From Tonya' Studio

Stitching "Practice Flights"

2012-01-18T11:06:00.000-06:00

I ran across this old article by Karin Winter from the August/September 2008 issue of Quilting Arts magazine about pet portraits.

I liked Karin's collage approach and thought I would try it for my Merging Visions entry this year. I quilted the background before I added the bird outlines and bird fabric.

I used colored pencils, paint sticks and marker to add shading.

I'll probably try this method again. It's very freeing and fast.

Backyard Experiment

2012-01-16T14:20:00.001-06:00

DH has converted our former pool pump house into a chicken coop.

The girls arrived a week ago. A Barred Rock, an Ameracana, a Rhode Island Red and a Silver Laced Wyandotte. They were hatched in late October so we don't expect eggs until April.

We're still trying to figure each other out.

Rusty is obsessed with the new smells and sounds. I don't think he will be allowed in the yard when the chickens are out of the coop. Sigh.

I had hoped he could control himself.

I just planted a small garden of greens today. Swiss Charred, Collards and bib lettuce. The package says they are frost tolerant and should produce in 50 days.

I can't wait.

Practice Flights

2012-01-12T14:09:00.002-06:00

I've been busy with graphic design work lately and haven't had much time to sew.

I have managed to begin the piece I'm doing for the 2012 Merging Visions show.

I'm trying a new raw-edge method for adding my birds.

Rusty's friend Roady is spending the week with us while his humans are out of town. So far so good.

Texas Quilt Museum

2011-12-05T10:34:00.001-06:00

My red dragonfly quilt, Libellula Saturata, Flame Skimmer, is on display at the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, Texas.

I still haven't had the chance to go, but a friend sent me these photos.

It looks like a great space.

Judy Kriehn's Firewheels.

Barbara Oliver Hartman's Reclamation: Retro above.

Carol Morrissey's Iguana.

This exhibit will be on display through Feb. 12, 2012.

I hope I get the chance to visit too.

Meet The Artist Night

2011-11-18T13:34:00.001-06:00

This Sunday evening, November 20 from 5-7 pm, Café Du Luxe in Denton will host it's "Meet-The-Artist" night. Twenty-three of my quilts are on display during the month of November. I hope you can join us.

Café Du Luxe is a lovely coffee and wine café in the Unicorn Lake area of Denton. They serve coffee, wine and a menu featuring breakfast pastries; sandwiches; salads; soups; evening appetizers and decadent desserts. Music, local art and a contemporary atmosphere make Café Du Luxe the perfect alternative to those "on every street corner" cafes.

VAST Calendar Exhibit

2011-11-10T16:35:00.001-06:00

"Norman" and his art friends will be hanging around The Chestnut Tree garden tea room for a while.

All twelve of the original art pieces from the 2012 Vast Calendar are on display including my 12 x12" thread-painted portrait of my neighbor's dog Norman.

The 2012 Desk Calendars are now available at the tea room and
other fine stores in Denton for only $10.

Fun at Quilt Festival

2011-11-08T11:32:00.000-06:00

I'm back from the International Quilt Festival in Houston tired yet inspired.

I'm so honored to have two of my quilt in the new book, Lone Stars III: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, 1986 to 2011. Some of the quilts in the book were in an exhibit during the show.

Others were on display at the new Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, Texas

that opens November 13. My red dragonfly quilt, "Libellula Saturata: Flame Skimmer" is in gallery II if you get a chance to visit the museum.

There was a reception on Friday night for guests and quilters who were featured in the book.

On Saturday I had a wonderful time wandering through the halls of vendors and quilts, visiting with friends, and absorbing the excitment.

Deborah Boschert and I both managed to get into the Make It University Sketchbook Workshop.

There are so many quilts from all over the world in the exhibit areas.

One of my favorite special exhibits was the Twelve By Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge. I've been watching Deborah do her 12x12 challenge for several years. It was so cool to see them all in one place.

My "Wine and Dine the Mind" was in the juried show.

On Sunday I participated in the Save Our Stories project. The Alliance for American Quilts is recording interviews with quilters for future generations.

It was such a joy to spend time with friends – those who have moved away and those who I "know" from their blogs. I look forward to doing it all again next year.

Show at Café Du Luxe

2011-11-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

Twenty-three of my quilts are on display at Café Du Luxe in Denton for the month of November.

Early Birds Mug

2011-10-23T14:17:00.003-05:00

How exciting!

I won one of Jane Sassaman's new Early Birds Mugs in her blog giveaway!

Thank you Jane!

Here's a link to her new Early Birds line.

Retreating with friends

2011-10-05T10:23:00.002-05:00

I spent my birthday with friends atthe lovely Create-awayCottage in Collinsville.

It's a lovely facility north ofDenton.

I quilted this little pine cone I painted surrounded by dupioni silk.

I'm thread painting a smallportrait of Pat and Lloyd.

and started thread painting aportrait of Rusty.

It was a wonderful weekend.

Ride to Arkansas

2011-10-04T11:09:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, we rode up to Winslow, Arkansas for a few days of riding.

We found these nice cabins online.

They are on the west edge of the Ozark National Forest.

The sunrise each morning was beautiful.

We found this darling little cafe in Johnson county.

Just down the road was this rope bridge.

We had lunch in Jasper one day. It's a nice town with a great cafe, antique and art shops. I really enjoyed the beautiful curvy roads near the Boxley Valley and on the Pig Trail. The weather was perfect except for a couple hours of rain on the first day.

Arkansas is one of my favorite places to ride.

Two-Color Quilt Exhibit

2011-09-14T16:59:00.000-05:00

The Denton Quilt Guild is exhibiting two-color quilts made by it's members at the Center for the Visual Arts in Denton.

My quilt, "Attack of the Ragweed" is in the show.

The Center for the Visual Arts

Meadows Gallery

400 East Hickory

September 11 - October 30, 2011

Gallery Hours: 1-5 p.m.

Tuesday - Sunday

Free and open to the public

Black Tangled Tennies

2011-09-06T14:28:00.004-05:00

My son asked me to make a black version of the white Zentangled shoes I made last month.

