Monday, May 31, 2010

Mushrooms by Cynthia Ann Morgan


Here's my little piece featuring mushrooms and autumn leaves. Comments and greetings welcome!
Cynthia

Sunday, May 30, 2010

NEWFOUNDLAND ROSE


I took a picture of this red mushroom a few years ago while hiking in the Newfoundland Woods. I have always wanted to feature it in my art, and this was the perfect chance! Although not strictly Stylized, I feel interpreting a subject using various fibers, stitches etc.automatically qualifies it as stylized. (???)
Complimentary colors: Red/Green, using shades of brown/beige for background and stem.

The mushroom cap is constructed of a base layer of ombre satin encrusted with little crystals, overlayed with a swirley chiffon with glitter embedded. There are three layers of batting under the cap which is stitched only along the top edge to create dimension. The "ruffle" and the overlay on the stem are done using a lovely fabric consisting of two layers of very sheer organza with ecru/gold ribbons trapped between.

It measures 14"x18"

Thanks for a really fun challenge Betty! It is so great to be back to working on my 'stuff'...LOL

Comments/critiques gratefully accepted:-)

Cherie



Thursday, May 27, 2010

Challenge 45: Fabulous Fungus

Challenge 45 – May 2010 Host: Betty Warner

Intro:
Fungus is fascinating whether it is in the form of mushrooms at the dining table, mushrooms in the woods, or fungi on dead tree branches found on a hike. Sometimes the edges of what we see are sharp and hard, other times, soft and fuzzy. The lack of brilliant color allows us to focus on the interesting shapes and lines. Those of us who were taught not to pick mushrooms because we did not know which would nourish us and which would poison us bring additional emotion and curiosity to the sighting of any fungus. The damp, earthy smell of the places where we find fungi contrasts with the sometimes elegant, rich, spicy aroma of the stuffed mushrooms we devour.

In addition, fungi have a role in the decomposition of organic matter and in nutrient cycling and exchange. Another fungus, yeast, is used in bread, beer, and soy sauce. Fungi has been used in the production of antibiotics. Enzymes produced from fungi have industrial uses.

In my humble opinion, fungus, though just another plant life, deserves some special attention from us.

Theme: Glorious Fungus

Concept: Abstract/Stylized

Color: Complementary or Split Complementary

Techniques: Artist choice. If you would like a suggestion, embellish or manipulate fabric to show dimension.

References:
Images of fungi:
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/fungi/fungi.html
Or Google, images, “kingdom fungi” for some beautiful results
For more than you ever wanted to know about California Fungi, http://mykoweb.com/
While there take a look at the ‘Mushrooms in Art’ selection where you will see many listings.
Or Google, images, “fungi pictures” for some more beautiful pictures.

Abstract/Stylized Art:
Non-realistic, simplified or exaggerated
If you look in this glossary you will see a simple definition of both Abstract and Stylized. They are both separate and related concepts.
http://www.artsmia.org/world-myths/glossary.html
Here is some info on Abstract art:
http://wwar.com/masters/movements/abstract_art.html
http://www.harley.com/art/abstract-art/index.html
More on Stylized:
The Art Nouveau style has many examples of natural objects stylized for decorative purposes.
http://essentialhumanities.net/s_art_stylnat.html

Complementary or Split Complementary Color Schemes:
http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-harmonies.htm
http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-schemes.html

Fungus ART links
http://www.naturalabstraction.com/fungusmed.html
http://tinyurl.com/35smokz
http://tinyurl.com/34wtks4
http://tinyurl.com/3xkt7r2
http://tinyurl.com/3ysw3lx
http://tinyurl.com/37gz3ho
http://tinyurl.com/359kryn

And some art quilts by Sue Reno http://www.suereno.com/thefungus.html

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Challenge 44 - Dandelion Dance

I have to admit this was so far outside my comfort zone I almost didn't do it - that and the fact we left for a two week vacation right after this posted. So thank you for making me challenge myself.

I took a photograph of my daughter blowing a dandelion. Granted it wasn't the best picture - she's in a sprinkler - ran some photoshop stuff to soften the edges - outlined some of the areas to define the picture. I think picked shades of red - because red is her favorite color. Did fusible applique - then french knot dandelion seeds.

Over all I'm happy with the results - this isn't a close up quilt and looks better from a far. I'm debating on binding or facing so would welcome any feed back on that.

