Tuesday, November 10, 2009
#38 Elephants and Lions...Do You See A Zebra? Janice Simpson
#38 Taking a Little Trip Janice Simpson
Taking A Little Trip....How did the bears get to the lower Peninsula of Michigan...Animal Kingdom...I do have a finished quilt that falls into the #38 FFFC. I have posted it in our photo's section. "Taking A Little Trip"(55 1/2x 47 1/2). This quilt shows about 40 ways for the Bear to cross from upperMi to lower Mi. (the yellow brick road (across the Big Mac Bridge), motor cycles, trucks, sail boats and swimming are just a few of the ways for the bear to get to lower Mi) For those of you not familiar with Michigan...I live in the Upper Peninsula and the Mackinaw Bridge connects us to lower Mi. One day the DNR on a radio show talked about the UP bears crossing to lower Mi... well creative minds of my Art group decided we needed to have a challenge showing how the bears crossed over to lower MIchigan.These quilts have been in MCQA (my guild show), Marquette Public Library,andMichigan Quilt Network show this Sept. I've not been good at FFFC deadlines I will try hard to make this one!! Janice
Monday, November 09, 2009
# 38. Blue Bird of Happiness by Candy Farmer
This is my 'Bluebird of Happiness" for Challenge 38. Materials: 100% Cotton background fabric, screen print with dye paste and over dyed with fabric paint. Fused silk accents. Bird printed on blue polyester chiffon and hand stitched to background. Simple hand quilting and embroidery with silk thread and seed bead eye. Machine overcast edging. 4"x6" postcard. Your comments are welcome.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Cow Girls at Sunflower Branch
My original idea just had the cow girls in poses, but then all the sudden I remembered a piece by Kathy York, and the girls decided to hang out at the Sunflower Branch.
Monday, November 02, 2009
How's a Girl to Choose?
Started thinking about which animal print to use and wound up dipicting these tigers, each with different patterns. Hand dyed background and leaves. Commerical prints. Fused. Will post the finished quilt later.
Comments and critiques welcome and appreciated.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Bubba, the big headed dawg
Bubba is a pure bred Old English Sheepdog. His mom is one of my dearest friends, and we've all watched over the past year as our 10 year old buddy has started to slow down and we know that his time with us is finite. He has survived lymphoma, a rambunctious younger brother, Travis, and a household that also includes some feline cousins. Bubba's eyes have always intrigued me, so I've tried to capture his wistful face.
The layers are fused applique, Fabrico marker, fabric paint, and stitching.... and this will be his mom's Christmas present this year....
Comments of course, are welcome!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The Hunter and the Hunted
Moose

Sweet Schnauzer16" x 20"
fused, thread-painted, FMQ
This challenge came along about the same time that I had a commission to do a pet portrait of this special little dog. He was a much loved pet who died this past summer and two friends decided his owners needed a portrait. So I combined the Fast Friday Challenge and the commission. I finished the portrait including the quilting and a black border but failed to take a picture - something I rarely forget. So I'm posting the little fellow before the piece was finished. This photo was one of many I took to audition backgrounds - this was the winner! His owners loved the quilt as a remembrance of their precious little dog.
Your comments are always welcome. Thanks.
Sewing Caddy - Front


Sorry for the wonky setting! I took this photo in the Dora canal and changed the color with photo editing software. The thin aqua border around the photos is chiffon and the background fabric I bought on the same day I took the picture by coincidence. The large aqua border is chiffon overlaid over ugly free fabric picked up at a guild meeting.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Windblown Dinner


Windblown Dinner
Gail Myrhorodsky
I finished just over the limit this time! Hope you like my little hungry bird who came to dinner. The flowers and bird are direct FM embroidery. Vines and leaves are quilted and painted. It actually started as a much larger piece about 36" square. I cropped it down to about 14"h by about 12" w. Background fabrics are some of my hand-dyes. Hope you like it.
Just Passing Through
My entry to challenge 38 is titled "Just Passing Through". Some quilts insist on being made - this was one of those for me. For those who don't have the time or inclination for the "why", the details are these: 22" wide x 18" high; trapunto-ed bear totem (creating reverse trapunto for the somewhat subtle bear footprints on the right); reverse applique in the arrow. Things I would do differently - I would limit the Seminole border to one pattern instead of four and I would be more careful about keeping the pieces symmetrical.For those who want to know the story behind the quilt...
My husband and I jog every morning. Since I run twice as far as he does, we start out together and then go our separate ways. For me, that hour each morning is my most valuable design time and I have created at least 90% of my quilts to the rhythm of the run. Last Friday my thoughts were on the FFFC posted that morning by Cynthia. I kept considering possible designs and rejecting them - nothing seemed to be speaking to me. About three miles into my run I looked up and saw my husband headed my way and I knew something must be going on. When he reached me he started lecturing me about daydreaming and not paying attention to my surroundings. Indignantly I demanded to know why he thought that was the case. Instead of answering he pointed to the ground by my feet. There in the sand, as clear as could be, were two perfect, fresh sets of grizzly bear prints heading back in the direction from which I had come. It was obviously a mama and near grown cub and they had gone through Thursday night sometime. We followed the prints back about a half mile to our barbed wire fence and there we could see where they had gone through. There were big clumps of grizzly fur caught in the barbs. Following the tracks back the opposite direction we found that the two had passed pretty close to our house during the night but thankfully, unlike last year, this time they had not hurt any of our animals. I decided I was meant to do a bear totem quilt. I talked to the folks at Game and Fish to see if I could add a few strands of grizzly bear fur to the piece but, as I suspected, since they have recently been re-listed as an endangered species, even picking the fur off the fence would be illegal!
"Tiny Giraffe" (10" x 13")
The Lion King

