Falling leaf

When I am falling asleep and fall it is a gentle slow descent.  It feels like a leaf falling from a tree.  This tree is all thread painted.  The first border is hand dyed.

Pat Havey

Golden Swirl Cushion

Golden Swirl

 

I got the idea for the design while cleaning. My hanging chair had the cushion I made ~ 40 years ago. Then it blended with my colors; now it was an eye sore.  Because of my tedious construction method, I spent three days working on this before I attempted the cording.  Unfortunately, I did not check the fit before I added the cording.  This is the first time I have ever attempted cording.  It took me one lone evening.  As you can see, it is still not finished.  I'm adding it to my pile of UFO's so that I can return to my bed quilt project.  If each of us made just one bed quilt for Sandy victims, we could cover half of the families.  These are going to the folks who have lost everything.  I think they need a bed quilt a bit more than I need a cushion.

Nightly Hot Flash Rituals: Ignition to Afterglow!

 

The quilt was designed in Make the Cut Software. It was cut with my electronic cutter using both the positive and negative shapes for the quilt.

Had a lot of fun with the titles including A Hot Flash Slumber, Dreaming in Technicolor and Hot Flash Blastoff among many others about my chronic condition.

Golden Spiral

Golden Spiral or Fibonacci
This piece represents flying and falling in a storm such as Hurricane Sandy.  I was going for abstract, but I am a pictorial quilter by nature, and the NYC skyline found its way into the piece.

I began with a square and followed the Fibonacci directions to make it a rectangle, then made another square and rectangle in the upper right corner with red & orange thread.  The fabric was shibori painted in two directions, then dyed. The subdued colors represent the darkness of a storm. Free-motion quilting was practiced with variegated thread around all the horizontal storm lines which represent the wind. The vertical lines were enhanced with novelty threads and represent the rain pounding down.  The Golden Spiral is a wind gust, or could be a tornado brewing.  Hand-painted and dyed fabric  novelty threads, and netting. Finished size: 21" x 13".  Thank you Silvia for this fun learning experience.

Untitled Challenge 75 Response

Just finished!

Challenge 75: Falling in a Golden Swirl

Fast Friday Fabric Challenge #75, November 2012

Challenge Hostess: Silvia Dell'Aere

Title: Falling in a golden swirl
Due: Dec.1, 2012

“Do you know the terror of he who falls asleep? To the very toes he is terrified, because the ground gives way under him, and the dream begins.” -Friedrich Nietzsche-

How many times did you fall in your dreams? You can roughly fall and wake up jumping in your bed or you can glide in a low fall while falling asleep, you can fall for just few inches or you can take a long long flight... what about you? How do you fall in your dreams? And how deep are they?

Make me know through a quilt. Tell me not your dreams but how deep they are, show me the moment you fall asleep.

You can make an abstract or pictorial quilt, choose the style that best fits you, but experiment with the “golden ratio” rule to compose your quilt.

Golden Ratio Resources:

Wikipedia about Golden Ratio (very extensive): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio

Golden Ratio for artists: http://emptyeasel.com/2009/01/20/a-guide-to-the-golden-ratio-aka-golden-section-or-golden-mean-for-artists/
or tiny: http://tinyurl.com/9o5xuk

Golden Ratio in photography (but useful for quilters too): http://photoinf.com/Golden_Mean/Eugene_Ilchenko/GoldenSection.html
or tiny: http://tinyurl.com/y8u7rv

Examples of Golden Ratio in art: http://www.goldenmeanart.com/

Other example with a quilt also: http://enjoyingmath.pbworks.com/w/page/31293656/ART%20and%20GOLDEN%20RATIO
or tiny: http://tinyurl.com/c4asojc

Golden Ratio Quilts:

Searching with Google for “golden ratio quilt” or “golden mean quilt” or “fibonacci quilt” you will find lot of quilts that depicts the classic Golden Swirl, and a few quilts with a totally different subject that are composed using the Golden Ratio (in its swirl, rectangular or triangular representation or the Fibonacci series that generates it) as a way to divide the space and manage the number, position and dimension of the objects.

Quilts of this kind are:

“Golden Spiral” by Deb Plestid  http://www.debplestid.ca/images/JPG/quiltsforsale/meadow/Golden-Spiral-Large.jpg
or tiny: http://tinyurl.com/d476ve2

“Autumnal Equinox” by Caryl Bryer Fallert http://www.bryerpatch.com/images/quiltrecords/fibonacci2/fibonacci2.htm
or tiny: http://tinyurl.com/cr6hado

“Yoyo1: Forward Pass” by Helen Remick

http://www.helenremick.com/gallery-detail.php?cat=0&ID=10
or tiny: http://tinyurl.com/cj7ud4o

So... let’s get to work and have fun with this! :)

Challenge #74 Done!