Lisa
In Sunny then rainy Seattle.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Flower Child

Flower Child

This is my favorite little girl, Morgandy. I thought I posted this yesterday so I hope this is not a repeat.

The upper fabric is silk screened; lower is the back side of a commercial fabric. Morgandy is from a photo her father took. Some body parts were not in the photo, so I painted them in. It is densely quilted. I quilted around each flower, then when it was faced and finished, added some 3 dimensional flowers made from pieces of the right side of the same fabric.

More photos are on my blog showing the whole process.

I gave this little quilt to Morgandy's Mother for a Mother's Day gift. She was\is very appreciative.

Happy Dance


18 ¼ " x 25 ¾"

I've renamed this from Flower Child Dance!

My only problem with including people is drawing them, so I cut out some folded paper kids, scanned them into Photoshop and then did some tricks to change their sizes. The printout from that became my template for the children. I arranged them on a batik background and chose some flowers from various fabric scraps to surround the scene.

The border is a flowery tulle, backed by cotton fabric, which I gathered slightly, then sewed the outer pieces on. The last step was mounting it on foam core and pulling the edges around to the back. I hand-sewed the border onto the foam core using some seed beads on the front.

A bit late, but at least finished well before the May challenge! Comments are welcome.

Sunday, May 09, 2010



Also finished something for the Under the Sea Challenge 43. I've been taking a painting on fabric class at Quilt University which has been really fun. I painted some fish which came out really nice - a trout and a salmon. Then I stitched them to add dimension. Shown is the salmon and the trout.

Just finished Challenge 42 - I'm just a bit behind! I was also doing this for a challenge in an art group I'm in here in Maine. We had to use something from the hardware store.

The manipulated part is in the landscape. I pleated the fields - they're hard to see in the photo because my hardware item is screening. My intent was looking through the keyhole/screen door. A friend has some old keys so I will also be sewing on some of those as embellishments.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Flower Child - 10" x 10 3/4"



A bit late getting this one done and posted, but here we are. This piece, "Flower Child", was fun to do once I decided what to do. It was not my first idea - the first and second ideas were too complex to finish in a busy week, even as a study. I like the colors and the face of the woman in this.


The fabric for the face was created by dyeing white fabric using Sharpie Markers and Alcohol. The outline and features of the face are from a book which allows me to use them, just want to be clear that you know the face is not my original design. The flowers are Lutrador with a thin coat of Gesso applied before running it through the printer. The flowers are attached in the center only. The dimension is implied by some of the pieces of hair falling over each other and the placement of the flowers.


I'm done with this for now, but may pull it out again. My daughter was here and declared she wouldn't mind having it 'in a frame, with lots of beads and perhaps an earring'. Perhaps that will happen.


As always comments about how to improve are very welcome.

Betty Warner



Saturday, May 01, 2010

Flower Child Mary Jane




This challenge was outside my comfort zone so......I made it fit!!! I live in rural northern California. Our biggest CASH crop is possibly illegal(?). There is a very large population of aging flower children and some of the newer kinds. The baby is called Mary Jane but the caption could also be....."WHERE'D YA LEAVE THE BABY?"

I think it speaks for its self. Methods used were fusing and machine quilting on hand dyed fabric. It was fun.

I do remember the Gumnut Babies from Australia. They were very cute and clever.

Carol

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Fast Friday Fabric Challenge 43

The theme of the challenge was underwater. I used an extant wallhanging which incorporates a number of thread embellishment techniques including pintucking on the whale's belly, bobbin work, couching and machine needle lace.

I also created a postcard from scratch which incorporates machine embroidery designs from Embroidery Library, and Lutrador used several different ways.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

My Favorite Flower Child


Is my only granddaughter, of course! This is a small quilt and will remain unfinished for now since I had foot surgery two weeks ago requiring an incision on the sole of my right foot and I've found my left foot doesn't run to motor foot as well as the right so it will wait for another few weeks to be quilted.
I used a photo of my granddaughter, fused some old flower fabric and mushroom fabric to a practice piece of hand dyed cloth. I then cut petals from some orange fabric and pieced them around her face, fused them in place and then added the bud leaves and stem the same way. I'm thinking that maybe I can make it into a birthday card and give it to her when she turns 13 in June.

April May and June



#44 Flower Children "April, May, and June"


The children are dancing about in silk flower dresses on a quilted background. I rolled the edges to the back...mitered the corners and stitched from the back.

