Morning's Glory Quilt

Years ago I took a weeklong workshop with David Walker - a fiber artist "extraordinaire". He told us that whenever he finished a quilt, he would light lots of candles in his studio, turn off the lights (except for one on his quilt), open a great bottle of wine, put on his favorite music and enjoy the moment and what he had accomplished. I've always loved that; wish I could say I do the same, not as easy with people and pets around. About all I can manage is the wine. I did finish my quilt today and it does feel good. So here are some details.
While previewing it on the wall, my son said it needed more sparkle and I agree. The only way to incorporate it at this point was through the quilting. I didn't want the whole piece quilted with metallic, just a touch here and there.
I used a mylar which can be wicked to use but it was cooperating this time around. There is nothing better for giving glitz than a mylar; there's so much reflection.

I also used a couching thread - Candlelight by YLI in the bobbin and sewed from the back of the quilt. You can see the heavier threadwork.

I used a very subdued "non-descript" color to quilt the other areas so the quilting wouldn't be too dominant.

The extra threadwork on the flowers and leaves gave it more dimension which it needed.

I added more threadwork on the leaves and fabric curls.

I dyed the fabric for the back and used the same mylar in the bobbin so the back would be sparkly also.

I used to be a designer for the Fairfield Fashion Show. The show itself had many wonderful sponsors who gave us great products to use for our creations. As a result, I've built up an enormous thread collection including many decorative threads. Mylars are hard to use on the top of the machine because they break easily but work very well in the bobbin, so to use up these threads, I started using them in the bobbin. Before I realized it, many of my quilts had a "sparkly" back to them; I liked the look.

So now I use them all the time on the back.

I faced the quilt as I wanted the edges to be plain - without a binding. I used a clothing construction technique to face the quilts.

and here is the finished piece.

I was still stumped on a name but had a thought - when I walk in the morning (in summer), first thing I see outside are the Morning Glories and they are glorious - so Morning's Glory.

Birdhouses and Morning Glories

A while back I started a new piece inspired by a Bluebird house a neighbor gave me as a house warming gift. I love the weathered look and coupled with a vine like plant, thought it would make a pretty quilt. The working title is Birdhouses and Morning Glories; I'm trying to come up with a better title. Any ideas?
The picture of the birdhouse was to be part of the background, so I thought it should be fairly subdued. I turned it into a Sepia print in Photoshop Elements.

I cropped the image and enlarged parts of the image to make interesting design elements.

I wasn't concerned about direction, just wanted it for an interesting background.

All shapes and sizes were printed on fabric; I wanted lots of choices for designing.

I liked the nail and strong wood grain in the part below.

I had some wonderful "granite" patterned fabric that worked really well with this imagery.

I like that the background is interesting without being overpowering.

I had printed some monoprints on the purchased fabric; it seemed to work well with this imagery

and the pieced background.

At this point I thought it needed some "sparkling up" so I scoured my collection of couching threads and found this amazing little sparkle.

I set my machine for a narrow zig zag and threaded it with a monofilament on top. I laid the threads down along the narrow fabric strips and zig-zagged it in place.

The threadwork gives it a little more definition which I like.

A detail of the threadwork.

I had already decided on a "greenish-blue" for the flower and dyed some mercerized cotton using procion mx dyes. I used Marine blue and a Chino brown - the 2 together in the same fabric give it more movement.

Nice, but not enough definition, so what to do? The flower needed more movement so I divided the flower into sections and cut out each section taking into consideration a "light source". I also thought the use of a textile paint along the edges would make it "pop"! Think it pops and additional threadwork will help.

So here are the 2 flowers side by side - a before and after (after is first), so I guess it's after and before.

Next step was to pin everything in place, put on design wall and live with it for a while. This part is important, the everyone tasks that take me in and out of the room, looking at it, how often it takes on a new perspective. Sometimes, something will click that I don't like; I never saw it at first but after looking at it everyday, it's glaring! So for me, this "down time is time well spent.

I wanted a lot of movement so I added fabric swirls and curls. I also wanted the flowers to meander around the birdhouse to mimic the garden.

Next step is to fuse and sew the appliques down, then machine quilt. I've actually been doing that for a few days; it's almost done so will show you the results in the next post.

