Wall Art, Small Size - Alphabetical Order

Advanced Machine Quilting Class Sample, 2012, 14" x 20"

I have been experimenting with Zentangles®, which are some rather serious "doodlings" with paper and ink. I decided to try a Zentangle®

with solid black cotton fabric and stitched it with multi-colored Rainbows thread (#813) by Superior Threads  and rayon embroidery thread. This piece was stitched on my Handi Quilter Sweet Sixteen. The Advanced Machine Quilting class I teach is designed for stitching on a home sewing machine, so more of these pieces are forthcoming. Below is the paper and ink "doodle" I drew first. I angled the feathered section differently in the fabric piece, which resulted in extra room in the lower right. So, of course, a butterfly flew in!

The Zentangle® art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is copyrighted. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

 

 

Asian Class Sample #2, 2010, 30" x 30"

I taught a class in 2010 based on Wendy Hill's book, Easy Bias Covered Curves. I chose to make this sample from 100% cotton Asian themed fabrics that were available in the shop where I teach. This piece is for sale.

Bleached Out Ginkgoes, 2010, 16" x 29"

Bleached Out Ginkgoes was made as an experiment in color discharge using household cleaning products. I divided one yard of solid Amish Black 100% cotton fabric into four fat quarters. The ginkgo section was created by laying plastic cut-out shapes of the leaves onto the black fabric and then spraying a water/Chlorox solution over them. The fern leaves were made by stamping the black fabric with Soft Scrub using a foam stamp. The other sections were folded in "tie dye" fashion and immersed in a water/Chlorox solution. After the bleach did it's work, all pieces were rinsed and soaked in a bleach neutralizer to halt the process--an absolute must. The ginkgoes are heavily quilted with a black metallic thread and the background is "bubble" or "pebble" quilted.

Chopsticks, 2008, 12" x 16"

I have taught a series of classes on embellishment and surface design. Chopsticks was made to incorporate techniques of foiling (red section), Shiva paint sticks (gold motif in the black section), attachment of found objects, rice stitch embroidery, scatter beading, and fringing. The chopsticks are bamboo and attached with gold embroidery floss. All fabrics in the piece are commercially printed 100% cotton. 

Don't Ask Me, I'm Stumped, 2009, 25" x 25"

In 2009, I was introduced to Texture Magic by Superior. I sewed a piece of it to a fat quarter of variegated brown batik fabric (18" x 24") and, following the instructions, I shrank the piece 30% each direction. When it was done, it said "stump" to me. So I didn't trim it down or change it in any way. I added the cross-section piece on the top, applique'd it onto a grass printed fabric and then went to town making flowers out of French wired ribbon for a class I was to teach ("The Flowers That Bloom In The Spring, Tra La"). The grasses are a combination of double-fused cotton and yarns heavily stitched with nylon tulle. The butterfly is double-fused Broderie Perse.

 

The name I originally would have like to give this piece is untouchable because of copyright, and no other name would do. So my answer to the question, "what did you call it?" is "Don't Ask Me, I'm Stumped." This piece is for sale.

Double Vision - Learn From The Past, Hope For The Future, 2008, 24" x 24" Studio Craig Photography (quilt is shown against a black background)

The newly formed Sewjourners art quilt group in Sunriver, Oregon challenged ourselves to work in pairs. Each pair would decide on a theme for just the two of them, work separately from one another and complete an art quilt that measured 2' x 2'. So "two people, two quilts, two feet by two feet" caused us to name the challenge "Two By Two". I was paired with Wendy Hill and we chose to continue the "two" theme by calling our pair "Double Vision".

 

After going through some self-evaluation and long talks with my sister, my mind was full of how each of us gets through childhood and becomes the person we are. At the same time I received one of those emails with famous quotes and the gist of one quote was "no matter how good or bad you may perceive your childhood to be, it is over...work with what you have and move on". Using two mirrors to get a side view, I drew my profile, reproduced it facing both directions and hand applique'd it to a solid background. I then used seven different "curlique" stamps to show my hair around the face and did Broderie Perse-style (or "fussy cutting") applique' of floral and leaf fabrics in the hair and around the edges, throwing in a few butterflies here and there. This collage style was explored in workshops I took with Rosemary Eichorn in 2006 and Joyce R. Becker in 2007. Their techniques are different from one another, but I combined aspects of both for this piece. Quilted right above the profiles in gold are the words "learn from the past, hope for the future". The flowers in the hair are memories and experiences that one face uses to look at the past and the other face uses those experiences to encourage hope for the future. All fabrics are 100% commercially produced cotton with heavy machine thread painting in silk, rayon, cotton and metallic threads.

 

The "Two by Two" quilts, 14 in all, were accepted for special exhibit at the 2008 Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California. The exhibit was coordinated by Wendy Hill.

Innocence, 2010, 12" x 18",

While we were living in the United Arab Emirates, we were visited several times by missionary friends who worked in Nairobi, Kenya. After one visit, they sent us a photo of a little girl from one of the villages who had come all dressed up to hear their message. Her facial expression really spoke to me of sweet innocence and yet so many of the children they serve have come to them after winding up on the streets. I kept the photo for many years, wondering what kind of life she may be living now. Eventually, I decided to use the photo in making a class sample for "designing by inspiration" and the use of fabric collage. I scanned the photo, enlarged it, and printed it on silk. I found fabrics that coordinated with the colors in her clothing and then created a small fabric collage over the edge of the photo. The fringes are made with tiger eye stone beads. This little piece was given to Charles and Darlene Coulston, our missionary friends, as a gift in 2011.

Jessica's Dance, 2007, 15" x 18", Photo by Sunriver Photography

The photo, which is the focal point for this piece, was taken of our daughter, Jessica, as part of her senior photo shoot, which was done on our property. She was quite sure her ballet teacher would have a fit if she found out Jessica was out on the water feature in her toe shoes, but it all turned out ok. The photo was scanned and printed on cotton lawn fabric. Before making this quilt, I gave Jessica the Fire Mountain bead catalog and she chose pewter charms that were meaningful to her. All of the charms pertain to different aspects of her life and the text I used was found on a stamp owned by my friend, Kathy. This is a fun project to make as a tribute to someone and I have several of these in various stages of completion as class samples. Jessica's Dance was finished in 2007, but I haven't given it to her yet because I keep using it as a sample for my embellishment and beginning machine quilting classes. One of these days, I'll surprise her with it...if it doesn't wear out first.

Letting Go, 2009, 19" x 35" (piece is mounted on a black background for photo only)

This piece began as a prototype for a much larger piece which is still under construction. I was just trying out different combinations of background fabrics, but then I kept adding things and it started taking on a life of it's own. During that time I dealt with many changes in my life: I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, which meant I had to let go of many foods I liked to eat and then adhere to a strict gluten-free diet for the rest of my life. Only a few months later, my mother-in-law passed away. Other life-changing things occured as well and as I stitched the tight circles in the focal point and then the loose swirls as they left the tight circle, Letting Go seemed like a lesson I needed to learn. I used this piece to really practice a flowing machine quilting stitch using Superior Rainbows, Metallic, and Glitter threads. The swirls are raw-edge applique'd from 100%cotton and organza fabrics. Some of the organiza swirls are bobbin-work outlined with Razzle Dazzle by Superior. I then went a bit nuts in making 57 fringes, all different from one another and in varying lengths. My friend, Kathy, shakes her head that I counted them! The central circle contains a Shisha mirror that is held in place with a beaded cabochon; no glue was used. This piece hangs on a design wall over my computer as a reminder to let things go.