The dolls I had made for some doll pins and they were unfinished. So....I fashioned their dresses from silk flowers and beads...fabric markers for faces and shoes. I sewed the dolls onto the quilt. (16 1/2 X 12).

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Presenting Ms. Daisy Gerber


Here is my flower child. Her body is the stem. Her sleeves are the leaves.

Her hair is french knots -- many, many french knots.

I asked my husband what he thought and he said "cute".

Flower Children


I love this challenge idea...it's right up my alley....I have even done a piece with flower ladies in it before..So I am sharing a little piece of that quilt until I get my new "flower children" done. Right now they are taking back seat, to my sea dragon which I am really enjoying too...Donna at The Sea Ranch

Friday, April 23, 2010

Rudbeckia - Brown Eyed Susan

I finished off challenge 43 and saw the new challenge. I had an idea straight away, so set to!

I thought I would base the child on one of my Sunday School children...all of them are from African countries. Then I remembered brown eyed susans, and it all came together.

I had just enough golden fabric for petals left from making a sunflower cushion some time ago. I also had some swatches of a fuzzy sort of fake leather, so used a brown to machine stitch and colour in a little face. I stuffed the middle and then mounted it on a wooden dowel.

detail

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Challenge 44 - Flower Children

FFFC Challenge #44 - Flower Children April 2010 Hostess Ann E. Ruthsdottir

Intro: The idea started with an old book I have called, Bird Children by Elizabeth Gordon, copyright 1912. I have the forty-first edition. Ms Gordon is the author. In much smaller print is the artist, M. T. Ross. The book is nothing without the art work, so this surprised me when I finally noticed it. Because this is a book I have always enjoyed for the illustrations alone, I was very surprised that the artist got so little credit Just recently I read some of the verse. However, the big discovery came in the last six months when I noticed on the title page, “The Little Playmates of the Flower Children”. My interest peaked, I went on-line and found absolutely beautiful colored drawings. What other flowers could be 'children'.?

As a person 'of a certain age', I remember Woodstock and flower children. I was neither a child or a flower, but I did wear flowers in my hair. Because the book seemed too limiting, I thought to broaden the challenge.

The challenge theme: is Flower Children: either developing some new 'flower child' similar to the book OR relating to the 'flower children' of the 60's OR, better yet, some inspiration of your own which incorporates one of the basic ideas of the theme.

If you do not feel comfortable painting children, please try turning a fabric print into a flower. For example, a face could be the center of a daisy. In the same vein, a photo could have fabric added to become a flower child.

Colors should be cheerful. No dark, dismal colors, gray or grayed shades.

Techniques should be dimensional, either by inference or in reality. A 3-dimensional sculpture might be the outer limit; the inner limit being a shading to create depth.

References:

Links to Flower Children book drawings. http://tinyurl.com/2vsj3b2
http://tinyurl.com/35j9hdu http://tinyurl.com/325za8z

Photographer Anne Geddes: babies in flowers http://tinyurl.com/263cubw

60's flower children images [Please note that we didn't have color film then, so any color images were 'staged' later or colored later.] http://tinyurl.com/383gufl
http://tinyurl.com/327fmgv http://tinyurl.com/35s9anz

This outfit is soo weird. Yep, I had something similar. GAG! http://tinyurl.com/3958hly

For those of you too young to remember, a little history http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie
http://www.laurelrose.com/FLOWERCHILDREN.HTM http://tinyurl.com/2g4zytq
http://www.zazzle.com/hippies+posters

Book by Maxine Swann might give you some ideas: “Sweet child of mine; In her lyrical new novel, Maxine Swann describes the highs and lows of a hippie childhood. ”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxine_Swann

Want more images, check out fotosearch http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/flower-child.html

Merdragon

I am very late on the Fast Friday challenge again this month. But I have been planning to have this fit the Contemporary Quilt dragon Journal quilts, especially as it also included threadwork. I had been thinking to do a dragon based on a seahorse, so this works for the under the sea theme, too. The background print already represents coral, and I am playing with colours to find ways to get the bright fire look using colours other than  normal fire colours.

A simple description this time.

Merdragons are often mistaken for seahorses. However, they serve in the same capacity as watchdogs for the MerPeople. They hid amongst coral that is similar in colour to themselves in the same way that seahorses do. They have the capacity to breath fire under water.

Unlike seahorses, the males do not hatch the eggs in their pouch. Both parents guard the egg sack, taking turns to carry it.