"On the Hunt"

Finished this piece 12/27/12, but am posting based on an earlier date that will fall under Challenge 74 works.

This piece started as a UFO (the background part - that was created from a Japanese block pattern).  I had fun in creating the 'hunter' faces ~~ that are based on mask patterns from one of the fabrics.  This 'take' on the Mission Possible challenge theme is that these hunters are hunting some of the buttons that have decided to go into hiding (and are visibly invisible).

Cityscape on the River

12" x 21"

This is really better as a touchy-feely kind of piece as the main fabric that I used is an Oriental flocked fabric that I picked up a couple years ago.  The buttons stand out much more in this photo because of the lighting than they ordinarily do -- except, perhaps, for the three red leaf buttons on the right side.  What seems to have happened is that the buildings themselves attracted the buttons to themselves!

I originally had all of the Oriental fabric in a single piece, but then cut it apart and interspersed some other red fabrics, and I sewed windows on one piece with gold thread.  And since the shapes did not conform to rectangles, the result is a rather abstract cityscape.  I was not certain about the selection of the batik piece for the water, but it forms quite a contrast to the buildings.

I welcome any critiques for this admittedly late posting.

Button Quilt

Button Pony - My button horse was fun to make, like a mosaic with buttons. He does not show up well in the photos. The baby  is highlighted with fabric paint; the tail and fur are made from scraps of braided trim. The buttons are from my collection! haha I am sure I am not the only one who collects buttons. Thank you for this fun challenge.

Button-snatchers

I caught these Spotted Owl  button-snatchers with my night-vision goggles.  They are lining their nests with our buttons.  Don't they look guilty?  Is this an environmental concern?  The owls are pastel tones.  The piece is 12" x 14", commercial fabrics.  Thank you for your comments.  I hope you all have fun with this challenge.

Button Plant

I know who the button thief is in my house -- it's my female cairn terrier.  She chews the buttons off the laundry.  She's crafty and clever, so I keep checking Etsy thinking maybe she's putting together a line of button-embellished designer bones!  Otherwise, I'm not sure just where the buttons go.  Here are ones she didn't get.  I tried to stay in a limited palate tonally, both with the fabric and buttons.  I'm not sure there's enough contrast to make the leaves pop.  Thoughts?  Suggestions?

Button, button, who's got the button?
Robert Hartley

Over 50,000,000 Missing Americans and Counting…

 

 

The Statue of Liberty represents Freedom and our right to choose.

We protect eagle eggs and destroy humans. 

The buttons are the zeros in the 50,000,000.

Castle in the Mist

I worked from a piece I had trialled in an abstracting exercise. Although it looks a little bit like a castle, it was in fact some chemical crystals in a close-up photo. I fused the sheers with Misty Fuse - worked really well. Sometimes when I look at the darker squares near the bottom, I think they are distracting, but I really wasn't aiming for reality, just a suggestion. The quilting over that area in grey-lavender rayon has helped to unify the blocks.

When I saw the button challenge, I imagined I would do a funky piece. But obviously the funky gene is recessive!

Julia in NZ

Buttonmania Strikes Again..

My hand is up, the buttons are all at my house
Small quilt, approx 15 inches tall, with hand-embroidered/quilted stitch holding the layers and the buttons on.  All the woven fabrics (thanks Jude) were grabbed from the scrap box as tones, not choices.. The size was set by the oddment of batting I found under the table.  The background fabric is Oakshott Fabrics Ischia and the binding is another Oakshott colour I can't name. All the buttons came from one of the 7 tins-worth I bought the other day, incidental to purchasing a sewing machine table for my little workroom at home.
Sewn in front of the fire to the accompaniment of a programme about wolves and buffaloes.
Finished on Saturday morning, but it's taken a day or two to get online to post here. Hooray!

Porpita Porpita -- Blue Button Jellyfish

photo of Blue Button Jellyfish from Google Images

This started out to be something very different. However, when I finished the background in different shades of blue-green, it looked like water, so, after some research, I decided to make a Blue Button Jellyfish. I used several types of silk, which I love to work with. 

I added several types of embellishments, including yarn with holographic dangles. Then, of course, I added the buttons, tiny ones which I have been saving for just the right occasion.

I would welcome any comments or suggestions.

Marilyn Foulke

Louisville, KY 

Challenge #74: Mission Possible

Host: Linda MacDonald

Due Date: Nov. 3, 2012 (although late postings are permitted and welcome)

MISSION POSSIBLE

This month we are joining the MISSION POSSIBLE Team.

