MaggieART - Margaret Hunt

Mixed Media Flowers

2012-01-12T12:23:00.011-05:00

The Flower

My mom's birthday present with the flower...she's going to be 86!!!

Well dear reader surprise surprise...I am posting to my blog...I have been so busy making things and dealing with family like my darling youngest sons wedding that my poor little blog has been languishing on the internet...

Just a wee little pic of the joyous occasion!!

SO here's the quick thing I thought i would post a tutorial on...how to make these fun ribbon roses...

I used a roll of THREE inch WIRED ribbon from Hancocks...bought on sale last year...

First you cut a length of the ribbon in half. I used about a yard of ribbon.

I scalloped the edge of the ribbon...no I did NOT use a pattern...be brave...the worst that can happen is you have to start over!! You could also use a pair of pinking shears to do this with.

Third....gather the ribbon by pulling on the wire. BE CAREFUL NOT to pull the wire out at the other end...ask me how i know...so pull on the other end too!!

The back of the flower

Fourth curl the ribbon up in a tight circle. Wrap the ribbon round and round till you get to the end. You can either sew the center together on the back OR you can glue it OR you can wire it together. ...be CrEaTiVe!!!

A close up of the flower on the present...the leaves are made from a champagne bottle wrapper!

Not enough contrast with this flower...hard to take a pic of!!

A tissue paper flower with a center of cheese cloth...leaves are made from a tea wrapper.

But you can also use cheese cloth and tissue paper....you just use a wire or thread to hold the gathers...like those kleenex flowers we all made as kids!!

This is the tag tree I had up for Christmas. My friend Ille started my tags...and I adore them. She also has helped several of us make more...See the Seven Gypsies Blog for how to make these tags...they are ALOT of fun but oh so labor intensive!!

I made about 7 or 8 of them now including this one...with the ribbon rose!!

Quilt provenance or what i learned

2011-08-15T09:52:00.006-04:00

at the Antiques Road Show. Ille and I went to Roadshow when it visited Atlanta recently...it was a blast even though our feet hurt and our stuff was NOT well shall i say going to pay for our retirement...hmm it wouldn't even pay for our gas lol

Great great grandfather's NOT confederate money that we were to keep FOREVER because the Sawth would rise again...did i say some kind of premium from cereal or bread or uh well you fill in the blank....old but NOT valuable

and these "nickels" uh dare i say a page out of an old ration book?? ALSO NOT valuable...

we got to sit with the appraisers as "appraisers" right at the end of filming...all the crowds had gone and Ille was making a beeline for an antique Marie Antoinette style dress silk brocade they were stuffing with tissue and getting ready to film...the director asked her to go sit down and be an "appraiser" and when i tried to follow saying I am with her aka Ille...the director said go sit at the table too:> ...that was probably the highlight of our time there...

we talked to a very nice appraiser named Matthew...the other appraisers were picking on him about his purple checked shirt and bright light blue tie... did you know they wear "costumes" aka "their looks" for the show...the poster guy was there in 100 degree heat in a three piece purple plaid wool suit...sounds worse than it was ...the toy guy ALWAYS wears a mickey mouse tie...Matthew's look is this purple gingham checked shirt and electric blue tie

we had had a big conversation about provenance in the print line with the people ahead of us...the lady had bought a basket from a famous basket maker on SapeloIsland down by Savannah but because of all the Chinese basket imports that look quite similar the only way hers will ever be valuable is if she has paperwork of some kind on the basket- like the check she bought it with...She bought it 20 years ago so HOW will she EVER do that...and the basket maker is dead so he can not give her a letter saying YES that is my basket signed Charles Green

I asked our new BFF Matthew about the provenance of our quilts since there are also a lot of Chinese quilts...

you and i, dear reader, know the difference but do other people like appraisers somewhere in the future of Antiques Road Show know the difference??...

Evidently those much touted labels that quilters are so fond of saying you MUST do will NOT do...To quote our new friend Matthew "anyone can take a pen and sign it" aka those annoying labels...Matthew said programs from quilt shows and of course pictures would provide provenance and i thought FAT chance i will document my quilts like that or that my kids would not throw out all those valuable papers when i am gone and they are cleaning out this river house.

Now I LOVE to quilt my name into a quilt and sometimes the date and SOMETIMES even the place like Augusta GA...I just think its fun and I LOVE to "write" on a quilt when i quilt it.

I asked him would quilting your name into the quilting work ...and he said yes...one problem solved lol!!!

So from now one...save yourself all that paperwork trouble and just learn to quilt your name into your quilt. I would think that IF you must use a label, add it to the back BEFORE you quilt it so that the dreaded label is quilted into the quilt.

SO which is your favorite???

2011-07-29T18:10:00.005-04:00

Hmm WHY do i always begin my posts with SO...I can hear my 7 & 8th grade English teacher Miss Parrish..Redundant Redundant!! Dead WOOD...oh well

I printed four of this picture and cut it up to get the next quilt pic...I started the center star and corner starsr two years ago...and thought it was about time to knock out the top....the small LeMoynes have also been done about that long....

OH funny Story....my niece Clara saw me sewing on the small stars...They were piled HIGH on the coffee table. She has a small lunch box that i had given her...when she got home she also had some of the stars...well ALOT of the stars...her mom asked her WHAT was she doing..she said she had to sew:> H0pe she didn't get into too much trouble!!

Here's the thing....I want you to vote...which is your favorite??? The big lonestar is sewn together as are most of the insets HOWEVER if i go with ONE i will
have to make a few more of those small 6" le moyne stars...about hmm 14 or so more...or I can just make 14 half stars and I should have enough to go around the corner lonestars....

The Center!

I think i like the this one best BUT...I made this pic by literally cutting and pasting a printed picture together....the colors are off...BUT you get the idea!! Its actually MUCH brighter like the first two pics..

there are a couple of other versions...sorry the pics are not better...the cat showed up to play in the blocks when i spread them on the living room floor...oopsey!!

this one has the corner stars sashed...and blue insets for the smaller stars...

this one is hmm its the one i cut up to make # 1...lol...no voting for this one. this is actually closer to the real colors...

BYTW this will finish out with two borders at about 110 inches give or take an inch or two...the back is on order from hancocks paducah...should be here by the time i get it done so i can zoom zoom zoom and quilt it!!

An Awesome Quilt in 50 Simple Steps

2011-07-04T12:05:00.003-04:00

Sort of the way i feel about this quilt...there will be three of them i cut out so many pieces trying to get the "right" color...two yellow ones and one limey green one...the other yellow top is pieced and waiting to be quilted....green one still in pieces...

Here it is:

While working your way through junior college by clerking at a local fabric shop, make 42 misguided and misshapen rail fence blocks from mystery fabrics.
When in college, realize you have no time for quilting and give away all 42 blocks plus all quilting materials and supplies to friend of mother.
Seventeen years later, decide to take up quilting again and purchase 58 plaid shirts at local thrift shop. Store in basement.
A year after that, really decide to take up quilting again and track down lady with rail fence blocks. Get them back. Store in basement.
A year after that, really really decide to take up quilting again. Start putting blocks together.
A few days later, realizing that something needs to cut the '80's calicoes, start cutting up thrifted shirts in a blind frenzy. Add to blocks.
Lacking any design space, thumbtack flannel to a bookcase, rendering all books unuseable for the next three months.
Go fabric shopping in the dead of winter. Fall in love with a great Kaffe Fasset and decide that must be the backing for the quilt. Buy exactly 18" too little fabric.
Go back to fabric store, still while in the dead of winter. While buying an additional 3 yards of Kaffe Fasset to compensate for the 18" shortage, decide to add some other bright colors to cheer the quilt up. Add to ever-growing pile of mish-mashed blocks.
When quilt is exactly too big to be a lap quilt and too small to be a bed quilt, decide you can't piece another &(*%$%$(@!! rail fence block if your life depended on it and declare the quilt finished. Finito. Done. Forever.
Decide to machine quilt on home machine. Waste 5 2/3 hours on Internet looking for good advice on how to prep a quilt for home machine quilting. Realize equipment is needed.
Go to fabric store. Buy five dozen celebrity-branded special basting safety pins, size 2.
Move heaven, earth and all the furniture in your studio to lay the backing, batting and top out on the floor to try and pin the quilt together. Crawl around on the floor for four hours pinning quilt together with pins about 10" apart. Fold quilt up and restore studio to natural state.
Ignore quilt for holidays.
Make New Year's Resolution to finish quilt. Unfold quilt. Look skeptically at pins, which are about 10" apart.
Waste 3 7/8 hours on Internet trying to find more information about bin basting.
Go to fabric store. Find and buy book on machine quilting.
Come home. Read book. Realize that current pinning strategy is completely inadequate and will result in horrible quilt disaster.
Go to fabric store. Waste 3/4 of an hour trying to decide if you want to pay a premium for bent basting pins or will be happy with regular. Buy 500 regular brass safety pins, size 0. On clearance.
Spend 14 1/2 hours over two days unpinning and repinning 1/10 of the quilt. Stop due to extreme muscle fatigue and a completely wrecked manicure.
Waste 1 1/3 hours on Internet looking for advice on pinning.
Go to fabric store. Ask for Kwik Klip. Endure arched eyebrows and disbelief from teenage clerk. Leave empty handed.
Repeat.
Repeat.
Make the long trek to the big store across town. Buy Kwik Klip.
Spend 27 2/3 hours over next week unpinning and repinning 9/10 of quilt. Decide you will wing it on the last 1/10 because if you ever touch another safety pin you will take a life.
Contemplate shoving the seemingly 50 yards of fabric through your tiny home machine for quilting. Decide to work on it next week when you've had time to regroup.
Shove quilt in corner. Ignore it's reproachful looks.
Two weeks later, tired of looking at sad, unfinished quilt, shove it in project box under work table.
Three months later, in a post-fabric-splurge euphoria, sign up for a long-arm quilting session. Prepay fee. Mark the calendar with the long arm class, two weeks out, with four asterisks and a note about the 24-hour cancellation policy.
Twelve hours before long arm session, remember that you have to have a quilt top to sew for the class project.
Spend 14 1/2 minutes deciding whether or not to eat the session fee.
Spend 37 1/8 minutes speed piecing a new quilt you're more excited about. Give this up at 10:00 p.m. as futile.
Remember the rail fence top, still pinned and folded in the project box. Get it out. Unpin it and fold.
Watch prerecorded season finale of Dancing With The Stars.
At 11:00 p.m., go back to studio. Look again at quit top. Realize that it's exactly too big to be a lap quilt and too small to be a twin. Decide you really want a twin-size quilt.
Take top up to bedroom to measure. Wake up toddler who only wants Hubby to go back to sleep. Alienate Hubby.
Return to studio and cut quilt top into strips, forever ruining any chance of an easy solution to the impending long arm session.
Realize that you don't have enough of the the fabric you were intending to insert. Reconfigure plan to include multiple fabrics.
Get halfway done and fall asleep at sewing machine at 1:30 a.m. Decide to get up early and finish before the 9:30 a.m. session.
Wake up at 8:35 a.m.. Slap the rest of the pieces together without regard for straight seams, even sewing or frankly, anything approaching craftsmanship at all.
Realize the backing also has to be extended. Carefully measure and rip (no time to cut) a swath of fabric to insert in the back.
Realize this fabric is polyester when it melts instantly into brand-new iron.
Grab the only piece fabric even remotely in the same color family with enough yardage left on the shelf, a home dec fabric. Eyeball, rip and insert into backing.
Press with old iron.
Race out of the house at 9:35 a.m.
Stumble into long arm session to find that quilt shop owner is sick and wouldn't have known if you missed it anyway.
In a stunning display of bullheadedness, spend two hours loading quilt top into machine and one hour waiting for technician to fix bobbin case.
Quilt. For three hours.
Stumble home with a mix of complete victory for having completed this task, pain from the giant muscle spasm that you idealistically call your back and that sinking feeling as you realize the quilt still isn't all the way finished.

And voila! One cool, fun, scrappy quilt!

Wasn't that simple?

How I built a house- a minitutorial Part I or

2011-06-25T09:23:00.023-04:00

The finished house block 28" square
...now for the thread painting!!

If you can trace you can make one of these house blocks of any house you chose!

The Birthday quilt saga continues!! I have been working on the center of Connie's birthday quilt. It will be a 28" square finished center medallion surrounded by blocks her friends made for her fiftieth birthday.

THE PICTURE
BYTW you can take artistic license...
this was a winter picture...trees were bare....
so alot came from our imagination and we all agreed to chop down that big pine!!

I started with a picture of her house. Sometime that afternoon I got the brilliant idea that it was easier to blow it up into a poster and trace it than it would be to have draw all that two point perspective correctly.

So I posterized it in Picasa, a free photo editing program from Google. I printed it out and took it to our quilt miniretreat along with several bags of fabric. At retreat Margaret Wesley joined me and we taped the picture together...

The poster

Just part of the fabric heap..there are two more HUGE bags already back in the sewing room

The Pattern

The other Margaret and I taped it to the window and traced it...BIG mistake...we should have traced it on tracing paper. So much easier to see through than the roll of white paper from Sams!

Once the pattern was made, Connie and I chose the background fabrics and she sewed them together...a hand dyed sky and a lovely sunflower green batik for the ground. Next came the colors of the house - a shibori grey and khaki for the khaki top of the house...we thought it would look like shadows on the khaki top and a green striped batik for the bottom.

To make the house it was traced onto fusible from the pattern. I don't know about you but I always have to think long and hard about which way to trace it. So annoying to get the fused pieces backwards. I would rather glue them down with Roxanne's glue baste it.