Under the Sea Reflections



April Fools !! AKA …"Under the Sea Reflections"
I got started soon as the Challenge was announced…Today..Thursday before the new Challenge will be given I finished #43…Yes!! The beading...

For the water reflection I matched the flamingo's right side of fabric to the wrong side and sewed the pieces together …used fusible and then fussy cut the plants and birds ironing this to grasses on top and a under-water looking batik on the bottom plus several fish.

My stitching..fancy yarn for underwater plants, stitching around fish, birds and Plants. A couple rows of bobbin stitching with razzle- dazzle thread.  For my non traditional edge finish I used Terry Grant's zig-zag over cording… I used a wider zig-zag width and varigated thread. (I made the edges kind of wavey) I've used this method once before and I like the narrow zig-zag and solid thread.
Great finish for small art quilts!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Update on Bubba.....

Our buddy Bubba, the subject of my Challenge 38, has passed over the Rainbow Bridge to be with the other furries we have loved in our lives. We think his cancer returned and he was declining quickly over the past 10 days. Yesterday, in the arms of his moms, we sent him on his way. He's had a good run, been loved and given boundless love in return. The quilt has been framed and hangs in a place of honor in the home he claimed as his own. Maybe now, he'll finally catch that squirrel....

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

In Profile

This is my contribution for the April Challenge. It is small, only 4"x8", but is packed with detail. I used an orange veggie bag, over-stitched with metallic thread for scales, and fused a sheer for the fin. All in all, this was fun. I have been out of the loop for the past few months due to a very demanding teaching schedule and this was just what I needed to get re-motivated.

Monday, April 05, 2010

California Kelp Forest




This is really the underwater piece for the March challenge. I love underwater...being part fish myself, so I posted an older underwater extravaganza while I worked on this one. I wanted to create the flow and texture of the kelp as the currents move it around. the red fish are Garabaldis that live in the kelp. I experimented on the kelp to test different methods of quilting.



Comments and critiques are very welcome because I am doing a series and want to improve.



Carol


Sea Ranch, CA

Golden Sacrifice




We've been a very sick household for the past three weeks, and I haven't even been able to make it into the studio, but I did have a piece I made some time ago that fits this challenge perfectly. The title is Golden Sacrifice, but I just call it "fish". The background is hand painted, the weeds are machine couched yarn and hand beaded. The fish is almost entirely hand done, except the fins that are machine embellished and then the shape has been burnt out of a larger piece of organza. The hardest part was the eye. I even visited the local taxidermist to get a "fish eye", but ended up going to goldwork embroidery techniques and using a tiny piece of padded kid leather.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

Three Fishes


This week I've been camping in Asheville NC, and not able to make anything for this challenge. Upon returning today I realized that I have a quilt that I made a few years ago that fits this challenge, and hope you all will enjoy seeing it. I used fused applique and machine embroidered around each fish and around the seaweed. Fabrics from the William Morris collecton were used for the fish. It is really amazing to see the wonderful entries that have been posted for this challenge. Lots of talent in this group!

Under The Sea


I had so much fun doing this.


The fish on top, the sea weed, and treasure chest were machine embroidered


The other fish and the sea horse were thread painted.


The fuzzy things are beads that I made a long time ago just for fun.


Finished off with prairie points.

Challenge 43 - Tidal Pool


This piece called Tidal Pool. The finished size is about 18 inches by 15 inches.

The background is pieced to look like the sand ripples as the tide goes out. The stones are 2 layers of fabric plus batting to create a little dimension. The sea stars are needle felted and beaded to appliqué to the background.

Lisa
In Rainy, Windy Seattle

Postcard from Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles



Orange Cup Corals
5”X 7”

My original plan didn’t work out so in order to save some of the work of the cup corals, I decided to make a snapshot view of them in a postcard format for my challenge. The orange cup corals are made with water soluble stabilizer and thread with glass blobs sewn into the center. I used Peltex™ instead of batting for a more rigid basis to accommodate the extra weight of the glass blobs. Label is in postcard format.

Comments are appreciated.
Thanks,
Pam

Friday, April 02, 2010

Undersea Study


Have not had much time this week. I just read that Virginia Satir wrote "A substitute for time is focus." So here is my response to this month's challenge. A fish underwater on a background that I had started a long time ago for something else. The fish is machine appliqued, a technique I often use. However, this time I did the raw edge applique without using either fusible web or glue. I am reasonably happy with the result and like that it is not so stiff. I have free motion stitched around the fish practicing that feathery stuff using free motion zig zag. Have couched some yarns, some before the applique and some after. They look a bit dull and uninteresting to me. I probaby should have worked harder to get more width and more movement. It is not really complete needs some quilting and binding. When I have more time I might add some bobbin work coral.