Off to a slow start, the Lion King is still a work in progress. I had planned to do tiger cubs based on a Japanese wood block print purchased in
Thursday, October 29, 2009
African Sunset Ch#38
This piece was a lot of cutting. First I place a piece of my hand dyed fabric, then a piece of black fabric. Sewed on the paper side of the stabalizer and then cut it out. A lot like Sue B's upside down applique.
It measures 21x24".
It was a fun challenge. I do have quite a bit of depth in the piece, although hard to see in the picture. I think it needs some eyelashes on the left side :)
Thanks for the wonderful challenge Cynthia.
Now I'm off to view the other work, which I haven't looked at yet.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Fried Chicken
After The Storm
I photoshopped the picture to create a rainbow set of birds, then printed it onto fabric. I used trapunto to make the birds puffier and gave them some texture with thread painting, then sandwiched and quilted the piece and touched up the eyes and beaks with paint.
This is a small project (10" x 12") and was intended to be a quick project, but it took longer than I thought--that's ok, though, since I had fun with it!
Rainbow Fish School
I think I have improved this. I used some color pencils to do some highlighting on some of the fish, particularly the larger fish in the center area. I tried doing some stitching, but that was not effective. Let me know what you think.

Here is my piece with a detail. It is silk with screenprinted fish, using Lumiere metallic paints. It was then overdyed with Colorhue dyes. The fabric was laid over bubble wrap to give the bubble texture. I have just started experimenting with these dyes. They strike very quickly and require no chemicals or special batching. Once they are dry, they are done. They can be used on linen and wool, also.
I wish I had made a new screen with more detail as the fish are sort of blending into the water, but I guess that is what they do!!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Birds of a Feather

I chose to do a Holographic Images, a Multi-level Surface Design/Mixed Media. Original image digitally printed twice for holographic 3-D effects. The piece is mounted. I invented this method of digital fiber and it was published in Quilting Arts magazine in 2007.
I went for very subtle effects. There is a tiny fern on bottom right. Fabrics are hand dyed, sun printed, painted, and surface designed in a variety of ways to enhance finished photograph.
Heron on the Creek


The Tri-lingual Parrot of Puerto Vallarta
I changed the quilt a little bit - edging the bird with a narrow black zig-zag, and adding two more red flowers. I think it looks better. Thanks for the suggestions!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Just Passin' Through
I loved this challenge Cynthia! Hope this meets the criteria.Thanks for all you do for this group :-)
Cherie
Challenge 38: "Pals"
I usually don't do literal interpretations, so this was a challenge for me. I made this whimsical turtle piece using a metal turtle I had as a template......the turtles are machine trapunto as I learned fromthe video. Grasses and rocks were fused on last. Lots of free motion quilting. I didn't finished the edges since I plan to use this for a pillow front......the theme for a new grandson's room is turtles so this may be a fun addition. All comments welcome......thanks!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Z

9.5” X 14”
I only had today to work on this challenge so needed something small and more simplistic. Enjoyed the challenge of the reverse appliqué and definitely need more practice with my satin stitching. I was getting the “hang of it” by the time I finished!!
I used a cropped photo of a zebra, sized it and printed out. This is a mirror image of the original.
I will hang it 90 degrees clockwise but this view is more realistic for a zebra.
Thanks Cynthia for the challenge and comments are welcome and appreciated.
Pam
Chickadee Antics
I love chickadees and if you all remember I posted a single bird last winter. After doing that my guild asked if I'd teach a class on how to do the bird and get some realism to their work. I'd not done this before but finally agreed to it. Last summer I began to make this piece to use as an example of the difference paint and thread painting could make to a subject (photo #3). I had both birds completed but only one painted (the upper right bird in photo #3)) to show the difference paint made. I needed to finish this quilt anyhow so I got it out yesterday, finished painting the lower left bird, thread painted both birds, quilted it all, and now it's ready to share. I've also included photos (#2) of the winter chickadee I did last winter for this group and then the summer chickadee (#1) I did these two to show the participants the difference background color would make. Sorry I didn't get the photos placed in the right order. I hope numbering helps differentiate. The first two are about 11" x 16" and the double chickadee pair just completed is about 18" x 24".
I do so enjoy animals anyhow that I hope to get another new animal quilt started and completed yet for this month's challenge.
Psalm 124: 6,7
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Zebra

9" x 12" Satin
Update 11/5: I decided 1) to rip the binding off and redo it, 2) following Cynthia's suggestion to add a bit more quilting on the large black stripes, and 3) outline the background leaves in ink. This photo seems to show them better than the original did.
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As soon as I saw "Animal Kingdom," I wanted to do a zebra! I'm not sure why, wished I had some zebra stripe fabric, but no such. And reverse applique was something I had read about, but really didn't understand, until yesterday, so this is my first use of that technique.
My original thought was to have the background half-white, half-black, but making the wide uneven stripes like a zebra coat seemed more effective. I quickly realized the need to simplify the stripe pattern, as thinner stripes would be nearly impossible to cut away. And as usual, my husband had a final suggestion, the dot of red fabric paint for the eye.

And since the white satin was fairly thin, I added some of the black and white grassy fabric that I used last month just behind it for a subtle background.
I am planning to donate this as a Priority Quilt to the Alzheimers Quilt Initiative, hence the rectangle and the size. All comments welcome!
Friday, October 23, 2009
Challenge 38 - Sluggish

So my piece for Challenge 38 is Sluggish. I'm not sure if a slug technically falls into the Animal Kingdom but I'm sticking with it.The background is pieced with my hand dyed fabrics - it is suppose to be a mossy pathway - the slug has three layers of batting and a cotton ball for his head. The slug is actual size. He is beaded followed by a beautiful beaded slug slim. The finished size is 15 inches by 13 inches.
Lisa
In Rainy Seattle - where the Slugs are munching in the garden.
Updated 10/28
Ok so taking some advice regarding the composition of the slug - I added an green leaf for lunch - changed the orientation of the quilt. Please let me know what you think now.
Dance Challenge 38