This time I used a silver sharpie.

I had to draw bigger designs because the point is bigger.

I don't know how they will wear but I like the look.

The Next Chapter

2011-09-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

This was my first pictorial quilt. I made it in 1999 from a photo of my son when he was three-years-old. He moved away to college last weekend. I'm still adjusting. He called me to help with a problem two days ago and I haven't heard from him since. He's either lost his phone or he's ignoring me. A friend advised that "no news is good news." I'm trying to accept that advice and be patient.

"Arabesque"

2011-08-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

I have coffee with friends three days a week. I like to have some handwork with me during these hour-long visits. Sometimes it's the only sewing I have time for during the week. I decided to add some embroidery stitches to this piece of cotton printed with a deconstructed silk screen. (See photos from dye retreat.)

"Arabesque" 16x22"

I added sequins, beads, and silk borders and quilted it with rayon thread.

Tangled Tennies

2011-08-12T15:04:00.001-05:00

I took a Zentangle class from Susan Thillen earlier this month.

I thought I would try some of the things I learned on a pair of white canvas slip-ons for my son.

I used Sharpie Fine Point and Ultra Fine Point pens.

I tested spray fixative and ScotchGuard on a piece of canvas with some Sharpie drawings. The fixative faded the black and the ScotchGuard made it bleed.

I decided to leave them as is and let them age at will.

Accepted!

2011-07-20T08:36:00.000-05:00

My "Wine and Dine the Mind" quilt will be at International Quilt Festival in Houston this fall.

Wine and Dine the Mind

Two old favorites will also be in the

"Texas Quilts Today: Selections from the Book Lone Stars III" special exhibit.

Jon's Big Adventure

Libellua Saturata

Happy Dance!

2011-07-17T15:23:00.000-05:00

Happy Dance started life as a collection of fancy fabrics for a jacket years ago. I realized the jacket was never going to happen and grabbed the stack to take to a retreat in April 2010. I randomly pieced rayon, silk, cotton, antique kimono scraps, and satin on squares of paper backing with no plan in mind. Here are some of the block I made and several purses.

I stitched more together randomly and made this top.

"Happy Dance" 43 x 43"

My son is going off to college in six weeks. We've been collecting the things he will need for his on-campus apartment. I think I'm distracted by the planning and graphic design work. I'm having trouble starting my next project. I know the six weeks will go by fast.

Mini Experiment

2011-07-15T16:11:00.000-05:00

Jeanelle McCall wrote an article in Quilting Arts magazine Issue 50 called "spring in full Bloom". I didn't want to start the big project that's been on my mind for months so I procrastinated and played with Jeanelle's fabric strip background, layered circle flowers and small contrasting dots.

"Sunny Blossoms" – 11 3/4 x 12 3/4"

On this one I added some leaves.

"Purple Tulip" – 7 3/8 x 8 1/8"

I stuck with Jeanelle's strip background but I quilted it, tried a tulip and added leaves.

"Bloom Where you are Planted" – 8 x 7 3/8"

This one has Jeanelle's strip background and circle flower but I added a secondary background and stitched the stem and leaves.

These little experiments will be donated.

You Talkin' ta Me?

2011-07-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

The 6th Annual VAST 125-Mile Visual Arts Exhibition opened last night

in the Texas Woman's University, Denton Campus, Fine Arts Building.

My little (12x12") quilt, "You Talkin' ta Me?" is in the show.

The gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 to 5

and the show runs through August 5.

I hope you'll have time to visit.

Dye Retreat 2011

2011-06-28T09:51:00.000-05:00

My son graduated from high school at the beginning of June.

We are very proud of him.

It's been a whirlwind ever since.

I attended my annual dye retreat in East Texas in the middle of the month. You can read about the history here. It was especially hot this year but the windy heat help dry the dyed fabric very quickly.

Ken added a loading dock to the back of his shop this year.

It made our rinsing station super convenient.

Linda watched a lecture on deconstructed silk screening so we had to try it.

Thickened dye is allowed to dry on a clean silk screen overnight.

Thickened water is put on the dry screen with dry fabric underneath.

As the thickened water is forced through the screen,

the dry dye begins to get wet and transfer to the fabric below.

You can move the screen and print again, mask parts with newspaper or found objects.

Each pass changes as the dry dye gets wetter.

This one is another print done the next day.

I used thickened orange dye instead of water.

My favorite dying method is to scrunch fabric into a wallpaper tray

and pour dye onto the fabric in bands.

I made shirts for Berek.

This is half of a shower curtain for his college apartment.

I had fun doodling with a bleach pen on a discharged shirt.

Kathi did lots of direct painting on fabric and some

onesies with matching receiving blankets.

Jill did several beautiful velvet kaleidoscope pieces.

We didn't have a dye-of-the-year that everyone wanted to use this year

and we didn't have to have anything shipped overnight.

We've made our notes and have plans for next year.

I can't wait.

Making Minis

2011-05-04T16:33:00.000-05:00

I've been working on several mini quilts.

I used trimmed off parts of three other quilts to make the first two.

The pieces are put next to each other and zig-zagged together.

Caribbean Sunrise, 12.5x12”, April 2011

The sun and it's rays were a necklace made of felted and beaded wool.

Unmasked, 13x12” April 2011

The batik masks have been on my bulletin board for years.

Sew Sari, 12.25x15.75” April 2011

The embroidered center is a scrap of an Indian sari.

The green face bead us is one I made with polymer clay.

Next time, something bigger.

Purse Auction

2011-05-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

The Greater Denton Arts Council is hosting a fundraiser on May 3.

"It's in the Bag" is a silent auction of one-of-a-kind handbags.

"It's in the Bag" is open to the public and will be held May 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Center for Visual Arts, 400 E. Hickory, in Denton. Tickets are $20 at the door and include High Tea and Bellinis during the silent auction. Hope to see you there.