Thanks very much for this challenge. It was fun to do and I learned a couple of things from the effort.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Under the Sea




This was a real challenge since the sea is far removed from Nebraska. While cleaning house on Saturday I found a book on the sea I had forgotten I owned! It's at least 20 yrs. old. I found a picture of starfish that I copied and printed onto fabric. They weren't very bright so I used Prismacolor pencils wetted to brighten them. I then found some batik that had ocean like colors to put on a border. I thread painted the background of the rocks out onto the borders to tie it all together. I also printed out the seahorse and the purple coral in the lower right corner. I used the Prismacolor pencils on those, too. I did thread painted over the stars and added pink sea urchins. The purple plant/coral in the lower right was added with thread. My great mistake was trying to thread paint white lace coral coming in from the right. It got lost in the picture. So I redid it, leaving the old underneath by using Sulky Solvy and then just taking it down to give a dimensional appearance. The plants on the left were added to give more depth to the view and a place for the seahorse to hang onto. The edge finish is one from a Sue Benner class. As mentioned by someone else, this type of edge is hard to get to lay flat. I think it works for Sue since she has so much Wunder Under in her quilts making them stiffer. This quilt is 12" x 12".

Old Souls


Old Souls measures 12"x12". The background is a hand dyed by me fabric, overlaid with cottons and organzas to suggest reefs. I added various fibers and a lot of thread painting for corals and seaweeds and the tiniest seed beads I have ever seen on the white coral on the left. A real exercise in patience! I finished this part of the quilt using the 'escape hatch' method a la Melody Johnson. Next I made the turtles, individual parts fused to fusible fleece and thread painted. I actually made 3 pairs of turtles before I got the look I was after. (anyone need some turtles...LOL)

The last step was to assemble the turtles as I appliqued them in place using white silk satin stitch.


Thanks Pam for a really fun challenge!

All comments gratefully received :-)

Cherie

Monday, March 29, 2010

Jelly Ballet


For this challange I decided to try the impossible task of duplicating jelly fish. It was quite a vhallange for sure! The background is hand painted silk. The fish are chiffon over hand dyed silk bodies with thread painted lower body on one fish and lace tenacles on the other one. The bodies are beaded with sequins for the bubbles. I wanted to show the sun rays in the water so I quilted those in. The background is quilted with more jelly fish. The tenacles are all thread painted with Superior Glitter thread. Thannk you for a great challange. All comments are more than welcome.




Pat Havey

Fun Fiber Fish

I've been busy getting ready for surgery tomorrow and the subsequent hospital stay (the important tasks, you know: preparing and packing hand-stitching work and my drawing supplies), so I won't be able to make a new piece for FFFC #43. I do have something on hand, though, that I'm submitting:


This is one of the first mixed-fiber, embellished pieces I ever made when I started working with fabric about 3 years ago. I had painted and quilted the background fabric as a way to practice both, and I hate the thought of wasting anything, so I started covering the fabric up. The piece is 9"h x 11"w.

The fish was stamped with paint onto fabric using a hand-carved stamp, stitched, then cut out as an appique and applied to the background. Beads were stitched over the fish and onto the background fabric as "bubbles."

The seawood is free-form cut fabric strips stitched down the center, and fun-fiber yarns are couched over the bottom area and through the top as seawood.

White coral (left) is made from beads stitched onto the background. Purple coral (right) is thread lace created by stitching on water-soluble stabilizer.


The jellyfish is loose strands of yarn with fabric stitched over the top to hold them down.

The edges are finished with zig-zag stitching; I think I could probably block this to get the bottom to lay straighter, but it just hangs in my craft room to make me happy.


I had done a silk painting and wasn't quite as pleased with it as I though I would be. So off to the fusing basket for the seaweed, shells and sand. Freemotion stitching covered the background and I "cheated" with fabric markers to enhance the fish. Now I'm happy!!!!!

Jane Stricker

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Challenge 43 - Under the Sea


This was a great challenge! I love it when I get pushed out of my comfort zone. Although I have done many fishy quilts, I have never tried the "pillowcase" finish. I was amazed at how easy it was, and at how well it turned out.

