Stitching "Practice Flights"

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

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

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

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

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

"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

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.