Merging Visions Exhibit 2011

2011-04-06T16:44:00.003-05:00

In April (March 31 through April 30) which is National Poetry Month, the Denton Poets’ Assembly will join VAST (the Visual Arts Society of Texas) in a collaborative exhibit called “Merging Visions.” This is the fourth annual collaboration. This year, the exhibit will be held in all three branches of the Denton Public Library: North, South, and Emily Fowler Central. The showing is free and open to the public. There will be an opening reception at the Emily Fowler branch on April 9 from 3-5 p.m.

All poems and artwork are originals created by members of the two groups. Some of the poems were created with the artwork as inspiration, and some were inspirations for the artwork. The pairings will be displayed on the walls of the libraries, and available to view during the libraries' open hours. A catalog will be placed at the entrance or reference desk of each library during the event.

Four of my quilts are in the exhibit. When I look at the exhibit, I wonder what came first, the art or the poem.

"Chairy Tree" is at the Emily Fowler Library.

J. Paul Holcomb's poem Remembering the Chairy Tree at Swan Lake

was written after I made the quilt.

"Wine and Dine the Mind" is hanging in the North Branch Library.

This quilt was inspired by Beth Honeycutt's poem

After Reading "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

The poem is about our experience at book club when we discussed the book.

"The Doubler" is hanging in the North Branch Library.

This quilt was inspired by Beth Honeycutt's poem The Doubler.

The musician in the quilt is Beth's husband, Randy;

a doubler who plays more than one instrument during one song.

"All I want for Christmas..." is at the South Branch Library.

Sandy Sanborn's poem High Fives was written after I made the quilt.

I hope you enjoy the exhibit.

It's in the Bag 2011

2011-03-29T13:52:00.000-05:00

The Greater Denton Arts Council is hosting a fundraiser on May 3.

"It's in the Bag" is a silent auction of one-of-a-kind handbags.

The deadline to enter is April 1 and the purses are due April 15.

I've made several.

"It's in the Bag" is open to the public and will be held May 3, at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton. Tickets are $20 at the door and include High Tea and Bellinis during the silent auction. Hope to see you there.

Mini Quilts

2011-03-24T15:40:00.001-05:00

I created "You Talkin' ta Me?" for the 2012 Quilting Arts Calendar challenge, "Feeling Pet-ty".

12 x 12"

It was one of the 22 finalists but wasn't chosen to be in the calendar.

I made "Good Day Sunshine, IV" 13 x13" last weekend.

Dallas Quilt Celebration 2011

2011-03-10T11:19:00.000-06:00

The Quilter's Guild of Dallas will host it's annual quilt show this weekend at Dallas Market Hall, located at 2200 Stemmons Freeway (I-35E) just northwest of downtown Dallas.

I have donated two quilts to the Mini Quilt Auction that will begin at 1:00 on Saturday.

"Buzz off!" Said the Flower to the Bee, 13x12"

Deja Brew, 14x14"

Here are the show details.

Hope to see you there.

The Doubler

2011-02-21T10:21:00.000-06:00

I just finished quilting "The Doubler." I made it for the VAST/Denton Poets Assembly joint show called Merging Visions. It's based on a poem by Beth Honeycutt about a doubler – an instrumentalist who plays more that one instrument during a song.

The Doubler, 24x33"

The musician is Beth's husband, Randy, who inspired the poem.

Randy helped me stage a photo of him playing his flute. The background is hand-dyed cotton and the clarinet and saxophone are inkjet printed on cotton.

detail

The Merging Visions exhibit opens April 1 in all three branches of the Denton Public Libraries and is accessible to the public free of charge during regular library hours.

Valentine Mini

2011-02-09T17:14:00.000-06:00

This is the fourth year that I've made a Valentine mini for my sweetie.

9.75 x 11.75"

I used the webicon.me website to create the image and printed it on fabric with my inkjet printer. The red background is a repurposed silk skirt.

I gave Rusty a new Teddy Bear that has already lost it's head.

Snow Day 4

2011-02-04T09:05:00.000-06:00

We got about four inches of snow on top of ice on Monday.

Now it's snowing again.

It's our fourth day below freezing so nothing has melted.

Rusty doesn't seem to mind the cold much.

He still wants me the throw the ball. I just have to make sure he sees where it lands.

There are quite a few buried tennis balls at the moment.

I started and finished a newsletter this week.

How nice to be able to send the files to the printer digitally.

I've cooked and baked and spent some time sewing.

Wine and Dine the Mind

2011-02-01T13:29:00.000-06:00

For several years, the Denton Poets' Assembly and VAST (the Visual Arts Society of Texas) have produced a joint show during poetry month, April. Artists and poets pair to create art inspired by poems or poems inspired by art.

This quilt was inspired by the poem,

"After Reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

written by Beth Honeycutt about our book club.

"Wine and Dine the Mind" 25.75 x 29.5"

The image is inspired by a photo I took at our book club meeting.

The wine glass, plate and fork, shot glass and Aquavit are inkjet prints on fabric.

The dragon is organza.

This quilt and lots more art and poems will be on display at all three Denton Public Libraries in April.

Feeling Pet-ty

2011-01-24T09:42:00.000-06:00

I was happy to discover that the quilt I submitted for the 2012 Quilting Arts Calendar challenge, "Feeling Pet-ty" is a finalist. There are 21 artists on the list. The 13 winners will be announced on Pokey's blog on February 11.

Here's a sneak peak of my quilt.

I'm honored to be a finalist. What a nice surprise.

First snow

2011-01-13T16:26:00.000-06:00

Snow in Texas is pretty rare.

Maybe one or two events a year.

This squirrel continues to taunt Rusty.

A good time to work on my quilts.

Last night I gave Rusty a new teddy bear.

He had a really good time with it today. Sigh...

Murphy

2010-12-17T15:52:00.000-06:00

My friend asked me to make a quilt of her cat Murphy.

I printed the photo on fabric with inkjet, cut him out and fused him to hand-dyed silk. I thread-painted the fur with rayon thread. The background is quilted with cotton.

"Murphy" 10x18"

progress

2010-12-13T12:01:00.000-06:00

I had fun making these wool and felt ornaments for my arty friends this year.

This cat entry for the "Quilting Arts" calendar is ready.

My Rusty 12x12" is in progress...

as is this commission of Murphy.

