Ourselves,  and the first reveal is happening today!   Our objective is to explore new techniques and to venture beyond our usual areas of skill and interest. With this challenge, I wanted to learn a bit about painting--with both thread and textile paint.  I'm not exactly thrilled with the results but I am more comfortable with the techniques and it's a start...

A wonderful surprise!

I had no idea this lovely wallhanging was on its way to me!  It was hand-embroidered and hand-quilted by Trish who has all the talent and expertise to do the teeny tiny perfectly straight and even stitches.  The fabrics are beautiful and are right at home in my wee white and pastel cottage.  It will hang at eye-level by the computer (where I seem to spend more and more of my time) so I can enjoy it.  I do so admire the little dainty, delicate stitcheries.  Thank you, Trish!! Such a treasure!

New Purse!

I'd like to be able, when I want,  to suspend the tendency I have to overthink, overplan and overwork.  This purse is an exercise in spontaneous and improvised.  I pulled out a scrap of linen, some leftover 2" fabric squares, and the little bit of crochet and whipped this up in about an hour.   The fabric patches are raw-edged and zig zag appliqued.  I didn't have any matching thread so I quilted it (wavy and crooked) in variegated red/green thread.  I measured only enough to insure that the lining would fit inside the purse.  Very satisfying and I like it, overall.  It doesn't have quite the offhand look I was trying for.  Wonky is still more difficult for me than even and straight. 

I saw a pillow a few years ago, similar in design, and thought then it would make a cute purse.  Another one to scratch off the to-do list.  ;o)

Portrait of Kitty

I tried five different background designs and Kitty rejected them all.  Then I noticed this fabric and the flowers that would be so right for embroidery and beads.   Colors bold enough to stand up to the black and white stripe.   I like it even though it's not even close to the original plan.   I do hope Kitty's mom likes it as well and can find a spot for it in their 18th century house in CT. 

Portrait of Kitty

Kitty is all built but not fused yet.  I'm going to let her simmer on the back burner for a few days while I consider backgrounds.  Do I place her on a stone wall in the garden?  Lying on a quilt?  Before a window?  I might decide that the solid black is too black and switch it out in favor of a tone-on tone?  Any advice and suggestions are welcome!

Portrait of Kitty

Just a kitten, isn't she beautiful?  She certainly deserves a quilted fabric portrait.  I hope I can do it justice.

I resized, posterized and desaturated the photo using Gimp2 to define the separate values.  She's basically a black and white cat, so I  turned the photo into a sketch to help with the thread sketching later to blend the furry edges. 

Now to translate the sketch into fabric.  Stay tuned...

Portrait of Bonny, A Little Quilt

My first quilted portrait.   What a lot of fun and a wonderful learning experience!  Bonny is 13 years old now and the black has turned to grey, the caramel faded to tan and she hasn't quite the spring in her step she once had.  But she still follows me around all day, dribbling a tennis ball at my heels or helping in the garden, digging up anything planted, despite the "No Digging" sign.  The most difficult and time-consuming parts were getting a suitable photo and finding suitable fabrics in my stash which leans heavily toward neon brights.  I desaturated the photo to find the shadows.  There weren't many.  Next time, I'll know more about setting up the lighting so there will be more interest in the shadows.  Is this the first of a series?

First Day of Spring

Pinwheel variation
Originally uploaded by bonnyarts

I pulled this quilt out of storage to put on my bed to welcome spring and wave goodbye to the coldest winter here in central Florida since, I think, about 1960. It's been the coldest in my memory anyway. I pieced it by tracing plastic templates and cutting with scissors, sometime in the 1990s. The handquilting took quite a long time as it's more than 100 inches square. I finished it only a few years ago.

Art Quilt Challenge

I can't reveal the front of this wee quilt till May 15 so here's the back, a little teaser..  It's for an art quilt challenge group; the theme is "Hidden Treasures."  I struggled with it (two false starts) until I realized it was becoming a chore and I was taking it much too seriously.    So I decided on a whimsical approach and it all fell into place.  The funny shape?  It's the first page in an art quilt journal and I plan to use the same shape for all future challenges.  Somewhat limiting as it's only 10 inches square approximately and I'll need to be careful of the third dimension.  And the back must be neat and tidy.  It won't be hanging against a wall.  I'm sure to add some design to the back as it is really very boring as it is.  I won't decide how to bind it till I have a few more pages.

Harbinger of Spring!

I planned to make only one but see so many possibilities!  I could end up with a flock.  This delightful pattern is by Nellie Durand at  Nellie's Needles.  You will find a slide show there of many amazing birds!

Another Hexagon Quilt

Only one more big (six feet by six feet) sandwich waiting on the sewing table to be machine quilted.  Then I think I will limit my projects to placemats-size for a while.  ;o)

The One Block Wonder is Finished!

Still warm from the dryer, signed, sealed and about to be delivered this afternoon, this quilt represents a whole heck of a lot of work!  It will go to my daughter who has already admired it and assured me that it will be treasured forever.  I give most of my quilts to my family so I don't have to store them but can visit them any time I want.  Clever, no?