The house fused onto the background!

So 8 hours later with the help of Margaret and some help from Sue cutting and fusing...this is what it looked like by Saturday afternoon...building a house takes time!:>

I DO wish I had NOT fused it when I was tired because if you put a grid on the house some of the fused pieces TWITCHED out of alignment. VERY annoying...if they were glued I could pull them up and place them more precisely which is important when it comes to perspective!

Margaret W took off with it to ink in the "rafters" along the roof lines and paint the red stripe across the front of the eaves and the porch. The other stripe on the right is fused. She also inked the porch. I think it took her most of Sunday Monday and Tuesday to do it. She also made a new pattern on vellum so she could see better...then she started adding the background trees.

Thursday and Friday she came over to my house and we started working on the rest of the trees, the yard, the people and the cat.

To make the cat, Margaret W traced one of my sketches of my cat Tom, tracing and coloring him on a piece of white fused fabric.

And this is what she came up with...Connie's seal point siamese!!
Once again tracing was easier than having to start from scratch!

She peopled the porches with Connie's family while I landscaped the yard.

This is what it actually looked like...it has to be squared up at some point!
I thought you might like to see that it is NOT square or neat on the edges! We will leave it to the queen of squaring up to do that....Ille Waters!!

About 9pm Thursday nite I decided one of the porch columns was leaning...the third from left...and i ripped it loose...much happier with the new STRAIGHTER column...Roxanne's glue baste it would have made the rearranging the schlonchindicular house parts SO MUCH easier...bytw that's Charleston for crooked!

As far as we got on Thursday....

ABOUT 60 hours later

We spent 8 more hours on Friday finishing the foreground trees and the yard...wondering how long I spent cutting out fern fronds and flowers??! We also cut MANY more leaves for the foreground trees...I really think they gave depth to the project. Now for the thread painting!!
...now for the thread painting!!
Thank goodness Margaret W wants to work on that too!!

A CHALLENGE!!

Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art or Ware's Folly - the original name
built in 1812

BYTW we are having a challenge...Margaret and I who have TWO widely divergent styles are both going to do one of the old buildings in downtown Augusta...I am thinking the Gertrude Herbert so perhaps we can approach the Art Museum Director to do a show with our creations. AND YES you too can play if you want!! I think it would be great fun...either Margaret or I will go downtown and take a pic to share after we decide on the building. Or maybe a better idea would be to let each person do their own landmark?? Call me Willow I am flexible and open to your ideas!

Watercolor Portraits

2011-06-16T10:33:00.008-04:00

Dear Bella

Doing watercolor portraits of dogs and cats for $50 for an 8x10 if you are interested....and working on sharpening my watercolor skills...

Our family LOVES pets especially dogs but also cats...at last count we had just my sons and i have SEVEN dogs and at least one cat...we have a hard time having just one pet because we are continually taking in strays which is how I got both Bella and my cat Tom!

I am going to put copies of these at my vet's to try to get some commissions doing pet portraits...i DO love to paint and draw cats and dogs!

Dear Lucy

This is the portrait of a dear friend's dear Parti color cocker Lucy! I don't think Lucy was really happy about Elaine taking her picture but I DO love how this turned out...and even more important so does Elaine...and i have gotten TWO commissions to do more pets from friends.

Jazzy

Jazz ready to spring into action...hard to believe she's now FIFTEEN years old...our Jack Russell darling Jazzy!

Sunflowers
$50

Really like how this one turned out!!

Pansies
$50
I was trying a new technique on this one... my friend Marsha likes it alot...so you know everyone

June is birthday month

2011-06-08T11:13:00.004-04:00

Ashley at Edisto

And have been painting birthday presents for my two sons Ben and Drew who are both having birthdays this month. The paintings are based on pictures i took of Ashley and LeeAnne their girlfriends while we were at Edisto last summer.

Lee Anne Reading on Edisto Beach

Probably everyone's favorite pursuit down on the beach after shark tooth hunting. Edisto is a fossiliferous beach and at times we have found 1000 sharks teeth in a day as well as bits of turtle shell, barricuda barbs and parrot fish mouth plates and a few fossil mammal teeth and bones.

OCAF Members show

2011-06-04T10:53:00.014-04:00

These two were prominently displayed on the wall opposite the double door entry into the gallery...well lit...needless to say I was pleased!!

Last nite another adventure! I seem to have an adventure at least once a week...My friend Meredith McPherson and I went to the Members Show at the OCAF in Watkinsville GA...GREAT Show...we both had art work in the show...There were also quite a few pieces of fiber art and three or four pieces of literature hanging alongside the traditional stuff...quite an interesting show...it will be up till June 30 so if you are over Athens GA way...try to attend..there's no charge.

Meredith and "One"
- this is chinese calligraphy - Chinese style inkwork on rice paper-0ne stroke NO touch ups...
Meredith is a master at this form of artwork...to see more of her work click here

ALL THREE of mine were accepted and Meredith's Great ONE painting. Meredith was counting and though everyone could put in three pieces of art she said I was the only one that had three...I do think the two large paintings are by the same person so its hard to tell..no program so we could not verify it...

Self Portrait

The smaller gallery has a show by Jonathan Jacquet a UGA professor who does wonderful though slightly sinister and VERY dark oil paintings featuring himself, his wife and his children-portraits with alot of interiors of a house. Huge paintings with details worthy of a Vermeer. He suffers from a disease called AVM and alot of his artwork concerns his dealing with this EYE disease. He would appear to be blind in one eye.

This is a link to Jonathans Flicker page with most of the paintings in his show.

My Box...
looked pretty cool among the rest of the ceramics and small works

I would like to apologize for the pictures...i forgot my "real" camera and sometimes my poor little LG cell phone just does NOT like to take pictures especially if there is sun streaming thru the windows like the wonderful large gallery at the OCAF. I did try to edit them in picnik but some just could not be cleared up....I also did not get the names of the artists...there was no program or if there was we missed it!!

This is a digital photo of the H1N1 virus...really a wonderful image...sorry the camera was NOT happier!!

Historically Connected
A Triptych and quite large

Tooth Fairy Harvest - A Nights Work
Sylvia Dawe
So cunning

Mixed Media- This artist name is I think Clements and will be the next featured artist in the smaller gallery

Detail of the following rug...
I liked the way they used the plaid wools to add color to this simple pattern

The rug... terrible picture...detail above is better....$400 and its yours...its quite large...about 8' long 3-4' wide

Loved this very large painting...a country corner before Publixs arrived to take it out

I think this artist's two paintings were my favorite oils in the show...loved the immediacy of his strokes...and of course i should have gotten his name but did i? NOPE!

Small hand dyed shibori and hand painted fabric art quilt...this is what all the pictures looked like before i picniked them.

A tiny art quilt...field of hay in front of woods...sorry i didnt get a better pic...i really liked this one!

Ditto on this one...terrible picture...the sun was flooding the end of the room where these were taken making it quite difficult to get good pics with my cell phone...bet i check for my camera next time!

Thread painted nude...quite tiny...pretty cool....

Huge painting of a cowboy on a bucking bronco between TWO windows...colors are off but its such a neat painting with all its stained glass like small details.

Diamond HIll Mine Adventures!

2011-05-29T10:28:00.019-04:00

Margaret Wesley hauling the last of her loot to the car before we left...
call us tired and DIRTY!!

I know i have been neglecting my blog for the last year or so...its now almost 6 years old...another OMG moment...who would have thought i would blog at all let alone for 6 years...yesterday i was considering WHY I don't post as much as i used to...and it came to me...I am too busy doing and having a life to write about it all the time...Lately it seems like there is something more interesting to do than blog like....

Saturday my friend the other Margaret hauled me off at 6 am in the morning to Diamond Hills Mine in Antreville SC 100 miles north of here to dig for amethyst crystals with the rest of the Augusta Rock and Mineral Club... it seemed it would involve two of my NOT favorite things...digging and sweating in the HoT summer SuN!! I don't like to sweat....lol...but I thought why not i can always sit in the shade and read or draw while Margaret Wesley digs and sweats in the sun!! the high was predicted to be 88 sunny degrees OUCH drip drip...but i sat in the driveway on my now antique cooler of Dasani water in biodegradeable bottles waiting for her...yearning for my nice AC cooled house...and perhaps to be sewing on that quilt on the design wall upstairs...

By 9 am we were looking at these HUGE dirt pits...it was full of pieces of rocks called Drewsies...small quartz crystal covering everything from small rocks to boulders...NO amethyst in site...UNTIL along came one of the owners Brian who started talking to us about what we could find and where to look ...and how several people had dug up huge crystals within minutes of their arrival in the last couple of weeks...one young boy found a $2000 double pointed crystal almost a foot long inches under the ground...on the OTHER side of the huge hole we had been digging around on...

To quote Brian on his ebay store page:

"The Diamond Hill prospect is located in upper part of South Carolina. Over millions of years, erosion has occured to the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains which is one of the oldest mountain chains in the world. This has exposed a small 3 acre spot full of some of the widest variety quartz crystals in the world, known as Diamond Hill! Some of the best Amethyst, Smokey, Skeletal(Elestial), Angle Plated, Iron & Manganese Oxide coated, Aura, and other crystals are found here! Other rare minerals have also been recovered! Since this is such a small area(3 acres), there is only a very limited supply of material left!"

What you can find!

This young man did an awsome job finding amethyst crytsals yesterday putting the grown ups to shame.

Under Brian's tutelage off we hiked around the huge pit...he showed us how to use a potato fork to dig the soft dirt, and sure enough with his help we started t0 find some smaller crystals within a half an hour or so...another nice club member showed us how to search that we dug up for the crystals...combined with my previous shark tooth hunting at Edisto I found quite a few amethysts in my 'claim.'

Here are some of them. They don't look like much right now BUT they have to be soaked clean in super iron wash to get them purple instead of the yellowy haze on the crystals. They will look more like this when they are cleaned and you too can have one by buying one from Brian's ebay store.

I learned all kinds of new vocabulary like skeletal quartz which is what these are...I picked the one on the left up off the ground...remember these still need to be soaked clean.

And i learned the term Drewsies...

kept calling it dritzies till i realized it was my youngest son's name Drew...too much dirt in the brain...Drewies are the smaller crystals that are frequently given away to kids at rock shows...but they can be quite glittery and pretty...

Margaret with her stack of leavrites...another new word aka leave it right where you got it:> because it's not anything you would want to carry!

Here's a new rule learned yesterday...fall forward NOT backwards..backwards would take you tumbling down the rock studded hill side into the very DEEP pit...it was at least a 20 foot deep pit.

More shots of the prospectors!!

Margaret stacking up the leavrites and drewsies!

Another shot of the Diamond Hill pits!

There were three of these deep pits. People were all over them earlier in the morning! I wish I had gotten a picture of this lady and her husband who found a HUGE rock studded with Amethyst crystals in less than ten minutes of her arrival..it was so big it took two hands to hold and was worth at least $1000....she was dressed in white shoes and white pants as if she was going out for a Saturday stroll with her husband. As we three sat on our hill of dirt eating our lunch covered from head to toe with dirt and dust, we laughed and told her that soon she would look like us and her pants would be a lovely SC clay red!:>

The Diamond Hill outhouse...
looks more charming than it was!!

A Shot of my Amethsyts crystals in some of the mud from the rain on Th and Friday.

On the way home we stopped at Scwartzentruber Mennonite Bakery between Abbeville and McCormick ...and yes we were covered in dirt...the owner was so sweet and her offerings were of course yummilicous as Mennonite bakeries always are. She had all kinds of questions of us "worldly" people as Mennonites call NON Mennonites...what had we been doing and tired though i was I hiked out to the car and brought in my pile of amethyst crystals. I mean afterall she let us in her store barefooted and dusty from head to toe back and front!! What a woman!

Note to self for next trip to Diamond Hill:
Take a shovel and a potato rake
trowels or other small digging implements
Gloves a necessity
Sunblock and a wide brimmed straw hat
Bug repellant
Oldest Shoes
Oldest rattiest clothes
Boxes or Bags to hold the loot!
Or A 5 gallon bucket.
A hand truck could be useful
LOTS of water
and DUH LUNCH...there's no where to eat for miles and thank goodness Margaret W brought some lunch which she shared with Wayne Parker and I.

And bytw all that dirt DID wash off my $100 sneakers, my $26 levis and my fav old hand painted shirt that i paid $20 for back in 1990 or so!

An excellent nite's sleep from a day out digging in the dirt and the fresh air and sunshine! All's well that ends well right?!

Oh my gosh

2011-05-29T10:23:00.006-04:00

click on the pic to see it upclose and personal!

look at what Delores Hamilton sent me...it is TOO cool...Steampunk Jewelry....I AdORe it!! I displayed it on one of my hand paints that I hope to be putting up on my blog for sale....my hand
dyes and hand paints runneth over...I think i love to paint them and dye them best!!

A Group Show is hung

2011-05-22T15:50:00.011-04:00

Be Careful, Boys!
Margaret Hunt
Jeffery Callaham
$4500

Big things are happening with the Art Guild of Columbia County...news coming shortly...in the meantime we have taken back over the Gallery space in the the Columbia County Library Atrium.

Beaches
Margaret Hunt
$150

With less than 24 hours notice we hung a group show in this very large space. We includes Meredith McPherson, Cyndy Epps , Nancy Cannon, Wayne Parker and myself.

Cyndys' and my art work combined in one of the big cases really set each other off well, I think!
The work in this case includes acrylic on canvas by Cyndy, Mixed Media Collages and plexi paintings by Margaret. Prices range from $150 - 185.