YES, I started and finished this today, no cheating for once.
I don't know if this is considered in the animal kingdom, but I posted my piece for this challenge. It's titled "Dance". I have been working on keeping everything I do related to the river and lakes I live by. Since I am an avid fisherwoman it seems appropriate. Maybe there will be a one woman show somewhere in the future, lol.
I had many photos I took of huge carp in a feeding frenzy by one of the docks. The sun glared on the surface so I had to use many photoshop filters to bring out the fish. Our water here is crystal clear so that posed a problem to make the fish stand out from the water. I printed this photo in yellow tones, fused it to a larger piece of cotton and then using textile paints I started enhancing the water and the fish to blend the two layers. Next I used machine trapunto to make part of each fish rise above the surface of the water. I covered the entire piece with scrunched copper colored tulle and FMQ the piece. This gave the illusion of waves or mossy plants. I cut the tulle off the fish so they are a different texture than the parts that are under water. The quilting is done with a variagated rayon thread to mimic the light off the ripples but I couldn't get this to show well in the photo.
The piece finished at roughly 13 inches square and I probably am not going to square it up or put any edge finish on it.
Your comments are always welcome, love to hear from all of you.Does it look like the fish are breaking the surface?
Thursday, October 22, 2009
FFFC Challenge #38:
Nature Theme: Animals
Quilt Art examples: http://www.robappell.com/image/tid/5
http://www.yessy.com/littletonstudio/galleryfibe.html?i=5057
Realistic Art examples: http://www.artcyclopedia.com/subjects/Animals.html
Contemporary/Abstract Art examples: http://www.decordova.org/Decordova/exhibit/2006/animals/animals.html
http://www.govinder.info/
http://www.alisoningram.co.uk/abstract_mammals_home.htm
Picasso’s Bull series - a study on moving from a realistic image to an abstract image http://johnmactaggart.com/art_appreciation/animals_in_art/pablo_picasso/pablo_picasso.htm
Traditional ethnic: http://park.org/SanBlasDeCuna/molas.html
As an alternative to including an animal image in your piece: think about using the colors, texture and patterns in animal skins http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/animal-skin.html
Or use those wonderful animal print fabrics from your stash!
Have fun…can’t wait to see what you all come up with! For the “fast” FFFC artists, it’s due Saturday, October 31 noon Eastern time. For the “non-so-fast” FFFC artists, it’s whenever you can!
Cynthia
Challenge 37-Nebula
My embellisher seemed the perfect tool to accomplish the task of building my own Nebula right in my studio. Quilting with metallic thread was new to me. Critiques welcomed.
Blast Off
I wanted to use dyes, but my past experience had been just applying the dyes on a piece of cloth laying on a table. It didn't work as I had envisioned. Lots of flow across the table; very little control. Therefore, my first step was to make an adjustable frame on which to secure my fabric. I recycled wood from some old shelf frames I had used when I lived in apartments and moved a lot. I used a textile maker in gray as I only wanted a little bit to show threw the 'dust from the blast off'. Then I applied dyes. It took several layers of dye to get what I wanted. Then I began with the paints. I ironed between layers to preserve what I had already done. Previously, I had skipped this step. Not happy when the colors moved. I learned from that mistake. Although my quilting is far from perfect, it is the best I've done so far. Horay! I'm improving.
Challenge #37 "Meet Me In 2287" 60,000years Janice Simpson
Labels: FFFC #37 OuterSpace
posted by Designs by Janice Simpson at 8:03 AM 0 comments
FFFC #37 Outer Space
Labels: "Meet You In 2287" 60, 000 years
Astronomical Event


I have GOT to be the last to finish! Please take a look at my really fast entry (about 4 hours) – Astronomical Event. I decided to let one of my very first hand-dyed fabrics do the work. After quilting with several colors of metallic threads in a firey starburst design, I layered some holographic shredded cellophane under some sparkly dark gold tulle and again stitched over it with gold metallic threads. Then I melted this addition to give it a more lacey-spacey effect, floating through space. Comments welcome, even though this isn’t my best work….I got the urge to do this challenge and just sat down and did it. Hope to be a bit more timely next time!
Gail Myrhorodsky
Deep Space - WIP
I am struggling with this. It is okay, but not wonderful. I used sequined and beaded fabric for the background which was not a Good Idea. When I finally got the bits under the planets and sun removed, they went flat and lost life. But I couldn't fuse them to the beads and sequins, nor could I just stitch them bumpily on there. I have put a facing on, although it needs stitching down in back. Because I already spent ages taking beads off the front, I didn't take them out of the SA when I stitched the facing on, and even through I was careful...I broke 3 needles!So I am coming for advice.
I know how I want to quilt the sun, but any advice on how to quilt the planets?
Any advice on how to get it to be alive and not flat looking?
Shall I put it in the cupboard with the other space one from sometime back and hope I like it better in a year or so? LOL
Thanks!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Planet Wihet by Vivien Zepf
This is my first challenge with the group and I've been looking forward to participating. Unfortunately, yesterday was my first day in the studio for weeks, so I tasked myself to create something in a day. It's not the most marvelous piece ever, but I'm glad I did it. It was a good way to reacquaint myself with my sewing machine and supplies.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Celestial Black Hole
New techniques that I used:- painting over acrylic paints with a transparent black Setacolor. The acrylic acted as a resist so only the unpainted areas took the black paint. I love this way of working.
- adding Golden's mica chips in gel medium for some celestial glitz.
Here is a detail

I have another one painted, but it is not stitched as yet.
OK, I am ready for the next challenge.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Our Galaxy