To get in the mood , click here and play the music theme, while you read this message :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VK38IOnN1_Y

Good day FFFC member.

It has come to our attention that there is an evil Button-Snatcher on the loose. Men and women are

showing up for work with no buttons left on their clothes. There are no known pictures of the

button-snatching ring or its leaders. Our target is outside the reach of conventional law

enforcement, so it is up to the FFFC members to find out who or what is snatching our buttons, and

what they are doing with them.

Your mission, fellow quilter, should you decide to accept it, is to obtain evidence of the Button-

Snatchers and/or find out what they are doing with our buttons. As always, should you or any of

our FFFC Force be caught or de-buttoned, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your

actions.

The MISSION POSSIBLE scene is set. Who or What are the Button-Snatchers?

What are they doing with our buttons?

For this month’s challenge you will use at least five (5) buttons in your design. Any size or color

will do, and they do not have to be alike.

Our Design Element is Tones.

Design Elements http://designelementsandprinciples.com/tone1.htm. If this link is too long, here is the

tiny version: http://tinyurl.com/8hu3ulo

Here is an ad for thread, grouped by tones. I am not selling thread and don’t have any connection to the

advertiser, I just like the color groupings. http://tinyurl.com/9hcgj3p

Fine art in jewel tones: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/jewel-tones-barbara-keith.html

(Is this the creature stealing our buttons?)

Missing buttons

Where do our missing buttons go? Are they being recycled? Do our buttons become food for

some alien nation? http://tinyurl.com/8e752po

Are they decorating winter trees?

http://www.lemontreetales.com/lemon_tree_tales/2008/02/four-seasons-qu.html

A Google search will bring up many images of “buttons on quilts” and “buttons in art”

A few examples: Jamie Fingal’s blog http://tinyurl.com/9g34fu8

http://jamiefingaldesigns.blogspot.com/2011/09/iqa-auction-in-houston-at-festival.html

The amazing art of Jane Perkins

http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/jane-perkins-proves-one-mans-junk-is-indeed-anothers-treasure.html  or http://tinyurl.com/6udab8e

This page will not self-destruct in ten seconds. Good luck, Quilter, and have fun with this!

Leaping Looper Fish

A planet covered with water must have lots of fish.  This is a Leaping Looper Fish.  Its side and top fins are loops of silk tubing.  The stone monolith is also a 3 dimensional loop.  What fun to imagine a new world of water!
Peggi

Cygnus Loopy Bird

Hi everyone! This is my first posting for the Fast Friday Fabric Challenges! I loved the theme and was inspired by Marilyn Foulke's Louis the Loopy bird from Louisville piece.

Loopiland is a large planet and has more than one species of fowl on it. I was able to capture a 'picture' of this bird-like creature called a Cygnus Loop-y Bird:

The Cygnus Loop-y Bird has a loopy crest and tail that are remarkably like tee-shirt strips! It's long beak can suck out food from deep underground. They are a flightless bird but can walk very fast until their five legs trip them up.

The 'picture' of this odd bird measures 4x6 inches in size and will be shipped off to Houston for further inspection. I hear it will be then donated to a worthy cause there, to raise money for "Friends for Life" a pet rescue organization.

Thank you for allowing me into the group! This was a lot of fun and I love how I will be able to help out a pet here on earth too!

Melvin, the Spotted, Ridgebacked, Fuzzy Headed Pigasus!

As our space ship begins it's descent to planet Loopiland, I glanced out the window to see this wondrous creature waiting to welcome us! It seems that because Loopiland is mainly water, many of the mammals who live there have evolved to fly as a means of getting around.

The ridges on his back are made from felt, his hair is red and purple yarn which was fuzzed using a cat brush, his tail is a pipe cleaner and his wings are part of a pair of fairy wings I got in the costume section at Dollar Tree. I had a lot of fun creating Melvin. There was a companion piece to go with him planned but I ran out of stuffing..lol

Loopiland Arch

Planet Loopiland's sea reflects its sky.  A monolith arch is also reflected in this stormy early morning scene.  One of the planet's two moons is setting as the sun rises.  Loopsters lurk below the surface.  I was going to add one poking up his head, but liked the scenic as it is.  This piece is 12" x 15" .  The arch is made from 3 layers and is my loop.  It is sewn to the background along  the bottom but just tacked on the top, so it had a 3D effect.
Comments welcome.