Meredith McPherson's wonderful Calligraphy Artworks - $500
More can be seen at her website Voice of Flying Ink

Hunting Island Lighthouse
Margaret Hunt
$150

A group of watercolors by Margaret Hunt and Nancy Cannon
$150 - 185

Coral Reef
Margaret Hunt

The Andrea Wilson Gallery

2011-05-05T09:55:00.014-04:00

The Andrea Wilson Gallery

I am so excited...Andrea Wilson invited me to be a member of her gallery - I met her when I started asking her questions about some art quilts she is selling in her gallery. We got into quite the art discussions over the next three four days before I had to leave.

The Andrea Wilson Gallery
725 Buckhorn Road

Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Phone: 865-325-8146

--located in Hemlock Village beside the G. Webb Gallery & Highland Craft Gallery at the corner of Glades Road and Buckhorn Road on the Great Smoky Arts & Crafts Loop off Hwy 321. Stop by if you are in the Gatlinburg area.

Andrea with some of my art work!

Andrea represents many members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild so I am in prestigious company. She has also won many awards for her beautiful botanical watercolors and etchings. In addition she has taught at Arrowmont as well as a classes for the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Gatlinburg and the Great Smokies National Park.

Andrea's etchings and watercolors are in this corner. I LOVE them both!

My favorite etching Shortia Glacifolia won the Award for Drawing and Prints at the Thirteenth Annual International Juried Artists Exhibit by the American Society of Botanical Artists and Horticultural Society of New York in September 2010.

Hand painted furniture, hand knits and watercolors!

I have been in her gallery at least three times now and am amazed at the variety of outstanding work she has in the small space. Click on the pictures to see the work better....she does mail order!!

And don't forget to check out the incredible antique crazy quilt under her desk. The woman was QUITE an embroiderer. Its a lovely crazy quilt.

Jewelry and some wonderful black and white ink paintings of cats by another Hunt!

Art Quilts on this wall...click on the pic to see!

An eclectic mix of wonderful artwork!

The Andrea Wilson Gallery

9/11 :Without Malice - America from the Heart

2011-05-02T18:48:00.009-04:00

Without Malice

An appropriate quote for today from a young friend now a PhD who was just starting college when this happened...it rocked our world! Thanks for the quote Melinda!

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

After the tragedy of 9/11 Karey Bresnehan asked for quilters to make quilts for an exhibition to be called America from the Heart about what this tragedy meant to them. We had about a month to make them and send them to Houston where they were displayed at International Quilt Festival.

I was repeatedly impressed, thrilled with the valiant display of American flags waving merrily everywhere you looked, from flag poles, draping buildings, on cars....bravely flying despite the tragedy so I chose our flag for my quilt.

This is painted, thread painted and hand lettered with a quote from Abraham Lincoln from which the name was taken. It also won a First Place in the Quilters of South Carolina State show in miniatures and toured the country with the other quilts from the exhibit America from the Heart which is also a book filled with pictures of these poignant quilts. Click on LOOK INSIDE and search for Margaret Hunt if you want to see it in the book...better yet buy a copy...ten year old book going cheap:> and there are some terrific quilts in it!!

Today seemed to be an appropriate day to again fly the flag on the blog. Perhaps this war that has dragged on and on will now come to an end....we will remember the sacrifice of all that died on 9/11 and those who have died in the war since. Thanks for all they have done and continue to do.

BYTW You can see Ann Flaherty's here .

You can also see Maria Elkins here .

Now WHERE is my copy of the book...I know it's here somewhere!!

A HaPpY Birthday To Linda

2011-04-18T22:19:00.006-04:00

Linda's needleturned miniature Sunbonnet Sue quilt.

Today we celebrated Linda's birthday...covered dish...everyone enjoyed Rocking on the River...back porch was a popular spot for dining...the island was loaded with fabulous foods...I think Shelvy and Marie are still out there in the rocking chairs:>

Linda is famous for these tiny needle turned Sunbonnet Sue quilts...smaller than a piece of paper...so charming that she sells for $50. She also makes double wedding rings ...same price....so Connie decided that we should all do Sunbonnet Sue blocks for her...

My Sunbonnet Sue block for Linda's birthday quilt.

while i did do a block for her I decided that I needed to do a Sunbonnet Sue CAT birthday cake for the party. Did i say Linda LOVES kitties???

I made 2 9" cakes ....box cake...slather it with butter cream frosting especially chocolate and it walks off the table at any covered dish...but this one...I thought about all those ET, trains, bunnies, christmas trees, the state of California and hmm flag cakes that i cut out of sheet cakes or round cakes.

I cut the hat out of one 9" cake and the dress out of the other one. Then I cut the other pieces out of the remainders. Mixed a very large batch of buttercream frosting. Did i say I LOVE my kitchen aide mixer?? And slathered them all together...I do wish i had bought coconut for fur...a white fluffy furry kitty cat would have been cute...oh well next cake, right?

Darling neede turned applique block by Rachel Watson

So you are wondering what does this have to do with Sunbonnet Sue cakes and quilts? well its a birthday block for Connie's birthday quilt...one of hmm four is it we are working on right now...I think we have finally done more birthday quilts than are left to be done Hallelujah!!

Another good post from Christine Kane

2011-04-13T08:36:00.003-04:00

Have you signed up for her newsletter yet?
Overcoming Overwhelm: 5 Secrets to Peaceful Productivity

by Christine Kane

Overwhelm is one of the toughest things my clients face.

No surprise, of course.

The people I work with - whether they're in my Platinum Mastermind, or my Uplevel Your Business Program, or at one of my retreats - tend to have one thing in common:

They're creative types with lots of great ideas and a deep desire to be of service in the world. (If you're reading this, you're probably that kind of person, too.)

Creative types are often challenged by the practical day-to-day stuff of life. To-do's, organization, finances, getting things done. NONE of this comes easy! Overwhelm becomes a way of life.

Only problem is this:

Overwhelm leaves you emotionally drained, constantly feeling like you'll never quite catch up.

As a creative person, you might have to accept that you'll be overwhelmed on a regular basis, but you can also take a few practical steps to overcome overwhelm. Here are five secrets I've learned along the way that have helped me get back on purpose in my daily life.

1 - Get out of the weeds

If you've ever waitressed, then you know what it means to be "in the weeds." So much is happening so fast that you can't even pause to regroup.

Many of us live our whole lives like this! We wake up and just start reacting.

If this is you, then it's time to get out of the weeds and into the habit of something I call Self-Summits.

A Self-Summit is a weekly 30-minute practice - Sunday's are perfect! - during which you connect with your intentions, remind yourself of your goals, and get clear on your priorities. You look at the week ahead and:
List your top three priorities (not your 57 to-do's!) for the week.
Get clear on upcoming appointments.
Schedule your work-out time, your writing time, your downtime, etc.
This one practice does wonders for keeping you on track. Even if your week doesn't work out exactly as planned, this is better than not having any plan at all!

2 - Project vs. Task

Is this your to-do list? -->

"Re-paint house. Create website. Write book. Eat healthy."

If so, then it's time to discern between a project and a task. A project is something big...like a website. It looms like a monolith on your to-do list, with its own foreboding theme song that plays every time you glance at it.

A task, on the other hand, is something you can actually complete. Like, "Write bio." Or "Call Photographer."

Learn to break down your projects into tasks during your Self-Summits, and you'll reduce your overwhelm by at least 75%!

3 - Experience Completion

I often make my clients set their weekly goals so small that they laugh at me. I do this because most of the creatives I work with have never allowed themselves the bold luxury of simply experiencing completion.

When you experience completion, then you can maintain your motivation. When you are always running to keep up with your 73-item to-do list, then you are prone to overwhelm and burn out. Make your goals and your to-do list small so that you can revel in getting complete!

Think of completion as an essential vitamin that makes you immune to overwhelm!

4 - Set the Timer

This will sound so simple and stupid that you'll think, "Yea, yea yea. Got it. A timer. Duh."

But hear me out!

Let's say you've scheduled 2 hours to write Chapter 4 of your book. Set the timer for 55 minutes, and write. Don't go one minute over or under. Take a five-minute break. Then set your timer for another 55 minutes.

When the clock is running, you won't be as tempted to go downstairs to put the clothes in the dryer, or see if the mail has arrived. It's an effective mind game that keeps your butt in the chair and your focus on the task. Even my most skeptical clients have become believers in the timer.

5 - Eliminate All-Or-Nothing Thinking

Many creatives see only two options:

Either be fun-loving, chaotic, creative and spontaneous...

OR

Be a totally boring robot who never experiences love or joy.

This is called All-or-Nothing Thinking. It is also a "Limiting Belief." It is downright untrue and even destructive, and it will keep you playing catch-up forever!

The trick to overcoming overwhelm is to play with these new habits. Tweak them so they work for YOU. Many people use all-or-nothing thinking as an excuse for not even trying. They give up on themselves way too quickly.

Don't expect to be perfect when you first start digging out of overwhelm. But DO expect yourself to keep practicing these habits.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.
WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?

See Christine's blog at ChristineKane.com/blog.

OCAF student show

2011-04-12T21:56:00.010-04:00

These two group art projects were my favorites!

DOUBLE CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM HUGE...as in click ONCE click TWICE!!

Meredith and I went to the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation a few weeks back to drop off her painting which had been excepted in their spring juried show, Southworks. There was some awesome student artwork on display in the gallery. Here are pics of some of the art work....rally some amazing stuff..it seems like an art teacher makes the difference in the quality of the student work.

Glue and chalk - second grader

A kindergartner ..pretty good huh?

Tempura paint blown thru a straw -second grader

Animals of one sort or another...birds i mean! Second grade, clay and tempura

A shot across the gallery

A shot across the gallery 90 degrees from the last one!

Prints and ink - Kindergarten

Intrepretations of American Gothic - Seventh, Eighth grade

Crayon and watercolor paint - third grade

Inside wall of gallery

The MaD HaTtEr'S HaT, a stack of TeaCuPs and the book AlIcE in WoNdErLaND:>

7 Telltale Signs It's Time to Get Over Yourself and Get Support

2011-04-06T08:59:00.001-04:00

A wild quilt kit bought at Intown Quilters...ez large throw of Terry Mangat's Bees Knees fabrics...i sewed it up in an afternoon...now i dont have a back..and the back fabric is all the way in Decatur at Intown...sigh...well its got to go to the closet till i find a reasonably priced back right?? No point in spending a fortune on a quilt that i will either give away or sell...just wanted something to MINDLESSLY sew!!

Sorry for the terrible picture...hard to take one with the sun streaming in those triple sliding glass doors in the den...maybe a better pic soon...anyway i just wanted to put some eye candy on the article i am posting by Christine Kane...she does have a point...

HIRE HELP = MORE ART TIME:>

Great thoughts from the coach singing guru - Christine Kane

Way back when I had a lawn, I used to mow it myself. I was a tried-and-true DIY gal. I prided myself on it.

Only problem?

I freakin' couldn't stand mowing the lawn. I dreaded it all week. Even though I was happy once it was finished, I started dreading it again the very next day!

At that time, I was starting to uplevel my life and business. I began seeing my time differently. I realized that the simple act of writing a song like "Right Outta Nowhere" could pay me - in the long run - WAY more than the money I saved by mowing my own lawn.

In other words, I learned how to value my work. I learned to act on that value. Was it scary? Yes. But when I finally hired someone to mow my lawn every week, I learned all about success and the value of my time. In other words, I got over myself and my fear of lack.

These days I've taken it to a much bigger level, and I have a full-time team working for me.

I now teach my clients new ways of valuing their time as they expand into more success in their own lives. They always end up realizing the ROI (Return On Investment) of getting help!

Here are 7 telltale signs that it might be time for you to get some support, too...

1 - You don't have enough time to do the thing you're best at.

What are you good at? What do you want to be good at? How much time do you actually spend doing that thing?

If you're running around getting menial tasks done - and you have no time to pursue your passion, or engage in your high-pay-off, high-delight activities - then ask yourself why.

Even if you let go of one item (like cleaning your house) you're telling the Universe the value of your time. (And you know what? The Universe always says Yes.)

2 - You resent people who don't struggle.

This is a big one.

If you hold resentment for people who live life with joy, ease and success, this could be a sign that you are waiting for rescue. That just leads to more struggle.

Only YOU are in charge of whether or not you struggle. Rescue yourself and learn what true empowerment feels like.

3 - You're worried about the economy.

Waiting for the economy to get better before you'll hire someone? Why not become a part of the solution and use your money to improve the economy?

While everyone else is pulling back and firing people - you can experience what it's like to be the change you wish to see in the world!

4 - No one can do it as good as you

If you just shouted "Amen Sister!" - then please step away from your computer. Go to the bathroom mirror. Look into your eyes and say the following aloud:

"I have a bit of a control issue."

The belief that no one can do it better than you serves only to keep you in the role of the Martyr. Unless you are, say, a brain surgeon, then there are many people who can (and will) do it as good as you. (And I doubt that brain surgeons run around cleaning the floor after surgery!)

5 - You're playing not to lose.

Ask any coach or athlete about this.

When you play to not lose, all you're doing is surviving, relying on yourself and hoping no one notices you.

When you play to win - you take risks, you keep your mental attitude strong, you rely on the team, you look for the goal. Decide that you want to play to win.

6 - You've used this phrase at least once in the past month: "By the time I show someone how to do it, I could just do it myself."

This is the mantra of someone who refuses to succeed. It's the mantra of the struggle-addict.