Sunday, October 11, 2009
In a Galaxy Far, Far Away


Friday, October 09, 2009
Pluto is gone

Sunday, October 04, 2009
Challenge 37 "Planetary Fiction" by Pam Clark


This is my first fast friday challenge. I chose to use some new products that I hadn't tried before. I started with Angelina film. I layed strands of fibers between two layers of film and ironed to hold the fibers in place. I cut the film into a half moon shape and stitched it onto my dark background. I had never tried fiber painting before, so I painted around the planet to look like reflections coming off the surface. I also painted a small moon and a swirling nebula. I couched decorative fibers around the planet, across the planet and throughout the piece. I quilted with metallic threads to add glitz, added some Angelina fibers to the surface of the planet, and sewed on a few beads. I'm not really happy with the outcome, since I feel that my planet is too shiny, but I did learn how to use the Angelina film and how to fiber paint. Your comments are welcome.
Challenge 37 - Seattle Moonlight
Challenge #37 - Blue Moon by Candy Farmer
Close to home and closer to heart, the moon has inspired the folklore and poetry of the ancients and helped us mark the passing of time and season. The full moon is especially potent and magical and speaks of the feminine.
The features of this moon were free cut from a remnant of polyester chiffon in hombre blues and applied to the surface with a single strand of silk sewing thread to keep it floaty and something of a suggestion. The background, or
black-ground, is cotton velveteen with black paisley jacquard applique. I used a polyester bat for loft and to add dimension to the moon. Everything was hand stitched.
This is my first larger-size piece, 16.5"x 21.5" approximate, and I would really like your feed back. Thanks, everyone.
Challenge #37 - full mOOn reflections by Wen Redmond

Full mOOn Reflections has several layers, and a circle was cut directly in the main piece. I used this elsewhere in the piece, repeating the circle motif. Medium was used on sections to see how it affected the transparency and texture. It was mono-printed, painted and dyed using silk noil, and organza. Mounted on painted rayon and poly stabilizer. StitchingWEBSITE http://WenRedmond.co
BLOG http://fiberartgoddess.blogspot.com
Genesis 1:16
Painted cotton with Tempera Paint, sea salt
Commercial Fabric
Metallic, Rayon thread
Fusible gems
I originally created a background with Dyn-na-flow paints, but found it boring and too light for my needs. My 12 year old daughter, Tessa made this background at the same time using her washable tempera paints and sea salt. When I saw how great it was, I asked if I could use it for the challenge. She agreed as long as I gave her credit (grin). After heat setting and cutting up the background, I added a commercial print from Paula Nadlestern's collection and embellished with Glitter thread. Because I truly believe that less is more when it comes to embellishing, I just added a few fusible gems at the end to give it a little twinkle-twinkle. I finished the edges just with a free motion scribble of green and orange thread.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Cosmic Fire
Fires of Arnica
PERSPECTIVE

Cosmos

Leaving Home

24½” x 16¼”, Satin, Polyester, Angelina fiber, beads
Update 10/13/09: I had comments that I should add some flame to the rocket, both in comments and from my husband, so I did. The new picture also has the border sewn on to the foam core so it's somewhat trimmer.
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There are only two fabrics that I used in this piece. The black satin shouted to me for the background, and the polyester piece, scraps from a blouse I just finished, had even the basic shapes which I only smoothed out. The rocket shape came from one of the copyright-free photos, and I used metallic foils for it. Then Angelina, with paper foil stars embedded in it, an
experiment that only partially worked, because if the Angelina is thick enough, the stars don't show up, and if it's thin, they aren't held in very well. I added beads in part to help hold the Angelina on.The earth came from another photo from the NASA pictures, and printed on photo transfer paper. It was when I put that in that the title became obvious.
I quilted the piece lightly with metallic thread. It is mounted on foam core, and I still need to sew down the edges and will probably stitch around the rocket, at least, to hold it down more smoothly. Comments welcome as always!
Friday, October 02, 2009
FFFC 37 Kalahari from Space

I decided to do something a little different for this challenge and use a photo of earth taken from 400 miles above the surface. I'm posting the photo here as well as my attempt to interpret it. As someone on the internet said, from that distance, Earth is abstract art. I have to admit that I'm not terribly happy with this. I'd like it to have a little more 'fire.' But at least it's a little different. I started with a plain yellow background and then added lines of color with almost everything in my arsenal--crayolas, ink pens, Sharpies, pencils, etc. Stitched on top of all of that. The photo on the right is the original satellite photo.
Thanks for a fun challenge! Comments and suggestions welcome!
Saturn
Fires of Arnica by Jeanne Knudsen
challenge 37
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Exploding Star

With a very full calendar this month, I only had a short time to devote to FFFC. I love the challenge, and all those wonderful Nebula Photos, but when looking through my stash to start my entry, this fabric that I had hand dyed got my attention. It seemed to say exploding star to me. Using Angelina fibers, I made a slurry of various colors and created a 8 x 10 mesh of fibers. From that I cut some strips and sewed them to my background. Next I used some set-a-color pens and drew some of the wispy lines, then used embroidery to complete my design. The quilting is intended to accent the flow of the piece. I’m not sure it looks very “starry”, but I love the colors and the sparkle. I’m pleased with its general appearance, but wish I had more time to make it special…. Maybe later. Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Challenge #37
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Ganymede Trumps Jupiter
This is my first group challenge, and it was a blast! The piece is 18x20" (I can never remember--do you list height or width first?) and I think I'm going to call it "Ganymede Trumps Jupiter."
I ran across a NASA (copyright-free) photo of Ganymede, one of the moons of Jupiter, and was fascinated by its textures and colors (I'm sure it was color-enhanced), so I decided to replicate it by stitching painted Tyvek to fabric and shrink-melting it. It looked a little lonely on its own, so I found a picture of Jupiter and used hand-dyed fabric and acrylic paint to recreate it. I took some artistic license with this piece; Ganymede is MUCH larger, proportional to Jupiter, than it should be, but I like it that way. The photos are a little misleading; they show a sparkly (star-filled?) background because I used clear invisible thread for the quilting, but it's not nearly so obvious in the real piece.
This is the first art quilt I've created in a VERY long time, and I'm thrilled that the challenge pushed me toward creativity. This was exactly what I was looking for when I joined the group! Please feel free to offer critiques.
Michele
Monday, September 28, 2009
Black Hole