Deb

I am not sure if I followed the loop procedure correctly.  This  is created as  to represent a picture in a  picture album. To do this I uploaded 2 pics, one with album open and 1 with it closed. I used a photo  and transferred it to fabric  the back ground is upholstery fabric sample, this was free motion embroidery.  I wanted this to look a bit 3 D. The cover is made to look like a door ( door is cotton fabric, loops ribbon with felted balls to hook on.)  Around her neck Deb wears a necklace made out of an old garnet  ear ring.

I had fun with this challenge just doing my own thing. When an idea pops into my head I reach in pull it out and hope for the best. Comments will be appreciated.  I look forward to seeing what everyone has created.

http://fastfridayquilts.blogspot.com/

http://fastfridaytalks.blogspot.com/

SusanPI2/SusanWard

Imagination What A Wonderful Thinghttp://berylsjourneywithbreastcancer.blogspot.com/

http://artquiltssusanpi.blogspot.com/

Lupus in Loopiland

14" x 16½"

When I mentioned the theme of this challenge to my husband, he suggested that a wolf, as a "loupine" be part of the picture, hence the grey fellow here.  I took the stone loops from Cay's story very literally, making them 3-dimensional infinity signs; the loops themselves  are not tacked down.

Because the blue/purple loops did not show up well on the watery background, I ironed on some thin fusible interfacing to add contrast.

The wolf was cut out of dark grey fusible interfacing and some eyelash yarn fused to it, with the eye added using fabric paint.  I also tried outlining him, and his tail, with black fabric paint, but it needs more.

Critiques are welcome.  A fun challenge, Cay!

Yoga Recycled

Recycled items including zippers, pop can tabs, plastic keychain loop, loopy beads, ribbons, lock washers, bracelet

Wide Eyed Loopy-Finned Stickleback

I'm one of the new members this year and have been waiting excitedly for this first challenge.
I imagined our exploration of aquatic planet Loopiland in search of life. We identified and catalogued the indigenous flora and fauna...and I found the Wide Eyed Loopy-Finned Stickleback!

The challenge loops make up the side and lower fins, and since this piece is sculptural, there are fins on both sides for a total of ten loops! I'm considering adding something more to the tail to balance the numerous and exuberant back spines...thoughts?

I enjoyed making this bit of whimsy, and I hope it brings a smile to you, too!

Robert Hartley

The Day and Night Flip!

     

Originally, I posted the bottom panel as a standalone image, since I wasn't going to have time to do any creative work this past week due to work-related conferences.  After my return Friday, I completed  two additional panels that I consider valances.  One is for day and the other for night...on Planet Loopiland.  You can flip the panels easily to change one 'time of day' to the other.

My loop element is the hanging system for the panels.  The loops are intertwined.  There are 3 green loops for the day panel; 4 blue/purple loops for the night panel; and 2 larger blue/purple loops for the bottom panel.    

I took photos of this piece last night using a green fabric tube to cover the rod used.  But I think I may remove that fabric tube, because it seems to hold the eye from moving around the entire piece.

All comments welcome!   

Green Headed Loopster

 

Shortly after landing on Planet Loopiland, Spaceship FFFC was greeted by the Green Headed Loopster, the planet’s ambassador.

The Loopster’s “loops” are a different interpretation from the dimensional loops suggested by Cay’s examples. My loops are three layers (2 fabric and 1 fuzzy yarn) rouched and sewn into loops. His head is loops of yarn.

Thanks Cay for a fun challenge forcing us to think outside the box.

Pam Harris

Louie, the Loopy Bird from Louisville

I haven't posted anything for a while, but this seemed like a lot of fun...

Louie's quilt is all in wool felt, but his loops are cotton. I added a few beads, too

I will probably do more with the background, and would really welcome any suggestions or comments.

Marilyn Foulke
Louisville, KY

Challenge 73: Planet Loopiland

Fast Friday Fabric Challenge for September 2012

Challenge Hostess:  Cay Denise MacKenzie

Title:  Blast Off to Planet Loopiland!

Spaceship FFFC has just landed on Planet Loopiland and you’re discovering just how loopy this new world is.  Readings indicate the entire planet is covered by water with the only hints of a molten planet interior ~~ the monolithic stone loop and plateau formations that water flows through and under, and that our spaceship sits upon.

You can use this short story as a take-off point or pursue your own direction for imagery.  The challenge, however, is to create a piece that incorporates at least two “loops” (three layer strips –with or without stabilizer) sewn into the piece as a design element(s).  Remember to have fun!