Learning how to delegate is empowering. Not just for you, but for others as well. Besides, when you show them how to do it once, they can keep doing it so you don't have to!

7 - You dread certain things so much that they don't get done.

It's okay to not enjoy certain aspects of your work or your life. This is the exact thing you can hire someone to do.

What items do you dread? No matter what they are, when you get them off your plate, you'll experience more energy just knowing they're getting done - and you don't have to worry about them anymore!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.
WANT TO SEE HUNDREDS MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?

See Christine's blog at ChristineKane.com/blog.

Dear me

2011-04-04T10:38:00.007-04:00

It's been tooo long since I posted. I have been in a slump a dump:> then Saturday i realized that i had been taking BOTH allegra - TWENTY FOUR hour antihistamine AND benadryl and once in awhile an alkaseltzer plus...no wonder I had no energy...

But this weekend i managed to scratch a few items off my to do list!! Our quilt guild does birthday quilts for our bee ...and these are the blocks that i did for that...

The first one is for my dear friend Connie who loves all thing Moda and has been working on an Alma Adams house quilt for ah hem a few years; She and Rachel Watson have been having a challenge to see who can finish theirs first...so this is my take-as in I havent looked at the book in years or their blocks- on an Alma Adams house block for Connie...her favorite moda is a relative of the red in the house...and she gave me the strip another favorite of hers - beach moda that I used on bindings for another quilt last spring...

I started out to make a wonky pieced house but somehow it turned into a square cottage with fused applique...fun to make though i do NOT like to do buttonhole stitch...

And Miss Connie is ramrodding another birthday quilt for another dear friend Linda who is queen of the mini Sunbonnet Sue quilts...and I do mean mini..they are not as big as a piece of papter and all needle turned applique...gorgeous little works of art. Linda produces holiday versions of her tiny sunbonnet sue quilts searching everywhere for tiny halloween and Christmas buttons...and this is my version of her halloween sunbonnet sues:> Hers are much better of course...and its a cat because Linda is a BIG cat lover!

And last i knitted a baby hat for a new niece thats coming soon to Miss Catherine and Muhammed Hutasuhut...this hat was just FUN to make...thinking i should block the ruffle but its a baby sized sorting hat like in Harry Potter I think:>

And I had to see how the lovely Bella would look with this hat on her head...she was not happy...kept dumping it on the floor...finally i added a string so it would stay on her head long enough to take this pic:> and then she promptly dumped it on the floor again:>

Alzheimers donation quilt progress

2011-03-13T10:44:00.003-04:00

Come Back to Me
Interference blue, purple and Micaeous Iron Oxide paints

Its getting there almost done....going to add words..synonyms for vanish..disappear and hmm what else??? now where is that old dictionary?? and the label...and the hangar thingies....

My donation quilt for Alliance for Quilts

2011-03-11T17:44:00.010-05:00

Fire and Smoke

Sunday afternoon I was posed with an urge to enter the Alliance for Quilts contest which was due in the mail the next day...thank goodness it only had to be a SMALL quilt...this is what I did...

First i collaged and glued fabric and lace.....I could NOT find my cheese cloth ANYWHERE which would have been perfect for smoke...

Then i painted it...with pyrrole red and hansa yellow light golden fluid acrylics...next i made a quilt sandwhich and added ALOT of gold thread...some in zig zag, some FMQ and some thread painting to represent flames across the top of the quilt...I added numbers to represent the costs of wild fires which seem to rage across the country anymore...

And right before i mailed it i started scribbling fire fire fire across it with a soft lead pencil and smudged it out..if you look in the detail you can see it vaguely...then i set it with fixative...hate that quilt to smudge:>

This is a larger quilt I have been working on made from a friends moms old 50s and 60s patterns...collaging, painting and YES i found the cheese cloth...a straight of grain arrow on the bottom...broke three needles FMQing it...OH MY!! this is on a base of canvas duck, polymer gel medium and then paint...and maybe some more paint:> and oh the patterns...sometimes more than one got used before I had the PERFECT picture...lucky for me there were still old couturier labels which used to come with Vogue couturier patterns were still in the envelopes...waiting for my mom's box from Asheville of old sewing ephemera ...especially the old family measuring tape...tattered cloth by now...

This could be a series because theres a VERY Large bag of these patterns....My friend i think will make one of her moms scraps and some of the pattern covers too...a good way to remember her mom....

Come back to me...

OK one more...i am also doing a quilt for Ami Simms alzheimer donations...this is the start...

Not quilted yet...made in a similar manner to Fire and Smoke...collaged fabric, paint, a little cheese cloth figure...adding words before its done...,not sure how or what...

7 Powerful Reasons NOT to Have a Job

2011-03-09T09:30:00.004-05:00

Cool pins that i am making out of pattern paper and tyvek!! Lots of thread painting...too much fun! More at the end of the post...hope to put them on etsy soon...hmm as soon as i decide how to add pins to them!

Great Post from Christine Kane - this one really resonated with me!

7 Powerful Reasons NOT to Have a Job

by Christine Kane

One of the scariest things I ever did was quit my first (and only) "real" job so I could begin my own brand of creative work in the world.

I became - gasp! - self-employed.

I was warned of the risks. I was told I'd lose my benefits. I was told it's "hard out there" working for yourself.

It's funny that the assumption so many people base one of their biggest life choices on is that working for yourself is risky. Now - after 16 years of making a living on my own terms - I believe the exact opposite!

So, here are seven of my favorite reasons to NOT have a job.

1. Having a job is way too risky.

When you have a job, someone can take away your income in two words: "You're fired." This is happening more and more as companies crumble in the face of global changes in commerce.

If you ask me, there's nothing secure about that.

When you create your own business, and a client or customer moves on â?" then guess what? You get to say, "Next!"

2. No Bonus Pay for Messing Up

When you mess up at your job, you get punished, maybe even a pay-cut. Then you have to run around "making nice" to the people who might lay you off or promote someone else who's younger and "hungry." (Hungry for what? More time at the office?)

When one of my clients faces challenges in her business, I cheer. She's getting paid to learn! Every mistake teaches her more about how to succeed.

Instead of getting an MBA - she's getting a TBF. (Trial by Fire!) TBF's can really yield a high ROI!

3. Your Ceiling isn't Adjustable.

Often, I show clients multiple places they can generate income in their business within the next few months. Their eyes light up as they realize that the possibilities are endless. They stop thinking in terms of "hours for dollars," and start thinking of passive income. (Hey, why not get paid while you sleep?)

In a job, you can't adjust your income based on the value you provide. Instead you have to ask for a raise. Not fun.

4. Pantyhose.

As I write this, I'm working.

I'm wearing a Tarheels baseball cap, a t-shirt, and jeans. I've got my feet propped up on the deck railing as birds sing at the feeder.

When I had a job, there was a dress code. And rules about what you could have on your desk. There was limited time for lunch, and no time for creativity. And don't even get me started on pantyhose!

5. Your money doesn't go as far.

Did you know that employee income is the most heavily taxed income in the U.S.? As an employee, almost half your salary will go to taxes. You get to spend what's left on living expenses.

One of my first self-employed discoveries was that my money went MUCH further - because I could invest in myself or get equipment and supplies with pre-tax income. Any good accountant will help you make your dollars expand in your own business.

6. Focusing on your Weaknesses.

Have you ever heard of a "360?"

That's when your co-workers and supervisors (and anyone else who wants to chip in) analyze your job performance. You learn all about your weaknesses - and you get a review outlining the ways you need to work on them. Often, people leave these "360" reviews in tears.

In the world of the solo-preneur, we don't mess with our weaknesses. The motto is Strengthen your Strengths. Hire your Weaknesses. In other words, as you become aware of your weaknesses, you don't waste your precious energy fixing them.

7. Negative Environment.
Many office environments don't encourage creative thinking or positive energy. Instead, there's lots of negativity among employees who feel powerless.

In your own business, you set the tone, and you choose who enters your environment. You become deeply personally responsible for every aspect of your life.

This is often more uncomfortable than sitting back and blaming "The Man," but it will absolutely free you.

-----

There has NEVER been a better time to have a business. The world is now at your fingertips. If you are self-employed and still find yourself struggling - don't blame yourself. The "job" paradigm can be a tough one to break. (I've been there!)

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Christine Kane is the Mentor to Women Who are Changing the World. She helps women uplevel their lives, their businesses and their success. Her weekly LiveCreative eZine goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. If you are ready to take your life and your world to the next level, you can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://christinekane.com.

Plexipainting...sort of a tutorial...or should i say how i did it?

2011-02-26T10:27:00.017-05:00

This was the first plexiglass painting i did...now remember I have been painting for hmm well more years than i care to remember and I do have an art degree...there are times when all i want to do is paint on anything that will hold still long enough for me to do it...I also signed up for an online class with Julie Pritchard and Chris Cozen called Mixed Media Melange where i learned this technique...HOWEVER I did not want to "copy" their class sample...so i took their techniques and I think i made them my own.

Detail of gold showing thru...

when the painting was done i was not happy with it...so i took a fine grade sanding block to it and sanded thru layers of paint to the bare plexiglass and then covered the open areas with gold iridescent paints...Now I LOVE it!!

Spring Garden

This is my favorite painting...spring garden...Believe it or not it was inspired by a piece of spring flowered fabric!! I painted alot of interference and iridescent colors on this BEFORE I started adding the opaque colors...also lots of layering of transparent colors followed by a final opaque layer...

So now i will walk you thru the process of creating ONE plexiglass painting...

I Remember You

So how did i do this plexipainting...its reverse painted which makes it quite an interesting and thought provoking process....

The pallette is Golden Fluid Acrylics Phthalo Blue, Hansa Yellow Light, and Quin Magenta with Iridescent Gold and Silver and Interference Blue.

I knew I planned on using as piece of cheese cloth so i painted it brown and put it outside to dry.

Summer before last Margaret Wesley and I took pics of some cemetary angels...this one started out with the typical blue sky grey tombstone color. I uploaded it to picnik.com and changed the colors and used an effect on it called "HDR-ish" to get this brown gritty textured angel.

I printed this picture out to make a paper transfer...cut it out and glued it down on the REVERSE Side of the plexi.

The bird is from a blog with copyright free downloadable illos called Thesumofallcrafts
There are ALOT of links to other websites with CR free downloadable illos on it...A great site!

The first thing i did was two paper transfers on the back. You glue them down with gel medium gloss, let them dry, spray them with water and DELICATELY roll the paper off till you can see the picture from the back...

Here are the paper transfers painted...I drizzled watered blue down it with some Quin Azo Gold that I do love for its rusty look...and painted the bird to look like a brown thrasher...well I am calling it a brown thrasher:>

At this point i stenciled some interference blue on the plexi...hard to see, hard to photograph but gives a lovely glow to it!

I covered the transfers with silver to give them a glow...and painted rings of Quin Azo Yellow around them...

I glued down the cheese cloth and let it dry. Then I started daubing it with gold silver and blue
I used a grid to do a "stencil" with some Titan Buff paint...

So here it is from the front...NOW I had problems. I painted the background in this TWICE and scraped it all off...outside the area you see painted here...

Finally i streaked the bare plexi with interference blue and overpainted it with streaks of phthalo blue and quin azo gold...kind of like old paint...I had first tried drizzling paint like i did on the tombstone...NOT a good look but I may try that again...love drizzly runny paint!

Then i sanded some of the blue off down to the plexi with my sanding block and added some more Quin azo gold with some iridescent gold...

and voila it was done...not only was it done...it let me take a pic of it glowing WITHOUT lights reflecting in it...the others would NOT let me do that...hate to think of how many pics i took of them with little success...windows reflecting lights reflecting...sigh

Now it needs a coat of gel medium or glaze to protect the paint and a frame....

Still painting and collaging

2011-02-20T12:36:00.007-05:00

These are collaged and painted on kite weight tyvek...fun stuff...using paper and sheer fabrics, laces...lots of cheese cloth....now if i can just decide how to sew on these puppies i will be a happy camper!!

They are about 12" x 24"

These are some of the pile of deliwraps i have painted...and more to come..fast and fun and deliwraps are CHEAP to paint on!

Happy Valentines and my FIRST blog giveaway!

2011-02-13T21:47:00.011-05:00

Leave me a comment and I will mail one lucky person one of these valentines...you can write the message in it!!

And the winner is Linda Minton...had a friend pick a number between 1 and 22 the number of comments on my blog and she picked 14...Linda!! Congratulations....Stay tuned I have alot more stuff to give away!!

For some reason i decided to make valentines this year...could be all the painting and the pretty papers...All but one of these is made from some of that deliwrap paper I painted a week or two ago...who knew it was so much fun to paint on deliwraps.

Painted Deliwraps

Deliwraps...what are those you say?? You know the wrappers on your favorite fast food biscuit OR the paper to you use to pick up a cookie or a doughnut at the grocery store...and YES you can paint on them. They are not wax paper...they are translucent with the right colors...FUN stuff!!

The streamers are made from shredding some red and pink batiks...slicing them about 1/4" wide with the rotary cutter with or without a ruler! I probably used at least ten different ones. It's an idea I borrowed from my friend Margaret aka the other Margaret..yes there are TWO Margarets..Margaret Hunt and Margaret Wesley...truly NOT my invisible friend.

How I updated the look of my blog - A Tutorial

2011-02-11T09:44:00.005-05:00

People are asking me how I did this ...it took me five hours to get the blog where it is now...

To change the blog title...

The first thing you do is crop the art work you are going to use into a long narrow horizontal rectangle...save it under another name like i did ladynollycrop and save it where you know where it is...i put it on the desktop

this is the first crop....

