Pat Havey
Thursday, December 03, 2009
polymer strands
Pat Havey
Prayer Plant
What fun I had with this challenge! I don't have a microscope and didn't really want to use an image off the web so instead decided to attach my macro lens to the camera and go searching through my house for something that had an obvious pattern when viewed close up.
I took several photos which I liked but decided to go with one of the more graphic in the leaf of a prayer plant. The actual size ratio is 10:1 with the finished quilt being 20" high by 13" wide.Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Challenge 39, Amoebas Play, 16" w x 15" h

FFFC-39 Sea Foam

This challenge was a joy for me. I started by painting an aged piece of fabric that had been naturally rusted. The dyes I painted with started to bleed into the fabric in a big way, but rather than get upset I decided to go with the flow. I ended up with an intriguing background fabric which lent itself to drawing with pens the design that was floating around in my head. After completing the drawing, borders were added and the whole thing was taken to the sewing machine for quilting. This was my first whole cloth quilt, but it certainly won’t be my last. I loved the process of bringing out the design with the quilting. After all the drawn elements were highlighted, I used disappearing ink to make my guide lines for the background quilting. This was really fun for me and I’m already working on my next quilt using this process. As always any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Challenge 39, Grass
"Grass" is 9 1/2" x 11".
This piece shows my favorite grasses, Blue grama and Indian ricegrass, with their natural growth patterns, and various views of the florets and seeds, as well as a microscopic view of the grass remains in the soil (opal phytoliths).
The white PFD fabric was colored by laying strips of red, yellow, and green bleeding tissue paper down and rolling the fabric up and wetting it. I left it wet overnight to absorb the colors.
The images were photo transferred and then quilted. Touches of ink (instead of paint, as I had the right color) were applied here and there for emphasis. A close up of the microscopic view will be posted to the Yahoo site.
The opal phytolith images were taken through a microscope at 100 power (part of my Master’s thesis many years ago). I am glad to make use of that research again after all these years. I will add additional quilting in the background later (after the Christmas rush). I always look forward to your comments and critique. Linda Mac in WY
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Challenge 39 - Micro Leaf

Here is my Micro Leaf. Finished size is 10.5 x 17.
I used acrylic paints - red and green - red and green mixed make lovely shades of brown. I painted the skeleton. As always - the acrylic paints loose their vibrancy - it had to be saved with the quilting - I had done a similar quilt like this with small circles - then I bead the circles - this time I changed the scale of the circles. I used yellow, red, maroon, two shades of green and brown threads. After is was quilted - I didn't feel the quilt needed an additional beading.
Lisa
In Cool and Sunny Seattle
Cloned Embryonic Stem Cells


