Bald Cypress

After joining Facebook a few years ago I was pleasantly surprised to reconnect with several people I had lost touch with over the years.  One of these people was my college roommate.  I discovered she was an accomplished photographer.  You can find her work on RedBubble. I fell in love with her photos of cypress trees.  Living in the midwest all my life I have only had glimpses of these trees in photos or on vacation.  Michele Conner has an entire calendar full of seasonal photos of these gorgeous trees.  She has many other photos as well, sold as cards, calendars and prints

cypress tree begins

After purchasing one of her calendars I really wanted to make a cypress tree quilt.  I've thought about how to do this for a couple of years and my recent attempts at painting fabric seemed like a good fit.  So, I asked Michele if it would be ok if I used her photo to make a quilt.  She said yes!

                                        

partially painted Cypress

The challenge for SAQA Minnesota this year was to make a 14" x 20" landscape.  The two goals seemed perfect for each other.  I made the pattern, an outline of the tree and its shadow.  I put my pattern under a piece of clear plastic with my fabric on top.  I can see the outline of the tree through the fabric.  I cut a piece of white fabric, a little larger than what I needed, made sure I had the colors of so-soft paint as well as Folk Art Floating Medium and I began to paint.

almost finished painting

The paint dries quickly and so it was soon ready for the longarm.  I used several shades of brown, black, and rust to add to the shading from the paint.  I didn't want to add much to the shadow so it would stay a little less defined.  I did brighten the leaves on the tree a little.  Artistic license, right.  I was a little rushed with the binding, but managed to get it done in time to turn it in today for display in the Minnesota Quilt Show.

Bald Cypress photo by Michele Conner Quilt by Janet Hartje

stitch detail

I still have more to learn with the paint, I am a little heavy yet and may try some different types of paints and fabric to see what happens.  It will be fun to experiment.  I want to make a number of flowers this summer.

After the Rain

Have a Creative Day

Janet

Getting Ready for Minnesota Quilt Show

My challenge quilt for Minnesota Contemporary Quilters is finished.  This quilt gave me some growing pains while I was working on it.  I have been working on improving my quilting for traditional quilts.  So when it came time to do something contemporary, I was a little confused about how to quilt it.  I like how the painting turned out and honestly, I was afraid I would mess it up.  How many times do I let fear hold me back?  I really let this quilt sit there longer than I should have out of fear.

It dawned on me to think of my sewing machine as a paint embellisher.  I just wanted to highlight the painting and add more texture to the finished product.  That's all it took, a little shift in my thought process and it was done.

The challenge this year is "Abode" in whatever form it speaks to you.  My abode is a saquaro cactus and living inside is a family of gila woodpeckers.  My inspiration came from a photo I took while vacationing in Arizona.  The photo is of the cactus with the hole just beckoning a family to move inside.  I found the woodpeckers in a Dover book.

Prickly Abode by Janet Hartje

Have a Creative Day
Janet

Almost done!

Thought I'd share a couple photos of my Big, Huge, Enormous quilt.  At least for me it is that big!  This was a JoAnn Fabrics Block of the Month quilt from a number of years ago.  I finished the quilt top awhile ago but never quilted it.

Janet Hartje-JoAnn Fabrics Block of the Month

Well the quilting is done, still need to do the binding etc, but almost there.  Now I can move on to quilting my cactus and my tree quilt for the Minnesota Quilt show in June.  Whew!  I think I still have plenty of time.

Janet Hartje-JoAnn Fabrics Block of the Month

Don't look too close or criticize too loud.  I know I still have a lot to learn but I am happy with the end result on this one.

Janet Hartje-JoAnn Fabrics Block of the Month

Have a Creative Day
Janet

Creating a Cactus Abode

The challenge for Minnesota Contemporary Quilters this year is "Abode."  The meaning of abode could be interpreted by each individual.  I have been wanting to create a quilt from a photo of a saguaro cactus.
                                       

Saguaro cactus  Janet Hartje

I took the photo a few years ago when we traveled to Arizona.  I think it is fascinating that these cactus only grow in the Sonoran Desert.  They live to be hundreds of years old and can be tree sized.  It is even more amazing to me that some animals can make a home out of these prickly beasts.

Gila woodpeckers are one of the birds who live inside the holes of this cactus.  I wasn't fortunate enough to get a photo of the woodpecker but I did find a picture of one in a Dover coloring book, Animals of the Forest, Wetlands and Deserts.  My coloring may be off a little but I think I came close.
                                     

Prickly Abode by Janet Hartje

I've never painted an entire scene before and learned a lot while I did this one.  Mostly I learned that I am fickle about color and kept changing my mind about the color of the cactus.  I went through three shades of green before I found one I was comfortable with.  I also prefer paint to colored pencils.  I started with pencils.  So, there are a few extra layers of paint here but I am happy with the end product.

Now on to the stitching and one more quilt to create for SAQA.  If I manage to get them all finished I will have four quilts in the show in June.

Have a Creative Day
Janet

The Tree Project

Wanda in Minnesota Contemporary Quilters came up with a challenge for as many people who wanted to join.  She gave us a basic tree outline.  We needed to create a tree that fit the outline. Next we had to cut our tree into four equal pieces!  Gasp!  I think we ended up with approximately 26 different trees, not sure exactly.

We each kept the piece of our tree that was the bottom left corner.  We put the other three pieces in bags with our name and the part number, so the receiver knew who they were from.  At our meeting we randomly received the other three parts of our tree from three different people.  My pieces are from Sally Neckvatel (upper left), Leah Doherty (upper right), and Sue Kelly (lower right).  Thank you to all three of you, they are beautiful.

Here is my original tree before I cut it apart.

Janet Hartje original tree

Here are the four pieces for my new tree.

Janet Hartje the tree begins

                                       

I added a border, half spring, half fall, since that is what it appeared to me.

Janet Hartje tree with borders

                                       
Now the fun begins, how to make it once again my tree.  I decided it looked like a collision between two separate worlds.  In fact I think I might call it that.  "Two Worlds Collide"
fantasy and reality.

Janet Hartje "Two Worlds Collide"

                                       

All of the tree quilts will be hung together at the Minnesota Quilt Show in June.  I think it will be a fun exhibit and I can't wait to see them all.

Now for the quilting and binding and sleeve and label and ....

Have a Creative Day
Janet