Showing posts with label Challenge 96. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenge 96. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

National Honey Month

This is not done yet, as you may be able to tell..lol

I have no less than THREE other pieces started for the challenge but kept changing my mind. First was Elephant Appreciation Week, then Good Neighbor Week, then Bathtub Race Day before finally settling on this one to complete.  I am posting the WIP photo because I feel a bit guilty that as hostess this month I haven't posted anything yet!

Originally this was going to be the honeycomb quilt hanging from a thin branch with some bees on it. But it has taken on a life of its own.  The honeycomb was drawn on a yellow mottled batik, then colored in with colored pencils, and then "honey" was painted on with acrylics, I fused it to batting, then fused that to more fabric so it is very stiff, hemmed the edges (using pliers,,,used the extra heavy fusible...sigh) stuck wire through the top hem so I could hang it and stitched the bottom edges together to make the shape I wanted.

Nailed the branch to a 2x4, THEN decided to make b/w checks on that with acrylics. The honey jar is an empty one I had here and the honey is painted canvas I put inside it. That will have a label when done also.

The bees are painted canvas, pipe cleaners and trimmed pompoms, still need to make wings and antennae, they won't all be on the honeycomb, I plan on having one on the branch and maybe one on the honey jar or "flying" under the comb, not sure yet,

I will post a photo when this is complete, but did want to share something with you now :-)

Update: I have been able to squeeze enough time out to finish one bee! Have great hope that the rest will be done before the next challenge :-) Here is a photo of the complete bee, I have since painted along the outer edges so it is black and not the light color that you see here.

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Suicide Prevention Week



12/30/14  I decided to get this piece truly finished before the end of the year.  I strengthened the text, and put the quote on a separate piece of fabric as a tombstone,  I used a pillowcase backing with a hanging sleeve, and a black fringe on the bottom.  I trimmed the drapery and put Fray Check on the edges, and decided not to actually sew it down but let it flare a bit.

_____________________________


Size: approx. 24" x 18"

About the time I posted this challenge, I saw an article in the editorial page from someone who had been stopped from suicide, and it mentioned National Suicide Prevention Week.  Sept. 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day, and the national week is the week including that date (though the article gave a later date for the week).  The recent death of Robin Williams immediately came to mind.

I took a photo of him that I found on-line, photo-shopped it, keeping his eyes blue but changing everything else to grayscale, and printed it on white linen.  I used wood grain fabric for the coffin, and wrote it the words.  I added the rose, done with foil, in part because the words weren't quite centered in the space, but it does seem to balance the picture.

The quote, ironically, is Williams' own words.  Who knew he was struggling so much in his private life?

Normally I would mount this on foam core, wrapping the edges evenly, but I am not completely happy with this piece.  I welcome any suggestions.

Wednesday, September 03, 2014

The Optimist





Positive Thinking Day is Sept 13. 
The Optimist is about improving life with a positive attitude.

Materials:   Light bulb, cloud with rain beads, ladder, and thumbs up charms. Key. Doily.

Technique: Designed in Make the Cut software, printed on fabric. 3D Attic window. 


Monday, September 01, 2014

Ole'


When I saw the list of possibilities for this challenge, it motivated me to start and finish a quilt I had been planning for a long time. So it became a celebration of National Spanish Heritage Month and National Chicken Month.

I have been saving fabrics that looked Mexican, and I will add this to my series of roosters that I have been working on this summer.

This measures about 17" x 18", and is all commercial cottons, fused and machine quilted.
I enjoy using fabrics in unusual ways, and the tail feathers are from a Laurel Burch print of horses, and the wings holding the maracas are from a very colorful tropical fish fabric...

It was lots of fun, fussy cutting each and every feather, and seeing it come together as I added them on, one by one. 

This was a great challenge - very open-ended and accessible! 


Thursday, August 21, 2014

Challenge #96: September Holidays

Fast Friday Fabric Challenge 96, August 22, 2014
Challenge Hostess: Catherine Lewis
Title:  September Holidays
Theme:  Celebrate a Holiday!
Technique:  Any
Due date:  Aug. 30, 2014

Theme:
"Congratulations! You have been chosen to create a poster for one of the holidays celebrated during the month of September.  Browse through the lists and when you see a holiday that catches your eye, tugs at your heart or simply tickles your funny bone, let your imagination and creativity loose to run wild.  
Techniques:
Anything goes for this challenge! Use bright colors or somber, an abstract design or a very realistic one.  Let the "mood" of the holiday you chose tell you in which direction to go, no matter how quirky that direction may be! You may choose any holiday that you like, whether it's a monthly, weekly or daily observance. All I ask is that it grabs the viewer's attention and truly represents the meaning of the holiday. 
Words are optional on your poster, if you can convey the meaning of the holiday without them, that's fine, although I would be interested in seeing unique ways to add them if you choose to do so.

The only real requirement for this challenge is that you have fun doing it!

Resources:
A list of normal and not so normal holidays may be found here:
http://www.brownielocks.com/september.html

As you may imagine, it is a bit hard to find art or quilts to serve as inspiration for this challenge, but I have found a few to share with you. Of course these are all not so fast quilts to make, but they are just to inspire! 

This would be great for Read a Book Day...you'll need to scroll down to see it, the second quilt: 

Global Warming quilt:


This would be good art to use for National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day: http://caroljosefiak.blogspot.com/2014/07/july-7-2014-this-is-last-painting-in-my.html or http://tinyurl.com/FFFC96-4,

And if none of the September “holidays” appeal to you, make up your own!

And one more thing: have fun with this! :)