Take it Further Challenge for July

This is my TIF challenge piece (so far?) for July. This was my original fabric palate based on the colors of the challenge this month. It kind of evolved into something different than planned, and I added some fabrics to bridge between the colors. It was meant to be a background for a leaf and vine quiltie--about 8 x 12 inches--oriented vertically. But, when I looked at it horizontally, it makes a neat reflective landscape--so I am tempted to leave it as is. Comments welcome!

Summer Skinny Book Pages

I made 10 of these pages for a "Summer" themed swap on Art Techniques. I found this great poem that seemed to sum up Summer quite nicely. I collaged, stamped and painted the background paper, and sewed on fabric and sequined ribbon across the top. I also added some fun decorative yarn and a flower for Summer. Looking forward to seeing the pages that everyone else has made.

Mixed Media Postcard Demo

On Monday, I am going to be doing a demo at the New Mexico Quilter's Association meeting on Mixed Media postcards. These are my samples that I will be demonstrating. I used a variety of materials, including fabric, paper, painted batting, dryer sheets, timtex, ribbon, air dry clay embellishments, beads, paper flowers, brads......on and on! It should be fun.

Swarovski Crystal Bead Earrings

I made several pairs of earrings for a swap on Adornmentz using a variety of beads, including the Swarovski Crystal beads. They are so pretty, and really reflect light well, but they are fairly pricey. I just used a few crystals in each pair, and set them off with some other beads and charms. Fun to make, and a good watching TV project. I made these 6 pairs to swap, and a couple for myself :)

Game Piece Charm Bracelet

I did a charm swap on the Adornments yahoo group a few weeks ago. The theme was "game pieces". I made the bead and wire wrapped puzzle pieces--I think there is an earlier blog post about how I made those. Well, I finally put them together onto a charm bracelet using the chunky ball chain bracelet for the base. It turned out pretty funky, and should be fun to wear! Now I need to make a matching pair of earrings.....

"Seams Unusual" Quilt Exhibit

I am finally getting around to posting about the Seams Unusual Exhibit at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos, New Mexico. You can see all of the quilts in the show by clicking on the link. I have three pieces in the exhibit. We went up for the opening reception a couple of weeks ago. It was my first time to Los Alamos and to the Fuller Lodge Gallery. It is a beautiful town in the mountains, near Santa Fe. The quilts were hung in a wonderful well lit gallery space, and interspersed with pottery and other art from the gallery. It was a very nice opening reception, and fun to meet some of the other artists. The show will hang until July 26th. I hope that some of you that are in the area will be able to stop by and see the quilt show! Here is a pic of my three pieces, and a full shot of my Ladders I quilt, which I was honored to see as the "covergirl" on the brochure for the exhibit!

Darned Quilt Class

No, it's not that I don't like the class that it is Darned. That is the name of the class--"Darned Quilts" with Dena Crain at Quilt University, because of using darning in the assembly technique. It is a 4 week online course, and we are in week 1. Every few months I treat myself to a class to learn a new technique and get my creative juices flowing. I have made 2 backgrounds so far, and have an idea for a third, though I don't know if I will actually make it. Here are the layout possibilities. I have decided to do the darks in the center on the blue/green quilt, and the lights in the center on the peach/ red quilt. You can see where we are heading for this quilt at Quilt University or on Dena's gallery page. I am very excited to start embellishing and see what comes next!

Handmade Journal

This is an extra journal that I made for a swap on Collage UnLeashed. I made it using the technique on pages 66-67 with gesso, paint, oil pastels, and sealed it with a clear glossy spray to protect the colors. The sealent also seemed to make the covers sturdier. I bound it with my Bind-it-All, which is a little time consuming to punch out the holes, but finished it nicely I think. I love the journals in the book--both the fabric and paper ones--so hopefully will play again with more of Traci Bautista's techniques. I am wondering if they would make good Christmas presents? Not too early to start thinking about that, you know!

Round Robin--Green

I am doing a round robin with a different twist on the Mixed Media Art Friends group. Instead of sending one piece around to several different people to work on and add to it, there are 9 of us each sending a quilted square to one person each month. So in the end, each of us will have one square from each person. The month's square is a different color--June was green. The square is 6.5 inches square, and is a little finished quilt itself. I made one for myself as well. I'm not sure how I am going to set all of mine together, but will figure it out as I start getting some squares. It is a nice way to trade work, and at a pace that I can handle!