I fused the fish down, and then did machine embroidery for the scales and texture. I used yarn with sequins and some "hairy" yarn for seaweed. I also cut some wavy strips, and fused them down, but their tops are not attached.

The fish bubbles are holographic sequins, and his eye is a copper washer and a black bead.

I will probably add some more beads, and I'm trying to think of something I can add to the fish, too.

The shape is a trapezoid, and the top measures about 18", the bottom about 16", and the height is 11"

I had so much fun doing this!

Marilyn Foulke
Louisville, KY

Friday, March 26, 2010

Five Fancy Fish


I made this quilt in 2005. I made this to fit in the space above the window in our bathroom. I have since been commissioned to make more. You can see them on my website, here. This piece is 11” h x 42” w I used fun fabrics to make the fish with drawings of fish that I found on line and in coloring books. These are not fish that were cut from fishy fabric!!! Click on the quilt to see a larger photo. There is lots of beading and embellishment with fancy threads and stitching. Here is a detail shot.

I hope you all enjoy making an undersea scene as much as I did.

Challenge #43 - Under the Sea, Threadwork, & Edge Finish

FFFC Challenge #43 –Under the Sea
March 2010
Hostess: Pam Harris

It’s time to take a trip UNDER THE SEA.

Here’s your chance to explore the mysterious and fascinating under water world, real or imaginary and the vast variety of color, shape and texture it offers. Just about anything goes so have fun exploring.

Keoki and Yuko Stender: http://www.marinelifephotography.com/
Reinhard Dirscherl: http://www.ocean-photo.com/
David Hall: http://www.seaphotos.com/


TECHNIQUES

Thread Work
Free Motion Embroidery/Thread Play
Nancy Prince: http://www.nancyprince.com/
Marilyn Nepper/Fiber Antics: http://www3.telus.net/mnepper/tutorial_thread_painting.html
Ellen Ann Eddy (Scrolldown to January 22, 2010) http://tinyurl.com/ygnblpq
Carol Taylor, Gallery/Coral Reefs: http://www.caroltaylorquilts.com/
Thread Trash
As defined by Connie Fahrion in the June/July 2008, Issue 33 page 45 of Quilting Arts Magazine: “It is that knotted, lumpy “stuff” you rip off of washed and dried fabric after it comes out of the dryer.”
Bobbin Drawing
http://www.mesew.com/bobbindrawing.html

Non-Traditional Edging: Finish your quilt with something other than the traditional binding. Here are a few suggestions:

Brenda Gael Smith/Serendipity: http://tinyurl.com/2clqht

Challenge is due April 3, noon Eastern Time Zone or whenever your schedule permits.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

High Water Mark


20½" x 16"

4/22/10 - Julia was right, it wasn't quite finished. Here it is with a bit of additional work done on it, mostly on the top portion.

3/30/10
This is actually for the February challenge, just finished now, so call it a Slow FFC. I didn't really like it much until almost the final step, but it wanted to be completed, and since I haven't done the last few challenges, I felt I had to put this one up.

I began first by using Tsukineko inks and a shaving cream marbling technique to make the uneven blue, brown and green sections, then used beads to hold an irregular bunching pattern for the waves, pebble beads for the beach, and a combination of seed beads and bugle beads for the land, and the beads got me involved in sorting them so I could get the colors I wanted. I took one strand of rather funky yarn to make the high water line, and then I began to like it. I added just a few strokes with a felt pen and green ink for the final palm tree.

This is the only piece I've done that has not had a single bit of machine sewing! I'd appreciate your comments -- and now I feel free to look at everyone else's work!

Moon Song



This was my challenge quilt for Challenge #38....I know...I just never got it posted because I was away and then ill. Enough excuses...I just wanted to share it. I really enjoyed this challenge. I used metallic hand-dyes and commercial fabrics. I used trapunto and reverse applique as well as regular applique. It has angelina fibers and hand beading. Thank you so much for creating these great challenges. My goal is to do one in the one week window...Donna from Sea Ranch

Cabernet Oak Hills



This is my landscape for Challenge #42. This was a real stretch for me. I am so happy that I got it done. (Its 14" X 16") With a little encouragement from my friends I even got my "manipulated" oak tree bumps included in the composition ( see detail close up). I used some hand-dyes and some commercial fabrics that were already folded. The foothills on the way to wine country are the most beautiful shade at sunset time. Its nice to be back.