Rusty has been busy watching squirrels.

Thank you...

2010-11-11T14:21:00.000-06:00

I didn't know my husband until much later.

We have a little corner in our house with photos and medals.

I'm thankful for the men and women who served in the past ...

... and for those that serve today.

God bless you.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:51:00.000-05:00

Hope you had a spooktacular day!

Four Days in New York

2010-10-31T16:46:00.000-05:00

Four friends spent four days in New York City to celebrate four birthdays

within four weeks of each other.

We had a wonderful dinner in Brooklyn at the home of one friend's son.

We visited the gallery in DUMBO where her other son had a photograph on display,

and road home to New York in an open-air Land-Rover. Beautiful!

We visited Ground Zero,

and took a boat to explore Liberty and Ellis Islands.

After a yummy New York-style pizza at John's,

we surprised one birthday girl with tickets to "Wicked."

I loved it.

We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

and climbed on the fabulous installation, Big Bambu.

Big Bambu was on the roof of the MET, overlooking Central Park from March through October.

So cool!

We spent a few hours at the Museum of Modern Art wishing we had more time.

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to buy bagels and cupcakes.

We explored Chinatown and enjoyed a yummy lunch.

I had such a WONDERFUL time.

I'm so grateful that my family and friends made it possible.

A month ago...

2010-10-31T15:58:00.000-05:00

my son brought me flowers for my birthday...

my dear husband hosted my birthday party...

our talented friend, Dave Thomas, sang and entertained our guests...

my son danced with me...

we shared some wonderful food and cake...

and I danced with my dear husband...

It was a fabulous day. Thank you!

"Heart Bubbles"

2010-09-22T17:19:00.000-05:00

"Heart Bubbles" 10x16"

I found this piece of marbled silk in Cosette's booth at Houston International Quilt Festival last year. I thought it would be fun to quilt for a donation mini quilt.

I added some beads.

I enjoyed working with the silk.

"Buddy"

2010-09-20T11:15:00.000-05:00

Buddy, 12x12"

My neighbor commissioned me to make a quilt of her dad's cat Buddy.

She had this great photo for me to use.

I printed Buddy's face on cotton sateen with my friend Linda's big inkjet printer. I fused the fabric onto freezer paper and we fed it into the printer from the back. After several wadded up attempts, we put scotch tape on the leading edge to get it to feed correctly.

I cut out the face and fused it to a fabric background. The machine quilting caused the edges to wave, so he is fused to two layers of canvas to keep him flat.

beaded silk

2010-09-03T17:15:00.001-05:00

While tidying up my studio, I found some pieces of silk I had dyed in a class with Ginny Eckley a long time ago. I was looking for some handwork and noticed several flower-shaped tied spots on this one.

"Buzz off!," Said the Flower to the Bee. 13x12"

Deborah Boschert discovered that if you embroidery with felt as your middle layer instead of batting that you don't have as much bearding.

The embroidery on her "Framing Flourish" quilt is what got me started looking for something to embellish.

I thought it needed a bee.

I liked the random edges of felt poking out from under the silk so I finished the edges with a blanket stitch. I think it's kind of unexpected to have the humble acrylic felt beneath the luxurious silk.

Deja Brew

2010-08-28T15:07:00.001-05:00

Years ago I made this teacup as a fusing sample in a class with Robbi Joy Eklow. It's been hanging out on my bulletin board until this spring when I combined it with some marbled and hand-dyed fabric and recycled buttons.

Deja Brew, 14x14"

Think Art, Just Start!

2010-08-22T17:02:00.000-05:00

I finished a quilt that I've been working on for a couple of years. I tend to worry over a design for a long time before I can begin. Here's one I finished.

Time to begin again!

Exploring Montréal

2010-08-04T10:17:00.000-05:00

Summer is the busiest time of year for my clients so I haven't had much time for personal art. While our son was off to National Boy Scout Jamboree in Virginia, hubby and I spent a week in Montréal.

We stayed at the Hilton in downtown near the Metro and train station.

It's a beautiful downtown with lots of green space, flowers and old mixed with modern. There are tons of huge old churches in the downtown area.

A tour guide explained that real estate developers are requires to spend 1% of their budget on public art. There are beautiful sculptures near all the modern buildings.

We stumbled into the "Just For Laughs" street fair one night.

There was a giant crane that lifted the dancers 15 stories into the air.

The next group of dancers heading for the stage. Montréal is a

French-speaking city so all the songs were in French.

The weather was cooler than Texas, so outdoor dining was quite pleasant.

We roamed the city with a Metro/museum pass.

This artist courtyard was near the harbor. There is an extensive underground with shopping and restaurants that connect a lot of the downtown buildings to the Metro.

Outdoor dining on McGill College Street.

Atwater Market.

I wish we had found the Atwater Market on the first day instead of the last day. In addition the the beautiful produce, there were shops with cheese, sausage, wine, etc.

I recommend Montréal as a great adult getaway.

Dye Retreat 2010

2010-06-26T16:32:00.004-05:00

I spent a week in steamy East Texas dying fabric with my friends. Four of us have been getting together since 1996. You can read more of the history here.

Ken added a wonderful deck of the back of his wood shop this year. We hooked up our sinks and a shade cloth. Very civilized.

Progress on the first day!

We tried a bit of discharge this year with 25% bleach and had better results than in previous years.

This one is cotton velveteen.

Chewey, the supervisor, sleeping on the job.

...a monoprint of a floor piece.

Kathi made the traditional cappuccino mousse.

Kathi, Tonya, Jill and Linda visited Ken at the lake one evening. The breeze from the lake was a nice change from the heat. This was another wonderful retreat. I can't wait to get started making something with my new fabric.

Happy 10th Anniversary, Twisted Stitchers!

2010-06-09T11:45:00.004-05:00

The Twisted Stitchers art quilt group met at Julie's house for a 10th Anniversary party last night. We shared a wonderful Mexican pot luck meal and played with her darling pups.

I'd been holding on to a package of PMC (precious metal clay) for a couple of years. Julie has been experiment with PMC and encouraged me to bring mine to play with. It's so fast!