15 x 20
This has been a fun challenge producing great results! I chose to do a black hole, no particular one as I was working with colors I had on hand. Background fabric is commercial. For the different materials (black hole), I used Angelina Fibers and painted, twisted cheesecloth. Both materials/techniques are new to me. Embellishment is beads in the center of the black hole and some metallic thread quilting.
Thanks Cherie for a fun challenge and great websites for inspiration. Comments are welcome and appreciated.
Pam
Flamboyant Galaxy



Like Chris, I've had this piece and have been agonizing over next steps. It started as an abstract drawing which morphed into a small 8x11 piece and then I enlarged it to the current size - 45x36. In the pictures, Galaxy 3 has the black/white trim on two corners; Galaxy 2 has more black/white trim in the body; and in Galaxy 1 I also added some more moons in the lower right corner. I've looked at this piece for so long that it's become difficult for me to separate what works and what doesn't. So I'm posting it to this challenge. Thanks for you input!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
White Hot Sunspots

This piece started with some of my hand dyed fabric in yellows and oranges that I felt depicted intense heat and vaporous gasses. After choosing a section that showed a little surface of the sun, I FMQ around some of the shapes then accented some of the suns surface with a distress ink pad. Next I used embroidery on the sun and little knots of thread to look like sparks. It still needed some contrast and interest so I added the rivers of opague yellow beads and finally used glitter pens to outline some of the shapes. I think I've taken this as far as it can go. Comments are always welcome and this will also be on the blog.
Janice P-D
Spiral Galaxy by Cynthia Ann Morgan


butterfly nebula
This was a great challange. Thank you Cherie. I loved all the great sites to
visit. I chose to recreate the Butterfly nebula from the Hubble site. I felt
this waS a good chance to try silk hankie. It seemed the perfect material for
this nebula. I also included angelina fibers. The planet is made from two
different brocades - one a poly stretch. The entire piece is covered with
charcoal gray tulle, then hand quilted and beaded. What a blast!
Pat Havey
Many Moons

I am having a very stupid day. I have done this post about four times and each time, I push one wrong button and it disappears into that outer space continuium we are attempting to show in this challenge.
This is hand painted with thickened dyes....first attempt. Fun and maybe again sometime.
Comments are very welcome.
Sea Ranch Carol
Starship Enterprise
Sun Storm 12"x19"
Nebula

This is my first post ever....! Joining Fast Friday has given me the creative freedom to challenge myself.
I used wool roving, painted tyvek, beads, and lots of free-motion, also my first ever!!!!
I need lots of help and practice, but for a first attempt I am thrilled!
Hope I did this posting correctly. Thank you for allowing me to participate. Jane Stricker
Friday, September 25, 2009
Challenge 37: Somewhere out There
This quilt is about 28 by 30 inches. All the background fabrics were painted or dyed on white fabric by me.I "globbed" on different colors, sprayed a little water, then shaped the fabric into a ball and let it dry outside. I used three different pieces of fabric prepared in this way. After they were ironed, washed, and ironed again, I cut them into four inch squares. The white irregular area was partially in the fabric, but I extended it with white fabric paints. The circles I had painted on initially using a lid dipped into white paint to create open circles. Then I filled the circles in with metallic paints, hoping I created dimension in the circles as moving heavenly bodies of some sort. I quilted over the surface in lined star shapes using different variegated and metallic threads. I had no idea how this would end up when I started, but this is my preferred method of working. Just begin with some fabric and see where it takes you.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
FFFC Challenge #37
Nature Theme: Outer Space
This can be any interpretation of space or from space you choose.
Here are some inspiring photos and artists renditions of stars, nebulae and planets, as well as astronauts and spaceships.
This is a fun interactive space site from Hubble: http://heritage.stsci.edu/2007/16/images/i0716bw.jpg
The Hubble website: http://hubblesite.org/gallery
Black hole: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/photos/black-holes-gallery.html
Copyright free photos : http://gimp-savvy.com/PHOTO-ARCHIVE/NASA/page1.html
This is my favorite site : http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
Be sure to get permission to use any copyright images. I have had good response from all I have requested. Most are more than happy to grant permission.
Here’s some links to see Art based on outer space:
http://www.outer-space-art-gallery.com/galactic-gallery.html
http://www.spaceprime.com/spaceart.htm http://visionafar.spaceart.org/
Techniques: Different materials and embellishments
The sky’s the limit (pardon the pun). Let your imagination roam and try different fabrics (sheers, velvets, suede cloth, and metallic. How about foiling, beading, crystals? Perhaps try some heat altered and painted Tyvek or Lutradur?
http://www.joggles.com/lutradurtutorial.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7gebEy2XXc
http://judyperez.blogspot.com/2006/05/lutradur.html http://www.sewfunpatterns.com/tyvek.html
http://wildonionstudio.wordpress.com/2008/06/12/umbria-roof-fibertiles
This is a great site with many different techniques:
Fun With Embellishments: http://www.greatamericanquilt.com/pdffiles/embellishments.pdf
Have fun with this and play with some new materials and techniques.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Conception


Hi All. I am posting a work fitting challenge 36, transparency. I love to work with transparent silk organza. This piece experiments with a free layered collage. You can lift each layer to discover a new concept on each page. I'm not sure whether I will leave it as is or place it on stretcher bars- which will mean it will be fixed in place.
Conception Transparent multi- layered collage. Dyed, painted, mono print, script, sewn. Silk organza and cotton . 15hx14w
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Stained glass


Thursday, September 10, 2009
Blue Ridge Sunrise
As a brand new member, this is my first challenge. It's just 4x6, but it's my first experience using sheers, and I'm also just learning to quilt by machine. I was inspired by two things that have always fascinated me -- the delicate coloring of an early morning sky, and the magical Blue Ridge Mountains in NC, where my parents used to live. I used layers of organza to try to capture the look of the mountains. /Jill Williams
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Morning's Moon Set