Click on Design

Next i had to add the image think its in the title box. That's where you add the image. You can SHRINK to fit or not...I had to play with it...I finally chose shrink to fit...i also had to crop a wider image..first one was too narrow.

This is the second crop and the one i eventually used.

THEN i had to change the color of the font because it was the same color as the picture. Under Template Designer on the tool bar where you can chose add new posts

Advanced...you can change the font style and colors in the various sections of your blog..like the title, posts etc.

Background lets you change the background colors..there are tons to choose from

Columns - Template designer again...Layout

Then i kept adding different widgets on the Page Element Page. If I didn't like it I took it off. I endlessly rearranged all the sidebar widgets here.

Let me know if you have any questions...I will help if i can...HaPpY DiGgInG thru the widgets!

GOOD LUCK:>

Tutorial - Painting paper

2011-02-10T16:40:00.013-05:00

My favorite paper...love the swirl in the middle...looks quite rusty!

It just occurred to me that this could just as easily be done on fabric...i would tape the fabric down first though!!

I was teaching a class and wanted to have some dark paper available for collaging for the students...so i decided to whip some up.

Here's how i did it! I used regular cheap printer paper..what did we use for paper before we had printers and a pack of paper in the drawer?

I squirted some Golden Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold across one edge of the paper.

Then I scraped it across the paper with a credit card, making big smears of color. Hard to beat that Quin Nickel Azo for beautiful color!

Next I added Micaceous Iron Oxide to it...

Then I added some Irisdescent Silver over it.

Another combination is with Quin Nickel Azo Gold first again. The second layer was Raw Umber.

And then i added a layer of Irisdescent Silver.

Next I flicked water with my fingers across the paper and let it sit for a few minutes. Then i scraped it again to get these delicious patterns of drops and swirls allowing the layers of colors to shine through.

And the following is what i got...

Quin Azo - Micaceous Iron Oxide - Silver

Quin Azo - Raw Umber - Silver

Raw Umber - Silver

One last note...be sure you only have one piece of paper at a time...otherwise you have a stack of messed up paper..ask me how i know. This can also be done on delisheets...and i hope to try it soon on fabric..think it will be delish!

so alot more stuff red hot off the paint brush

2011-02-06T21:49:00.007-05:00

Taking an online class...called mixed media melange with julie pritchard and chris cozen as teacher...its alot of fun..Ille and Marsha are taking it too...we get videos that we can view forever and a pdf class handout as well as interactoin with the teachers online at ning.com...been a very interesting experience so far...

the first class or lesson was painting in shades of blue and green and then stamping stenciling over it...this is one of my two blue ones...

This is done with quinacridone magenta and hansa yellow...stenciled with gold and pearl paints...yummy colors....

Bucket List

Lesson three was SHABBY chic...and i really had fun with this one....we collaged a layer...painted it out with white and titan buff...then collaged over ...did some sewing...this is the first one i did...the leaves were on the front porch yesterday...stitched thru the canvas cloth with some of my stash of hand dyed pearl cottons...added some antique pearl buttons that kim gave me several jars of...well two...and i stamped on it...this was going to be Connies 50th birthday present till i made her another one:> has a Bucket list of things that she can do to amp her life up now that shes over the hill:> you will have to check back tomorrow to see the other one or check on FB since shes no longer there!! will post it there shortly:>

THis si the second one...Little Women...i collaged a page out an old 1946 Little womens book on to this...the page has all the important characters on it...the tree is also ripped from Little Women...There are alot of others neutrals too...

THis is painted on a deliwrap sheet and is from lesson 1...well sort of...we didnt have to paint green but it was too much fun...and you get great color on deliwraps!! You said WHAT are deliwraps..those thin pieces of paper wrapped around your favorite fast food hamburger or a sausage biscuit...looks sort of like wax paper but isnt...great fun to paint on...cheap...500 sheets or so for 5.99...and it collages well..i have painted at least a dozen of these including a pile of valentine colors to make valentine cards with well maybe:> if i can quit making these shabby chic things...:>

Here are a few more deliwraps...this one is quin red and hansa yellow light with gold...sequin waste and abc stenciling

quin red and and gold for glow

the first deliwrap i painted...stripes of quin red, phthalo blue iridescent pearl and gold

another rusty deli wrap

phthalo blue and some pinks made with quin red...stamped with bubble wrap and squares of plastic needle point wrap

More collaging

2011-01-28T13:40:00.006-05:00

I cant seem to stop collaging...I have a book partially done but i forgot to take pictures of it...I think i will chronicle the trees that i live among thru their seasons...Right now i am painting the pages and stenciling and stamping them...wrapping fabric choosing paper so its NOT much to look at ...

BUT this one is coming along nicely The Tea Angel.

I painted the background with alot of Golden acrylics NOT fabric paint and NO GAC to make them soft on a piece of pima cotton just to see what would or could happen. So far so good...

It lay around a couple of days but today I started collaging fabric scraps someone gave me..bright chunks of color...I glued them down with gel...painted a table and the wings with thinned Titanium white...lightly stenciled swirls on the "tablecloth" Conveniently the bag had a head shaped piece in it too...so you know what happened to it:>

So here she is right now...comeing along nicely...with her cuppa in her hands...and a tray on the table with a tea pot...still gluing all this stuff down with gel medium...I HOPE i am not sorry when i start to sew this ...but lifes an experiment right?? also added irisdescent pearl to the table and the wings...over the penciled letters tea tea tea tea tea...

Clueless as to what i will do about her hair...couch some yarn??? cut out some brown batik? Dont know at this point.

Heres a close up of the top of the tea table...

NOw to quilt this piece...and thread paint it some...

For a long time I have been meaning to paint the vast assortment of tea pots at the Inner Bean...i collaged this background for it this morning...now to paint over it to even the colors out...or MAYBE not:>

This one is going to have Bella painted on it I think..unless other inspiration comes along..its been lying around all week waiting...but i think it needs something dark on it which Bella is...or who knows maybe a black teapot to go with the oriental theme? Smeared with Phthalo blue and gold paint mixed and the geisha is a gel transfer

So this is my block for Siobhans birthday quilt...I think we need two more blocks to make 25...then the sewing can commence...done with tsunieko inks, and gold golden paint. Sio made a witch's hat like the one the pumpkin is wearing and since shes irish she LOVES Halloween!

Collaging and painting part 2/mini Tutorial

2011-01-20T20:05:00.006-05:00

I stayed up till 1 last nite painting on the Friends picture...heres what it looked like when i went to bed...

And after several more hours of painting and stamping and stenciling this is what we look like now...and more collaging...We are all thinner and younger...artists perogative!!

The other one took very little time...
I started with one of the backgrounds I had collaged yesterday using scraps of fabric and paper ephemera and gel medium. I tried the modge podge i have been aging on one of them and didnt like the way it behaved so I used the gel medium...matte finish...

First I drew my shoes that Bella ate yesterday on a piece of paper...I cut them out and traced their shape moving them around till i liked the composition.

Then I drew the insides of the shoes and the straps...

This is the shoes traced

Next I used watered down black paint to paint them so that the collaging would show thru...it went really fast...now does anyone have a new catch for a pair of black Merrils??? These are my favorite shoes and now one strap doesnt work...sigh...and they fall off my feet...double sigh....if nothing else i will sew them on with upholstery thread

Collaging and painting

2011-01-19T21:00:00.006-05:00

So yesterday I started collaging backgrounds to paint on..

this one is made from paper and pattern paper...glued together with gel medium...

It started out to be a possible birthday present for a friend...or something i could make a print of for her birthday...however i dont know if i can part with The Green Angel...I totally wiped out the wonderful papers that I collaged...sigh oh well...

Shes painted with acrylic paints...stamped with painted bubble wrap, dry brushed with golden iridescent gold and then paint was scraped on it with a credit card and finally i painted a stamp with words and stamped it...Now she needs some stuff glued to her...then i guess shes done...but who knows as long as the paint is out...shes fair game:>

It does look TOO Much like Kelly Rae Roberts stuff whose book i had just read..though i was NOT looking at it...sigh...oh well its practice right?!

So I started three more today...they take a while to dry in between them.....This is the collaged background for the next one...its 8"x10"

Still needs some more work on the shoulder area of the blonde...but i do like this..they look sweet...theres a photo transfer of my dad and grandparents in the top left...and i stenciled alot of pale barely blue stuff all over them and of course stamped it with that bubble wrap..too much fun!!

So this one is seven friends...i know i have a picture of the collaged background prepaint..but where??

I am going to paint my poor chewed up Merrill Mary Janes on this one..they were my favs..till bella gnoshed on them this morning ...guess she thought three years was enough?? On the other hand i do like it like it is...i started picking up random scraps and gluing them down..then i overpainted them with a very pale pink and gold

Been so busy creating that

2011-01-06T20:04:00.008-05:00

River's Bend - of course fisherman on the Savannah...$150 9" x 21"

I forgot i had not posted to my blog in quite a while...first things first...I have been doing watercolors again...I do LOVE to paint I think better than anything...until I start sewing and then all I want to do is sew and THEN if i get a really great book...hmm all I want to do is read...and DONT send me some cool website because i am going to have to go thru all the art work...

SO given all that...this is a little of what I have been up to!! Sending pictures from my cell phone to my lap top VIA blue tooth..no more scrabbling around for the camera cables!! WOOHOO...LOVE it...you never know what you will find under those menus!! Click and it may be something really cool...

So here are the other watercolors. All sent via bluetooth from my phone to www.picnik.com and then saved to the computer after I manipulated them in picnik. Well, it's so tempting to play with picnik....who can resist? I can't!!

Hunting Island Light house near Beaufort SC
$150 framed in plane black frame and mat 14" x 16"

Hunting Island where I used to spend many happy summers till I married a beach house on Edisto...I mean the owner:>

Foggy Day
$150 framed in plane black frame and mat 14" x 16"

My least favorite...foggy day. I think fog is perhaps the hardest thing to paint.

Edisto Days
$150 framed in plane black frame and mat 14" x 16"

...this picture looks like a hot summers day....

So I also made two quilted jackets and a vest lately as well as quilt...and quilted several quilts for friends for Christmas presents....

Here is one of the jackets almost done....A Wizard of Oz jacket for a friend's granddaughter...the one who got the quilt. She has seen pictures of this and thinks its awesome...I still have to sew the binding on the sleeves and then sew all the binding down. Thank goodness its NOT very big and won't take TOO long!

The back...I lost things like words I had quilted onto the jacket...Glenda the good witch was too near the bottom and had to go! But the words Oz Oz Oz Oz got to stay near Dorothy's picture. This really was a fun jacket to make...so now we are talking about a back pack..would that not be just cute?!!:> BYTW it is quilted all over with circles and stars and of course MAGIC!!!

Since I did a half an hour on the elliptical and loaded the next quilt for quilting on the frame I think it MIGHT be bed time.....hmm but first to post this post to facebook and then twitter it..:>

More fun with polymer clay

2010-12-14T09:28:00.008-05:00

These are made almost exclusively from sculpey..the flesh colored kind...and then painted...some need repair...they are very old ..well for sculpey...made about 20 years ago when i first discovered it after going to Christmas in the South. The kids and I had spent days making salt flour ornaments only to have them disintegrate in the attic over the summer...so I started making sculpey ornaments...which lead to sculpey santas..then i started selling sculpey objects like hotcakes and buying it by the 25 lb loads....

These are some of the first Santas I made....i think the green might be green sculpey III...all are made like the angel yesterday...a cone of sculpey decorated like a Santa...the taller ones are about 6 inches high. These used to sell for about $25.

These were also made about the same time...from Sculpey 3...tall Santa is about 8 inches tall and made from regular sculpey.

So I progressed to making dogs and cats and other animals...these sold like hot cakes at the Augusta Artists Exchange...from L-R Susie, The JR, Smokey the cat and Dear Charley The JR with their christmas finery on. Of course I made the two boys in the pictures, youngest son Drew and older son Ben:>

Then I got ambitious making TALL figures - 12 inches or so- remember I had 25 lb of sculpey in the freezer!! This is my favorite and I need to repair him..hes lost whatever was in his right hand...

The little boy and his bear....

A jolly fat Santa ready to make his rounds delivering presents

Santas Train and bunny

Playing with polymer clay

2010-12-14T08:48:00.005-05:00

So my friend Connie said lets make buttons with sculpey next week...did we make buttons? well maybe a few! BUT heres what i made..

An angel...the one in the middle....the other two are about 20 years old. The little one on the right actually looked like a student I taught named Cindy...so of course thats her name...the others dont have names...and probably WONT!! I made her so that I could show Connie how to make her Santa...I use basic shapes like a tall cone for the body, teardrops for the arms and hands, a ball for the head with snakes for the hair...as in long thin clay snakes:> NO shes NOT Medusa!! Wire wings were made from some old wire i had in the kitchen drawer...bought long ago for some project or other.

So i decided to redo the head of the angel...and added eyeballs...almost a disaster...much easier to do the other way...as in paint on the eyes one day...i also pressed a tiny star cutter into her dress so she is covered with a shower of stars...Now to get her painted....hopefully BEFORE Christmas:>

sculpey used to be my thing till it started to irritate the tendons in my arms...so I finally gave it up. I used to own more sculpey and fimo than Michaels...bytw the new vitamins and supplements I am taking allowed me to squeeze sculpey conditioning it all day without a twinge of tendons or an ache of arthritis in my fingers:>

Before gilding and baking

These are my "buttons" ...some old some new....I made face molds before i made these...these were made by pressing the clay into these molds and then they were either gold leafed or dusted with gold powder...they also have two holes on each side so they can be sewn down. Of course the others have been in a bag in the kitchen island for hmm three years??? maybe four???