A 16mg package of PMC3 yielded all of these charms.

The larger two in the foreground have been burnished.

The two circles to the left have only been brushed with a brass brush.

The whiter ones toward the back are straight from the kiln.

They baked at 1200º for 20 minutes. So after an hour, including warm-up and cool-down, I had all these fired pieces. Very fun! Thanks Julie!

Rusty's second Birthday

2010-06-08T08:59:00.001-05:00

We had a birthday party for Rusty last night. He is two years old today.

Roady, the backyard neighbor, arrived in his stylish Doggles.

The humans enjoyed ice cream while Rusty and Roady romped in the backyard.

A rose is a rose...

2010-06-07T14:05:00.004-05:00

I was the fortunate recipient of a box of fancy and sheer fabric from mixed media artist, Lisa Qualls. Several of her pieces included stitching and screen printing. Lisa agreed to let me finish some of her tidbits to make donation items.

This cool leaf was the inspiration for a small bag purchased at the "It's in the Bag" auction by a delightful lady in a matching purple dress to hold her Kindle.

A Rose is a Rose... (16.5x16") was almost a top when Lisa gave it to me.

I added the folded red rose and bound the left and bottom edge

in red to balance the red on the top right.

I backed the sheer screened roses with red felt and machine quilted them with white thread.

I added these red glass discs,

and some red seed beads.

This mini and lots of other handmade art will be in the Denton Quilt Guild silent auction on June 17 from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton, Texas.

a peek

2010-05-28T16:39:00.000-05:00

I haven't bogged in a long time because I haven't finished any art lately. I've been doing a lot of graphic design work for clients. (A good thing.) And supervising my son with his end-of-the-year projects.

He painted a book cover on a ceiling tile for a book report in English.

I hope to see the English classroom someday.

A patrol flag for 2010 National Scout Jamboree.

Packing for Pre-Jamboree Campout this weekend.

Including patch sewing, backpack patching and strap making.

Rusty is worried that he's not going with Berek.

I did some quilting on my self-portrait.

...and some quilting on a donation mini quilt.

...and some quilting on another donation mini quilt.

A little bit at a time.

It's in the Bag

2010-05-13T09:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the It's in the Bag Auction at the Center for Visual Arts.

I made these from kimonos, hand-dyed and fancy fabrics.

You can see all the purses that were entered here.

Hope to see you at the auction.

Natural Dye Demo

2010-05-02T11:31:00.002-05:00

The Woods of Mission Timber, in Sanger is a lumber yard, sawmill and gift shop that hosted a natural dye demonstration yesterday using several types of saw dust and indigo.

Laura and John Easterling of Denton were kind enough to show us the process.

Dye made with Brazil Wood sawdust.

Dye made with Bois'd Arc sawdust.

indigo

natural dyed wool yarn

synthetic dyed yarn

Here are the washed samples I dyed. (L to R)

Log Wood muslin & wool, Brazil Wood wool, Bois'd Arc Wood muslin & wool, and Indigo cotton batting & muslin.

Arts & Jazz

2010-04-26T15:49:00.001-05:00

It was the perfect weekend for an outdoor music festival.

I helped our friend, Ken Carpenter, in his jewelry booth.

Jon and I watched the talented steel drum band from UNT.

Dear friends and their four darling children joined us to hear the drums.

Their new, new baby snoozed through it all.

Mr. Personality (who used to be the new baby) kept us company

while the bigger boys were off playing in the sand.

Perfect weather and great music. What a gift!

Beetle Stamp

2010-04-20T11:08:00.000-05:00

My friend Carol carved a month of stamps in March.

I thought it was a great idea so I made one too.

Thank you Carol for the inspiration!

Retreating!

2010-04-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

I spent a fun weekend retreating in a wonderful old house/quilt shop

called the Alford Inn in Van Alstyne, Texas.

In addition to lots of visiting and eating, I made two purses for the auction and sewed patches on four boy scout uniforms. As I left home I grabbed a big box of fancy fabrics that were intended for a silk jacket many years ago. The background fabric was a light blue silk. Also in the box was brown, beige, blue and olive green, silk, rayon, satin and taffeta. I piece 20 blocks on foundation paper. I'm not sure what these blocks will be, but it was fun to piece for a change.

I also pieced and lined three more purses to be donated to the

"It's in the Bag" and Denton Quilt Guild auctions.

What a nice way to spend a few days.

It's in the Bag

2010-04-12T15:34:00.005-05:00

The Greater Denton Arts Council is hosting a fundraiser on May 13.

"It's in the Bag" is a silent auction of one-of-a-kind handbags.

I've made several.

This is "Far Out Fossil." It's a recycled Fossil purse that

I doodled on with Sharpie markers.

On the left is a bag made of the fabric I created in a Judy Coates Perez Mixed Media Class. On the right is a bag created with a leaf panel by Houston artist Lisa Qualls.

This little bag has two inside pockets and one outside.

Perfect for an art show.

"It's in the Bag" is open to the public and will be held at the Center for Visual Arts in Denton. Tickets are $20 at the door and include High Tea and Bellinis during the silent auction. Hope to see you there.

Riding in Oklahoma

2010-04-08T11:55:00.003-05:00

We took a weekend motorcycle ride through eastern Oklahoma

a few weeks ago.

My parents drove up from southern Louisiana and joined us.

We took the scenic Kiamichi Trace north out of Antlers to Talihina.

The next day we took the Cherokee Trail up to Miami.

Vintage Iron in Miami has a wonderful motorcycle museum.

Near Miami is an old section of Route 66 called the Ribbon Highway.

It was originally one lane.

Look closely and you can see the concrete curb with asphalt in the center.

It's been widened to a two-lane road by adding dirt on either side.

Spring in Texas

2010-03-21T16:09:00.000-05:00

The last day of winter...

The second day of spring...

Stay warm.

Texas Boots Baltimore Style

2010-03-15T16:58:00.000-05:00

The Quilter's Guild of Dallas does a block challenge every year that is judged at the annual quilt show. The blocks are kept by the guild and made into quilts that belong to the guild and are displayed in the annual show. This year the theme was Texas Boots Baltimore Style.