This piece was my first attempt at using sheer fabrics. The photo underneath was taken as the moon was setting one wonderful morning. I was trying to capture the rosy-apricot still calm of the morning. I used organza overlay and silk transparent ribbon. There is some novelty yarn at the horizon line which provides some texture. The piece is 9" by 11". This was a good exercise for me to get over my "fear" of Sheer.....LOL. Your comments are most welcome. Clearly I need to do a better job of taking the photo straight...Donna
Saturday, September 05, 2009
drop in
I started this quilt for the July challange. Due to family problems I never had a chance to finish it. Yesterday I finally had a chance to think about it and it seemed to me to fit both July and August so I finished it and am entering it now.
I started with four layers of fabric and cut away layers for the right effect. I edge stitched all the pieces because they had no other way of staying in place. The leaf is cut from printed fabric and painted with Sheva stix. The leaf shadow is net. It is very unusual for me to work with blue anything. I have a lot of blue pieces in my stash but never seem to use them. This piece has blue faille, dark blue chiffon, silver lame andice blue chiffon. It was a great challange. Thank you! Pat Havey
"Bend Don't Break" (10"x16")
Beach at Sunrise

(Renamed from Beach Sunset)
19 1/2" x 21"
Polyester, rayon, cotton,plastic mesh, Angelina fiber, Polyfil batting
I began by pulling out all my gauzier fabrics and a bag of plastic mesh from food packaging, and began laying everything on a yellow background until something clicked that it should be blue. It was all pretty delicate until I dug further and found the black and white fabric and tucked pieces of that in and around the scene. The water is the same fabric as the sky, but overlaid with blue plastic mesh and some wavy thread-painting.
I added Polyfil clouds and Angelina fiber for the sunset, and finally overlaid it all with a fine white gauze. I used clear thread for all the stitching; this was one piece where I didn't want to add any other color with the thread. I was planning for less sky to show, and hence have a higher horizon, but it seemed to want to expand upward with the clouds.
9/7/09 Update. I've got this mounted now, and used my Tsukineo ink technique to do some shading at the top and upper sides for a better sky. Comments welcome!
Challenge #36-Misty Valley by Elaine Koenig
I used some purple fabric from a scarf and misty fuse on cheese cloth. Layered the fabric to get darker colors and stitched edges. It needed "something" so tried foiling it and then added green "trees" with paint stick. zigzagged the birds. I had to put it on a white back in order to see it. Transparent fabrics have unique problems but I want to try this again and make a true transparent piece.I have a lot of ideas! Critiques are welcome. Elaine
I Hate Math

I had an idea for this challenge but couldn't act on it right away. When I ready Rosemary's descriptions of her work, especially the piece she says she hangs in her dining room window, I saw a kind of fabric window decoration. I worked very small to make it easier to finish. I started by painting organza with Tsukineiko inks. I then cut them out in rough trapezoid shape. I sewed them to another piece of organza over a piece of muslin as to not distort the ink colors. I then quilted in metallic for fun and just to outline the basic shape. Nothing fancy but an idea seen to fruition was very satisfying. Thanks Sandy for a great challenge.
Michele Sheets in NC
Friday, September 04, 2009
Wine

Comments and suggestions appreciated!
Challenge 36 - Sea of Dreams by Cynthia Ann Morgan

Snow Birds

This is not what I started out to do.
The photo is taken from our garage across the driveway to the house across the street. I only cropped it a little - it already had a high horizon. Printed it onto prepared 8 1/2" x 11" fabric. Then I copied bird photos onto a sheer gray fabric and a sheer woven white fabric. Added them to the empty snow area, quilted a little, outline stitched the pictures, and it's done.
I'm not totally satisfied with the piece itself, but I learned a lot from printing on sheer fabrics. I ironed the fabric to freezer paper, printed the photo, always with a misfeed first, then peeled off the freezer paper and backed the photo with misty fuse, ironed between two teflon sheets. Then fused those bird photos to the big snow/house photo. I'll definitely try this again, maybe with a better composition next time.
"Real Ghost" Janice Simpson
A Troubled Spirit

It took a while for me to get rolling on this challenge, since I usually do abstract work which doesn’t go hand in hand with a horizon line. When I jumped in I didn’t have any particular direction, but started with a piece of fabric I had rusted. I added lines with a permanent black pen to create the center portion of the piece. Color and shading was then applied with Berol pencils. Sewing two pieces of fabric together to create the “horizon line” came next, and then the rusted fabric was trimmed and set upon the background. To add the transparency, sheer silk fabric was used. There are two layers, attempting to look like dripping paint that come down from the top and partially cover the “heart”. This part of a poem by Longfellow kind of speaks to me of what this piece is saying.
“I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me,
That my soul cannot resist:
A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.”
From Longfellow’s Poem The Day is Done
Comments and suggestions are always welcome, let me know what this piece is saying to you. I cropped this from the original and feel it works a little better.
Challenge 36 - Rain Falls

Continuing on my theme for this year branching out - here is my piece Rain Falls. Measures 10 1/2 by 22.
I took an more abstract tree branches with wool yarn - with wool roving foliage - then tulle as rain. The wool roving and the tulle are for the transparency - the horizontal horizon worked perfectly with the trees. Looking back over this past year I noticed I tended to do portraits size rather than landscaped.
Lisa
In Sunny Seattle
Thursday, September 03, 2009
One challenge split between two pieces from Sandra Wyman
Addiction, A Trap, A Prison

