A Common Thread

The Textile Center in Minneapolis has a show every January called A Common Thread. If you are a member of the Textile Center you can submit work for this show. The photo submissions and information had to be submitted by the first week in October. Whew! I made it in time. Last year was the first year I entered something. It was a very small piece, I don't have the exact measurements handy but it was about the size of a piece of computer paper. I was very surprised when the check came in the mail because my piece had sold. I am hoping for a wonderful surprise again this year, but even if it doesn't sell, I am proud of myself for pushing past the fear factor and entering the show. Here is a photo of last years piece.

That fear quotient holds me back a little more than I would like, but considering how new I am to this whole fiber art experience, I do OK. It's easy to be confident when you have done something for a long time and you know you are good at it. At this point in my career I wonder if I should hold back until I learn more, if it is even worth the trouble. But than I sit back, really look at what I have done, and say "How will you learn more if you don't keep trying!" and "Of course it is worth trying!" I can see growth in my work with each piece I finish. Some may be baby steps, some lateral steps, and occasionally some feel like giant leaps, but each is progress in one form or another. I don't have any set type of art that I do. I am still experimenting at this point. I like to try everything, which makes for slower progress at times but it makes this journey richer and full of adventure.

This is a photo of the piece I submitted. The frame measures about 23" x 19." I shibori dyed, overdyed, beaded, hand quilted, and used swarovski crystals and other embellishments. I than framed the piece. I like this one. So, if it doesn't sell I am fine with that too. It is called 'Sunspots." A big thank you to Nancy Eha, I learned how to do much of the beading techniques from her book called "Bead Creative Art Quilts" Her explanations are very clear with lot's of beautiful photos.

I will also be changing my profile photo soon. I changed my photo on facebook, but it isn't a great photo of me, so I'm hoping to get a better one soon for my blog.
Have a creative day
Janet

Beads

I've been trying to learn a little more about adding beads to my quilts. I have a book by Nancy Eha called Bead Creative Art Quilts (if you go to this link you can enlarge a photo of the beaded coil from the book, it is stunning). Beaded coils add dimension and texture to a quilt so that is one of the techniques I have been trying. They're kind of fun, it's relaxing to sit and work on this project.
Nancy's book has so many wonderful photos, when my eyes need a rest from beading I page through her book again trying to decide what to try next.
I'm not sure what I did to make the color so different in these two photos. They are both the same quilt. It's really about half way between the two. I did take the photos in the evening so the light wasn't the best. Maybe I used the flash on one and not the other.
Have a Creative day
Janet

Play Ball!

I'm having fun with my daughters' softball t-shirts. She wanted them made into a quilt. I did sew them together several years ago but didn't do the quilting....this is a long time coming, but it's finally getting finished.

It's fun to see the backs of the squares.

Still a lot to do but it should be finished soon. Hooray for my longarm. She wants the name of the team on each square. Her first t-shirt from kindergarten was a little smaller than the others so I had to add a little extra fabric to make it the same size as the other squares. They were called the strawberry shortcakes.
My meandering is not to great but hopefully will get better and better. I didn't want to spend a huge amount of time on this so I made it pretty big and found that was more difficult for me to do. Also discovered I work best left to right, and back to front. Moving the machine right to left and front to back results in crazy lines. But, I can already see some improvement there so eventually it should all come together.
Have a creative day
Janet

Stitches from the Past

I was feeling reminiscent last night. My youngest just finished his first week of college and I was remembering back to those days when I had to grab every minute I could to be creative. At the time cross stitch and other crewel work fit for me. I could put it down and pick it up at a moments notice, and it was easily portable.
There are quite a few that I don't have photos of because they were given away or long since discarded in some manner. Here are a few of the stitches from my past that are still hanging around my house. The photos aren't the best but you'll get the idea.
This first one was cross stitched, than cut out, brushed with stiffy and a small cord was added so it could be hung. It was part of a mother's day present for my mom long ago. (It says "For my Mom" and "who has always taken the weeds with the flowers")

This is one of the first stitch projects. It is starting to show it's age and may be in the need of a good cleaning. I've always liked flowers and butterflies.

This was just added as a gift tag on something. It is done on perforated paper, cut out in the scalloped heart shape, with hole punches in the scallops. A small ribbon was added to hang it on the gift.

This was a reminder for myself when I let people give me a hard time about staying home with my kids. This piece helped me keep my focus on what was good for my family.

I made these cute tumbling bears for my daughter's room when she was a baby.

Cross Stitch and Country Crafts was the name of a magazine I received for a number of years. I really liked the beautiful designs they had. I had just finished this next one when we first moved to Minnesota. I took it to the framer, the first thing she asked was if I was entering it in the state fair. It had never occurred to me to enter the fair. We did go to the fair that year and it became very clear why she asked me that question. Everywhere I turned someone had done this same piece and entered it in the fair. Some day I hope to finish the little boy who goes along with the girl.

This next one is also a pattern from Cross Stitch and Country Crafts. It was a series of three, this one spoke to me. I really like how it was framed.

Here are a couple of whimsical ones from the years I spent so much time driving here and there we never had time to cook anything but reservations (Just kidding, we probably couldn't afford reservations than). The frame on the reservations stitch project had really faded, so I repainted it yesterday and added some varnish.



















This next one was a little kit I bought. I don't remember where or who it was made by. It is hanging in my creative space to remind me to strive for those dreams even if they seem out of reach. (It says "Reach for the Stars")

I took a class a Bear Patch Quilting to learn how to do punch needle. I think this is the kit I bought for the class. I still haven't framed this one.

The last one I found is a little punch needle pattern I purchased. It says Live Simply. Always a good goal. I like the texture in the frame on this one.
I found a piece of fabric that was perfect for the strap for my 'green' bag. Some nice person was giving away their scraps at the last Minnesota Contemporary Quilters meeting. I grabbed that one perfect piece which will save me a trip to the fabric store. I'll post a photo next time. In my comments on that post I was given a link to Jenny of Elefantz blog. She has a challenge for people to see what they can re-invent from old clothing. She links to other bloggers who have taken her challenge. So if you have a few minutes jump over and see all the wonderful creations that people are making. There are some ideas you won't want to miss. The Show and Tell blog I saw about the challenge was dated August 27th.

Today's project is to put a quilt on my longarm and get busy quilting.

Do you have stitches from your past you could share? Let me know I always like to take a trip down memory lane.

Have a creative day
Janet

Making green bags

My mom moved into a retirement community last year. She didn't have quite as much room there as she did in her two bedroom apartment. So, some choices needed to made on what to keep and what could go....
I kept a lot of the clothes she no longer needed. I held on to them until now in case she changed her mind. Now it is time to begin to re-purpose some of the clothes. I started with a jacket that caught my eye.
And a blouse, I thought would sort of match.

I love the embroidery details and the colors of this jacket but the sleeves were a little worn and the jacket itself was too short for me. I've been wanting to make a Miranda Day Bag by Lazy Girl Designs. Here is the bag I made.

I had a handle on the bag but the color wasn't quite right. I need to find a better color for the strap. I want a long strap rather than a short purchased handle, I think I will be more likely to use it that way. I added quite a lot of quilting to the body of the bag, so it took longer to make than I expected. I really like how it turned out.

My daughter wants one too, I think I have enough of the embroidered fabric left. She thought I could mix her's with a blue or green from the embroidery. I may have to purchase a matching color of fabric but the main body of it will be from her Grandma's closet. Isn't that a fun way to re-purpose clothing.

Have a creative day
Janet