To help with idea generation, below are some links to get your creative imagination working where loops are concerned:

http://tinyurl.com/9antv9m

http://www.michelemademe.com/2012/01/exploring-loop-closures.html

http://tinyurl.com/8nzzcac http://www.etsy.com/listing/54219916/repurposed-fabric-earrings-loops

http://tinyurl.com/9zbf4zq

http://textile-blog.com/textile-blog-trends-innovation/tag/trisha-hassler

http://tinyurl.com/c4dhhu8

http://www.soulseasonsquilts.com/displayquilt.php?image=samhain&pgtitle=Gallery&pgname=gallery

http://tinyurl.com/d4c2mvh

http://www.learntoapplique.com/quilt-blog/30-day-challenge/hangers-instead-of-quilt-sleeves/

http://tinyurl.com/czfo2p5

http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/cutting-corners/2012/7/2/santas-workshop-countdown-christmas-july-chain/

http://tinyurl.com/bqn9sfl

http://donnadowney.typepad.com/simply_me/2009/03/creativity-requires-the-courage-to-let-go-of-certainties.html

http://tinyurl.com/9kgdmlw

http://www.maillardvillemanor.com/2012/05/fake-roman-blind-how-to.html

A Quiver of Cobras

This is my August challenge piece...A Quiver of Cobras.  I was so surprised to learn that a group of cobras was called a quiver...and voila (with a little help from internet imagery)!

I'll be hosting the September challenge -- coming up in days, and I hope you have fun with it!

A Leap of Leaping Leopards

I'm late....as usual...but at least I've finally been able to complete one! YAY!  I originally intended to do a school of fish with a design that I developed during Elizabeth Barton's Quilt University class, "Inspired to Design."  Although it wasn't terribly original in the first place, when Ann Ruthsdottir posted hers, I decided to scrap it.

Instead, I chose to do this Leap of Leopards....and of course they had to be leaping!  It measures 9 1/4" square.  The sun or moon.....I can't decide which I want it to be, is stitched around with a spiral in yellow pearl cotton.  Machine quilted with a yellow/green rayon in the body, and the sky is a blue done in a swirl pattern.

A Passle of Poseys and a Bevy of Buttons

A church group asked me to teach a class on Cathedral Window Quilts. I needed a sample, so I created this little quilt that measures 8.5" square. Several years ago I made a whole cathedral quilt completely using hand stitching, but I wanted to teach the group a quicker method, so I did this sample all by machine. It only took about an hour to make as opposed to several hours if stitching by hand. I think it also meets the challenge requirement of using a grouping of things--buttons and flowers.

A Friendly Family of Five Fabulous Fish

A Friendly Family of Five Fabulous Fish

Frequently Travel with Two Terrific Tag-a-longs

36" x 47"

A Friendly Family of Five Fabulous Fish

Frequently Travel with Two Terrific Tag-a-longs

36" x 47"

When the Fast Friday Fabric Challenge came out = a group of something, I got this fish idea.

Since I am very behind in my charity quilts, I wanted to 'catch up'. I also have a 'guild summer challenge due September 13'.  This quilt serves all of those purposes. I would really like to know the age and sex of the person who picks this quilt. It is very unlikely that this will happen. I just hope it makes the recipient smile.  It was a LOT of FUN to make.

Because I am thinking it may be washed a lot, everything is faced and stitched down tight. There are NO raw edges, loose threads of anything that might 'wash out'.

A Neighborhood of Zucchini

9/28/12
I added some foil on the leaves and zucchini to give more depth and interest to the piece.
=====================
14" x 29½"

As most vegetable gardeners know, if you have zucchinis in your garden, you end up with more than enough to share with the neighborhood, so here is "A Neighborhood of Zucchini", with the repetition of leaf shape as well as the squash and the flowers.  Many years ago, I made a minimal garden catalog purchase that promised five free gifts with any purchase; they sent me five packets of ... wait for it ... you guessed it ... zucchini seed!

The background is silk, the zucchinis are home dec fabric, the leaves are cotton on a fusible stiffener, and sewn on to the background along the veins so they stand out a bit, and finally the flowers are made from Angelina fiber.

I welcome any and all comments on this somewhat late posting!

Army of Ants

It has been a long while since I have been able to do a challenge.  Many life changes that have prevented me from quilting.   I hope to catch up and look forward to next year.

I didn't really fully read the challenge, I checked the first link and immediately thought of an army of ants.  We have many ants that march along our sidewalk.

Final size 8 1/2 x 10 inches.

Lisa
In Sunny for 40 days Seattle

Stacking the Deck

Two novelty decks of cards were used for this quilt. One deck had Saddam Hussein, his sons and other Iraqi players and the other deck had members of the Bush Administration. Playing with the cards made me revisit "Shock and Awe” and other the Iraqi War Games.