This piece was made in transparency as I worked to come to grips with how an
addiction can overtake someone's life and they think no one knows....
I reworked the 'fabric' of a previous challenge, used Organza, fused and stitched the man shape to the back of the Organza and draped behind the figure a
coarse net which is what comes down to a point.
Technically there are 4 layers and you can see right through it.
Click on it to enlarge and you will see how some of the words to the poem are visible in the piece itself. [representational]
I used twine interlocked and twisting to portray the 'trap'.. the fabric bars..
the 'prison'.
It is intentionally sombre and simple.
Size: 24 x 60
This is the poem I intend to place at the top... as an epitaph:
Addiction, A Trap, A Prison
Torn and shattered,
Nothing in life mattered,
Not family, not friend,
Too many fences to mend.
Trapped! Imprisoned!... a life shattered.
A slave to my vice
I was not even nice,
I withdrew, I hid,
Not a response to anyone's bid.
Trapped! Imprisoned!... alone with my vice.
A family loved me, but I could not see.
I was alone, that is how it would be.
Nothing in life mattered,
It was torn and shattered.
Trapped! Imprisoned!... Just me....
Comments welcome.
Addendum:
This is not quite finished... I will do the sides of the organza, perhaps burning, and when I attach the poem, I am also thinking of a 'key transparency'..a symbolism, of course, indicating there IS a way out....
I sure appreciate the comments thus far.
I am awaiting your comments before ... closing the chapter'.
Thank you so much, so very much.
Because life is in the way right now, I had to cheat somewhat...again...just call me the cheating queen, lol. This is a piece that will be cut into postcards after a little more work on it but I feel this fits the challenge and I so wanted to play this month. It is 12 x 12 inches and constructed of all silk so it definitely fits the transparency part of the challenge. If you look at the large file you can see this more clearly. A low horizon line is implied by the sky color of the background and the directional placement of the leaves. IMO to put in a definite horizon would spoil the viewers perception of airiness, which is what I was trying to achieve. What do you think?
As always, all comments and critiques are welcome. I'm hopeful that starting the new year of challenges I won't have to cheat anymore. I'm running out of quilts up my sleeve!
Janice
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Challenge 36, Spirit Horses

While I usually don't put a border on these small art quilts, I couldn't resist this rainbow batik that has been sitting in my stash for a couple of years. It just called out to go with the spirit horses. It reminds me of the Northern Lights. Your comments are always welcome.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Aurora
Believe it or not, this was inspired by my screen saver on my computer. Since I last posted, I had to get a new puter (not sure I like Vista, it likes to crash with my stick drives and camera)… I picked the Aurora Borealis for my screen saver and Saturday night I realized, hey, that could be the quilt for this month’s FFC.I started on Sunday with blue and yellow fabric paint, sun-painting the background. I folded and dried, then added more paint and folded and dried…. the end result wasn’t quite what I wanted but the greens came out, so I added some metallic paints and then had a big blob of blue that I didn’t like …. so more paint and the landscape was born… sort of Northern Lights meets Devil’s Tower. But it was more blue… so I added the black and then started to see a reflection in the foreground, like the lights reflected in a mountain lake. The transparency is, of course, the blending of blues and yellows to make the greens, plus the metallic overlays….
I did see the Aurora as a child in Wisconsin. It was awe inspiring and sort of scary at the same time. When I journeyed to Alaska in 2006, we didn’t see the lights, but I wish we had. Maybe this is what they look like up there in the far north.
Now back to a major project…. this was fun and very organic. Comments and critiques, of course, are welcome!
Through the Fog

Not exactly as I'd hoped it would turn out but a lesson learned anyhow. I live an hour from the nearest town where I could purchase any sheer fabrics so made do with what I had. I 'attempted' to show a city at night with fog creeping up from the water but the building lights and stars showing through it all. The background is a mottled grey and black while the buildings are all black. For the fog and reflecting city lights on the sky I used Angelina Fiber for the transparent look.I started to sew beads onto the windows and got tired of doing them so I opted to try Aleene's fabric glue which seems to be working. Not something I'll enter into any show anyhow. I'd also call this a low horizon if I look at the water meeting the buildings otherwise a high horizon if one looks at the top of the buildings meeting the sky.
This piece is about 8" x 13". I scanned it into the computer rather than photo it so it's not showing the entire width.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Water Dragon
Here is the Water Dragon. He lives in a lake that surrounds a particularly bleak castle. Some people think he is guarding treasure, but no one has ever been able to get near enough to find out for sure! Some people say his fins sting in a similar manner to the stings from a jelly fish. I wonder how they know?I used a fabric I have been calling a mystery fabric. It is very thin and paper like. I used silk organza for a base and laid on various layers of different colours, fully covering the organza. Then I fused them in place with a light grey blue piece fused with Misty Fuse. The dragon is made using a metallic organza of blue shot with silver. His flowing fins are not caught down. The quilting is done with transparent thread. the windows of the castle are cut out with a soldering iron.
I tried to get a shot to show the transparency better. The top photo is taken laying on white paper. Here the piece hangs in front of a mirror and you can see the back as well.