Here they are gilded and baked! Santa had to join them because he had lost the "fur" ball on top of his head and he got a new one...lucky santa...also my blade got two wads of sculpey baked on so i could actually press down on the blade without cutting my fingers up!!

The Christmas Leftover party

2010-12-02T09:26:00.004-05:00

Decorating this Christmas post with a few of my favorite Christmas cards I drew last year! I mean WHO wants to read a plain post...so boring!!

So you are sick of all those Christmas Leftovers...and what do to do with some of those presents you received that are just NOT what you want!

Well this is the perfect party to take care of your woes...and its the favorite Christams party for many of my friends...

A few days after Christmas...we do it on the day our bee meets...each person attending brings at least one leftover food that their family is tired of...and a gift they really dont want to be traded off.

First we share a dinner of the leftovers and of course many of them are just awesome treats that we all enjoy because we have not been eating them for days...Preferably its served on leftover paper plates...you know those odd plates that accumulate from various parties...perhaps with birthday cups for the wine....

Next the real fun begins...a Chinese gift exchange of the regifted presents....I got a Kazoo last year...I wonder who the lucky recipient of the Kazoo will be this year...In case you dont know how a Chinese gift exchange works...this is how. Participants draw a number 1- however many people brought presents. The first person picks a wrapped present...and unwraps it. #2 can either steal #1's present OR pick a new one from under the tree....this continues till all the presents are gone...sometimes the presents are great...like who needs several Christmas pitchers other times they are silly like the aforementioned Kazoo...

Try it...fun way to clean out the fridge and the closet!!

Sues birthday quilt is done...

2010-11-17T20:23:00.006-05:00

Quilted this quilt today...its Sues very tardy birthday quilt...her birthday was in January. Sue is a cat person...she has four cats...Margaret Wesley drew the center of this quilt...Sues backyard garden...too cute...and of course the call for blocks...cats and sues colors ....

Sues Garden with her kitties

My block...done with Tsunieko inks. I cut out the inked chair and cats and fused it to the flower garden fabric.

Sharon Walls kitty block...I gave it a cat face and whiskers.

Ille Water's block...too cute kitties...also inked with Tsuniko inks. We had a few intensive classes in how to use the inks.

Kim Masseys adorable appliqued cat...its a squash i think?? Part of a set of cats done with veggies...

Now whose block is this?? Marie...the other birthday quilt girl...the Quilt Angel.

Linda Yehle, the famous Sunbonnet Sue Kitty block.

9 kitties from Kate!

Connie's sunflower and kitty block.

Beautiful embrodiered Laurel Burch cat from Dana Wegner.

Awesome applique from Judy Lockhart

Another gorgeous applique from Rachel Watson

Two blocks...the pink crazy quilt by the vroom vroom vroom seamstress Maureen Massey. I quilted it with a feathered wreath. The adorable cat block is Connies I think...love those browns.

Grey kitty from Pam...quilted with kitty features...and Tsunieko Ink Laurel Burch cat by Mary Verdery

Siobhan Furguson's basket full of kitties.

Now I am sure you are wondering what this is but Tom the quilt cat fell in love with this quilt while I had it on the floor to take pics of it...catnip had nothing on this quilt...he rolled on it and stretched and just totally enjoyed this kitty quilt...As I tried to fold it up he got inside the quilt...a kitty cat quilt tent...silly cat...BYTW the dogs did not so much as bat an eyelash at the quilt..but the cat...well he nutted up over it!!

Another birthday quilt done...

2010-11-16T22:21:00.012-05:00

Maries birthday quilt is quilted...hot off Lila the long arm!!...We make our friends birthday quilts when they have a significant birthday.

Margaret and Ille and I designing the middle and I did the quilting. Marie is always trying to help people so last year I decided that a Quilt Angel would be the perfect theme for her birthday quilt...and now here she is finally in cloth all done!! Just the binding remains.

Before it was quilted

The center
Quilt minus the borders...we sent out a call for 10 1/2" blocks with a fall theme but not Halloween for Marie's birthday. Along with the call for blocks we sent a list of things about the birthday gilr like she loves pumpkins...and fall leaves..this is what we got back!

The quilting

Upclose shot of the center..I quilted her name in it as well as the words The Quilt Angel. The pictures are a little dark ...no idea why other than the more I take with my camera the darker they get.

Up close shot of the pumpkins' quilting.

Now whose block is this?? I am too tired to remember.

Ille's awesome oak leaf block.

Kay's awesome applique block.

Dana's cute little ragdoll embroidered block

Siobhan's leaf block

Marie loves pumpkins so I did her block with the Tsuniko inks and drew a pumpkin...i do love to color!!

Not the best pic of this beautiful block...Betsy's i think.

Linda Birchall's Hole in the barn door. She did two and evidently I only took a pic of one of them.

Connie's favorite block..another hole in the barn door or Monkey Wrench.

Maureen does love a crazy quilt...

Rachel W's awesome applique oak leaves

Sharons lovely fall shades...hmm what is the pattern? In keeping with our theme I quilted some leaves on it.

Kate does a lot of prayer quilts for her church so she did a prayer block for Marie's quilt.

A leaf...by Connie??

Pam's beautiful batik block.

OK so i cant remember who did this block either...some people need to sign them...

Sues block ...I LOVE this angel...

Hard to see the quilting on the borders which are stripped...its a vine of oak leaves and ribbons

Linda Yehle's favorite block...the card trick.

How to do those innie corners

2010-11-16T11:23:00.011-05:00

This quilt "Watch it, Boys!" had ten innies...thats what I call reversed ninety degree corners. And of course I wanted to bind them just like the lady in the picture would do.

Neighbor Ladies which won first place in Asheville in the Art Quilts Category also has these same innie corners though not so many.

Be prepared that it takes a LONG time to sew down all these innies, much longer than normal corners take.

So HERE'S HOW I DID IT!!

Click on the pictures to see a larger view!!

Single binding is the most important part. It was cut 1 1/4". First I sewed the piping down using the piping foot.

When I sew the piping down, I clip it to the seam at each inside and outside corner.

This is a normal corner clipped ready to bind. I used the same PIPING foot to sew the binding on. It just makes the job of sewing the binding easier and neater.

As I sew the binding on I sew to the point that the inside corner meets itself. I leave about an inch of fabric on each side of the corner to manipulate and fold into the innie corner.

Sew the binding to the inside corners.

Make a v clip in each side of the binding. Be careful to make the v clip about the same size as the width of the binding. That is if you have a 1/4 inch binding your v clip should be about a half inch in width. The bottom of the v should be at the edge of the quilt. You will also have to make a small clip where the binding goes from the front to the back of the quilt so that the fabric can lay down on the back. BE CAREFUL and do just a SMALL clip parallel to the edge of the quilt.

Fold one side of the corner into a 45 degree angle from the sewn corner to the corner of the quilt. This will be in the opposite direction of a normal 90 degree corner. Slip stitch it down.

Then repeat with the other half of the binding.

Flip to the back of the quilt. Fold the extra fabric under to form another 45 degree angle. Slip stitchboth sides down.

Trim the triangle tail hanging down closely and push it up under the binding with either your small scissors or my favorite a damp toothpick.

Sew the binding down as you normally would.

Finished corners - and innie and an outty

Ditto

Art After Dark

2010-11-14T10:12:00.009-05:00

The Art Guild of Columbia County held its annual Art sale and auction last nite. Always a nice occasion...lots of people show up for the art, entertainment and of course food and wine:>

SOLD!! I am so excited that this watercolor sold...I just took it because I wanted to have four pieces of art in Art After Dark and its the newest watercolor that I have done...and SOMEBODY bought it...woohoo:>

Primping Lady Nolly to hang at Art After Dark ....made little rollers for her ribbons out of scraps of batting..they worked perfectly. I steamed the silk ribbons and then stuffed them with the "rollers" and left them over nite to "set"....You know a girl has to roll her hair I mean her clothes before her debut at Art After Dark:> She is also sold...or should I say on layaway!!:>

Spent most of the week getting "Be Careful Boys" done so it could hang for the first time at Art After Dark.

I should have taken more pictures but its a hard spot to take pictures of before the sun goes down. All the glare from the windows. There were a couple of racks made from lattice that the art quilts and a few of the smaller watercolors hung on.

Some more of the art work. Not sure whose ...there were 42 artists plus local "celebrities" that also did art work. The odd thing about these tv and radio "celebs" they all were either really tall or some where really round...and of course none of them looked like they did on tv...I do think you have to be 6' to be a news anchor on tv anymore!

A general shot of the left of the church...it was at The Church of the Holy Comforter which was consecrated about four years ago.

The left side going out the door...Wayne was setting up his wonderful jewelry...and of course I was too tired by then to think of taking pics of it!! It sells quite well..semiprecious stones set in gold wire. The tent in the back corner is the silent auction which goes to a student art scholarship.

Hard to see but Meredith McPherson's wonderful Chinese brushwork pictures...or is it calligraphy on wonderful handmade papers?? Anyway her work is wonderful not that you can see it in the glare from the windows in this picture. Check out her website and be sure to mark you calendars for Art After Dark next November! See YOU THERE!

White on white with feathers!

2010-11-11T09:28:00.009-05:00

Hot off the long arm!

So our bee's adopted WWWQ daughter Madeline Lawrence Thibaut is finally all grown up and having a darling baby named Lilly Kate any day now. Ille had a shower at her house and I had been meaning to make one of these small quilts for Maddie for a while...first for her wedding but that didnt happen...I finally got one done for a baby present for the shower...

the finished quilt
feathers everywhere Bound and ready to go....except i still have to add the birthdate...

The feathers are all fmq without marking. The only markings I did were to block off WHERE i wanted the feathers with a blue pen.

feathers

Next up I am doing one for my son's friends that got married in Napa...with a grape wreath in the middle with their names and the date and place...think it will make a wonderful wedding present. If you think you need one of these to commemorate a special occasion email me and we will talk!! I think they could also be wonderful done in pink or blue for a baby or in the bride's colors...

feathers

PS I also have a serious urge to paint one of these like hmm whose book is that kemshall?? Put some fabric paint on the roller and go for it...I think it could be just wonderful...the Napa quilt may get that treatment...unless i get vetoed by my son and his fiance!

corners

Feathered heart in the middle of the quilt with the baby's name and birthday..

.well the date has to be added as soon as Lilly Kate decides to appear...we have a running bet on whose birthday she will appear on ...mine on the 21st or Rachels on the 22nd or Betsys on the 23rd...of course mine is the best...its NEVER on Thanksgiving so you dont have to share your special day with a turkey and a jillion desserts!

feathers on the left!

feathers on the side

What i am working on right now...quilted it monday...and thread painted it some more...binding and binding and binding...all those innny corners...what was i thinking?!

Great looking machine sewn binding - A tutorial

2010-11-02T10:14:00.011-04:00

Quilting shows on the back...that's the thing about cream thread on black - EVERYTHING shows!!

Lately as perhaps you know I have been doing long arm quilting...email me if you need me:> BUT I was finishing up a friend's quilt for her doing machine binding on it and trying to do a VERY neat job of it.

If you have any questions email me at m c m hunt @ w c t e l. n e t

I decided to try smoke invisible thread with a very very narrow buttonhole stitch to accomplish this. The best thing about this binding is that it appears almost invisible when its finished. It looks hand done until you really look at it.

Generally I don't like using the back as the binding. I think this is because it looks so flat on the front but with this technique it looked like a regular sewn and flipped binding. It was no longer so flat.

First you have to trim away the batting to the edge of the quilt. Be careful NOT to clip the backing while you are cutting away the batting. Then trim the back so that 1 inch is left.

Then fold it over twice...each fold is 1/2 inch.

Pin with pins toward the sewing foot so you can pull them out as you go. PIN ALOT!! I pin parallel to the binding. Be careful they will stick you as you sew!!

Getting ready to sew

Use your walking foot. It makes a smoother binding. The top thread is invisible thread - smoke. I used black on the back. If your fabric is light use the clear invisible.

Put your walking foot on and use a very narrow buttonhole stitch. It should be just wide enough to catch the binding.

It will take a little experimenting to see how narrow you can get your stitch and still catch the edge of the binding. If your machine does not have a buttonhole stitch you can also use a very narrow hem stitch for this.

TIP: When you start be sure the top edges are folded evenly!! Makes it easier to fold the corners later.

Place the binding under your foot so that the needle comes enters the fabric just to the left of the binding. You may have to fiddle with your foot placement to get this right. Mine will not work right if I put the edge of the foot on the fabric.

SEW SLOWLY...taking pins out as you go...

Sew to the corner. Clip your threads and any frayed threads. Then fold the binding on the next side...be sure to clip threads that stick out and tuck the binding edges inside as you turn the corner. This will make your corner even.

The front - Again click on the picture to see how! You can barely see the stitching. And see how neat the corner is!!

Back of the quilt - Click on the picture to see how! you can barely see the stitching!

Another shot of the binding!

The proud owner of the quilt, Mrs. Prince. These are blocks that her kids made upon her retirement from teaching. Pam Beeler made the quilt with a little help from me.

This is the back. The teachers also wanted to get in on the good wishes so their blocks were sewn together and put on the back. It was almost like making TWO quilts!! Try figuring out how to center this on the back of the quilt.

Pieceful Hearts Donation quilt is ready to begin its journey!

