Weekly Pattern Wednesday--Pattern 11

This drawing was inspired by some hand-blown glass art I had the opportunity to view. If you notice the edges on this drawing, it is because I had to cut this drawing out and place it onto a clean white paper. I had tested all my pens on the original sheet--it was a mess!

As usual, I'm linking up with Lynn Krawczyky's Weekly Pattern Wednesday. Head on over and check out the other patterns.

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A Wise Old Owl and a Bluebird of Happiness

I belong to a group that does a community art project. This year we are working on pieces for a child advocacy center. I was really stumped as to what I might make but have finally settled on little quilt that includes a whimsical owl, bluebird of happiness, bright blue sky, and a tree. I hope the children will be attracted to the colors and feel happy when they look at the piece. I have the owl finished.

The owl is made primarily of hand-dyed wool onto which I have done some hand embroidery. The beak and feet are made of leather. The "belly" is cut from some "fabric" I made and is attached to the piece using French knots. It is VERY textural.

I also finished the bluebird (who will be sitting in the tree) for the piece. This little guy is made from pieces of fabric I hand-dyed. I have used two different colors of blue thread and a couple different embroidery stitches to attach them to a muslin and felt backing (the same foundation I used for the owl). The beak and legs are satin stitched, and I used silk embroidery thread to stitch the rosy colored breast.

I'm hoping to get the tree and leaves finished this coming week. I'll post a picture when it is finished.

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Did You Know?

I have a "did you know" piece of information for my traditional quilting friends. This was shared on Facebook by Ann Marie Brown to the Quiltville's Open Studio page. This is a great way to use up a fat quarter if you don't have anything else you want to do with it. This is particularly useful if you are into making scrap quilts.

If you have a scrap quilt finished, I'd love to see it. Leave a link in your comment!

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Progress on the Forever Hexagon Quilt

I have been diligently working on my hexagon quilt. For those of you who are new to the blog, this quilt has been an on-going project for quite awhile now. I was inspired to draw this up after visiting a hotel in French Lick, Indiana. The floor in the hotel is made up of thousands and thousands of individual tiles laid by Italian craftsmen years ago.

The fabric hexagons I'm using are 1/2" hexagons. Here is the progression of my work on this project.

I don't have dates for the photos above. I sure wish I did.

March 11, 2015

May 30, 2015

June 15, 2015

This is the latest photo. At this point in time, the quilt measures 86" at it widest point and is 47" tall. There is a maroon "spike" I'll be adding to the top (similar to those on the sides), but I haven't done that yet. I figured it would get in the way as I work on adding rows to the piece.

August 12, 2015

I'm starting to see the "light at the end of the tunnel;" I might actually finish this thing. The biggest problem I'll have is how to finish it off. I love the shape it is (more hexagon-ish; not square), but I might have to "square it up" using hexagons to fill in. I COULD applique it to a solid background. That would provide lots of space for some interesting quilting. Hmmmm, decisions, decisions. What color background would set this off the best? How would YOU finish it off? I'm really interested in suggestions. PLEASE leave a comment.

 

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Weekly Pattern Wednesday--Pattern 10

I call this pattern "Skunk Flowers." It isn't a very attractive name, but the flowers remind me of skunk tails. Of course, I didn't notice that until I finished the drawing. I do like it anyway and hope you do too. I've been drawing up lots of patterns lately. I realize if I only share one a week, it will take a LONG time to show them all. Don't be surprised if you see one pop up every now and then on a day other than Wednesday.

As usual, I'm linking up with Lynn Krawczyky's Weekly Pattern Wednesday. Head on over and check out the other patterns.

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Spike is in a Magazine AND at a Quilt Show--WOOHOO!

I'm really excited to tell you that I finally have a piece in Quilting Arts Magazine. The current issue has a full shot and detail shot of Brain Freeze (a.k.a. Spike). Jane Dunnewold writes an article for each issue. Her article this month is about alignment. She asked me if she could use Spike to illustrate her point. I couldn't say "yes" fast enough! Check out Jane's article on pages 21-24. Spike is on page 22, and I even get a mention on pages 23 and 24! If you need a refresher as to what Spike looks like, you can see a picture of Spike along with info about the piece in the Gallery section of this blog. Check the menu at the top of this page.

You can see Spike (in person) along with lots of other great quilts at the Patoka Valley Quilt Show currently being held at the Krempp Gallery in Jasper, Indiana. There are lots of tradtional quilts and some art quilts too. The show runs from now till August 30, 2015. You can get more information about Krempp Gallery here.

What am I working on? Well...I'm busy making more LITTLE hexagons for my BIG hexagon project.

I'm also working up some designs for hand-stitched pins. I'll be working on those as soon as I get a chance. What are you up to?

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