Boone, NC Revisited

My husband and I love to take short trips in the fall, taking advantage of the beautiful weather and color. Yesterday our destination was Boone, NC. I was there 2 weeks ago with my PTA group to see "12 Voices" at the Turgin Center for Visual Arts; I wanted John to see it also - so up to Boone we went. Our first stop was the Annex to the original Mast General store. Mast is our favorite store in Asheville, this one in Valle Crucis is the oldest one - over 100 years old. It's great fun to see, like taking a trip back in time.
I love all the "penny" candy in barrels, not a penny anymore but so much fun to get a bucket and pick and choose from a great variety.

There is an entrance in the back of Mast General with a sitting area and wonderful old, rusted signs.

And shelves loaded with jams and jellies

I love this old Coke machine, still in use and very different than the ones we have today.

And the wonderful antiques along the ledge.

This wonderful piece holds all kinds of nuts and bolts and still sold loose, like 100 years ago, no packages here!

And a genuine "sit and play a spell" station for checkers...

And remember these wonderful post office boxes with the little dials to create your own combination. My parents had one and here they're still in use.

Love this sewing cabinet

And more antiques.

The floors were very uneven everywhere, so "watch you step".

These chairs in the shoe department really tickled me.

Our next stop was along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Moses Cone Craft Shop - one of 5 shops owned and operated by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Members of the guild sell their work in these shops.

We drove home along the Blue Ridge Parkway which is always magical, especially this time of year. The views were breathtaking.

The parkway in the late afternoon is my favorite time - there are deep shadows on the mountains.

I can see why they are called the "Blue Ridge" Mountains.

And even some icicles, wow, keeps getting better and better.

And the color - of course, the color.

Such a magical day and today back to work in my studio.

Silkscreens and Transparencies

A while back, in the middle of designing a quilt, I had a brainstorm - to use an image screened onto a transparent piece of plastic to lay over the quilt. This gave me a good feel as to how the image would work and where to place it. It was a great time saver and confidence booster; it is scary to screen an image onto a quilt because it's so permanent, no turning back kind of thing!
When I make a screen using my Thermofax, I finish the edge with duct tape, and print the image on the outside of a folder. I now take it one step further and make an image on plastic to use as a designing tool; this is stored in the folder also. It's a great time saver to have it already done and wonderful for the designing process.

I buy the plastic at a chain sewing store. It's on a roll and sold by the yard. I think it's 4mm weight but not positive. It's a nice weight to work with.

I lay it over a piece of fabric or part of the quilt itself to see how it'll work.

This is one of my favorite designs as I love the movement; I haven't used it yet.

Previewing it over fabric

This next fabric is too busy for the intricate nature of the design.

This is a feather I found on a morning walk which made into a wonderful screen.

And here it is over a piece of fabric.

This technique can also be used for stamping. Stamp the image on a piece of heavier plastic; lay it on top of your quilt for a preview. I love silk screening and stamping but always hold my breath waiting to see how the image works with the quilt; this takes the guesswork out of it.

Goodbye Mr. Stripey

By August, I'm ready for summer to be over with the beautiful fall upon us and the holidays just around the corner. But I'm never ready to say goodbye to the beautiful flowers and veggies that are the best part of summer.
I've just heard that a frost is coming in so I've picked our last tomatoes. I'll savor every bite; it has to last until next year. This year we tried some different types of tomatoes. My son's school had a sale in the horticulture department; we bought many varieties including some heirlooms, we had never tried before. We fell in love with "Mr Stripey" a great name for a tomato. It's the one in front, very yellow-orange when ripe and has stripes on the bottom. When used in a salad, it looks like you've added peaches instead of tomatoes. The flavor is beyond good. I'm very psychological about things like this. I like tomatoes to be red, potatoes to be white etc. It's hard to get enthused when they're a color I don't picture them to be. When Mr. Stripey appears on the vine, I think, will this be as good as a real tomato? Well, real it was and I highly recommend you add this to your list of tomatoes if you grow your own.
My son also picked a bouquet of Dahlias, probably the last ones, and I'm really enjoying them.

And the beautiful Coleus which will not last much longer.

So Goodbye to Mr. Stripey and all the wonderful colors and tastes of summer, hope to see lots more of you next year!