2010-10-23T20:27:00.007-04:00

Lila the Nolting and I spent the last week or so quilting on the Pieceful Hearts Guilds Donation quilt....at least 16 bobbins later it is done...and Lila and I are GLAD....it is needle turned applique using a pattern.. at least a dozen guild members have worked on this quilt...its 90 inches square ...quilted all over with garlic seed stitch...i am SOOO good at Garlic stitch now...if you want me to quilt your quilt...you know how to get in touch with me:> or if you want to buy tickets for a chance to win...6 for $5!!

Another ribbon!!

2010-10-15T10:41:00.005-04:00

Well Almost Done got its first ribbon at the Georgia Quilt Show in the Gwinnett Center..WOOT...Just a red ribbon BUT hey not to be sniffed at right...there was competition from all over the country. I was so surprised to see how many had entered from all over the place. Pictures were NOT allowed so NOPE no pictures of the other quilts.

To me the biggest problem with entering this show was that there were not enough categories...NO art category, NO professional category - just small wall quilts, large wall quilts etc.

BUT here's my winner...I did take a picture of it before the white glove lady walked up and said no pictures...I told her it was mine and she said OK!! that was fine...oops! I had not noticed the sign that said no pictures...my bad!

About the show!

Marsha B, Ille W and Elaine T and I went yesterday with our lovely free tickets from Steve at the Nolting store here..He has a booth and of course we had to go by and give him a thank you hug!!....ANYWAY IF you got the tickets....fill out the back...you do NOT have to stand in that endless line...we went to the left side where they were selling something or other and she gave us the wrist bands...

ALSO IF u need backs...the Hancocks booth is selling fabric for up to 85% off its on the far right as you go in. The fabric was REALLY nice and I think it ended up costing us $1.12 a yard...on the way home we were kicking ourselves for NOT getting more backs at that price...what were we thinking. It was M'lissa Rae Hawley fabric which is a nice heavy weight quilters cotton. There are so much help at the Hancocks booth that despite the crowds we got in and out quickly!!

BYTW lunch cost more than the fabric!! OH my...and theres a great shuttle bus that was handily picking us up right as we got out of the car and was there waiting when our TIRED feet were dreading the LONG walk to the car!! Have fun...

PS be sure to look for Sharon Walls quilt and my two quilts in the show!!

AND IF you are going around 285 to Gwinnett...Intown quilters is not far off the Lawrenceville Hwy exit to Decatur...I think its in the old N. Decatur Mall...but its an AWESOME quilt shop and not to be missed if you have time!

Inking on the rivah

2010-09-22T18:31:00.006-04:00

Ille added the building and cat to her people...

Today the Wednesday group inked pictures to make quilts with ...we had a blast...worked hard long...lots of good food....hot tea chocolate ganache cake...YUMMMMM....now we bees tired:>

Heres what we did ...Black ink sketches got turned into colorful drawings with tsuniko inks.....some people combined the black lined sketches...adding chickens, houses, windows, cats...you name it it got combined.

What we found interesting is that we all used the same markers yet each was so different than the other...the individual fingerprint of the creator.Added a window, walls, cats and peaches..Siobhan did a great job!!

Church ladies gossiping...I didnt like my sky so i cut it out and added a piece of hand dyed sky...i added the background to the ladies in the foreground.

Riding high on the old family grey ford tractor...isnt this GREAT? I could hear the stress exuding out of Pam when she got started but this turned out SOOO great!!! Sheets got turned into bright quilts...she added the chicken and the cat....great job SUE!!!

To say i am busy

2010-09-19T10:32:00.005-04:00

v
is an understatement....working on lots of samples...volunteering to sweat at Arts in the HEaT I mean Heart of Augusta...and finishing up this one...

This is the sample for the class i taught recently at Joggles.com ...we personalized a quilt I had previously made...they learned how to use their own loved ones face as the girl in the quilt....I used a picture of my sons then girl friend LeeAnne....i was finishing up this one for a class i am teaching here in Augusta...and they got engaged this week..now shes my future daughter in love:>

Ok so shes really a blonde...guess i will have to make them one of her in her wedding dress....i could do the groom...a diptych!!!:>

SO heres Our "Sweet Chair-ity" contribution

2010-09-16T09:08:00.005-04:00

Artists in Augusta GA have painted or decorated 24 "Sweet Chair-it" chairs to be auctioned off to the highest bidder Nov. 15 at Lexus. All of the money will go to Ronald McDonald House. We have one here on Greene Street a lovely old Victorian house on a shady tree lined downtown street. Staci's chair is on display at Kudos, an upscale gift store, for the next month.

Vote for Staci's Ronald McDonald Sweet Chair-ity contribution here...course you know how i will vote!!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LY852QJ

Staci Swider asked me to make a pillow for her chair which is quite a throne for a little girl....we decided we should have added a pea under the tuffett for Miss Muffett:> Staci glued alot of decorative papers to it as well as painted it. She will be downtown this weekend at Arts in The Heart doing a paint out with other local artists at Metro Spirit Newspaper....should be aLOT of fun!! The quilt guild will be selling tickets for its donation quilt ...and giving it away on Sunday when Arts in the Hearts closes.
I added pictures of the dupioni silk pillow that I made for the chair...its only about 10" across...child sized!
The stigma was stitched around to give the center more definition and to loose some of the poof of the pillow...fun project.

And so of course i made another pillow..and have an idea for another one...too much fun and gets rid of silk in a hurry...did i say i have a huge pile of dupioni...

Chenille Pillow

2010-09-14T11:06:00.007-04:00

I made this chenille pillow yesterday for my friend Staci Swider's Ronald McDonald chair fund raiser...I cant wait to see them together!!! Will post a picture of them when we unite them tomorrow!!

I don't know why every once in a while i just have to make some chenille but silk chenille is the most awesome kind of chenille....the glow the fuzz of the comingling colors ...yummmy!
Heres a side view of it...I decided it needed to mimic the shape of a flower! The stigma or center of the flower is actually rounded just like a real flower would be. Dont you love the silk fringe on the side...made with chenilling techniques!

The pillow is small..perhaps less than ten inches. I have not measured it. Since it goes in a child's chair it had to be small but i think a large one could be YUMMILICOUS:>

Without Malice

2010-09-11T07:48:00.003-04:00

In remembrance of 9 11 I am posting my quilt Without Malice which was part of the America from the Heart exhibit at International Quilt Festival in 2001 and in the book of the same name.

The quilt is painted, the words are hand lettered. It went on to win a blue ribbon at the Quilters of South Carolina state show I think in miniatures or small wall quilts. It's about 2' x 30'...thread painted of course:>

As somebody said on NPR yesterday or was it Thursday, 9 11 is one of those handful of seminal events that we will always remember the exact moment...where we were what we were doing....Thank goodness my family came through it unscathed...I can only hope that yours did too!

Nice to see i can still sketch

2010-09-09T10:44:00.003-04:00

having not done a lot of it in the last year or two...mostly painting or thread painting....so i wont even post the first two sketches;> BYTW done in the large moleskin with a regular mechancial pencil....

But i think these turned out fine...we actually had a model...kelsey....

after i drew here i decided to sketch the sketchers:> which to me is definitely a more interesting model!!

so now i want to go sketch some more...hmm borders cafe??? always a great spot to sketch!!

Almost Done and Innova

2010-09-07T13:42:00.004-04:00

Almost Done

Quite excited - Almost Done and Innova were both accepted to the GA Quilt Show in Duluth, GA AKA Atlanta burb starting October 16!!!! I was supposed to have sent two checks - one per quilt because they cover mailing and had only sent one...They called me to see what i wanted to do...enter one or both because they wanted both of them entered:> BIG GRIN:> WOOT!!!

Innova

Happy Labor Day and a close up look at Almost done

2010-09-06T12:32:00.009-04:00

So Happy Labor Day...hope you are having as much fun as all the flotillas of people floating by on the rivah today...all manner of boaters and fisherman enjoying this wonderful almost fall weather.in the meantime posting pics of the latest quilt i completed Almost Done done in collaboration with my friend Jeffery Callaham...his artwork is the center which i transferred to fabric and inked with Tsuniko inks.

This is his memory of two of his aunts hanging laundry on a windy spring day in McCormick County, SC.

I actually coordinted the ladies clothes to match some of the dominate colors in an old piece of patchwork that I chopped up to form the borders on this piece. This quilt is not a square or even a parallelogram...all slightly off kilter.

Thread painting was done with whatever color thread that I had that matched the ink colors. Shading done in brown and dark blue and dark green.

I actually had messed up when i was inking the grass area so i cut it off and fused a new grass to it...you cant tell can you?? The grass was quilted with a varigated green thread.

You would think

2010-08-31T19:40:00.014-04:00

that i have not been busy creating myself at least judging by my blog BUT actually i have been and am stacking up the projects...i could post almost every day without creating one thing....HOWEVER this weekend i went to a high school friend's show at Whitespace Gallery in Atlanta in Inman Park. Whitespace Gallery is in an old converted garage in the garden of one of the old Victorian homes there.

Be sure to click on the pictures to reveal a larger photo. Click again on the larger photo to get an even bigger one.

Today I am going to share some of her wonderful glowing artwork from the Not Biodegradeable show. Mery Lynn McCorkle has been working as a full time artist since graduating from UGA. She makes wonderful hmm paintings consisting of a layer of polymer impregnated rayon fabric and beads and an underlayment of paper representing the constellations. The beads spell out verses in Morse Code.

After polymerizing rayon fabric so that it is almost sheer she paints the reverse side of it with thinned opalescent and gold paints so that the rayon glimmers. Then
Mery Lynn cuts away the rayon layer with a small pair of mustache scissors to reveal stars on the paper underlay. The rayon layer is suspended over the painted paper layer, and beads are carefully strung on wire over the rayon to represent words in Morse Code.

Detail

Detail

The beginning of her new series....the circular structures are suspended polymerized rayon.

Alison Foshee was also a part of the exhibit. Each of these unique art works is on a small corrugated cardboard background similar to the kind common tacks are stuck too. This is an immense installation to big to contain in one photo.

Each card is covered with an assortment of pins ranging from flower head pins to HUGE push pins.

Look carefully and see if you can find old light brite bulbs turned into flowerettes.

Such charm for only $20 a card.

28th Asheville Quilt Show "Stars Over the Mountain"

2010-08-10T14:52:00.010-04:00

If you click on the pictures you will see a MUCH bigger picture!!

There were 38 Art quilts in the 28th Asheville Quilt show...always a fine representation of art quilters across the nation AND .....
so i put up another pic because the show pic is faded looking...dont you love flashes?!! SIGH!

I got the first, the big ole blue ribbon in the Art Quilt Pro category at the Asheville Quilt Show WOOT!!

Elizabeth Allen - 2nd - Solar Wind - Nice addition of what seems to be a large polymer disk

Ruth Powers of Kansas - Burlingame Fire - 3rd and The Alliance for Quilts Award
Alot of hand dyed fabrics to represent the fire...I can not believe this one did not receive first...Ruth's work is always awesome! This quilt is flatter than a flitter!

Marylyn Wahl got HM on her " Love"

Best Landscape - Chris Eichner - Cathedral Rock - Sedona Arizona
Heavily thread painted

Judges Choice-(Katie Pasquini Masopust) for Carrie Hedstrom Camden for "A Prayer for Haiti"

Dont you love the color of this quilt...just wonderful!

and oops no picture Judy Simmons got Judge's Choice(Priscilla Hair) for her Morning Glory as well as the Digital Award.

Susan Brubaker Knapp entered a lovely orchid piece - Freckles - in the art quilt category which did not win even though it was a beauty but her Pink Petal Party got an HM in the Applique Mixed/Large Pro category. I tried to take a picture of Pink Petal Party but there was a cheer leading squad of ladies standing in front of it forever admiring and photographing the quilt next to it...but it was a very cool Baltimore albumish quilt in pinks... Nice to see someone besides me has a split personality.

Liz Spear - "Neal's Turquoise Coat" First in Wearables..the second year they have done this...Not only did she sew this sumptious coat but she and Neal Howard WOVE the fabric-a hard to beat combination!! The competition in this category was STIFF to say the least - beautiful wearables.

All of the 1,2,3rd places got checks, gift certificates as did the awards like Judges Choice...the art quilts got BOTH judge's choices...prize money for the show was $7200 something and usually there is more but the economy has caused it to take a hit there too....donations were down this year....

Judith Heyward, Mt. Pleasant - Arabian Mysteries - Second ...she also got Best Machine Quilting on her Summer Beauty wall quilt but I like this one much better-think very tiny tightly spaced awesome machine quilting - I think she won Best of Show at Charleston a few years ago...

OH there were over 300 quilts from 15 different states...no idea how many vendors...tenish...and then at least another dozen down at the mall nearby ...my favorite vendors are as always Batiks, Etc - more batiks than any place on earth i think:>,
Random Arts -anything to do with mixed media run by the awesome Jane and the French Connection - the lady with the awesome African baskets that everyone was carrying around ....

great show great weekend....

the NC Arborteum just off the Blue Ridge Parkway is a gorgeous setting for all those gorgeous quilts...oh did i say just off I 26....28th year of the show??

See you there next year!...I joined the guild so i could drive the golf cart shuttle around the Arboreteum parking lot:> ZZooom Zooommm ZZZZZZZZoom!

Touring Asheville!

2010-06-21T15:47:00.014-04:00

After a small hop around town on Wednesday after class to the new fabulous location of the EXPANDED Waechter's Silk Shop in Biltmore Village...and drooled over all the lovely fabrics and a HUGE collection of Kaffe Fassett...they are now kitting VERY cute little girls clothes along with a great magazing at sewwow!! Waechters is hand down the COOLEST fabric store around ...80 years in business and they KNOW how to do it...

and dinner at Pomdora's on Tunnel Rd...we were worn out!!!