We were given the background fabric and asked to include one left-facing boot surrounded by a Baltimore-style wreath.

I actually enjoy doing a bit of needle-turn appliqué once in a while and the guild challenge block encourages me to keep at it. I've participated in the challenge every year since 1999. I've earned nine ribbons of various colors throughout the years but never blue. Until this year! Yeah!

I designed waaay too many sharp points into this block so I decided to fuse the pieces and zig-zag the edges this year. The yellow rose buds are folded fabric, the boot loop is really a loop and the spur really spins.

Here are the rest of the ribbon winners.

Third place went to fellow Twisted Stitcher, Judy Kriehn. Congrats Judy!

I look forward to seeing the finished quilt.

Mini Quilt Auction 2010

2010-03-12T08:04:00.000-06:00

There will be a live mini quilt auction at Dallas Quilt Celebration this Saturday, March 13 at 1:30 in Dallas Market Hall. The beneficiary of the 2010 Mini Quilt Auction is the Senior Source. I donated three mini art quilts this year.

"Blue Kitty"

"Earth" made with fabric dyed by Linda Creagh.

"Multitude of Squares" made with pleather samples.

Short Wide Challenge

2010-03-11T10:41:00.001-06:00

In 2007, my Twisted Stitcher art quilt group made long/skinny quilts to enter in Dallas Quilt Celebration. This year the challenge was to make a short/wide quilt. Minimum of 73" wide, maximum of 18" in length. Eight member completed the challenge. They were hung yesterday in Dallas Market Hall in preparation for the quilt show this weekend. The labels are turned over for the judging which is going on right now.

Here are Deborah's, Sharon's and Sandy's.

This Judy's and Barbara's.

Becky's, Carol's and mine.

I hope to see you at the show.

DALLAS MARKET HALL

2200 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207

Located at the Intersection of Interstate 35E and Market Center Boulevard

Friday, March 12, 2010

10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

12:00 noon - 5:00 p.m.

Self Portrait follow-up

2010-03-09T11:35:00.001-06:00

Sunday night, Sue Benner invited the students who participated in her January self portrait class to a wine and cheese party in her Dallas studio. Eight of us brought pieces in different stages of finish.

I added the background to mine on Sunday afternoon. Still thinking about how to quilt it.

Deborah had her's finished before the January DAFA meeting.

Here's Pam's.

And Carolyn's.

Carolyn used lots of upholstery fabric for her hair.

Sherrie used dupioni silk.

Mary Lou

Gay

Melanie

It was really fun to see them all together. Thank you Sue!

I can't wait to see the rest at future DAFA meetings.

Retreat Weekend

2010-03-02T14:51:00.000-06:00

My local Denton Quilt Guild hosted it's Spring Retreat last weekend. Around 70 ladies spent the weekend sewing and visiting at a local retreat center. It was a great time to catch up with old friends and get to know new ones. I finished up the last of the quilts I plan to enter in Dallas Quilt Celebration 2010.

This is "Lilly," the sister of "Norman."

I finished "Iron Dragonfly" too.

The 12x12's will hang in the Twisted Stitcher invitational, Twelve2inches, March 12-14 at Dallas Quilt Celebration 2010 at Dallas Market Hall.

I made a new purse out of the fabric I painted in Judy Coates Perez's Mixed Media Fabric workshop.

The design was inspired by my favorite Maruca handbag.

I recycled the handle from another favorite bag.

Marsha from Longview did a great demo on this cute little neck bag.

I took a break to make one. The handle is a long shoe string.

This mini is made with some spin art Becky gave me.

I started a couple more that I'll show you when they're done.

Retreat was a blast, but it sure was good to be back home in my own bed.

Joshua Tree

2010-02-23T16:21:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago I took a Mixed Media painted fabric workshop from Judy Coates Perez. I realized that Judy's method would be a great way to illustrate a poem I've chosen to enter in the VAST (Visual Arts Society of Texas) / DPA (Denton Poet's Assembly) Collaborative Exhibition. The artists chose poems that were already written to illustrate and the poets chose art to write about.

I chose a poem written by Beth Honeycutt called the Joshua Tree. Below is the collaged poem with a yellow and orange underpainting and metallic turquoise overpainting.

More paint on top.

Sheer fabric added with gel medium and quilted.

Detail below.

Thanks Judy for the class. This is fun.

Next project, a new purse.

Go Red for Women

2010-02-17T15:07:00.000-06:00

The Go Red for Women luncheon and style show was originally scheduled for last Friday. Denton was hit with 12" of snow on Thursday so the rescheduled luncheon was today.

Linda is on a trip so she let me use her ticket. :) Thank you!

The Gateway Center at UNT was filled with a sea of mostly red.

(This table is full of design students and two teachers.)

In addition to a nice chicken curry lunch,

we were treated to a fashion show of 74 red dresses designed by

the Fashion Design students of UNT and TWU.

The show started with short dresses and ended with evening gowns.

The dress on the right was one of the judge's choice winners.

The people's choice winner was a long red riding coat.

What a fun way to spend your lunch hour.

Sorry for the blurriness, I took these photos with my phone.

2009 PTA Reflections Contest

2010-02-13T10:28:00.000-06:00

My son entered four pieces in the 2009 PTA Arts In Education Reflections contest. “Beauty Is…” was the theme. There were 65 entries at his high school. Prizes were given in four of the nine categories.

He won 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the visual arts category.

1st: “Sometimes Beauty is an Illusion”

2nd: “Pop Art Can Be Beautiful”

3rd: “Directional Blues”

Valentine Snow

2010-02-12T11:39:00.000-06:00

We got seven inches of snow yesterday.

Berek made a snowman last night.

Rusty can't get enough of it.

School was closed Thursday and Friday and Monday is a school holiday.

Too bad we didn't plan a vacation.

Mixed Media Painted Fabric

2010-02-08T10:11:00.000-06:00

I took Judy Coats Perez's Mixed Media workshop on Saturday.

It was great fun. It's been a long time since I painted anything and the brush felt like an old friend.