Saturday, November 28, 2009
Beneath the Surface
A real lesson here, never photograph white against white or cream......Here is my challenge piece for this month. At first I thought 'yikes'!! Then, as I did some research, I thought it could be interesting. I had a piece of fabric paper that didn't have a focal point that I could find,satisfactorily...but it did have some good texture elements that could work with this theme, so I started to play. My paper fabric has inclusions under the paper, then stitching and paint. After it dried I added more paint. Cut some into squares leaving a large piece on which I could add and define the microbes. I added some painted dryer sheets, embellishments and free motion threadwork. Then I hand-stitched [quilted] the piece using hand dyed thread [received from Laura Wasilowski].
Because it is all on a pastel theme, I hope my 'microbial' findings are definitive enough. I had a great day doing this yesterday and finished it this morning.
I have also posted a 'closer look'. [I am having trouble getting the color correct on the large piece, I can't figure out why it is so pink when it is white!]
I look forward to your comments....
thank you in advance.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Challenge 39 - Microbiology
Theme - Microbiology
Composition and technique - Exaggerated Scale and Paint effects
Hostess: Joni Feddersen
Let’s get up close and personal in this challenge, and I mean REALLY up close – like under the microscope. When we study things at a really enlarged scale and move in for a detailed look, we see beauty in a whole new way. Textures and patterns become visible that at first glance are missed when viewed from a distance. Items under the microscope are teaming with life and have an organic feel and colors can be incredible. This can be a very liberating and satisfying experience.
For this month’s challenge technique, let’s try to get some of those paints and dyes (that you have been wanting to try) out of the drawers and onto your fabric. You can do it!
We are fortunate to have many accomplished quilt and other artists who have already done this. Take a look at the links provided below and get inspired.
Under the Microscope – photos
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/micro/gallery.html
http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/gallery/year/2007/1
http://tinyurl.com/bcd6lj
Micro inspired Art:
http://www.microbo.com/paintings01.html
http://tinyurl.com/ykcx6qr
http://tinyurl.com/ylpslee
Examples in Quilts:
http://www.karenkamenetzky.com/
http://www.pat-dolan.com/Pages/OrganicSeries.html
http://tinyurl.com/yz599vj
http://www.jofitsell.com/gallery.html
http://www.cynthiastcharles.com/detail.php?recordID=36
http://www.janelloydtextiles.co.uk/clockwise_circ.htm
Paint Effects
http://tinyurl.com/ygwrymp
http://www.lindakemshall.com/linda_kemshall_laura_gallery.htm
http://www.salume.org/artquilts.htm
Remember to have fun! Due on December 5th (or whenever!)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Logan: Queen of My Animal Kingdom
New to this, I don't know if I should write something different here than I e-mailed to the list. I find it so hard to look at the albums without comments . . . or vice versa.I did this 10" x 12" study over a few days. I went for a realistic portrait of my little 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel's head--something fun and fast to do for a first challenge in this rather intimidating group. I began with trapunto: two extra layers of Warm & Natural under the nose, and one extra layer under the white muzzle area and the eyes. However, I was using Wonder Under instead of appliqué (to be FAST), which made the trapunto somewhat less effective. After layering the pieces and doing some quilting, I did something new for me--I painted on the top with Jacquard Textile Paints to add some highlights, give some fur texture, and to put metallic turquoise sparkle highlights in the eyes. Once quilted, I edged the piece with satin stitching. I'm glad to have participated, learned a few things, and now have gotten my feet wet!
Some issues this raised for me (besides how I'd rather be less trite and realistic), are: whether trapunto ever works well with fusing; whether the muzzle comes forward with a few contour lines of quilting, but not so many as to flatten that whole area; and what I could add to make the black of the eyeballs shinier. Also, I wonder whether working with a photograph distorts the outcome compared to what the eye and brain might register when looking directly at the subject. For example, the photograph I worked from was not head on, so the left and right sides of her face weren't as symmetrical as they are "live," and in the finished piece, perhaps the viewer gets the impression this is a straight-on view of a very lopsided face. Also, some of the areas that appear tan are actually white fur with shadows that reflected in the photo as tan (below her mouth and her neck), and I don't think that's apparent in my finished piece. Photographing without getting edge distortion is another issue (this really is perfectly rectangular). Finally, I think this might be improved if I cropped an inch off the left, leaving a more rectangular format and leaving the left eye, etc., more to the viewer to complete.
I invite your critiques and suggestions.
Thank you!
Chris
P. S. I was sorely tempted to just post a photo of my Jellies quilt -- it fits the theme and has depth created with a little perspective, value gradations of the dark "water fabric," and layers with embellishments including beading, couching, and fuzzy yarn. And I feel pretty good about it because it was juried into Images in Lowell, Mass. However, that's not the point, right? I want to try to do FAST CHALLENGES.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Juvenile Sandhill Crane



Wednesday, November 18, 2009
#38 Moonlight on the Goldfish Pond
I joined this group hoping that I would teach myself just to jump right in and quickly do a small project. I'm afraid this one took me a while longer because I had to figure out how to accomplish it....and I had so many ideas, it was very hard to pick just one.Quite some time ago, I was a Chinese watercolor painting showing the moon reflecting on a goldfish pond. When I lived in Connecticut, I saw the moon reflected perfectly on our swimming pool. I thought I'd try to recreate this in a small quilt, using the shots I took of my goldfish prior to May 13 of this year.
At first, I thought I'd use the metallic lame sheer, the one which reflects irridescent. That didn't really work very well, so I tried a number of things and finally chose the sheet form of Angelina (the name for this product escapes me at the moment). I discovered that if I did it completely round, it really didn't give the feeling, so I added some Angelina fibers sticking out around it.
I originally was going to use a piece of blue organza over the top to darken it to make it look like night on the water. However, the organza and other dress sheers were too opaque. I finally settled on two layers of navy tulle. That alone seemed a little flat, so I ripped up pieces of sparkle illusion in a turquoise color and layered these underneath.

The water plants are made from eyelash yarn. The goldfish are fused and painted with Dyna-flo paints and their fins are a silk organza which I stitched over.
One of the fun things about this piece is that I realized that it can be viewed from any direction, so I am going to put hanging pockets on all sides.
I can't decide how I'm going to bind this. I usually like to use a traditional binding. I have only done one facing, and I wasn't pleased how it looked on the back of the quilt. Any suggestions or discussion of which would be better (faced, bound, or even satin stitched) is especially welcome. The measurement of this piece is 18 3/4" H x 13 5/8".
Thanks! Lisa Broberg Quintana
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.
---------
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.


