The next day though we were off to make the most of our day in Asheville...I think we went to at least 12 stores and galleries!!! Asheville is an art lovers paradise with countless galleries and I have heard more than 10000 artists...studio tours daily...you name it they have it...

We started out at the Folk Art Center on The Blue Ridge Parkway just off Hwy 70 or Tunnel Road exit...an awesome place filled with juried arts and crafts from the nine states that share the Blue Ridge Mountains...

Then we were on to Biltmore Village...Biltmore Village was built for the estate workers and servants...The houses are a slice of England in the US with tiny narrow stairs and stucco and daub exterior...storybook houses...wish i had one!!

...I had to go to the Yarn Paradise at Biltmore Village! Stop #1 on my list...all the LYS in Augusta have sadly closed!!

we drooled our way thru Bellagio's where the clothes were marvelous!

A tour of the magnificent All Souls Episcopal Church built by George Vanderbilt in the 1890s...his daughter Cornelia was married there later

there are bells in this picture...five of them ...not that you can see them:>

Its a wonderful oriental looking half timber building - a cruciform design by Richard M. Hunt in a style "... from the Norman period of transition from Romanesque to Gothic." The building is in its original state as are the art work...gorgeous..a treat to go in!!

So heres a minitour!

The chapel!
Need stand for the votive candles...

My favorite kneeler...the church was filled with needlepoint kneelers and we pulled everyone out to look at and admire....
The kneelers were usually dedicated to a deceased church member...I have always loved this japanese wave!

Medieval

Reminds me of the crusades

A quilted banner!

Loved this sunflower...a favorite of mine

Such alot of work!

Awesome colors when you consider what was available in 72...i guess needle point wool was a wider range than quilt fabrics!

Definitely a british one!

Medieval looking

The baptismal font has awesome carving on it!

Awesome carvings on the four sides of the font!

The parish hall...like it just appeared out of Midsomer Murders!

Side view of the church...All Souls Cresent used to run between the church and the Parish hall...till they added the Sunday school rooms and that was that!!

One of the many stained glass windows

Check back for more pics of the tour of Asheville and of All Souls Church...if i lived in Asheville i would go to church there!

Painted shibori

2010-06-07T10:53:00.006-04:00

Having alot of fun painting shibori..this is done with PAINT NOT dye! I had so much fun that I ended up painting more than 30 fqs OOPS:> now I need some more PFD!

This one some how reminds me of monet but i am not sure why

This one turned out well

This one is very Monet!!

Really like this one...not shibori but looks like a fabulous piece of garden fabric

My favorite sky fabric...I painted ALOT of sky...its seems to be hard to find skys that look like a sky

A couple more sky fabrics

So I think its done

2010-06-06T17:21:00.000-04:00

Needle turned applique...now awaiting borders of some Kaffe Fassett stripes, a gold mille fiori and an outside border of phillip jacobsons bright coleus. This is based on a Jan Patek pattern but alot of the critters were just cut out of the fabric and sewn down...can you find my orange cat..the two snakes? Thinking of adding our Jack Russell and lab to the outside borders...we shall see what it says it wants...

Joggles class starts Tuesday!!!

2010-05-30T11:32:00.005-04:00

River Bend Lady class starts Tuesday on Joggles.com. You can sign up here!

One of the techniques you will learn:

Scroll down to see more gorgeous hand painted fabric!

Here is a class description!

You will be proud to hang your version of River Bend Lady on your wall and step back to hear the ohs and ahs of all your friends!

If you have ever longed to make a beautiful landscape or one of those lovely lady fiberart pieces that are raved about at international quilt shows and juried art shows this piece combines it all.

In this four week class project, River Bend Lady (measures approximately 15" x 45"), you will be walked through the process starting with designing your work of art to drawing your figure and dyeing and painting the fabric for it. Last but not least you will be putting it all together for a fabulous one of a kind piece of fiber art with as much stitching and beading as you desire.

I will take you step by step through the process from designing your own unique fiberart (there will be a pattern too for fall back!) to its completion. Here is a brief description of what you will be working on each week.

Lesson 1 will cover the design process including design sources, inspiration, and consideration of such design elements as color, basic design. We will also begin our fabric preparation.

Lesson 2 will cover the creation of various fabrics used in your own River Bend Lady. You will paint cheese cloth. You will create water fabric using a simple Shibori technique. You will learn an easy method to dye silk velvet for her skirt and silk for her hair.

Lesson 3 will cover drawing the lady with markers and colored pencils and we will begin to sew our Lady landscape background together using hand stitching.

Lesson 4 will culminate our project with the learning to ruche and bead our fabrics for the hair and clothing. Finally we will discuss possible finishing techniques for our ladies!

Skill level - Beginner to advanced sewing skills. This project can be as simple as you want and completely fused or as involved as you want to make it sewing by hand.

Now just to tease you...here's a small preview of what you will learn to do.....

Fabric painting!

Fake Arashi Shibori...quick easy and NO mess!

Ille's big beautiful birthday quilt

2010-05-25T12:24:00.009-04:00

click on the pictures TWICE to see the pictures up close!

Illes big birthday was May 16th and we made her a birthday quilt...we do that for members of our bee when they turn 50 or 60...

Hers is from the Kaffe Fassett Quilt Romance and was designed by Kim McLean. Its all needle turned applique using Kaffe Fassett fabrics...

We decided it should be called All Kaffe All the Time!

26 or 27 people contributed to this quilt in one way or the other....some people bravely tried applique for the first time ever...and the results were spectacular!!

Special thanks go to Connie Burleson and Maureen Massey for organizing, to Marie Atkinson and Shelvy Miller and Kay Lawrence for doing the center...To Betsy Cade, Jennifer McLanahan, Connie Burleson and Kristi Steiner for doing the inner borders....to Dana Wegner for organizing the final piecing AND Judy Lockhart for the beautiful quilting....

More details of the details!!

Quilt admiring!

Oh my even the back is Kaffe!

She loves the wild back too!

Up close examination!

I think its a BIG hit!

Margaret Wesley made her a delicious Birthday cake...we need the recipe!!! It involves mandarin oranges cool whip coconut...yum

Blowing out the candles!

Crowfield by the Sea

2010-05-20T14:40:00.003-04:00

Spent a lovely long weekend at a friends beach front house at Edisto....and this was their hospitality gift...maybe they will have me back again...then i can do the front or the beach side of the house:>

beachside at crowfield...i love the way it nestles down into the jungle that is overtaking the dunes

the dunes from the porch

and the blue waters where the Atlantic meets St. Helenas Sound...bytw thats Otter Island and Pine Island small in the distance on the other side of the water.

Look carefully at this picture...you will see a dot on the horizon toward the middle that is the channel marker a LARGE buoy...cant tell by this picture can you? DOUBLE CLICK on the picture and you will see the dot...finally....I have NO idea how far out it is....

One time we were sitting on the beach...my dh, my sil and I ...reading our books..he was fishing...a lady and her child were on one of those flimsy cheap plastic floats ALL THE WAY OUT at the buoy...the one that barely shows...guess who decides to be a hero and swim out and save them...they were being sucked up into the current and would have drown...Needless to say my sil and I almost had heart attacks watching him swim out and tow them in...no one drown thanks to his bravery ....an unsung hero...

flower pots

2010-05-20T14:38:00.000-04:00

a group of us are doing flower pots...mine is almost done....all but the top panel on the left and the bird and a couple of leaves on the right...then i have to do EIGHTY circles!! OH MY..and 200 or 300 2 1/2" blocks.....and of course quilting it:>

jan patek meets Kaffe with a little Maggie hunt on the side

2010-05-20T14:36:00.000-04:00

this wild quilt is what happens when you do a jan patek pattern in kaffe fassets...though i will say the dragonflies and butterflies and other little critters are me...there are more on it now that in this pic....i want to get it DONE....the borders are on the left...wonderful kaffe fassett coleus print

So i have not been on line in a while...too busy posting to fb

2010-05-05T14:47:00.004-04:00

First some eye candy for you!!
An awesome Camel at the Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens GA...i thought you could read the sign so did i write the name of the artist down...NOPE....its made entirely of a jillion cigarette butts....and is huge 8' or so...

Capmans old Ford pickup entirely covered with beer bottle caps collected from Athens GA...not hard to do since there are 40 bars in downtown Athens alone! At the OCFA...Oconnee County Arts Festival last weekend....

so heres a little of what you have missed today....

PANDORA.com and overstock.com

As some of you know we have been sewing at my house every Wednesday lately...come on yall are invited....we had a lovely lunch of quiche and strawberry pie and raspberry sparkly fizzy stuff from Earthfare...YUMMM and cup cakes....

ok so how is this quilt related...Maureen was admiring the oldies but goodies and wondering where she could find the same....and i said PANDORA.com...you can do your own channels...any kind of music so you always have something to listen too...AND I can get rid of Michael Jackson and Wayne "Fig" Newton and his Danke Shein...i am sure i spelled that wrong....and never have to listen to them again...EVER....REALLLY dont like Wayne and not to fond of Michael either....and i ditched a couple of the more up to date songs from Glee...never to be heard again unless i add them back...WHOOOHOOOO...

I play my Pandora.com tunes thru my Netflix Roku box...heaven....Bose is blasting away right now....

OK so then theres overstock.com...as some of you may not know Maureen is the internet queen for thrifty quilt shopping. She found the ruler for the one patch wonder on Overstock.com and theres free if you are patient and wait for an offer....or next to nothing of $2 if you have to have it NOW like alot of us do!!

WHAT else did you miss besides the quiche, strawberry pie and that yum raspberry sparkly stuff from earth fare...OH the earthfare coupon this week....from their email list...buy $5 and get a free bar of 8.8 oz South of France soap...WOOOHOOO again....

And Senior Discount day at Gurosiks our favorite ORGANIC strawberry place is Wed...$1 off your strawberries....and other organic veggies...YUMMMY....

Dont forget to sign up for the deals at Overstock.com or the coupons at Earthfare at Earthfare.com!

SEE you all next week OR NOT:>

My way to faux trapunto

2010-03-03T17:47:00.006-05:00

I am long arm quilting a friend's quilt with this lovely geisha on a panel in the middle of it...she gave me free reign soooo I decided she would be perfect to trapunto and to quilt it with wonderful opalescent gold thread that just shimmers on her...

....so this is how i do my "faux" trapunto...read that word somewhere lately....

First i take a piece of wool batting and cut it out roughly the size of the area to be trapuntoed...

Then i slip it between the batting and the top of the quilt...

I pin the batting and place the pins vertically so the wool batting does not slip when i roll it up..
BYTW I use pins with heads that show so I am sure NOT to sew over them..hard to miss those big flower head pins

Why do i place the pins vertically?? If you dont when you roll it up you will get stabbed with the pins...and wait it wont roll very well if at all!!

Then i sew around the figure to be trapuntoed...

you can NOT sew over it very much or you will loose the puffy look so i just quilted over a few folds in her kimono

Another shot of the trapunto before i quilted the background...
you have to quilt the background heavily to make the trapunto pop....

if you click on this you can see the quilting....free motion fans....pretty straight lines if i do say so myself...the fans not the fans' filler:>

Here you can see the fans that i quilted fmq

the finished quilt

MaggieART - Margaret Hunt

Mixed Media Flowers

Quilt provenance or what i learned

SO which is your favorite???

An Awesome Quilt in 50 Simple Steps

How I built a house- a minitutorial Part I or

Watercolor Portraits

June is birthday month

OCAF Members show

Diamond HIll Mine Adventures!

Oh my gosh

A Group Show is hung

The Andrea Wilson Gallery

9/11 :Without Malice - America from the Heart

A HaPpY Birthday To Linda

Another good post from Christine Kane

OCAF student show

7 Telltale Signs It's Time to Get Over Yourself and Get Support

Dear me

Alzheimers donation quilt progress

My donation quilt for Alliance for Quilts

7 Powerful Reasons NOT to Have a Job

Plexipainting...sort of a tutorial...or should i say how i did it?

Still painting and collaging

Happy Valentines and my FIRST blog giveaway!

How I updated the look of my blog - A Tutorial

Tutorial - Painting paper

so alot more stuff red hot off the paint brush

More collaging

Collaging and painting part 2/mini Tutorial

Collaging and painting

Been so busy creating that

More fun with polymer clay

Playing with polymer clay

The Christmas Leftover party

Sues birthday quilt is done...

Another birthday quilt done...

How to do those innie corners

Art After Dark

White on white with feathers!

Great looking machine sewn binding - A tutorial

Pieceful Hearts Donation quilt is ready to begin its journey!

Another ribbon!!

Inking on the rivah

To say i am busy

SO heres Our "Sweet Chair-ity" contribution

Vote for Staci's Ronald McDonald Sweet Chair-ity contribution here...course you know how i will vote!! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LY852QJ

Chenille Pillow

Without Malice

Nice to see i can still sketch

Almost Done and Innova

Happy Labor Day and a close up look at Almost done

You would think

28th Asheville Quilt Show "Stars Over the Mountain"

Touring Asheville!

Painted shibori

So I think its done

Joggles class starts Tuesday!!!

Ille's big beautiful birthday quilt

Crowfield by the Sea

flower pots

jan patek meets Kaffe with a little Maggie hunt on the side

So i have not been on line in a while...too busy posting to fb

My way to faux trapunto

Vote for Staci's Ronald McDonald Sweet Chair-ity contribution here...course you know how i will vote!!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LY852QJ