Here are Judy's class samples.

Judy is a fun teacher. I recommend that you take one her classes if you get the chance.

We collaged black and white images onto white cotton fabric and painted over the images with transparent fabric paint.

Here is my first attempt.

and my second.

After drawing a primitive drawing on the dry underpainting, we painted the background with metallic paint.

Here's my first painting. I like this one better. The background is more turquoise and green in person.

And my second.

I think this one needs another layer of green leaves.

Here is Deborah's underpainting.

And Michelle's.

Jo painting the metallic layer.

Sherrie's metallic layer.

Naomi's second layer.

I really had fun with this and plan to do more.

Sue Benner Workshop

2010-01-25T12:06:00.000-06:00

I took a workshop by Sue Benner on Saturday called Self-Portrait: The Artist as Quilt. I've been wanting to do an art-themed self-portrait quilt for a couple of years. I had heard the phrase "Think Art... Just Start!" and wanted to incorporate it into a self-portrait quilt. When I heard Sue was teaching this workshop, I signed up right away.

Sue had us fill out a questionnaire at the beginning of the class that included questions like: How would you describe yourself with three adjectives?; What are your strengths?; Your flaws? One of my flaws is the fear of beginning which is why I liked the phrase "Think Art... Just Start!" A yoga class I took last spring ended with the "No Fear" pose, see the quilt below. I knew I should use the pose for a self-portrait about beginning.

I've been collecting similar phrases that I will incorporate in the quilting.

Begin!

Make time for Art!

Art is... Three letters, One syllable, A lifetime of exploration.

If you know of a similar phrase, please send it to me.

I did a miserable job of taking pictures during the class but here are a few.

Deborah blogged about her experience.

I loved the leaf hair on this one.

The hair is 3D on Linda's.

Fannie and Jo also blogged about the workshop.

I really enjoyed the class and plan to complete my self-portrait when I've finished a few deadlines.

Wiggly Field

2010-01-17T11:22:00.000-06:00

I took Rusty to the Wiggly Field dog park this morning.

It has three fenced areas where dogs can run free off leash.

One for under 30 pounds, one for over 30 pounds and another for training.

He was in heaven.

He ran and ran and ran.

He play chase with some new friends.

What a great place for dogs.

Time for Beading

2010-01-13T10:46:00.000-06:00

I've been blessed with lots of graphic design work lately. The need to get a bunch of quilts ready for a show deadline has consumed all my spare time. When the entry form was in the mail, I took some time to play with the beads that have been calling to me.

My friend Cheryl made this cute pendant for me. It says "she works magic with her needle" on this side and "quilting pixie" on the other side. I restrung it with some green and turquoise beads so I could wear it with more things.

Pat gave me five beautiful white ceramic buttons from South Africa for Christmas. For the bracelet, I strung four on leather cord with a thrift store belt decoration and some glass beads. I used a similar treatment on the necklace.

It was fun to work on something different for a while.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T10:47:00.000-06:00

Update

2009-12-21T14:41:00.001-06:00

It's a busy time but I'm catching up.

We attended Berek's winter high school choir concert.

For the last song, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" the combined choirs crowd onto the stage. The director invited all the choir alumni to join them as well. Beautiful!

They did a great job.

I finished my quilt All I Want For Christmas... in time for the

Show & Tell at the Denton Quilt Guild party.

I used one of my favorite photos from 1st grade for reference.

It's 27 x 33".

I took this photo of my friend's dog Norman at book club one night.

I thought it would be a fun 12x12" quilt someday.

Norman died unexpectedly at the end of October so I moved this quilt up on the schedule.

Here's the finished quilt. I printed the image on muslin by fusing it to 11x17" freezer paper and feeding it through an inkjet printer.

I'm pleased with the result.

Busy, busy

2009-12-10T16:03:00.000-06:00

Lots of graphic design work! Good!

Not much time for gift-making.

A few gifts complete.

Some started.

Some close.

A beautiful end to the day.

Thanksgiving fun.

2009-11-30T20:53:00.000-06:00

My parents joined us for Thanksgiving.

Rusty thought their little dog Winston was a new toy.

Berek helped Dad cut and weld some steel into a fire pit.

It works really well.

Dad and Mom brought their trike with them.

Dad gave Grace a quick ride.

We went on our traditional Thanksgiving morning ride...

... and to Greenwood for a burger on Saturday.

I even managed to put together this little quilt.

Today it's back to work.

Progress

2009-11-19T15:52:00.000-06:00

I was challenged to make a quilt using a burlap coffee bean bag.

Here's what I came up with.

Jon was inspired to build this arch over our driveway.

Still working on many other quilts but none are in viewable condition.

Beautiful Fall Day

2009-11-15T17:06:00.000-06:00

Today was a lovely fall day.

After the bills were paid...

there was time for a little sewing.

psst... Check out the contest at Where Women Create.

A Day on the Farm

2009-11-09T11:05:00.000-06:00

A couple of friends and I went to surprise Vicki, who just turned 40, at her farm.

Vicki's niece decorated the windows.

Her saint of a husband arranged for us to be there when they came home from church.

The two older boys knew about the surprise and didn't tell.

We brought lunch and dessert and had a nice visit.

It was very quiet and peaceful in East Texas yesterday.

First Blogiversary!

2009-11-06T11:30:00.000-06:00

My blog is one year old today!

I've been accused of not blogging much lately. Ture. Fortunately, I've been very busy with my graphic design business so the fiber art gets the back seat. Good to have income.

I did finish and ship the two quilts I made for my great nephews.

The owner of Katz Coffee, a wonderful micro-roaster in Houston, challenged several of us to make art with some of his coffee bags. I've started mine.

In her lecture at VAST last night, Deborah Boschert showed one of her quilts that used whole coffee eans as an embellishment. I think my coffee quilt is screaming for coffee beans too.

My mini, Colorado Hummer, won at the VAST Mini show last night.

How fitting that a fiber piece won during Deborah's lecture on fiber art.

Rusty and I are enjoying the wonderful North Texas fall.

I'm going to celebrate by quilting for a while.

