The beginning of something wonderful!

This photograph is the first thing to inspire me to jump into a project in a very long time. As an artist, a creative dry spell is like having a long term illness. Sometimes you find just the right stuff to get you motivated. This feels like mega doses of vitamin B!

My plan is to print this out on fabric, expand the design into the borders and quilt the detail with wonderful Floriani thread.

I so appreciate the chance to quilt one of God's beautiful creations and could never have drawn, painted, imagined such a beautiful scene. He IS the ultimate artist.

This photogaph was taken by Bobby Trotter on the Beech Gap Trail (North Carolina side of The Great Smoky Mountains). Thank you Bobby, for allowing me to use your beautiful photograph.

Stay tuned for updates!

Quilter's Roadshow - Smoky Mountain Heritage Center, Townsend, TN

Yesterday I spent the day at Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee.

The Smoky Mountain Quilters held a special work day in conjunction with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains. This included presentation of quilts to 3 soldiers as part of the Quilts of Valor program, demonstrations by fellow quilters, and a bed turning (display of quilts) by Merikay Waldvogel - famous quilt historian. It was a great day even though the temperature barely broke 20. These are some samples of my machine quilting demonstration that will soon be small bags and glasses cases. These are perfect little items for so many things! They are available for purchase for only $7! Let me know if you'd like to buy 1 or 10! Free shipping!

I am working up a class in Free Motion Machine Quilting to be offered on a Saturday in March. Please let me know if you are interested and I'll put you on my list. It's fun and easy and I take a different approach to teaching it. We will focus on relaxing, having fun with it and making it beautiful! No Shoulder Crunching! If there are a few people in your area that would like to get together for the class I would love to come where you are! It's easy to work out the details!!!

The desire to paint....

Lately I've been inspired by the beautiful colors of Lumiere paints by Jacquard. I have no painting experience but do have brushes and fabric...so off I went into the world of the unknown....






Painting on fabric can be addictive....


This went on for several hours.

I can see these embellished with stitching and beadwork...

Inspiration!

Saturday I spent part of my day at the AQS Quilt Show in Knoxville, Tennessee. I am not sure what other people take pictures of at a quilt show...but I get great inspiration from the textures created in quilts like you see here. The middle one is Renae Haddadin's awesome quilt. She received the blue ribbon for Longarm Workmanship (something like that). I got to chat with her briefly as she was demonstrating. She's a true visionary of the machine quilting world...I really admire her work. The other two pics are small portions of very pretty quilts. As I strolled through the mostly traditional works of art I was a bit uninspired. Mainly because I find having to stay within the squares confining. I much more prefer to venture outside the lines and create wonderful texture.

I found a booth that offered silk hankies, fabric paints, videos on making art quilts and the most wonderful set of books on art quilting that I've ever come across. Karen Pharr Studios (www.karenpharrstudios.com) I made a wish list. I purchased one book and 2 videos. They have proving to be great purchases and I'm loving the inspiration and stepping outside the lines. The book is called Raising the Surface with Machine Embroidery by Maggie Grey. What an amazing book. More to follow!!

Don't Cover up Your Daisies

Today is my birthday. I thought about making a card with a cake on it or candles. I opted for grass. I started with a beautiful piece of orange and some pieces of fabric that already had fusible webb on them and cut them in little pieces of grass. I playfully added them and they were flowing nicely. I used different color threads to mock the shape and create blades of grass all along the bottom reaching for the sky. I was looking forward to playing....

Then I thought - I'll add a little bunch of daisies in my grass...I used to doodle patches of daisies as a kid and thought I'd add a little patch in here. So I carefully stitched the petals and the stems and the accents... and EWE! I didn't like it. Suddenly this project wasn't so fun and I had to cover them up because they didn't look right. So I covered up the daisies and tried to make it look like it was meant to be this way. Mistake! Doing that changed the whole piece and my whole frame of mind about the piece. I didn't like it after that. I actually wanted to start over. That's not allowed.

So as this project is meant to do, I learned something. Not only did I learn that I should have gone with the flow - but that I should not cover up the daisies in my life and let them be. They are beautiful where ever they grow even if they are imperfect. God put them there for me to enjoy.

Postcard Journaling

I'm Blocked! I didn't realize it until I left a wonderful artists studio yesterday filled with beaded work, handmade books, quilts, dolls, jewelry, purses, journals and quilted postcards..I know there was so much more.

I realized I have become a little afraid in my work. I have gotten so wrapped up in my "real" job, family and chores that I have forgotten to play.

So I've begun this little exercise that is supposed to take only an hour of my day to help me be more creative and stop overthinking everything.


I'm calling it postcard journaling.

I've never made postcards before but they look like fun. Quick little projects that don't have to be perfect and I can get my "completed project" fix. Hopefully it will get me out of my box.

This is the first installment called "Just Keep Swimming"...(from the movie finding Nemo)

This started as a scanned piece of art from a child's fingerpainting, printed on fabric and machine quilted. The fish is from an obnoxious piece of fabric with fish and mermaids on it...He's better out of his box as well! I have to get some tyvec for the back and finish the edges... tomorrow is my birthday - maybe I'll make a cake!

These little glasses cases originate from my designs in Photoshop. They are printed on fabric, intricately quilted and assembled. Contact me if you are interested in making a purchase. They can be made to order. Currently they are only available for sale through this blog and at The Village Tinker, in Maryville, TN.

The Village Tinker, located at 417 W. Broadway Ave.,

across from the Maryville municipal building.