Wednesday, September 21, 2016

PTA September 2016

I have been so busy with family, my blog has been purshed to the back burner - so thanks for hanging in there with me. I wanted to share our last PTA meeting as they are always so much fun and also inspirational - so much talent!
We met at the home of Janice M and managed to take a quick picture outside. Janice also gave us a tour of all the beautiful work they've had done on their property.
At the end of this stone walkway is a chicken coop, such a beautiful setting - lucky chicks!
This is looking into Janice's studio and the view from inside is even better.
Show and Tell is always such fun but this time, one of the best - seems like everyone has been busy in their studio. Dort has been working on a series - modern day family crests with sayings so apropos for each one. The above is Dort's family - "Full speed Ahead" as they are rushing madly with Washington, DC in the background.
A wonderful use of fabric!
And another one of her family member's family - "What's Your Hurry".
The detail on this is amazing which is a trademark of much of Dort's work. The coffee mug is a real little mug and....
the dog has a collar and carrying a leash.
And another part of her family - "Leave no Dish Unturned" - apparently into eating and picnics.
And again, such detail.
Dort is also working on another series with her cousin which centers around natural disasters - this one a tsunami. The large waves are effectively done using lace !
Janice showed us her new cat - This, who is a real "People Cat" so my being a cat lover was in heaven. Thia really enjoyed hanging out with us.
Georgia showed us something she found on facebook and tried it herself - all done with thread and tracing her hands - pretty clever I think!
Kate showed us one of her prints from our Indigo plant day. I did this also but didn't have nearly the great results that Kate had. This was done using an Indigo plant, rubbing it over some plastic doilies and then scrubbing it with soap.
Kate recently took a weeklong workshop with Sue Benner - she had so many beautiful pieces to share but this was one of my favorites - whole cloth and done on a large table with mx dyes.
And one of kates beautiful journals that she creates using her marbled fabric - beautiful and functional. Tomorrow is Fiber Junkies and we'll be marbling so lots to report...Til then...

Sunday, September 11, 2016

May We Never Forget

15 years ago today, hard to believe it's that long that our lives would be changed forever. My friend Barbara was coming over to dye fabric for her studio; she arrived at 9:00 am. unlike myself, she had the radio on..on her way over. I answered the door and her face was white as a ghost. For those of us old enough to remember where we were the day Kennedy was shot, this is one of those days we will never forget .
 To all the wonderful, brave men and women who lost their lives that day long with their families, our hearts and love are with you.
 I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero years back, it was an incredibly moving experience.
 I will be returning to the museum this fall.
 Our new Freedom Tower....

 and the memorial.
May we never forget.

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Golden Autumn

I have done a number of quilted marbled pieces over the years...this is a more recent one that was part of the NC Arboretum Exhibit in July. This piece was a sample for the marbling book I wrote eons ago. I never did anything with it although I really liked the sample. I decided to finish it for the show; I used free motion quilting following the lines of the marbling pattern and then mounted it on a pre-stretched canvas.
 This was a more difficult technique as I used a mask  of contact paper in the shape of a leaf and laid it on the white silk before marbling. The marbling being a quick process did not loosen the contact paper shape so when removed I had some white leaves in the center of some pretty marbling. I then painted the leaf using silk paint.
 I wanted the leaves to pop so I put an extra layer of batting behind the leaf. Next came a full layer of batting covered with "soil separator cloth" from Home Depot; this "fabric" found in the plumbing dept. is similar to pattern duplicating material and much lighter than a traditional backing fabric and it would never show.
 I wanted decorative threads for the quilting and decided on 2 different ones - a rayon for the overall quilting and Burmilana to outline the leaves. Burmilana, think it's been shortened to just Lama is a wool acrylic thread that can be used through the top of your machine with a topstitch #16 needle. It has a wonderful presence although it does create a lot of fuzz underneath the throatplate area and should be cleaned often.
 I quilted the leaves first and then went onto the background - a mighty tedious job but the piece was small so it didn't take forever.
And the finished piece - "Golden Autumn".