Fun in Houston

2009-10-26T09:55:00.004-05:00

I went to the International Quilt Festival in Houston two weekends ago and had a blast. Four of us from north Texas drove down together, met a friend from Louisiana and stayed with friends who live in Houston.

Our Houston friends have a beautiful yard and pond with lovely tropical flowers.

Chives and Bonnie live in Houston too.

I had great fun walking them each morning.

The Beetles, Dynastes Hercules was in the show.

I donated Autumn Poseys to the mini quilt auction.

I had lots of fun doing several of the Make-It University classes.

My name wasn't drawn for this one but I bought the supplies for later.

Here are the photos I took of the quilts on my Flickr photostream.

Until next year!

Rainy October

2009-10-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

I've been busy with graphic design lately so not much fiber art going on.

Yesterday was Berek's birthday. He wanted to try lobster.

He loved it.

It's been raining for days.

The wild plums are ripening.

Rusty is wondering when we are going to

stop looking at fruit and go for a walk!

Progress and Postcards

2009-10-06T10:31:00.000-05:00

My niece had twins on August 1.

Mike and Tommy are doing well. They weren't due until October 24,

which is when I hope to have their quilts finished.

My friend Tracey pieced these "Vintage LSU" baby quilts for me.

I added the names and will begin quilting today.

Kathy gave me some cute bird fabric for my birthday

and it inspired me to make postcards.

Rusty is bracing himself for four days of rain. Sigh.

Birthday Dinner

2009-10-02T14:35:00.001-05:00

Berek – with assistance from Jon – made dinner last night.

They cooked venison medallions sautéed with mushrooms and bell peppers in a peppercorn sauce over pasta. Yum! I loved it.

What a nice treat. Thank you guys!

Notice the beautiful placemat woven by my talented friend, Linda.

Birthday fun!

2009-09-30T15:24:00.001-05:00

It's been a wonderful birthday week.

I was able to spend four days sewing with friends last weekend.

I finished quilting Colorado Hummer, a 12 x 12" mini.

And New Zealand Metal, also 12 x 12".

And a lot of quilting on All I Want for Christmas..., 27 x 34"

Hubby sent me flowers,

and Sarah and I posed under the birthday hat.
(It was Julie's birthday too.)

My son and my coffee friends sang to me,

...and Gerald made me a sour cream raisin pie! Sigh!

Thanks for all the surprises and good wishes.

I feel very blessed.

New Zealand Manhole cover

2009-09-22T09:52:00.000-05:00

My twenty-year-old neighbor, Maggie, is living in Wellington, New Zealand for a year. She posted this photo of one of the manhole covers back in July. I thought it would be a fun 12x12" quilt for our twisted stitcher challenge.

I drew it on some batik fabric and carefully cut it out with tiny scissors so I would have a positive and a negative of the image. Here's the positive.

... and the negative.

I'll get one of them quilted before the deadline.

Busy Busy!

2009-09-17T12:57:00.003-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted to my blog. I've been really busy with my graphic design business and getting my son in the groove at school. There are four fiber projects I've worked on but none are finished. Here are two I can show you.

This little 12x12" still needs a humming bird.

Here's a peek at my design for the 2010 Quilter's Guild of Dallas Block Challenge, Texas Boots Baltimore Style.

I did finish a few of these wool and felt pincushions.

It's been raining for seven days.

There are mushrooms popping up everywhere.

These cute lilies showed up in the neighbors yard overnight.

Rusty is sooo ready for the rain to stop.

New work

2009-08-21T17:35:00.007-05:00

August has been a very good month for graphic design, but I've spent very little time on fiber art. Well, yesterday the stars aligned and all my clients were busy proofing their projects. I found myself with time on my hands. Yeah!

I've been wanting to make a quilt from this photo of my son for years. (He's almost 17 now!)

Back in May I served on a Q&A panel with Sue Benner and Barbara Oliver Hartman at the Professional Association of Quilt Appraisers conference in Fort Worth. The appraisers wanted to ask art quilters (both full-time professionals and a part-time quilter, me) how we produce our art in order to better appraise art quilts. It was a very enligtening day. I learned alot from these two very talented quilters.

During her description of her art, Sue Benner mentioned that she sometimes draws directly on the batting when designing a quilt. I've been thinking about the possibilities since May and decided to try it with this one. I'll let you know what I think. So far, so good.

I've been wanting to make 12x12" quilts of some of the photos I took in Colorado this summer. I love poppies and thought this green hand-dye would make a good background.

I also love these bleeding hearts and have started quilting this one.

I've had a hard time deciding what I want to do for a Short/Wide challenge and have finally found a subject that speaks to me.

While all this creativity was spewing out, the air conditioner in my 250-square-foot studio was slowly dying. This morning my dear hubby helped me decide that we were better off buying a new window unit than trying to get the old one fixed. We managed to snag the last one in stock that would fit in the hole. Since the stores are busy selling out summer and beginning to stock Christmas, we bought the display.

I quickly grabbed all the stuff in the path of the AC and piled it on the drawing table...

... and across the room on the floor, ironing board and sewing table.

TaDah ... it took the better part of the day but I have a new air conditioner.

Thank you dear! I'm so lucky to have a handy hubby.

Tomorrow's mission -- clear the clutter and sew!

Progress

2009-08-05T12:58:00.003-05:00

Kathi came to town last weekend to sew with Linda and I. Kathi worked on two garments, Linda made a blouse and a Christmas gift and I pieced my "Circles of the East" appliqué blocks.

I've been appliquéing these "Circles of the East" blocks for the last 12 years. The background fabric is hand-dyed pima cotton. The block pieces are commercial and hand-dyed cotton.

Last summer I dyed the sateen sashing in lilac along with six yards of sateen for the borders. I intend to appliqué the borders but haven't designed them yet.

These pretty passion flower vines are outside Linda's front door.

Gorgeous!

Twins

2009-08-04T17:38:00.002-05:00

I'm a Great Aunt to twin boys who were born to my niece on Friday, August 1. The babies are early and tiny but doing well.

Friday was also my sister's birthday. Happy birthday Grandma Tina!