CHALLENGE: Structure

The space within becomes the reality of the building.

~Frank Lloyd Wright

My 12 x 12 groups's challenge for this quarter was "Structure".  "Structure" can mean many things; for me, from my nerdy engineering side, I thought first of building structures. 

 I went to Google, looking for structures and the photo below spoke to me.

Below is a photo of my piece in process; it is tough to see all of the layers.  I pieced fabric, sewed additional lines, rubbed  metallic wax on it, covered it with tulle, and then added the two circular appliques.  I knew I needed to add one more layer of stronger supports, but was not sure how I would layer them on.  

 I took a photo of the work-in-process and printed out six copies; I took a white colored pencil and began experimenting with how the final layer would look. Finally, I could add the velvet thread to finish it! 

I wanted this work to be dark and steely, but thought that one pop of color was needed, so a citrine colored velvet puff was added.  Below is my finished piece, entitled, "Industrial Pop".  Enjoy!

CHALLENGE: Using Words

 "A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water". 

~Eleanor Roosevelt

The last challenge for my 12 x 12 group was about using words on our art quilts. You can read about our 12 x 12 Challenge group here. I chose my favorite quote is from Eleanor Roosevelt, "A woman is like a teabag, you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water".   

I began with white fabric that I used Jacquard's color magnet on by making a dot pattern with the pen. When I dyed the fabric with periwinkle dye, the dots become darker than the rest of the fabric. When you look at the piece about, you can see dime-sized dots throughout the background fabric.

I hand embroidered the outlines of the letters for the quote. My teacup and its flowers are machine appliquéd with some puff-paint accents. A fine China teacup usually is gold rimmed, so I thought it fitting, I trimmed the entire teacup, saucer, and handle with gold paint.

Finally outside of the quote's circle, I did a pattern of French knots. Inside of the circle I did a diamond hand-quilting pattern. One of the niftiest parts of this 12" x 12" quilt is the binding, it's the first binding I ever did that was entirely machine sewn with no handstitching needed.

Remnants
When school ended for the summer, I had such high hopes of catching up on my blog and my art in general...best laid plans...The first 10 days of summer vacation was spent in Phoenix helping my sister care-giving  my dear niece.  Sis and I are leaving this weekend for a second trip.  I decided that I would make a series of prayer flags for my niece that she could hang in her room.  This coupled with a friend going through a stem cell transplant put me into the pray flag making mode. Below is the first prayer flag:

Here is the beginning of the prayer flags at my friend's home awaiting his return at the end of the month.

 I also made three extra flags that will be on my Etsy store later this week.
Enjoy!
Kathy

ART QUILT GROUP: Life is Like a Box of Crayons....Part III

Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon.  ~Peter Lynch

Our March meeting of my Art Quilt Group meeting with crayon challenge brought so many wonderful pieces.  The  March colors were Indigo, Red, Red Orange.

Below is the rundown of what everyone made.  First is Anna Mae's piece; it reminds me of a sparkly diamond ring!

Next is Carolyn's.  She began with hand-dyed organza and then, due to traveling, she moved on to hand stitching and beading.

Here is Diane's (and sorry, my camera did not capture the color well here).  She was inspired by the artist Charley Harper and his cardinals.

Here is Doha's work.  Doha is our newest member and I am glad she has decided to join us. She chose to applique lots of fun fabrics.

Here is Evey's; I believe we all agreed that this reminded us of a campfire with sparks.

Jackie did some indigo dyeing with Shibori; she is continuing to complete the piece with sashiko stitching  The beauty of this piece in person is phenomenal.

Jackie has a second piece of a skunk cabbage that is in its early stages.  She said that she imagines there will be lots of French knots on it.

Jenny used this month's challenge to work on her applique; she is emphasizing her applique with sashiko stitching.

June used hand dyed fabrics and couching of fibers; she finished with circle quilting (her specialty).

Mary was inspired by Gwen Marston liberated stitch blocks along with Amish quilts.

I do not have any pictures of my own submission.  I will work on this and put it in my blog for next week.

Our colors for the next challenge are: Red Violet, Salmon, Granny Smith (now these are colors I can get on board with!)

The Road to Happiness

The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.

John D. Rockefeller III

I am lucky that I have found my passion...many people go through their entire life without realizing their passion. My passion involves anything that requires me to use a needle with thread or a paint brush on any type of fabric.

The photo above is is a quilt that I have been working on for a few years (as is with most of my projects!). I decided I wanted to learn how to applique, so I picked this quilt- probably not the best choice for my initial endeavor. It is interesting to now see my journey through my stitches. The first few blocks look pretty sloppy and as I finished, I was in a good rhythm (but with still much to learn).

The quilt was quilted by my good friend, Pam Huggins. Here is her website: http://www.huggsnquilts.com/ I love the attention to detail she puts into each quilt.
The pattern for the quilt is from the book below:

Are you an appliquer? What is your favorite applique project that you are working on or have finished?