I thought I would try doing horizontal layers. So, there is the lake shore, the line where the castle hits the water, and the castle crenelations/towers.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Lighter Than Air
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Challenge # 36 Transparency with Horizontal High, Low or Layers
Working in Series: Continued
Color Concept: Transparency
Rosemary Claus-Gray works with transparent fabrics. Check out most of her recent works on her website. http://www.rosemaryclaus-gray.com/abstract.htm http://www.rosemaryclaus-gray.com/organic.htm Look at this piece as well. http://www.rosemaryclaus-gray.com/a-sheerfloral.htm
Another artist using transparent fabrics is Kathleen Laurel Sage. Kathleen layers sheer fabrics and then cuts back with a soldering iron to reveal colours. I can not find a website or blog, but if you do an image search on her name, you will find a lot to inspire you.
The illusion of transparency can also be achieved through strategically placed value and color choices. Katie Pasquini’s ghost layers are good example http://www.katiepm.com/bgettylarge.html http://www.katiepm.com/icebklarge.html
Elizabeth Barton’s work has a transparent look to it achieved by light values and shibori fabric. http://ebarton.myweb.uga.edu/watercityscapes.htm
And take a look at Carol Shin’s Sheer Curtains http://www.carolshinn.com/i/sheer-curtains.jpg
Composition Concept: Low Horizontal, High Horizontal or Horizontal layers
http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Photography/Lessons/606.php
High horizon –importance for what is below the horizon emphasises depth.
http://www.artistsnetwork.com/article/The-Allure-of-a-High-Horizon/ http://tinyurl.com/lejeof
Artist example – Sidney Nolan http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2085557.htm several of these paintings show the High Horizon.
Low Horizon – give emphasis to what is above the horizon, such as a dramatic sky, emphasises height.
http://www.thedigitalstory.com/blog/2005/11/low_horizon_line_for.html
http://tinyurl.com/n5baj7 Very good description of the use of low horizon by Dutch landscape painters.
Artist example –Elina Brotherus http://www.elinabrotherus.com/photography/the-new-painting/ click through the photography of horizons. The 12th photograph begins the series with Low Horizon and moves on to Very Low Horizon.
Horizontal Layers-
Investigate the work of Ferdinand Hodler who introduced the horizontal layer composition, particularly evident in his series on Lake Geneva http://tinyurl.com/m6z9yj http://tinyurl.com/n5pew8 http://tinyurl.com/nfcp9n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_Hodler_003.jpg http://tinyurl.com/ktshxd
Discussion - The following is included for informational purposes only:
Transparency
From Wikipedia – “In the field of optics, transparency is the physical property of allowing light to pass through a material. The opposite property is opacity. Transparent materials are clear (i.e. they can be seen through). Translucent materials allow light to pass through them only diffusely (i.e. they cannot be seen through clearly)…. Some materials allow much of the light that falls on them to be transmitted through without being reflected or refracted; such materials are called optically transparent. More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparency_%28optics%29
Light passing through transparent material which has colour can change the look of other things. For instance, sunbeams through stained glass throw rainbows of colour onto interiors. Looking through coloured glass also changes the perception of the colours of objects. At the same time, layered transparent fabrics have a similar effect, so one needs to consider knowledge of colour mixing when doing so.
Horizon Line
From the Drawing Professor - “The Horizon Line is an imaginary line positioned at eye level and is the primary line of reference when constructing perspective. It is important to understand that the horizon line referred to in drawing is not the same as the horizon we would typically refer to in daily life (the line at which the sky and earth meet). When it comes to drawing, the horizon line is not constant; it changes according to the position of the viewer. To establish the horizon line from any working position, hold a ruler in front of your eyes horizontally so you see only its upper edge. Make a mental note of the line the ruler makes across the scene in front of you. Mark this line across your drawing to represent the horizon. Depending on the composition you wish to create, you can draw this line anywhere on your paper to incorporate subjects above and/or below this line. One can also affect the illusion of depth in a drawing by altering the position of the horizon line.”
Excellent images of Horizon lines can be found by searching Google with the words Low Horizon or High Horizon.
Due - Saturday, Noon EST, 5 September, 2008
One final requirement - HAVE FUN WITH THIS!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Flight of Dragons
Finally finished the challenge for this month. With the 6" x 12" size I have been limiting myself to, I could only do a sort of half radial. I started with the dragons, thinking of a similar thing to the British Red Arrows flight team.I decided to use the elements for the colours of nature. But I also included a black and white dragon which I am calling the element of Word. So, from right to left I have water, fire, word, earth, sky. They are all made from hand dyed silks, except the black and white one, which is from a black and white silk tie. They all have a ball of fire in front of them. This is similar to the oriental dragons chasing a pearl. But you can decide if they are chasing it or if it comes from them. Because I fused the dragons on, the thin silk they are made of actually darkened a bit. If I made something similar larger, I would use brighter colours for the dragons. At the end, I tried to draw out the brighter colours a bit with a yellow border that has a bit of green paintstick highlights.
The dragons on their own were not enough, so it sat a while. Finally, after much consideration, I decided to do clouds. I realised the best way would be to stitch synthetic organza and then cut it back with the soldering iron.
This piece is really something I think has been a good trial for attempting to do in a larger size at sometime. It would definitely work better if I didn't have to cram it into a small area.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Golden Ferns and Bouncing Limes by Ann
For printing with the lime half, I first tried dabbing the paint on the lime, wrapping fabric around and rubbing with my finger to make the print. The better method for me was to wrap the fabric around the lime, dip my finger in the paint and then rub over the lime to make the print. I waited between each print for the paint to dry. I used a different color for each individual lime print. The limes have symmetry in themselves, but not of course in this print.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Rhoda Seeds of Change

Well...in my busyness I deleted the whole post rather than the just the picture.
So here is a new picture, you can enlarge it and see the faces.
Cynthia and Wendy thanks for your comments.
"Thanks for the wonderful challenge Wendy.
Mine is definitely a work in progress,
Continuing with my 'woman' theme, this time I have a woman and child, something
I've been meaning to do for awhile.
I did the radial symmetry background using paperpieceing. I used colors of the
sky and water.Unfortunately it looks quite grey in the photo.
The mother and child are done in bright nature colors, colors of hope. The hand
is dropping some seeds, in hope of change. I painted the faces using Tsukineko
ink. No thread painting yet, so it is very much a work in progress. I will post
again when it is completed."
Here is a photo of the finished piece. I added a water pump and plants. I have to say the whole piece evolved with me thinking about the hungry children in the world.
So the seeds are; the child, the seeds and water. A helping hand to help those in need.
Great challenge, even though it took me a long time to finish it :)
Rhoda
Monday, August 10, 2009
Ch 35 - Peacock
I had a hard time deciding what to do for radial symmetry until I saw a neighbor's peacock disappearing in the bushes alongside the road. This piece is 9 x 11 1/2 inches. The background is hand dyed fabric, and other fabrics are both hand painted and commercial. This peacock is bejewelled with sequins and beads, Sunday, August 09, 2009
Too Many Tomatoes
Radial symmetry presented a problem for me in that I coud not for the life of me figure out how to do a representation of something to eat. That is, until I started cutting vegetables for my husband's salad. And there it was - radial symmetery inside the tomato! I used hand dyed fabric, a bit of a Fossil Fern fabric, and the wrong side of an old calico. Now the only thing left to do with this little quilt is a bit of beading for the seeds.















