Challenge 8

Sailing through the City

My son was in the hospital for 2 weeks so I missed the deadline but wanted to finish this and share it anyways. May not have met the challenge exactly, this may be a bit more of an abstract? But I like it! I was just going to keep it with the curvy edges but then the urge hit to be a bit more playful and the 2 borders were born , I think they add a lot to the overall effect.
Comments are welcome..

Portal

Size ~ 12 1/2" tall x 10 1/2" wide
Quilt Artist ~ Julie Everett

Inspiration Photograph ~ The Cloisters of Lacock Abbey

Photographer ~ Mark (Please click his name to be taken to his blog full of beautiful photography.)

Comments Welcome!

Challenge #8

I really enjoyed this challenge as I caused me to step outside my comfort zone. The picture I used for its design elements was an advertisement for travel to Disneyworld. It was the candlestick and clock from Beauty and the Beast. The color is a bit off in this scan, so imagine the long hook on the left and the short curve on the right as being bright yellow. My binding is a very intense green. (I am limited in my ability to edit photos - darn this new Vista operating system; my peripherals won't work properly with it!)

I am stumped for a name - any suggestions?

Ann In Walnut, CA

One Zen Moment

16" x 17 1/2"

Cotton and cotton batik fabric
Fused and quilted; echo quilting
Beads/beading around center bead

I'm fortunate to have Ann Johnston's book. I refreshed my memory of some of the design principles she covers before taking book and some favorite photos to the Girls Night Out at the local quilt store where I teach.

I didn't like my efforts with the first two photos I tried. Success quickly came when I starting sketching from the photo of my 1893 Singer treadle. The drawer decorations reminded me of windows.

There's nothing like having an entire quilt store as "stash"! I had been thinking solids but when I saw the batik with the multi-colored squares, I fell in love with it. Then I spotted the turquoise batik. The black has subtle circles on it.

My original concept was to use beads to highlight the colors on the turquoise fabric. However, when I saw the turquoise donut it seemed perfect. I am studying Larkin Van Horn's Beading on Fabric book so decided to try the cabachon capture technique (something new to me). I experimented with bleeding the turquise fabric through the binding and like the effect. I did not feel any additional beading was needed after adding the center stones.

I like the simplicity of this piece. Like much of my work there is more to see the more closely one gets to the piece. It has a complex peacefulness; thus the title.
My inspiration photo, sketch and close-ups are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/shimmers411/ChallengeQuilts
That folder also includes the final version of my "Everybody has blue days (and your cat may hallucinate)" challenge quilt.

Comments are most welcome!

World Windows

Better late than never.... between work and a solo show last week, it was today before I even got back to this!

My inspiration pictures were all of buildings and as I sketched, I realized that everything that caught my eye was a window. One of my favorite images was a sunset over Anchorage AK, taken last fall. The sun seemed to reflect a myriad of colors on the window panes of the Alaskan city. I layered handdyes, and overlaid them with couched silk fiber. I plan to wash this a few times to get the raw edges to fray.

Chihuly Glass

12"x12"

Well, late again, but here is my challenge piece.

When Cynthia posted the challenge, I immediately knew which picture I wanted to use: this shot of a Chihuly glass installation at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus. I have been meaning to use this as an inspiration for a quilt because I love the way the shapes and colors all intertwine.

The sketching exercise was good, particularly the shading, because I did end up using one of the last ones I did, instead of what I would have chosen if I had just jumped in and started the quilt intuitively. I got a bit bogged down on the quilt itself, because as I started looking for fabrics I started reorganizing my batik drawers, and then I started cutting rectangles out for a "quick" scrap quilt for later....anyhoo, then I thought I was going to add big wide borders, and I cut them out, and then I decided I didn't want them, so now I will have to come up with another project for the big wide borders!

This was another great challenge. Thanks Cynthia!

Untitled

9½ x 7, raw edge fused appliqué.

This challenge was hard for me. It was difficult to get away from trying to draw exactly what I saw instead of concentrating on just the shapes. And most of my drawings seemed very contrived. What finally worked for me was concentrating on drawing shadows and negative shapes, and rotating the drawing paper occasionally. I’m still not sure I like my final quilt. It still seems contrived, and doesn’t seem to have much meaning. The quilting in the blue tie-dye fabric seems out of character to the rest of the quilt.

The Black and White of It

My "photo" was a postcard from Berlin. After sketching lines and shapes and shading with grays, black and white, I really liked the looks of it that way and had never made a black and white quilt before...so here it is! It measures 14"x20"

I have 3 other sketches of other subjects that I will also make into small quilts when I have the time. This was really alot of fun, and I would love critiques as usual

Cherie

Driftwood 4

I read the instructions - I did a bunch of sketches - keeping in mind the composition of the photograph - then I re-read the challenge - so I did took another try at it and created Driftwood 4 - Driftwoods - 1, 2, and 3 are in progress.

Final size is 7x7 - I may just have to a do a few more renditions. Kind of a fun challenge - I have three more to quilt. - Lisa in Sunny Seattle

Update - June 3
Per request I've added the other three I did as sketches.

Swirling Thoughts

Here's my design project piece. I used a photo of an overstuffed chair surrounded by pots of flowers and plants in a family room. Lots of shapes to choose from. I mainly used the swirl shape on the chair arm and triangluar shapes from the back of the chair and the pots. It turned out a bit more whimsical than I usually do...I guess it's the inner child coming out. It was fun and quick, all fused applique and binding, an extra layer of batting trapunto style behind the chair to make it overstuffed, zigzag stitched around the applique, and quilting in a flower, leaf and paisley pattern.

How Did I Get Here From There?

This is my project and the picture I used.

Challenge 8

Challenge # 8 - Friday, 27 April 2007

Challenge # 4 Hostess – Cynthia Morgan

Theme - Design Project

Design Element – Shape, Line, and Value

Source: The Quilter's Book of Design by Ann Johnston

--- The object of the project is to start with one image and end withanother.

Part 1* Pick a photo that has distinct lines and/or shapes in it
* Use a black pen to draw a few of the shapes or lines you like very quickly andsimply on small pieces of paper approximately 4" x 4"(or draw 4boxes on a full size sheet of paper). Fill the space.

* Look atwhat you have drawn and look again at the photo. Look for otherinteresting shapes or lines and draw more. (Remember you are not drawingthe picture, you are taking out some of its elements and simplifyingthem. Make 8-10 quick drawings (1-3 minutes each).

* Try differentvariations, such as
* Make the elements repeat with more or less space between them,
* Move them into a symmetrical or asymmetrical arrangement,
* Changethe size and orientation of the elements,
* Take one of the drawnelements and draw a mirror image next to it.

* Keep your lines simple and look for elements that interest you orcan make interesting combinations

Part 2
* Pick one of your line drawings and make 4 copies of it

* Shadethe shapes and lines in four completely different value patterns with3-6 values of gray, including black and white

Part 3
* Pick one of your value patterns to use as inspiration for a smallart quilt


Discussion – If you have Ann Johnston's book, this exercisestarts on page 129 and shows an example. I have 2 examples on my blogif you need help visualizing how the exercise can work (though I thinkit's best to just give it a shot blindly…you will surpriseyourself!)

http://cynthiaannmorgan.blogspot. com/

Important: Do the drawings quickly…don't agonize over it,don't think about it, just do it quickly. Parts 1 & 2 together should only take one hour at the most (really!). And as always, havefun!